The Time Traveller: Chapter 1

The Time Traveller

Chapter 1

Today we start a series of sermons about a time traveller, these sermons will mostly take the form of a fictional narrative which will contain strong historical and eschatological (The Study of End Times) facts.

So without further ado, let us begin our narrative.

 Our story begins in a little village in Oxfordshire, called South Moreton.

In South Moreton there was a Baptist Chapel, where there were many worshippers. But our narrative is only concerning one member of the congregation: John Smith. (Yeah, lousy naming right?)

John was interested in working as a missionary, and had approached a number of missionary societies for support for work in China, but had many times been rejected, because of his poor language skills.

But one day while John was sitting down to his supper, he heard the phone ringing, so he went to answer it.

He picked up the phone, and after uttering a greeting, he listened intently to what the person on the other end of the line was saying. I’m not exactly sure of the exact words but it seems that John was offered to join a missionary society as a “time travelling missionary”. And so, without much thought as to what this work might entail, John said “Yes”. So it was agreed that John should go to Reading the following day to have a looks at the “ship” and test run it.

That night John didn’t sleep too well, he was nervous, and uncertain as to whether he had made the right decision. So John decided that he must decline the offer in the morning.

So in the morning John got himself ready to go to Reading. His intention was to tell the missionary society that he felt that it was not God’s will at the present to undertake such a ministry.

So when John arrived at the mission headquarters in Reading, he was greeted by the chairman of the society, who asked him whether he was ready for the test drive. John thought it would be impolite to decline the mission before he had formally test-driven the “ship”.

So the Chairman showed John the way to the “ship” which was rather small looking and had the name “Vapour” written on the side.

The Chairman said, “Time is like a vapour, that’s where we get the name from!”

John and the Chairman stopped just in front of the door to the “Vapour”, and John asked the chairman, “Did I mishear you on the phone of something? Because I thought that you said that this is a time travelling mission, and I’m pretty certain that people can’t travel back in time.”

The Chairman replied, “O but you can travel through time. People have been doing it for centuries, it’s just been kept very hush-hush”

“Oh” replied John, “but if God is sovereign, and has already decreed all that should happen through time, how then can we go back through time and change what has already happened?”

“I too had a problem with that” The Chairman explained, “but it was discovered to me by someone else the mystery of time travel, that in God’s eyes time is happens all at once, and so now is happening parallel to the day of Christ’s birth, and it is only in our human and inferior perspective that time is linear, that one day follows another. That is why Christ’s blood atoned for David who died many years before Christ appeared in human flesh. And thus when you travel back in time you will not be changing the decree of God in time, but you will just be changing your own perspective of time.”

John pondered these thoughts for a few minutes, and then said, “I’m not sure that I really understand what you are saying.”

The Chairman replied, “It is hard for me to explain, but I trust that you will know these things by experience. You see it’s like trying to explain the atoning merits of Christ’s blood to one who has never experienced first-hand the mercies of God.”

John had nothing to reply to this, he was a young man, and the Chairman had seen many years and so he realised that there was a wisdom which cannot be gained but through years of serving our Lord.

So after that confusing conversation, The Chairman opened the door of the Vapour and revealed inside just enough room for one man to sit on a chair.

The Chairman drew John’s attention to a big red button in from of the chair, and said, “There is only one button, so it should be easy to navigate where you want to go, the button is already programmed to go where you are most needed. Under the chair you will find a large number of Bibles, and some books on how to speak a lot of the ancient languages. So now could I ask you to get in to the seat and just press the button? And may God be with you!”

John followed his orders, still unbelieving concerning these time-travelling theories, but thought that the Chairman deserves respect, and thus John went into the Vapour, shut the door, and pressed the button.

The Vapour vanished!

Well, I must leave the story there, I know we haven’t actually done any time travelling yet, and we haven’t gone anywhere, but I intend to in the next sermon, if the Lord wills.

Now to clarify the theories of time travel: It obviously has not happened as yet, but I believe that it is possible, and that if one was able to time-travel, it would not be any kind of argument against the overruling providence of God.

So I pray that The Lord will bless His word, and this narrative, and I hope to see you next time.

Amen