The Irish standard., 1909-06-19

can they even prove that thero were
any volcanoes in eruption along the
path, which the chosen people took
on their march to the Holy Land?
They cannot. But what are proofs
with people that rely utterly upon
conjecture? They are stubborn facts,
that look like strangers to them.
Now let us see what Holy Scrip
ture, the inspired book OF God, says
concerning the cloud and the appear
ance of fire. We will observe that there
is not an inkling in Holy Scripture oe
volcanoes in eruption whilst the Jews
Land
Nov on the day that the tabernacle
was reared up. a cloud covered it. But
from the evening there was over the
tabernacle, as it were, the appearance
of fire until morning. So it was All
ways; by day the cloud covered it.
of fire. And when the cloud that COW
cred the tabernacle was taken up, then
the children Of Israel marched for
ward; and in the place where the
cloud stood still. there they camped
At the commandment of the Lord they
marched, and at His commandment they
pitched the tabernacles. All the days
that the cloud abode over the tabcr-
nacie. they remained in tho same
place; and if it was so that it contin-
ued over it a long time, the children
of Israel kept the watches Of the Lord
and marched not, for as many days
soever as the cloud stayed over tho
| tabernacle. At the commandment of
the Lord they pitched their tents, and
at His commandment they took them
down. II the cloud tarried from eve
ming until morning, and Immediately
at break of day left the tabernacle,
they marched forward; and il it de-
! parted after a day and a night, they
took down their tents. But ir It re-
manned over the tabernacle for two
.4;a&ys, or q month or H. longer time,
the children Of Israel remained in the
same place, and marched not; but in.-
mediately as soon as it departed, they
removed the camp. BY the word of
the Lord they pitched their tents, and
by His word they marched; and kept
the watches of the Lord. according to
his commandment by the hand Of
Moses" So We read in the fourth book
of Moses, the book of Numbers, chap
ter nine. verses fifteen to twenty three
included ...
The cloud covered the tabernacle
1t does not say that smoke covered
the tabernacle; nor is it very likely
that the chosen people of God would
place their most sacred objects day
after day in the pestilent smoke waited
from burning crater. Neither can
we reasonably presume, as higher crit
les imply, that the Israeites followed
the current of the air in order to be
under the smoke Of the volcano; nor
is there any proof for the assertion
that these imaginary volcanoes were
so close together that the chosen peO-
pie could pass from the smoke Of the
one into the other. Besides the cloud
was on the tabernacle and not on
the people. When that cloud on the
tabernacle was taken up, then the
children Of Israel marched forward;
and not where it blew across, but
where it stood still, there they en-
camped. Holy Scripture says express
ly that the 1sraeltes marched on and
encamped at the commandment Of the
Lord: and not according to the shift
ing of the winds as some windy fools
would have it.
BY night the tabernacle was covered
by the appearance Of fire. in order to
cover the tabernacle with an appear
ance of fire, our windy advanced think
ers, consistent with their ridiculous
theory, will have to place the taber-
nacle on or near the crater Of burn
| ing volcano night after night for solno
forty years. They will rather resort
to such dangerous means than to be-
lieve Gods revelations, just as they
are given. These self-styled ad-
vanced thinkers do not try to read
facts out of the Bible; they try hard
to read their own insipid notions into
the Bible, whenever they read small
portion Of it. They seem to ignore
the fact that occurrences Of the past
do not depend on the fancy of any
man, and that miracles occur indc-
pendent of higher criticism, and that
higher criticism is often another name
for blatant stupidity and despicable
unbelief.
Only mental imbecile may venture
to question the fact that God is al