This is the online edition of In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood
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Did a Water Canopy Surround the Earth and Contribute to the Flood?
Isaac Vail (1840–1912) first proposed the canopy theory in 1874.1 He believed that a canopy formed millions of years ago as the earth evolved from a molten state. Vail supported his case primarily by ancient mythology. In his opinion, this included Genesis 1:6–8a, which states:
Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate waters from waters.” And God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. And God called the expanse heaven.
Notice that these verses do not explicitly say that a canopy surrounded the earth.
Vail’s canopy was a vapor cylinder surrounding the earth but open at the poles. Since then, many people have recognized problems with Vail’s canopy and proposed variations. These usually involved a thin, spherical shell of water—as either a liquid, gas (a vapor), or solid (ice particles or an ice shell). As we will see, each variation has serious biblical and scientific problems. In fact, canopy theories “do not hold water.” Consequently, canopy theories have delayed our understanding of Genesis 1:6–8a, the structure of the preflood earth, the flood, and earth’s geological features. But first, what are the standard arguments for a canopy?