Genesis 1:6-8 KJV
(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.
The creation of the firmament is associated with the placement of some sort of structure.
Many of today’s modern “scholars” interpret the word “firmament” as a description given by a non-scientific, old-world Hebrew mindset. They translate the Hebrew word raqia as a “dome” or “vault” in a few modern Bible translations (like the NASB for example). The word “firmament” is used in the King James Version and most other translations.
The problem many people have with this today is the idea of the firmament being a tangible, physical, stationary structure of some kind.
Some people think there was a firmament of water right above the earth that broke, causing the Flood of Genesis 6.
That can’t be right, though if you consider the 14th through the 16th verses in the first chapter
Genesis 1:14-16 KJV
(14) 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:
(15) And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
(16) 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.
The sun, moon and stars are inside the firmament vault according to Genesis. The firmament separates the “waters above” from the waters below. You can see the waters below because they surround the earth. The waters above could only be access if you passed through the firmament “ceiling” to the other side. Proverbs 25:3 says the construct we’re living in is immeasurable by human standards. So, to pass through the firmament into the “real” heaven (where God’s throne would be) would require a journey that would quite literally be beyond the stars.
If you want to use the Bible to promote a “dome” or vault, it’s ceiling would actually be beyond the stars.
Psalms 148:4 KJV
(4) Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
According to the Bible, the waters that are “above the firmament” must be above the sun, moon and stars. That’s literally what the Bible is describing. The firmament separated the waters… and the “above waters” would be beyond the stars.
Proverbs 25:3 KJV
(3) The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.
Using a simple enclosed world, man-made model construct (Stephen King or The Truman Show) is like comparing a bird bath fountain to Niagara Falls. As much as people would like to feel secure in their own intelligence and understanding, mankind can’t “play God” in the hopes of getting it right.
Job tried that along with his friends, and this was God’s response.
Job 38:3-18 AKJV
(3) Gird up now your loins like a man; for I will demand of you, and answer you me.
(4) Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if you have understanding.
(5) Who has laid the measures thereof, if you know? or who has stretched the line on it?
(6) Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
(7) When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
(8) Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
(9) When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling cloth for it,
(10) And broke up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
(11) And said, Till now shall you come, but no further: and here shall your proud waves be stayed?
(12) Have you commanded the morning since your days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
(13) That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
(14) It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment.
(15) And from the wicked their light is withheld, and the high arm shall be broken.
(16) Have you entered into the springs of the sea? or have you walked in the search of the depth?
(17) Have the gates of death been opened to you? or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death?
(18) Have you perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if you know it all.
