Hath God said?

Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, Until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies.
Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel.

Joshua 10:12-14 KJV.

Did the sun and the moon stand still in the above narrative, or did the earth stop spinning and stand still-which is it?

Lets read what Dr John Gill writes on these verses:

"How this is to be reconciled to the Copernican system, or that with this, I shall not inquire."

Well, I do inquire! the theories of men have put obstacles in the way of believing exactly* what God has said. Is it so difficult to believe that God could make the sun and the moon stop in their tracks? for He put them up there on the fourth day (or should I say down there?), Genesis 1:14-16, though some of the Bible commentators here mentioned tell us that the sun was always there on the first day, but the veil was lifted off it on the fourth day, or words to this effect.

Matthew's Henry & Poole, and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown's Bible commentaries on these verses offer some very strained interpretations, due to their believing the heliocentric theory that the earth is spinning around the sun. Also their earth is infinitely smaller than the sun, whereas it is the reverse that is true!
Now, if God stopped the earth from spinning and kept the inhabitants of the earth from flying off into space by His great power, I would believe it, but the only problem with this thesis, is that there are some seventy odd verses in the Bible that speak of the motion of the sun and moon, but you will search its sacred pages in vain to find even one minute suggestion anywhere, that the earth moves!
Dr Edward Young in his "Studies in Genesis One" (Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co.) writes on page 95:

 "It should be noted, however, that the work of the fourth day is not a creatio ex nihilo, but simply a making of the heavenly bodies. The material from which the sun, moon and stars were made was created, i.e., brought into existence, at the absolute beginning**. On the fourth day God made of this primary material the sun and moon and stars, so that we may correctly assert that the creation of these heavenly bodies was completed on this day. In similar vein we may also say that on the third day the creation of our globe was completed, although the primal material of the globe was first brought into existence at the absolute beginning. If we were to employ the language of day four with respect to the first work of day three we might then say that although the earth (i.e., in its original form) was created in the beginning, nevertheless, on day three God made the earth."

What are we to make of this nonsense? Dr Young has contradicted what God has said! What saith the Scriptures? "And God made (ex nihilo) two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also....And the evening and the morning were the fourth day." Genesis 1:16-19 (my emphasis). With this sort of 'exegesis' or should I say eisegesis, is it any wonder that the book of Genesis (origins) has come under such fierce attack when God's people write in this way? Sadly, many Christians sound in the Faith would agree with Dr Young's convoluted mishmash, but more to the point, what does God think of this? And reader what do you believe?

Truly, the Roman Catholic Church kept the masses steeped in ignorance, idolatry, and superstition. Little wonder the era just before that great move of God (the Reformation) was called the "The Dark Ages"! Sadly the Copernican system stuck with us; it became the 'scientific' explanation of the heavens above, nevertheless the Saviour said "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences must come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" Matthew 18:7. How many people have been caused to stumble as a direct result of the Copernican system? Many errantly think that modern science/astronomy has proved the Bible wrong! The 'vast' distances in the cosmos became the springboard for vast ages from whence sprang Darwinism (evolution). Without billions of miles (or light years) billions of years would have had no foundation in man's theorizing of how the origins of the universe came to be; evolution could not have gained a foothold. Not that there is a universe per se, only the heavens: the Bible speaks of a "third heaven" 2 Cor.12:2, so there is a heaven far above the firmament where the Almighty resides (Isaiah 66:1, Acts 7:49).

On the bright side, the above named theologians, believed and taught salvation by God's free sovereign electing grace through Christ's blood alone. Which is what I believe and teach, nevertheless, let us believe what God has said-and not twist His words? Why is it that God's word must bend to the theories of men rather than believe what is plainly written; so much so that a child of ten could understand? Likewise Dispensationalism bends "what is written" to the machinations of men, teaching two or more Second Comings of Christ, albeit one to the air and one to the earth separated by some seven years or more.

I must update and edit my online book soon "Antarctica, Does it End? Hast thou comprehended the breadth of the earth? Declare if thou knowest it all."

*Men often stumble when interpreting Scripture because of symbolic language in various places (but even here-symbols represent literal realities), but where are the difficulties in understanding the creation narrative? it is written in plain speech that a child can understand it!

**On this reasoning, we may say "Although man was created on the sixth day, he was really made in the beginning on the first day, because the primal material was all there for God to complete His work on the sixth day!"