Aliens

[puddleglum]

Is there intelligent life on other planets? That is a question people have been asking as long as we have known that there are other planets. When the telescope was invented astronomers discovered that some of the “stars� we see are actually worlds like our own and this led to speculation about whether or not there were people living on them. We now know that there is no other life in our solar system but the possibility remains that planets revolving around other stars might have intelligent inhabitants.

Christians are faced with another question. If humans ever do contact aliens will we have a responsibility to tell them about God and preach the gospel to them?

We already have the answer to this question because humans are already in contact with two alien lifeforms, angels and demons.

Angels have never sinned so they have no need of the gospel. If we encounter flesh and blood aliens who have never sinned they won’t need to hear the gospel either. Because they are sinless they will have experienced a closer relationship with God and will know more about him than we do. We will have nothing to teach them; it is likely that there will be much that they can teach us.

Demons have sinned but we have no message of salvation for them because Jesus Christ did not die for their sins.

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.
Hebrews 2:14-16 ESV

If God has provided a way that they can be forgiven it is not through Jesus Christ and he has not told us what it is. If we encounter aliens who have sinned the same thing will be true of them. Jesus said something to Peter that applies to that situation.

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?�

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?�

Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!�
John 21:20-22 ESV

If we could ask him about the salvation of alien races perhaps he would say to us, “What is that to you? You follow me!� We know nothing of the spiritual conditions of inhabitants of other planets or even whether such beings exist but we do know about the human race. We have all of us sinned but God has made a way we can be forgiven by faith in Christ. If you have not received this forgiveness you need to do so. If you have, you have a responsibility to tell others about it so they can be saved too.

It is unlikely that we will ever encounter extraterrestrial beings. We can learn from studying the Bible what the final destiny of the earth is. A time of tribulation is coming during which the Antichrist will rise to power. Christ will return to earth to destroy the Antichrist and reign for a thousand years. His reign will end with Satan’s final rebellion, the destruction of the earth, and the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. There is no hint of any alien involvement in any of these events.

If there is any contact with extraterrestrials in our future it will be after the new heavens and earth have been created and all sin has been purged from creation. Any aliens we meet will be worshippers of God just as we are. Neither side will have anything to fear from such meetings; instead they will be opportunities to praise God and have fellowship with each other.

[ttruscott]

Interesting, would this "silver cord" theory have any basis in scripture (the bible)?

Would Ecclesiastes 12:6 Remember him--before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, qualify?

[bluethread]

[Replying to post 1 by puddleglum]

Angels by definition are aliens. They were not born on earth.

Technically that is true but when people speak of aliens they usually are thinking about material flesh and blood beings that might live on other planets.

Why flesh and blood? There is plenty of secular speculation related to non-vascular and/or non-soft-tissue life forms. Why is similar speculation treated differently in non-secular discussion.

[Yahu]

Angels don't materialize. They come down in only the spirit or they come down with their body as well.

So if they "come doewn in only the spirit" they leave their bodies, like a discarded suit on the floor in heaven and zip it up when they get back?

In astral projection, a 'silver cord' connects the spirit back to the body but yes, the body is empty of the spirit. The 'silver cord' is needed to maintain the autonomic functions to keep the body alive at least in humans. Who knows if that is true of angels.

A former pastor of mine used to be in the occult and had much experience in astral projection. I also have dealt with a coven that could do astral projection. One of them that got saved had been involved. I had separated from the military and was then across country from the coven. They came after me with astral projection to attempt to drive me to suicide. An angel appear in my room when they came and cut their cords back to their bodies and they had to flee back to keep their bodies from dying. She went to a christian friend still back in California and got saved. The event with the angel had scared her so badly. She is now a Pastor's wife working with inner-city gangs in LA or was the last I heard.

Interesting, would this "silver cord" theory have any basis in scripture (the bible)?

Ec 12:
6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.

The silver cord being loosed kills the body, the body returns to the dust and the spirit to God. Granted I don't really understand the context here. I don't know what the 'golden bowl', 'pitcher' or 'wheel' represent. Now it is talking about 'vanity' and the ancient paganism is referenced as 'vanity' many places. For example:

Isa 44:9 They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.

[Yahu]

[Replying to post 11 by ttruscott]

LOL, you beat me to it.

[Yahu]

[Replying to post 13 by Yahu]

After a second look, the 'pitcher broken at the fountain' may be a Hebrew idiom for death in childbirth. The fountain in Hebrew is one of the things used to reference the vagina therefore it may be talking about another thing that brings death as in death in child birth. An example is references to a woman's fountain of blood. Vagina is a common second or alternate definition of words that mean spring or fountain in Hebrew such as the word 'Ayin' which has a primary meaning of 'eye' or spring/fountain but also vagina. Basically it means opening from which waters flow and people are 'waters'.

Now in the Baalim worship paganism, the firstborn was conceived in the groves while the girl operated as a ritual prostitute (playing the harlot) and that firstborn was offered as a sacrifice to Molech in the valley below the grove (valley of Hinnom at Jerusalem, ie Gehenna in the Greek). That would be an appropriate punishment of Yah to have that childbirth kill the woman and child involved in that practice. Even Yeshua states that death of the children is a curse upon those that operate in the ways of Jezebel in Rev 2.

[JehovahsWitness]

Interesting, would this "silver cord" theory have any basis in scripture (the bible)?

Would Ecclesiastes 12:6 Remember him--before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, qualify?

No, not in my opinion. Contextually Solomon is clearly speaking poetically of the physical effects of aging not of some prehuman existence.

JW

[Yahu]

Interesting, would this "silver cord" theory have any basis in scripture (the bible)?

Would Ecclesiastes 12:6 Remember him--before the silver cord is severed, and the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the wheel broken at the well, qualify?

No, not in my opinion. Contextually Solomon is clearly speaking poetically of the physical effects of aging not of some prehuman existence.

JW

Where do you get the idea anyone referenced a 'prehuman existence'?

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 1 by puddleglum]

Angels by definition are aliens. They were not born on earth.

Technically that is true but when people speak of aliens they usually are thinking about material flesh and blood beings that might live on other planets.

Yes, that's true but in the bible intelligent life isn't necessarily material.