Age Earth

Age of the Earth and Universe	Creation Date: 1-Nov-2016
With Notes on Universe and Moon	Last updated: 31-Mar-2025
A A A help

Sections

1	Preface Introduction	2	Preliminary Information from Secular Sources
3	Earth and the Moon	4	Our Solar System cannot be that Old
5	Carbon Dating Accurate?	6	Secular Source Time Spans
7	Christian Perspective on Age of Earth and Universe	8	The Heavens
9	Some Specific Scriptures on the Universe

The Earth was created in Genesis 1:1 and then God did a second recreation in Genesis 1:2. There is a gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 that is not explained in the Book of Genesis Chapter 1 on why there was a recreation. Biblical Scholars have the theory called the Gap Theory, that has other scriptural references, to support the theory that the recreation is linked with the rebellion of Lucifer. God, in Genesis 1:1, did not create the Earth formless and void which then required the recreation of Genesis 1:2.

During the time period of Genesis 1:1, there are scriptures that state the Earth was part of the Kingdom of Heaven, detailed in Gap Theory topic, where the Earth was perfect. When Genesis 1:2 occurs, Earth was no longer perfect with a deep abode of woe on the waters that covered the entire earth where the Earth was separted from the Kingdom of Heaven. As part of the Gap Theory the Earth could have laid in a dormant and stagnate state for a vast amount of years that from our perspective might have been millions or billions of years based on the time-domain the Earth was located in.

The proposed age of the Earth is often formulated on theories (not proven facts) that are compounded:

Theory A is the starting theory.
If Theory A is true, then we can believe Theory B is true.
If Theory B is true, then we can believe Theory C is true.
If Theories C, D, E, through Z are true then we can believe an approximate age of the Earth, which is absolutely theorized conjecture.

Note: This is author is not attempting to be insulting to theorized conjectures from some scientist, but absolutely stating the necessity to state it is theories.

When reading white-papers on age of the Earth, from research scientists, there is the occasional insert of information that use the theories on the parallel development of greater and greater complexities in living organisms called Abiogenesis (evolution) as supposed information to give "proof" of the Earth's times-spans and age. Note that God gave species the ability to crossbreed and change with another in the same species, Genesis 1:24, but NOT have more and more complex features be created, that were not present in the mating or in the cellular splitting to form new cells.

Time is a quantized property based on physical factors of gravity, weight, and velocity along with other aspects that we are learning in the areas of Quantum Physics. Determining the age of the Earth and even the Universe based on known and theorized scientific theories is actually a very elusive area that concludes ages based on theoretical ideals of decay and star-death described in this topic and other topics like Singularity and the Big-Bang topic.

Gravitational influences and speed of a Star with other stars in proximity is an unknown aspect on the life-span of a star. When stars were separated by God in the stretching (numerous scriptures noted in this topic), we are not given the method that could have been literally moving at speeds near of greater than the speed of light which would have had an influence in life-span based of the theories of special relativity. Consider an analogous small scale example of a match burning that burns more quickly when moved in the air instead of being held stationary because of the influence primarily of air where the influences of speed and gravity are unknown for stars.

Preface Introduction

Most conservative Biblical Scholars, including this author, believe the age of the Earth should be determined after the recreation of the Earth done in Genesis Chapter 1. Notice the first two verses of the Genesis Chapter1 describe the Earth created and then the Earth is:

Formless,
Empty and
Darkness (in Hebrew a terrible darkness)

Then God is "hovering", like a parent does in protection, before the recreation begins. Biblical Scholars have given the name for this occurrence by God as the Gap Theory. The Gap Theory shows the Earth was already present in Genesis 1:1 and then it was void, formless and darkness on it in Genesis 1:2. God does not create anything formless, empty and with darkness, so something happened in-between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. From other scriptures, including the implications of Revelation's new Earth, the Earth was previously in perfect state and part of the Kingdom of Heaven before something happened.

