Since the Anunnaki were an advanced civilization, able to traverse the vastness of space to reach this planet, to colonize it, and exploit its resources, and transfer these metals by freighter to their orbiting ship, surely there must be some evidence in the religious and secular literature that refers, at least obliquely, to the skyborne vehicles used by these ancient astronauts.

The obvious allusion which comes to mind is the "fiery chariot" of Ezekiel. It is graphically described several times in the "Book of Ezekiel" so that it cannot be dismissed as merely an aberration of the text or even a hallucination of the prophet.

[Comment: An inventor’s life-size replica of the Ezekiel Airship is on permanent display in Warrick’s Restaurant in Pittsburg, Texas, a few miles south of Interstate Highway 30, in case you are ever passing through Northeast Texas and would wish to see it - as well as have lunch or dinner in this wonderful Cajun restaurant. The replica now on display is the second rendition. The first model actually flew for a short distance before crashing. The second model has never been flown. This "sculpture" looks much like a gigantic hang-glider.]

Ezekiel is not an exception for these aerial machines appear throughout the Scriptures, although they are usually interpreted in religious and mystical terms. It is indicative of the mind-set of these translators that they refuse to recognize them for what they are.

[Comment: It should be noted that one who did not understand the principles of air travel could not have known to interpret them in any other way than by "religion" or "mysticism."]

In Ezekiel’s case it is called a fiery chariot, as if somehow this term is more acceptable, perhaps because it has mythological connotations and is the most innocuous way of dismissing a troublesome reference. Nowhere have Biblical scholars translated or referred to the various appearances of these unusual vehicles as aircraft, airships, or even space ships.

Along this vein it is interesting to note that the land-locked Hebrews referred to the airships as "chariots" while the sea-going Egyptians called them "boats of heaven."

What is not commonly perceived is that there are numerous references to airborne craft in the Scriptures, but their appearances have been masked through theological interpretation and in many cases just plain false translations.

There are various names used for the vehicles of the ancient astronauts, and we shall try to identify them and separate them by function. The space capsule or personal housing of the gods is referred to as either a "shekinah" or as a "kabod" in the Scriptures. In the books of Exodus and Ezekiel, the personal craft is called a "kabod," while in the works of the Pseudepigrapha and the Haggadah the craft is called a "shekinah." The terms seem to be interchangeable since both rest on a larger vehicle or booster platform called "cherubim."

To leave the orbiting space ship or to travel about on Earth, the composite craft or command capsule and the booster platform was sufficient, although the capsule could independently travel by itself for short distances, as seen in the case of Ezekiel.

In order to leave the Earth’s gravity and reach the orbiting space ship, the command capsule was mounted on a larger booster rocket called a "shem" in the Old Testament and "shumu" in the Sumerian literature.

The personal command capsule - the "shekinah" or "kabod" - has taken on a special significance among the ancient peoples of the Middle East, since it was considered to be the actual residence of the gods; and each civilization revered the cone-shaped object in different ways according to its own traditions.

This cone-shaped command capsule is,

• the "beth-el" of the Hebrews

• the "betyl" of the Canaanites and Phoenicians

• the "ben-ben" of the Egyptians

• the Greeks knew it as the "omphalos"

As we shall see, the composite rocket vehicle of the ancients was also the source of the Egyptian legend of the Phoenix bird that rose in fire out of its own ashes.

THE ORBITING MOTHER SHIP: THE HEAVENLY ABODE

There are many indications in the Scriptures, particularly in the Hebrew Book of Enoch (3 Enoch), that the so-called "heavenly abode" was organized as a large city in space or more significantly as an orbiting mother ship.

This book describes the trip of the prophet Ishmael to the heavenly abode where he meets the patriarch Enoch who proceeds to give him a guided tour of the ship. While this book is written in spiritualistic terms, whose purpose is to create an atmosphere of awesome majesty, when one strips away the theological verbiage, what emerges is the description of a large complex space ship.

There are seven "heavens" or decks to the space ship. Each deck has seven "palaces" arranged in concentric circles with guards stationed at the entrances of each circle of rooms. The obvious comparison would be with that of the Pentagon Building in Washington.

The center of the ship was called the "Arabot" and was the residence of the chief deity. It is here that the "shekinah" or dwelling of the deity is located. It sets on a platform called "cherubim."

Various functions are assigned to managers called Princes, who appear to be chiefs of various operational activities associated with the spacecraft.

