The Bible begins with, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Interestingly, God created “the beginning” as well. This means that He created “time”. But hasn’t time always existed? In the Bible, God shares with us a few glimpses of Himself before He created the heavens and the earth. The prophet Moses stated one of God’s qualities as he pronounced a blessing on the nation of Israel:
The eternal God is your dwelling place… (Deuteronomy 33:27).
In this statement, Moses reveals that God exists outside of the bounds of time. He is eternal. He has always been, He is, and He will always be. Moses learned this truth from God, Himself, when God called Moses from the burning bush.
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I Am has sent me to you.'” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations” (Exodus 3:13–15).
We must never make the mistake of viewing God with the limitations of things He creates. God is bigger. God created time, but God is bigger than time. Imagine the world as a glass box. Someone outside of the glass box can see the left side and the right side of the box in a single glance. God can see time in the same way.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8).
God is able to provide prophecies to confirm His Word and to build our faith because He exists outside of time. Indeed, He created time.