Genesis 1:1-2

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Some Biblical Commentaries have the theory that when the events of Lucifer's insurrection occurred, then this caused the Earth to go into a state of void that is discussed further down in this topic and also in the Gap Theory.

An excerpt from the Gap Theory topic, reminds us that when the Earth was created (not recreated), the Angels shouted for joy. Notice also the creation of ocean reference that is interesting when considering the Great Flood of Noah.

Job 38:4-8

4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, 5 Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? 6 "On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8 "Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;

Since God made the great lights in Genesis 1:16, then what was the light source for the Earth prior to Genesis 1:1, when the Angels shouted for joy at the Earth's creation in Job 38:4-8? The only answer, that was previously noted, is the Earth was part of Kingdom of Heaven where God's light illuminated the Earth before it became void.

If this author had to make an estimate, using a theory of how long ago did the recreation part of the Earth occur, then the Earth is no less than 6,000 years-old, which is purely just a guess based on popularly known published estimates. The popular theories are using the age of all the genealogies in the scriptures and time since the New Testament to come up with an age of the Earth starting:

On October 23, 4004 BC, or
Roughly 3760 BC

where both have some problems as discussed in the Generations topic. The problems with determining an age of the Earth:

We do not know how long Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden before eating the Forbidden Fruit.
We do not know how long the Gap period of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.

The age of the universe cannot be any younger than 6,000 years-old when coming up with a guess, that has to be based on the Genesis creation events, which is when God did the recreation of the Earth that included the creation of the Universe. Note that:

We know God created the universe on Day 4, (Genesis 1:14-19),
To determine an age of the Universe, is simply the fourth day from Genesis Chapter one and all time since then that event.

As already stated, we do not know how long Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, which then adds more time to age of the Universe. There is more information on the age of the universe further in this topic and also discussed in the Big Bang and the Days of Creation topics.

Genesis 1:14-19

14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of 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 heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made the 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 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 there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

Preliminary information from Secular sources

Depending upon when you last read or heard anything dealing with how old the universe is, as of 2015, you will hear the universe is 13.8 billion years old or 15 billion years old, give or take 100 million years.

This was determined usually by two methods, but more are listed farther down in this topic.

By studying the oldest objects. The oldest known globular clusters of stars, based on calculated life spans of 11 and 18 billion years, were used in the calculations. The consensus is the universe cannot be any younger than 11 billion years old.
How fast it is expanding using what is known as the Hubble constant. The proportion of regular and dark matter to dark energy is compared. If a universe consists of low-density matter, then it is older than a matter dominated one. To get the measurement, thermal radiation is analyzed to yield the density, composition and expansion rate of the universe. The left-over radiation is called cosmic microwave background which have been measured by NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and the European Space Agency's Planck spacecraft.

From literature as of 2012 the Earth is estimated to be approximately 4.57 billion years old based on specific research derived by comparative estimations. Some sources will explicitly explain that no scientist can determine the exact age from Earth rocks because the oldest rocks have been recycled and destroyed by the process of plate tectonics. Furthermore, no rocks left in their original primordial state have never been found. What has been found all over the Earth are rocks exceeding 3.5 billion years using radiometric dating methods.

Earth and the Moon

Many Christians, who have not read carefully the first few verses of Genesis Chapter 1, will have missed the point made that God did a re-creation on the Earth which was already there. This is an important point which is called and explained in the Gap Theory Topic. This means the Earth would most likely have signs of very old age, and then a more recent age in all other areas.

At the point in history, when God went through the Creation Process on Earth, to the present day, then that is when history began regarding the Earth. As an analogy, if someone purchased a classic old car, dating back over 40 years, and did a complete restoration, then the car would be considered new after the completion of the restoration. Because the Earth did exist before God did the restoration / creation process, it is possible with the rocks, that existed underneath the waters of Genesis 1:2, to actually be 4.54 billion years old.

