Here I Stand

When on trial before the Roman Catholic Church for teaching biblical truth, Martin Luther famously stated: “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.” Much to my surprise, I find myself in a similar position today regarding the doctrine of the shape of the earth. What once was commonly understood by the church, now has become the subject of intense debate. Many of my dear friends think that I have departed from the truth because I believe in the literal accuracy of Genesis Chapter One and other scriptures that describe the earth and heavens quite differently from what now is generally accepted as true. While it disturbs me that I am considered to be a scientific heretic and a misinterpreter of the Bible, I take solace in the fact that my belief agrees with Luther’s, Calvin’s, and the authors of the Bible.

About the same time God restored the primacy of God’s Word and the wonderful truth of justification by faith during the Protestant Reformation, Satan counterattacked, introducing one of his most mind numbing deceptions – heliocentrism.

Copernicus theorized that the earth revolved around Helios, the sun god, which became the center of the “universe,” instead of the earth’s being the stationary center of God’s creation over which the sun and moon run their “circuits.” (Psalm 19:6)

Here is what Copernicus wrote. Judge for yourself whether it is empirical science or occult religion dressed up in scientific garb, a wolf is sheep’s clothing.

In the middle of all sits Sun enthroned. In this most beautiful temple could we place this luminary in any better position from which he can illuminate the whole at once? He is rightly called the Lamp, the Mind, the Ruler of the Universe: Hermes Trismegistus names him the Visible God, Sophocles’ Electra calls him the All-seeing. So the Sun sits as upon a royal throne ruling his children the planets which circle round him. The Earth has the Moon at her service. As Aristotle says, in his On Animals, the Moon has the closest relationship with the Earth. Meanwhile the Earth conceives by the Sun, and becomes pregnant with an annual rebirth.  —Nicolaus Copernicus , De Revolutionibus, Of the Order of the Heavenly Bodies

Hermes Trismegistus was an Egyptian sun worshiper and originator of the occult practice of hermetics or alchemy, something to which both Copernicus and Isaac Newton subscribed.

Heliocentrism is a clear example of Satan’s countering God’s truth with an outright lie, the purpose being to turn people away from belief in the Bible and faith in God.

When Copernicus introduced his novel ideas about the solar system, the reformers were quick to condemn him. Here are the words of Martin Luther.

The error of Copernicus’ declaration that the earth revolved around the sun was evident to those men who held that the Scripture was the sole foundation of faith and truth.

Luther referred to Joshua’s command to the sun to stand still as an elegantly simple refutation of Copernicus’ error, but, today, many Christians merely shrug off this important text by saying that God can do anything. They believe that God could stop the earth from rotating and the moon from revolving around the earth without killing everyone by massive tsunamis and the force of the sudden stop from a 1039 mph rotation. Satan truly makes us into fools when we abandon the simple truth of God’s words, even though we imagine that we are incredibly wise.

The heliocentric model of the universe stands in absolute contradiction to God’s Word. It suppresses the truth about the creation and God himself, who is revealed through an accurate apprehension of what he made. (Psalm 19:1-2)

The Bible warns us that the truth will be suppressed in the Last Days (Romans 1:18), leading to wholesale delusion (2 Thessalonians 2:11). We are there.

The heliocentric lie, coupled with the Big Bang expanding universe, fundamentally changed how humanity viewed the cosmos, God, the Bible, and ourselves.

Instead of there being a benevolent Creator who fashioned an earth protected by the firmament from outside threats, Copernicus launched us into the dark and hostile void of “outer space,” without any sort of mooring or protection at all. Heaven became lost in space, a spiritual place instead of being located just atop the firmament. This monumental error gave birth to a whole host of derivative lies.

  • Deism – An impersonal God created the world and left us to our own devices.
  • Atheism – The earth sprang out of nothing through mechanistic processes.
  • Evolution – All life evolved from nothing by random processes. There is no Creator.
  • Moral Relativism – Since there is no God and we evolved, there is no such thing as absolute truth.
  • Meaninglessness – Life is a meaningless existential pursuit of pleasure and power, leading to totalitarianism, hedonism, and despair.
  • A Culture of Sexual Perversion, Abuse, and Suicide since there is no God and Judge, no absolute truth, and no inherent value to life.
  • Living in fear from any number of outside threats – global warming, aliens, and asteroids – which allow the powers that be to enslave us.

When we realize that the earth is a stationary plane covered by the firmament, above which is God’s throne, our eyes are opened to the truth about the God of the Bible and the accuracy of his Word.

I have listened to testimonies of people coming to believe in the Creator and Jesus as a result of finally seeing that the earth is indeed a stationary, non-rotating plane enclosed in the firmament. I have collected some of these on my resource page, near the bottom.

Throughout church history making a stand for God’s truth always produces controversy and sometimes persecution.

Jesus caused division wherever he went because truth divides those who receive it from those who suppress it. (John 7:43)

Several early Bible translators, such as John Hus and William Tyndale, gave up their lives in order to provide us with access to the Scripture in our own language. The early reformers faced the very real threat of death for adhering to such basic truths as justification by faith and believer baptism. The doctrine of the baptism and gifts of the Spirit still is being resisted to this day.

Arguments are made by those who do not value the gifts of the Spirit that, since the gifts are not a salvation issue, we should keep quiet about them in order to preserve unity. Some churches do not allow people to operate in the spiritual gifts in order to maintain cohesiveness.

I do not think we should participate in suppressing biblical truth in order to maintain false unity. Nor do I believe that we should try to force our views on others.  As long as freedom of conscience and expression are allowed, we should tolerate divergent opinions, unless such a position clearly violates God’s Word. Then the church must erect some sort of barrier to preserve truth.

A primary reason that I left the Roman Catholic Church after being born again was because I could not remain in unity with false doctrine, nor was it proper for me to be a source of disunity within their ranks by teaching doctrine that is contrary to the official church position.

We should always strive to maintain a balance between making a stand for God’s truth and being lovingly patient with those who do not see it yet.

As we press forward into God’s truth, I believe it is wise to keep in mind the following saying.

I realize that the doctrine of the shape of the earth is a “non-essential” doctrine in the sense that one does not need to believe it to get to heaven. However, I believe it is a vastly important doctrine which needs to be taught because it strikes a blow at one of Satan’s biggest lies.

I have made a stand for Bible truth, hoping that many will come to see the glorious truth about the shape and nature of God’s earth and heavens. It is my desire that, when people see the truth about creation, they will also see the truth about God and put their faith in our Lord Jesus the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

Has Jesus Called You?

Jesus personally calls every disciple, just as he did Philip.

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” John 1:43 (NLT)

In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul wrote these encouraging words.

For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. Romans 8:29–30 (NLT)

Christianity is not a religion devised by men as a way to reach God. It is a relationship initiated by God who came looking for us.

God knows each of us by name and chose us before he even created the world.

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:4–5 (NLT)

At some point, he calls each of his chosen ones to belong to his family. This is when eternity intersects our historical timeline.

I recently attended a funeral of a dear friend at which a song was played that touched the hearts of many there. The chorus was repeated over and over again: “God is watching us from a distance.” It seemed to bring comfort to those present, probably because it is nice to consider that God cares, but the theology was poor. If God is watching us from a distance, it is because we don’t know him. God is not distant. He is very much present in the lives of those he called.

One of the most recurrent phrases in the Bible spoken by God to us is: “I am with you.” One the titles given to our Lord by the angel who appeared to Mary was Immanuel, which means God with us. (Matthew 1:23) But God is not with everyone. He remains at a distance from those who do not acknowledge and receive him. He does not know them in a saving way at all.

Jesus uttered these sobering words about the last judgment when he will separate those who know him from those who do not.

But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ Matthew 7:23 (NLT)

How can we move from being one of the “not known” into the group with whom God dwells and knows by name? Most people do not even care, but if we do, it is a good sign.

If we feel drawn to Jesus, it is because God is at work in our lives.

For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. John 6:44 (NLT)

If we are being drawn by God, it is because he called us to be his son or daughter. Our responsibility is to respond to that call. Those who respond prove that they are among the chosen. Jesus said that many are called, but few are chosen. This is because not all who hear the gospel are able to receive it, only those in whom the Holy Spirit is at work. Have you heard the Lord calling you to become his follower, or are you content to know him from a distance, which amounts to not knowing him at all?

Prayer

Jesus, I want to be among those who know you and are known by you. I feel the tug of the Holy Spirit upon my heart; so, I come to you now, asking you to come into my life and reveal yourself to me. Open the eyes of my heart that I might see you for who you truly are. I want to be your follower. Forgive my sins and send your Holy Spirit to live inside of me. Thank you that you promised that you will never turn away anyone who comes to you. Amen.

Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away. John 6:37 (NET)

“The Character and Doom of the Sluggard” by Pastor David Caldwell

The Reverend David Caldwell (1725-1824) was born in Lancaster, PA. He moved to NC where he became a Presbyterian minister over two congregations, a physician, an educator, and a farmer. He was a Regulator and was present at the Battle of Alamance as a peace negotiator. He ardently supported the Revolution; although, he served mainly as a doctor for the wounded. The British hated and feared his influence so much that they put out a bounty of two hundred pounds on him. When General Cornwallis seized his home before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Caldwell was with Greene’s army in Virginia. The British burned all his sermons, but two escaped the flames, one of which is printed below. I edited some of the text to make it more readable.

