Third International Conference on Absolutes Houston TX July

Third International Conference on Absolutes Houston, TX July 16 -18, 2007 Dr. Thomas M. Strouse Emmanuel Baptist Theological Seminary

I Jn. 2: 20 I. The Doctrine of Absolutes: “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know All Things” A. Indwelling Holy Spirit (The Author of Absolute Truth) “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (I Jn. 2: 27).

I Jn. 2: 20 I. The Doctrine of Absolutes: “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know All Things” B. The Word of God (The Book of Absolute Truth) “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth” (Jn. 17: 17).

I Jn. 2: 20 I. The Doctrine of Absolutes: “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know All Things” B. The Word of God (The Book of Absolute Truth) “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (I Thess. 2: 13).

I Jn. 2: 20 I. The Doctrine of Absolutes: “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know All Things” C. The Local Church (The Agency of Absolute Truth) “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Mt. 28: 19 -20).

I Jn. 2: 20 I. The Doctrine of Absolutes: “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know All Things” C. The Local Church (The Agency of Absolute Truth) “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (I Tim. 3: 15).

I Jn. 2: 20 I. The Doctrine of Absolutes: “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know All Things” D. The Pastor/Teacher (The Teacher of Absolute Truth) “And he gave some…pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints…” (Eph. 4: 11 -12 a).

I Jn. 2: 20 I. The Doctrine of Absolutes: “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know All Things” D. The Pastor/Teacher (The Teacher of Absolute Truth) “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves” (II Tim. 2: 24 -25 a).

II Tim 3: 16 II. The Doctrine of Absolutes: A. Inspiration “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Tim. 3: 16).

Ps. 12: 6 -7 II. The Doctrine of Absolutes: B. Preservation “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever” (Ps. 12: 6 -7).

Ps. 12: 6 -7 II. The Doctrine of Absolutes: B. Preservation 1. Words “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Mt. 4: 4).

Ps. 12: 6 -7 II. The Doctrine of Absolutes: B. Preservation 2. Vowels “Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day” (Jer. 36: 2).

Ps. 12: 6 -7 II. The Doctrine of Absolutes: B. Preservation 2. Vowels “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail” (Lk. 16: 17).

Ps. 12: 6 -7 II. The Doctrine of Absolutes: B. Preservation 3. Accents “Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel” (Dt. 31: 19).

II. The Doctrine of Absolutes: C. Translation “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, make known to all nations for the obedience of faith” (Rom. 16: 25 -26).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 1. The Literary Style a. The title (Gen. 1: 1) b. The content of the creative activity (Gen. 1: 2 -31) c. The conclusion (Gen. 2: 1; cf. 2: 4 b)

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching a. The initial creation of the earth (1: 2 -5) 1) The heaven was not created first because: a) The expression “the heavens and the earth” consistently refer to the completed creation (Gen. 14: 19; Ps. 121: 2; Mt. 24: 35);

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching a. The initial creation of the earth (1: 2 -5) 1) The heaven was not created first because: b) The completed creation cannot exist simultaneously with the uncompleted heavens and earth (vv. 2 -19 with v. 1);

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching a. The initial creation of the earth (1: 2 -5) 1) The heaven was not created first because: c) The verb bara’ refers to the finished creation;

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching a. The initial creation of the earth (1: 2 -5) 1) The heaven was not created first because: d) And linguistically, the waw (“and”) of v. 2 is disjunctive, thus not giving consecutive action, since it is attached to a non-verb (“and the earth”).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching a. The initial creation of the earth (1: 2 -5) 2) The earth was created first (1: 2) a) It was a sphere (a circle with depth) of water (Gen. 1: 2; Prov. 8: 27; Isa. 40: 22).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching a. The initial creation of the earth (1: 2 -5) 2) The earth was created first (1: 2) b) It was without form and void (uninhabitable and lifeless).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching a. The initial creation of the earth (1: 2 -5) 2) The earth was created first (1: 2) c) It was dark.

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching a. The initial creation of the earth (1: 2 -5) 2) The earth was created first (1: 2) d) The Spirit of God moved (rachaph) upon the face of the earth. This is the only verb of motion recorded during the first four days of creation (1: 2 -19).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: d) The Spirit of God moved (rachaph) upon the face of the earth. This is the only verb of motion recorded during the first four days of creation (1: 2 -19). i. He created light (cf. Isa. 45: 7) ii. He clothed Himself with the light (Ps. 104: 2). ) iii. God, as the light source, dispatched the darkness as He moved upon the earth (westward), producing the first evening and morning—Day One (yom ‘echad)

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching a. The initial creation of the earth (1: 2 -5) 2) The earth was created first (1: 2) e) On Day One, all that was created was the darkened sphere called earth, with the Lord as the light source, going around it. Creation was exclusively Geo-centric!

