Friday, May 1, 2009

Examiner 10-25-2009: European Southern Observatory discovers 32 new planets

Earlier this month, the European Southern Observatory announced that 32 new planets were discovered outside our Milky Way galaxy, bringing the total to 75 known planets outside our solar system which are commonly referred to as exoplanets. Surprisingly enough, researchers believe that there are over 400 of these planets in our universe! According to a CNN article, the discovery was announced by Astronomer Stephane Udry, who was quoted as saying, in reference to the search for alien worlds that "[t]he end of the road is finding life and other planets like our own [emphasis added]." In other words, according to Udry the ultimate endgame in space exploration is "finding life" just like our own somewhere out in space. But could it be that this "life" might find us before we find them...?

Before we move on let me assure you that you are in the right place. This is still the Bible Prophecy Examiner page and if you stick with me for a minute you will hopefully see how the idea of life on other planets relates to Bible prophecy.

There is no doubt that the world we live in today is fascinated with and is eager to search for, find, and understand extraterrestrial worlds. The past few decades has brought our world into a "space age". We have seen the birth of NASA, the SETI Institute , the formation and growth in the field of Astrobiology (study of life in the universe), and the establishment of various space exploration organizations. But it is not just the academic world that is interested in this field of study. Hollywood, the media and popular culture have also jumped on the bandwagon (or spaceship - in keeping with this theme) by running what appears to be a "campaign" to educate, prepare, and some may even say indoctrinate, the masses with the idea of the existence of aliens. In fact, we have been so saturated with books, movies, television shows, etc. that I dare say that the whole idea of the existence of extraterrestrial beings is no longer alien to us anymore (pardon the pun). The alien theme has even entered the realm of religion with groups such as the Raelian Movement and Scientology increasing in their followers. And if these groups weren't enough it appears that even the Vatican has softened to the idea of life on other planets!

Personally speaking, as a Christian, I never gave much thought to the whole concept of aliens. I did believe that the phenomenon was real, but that these extraterrestrials were not visitors from outerspace or benevolent spirit guides, rather they were spiritual beings from another dimension (i.e. fallen angels, demons). However, that was about the extent of my interest in the topic. It wasn't until I began to learn more about the true "alien agenda" that I realized that, while it does indeed have an occultic/spiritual connection (another story for another time), it may actually play an integral part in the last days leading up to the revealing of the Antichrist and the Tribulation.

Paul while writing to the Thessalonians about the coming of the Antichrist states that, "[t]he coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing [unbelievers] . They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness [emphasis added]" (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11). Some Bible scholars believe that these counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders and this powerful delusion could possibly be an alien encounter(s). If that is the case then it would no doubt have the ability to discredit true Christianity and the God of the Bible. In fact, this encounter would be so deceptive that Jesus said even the elect would be deceived if it were possible (Matthew 24:24).

Case in point:  Imagine waking up one day in the near future, turning on the TV and finding out that giant spacecraft have settled over the major cities of the world, perhaps something similar to that of District 9 or the new ABC series "V" [Could this be Hollywood's attempt to condition us?]. Next thing we know we are being told by this extraterrestrial intelligence that we were created by them as an experiment and that they have come back at this point in our history to lead us into a new world where we can transcend our old way of life into a new level of consciousness.

This idea may have seemed a little far-fetched 50 years ago, but today this idea is gaining ground and many people are expecting and even welcoming an event such as this. Think about it, an event of this magnitude could explain away the rapture of Christians by saying that they took out the narrow-minded people so that the rest of the world could begin their transcendence to a higher level of human consciousness. It could also have the effect of ushering in a one world religion system because why would we need to worship the gods of the other religions when we have just seen with our own eyes these aliens who have told us that they created all the world's religions.

Going back to the scriptures for a moment, Paul is not the only person in the Bible that may allude to an alien encounter. Some prophecy scholars also believe that Jesus also alludes to the fact that we will have an "alien" encounter in the last days.

We read in Matthew 24:37 "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark...[emphasis added]" So according to Jesus in the last days, things will continue on just as they always have - eating, drinking, relationships, living life, etc. However, the days of Noah were unique in one aspect. In Genesis 6:4 we read that "[t]he Nephilim were on the earth in those days-and also afterward-when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown." Although there is great debate on who the sons of God were, there is evidence that the sons of God were fallen angels and their offspring were that of the Nephilim. These fallen angels and their purpose are more fully described in the Book of Enoch (I realize that this book is not part of the Bible and I don't believe that it is inspired like the other books are but it does give us insight into this Genesis passage). So, if these sons of God were actually fallen angels who were co-habitating with humans, then according to Jesus these same fallen angels may be back again at the end of time but this time around using the alien facade to deceive people with this lie and ultimately turning them away from the God of the Bible.

So are we in store for a "real alien invasion" in the coming years ahead or is this just science fiction fantasy. Well, if current trends tell us anything then we are possibly being prepared for an encounter. With an increase in UFO sightings , Hollywood increasingly and religiously making movies about aliens, and more and more governments declassifying their UFO files (e.g., Brazil, Britain, Canada, France, Russia), it appears that the whole UFO/Alien phenomenon is not going away but will continue to increase in the weeks and months to come. Could it be that Satan is using the academic world, the media, and religion to pre-program and prepare us for a coming deception - a real encounter of the third kind? If so, we must remember that no matter how real an alien encounter may appear to be it is only a "powerful delusion" and that the real truth will not come from an alien encounter because it can only be found in Jesus Christ. Are you ready?

For more information about the topic of aliens from a Christian perspective, check out these websites:

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NOTES: Research on Regent University - A Global Christian University

Founded by Pat Robertson in 1978 http://www.regent.edu/about_us/ President Dr. Carlos Campo Member of the Council on Foreign Relations: ...