The Character and Doom of the Sluggard

The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute. Proverbs 12:24 (KJV)

Paying tribute or tax is an acknowledgement of subjection and dependence; and is opprobrious or not, according to the circumstances under which it is paid. When we pay a tax to the support of a government whose constitution we approve and in whose measures we have a voice, it is paid cheerfully; and then we are more than compensated by the personal security and by the facilities for improvement which it affords; but still it is an acknowledgement of dependence upon, or of subjection to, that government.

When it is paid to a foreign government; and especially, if it be paid from compulsion, and not from choice, it is always considered as degrading. Thus, the Jews considered the tribute which they paid at different periods of their history to the surrounding nations; and finally, to the Roman government. So all nations in all ages have viewed the payment of tribute by compulsion, whether it be paid to their own rulers, or to those of another nation; and this arises from that innate love of liberty which belongs to all men, as well as to their sense of justice and propriety; for the exaction from a people of a tribute more than they themselves, when properly informed, admit to be necessary to enable the government to give adequate protection to their persons and property, no matter by whom it is done, is felt to be a violation of justice; and the government which will make such exactions from downright avarice, or for ambitious purposes, is not guided by a fair appreciation of the rights of mankind, or by those benign principles which alone can render its operation acceptable and salutary to the governed.

When an individual is said to be under tribute, as in the text, the meaning is that he is in a degraded state of subjection to, and dependence upon, those around him; and such, we are here told, will be the condition of the sluggard. We are so constituted that vigorous and well directed exertion is necessary to the attainment of anything that is valuable; and all the powers we possess, bodily and mental, ought to be employed assiduously in pursuance of the end for which they were given. The powers with which we are endowed are various; but the employments for which they are required are also various; and it is not important in what way we are employed, provided it be at something that is right and useful. If we refuse to exercise these powers in the way in which it was designed we should exercise them, we must remain destitute of that which would be obtained by a proper industry; and this neglect, and the consequent destitution, may be either partial or total.

For example: a certain degree of bodily exercise is necessary to health; but, if we neglect that exercise, we must want the health and vigor which might otherwise be enjoyed. The acquisition of knowledge depends upon a diligent use of the means and the due exercise of our mental faculties; but, if we refuse to take this course, we must remain in ignorance. Industry, as to the things of this world, is necessary to obtain the means of subsistence and the comforts of life; but, if we refuse to labor, we must remain in poverty and wretchedness. We are surrounded by enemies and dangers of various kinds; and to avoid being overcome, both vigilance and efforts are necessary; but if we refuse to watch and to take the proper precautions, or to defend ourselves when attacked, captivity or ruin will be the certain consequence.

It has been said that the word, which is rendered slothful, in the text, ought to be rendered deceitful, or fraudulent; but we need not detain you with any critical remarks in order to settle that point, as the two characters are very much alike; for we generally find that the deceitful and fraudulent are indolent too; and there are certainly some of the same elements in both. As it stands, it answers better also to the antithesis in the first part of the verse. The hand of the Diligent shall Bear Rule; but the Slothful shall be under tribute. Besides there are many other passages, both in the Old aid New Testament, and especially in the book of Proverbs, of the same import, and about which there is no dispute.

A man may be so intent upon gain, or so absorbed in scientific or literary pursuits, or so engaged in something else that is lawful and even important in its nature, as to neglect his health, and, not only become the subject of debility and disease, but go down to a premature grave. The effect in this case is owing, not to indolence, but an imprudent or a too eager pursuit of the object; yet indolence will be followed by the same result; for in both cases the laws of our physical nature are violated in a similar way. We need not enquire whether there is any culpability in the former case; for that depends on circumstances and is not necessary to our purpose. It is with the sluggard we have to do at present; and about him there is no apology. While he is impairing his health and shortening his days by his inactivity and sloth, he is gaining nothing in any other way, and must therefore be chargeable with his own ruin. To say nothing of the injury to his health from inattention to cleanliness and from the want of fresh and wholesome air, which is very great, the laws of our physical existence require frequent and regular exercise; and without it the vitality of the system will languish, and its energies become impaired. As the door upon his hinges, so doth the sluggard upon his bed— turning from one side to the other, but still remaining in the same place. The slothful hides his hand in his bosom: It troubles him to bring it again to his mouth— that is, the slightest exertion is irksome to him; and he neglects, not only the muscular exertion necessary to health, but also to make suitable provision for his nourishment. Such a man cannot enjoy the health and vigor of other people; nor have the same number of days to live; for, as a matter of fact, we always find that those who live long upon the earth are people of regular and active habits.

If the sluggard commences in poverty, he will remain poor; and, if he commences rich, he will become poor. He may desire wealth and comfort, but his desire kills him; for ” his hands refuse to labor.” He may ” covet greedily all the day long;” but, while “the righteous have enough and to spare,” he is in want. While many a man, who began life poor, has become rich by honest and persevering industry, many a fine estate has been wasted by sloth and inattention. The slothful man saith there is a lion in the way: a lion is in the streets,— that is, in the very places where he ought to be at work, or attending to his business; and the amount of it is that he is ready to make any excuse, and will indulge his sloth upon any terms. The consequence is that, if he has a farm, it is in disorder, and becoming waste. I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding. And lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. To an observing and reflecting man this was a source of instruction. Then I saw and considered it well: I looked upon it and received instruction. The amount of it was, that while the man was saying to himself, Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep, his poverty was seen coming as one that travelled, and his want as an armed man. If he is a tradesman, or a merchant, and neglects his business, his customers, his debts, or anything belonging to his occupation, the same result will follow.

Sloth is usually at the bottom of all negligence, disorder, or bad management in business; and there is more sloth among us, and more of the evils resulting from it, probably, than many of you have ever supposed. But these are not all the evils, nor the worst evils to which the sluggard is subject; for those of a mental and moral kind are much more serious in their nature and their consequences. A certain amount of knowledge is necessary to a man’s welfare, here and hereafter; and the more knowledge he has the better, if he makes a right use of it; for then his satisfaction and his usefulness will be in the same proportion. But even that amount of intelligence which will enable him to understand his own interest and make him acquainted with the duties which he owes to God his Maker, and to his fellow beings, a diligent use of the means of knowledge, and much reflection on what he reads or acquires in any way. He may be very positive or dogmatic all in his opinions, without being able to tell why he entertains them; and is positive just because he is ignorant. The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason. Seven was considered as the number of perfection among the Jews, and being in common use it was employed by the inspired writers, as it was by the people to whom they wrote, to express the whole class of persons or objects lo which it was applied; and by “seven wise men” was therefore meant all the wise men in the world. The sluggard thinks he is wiser than anybody else; and this state of mind, in addition to his aversion to any proper exercise of his mental powers, keeps him in ignorance.

While the due exercise of all our powers, mental and physical, is the only condition on which our present and future welfare can be secured, of which we are expressly informed by the great and good Being who gave us existence, and the proof of which is manifest everywhere around us; he who will not comply with the laws of his being and fulfil the only condition on which his welfare is attainable, must become a certain prey to “all the ills that flesh is heir to;” for if he is not aware of these evils how can he escape them! It he is ignorant, how can he know in what they consist, or in what direction they will come, or if he does not know the things that make for his peace, how can he seek them, though ever so anxious!

Knowledge, like everything else that is good, is the reward of industry; and if we or anybody else, is as really an object of reprobation as the miser, the spendthrift, or the highway robber; and the blessings which he foregoes and the evils which he brings upon himself, here, are but forerunners of the heavier losses which he will sustain, and the more insufferable woes which he will bring upon himself hereafter; for the unprofitable servant will be bound hand and foot, and cast into outer darkness where no ray of comfort can ever cast even a momentary radiance over the gloom, and where there is weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth forever. The evils which he is bringing upon himself here are those of privation and of suffering: they are physical, intellectual, and moral; and increasing, as they are, from day to day, both in number and degree, they can be regarded only as the beginning of sorrows.

We have seen that while the sluggard is impairing his health and shortening his days, he is wasting his estate, or depriving himself of blessings and privileges which he might otherwise enjoy; and is not only acting in a manner very similar to that of the most prodigal spendthrift, but is pursuing towards himself, and perhaps others also who may be dependent on him, a perfectly suicidal course. God hath declared that “he is brother to him that is a great waster;” and that he “who sleeps in summer shall beg in harvest,” exposing himself to poverty, shame, and misery. As he will not disturb his ease that he may become acquainted with his duty to God or learn upon what terms the divine favor may be obtained, and what will be the consequence of neglecting to comply with those terms, neither will he take the trouble to ascertain what is due to him from his fellowmen, or what he owes to them. Hence being deficient in his duty to his God, his kin, and his country, he not only becomes an easy prey to every bold intruder who is either desirous of gain or greedy of power, but is exposed to all the evils, of whatever kind, that can come upon him from those towards whom he has violated his obligations.

