SERMON: — UFOs, Aliens, and Disclosures
“Do Not Fear What They Fear —
UFOs, Aliens, and Disclosures” (Isaiah 8:12–13)
Series: Topical Text:
Isaiah
8:12–13
By: Shaun Marksbury Date: May
24, 2026
Venue: Living Water Baptist Church Occasion: PM Service
Introduction
Those of you who know me know I am a lifelong science
fiction fan. I grew up on novels, television
series, and movies on outer space, faster-than-light travel, and encounters
with extraterrestrial life forms. Sometimes,
alien terrain allows for story telling that explored unique aspects of human
nature. Those who have been in my office
have seen a few of my collectibles from various franchises. I enjoy good sci-fi, even some cheesy ones!
That said, it may surprise you to hear me say that I don’t
believe there is intelligent life on other planets. It’s not just that the odds are mathematically
unlikely that life could appear on another planet like it did here, let alone
develop to a condition able to travel the stars or somehow communicate on an
interstellar level. It’s about
understanding the “fiction” in science fiction. Rather, it flows from a theological
understanding of Scripture. The Bible
presents humanity as the unique creation of God in His image, with redemption
history centered on this Earth and the race of Adam. The idea of other natural intelligent beings
raises profound difficulties regarding whether other life would also bear God’s
image and whether a parallel fall in alien species would also require Christ’s
atoning work.
So, I’m certainly not approaching this from a naturalistic
perspective. In fact, because I believe
the Bible, I believe there could be a kind of extraterrestrials (or perhaps
ultraterrestrials) — just not the sci-fi kind.
God’s word describes angels and demons.
Why am I talking about this now? This past week saw the second data dump from the
US government of UFOs (unidentified flying objects) or UAPs (unidentified aerial
phenomena). These are supposed alien
disclosures, and folks are interested and asking questions. Viral videos, congressional hearings, and
media headlines have many people — believers included — feeling anxious.
You can imagine the questions. What if it is real? What would that mean for Christianity? What if alien life contacts us and says they
made up all the world religions? Does
this prove that there’s been a government conspiracy all along to cover all
this up, or are the disclosures themselves part of some conspiratorial plan to
distract the masses? If you are someone
asking one or more of these questions, you can be assured that God’s Word
speaks with timeless clarity into this cultural moment.
We see that by looking back to a crisis in the eight
century. Around 735–732 BC, the northern
kingdom of Israel (Ephraim) allied with Aram (Syria) against the expanding
Assyrian Empire. They then pressured
Judah’s King Ahaz to join their coalition. When he refused, they invaded Judah.
That lead to panic, rumors, and conspiracy theories sweeping
through Judah. Many distrusted the
prophetic word of Isaiah (and later Jeremiah), preferring political alliances
and worldly powers over trust in Yahweh.
Such times lead to distrust of all institutions, including those
proclaiming the Word of God.
In this atmosphere of disinformation and fear, God
instructed Isaiah not to adopt the fearful mindset of the people. Yahweh says not to call everything a
conspiracy that others call a conspiracy, not to fear what they fear and
tremble. Instead of getting caught up in
the moment, fear Yahweh alone.
This is a word relevant to us. How do we approach sensational information
being brought before us?
First, Recognize the Truth about Conspiracies (v. 12ab)
You are not to
say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’
In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy;
The Hebrew term qesher here refers to an alliance,
plot, or confederacy. It’s easy to fall
into two ditches concerning conspiracy theories. The first is to hear the term and wave it
away as nonsense. Obviously, conspiracies
exist — Scripture talks about them right here!
The other ditch is in thinking everything is a
conspiracy. As people become more panicked,
distrust grows. That’s where the people
of Judah were — obsessed with political rumors and suspected conspiracies
everywhere. As such, again, they
distrusted God’s clear prophetic declarations.
They heard Isaiah saying they needed to trust in Yahweh rather than in pragmatic
human solutions, and they thought that’s what an enemy would have them believe!
Consider how bad it was.
King Ahaz ultimately appealed to Assyria for help, even sending silver
and gold from the temple as an offering (2 Kings 16:7–9). That a short-term fix that led to long-term
bondage and judgment.
There are a lot of parallels between what they were experiencing
in Judah and what people experience today.
There’s even a joke that the difference between a conspiracy theory and
a reported fact is about six months, and there have indeed been several so-called
“conspiracy theories” since 2020 that the media has since admitted are true.
