What Does The Bible Say About UFOs? 

Who among us doesn't love a good UFO story? It is safe to say that just about every American (95%) and a very high percentage of world citizens know what a UFO is. Some of our culture's best stories are set in space with alien life forms flying marvels of space travel. Despite including ET (extraterrestrial) life, these stories tell us more about what it means to be human beings than alien beings. They are–at their core–about us.

More than stories pervade our cultural identity, however. Just telling great stories doesn't explain the enthusiasm and curiosity behind these mysterious objects. You can find data on UFOs (or UAP’s–Unidentified Aerial Phenomena–as they are sometimes referred to by governmental agencies these days) on governmental websites such as the National Archives, FBI, US Air Force, CIA, and a new (2022) government agency called AARO. Most declassified documents and reports unsurprisingly point to regular ol' human experimental objects and spy games. But some are, as of yet, unidentified. No US governmental agency points to aliens, nevertheless they still use the word "unidentified," "yet," and "unknown." So...

With 95% of Americans knowing about UFOs and at least 57% believing they are real (presumably meaning unexplainable by any human standards), Christians are certainly included in both of those groups. So, it is natural that Christians who accept the Bible as Holy Scripture want to know what to think about this phenomenon from the perspective of scripture.

Read on to address topics like the Bible and UFOs, Ezekiel's Vision, Life beyond Earth, Christian faith interaction with mysteries like this, and a brief exploration of alien life. This article doesn't promise to leave you with ultimate answers. But hopefully, you will come out on the other side with some answers to how Scripture interacts (or doesn't) with UFOs.

Does the Bible Refer to UFOs?

Well, frankly, this phrase is a bit anachronistic, so strictly speaking: No, the Bible does not refer to UFO’s. Nevertheless, there are several questions about some of the flying objects described in scripture. The logic goes something like this: If our modern culture encounters UFO’s, then it is conceivable that the ancient Israelites did, too. Since they were not as technically-minded and scientifically advanced as us, they must have found a way to describe these things using the base framework they had–supernaturally distorted imagery.

Modern Superiority Over All the Peoples of History

The History Channel (and H2 and A&E) show “Ancient Aliens” demonstrates this kind of logic in over 240 episodes spanning 19 seasons starting in 2009. The very first episode is titled: "Chariots, Gods & Beyond." It immediately sets about pulling scriptural evidence for ancient aliens. Within the first two minutes, the narrator points out that the Catholic Church acknowledges that ET might be real.

Some of the inspiration for the episode (and the show itself) comes from a book titled Chariots of the Gods?: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past by Erich von Daniken, 1968. Erich von Daniken has since written 32 more books and has been translated into 28 languages. His work has sold 68 million copies. Obviously, this work is prominent worldwide. His premise is that God was an alien who revealed himself to ancient humans with no concept of what he was. His starship came, and human beings recorded it as a chariot. This logic doesn't only get applied to Scripture, however. It is all ancient writing and descriptions. There are many references to ancient pagan gods traveling in chariots. Did our ancestors just mean starships instead? Did they simply lack a vocabulary until now?

Stupid Ancient Mankind? or The Difficulty of Language in All the Earth?

Let's see if we can get to the bottom of this.

First, regardless of what timeline or dating convention you accept for determining when the books of the Bible were written, human beings inhabiting our world were just as intellectually developed as we are. That means you have to put yourself in their shoes. They weren't a bunch of imbeciles grunting and pointing at an object, shrugging their shoulders and substituting "Chariot?" On the contrary, the ancient writers of Scripture were capable of describing ideas with enough meaningful detail that after 2,000 - 3,000 years of study, we are still talking about it with excitement, enjoyment, and intelligence.

And it wasn't just the ancient Hebrews that could write using sophisticated details. Some of the best thinkers in history also wrote in antiquity. Some of these persons are still being discussed and debated today. Plato and Aristotle are obvious choices. Euclid is a particularly interesting example. For 2,000 years, his parallel postulate was debated and pondered. Ultimately, pondering his fifth postulate pointed to hyperbolic geometry.

The point is that accusing the ancients of being a bit dumb is unfair. They were every bit as intelligent and capable of using language to describe what they saw and thought as we are. The burden is on us to understand them – not them to write for us.

Ezekiel's UFO Vision

Ezekiel's vision is often quoted by Ancient Aliens and others looking for scriptural evidence for UFOs. (As a side note, it's interesting that UFO seekers want the authority of Scripture more than any other ancient source. Why?) It's an easy passage to pick out of a crowd! Hovering beings floating on fantastic chariots with bizarre creatures and unnatural wheel technology that makes changes in direction without changing orientation. It's a UFO! Most sites just talk about it, expecting readers to go look at the scripture themselves, but we all know that most people don't go to the source.

So, we are going to quote the passage in full here and then try to explain some of the meaning. Ezekiel 1:1-28 (ESV):

1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day 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, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

4 As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. 5 And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, 6 but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9 their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.

15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. 16 As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl. And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. 17 When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went. 18 And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around. 19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. 20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads. 23 And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. And each creature had two wings covering its body. 24 And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.

26 And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. 27 And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. 28 Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around.

Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Clearly a Biblical UFO! Right?!

Well, remember our discussion above, and let's assume that Ezekiel wasn't any less intelligent than you or I and take him at his word. We assume he knew how to use language correctly and wanted to tell his readers something. What was it?

