Was the earth round?
Or was it flat?
Does it matter?
It matters to me, for I care what God says in the Bible.
I care to know how God created the world.
I care to know I get His Word right.
For 17 months now, all my questions have been answered by the Word of God.
Going back to my question, "What is the shape of the earth?"
So, I searched for the telling verses.
It's important we start from the very beginning:
Genesis 1:1-2
King James Version
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 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.
And I learned, earth is probably a "circle", and that we are really tiny:
Isaiah 40:22 (KJV)
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:
And yet, if it's a circle, why does it have "four corners"?
Isaiah 11:12 (KJV)
12 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.
Revelation 7:1 (KJV)
7 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.
Then I was intrigued, but not surprised, by the fact that God sees the farthest corners of His creation.
But how could that be, if earth was a circle?
Job 28:24 (KJV)
24 For he looketh to the ends of the earth,
and seeth under the whole heaven;
Job 37:2-3 (KJV)
2 Hear attentively the noise of his voice,
and the sound that goeth out of his mouth.
3 He directeth it under the whole heaven,
and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.
The next verse -- the tempting of Jesus by satan -- seems to indicate if you were standing on a very high place, you ought to be able to view the "kingdoms of the world".
Another case for "flat" earth?
Matthew 4:8 (KJV)
8 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;
Wow, what a vista!
And it seems the earth has "pillars".
It could be literal, or symbolic -- like a "foundation" to "hold" up the earth -- but only God knows.
1 Samuel 2:8 (KJV)
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.
Psalm 75:3 (KJV)
3 The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved:
I bear up the pillars of it.
Selah.
But one thing for sure, the earth is firm in the hands of God.
We are safe in God's hands.
Psalm 104:5 (KJV)
5 Who laid the foundations of the earth,
that it should not be removed for ever.
1 Chronicles 16:30 (KJV)
30 Fear before him,
all the earth:
the world also shall be stable,
that it be not moved.
Psalm 93:1 (KJV)
93 The Lord reigneth,
he is clothed with majesty;
the Lord is clothed with strength,
wherewith he hath girded himself:
the world also is stablished,
that it cannot be moved.
The earth is firm; the sky is strong.
Job 37:18 (KJV)
18 Hast thou with him spread out the sky,
which is strong,
and as a molten looking glass?
And the earth hangs upon "nothing".
Oh boy.
Can you imagine such a thing?
Job 26:7 (KJV)
7 He stretcheth out the north
over the empty place,
and hangeth the earth
upon nothing.
Unless the Spirit of the Lord deems it, I will never be able to understand, comprehend, nor absorb His grandeur.
But as a born again, with the heart of a child, I sure can imagine it!
Psalm 104:32 (KJV)
32 He looketh on the earth,
and it trembleth:
he toucheth the hills,
and they smoke.
Acknowledging His divine power, and might, I can only fear the Lord.
Proverbs 1:7 (KJV)
7 The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge:
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
And meditate upon His magnificence, for as long as I live.
Psalm 104:33-34 (KJV)
33 I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live:
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34 My meditation of him shall be sweet:
I will be glad in the Lord.
In the end, it matters not what shape the earth is.
One day, God will show me everything.
Right now, all that matters is that my heart is shaped by the Lord, obedient to His will.
Expect more musings on this blog, for I am learning quite a lot from the Bible.
(Verses sourced from Bible Study Tools.)
Updated 25 January 2022
