“Pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross, follow your Lord. The masses are always wrong. In every generation the number of the righteous is small. Be sure you are among them.”
-A.W. Tozer (April 21, 1897 -May 12, 1963; American Christian pastor, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor)
Source: The Berean Call – (be sure and check out their free mobile phone app.)
By Dan Delzell, Christian Post Contributor Sunday, December 01, 2024
As reported by The Economist earlier this year, “UFOs are Going Mainstream.” Believe it or not, 20 million people in the United States claim to have seen a UFO, and four million claim to have been abducted by aliens. So, what in the world is going on here? Are UFOs and “aliens” real?
Before attempting to answer this paranormal question, first consider an easier question: Are fallen angels (demons) and holy angels real? Yes indeed, as Scripture makes abundantly clear. And if UFOs and aliens are demonic manifestations, as many Christians believe, we would expect to find some clues in the Bible.
Once when Jesus encountered two demon-possessed men, the demons shouted, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” (Matthew 8:29) Demons instantly become terrified once Jesus arrives on the scene.
So, what about “alien abductions” today? How do these traumatic experiences compare to demonic encounters in the New Testament? And most importantly, do today’s harrowing “alien” episodes abruptly cease when the name of Jesus is introduced into the equation?
Gary Bates has researched this issue for over 25 years. As a best-selling author on the matter who also has an award-winning movie on “aliens” and UFOs, Gary said, “There are over 400 cases that I am aware of where these abductions have been halted by people calling on the name of Jesus Christ … the instant His name was called, it stopped.”
Christians of course are not surprised that the name of Jesus stops things like nightmares and other frightening phenomena, including “alien” ordeals. (See my 2011 CP op-ed, “How to Say ‘No’ to Nightmares.”) Since we are not alone in the universe, we do at times cross paths with angels and demons.
As Gary stated, “The Bible has always talked about another dimension. And we’ve had visitors from that dimension, and they’re called angels. Good ones, bad ones … God’s angels always bring a message that is consistent with what we read in God’s Word. The bad guys…are there to deceive and deflect and to take people’s eyes away from the Creator.”
As supernatural beings originally created by God to serve as holy angels, demons are fallen angels who rebelled against God and went the way of Lucifer. Demons are highly intelligent and also skilled impersonators. These shapeshifters can appear at your bedside as your deceased relative, or show up during a seance. They can also impersonate the mother of our Lord through various apparitions of Mary. And when people take part in certain New Age practices, demons even pretend to be “Jesus” the “ascended master.” And yes, demons can take on an alien appearance, or even the shape of a UFO.
Demons want humans to interact with them in order to draw people into the spiritual clutches of the occult. If you open a wrong door in the spiritual realm, demons will come through it to trick you, oppress you and lead you away from the one door that leads to everlasting life in Paradise. Jesus said, “I am the door; whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10:9).
Interestingly, many “alien” abductees are told they were chosen because they are special and are needed to spread the message of their “alien” abductors. An obsession with UFOs and “aliens” can even become a substitute religion. For example, the Heaven’s Gate cult was a UFO religion that produced mass suicides by its members in 1997.
While demons distract and disorient people in order to lead them further and further away from Christ, God’s holy angels are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Angels and demons are invisible to the human eye, unless of course they choose to visibly appear, such as when two holy angels appeared at Christ’s empty tomb. They asked Mary, “Woman, why are you crying?” (John 20:13)
Demons fear the risen Savior because the Messiah “triumphed over them by the cross,” (Colossians 2:15) and “was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4). The fate of every demon is sealed, just like the fate of their master, Satan.
The Apostle John wrote, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). And this is why “Satan is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short” (Revelation 12:12).
UFOs and “aliens” are merely one way the devil and his demons seek to distract people from accepting the good news of the Gospel (see John 3:16). Some people become so mesmerized by UFOs and “aliens” that they actually start pursuing mysterious phenomena. It is a seductive doorway into the occult.
Dr. Hugh Ross is an astrophysicist who points to “a connection between occult involvement and UFO encounters.” Christian UFO investigator David Wimbish agrees. He has “engaged in significant research into the UFO phenomenon, and has suggested that not only can the occult lead one to have a UFO encounter, but interest in UFOs can also actually draw one into the occult.”
Dr. Ron Rhodes writes, “Many UFO investigators have followed a path that has taken them directly into the world of the occult. They believe they are rediscovering ancient spiritual truths and uncovering new realities about the universe … it has led many to experiment with astral projection, to believe in reincarnation, etc.”
