There is an enigma throughout the history of man known as the Cloud Rider. Ancient cultures knew of him, but who was he?
Ba'al, the Rain God
Ba'al was the enemy deity to the God of Israel, Jehovah. As recorded in Scripture we see him opposing the Hebrews time and again.
We get a special engagement with his priests when they have a showdown on Mt. Carmel with the prophet Elijah.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:
a baal of wings was a winged creature denoting flight. He was also king of the gods. Baal was common name of small Syrian and Persian deities. The worship of Baal was popular in Egypt. Through the influence of the Aramaeans, who borrowed the Babylonian pronunciation Bel, the god ultimately became known as the Greek Belos, identified with Zeus.
In Phoenicia, he was called Baal Shamen, Lord of the Heavens.
The Canaanite's god was called Ba'al.
The God of Rain and Dew and is depicted holding a lightning bolt yet another Zeus connection.
The Old Testament Hebrew has Baal's epithet as the storm god:
He Who Rides on the Clouds.
Rider of the Clouds
Ba‘al is often portrayed as "Rider of the Clouds," and described in imagery associated with storms and meteorological phenomena, including clouds, thunder, lightning, and hail. Baal’s titles (divine epithets) as well as Baal’s depiction portray him as a primarily meteorological deity.
Baal ruled over thunder, lightning and traveled on the chariot of clouds.
According to the Encyclopedia Mythica, Baal has other aspects of his deity including sun god, fertility god, etc and never emerged as a rain god until later times. Baal is the god of rain, thunder, and lightening.
The gods began to build a magnificent house for Ba‘al once he defeated Yam, the sea god and Lothan, the leviathan of the Bible, so that he could be at rest and provide abundant rain for the earth, a god "that rides on the clouds."
Note the coinage found in archeological ruins of a deity riding on a chariot with wings, denoting flight.
Who the Cloud Rider is is who controls the skies. It is important.
But who is Ba'al...really?
Next Post: Will the Real Ba'al Please Stand Up?
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