USE OF THE WORD “SCIENCE”

I find it irritating the way some people use the word “Science”. Some use the word to establish an atmosphere of authority, to say something you can not argue about. They use phrases like: “Science says . . .”, or "Science now knows. . ." They also use related phrases like: "Research has shown . . .", "Extraordinary new light indicates . . .", "New evidence has shown . . ." , "We now know . . .".

Science involves the use of the scientific method of investigating nature. One observes a phenomenon and forms a theory about its cause. He then devises an experiment to prove the theory. He records the results, and if the theory seems to be proved he writes a paper about the phenomenon, the theory of its cause, and the experiment that is supposed to prove his theory. Others can then repeat the experiment and if the same results occur they can agree that the theory is most likely true. The theory of the structure of atoms is based on such experimental work that is so repeatable it is safe to assume the atomic theory is true. A definition of science I read said it is "the systematic study of the nature and behavior of the material and physical universe, based on observation, experiment, and measurement, and the formulation of laws to describe these facts in general terms."

I have heard the word “science” used as a phrase which I call "self-fulfilling introduction". These statements, “science says” and the like, are intended to give an air of established truth to the content that follows them. The introductory phrases appear to give authority to what comes next, as if to say, "let there be no question about this". They provide appearance of a reliable source, albeit an unnamed and unexplained source. I find this particularly irksome with respect to the topic of evolution vs. creation. Many use “science” to express the pervasive concept of evolution-as-fact. Evolution is not fact, it is an unproven theory that can neither be tested nor repeated. Evolution requires the concept of millions of years. No set of humans have ever actually observed millions of years.

“Millions of years ago everything we see evolved from nothing, or a 'singularity', or a single atom.” Who was there to know this? The concept can only exist in theory. To believe it takes a great amount of faith - - faith that this theory is indeed the truth.

I’d rather believe, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This also takes faith. But I know one who was there, I’ve read his book.

WORKING ADVANTAGES

Psalm 15
The Psalm asks: "who may abide in your Tabernacle" then goes on to say, "he who walks uprightly, has integrity, practices righteousness, speaks truth in his heart, etc." But we know that Christ is our righteousness, and nothing that we do (but what Christ did) gets us past the gates of heaven. Since born again Christians already have secure entrance into heaven, what does “your Tabernacle” mean and how much does "walking uprightly" really matter, is it an advantage? Perhaps it indicates how we can abide with God while still on this earth. The motivation would be wanting to please God. We do right, we abide in the Tabernacle.

Surely it should not mean seeking status for yourself. Sadly, most of the time our motivation comes from the desire for status, pride, or maybe a fear of rejection. Wanting to "abide in the Tabernacle" for the reason of having a self-advantage does not work well. It is in direct competition with other things that want advantage for the self. When you are advantaging yourself for Tabernacle status another worldly advantage opportunity can shove it aside. The flesh easily sees (and wants) things that have more immediate reward.

If you do a good thing and are "walking uprightly" for God's advantage, then it has the potential of lasting, even though you may later slip into works of the flesh. I wonder if doing it for self-advantage ever pleases God. Proverbs 15:9: the Lord loves him who follows after righteousness.

THE LIAR LAYS IN WAIT

Very windy and cloudy today (19 Feb 2021) yet a lot of birds are flying around. Just as I finished the first sentence the sun came out. That shows man's words mostly stand only for the moment they speak them. Only God's word for sure stands. We hope that most men are true and stand by what they speak - - and repent and confess when they are mistaken.

For those who want to hear something badly enough there will always be a liar to tell them what they want to hear.

The prophets that I journaled of the other day - the ones that said Donald Trump would be the next president - confidently said "Trump will be President". Some may have even said "God said - ", or "God told them - ". It is terrible that they speak this way - - and that so many believed them.

I prayed, God please punish the ones who spoke out knowing that God did not speak to them; show them as liars to the public. How terrible will it be for them at the Judgement to have knowingly spoken lies.

Please show the ones who spoke but were deceived to know and to repent of the deception and to diligently seek to only recognize what is true.

Please cause the gullible ones who believed the lies to see their weakness to believe what they wish would be. Help them to hear, to seek and to test all things whether there be any truth in them.

