One very popular theory amongst UFO circles is the rapture hypothesis. Although this theory probably originated from I Thessalonians, references to it can be found elsewhere in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. This prophecy has evolved to such a degree that many UFO cults and organizations have included it. Cults and other UFO based religions have used this concept as a tool to gain compliance from cult members, but not for the reasons that God had intended it for. It is not unusual for these cults to include the Bible in their theosophy, as it adds credibility to their organization to what would otherwise contradict accurate Biblical interpretations of this passage in the Holy Bible. According to popular Christian theology, to rapture someone is essentially the act of being caught, or snatched away from the earth. We will examine one possible Biblical interpretation of the rapture prophecy, and explore other verses where God has initiated this act through his holy angels and their conveyance, what is more commonly referred to as the UFO today.
Parallels between Mohammed and Jesus Christ.
Christianity is not the only faith that documents the act of being caught up, or snatched away into the sky. Along with many popular folk tales that incorporate this concept into their legends, two very significant world religions have survived through the ages and remain a viable faith in the world today. The Moslem and Hebrew religions have documented the phenomenon of being caught up in the sky and taken into heaven. The prophet Mohammed, for example, had been taken up into the air in a fashion very similar to Jesus Christ with the promise of return someday. A mysterious shrine remains at Mecca up to this present day and it is very similar to the box-like UFOs that are frequently reported. This huge, black shrine found in Mecca, is revered and very sacred to the Moslem people. The irony here is that Mohammed’s roots go back to a well-known Old Testament figure named Abraham. Ishmael was a direct descendant from Abraham, as was Jesus Christ. Abraham’s mistress gave birth to Ishmael, which was foretold by an angel before she ever knew that she was pregnant with Abraham’s child. An angel also foretold Christ’s birth, and that He would save his people from their sins. The angel who announced Ishmael’s birth was called the angel of Jehovah, which for all intents and purposes was God’s ambassador. The angel of the Lord announced to Mary the birth of Jesus Christ. Many theological scholars believe that the angel was God Himself. The angel of Jehovah appeared as a messenger, who had come to the despondent servant girl Hagar with instructions on the prenatal care of the infant. The angel also delivered a message: an accurate prophecy of what the future would hold for this father of the Moslem religion. Many theologians believe that Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy, not only as a prophet but also as a part of the Godhead. This is where the similarities between Mohammed and Christ end, as Christ is God’s direct offspring whereas Mohammed is the offspring of the prophet Abraham. The story of Ishmael is chronicled in the first book of the Bible, and can be found in Genesis Chapter 16.
My point is that there is a direct connection between all of the major religions and flying machines that are often described very much like UFOs are today. Are we to assume then that all major religions spring from a central group of characters, one of them being God and the other players being supernatural beings created by him? The evidence would suggest that this is indeed the case. “And he shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against all, and the hand of everyone against him, and he shall live before all his brothers. (Verse 12) “And Hagar bore a son to Abram, and Abram (Abraham) called the name of his son whom Hagar bore Ishmael.” (Verse15)
Ishmael would become the father of Mohammedan law and eventual spawn the Koran, a book strikingly similar to the Old Testament of the Bible. The Koran does not offer salvation through grace, as does the Christian faith. Some interpret the Koran as saying that violent and destructive acts are sometimes warranted against those who oppose God and the Moslem beliefs. Here, these laws of the Koran are very similar to the beliefs of the warring Hebrews of the Old Testament.
I speculate that the devout beliefs of the Hebrews and those of the Moslem religion will someday merge. A union forged by the coming Messiah may form a lasting bond between these two religions. And it will be accomplished through the miraculous display of God’s power through the Christian Messiah, Jesus Christ. I am a purest. When I want to know what the Bible is saying to me, I rely on accurate interpretations of the original texts. I believe that the King James Version is probably the most accurate of the Bibles that are circulating today, but very hard to understand, because it is written in the King’s English. Even the KJV is frequently misunderstood. Where people usually misinterpret these historic texts is by misunderstanding the use of the words. Therefore, I rely on the original Greek and Hebrew texts for our research study. The problem with Biblical accuracy begins with its interpretation. The text of originates from two ancient languages, Greek and Hebrew. These dialects fully embrace the nuances that are found in the Biblical record of God’s interaction with man in this genre. While I believe the Greek and Hebrew texts remain an infallible record, many of the translations are not. I encounter a lot of very obscure words, many of those are not even used any more, not are their meanings fully understood. These are self-explanatory when the archeological record gives up its secrets, but unfortunately, the past hides many secrets.
