Day 1 of creation – God created six firmaments of heaven (six heavens) and the earth.
Day 2 – God created a seventh firmament of heaven over the earth, the one directly over our heads.
The Hebrew word for ‘firmament’ is ‘raqia’.
It is defined as a solid, beaten out expanse and understood as a vaulted dome.
A literal interpretation of these words, according to their definitions, help make sense of many things in scripture – including, but not limited to:
– The physical division of waters above/below the firmament (Genesis 1:6-7, Psalm 148:4)
– The windows/flood gates of heaven through which the flood came. (Genesis 7:11)
– The heavens being made firm (Proverbs 8:28)
– The heavens being stretched out (Job 9:8, Isaiah 40:22, Jeremiah 10:12, Ezekiel 1:22)
– How the heavens could be rent/torn (Isaiah 64:1, John 1:51)
– The heavens rolling open like a scroll (Isaiah 34:4, Revelation 6:14)
– How a 1,500 mile literal Kingdom can sit in the third heaven above our heads (2 Corinth. 12:2-4, Revelation 21:2-27)