A Brief History of the End of Time

If we want to think about space or time we need to understand that all things that take up space are part of space, and all things that need time are part of time. But there are things that neither need space nor time to be. The human mind, for instance, though seated in a body that certainly requires space-time, takes up no space itself and doesn't comply with chronology. That's why a memory of something that happened twenty years ago may be recollected more vividly than whatever it was that you had for lunch.

Any given collection of particles can be arranged in many different ways. How many depends on what the particles make. The particles of a cloud can be a jumbled and juggled in all kinds of way, and the cloud will still be there. The particles that make up a Volvo or a TV can only be arranged in very few ways, if we want to keep these objects. The number of different ways to arrange particles without losing the object is called entropy. The universe, which contains about 10⁸⁰ protons, has an entropy of 10¹⁰⁰ (that number is called a googol or google, and that is where the famous search engine gets its name from — quite clever, actually). But a living human has exactly the same entropy as a human who just died. That means that the rules of space-time cannot explain the soul, let alone the mind.

On the previous page we mentioned that the speed of light marks the end of space-time. In the material universe there is nothing — no particle, no signal — that can outrun a photon. In other words, in the material universe there will not ever be anything that knows that a specific photon comes its way. In the human world, however, it's easy to outrun a photon. Just yell, "I'm switching on the light!" at someone. Only humans that are able to engage in an intelligent conversation are able to expect a photon. That's because the human mind exists outside space-time.

Many will argue that mind is the effect of brain activity, and the brain is made from matter that requires space-time, but look at a tree: without the underground roots there is no above ground tree. Still the tree lives in the air and breathes air. It even uses air-dwelling bugs and birds to procreate. Likewise the mind: it requires a space-time vessel to exist (root), but it exists outside space-time (tree).

Mankind is very much alike a forest of whose trees communicate with their roots. After all, every signal (speech, signs, smells, touch) we send across to someone else must travel through space-time. And our collective behavior is also very much mechanical. We respond to stimuli after the rules of cause and effect: if you do this, then I do that. If you produce something that I like, I will buy it from you, so that you can eat. If you don't produce, then I won't give you money and you will slowly die (in the West that means that your company goes belly-up, but in large parts of the world you literally die of hunger if you don't earn your keep).

Or else compare mankind to a big vineyard, and every human mind to a grape. If one grape wants to talk to another one, it has to do this through the conduits inside the branches, the same conduits that are in the roots and are not in touch with the open air. No matter how sweet and juicy a grape is, it is confined to an economy that is part of the underground and earth-bound part of the vine. The End Of Time is that when all the grapes are harvested and mashed into wine, and all thoughts move about freely. Some may think it a rather gloomy fate to get mashed, but others can't wait to freely exchange ideas instead of having to sit bend over their computer, in frozen pose most of the time, thinking up a nifty phrase or fair parable.

The End Of Time as talked about in the Bible, denotes the level in the human development when people no longer submit to linear cause and effect in dealing with each other. This level has been reached locally a long time ago, namely in Jesus Christ. But collectively, and culturally, especially world-wide we're not there yet. Still, even though the world seems an awful place to be, there are obvious signs that mankind is becoming increasingly globally aware, and aware of the great one-ness of all living things. Organizations like Greenpeace and Amnesty International, advances in psychology and sociology, trade agreements and the free unification of countries and currencies all argue our inherent need for unity. It's our instinct.

Large-scale development is predictable because we know where we are and we know where we are going. The first coming of Christ was predicted by many, who also stated that certain events had to precede it. The world had to be ready for Jesus. If He had shown up while we were living in caves, He wouldn't have been noticed. Likewise the Second Coming. This present age is like the Sea of Reeds; we have to cross it to come out clean on the other side. We need to develop into a worthy throne and certain events must take place while we grow.

Let's have a look at where we are and how we got there.