"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." - 1 Thessalonians 5:21
The Purpose of This Study
This workbook examines the historical, scientific, and scriptural evidence regarding cosmological models. Our goal is not to tell you what to believe, but to present information that is rarely discussed so you can "prove all things" for yourself.
We examine historical facts about how current models developed
We look at experiments that were designed to prove motion but failed
We consider Scripture's testimony about creation
We encourage critical thinking over blind acceptance
THE STANDARD CLAIM
"The Earth is a spinning ball orbiting the sun at 66,600 mph, while the solar system moves at 500,000 mph through the galaxy. This has been proven beyond doubt by science."
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
How was this "proven"? What experiments demonstrated Earth's motion?
Why did multiple experiments fail to detect Earth's motion?
Why does Scripture describe a stationary Earth with a solid firmament?
Why were these models adopted before any experiments were done?
REFLECT - Questions
1. Why is it important to question what we've been taught?
2What Scripture Says
RECEIVE - The Biblical Cosmology
"The world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved." - Psalm 93:1
SCRIPTURE ON EARTH'S STABILITY
Verse
What It Says
Psalm 93:1
"The world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved"
Psalm 96:10
"The world also shall be established that it shall not be moved"
Psalm 104:5
"Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever"
1 Chronicles 16:30
"The world also shall be stable, that it be not moved"
Isaiah 45:18
"He established it, He created it not in vain"
SCRIPTURE ON THE FIRMAMENT
Verse
Description
Genesis 1:6-8
"Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters"
Genesis 1:14-17
Lights placed "in the firmament"
Psalm 19:1
"The firmament sheweth His handywork"
Ezekiel 1:22-26
Firmament described as "terrible crystal," throne above it
Job 37:18
"Hast thou spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?"
"And Elohim made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament." - Genesis 1:7
Hebrew Word Study
Raqia (רָקִיעַ) - "firmament" - from "raqa" meaning to beat/stamp out, like hammering metal
Chuwg (חוּג) - "circle" (Isaiah 40:22) - refers to a circuit or dome, not a sphere
Plato (428-348 BC): Taught spherical earth based on aesthetics
Aristotle (384-322 BC): Combined philosophy with some observations
Key point: These were philosophers, not empirical scientists!
"Aristotle's arguments for a spherical Earth were based primarily on aesthetic and philosophical grounds, not on rigorous scientific observation."
- History of Astronomy
REFLECT - Questions
1. Was the spherical Earth model based on observation or philosophy?
4The Copernican Revolution
RECEIVE - How the Model Changed
Key Figures
Person
Contribution
Background
Copernicus (1473-1543)
Heliocentric model
Catholic canon, never proved motion
Galileo (1564-1642)
Promoted heliocentrism
Condemned by Church for poor evidence
Kepler (1571-1630)
Elliptical orbits
Occultist, admitted using imagination
Newton (1643-1727)
Gravity theory
Alchemist, occultist
WHAT MOST DON'T KNOW
Copernicus: Never conducted experiments; model was philosophical
Galileo: His "proof" (tides) was actually wrong; Church asked for proof he couldn't provide
Kepler: Openly admitted his work came through mystical revelation
Newton: Spent more time on alchemy and occultism than physics
"I much prefer the sacred scripture to the philosophers, for the former, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, can in no way be false." - Copernicus (yet he contradicted Scripture)
REFLECT - Questions
1. Did Copernicus prove Earth's motion experimentally?
5Failed Experiments
RECEIVE - Experiments Designed to Detect Motion
The Scientific Challenge
If Earth is spinning at 1,000 mph and orbiting at 66,600 mph, experiments should detect this motion. Scientists designed experiments to measure:
Stellar parallax: Star position shifts as Earth orbits
Aether drift: Movement through medium of light
Sagnac effect: Light speed differences in rotating systems
EXPERIMENTS THAT FAILED TO DETECT MOTION
Experiment
Expected Result
Actual Result
Airy's Failure (1871)
Light aberration from Earth's motion
Showed stars moving, Earth stationary
Michelson-Morley (1887)
Aether wind from Earth's motion
Null result - no motion detected
Michelson-Gale (1925)
Rotation detected
Could indicate Earth OR aether rotating
Sagnac (1913)
Rotation of platform
Detected rotation, not orbital motion
All experiments designed to prove Earth's motion either failed or were ambiguous!
REFLECT - Questions
1. If Earth is moving so fast, why couldn't experiments detect it?
6Airy's Failure
RECEIVE - The Experiment That Backfired
The Experiment (1871)
George Biddell Airy, Astronomer Royal, designed an experiment to prove Earth's motion using stellar aberration (the angle at which starlight appears due to Earth's velocity).
Or the entire aether (medium of light) moves with Earth
This is why it's called "Airy's Failure" - it failed to prove what it was designed to prove!
"The result of the experiment was thus a negative one... [it] failed entirely to show any change."
- Summary of Airy's experimental findings
REFLECT - Questions
1. What did Airy expect to find, and what did he actually find?
7The Michelson-Morley Experiment
RECEIVE - "The Most Famous Failed Experiment"
The Experiment (1887)
Michelson and Morley designed a precise interferometer to detect the "aether wind" that should result from Earth's motion through space.
