Benjamin Franklin famously said, “Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?” This analogy can also be applied spiritually, emphasizing that unused talents are of no benefit to the advancement of Yah’s Kingdom when kept hidden.

Enter Josh Boltinhouse. This talented brother in the faith is a commercial architect, who transformed his curiosity about Yah’s design of Creation into something extraordinary: miniature wooden models of the Circle of the Earth. (Isaiah 40:22, Genesis 1:6-8)

Yah often presents us with ministry opportunities that align with our unique gifts and interests. Unfortunately, many of us overlook these divine appointments, believing we lack the qualifications or talents to pursue them. However, using our abilities to bless others is the Father’s desire for His people.

While watching one of Ken Heidbrecht’s teaching videos on his YouTube channel, I came across Josh’s handiwork: a beautifully designed flat earth model, resplendent with flashing LED lights, proudly displayed on Ken’s coffee table.

As a proponent of biblical cosmology, I was keen to delve deeper. So I contacted Josh to explore his faith journey and discover what inspired him to design and create the Circle of the Earth Wood Models.

Hi Josh. Let’s begin with your testimony and how your faith journey led to this project.

My testimony is about as boring as they come.  I’ve grown up in and have lived in South Carolina my entire life.  I’ve been Southern Baptist my whole life.  But honestly, I would have had to describe myself as lukewarm. I was living a “good” life, was doing all the “right” things, etc.  But I wasn’t particularly excited about my faith.  It was just what I had always done and believed.  Before the past couple of years, I hadn’t really ever questioned much of anything about it.

What motivated you – a commercial architect by profession – to investigate the architecture of Yah’s Creation? What was the catalyst? 

Once Covid hit in 2020, I fell into what seemed like a never-ending series of rabbit holes that ended up with me questioning a lot of what I thought to be true.  With the farce of the “pandemic” and all governments worldwide walking lock-step in agreement on how to handle it, it opened up my eyes to the fact that everyone, especially those in power, could be “in on it,” whatever the “it” de jour happened to be.  Watching the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election and how little any of it made sense and saw just how openly the media would twist facts and outright lie, I was opened up to the reality that it’s called “political theatre” for a reason.  It is all a show.  Realizing that the public could be lied to on a massive scale opened me up to all sorts of truths.

I had always been fascinated with space and especially the “sci-fi” genre of television shows and movies.  I grew up loving Star Trek: Next Generation.  When reading the comments on random articles that dealt with space, I would see the occasional person post something about the Earth being “flat.” I would pass it off as someone being funny or just trying to be stupid for attention.  I finally came across a comment where someone posted a link to the Ewaranon series “What on Earth Happened.”  I watched all of those videos.  And then sought out some more.  

Finally, when I saw a video of a guy on a beach in California filming oil rigs 7 and 9 miles off the coast and then showing how the curvature math didn’t work, I was sold on the idea of “flat earth.”  Then I went and reread a lot of passages in the Bible (and discovered several I didn’t know about like Joshua 10), that confirmed this cosmology.  It really only took me about a week of researching to cross over to believing in Biblical Cosmology.  What I’ve realized with all truth, it makes things so much simpler.  For starters, I now know where God and heaven are (right above us).  How did they fit the moon buggy on the lunar lander? (it never happened)  How did 2 planes bring down 3 buildings? (it was controlled demolition)  Why did God make an infinite amount of nothing? (He didn’t, we’re the center of everything)

What inspired you to build these Circle of the Earth models? Are they meant to be tools for homeschoolers, conversation starters, or something else?

It’s all for the kids!  In 2022, once I had confirmed and understood Biblical Cosmology, I started looking for something to get for my two kids who were 7 and 9 at the time that reflected the nature of our realm.  We had a 3D puzzle globe that hung out in my daughter’s room, but that just made me angry every time I looked at it.  My search online for a model that reflected a proper cosmology turned up nothing but cheap-looking snow globes that contained a printed Gleason map on the inside.  So, I started imagining what a model could start to look like and I knew that I wanted it to be from a Biblical perspective.  As the idea of the model started evolving in my mind, I identified many verses that supported the shape of our realm.

What information did you rely on as your blueprint in designing this model? The Genesis account uses the word ‘firmament’ with the word ‘heaven’ but says very little about the behaviors of the moon and sun. What was your source(s) of information when creating your designs? 

The model is created from the Bible. I used Gleason’s map as the basis for the land and sea.  I searched out old maps for some artwork to include on the box.  Key verses that I included on the model are : 1 Chronicles 16:30, Psalm 96:10, Job 38:3-6, Job 38:14, Psalm 104:5, Proverbs 8:27-30, Genesis 1:6-8, Amos 9:6, Psalm 19:1. 

The paths of the sun and moon are taken from the Book of Enoch Chapter 72.  The idea came because it allowed me to show how the sun and moon circle over the plane of the earth.  The different gates gave a way for people to adjust the location of the sun and moon between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.  While it would have been cool to include the “seven heavens” in the model, the material constraints limited how I was able to represent the firmament.

Many believers in the heliocentric globe earth model bristle at the mention of biblical cosmology or ‘flat earth’, saying it is not a salvation issue. Have you encountered this as a rebuttal when trying to explain your views on biblical cosmology? Have you lost friends over your position? 

Truth is truth. If the enemy can get you to doubt page one of your Bible, then he has established a foundation to build lies to hide other truths from you.  When I first found out about biblical cosmology, I would drop some hints on Facebook that would make a critical thinker question what was being stated.  I’ve talked to a few people about it when I felt the door was opened.  I’ve debated a few friends about it.  But I haven’t lost any friends from talking about it. 

Being overly dogmatic about any issue isn’t ever really helpful.  It’s also not my job to convince anyone of anything. I point out that there may be other ways to think about certain topics, but I don’t feel I need to go scream it from the rooftops. I’ve had a couple of people respond with the “it’s not a salvation issue.”  But I feel that there is a lot more power in prayer when you actually know where to direct them versus just scattering them out to the aether, hoping they float to the right spot.

What materials did you use to construct these models? I love that you added a creative flair – LED lighting to one of the three designs. 

Circle of the Earth Model

Circle of the Earth Model

The models are made of a simple 1/8” birch plywood for the box and firmament pieces and a 3mm acrylic for the maps and sun and moon circuit disk.

If a believer in Messiah is ‘on the fence’ regarding biblical cosmology vs the heliocentric globe model that the culture constantly reinforces, what would you suggest they do to investigate the truth of Yah’s creation? 

If a believer is on the fence, I would tell them to just accept the fact that they have been deceived and lied to by the enemy to hide God from them and make him seem far away and to make you seem insignificant.  If you can’t trust page one of your Bible, why do you believe any of it?  Save all the mental gymnastics for the Olympics and trust what Genesis tells you about creation. 

 If you believe God flooded the earth in the days of Noah, just ask yourself where did the extra water come from? It came from the “waters above” and the foundations of the deep.  Yahuah is not the author of confusion.  His creation is very simple and easy to understand.  The enemy over hundreds of years has made it complicated and confusing.  Go walk outside and close your eyes.  Then ask yourself “Do I feel like I am spinning faster than the speed of sound.” Trust the senses Yahuah gave you.

How can one order one of your creation models? Do you handle international orders? 

Anyone interested in ordering a model can go to the website I created for them, www.yahscreation.com. I can ship internationally, but I ask that anyone outside of the United States email me at josh.boltinhouse@gmail.com with their address so that I can come up with a custom shipping quote.