 nd I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud and a fire infolding itself; and a brightness was about it and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. (Ezekiel 1: 4-6) KJV |
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UFO's "SIGHTED" IN THE BIBLE? Even non-Christian schoolchildren know of the Star of Bethlehem which rested over "the place where the Christ child lay" at Christmas. But have they heard about the "chariot of fire" that bore the Old Testament prophet Elijah up to heaven? And was it technically a UFO? Beginning Bible students (and Cecil B. DeMille fans, I presume) know of the pillar of fire and cloud which led the Israelites around the Sinai desert during the Exodus 14 wanderings. But were these earlier UFO's? Alien abductees and contactees today can certainly identify with the above prophet's description of an unidentified flying object in his 6th century B.C. book. But this is the Word of God and, as a vision from God, there MUST be something to it. Curiously, the prophet Ezekiel, like Jesus, was a 30-year-old priest beginning his divinely-ordained ministry when he had the vision near the Kebar canal just off the famed Euphrates River. His nation had been taken captive four years previously by the Babylonians. Here's what he saw -- a huge storm cloud approached from the north with a glowing light in the center which resembled shining amber-like metal ("chasmal" in Hebrew). He saw what appeared to be the actual "throne chariot of God (1 Chronicles 28:18) borne by four living creatures." We know from a later chapter that these creatures were angels known as cherubim, the same who guard the mercy seat throne on the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:17-22 and Numbers 7:89). The Ark and later the temple were symbolic representations of God's heavenly throne, a fact accepted by most reliable bible scholars. The bearers are frighteningly realistic -- they are part-humanoid, each with four faces, four wings, human-looking hands and calf's feet but standing on straight legs. The faces on each (man, lion, ox, eagle) covered all directions and their combined wing formation (in the shape of a travelling box) meant that they always move straight ahead in all directions. Beneath the cherubim were ubiquitous wheels which sparkled yellow-green as does chrysolite ("tarshish" in Hebrew). Two per each cherub, the wheels intersected each other at right angles, enabling the chariot to move in all directions without turning. The rims on the chariot were full of eyes. UFO so far, right? Frighteningly, the description is reliably and accurately translated from an ancient document which just happened to be supernaturally inspired. This is a most unusual and reliable witness usually given short shrift by most contemporary ufologists who do not know (or not care about) the Bible. |