Can You Prove the Earth Is Rotating Using Just the Bible?

A Response to A Christian Friend about the Stationary Earth

A recent podcast introduced me to the concept of a “Stationary Earth” as a lead-in to discuss Biblical Cosmology. I thought it intuitive and nearly impossible to refute.

Here is that discussion: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/episode-156-flat-earth-conversation-with-jason--59182463.

After listening to the interview, I posted a provocative challenge on one of my Social Media accounts: “The earth is stationary. Prove me wrong with the Bible.”

A friend and former NASA employee reached out to me with this question:

Ok, I am curious; without taking "all the verses" out of context; what Bible verses specifically say the Earth is Physically "fixed and immovable"? Other than having a Fixed position in its orbit around the Sun.

I would be interested in your pretext of God’s Word and how you interpret the specific verse or verses in explaining the Earth having a Fixed and immovable position in our heavens today. Thank you for your time and have a good week.¹

— Steve

It was a public discussion, so I feel comfortable responding publicly. It could be helpful to others and prevent me from the need to recreate the answer the next time the topic comes up. 

Here is the response to my Christian brother:

Steve,

When God wants to convey a truth about anything, He can do it in one or more ways. I will only focus on two to simplify my answer. 1) He can say it outright in plain language, or 2) He can use a figure of speech like a metaphor, simile, analogy, hyperbole, etc.

If God says something outright, we can take Him at His Word. If He uses a figure of speech, we might have to dig a little to understand the meaning. Nonetheless, even a figure of speech comes from a point of reality. In other words, it will relate to or have a foundation upon some truth.

If I were to say, for example, that something was as round as a pancake, we’d have to accept that the pancake was round in some way for the statement to make any sense. Of course, with human error, we might make a false comparison and say, “That orange is as round as a pancake.” While pancakes are round, they are not round like oranges — unless, of course, the oranges are squished down. But if that were the case, the writer or speaker would say, “That orange is as flat as a pancake” because that would convey the meaning.

So it stands to reason that the God of the universe, the creator of language, and the author of truth, would also use truth to convey truths.

Are there places in the Bible that speak of the earth being fixed and unmovable that might refer to something other than the physical earth? I believe it is possible. Each verse would have to be looked at individually to understand the context.

However, that would not discount my statement that “all the verses” in the Bible say it is fixed and immovable. No verses in the Bible substantiate the claim that the earth has a “Fixed position in its orbit around the Sun” — or that the world is orbiting or moving at all. This statement could only be derived from the Bible if we added some esoteric knowledge. Said another way: We must read something into the Bible that is utterly missing to conclude that the earth is anything other than stationary. The theological and hermeneutical term for this concept is eisegesis.

Exegesis versus Eisegesis

Solid Bible teachers (claim) to use exegesis to determine the meaning of a passage rather than eisegesis. What’s the difference?

• Exegesis means “to read out of.” That means that the interpreter makes conclusions by following the text.

• Eisegesis means “to read into.” In other words, the interpreter must read his ideas into the text.

All the verses in the Bible that discuss the movement of the earth — whether literal or figurative — use language that the earth is fixed and unmovable. To come to any other conclusion, one would have to read something into the text. I maintain that when someone sees the earth as orbiting or spinning in the Bible — they are reading that into the text because that is what they have been taught in school, watched in a movie, or seen in an image. No one would come to the Bible itself and see the earth as a spinning planet that orbited the sun. That’s why the ancient Hebrews held to a fixed, stationary earth.

The Bible teaches plainly that the sun makes a circuit in the heavens and the earth does not move. More on that in a bit. The Bible also teaches that the earth does not spin on its axis, because it doesn’t have an axis. God could have told us if it did. Instead, He told us plainly that it doesn’t hang or spin on anything.

“God stretches the northern sky over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.” (Job 26:7).

Interestingly, spinning-globe defenders use Job 26:7 as proof that the earth is hanging in space (on its axis, I presume). However, that would be an impossibility based on all the other verses in the Bible where God speaks concerning how He created this world. Additionally, if the earth did hang or spin on its axis — then it would be hanging on something and not nothing as the verse specifies.

