Compounded by the influence of social media, this question has gained traction as a source of confusion. It’s good to keep in mind that in trying to make viral videos, saying things that sound sensational can take priority over sticking to the facts. Confounding the problem is how many people take videos and memes as facts without studying into the issues.
Although flat earth ideas were popular historically, scientific observations beginning from ancient times have confirmed the earth to be spherical. The Egyptians, Babylonians, and Greeks are among the cultures that have calculated its circumference. Much more so in modern times, the earth’s curvature and circumference have been confirmed and calculated repeatedly in great detail. Although it’s true that some things promoted by the scientific community are questionable, as noted, many scientific principles and teachings are reliable, the shape of the earth being one of them.
In addition to the contributions of ancient and modern science, there are many simple observations and conclusions that can be made to confirm the spherical nature of the earth. That different constellations are visible from different parts of the earth was among several factors that led the ancient philosopher, Aristotle, to conclude the earth was spherical in the fourth century BC. He noticed different constellations were visible when he traveled to Egypt. And with modern global travel, we can easily verify that the southern hemisphere has a different night sky than the northern. If we were living on a flat disk, everyone should see the same night sky.
Watching how ships disappear over the horizon from the bottom up also demonstrates the curve of the earth. The fact that we can’t see ships very far out in the ocean, and can’t see very far on land when driving through flat terrain, confirms the same. There are multiple places on Earth where mountains are fairly near each other, yet you cannot see from one peak to the other. Mirages do sometimes allow things below the horizon to be seen above it, however, such as from an inverse temperature gradient.
We also wouldn’t see such drastic climate differences on a flat disk. The seasons in the southern hemisphere are opposite of the northern, with one in cold winter while the other is in hot summer. You can check this out for yourself by taking a trip to the opposite hemisphere during the hot or cold season.
The question has been raised as to how the earth’s axis can always point toward the North Star, Polaris, if we are rotating around the sun. But Polaris is so far away from both the sun and the earth that our position in relation to the sun doesn’t change our relation to Polaris. And don’t be confused by models that show our solar system traveling forward in space with a helix path. That simply shows the planets rotating around the sun as the system is moving forward. The earth’s axis continues to point in the same direction toward Polaris.
Flat earth theory depicts the oceans as being held in place by ice, a substance known to be especially fragile. The slightest crack in an ice barrier would have allowed all the water of the seas to drain out. Even under ordinary circumstances, earthquakes, asteroid impacts, or warm water currents would threaten the integrity of an ice barrier under pressure from all the water of the seas. Gravity holding water on a sphere makes more sense as to why the seas don’t drain off into space. And a sphere is so much stronger than a cookie-like disk that could be easily fractured.
Why haven’t any ice edges been found on Earth? If they were there, it should be no mystery. They should have been found and photographed hundreds of times. But with multitudes of explorers over thousands of years, no one has found any ice edges of the earth.
The flat earth model shows the arctic circle as a tiny area in the middle of a disk. Yet, this should be the warmest area inside the hypothetical firmament dome, where the sun would shine the hottest and brightest. There would be no ice in the center of a flat earth disk.
We can literally see the shape of the earth every time it casts its shadow on the moon during a lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipses happen when the earth comes between the moon and the sun, causing its shadow to fall on the moon. Because the shape of the shadow is always round, no matter what angle the sun hits it from, it shows the earth’s shape is spherical.
The moon that hangs in space before our eyes is clearly spherical, as shown through its different phases, as the light half turns further and further away from view. The fingernail moon outlines the moon’s surface when its light side is mostly turned away from us.
Flat earth concepts have often been based on misinterpretations of scripture. The Bible provides several indicators about the earth’s shape, which indicate its spherical shape. Job 26:7 describes it as hanging in space, like the moon, saying, “He… hangs the earth upon nothing.” And how sunlight reveals the moon’s shape links with a verse key to understanding how light defines the shape of the earth. For this comparison, think of the half-moon phase:
He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters at the boundary of light and darkness. Job 26:10 NASB
The word for “circle,” here, is the Hebrew word “chug,” Strong’s # 2328, which means “to draw around, make a circle,” as with a drafting compass. This description is speaking of sunlight maintaining a circular shape on the surface of the earth at the boundary between light and darkness. The boundary between light and darkness provides an easy way to confirm the earth is spherical because of how the sun sets at different times in different places, creating different time zones. The further you travel, the greater the change in sunset time becomes. If the earth were flat, the sun would rise and set at the same time everywhere.
The best way to experience this is to use an old-fashioned, low-tech watch, not connected to any cell towers for automatic time-zone updates. If you keep the clock set to its original time, you’ll notice the sun setting earlier or later by an hour or two after you travel west or east. If you fly halfway around the world, your jet lag will tell you the earth is spherical. If you video call anyone back home, it will be their night when it’s your day, and vice versa. In the extreme latitudes, the sun doesn’t set or rise for weeks on end during parts of the year. This difference from other areas, where the sun sets and rises every day, wouldn’t be possible on a flat earth.