HOME STATE YET EMPTY

[While on Government travel years ago at a Wendy’s in Maynard, Ma. I wrote:]
(Maynard, MA) I have strange feelings being back at my hometown area. I feel useless, valueless. It seems I have no connection here whatsoever. Even the thought of being in the same geographical area as my sister Anne or Uncle Elliot has not changed the feeling.

I had no success calling anyone, even home to Florida. I'll drive back to Acton again. If I have no success there, I'll go back toward Bedford and try Uncle Elliot. From either Acton or Bedford I will try to get hold of my old friends Don or Steve Murphy.

If we (Lizzie, the boys, and I) were to move to a new area I'm afraid of what this type of feeling would do to me: no extended family, no friends, no church. I wonder if I could overcome.

There is a group of families here, 2 or 3 little ones, all less than ten, and four older ones, of which two or three might be teens. They are a talkative group which shows they have confidence to socialize. One of the young ones laughs and jokes with her mother. I suspect their being here together shows evidence of a sound family and, though not here, a good man? I wonder, does an indication of a good man, or men, show godliness?

TIE WISDOM TIGHT

Proverbs 7
We are to keep God’s words close to us. Proverbs 7 says: “. . . Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding your intimate friend, So that they may keep you from an adulteress, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.”

Ungodly words are like an adulterous woman:  They are very appealing, but they are not right. We might also think of then as groups of people who are off (wrong, distorted) according to true doctrine. For this reason, we are to lay up God’s words, or keep them, bind them up tight to us. To say, "thou art my kinswoman, thou art my sister". Why? to keep us close to God and away from the strange woman.

The "young man" in this chapter is described as simple, he doesn't know much. It is night signifying the absence of God's word. She (the ungodly wisdom) wears the attire of the harlot: she is very appealing to the desires. She is subtle, loud., stubborn, not abiding in her house. She is very crafty and evasive with issues. She picks on minor points attempting to defeat a larger truth. She opposes the traditional ways. She goes outside of her house seeking to win and bring in others. She has "peace offerings", she says she is alright with God.

She has "decked her bed" : she seems to have good things that go on at her worship, things that take skilled craft. They are very appealing. She says "Let us take our fill until the morning" - she wants you at her church until you die (the morning). She says, "The good man is gone" - Christ as the Bible teaches him is not there. She says, "He will come at the time appointed" - he will respond as she has appointed, and not as the Bible says he will. She has fair speech and flattery - she is very skillful with her "logic" Her words appeal to the part of the young man that is looking for a compliment.

Keep wisdom, the kind you find in the Bible, tied close to you. Know what it is. When you know what truth is, you can easily spot the imposter, the adulteress.

STRIVING FOR WISDOM

Proverbs 2
It takes a lot of continual effort to get knowledge, understanding and wisdom. These things don't come easy and they don't come quick: it takes work, and it takes work every day. God says to listen, to receive, incline the ear, apply yourself, cry for it, lift your voice, seek, search.

When you seek for silver and search for hidden treasure it's not done in five minutes of idle time after watching a video. To seek you must decide where to go then go there and inspect every rock formation. To search you must do diligent research and then methodically and diligently comb the area, balancing your resources while doing it. It takes time and it takes resources. You must spend something.

So, we have to spend something at God's word. The application of seeking understanding, knowledge and wisdom is to know the right path. God’s word provides the right path. We must seek with the head but be open to the heart. We must be sensitive to the heart but be controlled by the head. We cannot fill the head if we do not attend to the words of the mouth of God. We cannot fill the heart if we refuse to experience what God will give us.

HUMILITY PUTS YOU FORWARD

Proverbs 22:4
God says, "by humility in the fear of the Lord are riches honor in life".

The world says, "put yourself forward and listen to your own standards; To get rich is an honor, for riches and honor are your life".

About humility God says: think of others, do what is right, give others the way when it seems to be their time.

The world says about humility: think of yourself, do for yourself, take your chance, don't let others get in the way or you'll miss out.

About the fear of God, God says:  obey God's rules, respect authority.

About the fear of God the world says: Be concerned for yourself.  Stick by whatever sort of standards work, as long as they suit your goals.  Use the authorities, or get around them, or bribe them; whatever works for you.  Maybe kick A-- if you don't like what's going on.

