The Incurable Curiosity of the Cosmos: Vol. II

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1

My own personal curiosity about space began with the late, great JR Church’s article, The Gospel in the Stars. Mr. Church resurrected this topic from Joseph Seiss and E.W. Bullinger, who each wrote about this in the late 19th-century. By the end of the article, I was both fascinated with the topic, and in awe of God’s majesty. I was even a little disappointed frankly, that I had not considered these things about the stars myself. Understandably, we approach this topic with a bit of caution, because Scripture neither outright confirms this theory, nor denies it, thus, we must allow the Spirit to guide our understanding on these things. [For the first part of this article though, I will be paraphrasing portions of Mr. Church’s article to make the point ].

A well-known fact of history was that the ancient cultures of Egypt, Assyria, and the Chaldeans all held the stars in a special place in their pagan theologies. They considered them sacred and divine to varying degrees. What is not as well known, is that the ancient Hebrews, and their forefathers (e.g., those antediluvians who predated Abraham but were of the same lineage) also held a special place for the constellations. Since there was no written biblical accounts of creation prior to Job (circa 2100BC) or Moses (circa 1400BC) that we know of, it seems reasonable that God communicated to mankind through a variety of agencies, one of which was creation itself. Since the stars are part of that created order, it would not be out of the realm of possibility to believe that they could also seemingly foretell the great story of a coming redemption in symbolism and type.

Now, I have read some online ministries try to discredit Seiss, Bullinger, and the whole Gospel in the stars theory. One point they made was that how could the Gospel be a mystery, if it was written in the stars since the time of Adam. Certainly, we can acknowledge that the Gospel was a mystery to the Old Testament saints and prophets (Eph. 3:8-10, 6:19; Col. 1:26-27). However, we could equally point to the Protoevangelicum as evidence that ancient man knew that at some point in the future God would redeem him.

The question was never about whether the Gospel was a mystery, but where the mystery (musterion) actually lay. I personally believe that the mystery was always about the execution of the salvation plan, not the plan itself. What I mean by that is, the mystery was how God would actually pull it off and never whether He would do it or not.

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me (Job 19:25-27)

The book of Job, written around the year 2100 BC, predates the writing of Genesis by many centuries. In it, Job mentions names certain constellations and states that they (the constellations) were part of God’s ways (Job 26:11, 13-14). Job mentions the Serpent, which in the Zodiac is also referred to as Draco, Hydra, Scorpio, or Cetus. Job also mentions the Pleades and the constellation Orion, both of which are found in Taurus. There is also a reference to Arcturus, which means bear in Hebrew, and is a reference to Ursa Major. Not only this, but one of the writer’s in the book of Psalm, points out that God telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names (Psalm 147:4).

Once Satan was defeated at his original rebellion, he made his dominion not in the dark, cavernous underworld we often picture him in, but in the air (Eph. 2:2). We will speak more to why that is in a bit, but for now, simply understand that Satan attempted early on to hijack the message of redemption. However, prior to the flood, Satan first attempted to corrupt all of man and animal kind genetically so that a redeemer could not come (Gen. 6:1- 7). After God preserved mankind through the line of Noah, Satan began shifting his tactics by corrupting the created order. The fact that Satan would make the effort to pervert and convert the mnemonic Mazzaroth into a pagan Zodiac system is further evidence of its original significance. If that message (the Mazzaroth) already belonged to Satan, he would not need bother corrupting it.

Originally, the stars were divided into forty-eight constellations, with twelve major constellations, and thirty-six decans or sidereal sidepieces. The Antediluvian Saints (between Seth and Noah) used the Mazzaroth not to divine the future, but as a mnemonic tool used to help aid/keep their oral tradition alive for God’s plan of redemption. The name and corruption of the Mazzaroth into what we now know of as the Zodiac, would not come about until some point after the flood, presumably around the time of Nimrod and the tower of Babel (circa 2300BC). For a more in-depth search into the history of the Mazzaroth, see here for the late Chuck Missler’s excellent research on the topic.

We Are Not Alone

“At no time, when the astronauts were in space were they alone: there was a constant surveillance by UFOs.” — Astronaut Scott Carpenter

As Christians, we understand that there is more to this reality than what we can see, here, and touch. We understand that there are only three different kinds of intelligent, sentient, beings in our existence. There first is the triune Godhead- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Next is the Angelic realm, filled with innumerable holy and unholy angels. Lastly, there is man. However, the secular world has a hard time reckoning anything beyond their five senses and reasons that these extra-terrestrial visitors are “aliens” from another planet or galaxy. This is why the issue of UFOs is so intriguing concerning biblical eschatology. The fact that they are here and presumably, very interested in the goings on of earth, means things are about to get interesting.

