Why Did God Expand the Heavens (Universe)?
by: lim ju boo alias lin ru wu (林 如 武)
"The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent"
(Psalm 104:2)
"He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in"
(Isaiah 40:22)
Both Isaiah (Isaiah 40:22) and the psalmist (Psalm 104:2) already long revealed the universe was expanding. They were written roughly 2,500 to 3,000 years before Edwin Hubble published his groundbreaking discovery of the expanding universe in 1929.
Isaiah 40:22 was written between the 8th century BCE and the 6th century BCE (approximately 700 BCE to 540 BCE). Depending on biblical scholarship models, this chapter was either penned by the prophet Isaiah himself in Jerusalem around 700 BCE or composed during the Babylonian Exile around 540 BCE by a prophetic writer carrying on his tradition (Deutero-Isaiah). Either way, it predates Hubble by over 2,400 years.
The psalmist (Psalm 104:2) also revealed the same - the expanding universe (heavens). He wrote this between the 11th century BCE and the 5th century BCE (approximately 1010 BCE to 450 BCE).
Early Jewish traditions and some scholars attribute the origin of this creation psalm to the golden age of Israel's united monarchy under King David (c. 1010–970 BCE). Other critical historians lean toward a post-exilic date around the 5th century BCE due to its advanced theological motifs. Even using the later conservative academic date, this text was sung nearly 2,400 to 3,000 years before the invention of the modern telescope.
Imagine, God reveal this to them long, long before even Edwin Hubble in 1929 demonstrated that galaxies are receding from us, indicating that the fabric of space itself is expanding. This discovery, later refined by the Big Bang theory and observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background, became the standard model of cosmology.
But there is a purpose for this expansion - to cause time to be eternal for the sake of our soul that has to live on into eternity. Read on my thoughts and detailed explanation below:
The Bible, astronomy, creation, and science have always been deeply woven into my soul.
Below, I share my combined spiritual and scientific thoughts on why God needed to stretch out the heavens so that our souls can live for eternity. May it also bring you deep reflection.
THE EXPANDING CURTAIN: A TELEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF COSMIC EXPANSION FOR TIME-SPACE AND THE ETERNITY OF THE SOUL
Abstract
The observational confirmation of an expanding universe is one of the pillars of modern cosmology. While general relativity successfully describes how spacetime expands, it remains silent on why it must expand. This article presents an interdisciplinary synthesis of cosmology, theology, and philosophy. It argues that the expansion of space, which by Einstein's spacetime continuum necessarily entails the dilation of time, provides the ontological condition for eternity. Linking this with the biblical theology of the soul as the breath of God (Genesis 2:7) and the prophetic imagery of a God who "stretches out the heavens like a curtain" (Isaiah 40:22; Psalm 104:2), we propose that cosmic expansion is a deliberate divine act. Its purpose is to preserve the divine breath within humanity by stretching spacetime into eternity, thereby making eternal existence possible. This framework reframes expansion from a mere physical mechanism to a theological provision for the soul.
Keywords: Cosmology, Expanding Universe, Spacetime Continuum, Teleology, Soul, Eternity, Genesis, Philosophy of Time
For millennia, humanity assumed a static, eternal, and unchanging heavens. This assumption was shattered in 1929 when Edwin Hubble demonstrated that galaxies are receding from us, indicating that the fabric of space itself is expanding. This discovery, later refined by the Big Bang theory and observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background, became the standard model of cosmology.
The central question this paper addresses is not cosmological but teleological: Is the expansion of the universe purposeless, or is it purposeful?
Science, by its nature, restricts itself to describing mechanisms. As Siegel (2024) notes, General Relativity can tell us how space behaves, whether as stretching or as creation of new space, but cannot tell us what space ultimately is or why it behaves this way. To answer the "why," we must enter into philosophy and theology.
This paper argues for an intentionality: The universe expands to expand time, and time is expanded to accommodate eternity, because the human soul, being the breath of God, requires eternity to exist.
The Expanding Curtain: Cosmology, Spacetime, and the Divine Intention for Eternal Soul
Why God Stretches the Heavens?
A Theological Reading of Einstein's Spacetime Continuum
Modern cosmology confirms that the universe is not static but expanding. This paper proposes a teleological interpretation of this expansion. Drawing on Einstein’s theory of spacetime as a unified continuum, and the biblical depiction of God stretching the heavens like a curtain (Isaiah 40:22).
