“And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.”
(Hebrews 1:10-12)
The two laws of thermodynamics are arguably the best-attested among all the scientific laws. The First Law states that in a closed system, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. That is, the total amount of energy will always remain the same. The Second Thermodynamical Law states that in a closed system, the total amount of usable energy—the amount of energy available to perform work—will decrease over time. The practical effect of this Second Law is that systems and structures will tend toward disorder, death, and decay. In one science magazine article I read, the author stated confidently that “death and disorder are the law.” When asked about the possibility of reversing the deadly effects of the Second Law, one astrophysics professor answered that “time’s arrow cannot be reversed; Humpty Dumpty will never put himself together again.” This poses huge problems for the secularist. First, if things are tending toward death and disorder, how did all the highly ordered systems we see in the world come to be? Secondly, on the secular view, the whole universe is destined to disintegration. No one will remain or be remembered. If our death has no meaning, how can life have any meaning ultimately? Lastly, the fact that complete annihilation has not occurred yet shows us the universe is not infinitely old. In other words, the universe had a beginning. If it had a beginning it had a cause. The Bible makes sense of all these unassailable facts. Today’s verse passage reminds us that our universe is not infinitely old, nor did it pop into being uncaused out of nothing. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), the Lord Jesus Himself being the special agent of creation (John 1:1-3). Yes, since the fall of man the created order has been tending towards death and disorder (Romans 8:20-22). The Bible and the observable scientific evidence agree completely. The Bible and secular scientific opinion, however, do not. It is not true that life has no meaning. It is not true that all of physical reality will dissolve into nothing forever. Though the present heavens and earth will indeed pass away (2 Peter 3:10-11), we may rest assured that those who love and trust the Lord will abide with Him forever (John 14:1-3;1 John 2:17). Not only that, they themselves will be transformed from lowly, frail creatures into glorified image-bearers of the living God (2 Corinthians 3:17-18; Ephesians 4:11-13; Philippians 3:20-21). Not only will God reverse “time’s arrow,” He will do so in ways unimaginable by the mind of man (Ephesians 3:20; 2 Corinthians 2:9). We who are destined to awaken in Christ’s likeness (Psalm 17:15) will be forever satisfied to abide with Him in a world fit for His redeemed.
God bless you, dear saints,
pastor john
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