The first chapter of Ezekiel is a very interesting chapter and it uses what is called “apocalyptic” (meaning to reveal) language. That’s why the Book of Revelation is called the “Apocalypse” because it uses this style of language in Hebrew thought to convey spiritual insight to the reader. It is not hard to understand once you know what these symbols mean and the idioms, phrases and concepts of the biblical festivals and Hebrew eschatology. Because so many who try to interpret these books are unfamiliar with Hebrew thought, there are many misinterpretations that have come forth from apocalyptic writing, and Ezekiel 1 is a “victim” of this error.
To understand Ezekiel 1 there are a few things that need to be understood. First and foremost, this chapter (there are others in Ezekiel) has the purpose of instructing those that have been taken to Babylon in the Exile that God has not abandoned them and that the destruction of the city and the Temple was from him, that Babylon was in God’s hands and his tool to use. It was not because they were abandoned to the will of Babylon, but Babylon was at the will of the Lord, and the people still belonged to him.
This chapter has nothing to do with UFO’s and “flying saucers.” Many people who believe in UFO’s and aliens try to use Ezekiel 1 to prove that Ezekiel saw UFO’s himself, but that is not what is being taught in this chapter. What Ezekiel saw was a “vision of God” (Ezekiel 1.1). This vision is known as “the Ma’aseh Merkaveh” (work of the chariot) and his throne was seen as a chariot (2 Kings 19.15; Psa 99.1; 2 Sam 22.11; Psa 18.10). When the Ark was carried it was seen as carrying the throne of God.
The Merkaveh is a supernatural concept described in human terms and cannot be understood literally. Those that don’t understand the deep spiritual concepts here are not equipped to even glimpse at their inner meaning, let alone say they are UFO’s! The theme of the book of Ezekiel is the departure of the Shekinah (presence of God) and the promise of the return of the Shekinah. This vision explains how God, who we can’t see (Exo 33.20), is able to reveal himself to us through his “two arms”: the Son of God and the rushing storm wind of the Spirit (Isa 51.5; Ezekiel 1.4,26). They are sent by the Lord himself (John 14.9). His storm wind, his “chariot” is coming. Will it destroy you or will you bow down before the “radiant man” (Ezekiel 1.26-28) and receive his instruction and be filled with the Spirit of God.
This is why this chapter is called the “Ma’aseh Merkaveh” or the work or account of the Chariot. The term “chariots of fire” (merkaveh mophtim) comes from this chapter. A “chariot” is a mobile, firing platform in spiritual warfare and it is the “vehicle” by which God’s Kivod (glory) is displayed in creation. So, the term “merkaveh” carries the idea of “movement.” What Ezekiel saw in this vision was the angelic realm that “supported” the throne of God.
There are two classes of angels mentioned here, the Cherubim (pronounced “keruvim”) and Ophanim and they work as messengers of God, carrying out his will. This brings us to something else that needs to be understood.
There are five elements in the physical world and they are time, space, light, mass, and energy. Likewise, there are five spiritual elements called spiritual time (the Sabbath, festivals, etc); spiritual space (The Mishkan and the Temple); spiritual light (The Scriptures, his perfect will); spiritual mass (any being that is implemented to carry out the will of God; the Messiah, the Holy Spirit, angels and even Satan, who in the end carry out the purposes of God) and spiritual energy (the result of the work of God, Messiah, the Holy Spirit, angels or demons,etc).
This vision in Ezekiel 1 is saying that God’s presence (the Shekinah) would no longer find it’s place among a people that has been so degraded by disobedience and idolatry, and it would return to Heaven (Ezek 10.1-22; 11.22-25) during the exile, his earthly “chariot” had failed him. So, Ezekiel saw the presence of God “leave” (spiritual movement) the Kodesh ha Kodeshim (Holy of Holies-spiritual space), then the Temple, then the city and then he watched it ascend into the heavenly realm at the Mount of Olives. This was because judgment was coming upon the Temple and the city and these were going to be destroyed.
This is the same pattern that Yeshua acted out. He departed the Temple and said he would not be back until the people received him. After the resurrection, he went out to the Mount of Olives and ascended to heaven. Judgment came 40 years later and everything was destroyed by the Romans. Here is an important concept. Spiritual movement does not relate to a measurable distance, like in the physical realm. For instance, “near” means close to or similar to and “far” means opposite or different. So, in Ezekiel 1 the vision of the Merkaveh shows a heavenly spiritual (space) “chariot” (spiritual mass, which are really angels called Cherubim) moving to carry out God’s will.
The “purpose of God” is called “being in the Spirit” and under the control of the Spirit. No mention is made in Ezekiel 1 of what they are carrying out exactly, but what we have is a picture of how the will of God (spiritual light) is carried out by angels (spiritual mass) and the results (spiritual energy) upon man and creation.
