[Physicist]

The I AM

Tut, tut. It was a trick question. Saying that the "I AM" came "before" presupposes the existence of time. It makes no sense to say that time came into existence after anything else. Try again.

[PetroniusMaximus]

Isn't it interesting that God refers to Himself in the present tense. Not "I WAS" or "I WILL BE"

I think it's safe to assume that God exists in a state outside of time and outside of the physical universe - a state of being that just "is" and has no past of future.

Time brings with it the inevitable concept of change. Since God is perfect, and perfection can't change, then a perfect being would have no time-reference.

The Hebrews were quite clear that God is unchanging and perfect - interesting considering they may not have been able to conceptualize a state of "no-time" in our abstract 21st century ways.

All "time" is present to Him at once - He must look on the past, present and future as we would flip pages in a book.

I think of the universe as a created bubble in the no-time God state.