Mr. Vinson,

I know you are really busy, but I wanted to ask: what is the firmament?

Gen 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Gen 1:7 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.
Gen 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Is the firmament the elect? Also, I have been reading Andrew Jukes’ book “Types in Genesis”, and how can Noah be regenerated if he was above the flood and didn’t go into the flood?

Any help with these would be greatly appreciated.
God Bless,
D____

Hi D____,

Thank you for your question. It is questions like this that expand our knowledge of the things of the spirit.

You ask:

What is the firmament?

You quote Genesis 1:

Gen 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Gen 1:7 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.
Gen 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so.

What does the ‘firmament’ do? The ‘firmament’ divides the ‘waters’ under the firmament from the ‘waters’ which are over the firmament.

So, what is the ‘firmament?’

Gen 1:8 (a) And God called the firmament Heaven.

So there it is. The firmament is “called… heaven.” To understand What and Where Is Heaven read the paper by that title. It will open your eyes to what ‘heaven’ means in the Word of God, and you will see where the heavens really are.

First let’s look at how Mr. Strong defines this word ‘firmament’ which is “called heaven:”

H7549
ra qi ya
raw- kee’- ah
From H7554; properly an expanse, that is, the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky: – firmament.
“An expanse, that is, the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky.”

God gave Mr. Strong the ability to define Greek and Hebrew words, but he did not give him the ability to see the things of the spirit, even when the spiritual meaning is specifically given:

Gen 1:8 (a) And God called the firmament Heaven.

Nevertheless, Mr. Strong does perform a very necessary service in telling us what is the root of the word for the “firmament… God called… Heaven.” It is “from H7554.”

Here now is the definition of the word from which the word ‘firmament’ is derived:

H7554
ra qa
raw- kah’
A primitive root; to pound the earth (as a sign of passion); by analogy to expand (by hammering); by implication to overlay (with thin sheets of metal): – beat, make broad, spread abroad (forth, over, out, into plates), stamp, stretch.

There now, for those with “eyes to see and ears to hear” is the true meaning of the word ‘firmament… which God called… Heaven:” “ To pound the earth; to expand (by hammering): beat, make broad, spread abroad, stamp, stretch.”
It is only through our trials and our tests that we (the ‘earth’ – Jer 22:29), are conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is through being beaten with the needed stripes that we are all brought to ourselves so that we return to our Father as His prodigal sons.

And all of this takes place in “the firmament of the heavens.”

Eph 6:12 Because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but, against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world- holders, of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies. (REV)

Heb 9:23  [It was] therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [the blood of bulls and goats]; but the heavenly things themselves [those in whom Christ dwells] with better sacrifices than these.

I hope this helps you to see what is the firmament of the heavens. The ‘firmament’ is where God is pounding out his plan and His purpose, in the “heavenly things themselves” for which He gave his blood to purify our heavens of all the principalities and powers which have been given to the serpent by our physical birth:

Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

The ministers of Babylon may not understand what God has given to the serpent, but the serpent knew what he was being given:

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

We are all eaten for lunch by the serpent in our own ‘heavens’ until the appointed time of the Father.

Mike