The appearances of both angels and demons were apparently relatively commonplace throughout the whole of biblically documented history.
chapter 6
Alien Influence?
“Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life…”
—William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Despite my many questions and ponderings, based on the things I have studied, read, and absorbed over the years, I still cling to my Judeo-Christian roots, and making the leap from God, angels, and demons to UFOs, extra-terrestrials, and aliens is an exponential one for me. Yet, there is so much information out there that would tend to substantiate the existence of UFOs and alien interruption in humanity, that it cannot be overlooked. If you are anything at all like me, these things make you pause, wonder, and recalculate the things you were taught.
I have always said, rather cheekily, that when it comes to biblical theology, I have not “thrown out the baby with the bathwater.” Were I to make an on-the-spot statement of faith, I would say that I adhere to the basic tenants of the Bible, and hold Jehovah God as the Supreme Being, as well as a faith in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. In my youth I was taught that the Bible is the “only authority for faith and practice,” especially as a good, conservative Baptist. The further I grow in distance from my cloistered education and walled-in, “fishbowl” denominational practices—and by fishbowl, I mean that we believers congregationally sat inside our glass bowl of church while the rest of the world looked in—I am finding that there is so much more to the universe than what we were taught, so much more to God than is visible in a methodological Christian environment.
Then there is that stinging, lurking fear in the back of my mind that any deviation from my old faith practices is merely my sinful nature drawing me away from God and his dictates. The apostle Paul warned his acolyte Timothy that “… the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3). And I find myself wondering if my disillusionment with church organization and methodology was the catalyst I allowed to drag me from the “true faith.” I find that I struggle with what was engrained in my head and heart, versus what I research and discover.
I consider myself to be a thinker. But there are times when I may imbue my thinking with fear of becoming inviolate of religious mandate and practice.
Therein lies the rub: No matter which way you look at this enigma, no matter how much existential mumbo-jumbo we wish to ascribe to our existence in the universe, or how much power of initiative or self-illumination we think we may possess, we are still the products of someone else’s creation, and the toys of some superior being’s manipulation.
We are not our own.
Whether it was an almighty, omnipotent God who created us from the dust of the ground and breathed into our nostrils the breath of life, or some enslaving, experimenting race of interstellar breeders who interfered with out primordial DNA, we are the product—or by-product—of someone else’s hand. Are we God’s creations, to do with as he pleases, having been imbued with a free will that is truly only free until, like insurance, you actually use it? Or are we the descendants of an alien science experiment—the genetic offspring of an extra-terrestrial race that was either acting in benevolence by imposing its superior DNA into a race of genetically intellectual gutter monkeys, or implementing an intent that was far more sinister and enslaving?
Or are we simply the products of chemical reactions and evolutionary mutation and development; slaves to overt eradication of anything spiritual in order to default to what is scientific and explainable by mathematics and scientific methodology?
Either way, it appears as if we, the human race, are simply someone else’s toys. And sometimes, it’s just cooler to think that we are the offspring of alien interruption as opposed to “sinners in the hands of an angry God.1” I believe that is why the scientific/skeptical community eschews the spiritual and metaphysical: They simply want to seek the basic nuts and bolts without having to answer to a higher authority or deal with the implications of the soul and spirit. As I said quite a bit earlier, there are veils we simply have no ability to pierce, and both the scientific/skeptical circles and the religious/faith-based circles are dead set on operating on the basis of what simply cannot be seen or proved. One circle consciously disregards and eradicates it as part of the functional equation; the other incorporates it in every facet of life.
Boiling It All Down
Whatever your leaping-off point, be it faith, spirit, science, skepticism, anthropology; whether religious, anti-religious, Christian, Jew, Atheist, animist, Pagan, Wiccan, true believer, et cetera ad infinitum—it doesn’t matter when it comes down to sifting through the evidences and the facts, such as they may be. What is clear is that there was some interruption in the human race, whether it can be hinged on the extinction of the dinosaurs, opening the way for human development (without being eaten), or microbal mutations that developed and evolved over eons, bringing the human race where it is today (with obviously much more evolving to do if we believe the chain of evolution is still moving along), or the hands of a Divine Creative force, whether you view that entity as a spiritual/religious one, or simply an entity that has the supreme power over us. Or, perhaps, it was clean and simple as extra-terrestrial interruption of some sort.
Then there are the proponents of philosophies, such as the following quote, that ignore any other outside-the-box investigation by immediately dismissing its veracity for the simple reason that it is not revealed in God’s Holy Word, the Bible: “The Bible, the revealed written Word of God teaches that life is only possible through a process of creation. Even if there were other galaxies with planets very similar to earth, life could only be there if the Creator had fashioned it. If God had done that, and if these beings were going to visit us one day, then He would surely not have left us unenlightened about this.”2
Pardon the crass vernacular, but these are the sorts of statements that have me crying, “bullshit!” This brand of mindless, limited, inane, uneducated dross has me seeing red, and serves no purpose to further an understanding other than that which lies within a particular mindset or theology or philosophy or scientific framework. As you can probably tell by now, I am not one who has abandoned his faith, nor am I one who dismisses science and skepticism, but I measure the building blocks of these things against each other. The answers come only as the fabricated Berlin Walls of division, and the finger-pointed catterwauls of ignorance and fraud start having holes bored into them.
