"Firm Enough"

Day Two
Genesis 1:6-8
Tape # 6 - Nov 28, 1999  - Updated Dec 15, 1999

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Review: (Gen 1:1-5) Day One - Everyone must choose:

Evolution ?	Creation !
In the beginning, nothing.......exploded?	In the beginning, God......created!

. . . the heavens & the earth (earth begins as a watery suspension, bathed in God's light).
A geocentric perspective, spiritually but not physically. (Center stage for His-story)
Which foundation stone requires blind faith? Which one is rational faith?
Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is the . . . evidence of things not seen"

Today's Focus: (Gen 1:6-8 Day Two)
          
"firmament"
* Hebrew = raqiya` = a space, a spread out thinness of substance (atmosphere).
* God used Moses' limited language to give a scientifically accurate, yet incomplete record.
* Non-biblical cultures later distorted this Genesis truth, creating myths of a solid shield.
* Most of the world's stories about the origin are distortions of the original Genesis record.

"in the midst of the waters . . . divide the waters . . . under . . . from . . . above"
* The waters "above" functioned as a protective canopy (Isa 40:12, 22). (endnote 1)
* Light (& heat) energy were already introduced in day one, so a mist rose continually.
* Harmful radiation was blocked and creatures lived very long lives (nearly 1000 years).
* This firmament was transparent, yet firm enough to protect life:
       - Later, men rejected God's hand of protection and provision (Gen 3; 1 Pet 5:5-9). (Death/entropy)
     - No rain fell until the flood of Noah (Gen 2:4-6; 3; 6).
       - Rain was a part of the curse of entropy. After the flood, harmful radiation poured down.
       - DNA was increasingly damaged, leading to laws against marrying close relatives (Leviticus).

"God called the firmament Heaven(s)" = shamayim, plural form of an unused singular.
* This "firmament" is the first of three levels, each called "heavens", and progressively
   revealed throughout Scripture (2 Cor 12:2 "third heaven"). = Synonymous terms:
     Physical Atmosphere    - heavens Jer 4:25; firmament Psa 19:1; Gen 1:20 "face of"
     Visible Universe            - heavens Isa 13:10; Gen 1:14-17, "firmament of the heavens";
     God's Presence             - heavens 2 Chr 2:6; Heb 9:24; firmament Psa 150:1; Isa 6
* Originally, God's glorious throne was open & perhaps visible to all of creation.

Why can't we see God's heaven now? Gen 3::22-24; Job 42; Isa 59:2; Mat 5:8; Joh 1:1-18
Do you really want to see Him and walk with Him now & forever? John 14:1-6
How can we do it? (Hypotasso Faith - for justification & sanctification). Gal 2:20-5:25
Will you do it for His glory, the benefit of others, and lastly your joy? 2 Tim 2:1-4

Endnote:

1 - Dr. Henry Morris, (Ph.D. hydrologist) in his excellent commentary, The Genesis Record, lists nine benefits the vapor canopy provided:

1) Maintain a uniform tropical climate through the greenhouse effect.
2) Prevent windstorms due to uniform temperature.
3) No rain needed with the mist, and so no errosion or flooding.
4) No global air circulation, so no dust in the atmosphere, thus a clear canopy to see stars.
5) Uniform, moderate humidity across the planet for comfort and health for a naked people.
6) No desert or ice caps. Plenty of vegetation for food and oxygen production.
7) Filtered out UV and other harmful radiation.
8) Hyperbaric atmospheric pressure facilitated health just as in medical treatments today.
9) Served as the reserve to flood the earth and wash it clean from rebellious, selfish creatures.

** Psalm 148:4, 6 indicate that the vapor canopy will be restored in the millennial earth and the new earth, "for ever and ever" - to God's glory and for our joy. As an ex-zookeeper, I can't wait!!