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Continuing our discussion from part one, if you are one who has never read the Bible, or who has been erroneously led to believe that it is just some boring book meant for old religious fogies, I hope that your opinion has begun to change. Far from being boring, the Bible is the most exciting Book I have ever read. Not only does it reveal God's Plan of Salvation, but as you are undoubtedly beginning to see, it also provides us with some rather amazing glimpses of that Other World which evades our normal human senses. It is as if God has purposely placed a sort of veil between our physical world, and the wonderful Realm of the Spirit; and it requires a certain "tweaking" of our perception in order for us to see it and experience it.

As I explain in the series "Great Cloud of Witnesses: God's Holy Ghosts?", many people, including some Christians, have been given the erroneous impression that Heaven is just some far off place lost somewhere in the depths of Space. While I am of the belief that the Lord's Heavenly Headquarters -- that is to say, New Jerusalem -- is now located in some defined place which is beyond our current reach, we also know from the Scriptures that the Kingdom of Heaven is here and now. It is not only all around us, but it is within us as well, as Jesus clearly stated in these two verses:

"And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."


So in essence, we are surrounded by it. But as I also said a moment ago, we simply cannot see it at this current time, unless the Lord temporarily lifts the veil from our physical eyes, and allows us to catch a small glimpse of it. This is exactly what happened with the servant of the Prophet Elisha; and what he saw that day fits in perfectly with the theme of this series. Consider the following story where the king of Syria sent his army to fetch the Prophet Elisha:

"And he [king of Syria] said, Go and spy where he [Elisha] is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."


The previous account is not the first mention of the Lord's amazing Chariots of Fire with regards to the Prophet Elisha. Four chapters earlier, we discover exactly how Elisha came to acquire the Divine Anointing of his spiritual mentor -- that is to say, the Prophet Elijah -- and once again, it involves a fiery chariot drawn by Celestial Horses, and a mysterious whirlwind, as we see by the following group of verses:

"And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him."


It is easy to see the common elements between these accounts and others we have already examined. There are the chariots of fire, and there is the mention of a mysterious whirlwind. So once again, we can only wonder if what the Prophets might have seen, was some kind of circular, fast-moving, rotating object which was enveloped by some type of brilliant aura; just like the UFO reports which have become so common in our current day.

Due to there being nothing on Earth which was even vaguely similar, how else could the writers of the Old Testament describe these "Celestial Craft" except to tell us that they appeared as swift-moving, brilliant clouds which rode upon the winds, and spun like whirlwinds? Is it even possible that in the case of Elijah, this "Chariot of Fire" drawn by horses came out of the "Celestial Craft", picked up their passenger, re-entered the disc, and then sped off to Heaven like a whirlwind at unimaginable speed?

This leads us to the books of the New Testament, where we find the amazing story of a mysterious "bright cloud" which hovered over the Mount of Transfiguration and boomed out the very Voice of God the Father. Consider the following verses which are taken from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke:

"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only."


"And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves."


"And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen."


If you read the previous sets of verses carefully, you may have noticed a slight difference in Luke's account. Whereas Matthew and Mark tell us that this luminous cloud merely overshadowed the Disciples, Luke tells us that not only were they overshadowed by it, but that they in fact entered into it. This begs the question: Does this mean that they were merely enveloped by some form of Heavenly cloud or mist, or does it mean that they literally walked into the cloud; that is to say, that they were actually allowed to board some type of "Celestial Craft"?

Whatever the case may be -- and I honestly do not know one way or the other -- this event sounds very similar to what Ezekiel experienced in the Old Testament. In the above story, we are told that after experiencing the "bright cloud", and hearing the Voice, the Disciples fell on their faces, and were full of fear, until Jesus touched them and told them "Arise, and be not afraid". Ezekiel likewise fell to the ground full of fear, until he too was told to get up, as we read in these verses:

". . . And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me."


Returning to the amazing incident on the summit of the Mount of Transfiguration, I also find it rather interesting that once this "cloud" had disappeared, Jesus was found alone. In other words, it suggests the idea that Moses and Elijah may have actually been carried away in this "cloud". As you will see later in this series, this is by no means the only place in the Scriptures where we find such an occurrence.

There is one other point which is worthy of note regarding the above incident. You will notice that Luke tells us that Jesus' Disciples were overcome by a heavy sleep. I find it interesting that Luke is the only one to mention this fact. Why is this? Did the other two writers simply not deem this point important enough to mention it, or is it possible that being a physician, Luke suspected that there may have been something unusual about this state in which the Disciples found themselves? Remember; Luke was not an eyewitness to this event; so it must have been relayed to him by one of the actual participants; that is to say, Peter, James and John. Is it possible that Luke included this point because of the way in which the Disciple(s) later described this event to him?

