are we alone?

The question of whether there is life elsewhere in the universe besides earth is a fascinating one. While the Bible does not specifically seem to completely eliminate the possibility that God could have also created life on other planets, it is extremely unlikely. We will address all the facets of this issue as we explore this question, but to begin, let’s examine why we even ask the question, ‘are there aliens out there?”

a. explaining the unexplained

Throughout history, there have been strange phenomena that have defied explanation. People have seen lights in the sky or strange flying or floating objects that didn’t seem to look or behave like airplanes or birds. Other people have seen strange markings left on the earth, like crop circles. Strange, unexplained things have happened that some people believe is proof that aliens from other planets have visited earth.

One example occurred in 1947 in Roswell, New Mexico. A strange object crashed at a nearby ranch and was recovered by the U.S. Army Air Force. Many people believed that the object was a flying saucer, and that the Army had found aliens inside the flying saucer who had died in the crash.

The Army told the public that the crashed object was simply a weather balloon and not a flying saucer, but many people refused to believe their explanation, insisting that aliens had visited our planet.

The truth is, the Armed Forces do keep many secrets from the public in order to ensure that our enemies do not learn new ways to harm us. There have been many top-secret tests of experimental aircraft and other inventions that have been developed to help keep us safe, and sometimes, people will see those things flying in the sky.

It can be fun to imagine that there might be aliens living on other planets, or that aliens have visited earth, and TV shows love to explore this concept. Many people believe that aliens have come to earth and made crop circles or mutilated cattle or kidnapped humans to experiment on them.

Most of these strange things can be explained. Crop circles, for example, have been proven to be a fraud; they were man-made.

For an example of this, tap here to read an article by Benjamin Radford of livescience.com.

UFOs in the sky are usually, if not always, man-made objects that are not normally seen, perhaps secret test aircraft, or satellites orbiting the earth. Others are meteors or other creations of God seen in the night sky. Other strange events could be the work of demons. The point is, just because we can’t immediately explain all of these things doesn’t mean that aliens are out there.

But, just for the sake of argument, let’s imagine that aliens from other planets are real. What would that mean for us?

b. God is the Creator and Lord of all the universe

If there was life on other planets and if aliens really did exist, our God would be their God too, because all of creation was created by God. Consider these Scripture passages:

Psalms 139:7-8

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

Exodus 20:11

For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

John 1:1-3

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Colossians 1:16-17

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

It is clear that all of creation throughout the universe, and indeed the universe itself was made by God and is held together by Him. He created all of us, and if there is life on other planets, He created them too and would be their God too.

c. are aliens mentioned in the Bible?

Some people believe that the Nephilim were aliens. Here’s what the Bible has to say about them:

Genesis 6:1-4

The Flood

When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

The 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.

Numbers 13:33

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.”

Who were the Nephilim? They were the children of the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men.” Some people believe that the “sons of God” were aliens, and that the Nephilim were the tall descendants of those aliens.

As you can see, there is no evidence in these Scriptures that the “sons of God” were aliens. The most likely explanation for who the “sons of God” were is that they were the Godly men, most of whom descended from Adam’s son Seth. The title “sons of God” is likely just a way of saying that they were Godly. Similarly, the “daughters of men” is probably a way to say that they were unGodly.

So, Genesis 6:1-4 is probably just saying that the Godly men living on the earth (sons of God) married unGodly women (daughters of men) and that their children were called the Nephilim. “Nephilim” means “fallen,” and it would be a good way to explain that these Nephilim were unGodly, or fallen.

As you can see, there is no reason to believe that the Nephilim (or the “sons of God”) were aliens.

For more information about the Nephilim, please tap here to read an article by Bodie Hodge of Answers in Genesis.

So, if the Nephilim weren’t aliens, what about John 10:16, which some people believe mentions aliens?

john 10:16

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

Some people believe that the “other sheep” that are not of this sheep pen could be aliens. But this is, obviously, a huge stretch of logic. There is nothing in this verse to indicate that the other sheep are aliens. In fact, the most straightforward understanding of this verse, as most experts agree, is that the other sheep are the gentiles (the non-Jewish followers of Jesus.) Truly, that is the explanation that makes perfect sense.

Additionally, Ezekiel 34:21 (in the ESV) makes it very clear who the sheep are:

ezekiel 34:21 (esv)

And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”

So, are aliens mentioned in the Bible? There is simply no logical way to conclude this. The Bible is God’s Word to us, and is about God and His relationship mankind. It is the story of man’s need for redemption and God’s plan for our salvation.

d. if there was life on other planets, what would it change for us?

In a word, nothing.. We already know where we came from. God created us, as the Scripture passages above remind us. That fact remains true, even if life were to be discovered on other planets.

God’s plan of salvation for us would also remain unchanged. Jesus died once for all, to save sinners.

