Originally posted at Dispatches from Reality, by Scipio Eruditus. dfreality.substack.com
— The Gospel of John 3:12 KJV
Previous Entries
BC I: What is a Star?
BC II: Scientism vs. Science
BC III: What is a Giant? Part I
BC IV: What is a Giant? Part II
“Yea, hath God said” is a tried and true tactic that the deceiver has deployed to shake mankind’s faith since the very beginning of creation. Heliocentrism is perhaps the most potent weapon in Satan’s arsenal of disbelief, one that has borne centuries of fetid fruit. Since 1543, this theory is the primary method through which all subsequent apostasies have flowed. We don’t get Darwin’s theory of evolution, we don’t get an Earth that is billions of years old, we don’t get the Big Bang theory without heliocentrism. Nietzsche, one of modern atheism’s most prolific philosophers, realized the magnitude of what heliocentrism did to man’s belief in our Creator (emphasis mine):
“Whither is God?” he cried. “I shall tell you. We have killed him — you and I. All of us are his murderers. But what did we do when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving now? Away from all sides? Are we not plunging continually backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there an up or down left? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night and more night coming on all the time?…”
– Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, The Parable of the Madman
The enemies of Christ know full well what their doctrines have wrought: it is far past the time that Church realizes it as well.
As Christians have strayed further and further from Sola Scriptura, our understanding of creation and our cosmos has strayed further and further from God’s timeless truths. Paul warns us of the dangers of this worldly wisdom in his First Epistle to the Corinthians: “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” (3:19) The Church has largely rejected the clear words of Moses, of Christ, of his Prophets & Apostles; instead, we have substituted the doctrines of God for the doctrines of Men. We have rejected the Wisdom of God, and instead have conformed to the wisdom of this world.
This is certainly nothing new, as Paul warned Timothy of these same objections by “science, falsely so called” during the inception of the Church Age. The great Reformer struggled with these issues in his own day and age as well (emphasis mine):
“We Christians must be different from the philosophers in the way we think about the causes of these things. And if some are beyond our comprehension (like those before us concerning the waters above the heavens), we must believe them and admit our lack of knowledge rather than either wickedly deny them or presumptuously interpret them in conformity with our understanding.”
– Martin Luther
Indeed, to force our man-made wisdom onto God’s Word has led to disastrous consequences for the Church. If you disagree, merely look at the decrepit, anemic, and utterly debased state of so many “churches” across our world.
We must unlearn the wisdom of this world, and we must relearn the Wisdom of God.
So what is the Firmament?
Firstly, let us define our terms. As Paul details in 2 Corinthians 12:2, there are three heavens, or shamayim in Hebrew. The first is the sky (Genesis 1:26, James 5:18), the second is called the Firmament (Genesis 1:8), and the third is the Heaven of Heavens (1 Kings 8:27). The English word firmament is derived from the Latin word firmamentum, meaning that which strengthens or supports. The Hebrew word seen 17 times in Holy Scripture to describe the Firmament is raqia, meaning:
- expanse (flat as base, support)
- firmament (of vault of heaven supporting waters above)
- considered by Hebrews as solid and supporting ‘waters’ above
Yeah I wonder why they thought that. Raqia is derived from the Hebrew word raqa, meaning:
- to beat, stamp, beat out, spread out, stretch
- (Qal)
- to stamp, beat out
- one who beats out (participle)
- (Piel) to overlay, beat out (for plating)
- (Pual) beaten out (participle)
- (Hiphil) to make a spreading (of clouds)
We see from the root word raqa that what is being described is a solid covering that is spread out over the Earth, something that all the verses pertaining to the Firmament affirm.
As Strong’s Concordance also notes, the ancient Hebrews universally understood the Firmament to be a crystalline or hard dome placed over the Earth (emphasis mine):
After this, on the second day, he placed the heaven over the whole world, and separated it from the other parts, and he determined it should stand by itself. He also placed a crystalline [firmament] round it, and put it together in a manner agreeable to the earth, and fitted it for giving moisture and rain, and for affording the advantage of dews.
— Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews
Despite the tortured explanations — such as the Canopy Theory — that Biblical creationists must proffer to conform with so many supposed scientific discoveries, the clear words of Genesis, Psalms, Job, Ezekiel and Isaiah establish the fact that the Firmament is a solid object covering the Earth.
As is my preference, I will add as little commentary as I possibly can, as the totality of Holy Scripture makes it clear what and where the Firmament is (all emphasis below is mine):
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.
— Genesis 1:6-8 KJV
The Firmament was established to separate the LORD’s throne from the Earth, and to divide the waters. As I have covered in BC I: What is a Star?, the stars, Sun, and Moon are placed within the Firmament itself:
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,
— Genesis 1:14-17 KJV
This is mentioned by the Psalmist as well:
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
— Psalm 12:3 KJV
The brightness of the Firmament are the stars, i.e. angels.
The waters above the Firmament were one of the three sources of water that the LORD used to flood the Earth:
2 The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained;
— Genesis 8:2 KJV
We also see in Psalm 148 that the waters above have been established forever:
4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created.
6 He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass.
— Psalm 148:4-6 KJV
The decree being referred to in Verse 6 is God’s decree that He would not flood the Earth again, that the waters above may never pass through the Firmament via the windows of heaven. Not only is the Firmament still in existence, but it is consistently described as a covering for the Earth:
22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
— Isaiah 40:22 KJV
The prophet Isaiah describes the heavens in precisely the same manner as the Psalmist does:
2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
— Psalm 104:2 KJV
The solidity of the Firmament is described in several places in Holy Scripture. Outside of Genesis and Psalms, the Book of Job most prolifically describes creation, including a description of the Firmament:
18 Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?
— Job 37:18 KJV
This strong, solid structure is witnessed by Moses and the elders of Israel at Mt. Sinai:
10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
— Exodus 24:10 KJV
Sapphires are of course a rich blue color, much like the color of our sky. The LORD’s throne, which is above the Firmament, is described by Ezekiel in precisely the same manner:
26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
— Ezekiel 1:26 KJV
Ezekiel is not the only one who prophesies of the location of the LORD’s throne, as the Apostle John sees it when he is transported into the third Heaven while on Patmos in 66-67 AD:
1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
— Revelation 4:1-2 KJV
As this essay draws to a close, it is important to discuss the competing views within orthodox interpretations of Scripture, and why they fail to fully reconcile the whole Word of God. Now within the fundamentalist Christian denominations that still hold Genesis to be the literal word of God, there are several different schools of thought on what the Firmament is. Modern creationists will mistakenly refer to the Firmament as space, which fails to reconcile what the waters above this so-called “space” are. Proponents of the Canopy Theory say the Firmament was itself the waters above, essentially an ice barrier that was melted by God to flood the Earth. This theory clearly contradicts Psalm 148:6, as the Psalmist states the waters above will be established forever. There are several scriptural issues with the Canopy Theory, the largest one perhaps is that the stars are inside the Firmament itself, with waters stated as being above the Firmament. Other schools of Creationists will often conflate the first heaven with the Firmament, citing the following verse:
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
— Genesis 1:20 KJV
The open Firmament here is not referring to the skies as the Firmament, as Creationist outfits like Answers in Genesis like to claim. The Hebrew word for open in verse 20, panim, means the face, or in front of. The “open firmament of heaven” is therefore not calling the sky the Firmament, but rather, the area in front of the Firmament, which would be the sky.
A massive issue for modernist interpretation of Genesis is that the LORD states He has finished creation. The idea of a constantly expanding universe directly flies in the face Holy Scripture:
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
— Genesis 2:1 KJV
The “host of them” is a common Biblical reference to the stars. By the mouth of two witnesses, both Moses and King David, is this truth established within Holy Scripture:
6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
— Psalm 33:6 KJV
The Earth and the heavens were finished — past tense. A gargantuan explosion of hyper-condensed matter did not create our cosmos, Jesus the Christ did:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
— First Epistle to the Colossians 1:16-20 KJV
It is anathema to suggest that the Messiah can use the Big Bang to create our cosmos, when the Big Bang theory postulates that we are in a constantly expanding universe, thereby necessitating that creation itself is unfinished. For the Church to place the wisdom of man over the Wisdom of God is turn our mortal understanding into an idol of our own fashioning. Creation — and their own math — refutes the heliosorcery that has ensorcelled our world for so many centuries.
