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In this day and age of modern technology, thanks to a variety of human-invented space probes which have been exploring the depths of Outer Space for decades, plus land-based telescopes and powerful space-based telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope which peer into the darkness of Space, we have acquired a lot of absolutely amazing images of distant galaxies, nebulae, stars and other celestial objects. Closer to home, we also now have a large collection of fantastic images of asteroids, planets and moons which are located within our own solar neighborhood. And, of course, close-up images and videos of our own star, the Sun, are just mind-blowing. The proof of the existence of all of these heavenly wonders simply cannot be denied. Well, at least not by any logically-thinking person.

However, believe it or not, in spite of this preponderance of undeniable telescopic, photographic and video evidence, based on what in my opinion is a misguided understanding of certain Bible Scriptures which are found in the Books of Genesis, Isaiah, Job and a few others, there are some people -- such as some of the staunch adherents of the so-called Flat Earth Theory -- who are totally convinced that no other planets exist outside of the Earth itself. I am not joking. For those of you who are not familiar with the Flat Earth Theory, its central tenet is that unlike all of the other planets in our Solar System which are for the most part spherical, the Earth is flat and round like a pancake or a pizza, and not a sphere. What???

The real tragedy here is that in recent years, a lot of very gullible Christians have been taken in by this deception. In fact, I have encountered them on the social networks -- such as Facebook -- a number of times. What they have to say makes me cringe, because they are so convinced that they are right. Sadly, they are so deceived that they believe that anyone who does not embrace the Flat Earth Theory is deceived. In fact, one particular person very rudely told me that if I believe that the Earth is a sphere, I am worshipping Satan. I recall the following verse that was written by the Apostle Paul:

"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived."


Please note that I am not necessarily saying that Flat Earth adherents are evil people. However, they are deceived, and they are sharing their deception with others. As if believing in a Flat Earth is not enough, some people even suggest that the Earth is square, due to a few Bible verses which mention the "four corners of the earth", as we can determine by this set of verses:

"And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth."


"Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land."


"And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree."


"And [the Devil] shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea."


However, based on the original Hebrew word which is used in Isaiah 11:12 and Ezekiel 7:2 -- kanaph -- it is my opinion that this phrase is referring to the extremities of the Earth. That is to say, to the four cardinal directions: north, south, east and west. Think about it. If we were to interpret the phrase "four corners" as some of the Flat Earthers do, then we would be forced to conclude that the nation of Israel is square according to Ezekiel 7:2 above. However, we know that this is not so. Likewise, the winds of the Earth blow from the very same four different cardinal directions, do they not? To give you an idea of the utter ridiculousness of this belief, consider the drawing below:



In the exchanges I have held with some Flat Earth proponents, as well as from the online material which I have read, I have been given the impression that they view the Earth as sort of a flat, round coffee table with legs or pillars underneath it. Again, the Scriptures do briefly mention the pillars of the Earth in a few places. However, it is my understanding that the word "pillars" is actually referring to the internal structure of the Earth, just as there are also a considerable number of verses which mention the foundations of the Earth, as we can easily determine by the following group of verses:

"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 LORDS, and he hath set the world upon them."


"Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble."


"The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah."


"For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains."


"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."


"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;"


"Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth . . . Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils."


"They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course."


"Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains."


"When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:"


"And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake."


"And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor? . . . And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people."


"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."


It should be evident to you that all of the previous verses regarding pillars and foundations are simply referring to the internal geological structure of the Earth, which the Lord laid down in the very beginning. That is to say, the corner stones or building blocks which form the firm base of the mountains of our world, and the deeper layers of Planet Earth too. Concerning the pillars which supposedly support the Flat Earth, quite frankly, it is beyond me what supports them.

According to Flat Earth adherents, the Earth is supposedly covered with some type of solid and impenetrable dome. This erroneous belief is derived from a few misunderstandings. Primary among these is that in the Book of Genesis, the word "firmament" finds its origin in the Hebrew word "raqiya". We find this Hebrew word repeatedly used in the following group of verses:

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth . . . And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And 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. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day . . . And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good . . . And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven."


The Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Hebrew Aramaic English Lexicon notes the following regarding the ancient Hebrew word "raqiya":

----- Begin Quote -----

07549 raqiya raw-kee- ah

AV-firmament 17; 17

1) extended surface (solid), expanse, firmament
   1a) expanse (flat as base, support)
   1b) firmament (of vault of heaven supporting waters above)
      1b1) considered by Hebrews as solid and supporting 'waters' above
‭
----- End Quote -----

As you can see, the above definition seems to support the idea that the firmament could possibly represent something solid. In fact, the ancient Hebrews believed that there was water both on the Earth, as well as above it, and that this upper water was supported by the firmament. If you stop and think about it, given their very limited knowledge thousands of years ago, it might have been difficult for them to grasp how water -- meaning rainfall -- could be held in the sky, unless there was something solid to keep it there and support it. Of course, today with our much more expanded knowledge regarding meteorology, it is easier for us to understand how rain remains in the sky -- in the form of clouds and water vapor -- without the need for any kind of dome to support it.

Yet at the same time, while the Hebrew word "raqiya" could be understood to mean something solid, Genesis also says "and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven". Here we see that the firmament is actually an open space above the Earth where the birds fly, and not something solid. Furthermore, in the previous set of verses, we are likewise informed that God placed the Sun, Moon and stars in this very same open space in the heavens. So again, the word "firmament" cannot be referring to something solid, as the Flat Earth theorists propose.

So, in my view, the word "firmament" is referring both to the Earth's immediate atmosphere -- that is to say, the sky where the birds fly -- as well as to Outer Space and beyond where the Sun, Moon and stars are located. Furthermore, I believe that when the Bible talks about waters above the firmament, it is simply referring to the cloud layers which were and are above the Earth. As I have mentioned in a few of my previous articles, it is even possible that there may have actually been a band of water surrounding the Earth in some kind of suspended state prior to the Genesis Flood.

Either that, or perhaps the cloud layer -- meaning the actual atmosphere -- was a lot thicker before the Flood occurred. I have also theorized that if this band of water truly existed, or if the cloud layer was simply much thicker than it was in the aftermath of the Flood, it may have protected our ancient ancestors from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the Sun, so that they lived a lot longer than we do today.

In thinking about this alleged dome, it reminds me of Kandor. For those of you who may be familiar with Superman lore, you will know that Kandor was a city on Superman's home world -- Krypton -- prior to the planet's destruction. It was one of Krypton's largest and most important cities. That is, until the city was shrunk, and then abducted by the supervillain Brainiac, who kept the city in a bottle in his spacecraft. It sounds a little like the Earth being trapped inside of a dome, doesn't it?

We are also told -- according to the Flat Earth Theory -- that the perimeter of this flat, round pancake is in turn surrounded by a tall ice wall which prevents the oceans of the world from spilling out into Outer Space. Regarding the dome, it supposedly extends a little beyond this ice wall. Yes, I know. It sounds a bit crazy, doesn't it? Of course, modern science and geography refer to the extremities of the Earth as the Arctic and the Antarctic. However, according to what I have read, Flat Earth proponents do not believe that Antarctica is actually a continent. They are convinced that it is the aforementioned ice wall which surrounds the edge of the round Flat Earth.

Upon conducting some online research, I discovered that the existence of such an ice wall surrounding the perimeter of a Flat Earth is physically impossible. Unlike the 700-foot-tall famous ice wall in the popular "Game of Thrones" television series, real ice walls are not nearly as strong. Neither are they nearly as tall. One source explains that ice walls in Antarctica may reach a height of about one hundred meters, or three hundred and thirty feet. Glaciologist Martin Truffer of the University of Alaska Fairbanks explains it this way:

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"Essentially the ice deforms under its own weight . . . Once you start piling it that high it will literally ooze out like honey at the bottom . . . Once they get that high the stresses are so high that the ice just cracks and fails."

----- End Quote -----

Below are two photographs which show actual ice walls in present-day Antarctica.





