I just reread Genesis chapters 1-3 again today after a few months since becoming a YEC, and I just thought of something really interesting. If the average person read this stuff for the first time what would he think? That's how I wanted to interpret it.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the
face of the
deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament
in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7 And 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. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
So I'll pause right here just to say this. It looks as though, to me, that the whole universe was submerged in water after reading this, and God created the firmament (sky/Heaven(s)) to divide the water above the firmament from the water below the firmament.
Here's the main point I am about to make.
The sky is blue. Could ancient civilizations have held to the belief that during the day the sky seems to be like an ocean and there is an expanse of sky that separates the water above from the water below?
9 And God said, Let the waters
under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the
gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Some people have come up with all kinds of theories to explain this, and I have held to the canopy theory myself, but now I am kind of on the verge of throwing that theory out after thinking of this.
20 And God said, Let the
waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and
fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth,
which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Just pointing out that He made birds out of the
waters. So obviously there is water above the firmament and below the firmament according to the bible. He has given the name "Seas" to the waters below the firmament but no name to the waters above the firmament. Reading this, it would appear God created the fish out of the "Seas" because that would just make sense. And that He would have created the birds out of the water
above the firmament because again that would just make sense.
I haven't thrown away the canopy theory just yet but here is another point again that is less relevant to the rest of the OP.
Genesis 2
5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
Simply put - no vegetation had grown yet.
6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
From reading this, it would appear that, in this perfect state, there would be no need for rain on the Earth like we see now, because a mist was coming up from the ground - saturating the earth with water for the plants. So it makes me wonder what the open sky looked like when they looked up, whether there was a canopy or not.. Just a random thought.
More relevance here: 2 Peter 3:5
King James Bible
For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water
New American Standard Bible
For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water
New International Version
But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water
New Living Translation
They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and
he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water
English Standard Version
For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God
Berean Study Bible
But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water
Berean Literal Bible
For this is concealed from them willingly, that heavens existed long ago and
the earth, having been composed out of water and through water, by the word of God
It is traditionally held that Moses is the author of Genesis, but it is unknown for sure. So it makes me wonder who wrote it and if it really was the inspired word of God or if it was what was traditionally believed in those days (the creation story of Genesis).
Again it just hit me today - the sky is blue, it looks like a great ocean out there during the day. And by night it has the "lesser lights" shining through that God created on day 4 of Genesis 1. So it makes me wonder
was this creation story written from observation or by the spoken word of God?
Where is the water above the firmament? Was it the canopy theory from pre flood or is it outside the bounds of the universe?
Psalm 148:4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and
ye waters that be above the heavens.
View attachment 238511
What do you think?
