Let me bring to your attention a small study on the topic of "Biblical Cosmology".
1. Shape of the Earth
According to the Bible, the Earth is not a ball. According to Scripture, from a very high place (heaven, for example) you can see the entire Earth so that nothing can be hidden from view. If the Earth were a ball, this, for obvious reasons, would be impossible. This fact suggests that the Earth is flat (or plano-convex).
For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees under the whole sky.
(Job 28:24)
The sound of their (heaven) passes through all the earth, and their words to the limits of the universe. He made them a dwelling place for the sun, and it comes out like a bridegroom from his bridal chamber, rejoices like a giant to run the race:
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his exodus from the end of heaven, and his procession to their end, and nothing is hidden from his warmth.
(Psalm 18: 5-7)
The sky, like the Earth, has edges (limits). The sun moves across the sky (solid dome), and during its movement from sunrise to sunset, it manages to heat the entire Earth.
… I saw, behold, in the middle of the earth a very tall tree.
This tree was large and strong, and its height reached the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the whole earth.
(Dan.4: 7.8)
When applied to a sphere, the word "in the middle" can only mean the center of the sphere. But with a flat circle, such problems do not arise.
He is the One who sits over the circle of the earth, and those who dwell on it are like locusts [before Him]; He stretched out the heavens like a thin cloth and spread them out like a tent to live in.
(Isa. 40:22)
It is more logical to imagine "sitting" over a disk convex on one side, rather than over a ball. For it is not clear which side of the ball is sitting over. But with a convex disc - here it is clear, from the convex side. And the "circle" is not a "ball", as I understand it in geometry … The circle of the Earth is its border in the form of a circle. God, seated above this circle, sees everything that happens on Earth, just as a person sees from above a flock of locusts. Moreover, the sphere cannot be compared to a tent. But the hemisphere (and the sky, according to the Bible, has the shape of a hemisphere) - you can.
Again the devil takes Him to a very high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
(Matthew 4: 8)
It doesn't matter what Matthew had in mind - a certain literal mountain, or it all happened in a state of vision, and therefore the “mountain” was symbolic, anyway, according to Matthew's ideas, one could see all the kingdoms of the world from it (which would have been impossible, if the Earth was represented as a ball).
Then everything was shattered together: iron, clay, copper, silver and gold became like dust on the threshing floors of summer, and the wind carried them away, and no trace remained of them; and the stone that smashed the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
(Dan 2:35)
Pay attention, the stone, filling the whole Earth, takes the shape of not a ball, but a big mountain! The ancient Babylonians - the contemporaries of the log Israelites - imagined the Earth (dry land) in the form of one giant world mountain, on the western slope of which Babylon is located. There is a corresponding picture here.
The Bible several times calls heaven the throne of God, and the earth is a footstool for His feet:
Thus says the Lord: Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool; where will you build a house for me, and where is my resting place?
(Isa 66: 1)
and he who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
(Matthew 23:22)
For a spherical sky and a spherical Earth, it is rather difficult to imagine how this could be. But flat Earth, on the contrary, is easy to imagine as a foot. And with a domed sky as a throne, too, there are no special problems. By the way, if the authors of the Bible believed that the sky is not in a solid state, but in a gaseous state, then how could it be compared to a throne, and how could one imagine God sitting on this gaseous spherical throne?
Where do you think is the edge of the north (the northern edge of the Earth)? This is not the same as the "Far North" in our understanding. It is there, on the edge of the north, according to Isaiah 14:13, is the high mountain of the meeting of the gods (angels), where the earth and the sky (with stars and clouds) meet. To get to this biblical Olympus, you need to go to the northern edge of the Earth and climb this mountain, which the king of Babylon intended to do. For this he was sent in the opposite direction - to hell, to the depths of the underworld.
True, some peoples such as Gog lived on the edge of the north. Apparently, the "edge of the north" ("edge of the earth") included both this "Olympus" and the extreme northern territory of the earth's pancake.
Let's go back to Isaiah 40:22. Of course, from a great distance, the sphere can appear to be a circle. And then we can assume that the phrase "circle of the Earth" indicates the outline of the globe. However, the following texts rule out this assumption:
spread (sic) the earth on the waters, for His mercy endures forever.
(Psalm 135: 6)
… I am the Lord, who created all things, alone stretched out the heavens and by His power spread the earth.