• "Rikbi-el" is the "Prince of the Wheels," who is in charge of the "wheels of the chariot" or "shekinah."

• "Hayli-el" is the "Prince of the Holy Creatures" or "hayyot." Since the term is derived from "Hayel" meaning an army, these are presumably the soldiers or guards.

• "Ribbi-el" is the "Prince of the Cherubim," the platform on which rests the "shekinah."

• "Opanni-el" is the "Prince of the Opannim," and these seem to be the mechanics, for it is their responsibility to maintain the craft:

  • "He polishes their platform, he adorns their compartments, he makes their turnings smooth, and cleans their seats."

• When the composite craft leave the heavenly abode or space ship, there is an impressive ceremony called "Qedussah," which is apparently a syllogism for a launch countdown.

THE QUEDUSSAH OR ROCKET LIFT-OFF

When the Shekinah leaves, the personnel of the heavenly abode participate in a ceremony called the "Qedussah." In the words of the Hebrew Book of Enoch, there is a "cosmic commotion at the singing of the Qedussah," which sounds very much like the countdown and frantic activity which accompany the launch of a rocket vehicle. It is said that "all the pillars of the heavens and their bases shake and the gates of the palaces of the heavens of Arabot quiver."

Before this spirited activity begins, "brilliant starry crowns are put on the heads of the angels and princes." These are obviously protective devices or headgear for protection against the deafening noise and brilliant glare of the blast-off.

The participants are warned that when the proper procedure is not followed, an accident or tragedy can happen, for they are told that when they "do not follow the proper order of the Qedussah, devouring fire goes out from little fingers of the holy ones and destroys the ministering angels." They are warned that the exhaust of the rocket can be quite dangerous, for as the Shekinah moves "a fire precedes him as he goes devouring all those around him."

There is an interesting reference in the Haggadah, the oral tradition of the Jews, which describes where the Shekinah went on one of its trips after leaving the space ship. In the section which describes the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Shekinah is credited with dropping out of the sky and blasting these cities.

This source describes how the Shekinah of the Lord had "descended to work the destruction of these cities." Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews seems to support this, for in his description on the destruction of these cities, he states that "God cast a thunderbolt upon the city, and set it on fire," suggesting that the space ship destroyed the cities with some form of missile or beam weapon.

THE COMPOSITE SPACECRAFT: COMMAND CAPSULE AND BOOSTER PLATFORM

Throughout the Old Testament, the vehicle of the deity is called a Kabod (occasionally kebod, kavod or kebod) which is, as we shall see, another name for the Shekinah, the term which is used for the fiery chariot of Ezekiel.

[Comment: As has been stated, in linguistics the vowels "don’t count." Note that in the above terminology only the vowels change from one rendition of the word to the other, except for the often interchangeable consonants B and V, as is "Havana" or "Habana" de Cuba.]

When Ezekiel stood beside the Chebar Canal near Nippur one summer day, a tempestuous wind bore toward him an incandescent cloud. As the cloud neared, four glowing creatures became visible in the lower part, like humans in their erect posture, with legs and hands, but unlike them in having four faces and four wings. The creatures were arranged in a square and were not connected at their wingtips to each other.

They gave the impression of a unity as they moved; and facing in every direction, always went in the direction they faced, without needing to turn. Amidst them was a flashing torchlike apparition. The prophet noted that below and alongside each creature was a high complex wheel, rimmed with eyes, that moved in unison with the creatures. Above their heads was a dazzling icelike expanse.

As they neared, he grew aware of the terrific noise made by the wings in motion. Then as the wings slackened and the apparition came to a halt, the prophet heard a sound from above the expanse. He saw a sapphire throne standing upon the expanse, upon which a brilliant figure sat, all bright and fiery, and encased in a rainbow-like radiance. Ezekiel realized he had seen the "Kabod of the Lord."

A remarkable analysis of the technical details furnished by the Book of Ezekiel was made by Josef F. Blumrich in his book The Spaceships of Ezekiel, wherein the NASA engineer graphically describes the composite vehicle as a cone-like capsule which sat on a booster platform. He suggested that this platform was composed of four rocket units with each unit having retractable rotor blades and retractable arms.