Ezekiel 43.1-5 has the account of the Shekinah returning to the city and the Temple after Yeshua returns to earth. Now, why is Ezekiel 1, Ezekiel 10 and Ezekiel 43 important to understand the right way? Because the departure of the Shekinah that Ezekiel saw did not end the Lord’s relationship to Israel. We see “human hands” reaching out from beneath the Merkaveh (1.8; 8.3) because the Lord desired that they return. The “stormy wind” from the “north” signified the arrival of the Babylonians (1.4) so that the people understood that what happened to them was from God and their misery was not because Babylon was stronger than the Lord. It was his will because of their sin.
This vision was to reassure the people in exile that their relationship with the Lord was not over. The other “visions” given to Ezekiel were prophetic also because these portions of Scripture were read in the synagogues on the festival of Pentecost, or Shavuot, and they prepared the people for what was going to happen after the resurrection of the Messiah.
It was the background for what happened in Acts 2.1-13 and the coming of the Ruach ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) in power upon another Temple, the believer. They were not waiting for UFO’s, but for what was promised by the Father and what was lost by Adam. The restoration of the Kivod (glory, in tongues of fire), the Shekinah (presence of God) and the Ruach ha Kodesh (the power of God) were all seen in Acts 2, but Ezekiel 1 gave a glimpse into how all this was carried out in the heavenly realm through the vision of the Ma’aseh Merkaveh.
Now, we mentioned earlier that some have interpreted this chapter to say Ezekiel saw aliens and UFOs. So, let’s look into the truth about “aliens” first, than we will touch on UFOs.
We live in an evolutionistic society and many teach that everything evolved. That makes everything easy to explain. Look at the movies like “Star Wars” and “Close Encounters.” They are not thinking biblically.
Go to Gen 1 and let’s look for aliens. Now, you are going to have to decide whether you are going to believe what God says, or are we going to fall prey to what man says by saying it “doesn’t mean that.” Gen 1.1-19 talks about the “heavens” and where the sun, moon and stars are, and the earth. In Gen 1.1-13 he talks about the earth, and then in v 14-19 he talks about the heavens. In v 16 it says, “he made the stars also.” He devotes five words to the creation of the universe of stars and galaxies, and yet he talks about every inch of Earth. He talks about dirt, water, the sky, trees, plants and other things. Job talks about how the Lord laid the foundations of the earth, etc. Yehovah really makes a distinction here. He minimizes the vast universe to five words, and he maximizes the earth. That is the Genesis account. The earth is talked about in many chapters besides Genesis.
In Col 1.15 it says Yeshua is the image of the invisible God. In other words, he is the only God that has ever been seen, but in a human body. He is the “first-born” of every creature, meaning he has prominence and is the heir of all things. He is the head, the sum of all that is, like the “summit” of a mountain. Yeshua is the creator of Gen 1 (Col 1.16), the majority of which is invisible. The Bible knew that. The Bible also says the earth “hangs on nothing” (Job 26.7), is round (Isa 40.22) and spins on an axis (Isa 38.8). Science only confirmed these things a few years ago.
Everything in the universe was created by Yeshua and for him (Col 1.16), even the good and bad angels (principalities and powers). Col 1.17 says he is before all things and by him all things consist. Humans are made from the earth, not the stars. Contrary to the hippies of the 60’s, we are not “stardust.” The earth is the center of the universe because God’s throne was placed here in the form of the Ark of the Covenant (in the Temple-Exo 25.22; 1 Sam 4.4; 2 Sam 6.2; 2 Kings 19.15; Psalm 99.1; Ezek 43.7), and Jerusalem is the center of the center.
In 2 Pet 3.5, God talks about the creation, the same cosmology as Moses. The heavens (universe) were created by the word of God, and five words describe it (Gen 1.16). The Bible never says “all the planets and people groups, suns, etc.” There is another thing that we need to bring out, and it is called the “Anthropic Principles.” Have you ever heard about them? It is defined as “the cosmological principle that theories of the universe are constrained by the necessity to allow human existence” and many are listed in the book called “I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist” by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek. For instance, some of these principles say that in order for human life to exist on earth the oxygen level has to be 21 per cent. If it were higher, fires would erupt spontaneously, if less, humans would suffocate. The moon-earth gravitational interaction must be what it is to sustain life, and gravity cannot be altered, etc. In addition, the sun must be exactly where it is to sustain life on earth. There is no place in the universe that meets all these anthropic principles.
Peter says in 2 Pet 3.6 that there was a flood and that same world is reserved for a future judgment. In 2 Pet 3.7 he adds that the cosmos (heavens and the earth) is waiting for that judgment. In other words, mankind. There is no higher intelligence or room in the Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (the Tanak), Gospels and Epistles for other life forms as such. If there is, God says nothing about them. The plan of redemption is about mankind.
