THE FLAT-EARTH BIBLE

■■ \ ' ; : / / / by
. \ \ U ! ! / / ./ Robert Schadewald
X \ \ \ W - i i - / y
■■■ / / ; /
-v -i-. \ \ Wf \ l / • ./ / / When I first got interested in the flat-earth era more than a decade
ago, I was surprised to learn th a t flat—earthism in the English—spealdng
world is and always has been entirely based upon the Bible. I have
since assembled and read an extensive collection of fla t-e a rth literature.
The Biblical argum ents for flat-e arth ism th a t follow come mainly from
my reading of flat—earth literature, augm ented by my own reading of
the Bible.

T o begin on common ground, readers of this journal already know

th at the Bible describes an immovable earth. T he real essence of
geocentricity is the fixity of the earth and its primacy as a reference.
At the 1984 National Bible—Science Conference in Cleveland, Jam es N.
Hanson told m e there are hundreds of scriptures th a t suggest the earth
is immovable. I suspect some m ust be a bit vague, b u t here are a few
obvious texts:

1 Chronicles 16:30: *He has fixed the earth firm, immovable.*

Psalm 93:1: "Thou hast-fixed th e earth immovable and firm ...”

Psalm 96:10: "He has fixed the earth firm, immovable ..."

Psalm 104:5: "Thou didst fix the earth on its foundation so th a t it

never can be shaken."

Isaiah 45:18: who made the earth and fashioned it, and himself
fixed it fast ..."

BULLETIN OF THE Suffice to say th a t the earth envisioned by

immovable as any Tychonian could desire.
fia t-e a rth e rs is as
Most (perhaps all)

TYCHONIAN SOCIETY
scriptures commonly cited by geocentrists have also been cited by
fiat-e arth ers. Consider them subsumed. T he fia t-e a rth view is
geocentricity w ith further restrictions.

Like more conventional geocentrists, fia t-e a rth advocates often give
Number 44 — July, 1987 long lists of texts. Samuel Birley Rowbotham, founder of the modern
d u t-e a rth movement, citcd 76 scriptures in the last chapter of his
iiioiiumental sccond edition of Earlh not a Globe (1873, 3C4-395|.
A|K)stle Anton Darms, assistant to the Reverend W ilbur Glenn Voliva,
America’s best known flat-e arth er, compiled 50 questions about the
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34 BulIeUo of tb e T ycb o D lu Society

T he vault, of heaven is a crucial concept. The word "flrniament*

appears in the King Jam es version of the Old Testam ent 17 times, and
creation and the shape of the earth, bolstering his answers with up to in each case it is translated from the Hebrew word raqiya, which m eant
20 scriptures each [Darms, 1930). R ather than presenting an exhaustive the vbible vault of the sky. The word raqiya comes from riqqua,
compeDdium of fla t-e a rth scriptures, I focus on those which are (in my meaning "beaten out." In ancient times, brass objects were either cast
view) the strongest. I also com ment on some attem pts to find the in the form required or beaten into shape on an anvil. A good
earth’s sphericity in the Bible. craftsman could beat a lum p of cast brass into a thin bowl. Thus,
Elihu asks Job, "C an you beat out (rafa) the vault of the skies, as he
Scriptural quotes, unless otherwise noted, are from the New English does, hard aa a m irror of cast m etal (Job 37:18)?"
Bible. Hebrew and Greek translations are from Strong’s Exhaustive
Concordance of the Bible. A word about interpretation; Because the Elibu’s question suggests th at tbe Hebrews considered tb e vault of
Bible is a composite work, there is no o prion reason why the heaven a solid, physical object. Such a large dome would be a
cosmology assumed by its various w riters should be entirely consistent. tremendous feat of engineering. T he Hebrews (and supposedly God
(Many Christians assume the Bible is without error, but that Himself) considered it exactly th at, a point hammered home by five
assumption is logically inadmissible in exploring questions of error.) As scriptures;
it is never explicitly stated, the Biblical cosmology m ust be pieced
together from scattered passages.
Job 9:8, "... who by himself spread out the heavens (shamayiml ..."
As it happens, it is relatively consistent. Tbe Bible is, from
Genesis to Revelation, a flat—earth book. This is hardly surprising. As Psalm 19:1, "T he heavens [sAamaytm] tell out the glory of God, the
neighbors, the ancient Hebrews had the Egyptians to the southwest and vault of heaven [raqiya] reveals bis handiwork."
the Babylonians to the northeast. Both civilizations bad flat—earth
cosmologies. T he Biblical cosmology closely parallels the Psalm 102:25, *... tbe heavens (lAamaifiml were thy handiwork."
Sum ero-Babylonian cosmology, and it may also draw upon Egyptian
cosmology. Isaiah 45:12, "I, with my own bands, stretched o ut th e heavens
[ihainayim] and caused all their host to shine ..."
Tbe Babylonian universe was shaped like a modern domed stadium.
The Babylonians considered the earth essentially flat, with a continental Isaiah 48:13, "... w ith my right hand I formed the expanse of the
mass surrounded by ocean. T he vault of the sky was a physical object sky {dAamayim] ..."
resting upon the ocean’s w aters (and perhaps also upon pillars). Sweet
(salt-free) w aters below the Esirth sometim es manifest themselves as
springs. T he Egyptian universe was also enclosed, b ut it was If these verses are about tbe illusion of a vault, they are surely much
rectangular instead of round. Indeed, it was shaped much like an ado about nothing. Skam ayim comes from thameh, a root m eaning to
old-fashioned steam er trunk. (The Egyptians pictured the goddess Nut be lofty. It literally means the sky. O ther passages com plete tbe
stretched across the sky as the enclosing dome.) W hat was the Hebrew picture of tbe sky as a lofty, physical dome. God "sits throned on tbe
view of tbe universe? vaulted roof of earth (cAuwf^, whose inhabitants are like gras:Jhoppers.
He stretches o ut the skies (lAamayim] like a curtain, he spreads them
out like a tent to live in... (Isaiah 40;22|." Chuwg literally means
The Order of Creation "circle" o r "encompassed." By extension, it can mean roundness, as in
a rounded dome or vault. Job 22:14 says God "walks to and fro on
We will sta rt w ith creation, for it is tbe key. T he order of creation the vault of heaven Ichut«j|." In both verses, the use of chuwg implies
makes no sense from a conventional perspective but is perfectly logical a physical object, on which one can sit and walk. Likewise, tbe context
from a fla t-e a rth viewpoint. T he earth was created on the first day, in both cases requires elevation. In Isaiah, the elevation causes the
and it was "w ithout form and void (Genesis 1:2)." On the second day, people below to look small as grasshoppers. In Job, G od’s eyes m ust
a vault — the "firm am ent" of the King Jam es version — was penetrate the clouds to view tbe doings of humans below. Elevation is
created to divide the waters, some being above and some below the al.so implied by Job 22:12: "Surely God is at the zenith of the heavens
vault. Only on th e fourth day were the sun, moon, and sta rs created, [j/iamayini) and looks down on all the stars, high as they are.”
and they were placed "in" (not "above") the vault.
This picture of the cosmos is reinforced by Ezekiel’s vision. The
Hebrew word raqiya appears five limes in Ezekiel, four times in Ezekiel
The Vault of Heaven
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90 B uUcUd of th e Tjrcbonlfta Society

1:22—26 and once in Ezekiel 10:1. In each case the context requires a
literal vault or dome. The vault appears above the "living creatures" Deuteronomy 4:15—19 recognizes the god-like status of stars, noting
and glitters "like a sheet of ice." Above the vault is a throne of th at they were created for other peoples to worship.
sapphire (or lapis lazvli). Seated on the throne is "a form in human
likeness," which is radiant and "like the appearance of the glory of the S tars can fall from the skies according to Daniel 8:10 and M atthew
Lord." In short, Ezekiel saw a vision of God sitting throned on the 24:29. T he sam e idea is found in the following snippets from
vault of heaven, as described in Isaiah 40:22. Revelation 6:13-16:

The Shape of the Earth ... the s ta n in th e aky fell to the earth, like figi ihakcn down by a (ale; the
aky vanished, as a scroll is rolled up ... they called out to th e m ountains
Disregarding the dome, the essential flatness of the earth ’s surface is and th e crags, 'P a ll on us and hide u i from the face of the O ne who sits
required by verses like Daniel 4:10-11. Daniel "saw a tree of great on the throne ..."
height at the centre of the earth ... reaching with its top to the sky
and visible to the ea rth ’s farthest bounds." If the earth were flat, a
sufTiciently tali tree would be visible to "the earth ’s farthest bounds," This is consistent with the Hebrew cosmology previously described, b ut
but this is impossible on a spherical earth. Likewise, in describing the it is ludicrous in the light of modern astronomy. If one sta r — let
temptation of Jesus by Satan, Matthew 4:8 says, "Once again, the devil alone all the sta rs in the sky —"fell" on the earth, no one would be
look him to a very high m ountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of hollering from any m ountain o r crag. T he w riter considered the stars
the world (cojmosj in their glory." Obviously, this would be possible small objects, all of which could fall to the earth w ithout eradicating
only if the earth were flat. T he sam e is true of Revelation 1:7: human life. He also viewed the sky as a physical object. T he stars
■Behold, he is coming with the clouds! Every eye shall see him ..." are inside the sky, and they fall before the sky opens. When it is
whisked away, it reveals the One throned above (see Isaiah 40:22).

The Celestial Bodies

Weaker Argaments
The Hebrews considered the celestial bodies relatively small. The
Genesis creation story indicates the size and importance of the earth F ia t-e a rth e rs also offer some scriptural argum ents th a t are (in my
relative to the celestial bodies in two ways, first by their order of view) weak, ambiguous, erroneous, or irrelevant. (Ironically, it is these
creation, and second by their positional relationships. They had to be th at apologists for sphericity usually chose to deal with in their
small to fit inside the vault of heaven. Small size is also implied by rebuttals to the flat-e arth ersi) T he weak and ambiguous argum ents
Joshua 10:12, which says th a t the sun stood still "in Gibeon" and the can help support a cum ulative picture b ut are insufficient on their own.
moon "in the Vale of Aijalon."
One of the weaker scriptural argum ents is th a t the sky literally has
F urther, the Bible fr^ u e n tly presents celestial bodies as exotic living openings (windows) which God can open to let the w aters above fall to
beings. For example, "In them (the heavens], a tent is fixed for the the surface as rain (see Genesis 7:11, Genesis 8:2, Isaiah 24:18-19,
sun, who comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, Jerem iah 51:15-16, and Malachi 3:10). While the idea and scriptures
rejoicing like a strong man to run his race. His rising is at one end of are certainly consistent with the flat—earth cosmology, they could (for
the heavens, his circuit touches their farthest ends; and nothing is instance) refer to openings in a spherical shell surrounding a spherical
hidden from his heat (Psalm 19:4-6)." T he stars are anthropomorphic earth. T he sam e applies to the Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11:4,
demigods. When the ea rth ’s cornerstone was laid "the morning stars often cited as an attem p t to literally reach the heavens.
sang together and all the sons of God shouted aloud (Job 38:7)." The
morning star is censured for trying to set his throne above th a t of Likewise, flat—earthers frequently cite the numerous Old T estam ent
other stars: verses referring to the ea rth ’s foundations (see 2 Samuel 22:16, Job 38:4,
Psalm 18:15, Proverbs 8:29, Isaiah 24:18, and numerous others).
Foundations are, however, fairly well—covered by geocentricity. No one
You thought in your own mind, I will scale th e heavens; I will set my would argue for a fla t-e a rth solely on the basis of "foundations" quotes.
throne high above the stars of God, I will sit on the m ountain where the
gods meet in the far reccsses of the north. 1 will rise high above the Another less—th an —conclusive argument th at the Bible is a
clo u d -b an k s and make myself like the m ost high (Isaiah M :1 3 -M ).
 32 D ullclln o t th e T jrc k o o la i So clcly T k e F l i t - E w t k B ible u

