The Genesis Canopy Theory

* All of the accepted theories of the origins of the earth are just that- theories.

* Nothing had been ever proven about the origin of the earth, and anyone that tells you that science has proven how the earth was created is thinking with a flawed logic.

* First of all, science has two major premises to be considered “real” or “true” science. These premises are:

1). The facts and evidence must be observable.

2). The facts and evidence must be repeatable.

* When it comes to the relationship of science to creation, neither of these premises can be applied to all of the so called “scientific” theories about the origins of the universe.

* All science that is not observable science is nothing more than “educated guessing.”

* Science does not have any credibility in determining the origins of the universe, because science does not have all of the facts.

* The author of the Bible does have all of the facts, and in the Bible, God declares Himself to be an eyewitness of creation, along with the angels.

We can only accept creation by faith.

Hebrews 11:1–3 (KJV 1900)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.

3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God,

so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

The creation is the first text/test of faith.

* This is a pun on the words text and test, but a true pun.

* In Genesis chapter 2 we see that the Word of God, the “TEXT” of what God said, , God’s Word, became the “TEST.”

* Adam and Eve failed the test, they fail to believe the Word of God, and caused them to loose eternal life.

* In the New Testament, which is the story of the “New Creation,” we find just the opposite: that it is that “faith in”, or the act of “believing” the Word of God, restores to mankind eternal life, which was lost in Genesis.

* Now let’s return to the first verse of Genesis: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This is a majestic verse.

* Genesis 1:1 is a tremendous verse. I am of the opinion that it is the doorway through which you will have to walk into the Bible.

* If you reject the creation account of Genesis Chapter 1, then you cannot believe any of the rest of the Bible.

* In order to believe that God is the Creator, you must first have faith that God exists. Turn with me to Hebrews 11:6 and look at verse 6:

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,

* Notice that the writer of Hebrews us starts with the book of Genesis and Goes all through the Old Testament proving that faith in the Word of God is how the Old Testament saints were saved- just the same way that we are saved in the New Testament.

Hebrews 11:4–8 (KJV 1900)

4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,

and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Whatever you do with Genesis chapters 1 and 2 sets the tone with what you will do with the rest of Scripture.

If you can't trust the upfront, literal, meaning of the text of Genesis chapters 1 and 2, then you can't trust any of the Bible.

* In Genesis chapter 2 we see that the Word of God, the “TEXT” of what God said, , God’s Word, became the “TEST.”

* Adam and Eve failed the test, they fail to believe the Word of God, and caused them to loose eternal life.

* In the New Testament, which is the story of the “New Creation,” we find just the opposite: that it is that “faith in”, or the act of “believing” the Word of God, restores to mankind eternal life, which was lost in Genesis.

* Genesis 1:1 is a tremendous verse. I am of the opinion that it is the doorway through which you will have to walk into the Bible.

* If you reject the creation account of Genesis Chapter 1, then you cannot believe any of the rest of the Bible.

* Now we have already had much discussion on what happened on each day of creation, and we have disproved the gap theory, and theistic evolution, and last week we began a discussion of two things in Genesis chapter 1 that cause us to take a deeper look at the text.

* We dealt with the first of these last week in great detail.

(Write these Questions on the board)

1.) How is it possible to have light on the first day of creation, and God does not create the Sun, Moon and stars until the fourth day?

Genesis 1:3–5 (KJV 1900)

3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Genesis 1:14–19 (KJV 1900)

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. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

2). What were the waters below the firmament and the waters above the firmament?

Genesis 1:6–10 (KJV 1900)

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.

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.

* This is the question that we will deal with tonight. In order to do this, we will use several videos to introduce some ideas about what these two waters are, but first I want to allow you to the opportunity to discuss what you thing that these two waters are.

* Miss Debbie, you are carrying a MacArthur Study bible, read to us John Macarthur’s comments on Genesis verse 6:

John Macarthur’s Study Bible Notes

1:6 expanse. The portion of God’s creation named “heavens,” that which man saw when he looked up, i.e., the atmospheric and stellar heaven.

1:7 below the expanse. Refers to subterranean reservoirs (cf. 7:11).

above the expanse. This could possibly have been a canopy of water vapor which acted to make the earth like a hothouse, provided uniform temperature, inhibited mass air movements, caused mist to fall, and filtered out ultraviolet rays, thus extending life.

