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The key to understanding how Christian literature treats space/time is to link it to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is with Jesus' arrival that space/time becomes fully embodied together for the first time since Jesus is the representative of space/time. It is with his death that space/time becomes fully separated, however space/time is mended back together again with the resurrection of Jesus. I will argue that the way which Christianity views the trajectory of space/time - its beginning, end, and rebirth - is modeled from the life of Jesus. I will be using The Gospel of Mark as the source for this paper, since, in this Gospel, Jesus' divine nature is amplified and his relationship to space/time is most clearly delineated.
The Gospel of Mark begins very abruptly with Jesus coming from Galilee to see John the Baptist. We are told nothing about Jesus, nothing of his physical birth, nothing of his divinity. It is only with the baptism of Jesus that he becomes divine. The baptism represents not only the dawn of Jesus' mission for the world, but it also symbolically represents the genesis of space/time, as if the cosmos were first set in motion the instant that Jesus is baptized. Jesus, in effect, becomes the representative of space/time here on Earth. As we shall see, this perfect alignment of space and time as embodied by Jesus grants him supernatural powers and the ability to disjoint space/time at his will.
Jesus' baptism marks the beginning of the linear trajectory of space/time, one that culminates with the death of Jesus, and then resurfaces anew with the resurrection of Jesus and the rebirth of the world.
As was mentioned, Jesus, because he embodies space/time, has supernatural powers, which are used to work miracles, control nature, and, most importantly for our discussion, make predictions. The Gospel of Mark is ripe with examples of miracles, running the gamut from exorcisms to healings of the sick and decrepit. There is no limit to what Jesus can or cannot do for these people. Jesus, by performing these miracles, is, in essence, manipulating space/time for the benefit of these individuals; in other words, he is erasing what space/time has done. For instance, in the cure of Simon's mother-in-law, Jesus reverses space/time to revert her back to a previous state of wellness (Mk. 1.29-31). Or, in the cure of the blind man of Bethsaida, Jesus gradually reverses this man’s blindness by manipulating space/time (Mk. 8.22-6).
Jesus also controls nature. He stops a storm at sea by stalling space/time when the disciples become alarmed at its intensity: “He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Quiet! Be still!' The wind ceased and there was a great calm” (Mk. 4.39). This power leaves the disciples in great wonder: “They were filled with great awe and said to one another, 'Who then is this whom even the wind and sea obey?'” (Mk. 4.41). Jesus in the case of cursing the fig tree accelerates the course of space/time. He remarkably withers the tree to its roots within a day's time, a process which naturally would have taken years (Mk 11). And, in perhaps the most famous of the natural miracles - “the walking on water” - Jesus appears to slow down space/time in order for him to catch up to the boat which is far adrift in the sea: “When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and [Jesus] was alone on the shore” (Mk. 6.47). The only way in which Jesus could have caught this boat is if he decelerated space/time. As is clear from these lucid examples, Jesus is the commander of space/time; space/time is always perfectly aligned with what he intends and what he desires to do.
Jesus also possesses the ability to see the whole spectrum of space/time from a detached stance. This ability is seen whenever Jesus makes a prediction. For example, when Jesus makes the first of three predictions about his death and resurrection to his disciples, Jesus vividly tells them what is bound to occur, as if he is looking at the event right before his eyes: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly” (Mk. 8.31-2). We see the same prophetic ability at the transfiguration. This time Jesus physically climbs up a mountain. This act symbolically shows that he has the ability to “climb over and above” space/time at will: “Jesus […] led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them” (Mk. 9.2-3). Jesus communion with Moses and Elijah can be seen as nothing less than a transcendence of space/time.