Genesis 1:1-2	1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
Genesis 1:9	And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

These are points obtained from Chuck Missler's excellent presentation on the Book of Genesis that can be obtained from khouse.org and it is highly recommended. Note that this list will be continued as time permits.

The Earth's magnetic field half-life has an estimate of 1,400 years which according to measurement indicate the Earth to be less than 10,000 years. Remember that God moved on the Earth in Genesis chapter 1 and re-formed it. If you take the side that God did create everything but disagree with the age calculations, then there is room for discussion.
The moon dust is an indicator also that the moon is not as old as believed. Ultraviolet light and X-Rays destroy surface layers of rock that are on the moon. Additionally, the moon collects dust from its gravitational pull. The rate of dust that can collect in a year on the moon has many estimates that are about a millimeter. If the age of the Earth and Moon are in the billions of years, then than the dust on the moon should be very deep and possibly even miles deep but it is not. This was a major concern of the Apollo Moon landings where they found out it was very little.

Note: (a) Three crews of Apollo spacecraft missions left "Retroreflectors on the Moon" - Laser Range Experiment.
(b) There are imaging of the surface of the moon today, done by orbiters that have images of the tracks from the Apollo Rovers.
(c) There were seven total mission where one wasn't successful.
The Earth's oceans would have greater percentages of bicarbonate materials, copper, gold, magnesium, molybdenum, nickel, potassium, silicon, sodium, and uranium if the oceans were as old as billions of years. As known, nitrates and uranium do not break down over time or recycle like salt does. This tells us that the oceans are not that old.
The Poynting-Robertson Effect, called the Solar Janitor, states that photons slow down the movement of objects in spaces. This force causes objects like micrometeoroids, to spiral in towards the center of the gravitational pull of the Sun. The calculations indicate a rate of 100K tons per day are taken by the Sun where there is no known replacement or replenishment of the source objects. The abundance of micrometeoroids indicates a younger universe.
Radiohalos, Primordial Polonium 218 which has a half-life of 3 minutes, have been found in mica and fluorite. This points to evidence of an instantaneous crystallization of the granite containing it when it was formed. This points to a simultaneous and instant creation.
There is an area that requires some explanation to the reader that points to the Speed of Light has been slowing down since the beginning of the created universe. The speed of light is reflected as "c" in E=mc^2 and many other equations that are used in sciences such as physics. This points to a creation. (Part of the research on data, regarding speed of light, is the theory that light moving through water vapor to create a rainbow in the sky was only possible after the Great Flood because the speed of light changed after the Great Flood.)

The Earth is Not Flat

It is amazing that there is so much conjecture on the Earth not being round that is being presented in recent years as of the year 2024, which requires a brief comment. If the Earth was flat and being hidden from the public, it would take millions of people involved in the deliberate deception. Airline pilots, ship captains, satellite positioning managers, scientists, and so many more areas would have to be involved in a world-wide conspiracy. For a great introduction of facts see this topic link form Science.org.

Our Solar System cannot be that Old

There are a growing list of proofs of our Solar System cannot be that old. This author will add more to the following list as time permits.

The 13 inner moons of the planet Uranus, of the total 28 confirmed moons, have a very similar orbit with a very small differential difference where they gravitationally should be interacting over time that if the Solar System was billions of years old, then these inner moons would have eventually already of collided.

Carbon Dating Accurate?

This following is a duplicated section from Generations of the Bible and also discussed in the Carbon Dating method topic.

There are at least three main problems:

How is there a guarantee that we know what the initial quantity of isotopes are in a rock?
What if there were external influences that added back isotopes or stopped the loss at specific points in the past?
How do we know the decay was at a constant interval over time?

Answers in Genesis has a great article to explain the above three questions. Their article lists also much more information.

