Dennis L. Finnan Commentator
"The World, the Word & You! Broadcast"

THE VISITED PLANET

“HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN ENCOUNTER WITH A UFO, OR AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL? THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE CLAIM TO HAVE HAD SUCH EXPERIENCES. BUT THE QUESTION IS, HOW REAL, VALID and BIBLICAL ARE THEY?”

 I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE FOURTH KIND …

… Well now its time to get down to today’s exciting and I’m sure interesting topic for our day and age, for today we are going to talk about UFO’s and extraterrestrial life, things which Hollywood glories in these days in film-making and stories. However, let’s first pause for a musical refreshment, then I’ll return with my message entitled: THE VISITED PLANET…

…Everybody has heard of UFO’s that is, unidentified flying objects, referring to extraterrestrial spacecrafts from alien beings who secretly visit our planet. Why Hollywood and the filmmaking industry has gone wild with this, for viewers want more and more. Films such as STAR WARS, STAR TREK, and the now famous CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, usually are sellouts at the box office of theaters, and in time, the video rental stores. But the question is what is a “Close Encounter?” Well, UFO reports are divided into three categories. (1) close encounters of the first kind – that is the claim of someone simply sighting a UFO, (2) close encounters of the second kind – which speaks of finding supposed physical evidence for the reality and presence of UFO’s, and (3) close encounters of the third kind – which speaks of a reported actual contact, and possibly being kidnapped for short periods of time, by alien beings who operate these UFO’s. But now, you’re going to hear of a fourth “close encounter,” that has merit. Yes, you see there is another encounter by extraterrestrials, we might label, (4) close encounters of the fourth kind which those who have had this cannot question.

However, before we get down to explaining all these, let’s pause one more time and listen to another beautiful song, then I’ll return with this message entitled – THE VISITED PLANET…

… The question of UFO’s and intelligent extraterrestrial life on other planets has intrigued mankind for centuries. However, it has only been recently in the past half 20^th century, that our humanity has claimed to have seen and experienced contact with such beings, and their spacecrafts. I do believe much has been fueled by the foolish and arrogant teaching called evolution, where its supporters claim that our planet is a “visited planet,” in the sense of millions of years ago, highly intelligent life “seeded” this new world with life forms, that evolved over millions of years to produce all living matter today, including human beings. This is called “Panspermia.” It’s the latest evolutionary explanation for the origins of life here on earth, in light of the dismal non-existent evidence for evolution arising “out of nothing” or non-living matter.

So let’s talk about these close encounters. Does the Bible have anything to say about intelligent life on other planets? The answer is amazing.

First of all, the Bible does not directly talk about alien beings and life on other planets; But, neither does the Bible affirm or deny the existence of such life. Instead, it tells us that the only things God created in the universe, that He made with intelligence are beings called “angels” and “mankind,” and along with them God created all the creatures that inhabit the waters and dry land called animals, birds and fish. Now contrary to evolutionary speculations, based on philosophical thought alone, the stars and planets we see in the night sky are not 14 billions years old, but rather “all” were created at the same time when God made the universe and our planet earth. Don’t be surprised or scoff. Mounting evidence today points to another astounding fact that may be conclusive in the days ahead, and that is – the earth, our the solar system and Universe itself,  may only be thousands of years old, rather than billions! We read in the Bible,

Gen 1:1-3 (NASB)  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

Yes, in the beginning before the universe and all the space-time-matter continuum existed, there was God, the omnipotent eternal, and everlasting Being, who created all things, “out of nothing.” It was He who made the universe, all the stars and planets, and the planet earth which teems with life God made for His pleasure and glory. Again Scripture says,

Rev 4:11 (NNAS)  “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

But now back to the intriguing question. Is there intelligent life on other planets?

Harvard University psychiatry professor, Dr. John E. Mack recently drew attention to alien contact beliefs, with his collection of growing cases of people claiming to have had “close encounters of the third kind;” that is, actual abduction by aliens. As result of this flurry of reports and beliefs, a worldwide average of more than 17% of people today apparently believe our planet has been visited by “alien UFO’s,” and another 31% strongly believe intelligent life exists elsewhere in our universe! And, these figures may be greater in the United States of America due to Hollywood ’s glorification of such things.

However, with all these sightings, supposed contact and or abductions, the truth is there has never been a single contact with an extraterrestrial, which has been verifiable. All that we have in reality are “speculations,” based on evolutionary hopefulness, to support its dead theory that life on earth resulted from origins that have no Creator, or at best other more evolved and advanced life forms, which seeded our planet long ago with life as we know it today.

