Ezekiel 1 is full of bizarre imagery, yes. But the content is not about what we call a UFO. The chapter is a vision of heavenly creatures—called cherubim—and the majesty of Yahweh. The heavenly throne was supported by wheels, as if God sat upon a throne-chariot. God is exalted, transcendent, reigning supreme.

When I was in high school, I remember going into an independent Christian bookstore and seeing a book on UFOs. I immediately pulled it from the shelf and flipped through it. One of the chapters was about Ezekiel 1 and how the prophet saw a UFO. I was fascinated and read through the argument. I’m not sure at that point that I’d ever read Ezekiel 1, much less thought about its meaning.

Since that encounter with a UFO book, I’ve heard people bring up Ezekiel 1 and UFOs from time to time. When I teach Old Testament Survey at Boyce College and Southern Seminary, I now bring up the issue during our study of Ezekiel. Most recently, Tucker Carlson made some waves on the interwebs by saying in an interview that Ezekiel 1 contained a description of UFOs.

So, is it true? Is Ezekiel 1 about a close encounter of an alien kind?

The Vision

Ezekiel 1 has twenty-eight verses. Verses 1–3 introduce the chapter—and the book—by locating the man Ezekiel in Babylonian exile. Originally from Jerusalem, Ezekiel was deported to Babylon in approximately 597 BC. And in 593 BC the Lord called him into prophetic ministry.

Then a vision commences in 1:4–28. And it’s the language in this vision that some people have interpreted as a description of a UFO.

Verses 4 and 5 mention “a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures.”

Each creature had four faces, and each had four wings, straight legs, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot (1:6–7). Under the wings were human hands (1:8). The faces looked like a human face, a lion, an ox, and an eagle (1:10). The creatures “darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning” (1:14).

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