While he is spending or losing, by his ignorance and sloth, the inheritance that has been handed down from his predecessors, perhaps through a number of generations, with all the temporal comforts which it might have afforded, or is neglecting to acquire the means of comfort and respectability which a kind Providence has placed within the reach of his industry, the ambitious and the covetous, those tyrants of the human race and pests of society, view him as an object fit for their purposes, and mark him for their prey, believing that his ignorance will screen them from his notice, and that his indolence will make him perfectly submissive, or prevent that vigilance and exertion on his part which are necessary to his safety.

Thus, they are encouraged to make the experiment, and they too often succeed. Here your own memories may easily suggest examples, both in public and in private life, in which the weak, the ignorant, and the slothful were outwitted and imposed on, defrauded and subjugated, by some unprincipled villain or other, who was destitute alike of honor, humanity, and everything else that could entitle him to the respect and affections of his fellow men; and of such the world is full.

But if the sluggard is so reckless as to destroy his soul, body, and estate, it is almost a matter of course that he will so undervalue his civil and religious liberties as to lose them in the same way.

Were he careful to examine into the rights of society and to ascertain what each individual parts with, for the sake of the government, the aggregate of which is the royal prerogative, and is committed into the hands of the supreme magistrate to be exercised for the public good, he would easily see when his civil liberties were secure, or when endangered by the attempts of ambitious and designing men; but he does not consider that the king, as such, is created, protected, and supported by the State; and that all his acts should therefore promote the public good. While the sluggard continues ignorant of these leading principles, no wonder if he is easily awed into slavery, stoops his shoulders to the burden, becomes a servant to tribute, and yields to all the unjust demands of usurped prerogative.

In acting thus, however, he is an enemy, not only to himself, but also to his children. Can this be possible, you will say. Can he divest himself of such inanity! Can he lay aside the tender feelings of a parent! Can he forget the civil interests of his children! Can he expose his helpless infants to the lawless demands of tyranny, and to all the cruelties of despotism! Can he be so infatuated as to ruin his tender offspring by surrendering their liberty and property into the hands of those who exercise usurped prerogative!— I would say it was impossible, if incontestable facts did not prove the contrary.

Who are capable of such blackened crimes? who can deliberately ruin himself and his children at once? the sluggard; and whoever else may do the same thing from other principles or in other ways, the sluggard is sure to do it, in whom ignorance, disregard of moral obligation, and a supreme love of ease are inseparably united.

Should such a monster of human society appear at a time when the royal prerogative is extended beyond the bounds of reason, or the just limits of the constitution, would he act the champion in the cause of liberty, bravely withstand the shocks of an arbitrary and tyrannical government and bid defiance to all the illicit requirements of despotism! Would he vindicate the cause of political truth, and firmly resolve to transmit to his infant sons the fair inheritance of liberty! The answers to these questions I beseech you to conceal. Let not the friends of the constitution, or the “Sons of Liberty,” know that such an enemy to the common interests of mankind anywhere exists, lest their patriotic zeal should raise undue resentment and cause it to burst upon his devoted head— conceal, I pray you, conceal it from his unoffending family— add not infamy and disgrace to their bondage and oppression. It will be enough, and more than enough, for them to answer the demands of tyranny, and the lawless requisitions of an unprincipled minister, if, for lack of courage and firmness, the chains of slavery should be now fastened upon us. Alas, they must groan out their days in lamentation and wretchedness, suffering whatever a corrupt minister, or ministerial tools, can invent; and tamely surrender all that is most dear and valuable to the demands of avarice and the menaces of power.

Let them not know that their bondage and degradation must be ascribed to the ignorance and indolence of their progenitors, who, from cowardice or the love of ease, tamely surrendered all that was their own and all that should have been their children’s, into the hands of a minister or an infatuated senate. This would sink their sinking spirits still lower and add infamy and shame to poverty and oppression. Let oblivion spread her dark veil over their ignoble principles and unmanly conduct, who, for a little ease, or the hope of securing a trifling estate, or some mere selfish advantage of comparatively small value and short duration, would resign their own and their children’s liberty, overturn the constitution, and expose themselves, with their posterity, born or unborn, to the groping paw of arbitrary power.

When men of this character, ambitious and unprincipled, are a majority in the State, or have the control of public affairs, what unjust prosecutions, what shipwrecks of property, what fines, confiscations, and imprisonments, the black history of some former inauspicious reigns fully manifest, I refer to the time when a set of slothful and unprincipled wretches disgraced the British Senate, suffering the Council Table, Star Chamber, and High Commissioners to engross almost the whole power of making and executing the laws— at which time they enforced their loans, benevolences, and ship-money, by illegal prosecutions, intolerable fines, and long imprisonments, to the ruin or serious injury of the nation; for vast multitudes of the most industrious, upright, and valuable citizens left the country; and with all classes there was a want of confidence in the government;— while the disregard of moral honesty and good faith manifested by the men in power, and the temptations held out to the ambitious and covetous to stifle conscience and trample on the rights and justice and humanity, produced a general deterioration of moral principle.

The sin and danger of sloth, in relation to our civil liberty, or of yielding to the unjust demands of arbitrary power, is further evident from the fact that those in high life, or who administer the government, have all the allurements by which to turn the active spirits of the age, and cause them to act in concert with themselves. Some they bring over by promoting them to high stations; some by pains and penalties; some are influenced by the apprehension of not being able to obtain justice and of losing what little they have; some are brought into subjection and held fast through a kind of depravity in their understanding, not distinguishing between reasonable taxation and oppression; while others seem to have so much infidelity in their make that they will not believe what all mankind assert, and will hardly believe the testimony of their own senses.

But the sluggard from mere indolence, or from an aversion to exerting himself in any way, will not observe these matters, nor inquire into what is conducive to his own and his children’s safety and happiness. He would rather stoop his shoulders and take on him the whole load of oppression and slavery, with all their train of privations and hardships.

Were these evils confined to the persons and families of such indolent wretches, it would be more tolerable; but, alas! posterity, in all its extent and in its distant generations, may fuel the burden, made more insupportable by repeated additions.— France and Spain, yea, all the enslaved nations Europe, can bear witness that it was the sluggish disposition of their remote predecessors, and the inactivity of succeeding ages, which introduced, increased, and perfected their present bondage— a bondage which makes them to this day groan under a load that it is not likely they or their children will be able to throw off.

Had our forefathers in England given up the cause of liberty and indulged in sloth, or inglorious ease, when recreants, assisted by the French, and headed by an angry and disappointed Prince, attempted our subjugation and ruin, we should have been under the domination of popery, and exposed to all its persecuting tenets, to slavery, and all its poverty. Attempts have been often made, since the reformation, to introduce popery and slavery into the British nation; but they were always resolutely and successfully withstood. Charles I, prompted and sustained by his alliance with France, the depravity of his understanding, and his uxorious obedience to his queen, encouraged popery in his kingdom; and those who professed the protestant religion were both oppressed and persecuted. At this time, the British parliament was adorned by men of honesty, zeal, and activity, who effected such prodigious revolutions in church and state, as were the surprise and wonder of all Europe.

When James II abdicated the throne of England, and raised an army of papists and confederate French, to establish popery and slavery, the British nation did not betray their religion or their liberty by an inglorious submission, nor did they desert the mighty cause of truth and freedom through sloth or cowardice. They valiantly repelled the force and fury of his attacks and fearlessly proclaimed the prince and princess of Orange to be the king and queen of Great Britain. Thus our forefathers, or many of them, sacrificed their lives at Londonderry that they might hand down to us the fair inheritance of liberty and the protestant religion; and in the whole course of their conduct in the support and defense of their rights, they have set us an example which ought not to be disregarded.—

But the sluggard gives up his all: all that is his own, and all that should he his children’s and their children’s under them, into the hands of ambitious, arbitrary, and wicked men,— in consequence of which, he and they, so far as he is at all concerned to prevent it, are exposed to unremitted slavery, poverty, and distress.

If the sluggard be thus an enemy to all above him, to all around him, and to all that will come after him, as well as to himself, in soul, body, and estate, he ought to be well observed in every well-regulated community; for he despises and tramples upon the laws of God and the most salutary institutions of men— institutions that have been handed down, as invaluable and sacred, from father to son, through many generations. Among these we may mention that of trial by juries, which is a very ancient institution or usage in Great Britain; for it seems to have been known to the first Britons, was practiced by the Saxons, and has been confirmed since the invasion of the Normans by the Magna Carta and by continual usage. Trial by juries, however, is not only of great antiquity but is essential to the safety and happiness of every British subject, and, in fact, of all mankind. Juries are England’s Euphoria and Tribute; and are the living bulwark of the laws and the liberties of the people. If we look at those nations that are destitute of this constitutional or essential safeguard, we find the condition of the inhabitants is miserable, being either entirely subjected to the arbitrary will of tyrants who plunder, dismember, or slay them from mere caprice, according to their humor, often without any provocation, and merely to gratify a savage cruelty; or at least we find them under such laws as render their lives, liberties, and estates liable to be disposed of at the discretion of men acting as judges, who are perfect strangers, whether mercenary than otherwise, and the mere creatures of the prerogative; sometimes malicious and oppressive and frequently partial and corrupt.

