The Webb space telescope has shown an acceleration of time in the cosmos. Dr. Geraint Lewis and Dr. Brendon Brewer at the University of Sydney’s School of Physics and Astronomy authored a study of quasars that provides a way to measure time.
Quasars are highly luminous objects in space powered by supermassive black holes. The Webb telescope has observed a quasar that is so luminous it outshines the Milky Way galaxy by 100 times. As a quasar, its variations in brightness act as a cosmic clock. The researchers have determined that time flowed five times slower in the past than in our galaxy today.
This makes no sense to most of us until we remember that God created time. Time had a beginning, and the Hebrew of Genesis 1:1 makes that clear. The Bible also talks about things that happened before time began and describes God as being outside of time. (See Proverbs 8:23. Revelation 1:8, 1:11, 21:6, and 22:13/) The discoveries of the Webb telescope and quantum mechanics clearly show that time is not an ethereal substance but a created thing that flows through the physical world.
The measurements of time by the Webb telescope and in laboratories on Earth show an acceleration of time in the cosmos. The Bible refers to God stretching out the cosmos (Isaiah 40:22, 44:24, 45:12, and 51:13). That fits well with the evidence that the creation began with a singularity that was not merely a physical process but also the creation of space and time by the God who exists outside of space and time.
Ancient people looked to the sky and were amazed at the creation they observed. Now that we have better tools and a fuller understanding of the processes, the wonder of creation is even greater than it was in Moses’ day.
— John N. Clayton © 2023
Reference: The journal Nature Astronomy for July 3, 2023