Yet, this just makes people more distrustful of anything. There have already been certain voices
suggesting, for instance, that the federal government have coopted pastors for some
nefarious purpose; that’s not so hard to believe because Megan Basham’s book, Shepherds
for Sale, has proved that certain interest groups have indeed tried to sway
pastors. Could we enter a time when no
one trusts the church, just like God’s people didn’t trust Isaiah or Jeremiah?
A Call for Discernment in the Church
God wants His people to discern truth from error, and truth
from almost-truth. Discernment helps us understand
where there might be a real conspiracy, and where some people are just trying
to create doubt. It may be tedious, but
we have to examine each truth-claim for validity, and we certainly shouldn’t
share rumors or theories without confirming them.
There’s a dearth of discernment within the body of Christ on
this subject. In recent months, some
charismatic leaders claimed to have attended secret government briefings about
impending alien disclosure and UFO realities. They suggested these meetings equipped them
with special insight to prepare the church. However, as Bible teacher Mike Winger has
carefully documented, several of these claims were exaggerated, misleading, or
outright dishonest.[1]
What was presented as a high-level
classified meeting turned out to be far less substantial, revealing a troubling
lack of integrity in how the story was shared — and a troubling gullibility in
the body of Christ.
This serves as a sober reminder. Even within Christian circles, we must test
all claims against Scripture and sound reasoning. Do not swallow every sensational report simply
because it comes from a platform with a large following. Biblical discernment protects the church from
embarrassment and preserves our witness.
Considering What the Bible Actually Says
There are biblical accounts that unbelievers (and some
Christians) use to try to justify UFO visitations in the Bible. They start by assuming the miraculous
explanations are impossible and that ancient people couldn’t figure out that
they were looking at advanced spacecraft.
Moments like Ezekiel’s vision of the four creatures in Ezekiel 1 — an
obvious anticipation of the scene in Revelation — becomes a UFO because it
mentions wheels (chariots also had wheels, and God was announcing warlike
judgment on Jerusalem). The act of reading
something foreign into the text is known as eisegesis, opposed to
sound exegesis which pulls truth from Scripture.
The reality is that there are extreme difficulties biblically
speaking with the existence of aliens.
While it’s true the Bible doesn’t mention them, meaning that they could
theoretically exist, what it does reveal seems to exclude that possibility. So, let’s view these questions through a
biblical worldview.
First, consider Genesis 1:26–27. We read there of God’s creation of mankind — “Then
God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...’ God created man in His own image....” Humanity, holds a unique place in creation. Consider that not even angels are mentioned in
Genesis 1, but the days of creation build upon one another to that ultimate
moment when God made man in His image.
Second, consider that redemption is centered on Earth and
for the salvation of people. As Hebrews
2:16 notes, “For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help
to the seed of Abraham.” Not even angels
receive redemption, for Christ took on human flesh to redeem humans.
Third, the Fall of man affected the whole of creation (Rom.
8:19–22). We see that even in space,
stars die and matter collapses into black holes. If there were other intelligent biological
races, profound theological questions arise: Did our fall affect them, as it
appears? Or, did they also fall? And, if they did, do they need redemption? Scripture knows nothing of such scenarios.
If we think that the Bible is unable to describe beings
other than people, though, we would be wrong.
Scripture describes other intelligences, such as angels, demons. The four creatures around the throne of God do
not seem to be angels, though they are holy.
Scripture describes life that is not always visible to us but which can
become visible, and which can also interact with our plane of existence in
various ways.
As we consider what the Bible says, some of the evidence
becomes clearer. For instance, there are
already some who speculate that aliens are not extraterrestrial; they’re
already here in some ultraterrestrial sense.
Some UFO phenomena shows craft moving and banking at speeds that seems
impossible for biological lifeforms.
Moreover, alien abduction accounts involving paralysis, deceptive
messages, and occult-like experiences are similar to non-UFO supernatural
accounts by fairies or demons (see Passport to Magonia by Jacques Vallée),
and abductees report that experiences stop when they call upon Jesus’s name
(even non-believers). This mirrors
patterns of demonic deception, as Satan and his ministers are able to transform
themselves (cf. 2 Cor. 11:14–15). Resources such as Cultish even have explored
potential government involvement in paranormal research and its overlap with
occult activity.