The archeological bug bit me when I was around 4 years old. I loved to dig into the side of the hill behind our home, and carefully scrape away layers of soil, to reveal their striations and other unknowns that awaited every pass of my trowel. It has been my life’s work to understand the origins of mankind, and has led me down many long paths with no certain end. There have been many archeological expeditions into areas of forbidden knowledge where mysteries of our past remain largely misunderstand. I did not find those by going to the Library or doing on-line research. I got out there, on the road. I asked questions and checked out anything that may bring me closer to the truth.
My greatest discovery was the saddest of all. There are perpetual distortions in our historic record, which ignores the artifact-ual evidence. This sanitized version of the historic record is rife with distortions. One of the reasons is a top-secret U.S. Government operation named Project Monarch. For those of you in the know, I don’t have to explain it to you. There is an alleged government conspiracy to use guided imagery to tell you what to think, need and believe. There is (supposedly) no limit to the medium, which they will use to achieve this mind control. Their objectives remain unclear, but their mission has been largely successful. If this were true, then the television would be the tool of choice.
One thing is for certain, and I can verify the accuracy of this myself. The wheels of the information machine turn slowly. Public education is way behind scientific discovery, Especially history. Computers have helped to put information within reach to the world more efficiently. You still have to separate the gems from the garbage, however.
THE RAPTURE FROM A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
The Holy Bible talks about a period of “great tribulation” where mankind will suffer the wrath of God and His angels as punishment for their sins. At some point in time before, during or after the tribulation period on earth, there will be a “rapture,” where believers in Jesus Christ will be spared the torment of God’s wrath and the punishment for their disobedience. This is not suggesting that everyone on the earth is bad just because they were not taken, and I do not default to that explanation.
The times and the seasons: The UFO operation will come as a “thief in the night,” suggesting that it will be over just as quickly as it started. Apparently, at the time when this occurs, people will be saying “peace and safety,” not knowing that certain destruction will come upon them. After those who believe are “caught up,” the New Testament tells us that the earth will be face extreme peril. The Bible specifically states that “certain destruction” will come upon them (earth inhabitants) following this “rapture.” I believe that this will also catch them completely unaware.
Jesus threads the epoch legend of Noah’s ark into the story of the last days. “As in the days of Noah so shall it be in the day of the Lord. People will be eating and drinking, given in marriage until that great and frightening day when He returns. The end days are marked with some very dark and destructive prophecies. For the purpose of the rapture, we will explain;
For those of you who are reading this who are not Christians, but perhaps Moslems or Buddhists or Taoists…Revelations tells us that God will reward everyone according to their works. The Christian God in the form of their Messiah, Jesus Christ, has said that HE will return to the earth someday, to claim those faithful that sought his teachings in this life. There are two specific Holy Bible verses that refer directly to this UFO prophecy, and countless others that substantiate that prophecy. My favorite reference to this particular parable is found in I Thessalonians, Chapter 4, verse 15. The other can be found in I Corinthians 15:51-54. Let us not forget that this is a “Testament, or testimony of the events that occur surrounding God and the UFO piloted by his holy angels.
In I Thessalonians, it not only gives us a description of this UFO event, but also a time line as to when this will occur. We will present the orthodox interpretation of these passages, as inferred by the translation commonly given to it. The second will be the Greek interpretation, taking into account our present knowledge of the UFO phenomenon. The two are accepted translations of these passages, however controversial.
The Bible's description of a huge, airborne and aerial reaping is frequently mentioned in the New Testament. There will be preselection of those taken. The list is sealed, as it is written in the Book of the Lamb. UFO occupants have been reported to have on their person(s) documentation that appears to be in some form of undecipherable language and/or dialect. These books, as they have been called, contain symbols and appear to be written in some form of hieroglyphic language, which utilizes pictograms to communicate meaning or intelligence.
UFOs are the conveyance by which Christ will lead the effort. As it says in Acts, he will return in the same manner that he’d left. At Christ's ascension, Jesus was lifted up, as he was “caught away in a cloud.” The Greek word for “caught away,” is harpazo, (har-pod-zo’), meaning to literally seize, catch, or be "snatched away." An ancient root associated with the word “harpazo" is the word “haereomae” (hahee-reh-om-ahee). Haereomae is a word that indicates pre-selection, further substantiating this UFO prophecy of the rapture.
The UFO has been the central focus in numerous mysteries surrounding the UFO like conveyance. It is used in several instances in both the Old and the New Testaments of the Bible, and remains one of the primary reason this appears to be a viable phenomenon. I will give two examples of this. Number one is the old Testament account, and number two is an illustration using Phillip.
