The King of Syria sent a great army to capture Elisha, which surrounded a new city he had built, and a servant asked Elisha what they could do. Apparently, a great number of God's vehicles, "horses and chariots of fire" were "round about Elisha", but they were invisible or cloaked to everyone but Elisha. After he asked God to let the servant see them, the glowing vehicles appeared to him as well. The entire Syrian army was then blinded, taken to Samaria, had their sight returned, and then released.

The events just described point to some obvious conclusions. The vehicles that appeared to, and abducted, Elijah were glowing, either flew with a skipping motion, flew rapidly or both, were probably spinning, and had the ability to beam a human aboard. The “cloaked” vehicles that were present with Elisha were, no doubt, the same “chariots of fire” that had taken Elijah. Flying, glowing, spinning vehicles that can beam up humans in our modern age are called UFOs. In 800 BC they could only be called whirlwind-like chariots of fire.

The Fleet of God

Almost 300 times, the God of the Old Testament is referred to as the Lord of Hosts. The word host is taken from, tsaba', pronounced tsaw-baw'; a mass of persons (or figuratively, things), especially organized for war (an army). The proper rendering of the phrase "Lord of Hosts" is Yhovah of the Army. The “chariots of fire” of Elijah and Elisha were part of this "flying army", or fleet, of many thousands of chariots and millions of beings called the Malak, or angels.

Here are just a few biblical references that verify the Lord God of the Old Testament is the head of an army, or fleet:

* "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place" (Psalms 68:17)

* “Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise?" (Job 25:3)

* “And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." (Joshua 5:14)

* "...for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:26)

* "...so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof."(Isaiah 31:4)

* "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven," (Daniel 4:35)

* "And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" (Joel 2:11)

* "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army." (Revelation 19:17)

Ezekiel's Whirlwind and Great Fire

The first and tenth chapters of Ezekiel describe at least two separate encounters with a strange flying vehicle, as well as face-to-face encounters with beings and divine abductions. This encounter occurred about 200 years after that of Elijah and is described in great detail. The close nature of these encounters provides the most thorough description of the physical devices, brilliance, and material composition of the flying craft of Yhovah. Ezekiel was the son of Buzi and a priest, who was one of the Israelite exiles that settled at Tel-abib, on the banks of the Chebar, in the land of the Chaldeans. Here is how Ezekiel describes the beginning of his first close encounter: