6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. ~ Genesis 1:6-8
Today, we return to our study of Genesis 1 where the second day of creation is described. This first chapter of Genesis is the key to understanding nature and science. The scientists who are willing to acknowledge that this passage is from God and contains accurate and authentic information about the beginnings of the universe will find that they have been provided with a wonderful framework within which the discoveries of science can provide endless confirmations of the wisdom and the power of God.
In day one, God separated light from darkness. In day two, God separated heaven from earth. That’s what the expanse is referring to. Day three, as we shall see, God separated water on earth from dry land. So day one, day two, day three, are all series of separations. Before God could create life He had to separate light from darkness, and create the continuum of light and dark in the 24-hour solar day. He had to separate heaven from the earth, which He did on day two. Then He had to separate the water that is now completely engulfing on day one and two. He had to separate that from the dry land so there would be a place for the fish in the sea and the land life on dry land. Thus the universe was made ready for life in those first three days. Light from dark, heaven from earth, dry land from water.
In v.6-7 of today's passage we read, "6 Then God said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.' 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so."
When God created the earth, He made a firmament above it. The firmament was a vapor canopy which was solid and fixed. Thus the "waters above" kept out all of the harmful solar and electromagnetic radiation. It was like a super ozone layer. The protective layer not only affected the appearance of the skies and the brightness of the sun, but the solar and electromagnetic rays that were kept out certainly allowed people to live for exceptionally long periods of time.
Since this protective sheath was there, the light that was needed to produce a rainbow was already refracted and therefore no rainbows occurred. When Noah stepped out of the ark and saw the rainbow, he also saw for the first time a completely different view of the heavens. There was no longer a protective sheath there; at that point there was a gentle blue color to the sky. He probably saw the sun much brighter than he’d ever seen it before and he and his family probably got their first sunburn very quickly.
The earth's atmosphere is to this day unique in our solar system. Other planets have an atmosphere, but they do not have one like ours. No other planet has an atmosphere composed of the same gases as earth's and able to support human life as we know it. No other planet has an atmosphere which contains immense quantities of oxygen and also great quantities of nitrogen which is necessary for the health of the soil.
The primary purpose of this firmament or expanse of the atmosphere, according to the Bible, was not to support life. According to the Scriptures, the primary purpose was to provide a platform for suspending billions of gallons of water above the earth. It "divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament." As a matter of fact, the ability of the atmosphere to support animal life did not develop until later when the plants were formed and began their centuries-long process of taking carbon dioxide out of the air and replacing it with oxygen. It was this that made the support of life possible. But the atmosphere's original function and its primary purpose, according to the book of Genesis, was to provide certain gases that would support the cycle which suspends billions of gallons of water in the atmosphere in the form of water vapor, to condense and fall later in our familiar phenomena of rain and snow.
In v.8 of today's passage we read, "And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day."
The word translated here "heaven" literally means "the sky." It refers to the universe and the space above us. So, there was no space until the second day, and God just cut all the way around that sphere and released some of the water and sent it up, creating between the waters above and water below, space. So, as soon as the firmament was established in the midst of the layer of water, it began to rise, arching like a vault.
In the Bible there is referenced three heavens. In 2 Corinthians 12:2 the Apostle wrote of a man who was caught up in the third heaven. Logic dictates that if there is a third heaven, there must be a first and second heaven. The first heaven is the heaven we can see with our physical eyes. It contains the sun, the moon and the stars. The first heaven is known as the atmospheric heavens including the air that we breathe as well as the space that immediately surrounds the earth. It extends about twenty miles above the earth. The second heaven refers to outer space. Biblically speaking, the second heaven is where Satan rules his evil empire with legions of demons and fallen angels. Demons have power. They have personality. They have purpose. Satan has come to rob, to kill and to destroy. If he can mislead you down a wrong path that will destroy your life’s purpose, he has won the battle.
Unlike the created first and second heavens, the third heaven is the eternal dwelling place of God and His heavenly host of angels. And ever since the Lord Jesus conquered sin and opened the way to heaven for forgiven sinners, all departed souls that have been redeemed by His blood are now in that third heaven. Since the third heaven is outside of our time and space dimension, it is infinite. And it’s impossible for a finite mind to truly comprehend things of infinite proportion. The exciting news is that the Lord Jesus is preparing a place in the third heaven for all who have come to the end of themselves and have trusted Him as our Savior.