You will get ahead either way, but God’s way lasts beyond this lifetime. How far forward do you want to go?

PRAY FOR LEADERS

These are the US Presidents of my lifetime:

Roosevelt, Franklin D. - 3/04/33 - 4/12/45
Truman, Harry S. - 4/12/45 - 1/20/53
Eisenhower, Dwight D. - 1/20/53 - 1/20/61
Kennedy, John F. - 1/20/61 - 11/22/63
Johnson, Lyndon B. - 11/22/63 - 1/20/69
Nixon, Richard M. - 1/20/69 - 8/9/74
Ford, Gerald R. - 8/9/74 - 1/20/77
Carter, Jimmy - 1/20/77 - 1/20/81
Reagan, Ronald W. - 1/20/81 - 1/20/89
Bush, George H.W. - 1/20/89 - 1/20/93
Clinton, William J. - 1/20/1993 - 1/20/2001
Bush, George_W. - 1/20/2001 - 1/20/2009
Obama, Barack - 1/20/09 - 1/20/2017
Trump, Donald – 1/20/17 – 1/20/2021

The Bible says in1 Timothy 1-4: "First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (NASB)

I am a Republican; did I pray with any consistency for the Republican presidents? No. Did I pray with and consistency for any of the Democratic presidents? No. Once I became a Christian should I have? Yes. Will I in the future change my habits and pray for and about government officials, including president-elect Biden? My intention is that I will. I think other believers should too.

THE WORD MUST FIRST BE SPOKEN

“Modern” people often say that Paul (or Peter, or James, or John, etc.) wrote as they did because they came from an old culture. They would say the 2000s represent a different culture; so, we do not have to apply their writings to ourselves in the same way. Behind that issue is the assumption that Paul (or Moses, or David, or Elijah, etc.), not God, was the author of these words. They might even say, "We do not have to accept them as scripture because God did not write them" . In contrast, we believe every page of the Bible is inspired by God; they are all his words.

How did the men that God used to select which scriptures were cannon (like a letter from Paul to the Hebrews)? Was it because a man like Paul wrote it and was obvious to those men that Paul was God's tool, he having lived in the time Jesus actually worked and lived? Maybe it was because of who the authors were: Apostles or "blood relatives" of the Lord Jesus. They might have accepted the book of Hebrews because of the sheer logic and brilliance of the writing.

Paul’s days were days when public discourse was oral. Even written words were not dominant because there was yet no printing press. So, all common discourse tended to be local.  Yet the fame of Paul was widespread. If this was not a sign of God's working through Paul, at least it is a sign of the magnitude of his importance. Since his words were copied and recopied there had to be something more behind them than a mere letter of a churchman.

We remind ourselves, as the Bible says, that God was:
- manifest in the flesh
- justified in the spirit
- seen of Angels
- preached to the gentiles
- believed on in the world
- received up into glory

At the time of the events of the Bible God was working in real living people who were doing and saying things among other living people. They wrote it down soon after it happened. God worked among people you could have heard with your own ears and could touch. God is working among men in the church today. Although what they write will not be in the Bible.

A book like Hebrews is "high I cannot attain to it". God gives it to us so that we can grow toward it. A piano teacher knows his student cannot do all that he can, yet he still teachers knowing the student someday will. God gives us Hebrews so that we, someday, will improve to higher Heights.

WHO DOES THE WORK?

Jesus came to us in appearance as an ordinary man and not as the truly Superior being that he is. He is maker of all and absolute ruler, but he did not show himself that way to us. He wants to be intimate with us, and not for us to be too frightened to approach him. He said he is our “friend”. He said in John 15:15 “but I have called you friends” In that light - in the way of being on our level - he was a carpenter, a tradesman or craftsman.

Let us consider some different divisions of work. Here is how many companies are organized:

A. Operations - Decide what Tasks should be done.
B. Administration - Decide how to accomplish the tasks: when and where.
C. Laborers/Craftsmen – Perform the Manufacturing or service

Jesus at his appearance placed himself in the labor/Craftsman class. By this example he is one of us. Who understands you better, and can talk to you at your level, better than the other bag-boy or assembly line worker? Jesus knows all about us. He has been there.

