GOD keeps a costly school. Many of its lessons are spelled out through tears. Richard Baxter said, “O God, I thank Thee for a bodily discipline or eight and fifty years”; and he is not the only man who has turned a trouble into triumph. This school of our Heavenly Father will soon close for us; the term time is shortening every day. Let us not shrink from a hard lesson or wince under any rod of chastisement. The richer will be the crown, and the sweeter will be Heaven, if we endure cheerfully to the end and graduate in glory.—Theodore L. Cuyler. The finest china in the world is burned at least three times, some of it more than three times. Dresden china is always burned three times. Why does it go through that intense fire? Once ought to be enough; twice ought to be enough. No, three times are necessary to burn that china so that the gold and the crimson are brought out more beautiful and then fastened there to stay. We are fashioned after the same principle in human life. Our trials are burned into us once, twice, thrice; and by God’s grace these beautiful colors are there and they are there to stay forever.—Cortland Myers.
Earth’s fairest flowers grow not on sunny plain, But where some vast upheaval rent in twain The smiling land … . After the whirlwind’s devastating blast, After the molten fire and ashen pall, God’s still small voice breathes healing over all. From riven rocks and fern-clad chasms deep, Flow living waters as from hearts that weep, There in the afterglow soft dews distill And angels tend God’s plants when night falls still, And the Beloved passing by that way Will gather lilies at the break of day. —J. H. D.
‘Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.’ Isaiah 38:17 SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Isaiah 38:1–22
[Contd from 1/2] Another instance [of being at their wits’ end] is Hezekiah in this chapter. He had feared the Lord from his youth and been an instrument of great public service, yet perhaps he never thoroughly knew himself till this sickness. We see something of a self-righteous spirit in his prayer—see verse 3. He speaks more of what he had done for the Lord than of what the Lord had done for him. But this sickness cured him. It was accompanied with sharp exercises of mind which gave him a deeper sense of sin and showed him greater abominations in his heart than he was aware of. See how he speaks—verses 13–14. And thus he was taught to speak of gospel grace. He no more says, ‘See how I have walked’, but, ‘See how gracious the Lord has been to me, in love to my soul …’ This passage is similar to Psalms 40 and 41. When the Lord delivers his people from the pit, and sets their feet upon a rock, it puts a new song in their mouths. They love to look back and to speak of his mercy. And these things are written to encourage others who are yet in distress. The Lord’s arm is not shortened—he is able to save you likewise. FOR MEDITATION: They often murmured by the way, The way was right their hearts to prove, Because they judged by sight; To make God’s glory known; But were at length constrained to say, And show his wisdom, power and love, The Lord had led them right. Engaged to save his own.
Just so the true believer’s path
Through many dangers lies;
Though dark to sense, ’tis right to faith,
And leads us to the skies.
First, let it be said, we do not believe that aliens exist. The Bible gives us no reason to believe that there is life elsewhere in the universe; in fact, the Bible gives us several key reasons why there cannot be. However, that has not stopped theologians, astronomers, and science fiction fans and writers through the years from contemplating the “what ifs” long and hard. The debates have narrowed down where the problems would arise, if the existence and discovery of extraterrestrial life could be proved.
Those who contemplate the existence of aliens and the impact their existence would have on the Christian faith commonly discuss the identity and work of Jesus. God sent His only begotten Son, God incarnate, to save mankind and redeem creation. Does that redemption include life on other planets? Or would God have manifested Himself on those other planets, as well (in the manner of Aslan in Narnia)? Does “only begotten” mean “only physical representation”? Or is it more limited, referring only to the human species?
Another consideration: would an otherworldly, sentient, advanced life form sin and need redemption in the same way we do? Human life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). Where is the life of these hypothetical aliens? And what would have to be sacrificed to save them? Could the shedding of Jesus’ human blood save silicon-based glass creatures whose sin was melting and reforming themselves into unnatural shapes?
Another topic of discussion concerning the existence of aliens and Christianity is what it means to be made in the “image of God.” Since God has no physical body, we take this to mean a reflection of God’s non-physical aspects—rationality, morality, and sociability. Would aliens, if they exist, embody the same characteristics?
One issue rarely broached is the impact of young earth creationism on the discovery of alien life. It is conceivable, if highly unlikely, that the geological pyrotechnics that took place during the global flood could have spewed a bacteria- or lichen-tainted stone all the way to Mars where it found shelter in a misty canyon. But any life form more complicated or farther out would be much harder to harmonize with a literal reading of Genesis 1. Could demons have taken trees and shrubs and rodents and bugs to another planet with an environment similar to Earth’s? Possibly. But without the Spirit’s blessing of life, it’s unlikely any of it would have survived. Parallel creations? Maybe. The Bible does not mention them.
