Erich Von Däniken Changed NASA Engineer Mind, Convincing Him To Consider Ezekiel Vision As Alien Spacecraft
By Vicky Verma
Posted on February 18, 2025
What did Ezekiel actually see? The story of the prophet Ezekiel is one of the more fascinating, especially when looked at through the lens of modern technology. Some people suggest that, instead of gods, ancient humans may have actually been visited by an advanced race. This idea, called the ancient astronaut theory, suggests that Ezekiel’s “vision” of a wheeled chariot, or Merkabah, could actually have been a spaceship from an advanced species.
One of the biggest supporters of this theory is Erich von Däniken. He argues that the Book of Ezekiel could be understood differently in this light, so much so that his ideas even changed the view of a NASA scientist who originally set out to disprove them.
Erich von Däniken, a Swiss author famous for his “ancient astronaut” theories (particularly in his book Chariots of the Gods), met Josef F. Blumrich, a NASA engineer. The meeting is said to have occurred in the 1970s, where von Däniken presented his idea that Ezekiel’s vision in the Bible might have been a description of an alien spacecraft rather than a divine chariot.
Blumrich, at the time, was skeptical of von Däniken’s theories. Initially, he sought to disprove them, thinking they were absurd. However, after investigating Ezekiel’s vision in more detail, Blumrich began to change his mind. He wrote a book called “The Spaceships of Ezekiel,” where he argued that Ezekiel’s vision could indeed describe an advanced spacecraft, specifically suggesting that the “wheels within wheels” might represent a form of advanced technology.
Blumrich went on to patent a design for an omnidirectional wheel, which he claimed was inspired by his interpretation of Ezekiel’s description. This was part of his attempt to demonstrate how Ezekiel might have described advanced, though hypothetical, technology.
Ezekiel is a key figure in Judaism and prominent in other Abrahamic biblical texts. Ezekiel was brought to Babylon in the first captivity of Israel and is described as a prophet.
One of the interesting characteristics of The Book of Ezekiel as a biblical text is that it is written using the pronoun, I, clearly showing it being written by Ezekiel himself as a first-person account, unlike many biblical texts written in the third person. This seems to lend a little more credit and personality to the story as it is told shortly after its occurrence.
The Flying Wheeled Chariot
“4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.” – Ezekiel 1
Ezekiel talks about seeing a chariot with wheels come down from the sky, driven by beings that looked like humans. While many versions of the Bible say this being on the chariot is God, von Däniken notes that the original Hebrew text doesn’t mention God; the word was added later.
Ezekiel’s description of the chariot landing sounds a lot like how a spacecraft might land. The strong wind, lightning, and bright lights are similar to what you might see when a spaceship lands, stirring up dust in a way no one from that time had ever seen. Ezekiel even says the fire powering the chariot looked like ‘glowing metal.’
There is a clear difference between this description and how Ezekiel’s vision is usually shown in Bible artwork. Many pictures leave out important details like the fire, the wheels that move in all directions, and the crystal dome around the heads of human-like beings.
The Four Living Creatures
“15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. 16 This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 17 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went. 18 Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around… 22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome.” – Ezekiel 1
Many people think the four creatures are cherubim or angel-like beings, especially in ancient Jewish (Genesis 3:24
and Christian (Exodus 25:18-20) texts. These creatures, looking like humans, are believed by some to be aliens who take Ezekiel in their UFO to a ‘temple’ on top of a mountain. During the journey, Ezekiel says he felt God’s hand on him, which could be understood as the strong forces of gravity or g-forces when the UFO lifts off. He is brought to their ‘temple,’ possibly a place or city where they live.
In many biblical stories, the Ark of the Covenant is an important object for von Däniken’s theory. He believes its mention in the Kebra Nagast, an Ethiopian Christian story about King Solomon, is the most significant. In this story, it’s said that King Solomon had flying machines not mentioned in the Bible, as well as the famous Ark.
The texts suggest people were afraid of the Ark because it killed those who came too close. Could it have been radioactive or electrically charged? Was it like a plutonium reactor?
Erich Von Däniken thinks there are other Bible verses that support his ancient astronaut theory. Some hint at places for spacecraft to land, similar to the one Ezekiel visited. One such place is the Chavin de Huantar temple in Peru, located high up on a mountain from an unknown culture.
The temple has winged figures and sculpted heads that look like they’re wearing helmets. Von Däniken believes these might be similar to the ones Ezekiel described. Could this be real evidence of an ancient UFO sighting, or just an imaginative idea?
Missouri Republican Eric Burlison attended a secret briefing on UFOs 10 months ago, but he says it hasn’t changed his beliefs. “There’s nothing that’s been said that’s changed my worldview,” he stated. He trusts the people who spoke about UFOs publicly but thinks there might be more to the story.
Burlison has suggested that UFOs could be angels sent by God. In an interview on “That UFO Podcast,” he explained that by “angels,” he means beings from other dimensions. He said, “They may not fit exactly the Biblical narrative, but whenever I use the term ‘angels,’ to me, it’s synonymous with an extradimensional being.”
On the podcast, Burlison also shared his views on different UFO theories, mentioning a report by UFO whistleblower David Grusch. Grusch claimed that the government secretly recovered alien spacecraft, with dead “pilots” inside. Burlison pointed to one theory in the report: the idea that these beings could exist in higher dimensions beyond our usual understanding of space and time. (Source)
He used an example of living on a flat surface and suddenly encountering a 3D object to explain higher-dimensional beings. In this case, he suggested that we live in a 3D world but could be dealing with beings from a dimension beyond ours, where distance doesn’t work the same way.
Burlison is doubtful about aliens traveling from distant planets to visit Earth, given the vast distances involved. He questioned why an advanced alien race would come so far only to crash on Earth. Instead, he thinks it’s more likely that these beings are extradimensional.
He added that religious texts, including the Bible, talk about God’s messengers or angels existing in higher dimensions. While Burlison acknowledges the visual evidence and pilots’ testimonies about UFOs, he thinks the explanation might not be as exciting as people hope. In his view, these sightings might be new propulsion technology being developed on Earth.
To make his point, he mentioned the discovery of the Higgs boson particle about ten years ago, which relates to gravity. Just as the nuclear bomb was developed after the discovery of nuclear fission, Burlison thinks scientists may be using the Higgs field to create new technology, possibly for advanced propulsion.
He’s not alone in connecting UFOs with religious ideas. Representative Tim Burchett has also said that UFOs are in the Bible, specifically referring to the book of Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 1:4-28, a vision describes an “immense cloud with flashing lightning,” “four living creatures” with human-like forms but with four faces and wings, and wheels that moved with them, which Burchett linked to UFOs.
