"...and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto Heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of the earth" [Daniel 4:10-11].
"Again, the devil takeith him up to an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world..." [Matthew 4:8].
"Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him..." [Revelation 1:7].
These verses are only possible with a flat earth. Given the fact of the earth being spherical in shape, how do Christians mix the shape of the earth with these verses?
2007-01-01 18:08:15 · 13 answers · asked by Nowhere Man 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Don, please show me the verse saying the earth is an orb. Also, to the answerer who claimed this is a spiritual realm, why does Daniel 4 specifically say, "midst of the Earth"?
2007-01-01 18:13:47 · update #1
Those verses are talking about the Spiritual Realm.
This verse talks about the Physical Realm,
Isaiah 40:22
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in
2007-01-01 18:12:35 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are you serious? Daniel 4:10 is a dream from the Babylonian king, and the tree is no literal tree at all it is just a metaphor of the greatness of the king, so says Daniel.
Concerning Revelation, consider the fact that it is hard to see someone from 500 yards away. If you take that scripture extremely literally, you would conclude the world is no bigger than 500 yards. Naturally that is not what scripture implies. Jesus will come back with the full authority of heaven under him, do you not think if God can create the world he can find a way to let every person know of his return?
Lastly, concerning the "high mountain", consider the fact that this is Jesus and Satan - two very spiritual guys. What if the devil was just showing him spiritually the things of the world? Notice Matthew says "Jesus was led BY THE SPIRIT" which implies this is not mere physical events. Plus Jesus was taken to the highest point of the temple - you don't imagine that Satan and Jesus used a ladder to get up there do you? Also the Greek word translated as "show" or "sheweth" in your version meant "presented, announced, offered" etc. The devil wasn't saying, "Oh look way over there at America", it had nothing to do with actual sight, he was saying, "All of this can be yours". Besides, at a very high peak you can see the curve of the earth. Don't take things so literal, or else in Matthew 1:1 you would conclude that the father of Jesus is David and the father of David is Abraham. Look at the context and it will make sense.
2007-01-01 19:50:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The verse in Daniel is describing someones dream. Of course, dreams are surreal.
In Matthew, Jesus doesn't really need a mountain to see all the kingdoms of the world. He can do that anyway.
Regarding the Revelation verse, everyone will see it if it's televised all over the world.
We didn't know the world was round back then, but God always did. And He still knows much more than we do now.
2007-01-01 18:27:46 · answer #3 · answered by out of the grey 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
daniel4v10 11,in the bible trees can symbolise indivduals,rulers and kingdoms.king nebuchadnezzar had become powerful and strong the tree symblised him he at the time was the most powerful ruler on the earth,so the tree symbolised him.
matthew 4v8 here jesus has just been baptized by john he goes into amountain to pray to his father when the devil showed jesus by means of a vision all the kingdoms of the world he would give jesus if he performed one act of worship to him
revelation1;7this refers to jesus when he took up kingdom power in 1914 like the other two it has nothing to do with the shape of the earth they are visions or are symbolic.the bible even describes the earth as being circular at isiah 40v22
2007-01-01 20:02:56 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know about the first two verses, how to explain them, but the third verse is a prophesy of Jesus coming in the clouds. The prophesy was written two thousand years ago and it was not known how it was to be seen by the whole world then but today we know. Just as the world watched Saddam's hanging via satelite, and through computers, cable, networking. People will even be able to see it on thier cell phones.
2007-01-01 18:22:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Up one tree, up one high mountain, and on the clouds observed by all. Where does flat earth come in?
For Daniel, you are talking about a vision. End of the earth means everywhere on earth.
2007-01-01 18:21:09 · answer #6 · answered by J. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are symbolic. Have you ever heard of exaggerating to make a point? They're saing, "So big everyone on earth could see it."
Example: The tree in Daniel represented Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, in this dream's first fullfillment. At the height of his reign, Babylon was the world power and their influence seemed to have no bounds. This statement is just making that point.
2007-01-01 18:18:50 · answer #7 · answered by No More No Less 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Isa 40:22 [It is] he that sitteth upon the CIRCLE OF THE EARTH, and the inhabitants thereof [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in...
The first verse you quote is a vision, as is the second;
the third, well, since God can do anything, He can reveal Himself to everyone at the same time.
No flat earth in the Bible, sorry.
2007-01-01 18:15:48 · answer #8 · answered by watcherd 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You didn't realize? Christians think that earth is flat.
Hellenistic civilization knew that the earth was round, and had even calculated its circumference. Considering the fact that the round earth was a well-known fact throughout the Middle-East long before these verses were written, isn't there a slight chance that this is hyperbole?
2007-01-01 18:16:20 · answer #9 · answered by NONAME 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They had no idea the earth was a sphere when they made up the bible.
I can't find the word "orb" in the bible. I know the bible states the world or round, but like a plate.
2007-01-01 18:12:01 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