{"id":73001,"date":"2020-04-06T18:22:20","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T15:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=73001"},"modified":"2020-04-06T18:22:20","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T15:22:20","slug":"e-t-go-home-the-aliens-are-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/e-t-go-home-the-aliens-are-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"E.T Go Home: The Aliens are Coming"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"73001","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":64462,"related_cahpter":"453","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Ezekiel\u2019s sci-fi vision\u00a0\r\n\r\n","content":"

The prophet Ezekiel opens his book with a bizarre vision. The text is so peculiar that Erich von D\u00e4niken, a Swiss \u201cufologist,\u201d, U.F.O. \u2018researcher,\u2019 used Ezekiel\u2019s vision of the chariot as a paradigm example of an alien visitation story.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s set the scene:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, when I was in the community of exiles by the Chebar Canal, the heavens opened, and I saw visions of God\u201d (Ezek. 1:1).<\/span><\/p>\n

Von D\u00e4niken\u2019s book, \u201cChariots of the Gods? Unsolved Mysteries of the Past” was written in 1968 and presents the <\/span>hypothesis<\/span> that the <\/span>technologies<\/span> and <\/span>religions<\/span> of many <\/span>ancient civilizations<\/span> were given to them by <\/span>ancient astronauts<\/span><\/a> who were welcomed as <\/span>gods<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the book was later completely discredited, it is one recognition of the uncanny nature of Ezekiel\u2019s visions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, if noted filmmaker Steven Spielberg was able to open our imagination and let us fly on a bike that transformed our childhood imagination, why shouldn\u2019t we invite the exiled prophet Ezekiel into our personal ride?<\/span><\/p>\n

So, let me suggest we accompany the seer and open our minds to the many possibilities of the unknown, to Ezekiel\u2019s visions:<\/span><\/p>\n

I looked, and lo, a stormy wind came sweeping out of the north\u2014a huge cloud and flashing fire, surrounded by a radiance; and in the center of it, in the center of the fire, a gleam as of amber. (Ezek. 1:4)<\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

So far, the prophet allows the reader to reenact a similar theophany as the one presented on Mount Sinai. As the prophet recounts his vision, the reader is captivated by imaginary fiction, mesmerized by the sight:<\/span><\/p>\n

As I gazed on the creatures, I saw one wheel on the ground next to each of the four-faced creatures. As for the appearance and structure of the wheels, they gleamed like beryl. All four had the same form; the appearance and structure of each was as of two wheels cutting through each other. (Ezek.1:16)<\/span><\/p>\n

Ezekiel captivates the reader\u2019s attention. How does this theological depiction contine? Where is God in this magisterial scenery?<\/span><\/p>\n

Above the heads of the creatures was a form: an expanse, with an awe-inspiring gleam as of crystal, was spread out above their heads. Under the expanse, each had one pair of wings extended toward those of the others; and each had another pair covering its body. When they moved, I could hear the sound of their wings like the sound of mighty waters, like the sound of Shaddai, a tumult like the din of an army. When they stood still, they would let their wings droop. (Ezek. 1:22-24)<\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

So, as we knock on the door of the prophet\u2019s book, intrigued by what his revelation has to offer, we enter a new unidentified space.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who knows? We might find ET.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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