(Isa. 44:24)
If the Earth were spherical, a different word would be used to describe its creation than “spread, spread” (for example, “rolled”). You can spread a tablecloth, but not a snowball.
In the original, these texts in relation to the Earth use the word "raka", which means the work of flattening metal into plates (Ex. 39: 3; Num. 17: 4; Is. 40:19; Jer. 10: 9).
2. The extent of the Earth
The mention of the limits (boundaries) of the Earth serves as another proof that according to the Bible it is flat.
As far as the east is from the west, so has He removed our iniquities from us.
(Psalm 102: 12)
On a spherical Earth, you can move to infinity in the west or east direction. And from this text it follows that there is a limit when moving to the west or east. The same conclusion can be drawn from many other texts:
And the Lord will scatter you among all nations, from the end of the earth to the end of the earth …
(Deut. 28:64)
… his horns are like the horns of a buffalo; with them he will butt all peoples to the ends of the earth.
(Deut. 33:17)
… so that it (dawn) swept over the ends of the earth and shook off the wicked from it.
(Job 38:13)
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth …
(1 Sam.2: 10)
you, whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from the ends of it, and said to you: "you are my slave, I have chosen you and will not reject you."
(Isa. 41: 9)
And then He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.
(Mar 13:27)
See also Ps.21: 28; 45:10; 47:11; 58:14; 60: 3; 64: 6; Jer. 51:16.
Here's some more text:
The devil circled the surface of the waters, to the border of light and darkness.
(Job 26:10)
The circle on which the water ends serves at the same time as the border between light and darkness.
The Bible often mentions the 4 ends of the Earth. However, this, of course, does not mean that the Earth (according to the Bible) is square. The 4 ends of the Earth are just 4 directions to the north, south, west and east edges of the Earth (with reference to sunset and sunrise). When it is spoken of "4 edges of the bedspread", on which special tassels should be made (Deut 22:12), this does not mean that the edges of the clothes were square. The tassels were probably just placed in the front, back, right and left.
In this regard, the following texts are noteworthy:
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be freed from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, and gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.
And they went out into the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.
(Revelation 20: 7.8)
As already mentioned, the people of Gog lived in the northern end (corner) of the Earth (Ezek. 39: 2). And the word "latitude (plain) of the Earth" is inapplicable in relation to the sphere. It seems that these peoples descended from the mountains and came to the plain, where they will be completely destroyed.
And after that I saw four Angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that the wind would not blow on the earth, nor the sea, nor any tree.
(Revelation 7: 1)
If the Earth has the shape of a sphere (and it is, believe me), then it is completely incomprehensible where exactly these 4 corners of the Earth are. Well, 2 corners can still be placed at the north and south poles, but where are the other two?
In defense of the idea that the Bible contains the idea of a spherical earth, it is customary to cite the following text:
He stretched north over the void, hung the earth on nothing.
(Job 26: 7)
However, it should be recognized that "nothing" and a convex disk can hang, and a pyramid, and a cone.
In addition, the text of Job 26: 7 raises a number of intractable questions:
- what does it mean "stretched north"?
- what kind of emptiness is it talking about here? It does not say "hung in the void", but "over the void."
3. Mobility of the sun
The most important biblical quote in support of a geocentric universe is found in the book of Joshua. This text can be used as a starting point for understanding biblical cosmology.
Jesus cried to the Lord on the day that the Lord delivered the Amorite into the hands of Israel, when he killed them in Gibeon, and they were beaten before the face of the children of Israel, and said before the Israelites: Stand still, the sun is over Gibeon, and the moon is over the valley of Aialon !
And the sun stopped, and the moon stood while the people took revenge on their enemies. Isn't this written in the book of the Righteous: "the sun stood in the sky and did not hurry to the west for almost the whole day"? (I. Nav.10: 12,13)
This miracle of Jesus is referred to by the prophet Habakkuk:
the sun and moon stood still in their place before the light of Your flying arrows, before the radiance of Your sparkling spears.
(Hab. 3:11)
Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, rather than ordering the earth to stop rotating. His statement does not contain any hints that it allegedly only seemed that the sun remained stationary, but in fact the rotation of the Earth around its axis stopped.
The movement of the sun across the sky in the Bible is often described in rather poetic language:
He put in them (in heaven) a dwelling place for the sun, and it comes out like a bridegroom from his bridal chamber, rejoices like a giant to run the race:
his exodus from the end of heaven, and his procession to their end, and nothing is hidden from his warmth. (Psalm 18: 5-7).