Why is the Firmament so important? Let us turn once again to the Psalmist for our answer:
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
— Psalm 19:1 KJV
The Firmament, a celestial testimony to His divine craftsmanship, demands our acknowledgment and reverence before Almighty God. The heavens declare the glory of the LORD, and the Firmament, with resolute clarity, reveals His handywork. It is time for the Church to cast aside the shadows of compromise and bask in the brilliance of God’s unassailable truths.
The question that echoes through the annals of time — “Yea, hath God said” — resonates not only as a challenge to our Creator’s authority but as a rallying cry for those who seek to dismantle the foundations of divine truth. Heliocentrism, the helix of heresy woven into the fabric of scientific dogma, has been the conduit through which skepticism and apostasy have flowed like a poisoned river since the days of Plato. It birthed Darwinian evolution, the Earth’s purported eons, and the resounding explosion of disbelief encapsulated in the Big Bang. Friedrich Nietzsche, one of the many heralds of godlessness, saw the repercussions clearly: the unraveling of our connection to the Creator; the descent into an infinite nothingness; and the chilling breath of empty space enveloping our collective consciousness in the abyss of nihilism.
The warnings echo down the halls of Holy Scripture. Paul, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, admonished the folly of worldly wisdom, foreseeing its deceptive craftiness. Martin Luther, a Reformer grappling with the encroachment of worldly doctrines such as heliocentrism in his age, urged us to be different in our thinking; to resist the arrogant denial or presumptuous reinterpretation of divine truths. Our churches — once bastions of unwavering faith — now languish in decrepitude, victims of a compromise with the wisdom of this world. We have, as the Body of Christ, forsaken the clarity of Christ, Moses, the Prophets, and the Apostles, trading the doctrines of God for the fleeting allure of human wisdom.
Yet, in the shadows of this intellectual quagmire, a call emerges — a call to unlearn the wisdom of this world and relearn the Wisdom of God. The Biblical cosmological model, encapsulated in the concept of the Firmament, beckons us to rediscover the timeless truths embedded in Scripture. The Firmament, described in its solidity and purpose, simply cannot be relegated to a mere metaphor or allegory.
To do so is to distort the very foundations of our faith.
May the Firmament guide us back to the unwavering foundations of our faith, and may our journey be one of rediscovery, renewal, and a resolute commitment to the enduring Wisdom of God.
“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith.”
— 1st Epistle to Timothy 6:20-21 KJV
Further Research
Dr Russell Humphreys has a good book on this, based on his studies as an physicist, called Starlight and Time. It far more plausible than the snow globe theory.
Looks like an interesting book, I’ll have to add it to the list.
That said, Newtonian physics and relativity are falling apart, as any serious physicist will tell you. Quasars present a huge issue for proponents of the heliocentric model honestly, as they should be strictly impossible.
Grunge, do some research time on the Earth having more than one light source. The noble gases in almost a neon light replication working in tandem with the direct overhead lighting of the sun. It is only possible in a closed system.
If you had actually done this:
We must unlearn the wisdom of this world, and we must relearn the Wisdom of God.
You would have finished the article there.
Instead of reviewing the “wisdom of the world” as collated in the bible collection.
Would you trust any politician to make your “faith” decisions for you? [like the left are doing?]
The bible was assembled by politicians in the 4th century.
Ain’t no way around this fact.
Yeah.
But they included the information one needs to find the truth.
The creation story and original instructions sure seem accurate.
But I see different lessons in some of the stories than the mainstream promoted lessons.
I do not see all the bible characters in the same light as religions often teach.
