Christian Flat Earth Ministry

DOES THE BIBLE TEACH A FLAT EARTH?

http://www.geocentricity.com/astronomy_of_bible/flatearth/doesbibleteach.html

Gerardus D. Bouw, Ph.D.
•Introduction

•Historical Backgound

•Foundation of the Earth and World

•The Corners and the Ends of the Earth

•The Pillars of the Earth

•Conclusion

Introduction

“The Bible is not a textbook on science.” This saying, common among the Christian intelligentsia, seems to have originated with Augustine and is generally quoted to “explain away” some sort of apparent conflict between science and the Bible; in particular reconciling evolution with Genesis chapter one, and the idea that the Bible teaches that the earth is flat. The saying is subsequently invoked as an excuse for why the Bible need not be believed (i.e., “taken literally”) on that particular scientific point. However, II Timothy 3:16 tells us that the Bible is authoritative in all that it touches upon, science included. So one might well question the validity of Augustine’s claim insofar as those areas of science upon which the Bible does make pronouncements are concerned. Creationists have recently dealt quite well with the evolution versus Genesis chapter one issue; but there is one area on which the Bible does touch which has not been well-covered and that is the shape of the earth.

Most modern scholars claim that the Bible teaches an earth, flat and rectangular in shape, which is placed on several pillars which, in turn, are based on a foundation. This, scholars claim, is how the ancients thought of the earth and man, in writing the Bible, merely echoed the scientific dogmas of the time. Because of that, many have assumed that the Bible was written by men and not by God and, as a result, that the Bible is not to be viewed as an authority in science. But a careful investigation and search of the Scriptures reveals that such a model is not dictated by the wording of the Bible. On the contrary, the Bible was already hinting of the sphericity of the earth by referring to the “compass upon the face of the depth” (Proverbs 8:27) some 500 years before the nations first started to doubt the flatness of the earth. The Biblical model is one which has an earth, basically spherical in shape, with angular continents, and pillars which undergird the world. The pillars can be shown to correspond to crystalline rock, commonly called the mantle, and that there is an unspecified number of foundations to the earth which can range from the roots of mountains to the core of the earth to the very foundation, Jesus Christ himself. That this is the Biblical perspective is the purpose behind this paper. Some of the arguments presented are well over four hundred years old, others are presented here for the first time; but all purport to belie the notion that the Bible’s view of the earth is that maintained by most of this world’s scholars.

Historical Background

The belief in a flat earth was widely espoused by the ancients. The Hindus, for example, have a cosmology in which the earth is taken to be a flat disk, placed on the back of an elephant which, in turn, is standing on a giant turtle which is swimming in a vast cosmic ocean. The Greeks until about the sixth century before Christ, believed the earth to be flat and placed on the shoulder of the giant, Atlas. Even before the Greek civilization, the Egyptians viewed the earth as flat, surrounded by mountains upon which was placed the solid dome of heaven. The sun, moon and planets travelled along a celestial river in that dome.

About the sixth century B.C., some astronomical observations indicated the earth to be a sphere and by the time of the Middle Ages, the scholarly opinion was for the spherical earth. Thus Christopher Columbus did not encounter opposition for sailing west to the Indies so much on the basis of the belief that his ships would sail off the edge of a flat earth as that his estimates for the size of the spherical earth were way too small.

Scholarly opinion throughout the Renaissance was divided on the issue of the shape of the earth with adherents of the spherical earth in the majority. In 1578 the French academician and naturalist Lambert Daneau in his book The Wonderfvll VVoorkmanship of the World, wrote of the flat earth controversy as it existed in his day. After defending the sphericity of the earth on the grounds of Scripture, he turned to a geometrical argument, noting that the geometer’s speaking of the higher and lower parts of a sphere parallels the Biblical references to the “higher” and “lower” parts of the earth. Daneau concludes his discussion with:

so that in these positions and kindes of places and differences are found in the world, you may conclude that which you would, to wit, that the whole receite of this worlde is not sphericall and rounde.

It should be pointed out in the above text that Daneau’s use of the word “receite” means “acceptance” (literally, “recitation”). Daneau was saying that he had summarized the different positions of his time on the shape of the earth and that because of said positions, there was no consensus in the world. But since Daneau wrote his book, exploration of the Bible has revealed even stronger Bible passages than those used by Daneau in support of a spherical earth. So just what does the Bible have to say about the earth’s shape? In order to ascertain the Bible’s teaching on the shape of the earth we need to look at the underlying parts of the earth, too. The Bible speaks of the foundations of the earth, the pillars of the earth, the corners of the earth, and the ends of the earth.

The Foundations of Earth and World

The Bible speaks of both the world and the earth as having foundations. The term, “world,” speaks of the order of man in the earth. As such, references to foundations and pillars of the world cannot be held as very authoritative when it comes to speaking about the shape of the earth. The term “earth,” on the other hand, can not only refer to the whole earth, but also to “ground” and, as we shall see, “land” or “country.” So it is that a complete picture of the form of the earth in Scripture will not be manifest until all these are considered.

