Evidence for God from Science

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

Could the "waters which were above the expanse" and the "floodgates of the sky" be referring to a water canopy? Let's look at the original Hebrew text to determine what these English translations are referring to. The Hebrew word translated "expanse" is raqia (Strong's # H7549), which occurs 18 times in 15 verses of the Old Testament. The vast majority of these occurrences are found in Genesis 1. Genesis 1:8 actually defines the term raqia as being the equivalent to the Hebrew word shamayim (Strong's #H8064), which can be translated as "heaven" or "sky." Some examples of the use of raqia in Genesis 1 include the following:

•Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse [raqia] of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; (Genesis 1:14)
•And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse [raqia] of the sky." (Genesis 1:20)
As can be seen by the uses of raqia, the term is very broad, encompassing both outer space and the atmosphere of earth. Obviously, raqia could not be specifically referring to a water canopy. Other verses state that raqia is declaring (present tense) the work of God's hands. This cannot be referring to a water canopy, since one does not exist at this present time.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse [raqia] is declaring the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1)
Let's look at the other phrase, "floodgates of the sky," and see how this is used in the Old Testament. Here is the verse from the flood account and the corresponding [Hebrew] words.

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky [arubbah:H699 shamayim:H8064] were opened. (Genesis 7:11)
If this term is never again used in the Old Testament, one could make a case for the idea that the "floodgates of the sky" might refer to a water canopy. However, it can be seen from the verses below (which occur well after the flood) that this term applies to rain in general:

•"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven [arubbah:H699 shamayim:H8064], and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. (Malachi 3:10)
•The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens [arubbah:H699 shamayim:H8064], could this happen?" "You will see it with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!" (2 Kings 7:2)
The Bible declares there was no canopyThe above verses from the Bible demonstrate that there is no biblical basis or biblical reference to the idea of a water canopy above the earth. Ultimately, the Bible actually states that there was no canopy above the earth from the fourth creation day onward. Any kind of substantial water canopy above the earth would prevent the stars from being seen, which is directly contradicted by Genesis 1:14-18:

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:14-18)
Another biblical problem with the water canopy theory is what the Bible said happened to the waters of the flood. According to Genesis, the water receded (which is impossible if it came from a vapor canopy) and was dried by the wind. Neither method would not significantly affect a global flood, further suggesting that the Genesis flood was local in extent.

“The sun, moon, and stars created on the fourth day as “lights in the firmament of the heavens” (Gen. 1:14) are placed not in any space created on day 1 but in the “firmament” that was created on the second day. In fact, the correspondence in language is quite explicit: this “firmament” is not mentioned at all on day 1 but five times on day 2 (Gen. 1:6-8) and three times on day 4 (Gen. 1:14-19).”