"No geologists were present when most rocks formed, so they cannot test whether the original rocks already contained daughter isotopes alongside their parent radioisotopes. For example, with regard to the volcanic lavas that erupted, flowed, and cooled to form rocks in the unobserved past, evolutionary geologists simply assume that none of the daughter argon-40 atoms was in the lava rocks."
"The problems with contamination, as with inheritance, are already well-documented in the textbooks on radioactive dating of rocks."
"Physicists have carefully measured the radioactive decay rates of parent radioisotopes in laboratories over the last 100 or so years and have found them to be essentially constant (within the measurement error margins). Furthermore, they have not been able to significantly change these decay rates by heat, pressure, or electrical and magnetic fields. So, geologists have assumed these radioactive decay rates have been constant for billions of years. However, this is an enormous extrapolation of seven orders of magnitude back through immense spans of unobserved time without any concrete proof that such an extrapolation is credible."

(The three points above are copied exactly from the Answer in Genesis article. It is the opinion of Biblical Thoughts that their article is a must read.)

Additionally, another problematic method used to date the Earth is to assume the Earth and the other solid planets in the Solar System formed at the same time which if one planet's creation date can be determined then the others are about the same age.

Secular Source Time Spans

Earth's time spans listed below are a general summary from numerous sources. This author does NOT believe in this, but it is listed for the readers general knowledge of secular theories. When reading through this secular time periods list, it is amazing how time is given as the method and solution to how the Earth became more and more habitable and advanced. The first three questions are:

What is creating order out of disorder?
What is adding design out of randomness?
What is creating complexity of out inert materials?

If these three questions could be solved by time, then the we should be seeing this occurring in most, if not all of the planets, in our own solar system and others. This is the same problem that evolutionist have that is often called Darwin's Problem, because an external source of information to design and create is required.

The Evolutionist Theory of Time Periods that cannot be proved:

	Period Name	Time Period	Description
1	Hadean	4.57 billion to 3.85 billion years ago	First self-replicating RNA molecules. The atmosphere and the oceans formed. This period also is sometimes divided into 4 eras called Cryptic, Basin Groups, Nectarian and Lower Imbrian.
2	Archean	3.85 billion to 2.5 billion years ago	Simple prokaryotic cells were formed. Oxygen became rich in the atmosphere. Photosynthesis evolved. This period has 4 eras called Eoarchean, Paleoarchean, Mesoarchean and Neoarchean.
3	Proterozoic	2.5 billion to 542 million years ago	Appearance of advanced unicellular and multi-cellular life appears. Some early forms of plants and animals also developed during this period. This period has three eras called Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic.
4	Phanerozoic	542 million years ago until today	Evolution occurred for all major phyla, including humans.

Christian Perspective Regarding the Age of the Earth and Universe

The Earth was recreated in Genesis Chapter 1 and then the Universe was created on Day 4, as explained at the start of this topic. The animals along with Adam and Eve were created on Day 6 as read in Genesis 1:24-31.

This author has not seen this in any Biblical Commentaries, where this author's theory is:
(a) When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and they were cast out of the Garden of Eden then at that point the Universe was linked to the destiny of the Earth. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve then absolutely everything was then doomed to decay. The consequence of decay also put the Universe in chaos that had stars and planets no longer being perfect, eroding quickly, along with some stars going into premature supernova.

Romans 8:20-22

20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, )in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