Of the number of passages which relate to the foundations of the earth and world, all but three speak of the foundations of the earth, the other three refer to the foundations of the world. Of these last three, two are almost identical and they can be found in II Samuel 22:16:

And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. and Psalm 18:15:
Then the channels of waters were seen, and the fountains of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

The context of both passages indicates that the foundations of the world are now hidden and will be discovered (or exposed) at the time of the judgment.

The third reference to the foundations of the world tells us just what these foundations are:

The earth is the LORD’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. — Psalm 24:1-2.

Since the world is defined to be that part of the earth that pertains to mankind, there can be little doubt of the truth of the statement that the world is founded upon the seas, not built upon rocky foundations like the foundations of a building.

When it comes to the foundations of the earth, there are many more Bible verses from which to draw. Many of these references state that God laid the foundations of the earth, but each verse adds a little to that simple fact. Psalm 102:25 tells us that God laid the foundations “of old” with Hebrews 1:10 echoing the thought that God laid the foundations of the earth “in the beginning.” Job 38:4 simply states that God laid the foundations of the earth, but the sixth verse indicates that the foundations are themselves fastened upon something else. Hebrews 1:3 names this “something else” as the Lord Jesus Christ who “upholds all things by the word of his power.” Proverbs 8:29 tells us that the earth’s foundations were appointed. Proverbs 3:19 indicates that the earth was founded by wisdom while Jeremiah 31:37 indicates that the foundations are unsearchable. Micah 6:2 tells us that they are strong; so strong that the earth should never be removed (Psalm 104:5).

Given the above references to the foundations of the earth there are two things which become readily apparent. First of all, the foundations themselves are fastened upon Christ, the sustainer of the universe. Secondly, they are located somewhere under the earth (Jeremiah 31:37). When it comes to scientific application there is one thing which science can thus far confirm of these characteristics (discounting obvious characteristics such as strength) and that is their insearchability. Jeremiah 31:37 is the key verse there:

Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

Whenever there is an earthquake, shock waves are propagated throughout the interior of the earth. But there is one area which the waves fail to penetrate. That area is the earth’s core, the very central part or “foundation” of the earth. Is this not the very thing that the prophet Jeremiah indicates? Until recently seismologists assumed that the center of the earth was composed of molten iron. Scientists now believe that the core may be rocky. No one knows for certain. Man’s concept of the outer layers of the earth’s crust has significantly changed in recent years: how much more so his ideas of the earth’s interior?
Corners and ends of the earth

If the foundations of the earth seem to be scientifically reasonable, then what of the four corners of the earth? Isn’t that proof of the Bible teaching that the earth is flat? Recent satellite results have indicated that the earth has four bulges and some Christian apologists have taken these four bulges to be the four corners of the earth, but such is rather far-fetched, especially considering that the bulges amount to only a few yards above the mean shape of the earth. The problem only arises if one ignores the dictionary definition of the word corner. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “corner” to mean:

An extremity or end of the earth; a region, quarter; a direction or quarter from which the wind blows.

The word “corner” comes from a Latin root cornu, meaning “horn.” That this is so survives in English via such words as “cornet,” “corn,” and “cornucopia.” Hence, the four corners of the earth can be interpreted as referring to the four cardinal directions — north, south, east and west. In addition, the “four corners of the earth” can also be interpreted as four “horns” of the earth. One obvious example of such a “horn” is Cape Horn, the southernmost tip of South America. So the usage of the phrase “four corners of the earth” does not signify a flat, rectangular earth.

In addition to referring to the “four corners of the earth,” the Bible also mentions “the ends of the earth.” When it comes to the consideration of the ends of the earth the above dictionary definition contains the resolution within it. Another way of saying the “ends of the earth” is to refer to the “extremites of the earth.” In this case, as is also the case for the four corners of the earth, the word “earth” refers to the land mass, country, or continents (as opposed to the globe). For an example of “earth” being used as “land” or “country,” compare Exodus 10:15:
For [the locusts] covered all the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; … and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt [Emphasis added.] with verses 12 through 14:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt …. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt. [Emphasis added.]

Since the word “earth” can be used as synonymous with “land,” the “ends of the earth” thus refer to the points of land most distant from some central point. For the Bible, this central point is the land of Israel. The reader can satisfy himself by examing a globe that a great circle, passing through Jerusalem and the north and south poles, very nearly cuts the Pacific Ocean in half and leaves four continental “corners” or “ends,” namely the Chukchi Peninsula of the Soviet Union (opposite the Bering Straits of Alaska), Alaska, the southeastern tip of Australia, and Cape Horn of South America. These four geographical locations, as much as any other proposal, can account for the four corners of the earth. Alternatively, since there was probably a land-link between Siberia and Alaska at the time the Bible was written, the four corners of the earth could be Norway, Newfoundland, Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope.

