Genesis 1:6-8 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.
There is a “great deep” of water separating the third heaven and second heaven and the face of it is frozen like glass according to the Bible (Gen. 1:6-8; Ps. 18:9-11, 29:3, 29:10, 104:3, 148:4; Job 26:7-13, 37:18, 38:30-32; Hab. 3:15; Rev. 4:6, 15:2; Jer. 10:13, 51:16, etc.).
Genesis 1:6 states that the firmament (the atmosphere and outer space, or 1st and 2nd heavens) was placed in the “midst” of the waters to divide the waters from the waters. The water is already present on the 1st and 2nd days of creation. On the second day of creation, God created a "firmament"; He did not create the waters on that day. The waters are present before the first day of creation (vs. 2). God did not create the Earth or the water during the creation week. He created the Earth in Genesis 1:1 and by Genesis 1:2 He has flooded it. The waters are already present, both on Earth (waters under the firmament) and above the Earth in the heavens (waters above the firmament). Many of the “young earth” creationists say that everything was created during the 6 days of creation, yet the Earth and the waters are already present (Gen. 1:2) before the week starts.
As a side note, before any flat earth conspiracy theorists come forward talking about a “dome” over the earth being the firmament rather than the heavens themselves being the firmament, I would refer them to Genesis 1:20. “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”
The “great deep”, the “waters above the heavens”, are mentioned many times in the Bible in the context of heaven, the stars, and God’s thrown. Job 26:13 mentions the “crooked serpent” in the context of these waters, which is no doubt the location of Leviathan. "In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall
punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked
serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." (Isa. 27:1).
Psalms 18:
[9] He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
[10] And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
[11] He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
(context of the waters are the heavens and cherubs)
[7] He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
[3] The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.
[2] Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
[3] Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
[2] Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
[3] Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
[4] Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
[7] He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
[8] He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.
[9] He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.
[10] He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.
[11] The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
[12] He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
[13] By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.
(the context is the heavens and God's throne)
Job 37:18 Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?
(clearly a cross reference to the "sea of glass" that is spread out below the third Heaven [Rev. 4:6, 15:2]. The "face of the deep is frozen" as we will see in the next set of verses.)
Job 38:
[29] Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
[30] The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
[31] Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
[32] Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
[33] Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
(the context is the heavens and stars [pleiades, Orion, Mazzaroth, Arcturus])
Habakkuk 3:15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters. (Context is the Second Coming)
Satan, Leviathan, dwells in this body of water. It is his “place” in the second heaven (Job 41:4; Isa. 27:1; Rev. 12:7-9). His “high place” in the “air” (Eph. 2:2, 6:12).
So how did the Earth become covered in these waters for God to need to separate them before the creation week?
Genesis 1:
[1] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
[2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
The present world was “founded upon the floods” of Genesis 1:2. Psalms 24:1-2 “The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.” There are several cross references to God flooding the Earth after it was originally created.
Psalms 104:
[1] Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
[2] Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
[3] Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
[4] Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
[5] Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
[6] Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.
[7] At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
[8] They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
[9] Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
Psalms 104 is another creation account that provides details on Genesis 1. We see that after God created the angels (vs 4) and laid the foundation of the Earth (vs 5), that He covered it with the deep (vs 6). Verses 6-7 clearly refer to Genesis 1:2-8. Some have suggested that this is the flood of Noah’s day, but the context is creation (vs 1-5). And when the flood of Noah’s day was over, the waters did not flee away and nor is it said that God spoke anything (“rebuke”, “voice of thy thunder”). The waters in Psalms 104 “fled” and “hasted away”. The waters of Noah’s day persisted for months after the flood.
Genesis 8:
[3] And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
[4] And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
[5] And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
[6] And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
[7] And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
[8] Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
[9] But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.
After all that time had past, the dove still found no rest and the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Psalms 104 clearly is not referring to Noah's flood.
