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UAP, Angels and Demons
UAP is the new UFO. What’s a UAP, you ask? Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, the new military acronym that describes objects that have been seen by human eyes or mechanical sensors and which seem to defy a conventional understanding of physics. According to documentaries and even testimony before Congress, UAP traverse air, water and space at speeds and directional changes that apparently violate such properties as gravity, inertia, acceleration and the ability of the human body to sustain such variations in movement. One witness, David Grusch, even claimed “non-human biologics” (tissue/re-mains) were recovered and in the government’s possession.
Such speculations and accusations are nothing new. For decades rumors have swirled about Nevada’s “Area 51,” “flying saucers” and aliens among us. However, what is new are the explanations coming from some religious sources that explain these phenomena as spirit-world beings – angels and demons who are making their presence felt in the material realm.
This article is less about aliens and more about the latter claims, but I do want to briefly think about the possibility of life forms elsewhere in the universe. Is this a Biblical or even a practical belief? The only basis on which I’ve heard extra-terrestrial life justified is through Biblical silence; i.e., “Well, the Bible doesn’t say God didn’t create life elsewhere. Maybe there are other beings on other planets that have likewise fallen into sin, and maybe Christ went there and died for them, too.”
This is a complete non-argument. We are not free to step into the realm of Bible silence and create other worlds and scenarios entirely out of our imagination. Second, scripture is completely earth-centric. Consider:
1) When God created the universe, life in His image was confined to what He created on the sixth day – namely, Adam and, by a unique creative process, Eve from Adam’s body. On what day were extra-terrestrials created?
2) Redemption unfolds first from Eve’s offspring, then more specifically Abraham’s posterity, then from the Davidic family in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s “human” presence in the world. It is the “seed of Abraham” that receives Christ’s redemptive aid (Heb 2:16), not angels or aliens.
3) This appearance of Jesus within His creation occurred “when the fullness of the time had come …” (Gal 4:4); i.e., when earthly events had reached a state of readiness. This is the only time that “God sent forth His Son” (ibid) into the material world.
4) This redemption was through death, which Jesus accomplished “once at the end of the ages” (Heb 9:26). Hebrews emphasizes that this is a one-time-only offering (Heb 7:27; 9:12, 28; 10:10, 12, 14; cf. also 1 Pet 3:18). There is no warrant to say, “Well, He died only once on earth …”. If Jesus offered Himself multiple times for multiple civilizations around the universe, then He was not offered “once.”
5) When this redemptive program has run its course, not only will life on earth end but the entire universe will be destroyed (2 Pet 3; 1 Cor 15:20-28). God’s purpose for the earth is fulfilled when He gathers all earthly saints into His heavenly family. There are no saints elsewhere.
6) In the Biblical scenes of the judgment day, it is mankind who stands before Jesus to be judged on their faith or the lack thereof (Rom 2:3-11 – “of the Jew first and also of the Greek” … and all intergalactic aliens?!).
In summary, there is no Biblical warrant for concluding that everything in scripture applies only to the earth and parallel things could be happening all over the universe with various non-human populations. This is spiritual fantasy. Reality, spiritually and otherwise, arises from what God actually reveals and explains in His word, not what He doesn’t say, leaving us free to posit imaginary worlds.
But without Hollywood and supposed UAP sightings, why would anyone even think to suggest alien civilizations dotting the universe?
To the second point, is it plausible that what humans are actually witnessing are angelic and/or demonic beings whizzing through the skies, tantalizing Navy pilots and being tracked by sophisticated radar systems? This seems to be a growingly popular notion among religious folk.
First, what are angels doing in “spaceships”? Believers don’t doubt that this material world has been visited by angels; the Bible record is plain on that matter. But to those who saw them, spoke with them or even had physical contact with them, angels usually had the appearance of men. In fact, sometimes they are simply called “men” (cf. Ac 1:10-11; Mk 16:5-7). Angels were sent to select individuals to communicate messages from God, not to streak through the skies creating panic among the populace.
Further, what are demons doing in “spaceships”? Demons are said to be “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6; cf. 2 Pet 2:4). In one of the few passages on demon possession in the Bible, it appears that demons had two choices when allowed limited access to the world: commandeer a human body, or inhabit some other corporeal body, such as an animal (cf. Mt 8:30-32; Lk 8:30-33). Scripture does not portray demons haunting structures, visiting séances, talking through Ouija Boards, residing in Wiccan communities or piloting mechanical machines. Rather, demons are spirit beings, held in confinement, reserved for judgment by the Lord. God be thanked that they are not roaming around at will to terrorize humanity in a direct way.
A word of caution: Christians, those who allow God’s word to shape their concept of reality, should demand the highest standards of proof. It is unwise to believe unsubstantiated stories, no matter how credentialed or sincere the witness seems to be. Too many lie or are genuinely mistaken. We should measure all things by the objective evidence available.
Further, what has the past taught us? That our government has technology hidden from enemies and the public alike until it is ready to reveal it. The F-117 was operational for ten years before their existence was admitted, and people thought they were UFOs. Common sense should make us ask: Is it plausible that alien beings that can traverse interstellar space in machines not bound by time and mind-numbing distances would travel to the earth and then crash? There’s something a little too sci-fi here.
