The Heaven and the Heavens

In Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All..., God clearly states that “God created the heaven and the earth.”  The word heaven , as you can see, is singular.  This distinction separates those who have faith in the preservation of the English text from Hebrew scholar wannabes.  The Hebrew word can be correctly translated in different contexts as either heaven or heavens .  And, most modern English versions translate this passage as heavens .  However, a Bible-believing study of Genesis One and the doctrine of heavens in the scripture show that heaven in the singular is the only possible correct translation.

Before we look at this evidence, consider the contrast between Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All... and 2:1I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
See All....  In Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
See All..., God created the “heaven.”  However, in Genesis 2:1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
See All..., the Bible declares,  “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.”  Earth is still singular but the heaven of 1:1The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see.
See All... becomes the completed heavens of 2:1I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
See All....  How many heavens are there and when were the additional heavens created? 

The Bible teaches the number of heavens in 2 Corinthians 12:2I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
See All... where the Apostle Paul relates this experience: “I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.”  This is God’s heaven; the highest heaven. Therefore, there are three heavens.

The heavens are built in stories (Amos 9:6It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.
See All...). Compare the heavens to the three stories on Noah’s ark (Genesis 6:16A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.
See All...).

• The first heaven is the atmosphere or the atmospheric heaven. It is called the “open firmament of heaven” (Genesis 1:20And 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.
  See All...) because it is the one we access and it is open to the heaven above it. It was created on the second day of the six days of creation (Genesis 1:6-8 [6] And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. [7] 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. [8] And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
  See All...).
• The second heaven is the starry heaven or out space. It is called “the firmament of the heaven” (Genesis 1:14-19 [14] And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: [15] And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. [16] And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. [17] And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, [18] And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. [19] And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
  See All...) and was created on the second day (Genesis 1:6-8 [6] And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. [7] 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. [8] And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
  See All...).
• The third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:4How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
  See All...) is simply heaven or God’s heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
  See All...). It is sometimes called the “heaven of heavens” (Nehemiah 9:6Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
  See All...); (Psalm 148:4Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
  See All...) or “paradise” after the resurrection and ascension of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:4How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
  See All...). It was created in Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
  See All... in the beginning. That is why Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
  See All... refers to “heaven” while Genesis 2:1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
  See All... refers to the “heavens.”  Only one heaven had been created in the very beginning. There had been no separation between heavens as there it today. The heaven of Genesis 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
  See All... must refer to God’s heaven—one that was not created during the six days of creation but had an earlier existence.

The Moving of the Spirit

One of the works of the Spirit is that of renewal; of making new again. This is His work. God sends forth his spirit and “renewest the face of the earth” (Psalm 104:30Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
See All...). This is His work with fallen man (Titus 3:5Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
See All...). This was very likely His work with the destroyed earth in Genesis 1:2And 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.
See All.... But consider, only that which already exists can be renewed.

The Creation Day Formula

Throughout the six-day creation story, each day begins with “And God said” (Genesis 1:3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
See All..., 6, 9, 14, 20, 24) and each day ends with “And the evening and the morning were the [number] day” (Genesis 1:5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
See All..., 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). According to this formula, the first day of creation began in Genesis 1:3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
See All... making the events of the first two verses previous to the six-day creation.

The Command to Replenish

When man was created, he was told to “replenish the earth” (Genesis 1:28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
See All...). Replenish means to refill in its most common meaning. Yes, the Hebrew can also mean just to fill and the English word can be defined this way in some cases. However, in cases of doubt on the meaning of a word, they key is to find a Bible answer. This answer is found in Genesis 9:1And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
See All.... In the second passage, the word refers to the command given to Noah and his family after the destruction of the flood and clearly means to refill. The commissions are parallel in several ways and the word must have the same meaning in both places.

The Crowding of the First Day

If the first day included Genesis 1:1-2 [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.
See All..., the following events would all have occurred on that one 24-hour day.

1. The creation of God’s heaven           
2. The creation of the heavenly beings: angels, cheribum, serriphim, etc.
3. The creation of the earth
4. The song of the angels who sang at the creation of the earth (Job 38:4-7 [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?
   See All...)
5. The creations of the waters that are upon the earth (Genesis 1:2And 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.
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6. The moving of the Spirit on the waters
7. The creation of light (with this order, the angels evidently sang in the dark)
8. The division of light from darkness

Although God can certainly do anything, this particular crowding is out of line with the remainder of the creation week when God only created one or two major categories in a day. It makes the story imbalanced.