Question: What are the astronomical facts demonstrating the validity of Joshua's long day?

Answer: The battle against the five kings was at its height when Joshua issued his famous prayer.

"Then spake Joshua to the Lord...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...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 harkened unto the voice of a man..." (Joshua 10: 12‑14)

Without exception atheists, agnostics and skeptics have made all manner of fun of such a day as is described in the Book of Joshua. Theologians and church members have questioned the accuracy of the account.

With few exceptions Bible Dictionaries and Encyclopedias either ignore it altogether or declare Joshua was mistaken, assuming the day seemed to have been lengthened because of the extensive marching and fighting on the part of the Israelites.

The stock‑in‑trade argument against its occurrence is that if the earth, sun and moon remained in the positions as described by Joshua, the earth would have had to stop its spinning. This, we are told, would have been disastrous as the earth turns upon its axis at the rate of about 1000 miles per hour.

To suddenly stop turning would bring chaos, not only because of the loss of gravity, but the earth itself would fly to pieces. There is no way of knowing exactly what would happen if the earth did stop spinning.

However, even if their arguments are sound, there is still another explanation showing how the long day could occur without effecting the turning of the earth upon its axis. It is a law of physics that every force acts independently of every other.

While the earth is spinning, a force which is independent of the force causing this spin could be applied, affecting the polar regions and causing the earth to turn over upon a second axis independent of the polar axis of the earth without affecting in any degree its original spinning.

This can be illustrated (demonstrated) with a spinning top or gyroscope which can be turned over without affecting its spinning. The north pole could be made to make a complete circle, or one revolution, returning to its former position while the earth continued to spin on its axis and move forward in its path around the sun.

At the same time, through the new motion given to the poles, a given point on earth would be kept directly under the sun for the duration of this turnover.

The temporary second motion given to the earth WOULD NOT INTERFERE WITH THE EFFECTS PRODUCED BY THE CONTINUATI0N OF THE SPINNING OF THE EARTH UPON ITS OWN AXIS OR ITS MOVEMENT AROUND THE SUN.

The only recognized change would be that the sun would remain in an apparently stationary position over the point where upon the earth the new axis would be established, caused by the turning of the poles. This relative position would be maintained even while the earth spun upon its own axis as long as the ratio of turning given to the poles was such that it compensated for the surface movement at a given point directly under the sun.

It is not our purpose to say that this is what did happen, for we do not know, however it is our objective to show what could have happened! That the relative positions of the Earth, Sun and Moon could be maintained, as requested by Joshua, without affecting in the least the Earth's motion, both in its spinning upon it's axis and in it's movement around the Sun. If you are not willing, because of unbelief or not understanding the physical laws of all of God's creation.

Consider another interesting thought which has been interjected by some. But even that thought is merely an extension of the foregoing presentation. The Biblical account establishes the fact of an astronomical disturbance of great intensity which proceeded the beginning of Joshua's "long day." It was so severe that great stones came down from heaven so that more of the enemies of Israel died from this shower of stones (meteorites) than were slain by the armies of Joshua. (Joshua 10:11)

The context clearly indicate that a tremendous meteoric shower proceeded the event which caused the earth, sun and moon to remain in the relative positions as described by Joshua.

This condition could have been the result of an interspace visitor (Comet, small planet or Asteroid) come into our solar system, showering the earth with great meteoric stones, and at the same time exert such a tremendous influence at the polar regions, causing the earth's axis to make one complete rotation?

The field of force responsible for holding the axis of the earth in its present position could have momentarily interfered with by the close sweep of a comet or other celestial body with a highly magnetic core.

This body could have induced a secondary field of force, acting upon the earth, which is itself a magnet, much as a magnet impulse acts upon the armature of a rotor, causing it to turn.

The influence thus exerted upon the earth by a new field of force would have none of the evil effects, and the duration of those effects would be drastically reduced, from a direct contact between a celestial visitor and the earth, but it would nevertheless exert a tremendous pull upon it.

Thus, when the earth had tuned half way over, it would continue on and complete the revolution, even though the magnetic mass had passed on beyond the earth's orbit by that time, and right itself again in the original field of force.

All this would be possible if a comet or other celestial body passed close enough to the earth to set up a powerful field of force. The fact that a spectacular meteoric shower preceded the long day clearly indicates that such a heavenly visitor did graze the earth's surface as it sped through the heavens in its path around the sun.

Can there by any doubt that, here we have one of the most interesting accounts in the Scriptures of a physical phenomena that effected the relative motions of our sun, moon and earth.

It is an account of a stupendous miracle wrought for the benefit of Israel. Who is the person who can question the power of Almighty God. For it is beyond question that He who created all things could surely impose upon that creation the conditions which made the event recorded in the Book of Joshua possible. And still not break any of the laws of physics which He (God) Himself set in motion during the creation of all things.