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Continuing our discussion from part three, even if we choose to dismiss those verses in the Bible where a more mundane explanation can be found, as I stated earlier, it should be evident to anyone with an open mind, that in at least some of the Scriptures I have cited in this series, we seem to be dealing with something other than normal cloud formations. Again, regular clouds simply do not display the properties we have seen in some of these accounts.

More specifically, regular clouds simply do not possess any kind of intelligence. They do not possess the ability to follow people around in the desert. They do not possess the ability to receive people from the earth. Neither does a booming voice proceed from regular clouds. So, what were they, and is it possible that some people are still seeing them today, and simply not understanding what they are actually beholding?

In addition to Moses on the summit of Mount Sinai, the Bible does offer us several other possible explanations for some of the phenomenon we have discussed here. For example, the glowing cloud which filled the tabernacle and the temple has come to be known as the "Shekinah Glory", and signified the presence of the Lord. Exactly what was the "Shekinah Glory"?

If we can, for the moment, refer to the Lord and His Angels as inter-dimensional beings -- there are indications that they possess such qualities; please refer to some of my other articles -- could this cloud or vapor which appeared not only in, on or above the tabernacle and temple, but also upon mountaintops -- please see the previously-cited example of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration -- have been of the same type that was reportedly experienced during the secret government project known as the Philadelphia Experiment?

If you are interested in learning more about this alleged US government secret project, there is plenty of information to be found on the Internet. A number of years ago, there was also a movie made starring Martin Sheen. Of course, I'm sure that the facts were embellished in the movie for the sake of drawing the crowds, and making a hefty profit.

At any rate, is it possible that the cloud mentioned in some of these verses of Scripture was actually a by-product of the distortion of space and time during the crossover of these inter-dimensional beings from one plane of existence to the other? That is, from the Spirit World to our physical world? I honestly do not know the answer to this question, but the idea is indeed intriguing. As I briefly mentioned in part two, in my series "Great Cloud oof Witnesses: God's Holy Ghosts?", in his Epistle to the Hebrews, the Apostle Paul plainly tells us that we are encompassed about by a great cloud of witnesses. If you read Paul's previous remarks in chapter eleven, it is easy to see that he is referring to the Angels and Departed Saints when he speaks of this cloud in the following verse:

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,"


This is a clear indication that the other Unseen World may not be some distant place in physical space as some people have been led to believe. This verse seems to indicate that it may be a plane or universe parallel to our own, and that we may be in effect surrounded by it. You may recall that in his second Epistle to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul also mentioned a man who was caught up to the "third heaven", as well as the fact that he too sometimes had out-of-the-body experiences. In fact, as I point out in a few of my other articles which deal with the topics of UFOs, fallen angels, etc., some of the apocryphal writings, such as the Book of Enoch, speak of seven different levels of Heaven. Paul wrote as follows:

"I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."


I have mentioned before that I have wondered if Paul might have been referring to the Apostle John. You may recall that in the Book of Revelation, or the Apocalypse, exactly as Paul writes above, there were certain things which John was told not to write down, as we see here:

"And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not."


It is also interesting to note that in Paul's remarks about this man he knew, the Koine Greek word that is translated as the phrase "caught up" -- that is, "harpazo" -- is the same word that is used in the verses I shared with you earlier from Paul's first Epistle to the Thessalonians, where Paul discusses the rapture of the Saints. It is likewise the same word which the Apostle John uses in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation to describe how Jesus is caught up to the Throne of His Father following His Resurrection from the dead, as we see here:

"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."


This Greek word "harpazo" literally means to seize, to carry off by force, to snatch out or away; which implies that the action is being carried out by an external intelligent force. So this again begs the question: At the time of the Lord's return, and following the miraculous Resurrection of the Dead and their wonderful transformation, does this mean that the Saints simply begin to float up towards the physical clouds by some power of their own?

Or do all of these verses really mean that these clouds are in fact the Lord's "Celestial Craft", and that those who maneuver them use some kind of "tractor beam" to transport the Saints aboard their "Heavenly Vessels"? In other words, as I question in my "Chariots of Fire" article, are these Biblical writers describing a massive evacuation of the Lord's faithful from the Earth just prior to when His fiery judgments begin to fall upon the Beast, the False Prophet and all those who have foolishly received his mark?