Let’s look at other verses in the Bible that would make it untenable for the Bible to uphold the idea that the earth is spinning on its axis, moving, or hanging in space.

Did God Create the Earth to Spin?

Rather than address the Scriptures which speak of the world as stable and immovable, I’d like to share how God created the earth with properties that would make it stable. God, who cannot lie, says the earth has the following properties and features:

• Pillars: “For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, And He has set the world upon them” (1 Samuel 2:8). Spinning-globe defenders say this passage is only poetic or figurative language that speaks of men as pillars of society. Interestingly, that would be the first occurrence of such language in the Bible. Up to this point, pillars always spoke of literal columns. There are a few later exceptions, some using different Hebrew words. In the New Testament, pillars are firmly referring to the foundations of the church. Yet, even this figure of speech must refer to the reality of what pillars are and what they do. The Book of Job is considered the oldest in the Bible. He speaks literally here:  “He shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble” (Job 9:6). Even if one were to make the case that Job 9:6 was using figurative language, it would be impossible to separate the idea from reality. If the pillars here represent human leaders, then the literal earth must also have pillars for this to mean anything. In the next verse, Job says, “He speaks to the sun and it does not shine.” If this verse is also poetic and the sun represents kings of the earth, for example, it would only make sense if the sun also shines. Pillars would give the earth a solid foundation, which I will discuss further.

• Ends: Yes, the Bible speaks of the ends of the earth. We all know that a globe earth never ends, it just keeps going like the Energizer Bunny. In Psalm 2:8, the Father says to Jesus, "Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.” The Hebrew word for ends means “cessation, i.e. an end (especially of the earth); often used adverb, no further…end…uttermost part....”² The definition doesn’t leave much room for a spinning globe. Could the ends of the earth refer to those regions furthest away from God’s people? Yes. I believe some passages suggest it means a people far away. But that is not all it means. Deuteronomy 28:64 clarifies: “Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known—wood and stone.” If people on a spinning globe were scattered from one end of the earth to the other, they would unavoidably meet again in the middle. Language is important to God. The earth has literal ends that can be observed. If you are picturing a disc floating through space, you have the wrong idea. In the next section, I’ll share an image that represents all that is being spoken of here.

• Foundations: The Bible speaks of the earth and the heaven as having foundations — which is also consistent with ancient Hebrew cosmology.³ God Himself testifies to this: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:4). Here’s an image that describes this and other features listed in this section and in the Bible:
  

  

  This concept of cosmology was not exclusive to ancient Hebrews. Many cultures held to a similar structure for the earth. The Hebrews gleaned their teaching from the Bible. Other nations echoed the teachings of the Bible since all men descended from one people. They possibly drew some conclusions from observing the world, which I will discuss later. 

  
  

  Here is a video sharing the extent of this cosmology among the nations.

  
  

  All structures must have foundations to endure. The earth is no different. The foundations are likely synonymous with the pillars of the earth. Notice that the firmament has a foundation just like the earth. “Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry” (2 Samuel 22:8). The Bible talks of three heavens: 1) The atmosphere; 2) The firmament; 3) God’s dwelling place above the firmament. The firmament is a solid structure according to the Bible. “Can you, like him, spread out the skies, hard as a cast metal mirror?” (Job 37:18). This is why it would need a foundation like the earth. The Bible teaches that the earth has a foundation that would make it stable. And we will see next that it was founded upon water. 

• It is established upon the waters: When God created the heaven and the earth, the first state of it was water. “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). On Day Two, God created the solid firmament to separate the waters above from the waters below. On Day Three, God gathered the waters under the firmament into seas, and then the dry land appeared. Yet, God testifies that there were also waters under the earth, for at the flood, He opened up the fountains of the great deep. This is the water that is under the earth. The Psalmist testifies of this truth: “For He has founded it [the earth] upon the seas, And established it upon the waters” (Psalms 24:2). The Apostle Peter says that those who deny this truth of God’s creation are willingly forgetful. “For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water” (1 Peter 3:5). This truth starkly contrasts the idea that the earth is spinning on its axis at 1000 mph and circling the sun at 66,600 mph, according to early NASA documents. Once people began noticing the many references to 666 in the globe model, they started rounding that number to 67,000. Here’s an early document that testifies to this: ⁴

  

  God said the earth was founded upon waters. We ought to trust Him.