If I understand Flat Earthers correctly, they believe that the Sun and the Moon revolve above the Earth, but within the alleged dome, while the rest of the heavens -- that is, Outer Space -- is located outside of the dome. Equally crazy in my view is their belief that the stars are somehow affixed or embedded in the dome. Furthermore, I had one defender of the Flat Earth Theory tell me that the stars consist of "plasma light", and that they serve as prisons for the Fallen Angels are apparently trapped inside of them. Picture a snow globe. That is more or less what Flat Earthers appear to believe. This is what is also referred to as domed vault cosmology. Below are three additional images to help you to visualize what the Flat Earth adherents seem to believe:







Now, concerning their belief that the Earth is actually flat like a pizza, and not a sphere, what Biblical evidence do the Flat Earth folks offer to support their view? As you will now see, their "evidence" is rather flimsy. In the Book of Daniel we find the following two verses:

"Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:"


If you read the surrounding verses, you will see that these two verses are describing a dream which King Nebuchadnezzar had which greatly troubled him. So the king called in Daniel, who was known to him as Belteshazzar. Please notice that the previous two verses state that the tree "reached unto heaven" and that it could be seen "to the end of all the earth". Now, according to Flat Earthers, if a person climbs to the highest central point and can see everything to the end of the earth, then this is clear proof that the Earth is flat. Oh, and by the way, the defenders of the Flat Earth Theory also believe that the Book of Enoch destroys the idea that the Earth is a globe.

The problem here is that this was a prophetic, symbolic dream which was given to King Nebuchadnezzar, to warn him that God was about to chastise him by taking his kingdom away from him for a period of seven years. The dream was NOT based on any form of physical reality. While there are indeed some very old and tall trees in the world, NONE of them "reach unto heaven", and from no tree anywhere can the entire surface of the Earth be seen. Furthermore, Daniel plainly tells Nebuchadnezzar that the tree represents him, and the extend of his power on the Earth. So as far as these two verses confirming a Flat Earth, I'm sorry, but they just don't make the grade.

Along a similar vein, and using the very same misguided logic, some Flat Earthers also point to the time when Jesus was tempted by Satan during the forty days that He wandered in the wilderness of the Jordan River valley. In particular, consider these two verses:

"Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."


Just as occurred with King Nebuchadnezzar's vision of a tree, some Flat Earth adherents claim that the fact that all of the kingdoms of the world could be seen from the top of this high mountain, is clear proof that the Earth is flat. However, as with the tree vision, Matthew 4 is describing a supernatural event, and not something that happened in physical reality. The fact of the matter is that there is not a single mountain in the entire world where one can see the entire surface of the Earth; not now, and not two thousand years ago. So again, these verses do not prove that the Earth is flat. Sorry, Flat Earthers.

There are a few other arguments -- such as the bogus belief that the medieval church taught that the Earth is flat up until about five hundred years ago -- and perhaps even a few more Bible verses, which the Flat Earth crowd try to use to validate their wayward belief. However, I believe that I have already provided you with enough information to cast doubt on this misguided doctrine. Feel free to conduct more research of your own if you wish. But as should already be quite apparent to you, personally, I find the entire theory quite nonsensical.

Speaking of nonsense, allow me to make another point. Do you realize that to even accept the Flat Earth Theory as being true, you likewise have to accept the preposterous idea that the entire world -- meaning every nation, every scientist, every astronaut, every astronomer, NASA, the European Space Agency, every airplane pilot, etc. -- is involved in some kind of massive, global coverup, to keep you from learning that the Earth is flat? Do you even realize what tremendous effort would be required to conceal such a thing, and to keep everyone in line, and in agreement with the lie for literally decades? It would be impossible, because someone will always talk eventually.

Of course, the Flat Earthers believe that they have all of the bases covered. And the way they do that is by dismissing every piece of evidence which contradicts their belief in a Flat Earth covered by an impenetrable dome. For example, as far as they are concerned, the Moon landings were faked. It was explained to me by one promoter of the Flat Earth Theory that being as the Moon is "plasma" -- and not solid -- it is impossible for anyone or anything to land on it. The Moon merely "mirrors" the Earth, I was told. I am not exactly sure what they meant by that.

At any rate, because Flat Earth adherents are convinced that what they have chosen to believe is the truth, and not just a mere theory, they also hold firmly to the view that all of the amazing images and videos of the planets, moons, comets, asteroids, stars, etc., are all fake, because mankind has never sent any spacecraft, space probe or telescope outside of their imaginary, impenetrable dome. At least so say the Flat Earthers. Well, that begs an important question. If the dome is impenetrable, how in the world are meteors able to pass through it? Yes, exactly. It doesn't make any sense,

That likewise means that the astronauts on the International Space Station are liars and deceivers. All newscasters are liars and deceivers. Yes, some of them definitely are. All of NASA's employees who we see shouting for joy and happily slapping backs when a particular space mission is successful are just faking it for the cameras in order to keep the great deception going. In fact, taking this lunacy a step further, there are some Flat Earth believers who are convinced that the acronym NASA is really derived from the ancient Hebrew word "nasha". Pronounced naw-shaw', it means to deceive or to beguile. For example, we find this Hebrew word used in the following well-known verse:

"And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."