In the light of such evidence we cannot claim that the Bible presents the earth as a four-cornered square. Furthermore, there are other passages which provide evidence that the Bible teaches a round earth instead of a flat earth. The most famous of the Bible verses supporting a round or spherical earth is Isaiah 40:22 where it says of God that:

It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in…

The fact that this verse speaks of the “circle of the earth” can mean one of three things: 1) the earth is not a flat square but a flat circle. If that is true then what of the four corners of the earth? A flat circle has no corners. 2) the earth is shaped in a way that is spheroidal but has a square cross-section somewhere, at the equator, for example. 3) the earth is spheroidal in shape. This latter opinion is further strengthened by observing the reference to the inhabitants as grasshoppers, implying a perspective from on high, particularly, the outermost heaven.

Isaiah 40:22 is not the only verse in the Bible which speaks of the circle as descriptive of the shape of the earth. Proverbs 8:27 reads:

When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth…

The word “compass” can mean a circular enclosure or a spherical envelope. Since the verse speaks of an extended area — some three-quarters of the surface of the earth — the spherical enclosure for “compass” is a better interpretation than a circular enclosure.

Even with Isaiah 40:22 and Proverbs 8:27 the evidence for the sphericity of the earth in Scripture is still only circumstantial. In any case, these verses serve to illustrate that a spherical earth is not necessarily inconsistent with the Bible. But there is one more passage which is far stronger. Luke 17:31-36 reads as follows:

In that day, he which shall be upon the house top, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not turn back …. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left…. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

In regard to the shape of the earth, the point of these verses is this: they speak of day (verse 31) and night (verse 34) as occurring simultaneously. The activities are listed in the context of that global event, the rapture, which Paul describes as occurring in the “twinkling of an eye” (I Corinthians 15:52). The simplest explanation for this simultaneity of daylight and night is if the earth were spheroidal in shape, although one can always postulate a form of Reimannian geometry for light rays which could leave the earth dark half the time.

Likewise in Acts 1:8, Jesus gives His commission to His disciples to be witnesses “unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Note here that the word “part” is singular. A flat earth with four corners should be indicated by “uttermost parts;” but a spheroidal earth would have only one uttermost part, its opposite side or antipodes. Thus the Bible does not necessarily teach that the earth is flat.
The Pillars of the Earth

If the Biblical view of the earth is that of a spheroidal earth, what then of the “pillars of the earth” which are mentioned in three passages. The first of these three is in the prayer of Hannah which can be found in I Samuel 2 starting at verse 8:

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them.

Obviously this verse indicates that the earth has pillars and that the world (that which pertains to man) is set upon them, not having any pillars of its own. Note that this verse does not require that the earth be placed on the pillars, only that the world is placed thereon. We shall find this view to be consistent with the other two Scripture passages also. It does not appear to be the case, as historians Santillanna and Von Dechend recently argued in their book Hamlet’s Mill, that the pillars of the earth are the two solstices and the two equinoxes (the solstices are the highest and lowest points at which the sun appears in the sky, being at the first day of summer and winter respectively; the equinoxes correspond to the times when the sun crosses the equator and correspond to the first days of autumn and spring).

Finally, there is one more Bible passage to consider before concluding this study on the Biblical teaching of the shape of the earth. Job 26:7 will modify any preconceived notions we may have about the pillars of the earth. It reads:

He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

A flat earth, upon pillars and foundations, hanging upon nothing is very difficult to imagine since one usually imagines the foundation to be the primary support for an structure. But here we note that according to this verse, in addition to the pillars and foundations underneath, the earth also hangs upon nothing. The pillars are under pressure. That they support the surface of the earth (where the world is) is clear from Hannah’s song. We have already noted the earth to be spheroidal in shape and so the earth’s pillars must be located between the earth’s surface and the core. In particular, the pillars of the earth could simply be vertically-oriented crystalline rock.

It is widely believed that there is such a shell of crystalline rock inside the earth. This shell is generally called the mantle of the earth. Occasionally these crystalline forms form above the surface of the earth. In every case they are oriented vertically. There are at least two examples of such rock in the continental United States: Pinnacles National Monument in California, which is not really crystalline in nature; and the other, more graphic example, is found in Devil’s Tower National Monument, Wyoming. Thus we conclude that Job 26:7 would appear to support a spheroidal earth.

