Bible Text & Space Technology - J

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 third encounter
(continued)

    The analysis of those Verses in Chapter 10 which describe the action has now been completed. Other Verses include references to helicopters or confirm the identity of the vehicle; the description of the wheels again takes much space. With a single exception, descriptions are identical with those of the first encounter, so that repetition is not necessary. The start, however, is described more clearly than ever before:  [p.86] 

    This describes how the rotor blades—with the specific objective "to mount up from the earth"—were brought into their horizontal working position for the start. With his admirable keenness of observation, Ezekiel describes this action and its motivation in a mere secondary clause pertaining to a description of the wheel.

    The above mentioned single exception in the description relates to Verse 12, which reads as follows in the translations I used:

References                                       Verse 10:12
1	And their whole body, backs, hands and wings and the wheels were full of eyes round about; all four of them had wheels.
2	[End of 10:11] . . . they followed and they turned not. . . with their whole body, backs, hands and wings. And the wheels were full of eyes round about on all four wheels.
3	And their rims and their spokes, and the wheels were full of eyes round about—the wheels that the four of them had.
4	[No commentary]
5	But their whole body, their back, their hands, their wings and the wheels were full of eyes round about.
6	And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had.
7	The rims of the four wheels were full of eyes all around.

    It was explained in the technical description that "eyes" meant the wheel profile patterns that cause resistance to skidding. The text of Reference 7 corresponds to this view. All the others depart from it. Reference 6 comes to the following conclusion in its commentary on page 53: ". . . they do not refer to the cherubim, but to the various parts of the wheels that is to say, the whole of the wheels was full of eyes." The meaning of this commentary is consistent with the translations given in Reference 2 and 3. The difficulty here seems to lie much more in the original text than in the translation.

    With the exception of the translation in Reference 7, the text of Chapter 10, Verse 12, is therefore not in agreement with Chapter 1, Verse 18, because there we read without any ambiguity that ". . . their rims were full of eyes round about. . ." I derive some satisfaction from pointing out that we have the only case where two descriptions do not coincide. Everywhere else, whenever repetitions occur or subjects are described that have technical connotations, there is absolute consistency. This fact shows convincingly how well founded and consistent Ezekiel's report is.

    But even in this single exception there is no contradiction but merely a lack of agreement. Two criteria help in the clarification of this case, one of literary and the other of a technical nature. From a literary viewpoint there is a juxtaposition between the quite clear structure of the first Chapter and the confused grouping of material in Chapter 10. The uncertainty reflected in the order of the Verses of Chapter 10 makes it appear less reliable than Chapter 1. Moreover, there is at least one translation in Chapter 10 that is practically identical with the Verse in Chapter 1. Viewed therefore from a literary angle, it is Verse 18 of Chapter 1, which reads ". . . their rims were full of eyes round about . . ." that has the greater weight. From a technical viewpoint this interpretation is undoubtedly the right one. Other interpretations disqualify themselves because none of the earlier descriptions of main body, capsule, and helicopters contain any reference whatsoever to "eyes." On the contrary. The main body is represented as being crystallike, the capsule as bright and reflective; both descriptions rule out any disruption of surfaces by structural patterns.

    Therefore, the statement in Verse 12: "And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels were full of eyes round about. . ." can be regarded with certainty as incorrect.

    Parts of the wheels appear to revolve faster than would seem consistent with the speed of their movement. In view of the wheel design (Fig. 10 and Appendix), the expression "wheel work" is a very fitting description of the separate rotation of the segments. Noteworthy is the hint of a conversation (". . . were called in my hearing . . ."). It may well be that this Verse should more appropriately have followed Verse 6 of Chapter 10 which includes the second order by the commander: "Take fire from between the wheels. . ." This fragmentary allusion to a conversation may of course also pertain to a lost portion of the document.

    The account of the faces differs somewhat from that given in Chapter 1 where we read: 

     The translations compare as follows:

References		Verse 1:10
1    2    3    4    5    6    7	cherub cherub cherub a cherub = ox bull cherub ox	man man man man man man man	lion lion lion lion lion lion lion	eagle eagle eagle eagle eagle eagle eagle

    The order of the faces is the same in the texts of the two Chapters; there are, however, uncertainties with regard to the character of the first face which is variously given as that of a cherub, an ox, or a bull. From a technical viewpoint this uncertainty is relevant only insofar it indicates that the shape of the fairing in that area was complex and difficult to describe.