But such has been the patriotism, prudence, and activity of our ancestors, that they have never suffered the most evil prince, or princes, that ever swayed the British scepter, to destroy this invaluable privilege; nor can it ever be destroyed until the constitution, and the liberties of the people, which are now secured by it, are wrested from them and trampled underfoot, which can never be done, except from their own supineness or mismanagement. If Britons, when under the influence of heathen superstition, or in the ignorance and thralldom of popery, were thus jealous of their rights, and maintained the privilege of being tried by their peers, or by a jury of the wisest and best men to be found in the vicinity, as the only means of securing their lives and fortunes against the arbitrary, partial, and corrupt judges, would it not be a blot on the escutcheon of Britons or the descendants of Britons, professing the protestant religion, and enjoying so much light, now to give up, from sloth or cowardice, a privilege so valuable that every other of merely a civil kind can hardly be brought into the comparison.

The sluggard who gives up such an important branch of the constitution is worse than a thief or a robber; for the one takes from you only what he needs, or can take away at present, but the other undermines the constitution; opens door for tyranny and oppression; and exposes all around him and all that will come after him as well to the paw of arbitrary and despotic power. The consequences of sloth are therefore most pernicious; and the sluggard, being a perfect nuisance to society, must be under the eye of his Maker, and despised by all good men; for he will not unite with the people of God and the friends of humanity, either to procure or defend their common rights and privileges.

This seems to have been the case with the inhabitants of the city Meroz; and God expressed in the most forcible manner his displeasure at their indolence and cowardice. When Jab in, one of the kings of Canaan, who reigned in Razor, had subjugated Israel, and mightily oppressed them for the space of twenty years, Deborah, a prophetess, being influenced by the spirit of the Lord, called for Barak out of Kedesh-Naphiali; and ordered him to go to Mount Tabor, and take with him ten thousand men out of the tribes of Naphtali and Accordingly Bark issued a general proclamation for these two tribes to meet him at and they obeyed, except the inhabitants of this city Meroz, who, it seems, chose rather to be under the tyranny and oppression of that cruel prince, Jabin, than to join with God and his people in vindicating their rights and maintaining their common privileges. God, that he might shew his indignation against those sluggish or timid wretches who would not join in the common cause of liberty, nor unite in defending those rights which he hid originally given them, and which, though lost by their pusillanimity, he was about to restore, provided they shewed themselves worthy of such a favor, inspired the prophetess Deborah, and Barak, the chief commander of the expedition, with that celebrated song, recorded by the divine historian, in which there is this remarkable passage.

“Curse Meroz,” said the angel of the LORD, “Utterly curse its inhabitants; Because they did not come to the help of the LORD, To the help of the LORD against the warriors.” Judges 5:23 (NASB)

There seems to be a dreadful similarity between our sluggard and the inhabitants of this devoted city, both in the measure and in the manner of sinning. They regarded neither the command of God, nor their own or their children’s happiness; and preferred their present ease to the good of the community, the cause of truth, and the welfare of posterity. They seemed to despise, or disregard, all that was above them, all that was around them, and all that might come after them, just like the person mentioned in our text, who shall be under tribute.

If this be so, may we not say, without any violence to the sacred text, curse ye the sluggard, saith the angel of the Lord, curse him bitterly, because he will not come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against those mighty oppressors who break down the sacred enclosures of the constitution, and make inroads upon the life, liberty, and property of the subject; who take away or mutilate our charters that have been solemnly ratified by British sovereigns and guaranteed by the plighted faith of government; who take away or deprive us of the right of trial by juries, which is indeed the palladium of English liberty; who tax us and take our money, without our consent; and who extend the courts of admiralty and vice-admiralty beyond their ancient and proper limits.— Thus the sluggard is an object of execration everywhere, and at all times; and the evils of his conduct attend him in all his interests and relations, in public and in private; yes, in every circumstance or situation of life, his way is as a hedge of thorns, he is cursed in his relations, as being numbered among the profligate and profane, and nearly connected with the most abandoned spendthrift; for he is brother to him that is a great waster. He shall be cursed with groundless fears and apprehensions, when called to the discharge of any necessary or important duty: There is a lion without: I shall be slain in the streets.— He shall be cursed in his possessions; for it is manifest to everyone who takes a view of the sluggard’s field, and of the vineyard of the man void of understanding, when he sees its whole surface covered with thorns and nettles, and its wall broken down, that poverty shall overtake the owner as one that traveled, and that famine shall seize him as an armed man. He shall be cursed in his dwelling; for, by much sloth the building decays. He shall be cursed as a felon-de-se, a person who is deliberately guilty of suicide, because he neglects the ordinary means of preserving his life and securing his best interest. The desire of the slothful kills him; for his hands refuse to labor. He shall be cursed of God forever: Thou wicked, slothful, and unprofitable servant— you must take up your everlasting abode in the blackness of darkness, where the excruciating pain inflicted upon you by divine vengeance, will be productive of eternal weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

But why need we attempt to mention in detail the numberless evils— the poverty, shame, and remorse— the contempt, misery, and despair— that he shall suffer in his person and character, here and hereafter? All the curses in the book of God are leveled against him; and they will, ere long, break upon him like a bursting cloud. The united execrations of the present, and of coming ages, will render him truly contemptible; and the gnawing reflections of a guilty conscience, will make him completely and forever miserable.

After this description of the sluggard’s character, and of the complicated train of evils which will pursue him, in soul and body, through time and eternity, blasting his name and character here, and involving the ruin of his hopes hereafter, you are perhaps saying, if this picture be just or if the sluggard’s character be so odious and his punishment so terrible, we will not indulge in sloth ourselves, nor connive at it in others. These are good resolutions and may be a good beginning; but these distempered times call for more than resolutions.

You know that some years ago the British Parliament took a notion to be arbitrary; and proceeded to pass acts which were unknown to the constitution, alarming to the wise and prudent in Great Britain and oppressive to their American subjects. They sent out their odious Stamp Act; but it could find no entrance, although it was said there, that it would execute itself. It was repealed, but the design of taxing these colonies, without their consent, was not laid aside. Probably they saw that American virtue would not readily yield to such arbitrary measures; and that therefore more time and deliberation were necessary; but in the meantime there was laid up a decree of the Parliament for future use, viz: “That they can make laws to bind us in all cases whatsoever.” They seem to be maliciously zealous to obtain domination over us,— a proof of which was given in the case of New York, whose legislation was suspended by an act of Parliament, for a supposed offense against the crown. Thus, they officiously stepped in and stripped his majesty of his prerogative, that they might usurp authority over us. They proceeded to lay a tax on a variety of things, though, with respect to most of them, it was again repealed; but the duty on tea still remaining, they resolved that it should be paid; and sent large quantities of it into various parts of this continent. Some was sent back; some stored up; and some destroyed, as at Boston. But the tea being the property of the East India company, the destruction of it was a trespass; and the perpetrators of the act were liable by the common law. Those concerned in that riot, however, were not apprehended, nor was the town of Boston called upon to deliver up the offenders. The justice of Parliament was invoked in this trifling matter; and it will surprise the less civilized nations to learn that it was granted. Their armies and fleets were sent, in virtue of this inhuman law, bearing down after the trespass at Boston was committed, and exposing the innocent with the guilty, to the most complicated distress that ministerial vengeance could invent, or that a British Parliament, filled with rage and the insatiable thirst of power, could inflict.

The sense of the United Colonies was taken on this important matter.— We set forth our grievances: We petitioned his majesty in a most humble manner to intercede with the Parliament on our behalf. Our petitions were rejected, while our grievances were increased by acts still more oppressive and by schemes still more malicious, till we are reduced to the dreadful alternative either of immediate and unconditional submission, or of resistance by force of arms.

We have therefore come to that trying period in our history in which it is manifest that the Americans must either stoop under a load of the vilest slavery, or resist their imperious and haughty oppressors; but what will follow must be of the utmost importance to every individual of these United Colonies; and should be the hearty concern of every honest American.

— What will be recorded on the following pages of our history must depend on our conduct; for if we act like the sluggard, refuse, from the mere love of ease and self-indulgence, to make the sacrifices and efforts which the circumstances require, or, from cowardice and pusillanimity, shrink from dangers and hardships, we must continue in our present state of bondage and oppression, while that bondage and oppression may be increased until life itself will become a burden; but if we stand up manfully and unitedly in defense of our rights, appalled by no dangers and shrinking from no toils or privations, we shall do valiantly.

Our foes are powerful and determined on conquest; but our cause is good; and, in the strength of the Lord, who is mightier than all, we shall prevail. If we fail to do our duty in this momentous crisis, bondage and oppression, with all their unnumbered and interminable woes, will be entailed upon us, but if we act our part well, as men and as Christians, in defense of truth and righteousness, we may, with the help of the Lord, obtain a complete and final deliverance from the power that has oppressed us, or at least secure our rights, and attain a prosperity and happiness which no other nation has ever enjoyed, or even dared to hope; for then the consciences of men being unawed or unbiased by human authority, and the truth of God being unadulterated and unfettered, the gospel will have free course; and we may hope that truth and righteousness will prevail until the predictions of the inspired writers, however vivid and glowing, shall be all fulfilled.

