July 13, 1991
On June 27, 1959, Rev. William Gill, a missionary and teacher,
walked out of the dining hall of his missionary school at Boiani, New
Guinea, looked up and saw a large, shining object. Rev. Gill was joined
by 28 other adult witnesses, including five teachers and two medical
assistants, who all signed a statement attesting to the reality of the
incident.
The strange craft hovered close to the observers, accompanied by two
other UFOs. Four humanoid creatures appeared on top of the object. Gill
and several of the others began waving their arms. Two of the creatures
returned the greeting, waving their "arms." Gill and his friends
observed the UFO from 6:45 to 7:20 p.m. when the object finally took
off and disappeared.*
One evening in 1961 Barney and Betty Hill were driving along a
deserted highway when they saw an unidentified flying object apparently
following them. As they pulled their car over and stopped, the UFO
landed and took them aboard. The Hills had no memory of what took place
and simply found themselves again in their car.
In one of the most baffling aspects of this case, Betty Hill, under
hypnosis, reproduced a star map which had been shown to her by the
UFO's commander. The map consisted of 27 stars, several of which were
unknown to astronomers and the others difficult to place in known star
configurations. This was immediately assumed as evidence of the falsity
of the entire story.
In 1969, though, Marjorie Fish, research specialist for MUFON
(Mutual UFO Network), found many of the stars located in the
constellation Reticulum. By 1972, all the stars had been located. In
effect, Betty Hill, a housewife, had drawn a diagram in 1964 of star
configurations that were completely unknown to astronomers until 1972.**
Even the Air Force, and in fact, the White House, are not immune to
UFO sightings. On July 20, 1952, several UFOs were picked up on radar
-- directly over the nation's Capitol. As would be expected, jet
fighters manned by ace pilots were scrambled to intercept the objects.
While the whole scene was being monitored on radar, the jets entered
the vicinity of the UFOs, only to have them escape at a speed of
several thousand miles per hour. The mystified pilots were called in.
However, the night was still young. The UFOs returned several times
and each time the fighters were sent to meet them. When the planes got
close, the UFOs would take off at their phenomenal speed. This cat and
mouse game continued until almost daybreak.
A few days later, the mysterious blips again appeared on radar. Once
more, jets were scrambled to pursue them. This time, the UFOs
surrounded one of the planes and flew with it in full view of the pilot
for several seconds before making their getaway. This was confirmed by
ground radar tracking.***
History of UFOs
Increased public interest in spiritual phenomena has made UFOs
common knowledge and the subject of intense research. Since the
development of radar and sophisticated air forces, thousands of UFO
sightings have been discovered and verified. Today they can no longer
be explained away. UFOs are out of the natural realm and because of
their sensational nature, they have created their own cult following.
As Christians, we should have some kind of intelligent answer.
There is no need for Christians to get nervous over UFOs or have
their faith shaken. The Bible has always spoken about evil supernatural
forces and acknowledged supernatural occurrences which were separate
from God.
UFOs are nothing new. Ancient Hindu literature refers to celestial
cars and flying discs. Several very distinguished Roman historians such
as Tacitus, Seneca, and Pliny mentioned UFO sightings in the third and
fourth century B.C. Eight specific locations of sightings dating up to
16 B.C. are given by Titus Libins and Julius Obsequeno.
The great explorer Christopher Columbus saw an unidentified light
moving up and down the sky the night before he discovered land on his
famous voyage. 1896-97 saw one of the major UFO flaps (heavy
concentration of sightings in a given time period) in history.****
What are UFOs and where do they come from? Dr. J. Allen Hynek, a
world famous ufologist and head of Northwestern University's Astronomy
Department, Astronaut James McDivitt, Marine Corps Major Donald Keyhoe
and many other researchers believe the UFOs are probably interplanetary
spacecraft manned by intelligent beings. Their hypothesis is based on
such examples as the Pascogoula, Mississippi incident.
