🌎Clement of Rome (35 - 99 A.D.) reads globe earth/antipodes

🌎Clement of Rome (35 - 99 A.D.) reads globe earth with antipodes from Scripture - English & Greek Texts



If there are aliens in the cosmos then they argue over what Greek words mean.



▪️INTRODUCTION


Clement of Rome is the earliest of the church fathers who's Epistle To The Corinthians (A.D. 97) provides us deep insight at what the early Christians believed. Clement was consecrated by the Apostle Peter to lead the Church of Rome. The Apostle Paul favorably mentioned Clement in Philippians 4:3,

"And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life."

And Clement's name is in the Book of Life. This means he's saved. Though many flat earthers say Clement went to hell because he taught globe earth from Scripture. But they contradict Scripture by rushing to such judgment.


In the past I have covered more than one verse from Clement who taught globe earth. In this article I am only focusing on what is the most brilliant globe earth reference written out of all the church fathers. This article will start out covering the verse in English and then examine the same verse in Greek. So this article you will definitely want to take notes on because it ends the shape of the earth debate. This is the end right here. Checkmate for FE.


Why is this the end for FE? For starters, when the FE movement began they had plastered social media with a goalpost that said there are no globe earth teachings from the Bible before 1492. This is an atheist position. Many atheists I recently debated said that the church reinterpreted the Bible to mean globe earth after Columbus' 1492 journey to America. Well, actually, it was his journey to αντιπόδες. But more on that later. Even former President Obama said the church taught flat earth before Columbus. This means all we have to do is find one globe earth reference from 1491 and the atheists and their flat earth sidekicks lose their entire position. We really don't need to search hard to debunk the atheist position. Join me as we take a journey to A.D. 97.

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Clement of Rome - English



When I first read the featured verse here I remember just staring at this verse knowing there was something deeper than the surface. It bothered me that I could not figure out what is being said here. I eventually gave up and moved on. It wasn't until I read Origen's "On First Principles" that I saw Origen interpret the verse for me. So in the verse we read how the earth is a globe with αντιπόδες (antipodes) living on opposite earth.

“The ocean, impassable for men, and the worlds beyond it are governed by the same decrees of the Master” (Ancient Christian Writer's Vol.1, 20:8).

While there is a deep theological and historical significance to this statement, for our purposes here we will focus only on the shape of the earth.



▪️Origen (185-254 A.D.) Explains Clement's Comment:



Origen of Alexandria is an Ante-Nicene church father who wrote On First Principles, which is the very first book on Theology ever written by a Christian. The following quotation is taken from the John C. Cavadini edition.

“Clement indeed, a disciple of the apostles, mentions those whom the Greeks call “people of the opposite earth,” and speaks of other parts of the world which none of our people can reach, nor can any of those who live there cross over to us; and these parts themselves he called “worlds,” when he says, “The ocean is impassable to men, and the worlds beyond it are governed by the same ordinances of God the Ruler” (On First Principles, Chapter III verse 6).

Origen's explanation here is very important if we are to understand what Clement is saying. Origen mentions those who the Greeks call "people of opposite earth." He is referring to αντιπόδες (antipodes). Antipodes was a hotly debated subject of the time and the debate did not finalize until 1492 when Columbus discovered the Antipodes. Now lets be clear here: The Antipodes are both a part of the globe and are people....people who live on opposite earth. The Greek word αντιπόδες itself means globe for it only conforms to a globe in Greek.

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Greek Philosophy on the sphericity of the earth.



In 500 B.C., Greek Philosopher Pythagoras laid down his arguments that challenged the flat earth view held by Greeks in his time. Plato taught globe earth. By the time we get to Crates of Mallus the spherical shape of the earth was well accepted among Greek educators. Strabo claims that Homer knew the earth was round as early as the 7th or 8th century B.C. So even if we push back the timeline to the 8th century we're still in the time of the Prophet Isaiah. Yet Job (2000 B.C.), Moses (1489 B.C.), David (1060 B.C.), already knew the earth was spherical. Wikipedia will never admit this because they are antisemitic and as racists they will never give the Bible credit for anything. So if you do a wiki investigation they will tell you that the Jews (including Christian Jews) were the dumbest people on the earth. But that's how bigotry and antisemitism works. Nobody ever said bigotry was education. Moving on..



The Greek view of antipodes is best expressed on the globe of Crates. Moreover, the word οἰκουμένη can only be fully understood from Greek philosophy and how οἰκουμένη (the inhabited part of the globe) was also part of Crates globe.

In Greek philosophy the word οικουμενη is married to ἀντίποδες (antípodes) just as the properties of a living cell are married to the cell and cannot live apart from the cell, This is how the words ἀντίποδες & οικουμενη work together according to Greek philosophy.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipodes?fbclid=IwAR0qOycy47WyzSRgbdfdc7jzI7wc_y1wZnXmLyFCvjh452hf_e3dnVN7ss4



Wikipedia doesn't know that this lesson on Crates globe supports the Bible. If they knew this they would delete the link.