If I could portray to you, in anything like their reality, the results of your conduct in this great crisis in your political destiny; or if I could describe with any tolerable degree of correctness, the feelings which you will have of self-approbation, joy, and thankfulness, or, of self-reproach, shame and regret, according to the part you act— whether as men and as patriots, or as cowards and traitors— I should have no difficulty in persuading you to shake off your sloth, and stand up manfully in a firm, united, and persevering defense of your liberties; but I would hope that enough has been said— enough in reason— enough for my purpose; and we expect that none of you will be wanting in the discharge your duty, or prove unworthy of a cause which is so important in itself, and which every patriot and every Christian should value more than wealth, and hold as dear as his life.

Who Is Running the Show?

As we watch the world in which we live apparently spinning out of control, we face a huge question. Is Jesus really who the Bible says he is? Is he truly the resurrected Lord who has authority over everything, or is he merely a religious symbol or a peaceful refuge to whom we can escape when our emotional tanks are running on empty? The Gospel of John supplies us with an answer in the very first chapter.

Before the world began, the Word was there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was there with God in the beginning. 3 Everything was made through him, and nothing was made without him. 4 In him there was life, and that life was a light for the people of the world. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not defeated it. John 1:1-5 (ETRV) 

Jesus, the Word of God, the Logos, the Son of God, the Creator of the all things. By creation rights, he has complete authority over what he made. It all belongs to him.

The author of Hebrews makes the amazing claim that everything and everyone that exists is being constantly upheld or sustained by the Creator. He did not “wind of the clock” and walk away. The clock cannot run without his continuing input of life and energy.

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power... Hebrews 1:3 (NASB) 

This means that, in agreement with the Second Law of Thermodynamics or entropy, the heavens and earth require a continual input of energy from an outside source to keep it going. This is provided by the Source of Life itself, Jesus the Creator God.

This is the second reason he is in control of all things. He not only has the right of ownership as the Creator; he also controls through being the continual Sustainer of everything. Without his second-by-second input, everything will fall apart.

Lastly, after his resurrection from the dead, Jesus was declared to be the Lord of Lords.

and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 1:4 (NLT) 

Jesus’ lordship is qualitatively different from his role as Creator and Sustainer. He was the first two things before becoming a human being. His lordship as the risen Son of God, the promised Messianic King, is directly related to his humanity. As the risen human/divine King of Israel in the line of David, he has been made the Lord of Lords.

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8  he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 9  Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6-11 (NLT) 

When Jesus walked this earth during his public ministry, he was never a victim of the plots and attempts on his life by his enemies. Not until it was the absolutely perfect time for him to be offered as the Lamb of God for our sins did he allow himself to be taken and crucified. But this was also part of the plan.

But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. 24  But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. Acts 2:23-24 (NLT) 

Therefore, his control was and is absolute because he is the Creator -Sustainer – Redeemer – Lord. Nothing can happen without his permission, and all things ultimately work for his glory and according to the counsel of his will. (Romans 8:28, Ephesians 1:11)

No matter what is happening in the world in which we live, we should remind ourselves that Jesus “has this.” It is his world. He created it. He sustains it. He oversees everything. His kingdom shall prevail. He shall be glorified. There is no doubt about it. Therefore, we can be at rest. He is.

“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 (NASB95) 

Our Cosmology Affects Our Worldview

Our cosmology significantly affects our worldview. Many do not realize that believing in a false version of the heavens and earth from what is presented in the Bible will skew our interpretation of creation and our way of looking at life.

Our worldview influences how we view our origins, value, purpose, and destiny.

The biblical cosmology found in Genesis Chapter One and elsewhere in the Scripture reveals the truth about each of these things. The satanically inspired Big Bang theory of the “universe” inspires us to believe lies about God, creation, ourselves, our origins, purpose, value, and destiny.

The Big Bang – Heliocentric World View (BB-HWV) is evolutionary at its core. It states that the universe created itself from a pinpoint through an inexplicable explosion through which incomprehensible energy and matter were released, expanding outward from the blast site, producing everything in the heavens and the earth, including all life. God is not in the Big Bang picture, unless, as believers, we see him orchestrating this event and being the source of the energy and matter, for which atheists cannot account. However, even if we try “Christianize” the Big Bang theory, it is an account of creation that is diametrically opposed to what the Bible tells us.

Big Bang – Heliocentric World View
  • Origins – The chaos of an explosion produced order and complexity, which violates the law of entropy. There is nothing beyond material matter, which denies the spiritual side of things. Everything can be explained materialistically and “scientifically.” There is no room for God or the miraculous.
  • Value – Humans, being an accident of evolution, have no inherent value. What worth we might be assigned by other beings is measured by our productivity and contribution to the evolutionary process. If we negatively affect evolution or our “fragile ecosystem,” we become an evil problem, something to be eliminated. Human life can be snuffed out without concern. This thinking is behind abortion, euthanasia, genocide, etc.
  • Purpose – Humans exist only to experience a very brief physical life and continue the species through reproduction. This is the basis of the philosophy of existentialism: there is no reality beyond what we personally experience. This leads us to conclude that there is no such thing as “absolute truth.” Such phrases as “my truth” or “your truth” derive from this false belief. Consequently, the experience of being in power and having pleasure are life’s greatest rewards. This worldview produced such dismal “children” as Nazism and Stalinism.
  • Destiny – There is nothing after physical life; therefore, we have no eternal purpose and no destiny beyond the grave. Therefore, we should strive to experience pleasure, however we can get it, while we have the opportunity. There is no concern about facing any consequences for our actions when we stand in judgment before the Creator.

Denying that God is the Creator and refusing to glorify him is one of the worst sins possible.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, Romans 1:28 (NASB95)

When a people do this, it causes the entire society to descend into the chaos of lawlessness and rebellion.

Biblical Worldview

Biblical cosmology recognizes that everything around us, the heavens and earth and all forms of life, were created in six days by God. Order and beauty sprang from God’s creative genius.

  • Origins – God is the Creator. Everything begins with him. We see the complexity of our being and glorify God. (Psalm 139:14) God is a spirit. The spiritual world existed before the material creation.
  • Value – Everything has value because it was made by God. Being the Creator, he alone has the right to assign value. For humans, being created in God’s image gives us incredible intrinsic value. After mankind’s fall from grace, Jesus shed his precious blood for us, revealing what our value is in God’s sight. We have no right to wantonly destroy what God made.
  • Purpose – God made everything with a divine purpose. We humans were made to know, love, enjoy, and serve God for eternity, to love one another, and to care for his creation. Knowing God is the greatest blessing in life.
  • Destiny – God’s wants to share his life and rule with people. That is why he made us and why he sent his son to die for our sins and rise again. When we put our trust and allegiance in Christ, our destiny is to co-rule with him forever while we enjoy his glorious and loving presence.

The evolutionary BB-HWV dispenses with God and reduces humanity to a cosmic accident. Those who fully embrace it often become atheists, thus destroying their opportunity to share in God’s life and rule forever.

Those who embrace a biblical cosmology, recognize God’s handiwork in his creation and are led to seek and find him through Christ. They will more easily be able to glorify God as the Creator.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1 (NKJV)

Many Christians have adopted aspects of the Big Bang theory without realizing that it contradicts the clear teaching of Genesis and other passages of Scripture.

Any accommodation of a non-biblical explanation of the the cosmos hinders our ability to properly understand what God means for us to derive from viewing the heavens.

I have noticed that believers who ascribe to the modern astrophysics view of the “universe” conceive of heaven as being merely a “spiritual place somewhere out there,” rather than the physical location above the firmament which the Bible describes.

As they stood with wings lowered, a voice spoke from beyond the crystal surface above them. 26 Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. Ezekiel 1:25–26 (NLT)

I wrote another article about this, if you are interested in learning more.

Modern astrophysics also introduces a slew of extra-biblical ideas to confuse the mind and induce unwarranted fear of aliens, asteroids, solar flares, climate change, etc., as we supposedly hurtle through “outer space” at incredible speeds that nevertheless cannot be perceived or measured. This leaves us feeling small and insignificant, having to comfort ourselves with the belief that despite the vastness of the cosmos and our relative insignificance, God still cares about us and is present with us.

Biblical cosmology teaches that the earth is the center of God’s creation, protected by the firmament, and carefully watched over by the “Most High.”

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:22 (NKJV)

Why Understanding God’s Design for the World Is Important

The Bible says that rightly perceiving God’s design of the heavens and earth gives us a better understanding of who he is.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1 (NKJV)

O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! Psalm 8:1 (NKJV)

The Word of God provides us with a lot of very good information about the earth on which we live, but we need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes, especially if we have been previously taught a lie. It is much more difficult for us to perceive truth after we have believed a lie. Mark Twain said: “How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and [how] hard it is to undo that work again!”

The scriptures tell us that our Lord keeps some things secret but hides other things with the intention that we dig for truth and discover what he wants to show us. 

