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Hi, my name is Dean Smith, and welcome back to the second of my two-part series on Christians and UFOs.
In my first podcast, I looked at the possibility that there might actually be life on other planets. It was the opinion held by perhaps the world’s greatest evangelist, Billy Graham.
Though the Bible does not mention extraterrestrials, if they do exist, we know from Scripture that God created the heavens and earth.
God knows of their existence and is in control.
But there is also a second alternative which I will discuss in this podcast, that aliens don’t exist. But if this is true, it opens up another perhaps bigger issue: How do we explain the numerous sightings of UFOs, some of which seem quite credible?
Now the vast majority of them are either fake or can be explained away as natural phenomena.
Or in the case of the sensationalized discovery of the remains of a destroyed alien spacecraft in 1947 by personnel from the Roswell Army Airfield base, government officials initially classified it as the wreckage of a weather balloon and then upgraded it to a secretive military balloon project a few year’s later.
Of course, to this day many still believe the whole episode is a cover-up insisting the government not only found an alien spacecraft, but an alien body as well.
But still, we do have some unexplainable sightings.
In 1969, the US Government released a report entitled, Project Blue Book, which detailed 12,618 sightings that the US military classified as unidentified flying objects and was able to explain 94.4% of sightings leaving only 701 as uncertain.
This doesn’t automatically mean they were aliens, only that they were unexplainable.
Then in 2021, the US government released a second report on 144 sightings in which it would only explain one as being a collapsed weather balloon, and 80 of the sightings were made by Navy pilots and caught on radar and other sensors, which made them extremely interesting.
The authors of the report were reluctant to provide any explanation of what the remaining UFOs were.
In an article for Reason.org, Mark Clark provides an alternative explanation:
“The two most likely explanations remain if the previous pattern persists (more than 94% with natural explanations). First, these phenomena may have natural explanations. They may come from advanced research in either drone technology or electronic warfare. As the report indicates, the skies are becoming increasingly cluttered with drones and other aircraft, making military training more and more difficult. This could be creating an environment where previously unobserved or rarely seen anomalies are quickly attributed to UFOs or ET instead of being examined in the context of drone technology.”
But aside from these natural or technological explanations such as drone activity, there may also be a spiritual one.
A few weeks back, I watched an interview with a former US Navy serviceman who claimed that he along with US Navy pilots encountered alien spacecraft while out at sea. As he was watching it on a radar screen from the ship, he specifically said that the UFO was defying physics, as it maneuvered in the sky.
And this is when I turn to Hugh Ross who has a Ph.D. in astronomy. He is also a Christian and he makes an interesting point about UFOs and the laws of physics.
Ross, who helped found reasons.org, says when we hear of UFOs defying the basic laws of physics, he believes we are no longer looking at something natural, but rather supernatural.
This is because only supernatural beings would be able to defy physics and travel at what has been described as unbelievable speeds, stop on a dime, and then instantly travel upwards equally fast.
Though the Bible does not speak of life on other planets it does speak of a spiritual realm that involves supernatural beings such as angels, seraphim, and cherubim.
We know from the Bible, that cherubim were used for protection as they guarded the Tree of Life in Genesis 3:24, after Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden because of their sin.
There are several mentions of Cherubim throughout scripture, but certainly, one of the more intriguing descriptions of Cherubims is found in the Book of Ezekiel.
I want to take a closer look at Ezekiel’s description of Cherubim found in chapter one:
He starts off in Chapter One verses four and five, describing their arrival.
4 “As I looked, behold, a high wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing intermittently and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like gleaming metal in the midst of the fire. 5 And within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form.”
When we read this verse, we see metal in the midst of fire, along with flashing lights and smoke. And in the midst of this, he saw four living beings that were not human but had a human form.
And then from verses 14 to 20, Ezekiel provides a more complete description of these Cherubim:
14 And the living beings ran back and forth like bolts of lightning.
15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the ground beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling topaz, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another. 17 Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved. 18 As for their rims, they were high and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were covered with eyes all around. 19 Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. 20 Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
As we look at this description of Cherubim we see several unique characteristics.
First, in verse 16 we are told that they appeared in some type of vehicle that had two wheels with one intersecting the other at right angles allowing them to travel in any direction they wanted without turning. The wheels also had eyes all around the rim, which meant they could see all directions at the same time.
In verse 14, Ezekiel added that these Cherubim traveled at incredible speeds, comparing them to lightning. They also could change directions instantaneously, defying the laws of physics.
In verse 19, we are told that they also have the ability to fly.
So what would we think of these Cherubim, if they suddenly made an appearance in our natural world?
Well, it would probably be similar to the conclusions of some UFologists who claim that Ezekiel was actually describing aliens and a UFO.
This was the premise of a book, Chariots of the Gods, written in 1968 by Swiss author, Erich Anton Paul von Däniken who stated that Ezekiel was actually describing aliens who had previously visited Earth.
