Genesis 1.6-8-The Second Day of Restoration
Thursday July 21, 2005
Genesis: Genesis 1:6-8-The Second Day of Restoration
Lesson # 3
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 1:1.
This evening we will study Genesis 1:6-8, which records the 2nd day of restoration.
As we have noted in exhaustive detail, the original language of Genesis 1:1-31 along with a comparison of Scripture with Scripture (cf. Isa. 45:18; Jer. 4:23-25; Ezek. 28:12-18; Isa. 14:12-14) clearly indicates that the earth and all of creation have already undergone 3 phases: (1) Creation (Gen. 1:1). (2) Chaos (Between Gen. 1:1 and 1:2; cf. Isa. 14:12-14; 45:18; Ezek. 28:12-18). (3) Restoration and Creation of Mankind (Gen. 1:2b-2:4).
Genesis 1:1 records the initial creation that was inhabited by only angels, and Genesis 1:2 records the aftermath of God judging the rebellion of Satan, which began in the original Garden of Eden (Ezek. 28:12-19; Isa. 14:12-14).
Therefore, the six days recorded in Genesis 1:3-31 are a record of the restoration of the original creation that was judged by God for the rebellion of Satan and this restoration was accomplished in 6 literal 24-hour days.
(1) 1st Day: The Lord restored light to the earth (Gen. 1:3-5). (2) 2nd Day: The Lord restored the atmosphere (Gen. 1:6-8). (3) 3rd Day: The Lord restored the dry land by causing the flood waters to gather into one place (Gen. 1:9-11). (4) 4th Day: The Lord restored the stellar universe (Gen. 1:14-19). (5) 5th Day: The Lord created animal life (Gen. 1:20-21). (6) 6th Day: The Lord created man (Gen. 1:26-28).
Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning (bere’shith, “in eternity past”) God created (bara, “created out of nothing”) the heavens and the earth.”
“Created” is the verb bara (arB), “to create something out of nothing” and is used of the original creation, which was inhabited by the angels before the introduction of mankind.
Genesis 1:2a, “(waw disjunctive construction, “however”) The earth was (perfect tense of hayah, “became”) formless and void (tohu waw bohu, “empty desolation”), and darkness was over the surface of the deep.”
Genesis 1:2 begins with a “waw-disjunctive construction” (conjunction-noun-verb), which indicates a contrast between Genesis 1:2 and 1:1 and that the original creation underwent a catastrophic judgment.
God is perfect and His creation of the heavens and the earth was perfect, thus Genesis 1:2 indicates that something happened to God’s perfect creation.
“Formless and void” is composed is the phrase thohu wavohu (Whj) Whb)w*), “empty desolation” and refers to the confused, chaotic state of the earth as a result of God judging the rebellion of the angels led by Satan in eternity past (Ezek. 28:12-19; Isa. 14:12-14).
Genesis 1:2 records the earth as being enshrouded in darkness, which indicates that the earth was judged by God since darkness in the Bible is always associated with judgment, sin and evil (cf. Is.5:30; 8:22; Ezek.32:7-8; Acts 13:11; Ex.10:21-29; cf. Ps.105:28; Matt.27:45-54; Rev.19:20; 20:10, 14-15; 21:8).
Genesis 1:2 records the earth as being completely flooded with water, which indicates that the earth was judged by God since water is commonly associated with judgment (Gen. 6-9; cf. 2 Pet.2:5; 3:5-7).
A comparison of Scripture with Scripture indicates three major events took place between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2:
(1) The rebellion of Satan in eternity past, which is noted in Job 4:18, Isaiah 14:12-14, 45:18 and Ezekiel 28:12-18.
(2) The Supreme Court of Heaven’s decision to sentence Satan and the fallen angels to the Lake of Fire for their rebellion as noted in Matthew 25:41.
(3) The appeal of the sentence by Satan.
Genesis 1:2b, “And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”
The Holy Spirit is depicted as hovering over the raging ocean depths of planet earth like a mother eagle hovering over her chicks in order to convey God’s attitude of concern for His creation, which was judged because of the Satanic rebellion.
The Holy Spirit is also anticipating the commands from God the Son to restore the heavens and the earth and which commands are in accordance with the Father’s will, purpose and plan.
Genesis 1:3-5 records the first day of restoration.
Genesis 1:3, “Then God (the Son) said (`amar, “to command”), "Let there be light"; and there was light.”
Genesis 1:4, “God (the Son) saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.”
Genesis 1:5, “God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”
In Genesis 1:3, light is used literally for physical light, whose source is the manifestation of the presence and glory of God.
The division of physical light from darkness and day from night is symbolic of what has taken place in the spiritual realm in the angelic conflict between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan.
The first day of restoration where the Lord restores light to creation typifies the incarnation of the Son of God who is the light of the world.
The phrase “and there was evening and there was morning, one day” refers to a literal 24-hour period since Genesis was written by Moses to Israel, which marked time by literal 24-hour periods.
Israel was taught that God rested on the 7th day and according to Exodus 20:8-11 she was commanded by God to obey the Sabbath every 7th day, thus, for the children of Israel, all 7 days represent days of 24 hours in length.
Genesis 1:6-8 records the 2nd day of restoration.
Genesis 1:6, “Then God said, ‘Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’”
Corrected translation of Genesis 1:6, “Next, God commanded, ‘let there be an atmosphere in the middle of the waters, and let it be a cause of division between waters from waters.’”
