Does Matter Have an End? A Philosophical Proof for God’s Existence

Does every physical substance have an end? Since material things are limited, shouldn’t they also be limited not only in space but also in time — meaning that one day they will disappear? From this, wouldn’t it follow that if they have an end, they must also have a beginning?

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Every material thing must have a beginning. Because matter is limited, this means there must be something, or Someone, that imposed those limits in the first place.

Matter does not exist by itself, but only because the Creator chose to bring it into existence and continues to sustain it every moment. Therefore, all matter must have a beginning but does not necessarily need to have an end, because the One who created it has the power to sustain it forever if He so wills.

That is why God will continue to preserve souls and the World to Come for eternity: they will continue to exist, because God wills them to. Since His will is eternal, their existence will have no end.

A Philosophical Proof

This understanding leads us to one of the classical philosophical proofs for the existence of God: Anything about which you can ask, “Why is it this way and not otherwise?” is by definition limited. And if something is limited, that means some other force set those limits.

Without a limiter, nothing would remain confined to one form. Every limitation implies the existence of a force that actualized one possibility among many.

Consider for example, a glass of water. The water takes the shape of the glass. Without the glass to contain it, the water would spill everywhere and lose its form.

Why is the universe limited to a specific quantity of matter and energy, behaving according to precise physical laws? Why are space and time themselves limited? These questions imply that there is a force beyond the universe that set its form and boundaries.

If the universe as a whole is limited, what reality lies beyond all limited realities?

The Nature of the Unlimited

The only reality that requires no cause, no external limiter, must be a reality with no boundaries whatsoever. It must meet the following conditions:

• Not be material or dependent on space → therefore infinite.

• Not be divided or separated → therefore absolutely one.

• Not be bound by time or change → therefore eternal, without beginning and without end.

• Not be limited in intelligence or knowledge → therefore all-knowing and present everywhere.

In one word: God.

Because God is unlimited, we cannot ask of Him, “Why is He like this and not otherwise?”

God is the one reality that must exist in every circumstance, underlying all other possible realities. This is the greatest philosophical proof: God is the Infinite, the root of existence, the cause of all causes, the true reality that sustains all others.

Maimonides’ Summary

As Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah 1:1–4) explains: “The foundation of foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know that there exists a First Being, and He brings into existence everything that exists. All beings in heaven, on earth, and between them exist only from the truth of His being… He alone is the true reality, and no other truth compares to His truth. As the Torah says: ‘There is nothing else besides Him.’”