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever... Deuteronomy 29:29a (NKJV) 

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2 (NKJV)

It is our honor to search out these hidden things in his Word with the help of the Holy Spirit, whose ministry is to reveal them to us.

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. John 16:13–14 (NKJV)

God’s design of our world is a fascinating study which we can piece together from passages in Genesis and other places in Scripture. God loves a mystery, and has built into us a desire to pursue a solution.

It is my firm belief that (1.) God says what he means and means what he says and that (2.) he uses language that is very exact and specific.

Jesus said that God will judge us for every careless word we speak (Matthew 12:36); therefore, we must conclude that God holds himself to the same high standard. He only says what is true. He would not deceive us in any way. Jesus told us that…

...[God's] word is truth. John 17:17b (NASB95)

Genesis reveals that God first created the “deep,” which had a “face.”

The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2 (NKJV)

A face is the part of something with which we interact. The seas have a face with which God interacted during creation and which always point upward toward heaven. The Spirit of God moved or “hovered” over it. This tells us that from the beginning God established an “up” and a “down,” elements associated with a plane rather than a sphere. I hope you do not think I am playing with words to deceive you. God never does that. His words have exact meaning. It is only because we have believed a lie that the earth is spherical that we would think that the seas having a “face” is an irrelevant anthropomorphism. Once we understand that the earth is a plane, calling the surface of the waters a “face” makes perfect sense because it is the side of the waters facing God’s throne, which is above.

Since Copernicus, modern astrophysicists have insisted that we accept as a fact a non-biblical concept of a spinning spherical earth, on which up and down have only relative meaning. I believe that this was a huge step in Satan’s push to make us believe that all truth is relative.

At this point, there was no light or land (earth), only deep water stretching out on a level, as all water does, which had a face. By necessity, these waters were bounded, because water must be. We will learn more about this later. Then God created light, without the existence of any light source besides himself.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Genesis 1:3–5 (NASB95)

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:3–5 (NKJV)

Materialists scoff at such an idea, insisting that this is a scientific error in the Bible that stemmed from the author’s ignorance. But Moses, the author of Genesis who was inspired by the Holy Spirit’s, was not a stupid man. He knew full well what he was saying. He knew that light on earth came mainly from the sun, whose circuit around the earth determines night and day. He did not write what he did because people of his day were uninformed. He wrote under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. Since God always tells the truth, we unashamedly conclude that God must have lit the earth with his own light and orchestrated night and day without the sun.

Materialists believe that the physical world is the only reality, but the Bible tells us that the spiritual world pre-existed it.

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3 (NASB95)

We must be humble enough to admit that there is much we still do not understand about God, creation, and the realm of the Spirit.

Next God created the firmament, a solid and mighty (Job 37:18) structure, comparable to beaten out or molten metal, which God stretched over the waters like a vaulted dome that separated the water below from the water above. To learn more insight the amazing firmament, you can read my previous article on the subject.

Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus 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. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. Genesis 1:6–8 (NKJV)

The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth, The LORD is His name. Amos 9:6 (NASB95)

Many ancient cultures scattered over the earth had this understanding of our world. Below is a very much “not to scale” depiction that Bible scholars agree typifies the ancient Hebrew understanding of what the Bible teaches.

Today most modern people scoff at such an “archaic” notion, believing that it has been disproved by science. However, upon closer inspection, we discover that much of the theoretical physics of the universe has a very shaky speculative foundation. Could it be, rather, that ancient peoples, who were closer to Adam, had knowledge passed down orally regarding the nature of our world? Could it be that the Bible is correct and modern science has veered away from God’s truth? It certainly would not be the first time.

Many Bible-believing Christians are confident that the “scientific” theories of the self-generation or evolution of the universe and all life is completely false. We adhere to the Bible account of creation in the matter of life. Would it be surprising to find out that the Copernican theory, which contradicts the creation account of Genesis Chapter One, is also a lie?

The Bible says that God’s Word is a light to our path and a lamp to our feet. As we follow it, we sometimes end up in surprising places. We must be brave enough to go wherever God’s truth may take us.

Ezekiel provides us with unique perspectives from under and above the vault of the amazing firmament, which I covered in another article. We do not know how far above the surface of the earth this vaulted dome extends, nor do we know its extent in relation to the earth’s surface. God has not revealed this to us, and we cannot explore the “ends of the earth” because the Antarctic Treaty has cordoned off that area from independent investigation. We can agree however that it is vast and mighty beyond our comprehension.

After creating the seas, light, and the firmament, the Lord next created the land.

Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:9–10 (NASB95)

Modern astronomers call their spinning globe the “earth,” thereby combining two distinct parts of creation, the waters and the earth, into one. This merger supposes that the earth is primary and the seas secondary. The Word of God, however, says that the seas are primary as far as creation goes, with the earth coming later.

The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the waters. Psalm 24:1–2 (NKJV)

God says that the earth has pillars and foundations and cannot be moved unless God shakes them in judgment. Some of the earlier chapters of Job contain the opinions of men, which sometimes may be incorrect, but starting in chapter 38, God himself speaks. We can be sure that everything revealed in that section is completely accurate. The Lord asked Job…

Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?...6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, Job 38:4a,6 (NKJV)

God also tells us that the world, both the seas and the land, shall not be moved, belying the claims of Copernicus et.al. that the earth is hurtling at breakneck speed through an infinitely expanding universe.

Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved. 1 Chronicles 16:30 (NKJV) 

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously.” Psalm 96:10 (NKJV)

No one on earth has ever sensed any sort of motion, except during earthquakes. If astrophysicists are correct, and the rotating earth is revolving around a sun that is moving around our galaxy, which is moving in the larger universe, how then is it possible for stars to appear in the night sky year after year in the same positions? Rather than describing concentric circles, time lapse photography of the movement of the stars should show that they wobble and weave all over the sky in agreement with the supposed movement of the sun and its planets. Nothing like that is true however. The stars show regular motion night after night, indicating that they are the ones moving around a fixed earth, just as the Bible says.

God also set a boundary for the seas. The most obvious boundaries are the shorelines of the masses of land projecting upward from the oceans. These boundaries were overflowed during Noah’s great flood, but God promised afterward that such a catastrophe would never take place again. The passage below references this promise.

 

 

You who laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever, 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains. 7 At Your rebuke they fled; At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away. 8 They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them. 9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, That they may not return to cover the earth. Psalm 104:5–9 (NKJV)

Additionally, the Bible reveals that there is a circular outer boundary as well.

When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep, 29 When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Proverbs 8:27–30 (NKJV)

Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name, If you know? Proverbs 30:4 (NKJV)

God “drew a circle on the face of the deep” and “bound” or restricted the waters by what is translated as a “garment,” which has the meaning of a restricting wrapper or boundary. The “ends of the earth” are its extreme limits, something that would be meaningless on a sphere. This means that the waters of the oceans are contained within a sort of basin, which comports with the known physics of water, rather than somehow overflowing and adhering to a spherical surface called the globe, which violates all known laws of the physics of water. In a similar way the theory of evolution posits that matter progresses from the chaos of an explosion to the complexity of living beings all by chance, a violation of common sense and the second law of thermodynamics or entropy, which observes that systems move from order to disorder, as anyone who cleans homes knows. The chaos of an explosion cannot produce a watch any more than a mysterious hypothesized force called gravity can make water curve convexly over vast areas of the oceans while simultaneously overcoming the unimaginable power of the the centrifugal force created by a rotational spin of 1039 mph.

Satan’s lies make fools of all who believe them. I have come to the place in my life when I no longer wish to be Satan’s fool by believing men’s theories over God’s Word. I will be God’s fool, if necessary, in the eyes of men, but not the devil’s, in the eyes of God.

The Bible tells us that God sits above the firmament, looking down on his creation. Isaiah describes this amazing scene in which God again describes the world in which we live as a “circle” (Hebrew – chug) rather than as a sphere or ball, which is another word entirely (Hebrew – dur – Isaiah 22:18). Remember, God is precise in his wording.

Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is He who sits above the circle [chug] of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:21–22 (NKJV)

In the previous passage from Isaiah, the heavens, which can be synonymous with the vaulted firmament (Genesis 1:8), are spread out or stretched like a tent or curtain, within which he placed the sun, moon, and stars (Genesis 1:17).

Modern astronomy insists that the sun is gigantic and is approximately 93 million miles distant, but a case can be made that our sun is much smaller and nearer. People who have measured it using a sextant think it is approximately 32 miles in diameter and about 3000 miles distant. (Thomas Winship, Zetetic Cosmogeny, pp.114-120) The sextant, by the way, was developed to navigate seas that are on a flat plane and worked very well for centuries before Copernicus. In addition, the sun’s angled crepuscular rays shining through the clouds, which all us have seen, also suggest its nearness. If it were as far away as astrophysicists claim, its rays should be parallel.

Don’t forget that one of the devil’s chief aims is to make us doubt God’s Word and strip humanity of its wonder and awe of the Creator. Could it be that his “end game” is to convince the inhabitants of earth that we are under attack from space aliens so that under extreme duress we will gladly cede authority to a one-world government? Many believe this will be the case. We have been hearing such a narrative for quite a while now.