Conclusion

In summary, the Bible teaches that the earth is basically a flat in shape; that there are pillars which undergird the world and which we conclude to be the crystalline rock corresponding to what we commonly call the mantle; that there are an unspecified number of foundations which range in size all the way from the foundations of the hills and mountains (called roots in modern science) to the usearchable core of the earth and to the very foundation which is the Lord Jesus Christ himself. This is the view of the earth which the Bible presents, the view of a flat earth on pillars which are, in turn, placed on a foundation. Bible critics are thus shown to be wrong in their view of what the Bible teaches on the matter of the shape of the earth. Also made manifest is their inability or else lack of desire to study firsthand and in detail the teachings of the Bible on this matter in particular, and, by implication, any Biblical matter. Knowing much about the Bible, they know little of the Bible, and we are so justified in viewing with due skepticism any man who uncritically prefixes his remarks with: “The Bible is not a textbook on science.”

The Biblical Astronomer

4527 Wetzel Avenue

Cleveland, Ohio 44109 U.S.A.

The Size and Structure of the Universe According to the Bible and Non-Theoretical Science

Part II

http://www.fixedearth.com/size–structure-pt-2.html

Highly Reflective Water Crystals

Are the “Waters Above” the Biblical Firmament?

The part of the whole Biblical concept of the size and structure of the universe that stumped me the most involved the “waters above” the firmament. It seemed readily apparent that these waters not only could provide a reflective surface for all the stars below, but that; indeed, there could be no way that such reflection could be avoided.

Also, it seemed equally apparent that–given the enormous possibilities involved in the dispersion of those reflections–that some very great percentage of all the stars ever allegedly seen are really reflections… either of real stars or of other reflections. The effect of such an understanding upon the actual number of stars there are, and the corresponding dramatic shrinkage of the size of the universe could be missed by no one. Then, with corroborating evidence that star reflections are not only Biblically, but also scientifically capable of producing a viable model of the universe that would scrap all of modern cosmology since Copernicus, the true size of the universe could indeed be spectacularly sanforized and tailored to somewhat less than a radius of one light day…as we have already begun to see.

Fine, I thought. But how could the stars and their reflections always be where they actually are if they were reflected off of “water” …unless somehow the water was perfectly undisturbed? If, however, the water itself were perfectly still with the starry “stellatum” of the 3rd heaven in the firmament revolving nightly around the Earth and the “waters above” synchronously revolving with it, such a structure would definitely fit the Scriptures and would seem to satisfy all that is actually seen and known.

Yet, since only about 6000 stars can be seen with the naked eye in both hemispheres, and since it would be certain that these would be reflected off of those “waters above”, we would probably conclude that only one reflection per star would be produced off of water that is perfectly still. That would only give us 12000 points of light–half stars and half reflections–in the entire universe. Modern cosmology claims there are billions of galaxies with trillions of stars in each galaxy.

One may detect a slight discrepancy in those comparative numbers….

The obvious solution? Well, scoff at this or any other small number, of course!

But wait! What if the “science” behind those gazillions of stars is demonstrably built on observation denying assumptions at every step from the Copernican Model to the Big Bang Model?? [See: Assumptions] And what if occult math and fraudulent use of technology are shown to be behind every phony piece of Big Bang hype dosed out in all media? [See: Virtual Reality Fraud – NASAs Hanky-Panky – Redshift Fraud] And what if the long held secret is out that the entire Big Bang Paradigm is actually the fulfillment of a “creation” scenario” from ancient Rabbinic writings in the mystic Kabbala, a holy book of Pharisaic Judaism? [See: Kabbala 6 – NASAs Spirit.Roots] And what if the NASA-controlled space program is boldly designated “The Origins Program” devoted to “finding our cosmic roots”, i.e., devoted to spending billions of taxpayer’s money to promote factless extraterrestrial evolutionism? [See: NASAs Agenda] And what if a cadre of latter-day Saganite cyberpunks has admittedly turned computer-programmed space technology into a Virtual Reality video game that aids and abets the Kabbalic Kosmology?[See: Virtual Reality Fraud] And so what if the Biblical Model of a non-moving Earth fits all the observational and experimental evidence? [See: Size-Structure Pt 1]

So what??

Well, Kabbalic Kosmology masquerading as “science” is Biblically scheduled to get its mask ripped off “one hour” after a One World Government is seated (Rev. 17:12-14; 18:2; 13:2b-8), that’s so what…. It’s called “The Fall of Babylon”, i.e., “The Fall of Confusion” (Rev. 14:8; 17:5, 14, 18; 18:2, 4, 8-19).

The only thing holding the whole mountain of cosmological deceptions together is the belief that all of them are safe and secure because “science” has put the stars so far away from the Earth that even God couldn’t get them around nightly…as the Biblical Model and observation demand. Ipso facto, the Devil says smugly: ‘The Copernican foundation to all the rest of my deceptions can never be convincingly defeated and Bible credibility can never be restored. The hold that the Bible has on a dying generation of its faithful followers is doomed to collapse in short order, dragging Jesus and New Testament Christianity down with it!’ (This is the assessment of all attempts to expose and defeat the powerful forces upholding Satan’s Empire of Babylon in the world today as expressed in Revelation 18:7: “…for she [Babylon- Satan’s Empire] saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow”. And, even after Babylon is brought down – Rev. 17:14-18 – and regroups – R. 18:2 – and becomes overtly Satan-worshipping – R. 13:4 – there is only defiance – v.4).

