Advanced Technology in the Bible |
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Old Testament .
Ezekiel Chapter One 1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3the word of the Lord came to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was on him there. 4 As I looked, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud with brightness around it and fire flashing forth continually, and in the middle of the fire, something like gleaming amber. 5In the middle of it was something like four living creatures. This was their appearance: they were of human form. 6Each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like burnished bronze. 8Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9their wings touched one another; each of them moved straight ahead, without turning as they moved. 10As for the appearance of their faces: the four had the face of a human being, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle; 11such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. 12Each moved straight ahead; wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13In the middle of* the living creatures there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving to and fro among the living creatures; the fire was bright, and lightning issued from the fire. 14The living creatures darted to and fro, like a flash of lightning. 15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them.* 16As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same form, their construction being something like a wheel within a wheel. 17When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved. 18Their rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were full of eyes all round. 19When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20Wherever the spirit would go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21When they moved, the others moved; when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was something like a dome, shining like crystal,* spread out above their heads. 23Under the dome their wings were stretched out straight, one towards another; and each of the creatures had two wings covering its body. 24When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of mighty waters, like the thunder of the Almighty,* a sound of tumult like the sound of an army; when they stopped, they let down their wings. 25And there came a voice from above the dome over their heads; when they stopped, they let down their wings. 26 And above the dome over their heads there was something like a throne, in appearance like sapphire;* and seated above the likeness of a throne was something that seemed like a human form. 27Upwards from what appeared like the loins I saw something like gleaming amber, something that looked like fire enclosed all round; and downwards from what looked like the loins I saw something that looked like fire, and there was a splendour all round. 28Like the bow in a cloud on a rainy day, such was the appearance of the splendour all round. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the
voice of someone speaking. |
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Ezekiel Chapter Three
12 Then the spirit lifted me up, and as the glory of the Lord rose* from its place, I heard behind me the sound of loud rumbling; 13it was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, that sounded like a loud rumbling. 14The spirit lifted me up and bore me away; I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me. 15I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who lived by the river Chebar.* And I sat there among them, stunned, for seven days. The "Glory" seems to indicate a reference to the vehicle of the Lord, and at this point Ezekial is taken with the vehicle. Ezekiel Chapter Eight 8 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the
fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the
elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the
Lord God fell upon me there. 2I looked, and there was
a figure that looked like a human being;* below what
appeared to be its loins it was fire, and above the
loins it was like the appearance of brightness, like
gleaming amber. 3It stretched out the form of a hand,
and took me by a lock of my head; and the spirit
lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me
in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the
gateway of the inner court that faces north, to the
seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to
jealousy. 4And the glory of the
God of Israel was there, like the vision that
I had seen in the valley. In this description it appears that a smaller vessel came to get Ezekial and take him to where the Lord and the bigger ship were. The interesting thing is that the elders sitting with him did not react, or at least the bible doesn't mention any reaction. Ezekiel Chapter Nine 9Then he cried in my hearing with a loud voice,
saying, ‘Draw near, you executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in
his hand.’ 2And six
men came from the direction of the upper
gate, which faces north, each
with his weapon for slaughter in his hand;
among them was a man clothed in linen, with a
writing-case at his side. They went in and stood
beside the bronze altar. 11 Then the man clothed in linen, with the writing-case at his side, brought back word, saying, ‘I have done as you commanded me.’ This portion is very peculiar.
It reads as if God is a military commander summoning
his forces. It clearly says "men with destroying
weapons". If God wanted destruction of the city why
not just make it happen? Why does he need men with
weapons to do the job? Ezekiel Chapter Ten 10Then I looked, and above
the dome that was over the heads of the
cherubim there appeared above them something like a
sapphire,* in form resembling a throne. 2He said to
the man clothed in linen, ‘Go
within the wheel-work underneath the cherubim;
fill your hands with burning coals from among the
cherubim, and scatter them over the city.’ He went in
as I looked on. 3Now the cherubim were standing on the
south side of the house when the man went in; and a
cloud filled the inner court. 4Then the glory of the
Lord rose up from the cherub to the threshold of the
house; the house was filled with the cloud, and the
court was full of the brightness of the glory of the
Lord. 5The sound of the wings of the cherubim was
heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God
Almighty* when he speaks. 6 When he commanded the man clothed in linen, ‘Take fire from within the wheel-work, from among the cherubim’, he went in and stood beside a wheel. 7And a cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, took some of it, and put it into the hands of the man clothed in linen, who took it and went out. 8The cherubim appeared to have the form of a human hand under their wings. 9 I looked, and there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like gleaming beryl. 10And as for their appearance, the four looked alike, something like a wheel within a wheel. 11When they moved, they moved in any of the four directions without veering as they moved; but in whatever direction the front wheel faced, the others followed without veering as they moved. 12Their entire body, their rims, their spokes, their wings, and the wheels—the wheels of the four of them—were full of eyes all round. 13As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing ‘the wheel-work’. 14Each one had four faces: the first face was that of the cherub, the second face was that of a human being, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle. 15 The cherubim rose up. These were the living creatures that I saw by the river Chebar. 16When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them; and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise up from the earth, the wheels at their side did not veer. 17When they stopped, the others stopped, and when they rose up, the others rose up with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was in them. 18 Then the glory of the Lord went out from the threshold of the house and stopped above the cherubim. 19The cherubim lifted up their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight as they went out with the wheels beside them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord; and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 20 These were the living creatures that I saw underneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim. 21Each had four faces, each four wings, and underneath their wings something like human hands. 22As for what their faces were like, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. Each one moved straight ahead. The description here indicates four smaller vessels sent out to rain destruction on the city with the bigger ship above them. It also indicates that Ezekiel and God were observing from the ground. Ezekiel Chapter Eleven 11The spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. There, at the entrance of the gateway, were twenty-five men; among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur, and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, officials of the people. 2He said to me, ‘Mortal, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; 3they say, “The time is not near to build houses; this city is the pot, and we are the meat.” 4Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O mortal.’ 22 Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was above them. 23And the glory of the Lord ascended from the middle of the city, and stopped on the mountain east of the city. 24The spirit lifted me up and brought me in a vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen left me. 25And I told the exiles all the things that the Lord had shown me. Seems these were the last trips Ezekiel had in the vessel as he was dropped back where he started and the vessel left. Throughout the incident, God never addresses Ezekiel by name, merely as Mortal. |
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The Story of Ezekiel has naturally
caused a lot of controversy between religious view
points and the ancient astronaut theorists. Looking at
the story in the above context it is easy to
understand why. Even debate on either side of the
fence is not completely unanimous in their opinion, as
these passages can be interpreted in many ways.
See the essay "The Spaceships of the Prophet Ezekiel" by Josef F. Blumrich. Josef was a NASA rocket scientist who set out to prove that it could not have been a spaceship or other vehicle, but ended up proving it could be... and NASA submitted a patent in his name for an "Omnidirectional Wheel" as a result. That much is history, not speculation. For an opposing view seee "The Spaceships of Ezekiel - A Sceptics Viewpoint" by Tim Callahan |
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