By the way, if the heavens are in the shape of a sphere, then where are the edges? But the hemisphere, in contrast to the sphere, does have edges.
The sun rises, and the sun sets, and hurries to its place, where it rises. (Eccl. 1: 5)
4. Immobility of the Earth
According to the ideas of the ancient inhabitants of the Middle East, there is an abyss under the Earth - hell, where the souls of the dead descend. At night, the sun passes through this dungeon from the western edge of the Earth to the eastern, in order to start its daytime journey across the sky in the morning.
Since the sun moves in the geocentric system, therefore the Earth remains stationary. Here are some texts that, to one degree or another, exclude the movement of the Earth:
Tremble before Him, all the earth, for He founded the universe (the inhabited earth), it will not shake. (1Par.16: 30)
The Lord reigns; He is clothed with greatness, the Lord is clothed with power and girded: therefore, the universe is solid, will not move. (Psalm 92: 1)
Ditto in Psalm 95:10.
In addition, almost everywhere in the Bible there is an idea of the Earth having a "foundation" (foundation):
And the springs of the sea were opened, the foundations of the universe were revealed from the terrible voice of the Lord, from the breath of the spirit of His anger. (2 Sam.22: 16)
Ditto in Ps.17: 15.
In the beginning, you founded (laid the foundation) the earth, and heaven is the work of your hands. (Psalm 101:26)
My hand founded (laid the foundation) the earth, and My right hand stretched out the heavens; I will call them and they will appear together.
(Isa. 48:13)
When He prepared heaven, I was there. When He drew a circle across the face of the abyss, when he affirmed the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains of the abyss, when he gave the sea a charter so that the waters would not overstep its boundaries, when he laid the foundations of the earth … (Prov. 8: 27-29)
By the way, along the way, about Proverbs 8: 27-29. So much for the purpose of the circular line surrounding the abyss of the sea: it serves as a border for the sea, beyond which it cannot cross (and spill over the edges of the Earth). Probably, it is held by a firmament (sky) - apparently, a solid body in the form of a hemisphere, spread, like a tent, over the Earth, along which heavenly bodies and stars move.
Perhaps even Jesus himself held similar views:
… that they may see My glory, which You gave Me, because you loved Me before the foundation (laying the foundation) of the world.
(John 17:24)
However, the Bible contains another kind of statement about the firmness and immobility of the earth's foundation. Along with
You have set the earth on its foundations: it will not shake forever and ever.
(Psalm 103: 5)
meets and
moves the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble.
(Job 9: 6)
… for the windows of heaven will be dissolved, and the foundations of the earth will shake.
(Is.24: 18)
The geological architecture of the Earth is also not entirely clear. Compare the following texts:
… For the Lord has the pillars of the Earth, and He established the Universe on them (synonym for Earth).
(1 Sam.2: 8)
Job 9: 6 - see above.
where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you know.
Who put the measure to her, if you know? or who stretched the rope along it?
On what are its foundations established, or who laid the cornerstone of it?
(Job 38: 4-6)
Apparently, the Earth rests on a kind of pillars erected on the foundation. Well, at least it doesn't look as fabulous as a whale and elephants.
5. The nature of the sky
As mentioned above, the sky covers the Earth like a tent. There is no mention of atmosphere in the Bible. The sky protects the Earth not by absorbing ionizing radiation, but only due to its strength:
Have you stretched out the heavens with Him, solid as a molded mirror?
(Job 37:18)
It should be noted that here also - only this time in relation to the sky - the already mentioned word "raka" ("spread") is used, which is used to describe the work of flattening metal into plates. From him the word "rakia" is formed - "firmament" (Genesis 1 ch.). Interestingly, the word "rakia" is also used in Ezek. 1 ch. (in synod. per. - "vault"), where it can not have a spherical shape, at best, a hemisphere. Ezekiel describes 4 cherubim (4-faced creatures), with their wings supporting the heavenly dome from 4 cardinal directions. On this dome, God sits on his throne. However, Ezekiel has this mobile throne, he even has wheels.
The clouds are a veil for Him, so that He does not see, but (everything) walks in a heavenly circle.
(Job 22:14)
It is interesting that not only the Earth, but also the sky has its own supports (pillars):
The pillars of heaven are shaken and are terrified at His threat.