Now, although the geocentric Machian Model of the “solar” system and the universe may be just as good mathematically as the current Kabbalic Model, it will never attract more than a few windmill tilters as long as a 15 billion light year thick universe holds the fort and prevents an intelligibly small universe model from getting those stars close enough to go around nightly as observed. A demonstrably viable “Small Universe Model” would change all that very quickly. It would, in effect, remove the only objection to validating the non-moving Earth model and would pull the plug on the entire Kabbalic Kosmos and all the Bible-bashing lies riding on it.

With that said, let’s return to a closer look at the Biblical “waters above” the 3rd heaven of the firmament and see just how star “reflections” could be counted as trillions of stars and how computerized slight-of-hand is fueling the fantasy of a 15 billion light year thick universe…and thus promoting Kabbalic Big Bangism. We can start by taking a look at a few examples of “Water Crystals”:

The first row of enhydro (water within) crystals can be found on pages 1 and 2 at this web site: http://www.kacha-stones.com/crystals_enhydros_himalayan.htm

The second row of water crystals comes from the Adhikara Art Gallery and can be viewed at this web site: http://www.akhikara.com/pagine/water-6.htm (& 3.htm-8.htm).

There are hundreds of other such pictures on the net. Each one has a unique geometrical design, and each one is not ice, but nevertheless is water in solid form.

Obviously, the Designer behind such designs can do anything! (The argument that no such Designer exists is over [See: Atheism – ID Pitfalls]). When the Bible describes the structure of the universe as containing “waters above” the firmament, i.e., as something that exists at the furthermost extremity from the Earth (a Biblical 8 billion miles at most, not 15 billion light years! [See: Size-Structure Pt 1]), we are clearly talking Designer with a capital “D”. And just as clearly, those “waters” could just as easily be crystalline as liquefied and still fit the Biblical description perfectly. Water is water, whether it be crystals, ice, or liquid! Indeed, as we proceed with some exceptional Scriptural references in Part III, we will see that water crystals supply the precise feature in the Biblical structure of the universe that allows it to have a radius of no more than one light day while simultaneously revealing how the Kabbala Kosmoligists can falsely claim 15 billion light years thickness and trillions of stars.

Before that, however, it behooves us to realize that scripturally and logically–Big Bang mythology notwithstanding–there is an outer spherical shell or dome which covers and encases all material objects in the universe within it. We recall the second reference in the Hebrew for “firmament” (#7554) given on page 8 in Part I…. That definition is: “…to expand by hammering; by implication, to overlay (with thin sheets of metal)…spread abroad (…into plates).”

It is plain that the connotation of the word “overlay” fits with the Hebrew connotations of the other relevant words in Genesis. More, it was established semantically and grammatically that the firmament is “against” but separate from the spherical integument encasing the universe. Notice now how the Hebrew connotations describe a global dome through the word “overlay”: 1)”to lay or place (one thing) over or upon another. 2) “to cover [to place something over or upon], overspread [to spread or diffuse over], or surmount [to be on top of or above] with something….”

So far then, all that is directly overhead to everybody in any place on the Earth and at all times–insofar as the Biblical size and structure of the universe is concerned –progresses upward from the Earth in this order:

a) A space–with its atmosphere and various other components–between the earth’s surface and the Moon of about 1/4 million miles. This space constitutes the 1st heaven, i.e., the 1st part of the firmament;

b) Next is: The 2nd part of the heaven/firmament some alleged 3.670,000,000 miles thick containing the sun, moon, and planets with all their motions around a stationary Earth;

c) Next is: The 3rd part of the heaven/firmament–of no greater than equal thickness to the 2nd part (another 3,670,000,000 miles)–contains ALL of the stars. This starry realm of the 3rd heaven/firmament (the Stellatum) revolves around the Earth every 23 hours and 56 minutes as observed. (See Part IV [See: Size-Structure Pt 4]).

d) Next: Also in the 3rd part of the heaven/firmament is a Biblically described zone that is specifically located “above the stars” (Is. 14:13). The Bible describes this zone as being the temporary location of God’s Throne and all of His construction of the eternal New Heavens and New Earth and New Jerusalem (Is. 65:17,18; 66:22; II Pet. 3: 10-13; John 14:2,3). This 3rd part of the heaven/firmament also revolves around the Earth, possibly–but not certainly or even probably–in synchronization with the stellatum (II Chron. 16:9). The Prophets Ezekiel and Daniel wrote of fiery “wheels within wheels” as we shall see. As we saw in Part I, there are Bible clues which enable us to make an almost wildly generous estimate of the thickness of this part of the 3rd heaven and still stay within a radius of one light day for the whole universe. Note:

