A New Sense of Time

On the surface, the music of Franz Schubert seems uncomplicated. But deeper study reveals that Schubert, writing early in the 19^th century, actually composed highly complex music that only sounds simple.

This became apparent to scholar Harold Truscott, who discovered that Schubert wrote his symphonies in multiple dimensions of time that overlapped and reinforced each other. The music seems to be at one tempo, while in reality other tempos are being played at the same time.

Writing about Schubert’s First Symphony, Truscott described how “the music contains a duality of pace—two speeds running concurrently.” This seems to have been the first time in the history of music for this concept.

Schubert created music with an inner pulse, a forward thrust. While writing music that seemed slow, he actually created a new dimension of sound.

The Bible is filled with these kinds of dimensions. Depth upon depth. Insights that only emerge after extensive study. In fact, many of the insights only can be revealed supernaturally.

Jesus provided an example of this pattern as, after His Resurrection, He joined two disciples as they walked along the road to Emmaus. Not knowing it was Jesus, they proceeded to tell Him about events that had taken place in Jerusalem, including His death and reports of His Resurrection.

He then explained to them a dimension of the Scriptures they previously had never heard. Only later did they realize how special this moment was: “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

Today, remember that God’s Word is incredibly deep. No matter how much you have studied, more revelations await you. It is so simple that a child can understand it, but so complex that even brilliant scholars only can scratch the surface. Keep digging!