Living creatures (Bible)
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The living creatures, living beings, or hayyot are a class of heavenly beings in Jewish religion. They are described in the prophet Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly chariot in the first and tenth chapters of the Book of Ezekiel. References to the sacred creatures recur in texts of Second Temple Judaism, in rabbinical merkabah ("chariot") literature, in the Book of Revelation in the Christian New Testament, and in the Zohar.
Ezekiel's "chariot vision", by Matthaeus Merian (1593–1650)
Ezekiel's Wheel
Ezekiel's encounter with the Merkabah and the Living Creatures
Merkabah mysticism
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Merkabah or Merkavah mysticism is a school of early Jewish mysticism, c. 100 BCE – 1000 CE, centered on visions such as those found in Ezekiel 1 or in the hekhalot literature, concerning stories of ascents to the heavenly palaces and the Throne of God.
Copy of Matthäus Merian's engraving of Ezekiel's vision (1670)
Ezekiel's Wheel in St. John the Baptist Church in Kratovo, North Macedonia. Fresco from the 19th century.
Tomb of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakai in Tiberias
Talmud on the Knesset Menorah. References in rabbinic Talmud and Midrash to merkabah mysticism are brief, avoiding explanation.