A Flat, Hard-Domed Earth?

  

https://answersingenesis.org/is-the-earth-flat/

The other day, I held a Bible study on God’s creation of the firmament. To my surprise, our discussion led to the 'flat-earth' and 'hard-domed earth' theories. Totally caught off guard, I was unprepared for the questions. I had never considered these theories credible, or why any believed the Earth was flat and domed.

 

So, my daughter did what she does best. She searched the internet and sent me a video from Instagram. A few days later, as I watched a Christian program I follow on Rumble, the hosts were addressing questions from listeners about Earth being flat.

 

Did you realize there’s been a resurgence in these theories? Not only among secular audiences, but also among Christians? I hadn’t.

 

The condescending woman on Instagram had asked ChatGPT for a ‘Biblical’ picture of creation. AI presented a flat Earth with a hard dome above it. Under the dome were all the items we see in our sky: the sun, moon, and stars.

 

To me, using ChatGPT is like asking demons for truth.

 

Still, this videographer had preconceived ideas. She rejected the spherical shape of Earth, the moon landing, and images of our universe from the Hubble Space Telescope and other satellites. She also believed N.A.S.A. (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was intentionally deceiving the masses.

 

Can I understand non-Christians believing these things? Sure, but why the church? God’s Word is clear. Yet, somewhere along the line, someone, inspired by Satan, gave false information beginning with N.A.S.A. They took this English acronym, placed it into the Hebrew language, found a definition, and then taught it.

 

These claimed nasa in Hebrew meant to deceive. Surprise, surprise, that’s NOT the meaning. The Hebrew word nâśâ’ is Strong’s #5375. It means to lift. However, another Hebrew word, nâshâ’ [Strong’s #5377 – note the different spelling], means to lead astray, that is, (mentally) to delude.

 

Taking any English word and placing that spelling into another language to extract a meaning is crazy. But even worse, using that definition to teach about God’s creation is, in and of itself, evil and deceptive.

 

The videographer also found support for her theories by taking Scripture out of context and applying literal meanings to words God meant as figurative or poetic. For example: 

I Chronicles 16:30: “Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved.”

 

Rejecting Earth’s spherical shape rotating on its axis and orbiting the sun, she camped on the phrase ‘it shall not be moved’. However, keeping the context, we see this passage is a song of King David when he brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Tabernacle erected in Jerusalem.

This passage was about a stable Earth and her inhabitants worshipping God Most High, who, as Colossians says, holds all things together.[1]   The woman then referenced:

 

Psalm 104:5: “You who laid the foundations of the earth, so that it should not be moved forever.”

 

Psalm 104, verses 5 through 9[2] spoke of the cataclysmic flood of Noah’s day and, like I Chronicles, used figurative and poetic language. Here, the LORD was holding His created Earth firmly in place so it wouldn’t fly off into oblivion. This is why He situated it as the third planet from the sun.

 

Flat-Earthers also used: I Samuel 2:8: “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and He has set the world upon them.”

 

This was Hannah, Samuel’s mother, thanking God for her child. Did Hannah mean literal pillars? No. Hannah spoke figuratively of how the LORD would take the lowliest of people who loved and trusted Him, and He would make them great. Case in point:

 

Revelation 3:12a: “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more…”

 

Does anyone believe overcomers will literally hold up God’s temple? No! ‘Pillar’ is a metaphor like Hannah used in I Samuel. Don’t we do the same? We call certain godly people ‘pillars’ in our church—meaning mainstays or leaders.

 

Friends, critical thinking must prevail. But even with my explanation, some might be skeptical. If so, give it some thought. Trust God’s Holy Word, NOT AI, ChatGPT, or Google. And please keep Scripture in context. Then see where the Holy Spirit leads you.

 

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[1] Colossians 1:15-17

[2] Psalm 104:5-9