The appearance of the spacecraft at the Chebar Canal at Nippur is also significant since Nippur was the space control center before the Deluge. The second appearance of the chariot to Ezekiel was at Jerusalem, and the consistency in the details concerning both appearances appears to rule out the possibility of any errors in transcription. At Jerusalem, Ezekiel is told to:

"’Get up and go out to the plain and there I shall speak to you.’ So I got up and went out to the plain, and there was the Kabod of the Lord waiting - like the Kabod I saw by the Chebar Canal."

Ezekiel then describes how the Kabod rose from its platform and flew over the city, then returned to the landing platform of cherubim:

"The Kabod of the Lord went forth off the threshold of the house and halted upon the cherubim. The cherubim raised their wings and rose off the ground. I watched them depart . . . the Kabod of the Lord above and upon them."

It seems that while the personal craft or command capsule could fly independently, it needed the larger vehicle or booster platform to travel greater distances, and to move freely about the Earth.

The Kabod also appears numerous times to Moses and the Israelites during the time of the Exodus. For example, when they left the area of the Red Sea and were journeying into the wilderness of the Sinai, the people were grumbling and dissatisfied. According to Exodus 16, Moses and Aaron tried to appease them with the news that they would soon see the "Kabod of the Lord."

"By evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out from the land of Egypt and in the morning you shall behold the Kabod of the Lord. . . . Then as Aaron spoke the people turned toward the wilderness and there, in a cloud, appeared the Kabod of the Lord."

When the spacecraft stayed among the Israelites, it was kept in the Tent of Meeting, a sort of temporary shelter or garage.

While the term Kabod seems to have no antecedents and has not been identified semantically, the word Shekinah means literally "a physical dwelling or resting place." In spite of this Semitic meaning, it has been translated as "glory" in the Scriptures and given a mystical interpretation to mean a spiritual presence rather than a physical one. In fact, a complete Kabbalistic literature has arisen over this spiritual meaning. The Scriptures and the Pseudepigrapha do not support this meaning, however, for everywhere it is mentioned it is described clearly as a physical dwelling or personal vehicle used by the deity. Both the Kabod and Shekinah rest on a booster platform called "cherubim."

Cherubim is another interesting word that has received theological interpretations. The origins or roots of the word are unknown; customarily, it is translated as a group of winged celestial beings or special kind of angel. A source in the Encyclopedia Judaica has suggested that the Hebrew word cherub or "Keruv" could be a metathesis or inversion of the letters for chariot or "rekhuv." This makes much sense, and this view is supported by the Scriptures where the word cherub is sometimes equated to an aerial chariot as in the Second Book of Samuel.

It is also repeated in Psalm 18:

"He bowed the heavens, and came down; thick darkness was under his feet. He rode on a cherub, and he flew; he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind."

According to the medieval philosopher Saadiah Gaon of the First Century AD, probably the greatest scholar of Babylonian Jewry, the Shekinah is identical to the "kavod ha-shem," a phrase usually translated in religious terms as "majesty of his name." In modern terms "kavod ha-shem" would mean "the chariot of the shem"; and this term, as we shall see, also has spacecraft connotations, for it is none other than the main rocket booster.

THE MAIN ROCKET BOOSTER: THE SHEM OF THE HEBREWS AND SHUMU OF THE SUMERIANS

Generations of scholars and translators have sought to give the reference to "shem" in Genesis 11 only an allegorical meaning, for Mankind wished to make a "name" or reputation for himself by building a tower to the sky.

The Biblical tale of the Tower of Babel as related in Genesis deals with events that followed the repopulation of the Earth after the Deluge, when some people "journeyed to the east, and they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they settled there." The land of Shinar, of course, is the land of Sumer, and the plain is the one between the two rivers of Mesopotamia. According to Genesis, the people said:

"Let us build a city, and a tower whose top shall reach the heavens; and let us make us a name [shem] lest we be scattered upon the face of the Earth."

This project did not sit well with the deity, however, and he immediately came down to investigate.

"And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of Adam had erected. And he said, ’Behold, all are as one people and one language, and this is just the beginning of their undertakings. Now, anything which they shall scheme to do shall no longer be impossible for them.’"

[Comment: The "Lord" is a "jealous god," you recall. One wonders what this "Lord" thinks of the joint American-Russian cooperation on the beleaguered Space Station Mir.]

The deity then decided to take action and informed some colleagues who are not identified:

"’Come, let us go down there and confound their language, so that they may not understand each other’s speech.’ And the Lord scattered them from there, upon the face of the whole earth. And they ceased to build the city, therefore was its name called Babel, for there did the Lord mingle the Earth’s tongue."