Scholars sometimes call visions in scripture like this one "apocalyptic." Not because they describe the end of the world but because their use of symbolism and images is so robust. Significantly, this vision comes at the beginning of the book of Ezekiel. Many times, the vivid visions aren't given to be interpreted, and it’s imprudent to hang airtight theology and doctrine on every word.

Ezekiel Was Writing for the Glory and Power of the God

Indeed, one of the suggestions for the meaning of "in the thirtieth year" is that Ezekiel was thirty years old. This was the legal age for Priests to begin serving in the temple (Numbers 4:30). So this vision tells us why Ezekiel became a prophet. This was the catalyst for his ministry. So, what was so compelling about this vision that caused Ezekiel to spend his life as a prophet?

To answer that, you need one more piece of information. The Jews that Ezekiel was part of and writing/speaking to were captured by Nebuchadnezzar around 593 B.C. The Babylonians conquered Israel, and since they owned the land, all the people decided to slice the top end of the Jewish class off and take all the rich and influential people back to their lands as slaves. This left the poor and uneducated as subjects in Israel.

The Israelites were shattered by the idea that God, who had miraculously protected and released them from the mighty Egyptians and helped them conquer the Canaanites, had allowed them to be captured and exiled from their homeland.

God Created All the World

Here's why that was important. In the Ancient Near East (ANE), the idea of God was often localized. As the logic supposedly goes: Babylon conquered Israel, so their god was bigger and better than the Israelite’s God. Right? Well, that was the theological problem that Ezekiel and many of the exiles were facing. Now, the imagery in the vision may make more sense.

Ancient Depictions of Fantastic Creation

First, in this Ezekiel passage, there are crazy creatures with weird faces. Similarly, there are stone carvings from Assyria dating to around/before this time. So, the fantastic beasts would be understood by the cultural ANE consciousness at the time (e.g., Nimrud palace of the Assyrian King Sennacherib and many others). Again, Ezekiel knew how to use language to communicate with people in a way that culture could understand.

Ezekiel's Depictions of Fantastic Creation

We have the Lion, Ox, Eagle, and Man face. These supernatural four-faced beasts would have been understood as the representatives of wild animals, domestic animals, flying animals, and mankind. Only the fish and insects are missing from the Hebrew taxonomy. However, the Hebrews did not consider fish and insects to have full animal souls. They were a bit less important.

So, they would have interpreted this to mean that God is over all creation. Hebrews already had this theological understanding thanks to their Genesis creation account. The part that would perhaps be new to their theological way of thinking comes from the chariot.

God Is Present in All the Nations of All the Earth

The wheels of the chariot In the above Ezekiel passage are described as a "wheel within a wheel." Most people think this means that they were set at right angles (there are perhaps other ways to think about it). But no matter how one thinks of it, the point is that this wheel could travel anywhere and change direction of travel at any time. The "eyes" in the wheels again may make more sense when you read other ANE sources and discover that the cultures at the time would set shiny jewels in the rims of their chariots so that they would flash and sparkle as they rode along. This showed the power and prestige of the rider. Similarly, those ANE sources called these jewels "eyes" also.

So God is over all creation (four-faced creatures), AND He transcends the national boundary of Israel (Chariot). There is a lot more we could unpack, but the gist of it is that Ezekiel understood his vision as being about the authority of God over creation even when his people were in captivity. As confusing as it was to have the Hebrew God conquered by the Babylonian God, the vision showed that God was still in charge. The rest of the book and indeed the rest of Ezekiel's life is a resolution to the "Is God still in charge?" question.

What Does the Bible Say About UFOs and Extraterrestrial Life?

OK. Now that we have discussed the idea that scripture was written by intelligent human life trying to describe some supernatural events to other humans on planet Earth that they would have understood, we can answer this question with soundness: The Bible says nothing about UFO’s.

In the Pentateuch of Scripture, when the thick cloud and fire moved from the desert and Mount Sinai, the Israelite people understood this as God's presence. They were every bit as intelligent as you or I, and they could tell the difference between a spiritually sovereign God who ruled in heaven and on earth and other beings. God created the entire universe, and in ancient times–as it means now too–that meant He was in consummate charge.

Furthermore, those Israelites spoke to God, who claimed eternal power and had a divine nature, rather than claiming to be a simple (ANE) local deity. He claimed cosmic powers and eternal existence. This wasn't like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (apologies to Mark Twain and his excellent book). Mankind isn't so backward and stupid that they couldn't understand the difference between the Lord God and visitors from distant planets. They knew that "glowing metal" meant "glory." The Prophet Ezekiel knew that God gave him the vision. He knew that he had encountered a Jealous God rather than fellow citizens of the universe. In other words, he knew he had encountered the Creator, not creation.

How Should Christians Look at Mysteries Like UFOs and Aliens Visiting Planet Earth?

Mysteries are not new. They have been around for a long time. In fact, much of the Christian faith intentionally resides in the realm of the mysterious. Still, how should those with faith in Christ Jesus view the idea of intelligent life outside the human race? Scripture tells us that all life is created by God. If intelligent life is discovered on other planets, then it must be from the Lord God. Life (extraterrestrial life or otherwise) must come from somewhere and have a source. Regardless of how you believe life on earth was created, it is evident through the Law of Cause and Effect that there is a creator.

And this creator is universal. So if intelligent life is found to exist elsewhere, then the universal creator God must have created them also. This universal creator God created life (on Earth or other planets) with His own power–for His glory. If God is creating other things (like extraterrestrial life), then you can be certain it isn't because human beings are at the center of everything. It is because the Lord is at the center of the universe (that means all the other planets too).