Considering what we know about space and life and the world as the Bible portrays it, we already have an explanation for so-called alien activity on Earth. Reports of “close encounters” describe the ethereal, transient, deceptive, and malevolent. Accounts also record that encounters with supposed aliens can be stopped by a real, authentic call to Jesus. Everything points to the activity of demons, not extraterrestrials. In fact, it is plausible that the “powerful delusion” spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 will involve an alien-abduction theory to explain away the rapture.
The “discovery” of alien life would have no effect on genuine Christianity. The Bible stands as written, no matter what secular theories are advanced or discoveries are claimed. The Bible says the earth and mankind are unique in God’s creation. God created the earth even before He created the sun, moon, or stars (Genesis 1). Yes, there are strange and inexplicable things that take place. There is no reason, though, to attribute these phenomena to aliens or UFOs. If there is a discernable cause to these events, it is spiritual or, more specifically, demonic in origin. In the final analysis, all conjecturing about what would happen to our faith if aliens were proved to be real is interesting but unhelpful; it should never be allowed to descend into the “foolish and stupid arguments” that we are warned against (2 Timothy 2:23).
We know that the events surrounding the end times, as described in the Bible, will include a powerful deception (Matthew 24:24). Recently, interest has been rising in the theory that this deception will include alien beings from another planet. Odd as it may seem, this theory is entirely plausible from a Christian perspective. Although the Bible gives us no word about whether or not aliens exist—there is no inclusion of them in the creation account in Genesis, and no mention of them elsewhere—the Bible does tell us about visitors from another world—the spiritual world.
Since the beginning, instances of demons (fallen angels) visiting the earth have been witnessed and recorded. We know from Eve’s encounter with Satan that demons are interested in monitoring (and altering) the progress of humanity. They want to be involved, with the goal of drawing humanity away from the worship of God and turning mankind’s attention instead to them. Another notable instance of their interaction with us is found in Genesis 6:4 with the arrival of the “sons of God.” The Genesis account states that these powerful beings had sexual intercourse with women and produced a super race of beings known as the Nephilim. This sounds like the stuff of science fiction, yet it is right there in the Bible. There are striking similarities between this account and the accounts of other ancient cultures. The writings of the ancient Sumerians, for example (who were the first to produce a written language) mention the presence of the “Anunnaki” who were deities that came from heaven to dwell on earth with men. It is also interesting to note that the Sumerians’ gods often came to them in the form of snakes.
These accounts, seen alongside the amazing things created by ancient man, make it possible to theorize that demons, in the form of beings from another world, came to earth, bringing spectacular wisdom and knowledge to men, and “intermarrying” with their daughters in an attempt to draw men away from God. We already see from Eve’s experience with the serpent that demons will use the temptation of superior wisdom to ensnare man and that man is very susceptible to it.
Could the end times include a similar alien deception? The Bible doesn’t directly address the issue, but it is certainly plausible, for a variety of reasons. First, the Bible tells us that the world will unite under the power of the Antichrist. In order to achieve an agreement between all the world’s religions, it would make sense for the “uniter” to come from an entirely new source—an extraterrestrial source. It is hard to imagine one religion becoming head of all the others, unless new, unearthly knowledge were the source of the appeal and power of the new “religion.” This would be in keeping with past deceptions and would be a very effective way to deceive a large number of people.
Second, this deception could provide an answer to the problem of earth’s origins. The scientific theory that the evolution of life on earth was spontaneously generated still has no answer for life’s beginnings. There is evidence for a “big bang,” but that still doesn’t explain what caused the big bang to occur. If alien beings arrived and gave us an extraterrestrial explanation for life on earth, the origins of the world religions, and even the origins of our planet, it would be very persuasive.
That said, we should not fear. The Lord has said that He will not leave us or forsake us, and that He will protect us (1 Kings 8:57; Matthew 10:31; Isaiah 41:10). Demons / angels are not omnipotent, nor are they omnipresent. Jesus said that in the end times His appearing would be like lightning—easily visible to all. He said to be wary of any being that says “I am the Christ” or any group that says “He’s over there” or “He’s in here” (Matthew 24:23-24). He said that vultures gather around a dead body, meaning that if you see a group of people gathering around someone claiming to be Christ, that person is death and a false prophet.
