This link was sent to me by my friends Barb and Darrell. A Jesuit priest and astronomer at the Vatican Observatory has said he believes the existence of extra-terrestrial life is compatible with Roman Catholicism. Father Jose Gabriel Funes, who favours the 'big bang' model for the evolution of the universe, believes in the possibility that there could be life on other planets. He made the comments during an interview for the Vatican daily L'Osservatore Romano. Although Funes admits that to date there is no evidence to prove the existence of such life, he points to the expanse of the heavens and the creativity of God as reasons for believing in the possible existence of alien civilizations.

Quote: ""Just as there is a multiplicity of creatures over the earth, so there could be other beings, even intelligent, created by God. This is not in contradiction with our faith, because we cannot establish limits to God's creative freedom," he told the newspaper. "To say it with St. Francis, if we can consider some earthly creatures as 'brothers' or 'sisters,' why could we not speak of a 'brother alien'? He would also belong to the creation," he said. "Fr. Funes says that taking the image of the lost sheep in the Gospel, 'we could think that in this universe there can be 100 sheep, equivalent to different kinds of creatures. We, belonging to human kind could be precisely the lost sheep, the sinners that need the shepherd. God became man in Jesus to save us. In that way, assuming that there would be other intelligent beings, we could not say that they need redemption . They could have remained in full friendship with the Creator,'" Catholic News Agency quoted him saying.

In other related news, Britain's Ministry of Defence has just released its first batch of reports detailing alleged UFO sightings in the UK. Last year the government made the decision to open up Britain's national archives, following increasing public interest in the UFO phenomenon. Several years ago, Britain passed the Freedom of Information act into law, allowing any British citizen access to information held by the government. The Ministry of Defence has been swamped with requests for information on alleged UFO sightings in this country, and this is part of the reason for the public disclosure of these files. Several other European countries have already made similar disclosures. When France published their national archives on UFO related phenomenon last year, they received around  around 220,000 visitors to their website on the first day, causing their servers to crash. Details of one incident released today by the British government records a bizarre encounter that occurred on the 9th of April, 1984 at an airfield in the east of England...

Quote: "The men, each with more than eight years on the job, described how they were helping guide a small plane to a landing on runway 22 when they were distracted by a brightly lit object approaching a different runway without clearance. "Everyone became aware that the object was unidentified," their report said. "SATCO (code name for a controller with 14 years experience) reports that the object came in 'at speed,' made a touch and go on runway 27, then departed at 'terrific speed' in a 'near vertical' climb." The incident is one of the more credible in the newly public files because it was reported by air traffic controllers, said David Clarke, a UFO expert who worked with the National Archives on the document release. "They were absolutely astonished," he said. "It was a bright, circular object, flashing different colors, and after it touched down it disappeared at fantastic speed. The report comes from very qualified people, and it's one of the few that remained unexplained."

Despite investigating many such incidents, government officials still haven't one shred of evidence to suggest that these craft actually originate from other planets. In fact some UFO experts who have studied such sightings for many years believe the theory that UFOs are flown by aliens from other planets is a practical impossibility. The distances involved are too vast for manned flight. And if you could travel at the speed of light, it would take four years just to reach the nearest star, and even then the energy required to make such a journey would be out of this world. And if your ship collided with a micrometeorite at such speeds, you could be instantly vapourised. But UFO experts believe these unidentified flying objects are real and may come from the locality of earth, from another dimension.

Quote: "Dr J. Allen Hynek who until his death, was the world's leading authority on UFOs eventually abandoned the idea that these craft were of a tangible quality as we would understand it, calling it "the nuts and bolts theory". In 1976 he said: "There are just too many things going against this theory. To me, it seems ridiculous that super intelligence would travel great distances to do relatively stupid things like stop cars, collect soil samples, and frighten people." (Jacques Vallee, Revelations, p. 290). After 30 years of serious UFO research, Hynek finally adopted the theory that UFOs are from another dimension, or a parallel reality (Bob Larson, UFOs and the Alien Agenda, p. 93).

The Bible makes no mention of life existing on other planets, and in fact suggests that the earth is unique, in that it is the only planet in the universe that is capable of supporting life. Funes believes that the 'big bang' theory best describes how the universe came about. In other words, he is a theistic evolutionist. He believes that God somehow used the process of evolution to bring the world into being. Look at his statement about considering some other 'earthly creatures' as our brothers and sisters. Supposedly he is referring to chimpanzees or apes. Had God known about the theory of evolution, perhaps He would have used it. But the idea of evolution wasn't invented until the Greek civilization was born... Only joking! God could never have used evolution to create the world, and there are many reasons for that. But I will concentrate on the Scriptures which reveal to us earth's special place in God's creation...