Another element which seems to be common with a number of these Biblical stories, from Moses in the wilderness, to the end of the age prophecies which are contained in the Gospels, to the verses found in the Epistles, to the final Book of Revelation, is the inclusion of the sound of loud trumpets. While there are many verses which mention trumpets, allow me to share some of those which definitely appear not to be something of an earthly nature:

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives. And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, which come near to the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto the LORD, lest he break forth upon them. So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them."


"And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south."


"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."


"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."


"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."


"For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)"


"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,"


"After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter."


"And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets . . . And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound . . . And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!"


"And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates."


Exactly what were these clamorous noises which frightened the children of Israel so much, that they told Moses that they no longer wanted to hear the Voice of the Lord? In the well-executed movie "Moses", starring Ben Kingsley, these verses were interpreted literally, and we in fact hear the sound of loud trumpets, mixed with the special effects of a strong wind rushing down the sides of Mount Sinai, as well the summit of the mount being enveloped in clouds, smoke, and a fierce red glow.

For those of you who have seen the extremely popular movie "Close Encounters of a Third Kind", there is also a hint that Steven Spielberg may possibly have borrowed some ideas from this same story found in the Book of Exodus. The reason why I suggest this, is because in the scene where the mother ship finally begins to communicate with the scientists and military personnel who have set up their reception center on top of the mesa, the method of communication employed is an exchange of a series of harmonic sounds, which in fact sound like blasts from a trumpet. And as this musical dialogue is occurring, the lights on the periphery of the craft change color in sync with the sounds emanating from the ship.

In some of the previous verses, such as those found in the Book of Revelation, we are given the understanding that the trumpets mentioned are very literal in nature -- that is to say, that they are actual trumpets -- although it is also possible that the mention of trumpets is being used in a symbolic sense. In other verses, however, there is a hint that the trumpets may not actually be referring to musical instruments, but rather to someone speaking rather loudly. To support this idea, consider the following verse which is found in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah:

"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins."


On this same subject of speaking in a loud, booming voice, I am also reminded of the following interesting verses:

"The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea."


"And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory."


"And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters."


"And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:"


"And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."


If you have ever taken a hike into the mountains with one of your friends, and stood by a waterfall, or a rapidly-flowing river or stream, then you will understand exactly what these verses are talking about. The rushing sound of the water is so loud, that your friend cannot even hear you talking, even though you may be standing right next to him. This example gives us a very good idea of what the Lord's Voice must have sounded like to the Prophets and Visionaries of old. The last verse from the Book of Revelation regarding the thunderings also reminds me of these interesting verses which are found in the Gospel of John:

"Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes."


It is also interesting to note that the Hebrew word which is translated as "voice" in some of these verses, does not just mean a literal voice. It also refers to the sound emitted by a musical instrument, as we see in the following definition taken from the Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Hebrew Aramaic English Lexicon Hebrew lexicon:

----- Begin Quote -----

qowl {kole} or qol {kole}

1) voice, sound, nois
  1a) voice
  1b) sound (of instrument)
2) lightness, frivolity

----- End Quote -----

This same rule applies to the Greek word which is translated as "voice" in the New Testament -- that is, "phone" -- from which we obviously derive the word "telephone" and related words. Consider the following:

----- Begin Quote -----

phone {fo-nay'}

1) a sound, a tone
  1a) of inanimate things, as musical instruments
2) a voice
  2a) of the sound of uttered words
3) speech
  3a) of a language, tongue

----- End Quote -----

Putting all of the previous information together, we arrive at several possibilities then. First, some of the trumpets mentioned by the Prophets are meant to be understood in a very literal manner. That is to say, God uses such Celestial Instruments when it is time to make a particularly important announcement. Second, the trumpets are specifically meant to be understood in a symbolic sense. Third, God, Jesus and the Angelic Beings have very loud voices compared to our earthly voices.

That raises a final point regarding this issue. If they possess such loud, booming voices, why is this? Is there a possibility -- as I suggest in other articles -- that things in the Spirit Realm are much larger in size than they are on our physical plane? I honestly don't know the answer to this question, but it is an idea worth contemplating. One final possibility is that beings which dwell in the Spirit Realm are of the same size as we humans, and God simply uses one amazing acoustics system which is simply out of this world! And yes, the pun was intended!

