el must have been something of a numerologist. He points out that
there are four creatures, and each of the four has four faces each,
and each has four wings each--but not four hands.

_9. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they
went; they went every one straight forward._

He is not saying that the wings of one creature are joined to the
wings of another creature. He is saying that each wing is joined to
another wing, not directly to the creature.

The second and third parts of this verse present a mystery. We do not
know what the "theys" refer to. There are three "theys" in this verse,
one after another and we are given very few clues to which refer to
_creatures_ and which refer to wings. The first "they" most likely is
tied to the first part of the verse and therefore refers to the wings.
Given this, there are still three interpretations:

1. _The wings_ turned not when _the wings_ went; _The wings_
went every one straight forward.

2. _The wings_ turned not when _the creatures_ went; _The
wings_ went every one straight forward.

3. _The wings_ turned not when _the creatures_ went; _The
creatures_ went every one straight forward.

None of these three statements make much of a point, whether the
creatures have helicopter wings, or bird-angel wings. Let us assume
then that the first "they" refers to the creatures:

1. _The creatures_ turned not when _the creatures_ went;
_The creatures_ went every one straight forward.

2. _The creatures_ turned not when _the wings_ went; _The
wings_ went every one straight forward.

3. _The creatures_ turned not when _the wings_ went; _The
creatures_ went every one straight forward.

This last statement would pretty well describe the action of the
blades of an inoperative helicopter being carried forward in a
straight line. It would strike Ezekiel as odd that the wings might
move and turn without turning the men under them. You might wonder why
he would say "... wings went ..." instead of "... wings turned...."
When a light breeze moves the blades of an inoperative helicopter the
blades not only turn, but they change their pitch and plane in a most
random manner.

Although Ezekiel has not completed his description of the creatures,
we can try now to form a picture of what he saw. No matter how we bend
and squeeze, we are not going to get a Michelangelo-type angel. Look
at figure one