flat—earth book is its references to the earth ’s "corners." For example, earth ’s sphericity is the King Jam es version of Job 26:7, "He stretcheth
"After this, I saw four angels stationed at the four corners [gonia] of out the north ((^apAon) over the em pty place, and hangeth the earth
the earth holding back the four winds... (Revelation 7:1)." Spherical upon nothing (6e/iymahj.* (The New English Bible translates it, "God
apologists are quick to point out th a t the Greek gonia can refer to spreads the canopy of the sky over chaos and suspends earth in the
regions rather than points. Most translations of the Bible opt for void.") It is not clear w hat this means. T he Hebrew taaphon literally
points (the King Jam es version says "on the corners of the earth"), m eant hidden or dark, and it was used in reference to the northern
implying that the w riter viewed the habitable earth as a four-cornered regions. Beliymah literally means "nothing." T h at would contradict all
area. (This was indeed the way m any early churchmen interpreted it of the scriptures which say the earth rests on foundations, b u t th at
(Cosmas, 548). The modern flat—earth model doesn’t have literal interpretation is n ot necessary. We will return to Job 26:7 later.
corners.) The corners could, however, be those regions at the ends of
the earth referred to by Jerem iah: "(H)e brings up the mist from the Speaking of foundations, Gerardus Bouw, in an undated paper
ends of the earth, he opens rifts for the rain and brings the wind out entitled "The Form of the Earth," cites a barrage of scriptures about
of his storehouses (Jerem iah 51:16)." We shall return to the ends of the foundations of the earth or world as evidence for sphericity. All
the earth. (or nearly all) of these verses have traditionally been used by
flat-e arth ers to prove the earth flat. If one views the earth as an
The Biblical view of the universe is relatively clear and consistent. architectural stru ctu re with floor, curtain walls, ’and a roof, it is natural
Biblical statem ents bearing on cosmology are (with one possible to assume it has foundations (and, I might add, a cornerstone). Why a
exception yet to be discussed) consistent with the w ell-know n sphere would have foundations escapes me. Bouw’s argum ent th a t these
flat-earth cosmologies of the ancient Near East, but they are often scriptures refer to the earth ’s core seems strained at best. Also
flatly contradicted by modern science. How do spherical apologists strained is Bouw’s interpretation of "the ends of the earth" as the
reply? points m ost d istan t from Jerusalem, and his identification of the
Chukchi Peninsula of the Soviet Union, Alaska, Cape Horn, and the
souteastern tip of Australia as the "four corners" of the earth..
Spherical Apologetics
Bouw’s m ost interesting argum ent for sphericity b based on the
Those who claim Biblical support for a spherical earth typically gospel of Luke. He compares the King Jam es version of Luke 17:31
ignore this forest of consistency and focus on one or two aberrant trees. and 17:34. The form er says "In th at day, he which shall be upon the
Some take refuge in audacity. Henry Morris, president of the Institute house top..." and the latter "in that night there shall be two men in
for Creation Research, cites one of the more explicitly flat—earth verses one bed..." (italics added). ‘ Bouw then cites 1 Corinthians 15:52 to
in the Old Testam ent — Isaiah 40:22, the "grasshopper" verse quoted argue th a t the events are simultaneous, claiming sim ultaneity is possible
earlier - as evidence for the sphericity of the earth. Quoting the King only on a spherical earth. First of all, the latter claim is wrong. T he
James version — "he sitteth upon the circle of the earth" — Morris modern (though not the ancient) fla t-e a rth model has day and night
ignores the context and the grasshoppers and claims "circle" should occurring sim ultaneously at different points on earth. Second, the
read "sphericity" o r "roundness" (1956, 8], This divide and conquer Greek hem tra was used much like the English "day." It could mean
strategy is poor scholarship and worse logic. the daylight hours, a 2 4 -h o u r day, o r (figuratively) an epoch of
unspecified length. Third, Luke appears to have been writing
Heroic efforts have been m ade by apologists to explain away the figuratively, and citing Paul to prove otherwise begs the question.
prmament, which encloses the celestial bodies, has w aters above it, and
u a masterpiece proving the C reator’s craftsmanship. The late Harold One more spherical argum ent deserves notice. T he 1985 National
W. Arm strong argued that it is em pty Newtonian space, and th a t the Creation Conference in Cleveland ended with a formal debate on the
"waters above" still surround the edges of the universe, though perhaps relative m erits of heliocentricity and geocentricity. Richard Niessen of
. not in liquid form (1979, 20). T his simply ignores difficulties and Christian Heritage College, defending the Copernican view, remarked
invents evidence. G erardus Bouw tried to identify the firm am ent as a th a t the Bible teaches a spherical earth because it treats north and
mathematical plenum (1987). In my view, it is a grave error to south as absolutes, but east and west as relative. As evidence of the
reinterpret ancient docum ents to force their authors to speak with latter, he cited Psalm 103:12 which says, "As far as the east is from
modern voices. Gary Zukov (1979) and Fritjof C apra (19761, for the west, so far has he put our offences from us." Again, the modern
instance, read modern physics into the teachings of eastern mysticism. fla t-e a rth mo<lel holds th a t north and south are absolutes, but east and
I consider all such attem pts equally suspect. wc.st are relative. In the ancient fla t-e a rlh model, however, east and
west were about as far apart as you could get, which seems to be the
Perhaps the scripture most frequently offered as evidence of the image Psalm 103:12 was intended to invoke.
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u BaUctin of th e T /ck o o lM Society

