{"id":34852,"date":"2012-09-17T09:41:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-17T14:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=34852"},"modified":"2021-05-02T09:49:10","modified_gmt":"2021-05-02T14:49:10","slug":"if-the-bible-is-inspired-then-why-does-it-say-the-earth-is-round-and-in-other-spots-speak-as-if-it-is-flat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-the-bible-is-inspired-then-why-does-it-say-the-earth-is-round-and-in-other-spots-speak-as-if-it-is-flat\/","title":{"rendered":"If the Bible is inspired then why does it say the earth is round and in other spots speak as if it is flat?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

If the author of the Bible is God through people, why in some places does it say the earth is a circle, like a phrase where it says we are like grasshoppers and God is watching over us and then there is another one where a tree is described and it says that everyone on the earth could see the tree (written by a king)? Possibly the most famous point is: how could everyone see Jesus descending in the clouds if the world is round? You said that God (indirectly) wrote the Bible through people so we would understand better, but I’m a bit confused, and I think I’m confusing you now. If you understand, thanks.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Often questions like these resolve themselves when you read the statements in their original context.<\/p>\n

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He brings the princes to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth useless<\/em>” (Isaiah 40:22).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here Isaiah is explaining why idols created by men are nothing like the real God. The imagery is that God is so much bigger than any man.<\/p>\n

“These were the visions of my head while on my bed: “I was looking, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong; Its height reached to the heavens, and it could be seen to the ends of all the earth<\/em>” (Daniel 4:10-11).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Notice that this isn’t a real tree, but one dreamed about. Daniel explained the meaning of the dream, “The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and in whose branches the birds of the heaven had their home — it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens, and your dominion to the end of the earth<\/em>” (Daniel 4:20-22). The distance seen represented the extent of the king’s power, which was to the ends of the known world at that time.<\/p>\n

“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen<\/em>” (Revelation 1:7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The book of Revelation is written in figurative or symbolic language. For example, “He is coming with the clouds” is a symbol used frequently in the Bible to speak of God coming in swift judgment, like a storm cloud arriving with God riding it like a horse. “Every eye will see Him<\/em>” means His arrival and judgment will not be a hidden, secretive event. It will be something everyone will know about. There is nothing in this to require that this knowledge will be seen at exactly the same time by everyone. “Even they who pierced Him” refers to the Romans because it was the Roman guards who pierced Jesus’ side when he was on the cross. If this is talking about the time Revelation was written, then it is a reference to Jesus coming to bring judgment on the Roman Empire. If it is referring to the second coming of Christ, then it has to be after the resurrection since those who pierced Christ are long ago dead. Either way, there is no difficulty in understanding the meaning here.<\/p>\n

None of these verses indicate a different view of the world than a round sphere.<\/p>\n

I cannot recall stating that God indirectly wrote the Bible through men so that we could understand better. What I have written about inspiration can be found in\u00a0Inspiration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\t

Response:<\/h2>\n

All right. Thank you for the help. I misinterpreted what you wrote about the inspiration of the Bible. I was skimming it, and I must have read it wrong.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: If the author of the Bible is God through people, why in some places does it say the earth is a circle, like a phrase where it says we are like grasshoppers and God is watching over us and then there is another one where a tree is described and it says that everyone…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[568,219,225],"class_list":["post-34852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-accuracy-of-the-bible","tag-bible","tag-inspiration"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67321,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-the-bible-say-the-people-of-babel-defied-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":34852,"position":0},"title":"Where does the Bible say the people of Babel defied God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, I'm slightly confused about Scripture and interpretation here. The story of Babel is always propped up as a story of man's defiance of God's will, but nowhere do I see the Bible actually state that they defied God. Yes, they did go against God's command. God wanted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36325,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-fingerprints-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":34852,"position":1},"title":"The Fingerprints of God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doug Cyrus via\u00a0Think on These Things If a person's fingerprints are found on an object you know the person has touched that object, you have detected their presence. It is interesting how God reveals His presence in the Bible by hiding information that obviously has His fingerprints all over\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/fingerprint.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24937,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-the-bible-say-the-earth-is-a-circle-as-opposed-to-a-sphere\/","url_meta":{"origin":34852,"position":2},"title":"Doesn’t the Bible say the earth is a circle as opposed to a sphere?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Quick question or comment about the statement of the Earth being flat: You refute that claim with this: The real core of the argument is a claim that the Hebrew word\u00a0tehom\u00a0implies that something is flat. There is just one small problem. \"Flat\" isn't in\u00a0tehom's definition.\u00a0Tehom\u00a0is \"A noun meaning 'the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29595,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-does-god-kill-so-many-humans\/","url_meta":{"origin":34852,"position":3},"title":"Why does God kill so many humans?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why does God kill so many humans? And why does this website try and make excuses for killing those humans? Surely such an amazing supernatural Creator could come up with a better plan than that. When I read about your God I find it hilarious. 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