It would require, at least, an entire book to detail all the close encounters in the Bible. Enoch, Moses, Aaron, Abraham, Gideon, Daniel, Manoah, Samuel, Jacob, Jonah, Elijah, Elisha, Job, Joshua, Jesus, the Shepherds and Wise Men at Jesus' birth, Phillip, Peter, James, John, Paul, and the Two Witnesses of Revelations are just some of the many biblical characters described as having close encounters in the Bible. So, we will just cover the more recognizable events, and those not so recognizable, but important. We continue this article with the strange encounters of Elijah, Elisha, and Enoch.
Elijah's and Elisha's Whirlwinds and Chariots of Fire
The story of Elijah's well-known encounter with fiery chariots is actually the story of several anomalous events. Elijah, the Tishbite, is originally sent by God to Ahaziah, the king of Samaria, who had just been injured in a fall from an upper story window. He was sent because Ahaziah had attempted to find whether he would die from this injury from Baal, a special deity of the Ekronites and warn him that he would succumb to his injuries. After Elijah contacts Ahaziah, there is a bizarre series of events where a hundred men are consumed by "fire" from the sky. This event can be found in 2 Kings 1.
Ahaziah did die from his injuries and the story immediately shifts to Elijah traveling to the Jordon River with Elisha in 2 Kings 2. Along the way, at Bethel and Jericho, Elisha is told by prophets that Elijah would be taken away by the Lord. When Elijah arrives at the Jordan, he performs the same "miracle" Moses accomplished at the Red Sea; he parted the waters and they both "crossed the river on dry ground".
After crossing the Jordan, they have a close encounter with what is described as "a chariot of fire" and "horses of fire". During this encounter, Elijah is "abducted" by a "whirlwind into heaven" in the sight of Elijah, leaving behind only his cloak (2 Kings 2:11). We will examine the definitions of the original Hebrew words translated into these "chariots and horses of fire" and the "whirlwind" that took Elijah "into heaven".
A Chariot of Fire
The word "chariots" is translated from rekeb, pronounced reh'-keb, meaning; a vehicle. It is not the specific Hebrew word for chariot, which is merkabah, pronounced mer-kaw-baw', but rather a generic Hebrew word for a vehicle for riding. The word fire comes from 'esh, pronounced aysh, which means literally; fire. We can presume that the vehicle was not actually "on fire", but since there was no form of illumination besides the sun in 800 BC but "fire", that the vehicle is glowing brightly. Here are a few of the references where the vehicles of God are referred to as chariots:
- "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. " (Psalms 68:17)
- "Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:" (Psalms 68:17)
- "For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire." (Isaiah 66:5)
- "Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind...” (Jeremiah 4:13)
- "And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass." (Zechariah 6:1)
Horses Of Fire
The word "horses" is translated from cuwc, pronounced soos, meaning to skip (properly, for joy); a horse (as leaping); also a swallow (from its rapid flight). In the Bible, this word is also translated into the word for a bird, the crane. In other words, it can be used for horse, bird, leap, skip, or rapid flight. In the Hebrew word "cuwc", we have both the elements of skipping and rapid flight associated with UFOs. Considering we know that neither pigs, nor horses, can fly, we must assume that the author of this description is referring to either the bird, leap, skip, or the rapid flight aspects of this Hebrew word.
The very phrase "flying saucers" comes from what is considered to be the first "modern" report of a UFO sighting by Kenneth Arnold on June 24, 1947. He described nine brilliantly bright objects flying across the face of Rainier towards nearby Mount Adams at “an incredible speed”, and said they “flew like a saucer would if you skipped it across the water”.
A Whirlwind in Heaven
The word "whirlwind" is translated from ca`ar, pronounced sah'-ar, meaning; a hurricane. And, the word "heaven" is translated from shamayim, pronounced shaw-mah'-yim, meaning to be lofty; the sky. Logic dictates that this is neither a hurricane nor a tornado, as Elijah's cloak just fell to the ground and it is something spinning like a whirlwind that drew Elijah into the sky. We know that UFOs spin and that they are reported to project very animated beams of light down from them that draw people and other objects up into them.
