Did Jesus know the world is round?

It is a popular belief that in the past everyone thought the world is flat.  I have heard it said that Christopher Columbus proved the world was round when he discovered America.  The peasants might have thought the world was flat but the educated people knew it’s true shape.  They didn’t think Columbus would sail off the edge of the world.  They thought it was impossible to reach Asia by sailing west because the distance was too great.  If the American continents didn’t exist they would have been right.

Columbus believed the world was smaller than it actually is and that Asia was larger.  That is why he thought the land he discovered was in the East Indies.  That is also why the aboriginal Americans are still called Indians.

There is also a widespread misconception that the Bible teaches that the world is flat.  I haven’t studied much of what the Bible says on this subject but there is one thing I know for sure.  Jesus knew that the world is round.  Here is what he said about his return.

I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left.There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.  (Luke 17:34,35)

He said that two would be in one bed.  People sleep at night.  He said that two women would be grinding.  People work during the day.  He knew that when he returned it would be night in one part of the world and day in another.  That could only be true if the world is round.

Jesus was not only a man but was also God.  As God he made the world, so it isn’t surprising that the knows its shape.

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