John Bradshaw - Flat Earth
This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me for part 5 of our five-part series, "Conspiracy, More Than Just a Theory". We're looking at the greatest conspiracy of them all, the conspiracy to bring down the government of God and to cause Planet Earth to fall finally and forever into the hands of a fallen angel. This conspiracy is actually quite easy to see through, but like most modern conspiracies, your ability to see this one for what it really is correlates with your desire to actually want to do so. Look around the world. Standards are down. Violence is up.
The amount of people in the United States who claim no religious faith at all has risen more than 250 percent in the last 25 years or so. While the internet can be a tool for great good, it's also a toxic wasteland. Morality as we used to know it has been turned upside down. It's evidence that there's something going on behind the scenes. There's a spiritual war taking place, a battle for the soul of every person alive. The Bible says in the book of Revelation, "Rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the [inhabitants] of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has...a short time".
The less time he has, the more furiously the devil works. What that means for us today is that you have an increasing amount of people departing more and more from solid biblical principles. Now, you might expect that as knowledge increases, that as we march down through the stream of time, that people would actually trend towards believing what makes sense, what's true, and what's accurate. But in this massive universe-wide conspiracy, that's not what's happening. Now, I'm going to give you an example of that in just a moment, but first, let's take a look at another modern-day conspiracy theory.
When I was a kid growing up, we had in our family home a globe. I was fascinated by that globe. Far-off countries and continents and vast oceans. And like every other globe I had or have ever seen, it was round. It was a representation of Planet Earth, and it was spherical, like a ball. Every photograph that you have ever seen taken of Planet Earth from outer space, and there have been countless thousands of them taken, shows that this earth is round. But in spite of what most would believe is scientific evidence, photographic evidence, eyewitness testimony, the flat earth movement is alive and well. It was on the brink of dying out when the internet was born.
And with the advent of Facebook and then YouTube, there's no shortage of people willing to share their claims that the earth is not spheroid. A number of very high-profile people have come out and stated very publicly that they believe the earth is flat. In fact, there's a surprising chorus of voices around the world stating that, in their opinion, the earth is not a sphere. And why do they think that? Well, they believe it's all a conspiracy led by NASA and other government agencies. What about those photos that we've seen from space? It's showing us, we thought, the earth is round.
Well, they say they're all fakes. So could it be true? Has NASA spent the last 60 years fabricating false research, staging fictitious missions, creating thousands and thousands of fake photos and videos all in the name of a hoax? Not likely. In fact, no way in the world. You don't have to look very hard to find major holes in the flat earth theory. But there are people just like you and me who believe it wholeheartedly. There's a reason I'm in beautiful Washington state. I've come here to talk to a man who is fully persuaded the earth is flat. His name is Mark Sargent. Mark, let me begin by asking you this.
Mark Sargent: Yes.
John Bradshaw: How did you get into, how did you come to embrace the idea that the earth is flat?
Mark Sargent: Boredom, sheer conspiracy boredom, and that, and that is not a lie, and by that I mean I was into just about every conspiracy you can think of. And I wasn't a tinfoil hat-wearing, you know, Ted Kaczynski type guy. I was, I had an opinion on just about every conspiracy. And every conspiracy person knows about flat earth, and they all hate it. It's terrible. Everyone knows, it's like flat earth is silly. Uh, it's ridiculous. And it was one of my bucket lists. It's like, okay, I can shut this thing down. And so that's what I wanted to do, and I said, "I'm going to look at flat earth for the first time ever". And I clicked on a flat earth video on YouTube and immediately had a visceral response to it. Nine months later, uh, beginning of 2015, I was, I was beside myself. I couldn't prove the globe in a court of law anymore. So I made a series of videos called "The Flat Earth Clues," put them out to the internet. I said, you know what, the internet's smarter than I am. tell me where I went wrong. And everybody came back and said, "You know what, you may be on to something". And here we are, four years later.
John Bradshaw: So, many people are going to say, here's the earth.
Mark Sargent: Right.
John Bradshaw: It's a very small earth, if this was the earth.
Mark Sargent: Right.
John Bradshaw: But here's the earth. This is what we grew up knowing.
Mark Sargent: Yeah.
John Bradshaw: So...
Mark Sargent: Right.
John Bradshaw: ...explain to me how that...
Mark Sargent: How is...
John Bradshaw: ...isn't that.