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching b. The developmental creation of earth (1: 6 -13) 1) On Day Two, the Lord divided this sphere of water with the firmament (raqia`), producing a sphere of water (Gen. 2: 4 calls this earth) concentrically in the midst of the outer shell of the watery original sphere (cf. Ps. 148: 4), separated by the heavens (hashshamayim).

On Day Two, the Lord divided this sphere of water with the firmament (raqia`), producing a sphere of water (Gen. 2: 4 calls this earth) concentrically in the midst of the outer shell of the watery original sphere (cf. Ps. 148: 4), separated by the heavens (hashshamayim).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching b. The developmental creation of earth (1: 6 -13) i. The raqia` (firmament) refers to the firm substance of the heavens. The verb raqa` means to spread out firm substances such as silver (Jer. 10: 9) or gold (Isa. 40: 19).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching b. The developmental creation of earth (1: 6 -13) ii. The hashshamayim is always a dual noun (not a plural noun like ‘elohiym), and linguistically and contextually, refers only to the first and second physical heavens of creation (presumably the third heaven [II Cor. 12: 2] was created at the same time but its creation is not recorded in this account).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching b. The developmental creation of earth (1: 6 -13) 2. The Spirit of the Lord, clothed with light, continued to move on the waters (outer sphere or inner sphere [? ]), constituting Day Two. Creation was still Geocentric!

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching b. The developmental creation of earth (1: 6 -13) 3. On Day Three, the Lord gathered the waters on earth and allowed the dry land to appear, calling this dry land “earth, ” and the waters “seas. ”

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching b. The developmental creation of earth (1: 6 -13) 4. He gave vegetation to the earth, making it with form and not void (cf. v. 2).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching b. The developmental creation of earth (1: 6 -13) 5. God refined His term “earth, ” moving His definition from the original sphere of water to the concentric sphere of water to the land mass upon the second sphere of water. The last two uses of “earth” permeate the Scriptures.

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching b. The developmental creation of earth (1: 6 -13) 6. Presumably the Lord continued to move as the light source around the waters, constituting Day Three. Creation was still Geocentric!

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching c. The creation of the sun, moon and stars (1: 14 -19) 1) They were placed in the firmament of the heavens (vv. 14, 15, 17).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching c. The creation of the sun, moon and stars (1: 14 -19) 2) Their three-fold purpose was to divide day and night (v. 14), to give light upon the earth (v. 15), and to rule the day and night (v. 16).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching c. The creation of the sun, moon and stars (1: 14 -19) 3) Their functions as light bearers were for signs, for seasons, for days, and for years (v. 14).

Gen 1: 1 -2: 4 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: A. Gen. 1: 1 -2: 4 2. Biblical Teaching c. The creation of the sun, moon and stars (1: 14 -19) 4) By the end of Day Four, the sun moon and stars were in the firmament as (moving) light sources for the immobile earth. Creation was still Geocentric!

Jos. 10: 12 -13 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: B. Joshua 10: 12 -13 1. The Human Perspective (v. 12) a. He prayed that the sun and geocentric moon would stand still (dom).

Jos. 10: 12 -13 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: B. Joshua 10: 12 -13 1. The Human Perspective (v. 12) b. He did not pray that the earth would stop rotating, which supposed action would not have caused the moon to appear to stand still.

Jos. 10: 12 -13 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: B. Joshua 10: 12 -13 2. The Divine Perspective (v. 13) a. The Creator-Author declared that the sun stood still (dom) and the moon stayed (`amad).

Jos. 10: 12 -13 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: B. Joshua 10: 12 -13 2. The Divine Perspective (v. 13) b. The Creator-Author declared that this divine phenomenon was written in the Book of Jasher.

Jos. 10: 12 -13 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: B. Joshua 10: 12 -13 2. The Divine Perspective (v. 13) c. The Creator-Author declared again that the sun stood still (`amad).

Jos. 10: 12 -13 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: B. Joshua 10: 12 -13 2. The Divine Perspective (v. 13) d. The Creator-Author declared that the sun hasted not to go down (lavo’) about a day.

Jos. 10: 12 -13 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: B. Joshua 10: 12 -13 2. The Divine Perspective (v. 13) e. Centuries later the prophet Habakkuk declared that the sun-moon (no conjunction) stood still (`amad [3 masc. sing. ]) in Hab. 3: 11.

Ps. 19: 4 -6 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: C. Ps. 19: 4 -6 1. The Place of the Sun – in a tabernacle in the heavens (v. 4)

Ps. 19: 4 -6 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: C. Ps. 19: 4 -6 2. The Movement of the Sun a. comes out (yotze’) of his chamber b. runs (larutz) a race c. goes forth (motza’o)

Ps. 19: 4 -6 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: C. Ps. 19: 4 -6 3. The Motion of the Sun—has a circuit (tequphah)

Eccl. 1: 5 -8 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: D. Eccl. 1: 5 -8 1. The earth abideth (`amad literally “stands”) for ever.

