Lately we have been seeing
the multiplying of conspiracy-related issues on the internet. Some are
science/nature related, some are government/international banking related, some
religious/theological related, etc. The one I have been curious about for a
year now is the flat Earth conspiracy.
Is this flat Earth cross-section
of society genuine? Did someone think he could invent a way to get millions to
follow the most inane falsehood? These are my questions. Some of its data looks
correct. But much is still doubtful to me. I guess I bring in a bias against a
flat Earth. I see a pre-creation, rogue, Neptune-like Earth to which Jesus came
to begin its “creation”. It was a ball of water vapor, similar to Neptune’s giant
gaseous, almost completely water atmosphere that surrounds a hard core the size of Earth. For the introduction of light on
the first day of creation Jesus brought to it Himself and His shining entourage
of angelic hosts.
Genesis chapter 1 begins with
the famous intro to Bible 101, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face
of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Gen.
1:1,2). What does it mean, “the heaven and the earth”? That is defined in the
same context a few verses later. “And God called the firmament Heaven.” (Gen.
1:8). “And God called the dry land Earth.” (Gen. 1:10). The Heaven was
simply the result of dividing the giant gaseous sphere that the Spirit of God
moved upon, to create a firmament, and atmosphere in which we could breathe; and the Earth was the lifting up of the
tectonic plates so that the dry land could appear. Letting scripture be its own interpreter, what “the heaven and
the earth” were not, as many wrongly believe, was a brand new orb in space and a
brand new galaxy or universe. All that Jesus did on our planet He could do on
Neptune and create Neptune’s “Heaven” and its “Earth”.
Therefore, I can’t see a
flat Earth. Yes, the Bible seems to describe our world as flat. And it was flat
in the eyes of the Bible writers. If the Lord had described to His prophets for the multitudes a
spherical Earth that revolves around the Sun, the prophets of the Lord would
have been rejected before the words of judgment and mercy—the real message—left
their mouths. Even Jesus who taught the Old Testament prophets to say that
there is no immediate ascension to heaven upon death, yet He seemed to teach something different during His earthly ministry.
“For the living know that
they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a
reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their
hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion
for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” (Ecc. 9:5,6).
“As the waters fail from the
sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
So man lieth down, and riseth
not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of
their sleep.
O that Thou wouldest hide me
in the grave, that Thou wouldest keep me secret, until Thy wrath be past, that Thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
If a man die, shall he live
again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Thou shalt call, and I will
answer thee: Thou wilt have a desire to the work of Thine hands.” (Job 14:11-15).
“For I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
And though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
Whom I shall see for myself,
and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within
me.” (Job 19:25-27).
Yet, for a parable He said
that, immediately upon death, Lazarus went to the bosom of Abraham. That was a parable of a wholly different issue; still many have used it to contradict what He taught the prophets to teach the Old Testament world. So, we need
to read the whole Bible to know what is truth about death and about other
biblical issues, including inspiration’s way of describing the shape of the
Earth. We need to understand how inspiration works, how it uses the mind of the
prophet, with his or her world-view. The Creator is omniscient, the prophet is
not. The Spirit of Christ that inspires the prophet is the same Spirit throughout the
scriptures, but the 40 men were not of the same personality, character, mental
capacity, and education. Their books indicate a wide variety of thinking,
clarity, and communicating. Paul, a natural powerhouse of intellect, wrote deep theological doctrine and spiritual applications of Old Testament historical
events and elements of the Mosaic law. It was almost impossible for Peter
to follow what Paul was saying, what about us? Peter’s letters were much simpler and straight
forward.
Paul wrote,
“For ye see your calling,
brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many
noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to
confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound
the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are
despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought
things that are” (1Cor. 1:26-28).
“Brethren, be not children in
understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. (1Cor.
14:20).