The Globe of Crates of Mallus
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crates_of_Mallus?fbclid=IwAR1UB4KwViw2zJTYSKcUNzayZJJOpNB0Z6oa_wIFao7-7p-WQaAsbD-ej4Q


To conclude: The Greek concept of the globe had 5 zones. Two of those zones are relevant to our discussion today. These two zones of the globe are oikoumene and the antipodes.

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Clement of Rome (35 - 99 A.D.) - Greek



In the early church, Greek was the main language. This is largely because the Jews were conquered by the Greeks and they had to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. 72 Jewish scholars were separated from each other as they each translated the Old Testament. The Septuagint (250 B.C.) was the result of this labor and the Jews were all very pleased with the new translation. By the 1st century A.D. the Hebrew language had nearly become extinct. Its actually amazing Hebrew survived.

The Bible of the 1st century was Greek. There was the Greek Septuagint and the New Testament. And yes, the NT was originally written in Greek. Those who say it was originally written in Aramaic are ignoring the parts of the Bible where Jesus speaks Aramaic and special emphasis is given to His use of Aramaic. This means speaking Aramaic was rare and special attention was given from the hearers whenever Aramaic was spoken.

The Greek Septuagint has always been the Old Testament of the Eastern Church. It was only the Western Church that made the switch to Latin. But this was done in the late 4th century. Prior to the change the entire Bible was read in Greek. This did not mean Hebrew was not known to the church fathers. Its just that Hebrew manuscripts at the time did not reflect the Paleo-Hebrew used to translate the Septuagint. Thus even Jewish Historian Josephus quoted from the Septuagint. Therefore Clement of Rome was very fluent in Greek and his main go to Scriptures was the Greek Septuagint for the Old Testament and the Greek manuscripts for the New Testament. So the early Christian movement was largely rooted in the Greek language.



The Greek Text for Clements Epistle To The Corinthians can be found on the link below.
www.textexcavation.com/greekclement17-32.html?fbclid=IwAR2nBhC8L4jZfhoJeSQ1awspkj-9Rk3JRSlm5QLf0b2lNmfGQa4CKEdfLbE



Here we will examine 20:8 of this Epistle.

"ωκεανος ανθρωποις απερατος και οι μετ αυτον κοσμοι ταις αυταις ταγαις του δεσποτου διευθυνονται."

Word: κοσμοι - nominative/vocative plural of κόσμος (kósmos)


The word κόσμος is found in the Septuagint. In the Greek Old Testament, κόσμος only seems to speak of the universe. Though in the Apocrypha, κόσμος shares the same context as οἰκουμένη. Nowhere, however, do we see οἰκουμένη and κόσμος used interchangeably better than in the New Testament.


Matthew 4:8 & Luke 4:5

"Again, the devil takes him into a very high mount, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory" (Matt.4:8 - 1876 Julia Smith Bible).

"And the devil, bringing him into a high mountain, shewed him all the kingdoms of the habitable globe in an instant of time" (Luke 4:5 - 1876 Julia Smith Bible).

The only real difference in these two verses is that Matthew applied the word G2889 κόσμος kósmos whereas Luke used G3625 οἰκουμένη oikouménē.



Matthew 4:8 - Textus Receptus

παλιν παραλαμβανει αυτον ο διαβολος εις ορος υψηλον λιαν και δεικνυσιν αυτω πασας τας βασιλειας του κοσμου και την δοξαν αυτων

Luke 4:5 - Textus Receptus

"και αναγαγων αυτον ο διαβολος εις ορος υψηλον εδειξεν αυτω πασας τας βασιλειας της οικουμενης εν στιγμη χρονου"

Keep in mind that both verses say the same thing for the most part. Matt.4:8 applies κοσμου and Luke 4:5 applies οικουμενης. But why does Julia Smith translate Matt.4:8 as "of the world" and Luke 4:5 as "the habitable globe"? I believe her reason was that she didn't have enough resources to verify the meaning of κόσμος. The reason why I believe this is because I've been in the same boat. So after reading Clement's Greek verse I had to contact a friend of mine who is a Greek scholar from Greece. After discussing the matter it was confirmed for me that κόσμος is an interchangeable word with οικουμενης. There are slight differences in the meanings but both words carrying the spherical meaning.



κόσμος means (a) the universe/cosmos (b) the world/globe/earth along with its inhabitants (c) people



Its one of those words that are contextually applied. Hey, nobody ever said Greek was easy to learn! But this will be helpful.



Word: κόσμος
biblehub.com/greek/2889.htm?fbclid=IwAR0YM_otOZ5MGIAZ6-Vf7mmMtJk29zVUAPWU4rusYHCmSabwue3FkOQ04eo



*Note: the spherical nature of the word was rare until the age of Ptolemies. This fits in well with the timeline of the Apocrypha.



We also see Latin words that carry the globular meaning in other verses where κόσμος is applied in Greek:



Wisdom of Solomon 6:24


▪️Greek: κόσμον
▪️Latin: orbis terrarum



Wisdom of Solomon 7:17


▪️Greek: κόσμον
▪️Latin: orbis terrarum


Wisdom of Solomon 11:22


▪️Greek: κόσμος
▪️Latin: orbis terrarum


John 15:19


▪️Greek: κοσμος
▪️Latin: mundus


1 John 4:14


▪️Greek: κόσμος
▪️Latin: Salvatorem mundi


Salvatorem mundi means Savior of the world (referring to Jesus) and its represented with the cross bearing orb.