Jacques Vallee, a well-known (secular) French UFO researcher says, “The phenomena reported by (UFO) witnesses involve poltergeist effects, levitation, psychic control, healing, and out-of-body experiences. Vallee has personally investigated countless UFO sightings. His comments are based on years of firsthand experience.”
Negative consequences and dark side effects occur whenever demons interact with humans, even if the devious impersonators initially tell you they want to help you. This diabolical charade is one way they gain access into the lives of unsuspecting victims. Don’t forget that their master “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
Thankfully, there is a way to effectively counter and overcome every type of demonic deception. Repent of your sins, receive Jesus as your Savior, (see John 1:12) and then walk closely with Him. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).
UFOs, aliens, demons and the devil himself have no power over Jesus Christ. You see, if you are a follower of Christ, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
Source: Christian Post-December 1, 2024
You either come to God for forgiveness and salvation based on what the Savior Jesus did on the Cross, or you’re going to come under divine judgment and come to Jesus as your Judge. Which will it be? Carl
For the love which Christ has [for me] presses on me from all sides, holding me to one end and prohibiting me from considering any other, wrapping itself around me in tenderness, giving me an impelling motive, having brought me to this conclusion, namely, that One died on behalf of all, therefore all died, and that He also died on behalf of all in order that those who are living no longer are living for themselves but for the One who died on their behalf….
(II Corinthians 5: 14-15 Wuest Expanded Greek Translation (Emphasis added))
“What such should do, for whom Christ died; namely, that they should live to Him. This is what Christ designed, that those who live, who are made alive unto God by means of His death, should live to Him that died for them, and rose again for their sakes also, and that they should not live to themselves, v15.
We should not make ourselves, but Christ, the end of our living and actions: and it was one end of Christ death to cure us of this self-love, and to excite us always to act under the commanding influence of His love. A Christian’s life should be consecrated to Christ; and then do we live as we ought to live when we live to Christ, who died for us.”
(A Commentary of the Whole Bible – Matthew Henry, 1700s)
In Matthew 23:25, the Lord rebukes the scribes and Pharisees for being self-indulgence. Will He have to rebuke us, His children, for our excessive or unrestrained gratification of our appetites, desires or whims? Let us be diligent to examine ourselves and repent of this sin, if we find ourselves guilty of it.
Let us thank Him for His great love for us, which was revealed on the Cross, and rejoice in it.
May His mercy and grace be abundant to you in this New Year!!
Carl
One Saturday years ago, when our four children were still at home, we decided to clear the forest between the front yard and the creek that was on the edge of our property. With our Aussie, Katy, watching over the kids and my wife and I, we began to cut down the small trees, underbrush and the vines that grew around everything.
After we had worked for awhile, someone noticed that we had a visitor . A harmless, slender, green snake had appeared in one of the small trees and seemed to be watching us. The vibrations we were creating in the forest canopy had gotten his attention and he descended, hoping to find an injured bird or insect, an easy lunch for him.
Instead of finding a meal, he became our captive and we were sidetracked from our work, letting the kids examine him. After a period of time, we let him go. Then it was back to working and sweating in the Louisiana humidity and heat.
The Holy Spirit reminded me of this event recently. Just as that earthly snake came to check out the vibrations, the devil’s snakes always show up when we cause “life giving” vibrations in his kingdom of darkness and death.
The satanic messenger‘s goal is to divert our mind from being an obedient disciple of Christ and onto Self.
Self is the “old man” or “old self” that was crucified with Christ on the cross (Romans 6:6) and must be reckoned or considered dead if we are to be true disciples of Christ. Jesus said the following in Mark 8:34:
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow me.”
Self is an endless vacuum that is never satisfied and is a constant slave to sin, seeking its own will and not the will of the Father. There is a list of Self fruit in Galatian 5: 19-21.
To get us focused on Self, the snake uses sickness, fatigue, hopelessness, busyness, sleepless nights, worries, fears, relationships, imaginations and a host of other things. Anything to distract us from dying daily (“take up his cross” ) and living in the power of the Lord’s Spirit. The Lord told us the following about this:
“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and THE WORRY OF THE WORLD, and THE DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” Matthew 13: 22 (emphasis added)
Recently, I realized I was spending too much time thinking about my Self. I therefore decided that every time I find myself in this state, I would repent and pray for the persecuted church in the earth. So far I have prayed for the church in Spain, Portugal, and Ecuador.
If you are focused on Self as you read this, I pray that the Lord will open your understanding to see how you got there and you will repent and return to fighting the good fight of the Faith. God bless you as you put the snake to flight and continue to march forward with your cross.
Let us remember:
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others. Have this attitude in your selves which was also in Christ Jesus….”
Be a witness
Carl
Psalm 119: 38 