The Second Day of Creation Week
The second day of creation week is probably the most controversial in the wars of theories offered to explain the earth’s beginnings. The young earth literal interpretation is straight forward and follows the description of the events of that day according to the most obvious way of understanding it. The literal interpretation just allows the text to say what it says. Any way you read it, the second day tells you there was a canopy of water above the earth’s atmosphere that arose out of the globe of water created on the first day. It is very important to have this understanding because it gives the explanation of how things where before the flood that where very different from the way things are now.
The water canopy covering answers many questions about the pre-flood world. Here are some of those questions. How did people live hundreds of years? How did the plants and animals grow to be much larger than they are now? Where did the water for the forty days of rain that covered the whole earth come from? Why were there no rainbows until after the flood? Why do we find evidence of warm climates buried in the ice of the north and south poles? Why do we find fossils of warm climate plants and animals in the cold northern regions? Let’s look at the second day and learn the answers from a biblical explanation.
The earth enclosed in a water vapor canopy suspended above the atmosphere would have at least three major impacts on the earth’s environment. One would be a heavier atmospheric pressure, two would be the reflection of the dangerous short waves of light that cause mutations, and three would be an even distribution of heat causing a worldwide (pole to pole) greenhouse effect. These changes in the environment answer the above questions about the pre-flood environment.
First, the heavier atmospheric pressure. A much heavier atmospheric pressure would cause plants and animals to grow to be much larger than they are now. Our bodies function better in heavier atmospheric pressure making longer life possible. Second, the absence of dangerous light waves would prevent mutations from developing in the DNA of plants and animals making the food supply highly nutritious and would prevent the development of disease. Third, there would be even temperatures globally. The sun would heat the canopy and it would distribute the heat evenly around the earth. That tells us that there would be no storms, rain clouds, and no rainbows. That would also allow for an even distribution of plant and animal life over the whole earth, including the north and south poles. The canopy apparently contained enough water that when the vapor condensed into rain it took 40 days and forty nights to dissipate.
You now have a better understanding as to why the second day is so controversial. It does away with the idea that the way things are now have always been the way they are now. In evolution theory it is called “Uniformitarianism.” The water canopy really calls into question the old earth dating processes used by evolutionists. I believe I will just stick with God’s word. It actually explains what we observe about the earth’s past far better than old earth, godless assumptions. Just believe God’s word.
For a more in-depth explanation of the water vapor canopy read my book, No Other Gods chapter 4, and Dr Henry Morris’ book, The Genesis Record, pp. 57-61.