On October 11, 1973, two shipyard workers, Charles Hickson and
Calvin Parker, were fishing when a UFO landed close to them. They were
"floated" into the craft where they were examined by humanoids with
strange equipment, then let go after some twenty minutes had passed. No
one has ever come up with justifiable evidence that the incident was a
hoax or a simple hallucination.
An incredible outgrowth of this thinking is the popular "Chariots of
the Gods?" idea expounded by Erich Von Daniken.
Von Daniken, a self-proclaimed expert in nearly everything,
postulates that spacemen visited the earth in ancient history, teaching
people and helping them produce certain mysterious wonders, such as the
Great Pyramid, the highly civilized Mayan culture, and the Nazca lines.
Dr. Clifford Wilson, Ph.D. and former director of the Australian
Institute of Archaeology, brings up many problems and inconsistencies
in Von Daniken's conjectures.
Wilson charges that Von Daniken is at odds with the sciences of
archaeology and anthropology as he ignores common plausible
explanations and substitutes his own wild assertions. Von Daniken
presents certain isolated facts to the uneducated public and then asks
"What does it look like to you?" It's a good thing we don't approach
medical science in that way.
Operation Cover Up
The U.S. government has initiated four major reports since 1947 to
investigate UFOs. The results of the 1947 Project Sign revealed the
validity of UFO sightings and offered the tentative explanation of
extraterrestrial spacecraft. Out of the unpopular reception of these
results by Air Force hierarchy, Project Grudge in 1949 was born. Grudge
proceeded to discredit sightings as hallucinations or hoaxes and to
provide natural explanations.
Despite the negative viewpoint established by Grudge, continued and
increased UFO sightings necessitated Project Bluebook. Bluebook's
purpose was to gather additional data for analysis. Each time the UFOs
were spotted on radar, jets would scramble in pursuit of the "natural
phenomenon."
During the famous New York blackouts of November, 1965, there were
several UFO sightings including a rather dramatic one by actor Stewart
Whitman. He looked out the window of his 12th story hotel suite and saw
two shining discs. A voice came from the objects with a warning that
the space visitors had perpetrated the blackouts as a small example of
their power to paralyze our world.*****
Shortly after the blackouts in 1966-68, the government instituted
the controversial Condon Report. It came up with the startling
conclusion that all UFO sightings that cannot be explained by natural
phenomena are para-physical manifestations similar to those experienced
in spiritism.
Who Are Those Guys?
John Keel, another foremost ufologist, agrees in part with the
Condon Report, that UFOs cannot be explained in terms of manufactured
spacecraft from other planets and are most likely deceiving spirits
playing games with mankind. States Keel, "Demonology is not just
another crackpot-ology...thousands of books have been written on the
subject, many of them authored by educated clergymen, scientists and
scholars, and uncounted numbers of well-documented demonic events are
readily available to every researcher. The manifestations and
occurrences described in this imposing literature are similar, if not
entirely identical, to the UFO phenomenon itself."
The UFO contact reports seem extremely similar to spirit
manifestations experienced by mediums. They seem to have no consistent
form. There are almost as many different descriptions of UFOs as there
are detailed sightings. The tremendous speed and maneuverability of
these objects defies all known natural laws operating in our realm. We
cannot scientifically conceive of any being or material that could
survive the gravitational shock of a 90 degree turn made at 5,000
miles per hour.
Uri Geller, sensational occult personality and keybender
extraordinaire, claims that his unusual powers come from extra-
terrestrial beings. In experiments with Dr. Andrija Puharich, an
Israeli physician, Geller functioned as a medium for creatures
supposedly from "Hoova, " a distant planet, to communicate with Dr.
Puharich.****** This is not an isolated incident. In the files of
contact cases, there are many examples of trances, contactees being
used as "mediums, " paralysis, hypnotism, etc.