(* Thickness of the 3rd Heaven: As noted in Part I, God says in Isaiah 66; 22 –written in 712 BC–that He “will make new heavens and the new earth….” That project has been ongoing in the 3rd part of the heaven/firmament that is above the stars…to be completed on schedule (Rev. 3:12; 21:2) with no cost overruns. Some 741years after Isaiah’s message–in John 14:2–Jesus tells us of the work in progress: “In my Father’s house [the New Jerusalem on that New Earth: Rev. 213] are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you….” (Q) How thick then does that part of the 3rd heaven which is God’s present dwelling place and which is “above” the stars, need to be? (A) Thick enough to accommodate the New Earth which, extrapolated from the size of the New Jerusalem on it (Rev. 21:16), will require a diameter of several million miles…still only a tiny fraction as thick as the 2nd heaven or the starry realm of the 3rd heaven. This is negligible in the overall thickness calculations. Certainly an allowance of a 660 million mile thick “construction site” is at least ten times too generous– as noted in this breakdown. [See: Size-Structure Pt 1, (p. 15); also Audio Part II, #8]

e) Next and last: A global dome encases all that is in the universe. Its under surface is covered (or strategically embedded) with highly reflective water crystals (sample of shapes on p. 2). Obviously, such incredible designs are capable of sending innumerable scattered reflections…accompanied by a full range of spectrum colors for our Redshift Theorists to play with and continue to expand their Expanding Universe fantasy. Reflections from multi-angled facets of these precisely embedded crystals off of a comprehensible number of actual stars are sent to locations of non-luminous entities (e.g., our moon without the sun, asteroids, and nebulae). There in the blackness of space where many are retro-reflected off of the crystalline dome and are seen or captured by spectrographic technology and are yet other innumerable reflections that are being counted as actual dim stars or “night lights” behind nebulae, etc. The thickness of this global “dome” overlaying the present universe is vaguely suggested in the Hebrew connotation of “firmament” (#7554) that we just saw, viz., “…to expand by hammering, by implication, to overlay (with thin sheets of metal)…spread abroad (…into plates)….” So, how thick?? “Hammering” and “thin sheets” suggest not thick at all…perhaps measurable in inches or a few meters…. Who knows? Whatever it is, it is certainly not a figure that plays any substantive role whatever in the overall thickness of the Biblical Universe.

***

As you will have noticed in those photos of “water crystals”, they come in every shape imaginable from plain flat surfaces to the most ornate jewel-like patterns. The one characteristic they all have, however, is that they are all highly reflective. The crystals in the pictures are quite small. But, obviously, given that the interior surface of the dome encapsulating even our Biblically “small” universe would cover trillions of square miles, they are probably huge by present standards. (When it is recalled that the size of the Biblical God can vary from human size (Heb. 1:3) to one where God “measured out the waters of the earth in the hollow of his hand and meted out the heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance (Isaiah 40:12)…the huge crystals required for the function they have in this part of the structure of our universe are not hard to conceptualize….)

In order for these crystals to either cover that total surface or a good percentage of it with precisely designed embedments which would complete the Biblically specified and optically supported design. Some of the “water crystals above” would likely be as big as the Indian Ocean, while others areas could be quite small. (Since the Biblical “waters below” do not cover the total surface of the Earth, the “waters above” could–but very well may not–cover the total underside of the encasing dome… I lean toward the view that they do not cover it totally, but that God has set the variegated water crystals in various locations and postures to produce all of the effects that are actually known. How about a supernova here and there? Think of the flash of mirrored sunlight on a certain spot, or that blinding reflection from the sun shining on the rear window of the car in front of you…or even the intense sparkle from a certain facet in a diamond ring…. This is easy stuff for the God of all creation! (The spectrums which allow all the redshift speculations and other technology-produced simulations of clusters, spiral shapes, nebulas, supernovas, etc., which are now in all software that automatically fits with today’s Cosmological Paradigm of a universe that is 15 billion light years thick. Everything that is known can more sensibly be fit into the Biblical Paradigm of a universe that is less than 8 billion miles thick.). {… to get an idea of how easily tech fraud can contribute to the furtherance of this Kabbalist Paradigm with the placement of many-sided mirrors of various shapes in the computerized telescopes that are configured in some pretty remarkable ways… ostensibly just to report what’s out there!} [See: NASAs Hanky-Panky]

Anyway, the point is that each water crystal–regardless of size and shape–has been set jewel-like in “hammered” bezels on the underside of the global encasement with a supernatural precision that makes the finest 21 jewel Swiss watch of old about as sophisticated as a mud pie. Thus affixed and perfectly arranged these crystals reflect the light from whatever number of real stars there are. That real number of stars is multiplied (and even magnified) and scattered reflectively with all of the spectral array that is precisely positioned and timed to produce the number and specific locations of individual points of light and all other deep space phenomena that is actually known to exist.