Eccl. 1: 5 -8 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: D. Eccl. 1: 5 -8 2. Three phenomenon which move relative to the standing earth: a. the sun rises, goes down and hastens to its place of rising.

Eccl. 1: 5 -8 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: D. Eccl. 1: 5 -8 2. Three phenomenon which move relative to the standing earth: b. the wind goes, turns, whirls, returns according to its circuits.

Eccl. 1: 5 -8 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: D. Eccl. 1: 5 -8 2. Three phenomenon which move relative to the standing earth: c. the rivers run and return

Eccl. 1: 5 -8 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: D. Eccl. 1: 5 -8 2. Three phenomenon which move relative to the standing earth: d. a total of sixteen words (2 verbs, 13 participles, and 1 infinitive) of movement for the sun, wind, and rivers relative to the standing earth.

Isa. 38: 8 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: E. Isa. 38: 8 1. The shadow of the sun dial went backwards (“bring” and “gone down”).

Isa. 38: 8 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: E. Isa. 38: 8 2. The sun went backward (“returned” and “was gone down”).

Isa. 38: 8 III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: E. Isa. 38: 8 3. The author of II Kings 20: 9 -11 said the sun moved (“go” and “to go down”).

III. The Absolutes of Geocentricity: F. All of theses passages teach by inference and declaration that the earth is stationary and that the heavens, along with the sun, moon and stars, make their respective circuits around the immobile earth.

Ps. 50: 1 III. Significant Passages Supporting the Absolutes of Geocentricity A. Minor Cosmological Passages 1. Ps. 50: 1—sun rises and goes down relative to the earth

Ps. 93: 1 III. Significant Passages Supporting the Absolutes of Geocentricity A. Minor Cosmological Passages 2. Ps. 93: 1—the psalmist used three Niphal (passive) verbs stating the stability of the earth and God’s throne, and the immobility of the earth.

Job 22: 14 III. Significant Passages Supporting the Absolutes of Geocentricity A. Minor Cosmological Passages 3. Job 22: 14—Eliphaz declared that the heavens (dual) have a circuit (chug).

Mt. 5: 45 III. Significant Passages Supporting the Absolutes of Geocentricity A. Minor Cosmological Passages 4. Mt. 5: 45—the Lord Jesus Christ said that the Father makes the sun to rise (anatellei, present active verb) and not the earth “to rotate or revolve. ”

III. Significant Passages Supporting the Absolutes of Geocentricity A. Minor Cosmological Passages 5. None of these passages suggests that the earth is rotating on its axis and revolving around the sun.

Job 38: 14 III. Significant Passages Supporting the Absolutes of Geocentricity B. Judgmental Movement of the Earth 1. Job 38: 14—The passage speaks of the Lord’s judgment on the wicked, when the subject of the verb, the earth, “is turned” (haphac), presumably during the Tribulation.

Isa. 13: 13 III. Significant Passages Supporting the Absolutes of Geocentricity B. Judgmental Movement of the Earth 2. Isa. 13: 13—during the Tribulation the Lord will shake the heavens (dual) and remove the earth out of her (standing) place.

Isa. 24: 19 -20 III. Significant Passages Supporting the Absolutes of Geocentricity B. Judgmental Movement of the Earth 3. Isa. 24: 19 -20—using three infinitive absolutes (intensive verb form), the Lord predicts that He will shake the earth like a drunkard reeling to and fro.

III. Significant Passages Supporting the Absolutes of Geocentricity B. Judgmental Movement of the Earth 4. None of these passages describes the earth rotating on its axis and revolving around the sun.

Job 38: 33 III. Significant Passages Supporting the Absolutes of Geocentricity C. Limitation of Man’s Physical Knowledge 1. Job 38: 33—The Lord challenged Job with two questions: does he know the ordinances (laws) of the heavens, and can he make them rule on earth?

Jer. 31: 37 III. Significant Passages Supporting the Absolutes of Geocentricity C. Limitation of Man’s Physical Knowledge 2. Jer. 31: 37—The Lord challenged man to accomplish two impossible feats, which if accomplished would nullify His New Covenant: measures (madad) the heaven (dual) and search out the foundations (chaqar) of the earth.

Conclusion Throughout the Tanak, the Hebrew text teaches absolutely that the earth is immobile, except when the Lord will shake it during the Tribulation, and that the heavens, along with the Sun, moon and stars, move in circuits relative to the earth. The Greek New Testament confirms this same teaching, declaring absolutely that the earth is the physical center of God’s creation, and that the heavens move geocentrically around the fixed earth.