Flat Earth, the Trinity, and Ancient Mysteries
What does the Bible really teach about the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost?
Whether you have come to accept Flat Earth theory (biblical cosmology) or Reformation Theology (sound doctrine)— one thing is certain — you LOVE truth and acknowledge that the Word of God, i.e., the Bible is truth.
I’ve noticed as I dig into the Flat Earth community, more and more people are believing and teaching that the doctrine of the Trinity is NOT biblical —and that, rather, it is an invention of early Christians or even the Catholic Church. And if that is the case, the doctrine should assuredly be rejected wholesale.
However, there may be more to this topic than meets the eye.
Today, we will explore the ancient foundations for the Trinity — so you can decide for yourself if it is merely a man-made doctrine or a God-ordained truth.
Three False Arguments Against The Trinity
Before we see what the Bible teaches on this topic, let’s look at some common mistakes I’ve seen people make when arguing against the Trinity. Below are three myths about the Trinity that should be avoided.
1. Rome teaches the Trinity so it must be false.
Yes. The Roman Catholic Church upholds the concept of the Trinity. They also call Mary a co-redeemer and co-mediator with Christ. So without a doubt, Rome has some false ideas about God and the Bible.
But the question isn’t whether or not the Trinity is a Roman Catholic teaching. The only question that matters is this: Is the doctrine of the Trinity taught in the Bible?
It’s easy to discount the idea of Mary as a co-mediator with Christ (i.e. — should we pray to Mary?). The answer is a resounding NO.
The Bible teaches there is only ONE mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ (I Timothy 2:5).
And the Bible also teaches that there is only ONE savior or redeemer. “I, even, I, am the LORD (YHWH), And besides Me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11).
Mary cannot mediate, nor can she save. It is God alone who does this through His Beloved Son.
On the doctrine of Mary, we must reject Rome’s teaching.
However, Rome also teaches that Jesus is God.
Should we reject that teaching just because Rome embraces it? Of course not. Rome is not the authority: God’s Word is the authority.
And the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ is God incarnate.
“In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God; and the Word was God; And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14).
So as Christians and Flat Earthers, we don’t accept or reject a doctrine based on the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Instead, we must go to the Bible.
The doctrine of the Trinity is one such doctrine that we cannot rely upon Rome to decide, whether for or against.
We must ask this question alone: Does the Bible teach the doctrine of the Trinity?
The only way to answer that question is to dive into the Bible itself.
But before we do, let’s consider another myth about the Trinity.
2. We must reject the Trinity because it has its roots in pagan culture.
Some Flat Earthers deny the doctrine of the Trinity because they believe it has its roots in pagan culture.
For example, in The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop writes, “The trinity got its start in Ancient Babylon with Nimrod - Tammuz - and Semiramis. Semiramis demanded worship for both her husband and her son as well as herself. She claimed that her son, was both the father and the son. Yes, he was “god the father” and “god the son” - The first divine incomprehensible trinity.”1
TrinityTruth.org explains that this false trinity of gods took many forms, “So in Egypt, their trinity became Osiris, Horus and Isis. In Greece it was Zeus, Apollo and Athena. And in India there was Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva… Rome…had Jupiter, Mars and Venus.”2
The same website also notes that the heathen trinity always consists of three beings: one the father, one the mother, and one the son. The son is also the husband of the mother, and the son is the father incarnate.
While there may be “echoes” here of the Christian concept of the Trinity, one could hardly argue that they are identical. One might even make a connection with the veneration of Mary as co-redeemer and co-mediator with Christ — but not with the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity in the Christian church.
For certain, one could argue that these trinitarian teachings are echoes of a biblical trinity that are grossly skewed — kind of how pagan cultures throughout history have echoed and skewed the creation account, the flood narrative, and the concept of blood covenants.
If we were to argue and say that the Bible’s account of creation is borrowed from or had its roots in pagan culture, we would be in grave error. The same would be true of the historical accounts of the deluge. Which came first, Noah’s Flood or the pagan accounts of a worldwide deluge? The Christian would answer that the historical account of the worldwide flood became part of the folklore of many nations. And the accounts echo the historical narrative. The non-biblical accounts may have even been written down before Moses recorded the biblical event — but the first to write something down doesn’t make them the champion of truth. Rather, the Word of God trumps pagan narratives.