The naked truth of the matter—so sorry to inform my theological friends—is that God has given us information about these aliens. And it is within the very same pages of scripture they use to bolster an argument against such things.
Whatever the truth of the matter—because, believe it or not, truth is not governed by perception—there are evidences all over the world and in nearly every ancient cultural spirituality and history that record extraordinary events. Those events have their tone set in cement, based on the interpretation given by the people who experienced them firsthand. Whether influenced by the divine or the angelic or the alien, the task in the present day is to determine just what it is that happened—and, frankly, that may not be possible beyond mere hypothesis.
The Nitty-Gritty
Because we have spent a great deal of this book talking about the spiritual and religious take on the Nephilim and their interruption in the human bloodlines, let’s look to some of the evidences that would be the foundation for the extra-terrestrial—or better, alien—theory of human interruption.
“The UFO manifesta
tions seem to be, by and large, merely minor variations of the age-old demonological phenomenon….”3
“UFO behaviour is more akin to magic than to physics as we know it…. [T]he modern UFO-nauts and the demons of past days are probably identical.”4
“[The occultist] is brought into intelligent communication with the spirits of the air, and can receive any knowledge which they possess, or any false impression they choose to impart…. [T]he demons seem permitted to do various wonders at their request.”5
The majority of alien abduction cases recorded in modern history have the same earmarks and traditional elements as are seen in the written accounts of the Watchers descending to the earth to impregnate human women. Sure, the facts differ, the tales are much less mythological in scope, but the act itself is something that bears remarkable resemblance to the acts committed by the Watchers. Are we seeing today similar events as those described in the Books of Genesis and Enoch, or has an entirely fabricated modern mythos been constructed around the writings of people like Zechariah Sitchin and the growing list of Ancient Alienists? The main problem with Sitchin’s work was his lack of translating the ancient texts. The conclusion he drew had to be manipulated, squeezed, and otherwise made to fit into the theories he was promulgating.
So often I hear major proponents of the Ancient Alien theories decry the belief systems of theologians. It is almost as if one is required to have an atheistic or agnostic dogma in place in order to put forward an extra-terrestrial hypothesis. To me, this has the very same dogmatic approach as do the biblical theologians who insist that aliens could not exist because they are not mentioned expressly as such in the pages of scripture.
Annunaki, You’re the One. You Make Legends Lots of Fun…
All one needs do is enter the words Annanaki and aliens together in a Google search to find an endless list of Websites that state nearly the same, exact thing: that the Annunaki built a “race” of android beings to subjugate the people of the Sumerian civilization. Sadly, none of these Websites cite any sources that would have translated Sumerian cuneiform texts as stating that sort of information. When putting forward a statement regarding these kinds of ancient “findings,” it is all-important to offer up the texts themselves, or the source of the research academic who translated the texts revealing that sort of information. Sadly, again, it is more likely that the readers and proponents of works such as Sitchin’s, are merely parroting the words of their new age-ist teacher without researching his claims to see if they possess any sort of veracity.
Semitic scholar John Heise, in his work the Akkadian language, makes the observation that the term Annunaki is interchangeable with the word Igigi,6 which translates roughly as “those who observe,” or “the Watchers.”7 The Igigi are referred to as the “gods who reside in heaven,” while the Annunaki are mentioned as being in both heaven and on the earth. And when the Sumerian god Marduk asks a question of the Annunaki, it is the Igigi who respond. So the Annunaki and the Igigi are more than likely candidates for the Watchers after their descent to the earth. But are they an alien race? Well, certainly within the context of the mythology, they are alien in the sense that they came from some other place other than the earth. According to the Sumerian texts, they resided in both heaven and earth, once you see that the terms are interchangeable. So the heavenly Igigi are the same as the chthonic (or “underworld”) gods, the Annunaki.
Ancient Sumerian relief of a seated Annunaki, with the sun and orbiting planets shown in the upper left. Readers of Zecharia Sitchin’s books, particularly The 12th Planet, will recognize the seal, VA 243 (so named because it is number 243 in the collection of the Vorderasiatische Museum in Berlin). This seal is the centerpiece of Sitchin’s theory that the Sumerians had advanced astronomical knowledge of the planetary bodies in our solar system. This knowledge was allegedly given to the Sumerians by extra-terrestrials, whom Sitchin identifies as the Anunnaki gods of Sumero-Mesopotamian mythology.
Photo is a public domain image courtesy of www.michaelsheiser.com.
