Bible Text &  Space Technology - A

Keywords: UFO, unidentified flying objects, Bible, flying saucers, prophecy, Paleo-SETI, ancient astronauts, Erich von Däniken, Josef F. Blumrich, Zecharia Sitchin, Ezekiel, biblical prophecy, spacecraft, spaceship, NASA, Roswell, aircraft, propellant, extraterrestrial hypothesis, Jacques Vallee, interdimensional hypothesis, Project Blue Book, Condon Report, ancient history, Jesus, Judaism, Christianity, Middle East, end times, engines, rockets, helicopters, space travel, aliens, abductions, alien abductions, crop circles, extraterrestrials, astronomy, economics, biology, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Space Shuttle, Apollo, stars, planets, solar system, scriptures, design, fuel tank, aerodynamics, fuels, hydrogen, oxygen, wheels

Chapter 5

    The knowledge we have of the structure and the functions of the spacecraft makes it now possible to view and to interpret the Biblical text in a new light. The details and conclusions of such an analysis give this chapter of the book the character of an entirely new Bible commentary. In accordance with the investigations undertaken, this commentary applies only to those parts of the text that are of interest with regard to the spaceship, its commander, the ground crews, and the events involved.  [p.51] 

    References 1-7 Bibles and Bible Commentary, have been used as sources.

    Every translation has its peculiarities. It is therefore necessary for a commentary of the kind presented here to select one as a main reference and to discuss deviations from other translations if and where they occur. Since the original version of this book was written in German, a direct replacement of the German Biblical text used there (Reference 5) by an English version was not feasible. Reference 3 was therefore used, but adapted to reflect the essentials of the German translation. That assures a meaningful connection between individual quotations and comments; it also allows, with the few exceptions of the adaptations, the use of an established Bible text in the English language.

    All the translations and commentaries of the Bible used in this work are commercially available. I have chosen translations that not only cover a span of some 150 years, but also come from geographically and theologically widely differing quarters.

    Initially I considered inviting the cooperation of an expert in ancient languages. However, I soon gave up this idea for two reasons: (1) Text differences as such, insofar as they are of linguistic origin, already are different interpretations by experts. The involvement of yet another expert would merely have added one more opinion, without any prospect of arriving at a final decision. (2) There are no fundamental or essential differences among these versions. All describe—and one could rightfully say, "naturally"—the same events and the same physical structures.

    As the work progressed, this decision was proved correct again and again. In most cases the differences in the text could be traced back to word choices by translators and thus clarified and eliminated. On the other hand, a few passages are so fundamentally different that the only explanation can be sought in differences in the original texts. But I wish to stress explicitly that none of these cases has any technical significance. In addition, the following should be considered: If—beyond differences in time, space, and religious beliefs—all translations describe the same structures, functions, and events, then that too makes it unnecessary to ask the opinion of yet another language expert.

    Two aspects must be taken into account in the interpretation: One is Ezekiel's attitude as observer, the other his inner reaction to what he saw. The latter undergoes a drastic change, which is characterized by the transition from the shock effect of the first encounter to a cool and objective position. His attitude as observer is one of constant and admirable objectivity and accuracy, which could not be entirely suppressed even by the shock effect at the end of the first encounter. Consistent with this attitude he gives a full technical description of the spacecraft—in addition to the description of the events—only in his reports of the first encounter.

    Regarding the manner in which Ezekiel describes what he has seen, we must bear in mind that, especially during the first encounter, he was exposed to an experience that lay far beyond anything he had ever seen before. He found himself in the situation of an intelligent but completely isolated man, so to speak. That was why he not only could not understand what he saw—he also lacked the very words to define what he saw. In later encounters his situation had changed insofar as at least the spaceship and the commander were no longer new to him. One factor, however, remains unchanged as far as Ezekiel is concerned: Neither he nor his contemporaries or forebears had any applicable or comparable technical knowledge or experience. Therefore, the only way was for him to describe what he saw to his contemporaries and to posterity by using similarities with objects or images familiar to himself and to the people of his time. Anyone of us would do the same in a similar situation. In fact we did experience such a situation quite recently when we tried to describe what is now called UFO's by the simile "flying saucers."

    Finally a few words about the general arrangement of the following passages. The subdivision of the Biblical text in Chapter and Verse was of course retained, as was also their order of sequence. I have, however, introduced general divisions that follow Ezekiel's encounters with the spaceships. These divisions in accordance with encounters improve both the clarity of the overall picture and the interrelation of details.  [p.53]