So, flying saucers and ET; are they in the Bible? No, I don’t think so.

Is there any part of the Bible with a description of something that might fit the description of a UFO? Yes

When I was a boy, my older brother went through a UFO phase. He read books and talked about strange encounters, and we talked about those strange things, all the time. Who was I to argue with my big brother? I read his books and listened to him.

It was fun and interesting.

And then, one Sunday, in church, the pastor told the congregation that those ideas were false and cult-like, and Christians should stay away from them. I stayed away. I didn’t need the heat if I got caught reading one of those books, but I stayed interested.

Like most of us, I think there is probably something out there, and it is intriguing. Now that I’m older, I think my mother put the pastor up to that. She was probably getting alarmed about our hobby, and she asked the pastor to say something.

If she was still alive, I would ask her.

I have never seen anything that I would call a UFO, and none of my friends have any strange stories about those things.

But yes, there is a story in the Bible about strange objects that might fit our description of a UFO. Did you know that the Bible also has at least one ghost story, with a seance, and one Near-Death Experience?

First, the UFO story: A Hebrew prophet wrote about a vision of strange things in the sky. If you are interested, you can read the book of Ezekiel, chapter 10. Here is a small section:

“There were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub, and the appearance of the wheels was like sparkling beryl. And as for their appearance, the four had the same likeness, as if a wheel were within a wheel. When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went, but in whatever direction the front wheel faced, the others followed without turning as they went. And their whole body, their rims, and their spokes, their wings and the wheels were full of eyes all around; the wheels that the four of them had. As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing “the whirling wheels.” (Ezekiel 10:9 to 13)

So, they were called ‘whirling wheels’ and not ‘flying saucers.’

There is an old song about “the wheel in the middle of the wheel.”

So, what did Ezekiel see? He saw ‘unidentified objects’, and they were ‘flying’.

There is also a story in the Bible about a ghost, that was contacted in a seance, with the help of “the Witch of Endor.” If you are interested, that story is in 1 Samuel and chapter 28.

Also, there is an NDE (Near-Death Experience) described in the Bible:

“I know that this man (whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up into paradise and heard things too sacred to be put into words, things that a person is not permitted to speak.” (2 Corinthians 12: 3 and 4)

Those are the words of Paul the Apostle, and we know that he was executed by stoning, in a city called Lystra, “they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead” (Acts 12: 19).

His friends recovered his body, and they were happy when he revived and didn’t die.

Some people believe that Paul the Apostle had an NDE at that time and wrote about it later.

We can all read these passages, and judge for ourselves.

And we should judge. You may have noticed that belief in spirits, including ghosts of deceased relatives, and beings from other parts of the universe, including aliens and UFOs, are like popular religions. Science and technology dominate modern culture, and they are generally atheistic. Believing in anything spiritual or extra-human is a new idea for millions of people.

We are in danger of believing any spirit. We can miss the point that some spiritual beliefs are hazardous for us, and we really could use a navigation guide, in this unfamiliar environment. It is useful to know that the Bible refers to popular spiritual ideas, without enthusiastic cheer-leading. We are given a guide, with restraints and directions.

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4: 1)