MIB III, Time Travel, and The Book of Life

What if you could travel back in time? Where would you go? What would you do? Many would seek to avert a personal wrong suffered and/or given and others would try to invent Facebook before Mark Zuckerberg - right?

And then there are those who would attempt to stop some catastrophic event, like talking Adolf Hitler into becoming a professional ballerina rather than an evil dictator? Or maybe even.

Saving someone's life?

That's what Men in Black III's Agent J (Will Smith) has to for his partner Agent K in the long awaited threequel of the MIB series.

It's been ten years since our alien fighting duo have teamed up to save the planet from the oooey gooey interplanetary illegal immigrants from all over the Milky Way, but you'll feel as though it hasn't even been 10 minutes.

And yes, MIB III is back.in time - not only to give us a fresh movie in a summer cinematic sea of spideys, bats, cats, capes, and battleships - but also to capture our imagination and refresh our memories about the golden decade of the 1960s.

The alien antagonist in this film has time warped back to knock off Agent K to prevent the doom of his race, so our legendary Hancock hero Agent J must jump back to save a young Tommy Lee.and perhaps reboot the franchise?

But while you're being entertained by Brolin, Willy and the boys, remember that time travel is not only possible, but has already taken place:

After this, I looked and saw a door that opened into heaven. Then the voice that had spoken to me at first and that sounded like a trumpet said, "Come up here! I will show you what must happen next." Right then the Spirit took control of me, and there in heaven I saw a throne and someone sitting on it (Revelation 4:1-2).

This was written nearly 2000 years ago by one of Jesus' best friends named John. He had the phenomenal privilege of being transported into the future and granted a heavenly box seat to see how it all will go down in the end.

In other words, he went forward in time so he could come back in time and warn us about the end of time!

And really, all this time jumping is very similar to the plot in MIB III, because John's message can save not only our own lives for eternity, but the lives of our race as well.

How?

Well, John's record of the future is recorded in the Book of Revelation - the last book in the Bible. It is a swirling array of both glorious and downright disturbing imagery, and for thousands of years Bible scholars have made agonizing attempts to make heads or tails out of his writings. But there is one scene that is not unclear in any way, and it's the most important detail recorded in the entire book:

I saw a great white throne with someone sitting on it. Earth and heaven tried to run away, but there was no place for them to go. I also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Every one of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done.

The sea gave up the dead people who were in it, and death and its kingdom also gave up their dead. Then everyone was judged by what they had done. Afterwards, death and its kingdom were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Anyone whose name wasn't written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20: 11-15).

Right there, clear as day, in black and white, the doom of all mankind is forever documented. No matter where or in what time period you existed, if your name isn't "written in the Book of Life," you will spend eternity in hell. No one can save you at that point, and there are no second chances.

But you do have a chance to change that destiny. Place your trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, and the hand of God will inscribe your name in the book. You still might worry about 2012 or alien invasion or a second hit video by Rebecca Black.but your concerns over eternity can be forever erased.

And if I were you, my main concern would be for my friends and family whose names are missing from the Book of Life. You don't have to jump back in time to save your friends like Will Smith. All it takes is a simple conversation about Jesus Christ and His free offer of salvation to anyone who trusts in him.

Let's get as desperate as Agent J and make THE Cause the center of our lives today!

While it would awesome to have time travel, it is critical that we focus on the opportunities God gives us in the present to share the gospel. One thing is for sure, we don't want to wake up in the future with the memory of lost opportunities we had to give all we have to THE Cause.

Jesus, we praise You that You are the beginning and the end, and You hold all time in Your hands. Give us a vision of the future that breaks our hearts for those whose names are not in the Book of Life, and may we see each day as a present from You to share Your offer of salvation.

John 3:16-18. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Reach Out.Don't Freak Out. Ready to get serious about sharing your faith with your friends? Pick up a copy of this 30 day student devo that guides you through practical, daily, hands-on steps that will help you reach out without freaking out!