1. Preternatural content and testamony of personal accounts with the UFO phenomenon point to a God Force. One of the earliest examples of being caught up is used in II Kings 2:11. In this story Elijah was "taken up" as the prophet Elisha looked on. The word for rapture in the Semitic tests means the same as the word in the Greek. The word alah (aw-law) has a primitive root to cause or to make ascend, in transit (literally caught up). The Semitic text indicates that Elijah had been selected “and went up” in chariots and horses of fire into heaven where he remained and is not to return until just before the appearance of Christ in the Heavens. (Malachi).
2. Phillip was caught up in the “spirit of the Lord,” and deposited in another land called Azotus. The man in the chariot that Phillip was talking to was an eyewitness to this event and had affluence and high social standing. Here the word harpazo is used, meaning to be snatched up, as if by force.
3. The mode of conveyance is always described as a UFO. UFO events will often include prophetic visions or experiences. The contact will report paranormal encounters before, during and after the UFO sighting. The content of these events suggest an action or force, which has the ability to carry over into another dimension. It is considered paranormal. UFOs rarely leave physical traces, meaning the majority of UFO encounters are made by observation only, and this may not result in physical evidence. Therefore it must be studied empirically. There are ways to learn from them, and gain insight. Out of the thousands of UFO sightings made every year, a small percentage of those will leave some physical traces of their passage. I discuss those in detail in my book UFOs: A Scientific Inquiry.
4. There is transcendence and growth including increased parapsych attributes like telepathy, (prophecy), electrical vortex anomalies (visitator) and other by-products of their interaction here (UFO landing sites, implants and other physical traces). My argument to the alien invasion hypothesis, is that if there were to have been an alien invasion, then these accounts would have reflected that in their texts. This is not indicated, in regards to its use in the Bible. I suppose one could consider the intrusion of UFOs as an invasion of sorts, it is done in great numbers and with determined effort.
What is said is very specific to that particular use of the word, unless it is indicated by the words that act as modifiers. This is used to expound upon a theme. And the theme is that there is an order to these appearances, indicating a higher intelligence at work. This may not include the UFO pilots, as angels are not given any greater priority in heaven than we are. In fact, scripture says, “we shall judge the angels,” a sure indication that there will be a specific order after the big day of the Lord.
I don't know about you, but I cannot ignore those endless stories about alien abduction syndrome, where UFO contacts frequently involve some form of painful exam and an implant deposited in their bodies...somewhere. If we were cattle, one could consider this marking, or tagging their specimen...to enable them to track their assigned humans for later rescue and easier identification when it is time for that. Something like that could enable these UFO occupants to find someone rather fast, if this were possible. Isn't it ironic that the Massiah of Christians had predicted that
Two angels, who were present during His Rapture, told the eyewitnesses that "this same Jesus" would "return as you have seen him go." The actual rapture event for the church of believers is being "caught away" into heaven, as described in I Thessalonians 4:9-16. “And the angel will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall be raised first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up and with them who are in the air. And so we shall always be with the Lord.” He then says to comfort each other with these words. Now the “angel of God” is Jesus Christ, as every reference throughout scripture indicates that this is a direct contact between God and the person contacted, always referring to either an angel of the Lord or an angel of God. The word to shout indicates that it will be by mechanical means, much like a horn or trumpet would make. That means that whatever will make that noise, it will be a physical object, possibly horn-shaped.
Along with the word “harpazo” is an ancient root associated with it. This word is “haereomae” (hahee-reh-om-ahee) that suggests that preference will play a role, as if to say it will done by pre-selection.
CONCLUSION. I have researched every major culture on earth for their association to the UFO phenomenon. I will tell you this. In all the years of research into those philosophies that I have studied, Christianity is the only one that remains a dynamically active faith that includes the UFO phenomenon. This substantiates their belief, and is present in the form of the UFO. Many Bible scholars would not agree with me, and I have presented sufficient research on this web site to refute their baseless arguments. Little do they know, it is the saving grace of Christendom. These are my beliefs, but there is only one God. What I present here has been obtained from accurate, historical records, which I have examined. The UFO has appeared throughout history as a harbinger of major change and upheavel. I have seen and experienced the UFO's glory. The UFO phenomenon represents a physical reality. The UFO also has a supernatural aspects. Those who have experienced the UFO and their occupants would agree that they possess all of the abilities one would expect from a ghost or phantom. I have discovered that the Lord and His heavenly angels fly in a UFO. Their behavior would suggest that they are preparing for something. Perhaps they are here in fulfillment of UFO prophecy. The Bible would suggest that they are getting ready for that commanding shout from heaven "stick in thy sickle and reap" for the crop is heavy and nigh unto harvest.
NOTE: This document was competed on April 9, 2000.