But the point is, NASA and "nasha" are not even pronounced the same way. Furthermore, many of us know what NASA really stands for: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. So as far as I'm concerned, this play with the Hebrew word "nasha" is just a weak endeavor by Flat Earth believers to validate their bogus claims regarding worldwide deception.

However, leave it to the Flat Earthers to distort the truth in order to support their misguided belief. That being the case, they are convinced that everything which we know to exist outside of their supposed dome, is merely a lie and an invention created by NASA, using CGI and Photoshopped images. I have in fact have had several Flat Earth Theory defenders tell me this, believe it or not.

Well, I have another good question for Flat Earthers to consider. If even a regular person goes out and purchases a modestly-priced telescope, he or she can easily view the five major planets. With an even more powerful telescope, he or she will be able to see a few more. How do Flat Earthers explain this when there is no one to deceive said person between their telescope and the object they are observing? I mean, they are observing it with their OWN eyes! Are their eyes simply playing tricks on them? ‭

While I have already shared a lot of information with you regarding the Flat Earth Theory, there is one more point I would like to share with you. As I have already made clear, some of these Flat Earth promoters -- I am not sure of the actual percentage -- are convinced that no other planets exist outside of the Earth. I have personally encountered a few of them online. In fact, such people are so convinced of their belief, that they will go so far as to challenge other Christians to point to a verse in the Bible where other planets are actually mentioned.

Well, they should not have made that challenge! Why not? You see, in the New Testament of the Authorized King James Bible, planets are not specifically called "planets". They are in fact called something else. As it turns out, while ancient Greek astronomers -- such as Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and Pythagoras -- did not possess telescopes, nevertheless, they did realize from their observations that there were certain stars which seemed to move -- or wander -- amongst all of the other stars in a regular monthly and yearly fashion. In fact, the ancient Greeks were aware of five such bodies -- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn -- all of which can easily be observed with the naked eye, meaning without a telescope.

In describing these celestial bodies which systematically moved through the dark night sky, these Greek astronomers used a Greek phrase which has been translated into our modern English language as "wandering stars". In actual Greek letters, the phrase is written as "πλανήτης ἀστήρ". What is so interesting about this particular point is the fact that this is exactly what the Apostle Jude also calls them in this verse which is found in his Epistle:

"Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever."


It isn't until we look at the original Koine Greek words which are used in the previous verse, that we discover the truth regarding what Jude is actually talking about. You see, the phrase "wandering stars" is derived from the Koine Greek words "planetes aster". As you can no doubt figure out for yourself, it is precisely from this Koine Greek word "planetes" that we derive our English word "planet", and also "wanderer". So clearly then, planets are mentioned in the Bible, and the ancients were well aware of the fact that other planets exist beyond the Earth. So I think that it is fair to say then that the Flat Earthers have lost this bet. It is obvious that they should have taken more time to more thoroughly investigate this matter. But we aren't done quite yet.

It may also interest you to know that the ancient Greeks were the first to theorize that the Earth is a round sphere, and not flat as the Flat Earthers propose. I would also like to point out that while these Flat Earthers like to point to Isaiah 40:22 as their supposed proof that the Earth is flat and round like a pizza, what they apparently are neglecting to understand, is that in reality, a sphere is in fact a three dimensional circle. Furthermore, when one looks at a sphere from a great distance -- such as a planet -- it does not matter from what direction that person is looking at. That sphere will still appear as a round circle. Here then is the verse for your consideration:

"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:"


As we all know, and as Jude describes them, planets do in fact wander through the blackness of Outer Space, at some distance from their parent star, kept in their orbits by the gravitational forces of that star, and also by the movement of the planet itself. Furthermore, modern astronomers have discovered that there are also some rogue planets which have either escaped from their parent star, or which were never even captured by the gravitational force of a star to begin with. Thus, they truly do wander in the darkness of Outer Space.

Please go to part two for the conclusion of this article.

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