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It is the twenty-first century and there still exist modern flat Earth societies proclaiming that the Earth is a flat disc-shaped planet, while many refuse to even call it a planet. A renewed interest in the discussion of whether or not the Earth is flat has cropped up among some people who believe, or claim to believe, that NASA and / or other organizations have been perpetuating the lie that the Earth is a sphere while covering up evidence that the Earth is a flat disc. This article will address the flat-earther’s claims and examine the Scripture verses that flat-earthers use to justify their belief in declaring the Earth to be flat. This article will reveal that the Scripture verses used by flat-earthers are misinterpreted and then misapplied, and will declare the Flat Earth Theory to be false.

IS THE EARTH FLAT ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES?

There is no Scripture verse that plainly states that the Earth is flat. There are verses that allegorically proclaim that the Earth has corners, edges, and that the Earth rests on pillars.

ISAIAH 11:12; REVELATION 7:1, 20:8 (NKJV):
From the four corners of the earth; at the four corners of the earth; in the four corners of the earth…

WHAT ARE THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH?

Orlando Ferguson of South Dakota believed the Earth to be square and stationary. In 1893 he drafted and printed out a MAP OF THE SQUARE AND STATIONARY EARTH. The map is based on a very literal interpretation of Scripture. The map depicts an indented circular Earth, with the world’s oceans contained within a square firmament, and angels standing at the four corners of the earth.

The Earth is not a flat rectangle or square, so Scripture’s reference to the four corners of the Earth does not refer to literal corners. The central starting map location of Scripture is the nation of Israel. The four corners of the Earth, spoken of in Scripture, are most often the compass points north, south, east, and west of Israel.

DOES THE EARTH REST ON PILLARS?

The word ‘pillar’ has more than one definition.

pillar:
1. A tall vertical structure of stone, wood, or metal, used as support for a building, or as an ornament or monument.

2. Something shaped like a pillar: “a pillar of smoke.”

3. A person or thing regarded as reliably providing essential support for something: “he was a pillar of his local community.” [1]

When all the various definitions of ‘pillar’ are considered, regarding the Scripture verses that declare that the Earth rests on pillars, it should not be concluded that Scripture proclaims that a flat Earth rests on external physical pillar structures.

1 SAMUEL 2:8 (NKJV):
For the pillars of the earth belong to YHWH (the Lord) and He has set the world upon them.

The pillars belong to YHWH (the Lord), according to 1 Samuel 2:8, so pillars in this context are a reference to God providing essential support for the Earth.

JOB 9:6 (NKJV):
He shakes the earth out of its place, and the pillars tremble.

Scripture also refers to pillars as “pillars of smoke.”

JOEL 2:30 (NKJV):
And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.

‘Earth’ has a dual meaning in Scripture. ‘Earth,’ when mentioned in the Scriptures, can either be a reference to Planet Earth or a reference to dry land: the continents or islands.

GENESIS 1:1 (NKJV):
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

GENESIS 1:9-10 (NKJV):
Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, …

Discerning the dual meaning of ‘earth’ is essential in understanding that Scripture does not declare that Planet Earth rests on pillars, but the Earth’s dry land, the continents, do.

The ‘earth’ that rests on pillars, mentioned in Scripture, is a reference to the earth – dry land (continents) resting on giant slab pillars within Planet Earth. When God formed Planet Earth during the 6-day creation week, He raised the land from the waters to let the dry land (continents) appear. Scripture is referring to pillars within the Earth (tectonic plates), which are used as a means to raise the dry land (continents) above the waters. The earth (dry land – continents) do rest on pillars; they are pillars within Planet Earth called tectonic plates.

JOB 28:5 (NKJV):
As for the earth, from it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire.

Tectonic plates at the surface of the Earth move due to intense heat coming from the core of the planet. These giant slab plates float like rafts on the hot, semi-liquid mantle below the crust. Slow-moving currents deep inside Earth send the plates (and the land or ocean that rests on them) slowly moving across the surface of the planet. [2]

The Earth’s dry land – the continents, and the oceans rest atop giant slab pillars called tectonic plates that make up the Earth’s outer crust. Geologists who coined the term ‘tectonic plates’ could have just as easily called these giant slabs tectonic pillars, as tectonic plates are the ‘pillars’ that the Earth’s dry land – the continents of the world are set upon, as mentioned in Scripture.

JOB 26:7 (NKJV):
He hangs the earth on nothing.

JOB 26:10 (NKJV):
He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of light and darkness.

Scripture declares that the Earth is a free floating sphere in space, not a stationary object resting on pillars. The Earth hangs in space, on nothing, is stable, and does not move out of its orbit around the Sun.

