Scripture

Genesis 1:6-8
[6] Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
[7] God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
[8] God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

This is the 33rd Lecture on Genesis.
On the second day of the Creation, God created an expanse between waters.
Due to this creation, many new things took place both in the fleshly world and in the spiritual world.
In the fleshly (physical) world, the atmosphere was created. In the Second Heaven, which belongs to the spiritual realm, both the domain of light and the domain of darkness were created.
In the fleshly world, the waters below the expanse became ocean on the third day of the Creation, and the waters above the expanse remained as water vapors in the atmosphere.
On the 4th day of creation as the sun and the moon were created, circulations began in the waters.
The waters of the seas evaporated to become water vapor that formed clouds, and these clouds travelled with the wind that blew and brought rain around the globe.
Thanks to these circulations of the waters, all the creatures can be provided with water that sustains their lives.
God gives waters not only in the form of rain but also in the forms of snow or dew.
All these forms of precipitation from the sky actually symbolize the "blessings of God."
For the benefit of all the creatures including human beings, God the Father provides water in various forms.
And thus, Deuteronomy 11:14 says, "... He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil."
Psalm 65:10 also says, "[LORD God] You water its furrows abundantly, You settle its ridges, You soften it with showers, You bless its growth."
When God created this earth, all the things of the earth circulated according to Justice.
As human beings destroyed the natural environment for their own benefit, the (natural) order in nature gradually began to crumble.
As a result, the rain and snows became not only means of God's blessing, but they also became the means of calamity.
Originally, it rained and snowed equally in a well balanced manner according to the natural order God created.
As human beings destroyed this order of nature, however, imbalance occurred.
Some places had too much rain or snow, but there were other places where rain or snow was rare.
Heavy rainfall, heavy snowfall, droughts, and floods; such things began to take place as natural disasters.
By the way, no matter how appallingly man destroys the order of nature, God keeps hold of the fundamental justice of this earth so that it will not sway.
For example, there was a report that the axis of rotation had changed little bit due to the last earthquake in Chile.
However, it was very minute.
No matter how terrible the natural disasters become, during the period of human cultivation, God takes hold of the earth so that it can last.
Moreover, as the natural disasters become worse and worse, chances are increasing that the power of God will be needed even more.
Just as Jesus ruled over the winds and waves, the fiery power of the Holy Spirit can also control earthquakes, floods, and even volcanic eruptions.
Through these works, God the Father will be greatly glorified, as He will concludes human cultivation.
Dear brothers and sisters.
I said that, on the second day of the Creation, two domains were created in the Second Heaven of the spiritual realm.
The two domains of the second heaven refer to the domain of light and the domain of darkness.
There is a Bible verse that reveals that the Garden of Eden in the domain of light and the domain of darkness touch each other.
The fact that they touch each other means that, with the boundary line in the center, one part is the domain of darkness and the other part is the Garden of Eden in the domain of the light.
And thus, God caused the boundary line between then to be guarded.
Genesis 3:24 says, "So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life."
"Guarding the way" shows that there are beings that could make their way into the Garden.
The Bible clearly says that God caused the east of the Garden of Eden to be guarded.
In greater detail, God made the way to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden to be guarded.
This indicates that there was someone that may have sought after the tree of life.
In Genesis 3:22, God says, "and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever."
In this verse, "he" refers to Adam who committed sin.
Adam committed the sin of disobeying the order of God.
According to the law of spiritual realm, that dictates "the wages of sin is death," he couldn't live an eternal life any longer.
However, if he ate the fruit from the tree of life, he could live eternally.
Since Adam lived in the Garden for a long period of time, he knew this fact, and he might have tried to eat the fruit.
That's why God drove Adam out from the Garden of Eden to this earth.
After He drove Adam out of the Garden, God placed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
This is to prevent the evil spirits from eating the fruit of the tree of life.
In addition to the Garden of Eden, there are also evil spirits in the Second Heaven.
It was possible that the evil spirits could have invaded the Garden of Eden where Adam remained no longer.
For this reason, God placed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
From these facts, we can find that both the domain of light and the domain of darkness in the Second Heaven touch each other.
When God created the expanse on the 2nd day of the Creation, the Garden of Eden was created in the domain of light and the dwelling places for the evil spirits was created in the domain of darkness.
There was another space created in addition to these places in the Second Heaven.
There is a special area which acts like a buffer zone or a neutral area for the 1st Heaven which is the fleshly (physical) space, and the spiritual realm. This special area was created on the second day of Creation.
The time flow stops in this special area; there is no movement at all.
This is why the spiritual beings can come to the fleshly world instantly through this space.
Please be aware that a special place like this also exists in the "expanse."
It follows then that there are three spiritual spaces that God created in the expanse on the second day of the Creation.
They are the domain of light, the domain of darkness, and this neutral area where the time flow stops.
Now, Genesis 1:6 says, "Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.""