“An expanse” is the masculine singular form of the noun raqia (pronounced: rah-kee’ag), which refers to the earth’s atmosphere.
The noun raqia literally refers to “an expansion of plates meaning broad plates beaten out.”
In the Old Testament, the noun raqia refers to the canopy over the cherubim under the throne in Ezekiel’s vision (1:22, 26), the stellar universe (Gen. 1:14-17; Dan. 12:3; Ps. 19:1; 150:1), or the earth’s atmosphere (Gen. 1:6; 1:20).
In Genesis 1:6, the noun raqia in Genesis 1:6 refers to the earth’s atmosphere.
The Lord Jesus Christ as the Creator of both heaven and earth created 3 levels of heaven according to the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit restored them: (1) 1st heaven: Earth’s atmosphere. (2) 2nd heaven: Stellar universe. (3) 3rd heaven: Abode of God, the angels and the dead believers.
The original languages of Scripture teach that there are three levels of heaven.
This multiplicity of heavens is indicated in Hebrews 4:14 where our Lord at His ascension is said to have “passed through the heavens” (accusative masculine plural noun ouranos).
The 1st and 2nd heaven are not specifically mentioned but the 3rd heaven is.
2 Corinthians 12:2, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago -- whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows -- such a man was caught up to the third heaven.”
Logically speaking, it is evident that there cannot be a 3rd heaven without also a 1st and 2nd heaven.
“Waters” is the noun mayim refers to the mass of water that flooded and enveloped the earth.
“Separate” is the verb badhal, which in the hiphil (causative) stem means, “to cause a division” between the waters.
Genesis 1:7, “God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the atmosphere from the waters which were above the atmosphere; and it was so.” NASU
Corrected translation of Genesis 1:7, “Consequently, God restored the atmosphere and thus caused a division between the waters, which were beneath the atmosphere and the waters, which were above the atmosphere, thus it came to pass as previously described.”
Genesis 1:7 records that as a result of the division of the flood waters that there was a transparent water vapor canopy above the earth’s atmosphere and of course waters below this atmosphere.
The waters “above” the earth’s atmosphere was a vast blanket of water vapor above the troposphere and possibly above the stratosphere as well, in the high temperature region now known as the ionosphere, and extending far into space.
They could “not” have been the clouds of water droplets, which now float in the atmosphere, because the Scripture says they were me’al laraqia, “above the atmosphere.”
Furthermore, there was no “rain upon the earth” in those days according to Genesis 2:5, nor, was there any rainbow in the clouds (Gen. 9:13).
Both of which must have been present if these upper waters represented merely the clouds that populate the earth’s atmosphere.
This vast water canopy above the earth’s atmosphere evidently must have been transparent in order for the stars and planets of the stellar universe to “give light upon the earth,” and to “be for signs and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Gen. 1:14-15).
This vapor canopy would serve as a greenhouse maintaining an essentially uniform pleasant warm temperature all over the world since water vapor has the ability both to transmit incoming solar radiation and to retain and disperse much of the radiation reflected from the earth’s surface.
Great air-mass movements would be inhibited and windstorms would be non-existent with uniform temperatures all over the earth.
The earth would not only have uniform temperatures but also would also have comfortable uniform humidity by means of daily local evaporation and condensation like dew, or ground fog in each day-night cycle.
The combination of warm temperature and adequate moisture all over the earth would be conducive later to extensive lush vegetation all over the world with no barren deserts or ice caps.
This vapor canopy would be highly effective in filtering out ultraviolet radiations, cosmic rays, and other destructive energies from outer space.
Many of these are the source of both somatic and genetic mutations, which decrease the viability of the individual and the species, respectively, thus, the canopy would contribute effectively to human and animal health and longevity.
This vast water canopy above the earth’s atmosphere would provide one of the sources (the other, the water underneath the earth) from which God would send the Great Flood.
The content of water vapor in the “present” atmosphere, if all precipitated, would cover the earth only to a depth of about 1 inch.
Even though the waters above the earth’s atmosphere were condensed and precipitated during the Flood, they will be restored during the Millennium thus providing once again perfect environment and longevity of life for man.
Psalm 148:4-6, “Praise Him, highest heavens, and the waters that are above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD, for He commanded and they were created. He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree, which will not pass away.”
The waters underneath the earth’s atmosphere constituted a shoreless ocean since the dry land did not appear until the 3rd day.
Genesis 1:7, “God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.” NASU
“Made” is the verb ‘asah (pronounced gah-sah), which means, “to restore” in the sense that God the Holy Spirit reconstructed out of existing material the atmosphere and brought it back to its original condition prior to God’s judgment of the Satanic rebellion.
Genesis 1:8, “God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.” NASU
The Lord Jesus Christ does not employ tov, “good,” after the second day of restoration as He does after the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth days since Satan and the fallen angels inhabit the earth’s atmosphere.
Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
An invisible war is taking place in the church age between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness throughout the earth’s atmosphere as part of the angelic conflict (Dan. 10:20; Eph. 2:2; 6:11-17) and will visibly manifest itself during the Tribulation period (Rev. 6-19).
The insertion of the atmosphere that ‘divided” the mass of water that flooded the earth into two bodies of water (the ocean in Scripture is used in a figurative sense for the mass of humanity on earth-Rev. 17:1, 15) typified Christ’s cross which divides the human race into either believers or unbelievers.