(Job 26:11)
In the 1st chapter of the book of Genesis it is directly stated where exactly the heavenly bodies are located:
And God placed them (lights) in the firmament (firmament) to shine on the earth
(Genesis 1:17)
6. The nature of the stars
Stars are simply points of light attached to the sky. They can fall to the ground if they are knocked out (shaken out). Distant suns, much larger than Earth, cannot fall to Earth, but small points of light can.
How you fell from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn, cast down to earth, ruler of the destinies of nations!
And you said in your heart: “I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mountain of meeting, at the edge of the north;
(Is.14: 12,13)
This is a more accurate translation. The Synodal "a spoke in his heart" creates the erroneous impression that the "a spoke" took place BEFORE falling from heaven. In fact, as far as I can see, “and said” took place AFTER the fall. That is, one of the stars of God was cast down from heaven to Earth, but wanted to ascend to heaven again to its previous state, and even higher. But this is so, by the way. Now something else is more important: the stars are not in distant space at a distance of millions of light years, but much closer - in the firmament, and can easily fall to the Earth, so that it is hardly even noticeable. It is problematic to write off everything as meteorites, since “stars” in the Bible mean exactly the stars and the visible planets of the solar system (however, meteorites are also quite suitable for the ideas of the Bible authors about stars). So, for example, in this case, in all likelihood,the phrase "morning star, son of dawn" meant the "star" Venus.
And he ascended up to the host of heaven, and brought down part of this host and stars to the earth, and trampled them down.
(Dan 8:10)
and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.
(Mar 13:25)
Ap. Paul in 1 Corinthians clearly expresses the idea that the sun and the stars are of different natures:
Another glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another stars; and star differs from star in glory.
(1 Cor.15: 41)
The stars are high enough, but not so high that they could be reached if desired (about the height at which the eagles fly, or slightly higher):
But even if you, like an eagle, rose high and built your nest among the stars, then from there I will bring you down, says the Lord.
(Obd. 1: 4)
Genesis chapter 1 describes the creation of the earth and the sky. One would think that we are talking about the creation of the solar system, if not for the phrase "and the stars" in the 16th text. It is hard to imagine that 3000 stars (if, of course, counting only those that are visible to the naked eye) were created simultaneously with the sun and moon, and for the same purpose as the moon: to control the night (see Psalm 135: nine).
7. Water around the Earth
There are some rather strange statements in the Bible (starting right from the first page) about the existence of water above the sky and below the earth. These statements do not describe rain or groundwater, which would be an acceptable explanation. On the contrary, they advance the idea that the firmament supports a huge reservoir of water, and that the solid Earth floats in the world's oceans.
And God said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate water from water.
And God created the firmament, and separated the water that is under the firmament from the water that is above the firmament. And it became so.
(Genesis 1: 6,7)
spread (sic) the earth on the waters, for His mercy endures forever.
(Psalm 135: 6)
The water that is above the sky is held in place by the firmament. The opening of holes (windows - not to be confused with Windows!) In the firmament led to the spilling of the upper waters on the Earth, which together with the lower waters (located in the “springs of the abyss”) led to a flood that destroyed mankind in the days of Noah. The Great Abyss is the very primordial ocean in which, according to the Bible, our old Earth floats. In the surface of the Earth, there are probably also some "plugs", which during the flood opened simultaneously with the "windows of heaven".
… On this day all the springs of the great abyss were opened, and the windows of heaven were opened.
(Genesis 7:11)
And the springs of the abyss and the windows of heaven were closed, and the rain from heaven ceased.
(Genesis 8: 2)
It would be wrong to equate the water that is underground with groundwater, and here's why. God forbade the Israelites to worship images of living creatures that live “in the water, below the Earth” (under the Earth):
Do not make yourself an idol and no image of what is in the sky above, and what is on the earth below, and what is in the water below the earth.
(Ex. 20: 4)
… so that you do not become corrupted and make yourself statues, images of an idol representing a man or a woman, images of any livestock that is on earth, images of any winged bird that flies under the heavens, images of some [reptile] crawling on the ground, images of a fish that is in the waters below the ground.
(Deut 4: 16-18)
Please note that water (that is, seas and oceans as a habitat for fish and marine animals) is “below the Earth” (or “below the Earth”, to be more precise).
***
He is the One who sits over the circle of the earth, and those who dwell on it are like locusts before Him. (Isa. 40:22)
You have chosen one cave for Yourself from the whole circle of the earth, and you have chosen one lily for Yourself from all the flowers in the universe. (3Ed. 5:24)
Again the devil takes Him to a very high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory (Matthew 4: 8)
And the visions of my head on my bed were as follows: I saw, behold, in the midst of the earth a very tall tree.