If Earth moves at 66,600 mph through aether, light should travel differently in different directions
Interferometer could detect tiny differences in light speed
Result: Null - No motion detected!
THE CRISIS THIS CAUSED
This result was so shocking to the scientific establishment that:
It was called "the most famous failed experiment in physics"
Einstein had to invent Special Relativity to explain the null result
Relativity claims there is no absolute motion - convenient!
The simpler explanation (Earth isn't moving) was never considered
"The data were almost unbelievable... there was no significant difference... The result of the hypothesis of a stationary aether is shown to be correct."
- From the original paper
THE RELATIVITY RESCUE
Rather than accept Earth might be stationary, Einstein proposed:
Space and time are relative
Light speed is constant regardless of observer motion
Length contracts in direction of motion (Lorentz contraction)
All to explain why we can't detect Earth's motion!
REFLECT - Questions
1. What was the simpler explanation that was never considered?
8The Sagnac Effect
RECEIVE - What It Proves (And Doesn't)
The Sagnac Experiment (1913)
Georges Sagnac showed that rotation CAN be detected using light:
Light sent in opposite directions around a rotating platform
Difference in travel time detected
This is how ring laser gyroscopes work today
THE PROBLEM FOR HELIOCENTRISM
Sagnac showed rotation CAN be detected with interferometers
Michelson-Morley used similar technology but detected NO orbital motion
If we can detect platform rotation, why can't we detect Earth's orbital velocity (66,600 mph)?
The orbital motion is much faster than local rotation!
Inconsistency: We can detect small rotation but not massive orbital speed?
REFLECT - Questions
1. Why is it inconsistent to detect rotation but not orbital motion?
9Modern Contradictions
RECEIVE - Things That Don't Add Up
OBSERVATIONS THAT CHALLENGE THE MODEL
Observation
Expected
Actual
Gyroscopes on long flights
Should precess to match Earth's curve
Stay level (why planes adjust nose down)
Long-range sniper fire
Must account for Earth's rotation
Not accounted for in real calculations
Emergency plane landings
Should show curved flight paths
Great circles on flat projection work
Star trails
Should show parallax over 6 months
Identical trails all year
Southern hemisphere flights
Should be shorter going west
Often longer despite "rotation assist"
TECHNICAL ADMISSIONS
Aviation: Flight calculations typically assume flat, non-rotating Earth
Navigation: Ships use plane trigonometry, not spherical
Engineering: Large projects don't account for curvature
1. Why might practical calculations ignore Earth's curvature and rotation?
10The Firmament
RECEIVE - What Scripture Describes
"And Elohim said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." - Genesis 1:6
BIBLICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRMAMENT
Solid structure: "Strong as a molten looking glass" (Job 37:18)
Supports waters above: "Waters above the firmament" (Genesis 1:7)
Contains the luminaries: Sun, moon, stars are "in" the firmament (Genesis 1:14-17)
Has windows: "Windows of heaven opened" (Genesis 7:11)
Yahuah's throne is above it: (Ezekiel 1:26)
Operation Fishbowl
In 1962, the US military conducted high-altitude nuclear tests called "Operation Fishbowl" and "Dominic":
Names suggest testing a "dome" or barrier
Explosions at extreme altitudes
Results largely classified
Shortly after, space agencies formed Antarctic Treaty
REFLECT - Questions
1. How does Scripture describe the firmament?
11What They Admit
RECEIVE - Quotes from Scientists
"The struggle, so violent in the early days of science, between the views of Ptolemy and Copernicus would then be quite meaningless. Either coordinate system could be used with equal justification."
- Albert Einstein
"The Earth is at rest, and the Sun moves through the ether... This alternative, however, is absurd."
- Albert Einstein (choosing philosophy over observation)
"We can say that the universe is rotating and the Earth is stationary, or we can say the Earth is rotating and the universe is stationary. Both are equally valid."
- Fred Hoyle, Astronomer
"There is no planetary observation by which we can prove that the Earth is moving."
- Secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society
WHAT THIS MEANS
Top scientists admit:
Earth-centered and Sun-centered models are mathematically equivalent
Choice between them is philosophical, not observational
There is no experiment that proves Earth's motion
The model was adopted for philosophical reasons
REFLECT - Questions
1. Why would scientists choose the heliocentric model if both are mathematically equivalent?
12Biblical Cosmology
RECEIVE - Returning to Scripture
"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." - Isaiah 40:22
THE BIBLICAL MODEL
Earth: Fixed, established, founded on pillars/foundations
Firmament: Solid dome structure above
Waters: Below earth, above firmament
Luminaries: Sun, moon, stars IN the firmament, not millions of miles away
Purpose: Created for US, Yahuah's throne above
The Real Question
Which do you trust more:
The Word of Yahuah, who was there and created everything?
Or theories from men who weren't there and can't prove their claims?
If Scripture and "science" conflict, perhaps it's the science that needs reexamining.
RESPOND - Final Reflection
1. After studying this material, what questions do you have? What will you research further?