The space that constitutes our universe changes in time. The theory gives models of evolving universes. In these models space evolves, starting from a pointlike entity, around 15 billion years ago and is expanding in size. Which of these outcomes is realized in our universe depends on the mass-energy concentration in the universe. The present accumulated observational facts are not conclusive in that respect.
Recent data appear to favor an open ever expanding universe.
He is one of the great minds of the second half of this century. Severely crippled physically by ALS his mind has been a major force in our understanding of the implications of Einstein's theory. There is no before. There is no possibility in the theory a bounce from an earlier contraction. There is no way that mass from a previous contraction could have whipped past each other and bounce back outward.