The “curtain” of the firmament serves as a barrier between the realm of man below and God’s realm of heaven above, much like a curtain that blocked access to the holiest place of the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon.

I believe that modern astrophysics attempts to remove all knowledge of God’s heavenly realm by declaring that the earth is hurtling through a vast rapidly expanding universe in which God cannot be found.

I believe the devil has used the Copernican system in an attempt to sever our connection with God and the reality of heaven above, requiring those of us who still hold to the concept of heaven to conceive of it as a strictly spiritual realm having no relation to our physical earth.

Scripture tells us that heaven is where God the Son sits on his throne and is an actual place separated from us by the firmament. It is located “up” – above us.

Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:28 (NKJV)

In the Bible up and down have meaning. John the Baptist said this about Jesus:

He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. John 3:31 (NASB95)

The precise wording of the Bible confirms that God’s realm is above, not in some completely spiritualized non-location.

I believe that just as the Holy of Holies was set apart by a curtain, only to be entered once a year by the high priest, so is heaven above separated from us by the curtain of the firmament through which Jesus, our high priest, gives us access.

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19–20 (NASB95)

Through his death, resurrection, and ascension, it seems that Jesus our great high priest penetrated the curtain of the firmament as a man and opened a way for us who believe to enter into God’s throne room now in the spirit and later to pass bodily into heaven. But as we wait for that glorious resurrection day, God says that we live there already in the spirit.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:4–6 (NKJV)

At Babel, rebellious mankind tried to penetrate unlawfully into the realm reserved only for God. Unredeemed humanity has not changed; even though our technology has. One might ask how is humanity attempting to break through the firmament today? Regardless of man’s vain attempts, we can be sure that God will not allow anyone to enter illegitimately into the place above where God’s throne is located. (Ezekiel 1:26)

One day our Lord will roll back the firmament like a scroll (Revelation 6:14-17), revealing the absolute truth of God’s Word to the entire world all at once. At that point in time, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess what will suddenly become obvious to all – Jesus is Lord!

Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:64 (NKJV)

Come, Lord Jesus!

The Amazing Firmament

Most modern people who have studied science in school believe that the Bible word “firmament” is merely a vague reference to the atmos above a spherical earth and the vast reaches of “outer space” beyond. That is why most Bible translators use English words like “expanse” for the Hebrew raqia. This is an example of translators’ bias. Raqia literally means something hard like beaten out metal. In Genesis 1:8, God called the firmament (raqia) heaven (shamayim). God used the firmament to separate the waters (mayim) below from those above. So above the firmament there was and is (Psalm 148:4) water. The shamayim contain mayim.

Therefore, the firmament is hard and strong enough to support the enormous weight of untold amounts of water.

The KJV and NKJV are faithful to the Hebrew and use the word “firmament” to communicate its solidity and strength.The Bible has some amazing revelations about the firmament besides its strength. Journey with me and allow yourself to consider that the firmament is real and exactly what the Bible says it is.

The first place outside of Genesis where we encounter the firmament is in Exodus when God invited Moses and the elders of Israel to dine with him.

Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.  Exodus 24:9–10 (NKJV)

Obviously they were no longer on Mt. Sinai. It seems that God pulled them into heaven, much as he did with Ezekiel and John the Revelator later. Below are verses that describe those later occasions.

The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads. 23 And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. 24 When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings. 26 And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. 27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking. Ezekiel 1:22–28 (NKJV)


Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. 6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. Revelation 4:2–6 (NKJV)

Below are some significant insights these verses provide.

  • God inhabits a place where the hard “pavement” has a clarity like the sky, the color of sapphire or lapis lazuli.
  • From below, the firmament looks like crystal. The Hebrew word here is qerach, which literally means frost or ice. The word for crystal from Revelation 5:6 uses the Greek word krustallos, which means congealed or transparent and is derived from a root word for frost.
  • God’s throne rests on this sapphire-like pavement of the firmament and is also the color of sapphire. John likened the firmament below it to a sea of glass.
  • The one who sits on the throne must be our Lord Jesus himself. In Exodus and Ezekiel this would have been a pre-incarnate theophany of the eternal Logos. We know from our Lord Jesus himself that God is a spirit whom heaven cannot contain, but Jesus acquired a human body and has been given authority to judge. It is he who sits on the throne as the glorious son of man prophesied by Daniel in a physical place called heaven located above the firmament.
  • The rainbow appears at God’s throne, which reveals what a abomination it is that an inversion and corruption of this symbol now represents something quite anti-God. Could it be possible that the northern lights are expressions of God’s glory above the firmament? One day we will find out!

When God says he will roll up or split apart the heavens like a scroll, he means he will peel back the firmament to reveal the one who sits on the throne. (Isaiah 34:4 and Revelation 6:14)

At that point in history, every eye shall see him. The one who ascended through the heavens after his resurrection (Ephesians 4:10) will be revealed when the heavens are no more. Then God will create a new heaven and a new earth (2 Peter 3:13). Glory to God. What a day that will be!

Flat Earth! Really?

Most people have a caricature in mind, such as the picture on the right, when the subject of the “flat earth” comes up. I hope you will not immediately reject the idea based on the “straw man” argument the world uses to get people to dismiss the idea out of hand before ever really considering it properly. An investigation into the claims of biblical cosmology will convince us just how propagandized we are. In addition to inundating society with endless images of the globe, our “puppet masters” have pre-loaded our minds with a ridiculous image of the flat earth. Their first defense against the biblical earth, which is a stationary plane covered by a dome called the firmament, is to make us feel foolish for even considering it.

Every classroom has its mandatory globe. Since 1955, the movie and entertainment industry has incessantly promoted the idea that the earth is a globe. Interestingly, the timing corresponds to mysterious developments in Antarctica, the Antarctic Treaty, and the formation of NASA.

Propagandists know that if a lie is told often enough, in the minds of the hearer it becomes the truth.

This is what went on in Nazi Germany and what is going on around the world today. We have been brainwashed in many areas, not just regarding the nature of the cosmos.

No doubt the term “flat earth” is not the ideal choice of words, but it is one with which our position has been saddled. That is one reason why I call this series “Biblical Cosmology.”

The earth and heavens presented in the Bible are very different from the version we have been taught from infancy.

Another, perhaps preferred, descriptor for where we live is “true earth” or “biblical earth.” If you decide to continue reading this series, I ask you to keep an open mind, especially if this is all new to you. We cannot overcome a lifetime of indoctrination in just a few minutes.

As we research biblical cosmology, we will discover that when the Bible says that Satan is a liar (John 8:44) who deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9), it is not using poetic language. It is the absolute truth.

The globe – heliocentric model of the earth gained traction around 500 years ago, thanks to Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. Today it largely has displaced the Bible’s account in Genesis.

Today most Christians accept the heliocentric version of the cosmos and try to accommodate Scripture to fit it somehow.

I am convinced that this cannot be done without twisting the meaning. (I have written another article specifically addressing this issue.) My goal and hope is that these articles will help the reader to transition from what he have been told since childhood to a firm conviction that what the Bible says about the cosmos is true.

The Bible’s Authority

The Bible is our authority in every area of life, including science.

It is not a book written from man’s perspective, but from God’s. If we believe the Bible is absolutely true, we cannot honestly think that God said what he did in Genesis and elsewhere because people at that time were not ready for the truth, since they were what some call “pre-scientific.” God gives us the truth, whether we think it is true or not. He cannot lie. He says what he means and means what he says.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NKJV)

Every single word of God in the Bible is true, including what it says about the cosmos.

We are commanded to live by every word that proceeds from God. If we take upon ourselves to claim that some words are not scientifically accurate, we make ourselves judges of God’s Word. What other verses will we dispose of because they do not fit our current views on things?

It’s a slippery slope when we start down the path of rejecting some of the Bible because it offends us or makes us look ignorant in the eyes of the world.

Perhaps we are not bold enough to reject God’s Word, but instead we try to alter its meaning. Instead of allowing it to say what it clearly says (exegesis), we bend and twist it to say what we have predetermined that it should say (eisegesis).

Peter warned that people would do this.

And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. 2 Peter 3:15–16 (NLT)

An example of this is when commentators try to make “evening and morning, the first day” into an indefinably long period of time. A similar twist is when interpreters translate the Hebrew word for firmament (raqia) into “sky” or “expanse” without the least reference to its solidity.

The Bible tells us that we are not to provide a “private interpretation” to God’s Word.

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 2 Peter 1:20–21 (NASB95)

This means we must approach scripture with reverence, realizing that we simply cannot lay on top of it our own preference or some scientific worldview to show us how to interpret its words. We must diligently seek to understand what God meant it to say. For this we need the Holy Spirit and an honest heart.

As disciples, we will accept what the Bible says, no matter what!

Hermeneutics

If we have been viewing Genesis and other passages of the Bible through the lens of the heliocentric view of the cosmos, we will have to make a rather huge adjustment. The authors of the Bible believed no such thing. The Hebrew conception of the earth and heavens, as believed by Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel, etc., the ones who authored its words, looked like the image on the right according to Bible scholars.

One of the most important principles for Bible interpretation (hermeneutics) is that the Scriptures must at least mean what the authors intended.