God didn’t borrow from pagan culture when he asked Moses to record the Flood in Genesis 6-9. Rather, God had Moses record the true events that other cultures had recorded in their own literature.
Therefore, if we see echoes of the Trinity in pagan cultures, we should not throw out the doctrine based on that reasoning alone. We must go to the Bible to see if it is true. Scripture interprets Scripture, so we should and must begin there and look at both the Old Testament and the New.
Before we dig into the Word, there is one more myth I’d like to bust.
3. The word Trinity is not in the Bible, therefore it is a false teaching.
Some people claim that the Trinity is a man-made concept because the word Trinity is not found anywhere in the Bible.
Search for yourself, and you will see it is true.
The word Trinity doesn’t appear anywhere in the Bible.
Does that prove the idea is false?
Some people who discount the Trinity may also believe in the doctrine of the rapture. Yet, does the word rapture appear in the Scripture? The answer is no. We are not going to delve into the topic of the rapture today.
Whether you believe in the rapture or not — you must agree that the word does not appear in the Bible. But that fact alone does not prove or disprove the idea that is taught by or meant by the word rapture.
Another word that does not appear in the Scripture is the word Bible. Does that mean the Bible is a false doctrine? Of course not.
Here’s another group of several words you’ll not find in the Bible (for the record, I’m solely using NKJV in my search): Reformed; Presbyterian; Methodist; Denomination; Seventh Day Adventist; Cult; Occult; Heresy; Flat Earth; Globe; Curvature; Mass; Catholic; Incarnation; Legalism, Phariseeism; Antinomianism; and Protestantism.
Are there more? No doubt.
However, the lack of usage of these words in the Bible doesn’t decide if these ideas are right or wrong. We use language every day to explain things. The only way to know and understand what the Bible teaches on a subject is to study the Bible. And there is nothing wrong with using new language to explain and simplify ideas.
That’s why the word “Bible" can be used to describe the Old and New Testaments from Genesis to Revelation — even though the word does not appear in the text.
Using a word that’s not found in the Bible to explain a teaching that is found in the Bible — does not make that word or teaching false.
The real question remains: Does the Bible teach the concept of three persons in the Godhead?
In the Institutes, John Calvin implies that the church should not adopt new terms like “Trinity” lightly. Nonetheless, they should neither be dismissed lightly when it is necessary to define a doctrine of God that is clearly taught in the Scriptures. The name could be abandoned entirely if all would believe that the Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit — another false teaching on the nature of God — while also understanding that each has a separate subsistence yet is still unified in essence (or substance) as God.3
Are you ready to jump in?
What Is the Doctrine of the Trinity?
Let’s start with a working definition of the word Trinity so we can properly evaluate the doctrine in light of the Bible.
The website DesiringGod.org maintains that “the doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to the Christian faith.” Here is the definition they provide: “The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently, God is one in essence and three in person. These definitions express three crucial truths:
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons;
Each Person is fully God; and
There is only one God.”4
Let’s dig into the Bible to look at each of these three claims.
1. Does the Bible Teach Three Distinct Persons in the Godhead?
If the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct persons, we should see all three persons mentioned in the Bible separately.
Matthew 28:19 is one of the clearest examples in the New Testament of three distinct persons in the Godhead. Jesus is commissioning His disciples to begin their kingdom work of discipling the nations and teaching them to observe everything Christ commanded. He says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
One name. Three persons.
What about the Old Testament?
In Isaiah 48, God is revealing His plan to redeem mankind. In verse 12, the speaker identifies Himself as the First and the Last, the One who laid the foundation of the earth. One could identify this person as Jesus Christ when comparing it to Revelation 1:17 and other passages in the New Testament.
Verse 16 of the Isaiah passage reads, “Come near to me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning: From the time that it was, I was there. And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit have sent Me.”
Here we have Jesus Christ being sent by the Father and the Spirit. Three distinct persons. One essence.
Though I have only shared two verses here, both the Old and New Testaments are replete with such language. One cannot argue with the fact that the Bible speaks of three distinct persons in the Godhead — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. Does the Bible teach that each person is God?
What about point (2) above? Is each of these persons in the Godhead fully God? Let me make note that the word Godhead does appear in the Bible. See Romans 1:20 and Colossians 2:9.