This chapter in Genesis, however, raises more questions than it answers. Why did the ancient residents of Babylon exert themselves "to make a name" and why was this "name" to be placed upon a tower or ziggurat whose top would reach the heavens?

It is puzzling why the making of a name or reputation could counteract the effects of mankind’s being scattered all over the world, and why the Lord was so upset over raising this name that such a feat would afterwards make anything possible for man. Obviously, something has been left out of the text.

The answers to these questions becomes clear when one reads "rocket ship" instead of "name" for the Hebrew or Semitic word "shem." The story thus deals with the concern of man to build a tower so as to erect a rocket ship in order to fly over the people land like gods, even to try to reach the orbiting space ship in order to meet the gods and perchance achieve immortality. This could not be tolerated by the gods; only they were permitted to have and to operate rocket and space vehicles.

The Hebrew word "shem" is derived from the Akkadian Semitic term "shumu" which curiously enough is used in the Gilgamesh Epic in a case that seems to parallel that of the Tower of Babel.

As the king of the city of Uruk, Gilgamesh was sad and depressed over the thought of dying. He looked over the city walls and saw dead bodies floating in the river below. Gilgamesh feared that this, too, would be his fate, being part mortal. He then decided to seek immortality, and he set his sights on reaching "the land of the living" or the cedar land of Lebanon.

Gilgamesh confided in his companion Enkidu that he planned to enter the cedar land in order to set up his "shumu" in the "place where shumus have been raised I would raise my shumu."

Enkidu informed him that this land was under the sovereignty of Utu and that he must seek his permission, which Gilgamesh proceeded to do. Utu or Shamash was the chief of the cedar land, the land where the space platform was located.

It becomes clear that to translate "shumu" as name or reputation makes little sense. Like in Genesis, man would imitate the gods and erect a rocket ship to reach them, since they held all the secrets, especially those of long life.

A similar use of the word "shumu" is seen in the Tale of Adapa. After he is summoned to heaven by the chief god An and a flight where he has seen the marvels of the earth and sky, the chief god wants to know who provided a "shumu" for him so that he could reach the "heavenly abode" or orbiting space ship. The use of the word "shumu" here clearly means a shuttle which took him from the earth to the heavens.

The Shem was apparently the main booster than carried the Shekinah or Kabod, the command capsule, when it was necessary to leave the Earth for the orbiting space ship. Presumably, the main booster returned to Earth and stood on the launch pad at Baalbek ready for the next mission. Such a large booster was not necessary for the composite craft (Shekinah and Cherubim) to leave the space ship and return to Earth. In such a case only a braking capability was required to slow the re-entry of the spacecraft.

The personal space capsule or command module apparently had its own propulsion system, for it could rise from the booster platform or cherubim and move freely about for short distances, as illustrated in the incident of Ezekiel’s chariot at Jerusalem.

This command capsule was the personal dwelling of the ancient astronauts, and as such its design and conformation became the symbol or representation of the home of the gods throughout the Middle East, in Mesopotamia, in the Levant, and in Egypt and Greece.

THE COMMAND CAPSULE OR THE DWELLING OF THE GODS

The victory stele erected by Naram-Sin (click image left) of the Akkad Dynasty, of the mid-23^rd Century BC, is supposed to represent his victory over a local people.

It depicts Naram-Sin wearing the horned headdress of a god (image right) and trodding triumphantly over a prostrate enemy.

He faces a large conical object which is dominated by the star symbol of Shamash.

Naram-Sin had invaded a "mountainous land," in one of his wars of conquest. In an inscription he boasts of destroying the cities of this "mountain land."

This land was Lebanon as we shall see (Chapter 16), and the conical object signified the space facilities at Baalbek. This conical object was considered to be the dwelling place of the gods and became the object of reverence throughout the Middle East.

Called "betyl" by the Semitic peoples, a corruption of "beth-el" meaning the house of the god, it appears in various forms.

On a coin from Byblos, the Phoenician seaport, the cone-shaped object is set up in a sacred enclosure for veneration. A similar object was sacred to people all over the Middle East as the residence of the local god.

To find the origins of the word "baetyl" or "betyl" as used as the home of the gods, we must look into the legend of the Phoenix, the legendary bird that arose in flames from the Sun Stone at the Temple of the Sun at the City of An in the delta in Egypt, called Heliopolis by the Greeks.