castigates "enemies of religion* as follows:

In my view, all argum ents to prove the Bible teaches a spherical

It was to them th a t Enoch, the seventh in descent from A dam , directed hia
earth are weak if not w rong-headed. On the oth er hand, the
prophecy when he aaid; *1 aaw the Lord come with his m yriads of angels,
flat—earth cosmology previously described is historically consistent and
to bring all men to judgm ent and to convict all the godleu o t all the
requires none of the special pleading apparently necessary to harmonize godleaa deeds they had com m itted, and of all the deHant words which
the Bible with sphericity. godless sinners had spoken against him (Jude 14-15).*

T he inner quote, 1 Enoch 1:9, is found In the original Hebrew on a

The Book of Enoch recently-published Q um ran fragment [Shanks, 1987, 18|. By attributing
prophecy to Enoch, Jude confers inspired status upon the b<Mk.
The cosmology previously described is derived from the Bible itself,
following the I9th century flat—earthers. Some of the evidence is more First Enoch is im portant for another reason. Unlike the canonical
ambiguous than we would like. Ambiguities in ancient d«cum ents can books of the Bible, which (in my view) were never m eant to teach
often be elucidated by consulting contem porary documents. T he most science, sections of 1 Enoch were intended to describe the natural
important ancient docum ent describing Hebrew cosmology is 1 Enoch world. T he n arrato r sometimes sounds like a 2nd century B.C. Carl
(sometimes called the Ethiopic Book of Enoch), one of those long, Sagan explaining the heavens and earth to the adm iring masses. The
disjointed scissors and paste jobs beloved by ancient scribes. For a Enochian cosmology is precisely the fla t-e a rth cosmology previously
dozen or so centuries, European scholars knew 1 Enoch only from derived from the canoniciJ books.
numerous passages preserved in the patristic literature. In 1773, the
Scottish adventurer Jam es Bruce found complete copies in Ethiopia.
The Ends of the E arth
Numerous m anuscripts of 1 Enoch have since been found in
Ethiopian monasteries. T urn of the century scholars concluded th at T he angel Uriel guided Enoch in m ost of his travels. They made
parts of the book are pre—Maccabean, and most (perhaps all) of it was several trips to the ends of the earth, where the dome of heaven came
composed by 100 B.C. (Charles, 1913]. These conclusions were largely down to the surface. For instance, Enoch says:
vindicated when numerous fragments of 1 Enoch were found am ong the
so-called Dead Sea Scrolls at Q um ran. There have been two m ajor
English translations of 1 Enoch, the 1913 translation of R. H. Charles I went to the extrem e ends of the earth and saw there huge beasts, each
and the 1983 translation by E. Isaac. All of the quotations th a t follow different from th e other —— and different birds (also) differing from one
come from the newer translation. another In appearance, beauty, and voice. And to th e east of those beasts, I
saw the ultim ate ends of the earth which rests on the heaven. And the
The im portance of 1 Enoch is poorly appreciated outside the gates of heaven were open, and I saw how th e stars of heaven com e out...
scholarly com m unity. Comparison of its text with New T estam ent (I Enoch 3 3 :1 -2 ).
books reveals th a t m any Enochian doctrines were taken over by early
C hrbtians. E. Isaac writes:
(The sh a rp -ey e d rea/lA* will note w hat I suspect is an editing error in
the Isaac translation. T he earth resting on the heaven makes no sense.
There ta little doubt th k t 1 Enoch w u influentitl In molding New T estam ent R. H. Charles has "whereon the heaven rests.")
doctrines concerning the nature of the Mcasiah, the Son of M an, the
m euianic kingdom , demonology, the future, reaurrection, final judgm ent, the Again, Enoch says, "I went in the direction of the north, to the
whole eschatological theater, and aymhoiism. No wonder, therefore, th a t the extrem e ends of the earth, and there a t the extreme end of the whole
bool( waa highly regarded by m any ot the apoatoiic and Church Fathera world I saw a great and glorious seat. There (also) I saw three open
11986, 10|. gates of heaven; when it blows cold, hail, frost, snow, dew, and rain,
through each one of the (gales) the winds proceed in the northwesterly
direction (1 Enoch 34:1—2)." This accords well with Jeremiah 51:16
First Enoch influenced M atthew, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, and several
which says, "he brings up the mist from the ends of the earth, he
other New T estam ent books. T he punishm ent of the fallen angels
opens rifts for th e rain and brings the wind out of his storchou^ius.* In
described in 2 P eter seems to come directly from 1 Enoch, as docs
subsequent chapters, Enoch journeys "to the extreme ends of the earlh"
much of the imagery (or even wording) in Revelation. T he Epistle of
in the west, south, and east. In each place he saw three more "open
Jude contains the m ost dram atic evidence of its influence when it
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M B u lle tia o f th e T x c h o n l u S o clcty