Mark Sargent: Yeah, how is this globe not what we think it is?
John Bradshaw: Correct.
Mark Sargent: And I'll give you some short, the crib notes of this. Uh, mainstream science says that we are exactly this. We are this tiny little rock covered by a thin sheen of water, which is covered by a thin sheen of, of smoky atmosphere that's spinning around the universe in five different directions, and we are absolutely meaningless, we have no purpose in life, and we're an accident. Flat earth community says the exact opposite, that you're not this, that you're more something like this, which is a flat enclosed world with the North Pole at the center and the outer rim being made out of a continent called Antarctica, that we're covered in some sort of dome-like structure, that it was made by the Creator, or God, and if it was made by the Creator, then we absolutely have purpose. And this is what all cultures believed in at one point. Up until really about 500 years ago, just about every culture you could think of drew this image, instead of this. And it was only science that came along later that changed it from this to this.
John Bradshaw: So why do you think science would have done that? The, the understanding, as I understand it, is that there are people who, who, who know the earth is flat...
Mark Sargent: Right.
John Bradshaw: ...claim, however, that it is spherical. Why make that claim?
Mark Sargent: Well, [sighs] 500 hundred years ago, I can't exactly tell you why they said it, but what I'm saying here is even our best and brightest, even our best scientists didn't know until about 1960 what the world actually looked like. So, the big question is, is that, if you, the best and brightest figured out in 1960, would they tell people? If they've been telling people for 500 years that it was this, they say mathematically this is what it should look like, and then 500 years later in 1960 it's not this, but it's this... would you tell people? No, no, you wouldn't because at that point the major institutions that you've built up over the last five centuries are in jeopardy, so you have to keep this a secret for as long as possible.
John Bradshaw: So you think that science just feels like it has too much to lose because it would be embarrassed about its last so many years of...
Mark Sargent: Way, way more.
John Bradshaw: ...teaching?
Mark Sargent: Way more than that. What I'm talking about is, is three-fold, meaning... think about what would happen if all of a sudden the UN announced that, "Oh, yeah, by the way, this is what it looks like". Think of what might happen. Uh, first thing would be academically. Uh, every university in every country, we're talking astrophysics and astronomy, would have to shut down tomorrow. And they would not reopen. The remaining physical sciences, geology, hydrology, biology, archaeology, you'd have to be retooled from the ground up. That's every university. That's just academically. Economically, world markets would have to shut down for several months just to figure out what this means exactly. You know, I mean, come on, if Donald Trump caught pneumonia tomorrow, the markets would react. Imagine what would happen if you showed them this. But the big thing is religiously, which is the five major religious houses of this world, uh, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. You're all of a sudden giving them leverage against science, and you're asking them to show restraint. Not an easy thing to do because science would come back and say, "Okay, so you were wrong about this; what else are you wrong about? Let's revisit things like carbon dating, evolution, the Big Bang theory, dark matter". It goes on and on.
John Bradshaw: I'm really fascinated that you connect the flat earth with creation.
Mark Sargent: Yes.
John Bradshaw: And it seems that you connect the spherical earth with Darwinism and evolution.
Mark Sargent: Yes. Yeah, very, very much so. Uh, science built their institution off this icon. Everything that they do is based off of this. This is where the, this is their starting point.
John Bradshaw: So, we've sent satellites to Jupiter and through, almost through the bands of Saturn and so on and so on.
Mark Sargent: Right.
John Bradshaw: What are they sending back? What are we seeing from the Hubble Telescope?
Mark Sargent: You're seeing what they want you to see. And that's a great question because what I mean is every space story comes out, and we've been seeing a lot more of them recently in the last few years. Ever since we started doing our thing, there have been something, what I call "space beat" stories. They don't care if you even read the article. All they want you to do is glance at the headline because if you glance at the headline, and you even register the words, just for a second, it's all the same thing, and that is, "Hey, there's a thing on Mars that could be a face". "Hey, there's a hexagon on Saturn". "Hey, we're reclassifying Pluto". And so on and so on. It's all the same thing, and that is, "You're on a globe". It's just reenforcement for the globe. They're trying to keep this as secret as long as possible, and it's only now starting to fall apart.
John Bradshaw: So, are the other planets spherical?
