Bible Describes Earth from an Observer's Perspective (phenomenally)
(The numbers above match the numbered explanations below)
1 - God sits above the arch (circle) of the earth. Isaiah 40:22: BBE It is he who is seated over the arch [circle] of the earth, and the people in it are as small as locusts; by him the heavens are stretched out like an arch, and made ready like a tent for a living-place. Note: The "living-place" is the land below the tent-like heavens you see when looking up at the sky, especially at night.
2 - A dome (firmament) divides the waters from the waters. Genesis 1:6-7 GNB Then God commanded, "Let there be a dome [firmament] to divide the water and to keep it in two separate places"---and it was done. So God made a dome [firmament], and it separated the water under it from the water above it.
3 - Water beneath the earth & Floodgates of the sky (firmament) were opened. Genesis 7:11-12 GNB When Noah was six hundred years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month all the outlets of the vast body of water beneath the earth burst open, all the floodgates of the sky [firmament] were opened, (12) and rain fell on the earth for forty days and nights.
4 - God sets the Sun, Moon and Stars in the expanse (firmament). Genesis 1:14 AMP And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs and tokens [of God's provident care], and [to mark] seasons, days, and years, [Gen. 8:22.] ... Genesis 1:17 And God set them in the expanse (firmament) of the heavens to give light upon the earth, ... Note: This is a difficult text for young earth (YE) creationists to interpret. If they are consistent with their interpretive style, then not only did God create the sun moon and stars after He created the earth, but He also placed them in the "expanse or firmament" which is located under the "waters above" (see Item #2 above). If YE creationists do not ignore this fact completely, the best they can do is to say that God "appeared" to place the heavenly bodies in the "expanse" as seen from an observer below. To redirect attention away from this difficulty, some YE commentators will emphasize that the "placement in the firmament" refers to the fact that God placed the sun, moon, and stars exactly where they needed to be, with emphasis on God's exactness and ignoring completely that they were "set" or placed below the "waters above." However, their explanation in this regard actually supports the old earth view that the sun, moon, and stars "appeared" regularly in the expanse after the clouded primordial atmosphere was finally replaced by the fully developed atmosphere we have today.
5 - God makes Dry Land (earth) appear by gathering the waters together into one place. Genesis 1:9-10 And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. (10) And God called the dry land, Earth. And He called the gathering together of the waters, Seas. And God saw that it was good. Note: There is no disputing that the word "Earth" does not apply to planet-earth but applies to land-earth. In actuality, we assume that this was the first super continent that formed which has divided numerous times until becoming the continental arrangement we observe today. Ironically, to a limited degree, the first continent might have appeared much like what is shown above when projected onto a globe with its foundations anchored below the oceans within the earth's mantel. Click here for Projected Globe
6 - Pillars of Heaven are shaken during storms. Job 26:11 The pillars of heaven are shaking, and are overcome by his sharp words. Note: -Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible: "That is, the mountains, which seem to bear up the heavens. So, among the ancients. Mount Atlas was represented as one of the pillars of heaven. Virgil speaks of “Atlas whose brawny back supports the skies.” And Hesiod, ver. 785, advances the same notion:"
7 - Ends of the Earth. Job 28:24 GNB Because He sees the ends of the earth, sees everything under the sky [heavens]. Note: The ancients believed that there was a location far enough away that the heavens and earth met. The heavens was like an upside down bowl and the earth like a plate. They met at the perimeter of the plate. So if God "sees everything under the sky or heavens," that means that He sees and knows everything with respects the earth.
8 - Pillars of the Earth shake. Job 9:6 GNB God sends earthquakes and shakes the ground; he rocks the pillars that support the earth.
9 - Earth's foundation in the Ocean Depths. Psalms 24:1-2 GNB The world and all that is in it belong to the LORD; the earth and all who live on it are his. (2) He built it on the deep waters beneath the earth and laid its foundations in the ocean depths.
10 - Sheol or Hades, a dark place under the earth's surface. Amos 9:2 AMP Though they dig into Sheol (Hades, the dark abode of the gathered dead), from there shall My hand take them; though they climb up to heaven [the abode of light], from there will I bring them down;