These are the points of light that astronomers can actually distinguish without resorting to easily manipulated computer-programmed imaging produced by Simulation Artists. These folks are marinated in what they think is a “scientific” paradigm which demands an evolutionary concept of the Origin of everything stretched over 15 billion years. To a man/woman–unless they are knowledgeable Kabbalists–these “space scientists” worldwide have accepted and are unwitting evangelists for that Pharisaic Religion’s “Creation Scenario”. Consciously or not, they are promoting the atheist or agnostic religious philosophies held by the noted Rabbinical (Rebbes) Kabbalists of the past and present. (It is time for the honest ones to start thinking about spilling the beans concerning the factless high-tech fraud of which they have personal knowledge or suspicions…)

Consequentially, all extrapolations and guesstaments beyond the number of points of light being called stars that are in excess of what can actually be seen and known are–as with other cosmological fantasies–just assumptions resting upon other assumptions which are “certified” by all manner of ultraviolet photon hypotheses and redshift wave-theory voodooism (Part VI [See: Size-Structure Pt 6]). The Biblically Small Universe declares all such extrapolations to be false, unnecessary, and confusing deceptions. These deceptions serve only two purposes, viz., 1) To validate Kabbalic Kreationism and all that is built on it; 2) To simultaneously discredit the Biblical creation scenario and all that is built upon it. Again, this is a battle between the religion of Talmud/Kabbalism and the religion of the Bible and the kind of g-d/God each projects. Pseudo-science supports the former and true science the latter…. (Satan is the admitted g’d of Talmud/Kabbala Phariseeism. [See: Sola Scriptura 4])

With those thoughts in mind, those interested will want to examine some other astonishingly pertinent Scriptures which fit the Biblically described structure of the universe seen thus far. As far as I can tell, the application of these Scriptures to an understanding of the size and structure of the universe has not been made before now, as is evident by their absence in the Models of the universe proposed by Medieval Churchman.

Nevertheless–considering that not even a telescope was available–those earth-centered models with a “stellatum” containing all of stars diurnally revolving around the earth as in the Ptolemaic Model–were not that far off the true mark! The errors that were built into those models because of technological deficiencies were quite small really. For example, the planets Uranus, Neptune, and “Pluto” had not been discovered and were not included in the model and thus the starry zone called the stellatum began after Saturn, rather than after Pluto [now itself in question].

Since our books assure us that it is some 2, 825,000,000 miles from Saturn to Pluto, we add that distance to the distance from Earth to Saturn and get the end point of the Biblical 2nd heaven. That end point is also the beginning point of the 3rd heaven, i.e., the stellatum containing all the stars plus the Biblically specified zone of God’s operations “above” those stars. The thickness of this star-filled 3rd heaven of the Biblical firmament is finite and is more than adequately accommodated by the thickness assigned to it with the explanation given earlier…

Beyond the starry realm (stellatum), the Medieval Church also postulated a zone that was called the “Primum Mobile”. This was a region which “carried no luminous bodies and was invisible to the human eye” (www.lancs.ac.uk. p.4). Then: “In Christian Cosmology, the answer to the question of what lay ‘beyond’ the Primum Mobile was: God. It was the heaven ‘beyond’ all the other heavens or ‘the very heaven’….”(Ibid.)

Again, this was not far off the mark considering the times and even all that is actually known today! If it had been realized that the 3rd heaven where God’s Throne–and hence God–is located according to Scripture (II Cor. 12:2), then God wouldn’t have been placed beyond the “Waters Above” and the door wouldn’t have been closed on the search for and discovery of other Scriptures which would complete an understanding of the size and structure of the universe that no true knowledge of the heavens denies today.

As we are seeing, those mis-applied and underappreciated Scriptures plainly put God and all His operations in a revolving 3rd Heaven just beyond the starry realm (stellatum) and Biblically contiguous with the Scriptural “waters above”. Furthermore, those Scriptures decree that those “waters above” be crystalline starlight reflectors embedded in the underside of a thin but substantive dome encasing our entire temporary universe (Isaiah 65:17;66:22; II Pet. 10-13; Rev. 21:1), and beyond which there is no created entity.

To most people today it will seem utterly ridiculous to even consider that a Biblical Model of a Small Universe with the Earth at the center could be the true state of affairs. Surely, we reason, it cannot be that four and a half centuries of progressively ignominious defeat of the Biblical Creation Scenario and its triumphant replacement by another “holy book’s creation scenario”–certified in all learning centers and hyped relentlessly in all the media by a Theoretical Science Establishment–has been a deception so grand in its scope and purpose as to rule out purely human plotting and conniving!!