Now what can we know of these close encounters? Well, many of them have very similar reports. People who say they have experienced them, reveal a bright light came upon them at night, followed by a huge presence of some sort of flying craft, and then the feeling of meeting or somehow interacting with strange beings, which quickly disappear, or become dreamlike.

Now of all the UFO reports and sightings, studies show that more than 90% of these turn out to be bogus; but in all, another 10% are truly unexplainable and not easy to dismiss. What can we say about these, especially from a Christian perspective? Well, let’s go to the Word of God and see. In so doing, we read of the following:

Psa 115:16 (NNAS)  The heavens are the heavens of the LORD, But the earth He has given to the sons of men.

Isa 45:18 (NNAS)  For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, But formed it to be inhabited), “I am the LORD, and there is none else.

Eph. 6:12 ( NNAS) “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Gen 2:1 (NASB)  Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.

Neh 9:6 (NASB)  “Thou alone art the LORD. Thou hast made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. Thou dost give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before Thee.

Col 1:16 (NASB)  For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him.

From these Scriptures we see that the Bible reveals the only “intelligent life” God created in all the universe is “angels” and “humanity.” After the third day of creation, the angels or as they are known in the Bible, “the hosts of heaven,” stood along side of God, and watch Him finish the Creation. We read of this in the oldest book in the Bible, the book of Job which states,

Job 38:1,4,7 (NASB)  Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said… Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding… When   the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God [angels] shouted for joy?

Heb 1:7,14 (NASB)  And of the angels He says, “WHO MAKES HIS ANGELS WINDS, AND HIS MINISTERS A FLAME OF FIRE… Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?

Heb 12:22 (NASB)  But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,

Psa 68:17 (NASB)  The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands; The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.

Now the last verse in Psalms 68, intrigues me. It mentions the “chariots of God.” Now without being dogmatic, here we find that in the heavens above, that is outer space, it is filled with extraterrestrial life called, “angels.” There is no mention of any other life form. Yet, these are sentient beings of great power, intelligence and purpose, which mainly serve and glorify God. Yet they are “spirit” beings that cannot be seen, unless they wish to appear before our eyes. As spirit beings they are not subject to the laws of nature that we are. They can move across the universe not at the speed of light, but at the speed of “thought and will.” Moreover, they can move through solid objects, and even inhabit them. It is therefore very possible that some of the UFO sightings, are actually angelic sightings, as they appear before our eyes as bodily creatures, and may well fashion objects the same. Hence, the UFO’s may be angelically fashioned objects to make us think they are real life, alien beings. Now, why would such extraterrestrial creatures, the angels, created by God, do this? The answer is they are no longer “angels” as originally created to serve God and man, but they are now, “DEMONS.” Indeed, the Bible tells us that right after the creation of the myriad of angels, their leader, and first created one, then known as Lucifer rebelled against God, and led a third of the angelic world in rebellion to God’s authority. War resulted in God’s heaven, which is being fought to this day. Not a war that cannot be won by God, for it will, but a war prolonged by God, to allow His other creation, “mankind,” to be saved from the fate and wrath of God to fall upon every creature in rebellion to His will for His Creation. Yes, we read in Scripture,

Isa 14:12 (NASB)  “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!

Ezek 28:17 (NASB)  “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you.

Isa 14:13 (NASB)  “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.

Rev 12:7-9 (NASB)  And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

As to actual intelligent life, apart from the perfect angels, fallen demons and mankind, Scripture eludes to the fact they are non-existent! Here’s why I believe this,

First of all, for any life to exist, conditions must be right, especially for physical beings. Only the planet earth is fashioned to house such life. Life on any other planet must meet complex requirements for which only a Creator God could have fashioned, as is our planet earth. Secondly, since life cannot spontaneously erupt, that is lifeless matter become living matter with intelligence, the whole concept of higher beings having evolved elsewhere in the universe, is an impossibility! Third, the closest planets to us, outside our solar system, if they truly exist, no one really conclusively know, is too far for any being to travel to and from. You see, the distances are so vast that any life outside of angelic spiritual life, could not exist nor travel such distances. For instance, the closest star to the earth, (a-Centauri C), is 25 million, million miles away! At the speed of say our “Apollos” flight that went to the Moon, it would take 870,000 years to get there alone!

In addition to this drawback of space travel, I’m told that in every cubic kilometer of space there are an estimated 100,000 dust particles (made up of silicates and ice) weighing only a tenth of a gram. But think at the tremendous velocity of travel, if a space ship collided with it and it certainly would, hundreds of thousands of times, just one of these tiny objects would penetrate and destroy it completely!

