This is from my study of sea symbolism on The Shoreless Sea, but apparently the Universe did start out as being a type of sea at its earliest stages.
The very first passage of the Bible says that there was just darkness and water which is actually scientifically accurate, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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." The Universe started off having a 200 million year dark age before the first stars started igniting, but the waters part? There was water in such an early time in the Universe? Well it turns out that the first matter in the Universe was actually a liquid. This statement is from the Labroots website, "In two separate studies, researchers led by those at the University of Copenhagen and Queen Mary University of London found that the first-ever matter created in the Universe, known as Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), flowed like tap water. QGP is a kind of matter that existed during the first microsecond of the Big Bang." So yes, the Universe started off as darkness and liquid.
Another creation story, involving darkness and water, is from the Corpus Hermeticum and this is what it says, "I saw an endless vision in which everything became light - clear and joyful - and in seeing the vision I came to love it. After a little while, darkness arose separately and descended - fearful and gloomy - coiling sinuously so that it looked to me like a <snake>. Then the darkness changed into something of a watery nature, indescribably agitated and smoking like a fire; it produced an unspeakable wailing roar. Then an inarticulate cry like the voice of fire came forth from it. [5] But from the light...a holy word mounted upon the <watery> nature, and untempered fire lept up from the watery nature to the height above. The fire was nimble and piercing and active as well, and because the air was light it followed after spirit and rose up to the fire away from earth and water so that it seemed suspended from the fire. Earth and water stayed behind, mixed with one another, so that <earth> could not be distinguished from water, but they were stirred to hear by the spiritual word that moved upon them.
[6] Poimandres said to me, "Have you understood what this vision means?"
"I shall come to know," said I.
"I am the light you saw, mind, your god," he said, "who existed before the watery nature that appeared out of darkness. The light giving word who comes from mind is the son of god.""
The Corpus Hermeticum doesn't call it water like the Book of Genesis does, but a type of liquid it cannot describe. It's also very interesting that the Corpus Hermeticum describes this liquid as being hot, just like the first type of matter to come after the Big Bang. This watery nature is separate from Earth and water, just like the Book of Genesis describes as well.
The very first passage of the Bible says that there was just darkness and water which is actually scientifically accurate, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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." The Universe started off having a 200 million year dark age before the first stars started igniting, but the waters part? There was water in such an early time in the Universe? Well it turns out that the first matter in the Universe was actually a liquid. This statement is from the Labroots website, "In two separate studies, researchers led by those at the University of Copenhagen and Queen Mary University of London found that the first-ever matter created in the Universe, known as Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP), flowed like tap water. QGP is a kind of matter that existed during the first microsecond of the Big Bang." So yes, the Universe started off as darkness and liquid.
Another creation story, involving darkness and water, is from the Corpus Hermeticum and this is what it says, "I saw an endless vision in which everything became light - clear and joyful - and in seeing the vision I came to love it. After a little while, darkness arose separately and descended - fearful and gloomy - coiling sinuously so that it looked to me like a <snake>. Then the darkness changed into something of a watery nature, indescribably agitated and smoking like a fire; it produced an unspeakable wailing roar. Then an inarticulate cry like the voice of fire came forth from it. [5] But from the light...a holy word mounted upon the <watery> nature, and untempered fire lept up from the watery nature to the height above. The fire was nimble and piercing and active as well, and because the air was light it followed after spirit and rose up to the fire away from earth and water so that it seemed suspended from the fire. Earth and water stayed behind, mixed with one another, so that <earth> could not be distinguished from water, but they were stirred to hear by the spiritual word that moved upon them.
[6] Poimandres said to me, "Have you understood what this vision means?"
"I shall come to know," said I.
"I am the light you saw, mind, your god," he said, "who existed before the watery nature that appeared out of darkness. The light giving word who comes from mind is the son of god.""
The Corpus Hermeticum doesn't call it water like the Book of Genesis does, but a type of liquid it cannot describe. It's also very interesting that the Corpus Hermeticum describes this liquid as being hot, just like the first type of matter to come after the Big Bang. This watery nature is separate from Earth and water, just like the Book of Genesis describes as well.