Yet, the closer one studies what has happened, the more certain it becomes that the fruits of this massive deception provide all the evidence that is needed to identify the perpetrator. As it is beyond argument that what people believe about the Origin of the sun, moon, earth, stars, and themselves is foundational to all other beliefs and philosophies, it is equally beyond argument that the Kabbalic Kreation Model is diametrically opposed to–and hence the implacable enemy of–the Biblical (and Koranic) Creation Model.

Are the Talmudist/Kabbalists the sole perpetrators? Certainly not! Are they the primary perpetrators? Yes. They have been the initiators, the facilitators, the undercover perpetrators probably since their Babylonian Captivity. But the scheme is too focused on a single-minded goal over too many centuries not to have been derailed a thousand times by circumstances if it were not supernaturally conceived, directed, and promoted by a host of people (non-scientists and church leaders included), virtually all of whom have had no known allegiance to Talmudism/Kabbalism.

Nevertheless, of all the major religions, Pharisaic Judaism is the only one that–for the most part–has a priesthood that has no belief in either a personal God or a Satan-like adversary. [See: Kabbala 3, (p. 4) – Kabbala 4, (p.2), Sola Scriptura 4] Consequently, unlike the ancient Hebrews, this kind of belief–this intellectual agnosticism–has provided no God-given supernatural support nor protection nor any defense for the Jewish people against a supernatural enemy. Neither–in their view–exists. Or, if g-d is allowed, he has no contact with mankind (a la Rambam Maimonides, Einstein, Sagan, et al), and Satan is just a bogeyman for retarded Christians and Moslems. [See: Sola Scriptura 4] Yet, over the centuries there has been an unflagging resolve by the Talmudic/Kabbalic Rabbinate to mastermind a way to break the back of Bible Credibility and hence genuine Christianity, whereby a very personal and loving God and a very personal and vindictive Satan are central to the whole plan of God. [See: Satan: What Makes Him Tick?]

Satan–the Bible teaches–is every man’s “…adversary who comes as a roaring lion seeking who he may devour” (I Pet 5:8). He has no truth in him (John 8:44). He is the “god of this world (II Cor. 4:4; Matt. 4:4). His ministers are very frequently in Christian pulpits preaching Christ (II Cor. 11:13-15). Also, “doctrines of devils” (aka Satan’s “demons”, I Tim. 4:1) are allowed to mess up church doctrines… (And what a job they’ve done![See: Bible Doctrines Purification Series, Sola Scriptura 2]). Endeavoring to destroy the Plan of God revealed through Jesus is precisely the single-minded role which Satan is assigned in the Bible. Is it not way beyond coincidence that this same single-minded goal is also the leitmotif of Talmudic/ Kabbalic Pharisaic Rabbinism…the bane of Jews everywhere throughout their history from their Babylonian Captivity to this very hour?? “I will ascend above the stars of God [above the 3rd heaven]…I will be like the most High [God], Satan boasts (Isaiah. 14:13, 14).” God replies: “Wanna Bet??! You will be a museum attraction that my flesh and blood redeemed children (Is. 66:24; Gal. 3:29; Rev. 22:15) will look at and study and comment with astonishment: ‘Is This the dude that caused all the trouble throughout history??!’” (Isaiah 14:15, 16; Ezek. 28:16-18). [See: Satan: What Makes Him Tick?]

Likewise, of all the major religions, Judaism is the only one that mocks and hates Jesus and His New Covenant with a deadly passion and claims that their spiritual leaders (Rabbis, Rebbes) are smarter than g-d. [See: Talmud, (p.4)] These are those whose single-minded mission is the destruction of the Bible’s credibility from Creation to Jesus to Heaven. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools…” (Rom. 1:22; Is.44:25). And that goes for all of us in the non-Jew masses who also have been deceived by the utterly insane Kabbalist “creation scenario” which tells us that a “cosmic egg” exploded 15 billion years ago and created all that exists!

But now the hour draws very close when the Biblical God of Creation–first revealed to the world by the Hebrew Moses–is going to restore sanity about the Origins and nature of all that exists and thereby set in motion the final scenes of the Last Act of God’s End Time Drama for this old Earth. [See: God’s End Time Drama] Compared to the factless fantasizing of Big Bang Kosmology founded upon and fueled by observation-denying assumptions from start to finish, the Bible’s Cosmology is a model of clarity, simplicity, and scientific realism. No “quarks”, no “black holes”, no “superstrings”, no evolving Klingons and E. T’s swarming through the universe in space ships; no hidden occult religion disguised as science deceiving its devotees… who then, in turn, employ every device to deceive the rest of the world! In place of all that, we have an intelligible structure of our universe from the “waters below” to the crystalline “waters above”, a structure which conforms to all that is actually known, a structure which was described in writing through men by the Almighty God Who can and will bring it all to pass as promised in His Infallible Word.