By Gary Ray Branscome
The
words, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” tell us
that time, space, and matter originated with God (Genesis 1:1). The words, “In
the beginning,” denote the beginning of time, and the words
“heaven and earth” are the Hebrew way of saying “all
that exists,” or “the entire universe”. And, that is a reference to space,
because the stars were not created until the fourth day. In other words, the
Bible is telling us that space and time did not exist until God created it.
The
reason time and space are intertwined is because, for time to exist there must be a place (space) where time is passing. Likewise, for space to exist movement must be possible, and
movement takes time. This relationship of space and time is generally
known as the “space-time continuum”. Furthermore, if time did not have a
beginning we would never have arrived at this point in time. Those who question
this may imagine that time has always existed, but they fail to understand the
meaning of “infinite”. If time was infinite, then no matter how far back in
time you went there would always be an infinite amount of time before that.
There would be no beginning. However, the Bible tells us that there was a
beginning.
The words, “The invisible things
of Him [God] from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,” tell us
that God created time to be eternal and space to be infinite in order to
illustrate the fact that He is both eternal and infinite (Romans 1:20). Moreover,
because time and space were created by God, they both illustrate His triune
nature. Like God, space consists of three parts (three dimensions) often spoken
of as length, width and height. Likewise, time consists of three parts past,
present and future. In both cases the three are one! In fact, it is impossible
for space to exist without all three dimensions. Those who dispute this may try
to imagine a two-dimensional existence where everything is as thin as a piece
of paper. However, they forget that paper has thickness. If you take all of that
thickness away nothing will remain. Space must exist as both three and one or
it will not exist at all.
The
words, “The heavens declare the glory
of God; and the sky displays His handiwork,” tell us that all we
see in the sky is the handiwork of God (Psalm 19:1). The words, “The universe was created by the word of God, so that
what is seen was made of what is not seen,” tell us that God did not
create the universe from pre-existing matter (Hebrews 11:3). The words, “God… gives life to the dead, and calls into
existence things that do not exist,” tell us that when God created He
called into existence that which previously did not exist (Romans