Jesus’ abilities are also showcased when he discusses the end of space/time and what one should expect at the end. This is best discussed in Mark 9.42-50. Here Jesus makes a few recommendations on what one can do to preserve oneself and not give in to the temptation of sin so that one will not be annihilated when the end of space/time comes. He says that it is better to sacrifice a part of yourself rather than let your whole self be consumed in the Fire. The Fire here represents the complete absence of space/time, sort of like a vacuum. Thus the following recommendation: if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
It is much better, Jesus teaches, to arrive maimed into heaven than whole into the place of Fire where the insatiable worm, i.e. the creator of the vacuum, does not die. Moreover, Jesus teaches us to season ourselves with salt in order that we might become hearty, resilient, and pure. Jesus is making sure to prepare his disciples for the upcoming end of space/time by giving them instructions on how to avoid being literally torn apart. He wants them to be seasoned in salt so as to make them impervious to the end of space/time and to keep them whole.
But, it is in Chapter Thirteen that Jesus fully explores the repercussions of the end of space/time and what is going to transpire. Jesus is found sitting on the Mount of Olives, which like the transfiguration scene before, is indicative of Jesus being set over the confines of space/time. It is here, on the mountain, that he is able to share his greatest teachings and secrets, only trusting a select few to share in the transcendence of space/time with him. The first revelation of Jesus is that the Temple will be cast down and destroyed. He says that every stone will be cast down; the whole institution, like all human institutions, will crumble to the ground, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.Next, he says that there will be many deceivers and frauds claiming that “I am he”, i.e. the Savior, and they will deceive many. Also, Jesus sees wars and famines occurring with great frequency, but he tells his followers not to be alarmed in view of the fact that these events must transpire for the end to come. And, in fact, these events are just the tip of the iceberg. The disciples of Jesus will face much persecution: they will be beaten in front of the synagogues and will be arraigned before rulers - all for Jesus' sake. The world will turn upside down with father fighting against son and son against father. Then the greatest of all tribulations will occur, when everyone will flee to the mountaintops and will remain on their rooftops. All of this will happen without notice, and the apocalypse will commence: “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken” (Mk. 13.24-5). And then the Son of Man will come from the clouds, with tremendous power, and he will gather the elect together. So, instead of the worm or the Fire vacuuming you into non-existence, Jesus will come to save you from suffering this fate. The raptured ones will be reborn when space/time is reinstated; that is after the second coming, i.e. the resurrection of Jesus.
In a side note: If one looks intently at what Jesus is saying, it becomes clear that Jesus believes that all the events leading up to the end of space/time revolve around himself. Many deceivers will say that they are Jesus; many people will be persecuted and judged because of Jesus; many families will be torn asunder because of Jesus; and Jesus will come in the end to save his believers. The end of space/time revolves around the figure of Jesus - whether you are for or against him.
At any rate, with the death of Jesus, we see space/time culminate and, with the resurrection of Jesus, we see space/time be reborn. And so, the trial and crucifixion of Jesus mirrors the end of space/time. Jesus goes through all the things which he predicts will occur at the end of space/time: he is betrayed, he is denied, he agonizes, he stands trial, he is persecuted, he is mocked, and he is crucified. (All these things are bound to prior to the end of space/time according to Jesus' prophesies made earlier on the Mount of Olives). When Jesus dies on the cross, we are told that “the veil of the sanctuary is torn in two from top to bottom” (Mk. 15.38). This is a very symbolically charged image as it represents the rupturing of space/time and the chaos which the universe tumbles into at the moment of Jesus' death. Furthermore, it represents the conclusion of Jesus' time spent on this Earth, thus he concludes what he originally set out to do when he was baptized by John.
The resurrection, therefore, represents the mending of space/time. Jesus rises from out of the darkness, chaos, and confinement of his cavernous tomb and disappears from the face of the Earth. We are told: “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him” (Mk. 16.6). Note that we are not told that he ascends into heaven or that he is seen by his disciples. Rather, Jesus just disappears, goes back to the place from where he came. This leaves his disciples with nothing else to guide them but their faith, faith that with the resurrection of Jesus not only do space and time re-merge together, but that the new world which Jesus promised for his believers has come into being.
Citations
Fireside New American Bible. Wichita: Devore & Sons, Inc., 1987.
