As the I AM, He is eternal. This means that He does not have a beginning or an ending. A circle is a good illustration of eternity, since in appearance it does not have a beginning or an ending. At a certain place on the circle, we may place a cross signifying the crucifixion of Christ. Where in relation to the cross on the circle would you put Old Testament saints such as Adam and Moses, and where would you put all the believers in Christ throughout the centuries? It would be difficult to say, according to such a diagram, who is before the cross and who is after. This is why it says in Revelation 13:8 that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world, and 1 Peter 1:20 says that Christ was foreknown before the foundation of the world. Although Christ's redemption was accomplished in time, it is an eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12). According to God's figuration, in His way of eternity, it is difficult to say what comes first and what comes last. Jehovah, the eternal One, is in every age. He was in the past, He is in the present, and He will be in the future. He existed, He exists, and He will exist. He is everything, and He is everywhere because He is eternal.

Genesis 18 records that three persons came to visit Abraham. One was Jehovah, and the others were angels. Jehovah appeared to Abraham as a real man. Abraham prepared water for Him to wash His feet, and Sarah prepared a meal for Him to eat (vv. 3-8). He was in the form of a man. Before His incarnation, He had already appeared to Abraham as a man. Surely God became a man in time at His incarnation, but with God there is no element of time. With God there is no beginning and no ending. On a certain day in time, the very God, Jehovah, entered into the womb of a human virgin and was born as a man. According to human history, this happened about two thousand years ago. But in God's sight, the incarnation is eternal.

His crucifixion is also eternal. Revelation 13:8 points out that He was slain from the foundation of the world. In God's eyes, according to His figuration, Christ was slain from the beginning of the creation. However, in time Christ was slain much later. From Adam's creation to Christ's crucifixion, there were about four thousand years. But in God's eyes, Christ was slain when creation began. With Jehovah there is no time element. He is the One who was, who is, and who is forever.

The Lord Jesus is the great I AM. When the soldiers and deputies from the chief priests and Pharisees came to arrest Jesus and told Him they were seeking Jesus the Nazarene, He said to them, "I am." "I am" is the name of Jehovah. When the soldiers heard this name, they drew back and fell to the ground (John 18:4-6). The name Jesus means Jehovah the Savior. Jesus is Jehovah. The title Jehovah, denoting the Triune God as the One who is not only eternally existing but also eternally being, is used more than seven thousand times in the Old Testament.