There is a spiritual reason that God created the expanse in the midst of the waters.
"Water" refers to the word of God in the spiritual sense.
Therefore, the fact that God created the expanse in the midst of the waters shows that everything is indeed under the authority of God.
The spaces that were created as God created the expanse: the atmosphere in the 1st heaven, the 2 domains in the 2nd heaven, and the neutral area; all of them belong to God.
Dear brothers and sisters.
To which space did the "waters above the expanse" go in the spiritual realm?
They became the foundation for the rivers in the Garden of Eden in the 2nd heaven.
In Genesis 2:11-14, four rivers in the Garden of Eden are mentioned.
But then, Genesis 2:10 says, "Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers."
It tells us that there is one source for the 4 rivers.
The waters that became the source of the 4 rivers are the "waters above the expanse" mentioned in tonight's scripture.
The rivers in the Garden of Eden cannot be compared to the rivers of this earth.
They are much wider than the rivers of this earth, and they are much longer.
Therefore, the volume of the rivers is much greater.
The waters in the Garden of Eden - the waters above the expanse - were actually the waters that covered the early earth.
As the expanse was created in the midst of the waters, the waters were divided into two, and the waters above the expanse became the source of the 4 rivers of the Garden of Eden.
And the waters below the expanse formed oceans on the earth.
Therefore, the waters in the Garden of Eden and the waters of this earth share the origin.
It is the River of Life that God caused to flow from Heaven.
However, since a very long time has passed, the waters of the earth have become polluted.
As Adam was cursed and driven to this earth, the earth and all things together in it were also cursed.
From that moment on, all the things in the earth began to change.
In addition, as a result of thoughtless and reckless developments by human beings they increasingly polluted the environment and severely damaged and destroyed the natural order.
As the result of these disruptions of the natural order, abnormal changes in the weather occurred and natural disasters became frequent.
God originally created this earth to be beautiful and pleasant, but human beings have polluted the earth out of their greed and evil.
Unlike this earth, the Garden of Eden is maintaining the original appearance that God had created.
It is clean and clear, and the rich natural environment is well maintained just the way it was created in the beginning.
The rivers in the Garden of Eden have been well maintained; they are clean and clear, and shine crisply.
But there was an occasion in the providence of God when these waters of the Garden of Eden fell down to this earth.
It was Noah's Flood.
I will explain it in great detail as we get to Chapter 7; During the Flood of Noah, it rained for 40 days so that even the highest mountain became submerged under water.
By the way, with all the waters in this earth, even if all the glacial ice in the poles area melted down, the highest mountain could not be submerged under water.
In other words, the earth cannot be entirely covered only with the waters of the earth.
Now, Genesis 7:11-12, which describes a scene of Noah's Flood, says, "all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights."
Here, "all the fountains of the great deep" refers to the source of the 4 rivers in the Garden of Eden.
And "the floodgates of the sky" refer to the gates that connect to the 2nd Heaven.
During the Judgment of the Flood, God made "all the fountains of the great deep" in the Garden of Eden burst open.
And He made the waters fall down to this earth through the opened floodgates in the second Heaven.
I said earlier that the volume of the rivers in the Garden of Eden is far greater when compared to that of the rivers of this earth.
If the waters of the Garden of Eden flow down to this earth, therefore, it is possible that the entire earth can be covered with the waters.
Moreover, God even made all the fountains of the deep, which is the source of the rivers in the Garden, burst open.
And He opened the gates that connect the 1st Heaven to the 2nd Heaven, and let the waters pour out onto the earth like rainfall.
By the way, the scripture uses the plural form of "the floodgates of the sky."
It means that not only the sky of a certain area was opened on the given time.
All the gates that are connected to the earth were opened.
The waters of the Second Heaven poured down not only on the area where Noah lived, but on the entire earth all at once.
That's why it was possible for even the highest mountain to be submerged under the water.
These waters of the Garden of Eden that poured down during the Judgment of Flood were withdrawn back into the Garden after the Judgment.
I will explain in great detail how God withdraw such great amount water back to the Garden of Eden as we get to Chapter 7 of Genesis.
What you should remember here is that, on the 2nd Day of the Creation, the waters above the expanse gathered at the source of the rivers of the Garden of Eden, and that the 4 rivers arose from the source.
And this fact can be proven by "the waters that fell down to this earth through the floodgates of the sky" during the Flood of Noah.
Dear brothers and sisters.
We have another evidence of the existence of the 2nd Heaven.
It is Manna that the Israelites ate in the wilderness after they escaped from Egypt.
A botanist of 19th century said that Manna was the dried sap that is extracted from a certain plants that grow in Sinai when it is bitten by plant lice.
In the area of Sinai or in a Middle East area, people collected marble shaped-fruit from a certain tree, and sold it in the name of "heavenly food."
However, manna is not fruit of a certain plant on this earth.
The Bible clearly states that manna rained from the sky.
