Mr. Eternity—The Arthur Stace Story

A stunning turnaround—from sinner to saint!

After spending much of the first part of his life as a petty criminal, metho-drunk and brothel pimp (among other questionable activities) Arthur Stace was suddenly so affected with the reality of eternity—and the need for others to hear about it—that he spent the next thirty seven years writing just this one word where it would be noticed, where people trod: on footpaths.
 
Eternity has always struck a chord in the human heart; and the hundreds of millions alive today who have already discovered that it’s real, would love to shout it from the rooftops.
 
In fact, that’s actually how Arthur Stace got started—at the Burton Street Baptists, Sydney. He heard a famous preacher, John Ridley, cry out passionately in a sermon how he would love to hear the word “Eternity” shouted throughout the city streets. Arthur remembers thinking at the time, “I couldn’t I couldn’t spell it for quids”. He was virtually unschooled, only semi-literate with almost illegible handwriting. But he said the word kept “bangin’ in me ‘ed like a bell!” So he got on with it, took a piece of chalk from his pocket, reached down and wrote himself into “immortality”—with a beautiful copperplate style!
 
That’s got to be some powerful motivation; every morning before sunup!
 
The impact of this graffiti artist was so great that years after he’d gone on to his eternal destiny, the Sydney City Council thought enough of his work to make it the highlight of their turn-of-the-millennium display. On the stroke of twelve midnight 2000 AD; and then again shortly afterwards for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games celebrations, they displayed it on the Sydney Harbour Bridge—and beamed it to billions of earth dwellers—every one of whom has to face eternity personally.
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