Math and the Bible

The Bible was the inspiration for set theory and other accomplishments in math. Many of the great mathematicians, such as Bernard Riemann and Kurt Gödel, were avid readers of the Bible.

Potential remains for additional mathematical discoveries based on insights gleaned from the Bible.

Infinity

The concept of infinity was hotly disputed, and often rejected, by Greek mathematicians and philosophers. Aristotle and Pythagoras, for example, both rejected the existence of actual infinity.

The concept of infinity has two daughter concepts: eternity and immortality.

Infinite Time, or Eternity

The full concept of infinite time, or eternity, is unique to the New Testament, which references it often:

• Matthew
  • Matthew 6:19-20 ("Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal...")
  • Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, 49-50 ("Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares? And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn....
  • ("Then he left the multitudes, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field. And he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil [one]; and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels. As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear....
  • ("So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.")
  • Matthew 18:8-9 ("And if thy hand or thy foot causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed or halt, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire. And if thine eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is good for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.")
    • Mark 9:43-50 ("And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into hell where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost its saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace one with another.")
  • Matthew 24:3-35 (Christ fortells the destruction of the temple, the persecution of his disciples and the signs of His second coming)
    • Mark 13:3-33 (Our Lord fortells the destruction of Jerusalem, and his second coming; and exhorts to watchfulness)
    • Luke 21:5-33 (Prophecy of Christ's second coming.)
  • Matthew 25:31-46 (Description of the final judgment)
    • Matthew 25:46 (eternal punishment in addition to eternal life)
      
      

• Mark
  • Mark 10:17-31 (Inquiry of a rich man; our Lord's answer, and following discourse.)
    
    

• Luke
  • Luke 10:25-37 (Reply to a question by a lawyer; parable of the good Samaritan.)

• Titus 1:2
• 1 Peter 5:10
• 2 Corinthians 5:1
• Hebrews 5:9 (eternal salvation)
• 1 John 1:2 (eternal life)
• 1 John 5:11
• 1 John 3:15 (eternal life)
• Jude 1:21 (eternal life)
• Hebrews 9:14 (eternal Spirit)
• Hebrews 6:2 (eternal judgment)
• 1 John 2:25 (eternal life)
• 1 Timothy 6:12 (eternal life)
• John 17:2 (eternal life)
• John 6:68 (eternal life)

To a much lesser extent, and with a narrower meaning, there are a few references to eternity in the Old Testament.

Ancient Greek philosophers did not accept, and indeed often rejected, the notion of a full eternity. Plato was one of the first even to consider the possibility of eternity, but he thought that time was limited to the existence of the material universe (the heavens).

Infinite Nature of God

The word "infinite" is mentioned three times in the text of the King James Version (Job 22:5; Ps 147:5; Nah 3:9), and once in an explanatory footnote (Nah 2:9), all in the Old Testament.

Modern understanding of the full nature of infinity is based on the work of devout Christian Georg Cantor, who studied infinity as a way to understand God better. Several teachings of Jesus (and his faithful contemporaries) explain that infinity is the real nature of God:

• Matthew 3:9 ("and do not presume to tell yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father', because, I tell you, God can raise children of Abraham from these stones." [John the Baptist] TJB)
  • Luke 3:8 ("and do not think of telling yourselves, "We have Abraham for our father" because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones." TJB)
    
    

• Matthew 19:26 ("Jesus gazed at them. 'For men' he told them 'this is impossible; for God everything is possible'" TJB)
  • Mark 10:27 ("Jesus gazed at them. 'For men', he said 'it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.'" TJB)
  • Luke 1:37 ("For nothing will be impossible with God." [Gabriel] NAS)
    
    

• Matthew 20:1-16 (Parable of the Vineyard Workers)
  
  

• Luke 15:11-32 (Parable of the Prodigal Son)
  
  

• Romans 8:35-39
  • ("Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Even as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
  • "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ASV)
    
    

• 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:16 (The True Wisdom and the False)
  
  

• Colossians 2:2-3: ("It is all to bind you together in love and to stir your minds, so that your understanding may come to full development, until you really know God's secret in which all the jewels of wisdom and knowledge are hidden." TJB)
  
  

• Hebrews 4:13 ("No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves." TJB)
  
  

• Revelation 19:6 ("And I seemed to hear the voices of a huge crowd, like the sound of the ocean or the great roar of thunder, answering, 'Alleluia! The reign of the Lord our God Almighty has begun;...'" TJB) The Biblical title given to God of "Almighty" extends into the New Testament.

