Remember I talked about the block universe idea that came from modern physics. You find that idea in the Bible as well. When God created the world in six "days" He created everything across all space AND TIME and now He is resting. So God created something like a video except it is HUGE and it is three-dimensional instead of two-dimensional. In every "image" we have solid things that just sit there in their positions forever. Then we are really just watching what God has created. Our consciousness is moving through the block universe and we see what God has made. The block universe idea changes our understanding of the world and helps us understand God and how He does things. The last time, the subject was miracles. In the block universe it was easy to see how God does (really, did) miracles. But the block universe has other interesting consequences as well. Many of the consequences involve scientific issues but today I am going to talk about one of those consequences that is not so scientific.

OK, miracles are easy to do, but God is not doing very many of them here on Earth. Like, if people prayed for gold or ice cream cones and God gave it to them, everyone would know God was out there and that would change our culture and history quite a lot. The world would not be like the world we have now. What we have now is a situation where people can assume there is no God. They can live in the world and actually FEEL what is it like to have a world without God. Many people won't like the way things are here on Earth and they'll end up wishing for something better and find that the God of the Bible can give them the kind of world that they want.

Off in heaven, miracles won't be so much of a problem. Everyone will know that God is there and that He is doing miracles all the time. So you can get a bar of gold or an ice cream cone any time you want. (Or better yet, Chicago style pizza!) When that pizza or ice cream cone pops up out of nothing, it will be easy to know where it came from! It will be pretty easy to know Who to thank for what you've got. So it is really, really clear, that in heaven, we will be thanking God all the time for the things He does! It seems to be different here on Earth. Here on Earth we seldom thank God for things because things do not just appear out of nothing. You know, you have to go to the store to buy things. To buy, say, a pizza, you need money. To get money you need to work. To work, you'll need an education. And then when you get that pizza you think that God was not involved at all. You end up thinking that it was YOU, YOU, YOU, who got that pizza because YOU worked so hard for it!

Well, YOU think YOU worked hard for it - BUT, BUT, BUT - how did that pizza here on Earth really get there? In the block universe, made by God, what you have is one 3D image after another, after another, after another of that pizza. Every one of those 3D images was made by God. You really need to be thanking God here on Earth that the pizza exists in image after image in the block universe. Yes, that pizza would not be here for you to enjoy if God did not make image after image after image of the pizza. Of course, it isn't just pizza that God made, He made the entire world as a place to be lived in, not a place of random chaos. You're probably sitting in a room with walls. Every one of those walls was made by God. They wouldn't be there unless He put them in every 3D image of the universe. He could have left empty spots instead of creating a whole series of walls throughout time. But He followed his usual pattern where things don't disappear over time. So the pizza and the walls and everything else in this world continue to exist for a long time. So, really, right now, we have good reason to thank God, for Chicago style pizza, for the walls and for the whole universe! OK, I'll grant you that this world is not as pretty as heaven and we suffer a lot. But making a world that is not heavenly is still a good deal in the long run because this world is very educational. We learn about selfishness and see it others and in ourselves. We need to learn that before we can move on to a perfect world.

So everything around you was made by God and it is kept in place by God. God's work is all around you all the time. That's what we get from the block universe. The block universe is a 20th century idea. Unfortunately, the world still has a 19th century understanding of the world. Western Civilization has developed a new religion called science. Not too long ago, people went to the Bible to understand the world. Now they go to scientists to answer all their questions. And what does science say? Science says we live in a 3D world where things are moved around by forces. It says everything is happening at random. First, there was the Big Bang where particles flew out of the explosion. These particles turned into stars and planets. On Earth, life started by chance and people show up by chance in one place or another. Some people get lucky and they're rich but most people end up poor. In the United States, unhappy people say that some people win life's lottery but most don't. And they figure that no God is needed. No happy future is possible. There is no plan to life on Earth. There is no heavenly afterlife. It says that this world is all there is and all there ever will be. Is that depressing or not?

The Bible and modern science tell us exactly the opposite. Everything around you was consciously made by God. His work is all around you right now! Are you feeling alone right now? Don't. God made your surroundings just for YOU for this very moment of time.

Of course, it is not just the physical world that God created. The things that happen to you here on Earth are completely planned. If you end up rich, there is a reason for it. If you end up poor, there is a reason for it. If you end up a doctor or a president or a taxi driver, God planned it that way for some very good reasons. Here is some evidence for that from the Bible, from Ephesians 1:11:

So, in other words, everything that happens in this world was fixed in advance! It's like we're actors and actresses in a play or a movie! And God has written the script. This idea that God fixed everything in advance comes up in a number of places in the Bible. Here it is again in Ephesians 2:10:

Then one of the most quoted verses on this subject comes from King David in Psalm 139:16:

So, this world is actually like a huge play God has written and we are like actors and actresses in the play. Now, when a play ends, the actors and actresses go back to the real world. (Where so many of them live in mansions!) So, if they played the role of a king or queen or president on stage, when they go back home they are no longer a king or queen or president. They are just regular people. If you think about this world as if it's a play, suppose you're someone important, like a president or a king or a queen. After you die and you get to heaven, that is, if you get to heaven, you're not a king or a queen or a president anymore. You're going to be just like everyone else there in heaven. Your role as a king or queen or a president is over. If the world says you're unimportant now, like say, you're a taxi driver, once you leave the stage, and you end up in heaven, you'll be in what is really the real world. You'll go home to your mansion, where you'll have angels for servants. You will have everything wonderful that you never had as you played your role in the play here on Earth. So you can look forward to a miraculous world where it will constantly be evident that God is looking after you. You will be constantly thanking Him for it and this will make you, and Him, very, very happy.