But were there really flying machines in The Bible as some people now suggest? Did people as far back as the Old Testament see physical aircraft of some sort? Let's take a look at a few of the recorded sightings to see what The Bible actually says -

• In Exodus 13:20-22 the angel of The Lord traveled ahead and all around the Israelites in a "pillar of cloud" - it was seen as a dark "cloud" during the day in the bright sunlight, and as a flame at night in the darkness. Exhaust smoke and flame from a jet engine?

• In Judges 13:20 the parents of Samson spoke with an angel who upon leaving them ascended into the sky "in a flame." The flame did not come from the angel; the angel somehow rode the flame. Again, some sort of jet or rocket engine?

• In Deuteronomy 7:20, Joshua 24:12, and Exodus 23:28, The Lord sent "the hornet" ahead of the advancing Israelites to drive out their enemies. Although this could simply mean sending swarms of stinging insects, the Scripture does not say "hornets" - it says the hornet. (coincidentally, the modern-day Mcdonnell Douglas F-18 fighter aircraft is named the Hornet)

• In Ezekiel chapter 1, the prophet Ezekiel wrote of a "living creature" with wings and whirling wheels (NIV). When the "creature" was not in motion, the wings would rest downward, but when the wings "moved with a mighty sound" the creature would rise from the ground. Inside the creature was what looked like the face of a man. Some sort of helicopter?

In each of these incidents, we seem to be reading of spirit beings, whether God or of Angels, being transported in or by some sort of machine that used physical forces, whether flame or whirling wings, for motion. There are also recorded examples of humans doing the same.

Fact Finder: At the end of his ministry, how did Elijah depart?
(a) horse (b) walked (c) boat (d) into the sky on a "chariot of fire"
2 Kings 2:11

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