Visions by Ezekiel

Ezekiel’s Chariot?

Ezekiel was a Hebrew Priest as well s a Prophet.  In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as such. In Judaism as well as Christianity, he is believed to be the author of the Book of Ezekiel that reveals prophecies regarding the destruction of Jerusalem as well as the destruction of the “First Jewish Temple” by the Babylonians.

His visions also include of the rebuilding of a third Jewish temple at some point in the future but perhaps his most confusing “vision” is described as a chariot with wheels inside of wheels and guided by Cherubs (heavenly beings of the day) or in other words, a flying vessel of some sort that some scholars claim is a detailed description of a alien space craft or an ‘ancient day’ UFO.

In July of 592 BC, at the age of 30, while in the captivity of the Babylonians, Ezekiel described his calling to be a prophet, by going into great detail about his encounter with God who rode upon a chariot with four wheels guided by what he alleged were Cherubs or heavenly beings of some sort.   For the next 5 years he relentlessly prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem as well as its temple, which was met with a good bit of opposition and drama from the Jewish people of the era.  

Ezekiel, along with at least one of his contemporaries Jeremiah, another prophet who was living in Jerusalem (not Babylon) at that time, witnessed the fulfillment of such prophecies when Jerusalem was finally sacked by the Babylonians in 587 BC, an event that has been confirmed by most historians. It may be of significant note that some scholars insist the date of the sacking did not coincide with Ezekiel's prophecy, regardless said destruction occurred.   

Ezekiel is believed to have been 50 years old (about 17 years after the Temple’s destruction) when he began to have visions of a new 3^rd Temple (as described in Chapters 40-47 of the Old Testament), which actually per-dated the 2^nd temple; which was completed in 515 BC but then destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.  

He had served as a prophet for at least 22 years when, according to scriptures, Ezekiel had this last encounter with God which is thought to have occurred in April of 570 BC and featured the promise of a new beginning and a new Temple.   This particular vision continues to create debate / problems even today. Foremost of which includes the following:

The Islamic religious structure “The Dome of the Rock” currently stands upon the real-estate most historians believe to be the previous location of the First and Second Jewish Temple, and to make matters worse, most believers generally think a 3^rd Temple must be built upon the same location; it is therefore easy to see, given the historical conflicts between followers of Islam and the nation of Israel in particular, that a miracle may be necessary to resolve this debate or on the other hand perhaps another visit by Ezekiel’s UFO with a little guidance given from its occupant(s) clearing up this semingly small difference of opinion.

Sources …

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezekiel

http://drybonesproject.com/ezekiel.html                                          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Ezekiel                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ezekiel's_vision.jpg