The prophet Ezekiel stands somewhat apart from the others. First, because, according to history, this person is quite real, while there are doubts about some others. The son of a priest was a priest in the temple of Yahweh (the name of God the Father in the Bible) in Jerusalem. He was highly revered among the people; this is evidenced by at least the fact that for some time among his students there was the great ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Pythagoras. Secondly, he is the only prophet who, judging by his description, had a chance to see … a spaceship!
But let's take everything in order.
Prophet Ezekiel
When Ezekiel was still young, an important event took place in the history of his people - the Jewish king Joachim decided to throw off the yoke of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II. But the uprising was not crowned with success; soon Jerusalem was besieged, Joachim was captured and executed. And Nebuchadnezzar took 10 thousand people with him to Babylonia as hostages. Ezekiel was among them.
Those taken prisoner were settled at a tributary of the Euphrates - Khabuur (or Khovar) in Chaldea. In the fifth year of captivity, according to the Bible, Ezekiel was called to the prophet, witnessing an unprecedented event, which will be discussed below.
In the book of the prophet Ezekiel, which is one of the parts of the Old Testament, we read:
… “And it happened: in the thirtieth year in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, when I was among the immigrants at the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God…
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And I saw: and now a stormy wind was coming from the north, a great cloud and swirling fire, and a radiance around it.
And from the middle of it, as it were, the light of a flame … And … there was the likeness of four animals - and what was their appearance: their appearance was like that of a man;
And each has four faces, and each of them has four wings;
And their legs - legs straight, and the feet of their feet - like the feet of a calf, and sparkled like shiny copper …"
Understandably, the future prophet is shocked, he finds it difficult to find words to somehow describe what he saw. With what can he compare the "carriage of God" if not with a chariot? But not simple, but flying … By the way, in ancient Indian literature - "Mahabharata", "Ramayana" - it also tells about "heavenly flying chariots."
But what is behind such picturesque descriptions?
This is what Joseph F. Bloomrich, head of NASA's design department, tried to figure out. In the book Ezekiel's Spaceships, he concludes that the "divine chariot" was more of a reentry shuttle from an interplanetary spacecraft. Its mass, according to Bloomrich's calculations, was about 63 tons, and the engine power was 70 thousand hp. The parameters are not only quite possible from a technical point of view, but also very expedient constructively. The only thing that seems fantastic in this case is that such a ship could have existed more than 2500 years ago!
What happened next also works well for a science fiction novel, even today. A messenger from that ship told Ezekiel to appear before him and began instructing him on how to proceed. And so that he better remembered all the instructions, a scroll was given to him, which "was scribbled inside and out, and it was written on it: weeping, and groaning, and grief."
After Ezekiel got acquainted with him, the scroll was ordered to be eaten (obviously, for better preservation of the secret), and then the newly appeared prophet had to go “to the house of Israel” and tell the people what awaited them.
At the same time, the prophet was told in advance that no one would listen to him, but he would have to continue his instructions over and over again. And when this does not help, then Ezekiel will have to begin to punish the disobedient. Moreover, this will be done in a very peculiar way. Taking a sharp knife and razor, the prophet will have to cut off the hair on his head and beard, weigh them and divide them into three parts. One part should be burned, the other should be chopped into small pieces with a knife and, finally, the third should be scattered in the wind. And then the third part of the disobedient will burn in the fire, another part will be hacked with swords and, finally, the third will be scattered all over the world.
Well, since the prophet is in no way able to carry out such a punitive operation himself, he will be given an army consisting of some cherubs and wheels, which in modern language can be called, perhaps, combat robots, ground and air armored vehicles.
And so it all happened. “And then the Glory of the Lord descended from the chariot and stood at the threshold of the Temple,” says Ezekiel, “and destroyers went through the city, defeating the apostates.
One of them took red-hot coals from the Merkaba, the heavenly Ark, and threw them in handfuls onto the city. When it was all over, the cherubim spread out their wings, the ophans - wheels full of living eyes - set in motion. The glory carried away by the living chariot left the place defiled by sin."
This frightened and grieved the prophet: he did not know what would happen to the people of Israel further. "Lord God, do you really want to destroy the remnant of Israel?"
But then the prophet realized that from now on, true faith must follow the invisible chariot of the Lord. And then the people will assert themselves, restore the destroyed and reckon with them. The events that soon followed justified his foresight.
Indeed, today many of the once devastated, desolate cities of Israel have been restored. These are the cities of Cana, Bethlehem, Hebron, Nazareth, Jericho and many others, and the population of the city of Beer Shiva has grown to 1 million people.
Moreover, since the Jews became a nation again in 1948, Israel has won five wars, each time against vastly superior forces. And all this confirms the words of God, which he once said to the prophet Ezekiel.
True, God further told Ezekiel that when Israel returned as a nation, another sign would occur, indicating the coming of the "last days." Is it really a hint that the Arabs, having piled on from all sides, will eventually realize their dream and crush the state they hate so much?.. Their attacks are indeed becoming more and more aggressive. But while the Israelis are giving a worthy rebuff to all who dare to encroach on them …
As for the fate of Ezekiel himself, he prophesied for a relatively short time - from 592 to 570 BC. e. Moreover, having written his book in which the prophet predetermined the fate of an entire nation, he himself could not (or did not want) to dodge fate. And soon after the end of his labor, he was killed by the son of the Jewish king, whom Ezekiel accused of idolatry.
Stanislav Nikolaevich Slavin