The mystical vision of the Chariot-Throne of God, which is the Jewish equivalent of the beatific vision and which gave rise to the longest enduring form of Jewish mysticism, was initiated by the early Jewish Prophets. If the text of Kings can be trusted, the Prophet Micaiah was the first to report an experience, around 850 BCE, of the mystical vision of the Throne. Micaiah described his vision simply as the "Lord sitting on His throne, (with) all the host of heaven. . .standing by Him. . . ."⁷ Next, the Prophet Isaiah, who lived about one hundred years after Micaiah, related a slightly more descriptive account of the vision of the Throne of God, including not only the Throne but also the six-winged Seraphim ('angels') accompanying the Throne.⁸ These early accounts of the Jewish mystical vision shared a common paucity of detail with respect to the Throne, and it was not until the time of the Babylonian exile that a truly exciting innovation in the vision of the Throne occurred. In this expanded account, the prophet Ezekiel described in intricate detail the appearance of the Throne and the accompanying host, and what is more, he revealed a startling aspect as yet unknown: the Throne had wheels.
Although Ezekiel never used the term "chariot" (in Hebrew, 'merkabah') for the divine vehicle, the idea is at least implicit in his description. For the "Throne", as described in Ezekiel's report, was drawn by four Holy Creatures, each of which had four faces: that of a Lion, a Bullock, an Eagle, and a Man. Each of these creatures had four wings (which connected them with Isaiah's Seraphim), and each faced towards one of the four directions of the horizon. In addition, two of their wings stretched out to touch the wings of each of the other creatures, while the other two wings served as a covering for the Chariot-Throne. And upon the Throne, according to Ezekiel, there sat the "Likeness of the Glory of Yahweh." Needless to say, this particular detail became the focus of Merkahab mysticsm.
Accordingly, the vision of the Chariot-Throne developed into a full-blown mysticism now know as Chariot Mysticism (or Merkabah Mysticism),⁹ the earliest form of Jewish mysticism, which lasted until about 1000 OCE. And alhough the description of the Chariot itself did not change much after Ezekiel, the ritual and theoretical underpinnings of the vision were enhanced and modified into a grand cosmic drama reflecting the general gnostic trend of the Near East. As a result, Merkabah Mysticism, particularly in its later instantiations, is typically viewed by sholars as being an instance of the general Gnostic movement then current.