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THE DAY GOD …

Genesis 1

Hope of the Nations

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DAY 2�THE DAY GOD MADE SPACETIME

Hope of the Nations

Class Notes:

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^{Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. God called the space “sky.”}

^{And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.}

Genesis 1:6-8

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^{Then God said, “Let there be a}^firmament^{in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus 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^{. So the evening and the morning were the second day.}

Genesis 1:6-8

רָקִיעַ

rāqîaʿ

Extended surface, expanse, firmament

Considered by Hebrews as solid and supporting waters above

שָׁמַיִם

Šāmayim

Visible heavens, sky

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Ancient Hebrew Concept of the Universe

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Firmament

Earth

Genesis 1:6-8

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^{Then God said, “Let there be a}^firmament^{in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus 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^{. So the evening and the morning were the second day.}

Genesis 1:6-8

What is the firmament?

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Possible Explanations of the Firmament

The sky; the space between the ocean and a vapor canopy?
Not reality but a perception of the heavens. The heavenly dome?
Outer space with a bounded universe … bounded by water?

Problems with the Vapor Canopy: John Whitcomb and Henry Morris in their 1961 “The Genesis Flood” popularized the canopy theory. However, research and computer modeling of the atmosphere by Joseph Dillow and Larry Varidman have shown the vapor canopy to be problematic. “It seems that two problems are apparent: either the surface [of the earth] is too hot or there isn't enough moisture in the canopy for 40 days and nights of rain.”

Even those who think it might be a possibility, find another objection to a thick canopy interpretation. This time the objection is a Biblical consistency issue. If God made heavenly bodies for times and seasons, what would be the point if they could not be seen.

Perception was how the ancients saw the universe. Problems with a perception: Psalms 19 and 148 and many other passages talk about waters above the heavens and stretching out of the heavens.

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Firmament

Earth

Genesis 1:6-8

Bounded Universe Model

Earth at the center
Universe bounded by water would cause an expanding universe
Explains Edwin Hubble’s red shift observations
Has interesting relativity / time dilatation implications

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Stars and planets added on Day 4

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We live here.

No God

Know God

The Earth was created by God
On Day 2, waters were pulled away from the Earth and moved to beyond the “firmament”
The Earth is the focus of God’s creation of the universe
The Earth is important because it is where God is working.

The earth is infinitely expanding (due to an explosion) into just empty space
Everything in the universe is random and the Earth holds no special position.
There probably is life on other planets just like ours.
It is naïve and unscientific to think that there is anything special about the Earth.

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What is Space?

What is it made of?

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The Aether Theory

Aristotle, thought the aether to be the fifth classical element (along with water, fire, air and earth). Aristotle claimed that the heavens can't be made by any earthly substance because they are unchanging, thus they must be made of a heavenly substance - the aether.

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Isaac Newton postulated that aether was needed to transmit light or heat through space or a vacuum.

The Aether Theory

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Gravity

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The Bible describes the heavens as a fabric.

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Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,

Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. Psalm 104:2

He stretches out the north over empty space;

He hangs the earth on nothing. Job 26:7

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

Isaiah 40:22

Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it Isaiah 42:5

I have made the earth, And created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded. Isaiah 45:12

He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, And stretched out the heaven by His understanding. Jeremiah 51:15

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In 1915, Albert Einstein published his General Theory of Relativity. Instead of a pull of one body to another in aether, Albert Einstein saw gravity as the result of curved space. He said that all objects in the universe sit in a smooth, four-dimensional fabric called space-time. Massive objects such as the sun warp the space-time around them, and so Earth's orbit is simply the result of our planet following this curvature.

Space-Time Theory

As he worked out the equations for his general theory of relativity, Einstein realized that massive objects caused a distortion in space-time. Imagine setting a large object in the center of a trampoline. The object would press down into the fabric, causing it to dimple. If you then attempt to roll a marble around the edge of the trampoline, the marble would spiral inward toward the body, pulled in much the same way that the gravity of a planet pulls at rocks in space.

The orbit of Mercury is shifting very gradually over time due to the curvature of space-time around the massive sun, according to NASA.

As the closest planet to the sun, Mercury’s perihelion (the point along its orbit that it’s closest to the sun) is predicted to follow a slightly different direction over time. Under Newton’s predictions, gravitational forces in the solar system should advance Mercury's precession ( change in its orbital orientation) is measured to be 5,600 arcseconds per century (1 arcsecond is equal to 1/3600 of a degree). However, there is a discrepancy of 43 arcseconds per century, something Einstein's theory of general relativity accounts for. Using Einstein’s theory of curved space-time, the precession of Mercury’s perihelion should advance slightly more than under the predictions of Newton, since planets don’t orbit the sun in a static elliptical orbit.

Sure enough, several research papers published since the mid 20th century have confirmed Einstein's calculations of Mercury’s perihelion precession to be accurate.

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If God separated the waters below the firmament from the waters above, should we not see some evidences?

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Firmament

Earth

Evidences of separating the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.

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Evidences of separating the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.

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Mars

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Kuiper Belt

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Pluto

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deuterium

tritium

neutron

Helium

Fusion

Stars

Water H₂O

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Psalm 148:3-4

Praise Him, sun and moon;

Praise Him, all you stars of light!

Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,

And you waters above the heavens!

שָׁמַיִם shamayim

heaven, heavens, sky

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"Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that an abundance of water may cover you?

Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, 'Here we are!’? Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart? Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven? Job 38:34-37

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Cumulus

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Stratus

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Nimbostratus

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Cirrus

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Cumulonimbus

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Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God;

And the firmament shows His handiwork.

שָׁמַיִם shamayim

heaven, heavens, sky

רָקִיעַ raqiya

Expanse or visible arch of the sky

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DAY 2�THE DAY GOD MADE SPACETIME

Hope of the Nations