We find this description of God's vehicles by Jeremiah:
"Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled." (Jeremiah 4:13)
Elisha’s Separate Encounter
Few know that after Elijah was abducted, Elisha took over as prophet and had an even more unusual encounter with "horses and chariots of fire". After the first encounter, he immediately returned to Samaria and, along the way, parted the waters of the Jordan River to get across as Elijah had done. He stopped off in Jericho and purified the poisoned water that had left it without the ability to grow food. He created a great quantity of oil to help a widow settle her debts, much as Jesus was to create wine for the wedding feast in the future. He was able to cause an older woman to become pregnant, and then, resurrected the son she bore from the dead, after he suddenly died. He healed a leper, cursed another man with leprosy, and made a metal axe head float on the water. When the King of Syria attempted to force Elisha to come to him, the second close encounter with "horses and chariots of fire" occurred and is described in 2 Kings 6:15-23.
The King of Syria sent a great army to capture Elisha, which surrounded a new city he had built, and a servant asked Elisha what they could do. Apparently, a great number of God's vehicles, "horses and chariots of fire" were "round about Elisha", but they were invisible or cloaked to everyone but Elisha. After he asked God to let the servant see them, the glowing vehicles appeared to him as well. The entire Syrian army was then blinded, taken to Samaria, had their sight returned, and then released.
The events just described point to some obvious conclusions. The vehicles that appeared to, and abducted, Elijah were glowing, either flew with a skipping motion, flew rapidly or both, were probably spinning, and had the ability to beam a human aboard. The “cloaked” vehicles that were present with Elisha were, no doubt, the same “chariots of fire” that had taken Elijah. Flying, glowing, spinning vehicles that can beam up humans in our modern age are called UFOs. In 800 BC they could only be called whirlwind-like chariots of fire.
The Fleet of God
Almost 300 times, the God of the Old Testament is referred to as the Lord of Hosts. The word host is taken from, tsaba', pronounced tsaw-baw'; a mass of persons (or figuratively, things), especially organized for war (an army). The proper rendering of the phrase "Lord of Hosts" is Yhovah of the Army. The “chariots of fire” of Elijah and Elisha were part of this "flying army", or fleet, of many thousands of chariots and millions of beings called the Malak, or angels.
Here are just a few biblical references that verify the Lord God of the Old Testament is the head of an army, or fleet:
- "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place" (Psalms 68:17)
- “Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?" (Job 25:3)
- “And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." (Joshua 5:14)
- "...for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:26)
- "...so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof."(Isaiah 31:4)
- "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven," (Daniel 4:35)
- "And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" (Joel 2:11)
- "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army." (Revelation 19:17)
Ezekiel's Whirlwind and Great Fire
The first and tenth chapters of Ezekiel describe at least two separate encounters with a strange flying vehicle, as well as face-to-face encounters with beings and divine abductions. This encounter occurred about 200 years after that of Elijah and is described in great detail. The close nature of these encounters provides the most thorough description of the physical devices, brilliance, and material composition of the flying craft of Yhovah. Ezekiel was the son of Buzi and a priest, who was one of the Israelite exiles that settled at Tel-abib, on the banks of the Chebar, in the land of the Chaldeans. Here is how Ezekiel describes the beginning of his first close encounter:
- "And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire." (Ezekiel 1:4)
The depiction of a great cloud, combined with the whirlwind, would mean that this is a great object that is flying, spinning, and moving toward him from the North. The "fire infolding itself" and "brightness" descriptions obviously mean it was glowing brightly. The "out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire" characterization is the most important, yet, the least mentioned and most misunderstood aspect of Ezekiel's entire description of this vehicle.
A Large, Flying, Spinning, Glowing, Metallic Vehicle
The word “colour” is taken from the Hebrew word `ayin, pronounced ah'-yin, meaning; an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy, a fountain (as the eye of the landscape). In other words, “appearance”. The word "amber" is the key to the composition of this vehicle and comes from the word chashmal, pronounced khash-mal', meaning; probably bronze or polished spectrum metal. Ezekiel is saying that through the glow, he could see the vehicle was made of polished metal.
Combine whirlwind, great cloud, a fire infolding itself, and the colour of amber, and convert them to modern language, and you are describing a large, flying, spinning, glowing, metallic vehicle. Ezekiel then goes on to describe, in great detail, what he calls "the likeness of four living creatures" in the first encounter in Ezekiel 1 and "cherub" in the Ezekiel 10 encounter. The description of what can only be described as mechanical devices, is the main focus of almost all speculation about this vehicle; especially the "wheel in the middle of a wheel" aspect.