The angels watch over mankind and there is no room for “aliens” in the Scriptures. Many people get their theology from the “white spaces” between the words of Scripture and insert their own beliefs. Moses, Paul and Peter believed that man was the center of the universe. God is not limited to our dimensional world, he is above all that. He sees it all going at the same time, and time does not impact God at all (2 Pet 3.8).
The “Day of the Lord ” (Atid Lavo; Lord’s Day; Sabbath of God; Messianic Kingdom) is a term that means “when Messiah comes” in Hebrew thought and it will come like a “thief in the night” (1 Thes 5.2; 2 Pet 3.10). The “heavens will pass away” (change from one condition to another), and this also includes the earth (2 Pet 3.10). If there were other life forms out there they have a short life expectancy. Only Yehovah, the angels and redeemed man will survive this change (2 Pet 3.11). Then we will have a new heavens and a new earth. The redeemed of Yehovah will inhabit the earth in a redeemed universe. Until then, we still have the curse that has existed since Adam, but one day that will end (Rev 21-22). Rom 8.19-22 says that “all creation” eagerly awaits this time when all is redeemed.
Yeshua came to die for mankind, and only one time (Heb 7.27; 9.26-28, 10.10). If all of creation now suffers under a curse, then any life outside of the earth also suffers under a curse. If moral beings exist elsewhere, they suffer again when everything changes (2 Pet 3.10). If they had never sinned it would be unjust of Yehovah to punish them. If they have sinned and Messiah only died once for mankind, then they are left in their sins.
What about non-moral and non-emotional life forms on other planets? If all creation groans until the Messiah comes and we enter into the Olam Haba, what purpose would God have had in creating them to suffer on other planets? The truth is, there is no such thing as “aliens” on other planets. There is “extraterrestrial life” but it isn’t what many suppose. We have already mentioned them earlier, and there is the Lord, angels, fallen angels and people who have died and are in heaven already, awaiting the resurrection. The unbelieving dead wait in Sheol for the judgment.
Now, let’s look at “UFOs.” We want to quote from an article called, “Is There Evidence Aliens Have Visited Earth? Here’s what’s come out of US Congress hearings on ‘Unidentified Aerial Phenomena’ ” by Steven Tingay, Curtin University, May 20, 2022. We are not going to quote the whole article, but to sum up the hearings of May 2022, nothing came out of them that support any conclusion that alien vehicles visited the Earth, or “crashed” on it somewhere. However, the hearings did meet in closed sessions to discuss sensitive security issues. We speculate here, but what people may be seeing is man-made and are highly sensitive military equipment. When the SR-71 Blackbird was being developed in the 50’s and 60’s people thought they were seeing UFO’s.
The part of the article we want to bring out is in a section called, “What would it take to make contact?” The author says, “The vast volume of the universe makes it very difficult to achieve interstellar travel, receive signals, or communicate with any potential far-off lifeforms (at least according to the laws of physics as we know them). Speeds are limited to the speed of light, which is around 300,000 km per second. It’s pretty fast. But even at that speed it would take a signal roughly four years to travel between Earth and the nearest star in our galaxy, which is four light years away.”
“But Einstein’s theory of special relativity tells us that, in practice, the speed of a physical object such as a spacecraft will be slower than the speed of light. Also, thanks to the inverse square law of radiation, signals get weaker in proportion to the square of the distance they have travelled. Over interstellar distances, that’s a killer. So for planets hundreds or thousands of light years away, travel times are likely in many thousands of years. And any signals originating from civilizations on those planets are incredibly weak and difficult to detect.”
Cover ups?
“Could it be aliens have crashed on Earth and the US government is just covering it up, as Republican Congressman Tim Burchett claimed in his reaction to the hearings? For airlines belonging to the International Air Transport Association, the chance of a plane crash is about one in a million. That begs the question: do we think an alien spacecraft that can travel for thousands of years, across interstellar distances, is more robust and better designed than our planes? Let’s say it’s a hundred times better. Which means the chance of a crash is one in a hundred million. So to end up with alien wreckage stashed away at Area 51, we would need one hundred million visits from alien spacecraft. That would be 2,739 visits from aliens every day, for the past 100 years!” So, where are they? The near-Earth environment would be constantly buzzing with aliens.”
“With radars constantly scanning space, billions of mobile phone cameras, and hundreds of thousands of amateur astronomers photographing the sky (as well as professional astronomers with powerful telescopes), there would be a lot of really good evidence in the hands of the general public and scientists-not just governments. Its more likely the UAPs presented in evidence are home-grown, or due to natural phenomena we don’t understand.”
In short, Ezekiel 1 is not about alien beings or UFOs. It is a vision of the throne of God (Ezek 1.26-28).
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