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16                                                  Is Mt. Sinai the Mountain of YEHOVAH?



                     Eusebius and other religious authorities of the time saw NO OBVIOUS REASON why
              Constantine would have picked Jebel Musa as the site of Mt. Sinai! The selection of this spot came
              through secret visions and supernatural revelations known only to Constantine himself and his
              mother Helena. As Ernest L. Martin points out, "The emperor's opinions, however, prevailed. He
              CLAIMED to possess divine knowledge, just like the apostles, and those visionary experiences
              gave him the essential teachings which he thought to have as their source his Saviour and which he
              considered necessary for all the Christian Church to follow" (Secrets of Golgotha, p.107).


                     Visions, dreams and miracles -- when they are obviously NOT from God -- are the most
              UNRELIABLE "proofs" for demonstrating historical, geographical and theological truths. Instead
              of relying on MANIFESTATIONS OF DEMONS, Constantine should have consulted the pages of
              the Bible for clues to determine the TRUE SITE of Mt. Sinai!


                                                The Biblical Evidence

                     When Moses fled Egypt in fear for his life, he journeyed to the land of Midian in the Arabian
              peninsula -- now part of modern-day Saudi Arabia. Here he helped the seven daughters of Jethro,
              priest of Midian. As a result he was invited to Jethro's home and entered Jethro's employment as a
              shepherd for his flocks. Eventually he married Zipporah, one of Jethro's daughters, and was blessed
              with two children.


                     Toward the end of his 40-year sojourn in Midian, Moses was shepherding Jethro's flock
              near Mt. Horeb, where he came across a sight that was to change his life forever. Notice the account
              in Exodus 3: "Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the PRIEST OF
              MIDIAN, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to HOREB, THE MOUNTAIN
              OF GOD." (Verse 1, RSV). Keep in mind the phrase, "MOUNTAIN OF GOD." "And the Angel of
              the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the
              bush burned with fire, but the bush was not consumed." (Verse 2).


                     Later on, after leading the Israelites OUT OF EGYPT and crossing the Red Sea, Moses en-
              camped near Mt. Sinai, which, in the biblical account, is termed the "MOUNTAIN OF GOD"!
              Shortly after arriving in the vicinity, "Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, together with Moses' sons and
              wife, came to him in the desert, where he was CAMPED NEAR THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD." (Ex.
              18:5).

                     To further reinforce the identity of Mt. Sinai, the narrative in the Book of Exodus states: "So
              he [God] said, 'I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you:
              WHEN YOU HAVE BROUGHT THE PEOPLE OUT OF EGYPT, YOU SHALL SERVE GOD
              ON THIS MOUNTAIN' " (Exodus 3:12). This promise to Moses was made from the burning bush
              while he was tending Jethro's flock in MIDIAN! Clearly, the MOUNTAIN OF GOD IN MIDIAN,
              where Moses lived for forty years, is the SAME MOUNTAIN OF GOD he led the Israelites to after
              the Exodus from Egypt!

                     This has not been lost on some researchers:








                                                               The Berean Voice September-October 2002
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