1:9, 10 dry land. This was caused by a tremendous, cataclysmic upheaval of the earth’s surface, and the rising and sinking of the land, which caused the waters to plunge into the low places, forming the seas, the continents and islands, the rivers and lakes (cf. Job 38:4–11; Ps 104:6–9).

Genesis 2:4–6 (KJV 1900)

4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 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. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

John Macarthur’s Study Bible notes:

2:6 mist … rise from the earth. “Mist” should be translated “flow.” It indicates that water came up from beneath the ground as springs and spread over the whole earth in an uninterrupted cycle of water.

After the fall, rain became the primary means of watering the earth and allowed for floods and droughts that did not exist originally. Rains also allowed for God to judge through floods and droughts.

Continued from The Thelogy of Creation…

Romans 10:8–17 (KJV 1900)

The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

* We find the same test that was given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eve is given to everyone in the Gospel of the New Testament.

Everyone who believes the Word of God will have eternal life, and everyone who does not believe the Word of God is damned to eternal death as Adam and Eve were.

John 3:18–21 (KJV 1900)

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

(According to John 1:1, His name is the Word, so to paraphrase “but he that believeth not the Word of God, is condemned already)

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

(You see here the creation theme with the division of the darkness and the light)

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

* This test of believing on the Word as the condition of restoring the eternal life that Adam and Eve lost continues on as a major theme thought the New Testament:

John 1:1–5 (KJV 1900)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 1:6–14 (KJV 1900)

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 6:40 (KJV 1900)

40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Acts 13:47–48 (KJV 1900)

47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

1 John 5:7–13 (KJV 1900)

7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

* Now let’s return to the first verse of Genesis: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This is a majestic verse.

* Genesis 1:1 is a tremendous verse. I am of the opinion that it is the doorway through which you will have to walk into the Bible.

* If you reject the creation account of Genesis Chapter 1, then you cannot believe any of the rest of the Bible.

* In order to believe that God is the Creator, you must first have faith that God exists. Turn with me to Hebrews 11:6 and look at verse 6:

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,

* Notice that the writer of Hebrews us starts with the book of Genesis and Goes all through the Old Testament proving that faith in the Word of God is how the Old Testament saints were saved- just the same way that we are saved in the New Testament.

Hebrews 11:4–8 (KJV 1900)

4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,

and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

7 By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Whatever you do with Genesis chapters 1 and 2 sets the tone with what you will do with the rest of Scripture.

If you can't trust the upfront, literal, meaning of the text of Genesis chapters 1 and 2, then you can't trust any of the Bible.

* In Genesis chapter 2 we see that the Word of God, the “TEXT” of what God said, , God’s Word, became the “TEST.”

* Adam and Eve failed the test, they fail to believe the Word of God, and caused them to loose eternal life.

* In the New Testament, which is the story of the “New Creation,” we find just the opposite: that it is that “faith in”, or the act of “believing” the Word of God, restores to mankind eternal life, which was lost in Genesis.

* Genesis 1:1 is a tremendous verse. I am of the opinion that it is the doorway through which you will have to walk into the Bible.

* If you reject the creation account of Genesis Chapter 1, then you cannot believe any of the rest of the Bible.

Mankind has exalted his own "High Ideas" against God's revelation of Himself in Creation that exclude faith:

2 Corinthians 10:3–6 (KJV 1900)

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

* By the deceptive doctrines that are offered to the minds of men by the powers of darkness, men teach the imaginations of their foolish hearts, pseudo sciences such as Evolution, The Big Bang Theory, UFOs and extraterrestrial life.

* Mankind wants to drown out the truth that God has placed within the heart of every man that God is their Creator, and therefore they are not their own, but must be accountable to the Creator.

God will hold those who exalt their own ideas accountable for rejection His revelation of Himself in creation:

* I said before that Genesis 1:1 is the foundation of all truth, the gateway to faith in the Creator.

* The apostle Paul bears down even harder and deeper upon this everlasting truth in Romans chapter 1:

Romans 1:17–25 (KJV 1900)

17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful;

but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie,

and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.