Here is another creation passage that clearly says God flooded the original creation.
Job 38:
1] Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
[2] Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
[3] Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
[4] Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
[5] Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
[6] Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
[7] When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
[8] Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
[9] When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
[10] And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
[11] And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
[12] Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
[13] That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
Here we see a chronology of these events
1.) God laid the foundations of the earth [vs. 4-6]
2.) The morning stars and sons of God shouted for joy (sons of God referring to the angels) [vs. 7]
3.) The "proud" waves of the sea broke forth and had to be shut up with doors [vs. 8]
4.) God covered the earth with clouds and darkness [vs. 9]
5.) God commanded the morning and caused the dayspring to know his place [vs. 12]
6.) The morning/dayspring (creation of light) was created [vs. 12]
The passage fits hand in glove with Genesis 1:1-5 where we see these same events take place. Notice in Job 38:13 that the reason for the morning/dayspring (creation of light) was for this purpose, "that the wicked might be shaken out of" the earth. Satan had fallen already before the first day of the creation week. Some have accused those of us who believe in the Genesis gap of not being able to associate the flood of Genesis 1:2 with Lucifer's fall. However, this reference to "the wicked" being shaken out is clearly a reference to Satan (Matt. 13:19; Eph. 6:16; 2 Thes. 2:8; 1 Jn. 2:13-14, 3:12, 5:18). Not to mention the famous passage in Ezekiel on Satan being the fallen anointed cherub also mentions being "destroyed in the midst of the seas" and "slain in the midst of the seas" (Ezek. 27:32, 28:8). God said to the king of Tyrus, "I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee" (Ezek. 26:19).
Ezekiel 26:
[18] Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.
[19]
For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city,
like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep
upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;
[20] When I
shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the
people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in
places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be
not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;
Ezekiel 27:
[32] And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for
thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the
destroyed in the midst of the sea?
[33] When thy wares went
forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the
kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy
merchandise.
[34] In the time when thou shalt be broken by the
seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in
the midst of thee shall fall.
Some have attempted to argue that the king of Tyrus, "the Assyrian", and Pharaoh in Ezekiel are not prophetically speaking of Satan and his fallen minions, but I have not seen strong evidence for such an argument. Historically these people were not in Eden the garden of God and were not anointed cherubs.The references to their fall to the pit and their association with "the deep", "the multitude of waters", etc. can only be true of Lucifer (Ezek. 31:3-18, 32:2-30).
Ezekiel 31:
[4] The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with
her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little
rivers unto all the trees of the field.
[5] Therefore his
height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were
multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of
waters, when he shot forth.
[6] All the fowls of heaven made
their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of
the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great
nations.
[7] Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.
[8]
The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were
not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches;
nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.
[9]
I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the
trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
[10]
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself
in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his
heart is lifted up in his height;
Ezekiel 32:
[2] Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt,
and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou
art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and
troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
[3]
Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee
with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.
[4]
Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the
open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon
thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
[5] And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.
[6] I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
[7]
And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the
stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon
shall not give her light.
[8] All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.
There is a repeated emphasis on the deep, these waters. Satan is also called Leviathan, swimming in the great deep (Job 41:1; Ps. 74:14, 104:26; Isa. 27:1; Rev. 12:15-16).
A study of the great deep and Satan will lead you to the truth of the Genesis Gap. It has nothing to do with evolution; none of these Biblical facts accommodates evolution whatsoever. The so called "young earth creationism" movement does not explain the origins of Satan or the many references to the body of water that is above the heavens. They also give faulty interpretation on creation passages such as Job 38, Psalms 104, and Genesis 1:1-2.Meanwhile they accuse those of us who believe in the Genesis Gap of being evolution compromisers and worse. Though this is not an essential doctrine, it is something the Bible has a great deal to say about and it would be neglectful to not study out these references.
I hope these references will spark your interest into studying these matters out further and to know God's word better.