    With regard to the faces Ezekiel says explicitly:

    He also confirms the identity of the spaceship observed with the one of the first encounter:

    The jump from the singular to the plural is quite conspicuous. However, References 3 and 7 use the plural in both cases. Nevertheless the version reproduced above prevails. It lends itself to an easy explanation if we relate the beginning to the total appearance and the sequel to the helicopters. This applies especially to the overall picture because Ezekiel explicitly compares this with what he had seen by the Chebar River. Throughout this chapter the helicopters are called cherubim, which justifies our speaking of helicopters in the plural (plural form: -im). On the other hand the use of the term. "living creature" is confusing when it relates to the vehicle, since Ezekiel used it earlier to identify the helicopters. However, since Ezekiel stresses the identity with the spaceships he had observed earlier, this ambiguity has no technical significance.

    Verse 1: The commentary of Reference 6, page 56, identifies the "east gate" to which Ezekiel is now brought as the gate of the outer court. We know from Chapter 10, Verse 19, that a short while earlier the commander too had flown there with his spaceship. The beginning of this verse includes a phrase which is often repeated: "The spirit lifted me up, and brought me . . ." It comes up whenever Ezekiel either boards the spaceship or experiences a change in his location other than by walking. We shall return later to the analysis of this expression.

    Verse 2: Since now both Ezekiel and the commander are at the east gate, it is no surprise to read that the commander speaks again to Ezekiel. It is noteworthy, however, that Verses 22 to 24 rule out the presence of Ezekiel in the capsule. The commander must therefore have left it again and necessarily must have returned to it before takeoff. The absence of any corresponding text must unfortunately lead to the conclusion that only a fragment came down to us with the beginning of Chapter 11. The missing part is not of essential significance to either the prophetic or the technical aspect of Ezekiel's report, yet it would no doubt have been of considerable technical interest.

    Verse 22: We are witnessing activity immediately preceding the flight. With the start of the rotor, the blades that were hanging downward are "lifted up"; they begin to develop lift and the whole vehicle—crowned by the glittering capsule of the commander—rolls a short distance from its location. Ezekiel registers the picture in his memory with almost photographic sharpness.

    Verse 23: Then follows the takeoff, the ascent, and eventually the horizontal flight to the "mountain which is on the east side of the city."

    These two Verses are of unusual value: They constitute an eyewitness report by an onlooker! Somebody is speaking to us, who has observed the whole procedure from the outside. These few sentences give documentary evidence of something extraordinary: A man describes the takeoff and terrestrial flight of a spacecraft, without excitement, in sober, matter-of-fact words, 2500 years before our time!

    Something else is striking in this report, namely, the avoidance of the name which—according to the commentators—is borne by this mountain: the Mount of Olives.

    Verse 24: At the beginning we encounter again two already well-known expressions ("the spirit" and "in the vision of God") which tell us that Ezekiel boards a spaceship and flies in it. Since he had been flown here, he must have been brought back by air too, so that the fact that he is taking this flight is no surprise. Yet it quickly assumes significance as we realize that the vehicle that was the focus of attention throughout this third encounter has just left. Besides, the final Verses of this Chapter inform us that Ezekiel is not flying home in the same spaceship in which he came. This situation leads to the conclusion of the presence of a second spacecraft. Such a conclusion cannot really surprise; it was pointed out earlier that the deployment of a single vehicle—which moreover seems to be concerned exclusively with Ezekiel—is too illogical and uneconomical to be credible.

    As we ponder over the events that took place here and of which we can perceive only a dim outline, we come to regard the presence of a second spaceship as quite justified. There are several indications that the removal of a "hot" part was of a critical nature (Chapter 10, Verse 7). A second spacecraft was therefore very desirable. The commander of the first could reach it, if necessary, with the aid of his capsule; after all, he did summon the capsule to his side. That second spaceship must have been at a safe distance from the scene of the critical procedure, so as not to be damaged in case of an accident. Therefore Ezekiel could not have seen it earlier.

    In addition, the availability of the second spaceship easily resolves the "transportation problem" of Ezekiel in Verse 1: Since the critical moment had passed, the commander could leave his spaceship and take Ezekiel to the east gate. In the course of the next encounter we shall be confronted with several short flights of this kind, at which time we shall discuss them in more detail.  [p.92]