First, we will look at the Father as God, then the Son, and finally the Holy Spirit.
The Father Is God: I don’t think there is anyone who would deny the Father as God. Nonetheless, for the sake of kicking every stone, consider these three examples: 1) 1 Chronicles 29:10: “Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: ‘Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.’” 2) James 3:9: “With it (our tongue) we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.” 3) Jude 1:1: “Jude. A bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ.” In these three verses, we see the Father is, without a doubt, fully God. Again, this is a mere smattering of verses.
The Son Is God: While Jehovah’s Witnesses and other cults seek to deny the deity of Christ, they must twist and distort the Bible to do so (or invent a plurality of gods or a lesser god). Let’s look at three Scriptures. 1) Speaking of Jesus, Isaiah 9:6 says of the Son of God: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Either Jesus is the Mighty God or there is more than one God, a lesser and a greater. 2) John 1:1 speaks of Jesus Christ, the Word become flesh. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Not only does this verse teach a distinction between the Father and the Word (Son) — it also teaches that Jesus (the Son) was and is fully God. 3) The Apostle John records Doubting Thomas calling Jesus God. Jesus receives the homage and title and does not rebuke Thomas: “And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). So here we see that Jesus Christ is part of the Godhead and fully God.
The Holy Spirit Is God: We’ve already demonstrated that the Holy Spirit is a distinct person from the Father and Son. Yet, the three are intrinsically connected. Again, we will look at three points of evidence from the Bible. 1) David prays of the Father that He not take His Holy Spirit from him. “Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Psalm 51:11). This same Spirit is elsewhere called the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). 2) If the Father and Son are God, so is Holy Spirit. Yet, the Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son, for in John 14:16, Jesus says: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.” This helper is the Holy Spirit, distinct from the Father and the Son, yet God. A thorough study of the Holy Spirit will reveal that He has all the attributes of God. 3) In Acts chapter five, we hear the story of Ananias and Sapphira lying to the Apostles about the value of a piece of property they had sold. “Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of land for yourself?…You have not lied to men but to God.’” Here, Peter calls the Holy Spirit God. This should put to rest the false notion that the Apostles and early church did not understand the concept of the Trinity — even if they did not use the word.
So far, we have demonstrated that the Bible teaches three distinct persons in the Godhead, each with the status and title of God. This is the TRI in Trinity.
3. Are the three persons in the Godhead ONE?
Now, let’s look at the unity in the Godhead. This is the NITY of the Trinity. Another way it could be said is Tri-Unity.
Deuteronomy 6:4 is the famous unity passage in the Bible. This is how we know, despite the three distinct persons in the Bible called God, that God is ONE. This is the Great Shema. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!”
It is a mystery. Much like marriage. In marriage, a man and a woman join together and become one flesh.
The word ONE in the Great Shema is Strongs H259 — the same word used in Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Moreover, the word God (Elohim) in Deuteronomy 6:4 has a plural ending. This verse could literally be translated as“The LORD our gods in ONE LORD.”
The idea of a plurality in the Godhead is not new to the New Testament, nor was it invented by early Christians or the Catholic Church.
Ancient Jewish writers wrestled with these ideas, and modern Jewish scholars admit the tension. Dr. Benjamin Sommer, biblical scholar and Jewish theologian, recognizes that the concept of a plurality of Gods who exist as One God is taught in the Old Testament. He asserts, “We Jews have no theological right to object to the Trinity.”5
Ancient Biblical Roots of the Trinity
And just as the doctrine of the Flat Earth begins in Genesis Chapter One, so does the doctrine of the Trinity.
Let’s turn there now.
The Trinity at Creation
Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God (Elohim - a singular word with a plural ending) created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:2: “The earth was without form, and void: and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God (Elohim - in the plural) was hovering over the face of the waters.”
Genesis 1:3-25: (Elohim - in the plural) continues with creation.
Note:
The Father is the Creator: “Thus says God the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it” (Isaiah 42:5).
The Son is the Creator: John 1:3: “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
The Spirit is the Creator: Not only was the Spirit hovering above the waters at creation (Genesis 1:2), but He was also participating in the creation. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath (Ruah — or Spirit) of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6).
Isaiah 44:24 unifies the Godhead as ONE and the same Creator: “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself.”
