Project Gutenberg's The Four-Faced Visitors of Ezekiel, by Arthur W. Orton

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Title: The Four-Faced Visitors of Ezekiel

Author: Arthur W. Orton

Illustrator: Orton

Release Date: October 14, 2009 [EBook #30252]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Transcriber's Note:

This etext was produced from Analog Science Fact & Fiction March 1961.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright
on this publication was renewed.

THE

FOUR-FACED

VISITORS

OF ... EZEKIEL

By ARTHUR W. ORTON

_Ezekiel, they say, "saw de wheel"--but he saw somewhat more
than that. And Orton suggests that what he saw made
perfectly good sense ... to the understanding!_

Illustrated by Orton

* * * * *

We are told from our Sunday School days that the Bible is a "living
book," the oldest of man's written works that is read and used anew,
from generation to generation. It remains "living" because we are able
to find new meaning to fit our daily lives. Although it is not the
usual kind of new meaning, I believe that I have found something of
the sort in the very old prophesies of Ezekiel.

Bible scholars have long recognized the first chapter of Ezekiel as a
strange and nearly unfathomable account of a vision. I suggest that it
is strange only because it is written by a man far removed from us in
time and experience, about a subject totally unfamiliar to men of his
time. I do not think that this was a vision in the usual sense, nor
was it meant to be mystical. This particular chapter has been called
"Science fiction in the Bible" and many attempts have been made to
unravel the meaning of the original author, along both spiritual and
mundane lines. I am convinced tha