Aliens, Angels and Demons : Oddicus

11 months ago

alien (adj.)

c. 1300, "strange, foreign," from Old French alien "strange, foreign;" as a noun, "an alien, stranger, foreigner," from Latin alienus "of or belonging to another, not one's own, foreign, strange," also, as a noun, "a stranger, foreigner," adjective from alius (adv.) "another, other, different" (from PIE root *al- (1) "beyond"). The meaning "residing in a country not of one's birth" is from mid-15c. The sense of "wholly different in nature" is from 1670s. The meaning "not of this Earth" is recorded by 1920.

alien (n.)

"foreigner, citizen of a foreign land," early 14c., from alien (adj.) or from noun use of the adjective in French and Latin. In the science fiction sense "being from another planet," from 1953.

Are aliens in the Bible?

A true definition of alien is “anything that belongs to a foreign territory.” Someone who is not a citizen of a country they reside in would be considered an “alien.”

An alien could refer to any being that is not from Earth. Spiritual beings, like angels and demons, that interact with our world could be included in that group. Scripture clearly indicates these beings exist.

If you want to call angels and demons “aliens,” because they are foreign to Earth, then yes there are aliens in the Bible.

What we can be confident of is that God created the heavens and the Earth. He created the entire universe. On Earth, God sent Jesus as a solution to the world’s problems. He came to restore peace by reconciling all of Creation to God.

Colossians 1|19-20 “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in (Christ), and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

This Scripture says that God was reconciling to himself all things through Jesus. By restoring our right relationship to God, Jesus also opened the door for us to live in right relationships with each other, Creation, and ourselves.

Are aliens demons?

Given that the definition of “alien” refers to any foreign being, the term "alien" could be used to describe a demonic being.

The spiritual realm does interact with the world throughout the Scriptures.

For example, Ephesians 6|12 talks about an enemy that is not flesh and blood, but that includes: “rulers, authorities, powers, and forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

2 Corinthians 10|4-5 talks about fighting a spiritual enemy with “weapons not of this world.”

In Matthew, chapter 4, the “tempter” meets Jesus in the wilderness.

So whether they are considered “aliens” or not, demons are spiritual beings that sided with Satan as an enemy of God and “lost their place in heaven.”

Scripture says they were “hurled to the earth” (Revelation 12|7-9) where they engage with humanity in an attempt to keep people from salvation.

Are angels aliens?

As with demons, angels are foreign beings to earth, so they could also be called “alien”.

Angels certainly could also be mistaken for extraterrestrial beings, and could even be mistaken for being human, as we see in the book of Hebrews:

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Hebrews 13|2)

Angels often interacted with humans throughout the Old and New Testaments. Here are some examples:

Genesis 18: Abraham encounters three strangers that he does not realize are angels.

Numbers 22: Balaam and his donkey encounter an angel in the road.

Joshua 5: Joshua encounters the “commander of the army of the Lord.”

2 Kings 6: Elisha and the army of angels

In Matthew and Luke’s gospel accounts, Zachariah, Mary, and Joseph all have encounters with angels.

Luke 2: a “host” of angels engage with a group of shepherds

All angels are ministering servants sent to serve those who will inherit salvation, according to Hebrews 1|14. They are distinctly separate (and in service and submission to) Jesus. They ensure that God’s will ultimately is accomplished.

In the Bible, angels have many purposes when they engage with humans. Here are some examples:

Psalm 91|11: They will “guard” God’s people in all ways.

Psalm 34|7: They “encamp” around those who fear God and “deliver” them.

Luke 15|10: They “rejoice” when sinners repent

Exodus 23|20: They prepared the way for Israel to enter the promised land.

Matthew 4|11: After Satan was done tempting Jesus, he was attended to by angels.

Hebrews 13 even indicates that angels have engaged humanity without humanity even knowing.

So it is evident that aliens could be either an angel or a demon. As to which a person encounters, well, that will be determined as to the purpose of the encounter. Angels are messengers of God. Will glorify God and praise His name. Offer peace, and assistance in times of trouble. Demons are liars and tempters and seek only to to try to coax us to commit evil. While they cannot make us act against our own will, they can use their powers of deception and persuasion to try to convince us that sin is desirable. Or... quite possibly, another option exists. Aliens could be extraterrestrial life visiting our world from their own. Whether their world is somewhere out in the universe or another dimension, we just don't know. However, being open minded and willing to investigate reported encounters is what humanity needs. We may find that there are various types of "aliens" entering our world... and each with their own motivations.

Bible verses to consider:

Colossians 1:16

16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

Deuteronomy 4:19

19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

Deuteronomy 17:3

3 and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky,

Ephesians 2:19

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,

Ephesians 6:12

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Exodus 12:49

49 The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.”

Exodus 22:21

21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.

Exodus 23:9

9 “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

Ezekiel 1:4

4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal,

Ezekiel 1:6

6 but each of them had four faces and four wings.

Ezekiel 1:7

7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze.

Genesis 1:26

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Genesis 2:1

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

Hebrews 11:13

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

Hebrews 13:2

2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

Isaiah 13:5

5 They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens— the LORD and the weapons of his wrath— to destroy the whole country.

Isaiah 45:12

12 It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.

Isaiah 60:8

8 “Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?

Leviticus 24:22

22 You are to have the same law for the foreigner and the native-born. I am the LORD your God.’ ”

Nehemiah 9:6

6 You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.

Psalms 97:6

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all peoples see his glory.

1 Peter 2:11

11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

Acts 19:35

35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?

Revelation 12:12

12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

Revelation 13:1

1 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.

Amos 9:2-3

2 Though they dig down to the depths below, from there my hand will take them. Though they climb up to the heavens above, from there I will bring them down.
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, there I will hunt them down and seize them. Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them.

Leviticus 19:33-34

33 “ ‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.
34 The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

Revelation 9:7-11

7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces.
8 Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth.
9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle.
10 They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months.
11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).

Genesis 6

1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them,
2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.
3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal ; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5 The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.
7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.”
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.
10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.
12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.
13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.
14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high.
16 Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks.
17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.
18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you.
20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.
21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Ezekiel 1

1 In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
2 On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—
3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was on him.
4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal,
5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human,
6 but each of them had four faces and four wings.
7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze.
8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings,
9 and the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.
10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle.
11 Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body.
12 Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went.
13 The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it.
14 The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.
15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.
16 This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel.
17 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went.
18 Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.
19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.
20 Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
21 When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome.
23 Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body.
24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
25 Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings.
26 Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.
27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.
28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.