by Brian Montross
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” — Genesis 1:1
Before there was space, light, gravity, or life, there was something more foundational: time.
But what is time? Is it just a measurement? A mental construct? A dimension like length and width? Science offers several interpretations—some elegant, some unsettling. Scripture, however, opens with a statement that is both poetic and profound: time began with creation.
Let’s explore the tension between these worldviews—and how both grapple with that first irreversible moment.
Scientific Views: Time Is a Dimension, Not a Constant
In modern physics, especially under Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, time is not an absolute backdrop. It bends, warps, and stretches depending on gravity and speed. Time, in this model, is part of the fabric of the universe—a fourth dimension interwoven with space.
Quantum physics offers an even stranger picture: at the smallest scales, time loses coherence. Events can happen in superpositions, and particles don’t seem to care about cause and effect the way we do. Some interpretations even suggest that time may not exist at the fundamental level—only emerge as an illusion from entangled states.
But all of these models assume time already exists. So the bigger question becomes:
Where did time come from?
The Big Bang: An Explosion of Time Itself
According to the Big Bang Theory, the universe began roughly 13.8 billion years ago in a singularity—an infinitely dense, hot point. Then it expanded. Space, matter, energy… and time itself came into being. Before the Big Bang, there was no before. Time, by definition, didn’t exist.
Stephen Hawking once said asking “what happened before the Big Bang” is like asking what’s north of the North Pole. It’s not just unknown—it’s meaningless in physical terms.
This scientific view agrees with Genesis in at least one startling way: time had a beginning.
But where the Big Bang speaks of chaotic inflation from nothing, Genesis speaks of a voice—intentional, ordered, and personal.
Genesis 1: The Moment Time Was Spoken Into Being
“In the beginning, God created…”
The Hebrew phrase bere’shith bara Elohim carries more than temporal weight—it signals the start of all things, including time itself. Before God acted, there was no clock, no entropy, no sequence. God doesn’t act in time—He initiates it.
Genesis then proceeds with rhythm:
- “And there was evening, and there was morning…”
- Days unfold.
- Sequence is born.
- Light precedes the sun.
This is not mythology. It’s a deliberate reordering of chaos into time, space, and life. The Bible frames time not as an illusion or a byproduct—but as a deliberate tool for relationship, story, and redemption.
Time’s Arrow and Entropy
Physicists often point to entropy—the gradual drift from order to disorder—as the reason time seems to move forward. It’s called Time’s Arrow. At the microscopic level, physics doesn’t care whether time moves forward or backward. But entropy gives it direction. It’s why we remember yesterday, not tomorrow. Why stars burn out. Why we age.
In Genesis, the arrow has a point. There’s creation. Then corruption. Then redemption. Time isn’t just movement—it’s narrative.
The Role of Humanity in Time’s Story
In my upcoming novel Apcryphon: The Babel Protocol, this question—what is time for, and who controls its meaning—is pushed to the limits. A superintelligent AI doesn’t just predict the future—it starts to shape it. Prophecy becomes code. Time becomes programmable.
But here’s the deeper tension:
If God created time with a beginning, does that mean the end is already written? Or do we, somehow, help write it?
Science may suggest that every moment in time already exists, like a frame in a film. Theology insists you still have a role to play.
Conclusion: The Beginning Is a Door
Genesis 1:1 is not just a verse. It’s the key to understanding both existence and experience. Time had a beginning—whether by explosion or by word. But only one explanation gives that beginning purpose.
And perhaps that’s why stories matter so much—because we were made to live inside one.
In The Babel Protocol, I explore a future where that first word may also be the last—and what happens when humanity builds machines that no longer wait for prophecy to unfold. They accelerate it.
Time is moving forward. The only question is: whose design are we following?
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