We are given no indication in any of the three accounts at what time of day this incident occurred. Perhaps it happened very late at night, or just prior to dawn, when Jesus would sometimes go out and pray to His Father. If that is the case, then it makes perfect sense for the Disciples to have been heavy with sleep, and there is nothing more to discuss. But, being as I am going out on the limb with some of my personal speculations in this series, allow me to present you with one other possibility. In the New Testament, depending on the verse you are reading, the word "sleep" is derived from one of the following Koine Greek words. I have included the frequency of use as well:

katheudo - to sleep, to fall asleep, to be dead - 22
koimao - to cause to sleep, to put to sleep, to die - 18
hupnos - sleep - 6 exupnizo - to wake up, awaken out of a sleep - 1
exupnos - to be roused out of a sleep - 1

In Luke's account of the Lord's Transfiguration, the word "hupnos" is used. Thayer's Greek English Lexicon simply states that it means "sleep" and nothing else. This one-word definition may possibly be attributed to the fact that the lexicon also states that this word is an obsolete primary. However, there is another closely-related word, which is not obsolete, and which I suspect is probably derived from "hupnos". This word is the word "hypnos". Hypnos was the Greek god of sleep; and as you will probably recognize, it is also the prefix of a number of modern English words. My Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary defines "hypno" as "a combining form meaning "sleep", "hypnosis", used in the formation of compound words".

Having shared that information with you, allow me to propose the following question: Is it possible that the heavy sleep which was experienced by the three Disciples, was not merely a result of being tired, but rather an artificially-induced, trance-like, hypnotic state which overcame them as this event began to transpire? We have already seen how such spiritual events are indeed very hard on the human flesh. Some of the Lord's servants fell down as one dead when they had direct encounters with beings from the Spiritual World. In fact, as I have pointed out before, the Prophet Daniel even tells us that he was sick for days afterwards, as we see here:

"And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it."


So it's worth considering the possibility that the Lord may have allowed them to temporarily enter some kind of altered state in order to protect their bodies from too much stress. If there is any truth to this theory, it may also help to explain why after offering to make three tabernacles, Mark wrote concerning Peter "For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid"; and Luke likewise states regarding Peter's reaction "not knowing what he said". Perhaps it was indeed merely a matter of fear and nothing more. It isn't too difficult to imagine Peter telling Luke sometime after the event had occurred "We didn't know what was happening, Luke. We were scared out of our wits, and I just began babbling like a madman". On the other hand, it could be too that the Disciples had become temporarily disoriented, as a result of this inter-dimensional experience.

Here again, we find a rather interesting parallel to alleged modern-day alien abduction cases. Anyone who has looked into these matters, as I did those many years ago, will be aware of the fact that a certain number of common denominators have been reported between some of these cases. These include a temporary disorientation, a loss of memory, and an apparent loss of time. I am also reminded of certain information I came across regarding the US government's HAARP project in the state of Alaska. For the record, given the nature of the Internet, I cannot possibly vouch for this information. It could be true, but it could also be nothing more than the fabrication of someone's very creative mind. I will leave it up to you to decide.

According to the information I read at the time, the HAARP project utilizes a form of electromagnetic radiation known as ELF waves. That is, Extremely Low Frequency waves. Among other things, such as purportedly being used to alter the world's weather patterns, it has been claimed that ELF waves can be used to distort a person's mental perception, induce certain mood swings for the purpose of crowd control, create a dream-like state, and affect a person's speech.

If there is any truth whatsoever to these Internet claims -- I confess that I do not know with any degree of certainty that there is -- then I must wonder if these things are a result of the ELF waves themselves, or if the effects might be a by-product of the waves creating a sort of rift in the space/time continuum. In other words, a bridge between the physical plane and the spiritual plane. As I already said, this question is based upon speculation, which itself is prompted by what may be nothing more than Internet rumors; and we all know how such rumors abound.

Before returning to our study of the New Testament, allow me to draw your attention to another interesting verse which is found in the Book of Daniel, which also points to the fact that clouds are not always what they appear to be in the Scriptures. As I point out in other articles, the following verse appears to be describing Jesus, who is referred to as the Son of man, coming before the Throne of His Father, who is known as the Ancient of days:

"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him."


Notice that the verse states "and they brought him near before him". Who is this "they"? Is it possibly referring to the "clouds of heaven" which accompanied Jesus to the Throne of His Father? Interesting indeed. Equally as interesting is the fact that only a few verses earlier, in describing the end of the age when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of Christ, Daniel mentions the very same wheels of fire, and the very same fiery Throne, which were seen by the Prophet Ezekiel, who was one of Daniel's contemporaries. Consider the following verses:

"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened."