My first thought on their increased activity was a process of normalization, and allowing themselves to be seen and filmed (in varying degrees) to get unregenerate humans used to the idea that they are not alone. My second thought on this is that since they have yet to make full contact (think Close Encounters of the Third Kind); their motives are not friendly. Just ask anyone who has ever claimed to be abducted and you get the eerie semblance from their testimonials of similar scenarios when humans interact with demons.

For most of man’s history on the earth, the sky remained an impenetrable domain until just the last century. When man finally began to take to the skies and started exploring the uppermost parts of his atmosphere, his encounters with the unexplainable would increase to the point where collision for disclosure would become an inevitability. Irrefutable evidence is now coming to the forefront that is forcing secular world governments, the media, and the military to finally address openly. This is the rub. Entertainment through books, movies, and television have long promoted the idea of UFOs and the supernatural because their popular and make a lot of money. This has spawned whole genres and sub-genres where people have begun to believe that these things are real. Meanwhile, the governments of the world have long understood them to be real (because of irrefutable evidences); they have attempted to keep the lid on it because people collectively were not ready for the truth. Therefore, after 70 years of science fiction and fantasy saturating our pop culture world, the time for disclosure is nearby.

The Truth is Out There

On occasion, I listen to a show on YouTube called SecureTeam10. The show is not Christian in nature, but the host, Tyler, keeps it clean and tries very hard to post only videos and commentary that appear to be as reputable as possible. He recently did an episode that sparked my curiosity and got me thinking about things. Although he primarily focuses on unexplained aerial and lunar phenomena (UFO activity), he also covers the strange and bizarre events going on in the world. From the strange, apocalyptic sounds heard around the world, to seemingly artificial structures on places like the moon, mars, and the Antarctic, along with other bizarre things picked up by Google Earth. Recently however, he sparked my interest when he asked a very pertinent question.

Why all of a sudden, are the world powers, infatuated with putting man back on the moon?

Man last set foot on the moon in the 1972 with the Apollo missions. In the subsequent four decades, there has been seemingly little appetite in going back. So why now? Why the rush?

India, China, Israel, Russia, and even the US are all now racing to get back to the moon, and to put a sustained human presence there. Not just them, but private companies as well, such as Moon Express, Amazon, Virgin, and Space X are also racing to get into space. Concerning Israel’s mission, they put a twist on it. Their rocket contained some 30 million documents etched into a DVD that contains a massive amount of the world’s history.

The ‘Lunar Library’ started its journey to outer space late February on a robotic lunar lander called Beresheet launched by SpaceX. The archive, which is housed on a metal disc about the size of a DVD, was created by the Arch Mission Foundation, a Los Angeles-based non-profit. The archive is intended to preserve records of human civilization for at least 6 billion years. (Link)

There seems to be a strong desire to both preserve humanity and create a “breakaway” civilization on the moon, on or before 2029. Why is that? What are they afraid of? Concurrent to this, NASA has recently admitted to erasing thousands of hours of recently discovered Apollo and Pioneer mission film. This is the film all concerning the moon missions in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. As the article asks, in an era when all kinds of historical data is being restored and preserved, why would the preeminent space agency not be interested in protecting and studying all of this newly found historical data?

Conclusion

And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things, which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens, will be shaken. Luke 21:25-26

One area we watchmen are intimately familiar with the synoptic gospel’s account of the Olivet Discourse. In regards to the above passage, the timing may be as key to the verse as is the action occurring. Most would conclude that this particular passage is dealing with events that happen INSIDE the 70th Week, particularly in the second half of it. However, regarding the subject of deception, we understand that by that time, Satan will have needed to lay the proper groundwork in order for mankind to be confused and / or mislead on what is actually transpiring. In order to do that, he would have needed to begin his deception campaign much earlier.

Concerning deception, most Bible teachers tend to hone in on the current religious and ideological deception that is already beginning to saturate our world in these last days. However, from an eschatological perspective, deception must also be looked at holistically to understand the gravitas of how thoroughly comprehensive it will become. In regards to the battle over truth, deception has truly become a multi-domain battlefield.

