“And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them…” Deuteronomy 4:19
‘Something’s coming’: Is America finally ready to take UFOs seriously? This is the headline of a recent news article presenting a new emphasis on UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena). A USA Today survey revealed that 43 % of Americans believe UFOs are real and that intelligent life exists in our universe outside of earth. (Just like with evolution they believe this is scientific fact without proof.)
What should Christians think about this growing emphasis on
UFOs? There are several issues that influence this issue. First
there is a growing interest in the spiritual (not Christianity!).
John Naisbett wrote in his book, Megatrends 2000 that during
the late nineties and early twenty-first century there would be an
increased and renewed interest in spirituality. People were not necessarily looking to mainline Christian denominations but instead to UFOs, witchcraft and Eastern thought. There is such interest the New York Times Magazine described this surge of interest as a “revival”. Man looks to fill his “spiritual vacuum” with something, just not with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Second, I am reminded of a message I heard from John McArthur many years ago in which he had talked to a man who had left the church of Satan in San Francisco. This man reported that even then
the Church of Satan was preparing to explain the rapture by saying Christians had to be removed from society so it could reach a higher level of consciousness. (Christians are a barrier to tolerance and acceptance of all!) It is easy to see how UFOs can also be used as an explanation for the removal of millions of believers out of this world when the Lord returns for His Church. This could explain why Satan is building an increased emphasis on UFOs as we get closer to this imminent event.
What is a believer to think about the possibility of UFOs? First believers know life exists in the spirit realm. God created angels which are either fallen (demons) or true (God’s messengers). Other than those created beings Christians have no basis to believe other living beings exist in the universe. Why? First we are told that God’s first creation was the earth. We are told that God on the fourth day of creation made the sun and the moon for the earth, and then “he made the stars also” (Genesis 1:16). Thus we see that the earth is the focus of God’s creation. Second, we read in Romans 8:22 that when Adam sinned against God that “the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now”. Every part of creation, including all that is in the universe is impacted by the curse of sin. This would mean if life existed elsewhere it would be cursed. More importantly, it means if life existed anywhere other than on earth, that life would need a way to be redeemed from its sin. Scripture records that Christ came in the form of a man to redeem mankind only –even angels are excluded. The Bible says Christ is “the last Adam” and the “second man” (1 Corinthians 15:45, 47). God redeems man alone.
What can we learn? The increased emphasis on UFOs is likely driven by increased demonic activity fueling fallen man’s desire for a “form of spirituality” as well as to provide a plausible explanation for the removal of Christians from this earth at the rapture.