No my friend, space travel and the existence of alien creatures, apart from God’s intelligent creation of men and angels, simply is a Hollywood fairy tale! However, what is not a fairy tale is, there truly exists another intelligent life, and a kingdom, somewhat alien to what we know and have experienced. This is a “kingdom” which is in the far reaches of outer space and beyond the universe itself. Right now, part of it is inhabited by “fallen angels” called Demons, and their prince or chief ruler is a being called, “Satan.” The Bible says, it is his desire to deceive the nations of mankind, to draw men away from the one true God and His Son Jesus Christ, and to foment rebellion to the Word and Will of the Creator, found in God’s revelation to man, the bible. We read in Scripture,

Eph 2:1-2 (NASB)  “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Eph 6:12 (NASB)  “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Yes, the devil, or Satan and his hoards of demons, actually “invade” our planet every moment seeking to deceive humanity. It is well within the parameters of Scripture to say, many of these supposed UFO sightings may be the deceitfulness of demons in their “chariots of God,” to make foolish fallen sinner think there is other evolutionary life out there, apart from what God created. In so doing, this will cause many to continue to bring us false teachings such as the belief of evolutionism, and that there is no God who created all and is above all.

In addition, these demon spirits bring us the world of the “Occult,” saying there are higher powers, ascended Masters, alien beings of greater evolutionary descendent that want to help humanity. I personally believe the UFO phenomenon is the work of this arch deceiver, Satan, which God’s wrath one day will destroy, forever and ever. You see, people who are not Christians, are easily taken in because they have been taught the great lie of evolutionism. Yet Christians know better. May God give us all wisdom to discern and know that mankind is God’s highest creation, one day to surpass even the holy angels in Heaven, whom God created not only to serve Him but all saved mankind forever and ever.

So what about these UFO’s? Well, I’ll tell you this,  there is an encounter of the fourth kind. This is a fact to reckon with, for our planet indeed was visited by an extraterrestrial being of great and immense power. So great, that He was and is the Creator of all things, Himself. Listen to what the Bible says about it.

Gen 1:1 (NASB)  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Col 1:16-18 (NASB)  “For by Him [God the Son, Jesus Christ] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.”

John 1:1,14 (NASB)  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Yes, as amazing as that is, God the Son, Jesus Christ, Himself, warned us that in the last days will come great deceit.

Mat 24:4 (NASB)  “And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.”

Paul the apostle warned us too when he said,

1 Tim 4:1-2 (NIV)  “The Spirit [of God] clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”

My friend, 2000 years ago, God the Creator, visited our planet for the express purpose to save us from our sins and the Hell to come for us all. We indeed live on a “visited planet,” but one that needs our discernment. God wants you to know that you can be deceived in such matters, but His Word, the Bible is not deceit. There we are told, God loves us and demonstrated that love for us by coming to earth as a human being, and living a sinless perfect life and most amazing of all, dying for our sins on a cross at Calvary. Have you encountered this extraterrestrial Being, your Creator God? This is the close encounter of the fourth kind everyone needs to experience, and they can simply do this, by looking up to the Heavens and crying out to God to come and reveal Himself to you personally.

Deu 4:29 (NIV)  “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Prov 8:17 (NIV)  “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.”

Yes a “close encounter of the fourth kind,” is available for all. In fact, I have seriously experienced this and you can and must to, if you wish to enjoy eternity and the wonders of all Creation. This is an historical event that all can know and experience and it is a good one for all as well. May God give you this encounter with Jesus Christ, and may its joy, happiness, and fulfillment be with you now and for eternity...

…Of course, all the talk about alien creatures from space is nonsense, unless you’re talking about demons that inhabit the realms of space. But thanks be to God our Creator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ was no evolved alien being. The Bible says, He (God Himself) came unto His own, but sadly His own received Him not, but, to as many as receive Him, to them He gives the power, right and authority to become His children, who will spend eternity with Him beginning now and forever. Trust in Jesus Christ, confess Him before Heaven and in your heart, believe God loves you enough to die for your sins, and accepts Christ’s death, as the true and valid substitutionary payment for your sins for all eternity. That’s the Bible’s salvation and the most blessed encounter of the fourth kind available to all who seek it.

·         Radio talk #2602

·         Broadcast date: June 28, 2002

·         Speaker: Dennis L. Finnan, Commentator

·         Program: The World, the Word & You! Radio Broadcast

·         Address: P.O. Box 40133 Grand Junction, CO 81504

The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for over 22 years, and serves as General Director.

These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are actual radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of recent messages is available upon request also.