These have built this country. Everything rests on the backs of the laborers, farmers, craftsmen. Indeed, ALL of us are dependent on the trades. If you live in any type of shelter or use water and electricity, thank a tradesman. The most highly educated University professor or most powerful CEO or government official depends on the trades. Thanks to the tradesmen/tradeswomen. Turn on a light switch, flush a toilet, drive on a road, be thankful for the Trades. And we all depend on the farmers and cattlemen.

Do we need the “higher” levels, the Owners, the Managers, the Administers? We surely do. There must be the financing, the vision and direction of any human organization. And Jesus is all that to us too. He is the Owner. He sets the vision. He directs the organizational duties and the day-to-day duties of man kind.

So, who does the work? Jesus does.

THE BETHLEHEM STAR

THE BETHLEHEM STAR IS NOT A NATURAL OCCURRENCE
Some have remarked that the recent 2020 conjunction of planets could be the Bethlehem Star. It was not. The Bethlehem Star was not a normal occurrence. It was a unique, God-instituted, one-of-a kind event.

The Bethlehem Star was the star that led the Maji to Jesus. Mankind have known about conjunctions for centuries. They knew what stars were and what were conjunctions of planets. Since the Magi were called "Wise Men" in the Bible we must assume they in fact were wise. People of wisdom do not willy-nilly run off after natural known occurrences like planet conjunctions. They would note the conjunction but have no reason to see it as unusual. Therefore, the appearance of the Bethlehem Star must have been a truly out-of-the-ordinary event.

A Nova would have been much more unusual than a conjunction, it would have been a truly unique event and would have lasted much longer than a conjunction of planets. However, a nova would, like the stars, always stay in the same position in the sky; rising in the East and setting in the West each night for as long as it lasted. If you noticed where it set each morning over several days you would have traveled toward the West. Where would you stop? What is not far enough and what is too far? This type of travel would not have led you to a precise point, such as exactly to where Jesus was.

However, the Bethlehem Star would have to always be at the same compass bearing on the horizon to give an accurate line-of-travel. Moreover, as you neared Jesus' position the Star would appear to move to the zenith. When you reached Jesus the star would be exactly overhead. When it is so near the zenith to be confusing you would stop and ask for directions, which is what they did when they spoke to Herod. The Magi were men of great importance. We know because they came bearing expensive gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because of their stature they could get directly in to see, Herod and Herod listened to them.

The Magi traveled a good distance from the East to where Jesus was. Being men of influence, they would have traveled with a large entourage: camels, servants, bodyguards, supplies for the trip and return. Moving so many people over a great distance would have taken a long time: weeks or months. Few people can afford such expense and time.

It would take a very unusual occurrence, like an exceptional direction-pointing star, not a nova or a conjunction, to cause these men to take such long, arduous trip.

IMMAGINATIONS BECOME REAL

I have been trying to do away with my unfruitful imaginations. I wonder if they do not short-circuit some good that I might do. It might proceed this way: I imagine it; therefore I have "done" it; therefore I do not really do it.

God says without vision the people perish. Some sort of thinking about what will happen is good, but I wonder if some of my imagining takes away from positive action. Certainly, negative imagining is not good, or it sets an evil cast upon events which have not happened. I think "Men do not want me around" and I launch my imagination off in that direction and exclude myself from fellowship. I need to say, "I resist that thinking; God said, ‘reject the devil and he will flee from you, draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you’; In the name of Jesus I resist that thought".

Other times it puts future events in the framework of the way we are used to events happening, They may not happen that way and we become disillusioned or disappointed.

Maybe my mind, being so full of imaginations, keeps me from hearing the spirit of God. I need to walk "by faith and not by sight". While I am doing what faith says (what the Bible says) I can observe the results of faith.

What would faith teach me about my relationships with other men? It is important to know that what God says is right, is right. We can see this in the law, psalms, proverbs, parables Gospels - - throughout the whole Bible. We see this in good examples, as in the life of Jesus and Paul, and in bad examples as with Jezebel and Ahab.

BEING YOUR OWN ADVOCATE

As I was thinking about a computer problem (Excel not working), I suddenly realized (thanks Holy Spirit) that I was feeling bad that I could not solve the problem alone. The Oliver B. Green program had been offering a book called Jesus Our Advocate. I thought how would you like to be your own lawyer before God in heaven's courtroom? How wonderful that Jesus is our advocate, our lawyer. Being a man, and not God, there are some things I cannot do. Then I remembered that God says that ". . . in the multitude of counselors there is safety." So, I should not feel bad to need another to help me solve a problem.

