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. 4:11-12a).
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. 2:24-25a).
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. 2:4b)
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.