Christian UFO researchers such as Dr. Walter Martin and Dr. Wilson
propose by theory that UFOs are demons, who can assume material forms
temporarily, and whose goal it is to confuse, deceive, and prepare
mankind for the coming of the anti-Christ. They point to the many false
prophecies and the anti-Christian theology usually included in the
messages by UFO occupants. If UFOs are demon manifestations, where do
they come from?
Powers of the Air?
A great host of angelic beings led by Lucifer (or Satan) were
defeated in an attempt to usurp God's authority and were confined to
the atmospheric heavens of earth awaiting God's final judgment. (Ez.
28:11-19, Isaiah 14:12-17, Eph. 2:2, Rev. 12:7-12).
Christians are instructed to put on God's whole armor so that they
can "stand up against (all) the strategies and deceits of the devil.
For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood -- contending only with
physical opponents -- but against the despotisms, against the powers,
against (the master spirits who are) the world rulers of this present
darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly
(supernatural) sphere." (Eph. 6:11b, 12)
Christians have authority over all evil spiritual beings. Jesus
said, "Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt
you." (Luke 10:19)
In I John 4:1-3, we are told not to believe every spirit, but to
test them to see whether they are of God. The scriptural test is, "By
this you may know (perceive and recognize) the Spirit of God: every
spirit which acknowledges and confesses (the fact) that Jesus Christ,
the Messiah, (actually) has become man and has come in the flesh is of
God -- has God for its source.
"And every spirit which does not acknowledge and confess that Jesus
Christ has come int the flesh (but would annul, destroy, sever,
disunite Him) is not of God -- does not proceed from Him. This (non-
confession) is the spirit of anti-Christ, (of) which you heard that it
was coming, and now it is already in the world."
The Great Deception
In what category does this leave the UFO? These supposedly
"interstellar" visitors tell us their life span is thousands of years
or that they are immortal. They speak of their advanced civilization
where everything is perfect. For example, Uri Geller's cosmic
companions from "Hoova" claim to have solved all life's problems and
are willing to share their knowledge with mankind. Other
"intergalactic" representatives give ominous warnings of doom for earth
and her citizens.
Finally, and most important, UFO messages have denied a
supernatural, all-powerful God who works in individual lives, instead
offering a do-it-yourself program for perfection and immortality.
This non-confession of Jesus Christ and God's plan of salvation for
us classifies UFOs of the spirit of anti-Christ. UFOs present a
diversion keeping us from the reality of our spiritual crisis and the
reality of the living God.
In contrast with the facts on UFOs, we have unified historical
evidence and testimony of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. While UFOs are doing cute maneuvers in the skies and talking
about interplanetary organizations. Jesus teaches of love, peace,
honesty, self-control, helping the poor, justice...the very things we
desperately need. Beyond that, He offers to make these things a living
reality in our lives through an individual, personal relationship with
Himself. Rather than hiding and playing games with man, the Lord has
offered Himself for us and opened His kingdom to us. He made it simple,
as simple as turning from our sinfulness and asking Jesus into our
lives. Realistically, the UFO question may never be answered once and
for all. In the meantime, we have much more important things to deal
with.
Footnotes
* Frank B. Salisbury, "The Scientist and the UFO," Symposium on
Unidentified Flying Objects: Hearing before the Committee on Science
and Astronautics, U.S. House of Representatives (Washington, D.C.,
1968), p. 244.
** John Weldon with Zola Levitt, UFO's: What on Earth is Happening?
(Irvine, Calif., 1975), p. 137.
*** Ibid., pp. 35, 36.
**** Ibid., pp. 23,25.
***** John A. Keel, UFO's...Operation Trojan Horse, p. 198, as found
in Dr. Clifford Wilson, UFO's and Their Mission Impossible (New York,
1974), pp. 96, 97.
****** Weldon, op. cit., p. 112., Jesus People U.S.A., 4707 N.
Malden Chicago, Illinois 60640