• The earth was created at the beginning of time (Genesis 1:1), three days before the stars were made (Genesis 1:16). Thus the earth is at the very centre of God's creation. Two whole chapters of Genesis are devoted to describing the creation of the earth, while only four words in the English translation is all that is said in regards to the creation of the heavens.
• Mankind was given authority over the earth (Genesis 1:26). He was not given dominion over the moon, nor outer space. The moon was created to give light upon the earth, and to mark the passage of time and events on God's calendar (Genesis 1:14). It was not given to be used as a base for mankind, and this might be the reason why nobody has been back to the moon for the past 30 years.
• Nobody has ever died in space. Astronauts have been killed going into space or coming down from space, but nobody has been lost in space. When the day of judgement comes, the Bible records that death and hell will give up their dead, and the sea will give up its dead. No mention is made of other planets or outer space giving up their dead.
• God created the earth to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18). This is not recorded of any of the other planet. Earth is unique in that it is at just the right distance from the sun where water, which is essential for life, can exist in a liquid form.
• Psalms 115:16 declares that the heavens belong to God, but He has given the earth to the children of men.
• Psalm 19:1 states that the heavens were created to declare the glory of God.

I'm sure there are many other verses in the Bible which indicate that the earth is unique in the universe. But that doesn't mean to say that we are alone. The Bible indicates that the heavens are the present abode of the angelic host. Ephesians 2:2 describes Satan as the "prince of the power of the air". Ephesians 6:12 states that Christians are in a spiritual war against demonic powers in heavenly places. And Revelation 12:7 says that during the tribulation period, there will be a war in heaven between the angels that follow God and those that followed Satan. The Bible confirms that there is life in outer space, and that there is plenty of it. 

When I interpret the world around me according to the Scriptures, things start to make sense. When I hear of mysterious objects appearing out of other dimensions, it makes sense. For the Bible declares that there is an extra-terrestrial civilization that is at war with God's creation. And this extra-terrestrial civilization exists primarily in another dimension, a spiritual dimension that human eyes cannot see. In Elijah's day, the angels of God were seen by men to be using horses and chariots of fire (2nd Kings 2:11, 6:17). That was the main method of transportation men used in those days. If an angel of God were to appear to a man today, would he still appear in a chariot so as not to frighten us? Or would he appear in something more modern? Probably he would appear in something akin to an airplane or spacecraft, for we have an understanding of these things now.

And when I hear of the message that these extra-terrestrials are bringing mankind, it makes sense. Those who have had the unfortunate experience of coming into contact with these beings report that they are all conveying exactly the same message. Apparently they are all concerned with mankind's future on this planet. The question is, why would extra-terrestrials go to the bother of travelling billions of light years just to convey a message that various Eastern religions have taught for hundreds of years? When I understand who these beings are, then it makes perfect sense. According to the New Age movement, these beings are conveying the message that the earth must soon go through a time of great trouble... 

Quote: "When the ancient prophecies of major floods and earthquakes are suddenly fulfilled, many of Earth's people are rescued by spacecraft and taken to huge mother ships, where they are received as honoured guests while Planet Earth undergoes a complete restructuring. As they enjoy the enriching experiences of daily life on these giant spaceships, they debate and plan their New Society. Rejecting outright any form of aggression and planetary pollution, they develop new ideals of law and liberty based on one simple, all-embracing principle reflected in a full program of land and resources-use, economy, business, and personal liberties. Just as many intrepid souls once crossed the Atlantic from the Old World to a new continent and a new life, so the time finally comes when Earth's people return to their 'new' planet, now cleansed, refreshed and replanted.

Do you recognize the above scenario? You should. For this is exactly what the Bible states will come to pass in the not too distant future. Albeit there is an added demonic twist. It is often said that deceit is a lie wrapped up in the truth. When Satan tempted Eve with the forbidden fruit, he said, "your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil", Genesis 3:5. That was the truth. After they disobeyed God, their eyes were opened, and they became like gods knowing good and evil. But the lie was, "ye shall not surely die", Genesis 3:4. In the above scenario, Satan presents the truth of the rapture and the tribulation period. These things will occur just like the above paragraph states. Christ will come for His Bride, and following this great time of trouble, we will return with Christ to establish God's kingdom on earth (Daniel 2:44). But the lie here is the omission of judgement. There is no mention of the need for repentance, of the need to have our sins forgiven, or that we can escape this period of judgement that will come upon all the earth (Luke 21:34-36). And here, the extra-terrestrials are presented as mankind's saviour, not God nor Jesus Christ. We know according to the Bible that Satan is the head of these extra-terrestrials (Revelation 12:9), he was the one who sought to overthrow God's throne (Isaiah 14), and he will demand that the whole world worship him as God (2nd Thessalonians 2:4). Clearly the above scenario has been inspired by Satan to deceive those who will be caught up in the tribulation period. It's horrific just thinking about all of this, the depths of Satan, and the suffering that awaits those who have not trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation. I hope and pray that there will be people reading this who will heed the warning before it is too late. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Source WorldNetDaily, Mercury News, Spotlight Ministries