From Genesis to Einstein’s Revelation
Dear Friends,
It seems only fitting, after circling Pilate’s world-weary question—“What is truth?”—that we return, not just to Jerusalem, but far further back. To the page, the breath, the moment when all questioning first became possible:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…” —Genesis 1:1
Most are familiar with those lines. But pause with me, for a heartbeat. What are we actually being told? And what, if anything, does this ancient story have to do with a courtroom in Jerusalem—or the lab bench of Einstein a mere century ago?
The Word That Shapes Worlds
Genesis tells us that God did not create with His hands—He created with His Word. Each act of creation begins with divine speech:
“Let there be light,”
“Let there be a firmament,”
“Let there be lights in the expanse... for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.” (Genesis 1:14)
This is no random poetry.
If we pay attention, Genesis 1:14 unveils a foundation that modern science would only begin to reveal thousands of years later: That time and space—the very scaffolding of reality—emerged not from chaos or accident, but from precise, ordered, spoken intention. The planetary motions, the cycles of days and years, the symphony of seasons—they don’t just tell time, they create time.
Einstein, at the dawn of the 20th century, decoded this deeper structure in his theory of relativity: space and time are woven together, inseparable, forming the “fabric” of the universe, their geometry shaped and bent by the mass of stars and the paths of planets.
Genesis declared, “Let there be lights… for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.” Einstein’s feverish equations would, millennia later, describe those “lights” as literal clocks, their pathways in spacetime as the ultimate reference points for every measurement, every definition—of second, of mile, of moment.
A Laboratory of Meaning—and Discovery
In other words, God’s first act of revelation is to speak a universe into being that doubles as a gigantic, ongoing experiment in meaning. By structuring the heavens—the movements of sun, moon, and stars—God builds not just a home for humanity, but a laboratory. Every sunrise, every lunar phase, every planetary conjunction is a chalk mark in the great classroom of discovery.
The universe is a living text, open for investigation. We are not only permitted but summoned to ask, to measure, to wonder.
“The Word of God is the Foundation of Knowledge.” —Ambassador College motto (and lived principle)
Revelation Written in the Heavens—and in Time Itself
It’s easy to treat those cosmic cycles as static, but even the gears of creation hold surprises.
Just last week, on August 5, 2025, Earth completed one of the shortest days ever recorded: 1.25 milliseconds briefer than usual (https://interestingfacts.com/fact/one-of-shortest-days-on-record-just-occurred/)). Such tremors are imperceptible to most, yet to scientists, they are clues that the clockwork of Genesis is neither wound nor finished. Our planet has, unexpectedly, begun spinning a touch faster since 2020—reminding us that Creation is not just history but active revelation, with time itself occasionally shifting under our feet.
If day and night, seasons and years are the “signs” of Genesis 1:14—what are we to make of these millisecond anomalies?
They are new footnotes in the ongoing scripture of Creation, quietly reminding us that even the most “settled” patterns remain open to further investigation, further meaning. The laboratory is still open.
The Word as Ongoing Revelation: In Law, in Soul, in Justice
Creation’s invitation demands more than curiosity. It calls for a posture of humility and actual engagement—a willingness to “seek with our own eyes and not through the eyes of others.”
Psalm 1 sketches the ideal:
Blessed is the one “whose delight is in the law of the Lord,” meditating on it “day and night;” like a tree planted by streams of water, always alive, always fruitful. Revelation is not passive inheritance. It is a force that roots, nourishes, and strengthens the honest seeker.
Psalm 2, in stark contrast, addresses the rebellious:
“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? … Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
Here we see not an invitation to reckless autonomy but a warning about the folly of casting off the Creator’s design—the “twin pillars of civilization” found in reward and consequence. To cast off all restraint is to forfeit participation in the divine conversation. Yet, scripture reassures us elsewhere (Psalm 25:14):
“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant.”
Those who do seek, who honor God’s word, become—astonishingly—worthy to be trusted with more.
This intimacy, this confiding, comes into full view in the Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh.
Hidden Word 1:
“O Son of Spirit! My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart…”
Hidden Word 2:
“The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor.”
Here is a radical gospel: Not only are we permitted to seek independently, we are commanded. The reward is nothing less than God’s own confidence—a revelation ever deepening, ever renewed, ever personal.
Science, Spirituality, and the Ongoing Task of Seeing
Einstein’s confession rings clear across the vault of both science and faith: “I want to know God’s thoughts—the rest are details.” In his relentless search for underlying order—unified principles weaving the warp and weft of the universe—he exemplifies what Genesis extols and what the Psalms and Hidden Words demand: a pursuit of understanding rooted in both awe and discipline.
It is humbling that nature herself resists final calculation. Days grow minutely shorter or longer; discoveries expose new questions. Genesis and Einstein agree: our world is not a mechanical museum, but an active invitation. We are called, again and again, to revisit, to test, to “know of own knowledge.”
From Cosmic Clockwork to Personal Covenant
With the righteous in Psalm 1, we are not called to recite tradition but to meditate, to plant roots and bear fruit anew. With the rebels in Psalm 2, we are warned what is lost when we discard the wisdom of divine order—when we spurn the laboratory and scorn the Word.
With the seeker in the Hidden Words, we are shown that pure-hearted justice is the condition for revelation: to “see with own eyes,” to become worthy of confidence.
Even the increments of a millisecond—days subtly out of rhythm—remind us that the invitation has not expired. God’s chalk marks in the sky are still being written, sometimes with surprise, always with meaning for those who bother to look.
Our Shared Invitation
So whether you find yourself in Genesis or Gethsemane, with a telescope or a psalter, at the chalkboard or the altar, know this:
Creation continues to speak.
Revelation is still alive.
Justice—understood in real time, with our own eyes—is the purpose.
And the cosmos, from its grandest laws down to a single day’s elusive millisecond, is an ever-renewing classroom for your independent investigation.
Let us walk into this laboratory, open to discovery, limbs rooted but eyes ever toward the next question. May we, in faith and curiosity, become—like the Psalmist, the Prophet, and the physicist—worthy confidants of the One whose Word still shapes worlds.
With hope, humility, and eyes wide open,
—Wade Fransson
References & Links
- Genesis 1:1, 1:14
- Psalm 1 (“Blessed is the man … his delight is in the law of the Lord …”)
- Psalm 2 (rebellion, casting off restraint; the futility of disregarding law and order)
- Psalm 25:14 (“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant.”)
- Bahá'u'lláh, Hidden Words, Arabic Nos. 1 & 2
- Albert Einstein, “I want to know God’s thoughts—the rest are details.”
- “One of the shortest days on record just occurred,” (https://interestingfacts.com/fact/one-of-shortest-days-on-record-just-occurred/)
- Bahá'u'lláh, “By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others…”
If this reflection opens new questions for you—if you sense the wonder in seeing ancient scripture and cutting-edge science speaking in harmony, and you value a community that seeks, asks, and learns together—please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Every subscription directly supports the creation of content that bridges tradition and discovery, faith and inquiry, scripture and the stars. Together, we can build a thoughtful, welcoming space where the laboratory of Creation is open to all, and every unique perspective enriches the conversation. True community is formed one seeker at a time—your presence and support are essential. And join the conversation below or write to Wade@soopmedia.net.
