This is the fourth in a series of articles on what the Bible says about UFOs and aliens.

Read Article 1; Article 2; Article 3

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If creatures commonly identified as aliens truly are demons, as we claimed in the previous column, then the Bible has something to say about how we are to deal with them. For starters, Scripture is replete with warnings against an unhealthy fascination with the unseen realm. 

One of the earliest warnings comes in the Lord’s instructions to the Israelites, who are about to enter the promised land:

“When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable customs of those nations. No one among you is to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire, practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, cast spells, consult a medium or a spiritist, or inquire of the dead. Everyone who does these acts is detestable to the LORD, and the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable acts. You must be blameless before the LORD your God. Though these nations you are about to drive out listen to fortune-tellers and diviners, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do this” (Deut. 18:9-14). 

Common religious practices among Israel’s neighboring peoples included:

Child sacrifice – particularly to the god Molech.

Divination – attempting to discover hidden knowledge through supernatural means like reading entrails, casting lots for spiritual insight, or interpreting natural phenomena as divine messages.

Fortune telling – predicting someone’s future through mystical techniques such as observing clouds or interpreting the flight patterns of birds.

Omens – reading meaning into random events or signs, believing they reveal divine will or future events.

Sorcery – using rituals, incantations, or substances to manipulate spiritual forces or produce supernatural effects; the Hebrew root relates to both magic and drug use in religious contexts.

Casting spells – attempting to bind or control people or spirits through verbal formulas or curses.

Consulting a medium or spiritist – seeking guidance from those who claim to channel spirits.

Necromancy – attempting to communicate with deceased persons for knowledge or guidance, as King Saul attempts with the witch of Endor (1 Sam. 28).

These practices share a common thread. They are attempts to control or access divine knowledge through human manipulation rather than trusting God’s revelation and sovereignty, and they often involve allegiance to other deities or spiritual powers. After more than four centuries of patience, the Lord finally removes the Canaanites from the land because of their complete rejection of the one living and true God (see Gen. 15:16).

While none of these ancient pagan practices explicitly involves extraterrestrial beings, they all seek information from or encounters with inhabitants of the unseen realm, who can break temporarily into the physical realm. 

It matters little to Satan if you seek encounters with aliens, ghosts, or “higher powers,” as long as you abandon God’s self-revelation in creation, conscience, Scripture, and the person and work of Christ. 

Like Old Testament prophets who warn about the dangers of embracing idolatrous practices, New Testament writers urge followers of Jesus to avoid forays into the unseen realm. 

Satan dispenses demons throughout the world to advance his rebel kingdom. His tactics are revealed across the New Testament. For example, he blinds the minds of unbelievers to keep them from receiving the gospel (2 Cor. 4:3-4). He takes them captive to do his will (2 Tim. 2:26). 

He promotes his own system of theology, which Paul calls “doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). He sends false teachers to deliver counterfeit messages, particularly about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the gospel (2 Cor. 11:4). He sends false teachers to proclaim a different gospel (Gal. 1:7-8). 

He inspires false messiahs (Matt. 24:4-5), deploys false teachers who hatch “destructive heresies” (2 Pet. 2:1), and sponsors false apostles who appear to us as “ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:13).

John instructs us to “test the spirits” – those who claim divine gifting for service – so we know who to follow and who to resist. John specifically aims his sword at the “Docetics” of his day – those who embrace the deity of Jesus but deny his humanity. Anyone who proclaims “another Jesus” should be resisted (2 Cor. 11:4).

So, what do aliens – masquerading demons – teach? According to accounts from those who claim to have had alien encounters, here’s a short summary:

Jesus is a “space brother,” an extraterrestrial who visited earth and displayed supernatural powers (another Jesus).

Aliens are extraterrestrials – from other planets, solar systems, or galaxies – who have come to save us from ourselves (atheistic; another gospel).

Aliens are benevolent beings with higher knowledge and power who can teach us new and better ways to live (masquerading as angels of light).

Organized religion – especially Christianity – is primitive and wrong (another gospel).

There’s divinity in all of us (Eastern philosophy; another Jesus; another gospel).

Aliens are physical beings from outer space (atheistic; denial of the reality of the unseen realm).

As you can see, these are a combination of atheistic, new age, and Eastern philosophies. There’s little, or nothing, in what people have “learned” from aliens that points people to faith in Christ. 

Satan and demons delight in the worship of anyone or anything but the one true God.

Next: Alien encounters in Scripture?