According to Boulay’s work, the Sumerians and Akkadians did not refer to the Annunaki as “gods.” It was later cultures that introduced the notion of divine beings, and that was what gradually made its way into our language and thinking. The Sumerians referred to the Annunaki by the term ilu, or “the lofty ones,” from which the Semitic ili and el of the Hebrew evolved. And as an interesting cross-cultural reference, Prince Utu’s name in the Mayan language was Xochipili.
Boulay, in his fervent belief that the ancient “gods” were indeed of alien origin, goes on to say that although the term Anunnaki is used generically to apply to all the Proto-Sumerians who “came to this planet,” it means literally “the sons of An,” the greatest among their ancient gods. In the antediluvian (pre-flood) period, a large group of these Anunnaki descended from their mother ship to colonize Earth. According to the “Enuma Elish,” the Babylonian myth of creation, 300 of these Anunnaki descended to Earth while another 300 remained aboard the spaceship. These were called Igigi and presumably were the technical crew of the spacecraft.8
Images on a Sumerian clay tablet are believed to depict the Anunnaki and their “flying vehicles,” advanced spacecraft used by the Anunnaki gods to descend to the earth. The tall figure to the left may depict the half-man/half-fish god Oannes, who emerged from the ocean to teach skills to ancient mankind.
Photo is licensed under Wikipedia Creative Commons.
There are no pictures or drawings left of the Annunaki, but there are many small figurines that some ancient alienists say resemble the alien “greys” of modern ufology. Were the Annanuki the beings described by the ancient Sumerians? And were they the equivalent of the grey aliens synonymous with so many UFO and alien abduction cases reported in current history? Contemporary reports of these encounters bear a strong similarity to the ancient accounts of the Anunnaki and their appearance among the Sumerian people.
Sumerian clay figurines housed in the British Museum, London.
Photo courtesy of Jason Martell (www.xfacts.com). Used with permission.
As mentioned previously, the Sumerian culture is the oldest known written language culture. Even today we still use the same system of mathematics, the same basic calendar, and the telling of time that they developed. They possessed an amazing knowledge of the solar system and of beings coming down to earth. The Sumerians tell us that the Anunnaki had “helpers” who often performed such tasks as flying their craft, or helping with miscellaneous needs. The Sumerians directly explain that these “helpers” were not living beings, but had the physical capabilities of rendering living human tasks.
The Annunaki and Igigi also appear in other Mesopotamian cultures, sharing a commonality that isn’t just limited to the descriptions found in Genesis and Enoch. They are also found in the Ugaritic texts and the Cana’anite pantheon as the banu ili or banu ili-mi.9 There are also more recent finds that place them in Ammorite and Phoenecian inscriptions10 dating to the eight and seventh centuries BCE. The huge significance of these similar finds, according to Craig Hines, is the fact that the other cultures also recognized these beings as non-human “royal ambassadors” sent to humanity at the behest of the supreme god.
Psalms, Hymns, and UFOs
No other book in the Old Testament is as richly beautiful in its imagery as the compiled Book of Psalms. They include songs written by King David and songs written by his chief musician, as well as poetry to be accompanied by musical instruments and used in worship and prayer penned by various other writers. One of the Psalms is even a prayer of forgiveness from David after he committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of one of his war captains, and had the man murdered.
But in and throughout the beautiful, poetic language of the Psalms is an undercurrent of visionary language that could possibly imply encounters with what some have suggested are alien encounters.
Is it possible that David, the “sweet singer of Israel,” as he was once known, had a close encounter that
he described—or hid—in a song of praise to God? Psalm 18 holds an intriguing story that tells of David being surrounded by enemies and being forced into deep water, from which he was suddenly taken up out of and put in a large place. He describes the scene in very vivid terms: the heavens opening up, and God descending, mounted on a cherub—not your typical mental image of a cherub; a heavenly beast that rode on the clouds, black smoke and fire shot out the nostrils of God—and the ensuing shafts of flame consuming everything in its path. David then writes that God, astride his cherub, was followed by, or left a “jet stream,” of dark clouds that produced hail, and a “great noise” coming from God.
Is this all an incarnate manifestation of God, a miraculous act of deliverance? Or could it be something else, something much more like the vision of Ezekiel, who saw what has been described in modern terms as some sort of craft?
David finishes the account of the heavenly attack, telling of bolts of lightning being shot at his enemies, scattering them. This was all followed by a great earthquake, leaving the modern-day reader wondering if this entire account is a description of alien craft and weaponry being used to deliver King David of Israel—the same man who slew one of the few remaining Nephilim, Goliath of Gath—and took his head. Could this be a rescue mission sent to the man who killed one of the descendants of the great giants? Or is this merely the song written by a man who was, like Moses, establishing his “tightness” with God before the people he ruled?
The Rise and Fall of the Nephilim: The Untold Story of Fallen Angels, Giants on the Earth, and Their Extraterrestrial Origins Page 14