Category: scientific foreknowledge

The Circle Of The Earth

Dale Pollard

Note: For a short summary, scroll to the bottom! 

Some interpret verses like Isaiah 40:22 (“God stretches out the heavens like a curtain”) as suggesting the expansion of the universe. It’s possible that this could simply be taken as poetic license but if the expanding universe theory is correct, then perhaps the poetic description carries some literal significance as well. 

Jeremiah states that “the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured” (33:22), even though the number of visible stars was limited at the time. 

But Isaiah 40:22 states that God “sits above the circle of the earth” and this passage has been the subject of intense scrutiny and interesting debate. 

Circle Means Spherical, Right? 

The Hebrew word for “circle” doesn’t necessarily mean spherical, in fact the word was pretty flexible. It could depict the shape of a compass (Josh. 6.11), or something vaulted, as well as something arched. The question is, could it have been used to refer to something that was/is spherical in shape? 

Smart People Seemed To Think So!

We know Isaiah described the sky as being circular— but then there’s Solomon. He possessed an intellect so impressive that I Kings 4.29ff states that, “God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore…”. He also authored one of the oldest proverbs in the book of Proverbs and It’s here that the word “circle” is used for the third time in the Bible. What’s even more interesting is that Solomon was likely quoting Job (written aprox. 2100 BC). 

Solomon wrote this, 

“…He established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep” (Proverbs 8.27). 

Job wrote this, 

“He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness” (Job 26.10). 

To appreciate this mysterious verse even more let’s explore the surrounding verses that dive into the very origin of wisdom. 

THE HISTORY OF WISDOM 

The Hebrew noun for wisdom is feminine which is likely why wisdom is often referred to as “she” in Proverbs. 

Chapter 8.22-31 elucidates her role in creation: 

It describes Lady Wisdom as being with God at the beginning of creation, and she’s the one who brought order from chaos. We’re told that she existed (in the mind of God) before the oceans, mountains, and even, “the first dust of the world.”

She’s God’s wisdom, so divine, but this is the part of God that He used to create. It’s like the relationship between a seed and an apple. The skin, flesh, core, and seeds all make up an apple but the seed is the only part that can produce more apples. Wisdom is both distinct from God and a part of Him at same time. 

What does this have to do with circles? It was the part of God which was utilized in the creation of a circular earth. Since we know that the earth is not flat, then circle must mean spherical because this isn’t man’s wisdom being discussed here.

The Spheroid Springs 

Proverbs 8.28-29 

“…when he made firm the skies above,

when he established the fountains of the deep 

when he assigned to the sea its limit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out the foundations of the earth.”

The word used for fountains (or springs, ESV) is also the Hebrew word for “eye.” While it may be a curious coincidence, the human eye, like the Earth, isn’t a perfect sphere, but rather a funny-looking shape called  a spheroid. That imagery complements the creation account when one compares the language used to describe how God gathered (bound/collected) the elements, earth and water, into one place (Genesis 1.9-10). 

SUMMARY 

  1. Earth must be a kind of circle that serves as a fixed boarder between the outer darkness of space (Proverbs 8.27, Job 26.22). 
  2. A circle containing the sky above and the deep below (Proverbs 8.28)— must be spherical. 
  3. The Hebrew word for “circle” is ambiguous enough that it can describe anything which “goes around” or “covers” something. 

Breaking (Old) News

Why does everyone’s creation stories, from ancient myths onward, talk about there being water in the beginning? And why is this important for the Christian who believes the Bible is God-breathed?

Dale Pollard

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Romans 1:20 

For a moment I want to walk through some newer findings in the realm of secular based science that match the biblical narrative perfectly. 

WATER WAS PRESENT IN THE EARLIEST STAGES OF THE UNIVERSE 

According to Tel Aviv University & NASA researchers (2016): 

 “Astronomers have long held that water—two hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom—was a relative latecomer to the universe. They believed that any element heavier than helium had to have been formed in the cores of stars and not by the Big Bang itself. Since the earliest stars would have taken some time to form, mature, and die, it was presumed that it took billions of years for oxygen atoms to disperse throughout the universe and attach to hydrogen to produce the first interstellar ‘water.'”

However, they go on to say, 

“…new research poised for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters by Tel Aviv University and Harvard University researchers reveals that the universe’s first reservoirs of water may have formed much earlier than previously thought…” (via https://www.aftau.org).

In Genesis (1.2ff), we read that the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. 

Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” 

There are countless ancient myths from around the world that somehow include this not-so-coincidental detail that in the very beginning, water was present. Whether or not God intended for that element to speak to something other than its order in the account of creation, it’s fitting. God is the maker and maintainer of life— and water is absolutely essential for life to exist. We’re physically alive because of it and we’re spiritually saved through it (I Peter 3.21).

 It’s a thread that satisfyingly runs through the entirety of scripture and it seems as though science is finally beginning to catch up with what God told us thousands of years ago. 

Life In The Blood

Thursday’s Column: Captain’s Blog

Carl Pollard

A common practice for thousands of years was to drain “bad blood” out of the body. In fact, there are still some cultures today that practice this. The greatest doctors who were thought to be extremely smart would commonly drain the “bad blood” out of their patients if they were sick. For the longest time it was believed that if you were sick you needed to let this poisonous blood out of your body in order to be healed. 

Leviticus 17:11 says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”

December 13th 1799 a man was riding a horse through his plantation. It was a day like any other, and everything was perfectly normal. Little did this man know that in less than two days he would be dead. The decision he made that day in December proved to be fatal. While he was out riding he got caught in the rain, and when he returned home he decided to hold off on changing out of his wet clothes because he didn’t want to be late for his dinner party. The next morning, he worked outside in the bitter cold as he had the day before. The whole day he worked through the pain that had developed in his throat. Nevertheless he pushed on and tried to ignore it. 

That evening his symptoms worsened, but he decided to see if they would improve by the morning. This man woke up and things had only gotten worse. He called in three well-known physicians and he received good news that it was just a cold and a slight fever. The physicians assured the man that he would be just fine. All they had to do was drain the sickness out of his body and he would be healed. 

This fatal decision resulted in the death George Washington. 

Bloodletting is now seen as an incompetent practice. Yet it was practiced worldwide until the late 1800s. Millions of people died thanks to this lack of understanding, but guess who knew NOT to do this right from the start? The life is in the blood and God is the one who revealed this fact to us. 

Sometimes we are a little slow in catching on to the wisdom that God has revealed in His Word. If God was right about the blood, what else could He be right about?