This tree was large and strong, and its height reached the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the whole earth. (Dan. 4: 8)
It rolls under the whole sky, and its shine - to the ends of the earth. (Job 37: 3)
And he will raise a banner to the Gentiles, and he will gather the exiles of Israel, and the scattered Jews he will call from the four ends of the earth. (Isa. 11:12)
And you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend, -
you, whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from the ends of it, and said to you: "you are my servant, I have chosen you and will not reject you" (Isa. 41: 8-9)
And after that I saw four Angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that the wind would not blow either on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. (Rev. 7: 1)
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be freed from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, and gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. (Rev. 20: 8)
***
Is.40: 22 He is the One who sits ABOVE the CIRCLE of the earth (the circle is not a sphere) and those who live on it - like locusts before Him; He stretched out the heavens like a thin cloth, and spread them like a tent (hard dome) for dwelling. Genesis 1: 7. And God created the firmament, and separated the water that is under the firmament from the water that is above the firmament. And it became so. Bitya 1:16 And God created two great luminaries: a greater one shone to govern the day, and a lesser one shone to govern the night, and the stars; 17 AND GOD HAS SET THEM ON THE FIRM OF THE HEAVENLY to shine on the earth (the stars are fixed on the FIRM HEAVENLY and they are not as huge as we are taught. The Bible does not say anything about the planets at all.) Job 37:18 Are you with Him stretched out HEAVEN, SOLID like a cast mirror? " Psalm 148: 4 Praise Him, the heavens, the heavens, and the WATER THAT IS GREATER THAN HEAVEN. The Bible speaks of waters that are higher than heaven i.e. above the FIRM HEAVENLY. Job 9: 6. He moves the earth out of its place, and HER PILLARS SHAKE. (On what does the earth stand? On the pillars.) Water in heaven i.e. above the firmament of heaven, from the ends of the earth i.e. the earth has edges, and the ball has no edges. Jeremiah 16:19 O Lord, my strength and my strength and my refuge in the day of trouble! nations will come to You FROM THE EDGES OF THE EARTH and say: "ONLY LIES HAVE INHERITED OUR FATHERS, emptiness and that in which there is no benefit." What edges or ends can a spherical earth have? JOHN GOLDEN-MUSTED "CONVERSATIONS ON THE BOOK OF GENESE"Water in heaven i.e. above the firmament of heaven, from the ends of the earth i.e. the earth has edges, and the ball has no edges. Jeremiah 16:19 O Lord, my strength and my strength and my refuge in the day of trouble! nations will come to You FROM THE EDGES OF THE EARTH and say: "ONLY LIES HAVE INHERITED OUR FATHERS, emptiness and that in which there is no benefit." What edges or ends can a spherical earth have? JOHN GOLDEN-MUSTED "CONVERSATIONS ON THE BOOK OF GENESE"Water in heaven i.e. above the firmament of heaven, from the ends of the earth i.e. the earth has edges, and the ball has no edges. Jeremiah 16:19 O Lord, my strength and my strength and my refuge in the day of trouble! nations will come to You FROM THE EDGES OF THE EARTH and say: "ONLY LIES HAVE INHERITED OUR FATHERS, emptiness and that in which there is no benefit." What edges or ends can a spherical earth have? JOHN GOLDEN-MUSTED "CONVERSATIONS ON THE BOOK OF GENESE"
… On the second day, God said: let there be a firmament in the middle of the water, and let it separate the water from the water (Gen. 1: 6). So God created the sky, not that - higher, but this is visible, creating it in the likeness of ice from hardened waters. I want to present this matter clearly, because much can be understood more easily through consideration than expressed in words. Suppose the water rose thirty cubits above the ground. Now, God said: let there be a firmament in the middle of the water, and in the middle of the waters a thickening formed like ice, which lifted half of the water up, and left half below, as it is written: let there be a firmament in the middle of the water and let it separate the water from the water … Why does God call it a firmament? Because he made it solid from the loose and rarefied nature of the waters … So, being established among the waters, the sky lifted half of the waters up. But what's the top of the water for? For what need? For someone to drink? For someone to swim? And that there is water above, David testifies, saying: the heavens of the heavens and the water that is higher than the heavens (Psalm 148: 4). Note the wisdom of the Creator. The sky, thickened from the waters, was icy. Meanwhile, it had to accept the fire of the sun and moon and an infinite number of stars, everything had to be filled with fire. So that from such a heat it would not be burned and destroyed, God spread these seas of waters on its ridge, to protect the latter, so that, thus, it could withstand the flame and not burn. Meanwhile, it had to accept the fire of the sun and moon and an infinite number of stars, everything had to be filled with fire. So that from such a heat it would not be burned and destroyed, God spread these seas of waters on its ridge, to protect the latter, so that, thus, it could withstand the flame and not burn. Meanwhile, it had to accept the fire of the sun and moon and an infinite number of stars, everything had to be filled with fire. So that from such a heat it would not be burned and destroyed, God spread these seas of waters on its ridge, to protect the latter, so that, thus, it could withstand the flame and not burn.