The Apostle Paul writes in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 9 and 10, that the coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. With the skyrocketing increase in the arena of unexplainable aerial phenomena known as unidentified flying objects (aka…UFOs), we must factor this into the coming deception. The reason why, is that this increased activity in the heavens is not just happening arbitrarily, but purposefully.

This deception is twofold. First, Satan realizes that man is never going to be able to leave earth and colonize the universe as science fiction movies have led us to believe. Therefore, unglorified man is perpetually confined to earth in the physical domain. Secondly, since Christ is returning in the air at the Second Coming with His armies (Rev. 19), Satan must prep the stage by leading mankind to believe that only by uniting globally, can they defeat the threat that is coming from above. Just look at the biggest blockbuster science fiction movies to get a sneak peek for where this deception is aimed at.

Therefore, it would behoove us to try to understand how these bizarre events (UFOs, unexplainable phenomena, etc.) factor into the coming age of signs and lying wonders. Furthermore, how they fit into the coming global deception.

Although myths and monsters have also existed in the folklore throughout our history, the folklore usually matched the technology of the day. In the pre-industrial era, when there were still vast undiscovered regions with large, unpopulated areas, the sign on the map usually just said ‘here there be monsters.’ Throughout recent history (the last two-thousand years), vampires, witches, sea monsters, and werewolves were the usual boogeymen haunting places where men feared to tread.

In the industrial and post-industrial eras where humanity began its great urbanization migration, the boogeymen shifted to things like human monsters, ghosts, poltergeists, and the demonic. However, it was not until after World War II that man began noticing an unusual uptick in the activity in the heavens. These events seemed to keep pace with the technology of the day by presenting mankind with unexplainable flying objects that seemed to defy the laws of physics and of reality. I believe two events caused this shift from purely earthbound threats, to the supernatural intrusions in the heavens: the use of the atom bomb against imperial Japan, and the rebirth of the nation of Israel.

These two events may have been a signal for the fallen angels (interdimensional beings) that mankind was entering its final stretch. Fallen angels and their leader Satan know Scripture and know that Israel had to become a nation again in order for the end to come about. They tried their best after the 1917 Balfour Declaration through the demonic rise and possession of Hitler and his Third Reich to wipe the Jews out once and for all. They did not know their actions by the Holocaust would result in the direct opposite effect they intended with the reconstitution and rebirth of the nation of Israel. It is no coincidence that supernatural activity would begin to spike at the exact same time Israel came back into her land as a nation.

A secondary sign to the fallen angels was the use of the atom bomb. Not so much that man invented a giant bomb, but in how man got there. Man finally figured out how to split the atom, and they knew this would open up a completely new realm of technology. What it meant was that man now had the capacity to destroy ALL life on the planet.

Thus, these two events were signals to their ranks that they would need to make their presence known in an increasingly aggressive manner. They know mankind has entered into the last moments of the last days and their leader, Satan, is instructing them to begin laying the groundwork for what he needs; an answer for greatest cosmic event in human history up until this point, the Rapture of the Church.

Yes, as crazy as it sounds, the increase in frequency and intensity of UFO activity proves (at least in my mind) that the Rapture of the Church must be very soon. Why? First, we know that there are only three categories of sentient beings in the universe. Next is the unprecedented increase in unexplainable phenomena, with which this activity appears to be at best, elusive, and at worst, nefarious. So this rules out God or His holy angels. Furthermore, this activity defies the laws of physics or any capability mankind has, thus ruling us out. This leaves only one possible group- unholy or fallen angels.

Secondly, we see throughout Scripture that any time there biblical prophetic movement, there is an equal attempt by Satan to counter-react by way of satanic or demonic activity. It stands to reason that we should have expected an increase in satanic activity since 1948 (Israel’s rebirth) and that it would only escalate until a culmination point (the Rapture). After which, the Restrainer (2 Thess. 2:7-8) will be removed and this unexplainable satanic phenomena will go from elusive to obvious, because the Spirit filled church will not be here to counteract it.

Thirdly, Satan has to have a believable excuse as to why millions of people disappeared, and even more importantly, something to distract and unite humanity at the time of their greatest global crisis with which the Rapture-event itself will provide in spades. So although the fear and expectation of those things, which are coming on the earth, mentioned in Luke 21:25-26 are events that happen inside the 70th-Week of Daniel, this seems to be in keeping with my hypothesis that since these activities are wildly on the increase, their increase marks the season of His soon return…Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. Luke 21:28