The Flat Earth and Biblical Events

 

The Bible is a flat Earth book from cover to cover, and indeed, several critically important biblical events depend on the flatness of the Earth. The biblical universe is small, three-tiered, the earth is flat, and it is covered by a solid dome firmament in which the stars are fixed. Our universe as the Bible describes it looks similar to this:

As you can see, Heaven is located just above the firmament, the Earth is flat and supported by pillars. 

The biblical doctrines affected by the flat earth cosmology of the Bible are numerous. But they include the baptism of Jesus Christ, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the ascension of Jesus Christ, the temptation of Jesus by Satan, the rapture event, and probably more than I can think of at the moment. 

Let's start with the baptism of Jesus. When Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist, God is assumed to be within speaking distance so that He can declare that Jesus should be believed and trusted. That might be possible in the biblical universe, but not the real universe that we know we reside in now. The ancient Hebrews believed that Heaven was close by, just above the firmament. So it makes sense that God could speak and be heard if Heaven is not far away. But now we know that there is only the vastness of our solar system and interstellar space once we leave Earth's atmosphere.

We have the same issue with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Heaven is assumed to be close by, and from just above the firmament, God the Father turned away from Jesus while he was atoning for our sins on the cross. 

And then there is the Flood event related to us in the Book of Genesis. The Bible speaks of the windows of Heaven being opened so that the waters above the firmament could be released onto the Earth. So it wasn't a global flood because the Earth was not believed to be spherical. The Flood only had to cover the flat Earth. But even so, there is no geological evidence that a worldwide Flood has ever occurred, and the human population has never been whittled down to just eight people on a boat. The Flood story is a myth with numerous serious problems that render it impossible to believe as told in Scripture.

In the temptation of Jesus by Satan as related in Matthew 4, Satan shows Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world and offers them to him if he will worship him. This would only be possible on a flat Earth!

And what about Isaiah 40:22?

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:

This verse is often used by Christian apologists to try to deny that the Bible teaches a flat Earth, but it actually proves just that! The earth is a flat circle, and on what do you spread out a curtain? A flat surface! And God can see everyone on the Earth at the same time, and from His viewpoint above the firmament they are small enough to appear as grasshoppers. But this would only be possible on a flat Earth!

What about the ascension of Jesus after his resurrection? Where did he go? Heaven was assumed to be just above the firmament, not far away at all. But now we know that there is only the vastness of our solar system and interstellar space beyond our atmosphere. So where did Jesus go? There is no Heaven above a solid dome firmament in which the stars are fixed in the real universe, so did he fill up billions of galaxies with his divine presence? Reminding me of Star Trek V, what does Jesus need with a star ship? 

And last but not least, what about the rapture event? This is a false doctrine taken from an ancient failed apocalyptic cult, but if it was for real, how would it work unless the Earth is flat? How would Jesus gather people from around a globe? What about the lack of oxygen and the high winds in the upper atmosphere? What about the cold temperatures? If the Earth really was flat, then maybe these issues wouldn't exist, but on a globe you can't float upward to a specific location in the clouds, unless you just say, "God did it!", which explains nothing. 

I offer these images for your consideration:

Those images are taken from a PDF provided by the Informed Christians YouTube channel. 

So... there is a lot that doesn't work or make sense in the Christian faith unless the Earth really is flat, and of course we know now that it is a sphere. To me, these realities bring the truth of the Christian faith into serious doubt. But I find it impossible to believe for many reasons other than the structure of the universe or the shape of the Earth...