"The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent" (Psalm 104:2) argues that the expansion of space necessarily entails the expansion of time. Since the human soul originates from the breath of God Himself (Genesis 2:7 - "and man became a living soul"), the Divine cannot allow His own breath to perish. Therefore, the deliberate stretching of the heavens is not a random physical process, but a purposeful divine act to create and sustain space and time into eternity, providing an ontological framework for the soul to exist forever.
The Question of 'How' and 'Why'
Science answers the 'how' of the universe. Since Edwin Hubble and confirmed by modern cosmology, we know the fabric of the universe is expanding. General Relativity describes this precisely. However, science does not answer 'why'. Why should the universe expand rather than remain static and finite? This paper explores the 'why' from a theological and philosophical perspective.
The Physics: Spacetime Cannot Be Separated
According to Einstein, space and time are not two separate entities but one entity called spacetime continuum.
Albert Einstein did not actually propose that space and time are a single entity. While his 1905 Theory of Special Relativity broke the Newtonian idea of absolute time, it was his former professor, the mathematician Hermann Minkowski, who mathematically unified them into a four-dimensional continuum known as "spacetime" in 1908. Einstein initially rejected Minkowski's geometric formulation, famously calling it "superfluous learnedness," before later fully embracing it to develop his 1915 Theory of General Relativity.
As Ethan Siegel notes in his discussion of cosmic expansion, the stretching of space has a measurable time-dilation effect — distant events appear to unfold more slowly.
This leads to a crucial inference: You cannot stretch space without also stretching time. An expanding universe is inherently a time-expanding universe.
If the universe were static, space would be finite and bounded. Time would be understood as finite and limited. But an ever-expanding universe points toward temporal infinity.
The Theology: The Breath That Cannot Die
Genesis 2:7 states: "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul."
This is a profound ontological statement. The body is from dust, which is perishable. But the soul is from God's own breath (Nishmat Chayim). It is not created from nothing external; it is an emanation of the Divine Himself.
A logical theological question follows: Can God afford to let His own breath die? If the soul is His breath dwelling in us, then to allow the soul to be annihilated would be to allow a part of His own life to perish. Divine nature, being eternal, cannot contain a finite, self-terminating element.
Therefore, for the soul to be preserved, there must be a realm where finitude does not apply.
The Synthesis: Stretching Heavens to Sustain Eternity
The prophet Isaiah wrote 700 years before Christ: "He stretches out the heavens like a curtain" (Isaiah 40:22). This ancient text aligns remarkably with modern cosmology.
We propose here that this stretching is intentional and teleological:
God purposefully stretches out space and, by necessity of spacetime unity, stretches out time into eternity, so that His breath, which is the human soul has an eternal continuum in which to exist.
Expansion is thus not merely a physical law, but a divine provision. It creates the condition for eternal consequence, whether eternal happiness or eternal suffering, because eternity itself has been woven into the fabric of reality.
If the heavens were static, time would be a closed loop with a limit, and the soul would have no eternal home. Because the heavens are stretched, time is stretched, and the soul has eternity.
Einstein saw that space and time are one, but he did not articulate the purpose behind their expansion. From a spiritual-philosophical view, the purpose becomes clear: The Creator who blew His eternal breath into mortal dust must also stretch the heavens and time to accommodate that eternal breath forever.
The expanding universe is therefore God's curtain of eternity — drawn open not for empty space, but for time to be eternal so that souls to live forever.
Scientific References
1. Einstein, A. (1915). The Field Equations of Gravitation. Foundation of General Relativity and Spacetime continuum.
2. Hubble, E. (1929). A Relation between Distance and Radial Velocity among Extra-Galactic Nebulae. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
3. Siegel, E. (2024). Does the Expanding Universe Stretch Space or Create New Space? Starts With A Bang / BigThink. For the explanation that expansion looks like stretching for radiation and creation of new space for dark energy.
4. Hawking, S. W., & Ellis, G. F. R. (1973). The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time. Cambridge University Press. For the relationship between space, time, and eternity.
Theological and Philosophical References:
5. The Holy Bible, Genesis 2:7 - "and man became a living soul" - The soul as divine breath.
6. The Holy Bible, Isaiah 40:22; Psalm 104:2; Jeremiah 10:12 "who stretches out the heavens like a curtain."
7. Augustine, St. (398 AD). Confessions, Book 11. Classic philosophical analysis of time and eternity.
8. Craig, W. L. (2001). Time and Eternity: Exploring God's Relationship to Time. Crossway. For the distinction between infinite time and timeless eternity.
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