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The canopy theory seeks to explain the reference in Genesis 1:6 to "the waters above the firmament," assuming that "firmament," or "expanse," as the Hebrew word is alternatively translated, refers ...
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I am not sure if there was a watery canopy above the earth at the deluge of Noah and time before. However the atmosphere must have been different because after the flood God gave Noah a sign, the rainbow, that he would never flood the earth again. So presumably rainbows weren't in existence before the deluge. The worldwide flood was not only caused by heavy rain but mostly by sub-terrain water bursting out from the depths of the earth (Genesis 7:10-12). Apparently there is enough sub-terrain and oceanic/sea water to cover the earth to a depth of 2.7 km if one flattened all the mountain ranges.
Rain as we know it today did not exist on earth until the day it began raining and God closed the door of the ark, causing Noah's flood. Gen 2:5 (b) and 6, "LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth....But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground." This was probably like our modern day dew but on a much larger scale. I've often thought that Noah preaching to his neighbors that "Someday when I finish this huge ark it is going to rain for 40 days and 40 nights, and a worldwide flood will result, killing all of you," would have made absolutely no sense to them because no one on earth, except Noah, who knew what rain was.
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