God stretched out the heaven all alone and spread the flat earth abroad by Himself. He had no helper. Yet, we know Jesus created all things. And God created all things through Jesus and the Spirit. The only way this is possible is if the three distinct persons in the Godhead are ONE.
Let’s get back to the Genesis creation account.
Genesis 1:26: “Then God (Elohim - in the plural) said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
God speaks of Himself in the first person plural: Us, Our.
Genesis 1:28: “Then God (Elohim - in the plural) blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
God wanted mankind to take dominion of His creation and spread out over the flat earth — which takes us full circle back to Babylon.
The Trinity at the Tower of Babel
When man decided to ignore God’s command to fill the earth and chose instead to build a tower up to the firmament of heaven in an act of rebellion — God had no choice but to intervene.
Elohim (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) conferred together to frustrate their plans.
Genesis 11:7: “Come let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
The Trinity was not invented in Babylon. No. Indeed. The Trinity was ruling over and judging Babylon, putting an end to their rebellion. And the Trinity continues to rule over Babylon today — and forever — intervening in Satan’s attempts and man’s plans to fight against God’s rule.
Yes, there is a mysterious element of the Trinity. This must not turn us away from believing the doctrine. Is it possible for humans to ever fully understand the nature of God? No. We must, however, accept what He has revealed in Holy Scripture.
Let’s end this discussion by showing how the Trinity will continue to fight against Satan’s Babylonian system until Christ returns.
God’s Marching Orders for the Church
Psalm 2 sheds light on God’s purposes for the church. Much like the mandate to Adam and Eve, as well as Noah, God wants the church to take dominion of His flat earth and rule over it in Christ’s name.
The theme of Psalm 2 is the triumph of the Messiah and the victory of His kingdom.
Let’s read it in its entirety:
Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
“Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
“Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
“I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”
Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
The trajectory of history
In the above passage, we see the trajectory of history: Just as God confounded the people at the tower of Babel — so God will continue to frustrate the plans of the elite controllers and evildoers in society. The only way for a civil ruler’s legacy to remain is for them to “Kiss the Son.” That means, that they submit to Him. Otherwise, they will perish along the way.
God’s Word cannot be broken.
We can expect the evil elites that are controlling our society today to fall, fail, and perish. Christ died for the nations. He commissioned the church to go and get them and teach them His ways so they too could enjoy the blessings promised to Abraham. “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18). “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29).
In Psalm 2, the Father promised to give the nations to Christ as His inheritance. See verse 8: "Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.”
Don’t think for one second that Christ forgot to ask. He paid for the nations with His blood — and He commissioned the church to go get them in His power (Matthew 28:18-20).
Christ died to take dominion away from Satan
Christ died on the cross so that Satan would lose his dominion over this earth. It’s a great reversal.
1 John 3:8: “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”
Notice the verse is past tense. The Son of God came to earth the FIRST TIME to destroy the works of the devil. And He accomplished it at the cross. We don’t have to wait for His Second Coming to see Satan put down.
Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth — and He has commissioned us once again to take dominion over the earth, go get His inheritance of the nations, join with Him to destroy the works of the devil, and teach the nations to obey everything that He commanded.
If we are not fulfilling His commission, but are instead rebelling like those at Babylon, refusing to take dominion of the earth, then we can expect the zeal of Elohim to once again frustrate our plans. We must be about God’s business of taking dominion of this realm God created for us to steward.
What is your focus?
Shortly before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His disciples that they were about to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. However, the disciples had something else on their minds.
“Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6).
Jesus rebuked them, saying, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
God doesn’t want us to focus on the times and seasons of the end. He will take care of those things. Instead, He wants Christians to be filled with the person of the Holy Spirit — the source of our power — so we can win the world to Christ and teach the nations to obey His Law of Liberty.
That’s our purpose.
We don’t want to neglect our duty and end up like Babylon.
What is holding us back?
There is only one thing holding us back from winning this world for Christ, proclaiming His Law-Word (Genesis to Revelation) over all creation, and crushing the works of the devil under our feet: Our faith.
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this the victory that has overcome the world — our faith” (1 John 5:4).
Do you believe?
The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, p. 51
https://www.trinitytruth.org/paganoriginsofthetrinity.html (accessed 8/16/23)
Calvin’s Institutes of Christian Religion 1.13.5
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-is-the-doctrine-of-the-trinity