(b) God most likely had intended the Earth and Universe to be under the jurisdiction and realm of Adam and Eve, and their decedents. This was lost by Adam and Eve after eating the Forbidden Fruit. Lucifer had his plan, speaking through the snake, to have Adam and Eve's jurisdiction lost by doing what God had forbidden. When Adam and Eve lost their intended dominion given by God, there was also additional ramifications of the loss that introduced death and separation from God.
(c) There are a few old Biblical Commentators that state that Lucifer most likely considered Adam his rival and would be his replacement. This is why Lucifer tempted Eve first as a way to get to Adam who Lucifer knew would not be deceived. This was the catalyst to wreck and corrupt so many things and then also gave Lucifer dominion over the realm of the Earth and even the Universe. Other scriptures reveal that God constrained Lucifer and the Fallen Angels influence to the realm of Earth and local surrounding planetary areas. See the topic on Space Travel for scriptures dealing with God's control of outer space.
(d) As proof of Lucifer's control gained from Adam and Eve notice in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4, Lucifer trying to tempt Jesus Christ to avoid the Crucifixion by offering the entirety of the Earth and peoples to Jesus Christ. In order for there to be the well-known "temptation" then Lucifer's offer to Jesus Christ had to be valid ownership. If Lucifer did not have control and own, that was gained from Adam and Eve, to give to Jesus Christ then it would not have been a temptation for Jesus Christ to take Lucifer's offer. Lucifer was trying to get Jesus Christ to not take the path to the Crucifixion. When Jesus Christ went to the Crucifixion and made the sin payment, then this gave all human-beings the method for Salvation, removing separation from God, and God to take back what Adam and Eve had given to Lucifer. Note that Jesus Christ at His Second coming at the end of the Tribulation Period is when He will take ownership of the Earth away from Lucifer. There is a wonderful purpose of the Tribulation that reveals the prophecies yet to happen such as Jesus Christ sitting on King David's thrown which will happen.

Matthew 4:8-9

8 Again, the devil taketh him unto an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 and he said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Regarding the Universe's vast distances, there are at numerous scriptural references that God stretched or stretches out the heavens.

Job 26:7	He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
Job 9:8	Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
Job 37:18	Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?
Psalm 104:2	Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
Isaiah 40:22	It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
Isaiah 42:5	Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein
Isaiah 44:24	Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
Isaiah 45:12	I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
Isaiah 48:13	Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.
Isaiah 51:13	And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?
Jeremiah 10:12	He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
Jeremiah 51:15	He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
Zechariah 12:1	The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

(a) Look at this detailed link for more excellent information. Stretching makes more sense from scientific reasons, as described in the link, but there are many other reasons such as Spiral Galaxies that are farther away, whose light is now reaching Earth, should appear with their spirals closer or tighter together than Galaxies that are nearer to us, but they are not. Galaxies are expanding and if the images of them from thousands of light years in the past are now reaching Earth, then they should be the earlier stages before the expansion.