Exodus 16:4 says, "Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction."
Here, "heaven" refers to the Second Heaven.
Psalm 78:23-24 says, "Yet He commanded the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven; He rained down manna upon them to eat and gave them food from heaven."
"The clouds above" also refer to the Second Heaven.
Like this, the bible says that manna came down from the Second Heaven.
God opened the door of the 2nd Heaven, and rained down manna as morning dews came down in the wilderness.
After the sun rose, and the dew dried, there was manna which was a fine flake-like substance, fine as the frost.
This manna had a pearl-like appearance and tasted like wafers with honey.
The Israelites gathered manna, ground it between two millstones or beat it in a mortar, and then ate it.
Exodus 16:35 says, "The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan."
God Himself provided bread for the Israelites for 40 years.
Joshua 5:12 says, "The manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year."
Even from this verse, you can find that manna was sent by God.
As the Israelites entered the land of Canaan and ate the fruit from the land, from the very next day, manna didn't come down from Heaven.
And so, they couldn't get manna again.
Now, if you come across something called "manna" while travelling in the Middle East area, please be aware that it is not true manna.
God rained manna from the 2nd Heaven, and it was given for the period of only 40 years as the Israelites lived in the wilderness.
The Garden of Eden in the 2nd Heaven belongs to the spiritual realm, but it is not completely a spiritual space.
If a fleshly man desires he can see and touch in Eden though it is spiritual space.
This is why fleshly men could eat manna even though it was the food from the 2nd Heaven.
Dear brothers and sisters.
When Jesus was born, the star that led the 3 Magi was also a star of the 2nd Heaven.
Matthew 2:9 says, "After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was."
The star of the sky repeated going and stopping as it kept the pace with them, and it stopped as they arrived at the destination.
If this star had been the star in the 1st Heaven, its movement would have broken the order of the universe and enormous problems would have taken place.
The stars in the 1st Heaven move along the preset tract according to the natural order.
Therefore, you can find that the star that led the three was not a star from the 1st Heaven.
God moved the star in the 2nd Heaven so that it couldn't affect anything in the 1st heaven.
And He opened the space of the 2nd Heaven where the star moved so that the 3 Magi could see the star.
God has shown this movement of stars to us so many times.
We have seen three stars moving in a group, a star zigzagging, stars running on a course toward each other, and so on; God showed various movements of stars that are impossible in the 1st Heaven.
Those stars that moved were the stars in the 2nd Heaven.
God opened the space of the 2nd Heaven for the moment so that we could see them.
In order to help you feel the spiritual space, God showed other various signs and wonders other than this.
For example, you saw the scene that very clean and clear clouds appeared at a high altitude in the sky and then disappeared back into the sky.
As you see it happen you feel like someone on the other side of the sky blew white smoke into the sky and then breathed it back it in again.
You can find in many parts of the Bible that clouds appeared as something or someone moved through the spiritual space.
First is when Jesus went up on the Mountain of the Transfiguration.
Matthew 17:5 says, "While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!""
As the Lord ascended after His resurrection, Acts 1:9 says, "He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight."
Mark 13:26 also says, "Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory."
In the Old Testament, as God Himself came down to this earth, clouds always appeared as written in Exodus 19:9.
As you can see, clouds appear as the door to the spiritual realm opens.
God showed us not the clouds of this fleshly world, but the clouds of the spiritual realm.
And God helped us realize that the world you can see with your eyes is not the whole world, but that the spiritual realm truly exists.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
For 5 of the 6 days of the Creation, the Bible says, "God saw that it was good."
But this expression cannot be found only on the 2nd day of the Creation.
What is the reason?
The reason is that a domain of darkness where the evil spirits dwell was created in the expanse on the 2nd day.
For fairness in the process of human cultivation, God prepared the dwelling pace for Lucifer and the evil spirits in the domain of darkness of the 2nd Heaven.
Since the domain of darkness couldn't look good to the eyes of God, however, there was no expression, "God saw that it was good."
Now, did any of you think something like this:
"On the 1st day of the Creation, God released the evil spirits, and created the darkness which is against the light, but then why the Bible says "it was good"?"
If you read the 1st day of the Creation carefully, you can find the answer.
From the 3rd day till the 6th day, at the end of the work of creation of each day, there is an expression, "God saw that it was good."
On the other hand, on the 1st day, it says, "God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good."
And then, God separated the light from the darkness.
In other words, God saw that only the light was good on the 1st day.
Likewise, the word of God is precise, and nothing was written without reason.
By examining the works of the 1st day and the 2nd day of the Creation, you can find how much God loves the light, but hates the darkness.
James 1:17 calls God "the Father of lights," and says, "with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow."
You are the children of God who is light Himself.
Therefore, please cultivate your heart so that there is no darkness at all, but only the light fills it.
May there be no work of the forces of the darkness in your life, and may you give glory to God the Father with the fruit of light, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!

[Amen]