Mark Sargent: They don't even exist. They're just lights in the sky. If you go to a planetarium, and you look up at Jupiter, and you have a pair of binoculars, well, does it make Jupiter more or less real? It's like, well, it doesn't matter because I'm in a building. It's like, yeah, who's to say when you walk out of that building you're just walking into a much bigger one? That's all we're really talking about here, a giant Truman Show, a giant structure with walls and a floor and a ceiling.
John Bradshaw: As you were researching this, you said it took you nine months to arrive at the position you now find yourself in.
Mark Sargent: Right.
John Bradshaw: What were the difficult questions where you said, "Ooh, the, the round earthers have really got a good point here"?
Mark Sargent: So, on a flat earth model, for example, the, probably the weakest point we have, and it's not that weak because there's nothing we can do about it, is the Antarctic sun. Meaning, if the sun and the moon are traveling around like mobiles above a child's crib, uh, and the North Pole's at the center, well, the Antarctic coastline can't get 24 hours of sun unless you have multiple light sources, or there's something going on with the light sources that we don't know about, and that wouldn't surprise me. Remember, the technology that we have now that we're using at this point is still not that advanced. We've only had HD televisions for 20 years. So the Antarctic sun is probably the, the, the worst, but compared to all the other points we have, doesn't even begin to balance the scales.
John Bradshaw: So, tell me about the flat earth community. How big is this community?
Mark Sargent: It's huge. There's, there's so many millions of people in this. I, I'm scared to even, uh, suggest the numbers. Meaning, uh, and I didn't even know how big they were until a survey came out by a research company in Britain called You.Gov, but not affiliated with us in any way. They're a scientific research company. They wanted to prove it for themselves, so they polled 10,000 Americans to see who was believing in this and who wasn't. And the number that really, really jumped out at them was the, uh, 18- to 24-year-olds, was a full third were believing in this model. And that's what has scared a lot of scientists to where there were scientific people that were coming out and making articles, saying, "Well, it's obvious that You.Gov did bad research". It's like, what are you talking about? It's your guys. Why are you attacking your own team? It's like, "Well, they obviously did it wrong. The numbers can't be 30 percent, 34 percent for 18- to 24-year-olds; it cannot be". It's like, yeah, it is. I'm, I'm absolutely guaranteeing that because not only am I talking to the 18- to 24-year-olds; I'm talking to the 12- to 17-year-olds. They're contacting me daily and trying to get me to do things with them.
John Bradshaw: Mark, thank you, really appreciate your time.
Mark Sargent: Thank you.
John Bradshaw: Thank you very much. So is the earth flat? No. It isn't. But more and more people these days are believing that it is. So does it really matter what you believe? Well, yes, it does. I'll have more about that in just a moment.
Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written. This is "Conspiracy, More Than Just a Theory". So you've got people who believe that the earth is flat. Well, how do we know it isn't? Eyewitness accounts. You've seen the photos, and people have been up there and seen the spherical earth. Does it matter what you believe? Well, you might debate that one way or the other when it comes to the earth being flat, but what about spiritually? Does it really matter what you believe? Look at this with me. It's Revelation 19, starting in verse 11: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God".
Goes on for two or three more verses. It's the return of Jesus to the world. Paul wrote about that same event in several places. Here's how he described it to the church of Thessalonica: "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord". Does it matter what you believe? Well, absolutely, as far as that affects your readiness for the return of Jesus. What you believe impacts how you live. Satan knows better than anyone that Jesus is coming back to the earth, and he doesn't want you to be ready for that. He's even prepared a huge deception, a huge issue at the close of time that will cause masses of people to lose their way spiritually.
Revelation 13:3 says, "And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast". Now verse 8: "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world". Then later in the chapter: "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name". If you were to read that without any sort of view of the big picture, it might sound as farfetched to you as the idea that the earth is flat, or that Bigfoot exists, or that chemtrails are poisoning the planet, or that aliens are being kept at Area 51, or that the moon landing never happened and was faked. But when you look at the Bible, there's no doubt. It's all leading to the return of Jesus, and when Jesus returns, time is up for the inhabitants of Planet Earth.
Revelation 22:11 says, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still". There will come a time that it will be too late; salvation will no longer be on offer. It's important to be ready for Jesus' return. As Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24, "Therefore you also be ready". What does the ending of this great conspiracy mean for people on Planet Earth? Well, one day there'll be no more sin and no more of everything bound up with sin. Revelation 21:4 says, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away".
