A popular book, chariots of the gods, even makes the improbable suggestion that, in his chariot vision, ezekiel may have been visited by aliens. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The general public has in the main misunderstood kabbalah. The chariot comes in a storm, the sign of a theophany. The metaphysics of ezekiel a wondrous vision and most strange greater hekalot, c. In fact, this theory proved so convincing to one nasa scientist, josef blumrich 192002, that he wrote a whole book on it, including specs. I was wondering if anyone knew of some pictures in the societys publications of the chariot so that i have something to work with. The vision of ezekiel for an informed reading of ezekiel. Despite the above explanation of the connection between the haftarah and the holiday, a closer analysis still leaves room for discussion. These wheels were associated with the four living creatures ezekiel 1. Ezekiel 1 was chosen as the haftarah for the first day of shavuot, 1 as it picks up on the theme of divine revelation, which is what the festival celebrates. Most of his fellow prophets make no attempt to describe their mystical experience, only ezekiel describes his mystical ascent in. Here is the sun, indeed at the center of the universe, in a chariot controlled by a charioteer, in a vision recalling ezekiels vision of the divine chariot ezekiel 1.
Each of these beings had four different faceshuman, eagle, lion, and ox v. One modern explanation is that ezekiel, on of the four great hebrew prophets, observed parhelia mock suns, a phenomenon caused by reflection from water droplets or minute particles in the earths atmosphere. God approaches ezekiel as the divine warrior, riding in his battle chariot. And what is the significance of the chariots movements in relation to the earth. Ezekiels chariot vision encouragement for the worldwide. As such, the whole revelation by god in this vision to ezekiel, i. The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was the color of beryl, and the four of them had the same.
After god drives into town on a chariot pulled by four manbeasts at the beginning of the book, things dont necessarily become less weird. After pausing there, the heavenly chariot moves east of the city altogether to the mountain east of it and ezekiels vision ends 11. The commentary on merkevet yehezqel ezekiels chariot interprets the details of the prophet ezekiels chariotvision. Wheels supported the chariot throne, along with four unusual. Ezekiels vision of the mystic wheel, fra angelico, c. The book moves on to anticipate the destruction of jerusalem and the temple, explains this as gods punishment, and closes with the promise of a new beginning and a new temple inaugural vision ezekiel 1. What is the significance of ezekiels description of gods. This leads us to a hidden doctrine in judaism within the corpus of work identified as kabbalah. In revelation, section 2, the voice of jesus speaking to john is like the sound of rushing waters. Ezekiel 1 nrsvace the vision of the chariot in the bible. Ezekiels in babylon, having been exiled there after the first siege of judah by the babylonians. Meaning of ezekiels wheel within wheel bible study. Is ezekiels vision of the wheel evidence of ufos in the. Ezekiel 1 new revised standard version nrsv the vision of the chariot.
The story of the prophet encountering god spawned merkavah mysticism, aptly named for the merkavah or chariot on which ezekiel rode to the heavens. Ezekiels vision of gods chariot became the biblical text most important to. We also get a glimpse of gods glory manifested with his presence when riding a heavenly chariot. I though of the reaching lines as wings extending from the paths of the tree of life, as echoed in the words of isaiah 6. We will find that ezekiels chariot vision has a relationship to many other. Ezekiel 1 is the first chapter of the book of ezekiel in the hebrew bible or the old testament of the christian bible. Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
The nativity with the prophets isaiah and ezekiel, duccio di buoninsegna, th century. Followers of this type of mysticism sought to recreate similar experiences and ascend into gods realm. His famous vision of gods chariot in chapter 1 inspired countless mystics and poets in the jewish and christian traditions. From the truths exposed in the book of ezekiel we can expect the following trials if we persist in idolatry, complacency from false prophetical utterances, and not responding to calls for repentance. What exactly does ezekiels wheel within a wheel vision mean.
Here is where the mobility of the glory of god becomes important to the theme of the book. The book of ezekiel, chariots of fire, and spaceships. Ezekiel describes seeing a wheeled chariot descend toward him from the sky. Comparing his vision to babylonian iconography reveals that ezekiel saw a divine throne chariot of the heavenswidely described in the ancient biblical world. Ezekiels wheel within a wheel revealed stellar house. Ezekiels vision of chariot in sky and a hand in the clouds holding out a book to him, c. Ezekiels chariot vision gives us insight into the working of all the spiritual elements previously discussed in this study time, space, light, energy and mass. This book contains prophecies attributed to the prophetpriest ezekiel, and is one of the books of the prophets. The book of ezekiel has a beginning few readers can forget. Ezekiel had his vision in babylon as one of the captive exiles ezek 1. The prophets vision concerns four living creatures that served as a type of chariot for the divine throne, the place from which the likeness of the glory of the lord spoke to ezekiel vv.