Though just pulp fiction, the book sold well and was translated into 32 languages and sold over 63 million copies.
But then NASA scientist Josef Blumrich who died in 2002 made the same claim in his book, Spaceships of Ezekiel, published in 1974.
But here is where it gets interesting. When Blumrich set out to write his book, he intended to disprove von Daniken’s theory that Ezekiel’s fiery chariot was a spacecraft, but in the end, Blumrich changed his mind and agreed that Ezekiel had seen a spacecraft and perhaps even aliens.
So if Ezekiel was seeing things from the spiritual realm that could be mistaken as UFOs, could this still be happening today?
Could the small percentage of UFOs that we are unable to identify actually be Cherubim manifesting in the natural realm?
And Cherubims aren’t the only creatures from the spiritual realm that can make appearances in the natural realm, so can angels.
In Genesis 18:8, the two angels that visited Abraham in Genesis appeared as humans and were able to eat food. In other words, they were solid, not apparitions.
In his book, Jewish Wars, ancient first-century Jewish historian Josephus recorded what some have described as the best-recorded historical description of angelic activity when he reported seeing angels and chariots in the sky over Jerusalem around 66 AD. They apparently appeared over Jerusalem and several other cities.
Josephus wrote, “Chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were running among the clouds.”
He even admitted that people would have a hard time believing his story, describing it as beyond belief, but he said others had witnessed it as well.
This took place in the lead-up to Rome’s eventual sacking of Jerusalem and the complete annihilation of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD suggesting the angelic activity may have been connected to this historically significant event.
But this story takes an interesting twist as Roman historian, Tacitus, who lived at the same time also wrote about this incident in his book, Histories, writing, “There had been seen hosts joining battle in the skies, the fiery gleam of arms, the temple illuminated by a sudden radiance from the clouds.”
Particularly interesting was Tacitus’ description of the Jewish temple being illuminated by a light in the sky. Two historians, who were essentially bitter enemies, recorded the same angelic activity.
But aside from angels, the Bible also speaks of the existence of the satanic realm made up of fallen angels, which the Apostle Paul warned could even appear as an angel of light.
But notice how Paul words this:
14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14 NIV)
Paul says that Satan has the ability to masquerade or disguise himself as an angel of light. This leads to the obvious question, can fallen angels also disguise themselves as say a ten-foot greenish alien with big eyes, if it suits their purpose. Which is what a Las Vegas family said they saw in their backyard in April 2023.
Or more recently, in July, members of the Ituk tribe in Peru petitioned the government and the military to come to their aid insisting that they are being attacked by 7-foot aliens with large heads and green eyes that can float in the air. There are reports that people have been hospitalized as a result of their encounters with them.
According to an article in the Daily Caller, one of the leaders of this community claimed he had shot at them with a gun, stating:
‘They appear to be armored. I shot one of them twice and he wasn’t injured, he rose and disappeared. We’re very frightened about what’s happening here in our community.”
So are they really aliens, maybe people disguised as aliens, figments of their imagination, or something else?
In a recent podcast, Jason Jimenez, a Christian apologist and founder of Stand Strong Ministries stated that he believes that some of the unexplainable UFO sightings are simply times when the spiritual realm manifests itself in the physical.
He said quote
“I wholeheartedly believe that there are times when we have witnessed or even captured the footage of a spiritual being interacting in the physical realm.”
“Maybe it’s a spiritual battle between an angel and a demon. Maybe it’s demons messing around in using this type of influence to continue to strike fear or curiosity to lead people away from God.”
In closing, I want to describe my one and only UFO encounter, that I had several years ago. I was traveling home late at night after visiting a friend in another city when I had my ET encounter.
The highway was empty of traffic when suddenly I noticed a light following beside me in the night sky on the driver’s side of my vehicle.
My adrenaline was pumping, and I remember being absolutely terrified as it seemed to be following alongside my vehicle.
This went on for several minutes as I repeatedly looked up to see if it was still there and it was.
I had no idea what was going on and then in a moment of clarity, I felt that the Holy Spirit tell me to rebuke it.
So as I was driving along, I prayed and rebuked the unidentified flying object in Jesus’ name and as soon as the words came out of my mouth, it disappeared.
It was gone and never appeared again. So was it an alien or UFO or something demonic? By its reaction to my prayer, I think it was demonic.
But certainly, this is a controversial topic and many Christians have different opinions about aliens and UFOs, and I am just providing my perspective on aliens, which seems to be at odds with perhaps the greatest evangelist the world has ever seen, Billy Graham who believed it was possible aliens existed.
Thanks for joining me on my podcast, and I will catch you again.
READ: Peruvian villagers claim they were attacked by seven-foot aliens AND Billy Graham on the Bible and Alien Life AND The Bible’s explainer on UFOs AND UFO and Alien Encounters in the Bible AND Demonic Deception or Reality? Possible Alien sighting ‘Terrifies’ family AND New US Government UFO Report: A Christian Perspective
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