The bible is a valuable teaching tool, that can also easily be used to abuse and defraud the unwary
That’s just entirely incorrect. Revelation was completed in 67 AD, and the earliest complete manuscripts of the New Testament can be cited to 73 AD.
The late-daters have an agenda. For anyone interested in actual investigation of the matter, this (not light reading) would be a good start:
The author was an Anglican bishop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Robinson_(bishop_of_Woolwich)
Grungevet..
What part of “The bible was assembled by politicians in the 4th century” is validly challenged by the counter claims you listed?
Is Relevation a book in the bible?
Is the new testament in the bible
By asking such questions you are del8berately obfuscating away from addressing the absolute agreed upon by everyone historical fact that the books of the bible were chosen by politicians.
Who ASSEMBLED the bible?
What were the reasons?
Who has benefitted the most ever since the bible was first invented?
The Bible consists of the New and Old Testament. If both were compiled hundreds of years before Constantine was ever born, how is that not prima facie evidence that your claim is wrong?
The Old Testament had been completed for nearly a millennia before the Council of Nicea. The New Testament was completed in 67 AD, since Revelation is the last inspired book, and compiled no later than 73 AD.
That said, Nicea was absolutely a hijacking of orthodoxy to turn Christianity towards the ends of the state. Those who clung to Scripture, instead of the dictates of the man made Magisterium, suffered greatly at the hands of Rome, both pre and post-Nicea.
They were not.
You are now just making shit up.
.
The Bible was assembled by the prophets of old, up to and including Paul.
2 Peter 1:20-21 KJB… “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
The words of the Lord were written down at the time received, and by a multiplicity of copies were they corroborated, collected and preserved over time to provide us Gods word in the language we speak today.
Psalm 12:6-7 KJB… “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”
Politicians have perverted it into more “modern” versions like the NIV…
This:
The Bible was assembled by the prophets of old, up to and including Paul.
Is absolutely incorrect.
All bible authors were dead centuries before Joseph Robiinette Constantine had the bible standardized in the fourth century.
It was not the politicians who made the Bible. Jesus and his apostles often quoted scripture. Jesus read from scripture in the synagogue. Hebrew scripture (the books of Moses, the historical books, psalms, proverbs, and the prophets) was well known and accepted as God’s word in Jesus’ day. To that body of scripture, Christians added the gospels, Acts, the letters of the aposles, and Revelation. Christians, not politicians, compiled scripture into the Bible. It was the power of Christian faith that led the decrepit Roman state to adopt and codify it to its own purposes, just as the Pharisees had adopted the law of Moses to suit themselves.
“Bible” is the Greek word for “book.” The early Christians bound scriptures into book form, which replaced scrolls, possibly to facilitate study and comparison of various books of scripture.
Using the bible to prove the bible true.
Think about it.
1 “It’s true.”
2 “How can you be sure?”
1 “It says it’s true inside.”
2 “Got corroberation?”
By that same logic how can you prove the opposite is true or anything else for that matter? Just saying something’s not true doesn’t automatically make it false either.
Just saying, doesn’t make.
That is correct.
Studying the creation is what will prove or disprove the interpretation.
The bible instructs the reader to learn about the creator by studying the creation. At least it used to.
That’s not correct. You learn about God by reading the scriptures. And I doubt you’ve ever read the Bible because your arguments against it are weak and lack any substance.
Stephanie?
Take up your complaint with Saul/Paul:
Roman’s 1:20:
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse”
Or are these words invalid for some obscure reason?
Maybe you should read GrungeVet’s entire article because he’s already refuted your argument. Paul wrote in Colossians that all things were created THROUGH Jesus Christ. He is the substance of all things visible and invisible in existence because all things visible and invisible were created through Him.
It’ starts with the scriptures. Th next steps are Prayer, meditation, and contemplation. This leads us to the holy spirit. There is no other path. With the holy spirit enlightens the mind it is called the Christ or Cosmic consciousness. When the holy spirit enlightens soul it is God Consciousness. You can only get to the higher states through meditation and contemplation. Meditation takes you to the Cosmic consciousness level. Contemplation can takes you to God realization.