The previous verses are obviously describing the very same scene which the Apostle John describes for us in the Book of Revelation, as we see here:

"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."


Upon close examination, we discover that there is another common denominator between the visions of the Prophets John, Ezekiel and Daniel; and that is in their description of the beings they each saw. I discuss this very same issue in my article "God's Mercy, Judgment and Fallen Angels". Consider the following verses, paying special attention to the feet:

"And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass."


"And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about."


"And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate."


"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude."


"His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:"


"And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters."


"And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;"


Personally, I can't even begin to imagine gazing upon such a being. From reading these various descriptions, we are given the impression that the Lord, and others who dwell in the Spiritual Realm, have skin similar to the color of brass. But it is not just a regular brass-like color. We are told that it sparkles, that it is highly-polished, and that it seems to glow, just as metal glows brilliantly when it is purified in a hot furnace.

The aforementioned description reminds me of the "Cocoon" and "Cocoon II" movies which I saw quite a few years ago. While many movies today are nothing but time-wasters, occasionally a movie is released which contains some very interesting and inspiring messages for those who are in tune with God's Spirit. In my view, these two movies rank among them, even though they were of a secular nature, and contained quite a bit of comedy as well.

If you had the opportunity to see these two movies, then you will know what I am talking about. While the movies revolved around an alien/UFO theme, it became very clear to me that the people involved in their creation -- Ron Howard, et all -- were merely using the popularity of the UFO phenomenon, to convey an important message to the viewers regarding faith -- or the lack thereof -- life and death, resurrection, Heaven, etc.

The idea of our bodies being vehicles for our spirits was brought out very well in both of these movies. The appearance of the aliens themselves, who were known as Antarians, was indeed a brilliant spirit form, from which emanated a golden radiance. As I point out in the aforementioned article, if we can equate Spirit with energy, then the appearance of these beings in the movies bore some similarity to what we read in the verses I shared a moment ago. Of course, I am not saying that is exactly what Jesus and the Angels look like, as there were obvious differences. Nevertheless, the movies were very inspiring.

While we may not know exactly what the Lord and other beings of the Spiritual Realm look like, one thing we do know for certain, is that whatever substance their bodies consist of, and however they may look, we have the promise that one of these days when our physical lives come to an end, we will be just like them. As the Apostles John and Paul wrote:

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."


"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."


What an exciting day that will be indeed, when we finally receive our new glorified body! Having shared that wonderful news with you, we are now going to make a very interesting link between the words of the Prophet Daniel, and Jesus' sermon which is found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. You will recall that in describing his vision, Daniel stated that "the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven". Is it just a coincidence, that in describing His own return to the Earth when the age in question came to an end, Jesus used this very same phrase? Consider these excerpts taken from the Gospel of Matthew:

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."


Two chapters later, in Matthew 26, Jesus says this very same thing again following His arrest when He is forcibly brought before Caiaphas the high priest. Consider these verses:

"And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."


This mention of great power and glory seems to be a common theme which is found in a number of verses which describe the Lord's return. We find similar accounts in the Gospels of Mark and Luke as well, as we see here:

"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory."


"And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."


"And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."


"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."


Please notice the subtle difference between the last verse, and the ones which precede it. Whereas the others stated that Jesus would come in the clouds of heaven, the Lord tells us that He returns in the glory of His Father with the holy Angels; and that is the key. Is it possible that these clouds are in fact the holy Angels? Or better said, is it possible that these brilliant clouds are a vast "Celestial Fleet" which are maneuvered by the Angels, or Cherubims? Is it also possible that this great power, of which the Lord speaks, which is used to subdue the corrupt leaders of the Earth, are derived from these "Celestial Craft"?

Allow me to draw your attention to something else which is found in these verses. Exactly what does Jesus mean when He says that He will be coming in the Glory of His Father; and why is it that in describing His return to the Earth for His children, He states "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power"?

For many decades, Bible scholars and teachers and preachers have been telling us that Jesus will be returning soon. They have pounded this into our heads over and over again. There is not a knowledgeable Christian alive today who has not heard that the Lord may be returning soon. Exactly what is meant by "soon" -- assuming that it hasn't already happened -- is a matter of personal speculation and our individual understanding of the Holy Scriptures. For my own thoughts regarding this important matter, I encourage you to read my seven-part series entitled "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?".

As you probably already know, even a lot of secular people who are non-believers are aware of the fact that there are certain Christians who patiently await the return of Jesus Christ. Of course, many of these people merely scoff at such thoughts, exactly as the Apostle Peter foresaw. Consider the following two verses:

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."


Please go to part three for the continuation of this series.

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