All that this is saying is
that the Bible needs thorough study and divinely gifted thought to correctly discern its truths, its symbology, its spiritual metaphors, and that many misconceptions of the Book abound. We have lost much of what
the early church had in its knowledge of God—its theology, its understanding of
the Bible. I’m encouraged by the presence of people who are studying the Bible
and of YouTube testimonies of people who have come to Christ, and have a
clearer heart and mind to comprehend the light shining from the scriptures.
Yet, even these soundly converted newborns in Christ are being swayed by many
pervasive misconceptions that are sweeping churches of late. These
misconceptions are making the Bible look more foolish to the skeptical world,
which is becoming very aggressive against God and His word. We are seeing a
resurgence of the sin-infected world of 2,000 years ago.
“Sin had become a science,
and vice was consecrated as a part of religion. Rebellion had struck its roots
deep into the heart, and the hostility of man was most violent against heaven.”
The Desire of Ages, p. 37.
This is what we increasingly
hear from voices coming out against Protestantism, the God of Protestantism,
and the Protestant Bible. This is what came out yesterday on the internet when
the flat Earth controversy took front stage. The following are people who
commented on a Yahoo article of someone in a flat Earth discussion blog who was
removed from its round-table. But first I want to highlight two individuals who
took the comment feed into the true foundation of the flat Earth discussion: Joe
Anthony DePino, who brought in the Bible as the cause of the flat earth
discussion; and Kath Donoghue, who jumped to defend the Bible once the Bible
became an issue. But her defense was almost rude. It was far from Christ-like.
So, without further adieu, the
following comment feed, which sadly is heavy in modern sarcasm, cynicism, arrogance, rudeness,
cold-hearted anger, and demeaning inferences that attack the flat Earth
believers’ intelligence and freedom of thought:
“Ronald Augustine Hamilton
Jr.
The Earth can’t be flat, otherwise we wouldn’t have
seasons.
Like · Reply · 11 · 41w
Allison McKinney
Shhhh that’s logic, you can’t use that, it scares them
Like · Reply · 28 · 41w
Shubham Deo Pujan
Wut?? Everyone knows that seasons are created because
of the sun’s revolutions around the earth.
Like · Reply · 41w
Christian Rapsch
empty claim without any proof to back it up
Like · Reply · 28w
Show 1 more reply in this
thread
Mark Streeter
So if the Earth is flat like a dinner plate, where do
these people believe the edges are?
Like · Reply · 4 · 41w
Zak Mazeika
One theory they they(sic) promote is that the edge is
ice walls, that nobody has ever seen or photographed because all the
governments are keeping them secret and hiding them. (To be honest I have an
easier time believing that the world is flat, than believing that all the
governments in the world could get on well enough to keep anything secret).
I watched a flat earth youtube video once and then to
even more insult my own mind, read the comments below. It hurt my brian (sic) to read
the nonsence (sic) arguments and rebutals (sic) from the flatearthers....
Seriously, just avoid them, you’ll only feel dumber if
you engage with them.
Like · Reply · 2 · 41w
Jessica Bricker
They think the Earth is a disc where the Arctic Circle
is the middle, and Antarctica is the edge of the disc--which is an ice wall.
NASA patrols the wall to make sure nobody sees it, or climbs the wall and falls
off. GPS is rigged to make aircraft pilots and boat captains believe they going
straight when they are actually traveling in a circle. They think the sun and
moon move in circles above the disc and that eclipses are caused by anti-moons.
They think the government (all the governments I guess?) is covering up the
truth because...I don’t think they’ve fully worked that part out yet.
It’s actually remarkable that these people are able to
walk around without hurting themselves.
Like · Reply · 2 · 41w
Joe Anthony DePino
Jessica Bricker On that last part, there seems to be a
religious agenda...a lot of them are convinced everything is the work of Satan,
and that only they can see the truth. All the governments of the world are in
league with Satan to conceal the Earth’s true flatness, I guess
Like · Reply · 14w
Show 1 more reply in this
thread
Kayla Dixon
All 14.9k followers of the Flat Earth Society twitter
account, should have any and all degrees revoked.
