In Hermeneutical principle 4B, we will continue our examination of the ancient phenomenological perspective of nature. We will focus in this episode on the heavens and ancient astronomy in the Bible. Please turn to page 33 in the class handouts. The first feature in an ancient understanding of astronomy, is that the sun moves across the sky daily. For example, Ecclesiastics 1:5 states, the sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. Similarly, Psalm 19:6 refers to the movement of the sun. The sun rises at one end of the heavens, and makes its circuit to the other. Ancient astronomical feature number 2, the firmament. This is one of the best ancient scientific ideas for developing our hermeneutics regarding statements about nature in the Bible. Please turn to page 6 in the handouts. As we've noted previously, the firmament refers to the solid dome of heaven above the earth, similar to an inverted bowl. The firmament was created on the second day of creation in Genesis 1. God said, let there be a firmament between the waters to separate the water from the water. So God made a firmament, and separated the water under the firmament from the water above the firmament, and was so and God called the firmament heavens. And there was evening and there was morning the second day. Note that the word firmament appears five times in this short passage. The term firmament also appears in the well known Psalm 19 verse 1 states, The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands. Please turn to page 34 in the handouts and let's look at some ancient languages for the term firmament in the Bible. The reason we do this is because ancient science is deeply embedded in some ancient words. The Greek term for firmament is stereōma and it refers to the solid dome of heaven. The root of this term is stereos which means hard or firm. Therefore imbedded in the Greek word for firmament is the idea that it is hard. The Hebrew word for firmament is raqia and it also means the solid dome of heaven. This noun is related to the verb raqa, which means to flatten, hammer and stamp down. This Hebrew verb raqa often appears in the context of pounding metals. For example, Exodus 39:3 states, they hammered out raqa thin sheets of gold, most notably raqa is even found in the context of creating the heavens. Job 37:18 asks the question, can you join God in spreading out raqa the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze? This verse is clearly referring to the firmament and acknowledging that it is solid like hard metal. Let's now consider historical criticism. The firmament was the astronomy of the day, about 3000 years ago in both Egypt and Mesopotamia. On page 34, we have two images from these ancient civilizations that show this ancient astronomical notion. Here is a diagram of the universe according to the ancient Egyptians. As you can see, the firmament is in red and it is speckled by stars. There is also a diagram of the heavens by the ancient Mesopotamians. The firmament is in red and it upholds and a heavenly sea of water. The God Shamash is on his throne in his heavenly dwelling Our third ancient astronomical feature in the three tier universe is the Heavenly Sea. The Bible refers to this body of water as the Waters Above. This is a logical notion since the sky is blue, and rain falls from above. The Heavenly Sea was created on the 2nd Day of Creation. God said, let there be a firmament between the waters to separate the water from the water. So God made a firmament and separated the water under the firmament from the water above it and it was so the second day Please turn back to the 3- tier universe diagram on page 6 in the handouts. This passage on the second day of creation leads to the expression the waters above and the waters below. The heavenly sea also appears in other biblical passages. For example, Psalm 148 verses 3 and 4 states, praise him that is praise God. Praise him sun and moon, praise him all you shining stars. Praise him you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. In Psalm 104, verses 2 and 3 are quite instructive. God stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. To use our 3-tier universe diagram, according to Psalm 104, God places the beams of his upper chambers. That is His dwelling in heaven on the waters of the heavenly sea. Historical criticism reveals that the heavenly sea was the astronomy of the day roughly 3000 years ago in both Egypt and Mesopotamia. Let's look at a few diagrams. The Egyptian understanding of the universe features a body of water above the firmament and we know this is water because the sun god ray is in a boat. And every day the sun god travels across the heavenly sea to enter the underworld and then travel through it to emerge in the east and rise again. The Mesopotamian understanding of the heavens also feature a heavenly sea. And similar to the conception of the heavens in Psalm 104, the heavenly dwelling of the Mesopotamian God Shamash is placed on the waters in the heavens. Please turn to page 35 in the handouts. Another ancient astronomical concept is the notion that there were ends and foundations of the heavens. The ends of the heavens is logical since the end of the firmament is at the horizon. For example, Jesus asserts in Matthew 13:27, that at the end of time, God will gather his elect from the four winds from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. Similarly, the foundations of the heavens is a logical notion because something was needed to support the firmament. This is like the foundations of the earth. For example, 2 Samuel 22 : 8 records, the foundations of the heavens shook and trembled. Please turn to the diagram of the 3-tier universe on page 35 in the class handouts, so we can identify these last two ancient astronomical features. The ends of the heavens was the edge of the firmament at the horizon. The foundation of the heavens were the base that held up the firmament. The fifth feature of an ancient phenomenological perspective of the heavens, is that the sun, moon and stars are Are placed in the firmament. This ancient astronomy appears on the fourth day of creation, in Genesis1. God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to separate the day from the night. And let them serve as signs to mark, the seasons and days and years. Let them be lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light on the earth, and it was so. Continuing with the fourth day of creation, God made 2 great lights, the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light on the earth. To govern the day and night and to separate light from darkness. And God saw it was good. There was evening and there was morning the fourth day. From an ancient phenomenological perspective, this is a logical idea. Since, the sun, the moon and the stars appear to be embedded in the firmament in front of the heavenly sea. It's worth adding that for ancient people, stars are believed to be small and can fall to the earth. This is a logical notion due to the phenomenon of meteors. They are the same size and luminosity as stars and look like they fall from the firmament. To give you an example, in Matthew 24:29, Jesus states that at the end of time, the stars will fall from heaven and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Our next ancient astronomical feature is the upper heavens. This is where God's dwelling place is located. For ancient people, this is a real physical location, just overhead. To give you an example, Deuteronomy 26 and 15 records a prayer to God. Look down from heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel. This verse in Deuteronomy 26 makes perfect sense in a 3-Tier Universe. God's dwelling is in the upper heavens. And God looks down to his people Israel on Earth. Our seventh and final feature of the heavens as understood from an ancient phenomenological perspective, is the lower heavens, which has 2 parts. First, it includes the firmament. For example, on the second day of creation, God called the firmament heavens. The lower heavens also refer to the air space. For example in Genesis 2:19 it states, God formed all the birds of the heavens. And in Daniel 7:13 it records, the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the heavens. To use our diagram of the 3-Tier Universe, the lower heavens include the firmament, and the airspace. We can now bring this very long and detailed hermeneutical principle number 4 to a conclusion. The ancient phenomenological perspective of nature and the 3-Tier Universe. First, I think it's very clear that the Bible has a 3-Tier Universe, and that this was the best science of the day in the ancient Near East. Second, the Bible has an ancient phenomenological perspective of the structure and operation of the universe. If we suspend our 21st century scientific ideas, and look at the world through ancient eyes and an ancient mindset. We can completely appreciate why ancient people believed in a 3-Tier Universe. Finally, and, most importantly, God accommodated in the Bible and allowed the ancient writers to use ancient astronomy and ancient geography. This last conclusion, naturally leads To the question, does the Bible also have an ancient biology? We will explore this question and its implications as we proceed through this course. We always end a hermeneutical principle with consideration to Genesis 1-3. The ancient astronomy and ancient geography in the bible, lead to another challenging question. Do the creation account in Genesis 1 to 3 have an ancient understanding of the origin of the universe% life. I'd like you to think about this. And we will also answer this question as we move forward through this course. End of episode.
