Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:2, refers to the third, heaven, which is the abode of God. " I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven... "
1st - atmosphere
2nd - outer space
3rd - God's abode
Its funny I remember discussing this with my father when I was a teenager, its always amazes me how science based on things as they are now think they can determine the way things were in the past, I told my father I believe there use to be a firmament that is why in the days before Noah people lived for hundreds and hundreds of years, then the firmament(even if this firmament was gaseous liquid clouds) gave way we had the flood and now increased radiation shortens our lives. theories are a dime a dozen, like carbon dating based on what, current carbon levels
Did you read the whole article? I taught me several things I never knew before:
A) Critics of the Bible have often said that the writings of Genesis reflect an “unscientific view” of the universe—one that reflected the cosmology of the ancient world.\
B) The argument from these Bible critics is that the ancient Hebrews believed in a solid dome with the stars embedded in the dome.
C) The Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures produced by Jewish scholars in the third century BC at the request of the Egyptian pharaoh) translates raqia into the Greek word stereoma, which connotes a solid structure.
D) Later, this Greek connotation influenced Jerome to the extent that, when he produced his Latin Vulgate around AD 400, he used the Latin word firmamentum (meaning a strong or steadfast support).
E) The King James translators merely transliterated this Latin word—and thus was born the firmament.
F) But what does the Hebrew word actually mean? The Hebrew noun raqia is derived from the verb raqa, which means “to spread abroad, stamp, or stretch.”
G) understanding is consistent with the terminology of many other verses, such as Psalm 104:2 and Isaiah 40:22, which speak of the stretching out of the heavens. The Hebrew word used in these verses for heaven is not raqiya, but shamayim (literally “heavens”).
H) However, in Genesis 1:8 God explicitly calls the expanse “heaven,” thus equating raqiya with shamayim. If the stretched out nature of the raqiya is what is intended, then firmament may not be the best translation; expanse is more accurate.
I) The context of Genesis 1:6–8, 14–22 makes it clear that Moses intended his readers to understand raqia simply as the sky (atmosphere and heavens or space) above the earth, as even the sun, moon, and stars were placed in them. In fact, in modern Hebrew raqia is the word used for sky, and there is no connotation of hardness.
For a slightly different take, see the following. I posted it before, but I think they are quite interesting when taken together—GGG
http://creation.com/god-s-mighty-expanse