Bible verses that have been taken to mean the earth is flat are often symbolic or based on the English translation of Hebrew words. For example, how the earth is referred to as having “four corners” in several verses is taken by Bible skeptics and flat earth promoters to show a two-dimensional object. The term is obviously symbolic since disks don’t have corners either. But the meaning of the term becomes clear when you consider the original verse.
One of the verses where this term appears is Isaiah 11:12, where the word translated corners is “kanaph,” Strong’s # 3671, which means “wing, extremity.” It indicates “extremities” of the earth, a poetic reference to the furthest points north, south, east, and west on the globe.
New Testament references to four “corners” of the earth, such as Revelation 7:1, are from the Greek word “gonia,” Strong’s #1137, a word akin to gonu, which means an “angle, corner or quarter.” Perhaps corners became associated with quarters since square objects always have four corners. But the term here refers to the four quarters of the earth. These quarters are divided by the equator at latitude 0° and prime meridian/anti-meridian lines at longitudes 0° and 180°.
References to the “ends” of the earth have also been mistaken to mean edges of a flat earth. But when you look at the word “earth” in these verses, it is “erets,” Strong’s # 776, defined as “earth,” or “land.” The reference to “erets” still applies to land masses. You can see this in how it often refers to things that would occur in populated areas. Thus, when Deuteronomy 13:7b says “from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth,” it could also be translated “from one end of the land to the other end of the land.”
Another issue misinterpreted as depicting a flat earth model is biblical references to “pillars” of the earth. This comes across as a poetic description of the foundations of mountains and continents. Jonah 2:6 compares the foundations of the mountains to bars of the earth. Mountains and continents come up out of the ocean as huge columns, with the granite foundation rocks at their bases underlying them. Some land masses (such as islands) were formed from columns of lava.
Job 9:6 uses the word “ammud,” Strong’s #5982, meaning “pillar or column”: “He shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble.” This is the same word used in Exodus 13:21 to describe the pillar of fire and cloud that was God’s presence. The biblical use of the word “pillar” is not limited to solid objects such as stone or marble.
In Job 26:11, the same word, “ammud,” is used to describe “pillars of heaven.” And since clouds are the subject of the preceding verses, we know it’s a description of clouds. As in Job 26:8, 11 where it says, “He binds up the waters in… thick clouds; yet they do not burst in place. 11 The pillars of heaven tremble...” The clouds poetically described this way are clearly thunderheads, or cumulonimbus clouds.
But an interesting description of the earth in 1 Samuel 2 uses the word “matsuq,” Strong’s #4690, which means “molten support,” or “pillar,” with part of the root coming from the word “to melt.” “World,” here, is also translated to mean “inhabited world” in some places. “For the pillars of the earth are HWHY’s, and he has set the world upon them,” (1 Samuel 2:8b).
If you substitute the alternative meanings for keywords in this verse, you can see that it makes sense in the context of our current scientific understanding of the world. This is a study method we can use when evidence supports the interpretation. Thus it could read: “The molten supports of the earth are the Lord’s, and he has set the inhabited world upon them.”
This conveys the idea of continents, as the inhabited world, overlying molten lava. The pressure created by the molten layers of magma underlying the earth’s crust acts as its support base. This verse, that draws a picture of Earth’s geology, was spoken by the mother of the prophet Samuel when she was rejoicing at his birth.
But the molten center of the earth could also be seen as a pillar if you visualize the earth’s rotational axis as a column or pillar going through the earth. The world is “set” on the center of the column it rotates around, like a ball that rotates around a pin or rod. The magnetic poles also form a pillar that runs through the earth like a bar magnet. Both pillars have slightly different tilts.
The sense of community that surrounds alternative ideas can draw people in. Social forces can have a powerful influence on what people choose to think and believe. That’s why finding a deep and close relationship with Christ is so liberating, because it allows for objective thinking. When Jesus becomes our reference point, we have the freedom to lift our eyes above all earthly influences.
But understanding the shape of the earth isn’t enough if we see it as nothing more than a spinning orb in space. As for the significance of our planet, it’s no wonder it has been referred to as “Mother Earth,” since the water-filled globe we call home bears the likeness of a pregnant belly, with one side out toward the light and the other in toward darkness. This illustrates our place in the universe as children in the circle of God’s loving care (Isaiah 66:12-13).
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Much of this article is excerpted from the, Nautical Allegories of Scripture, now available on Amazon.com in paperback and ebook forms. More excerpts are available at the following link, trailer and description is available at this link. Besides considering nautical and ocean symbolisms from scripture and the natural world, it reviews the scientific basis for belief in scriptural viewpoints, and considers the history of the oceans.
The book also shows how spiritual symbolisms matching scripture can be seen in classic nautical movies such as The Princess Bride and The Scarlet Pimpernel. It shows how beautiful glimpses of the history and future of planet earth can be seen in Jurassic park. See how nautical themes from scripture and ocean symbolisms confirm human dignity, help explain unseen spiritual concepts, and demonstrate God’s relevance in modern times.