I’ve investigated its claims. My conclusion; it is absolute truth.
Correct your KJV only doctrinal error, then maybe I’ll feel more gracious towards you….! Psalm 12:6 TPT For every word Yahweh speaks is sure and reliable. His truth is tested, found to be flawless, and ever faithful. It’s as pure as silver refined seven times in a crucible of clay.
Politicians or Religious Institutions?
There’s two things could very well be argued as one and the same… I don’t associate with either.
You get an extra thumbs up from me. Telling truth to this crowd always gets you a thumbs down. It’s the red badge of courage. The orthodox religion preachers are Satan’s instrument in this world. The orthodox teaching were sprinkled with just enough truth to keep the masses enslaved with it’s dogmas. It’s the exoteric teaching. The esoteric teaching are learned through the practice of Prayer, Meditation, and Contemplation. This leads to spiritual experience which is beyond the dogmas of any orthodox teaching.
It’s all good. AK.
I used to be one of them.
I used to be extremely intolerant because of the various divisive belief systems one can choose from.
I realize now, that the only way I ever crossed the rubicon was by beig exposed to truth which actually makes sense.
Believing in sky jesus coming to save has cost many people their lives.
What’s that old joke about the man waiting on the roof of his house for God to save, who turns away three rescue boats?
_______
Broken fables… ..
The seeds of truth,
Sprout in minds that are fertile.
~Confuse Us
Are you saying that truth only sprouts in the minds of people who are full of shit?
AKJOHN – maybe you know; can or will the Water/Vapor Canopy be restored?
Seems like this writer had little to say about the Canopy.
Great article that too few will even consider.
Thanks GCP.
Grace and Grungevet,
sitting in a tree…
Firmament refers too Earth and everything around it which science refers to as atmosphere. The waters above are the holy Spirit. Remember, Jesus says to drink them and you will never thirst. The holy spirit is what gives us and all things life. It’s what we’re made of. The holy spirit is the essence of God, and Soul is the essence of the holy spirit in it’s spiritual form. The physical form is an extension of God’s creation.
This is the most biblically accurate article about the firmament I’ve read so far. Thanks for posting it. It should also be noted that Friedrich Nietzsche’s nihilist philosophy led to him having a mental breakdown and going insane later in life. You will know them by their fruits..
It’s also the most stupid as His Kingdom is not of this world.
Thank you Steph.
AK- Neither are we of this world but for the very short time we are injected into the “great wide open”.
Daniel 4:33 Context
30The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? 31While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. 34And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? 36At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.
Nietzsche literally rejected nihilism.
We’d all do well to read and comprehend this man. He has God-granted insight, wisdom and discernment way beyond his years.
I’ve been reading and studying the Bible since 1960: I’d be blessed to know 25% of what he’s forgotten!
Blessings,
R49
BTW, I’ve shared your article with our Liberty Net members, as well as Pastor Baldwin
All glory to God brother.
Jorge Lemaitre was the damned Jesuit who professed the Big Bang heresy.
All people living in yhwh’s petri dish, which he started and will end after a few hundred generations like a science experiment with bacteria.
Spiritual jews claiming that foolishness is wisdom.
What is ‘our’ faith? You don’t even know who or what you are.
During the fake pandemic with all of the lockdowns of the schools, society, churches, and service industries, the churches were the biggest disappointments. They quickly succumbed to local decrees and shut their doors. Early christians worshiped underground with fear of death if caught. Modern day churches, rather than following God’s will, followed local dictates, and not only cowardly wilted from a virus, quickly shut their doors, shut out their worshipers, and acquiesced to ignorant local idiots who were drunk on their power. The complete lack of courage by our gutless ministers, priests, rabbis, and clergy was astonishing.
Chuck Baldwin’s Liberty Fellowship never closed its doors, or discouraged worshippers from attending service. We were wide open through the whole lock-down scenario. There were subversives who attended in a futile effort to get us shut down, Pastor Baldwin called them out from the pulpit and they slunk out with their collective tails between their collective legs.
He also encourages racemixing.
Wappen?