(add to list)

Infinite Nature of Jesus

In addition, the concept of infinity is set forth in Hebrews in explaining that Jesus is infinitely superior to angels:

• John
  • John 8:58 ("Jesus replied: 'I tell you most solemnly, before Abraham ever was, I Am.'" TJB) The Biblical name given to God by Himself and told to Moses ("I Am") extends into the New Testament and portrays God's first essence to be His existence. Thus the naming indicates that if He exists at all in this unique way, He also exists in a way that is essential to existence itself (that is, essential to other things that actually exist, but that don't exist as a result of their first essence and must depend on something else, ultimately, whose first nature is to exist, for existence) as drawn from virtually unlimited possible existences.
  • John 13:31-17:26 (Discourse after Last Supper)
    
    

• Colossians 1:13-20
  • ("who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;
  • in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins:
    
    
  • [W]ho is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;
  • for in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him;
  • and he is before all things, and in him all things consist.
  • And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
  • For it was the good pleasure [of the Father] that in him should all the fulness dwell;
  • and through him to reconcile all things unto himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross; through him, [I say], whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens." ASV)
    
    

• Hebrews 1:4 ("having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs", ESV)

Coherence of Math

Several references exist in the Bible for the concept that mathematics is coherent, inerrant, and unchanging logic, as made possible by God:

• Hebrews 13:8 ("Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.")

Old Testament References to Infinity

There are far fewer references to infinity in the Old Testament than in the New. Here are Old Testament references:

• Genesis 18:14 ("Is anything too difficult for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.")

• Exodus
  • 3:14: (And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'")
  • 15:18: ("The Lord shall reign forever and ever.")

• Job
  • 11:7-9: ("Can you discover the depths of God? Can you discover the limits of the Almighty? They are high as the heavens, what can you do? Deeper than Sheol, what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth, And broader than the sea.")

• Isaiah 40:28: Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired His understanding is inscrutable.

• Jeremiah 23:24: "Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?" declares the LORD "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD.

• Psalm 113:4-6: The LORD is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, Who is enthroned on high, Who humbles Himself to behold The things that are in heaven and in the earth?

• Psalm 145:3: Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.

• Psalm 147:5: Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite.

• 1 Kings 8:27: "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!

• 2 Chronicles 2:6: "But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?

• 2 Chronicles 6:18: "But will God indeed dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built.

Apocrypha References to Infinity

• Judith 16:13-17:

'I will sing a new song to my God.

Lord, you are great, you are glorious,

Wonderfully strong, unconquerable

May your whole creation serve you!

For you spoke and things came into being,

you sent your breath and they were put together,

and no one can resist your voice.

'Should mountains topple

to mingle with the waves,

should rocks melt

like wax before your face,

to those who fear you,

you would still be merciful.

'A little thing indeed

is a sweetly smelling sacrifice,

still less the fat

burned for you in holocaust;

but whoever fears the Lord

is great for ever.

'Woe to the nations

who rise against my race!

The Lord Almighty

will punish them on judgement day.

He will send fire and worms in their flesh

and they shall weep with pain for evermore.'

• Esther 13:9-12 (Prayer of Mordecai [portion])
• 2 Maccabees 8:18 ("'They may put their trust in their weapons and their exploits,' he said 'but our confidence is in almighty God, who is able with a nod to overthrow both those marching on us and the whole world with them.'")
• The Book of Wisdom
  • Wisdom 11:17-26 (God's forbearance with Egypt and the forbearance explained)
  • Wisdom 12:12-18 (God's forbearance with Canaan explained)
  • Wisdom 16:20-29 (God's dietary and spiritual providence)
• Ecclesiasticus

15:18-19

For vast is the wisdom of the Lord;

he is almighty and all-seeing.

His eyes are on those who fear them,

he notes every action of man.

16:17-20

Say not: 'I am hidden from God,

And in the height who will remember me?

I shall not be noticed among so illustrious a people,

And what is my soul among the mass of the spirits of all the children of men?'

Behold the heavens and the heavens of the heavens,

And the deep, and the earth;

When He treadeth upon them they stand firm,

And when he visiteth them they tremble.

Yea, the bottoms of the mountains, and the foundations of the world,

When He looketh upon them they tremble greatly.

'In truth, unto me He will not have respect:

And as for my ways, who will mark them?

17:15, 17, 19-20 (The divine judge)

23:18-20

39:19-21

42:18-21

See also

• Biblical integration
• Biblical scientific foreknowledge
• Zero