We should be wary of any person or being that produces signs and wonders without biblical fidelity or the presence of obedience to the Lord Jesus, anyone who provides a way to unite the world religions or governments (Revelation 13:5-8), any being that promotes unnatural sexual relationships (Genesis 6:4; Jude 1:6-7), and of course, any person who denies that Jesus is God (2 John 1:7). Furthermore, anyone who presents a “substitute” Jesus, who represents Him as “a god but not the God” or who claims He was merely a good teacher, simply a human, or even a super-human or an alien creature, is a deceiver.
Lastly, if demons manifesting as aliens are part of the end times, we should remember that they, too, are created beings subject to a sovereign God and ultimately answerable to Him. Whether in alien form or not, the descriptions of demons in Revelation are frightening (Revelation 9:1-12), but we should not fear those who can only kill the body. Instead, we should only fear the One who can kill the body and the soul in hell (Matthew 10:28). No matter what happens to us on the earth, we should trust that the Lord is the Savior, Redeemer, and Protector of the souls of those who put their trust in Him (Psalm 9:10; 22:5).
The Nephilim (“fallen ones, giants”) were the offspring of sexual relationships between the sons of God and daughters of men in Genesis 6:1–4. There is much debate as to the identity of the “sons of God.” It is our opinion that the “sons of God” were fallen angels (demons) who mated with human females or possessed human males who then mated with human females. These unions resulted in offspring, the Nephilim, who were “heroes of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:4). For a discussion of the various interpretations, please read our article on identity of the sons of God and daughters of men.
Why would the demons do such a thing? The Bible does not specifically give us the answer. Demons are evil, twisted beings—so nothing they do should surprise us. As to a distinct motivation, one speculation is that the demons were attempting to pollute the human bloodline in order to prevent the coming of the Messiah. God had promised that the Messiah would one day crush the head of the serpent, Satan (Genesis 3:15). The demons in Genesis 6 were possibly attempting to prevent the crushing of the serpent and make it impossible for a sinless “seed of the woman” to be born. Again, this is not a specifically biblical answer, but it is biblically plausible.
What were the Nephilim? According to Hebraic and other legends (the Book of Enoch and other non-biblical writings), they were a race of giants and super-heroes who did acts of great evil. Their great size and power likely came from the mixture of demonic “DNA” with human genetics. According to the movie Noah, starring Russell Crowe (reviewed by us here), the Nephilim were fallen angels encased in rock. All that the Bible directly says about them is that they were “heroes of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:4). The Nephilim were not aliens, angels, “Watchers,” or rock monsters; they were literal, physical beings produced from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men (Genesis 6:1–4).
What happened to the Nephilim? The Nephilim were one of the primary reasons for the great flood in Noah’s time. Immediately after the mention of Nephilim, God’s Word says, “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them’” (Genesis 6:5–7). God proceeded to flood the entire earth, killing everyone and everything other than Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark. All else perished, including the Nephilim (Genesis 6:11–22).
Were there Nephilim after the flood? Genesis 6:4 tells us, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward.” It seems that the demons repeated their sin sometime after the flood as well. However, it likely took place to a much lesser extent than it did prior to the flood. When the Israelites spied out the land of Canaan, they reported back to Moses: “We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:33). This passage does not say the Nephilim were genuinely there, only that the spies thought they saw the Nephilim. It is more likely that the spies witnessed very large people in Canaan and in their fear believed them to be the Nephilim. Or it is possible that after the flood the demons again mated with human females, producing more Nephilim. It is even possible that some traits of the Nephilim were passed on through the heredity of one of Noah’s daughters-in-law. Whatever the case, these “giants” were destroyed by the Israelites during their invasion of Canaan (Joshua 11:21–22) and later in their history (Deuteronomy 3:11; 1 Samuel 17).
What prevents the demons from producing more Nephilim today? It seems that God put an end to demons mating with humans by placing all the demons who committed such an act in isolation. Jude verse 6 tells us, “The angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.” Obviously, not all demons are in “prison” today, so there must have been a group of demons who committed further grievous sin beyond the original fall. Presumably, the demons who mated with human females are the ones who are “bound with everlasting chains.” This would prevent any more demons from attempting such sin.
This is my personal collection of thoughts and writings, mainly from much smarter people than I, which challenge me in my discipleship walk. Don't rush by these thoughts, but ponder them.
Milo 