Creation Myth
Day Two
Topics covered in this document:
Introduction
This parchment presents the events of the second day of creation.
On this day, God divided the Upper Waters from the Lower Waters by
placing a crystaline firmament between them.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters,
and let it divide the waters from the waters. 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. And God called the firmament
Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
-Gen. 1:6-8.
Note: Look carefully and you'll discover something interesting.
The second day was the only day of creation that was not pronounced
as being good. We'll find out why in this document.
Four Creations of Second Day
On the second day of creation, God created four things:
- The Firmament
- Hell
- Fire
- Angels
Whereas the creation of the other days brought about unity, the second
day was a day of separations.
NOTE: These separations are not in the sense that day was
separated from night, for example. Rather, these separations consist of
splitting up like entities ... such as dividing the water from itself.
Crystaline Firmament
The firmament is not the same thing as the heavens which were created
on the first day. Rather, it's a solid, crystaline covering no more than
three fingers thick ... and accounts for the twinkling effect of the
stars.
Water Separation
The main function of the firmament is to separate the waters above from
the waters below.
Dividing Line: Celestial & Terrestrial
It is also the dividing line between the celestial and the terrestrial
earth.
Saturn-Like Rings?
Could this crystaline firmament have been something like the rings of
Saturn ... that once upon a time also encircled the earth? Naw, I didn't
think so.
Male and Female Waters
When God visited the earth, he found the male Upper Waters locked in
a passionate embrace with the female Lower Waters. He ordered the waters
to separate, but they both rose together.
Furious, God separated them ... lest they mate and flood the world.
Cause of Noah's Flood
To keep the male and female waters apart in the future, He placed the
firmament between them. As you might guess, He removed the firmament only
once and that was during the flood in Noah's day.
Female Waters Feel Slighted
Because the separation of the Waters was not a unifying act, it caused
some challenges during the third day. We'll cover these problems in depth
in the next parchment.
But briefly, the problem was that since the Waters were the first to
sing the praises of God, the feminine (lower) Waters wondered why they
were being "punished" by being placed underneath the firmament. Why did
the male (upper) Waters get to be on top?
God Rewards Feminine Waters
To appease the feminine Waters, God decreed that whenever the masculine
Waters decided to give praise to God, they had to first obtain the
permission of the Waters below. As a further concession to the seas
(waters below), God ordained that salt and water must be used in all
temple ordinances.
Creation of Hell
Rabbinic sources used the word Gehinnom for Hell. Gehenna is,
of course, a valley near Jerusalem (Hinnom). It was in this valley where,
in ancient times, Moloch was worshipped.
Moloch
As you might know, Moloch, in one of his forms, was often fashioned as
a hollow, metal idol in which a very hot fire burned. As part of the
religious ritual, parents would toss their newborn infants into the
scalding arms of Moloch.
Generally speaking, the Jews were appalled by this cruel practice. I
tend to agree with them.
Gate to Hell in Jerusalem
One of the three gates of Hell is located in Jerusalem, of all
places.
Hell Neighbors Paradise
Hell and Paradise are located side by side ... so you can look from
one place to the other.
Hell's Angels of Destruction
Hell is supervised by 90,000 Angels of Destruction.
Divisions of Hell
Hell has seven divisions, each one beneath the other. From highest to
lowest, they are:
- Sheol
- Perdition
- The Lowest Pit
- The Bilge
- Silence
- The Gates of Death
- The Gates of the Shadow of Death
Combined, these divisions are referred to as Gehenna. It takes 300 years
to traverse each division.
You might recognize the lowest division of Hell from the Psalm:
Yea though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death...
-Psalms 23:4
Subdivisions of Hell
Each division of Hell has seven subdivisions. In each subdivision, there
are seven rivers of fire and seven of hail.
Each subdivision is further subdivided into 7,000 caves ... each with
7,000 crevices ... and in each crevice there are 7,000 scorpions. Every
scorpion has 300 rings ... with 7,000 pouches of venom in each ring.
Hell is definitely not a pleasant sounding place. It's certainly not
the kind of place you'd want to put on your vacation itinerary.
Not a Good Day
As mentioned earlier, did you notice that God didn't pronounce the
completion of the second day as good? That's because Hell was created
on this day (just in case someone quizzes you about which day of creation
was not good).
But Justice required separate places for the pious and the wicked ...
so it was necessary for God to create a Hell.
Creation of Angels
Angels were fashioned on the second day, rather than the first, lest
man take away some of God's glory ... claiming that angels assisted God
in the creation.
Some sources, however, claim they were created on the fifth day along
with other winged creatures.
Still other sources claim that the highest ranking angels were indeed
created on the first day.
Some sources even go so far as to claim that angels existed prior to
the creation.
It seems the time of the creation of angels gave the ancients a lot of
trouble. The overwhelmingly prevalent view seems to favor their creation
on the second day. However, you may take your pick.
Angels Masculine
Other than in mystical literature, all angels are masculine.
Angels of Fire
Fire was introduced into the world by the heavenly angels.
Angels are themselves composed of fire while they are in heaven, but
are changed into wind (or men) while on earth.
Of special note, unlike the other angels, the archangels Michael and
Gabriel never change shape when they visit the earth.
Some of these angels of fire exist only for a moment as shooting
stars.
Classes of Angels
The ancients had difficulty agreeing on how many classes of angels
there are. Some say ten, some nine, some say five, some seven, and still
others say three.
Pseudepigraphic literature identifies seven archangels corresponding
to the seven planets ... or else twelve of them, corresponding to the
signs of the zodiac.
But all the sources seem to agree that the most exalted in
rank are the multitude of angels who surround the Divine Throne on all
sides. These high ranking angels are under the direct supervision and
leadership of the four chief archangels Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and
Raphael.
Purification Bath
Any angel who visits the earth must undergo a purification bath before
they are allowed to return to heaven. This bath cleanses them of the taint
of the earth.
What Next?
Return
Return to a higher level:
Read Next Document in Series
The following documents are in this series:
Have a pleasant day!
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