According to Les Feldick, the vapor belt was God's way of producing a constant, spring-like, rain-free climate over the whole earth from the creation of Adam until Noah's flood.
Les teaches that when God divided the waters in Genesis 1, He lifted half of the water into a vapor belt above the atmosphere. This kept the planet tropical from pole to pole with a constant spring-like climate. Because the temperature never changed, there were no storm clouds, no weather systems, and no rain; God watered the earth from beneath. This same vapor belt later returned to earth as the waters of Noah's flood.
Genesis 1:6-7 — This is the passage Les uses to show God separated water above the firmament from water below it.
Genesis 7:11 — The opening of the windows of heaven is the return of the vapor-belt water at Noah's flood.
Genesis 1:6-7 records that on the second day of creation God made a firmament and divided the waters. The firmament separated the waters under it from the waters above it. Genesis 2:5-6 says that before the flood there was no rain; instead, a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole ground. Genesis 7:11 records that in Noah's six hundredth year, the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened.
Les repeatedly describes the vapor belt as half of the water that originally covered the earth in Genesis 1. God lifted that water above the atmosphere and left the other half as the seas. According to Les, this vapor belt produced a constant spring-like climate from pole to pole. There were no storm clouds and no weather because the temperature never changed; the Bible can therefore say it never rained, with God watering the earth from beneath. Les is careful to call this an impression and acknowledges that some agree and some do not. He ties the same vapor belt to Noah's flood, saying the water above the firmament came back down and covered the planet.
Les says the vapor belt laid the foundation for amazing spring-like weather that enveloped the planet from one end to the other. He points to all archaeological proof that the world once had a constant climate from pole to pole, describing a beautiful earth with far more land area. The vegetation of that semi-tropical world would have been beyond imagination, sustained by the same ideal conditions before the flood.
Because the climate was constant, there was no weather. There were no storm clouds, and the Bible can accurately say that it never rained. Les explains that God watered the things that needed water from beneath. Even as Noah was building the ark and talking about a great rain, people probably did not know what he was talking about.
Les says the same vapor belt returned to the earth at the flood. In Genesis 1 God took half of the water and put it up in the atmosphere; at the flood it all came back down and covered the planet. He also points out that tremendous volcanic and earthquake activity accompanied the return of this water.
After the flood, Les says the earth entered a completely different climate. Instead of one constant spring-like temperature with no weather, the earth came under weather and climatic changes, including the four seasons. Les thinks this may be when God initiated the tilting of the earth, but he calls that speculation.
Dividing the Waters
Les explains Genesis 1:6-7 as God taking half the water covering the planet and moving it above the atmosphere as a vapor belt, the same water that would later return at Noah's flood.
Spring-Like Climate and No Rain
Les teaches that the vapor belt created constant spring-like weather from pole to pole, so there were no storm clouds and no rain; God watered the earth from beneath.
Constant Climate from Pole to Pole
Les points to archaeological proof that the world had a constant climate from pole to pole when Adam was brought onto the earth, with a beautiful earth and much more land area.
Semi-Tropical Vegetation
Les uses the pole-to-pole semi-tropical climate under the vapor belt to explain the enormous vegetation that was later subjected to flood pressure.
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Now in another place, and I just can't think right now where it's at, but it's in Isaiah where the earth will be moved out of its orbit. And we know from our science and astronomy that if the earth was tilted just 2 degrees off of what is normal, the earth would either burn up with heat, or would freeze up in the cold. Just 2 degrees variance.
The Change After the Flood
After the flood, the earth lost the constant spring-like climate and came under weather and seasonal changes; Les speculates this was when the earth's tilting began.
The Water of the Vapor Belt Returns
Les explains that the water God placed above the atmosphere in Genesis 1 all came back down at the flood and covered the planet.
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And so he makes a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuage, in other words, they begin to leave. Now, it isn't just the wind itself, because we know that from all the activity of these volcanoes, new surfaces are coming on the scene. The mountains are rising up, the rivers are being formed. And as you drive across the countryside, always be amazed.
Genesis 1:6: And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters: and let it divide the waters from the waters.
This is the creation command that set apart a water above the firmament from the water below.
Genesis 1:7: 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.
This records God actually making the separation between the waters above and below the atmosphere.
Genesis 2:6: But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
This verse is the scriptural basis for watering from beneath before the flood.
Genesis 7:11: In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
The opening of the windows of heaven describes the return of the water that had been above the atmosphere.
No, he calls it his impression and acknowledges that some agree and some do not. It is his explanation of how the waters above the firmament functioned before the flood.
Les says the vapor belt kept the planet in a constant spring-like climate from pole to pole, and he says archaeological proof supports this. He describes the vegetation of that semi-tropical world as beyond imagination.
Les teaches that the same vapor-belt water God placed above the atmosphere in Genesis 1 returned to the earth at the flood and covered the planet. This is why he identifies the waters above the firmament with the floodwaters of Noah's day.
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