Like · Reply · 28 · 41w
Megan Oliver
All members, except for two, are following ironically.
Like · Reply · 11 · 41w
Joe O’Dell
I believe that every single conspiracy theory known to
man was cooked up by a shadow government to keep the truly curious and
intelligent people busy on wild goose chases while they secretly take over the
world. Narf! Pinky, you are going off script! I know Brain, but these big words
make my head hurt. Pinky, cut transmiss....
Like · Reply · 16 · 41w
Kath Donoghue
The Bible is the Infallible, Inerrant, Eternal,
Everlasting, Historically accurate,
Incorruptible, word of the living God.
NASA, Evolution, Fake spinning ball earth,
Gravity, Planets, Aliens, Global warming, ALL HOAXEs.
Wake
up sheeple! God created the Geocentric, Immovable,
Stationary, Fixed,
Flat Earth 6000 years ago as the Bible clearly teaches
in 145+ scriptures.
Like · Reply · 41w
Cameron Buxton
This ****** hurts. Could you send me the verses where
God says that Earth is flat? I mean Jesus didn’t even care to mention even
disease (a pretty big deal) on his short visit and God hasn’t really said much
of anything since was said to have Jesus died. I mean if there’s 145+
scriptures, I’m hoping you could point at least a few out.
Like · Reply · 38w
Kath Donoghue
Cameron Buxton Go pick up a bible and start from the
beginning, You clearly need re educating.
Like · Reply · 38w
Jonny Ross Dade
Most peole (sic) after an education study many books
and sources, not just one, which is very much out of date... smh, and you
call us brainwashed...
Like · Reply · 23w · Edited
Show 3 more replies in this
thread
Matthew Gregory Spence
Cats just want you to think the Earth is round
Like · Reply · 1 · 41w
Elizabeth Harvey
Ronald Pseudonymous Moraine loves you for this comment
and your profile pic.
Like · Reply · 41w
Julia Stewart
I guess they thought his joke fell... flat
Like · Reply · 31 · 41w
From the thoughts of Joe Anthony
DePino and Kath Donoghue I am beginning to rethink my understanding of why the
flat Earth idea is being resurrected from the Dark Ages. It is possible that
this issue is another manifestation of distrust of the establishment, the
government. Accurately said, working to restore the desolated King James Bible
is also part of the foundation of the flat Earth discussion, albeit the supposition and
suspicions that come with the presentation by the flat Earth proponents are
misguided. Still, I tend to believe the proponents of the flat Earth are genuine in their
hearts.
But, I am also beginning to see
this as the possibility for the Jesuits to create more chaos than already
exists around Protestant America. They are looking for every opportunity to amplify
already existing points of contention between Protestants and to encourage already existing violence against faith in
God’s word. They want to work up more and more hostility against the Bible, against Protestantism and Protestant Americans’ divinely ordained Reformation, and against faith in their Creator and Redeemer. Therefore, all aspects of creation and redemption must be
uprooted and blotted from the earth. The scientific community must be only
atheistic and evolutionist. No intelligent scientist or professor can imbibe, much
less voice sentiments of the power of God unto salvation, or he/she will be
drummed out of publication and their seat. Only the indispensable, highest
intellects in the scientific community, or the strongest believers, and no one else, can get away with espousing the gospel and conversion. No one else is allowed to unveil all the evidences of the biblical account of creation and of the Bible’s world-wide flood that would expose the falsehoods of evolution theory and the treacherous dishonesty of the people at the head of science to refuse catastrophism into scientific research, and the recognition of intelligent design seen throughout nature.
The silencing of faith in scientists is essentially working against
the first amendment of the Bill of Rights, even without openly attacking
the first amendment freedom of speech and publication. Scientists and teachers
are afraid to lose their jobs and homes/cars, etc. So, the attack against
Protestantism is very real, although done in subterfuge.