When Moses wrote Genesis, the model of the earth enclosed in the firmament is what he meant to communicate to us regarding the nature and construction of earth and heaven.

Another important hermeneutical principle is that we must take the Bible literally, except when the context makes it clear we should not. We are not permitted to relegate to symbolism what the author intended us to take literally.

We would never reinterpret Genesis to accommodate a heliocentric cosmos, unless we presuppose modern astrophysics to be true. We have to decide whether to believe God or Copernicus.

The Earth’s Curvature on the Globe Model

I do not think I will ever forget watching a clear demonstration that we can see much, much farther than we are supposed to see over water, if the globe theory of the earth’s shape were actually true. Most people do not know how much the earth’s surface is supposed to curve, if we are indeed a globe. There are websites that calculate the required amount of curvature over distance using spherical trigonometry, such as he Earth Curvature Calculator. For simplicity’s sake, the following parabolic formula works up to a distance of about 2000 miles. After that, there will be some slight discrepancies with the trig calculation, but nothing significant.

Easy Formula: The Earth's Predicted Curvature = 8 inches times the distance in mileage squared.

Here are some sample distances with the calculated required curvature, if the earth were indeed a globe. 8 inches equals .66 feet.

Distance Formula
Expected Curvature
1 mile 8″X1X1 8 inches
2 miles 8″X2X2 32 inches
3 miles 8″X3X3 6 feet
4 miles 8’X4X4 10.66 feet
5 miles 8″X5X5 16.66 feet
10 miles 8″X10X10 66 feet
20 miles 8″X20X20 264 feet
100 miles 8″X100X100 1.25 miles
Perspective vs Curvature

When objects move away from us, optical perspective due to shape of our eyes make them appear to disappear from the ground or water up. Aristotle believed this was proof of the earth’s curvature. Bill Nye the Science Guy says the same thing, much to his shame. Thanks to the power of telescopes and zoom cameras, we can bring objects back into view that had “disappeared” due to perspective, all the way down to the hull in the water for boats. Even the setting sun can be brought back above the horizon line using a zoom lens.

There are so many different proofs that the earth does not curve that I cannot list them all here, but, if you want to do your own research, I have placed many of them on the Resource Page connected to this series. I encourage you to check it out. Better yet, do your own empirical experiments. Below I give you a very short video demonstration, perhaps to whet your curiosity.

If I am right in saying that the earth is not a globe but a stationary plane, then it is obvious that we are being lied to on an almost unbelievable scale.

The level of conspiracy to hide the truth is so great that many people reject the possibility of this happening out of hand. My eyes, however, were opened to large scale deception during the supposed Covid pandemic, when I observed a conspiracy between government, media, science, education, and the medical establishment to push the vaccine lie. Since then I have no problem believing in large scale deception.

The world lies in the power of the father of lies; so, why would we think mass deception would not be present?

Satan always has counter arguments to keep people away from the truth, just as he did in the garden when he flatly contradicted God’s Word to Eve. The typical counter to our being able to see so far is that it is because of refraction. Refraction, or lensing, does happen, but it cannot account for our ability to see beyond what the curvature formula tells us we should. In fact, in the example below, one of the laser shots is made over ice at night when the air temperature is colder than the water (ice) temperature, a condition in which refraction cannot take place.

As you can imagine, when I realized that water does not bend around the surface of the supposed globe, I was shocked to realize that what I had been told about the globe is a lie!

That put me into a state of cognitive dissonance. I had new evidence that clearly contradicted what I had been taught by parents, teachers, TV, NASA, and renowned scientists. It went against all the supposed video and photographic evidence provided by NASA of a spherical earth suspended in space. (I will write more about NASA’s fakery later.) As you would expect, I had a thousand questions as would anyone who is confronted with evidence that contradicts what he or she had previously believed. This new evidence indicated that the whole world has been deceived! Was I crazy? My wife and I began to investigate further.

One thing we must immediately come to terms with is that no one understands how everything works.

Just because we cannot fully explain how everything in the cosmos works does not mean, however, that the evidence of the earth’s being a plane is false. Instead, it means that we have a lot to learn.

We went back to the Bible to see what it really says. As you can imagine, we saw scriptures with a new set of eyes. It is all right there! We just could not see it previously because of our brainwashed condition. We had unwittingly accommodated the scriptures to conform to the heliocentric version of the cosmos. In some cases, we just did not even think about it, thinking it was too difficult for us to understand, another of Satan’s tricks.

Why the Lie?

One of the most frequently asked questions from anyone who is first confronted with the claims we are covering here is, “What could possibly motivate people to lie on such a grand scale?”

The simple answer is that Satan is deliberately working to blind us to the testimony of God’s creation. (Psalm 19:1 and Romans 1:20)

In place of the Bible’s testimony, the devil provides us with a pagan version of the cosmos designed to strip us of any belief in God at all. When we come to believe that the earth and heavens are exactly as described in the Bible, God seems closer than ever. All we have to do is look up, just like the Bible says. His throne is above the firmament, not in some hard to imagine spiritual non-location. A common testimony of non-believers and atheists who come to believe in the flat earth is that they can no longer deny God’s existence. Like a turtle on a fence post, the firmament did not get there by itself! (Here is a link to listen to some testimonies.)

I assure you that I never had a desire to become a “flat earther.” No one wants to be regarded as a kook by friends and family, but to deny what I see with my eyes and in Scripture, would be dishonest.

Here is a humorous short video that captures what I mean.

Google even feels the need to attach a warning to every YouTube video supporting the flat earth position. It is my opinion that they would not do this if this truth did not threaten their global deception scheme. 

Google seems to choose to push people away from areas where they are hiding something.

Those of us who see this truth realize that we are engaged in a type of battle reminiscent of David versus Goliath. The government controls the media, NASA, and higher education. NASA has a budget of around $60 million per day to develop their computer generated images of “outer space,” satellites, the International Space Station, and Hubble telescope wonders. All we have on our side is a dedicated cadre of YouTubers, Rumblers, and writers. But, with God’s help, that will be enough.

My prayer is that God will lift the shroud of deception off the people of the earth, that once again we will realize that the Bible is absolutely true when it comes to science as well as spiritual matters. May our eyes be opened to the heavenly testimony.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1 (NKJV)

There is plenty to talk about. I hope you will continue with me.

Be Appropriately Provocative

Paul concluded his personal testimony by relating how God commissioned him to take the gospel to the Gentiles, which angered his Jewish listeners, who regarded the Gentiles as being relatively worthless, like dogs. They still thought that Israel was the center of God’s plan to redeem the world, not realizing that their rejection of their Messiah would remove them from the equation. (Matthew 21:43) The New Covenant would bring all peoples to God – Jew, Gentile, slave, and free. (Galatians 3:26-29)

Here is what Paul said.

I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’ ...‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’22  The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” 23  They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air. Acts 22:18-23 (NLT)  

Why did Paul say what he knew would anger his listeners? Didn’t he understand that we should gently lead people to receive the gospel? Was he led by the Spirit or just being inflammatory? Let’s assume he was led by the Spirit. So why would God lead the apostle to be so provocative?

Paul addressed one of the major sins blocking Jews from receiving the gospel – the racist assumption that Jews were superior to the Gentiles because of God’s choice of that nation to husband the scriptures and provide a line for the birth of the Messiah. They falsely believed that God did not plan to include the Gentiles in the blessings of Abraham, even though the Bible plainly said he would. (Isaiah 49:6) In their pride and arrogance, the Jews hated the idea of non-Jews being included in God’s kingdom.

Paul knew his statement would anger his listeners, but he said it anyway to confront them with the sin that was dragging them to hell.

In today’s politically correct world, Christians are warned that we must “color inside the lines” and not say certain things – or face the consequences.

What are the egregious sins of those who hate the gospel today? Abortion, homosexuality, and transgenderism immediately come to mind. If we call out these sins, we will surely set off an explosion of hatred and persecution, and yet these sins, and others like them, must be confronted if our listeners have any hope of repentance and forgiveness from God.

Christians are called to be unafraid of being appropriately provocative by speaking truth to our culture in a loving way, regardless of the consequences. It’s part of the cost of discipleship and is one of the reasons we need to be led by and baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Pray for Boldness

God wants us to pray for boldness. After being threatened and commanded to keep quiet about Jesus, the disciples met and spoke the following prayer.

And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30  Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31  After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:29-31 (NLT) 

When we face threats and intimidation, it is time to pray for courage and boldness.

Someone once said that there are no “closed” countries, only intimidated disciples. Satan will try to intimidate us into submission to fear with the threat of violence or some other form of persecution. What if those first believers had kept quiet after this warning from the Jewish leaders?  We don’t know how the Spirit would have handled that, but thankfully they refused to buckle to the pressure. Their boldness eventually cost almost all of them their lives. Jesus knew this would happen, but he called them to be his witnesses nevertheless. He is calling you and me as well. Will we be faithful to this challenge? We can start by praying for boldness to preach the gospel and witness to the truth. Jesus also wants us to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, which provides us with strength and power to do the job.

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now...8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:4-5,8 (NKJV)
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