Modern Landing Gear from an Ancient Perspective
Ezekiel spends over two-thirds of his writing on the first encounter describing four "creatures" that came out of the middle of this great metallic vehicle. He says they have faces and wings and feet like a calf and that they "sparkled like the colour of burnished brass". Again, we see this vehicle is metallic and he describes their movements as being mechanically synchronized. He states that they had an appearance "like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning." (Ezekiel 1:13-14).
Ezekiel is describing four "things", that are very animated, which appear from the middle of this vehicle. He is using words based on known realities in a period 600 years before the birth of Jesus; in other words, primitive. In perspective, there was no technology, no artificial lights, and only the most basic type of mechanics. With this in mind, we will examine what the prime original Hebrew words meant, which make up Ezekiel's first recounting of his perception of how these "living creatures" appear. :
- The word "sparkled" comes from natsats, pronounced naw-tsats'; meaning: to glare, i.e. be bright-colored:
- The word "coals" comes from gechel, pronounced geh'-khel; meaning: to glow or kindle; an ember:
- The word "lamps" comes from lappiyd, pronounced lap-peed'; meaning: to shine; a flambeau, lamp or flame:
- The word "bright" comes from nogahh, pronounced no'-gahbright; meaning: brilliancy (literally or figuratively):
- The word "lightning" comes from baraq, pronounced baw-rawk'; meaning lightning; by analogy, a gleam; concretely, a flashing sword:
Putting this all together, we find that each of the "creatures" was made from some type of glaring or brightly colored, highly-polished metal. They were glowing and had very bright lights running up and down on them and Ezekiel is seeing gleams or sparks coming from the "creatures" After reading the next part of Ezekiel’s encounter it is not hard to perceive that the “creatures” could be landing gear or something associated with the main body of a larger craft.
A Great Expanse Above It All
Ezekiel goes on to describe identical jewel-like wheels, (the colour of a beryl), with the configuration of a wheel within a wheel, whose motions were completely synchronized and attached to the "creatures" (vs. 15-17.) He speaks of great rings that were awesome and appeared to be full of "eyes" (vs. 16). He then speaks of connected wings and the appearance of strange faces. It is not until verse 22 that Ezekiel begins to describe an expanse that the "creatures" had appeared from, which had an awesome, transparent, glass-like appearance.
It is from this expanse, which is stretched over the "creatures" that Ezekiel sees and hears the Lord. He first says he hears a voice, and then he describes "the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it." (vs. 26)
- The first time the word "throne" is used it comes from the Hebrew word 'eben, pronounced eh'-ben, meaning; a stone.
- The first time the words “sapphire stone” come from cappiyr, pronounced sap-peer', meaning; a gem (perhaps used for scratching other substances), probably the sapphire.
- The second time the word "throne" is used it comes from kicce', pronounced kis-say'', meaning; properly, covered, i.e. a throne (as canopied).
Put together with previous descriptions, this shows that Ezekiel is seeing a fearful-looking, transparent, but solid, gem-like expanse, and a throne-like structure, with a being that appears to be a man upon it. He then describes the being he calls the Lord:
- "And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake." (Ezekiel 1:27-28)
The word "amber" is from the Hebrew word chashmal, pronounced khash-mal'; probably bronze or polished spectrum metal. And he recounts "the appearance of fire round about within". This being is clad, from head to toe, in a suit or some type of metal-like bodily covering that glows brightly. He also describes a brilliancy with the colors of a rainbow all around this being.
This being, that Ezekiel calls the Lord, traveled from the North in this large, flying, spinning, glowing, metallic vehicle, with great rings and "eyes", and a transparent jewel-like appearance. Four, rather animated, devices with synchronized mechanical movements, wheels, feet, wings, faces, and lights running up and down, suddenly appeared from it, and it landed right in front of him. Then, a being, the Lord, the God of Israel, who Ezekiel describes as adorned in a brightly-glowing, metal-like covering with all the colors of the rainbow flashing around him, begins to speak to Ezekiel. Ezekiel encounters this vehicle again, and the description of this encounter can be found in Ezekiel 10.
Although Ezekiel is speaking with 2500 year-old technological understanding, he never saw anything but birds and clouds fly in the sky, and fire was his only form of artificial light; it is obvious he is describing a highly sophisticated and technologically advanced flying vehicle. There can be little doubt that Ezekiel is describing an encounter with a UFO piloted by God.