Also, when working, I was not among the highest qualified for the advancing to a GS 13. Though I had been feeling bad about it and thinking about challenging it, God says, "riches and honor come from me alone . . .".

How could we keep ourselves straight if we did not remind ourselves by reading the Bible daily, prayer, seeking fellowship, and going to church? This is how we learn about God and his ways. Even with all that we need his Holy Spirit. The world is such that if you do not keep growing pouring energy into it, it will dissipate to nothing. We must keep active to keep anything we value.

Thank God he streams energy into us.

IN THE BATTLE

Psalm 55
Verse 10 shows how the wicked man is vigilant to do his wickedness. Yet consider them, they are like us: they eat, sleep, marry, do business, seek to attain things. We Christians do those things. Most other religions seek to do the same things. The difference is that the wicked do them from motivations that God defines as wickedness. The things they do sum up to be offensive to God. Some things that are innocent enough when based on the true God of the universe (admiring what your neighbor has) become wickedness when not based on him (coveting what your neighbor has).

Some things that the unsaved do around us can become oppressive to Christians. We must make sure what we do is motivated by God and his principles.

Verse 17: The psalmist says he will "cry aloud" . He is saying he speaks his prayers aloud, with an audible speech, to God. He is speaking with urgency when things are urgent. Perhaps this is a good practice for everyone. Maybe when alone I should pray aloud - - not to mutter or speak softly but pray aloud so that a natural person could hear me. That would keep my prayer concentrated, coherent, focused. It shows that you think God is real - - respected enough to speak so that he can hear you.

Verse 18: "He delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me." There was a battle and others were getting wounded and tried, yet God delivered his man in peace. Let’s not forget, there are many with us.

KNOW YOUR SOURCE

I get judgmental about how much time of life people give to Facebook and other social media. They look at it a lot. They let the things they see there tell them what the world is like.

We all look to other things to tell us what the world is like. We need to inspect carefully the source of what we are looking at, or what we are listening to.

It is helpful to think: do they want something from you; do they want you to act a certain way; do they want to define certain things for you; do they want your health or your destruction? Do they want to give you something helpful; do they want to take away something from you; do they want you to come with them or do they want you to disappear?

Everything has a reason for being. What is that reason; what is its purpose? Humans have a real reason for being, and they have a reason they imagine for themselves, which may have no relation to the real, actual reason.

“But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them . . .” (2 Tim 3:13, 14)

REST AND ACTION

Psalm 46
The Psalm alternates between a description of rest and a description of action. The rest (verses 1, 4 - 5, 7, 11) speaks of God as our refuge, a peaceful safe place. The action (verses 2 - 3, 6, 8 - 10) speaks of jostling seas and mountains and of God’s control of them, as he controls the quaking events in our lives.

A refuge is a place to go to get away from an unwelcoming set of events. It is a place to be safe from them. God may be our refuge in two ways: we withdraw inwardly to where God is, or God protects us from the events that are happening around us. Verse four says, "there is a River". Is this the spirit of God? Is this the, "rivers of living water"? Is this the WORD, "the washing of water by the word"? It could possibly be all three.

Verses 4, 5 show that God is in us.

“There is a river whose streams make the city of God happy, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her [when morning dawns.”

You are of the city of God.

ELECTRONICS DEPENDENCE

Do we depend on electronics too much? I can think of the following questions:

Can you sit alone without picking up your phone? Can you get through a day without using your computer? Must you know every hour of the day what the latest news is? Would you ever consider hand-writing an actual letter on paper to someone? Must you know what someone else’s opinion is, or do you just need to think a little more deeply? Can you walk with other people or sit in a restaurant without looking at your phone? Do you feel that you are actually, physically with others on a Zoom call or Facetime? After the computer is off and the phone is out of reach do you feel alone? Can you read the Bible on an electronic device without jumping from place to place, or worse, referring to a commentary? Would you even be reading this if not for a blog or Facebook?

