Strictly speaking, the Universe has been around forever, because time was created in the same instant.
Regarding the matter thing: you're not far off. Atoms, from which we are all made, are 99.999..% nothing. Everything is held in place by forces. You never truly touch anything either, only feel the electrostatic forces repelling everything.
I'd like to throw this one out there: What if there's only one electron in the Universe?