• There are boundaries for the sea: God also created boundaries for the sea so that it could not transgress His commands. This boundary is a circle of land and ice photographed and mapped by explorers yet hidden from us today. God tells us in Job 26:10: “He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, At the boundary of light and darkness.” Wisdom herself was a witness to these things. She testifies of this and other truths about the nature of the earth: “When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep, When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth” (Proverbs 8:27-29). Please note here that the word circle refers to a compass-like drawing. Strong’s Concordance defines the word in this and other passages thus: “חוּג chûwg, khoog; from H2328; a circle:—circle, circuit, compass.”

• The earth has a circular shape: The same Hebrew word (Strong’s H2328) is used to describe the earth’s shape. “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in” (Isaiah 40:22). If God wanted to describe the earth as a sphere, he could have used a more appropriate word such as this one from Isaiah 22:18: “דּוּר dûwr, dure; from H1752; a circle, ball or pile:—ball, turn, round about” (Strong’s Concordance). The sphericity or lack of sphericity is not beyond the scope of this discussion. The features God built into the earth testify that it is fixed and stable. God, wisdom, apostles, and prophets have testified that these things are so.

Do We Really Take God at His Word?

When discussing these things, some people suggest that God was not as intelligent as modern scientists or that He was merely speaking in a language that primitive people could understand.

Yet, the Bible says we must live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. I had determined to share this podcast in a separate post, but it seems fitting to share it here.

Do We Believe In God or Do We Believe God?

“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (James 2:19).

All professing Christians claim to believe in God. The above podcast with Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts digs into the question behind the question. Do we merely believe in Him — or do we truly believe what He says? Many give lip service to taking God at His Word — until the Bible contradicts a strongly-held belief. We have all been guilty of this at some point in our life. That’s why the power of the Holy Spirit is so critical to guide us into all truth.

So we must ask some hard questions!

Was God being poetical when He said the earth has foundations? Was wisdom lying about the stuff she witnessed at creation? Did Peter resolutely mean that we are willfully ignorant if we’ve forgotten that the earth was founded upon the waters?

We want to say so because it is almost impossible to accept a fact that contradicts our modern understanding of science and cosmology — something taught from the cradle.

Have We Tested All Things?

To be wise, we must ask another question: have we tested and questioned modern science — or have we just accepted it blindly? The Bible warns us about inheriting the lies of our ancestors (Jeremiah 16:19) and challenges us to test all things, holding on to the good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

I can’t speak for anyone but myself. And I am guilty of blindly accepting what I had been taught about the nature of the cosmos from childhood. Yes, there were those fleeting doubts about digging down to China and wondering how we could be spinning when the earth seemed to be still. But, just like with Santa Claus, I accepted the truth as presented. What else would I do? I even chided my brother in 2017 when he told me that he thought the earth might be flat. But then 2020 happened, and I saw that the whole world gathered together over a lie, with all the governments colluding with the same agenda to push an experimental vaccine that couldn’t prevent transmission, didn’t stop infection, and was documented to harm people. That’s when one of my friends started to challenge my cosmological belief system with biblical and scientific evidence.

Fresh Eyes on the World and Scripture

I started to observe the world and read my Bible with fresh eyes. The Bible never mentioned the earth as moving (except when there was an earthquake). Yet, the Bible repeatedly said that the sun, moon, and stars were moving. And that’s what it seemed like was happening in the real world.

Many argue that God employed phenomenological language to convey what observers would see on earth. “It only APPEARS that the sun is moving.” “We KNOW that it is the earth that moves.” I will briefly examine how men have come to those conclusions in a bit. Yet, we cannot deny that these conclusions do NOT come from the Bible alone. Here are additional reasons why:

