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The Firmament, Third Heaven, and Structure of Things Biblical On the second day in the Genesis narrative the Lord calls for there to be a "firmament" in the "midst of the waters" to divide the waters: "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 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. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day." (Genesis 1:6-8 KJV) The term "firmament" and its identity has been one of the greatest puzzles concerning the Creation account, mostly because of its Hebrew definition: רָקִיעַ raqiya` raw-kee'-ah from 7554; properly, an expanse, i.e. the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky:—firmament. רָקַע raqa` raw-kah' a primitive root; to pound the earth (as a sign of passion); by analogy to expand (by hammering); by implication, to overlay (with thin sheets of metal):—beat, make broad, spread abroad (forth, over, out, into plates), stamp, stretch. Most people interpret this to mean just the expanse of the sky (the atmosphere) or outer space, or both (which it is), but the full meaning goes well beyond that simplistic interpretation. The creation of the firmament is associated with the placement of a defined heavenly structure. Many modern scholars consign the term "firmament" as a relic of a pre-scientific culture and translate the Hebrew word raqia as a "dome" or "vault" in some modern Bibles, but it is rendered as "firmament" in the KJV for good reason. The problem that puzzles people is the implication in the Hebrew language of the firmament being a firm, fixed structure (FIRMament). That structure, and the KJV word choice, can be explained in the context of the Ruin-Reconstruction interpretation of Genesis. The Creation Scientists of today's Fundamentalism (Young Earth Creationists) have interpreted the "waters above the firmament" as a theoretical "water canopy" which once surrounded the Earth, but no longer exists. They cite this as their source for the waters of Noah's flood. This is absolutely incorrect and a concept that does not exactly hold water (pun intended) when closely examined within the literal framework of the Bible's Genesis narrative. The reason is because of what is said in this passage: "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also." (Genesis 1:14-16 KJV) This verse says that the Sun, Moon, and Stars are "in" the firmament. Therefore, applying the rules of grammar and logic, those waters that are "above the firmament" must therefore be above the Sun, Moon and Stars. In other words, those particular waters are ABOVE the visible cosmos. For some this is a hard pill to swallow, but that is exactly what the Bible is saying. "Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that [be] above the heavens." (Psalms 148:4 KJV) The Bible says that all wisdom and knowledge is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God (See Colossians 2:3). The same holds true for the Holy Scriptures, the written Word of God. According to the Scriptures, there is a physical/spiritual structure to the universe. The Apostle Paul makes reference to the importance of this knowledge in the book of Ephesians where he wrote: "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:17-19 KJV) Pay close attention to the structure of the grammar. Paul is speaking about two different things in this passage. The first is the structure of things, "the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;" then there is the conjunction word "And" which is followed by the second thing, "to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." In other words, Paul is saying there are two things the believer can and should know. 1) The dimensions and structure of all things physical things and how they are structured, 2) The love of Christ, a spiritual thing which is beyond full comprehension by man. A corollary to the truth of this passage is found in this Old Testament proverb: "The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings [is] unsearchable." (Proverbs 25:3 KJV) The firmament deals with the structure of the present heavens and Earth (Genesis 2:1), as opposed to the structure of the original heaven and Earth (Genesis 1:1). In the present heavens and Earth t...