Having now covered the issue of trumpets and booming voices, let us return to the topic of clouds. What we have seen thus far, is that there are at least four possible explanations for the clouds that are mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. The first explanation, which is rather obvious in many cases, is that these clouds were simply natural formations which result in precipitation. A second more controversial explanation is that the word "cloud" was used for lack of a better term, to describe the "Celestial Craft" which are used by the Lord and His Angels. A third and equally-controversial explanation is that some of these "clouds" may have been a by-product of the distortion of time and space when these crossovers from the Spiritual Plane occurred. The final explanation to consider is that these "clouds" symbolically represented the Angelic Host and the Departed Saints themselves, who may be much nearer than we realize.

But, even after considering these various possibilities, the fact still remains that they do not fully explain all of the verses we have examined throughout this series. For example, the Cloudy Pillar which led the children of Israel through the desert for many years clearly does not fit any of the previous explanations. As we saw in part one, this "cloud" could remain immobile for a day, a week, a month, a year or longer according to the Will of the Lord. It could even move forwards or backwards. As we already discussed, the Lord was able to peer out from within this unusual phenomenon, and He spoke with Moses through the same. It should be clear then, that the Cloudy Pillar of the Book of Exodus was not simply a high-level cumulus cloud formation resulting from the effect of high-velocity winds. It was something else.

Is it possible that the Cloudy Pillar was a tornado which was controlled by the Lord? Perhaps on some occasions, but we must remember that the Scriptures tell us that this cloud dwelt on, above or even inside the tabernacle. That being the case, common sense dictates that it is impossible for it to have been a destructive cloudy pillar such as a tornado.

Not only that, but we are told that the Lord descended down to the Earth in a Cloudy Pillar and appeared in the doorway of the tabernacle, or even within the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle, where Moses spoke face to face with Him. This clearly rules out the idea of the pillar being a tornado.

So what was it? If the Lord does possess some type of craft, is it possible that this particular pillar was some kind of a transportation beam which originated from the Lord's vessel which hovered overhead? Perhaps some of the technology found in the "Star Trek" series and movies isn't that far off-base.

In similar fashion, as we also saw in part one, during the night, the Israelites were led on their way by a pillar of fire. Some people have theorized that this pillar may have been the tail of a great comet which hung low in the sky in front of them. As I mention in the article "Birth of Jesus and the Star of Bethlehem", this is also one of the theories which has been proposed to explain the miraculous star of Bethlehem. Another theory suggests that the star of Bethlehem may have resulted from a unique alignment of several of the planets. Please refer to that article for more details.

However, as I already noted, similar to cloud formations, a comet simply cannot remain stationary for days, weeks or even a year without moving, unless of course the Lord was manipulating it. It may appear to be quasi-stationary for a short period of time due to its great distance in space in relationship to the observer's position on the Earth, but within a matter of days or weeks at best, movement will be observed. Furthermore, we must remember that the pillar of fire shone brightly on the camp of the Israelites, while projecting darkness on the Egyptian army.

So if none of these natural explanations provide a plausible answer, perhaps we need to consider something which requires a little more open-mindedness on our part. Is it possible that the pillar of fire may have been a brilliant beam which shone down from one of the Lord's great "Celestial Craft" in order to light the path of the Israelites as they traveled through the wilderness? Is it also possible that the huge silhouette of the same "Celestial Craft" against the night sky blocked out even the starlight from the Egyptian camp? It is a possibility worth considering.

As many of you will already know, even in our modern day, there have been many reports of triangular, mysterious craft in the night skies over the United States of America doing this very thing. Witnesses have stated that as these craft silently pass overhead, an entire section of the sky is blocked from view due to their tremendous size. Whether or not such reports are true I honestly do not know. In my entire life, personally, I have never had a UFO experience.

There is one other point which I would like to bring to your attention regarding these "clouds" which don't seem to fit our common definition of the word. This point is so obvious, that perhaps you have already considered it as you have been reading this series. By scientific definition, a cloud is basically a mass of condensed water vapor or ice particles. I even hesitate to use the word "mass", because compared to many other things which are found in our physical realm of existence, clouds possess very little mass; or at least the density of the water molecules or ice particles is such, that they give the appearance of being very thin indeed.

