24 Aug 2013

Biblical Oddities: The Ocean In The Sky

Posted by joncooper

This is one of the strangest passages I have ever run across in the Bible, and its implications are staggering. Until I started researching this issue I had no idea how strange this verse really was. This is truly a Biblical oddity – and it occurs in one of the best-known passages of the Bible. The only reason we miss it is because we’re not really paying attention.

Take a look at it for yourself:

Genesis 1:6: “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.”

Verse 7 is very straightforward: on the second day of creation, God divided the waters that were under the sky from the waters that were above the sky. That’s a bit odd, isn’t it? After all, there aren’t any waters above the sky. That is a well-established fact, and it’s not up for debate. There is no ocean in the sky.

Some people have suggested that the Bible is just referring to clouds. After all, clouds are made of water vapor, and there is a whole lot of water vapor in the sky. That sounds like a great theory, until you get to this verse:

Genesis 1:14: “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.”

In the first passage the firmament was created to divide two great bodies of water. In this passage God puts the Sun, Moon, and stars right in the firmament itself. Since the Sun, Moon, and Stars are in the firmament, and since there is a layer of water under the firmament and above the firmament, that can only mean that the entire universe is actually surrounded by a layer of water. In other words, if you went to the edge of the universe and poked it, you would find an ocean.

But that’s not all. Do you notice the word “firm” in FIRMament? The Hebrew word for “firmament” literally means something that is hard and has been beaten out (like a sheet of copper). If you don’t believe me you can look it up yourself: “firmament” is Strongs #7549, and according to my Lexicon it means “broad plates which have been beaten out”. It refers to something solid.

Some people have said that the waters above the firmament refers to some kind of water canopy that used to encircle the Earth above the atmosphere. There are several problems with this theory: not only would such a canopy be a gross violation of numerous physical laws, but the Bible clearly says that the Sun, Moon, and stars are within the firmament, and that there is a body of water above them.

As far as the “firmament” goes – is it really so strange to think that God may have put a solid boundary around the Universe, and that beyond that boundary might lie a vast expanse of water? I know how insane this theory sounds, but we need to keep in mind that this “ocean in the sky” is referenced in other Bible verses. For example:

Psalm 148:4: “Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.”

The waters above the heavens! There’s another reference to that mysterious ocean. The psalmist is clear that there are waters above the heavens. Just as Genesis said, these waters are literally above the stars.

This verse is also a bit odd, if you think about it:

Exodus 20:11: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

If you read Genesis 1:10 you will see that God called the waters on the Earth Seas – plural. This makes sense because the Earth has more than one body of water. Exodus 20:11, though, doesn’t refer to “Seas”; instead it refers to one single body of water – something that is apparently separate from the heaven and earth, since it is listed as being distinct from both of them. God lists the heaven, the earth, and “the sea”. That looks an awful lot like a reference to the waters that are above the firmament.

What if this firmament is actually the boundary between the Universe and the place where God lives? After all, we find a very curious “sea of glass” in the throne room of God:

Revelation 4:6: “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.”

Revelation 15:2: “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.”

How do we know that this “sea of glass” is somehow connected to the firmament? Because that is exactly how the book of Ezekiel describes it:

Ezekiel 1:22: “And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.”

Ezekiel tells us that the firmament is like crystal – and Revelation 4:6 describes the sea of glass in exactly that same term.

There’s one more curious thing about this Sea that is above the firmament: one day it will be done away with. This is what the book of Revelation has to say about it:

Revelation 21:1: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”

Notice that this passage does not refer to “seas”, but to a singular Sea. Notice also the categories involved: there is the heaven, the earth, and the sea – as if the Sea is somehow separate and distinct from both.

Why would there be no more Sea? Well, consider this: right now the firmament divides the land of God from the land of Men. We desperately need that divider because mankind is simply not holy enough to live with God. One day, though, God will judge mankind and put a final end to sin and death. He will then remake the universe and dwell with mankind forever. When that day comes there will no longer need to be a dividing firmament or a Sea. It will have served its purpose and its time will have ended.

It’s something to think about, isn’t it?

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