As you can plainly see κόσμος is translated into Latin as orbis terrarum, mundus, and mundi. These are all Latin words that are meant to signify the globe along with its inhabitants. In English κόσμος is translated as "world" in the Apocrypha and New Testament. Flat earthers believe the English word "world" is a word without definition, used only as a space filler in a sentence so it will look cool on paper. But the word "world" carries the same meaning as οἰκουμένη & κόσμος.


English word: world


▪️1828 Webster's Dictionary
webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/world?fbclid=IwAR2jLsF__pNraR0eO-zWmOuxky2yMHHLk8FCYZ_0PGorAeb8R7L4Z62g2XM



Even in modern English the definition don't change:
www.dictionary.com/browse/world?fbclid=IwAR19lgSlSWFQfk6j8lGkCqOUYoDwOF9ZKxeyKiNfZ3UuF2Y58p00IuwJ8eE


www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/world?fbclid=IwAR3hUJqqsgRSROnueDjApEDFXid2wZ0RpNoskTRGmrbVzAQ4AE1eaRgLEDg



Next we have context. When either κόσμος or οἰκουμένη are used to describe the whole earth as a single entity then both words carry the globular meaning. Both words are used interchangeably in Greek.


Now that its established that κόσμος can mean the habitable globe, and is used interchangeable, the question may still arise as to why it refers to αντιπόδες (antipódes)? Though as pointed out earlier the words antipódes and oikoumene are both married to the globe. Their only difference is the location on the globe.



Q: What are αντιπόδες "antipodes" ?


A: Geography...the antipode of any place on the earth is the place that is diametrically opposite. So a line drawn from the one to the other passes through the center of the earth and forms a true diameter. Simply stated, these are people of opposite earth, whose feet walk beneath our feet. This is how the Greek word αντιπόδες is understood.

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Conclusion


Atheists will do or say anything to make the Bible a flat earth book. They are desperate to justify the lie that the Bible teaches flat earth. I've had numerous atheists and flat earthers say there no way the Hebrews could have known about the globe before the Greeks. Truth is, atheists and flat earthers are partly correct. There is no way Hebrews could have known the earth is round. But God knew. God is the one Who told His Prophets which is how the Hebrews knew the earth was spherical before the Greeks!


The Hebrew word tebel was translated into oikoumene. The word kosmos became another word used interchangeably with oikoumene.


Now both Clement and Origen were fluent in Greek. They both knew that oikoumene was the inhabited part of the globe. They both knew κόσμος (kosmos) was another word for οἰκουμένη (oikoumene) that also implied the inhabitants (people).


Now the question that remains is how both Clement and Origen knew that antipodes existed? After all, the existence of antipodes was not proven until Columbus. But how did Clement and Origen, who knew they could not make it across the ocean, know that the antipodes were there? I believe its how they correctly interpreted Scripture as a whole. I think the way they understood the New Testament had them firmly believing that people live on opposite earth - the antipodes. Yet we read how St.Augustine, who knew the Bible taught globe earth, and yet scoffed at the belief that antipodes existed. Therefore while the words οἰκουμένη and κόσμος do imply the antipodes, neither word confirms that the antipodes exist. So this was a matter of how one interpreted Scripture, to believe antipodes existed or not? Clement and Origin understood Scripture to confirm the existence of the antipodes, and Augustine understood Scripture as not confirming the existence of antipodes. As it turns out, Clement and Origen's understanding of Scripture was correct on the matter.


Again, the antipodes are people of opposite earth, whose feet walk beneath our feet. This is the thought expressed by Clement and confirmed by Origen.


So this concludes with a serious lesson for atheists and former Presidents and educators who think the church taught flat earth. The first church father said there were people living on opposite earth which also means he said the earth is a globe. But we only understand that in the context of Greek words and what they meant to the Greeks. We are also analyzing Clement's statement from a geographical perspective. Its when we understand what Clement meant in Greek is when we also understand that he mentioned the antipodes and there are no antipodes on a flat earth! The earth absolutely must be a globe in order for antipodes to exist. So now the goalpost that was set at 1492 by flat earthers has truly been scored!


So now what? How will the atheists and flat earthers continue to carry out their argument? The earliest source outside the Canon read globe earth from Scripture. Clement wasn't even trying to be scientific either. Nothing in his Epistle gives you the impression that he had a strong interest in science. I was even surprised he made a few comments about the shape of the earth.


For a bonus I'll quote one more globe earth verse from Clement from the same Epistle and only surviving work Clement has:

“Thus, by His transcendent might He established the heavens, and by His incomprehensible understanding He ordered them: the earth He separated from the water now encircling it, and firmly grounded it on the unshakable foundation of His own will” (33:3).

These waters are encircling the earth (Job 26:10). The Lord firmly grounded it on the unshakable foundation of His own will (Job 26:7)