by Cleveland Glass 2-19-05
As portrayed in the illustrations, the biblical cosmos consisted of three basic regions; the heavens, the land, and the underworld.
Biblical writers envisioned a cosmos that is shaped like a domed stadium that sits on pillars and is surrounded by water. The arch that separates the sky (First Heaven) from Heaven (The dwelling place of God) is referred to, in the bible, as the "firmament," "expanse," or "vault" of the sky, depending on which version you use. The vault is a solid structure that rests on the pillars and the seas. ("The heavens tell out the glory of God, the vault of heaven reveals his handiwork." Psalm 19:1; "...with my right hand I formed the expanse of the sky..." Isaiah 48:13.)
Pillars, known as the "Foundations of the Earth," are positioned to keep the earth from moving or collapsing; the Bible's earth is both flat and immovable. ("He has fixed the earth firm, immovable." I Chronicles 16:30; "Thou didst fix the earth on its foundation so that it never can be shaken." Psalm 104:5.)
How do we know that the earth was considered as flat? In the 4th chapter of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream in which he describes "a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth." The scenario makes no sense if the earth is spherical. Similarly, we are told in the Matthew's Gospel, that the Devil took Jesus to "a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their glory." Again this is only possible if the writer imagined a flat earth. The scriptures also refer to the "four corners of the earth," which implies a flat earth.
Notice how the earth's atmosphere and the Underworld are surrounded by water. In the creation story God separates "the water under the expanse from the water above it." God uses the water above the expanse to bring rain. In the Genesis flood story, "all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened." Flood waters came from the opening of the "floodgates" (over the firmament). Floodgates are doors, fixed in the vault of heaven, that God opens whenever he wants to send rain, snow, or hail. The rain is supplied from the waters over the firmament, and snow and hail come from storage places (Job 38:22).
How were the stars and planets viewed by biblical writers? They were relatively small celestial bodies that were positioned in the vault of the sky. In his article entitled "The Flat-Earth Bible, Robert Schadewald states, "the Bible frequently presents celestial bodies as exotic living beings. For example, 'in them [the heavens], a tent is fixed for the sun, who comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, rejoicing like a strong man to run his race. His rising is at one end of the heavens, his circuit touches their farthest ends; and nothing is hidden from his heat' (Psalm 19:4-6). The stars are anthropomorphic demigods. When the earth's cornerstone was laid 'the morning stars 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 that of other stars.."
Finally, no synopsis of the Biblical Cosmos is complete without a description of the underworld, particularly Sheol. Sheol was located beneath the earth, and it was the abode of the dead. It was not a place of punishment or judgment; upon death all souls went to this dark, and shadowy place in the underworld. Early bible writers didn't embrace the concept of eternal punishment, they believed in a form of soul sleep. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest." Ecclesiastes 9:10. "If I look for Sheol as my home, I make my bed in the darkness." Job 17:13.
In conclusion, by understanding how biblical writers viewed the cosmos, readers are in a better position to properly interpret the Creation, the Flood, and other biblical stories, and to place them in their proper context. The Bible is not a book of science; it was written in a pre-scientific era and its main purpose was to communicate moral and spiritual lessons. The Children of Israel had no advantage over their neighbors when it came to matters of science. In fact, this erroneous concept of the cosmos was quite common for that era.
copyright © Cleveland Glass 2005