When scientist say the universe is 15 billion years old, there is a second part that is often left off which is "as seen from the time-space coordinates of the earth."
There is a revolutionary proposal that has been made first by Barry Setterfield and Tervor Norman that the speed of light is slowing down. This has profound respects to estimating the distance of objects in space along with the state they were in if the images of them have reached Earth quicker than estimated.
Some mathematical models proposed, state there is harmony because of the stretching where the correct age of the Universe appears to be 15 billion years old because of the Stretching done by God. In other words, when the galaxies are created, moved and stretched in the universe, then next they are farther away from the position of Earth in the Universe, then one part of the aspect of the age calculation changes. From the Big Bang perspective, if all matter:
(a) was in a central point in the beginning,
(b) exploded,
(c) formed the stars and planets,
(d) then using the distances between objects and the expansion, can derive an elapsed time which comes out to be at least 11 billion years old.
(d.1) There is of course other parts to the equations on expansion that are used to help support the theories such as life of a Star, where we see Stars that have died (burnt their helium core) and they eventually Supernova.
(d.2) The Supernova event theory has the life of a Star around a few billion years, so this why the age of the universe is also given such a period greater than 6 billion years.
Note that there are frontiers of the science of Star Life that are wondering if external influences, such as gravity from other nearby Stars or Black Holes that could cause a premature death of a Star. From the Christian's perspective, we can agree to disagree and move on, knowing that God will give us answers when it is needed. It may have been that God chose to also increase the age of a Star or a Galaxy when moving it based on science we do not understand at this time. The rhetorical question is how often has science had a break-through that shattered the foundations of previous tenants?
From some science articles that propose a proof of the minimal age of the Universe, there is sometimes given a statement that a star supernova requires billions of years for the stars primary core element of hydrogen fuel to burn up. There are other theoretical factors that can a cause premature death of a star that are beyond the context of this topic. Additionally, consider if a star has a premature death and is 300,000 light years away but the stretching of the universe can mean the star death occurred before the stretching where light particles/waves were also moved. Recall from the scriptures that Creation groans, Romans 8:18-27, for its rebirth because of the Fall in the Garden of Eden.
In Job 38:31 "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?" The translations on this scripture should have more correctly translated it to read something like "Can you bind together the stars in Pleiades or break the bonds between the stars in Orion?" as John Hartnett has explained concerning Job 38:31. Unfortunately, Christians which includes myself, have misunderstood this passage and read more into in the past but like science, Christians also make mistakes. In the scriptures unfortunately, because of translational problems in the past, the scriptures are getting clearer and more accurate through greater understanding of the ancient Hebrew and Greek. The point on Job 38:31, when dealing with the Earth Age is "bound" to the age of the Universe, so it is often part of the discussions. What can be discerned, is the Scripture is not void of details dealing with the universe and God knew it would be part of quest for knowledge in the future.
From science we know that energy can change its Form into Matter and Matter is subject to Time. How fast time passes can be different from one place to another depending upon mass, gravity and speed of the object at a particular location which is a part of Einstein's Theory of Relativity. As an example, there is the somewhat famous "twin astronauts aging differently when one of the twins travels to Alpha Centauri" theory where if the traveler goes at half the speed of light, he returns at a different age than his brother. This link on "Twins Paradox of Relativity Is Absolutely Wrong" explains it better if you are interested, which summarizes it by stating "In other words, due to the same Time Dilation Effect of Special Relativity, he sees his twin on Earth to appear to be aging exactly 0.8 as fast as he was aging, due to the same Time Dilation. He even sees the wall clock next to his twin on Earth moving exactly 4/5 as fast as he sees his own wall clock moving!" So, we still have much to learn on Space and Time Spans of objects like the Earth.
There is the theory to take the six days of creation at 24-hour days, then with an expansion rate at 1/100,000 of a second, then in the first fraction the universe is the size of a solar system and then at the end of the six days it is stretched to the point where the perception is it is 14 billion years old. This lets us know that God during the Creation Week could have stretched in some factor to easily accommodate the perceived age of the Universe.

The Heavens

Space is not an empty vacuum and has physical properties according to science and the Bible. There is fascinating information concerning Zero Point Energy and energy in Space.

We know that the second heaven is identified, in the scriptures, as the Universe. The scriptures describe the third heaven is where God has His thrown. The third heaven is distinctly different and Christian Scholars point out that it is outside of the Universe. The first heaven is the atmosphere that surrounds the earth. The second heaven is the universe and appears to be the domain of Lucifer and the fallen angels but it limited to within the vicinity of the Earth only.

1	2 Corinthians 12:2	I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.
2	Hebrews 7:26	For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.
3	Psalm 104:12	For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

Some Specific Scriptures on the Universe

The following are scriptures dealing with Space, the heavens, the earth and the future heavens and earth.

1	Heavens (plural)	Genesis 1:1	In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
2	It can be torn	Isaiah 64:1	If only you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence
3	It was stretched	Isaiah 40:22	It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
4	New Heavens and new Earth	Isaiah 65:17	For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.
5	Hang on nothing	Job 26:7	He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing.
6	Earth given to man	Psalm 115:16	The heavens are the Lord s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.
7	Names all the Stars	Psalm 147:4	He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them.
8	Cannot contain God	2 Chronicles 6:18	But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!
9	New Heavens and new Earth	Revelation 21:1	Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

What to read next?

See: (a) Time and Time Travel, (b) Time Domains, (c) Kingdom of God, (d) E=mc , (e) Evolution, (f) Ten Dimensions of the Universe, (g) Singularity and the Big Bang Theories, (h) Gap Theory of Genesis 1:2 - Earth formless for billions of years