This is from Ezekiel in the old testament. Is it an alien experience he is describing?

Question

And, looking, I saw a storm-wind coming out of the north, a great cloud with flames of fire coming after one another, and a bright light shining round about it and in the heart of it was something coloured like electrum.
5 And in the heart of it were the forms of four living beings. And this was what they were like; they had the form of a man.
6 And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings.
7 And their feet were straight feet; and the under sides of their feet were like the feet of oxen; and they were shining like polished brass.
8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings; the four of them had faces on their four sides.
9 They went without turning, every one went straight forward.
10 As for the form of their faces, they had the face of a man, and the four of them had the face of a lion on the right side, and the four of them had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four of them had the face of an eagle.
11 And their wings were separate at the top; two of the wings of every one were joined one to another, and two were covering their bodies.
12 Every one of them went straight forward; wherever the spirit was to go they went; they went on without turning.
13 And between the living beings it was like burning coals of fire, as if flames were going one after the other between the living beings; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went thunder-flames.
14 And the living beings went out and came back as quickly as a thunder-flame.
15 Now while I was looking at the four living beings, I saw one wheel on the earth, by the side of the living beings, for the four of them.
16 The form of the wheels and their work was like a beryl; the four of them had the same form and design, and they were like a wheel inside a wheel.
17 The four of them went straight forward without turning to one side.
18 And I saw that they had edges, and their edges, even of the four, were full of eyes round about.
19 And when the living beings went on, the wheels went by their side; and when the living beings were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
20 Wherever the spirit was to go they went; and the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
21 When these went on, the others went; and when these came to rest, the others came to rest; and when these were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up by their side: for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
22 And over the heads of the living beings there was the form of an arch, looking like ice, stretched out over their heads on high.
23 Under the arch their wings were straight, one stretched out to another: every one had two wings covering their bodies on this side and two covering their bodies on that side.
24 And when they went, the sound of their wings was like the sound of great waters to my ears, like the voice of the Ruler of all, a sound like the rushing of an army: when they came to rest they let down their wings.
25 And there was a voice from the top of the arch which was over their heads: when they came to rest they let down their wings.
26 And on the top of the arch which was over their heads was the form of a king's seat, like a sapphire stone; and on the form of the seat was the form of a man seated on it on high.
27 And I saw it coloured like electrum, with the look of fire in it and round it, going up from what seemed to be the middle of his body; and going down from what seemed to be the middle of his body I saw what was like fire, and there was a bright light shining round him.
28 Like the bow in the cloud on a day of rain, so was the light shining round him. And this is what the glory of the Lord was like. And when I saw it I went down on my face, and the voice of one talking came to my ears.

Ps: I am religious but this does not stop me questioning different theories about the higher intelligence that created us

Answer 1

It depends upon a lot of things.

Some people don't believe that aliens exist, so will say it is angels or other messengers of god (or gods, depending upon ther religion).

Those who don't believe in the bible may disagree, and say it is aliens.

Then there are those people who don't believe in either the bible or in aliens, and may just come up with some smarmy answer like Ezekiel was on drugs and hallucinating the entire thing.

YOU must take the passage as YOU feel it should be taken. If you believe it was an alien craft with passengers inside delivering a message of peace, it may very well have been. Then again it could also just as easily been as the religious people say and that those beings were sent by god. YOU must make the choice in how to interpret the passage that make YOU feel happy and right.

Answer 2

This is certainly a compelling passage and it has stirred much controversy. It's very possible Esekiel did actually see something of a seemingly mysterious nature. People do today and even catch them on camera so why not then? But there are things one should keep in mind before making conclusions.

1. The bible containes many metaphores and it's know that there is a lot of code in it....that is, sometimes things are phrased in riddles to be decrypted by the "wise".

2. Ezekiel may have been tripping. People often used drugs to induce religious experiences.

I do not accept the explaination put forth by one scholar that Ezekiel may have seen warriors from another tribe in war masks. I think we ought to give people of the time more intellectual credit than that. These were people who lived where cities had walls for good reasons and I'm sure Ezekiel had seen many masked foes by the time this event occured.

Answer 3

It sounds like an mixture of some wild weather, an over indulgence in the wine and an overactive imagination.
As to aliens light moves a 186000 miles a second and it takes 7 hours or thereabouts to reach the edge of the solar system. So any alien would have to have a star ship that moved very very fast to get to us. I don't say it is impossible but very unlikely that we have been visited by aliens so some other explanation, even if you don't know what it is, is the more likely

Answer 4

It would not. there is not any eternal torment in Judaism. Sheol isn't something greater suitable than the grave. examine Ecclesiastes. Gihinnom is a canyon only outdoors the partitions of the previous city the place the "homeless" of the time lived and cooked over open fires. not a stunning place to stay! at present it extremely is a small park. .

Answer 5

if i was high enuff maybe i would bother to read that whole thing, but yea the bible is full of alien encounters misenterpretted as gods. remember these ppl had no concept anything but the ground they stood on so to see a being come from above it must be from heaven since there are no other planets.

Answer 6

No. As he clearly says, he was seeing 'visions of the lord'
Every motif in the passage can be explained in the context of the culture of the day. There is no mystery, it is a typical mystical work of the period.

Answer 7

Try reading "Chariots of the Gods" by Erich von Daniken.

Answer 8

Like just about everything in the Holy Bible, this can be interpreted dozens of ways.

Answer 9

Sounds like a drug experience.

Answer 10

Many believe it is or maybe - but then it just might be magic mushrooms.