No more death, no more funerals, no more surgery, no more illness, no more violence, no more crime. No more. Not forever. The Bible says we'll live in a place where the streets are paved with gold. Revelation 21:21 says, "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass". The tree of life will be there. "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations".
A world without sin, which means a world, a universe without the devil. Ultimately, sin and Satan will be no more. That's God's plan for the world. And of course, it's God's plan for you. God wants you to be saved. John 3:16 tells us that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life". Peter wrote that God is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance". That's 2 Peter 3, verse 9. Not that everyone will come to repentance, but that's God's will. It's what God is striving for. It's what His Spirit works for. It's why angels minister, to turn you towards heaven in one of the last days of the earth's history. But the devil works: temptation, distraction, self-interest, pride, skepticism, and on and on and on. So what is it that God is offering? In just a moment, I'm going to answer that question for you. I'll be right back.
Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. A moment ago I asked you to think about what God is offering you, that is, offering you and me and, in fact, even the whole world. The answer is simple: God's offering freedom. On the other hand, what's the devil offering? The devil's offering slavery. You see it when people are free to have a good time, and then they wake up hungover or sick or in jail or deeply ashamed. The devil has convinced people it's a bright idea to live independently of God. Or worse, that they can claim to believe, while that belief doesn't really change their lives, people who call themselves Christian while their actions definitely say otherwise. They might have fooled themselves; they haven't fooled God. There's not a person alive who's smart enough or strong enough to defeat the devil.
This conspiracy against the God of heaven, against His government, against His Word, in this conspiracy you've got on the one side human beings who have been weakened by 6,000 years of sin, who live in a world that is marinating in wickedness, and on the other side, you have a fallen angel who once dwelled in the presence of God, and his followers who also are fallen angels. What chance do we have? Well, thank God, we have every chance. While human beings are under the death sentence that sin brings, the Bible says in 1 John 1, verse 9, that "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness". God will forgive you of your sins. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit". Romans 8, verse 1. Then Jesus Himself will fill you with His presence. The Holy Spirit brings the personal presence of Jesus into your life. Paul wrote in Romans 6:18 that, "Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness".
God frees us from the power of sin, enabling us to live His way and not our own way, to live lives characterized by love and not selfishness. Paul said that if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creature. "Old things are passed away," he wrote, "behold, all things are become new". Second Corinthians 5:17. With faith in Jesus, you can live confidently as you look forward to eternity. He died for you. He's your Mediator in heaven, and He'll keep you through His power. And He's coming back to the earth to end this whole terrible thing that the devil has pressed upon the world. There's a massive spiritual battle raging in our world right now, but not a single person needs to end up on the wrong side of this. If you've sinned, God will forgive you. If you're weak, God will strengthen you. In fact, He says that His strength "is made perfect in weakness". If you're a failure, God will give you success. If you're new to faith in God, He pledges to grow you and nurture you and guide you. And God says He'll never leave you, and He'll never ever forsake you.
I'm grateful that throughout eternity sin will never rear its ugly head again. And through all eternity we'll be in the presence of Jesus. If it's hard to imagine what that'll be like, it won't be hard for much longer because surely Jesus is soon to return to this world. Now, the question is, will you be ready? Let's not make the mistake of looking into the future and saying, "I don't know if I can be good enough then". It's not a question of being good enough. It's a question of accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior and claiming His goodness as your own. When you've done that, you grow in His grace, and you just keep on growing in His direction and grow towards His kingdom. If you claim Jesus as your friend, as your Savior, as your Lord, you're claiming everlasting life. You're claiming readiness for Jesus' return. Let's accept that readiness from Jesus now.
Our Father in heaven, no, we're not good enough, no, we're not righteous enough, not righteous at all, and so we claim Jesus, not presumptuously, but in faith. We claim Him, saying thank You for His righteousness. And thank You for changing us from the inside out, for making us what we could not make ourselves.
Friend, are you willing to accept Jesus? I'm sure you are. He's willing to accept you. When we say "amen" in just a moment, I want you to say "amen" knowing that heaven is yours, that your name is written in the book of life and that when Jesus comes back, gravity will lose its power over the soles of your feet, and you will go up.
Our Father, we thank You for the reality of Your love, of Your goodness, and of Jesus' return and of eternity with You. We thank You in Jesus' name. Let's say together: Amen.