through the northernm ost pair. On the shortest day, it rises and sets
through the southernm ost pair. The return routes of the sun and moon
gates of heaven." are outside the dome. Perhaps they rest in their "storeroom s" during
their tim e off.
There were other things to be seen at the ends of the earth.
Earlier, we deferred discussion of the King Jam es version of Job 26:7,
"He stretcheth out the north over the em pty place, and hangeth the The S ta n
earth upon nothing." On several occasions when Enoch and the angel
are out beyond the dome of heaven, Enoch com m ents th at there is Like the Bible, 1 Enoch typically depicts stars as living,
nothing above o r below. For instance, "And I cam e to an em pty place. anthropom orphic beings. T he Sons of the Gods are also dealt with in 1
And 1 saw (there) neither a heaven above nor an earth below, but a Enoch, and they are associated with stars. This is consistent with Job
chaotic and terrible place (1 Enoch 21:1-2)." Could this be the kind 38:7, which says th a t when the ea rth ’s cornerstone was laid "the
of nothingness referred to in Job? morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shoute<] aloud."
An angel also showed Enoch the storerooms of the winds (18:1) and As mentioned earlier, M atthew 24:29 and Revelation 6:13 deal with
the cornerstone of the earth (18:2). stars th at fall to earth. T he image comes from Enoch, b ut M atthew
and John om it some detaib. In 1 Enoch 88:1, a sta r th at fell from the
sky is seized, bound band and foot, and thrown into an abyss. A few
The Son and Mooii
verses later, other stars "whose sexual organs were like the organs of
horses" are likewise bound hand and foot and cast "into the pits of the
And what of the sun and moon? Psalm 19:4—6 (quoted earlier) earth (1 Enoch 88:3)."
suggest that the sun holes up at the ends of the earth until it is time
to rise. Enoch expands upon this idea. In 1 Enoch 41:5, he "saw the
Most stars ju st go through their motions night after night. Some
storerooms of the sun and the moon, from w hat place they go out and
stars never set, and Enoch was shown their chariots (1 Enoch 75:8).
to which place they return..." Further, "they keep faith one with
Stars th at do rise and set do so through openings in dome, ju st like the
another: in accordance with an oath they set and they rise."
sun and moon. God, according to 1 Enoch, runs a tight universe, and
stars th a t do not rise on tim e are thrown into the celestial slammer.
Enoch discusses the solar and lunar motions at length, explaining
Showing Enoch a hellish scene, the angel Uriel explains:
why the apparent azim uths of their rising and setting varies with the
season. The explanation, found in the section called "The Book of the
Heavenly Luminaries," begins thus:
This place is the (ultim ate) end of heaven and earth: it is the prison house
for the sta rs and th e powers of heaven. And the stars which roll over upon
the Are, they are th e ones which have transgressed th e com m andm ents of
T hif Is th e flrat com m andm ent of the lum lntHcs: The gun U & lum lntry
God from the beginning of th eir rising because they did not arrive punctually