The flat Earth model proposes that the Sun, Moon, and stars are set in fixed positions in the Earth’s firmament dome and that the Sun rotates around a flat, disc-shaped Earth, shining its light in a limited circular field. The problem with this theory is that it can be easily disproved with personal observation and logic. If the Earth were flat, at least some ambient light from the Sun would be visible from every point on Earth at all times, but that is not the case. In Antarctica, there are periods in the summer that the Sun is always visible and periods in winter when the Sun is not visible, due to the angle of the Sun’s rays on Antarctica, depending on the tilt of the spherical Earth.

At most places on Planet Earth we observe the Sun set and rise beyond the horizon. The Sun appears to set and rise from our viewpoint on Earth, but what is actually happening is that the spherical Earth is rotating out and into the field of view of the Sun. If the Sun shined its light in a limited circular field, we would see the Sun come into view from high in the sky, not in a sunrise, and go out of view when traveling away and disappearing into the sky, as we would a plane flying out of sight. We would never observe the Sun set below and rise above the horizon.

During a solar eclipse, the Moon passes in front of the Sun, coming between the Sun and the Earth, and the light of the Sun shining on Earth is partially or fully blocked by the Moon. If the Sun and Moon were affixed at fixed distances in the firmament dome, as flat earthers proclaim, the Sun and Moon would crash into each other and not pass by each other.

During a lunar eclipse, the Earth passes between the Sun and Moon, casting a circular shadow over the Moon. This would not be possible if the Sun and Moon were always fixed in the firmament dome above a flat Earth, as flat earthers proclaim.

IS THE EARTH SHAPED LIKE A CIRCULAR DISC?

ISAIAH 40:22 (NKJV):
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth…

When viewed from a high altitude, one can see the circle of the sphere of the Earth.
The Earth is not declared to be a circular disc, according to Isaiah 40:22. The Hebrew word for circle is ‘chug,’ meaning sphere, which indicates that Scripture proclaims the Earth to be a sphere.

Flat earthers typically rely on their own perceptions in believing the Earth to be flat and have an emotional attachment to a flat Earth, as they dismiss the strong evidence proving the Earth to be a sphere.

PHOTOS AND SATELLITE IMAGES OF THE SPHERICAL EARTH

NASA and other space agencies have provided the world with many photographs and satellite images of a spherical rotating Earth. [3][4] NASA is not a conspiracy agency supplying doctored Earth images and suppressing knowledge of a flat Earth, as flat-earthers maintain.

Many astronomy hobbyists from around the world have sent their video cameras and mobile phones into the edge of space using weather balloons and have provided further photographic and video evidence confirming that the Earth is a sphere. [5][6]

The United Nations logo is cited as “proof,” by flat earthers, that the Earth is flat. It is proclaimed that the United Nations, NASA, and other government entities know that the world is flat and suppress the evidence of a flat Earth, but the UN flag / logo reveals the truth of a flat Earth that they have been hiding. Again, this is faulty logic on the part of flat earthers. One cannot draw a 3-dimensional spherical Earth on a 2-dimensional flat plane logo map that would be a true representation of Planet Earth. The best that can be done to give the appearance of a spherical Earth on a flat map is to either round off the corners to make the map appear more spherical, or show two opposing sides of the sphere of the Earth.

The United Nations logo is a simple 2-dimensional image of the Earth, showing all the countries that make up the body of the United Nations. The United Nations logo should not be perceived as an accurate representation of Planet Earth. Perhaps the United Nations will change their logo in the future, but if they do, flat earthers will proclaim that this is further proof of a coverup of a flat earth.

Scripture does not proclaim the Earth to be a flat circular disc. Flat Earth believers are incorrect in understanding the Scripture verses that may seemingly allude to a flat Earth, if taken literally, or they intentionally twist the allegorical and figurative language of Scripture to apply a literal meaning to support Flat Earth Theory. Flat earthers, who proclaim that there are many verses declaring the Earth to be flat, are selectively reading such verses literally with a pre-set flat Earth mindset, while ignoring the verses declaring the Earth to be a sphere and are dismissing the mountains of evidence that the Earth is a globe. There is not a single verse in Scripture that plainly states that Planet Earth is flat.
The Earth is a blue marble.

[1] ‘Pillar,’ Oxford Dictionaries, Oxford University Press, 2016,
< https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/pillar >.

[2] Encyclopedia Articles, “WHY DO EARTH’S CONTINENTS MOVE?,” 2007 Dorling Kindersley,
< http://www.factmonster.com/dk/encyclopedia/continents.html >.

[3] “VISIBLE EARTH A catalog of NASA images and animations of our home planet,”
< http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/ >.

[4] NASA Captures “EPIC” Earth Image, July 20, 2015,
< https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/nasa-captures-epic-earth-image >.

[5] Mashable, “Father and Son Launch iPhone Into Space [VIDEO],” OCT 17, 2010,
< http://mashable.com/2010/10/17/iphone-space-launch-video/#ktReCYGe8Pqt >.

[6] Clover, Julie, MacRumors, “iPhone 6 Gets Sent Into Space by Urban Armor Gear,” January 15, 2015,
< http://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/15/iphone-6-goes-to-space/ >.