Many of you reading this have undoubtedly had the experience of driving up a high mountain road, or riding in an airplane at 30,000 feet. In such cases, you drive or fly right through the cloud mass as if it isn't even there. It may become rainy and foggy as you do so, but nevertheless, due to the mass and density of your own body, as well as that of the vehicle you are in, not to mention the speed at which you are traveling, passing through the cloud is like passing through thin air. Of course, there are a few exceptions to this rule; such as in the case of destructive tornadoes and hurricanes/typhoons. I personally have been through the eye wall of quite a number of these ferocious tropical storms. Let me tell you; it is one experience which one does not easily forget!

Now, perhaps you are wondering why this point concerning the mass and density of clouds is so important to our current discussion. Quite simply, because in some of the examples we have seen, we are told that certain individuals went up to Heaven in a cloud. And there lies the problem. For example, Luke states that during the Mount of Transfiguration incident Jesus and His three Disciples entered the bright cloud. If we accept the argument that this was just a regular cloud, or even some kind of celestial vapor or mist which was created as a result of the interaction between our two worlds, then scientifically speaking, there really isn't a problem. As I said earlier, maybe it just means that they were enveloped by it.

On the other hand, if what Luke really means is that they walked into a "Celestial Craft", that implies that it must have had substantial mass and density, because Jesus and His Disciples were still in their physical bodies. Again, common sense dictates that a human being simply cannot walk into an object unless it possesses some kind of solid structure; in which case it must also possess a certain mass and density.

You will recall how earlier we discussed Jesus' Ascension to Heaven, as it is described for us in the first chapter of the Book of Acts. We are told that a "cloud" received the Lord out of their sight. Here again we run into the same problem if we accept this as being a regular cloud. In the account, Luke does not mention anything about Jesus being transformed into His glorified body. It seems to me that if that had indeed occurred, surely Luke would have written about it, as it would have been one amazing sight to behold, and something which none of the Apostles would have ever forgotten.

If Luke included the incident on the summit of the Mount of Transfiguration in his Gospel, being a meticulous physician who was more than likely interested in the smallest details, particularly when those details might challenge his personal understanding of how the physical universe works, surely he would have informed us if something unusual had occurred at the time of the Ascension as well. Of course, the Ascension must have been one very awe-inspiring event in itself. In absence of any evidence from Luke, it leads me to speculate that Jesus was probably in the same body He had following His Resurrection from the dead. What was that body like?

As I point out in the article "Sex, a Bowl of Soup and the Nature of Angels", we know that after His Father had raised Him up, Jesus' body was indeed different in some ways. Yet in other ways, it was still very much the same. For example, we know that it was still of a physical nature, because when Mary was about to touch the Lord, what did He say to her? Consider what John tells us:

"Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."


If Jesus wasn't still in some kind of a physical body, then there would have been no way for Mary to touch Him. And if it wasn't possible for Mary to touch Him, then He wouldn't have had to tell her not to touch Him, correct? In similar fashion, consider the request that Jesus made to Thomas when He appeared amongst His Disciples the second time:

"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing."


Not only could Jesus still be touched and handled, but the Scriptures also make clear that He was still able to eat and drink as well. This again implies that there must have still been some physical quality to His recently-resurrected body. As I mentioned a moment ago, given the nature of Luke's job, he was apparently a man given to details; and in his account of the events which followed the Lord's Resurrection, he reveals some things which John does not, as we see here:

"And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them."


Notice what the Lord is saying in the previous verses. He states very clearly that He is not a spirit, and that He is just as much a flesh and bone human being as they are. Jesus even tells them to touch Him in order to prove His point. As if that wasn't already enough to convince them, it seems that Jesus may have even been hungry following His Resurrection. Wouldn't you be hungry too if you hadn't eaten in over three days? So Jesus then proceeds to eat the fish and honeycomb before their very eyes. Of course, I don't know that Jesus was really hungry. Maybe He just ate to give them further evidence of the physical nature of His body, and to prove that He was not a spirit, but a real, living human being.

Please go to part five for the conclusion of this series.

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