1. The earth was created before the sun (Genesis 1:1, 9-10, 14-19).

2. The sun was placed IN the firmament to give light on earth (Genesis 1:14,17).

3. The sun is said to make a circuit in heaven (Psalm 19:6).

4. The sun is said to come out of a pavilion and run a race (Psalm 19:4-5).

5. The sun is said to rise and set and hasten again to its place (Ecclesiastes 1:5).

6. Joshua commanded the sun to stand still — and it obeyed (Joshua 10:12-13).

7. God testified that the sun stood still (Joshua 10:13, Habakkuk  3:11).

8. The sun went backward (Isaiah 38:8).

9. The earth is the center of the universe because that’s what God created for man to dwell in (Isaiah 40:22; 45:18).

10. The moving sun serves the stationary earth (Genesis 1:14-18).

Not only does the Bible testify that the earth is not moving, but our senses tell us the same thing: We are not moving. Einstein admitted that no scientific observation could prove that the earth was moving. Yet, he said that he KNOWS it is moving. Is this based on the scientific method? No. Rather, it is based on faith. You can read about Albert Einstein’s Two Statements of Faith here. Documentation included.

Einstein’s statement that he could never prove the earth was moving came after a series of failed experiments.

The Aftermath of the Michelson-Morley Experiment

One such experiment was known as the Michelson-Morley experiment, which set out to measure the movement of the earth in the ether. When the results came back null, scientists and physicists had to find an alternate explanation for the failure. Why? Because the movement of the earth was based on philosophy, not science.

Below are some quotes describing the incredulity over the results of the experiment that failed to prove the earth was moving:

• “The data were almost unbelievable….There was only one other possible conclusion to draw–that the earth was at rest. This, of course, was preposterous” (Bernard Jaffe, physicist, taken from Michelson and the Speed of Light, p. 76).

• “The easiest explanation was that the earth was fixed in the ether and that everything else in the universe moved with respect to the earth and the ether....Such an idea was not considered seriously, since it would mean in effect that our earth occupied the omnipotent position in the universe, with all the other heavenly bodies paying homage by moving around it” (James A. Coleman, physicist, taken from Relativity for the Layman, p. 37).

• “But this implies the earth is somehow a preferred object…This is tantamount to assuming that the earth is the central body of the universe, an ancient idea that had been rejected centuries earlier (Douglas C. Giancoli, physicist, taken from Physics: Principles with Applications, 1985, pp. 613-614).

These are merely a smattering of admissions that they could not accept the results of the Michelson-Morely experiment due to their presuppositions that the earth moved and that the sun was the center of the universe.

But why did these men presuppose the earth revolved around the sun?

Occult Roots of Heliocentrism

Science should begin with an observation, followed by a hypothesis, and then move to an experiment. If we were to start with an observation (prior to NASA) — no one would ever question whether or not the earth was moving. They would know intuitively that it was not moving — unless they received their information from an outside source or some esoteric knowledge. And I maintain that is precisely what happened with Copernicus and others who wanted to give the sun the preeminent position in the universe. We don’t have to look far to ascertain this. Listen to the father of heliocentricism himself:

In the middle of all sits Sun enthroned. In this most beautiful temple could we place this luminary in any better position from which he can illuminate the whole at once? He is rightly called the Lamp, the Mind, the Ruler of the Universe: Hermes Trismegistus names him the Visible God, Sophocles’ Electra calls him the All-seeing. So the Sun sits as upon a royal throne ruling his children the planets which circle round him. The Earth has the Moon at her service. As Aristotle says, in his On Animals, the Moon has the closest relationship with the Earth. Meanwhile the Earth conceives by the Sun, and becomes pregnant with an annual rebirth.

— Nicholas Copernicus, De Revolutionibus, Of the Order of the Heavenly Bodies

You can learn more about the occult origins of heliocentrism in this documentary: “Heliosorcery: Exposing the Occult Origins of  Heliocentrism.” If you prefer to read about it, I highly recommend this article from Dispatches from Reality:

BC II: Scientism vs. Science

It is also interesting to note that two great Reformers from the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther and John Calvin, spoke harshly against the false doctrine of heliocentricism. Luther called the teaching unbiblical and Calvin called it demonic.

They understood the nefarious origins of the movement, no pun intended.

