Alpha and Omega

Before anything existed, in a realm of complete nothingness, God brought something into being, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ (Genesis 1:1). Some find this difficult to understand. How can God make something from nothing? Scripture tells us He did, but many believe that He didn’t.

Theologian Richard Swinburne states, ‘It is extraordinary that anything should exist at all. Surely the most natural state of affairs is simply nothing; no universe, no God, nothing.’ John Ortberg, author of ‘Faith and Doubt’ writes, ‘But there is something. Notions like the Big Bang, natural selection and evolution explain how the mechanism of change might take place, but they do not explain how existence springs from nothing. The real trick is not changing one thing into another thing. The real trick is creating something out of absolutely nothing.’

I remember my science class at school where we were taught one of the basic laws of physics: ‘Matter cannot be created nor destroyed.’ That of course does not take God into account, for when God is brought into the picture, we’re back to the same conclusion: ‘In the beginning, God created’. God overruled the laws of physics, and did the impossible.

The Bible tells us that God’s existence is without beginning and has no end. ‘Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God’ (Psalm 90:2). ‘You are from all eternity’ (Psalm 93:2). God is eternal. Always has been. Always will be.

We can either accept that an eternal God created the world, or consider the alternative, which suggests that somehow nothing became something by the generation of energy, causing a tremendous explosion. This propelled the universe into being, and millions of stars were flung into limitless space. But, ‘matter cannot be created nor destroyed,’ except by God.

Jesus said, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last’ (Revelation 22:13). ‘I was appointed from eternity… before the world began’ (Proverbs 8:23). Jesus was with God in the beginning, as a legitimate part of the Trinity, long before He ever walked on the earth as a man, and became the bridge whereby fallen man could return to God. ‘No one comes to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6).

The human mind is not capable of understanding the unfathomable depths of God and His creation. Let’s not try to work it all out, but simply take Him at His Word: ‘For whoever finds Me finds life’ (Proverbs 8:35).

Prayer: Lord, I don’t understand eternity, but I do know You love me and care about me. Please help me to be secure in what I know, as I trust You for what I don’t know, and to walk with You in the new life that You offer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.