***
Paleya Tolkovaya has come down to us in seventeen copies of the XIV-XVII centuries … The foundations of the Orthodox worldview were formulated in Paleya … It may have spread since the XII century, but has come down to us in the lists of the XIV-XVI centuries.
And this is what these "foundations of the Orthodox worldview" say on the issue under consideration:
… After that, “God said: 'Let there be a firmament'” (Gen. 1: 6) - [this is] the second day. Immediately the composition thickened, looking like ice and [hard] like crystal. It is called solid because He hardened it from liquid and weak water. As the smoke, coming from a burning tree, rare and weak, above turns into a thick cloud, so the water element, being liquid and rare, ascended, hardened and placed by God above, becomes like ice. And the Lord of water divides: he raises half of them above the firmament, and leaves half under the firmament (see: Gen. 1: 7), for the Lord wanted to arrange and put under the firmament the luminaries - the Sun, the Moon and countless stars - of the same fiery nature. Therefore, God sends water to the heavenly ridges so that they moisten and cool the firmament. Rogozhsky Chronicle
The chronicler Rogozhsky was created by the Tver chroniclers in the first half of the 15th century. and survived in the only list of the middle of the 15th century.
… On the second day, Monday, God created the firmament below, our cover, this heaven. Half of the water ascended to the firmament, and immediately the water turned into an ice-like crystal, which is why the firmament was named, for from a liquid among heaven and earth he established it
Archimandrite of Chernigov Cyril Tranquillion-Stavrovetsky "Mirror of Theology"
… Water is of two kinds: one is above the firmament of heaven, the other is under the firmament on earth. The heavenly firmament is dry, light, non-penetrating matter, on top of which God poured water to protect against the upper etheric fire, which would otherwise kindle the firmament; but so that it would not be dark on earth, God created the sun, moon and stars in the firmament and put parts of the etheric light into them.
Chapter 38 of the Book of Job quotes the words of God himself: “When did you give orders to the morning in your life and did you indicate its place to the dawn, so that it embraces the ends of the earth and shakes off the wicked from it, so that the earth would change like clay under a seal and become like a garment of many colors, and that their light be taken away from the wicked, and their bold hand be broken? - Job 38: 12-15.
And where is the edge of the Earth and how can the wicked be shaken off if the Earth is not flat? "The earth is like clay under a seal" - are we talking about a spherical or flat earth?
And also: "Have you entered the storehouses of snow and have you seen the treasures of the city, which I keep for a vague time, on the day of battle and war? " - Job 38: 22-23.
It would seem, okay, there really is snow and hail in the sky, but here they talk about some barns-bins where it is kept for a rainy day.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ says:
"And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to another." - Matt. 24:31.
What are the edges of the heavens mean if the Earth is spherical?
In the Gospel of Mark:
"And then He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of heaven." Mk. 13:27.
In the Gospel of Luke, the Devil lifts Jesus to the top of a mountain and shows him "all the kingdoms of the world." This can only be possible on a flat, disc-shaped Earth. - Luke 4:05.
In Deuteronomy: “For ask the former times that were before you, from the day in which God created man on earth, and from the end of heaven to the end of heaven: has there ever been something like this great deed, or have you heard something similar this? - Tue 4:32 am.
We suspect that this refers to the firmament of heaven, as a solid dome above the earth's surface.
Quoting the book of Job (“He [God] stretched the north over the void, hung the earth on nothing,” 26: 7-8;), non-full-earth creationists keep silent about another statement (“He founded it [the earth] on the seas and on the rivers established it ", - Psalms 23: 2)