Now, some of that may make you uneasy. It’s vital that we see things through a
biblical lens, but as we consider possible demonic activity, new concerns might
strike us. However, we need not be
afraid, as the rest of v. 12 reminds us:
Second, Reject the Spirit of Fear (v. 12c)
And you are not to
fear what they fear, and you shall not tremble.
We need not fear if there can be a biblical explanation for
this, for then there are biblical solutions.
As we know the truth of Scripture, fear begins to vanish. Moreover, we will find that we lack fear of
what the world fears.
There’s another affect that this has — we can begin to see
through human deception. Not every
instance of a UFO or UAP is demonic, and not everyone tells the truth. This brings us back around to discernment,
and that certainly helps us not be afraid.
Most phenomena have natural or human explanations. For instance, sensational videos are circulating
in these disclosures that look suspiciously like sci-fi movie designs. While it’s possible that it’s coincidence, or
that the government met with movie directors and gave them designs to use, it’s
also possible that someone is messing with us.
We must also not use the word “conspiracy” when “incompetency”
works just as well. One popular video of
a eerily-floating, glowing humanoid might be described as demonic, but it’s clearly
a Star Wars Stormtrooper helium balloon catching the sunlight. Weather balloons, parachutes, or optical
illusions created by parallax effects litter the disclosures online. While some cases remain difficult to explain,
a significant portion points to misinformation or even disinformation.
In fact, we must recognize that there are those who would
want to lie to us about this. In June
2025, The Wall Street Journal published a major investigation revealing
that much of America’s UFO mythology has been deliberately fueled by Pentagon
disinformation campaigns.[2] The military fabricated or allowed alien
technology rumors to protect classified weapons programs, including stealth
technology testing. Again, there are conspiracies
in some cases — but not the extraterrestrial one many assume. It is often a campaign of distraction and
cover.
So, we must exercise discernment. Many sightings are explainable: drones,
commercial or military aircraft, Starlink satellites, lens flares, atmospheric
phenomena, misidentified planets or stars, and deliberate hoaxes all catch our
attention. Sometimes, the most convincing
demonic deception involves hardly any work on the part of fallen angels.
Answers in Genesis has documented similar patterns.[3] Many high-profile UFO cases have natural or
human explanations once carefully examined.
As Proverbs 14:15 warns, “The naive believes everything, but the
sensible man considers his steps.” Christians
are called to sound minds, not panic.
The cure for fear comes in v. 13, our final point:
Third, Regard Yahweh as Holy (v. 13)
It is Yahweh of
hosts whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your cause of trembling.
The positive command stands in contrast. Note how the prophet uses the words “fear”
and “trembling” again. Yet, this time, the
call is to apply this to the Lord instead of all the conspiracies and rumors of
the people.
Holy fear — a reverential awe — puts every other fear in
perspective. Colossians 1:16–17 reminds
us that all things, visible and invisible, were created through Christ and hold
together in Him. Since that is the case,
all life in the cosmos, including ourselves, is beholden to His will.
To put this another way, to allow ourselves to fear these
things is to not regard the Lord as holy.
We must ensure that we are clearing our minds of nonsense and exalt God
in our hearts. Those who don’t should be
afraid of the one who can undo all of creation with a word.
Conclusion
In a world of disinformation, fear, and speculation, God
calls His people to a different posture. Don’t fear what they fear! Instead, regard Yahweh as holy.
How do we apply this?
·
First, cultivate discernment. Consume Scripture more than social media or
sensational news. Prayerfully test
everything (cf. 1 Thess. 5:21).
·
Second, use this as an evangelistic
opportunity. Cultural fascination with
UFOs opens doors. You’d be surprised to
how many are willing to doubt the official narrative.
·
Enjoy fiction responsibly. Good storytelling has value, but never let it
reshape your theology.
The heavens declare the glory of God (Psa. 19:1), so we need
not fear invaders from outer space. Moreover,
our hope is not in distant stars or hypothetical aliens, but in the risen
Christ who will return to this Earth. May
we walk in wisdom, boldness, and holy fear until He comes.
[1]
Mike Winger, “How A Few Charismatic Pastors Went Viral With Deception,” YouTube
video, May 2026.
[2]
“The Pentagon Disinformation That Fueled America’s UFO Mythology,” The Wall
Street Journal, June 6, 2025.
[3]
See Answers in Genesis, https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/alien-life/.