A comment on ezekiels vision of god themes expressed. After all, the primary occurrence at sinai was the the revelation of g. A primary aspect of this process of spiritualization in the book of ezekiel is the manner in which the complex imagery of the thronechariot and of the action of the. It is important to elaborate on a few points raised in this article. On shavuot, traditionally we read the chariot vision of ezekiel as the prophetic haftarah. Is it merely an indescript, invisible organization in heaven that god presides over, which directs the affairs of gods servants on earth, as the watchtower has taught since 1929.
A depiction of ezekiels astonishing, glorious, magnificent, vision of god as described in the bible at ezekiel chapter 1. The book describes something observed in the first person, unlike many other biblical texts that are written in the third person. The earliest mystics of the merkabah in judaism deeply contemplated the spectacular vision that opens the book of ezekiel, one of the jewish texts. Ezekiels vision of the four wheels dramatically illustrates the omnipresence and omniscience of god. Heisers book i dare you not to bore me with the bible. This chapter provides an extensive and detailed account of maimonides exegesis of ezekiels vision, the deepest secret of the torah. How many times does ezekiels chariot vision appear in the text.
Ezekiel, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. Ezekiel 1 new revised standard version, anglicised catholic edition nrsvace the vision of the chariot. Ezekiels vision of the merkabah, the socalled wheeled chariot gives a lot of room for interpretation. As terrifying as this vision was, it vividly displayed the majesty and glory of god ezekiel 1. Please watch the video for more information on ezekiels vision of the chariot of god and much more regarding the heavenly angels of god at mythology explored by ancient mystery on youtube. Much of the imagery is similar to that found in the book of revelation. Is ezekiels vision of the wheel evidence of ufos in the bible. The book of ezekiel can seem vague and confusing for some readers, but with careful observation it contains key details god wants us to know about. Hey everybody for family worship, i am thinking of constructing a model of jehovahs celestial chariot as portrayed in the book of ezekiel. Ezekiels vision has been linked to synagogue zodiacs with helios and his quadriga chariot in the center, as at beth alpha, israel. We have arrived at the place in ezekiel where we will be examining the symbology of ezekiels chariot. See more ideas about ezekiels wheel, biblical art and bible. The book of ezekiel and the flying chariot of fire. In ezekiels vision, this throne sits atop the expanse.
But what does ezekiels rapturous vision of the chariot ultimately represent. He calls attention to features of different aspects of the vision in order to draw the readers attention to similarities between the way in which they are. Inside this wheel chariot were beings with the likeness of man. Blumrich entitled the spaceships of eziekel this book concludes that the passage shown above wasnt the whole story. Ezekiel 1 nrsvace the vision of the chariot bible gateway.
One of the interesting characteristics of the book of ezekiel as a biblical text is. This gnostic philosophy explains ezekiels vision of the. There are only two old testament scriptures that directly reference this strange heavenly vision of a wheel within a wheel observed by the prophet ezekiel. When we consider ezekiels background as a priest in the jerusalem temple where. Ezekiel 1 new revised standard version, anglicised catholic edition nrsvace.
As we will see, it also gives us a look at how complex and interrelated these elements are. The chariot is drawn by four living creatures, each having. In the chariot he sees the four creatures, each with four faces of a human, an ox, an eagle, and a lion. Standing by the kebar river ezekiel suddenly sees the vision of the chariot of yahweh 1. The main corpus of the merkabah literature was composed in the. Gods presence being revealed to ezekiel in babylon also. Ezekiels really concerned with observance of the rituals and laws of the temple. As we learned in the preceding chapter, ezekiel was in babylon, living among his fellow exiles in a community by the river chebar evidently a navigable, manmade canal that branched off from the river euphrates and later rejoined it. Maimonides uses hints to indicate that he interprets the vision as a parable of the cosmos.
The first chapter of the biblical book of ezekiel served as the textual starting point for. Ezekiels vision gift of the spirit the person of the prophetand his sufferingsin the bible are illustrative of the teachings that he delivers. Ezekiels vision of gods chariot became the biblical text most important to jewish mysticism. In this event, the prophet encounters a wondrous manifestation from the highest heaven. Qav hamiddah line of measure is another mystical essay that describes the divine instrument used by god to gauge the mystical overflow to the ten sefirot. This passage is the traditional haftarah that is read on the festival of shavuot. Jerome rothenberg and harris lenowitz, in a big jewish book, their amazing collection of the poetic, mystical, and subversive or superversive passages of jewish wisdom over the past 3,000 years, present their poetic translation of ezekiels mystical vision of the chariot. One of the key parts of the book of ezekiel is when ezekiel mentioned witnessing a wheel chariot come from the heaven towards him. Many of the divine visions that ezekiel shares are relevant to gods plans for reconstructing the present world and restoring his people to our former days in the garden of eden.
Encounter divine dreams and visions in the book of ezekiel. In the new king james version, this chapter is subtitled ezekiels vision of god, and in the new international version, ezekiels inaugural vision. A comment on ezekiels vision of godthe chariot of the lord. When i began to extend the lines of adam kadmon beyond its perimeter, i recalled ezekiels chariot vision.