The Atmospheric Heavens
By R.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament.” Gen. 1:7. Thus, in a few words, the Bible relates the creation of that which scientific men call the atmosphere. It is a very simple description of a very complex thing. This scripture, as well as the whole narrative of creation, is intended for the instruction of all mankind, and is not for the learned reader only. Also, it is intended for all mankind in every age of the world’s history, no matter what relative knowledge of science that age may possess. For a book like the Bible, addressed to the souls of all mankind no matter what their educational attainments, no other course is permissible. The language must be so simple, so touching the root-idea of things, that any man may gather some knowledge of its meaning. At the same time, the wording must be so clear and pure that no scientific attainments, no matter how great, shall ever be able to really criticize it or in the true sense supersede it. Such we shall find is this clear statement concerning the creation of the atmosphere. There have been times when men believed and taught that the earth was flat, and spread out as a plain many miles in extent. They thought the heavens were a crystal dome which rested on all sides upon the firm support of the earth. And some men in our days seek to show that the word “firmament” of the Scriptures means this same thing. One writer translates it “hammered plates.” In doing this, he shows more invention than knowledge. The word rakiya, from which “firmament” is translated, is from a root word, meaning to HAMMER or POUND. The word “plates” is not at all in the word. To hammer metal out into plates is to cause it to expand, and so in time the word, which meant only to HAMMER, came to mean expand. And thus in the Hebrew language the word came to have two meanings—one, to hammer; and the other, to expand; and that which was expanded was called rakiya, an expanse. There is a great reason for the use of this Hebrew word in this connection. Note how it is. We understand that air is made up of a mixture of two gases, oxygen and nitrogen; and we know that it is a quality of all gases to expand unless in some way confined. Furthermore, science teaches us that the expansion of gases is due to the hammering upon one another of the atoms of which they are composed. All matter, but especially gaseous matter, is vibrant with force, and force is the energy of the creative word. When God, therefore, wrapped the earth about with a gaseous atmosphere, vibrating under the constantly impressed energy of the word, the very vibrating and clashing and hammering of the atoms of the gases caused these particles to seek wider room and thus expand until the stress of expansion was in perfect balance with the restraining stress of gravity. And thus it is even to this day. Hence we have a HAMMERED EXPANSE, for the atoms of the gases were hammered or caused to vibrate by the activity of the word of the Creator. And we have even now a hammered expanse, for the power of the word still causes them to vibrate and so continue to maintain the expanse. The first of these two acts of the word caused the creation of the atmosphere. The second act of the word causes it to be maintained. It is true that in time men came to think of the sky as a dome of crystal. It is thus that the Greeks and Romans viewed it. So, too, the Jews, in time, as they apostatized, came to cover the Scriptures with their own traditions and interpretations, borrowed in most part from the teachings of the heathen. The final result of this misunderstanding, alike of the Word and the works is seen to-day in our English translation of the word rakiya by the word “firmament,” as something firm or substantial. But men’s ideas and God’s Word are separate things. Revelation gives us the truth of science in the word “expanse;” and science is left to search out the facts which explain that truth. And this is the harmony of the Bible and science, and this is their co-operation. Last of all, the Scriptural word for the atmosphere is better than that given by science. The language of science is largely the description of appearances. Thus books of astronomy speak of the “sun entering Aries,” by which they do not mean that the sun actually enters the constellation of Aries, but that it passes a certain point in space, called the “vernal equinox.” They also speak of the conjunction of heavenly bodies, but do not mean that these bodies actually conjoin; they merely appear to do so. And scientific men, non-scientific men, and the Bible itself, put the appearance for the reality, when they speak of the rising and setting of the sun. It is perfectly proper to use such an expression, for we speak of a mere phenomenon, without any reference to the cause which produces it. To do otherwise would be to place a burden upon us that neither we nor our language of common conversation could bear. We have said that the Scriptural name for the heavens is a better word than that given by science, and so it is. The name that science gives to the expanse is “atmosphere;” that is, a ball of vapor. It is really a more superficial word than the one given by inspiration; the scientific word “atmosphere” deals more with appearances; the word from the Bible, “expanse,” suggests more the inner nature, and prompts us to learn what was expanded, and what caused the expanse. R.