The question of whether the universe is eternal has fascinated humankind for millennia. Though modern science provides some clues, the Bible offers unique perspective on this profound question.
To start, the Bible unambiguously states that God created the universe. Genesis 1:1 declares “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This affirms that the universe had a beginning and did not exist eternally. God preexisted creation and brought the universe into being by His sovereign power.
Several other Old Testament verses corroborate this teaching. Nehemiah 9:6 praises God who “made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.” Psalm 148:5 calls on all creation to praise God, “for he commanded and they were created.” The universe owes its existence to God’s creative word.
The New Testament confirms this as well. John 1:3 states, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” “Him” refers to Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. He made “all things,” meaning the entire universe. The author of Hebrews wrote that “by faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3). According to the Bible, God spoke the universe into being out of nothing.
The universe’s beginning demolishes notions of an eternal cosmos. Genesis 1 clashes with ancient Near Eastern creation myths depicting the universe as primordial and uncreated. In poetic passages, the Bible imagines God creating the heavens and stretching them out (e.g. Psalm 104:2; Isaiah 42:5). The universe has expanded and changed since its genesis. It is not static or sempiternal.
Scripture depicts time itself as part of God’s creation. On the fourth day, God created the “lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night” (Genesis 1:14). This indicates God constituted time by forming periodicity between days and nights. 2 Timothy 1:9 also refers to God granting grace “before the ages began.” The ages or eons themselves had a starting point prior to which God existed alone in eternity. Time is not an abstract constant but a dimension instituted by God at creation.
God’s work of creation culminated on the seventh day when He rested from his labors (Genesis 2:2-3). This sanctified the weekly Sabbath day when Israel was to rest from work just as God rested from His. The Sabbath only has meaning if creation has a temporal beginning. An eternal universe would have no room for a sacred day of rest after six days of creation.
The Bible also teaches God sustainably upholds the universe. Colossians 1:17 says Jesus Christ is “before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Hebrews 1:3 declares that Christ “upholds the universe by the word of his power.” The cosmos does not self-perpetuate but needs God’s continuous sustenance. Were He to cease this sustaining activity, the universe would cease as well. This dependence points to a created realm requiring the Creator’s active preservation rather than a self-existent eternal universe.
In addition to being created, the universe will one day perish. While many ancient cultures envisioned eternal cycles of destruction and rebirth, the Bible depicts a linear cosmic timeline. 2 Peter 3 makes clear that the present heavens and earth are “stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” On that day, “the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved” (2 Peter 3:7,10). This fiery dissolution indicates the universe will not last forever.
The book of Revelation furnishes additional details about the universe’s final end. At God’s appointed time, destructive phenomena like meteor showers will strike the earth (Revelation 6:12-14; 8:10-11). A cataclysmic earthquake will convulse the planet (Revelation 6:12; 11:19). Hailstones weighing almost 100 pounds will plummet from the sky (Revelation 16:17-21). Then God will dissolve the old cosmos and usher in “a new heaven and a new earth” to replace it (Revelation 21:1). The universe’s decrepit state will compel God to eventually make all things new.
Theologically, an eternal universe would detract from God’s glory and supremacy. If matter and energy had no beginning, they would share God’s unique attribute of being eternal. But Scripture declares God alone is immortal (1 Timothy 6:16). He is “the King of the ages” (Revelation 15:3), which would ring hollow if the universe itself had infinite ages. An eternal universe would also not require an exalted Creator to account for its origins. Its existence alongside God from eternity past would challenge His sovereignty as Lord of all.
In summary, the Bible rejects notions of an eternal universe existing independently or alongside God. The universe had a singular starting point when God formed it out of nothing and began time itself. At the consummation of history, God will dissolve the corrupted old universe and replace it with a new creation free from sin and decay. Between its bookend creation events, the universe depends fully on God’s sustenance. God alone possesses immortality and eternality. The universe eagerly awaits the revelation of the eternal children of God at the resurrection (Romans 8:18-25).
Despite this, contemporary science has struggled to determine if the universe had a definite beginning. The standard Big Bang model depicts our universe exploding into being 13.8 billion years ago in an ultradense, high-temperature state before expanding to its current size. However, some theories hypothesize the Big Bang was part of an eternal cyclical universe continually expanding and contracting. Others have proposed radical notions like bubble universes and a timeless multiverse to skirt around cosmic singularity.
The exact age and scope of the universe remains hotly contested among cosmologists. Our limited measurements struggle to peer beyond a certain point as we approach the Planck time only 10^-43 seconds after the conjectured Big Bang. Prior to this split second, general relativity and quantum mechanics clash in their descriptions of conditions. Scientists cannot presently probe precisely enough to settle if the universe definitely began or stretches infinitely into the past. Some leading theorists express hesitancy about whether physics can ever adjucate if the universe had an absolute starting point.
Scientific evidence also cannot address the key metaphysical question of why there is something rather than nothing. Even if the Big Bang occurred, science is silent regarding what, if anything, preceded or caused it. The finitude of time and space and the exquisite fine-tuning of the universe for life provoke philosophical reflection about the need for an transcendent causal agent. As physicist Paul Davies muses, “The fact that we have laws [of physics] at all is a profound puzzle. I can’t help feeling that there is some deeper explanation that we’ve yet to fathom.” The universe’s intelligibility, order, and precise quantitative relationships suggest a rational Mind behind them.
Here the perspectives of theology and science complement rather than compete with each other. Science investigates the mechanisms and processes of the natural world but cannot speak to realities beyond nature like meaning, ethics, or God. Theology addresses these larger concerns by appealing to divine revelation in Scripture. Together they deliver a richer understanding of origins than either could alone. The universe’s beginning, intricacy, and fleeting duration all resonate with the Bible’s overarching metanarrative of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation.
In the end, the question of the universe’s eternality is not purely academic but bears existential weight. A self-existent universe leaves humankind distressed and disoriented. Mortal persons become insignificant blips in an unfeeling everlasting cosmos. Conversely, a universe with a beginning and ending provides meaning and purpose. Humanity’s decisions and relationships acquire cosmic importance in light of eternity. One day the entire universe will celebrate Christ’s victory over sin and death once for all (1 Corinthians 15:24-28). Created time gives way to God’s glorious eternity, where those who trust in Christ will live and reign in the new heavens and earth.