UFOs: An End Time Phenomenon

By Krista Woodard

Nearly all UFO enthusiasts agree that the modern UFO craze began in 1947, first with the sighting by Kenneth Arnold on June 24, 1947, followed shortly thereafter by the famous Roswell incident. An examination of the number of sightings reported annually does reveal a steady rise starting in the late 1940's. It was in 1995, though, that there appears to be an explosive rise in the numbers which has continued to the present day.

God makes no mention in His Word of the creation of another planet with inhabitants. And since the idea of another race of “people” in the universe clearly points to the idea of evolution which goes against the teaching of Jesus and God's Word, it is easy to assume that these sightings are not truly visitors from another planet.

However, the Bible does speak of encounters with extraterrestrials. In Genesis 18 and 19, we read about two angels of the Lord who came to earth in the form of men in order to find out what was going on in Sodom and Gomorrha and eventually destroy the two cities. Also, in Genesis 6:1-5, God speaks of fallen angels who came to Earth and had sexual intercourse with human women, the byproduct of which were referred to as giants, or Nephilim.

The debate rages on as to whether these verses truly speak of an unholy union with fallen angels or whether it refers to intermarriage between men from the godly line of Seth (believers) and women from the ungodly line of Cain (unbelievers). Clearly, though, the original Hebrew text, bene elohim, must be translated as angels just as it was in the three other occasions the expression is used in the Old Testament (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7). Christian and/or Jewish historians prior to the fourth century A.D., such as Josephus, Philo, Clement of Alexandria, Iraneaus and others tell of a visit from fallen angels just prior to the flood of Noah's day, as do several apocryphal books, namely First Enoch, Jubilees and Apocalypse of Baruch. Noted Christian author Francis A. Schaeffer once said, “More and more we are finding that mythology in general, though greatly contorted, very often has some historic base. And the interesting thing is that one myth which occurs over and over again in many parts of the world is that somewhere a long time ago, supernatural beings had sexual intercourse with natural women and produced a special breed of people.”

Many people easily disregard this idea believing that angels cannot have sex. Doesn't Jesus tell us in Matthew 22:30 that angels don't marry? He does, but that doesn't mean that the angels cannot perform some normal human functions. The angels in Genesis 18 appeared in the form of men, and they did eat and drink with Abraham before going into the city of Sodom. If they were capable of eating and drinking, it seems quite possible for angels to perform other human functions, especially angels in a fallen, rebellious state.

Since the Bible clearly speaks of a visit from fallen angels in the ancient past, there's no doubt they could be doing the same in our day. And one thing that UFO researchers agree on, both non-Christian and Christian alike, it's that there is a definite link between UFOs and occultic phenomenon. Noted researchers, such as John Keel, Dr. Jacques Vallee, and John Weldon, agree that there is a clear parallel between UFOs and the occult and/or New Age movement. A U.S. Air Force report, UFO's and Related Subjects, states that, “A large part of the available UFO literature is closely linked with mysticism and the metaphysical. It deals with subjects like mental telepathy, automatic writing and invisible entities as well as phenomena like poltergeist manifestations and 'possession'.... Many of the UFO reports now being published in the popular press recount alleged incidents that are strikingly similar to demonic possession and psychic phenomenon.” 1 Even the French National Council for Scientific Research stated that, “UFO behavior is more akin to magic than to physics as we know it, and modern ufonauts and the demons from past ages are probably identical.” 2 The purported messages delivered from alien beings never point people to Christianity or the Bible. As the issues of our day become more complex and difficult to solve, it will be easy for Satan to use man's belief in UFOs for his own purposes of deception.

In Matthew 24:37, Jesus tells His disciples that it will be similar to the days of Noah when He comes again the second time. Referring back to verses 1-5 in Genesis 6, many have interpreted this to mean that the circumstances involving intercourse with the fallen angels will be repeated. However, if you read verses 36-51 in Matthew 24 in their entirety in an attempt to understand the context, it sounds more as though Jesus was trying to warn the disciples that His second coming will be unexpected. This is corroborated by the words of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4, where he says that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Paul used a very similar expression here as Jesus did in Matthew 24.

What does this mean for our generation – a generation too proud to believe in the idea of demons intent upon our destruction? Might we be more easily swayed to believe that a race of beings from another planet could visit, bringing with them a superior knowledge and intellect, able to help us solve our problems? Satan is the father of lies and all those angels he took with him are also liars. What better way to deceive the human race than to masquerade as aliens from outer space, bringing with them a new gospel, so to speak. We must remember the words of Paul in Galatians 1:8, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” We must be careful to watch for Jesus' return as He instructed us, and search the Scripture to be ready.

Footnotes:

• Citation written by Lynn Catoe, UFO's and Related Subjects. An Annotated Bibliography, (U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969), preface.
• Dr. Pierre Guerin, FSR Vol. 25, No. 1, p. 13-14