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E=MC2, the formula from Einstein that is now famous, but little understood by most who have heard of it, has a lot of interesting implications - not just in math and science, but in understanding God. E=MC2 means that Energy equals Mass times the Velocity of Light squared (C represents the Constant, the velocity of light, even though it is not certain whether or not the velocity of light really is a constant).

This formula can be expressed E=MCC, and can be translated a number of ways to solve for other elements.

We can solve for Mass.

M=E/(CC)

We can solve for the Speed of Light.

C=square root of E/M

C is the speed of light, and that means that it is 186,000 miles per second, in other words, distance (d) times time (t). That let’s us solve for other elements as well.

We can solve for Distance.

d=(the square root of E/M)/time

We can solve for Time.

t=(the square root of E/M)/distance

In short, each variable in the equation changes when other variables in the equation are changed. It implies, among other things, that time is a physical property that changes with Energy, Mass and Distance in a mathematical relationship.

What Does It Mean About God?

First, it is important to remember that science continues to advance, in other words, science changes. So far, Einstein's equations have been demonstrated in every test, but it is still possible that he was wrong, or simply that his formula was incomplete. While we could not use a science textbook from 1611, we can still use an English Bible translated in 1611 (The King James Bible translation was officially published in that year.) God's Truth does not change, but our understanding of scientific "truth" can and does.

However, let's assume that Einstein is right. If so, then we have some questions we can consider in light of the fact that his equation has been proven true so far.

What is God's Energy? If God is omnipotent, then His power is infinite. What is God's Distance? If He is omnipresent, then His distance is also infinite. What is His Mass and Speed? Depending upon your interpretation, it might be zero or it might be infinite. What are the implications? One implication is that God's Time is infinite, or it might be zero, depending on how you do the math. In either case, it appears simply that Time does not apply to God. One way to phrase it is that God is outside the Time domain.

So if God is Outside Time, What Does That Mean for Us?

For one thing, if we can wrap our Mind around the concept, it helps us understand how God can do prophecy. If "all times are now" to Him, then He is at "every time" just as He is at "every place." Telling us what is going on at another time is no different for Him than telling us what's going on at another place. He's "then" as well as "there."

For another, it explains how Jesus could die for all the sins that had already been committed, AND for all the sins that had not yet been committed. He has to reach forward in Time to take my sin and nail it to the Cross. To me, He died 2,000 years ago. To Him, it is always happening because "time" does not apply to Him the same way it applies to us. To God, nothing falls in the category of "it hasn't happened yet."

A third meaning for us is that God already knows everything about us, every single things we will do, everything we will think, every sin, every good work - everything. He knew all that when He died. He knew all that at that moment in our lives when we felt Him most closely. At that moment when we were the most sure God loved us, He knew the same things He knew that we only discovered when we messed up later. It wasn't a surprise to Him, and His love does not change. It's not like human Phileo (conditional love, friendship, brotherly love) that changes when we do things, it's something altogether different.

A fourth implication of God being "outside Time" is that He knows all of History from beginning to end at the same moment. He sees how one thing in one place will change things centuries, even thousands of years later. When He told Saul to kill all the Amalekites and Saul took Agag prisoner (1 Samuel 15:9), God understood that Saul's disobedience would lead to the Hamaan problem that would require Esther's position as Queen to save His people (Hamman was an Agagite - Esther 3:1) which explains why God would reject Saul for what might seem like mercy to some.

[IMPORTANT NOTE: Since God is on both sides of Life and Death, for God, killing someone or having someone killed is completely different than a human being doing it. Think of it this way: If God were to say to me, "Scot, you're done down there. You have an appointment with Me right now." and "poof," He brought me to Him - from this side I would probably simply die. That's what happened to Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10). So when He orders that a people be killed, He is telling Israel to "send them to Me" so He can deal with the eternal issue before they do more to require He punish them more.]

Fifth, the formula would also indicate that when God created the Heaven and the Earth, it is also likely that He created Time as well - at least Time as we know and understand it.

Sixth, is God truly is omnipresent in both Time and Space, and Jesus is God and His sacrifice reaches across Time, it likely also reached across Space. That means that if Almighty God has seen fit to populate any worlds that might surround the stars in the heavens, that God's work applies equally to any sentient being He might have made and placed there. Whether there is anything out there is a question, of course, but when we watch science fiction, it is something we can consider.

Seventh, it means that if there is every such a thing as Time Travel, that the same God that we know "here and now" is identical in every respect to God "there and then." It's not like meeting a person in the past who is a younger version of the person later on - God does not age because Time does not apply to Him as we know it.

Eighth, it glorifies God in that it takes and understanding of God that helps us figure out some things about Him and elevates Him beyond anything around which we can wrap our Mind. To Him, if all Times are now, then we know that when He deals with humanity (including us as individuals) in linear time, that He is expressing His Infinite Self in a finite way so we can have relationship with Him.

Wow, Do We Have an Awesome God or What?

When I consider such things, the first thought that hits me is "wow, do I have an awesome God or what?" I am a fairly bright individual with a lot of education, and I can hardly wrap my Mind around all of these concepts - but all of us can get the clear impression of "WOW! Our God is an awesome God."

All this is taken from a mathematical "Truth" (so far as we've tested it so far). When mankind finds Truth, I believe it all gives glory to God. God engineered a system that makes sense that works on consistent principles. Science is supposed to be seeking that Truth (though often ignoring the author and engineer of the Truth they seek), and as we uncover more and more Truth and consider what it means about our God, I firmly believe that it brings more glory to Him. With each step, I believe we grasp more of what He is, and the more we know about God the more we realize how completely beyond us He is.