When I was young (65 years ago):

There were no cell phones; only comic books or science fiction conceived of such things. The phone was connected by a wire to a telephone pole. Phones did not even have touch screens or buttons, nor did they yet have what were called "dials". (Do you know what a “dial” is?) To use the phone, you would pick it up and wait for the operator to ask you for the number you wanted. The phone company had what were called “private lines” and “party lines”.

As far as electronics go we at one time only had a Radio. We had 78 rpm record players which played vinyl records that sounded crappy. When we did get a TV, it was very large and had a small round screen. It only showed fuzzy black-and-white images. TV only broadcasted during limited, mostly daylight, hours. They showed “test patterns”; do you know what a “test pattern” is? There were no remotes. TV and radio news services made an earnest attempt at reporting news, not opinion. Opinion was identified as such. There were no personal computers, let alone laptop computers. There was no internet.

Yet, somehow, we survived without instantaneous, constant, invasive electronic connections. We are better off for electronic advances - - if we are careful how we control them privately and publicly. These days we need to resist being “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” (Eph 4:14)

PROPER PRAYING

Psalm 35
This Psalm has the writer asking God to avenge the wrongful doing that others have done against him. We need God’s protection and should pray for it. We surely have not experienced what David had experienced when he wrote this - - active military, "I'll kill you" type of persecution. We are not actively sought out for persecution politically unless we fall victim to Facebook Trolls. In our lives the only persecution we can point to from the church is what we imagine in our heads.

Verse 28 says, " . . .and my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long." Some people end their prayers with these words. It seems to me they are actually praying: "If you do this, God, then I will give you praise". Two things occur to me - God cannot be bribed, it is wrong (an insult, even) to offer to pay Him for something. And second - we may well forget to praise God after He has done what we have asked; we just accept it and proceed on. Not thanking God is wrong anytime. It seems very wrong to promise Him thanks and then forget.

ALONE IN THE ROOM

(WHAT IT'S LIKE FOR THE HARD OF HEARING)
I went to a "real" Sunday School class a few days ago. It was "real" in the sense it was in the presence of other people and not on a computer or TV screen. But it was difficult for me because of my hearing handicap. It was a big room with a lot of people. When there are a lot of people, they make a lot of noise because they all talk at once. When there is a lot of noise it is exceedingly difficult for me to make out any one person. They must be speaking directly to me, looking at me and speaking loud enough so I can hear distinct words. Plus, there was loud music being performed in another part of the building which bled into our space.

The speaker had a microphone, but it was difficult for me to hear him. I lost the thread of what he was saying whenever he used too many verbal pauses like "ers" and "ahs" and "sos". I assume those sounds are supposed to be words, but they are not. Whenever he used a parenthetical expression, and I don't catch on that the speech subject was temporarily on a siding, I lose the thread of the topic. Once I am forced off the subject it is hard for me to keep track of the course of the topic.

There were others near us not paying attention and speaking among themselves, thus distracting me. When anyone else speaks at the same time as the principal speaker I cannot hear both, so I hear neither.

So, the cumulative effect of all this is that I go, I sit, I cannot understand what is being spoken. The result is I am effectively alone in a room where there are other people and I must sit quietly for a half hour or hour until they get done. Then I can leave.

LIGHTS AND GATHERING

When God set lights in heaven their purpose was to divide: night and day, signs, seasons, days, and years.

At creation was darkness and God created light making for day and night - - "Evening and Morning" - - but there were no "lights". By using the lights (Sun, Moon and Stars) men would be able to organize time into days (as of the days of the month), and years, and seasons. With just light and dark they could not do that.

Dividing of the waters may be the establishment of an atmosphere. What we see as the firmament (Sky) occurs because of the atmosphere being held close to the earth by gravity. It could also mean the first existence of the different states of matter, as in solid, liquid, gas. Without any water vapor and "lights" there would be no "firmament" to perceive - - only blackness of space. When God made a firmament maybe he "split" water vapor from liquid water. The "gathering together" of waters may have resulted as heaver liquid water descended and land was pushed up from below.

When standing on the earth, air, water vapor and lights appear to be stretched out as a dome overhead. As we progress up through it the gas gets thinner until it contributes no longer to the appearance of a firmament. The fact that this is no solid surface, as a dome stretched out over the earth, may say something about the nature of the difference between the physical and spiritual.