Eternity Changes Everything

​I am entering the homestretch of my doctoral work, exploring how God’s attribute of eternity and the eternal worldview Scripture gives us transforms Christian discipleship and leadership. Along the way, I’ve become captivated by stories where God’s transcendent and eternal presence breaks into a person’s life and redirects everything.
 
For that reason, I must share the story of a man I will call T. Though he is writing a book about his journey, he is not yet comfortable sharing it publicly. His caution is understandable: T has lost nearly everything for the sake of Jesus. His family of origin has so fully disowned him that he was not able to attend his own father’s funeral. You see, T grew up a devout fourth-generation Jehovah’s Witness. When he eventually encountered the true Jesus of Scripture, everything changed… his worldview, his marriage, his community, and the entire trajectory of his life.
 
Cults Are Real
I cannot fully summarize either the depth of T’s story or the breadth of Jehovah’s Witness teaching. But two JW teachings are essential to understand:
 
A. JW doctrine of Jesus is a fatal flaw.
Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus is a created being, formerly Michael the Archangel, who began reigning as King in 1914. Yes, 1914. This denial of Jesus' full deity undermines the very foundation of the Christian faith.
 
B. JW view of eternity hollows out  hope.The cult originally taught that only 144,000 people will live forever in a restored Eden, later expanding the number with “other sheep” in 1935 when their membership exceeded their own prophetic math. JW teaching changes. God’s word does not, and the eternal realities offered through the finished work of Jesus do not, either. The "system control" of JW is evidenced through their shifting teaching on eternal realities.
 
Eternity Invades
Within the rigid and tightly controlled JW system, studying the New Testament apart from approved materials is discouraged. So, when someone tried to talk to T about Paul’s teaching on Jesus, he immediately labeled them an apostate.
 
But a seed had been planted.
 
Fast forward years later: the week T was preparing for his first public speaking assignment in the JW Kingdom Hall, he found himself standing under the night sky. As he looked at the stars, something awakened. He began wrestling out loud with questions of eternity, the afterlife, and the vastness of God. The words he had dismissed years earlier surged back into his mind, especially the truth about Jesus’ resurrection and the hope of heaven.  Considering the possibility of Heaven and a greater eternity than JW's restored Eden, T became consumed with one prayer:

“God, if You are real, reveal Yourself to me personally, specifically, and unmistakably.”
And God did.
 
God Is Alive
The details of T’s encounter with the living God are extraordinary and one day I hope to record them in full. What matters for now is this: T met the eternal Jesus, and the eternal Holy Spirit ignited a fire in his soul that nothing could extinguish.
 
At first, T tried to make sense of this awakening by digging deeper into JW teaching. But the deeper he went, the more he realized how hollow it all was. Jesus had been excavated from the center and replaced with an organization.
 
His elders noticed the change. Suspicion grew. Eventually, they urged his wife and family to leave him because T was “becoming an apostate.” The pressure intensified until he reached the unavoidable crossroads: Follow Jesus and lose everything… or remain in the system and lose his soul. 
 
When Eternity Invades the Human Heart
When the eternal Christ reveals Himself, when the eternal Spirit regenerates and indwells a person, everything changes. Scripture comes alive, identity is reborn, and the trajectory of life is reset. For some, that transformation is gradual; for others, like T, it is disruptive and costly.
 
We should note, an eternal worldview always disrupts because it loosens our grip on this world and strengthens our hope in the One who transcends it, created it, and is working His eternal purpose through it.
 
Following Jesus Costs Everything
T left the JW system and had to rebuild nearly every part of his life… where he lived, what he did, and whom he belonged to. And I will intentionally leave his story unresolved here  because I want you to feel the weight of the tension. T’s story forces every disciple of Jesus to examine the seeds we are planting in the lives of people around us and the seeds God is growing within us as it challenges us to consider the reality of God's eternality and the eternity He invites us to see.

If Jesus is the uncreated, eternal God, whose work causes believers to be born again and invites us to participate in eternal realities... then none of us should remain the same.

Richly Dwelling Questions for Reflection
 
1. Has the reality of God’s eternity invaded your soul in such a way that it is actively reshaping the trajectory of your life, especially loosening the grip of your heart on worldly things as you live for eternal things?
2. What have you surrendered, or what might you need to surrender, because grace from an eternal King has awakened your soul?
3. Has eternity disrupted your routines, priorities, or relationships in a way that makes Jesus visible to others? Do you "set your mind on things above"?
4. Do you believe that the eternal seeds you plant through your words, prayers, and relationships may bear fruit years later, even long after you’ve forgotten you planted them?
5. Is there anything in your life that still reflects the “organization-first” mindset of religion, a cult, or false gospel that is more representative of a a passing world rather than the Jesus-centered, resurrection reality of an eternal world view?