 Q. I heard the Bible says the earth is round, it rotates and the universe is expanding (and other things like it). Can you tell me where it says that? Where can I learn more about this? Find stuff for kids?Answer: Surprising, isn’t it? While the Bible primarily explains spiritual things such as the nature of God, mankind’s fallen nature, and how humans can be reconciled with a Holy God, when it describes or tells us about the physical world and the universe, it is astonishingly accurate! Here are some examples: 4,000 year-old Book Isaiah 40:22 and Job 26:10 state that the earth is spherical. Note that the book of Job is probably the oldest book in the bible, even older than Genesis. It may have been written around 2000 B.C. This was a period when early cultures believed that the earth was carried on the back of a turtle or was carried on the shoulders of Atlas. Earth is a Circle: Isaiah 40:22 states: It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers…(NASB) Job 26:10 says, He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters…(NASB) Earth suspended in Space: That the earth is suspended in space is described in Job 26:7: He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing (NASB). Expanding Universe Several biblical references note that the universe is expanding. Here is a partial list: Job 9:8, Psalms 104:2, Isaiah 40:22, Isaiah 42:5, Isaiah 44:24, Isaiah 45:12, Isaiah 48:13, Isaiah 51:13, Jeremiah 10:12, Jeremiah 51:15, Zechariah 12:1. In these passages you will frequently read that God STRETCHES out the heavens. Who alone stretches out the heavens…Job 9:8 Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain…Psalms 104:2 Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in (Isaiah 40:22). Who created the heavens and stretched them out…(Isaiah 42:5) “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands And I ordained all their host.” (Isaiah 45:12, NASB) “It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.” (Jeremiah 10:12, NASB) Sun Orbits Galaxy The Bible said the sun makes a “circuit” or an orbit around the galaxy in Psalm 19:6. “Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them, And there is nothing hidden from its heat.” Time is Relative The Bible teaches what Albert Einstein said thousands of years later. “Time is relative.” For example, “For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it passes by, Or as a watch in the night.” (Psalm 90:4) “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day” (2 Peter 3:8). Earth Rotates “Have you commanded the morning since your days, and caused the dayspring to know his place, that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? It (earth) is turned as clay to the seal, and they stand as a garment” (Job 38: 12,14, KJV). In this verse we find Job painting a picture of a vessel of clay being turned (rotated) upon the potter’s wheel – like the earth’s rotation! Radio Waves – Telephone? “Can you send lightnings, that they may go and say unto you, Here we are?” (Job 38:35, KJV). Here Job is saying that light can be sent and become “speech” – just like radio waves move at the speed of light. Could this refer to radios or telephones? Atoms “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible” (Hebrews 11:3, HCSB). We now know that the universe was created out of tiny, unseen particles called “atoms.” Even more, we know that everything is created from a predetermined “alphabet” of scientific elements – like the letters of an alphabet from which we write words, sentences, paragraphs and books. These are just a few examples for you. There are many other scriptural passages that describe scientific facts. We suggest that readers visit websites and collect books listing them. We have suggested a few resources for you. References: Creation Science Evangelism. Available from: www.drdino.com Answers in Genesis. www.AnswersinGenesis.org The Institute for Creation Research. www.icr.org Center for Scientific Creation. www.creationscience.com Reasons to Believe. www.reasons.org. Ankerberg Theological Research Institute.www.johnankerberg.org. Authors Valorie Emilio holds an M.A. in History from UCLA. Ken received an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Louisiana Baptist University. |
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