1 peter 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

hebrews 9:24-28

For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

In addition to making it clear that Jesus died to save all sinners from their sin, this passage also severely limits, if not eliminates, the possibility of alien life. Here’s why:

These verses are clear that Jesus’ sacrifice was a one-time only event, and it cannot be repeated, as this verse points out:

romans 6:8-9

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.

According to all these verses, the only way that aliens could exist on other planets would be if Jesus’ sacrifice for all of mankind was also for the redemption of life on other planets, But again, the Bible gives us no reason to think that aliens exist.

As far as our relationship with God is concerned, it simply doesn’t matter whether extraterrestrials exist. Our salvation from sin can come only through Jesus, regardless of who else is in our lives or what our circumstances are. So even if aliens did exist, it would change nothing.

e. the evolution connection

One major reason why many people believe in life on other planets is that they think it will help them to prove that God isn’t real and that we evolved. They believe that life here on earth got started when aliens from another planet put lifeforms here on earth millions of years ago, and that we all evolved from those lifeforms. In other words, they think we came from aliens.

If evolutionists could find life on other planets, it would validate their belief that God didn’t create us. If they could even find a planet somewhere that would support life, it would encourage them.

That’s why people have gone to great lengths to try to find life on other planets. They’ve pointed huge radio telescopes at the skies, hoping to hear radio transmissions from alien planets (the SETI program) They’ve spent billions of dollars to send probes and rovers to other planets (especially Mars) in the hopes of finding life, or at least finding water, which is essential for life.

But after all of that time and effort and money, they’ve found nothing. No radio signals from space. No alien life. No planets that can support life. Nothing. They keep searching and hoping, but it’s not there.

But even if scientists did find life on another planet, it still wouldn’t answer their question of how life began, because the very next question would have to be, where did that alien life come from? How did it begin? Truly, the problem for evolutionists would not be solved, because then they’d have to explain where the alien life came from. And of course, as we’ve already said, even aliens, if they exist, would have been created by God, who by His very breath created all the distant stars.

psalms 33:6

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,

their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

isaiah 40:26

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:

Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one,

and calls them each by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,

not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 45:12

It is I who made the earth

and created mankind upon it.

My own hands stretched out the heavens;

I marshaled their starry hosts.

Our God is indescribably big and powerful! Truly, He created us, along with all the universe! We didn’t evolve, we didn’t come from aliens, and even if aliens existed, God would be their God too!

f. why the existence of aliens is extremely unlikely

As we’ve seen, there is no evidence that aliens exist, only imaginative speculation stemming from unexplained events, or from desperate attempts to prove that God isn’t real.

In addition to this, it is important to understand that this earth that we live on is uniquely created by God. It is a truly unique planet, unlike any other place in all the known universe.

There are many features about our Earth that, if any one of them were even slightly different, none of us could live here. Our planet has the perfect kind of star for a sun, and the earth is the perfect distance from the sun. We have the perfect sized moon, and that moon is the perfect distance from the earth.

Our atmosphere is perfect for life. Water, found only here on earth, is essential for life. These are only a few of the many things about our earth that are perfectly designed for supporting life. If any one of these things were even slightly different, life would not be possible here.

Make no mistake; as beautiful and wondrous as all the other stars and planets in this universe are, there is no place like home. Earth is a truly amazing place; a one-of a kind world, carefully and specifically created by God so that we can live here. In all the known universe, there is no place quite like our earth, and therefore no place where life (as we know it) could exist.

For further study about the uniqueness of earth, tap here to visit the Privileged Planet site.

g. the real extraterrestrials

As we’ve seen, the existence of aliens living on other planets, even if it’s possible, is extremely unlikely.

However, there are real aliens, and there are real extraterrestrials. It’s true. But they’re not little green men or guys with big eyes.

God and angels, which of course are extensively discussed in the Bible, are not from this earth. So by definition, God Himself is an extraterrestrial, as are His angels. Truly, we are not alone in the universe. God is here.

Not only that, but if we belong to Jesus, we no longer belong to this world. We are actually aliens! Check it out!

hebrews 11:13

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. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

2 peter 2:11

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.

What a wonderful thing to be citizens of God’s Kingdom! We are aliens on this fallen earth, because our home is infinitely better!

h. conclusion

We are not alone in this universe. God is here. He is the Creator of all things, all stars, all planets, and all life everywhere. Could God have created life on other planets and redeemed them as He did for us? Perhaps, but truly, the Bible gives us no reason to believe this.

The bottom line is that it truly doesn’t matter. Aliens or no aliens, God is still our God, our Creator and our Master, and Jesus is still our One and only way to be saved from our sin and to enter the presence of God.

With this in mind, let us praise God for His power, His majesty, His love, and for our redemption. We are not alone, and because of Him, we never have to be.

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For further study on this overall topic, please tap here to read an article from Dr. Jason Lisle of Answers in Genesis.