This flat Earth issue could actually be yet another subtle Jesuit intrigue against the Bible. The issue promulgates an out-dated,
archaic conspiracy, possibly in order to gain discontent toward all conspiracy theories and to discount other more moderate and valid exposés of actual conspiracies that are taking place today. It’s “agenda” is acting as a shield
to other subtle Jesuit agendas that are playing out to destroy America and the world that America
has stood to protect from what its forefathers saw as a real threat against freedom and happiness through the American Constitution and Republic, and against
Protestantism’s place as channel for continued blessings from heaven upon America. And the Jesuits have just about won the war against Protestantism.
“By the decree enforcing the
institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will
disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch
her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall
reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the
influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle
of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make
provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may
know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end
is near.
As the approach of the Roman armies was a
sign to the disciples of the impending destruction of Jerusalem, so may this
apostasy be a sign to us that the limit of God’s forbearance is reached, that
the measure of our nation’s iniquity is full, and that the angel of mercy is
about to take her flight, never to return. The people of God will then be
plunged into those scenes of affliction and distress which prophets have
described as the time of Jacob’s trouble. The cries of the faithful, persecuted
ones ascend to heaven. And as the blood of Abel cried from the ground, there
are voices also crying to God from martyrs’ graves, from the sepulchers of the
sea, from mountain caverns, from convent vaults: ‘How long, O Lord, holy and
true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?’
The Lord is doing His work. All heaven is
astir. The Judge of all the earth is soon to arise and vindicate His insulted
authority. The mark of deliverance will be set upon the men who keep God’s
commandments, who revere His law, and who refuse the mark of the beast or of
his image.
God has revealed what is to take place in
the last days, that His people may be prepared to stand against the tempest of
opposition and wrath. Those who have been warned of the events before them are
not to sit in calm expectation of the coming storm, comforting themselves that
the Lord will shelter His faithful ones in the day of trouble. We are to be as
men waiting for their Lord, not in idle expectancy, but in earnest work, with unwavering
faith. It is no time now to allow our minds to be engrossed with things of
minor importance. While men are sleeping, Satan is actively arranging matters
so that the Lord’s people may not have mercy or justice. The Sunday movement is
now making its way in darkness. The leaders are concealing the true issue, and
many who unite in the movement do not themselves see whither the undercurrent
is tending. Its professions are mild and apparently Christian, but when it
shall speak it will reveal the spirit of the dragon. It is our duty to do all
in our power to avert the threatened danger. We should endeavor to disarm
prejudice by placing ourselves in a proper light before the people. We should
bring before them the real question at issue, thus interposing the most
effectual protest against measures to restrict liberty of conscience. We should
search the Scriptures and be able to give the reason for our faith. Says the
prophet: ‘The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall
understand; but the wise shall understand.’
Those who have access to God through
Christ have important work before them. Now is the time to lay hold of the arm
of our strength. The prayer of David should be the prayer of pastors and
laymen: “It is time for Thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void Thy law.”
Let the servants of the Lord weep between the porch and the altar, crying: ‘Spare
Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach.’ God has always
wrought for His people in their greatest extremity, when there seemed the least
hope that ruin could be averted. The designs of wicked men, the enemies of the
church, are subject to His power and overruling providence. He can move upon
the hearts of statesmen; the wrath of the turbulent and disaffected, the haters
of God, His truth, and His people can be turned aside, even as the rivers of
water are turned, if He orders it thus. Prayer moves the arm of Omnipotence. He
who marshals the stars in order in the heavens, whose word controls the waves
of the great deep, the same infinite Creator will work in behalf of His people
if they call upon Him in faith. He will restrain the forces of darkness until
the warning is given to the world and all who will heed it are prepared for the
conflict.” Testimonies for the church,
vol. 5, p. 451,452.
This may be where the flat
Earth discussion is leading.