“There was mention of a certain new astrologer who wanted to prove that the earth moves and not the sky, the sun, and the moon. This would be as if somebody were riding on a cart or in a ship and imagined that he was standing still while the earth and the trees were moving. [Luther remarked,] “So it goes now. Whoever wants to be clever must agree with nothing that others esteem. He must do something of his own. This is what the fellow does who wishes to turn the whole of astronomy upside down. Even in these things that are thrown into disorder I believe the Holy Scriptures, for Joshua commanded the sun to stand still and not the earth [Joshua 10:12]. ⁵

— Martin Luther

Next are the words of the Reformer most noted for writing the enduring and faithful Institutes of the Christian Religion and transforming Swiss culture by teaching the people how to apply the Bible to all of life.

The Christian is not to compromise so as to obscure the distinction between good and evil, and is to avoid the errors of those dreamers who have a spirit of bitterness and contradiction, who reprove everything and pervert the order of nature. We will see some who are so deranged, not only in religion but who in all things reveal their monstrous nature, that they will say that the sun does not move, and that it is the earth which shifts and turns. When we see such minds we must indeed confess that the devil possesses them, and that God sets them before us as mirrors, in order to keep us in his fear. So it is with all who argue out of pure malice, and who happily make a show of their impudence. When they are told: “That is hot,” they will reply: “No, it is plainly cold.” When they are shown an object that is black, they will say that it is white, or vice versa. Just like the man who said that snow is black; for although it is perceived and known by all to be white, yet he clearly wished to contradict the fact. And so it is that they are madmen who would try to change the natural order, and even to dazzle eyes and benumb their senses. ⁶

— John Calvin

Concluding Thoughts

Steve, I know you worked for or with NASA (as did my husband). It is difficult to abandon experiences and observations that contradict the Word of God. The idea of infinite space, galaxies far, far away, and the potential to colonize other planets has had an emotional impact on many. People are captivated by the dream of exploring the vast universe we suppose God has created. Little boys (and now girls) want to grow up to be astronauts, old men muse about Buzz Aldrin taking communion on the moon, and we trust whatever our governments have said. It is nearly impossible for some to see outside of that realm. I understand that.

Not having had those experiences and aspirations myself makes it easier for me to examine the world around me with untainted eyes. I have ascertained that NASA employees are so compartmentalized that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. Have you ever seen Capricorn One? Not only is it a well-made and entertaining story, but it also captures the reality of this compartmentalization. After watching the Apollo 11 Press Conference on YouTube, I was surprised to see how unenthusiastic Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins were. They looked just like the astronauts in Capricorn One who had faked a mission to Mars.

If you’d like to research the legitimate questions surrounding the Moon Landings, may I commend the movie American Moon. It does not explore the topic from the angle of a stationary earth. Rather, it looks at the evidence as though we lived on a rotating globe. I don’t support those elements in the movie, but it addresses the evidence that the moon landing was faked.

You can watch American Moon on YouTube here.

I’m not sure if I have answered your question sufficiently. But I have presented biblical and scientific evidence that the earth is stationary. Take a few moments to relax, slow down, take a deep breath, and feel your position in this realm. Do you seem to be spinning at 1000 miles an hour, rotating at 66,600 mph around the sun — and if you believe in the Big Bang, careening through space at 1.3 million mph?

I choose to believe the Bible, my senses, and science based upon observations and not occult knowledge.

We each must determine truth based upon our understanding of our observations, the Word of God, and experimentation. Of course, the most critical question we must ask is this: What does God say?

His Word will always be the standard of truth. It just happens to also agree with my observations and my understanding of true scientific discovery.

Blessings to you and to all who believe God’s Word.

Sincerely,

Mischelle

1. For full disclosure: I slightly modified the question to correct typos and I’ve intentionally only used a first name for privacy.

2. You can look it up in the Blue Letter Bible. 

3. Learn more about the ancient cosmology here: https://www.moreunseenrealm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Heiser-Genesis-and-Ancient-Near-Eastern-Cosmology-FSB.pdf

4. As of the date of writing, you can still access a digital copy of the original here:
https://www.scribd.com/document/46099456/The-Moon-Probe-Pioneer-IV (accessed 6/22/24).

5. Luther’s Works, Volume 54, Table Talk, pp. 358-359, recorded by Lauterback, June 4, 1539 https://archive.org/details/luthersworks0054unse/page/n5/mode/2up (accessed 8/14/23)

6. Calvin Theological Journal Vol 15 No. 2, November 1980 p 233-243