whose egreas is u i opening of heaven, which Is (locsted) in th e direction of (1 Enoch 18:M -1 5 ).
the e u t , u id whooe ingress is (another) opening of heaven, (located) in the
west. 1 saw six openings through which the sun rises and six openings
through which it sets. The moon also rises and sets through the sam e
Enoch was not told the sentence for tard y rising, but Uriel later shows
openings, and th ey are guided by the stars; together with those whom they
him other stars "which have tra n sg re ss ^ the com m andm ents of the
lead, they are six In the east and six In the west heaven. All of them (are
arranged) one after another In a constant order. T here are m any windows
Lord" and are serving ten million years (1 Enoch 21:0). Enoch also
(both) to th e right and the left of these openings. F irst there goes out the
was shown an even more terrible place, a fiery prison house where
great Tight whose nam e is the sun; Us roundness is like the roundness of the fallen angels were detained forever (1 Enoch 21:10).
sky; and it is totally filled with light and heat. T he chariot in which it
ascends is (driven by) th e blowing wind. The sun sets in the sky (in the 1 Enoch deserves study for its cosmology, but there is much more
west) and returns by the northeast in order to go to the east; It is guided of interest. It profoundly influenced Christian eschatology, and it is
so th a t it shall reach the eastern gate and shine in the face of the sky (1 necessary reading for anyone trying to understand Hebrew religious
Enoch 7 2 :2 -5 ). thought a t the dawn of the Christian era.

Conclusion
The openings in the vault of heaven in the east and west are matched
to the seasons. On the longest day of the year, the sun rises and sets
 Tbe r U t- E u U Bible u
u BuU ello o f th e T jr c k o n lu Soctetjf

Morris, Henry M., 1956. The Bible and Modern Science. Revised
edition. Chicago: Moody Press.
From their geographical and historical context, one would expect the
ancient Hebrews to have a flat—earth cosmology. Indeed, from the very Rowbotham, Samuel Birley, 1873. Earth Not a Globe. London; John
beginning, u ltra-o rth o d o x Christians have been flat-e arth ers, arguing B. Day. 2nd edition.
that to believe otherwise is to deny the literal tru th of the Bible. The
flat—earth implications of the Bible were rediscovered and popularized Shanks, Hershel, 1987. "Don’t Let the Pseudepigrapha Scare You,"
by English-speaking Christians in the raid—19th century. Liberal Bible Review, v. 3, n. 2 (Summer 1987), pp. 14-19, 3 4 -3 7 .
scriptural scholars later derived the sam e view. Thus, students with
remarkably disparate points of view independently concluded th at the Strong, James, 1894. The Exhauative Concordance o f the Bible.
ancient Hebrews had a fla t-e a rth cosmology, often deriving this view Reprint. Nashville: Abington Press, 1978.
from scripture alone. T heir conclusions were dram atically confirmed by
the rediscovery of 1 Enoch. Zukov, Gary, 1979. The Dancing Wu L i Maatera. New York: William
Morrow and Company, Inc.

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