Rational Faith


UFOs and USOs - Mystery Solved


 

 

Navy photo of UFO captured by a FLIR camera aboard an F-18 SuperHornet

We're coming up on the second anniversary of  what was supposed to be the "Area 51 Raid" or "Storm Area 51" as it was alternately known. The event, which occurred on September 20, 2019,  turned out to be much smaller than planners had hoped. (100 -150 showed.) But with  more than 2 million indicating they were going and another 1.5 million  expressing interest on Facebook clearly there remains a great amount of interest in the matter, even if people are reluctant to move beyond their computers or mobile devices to show up in person at a Nevada desert . The goal of the event was to force U.S. Government officials to reveal the information it is assumed they have on extra-terrestrial aliens and UFOs.

At this juncture a brief history of how we got to this point would be helpful, but it's somewhat lengthy, so I won't insert it here. Instead I'll leave it as a sidebar below for those interested. It will, however, be helpful to clarify some terms here:

UFO - Unidentified Flying Object(s)
USO - Unidentified Submersible (or submerged) Object(s)
UAP -
Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (The military preferred term for UFOs)

Please note: UFOs are just that - unidentified flying objects. Don't assume that means extra-terrestrial aliens are involved. In this interview on Town Square, astrophysicist Michio Kaku states that 95% of them turn out to be ordinary objects or phenomena that are not recognized:  Venus at night, weather balloons, swamp gas, weather anomalies,  and other unnamed items like test aircraft (which are sometimes kept secret) , etc. But in the minds of many, "UFO" is synonymous with "extra-terrestrial alien" so the military doesn't like that term and prefers UAP - unidentified aerial phenomena. USOs are just like UFOs - except they also submerge under water for part or all of their sightings.

At this point let me list some key facts:

  • The UFO phenomenon is real.
  • The USO phenomenon is real.
  • Neither the U.S. military nor the most sophisticated scientists can figure out what they are.
  • In fact, anyone with a secular worldview is unable to figure out what they are.
  • The closest the secular mind set has come are the theories of Jacques  Vallée or perhaps J. Allen Hynek, but both are still missing a key piece.
  • Only the Christian worldview explains all the phenomena. If you've read my article "A Talking Snake and the Alien Connection" then you know where I'm going with this. For those who haven't let me lay it out plainly and explain step by step what has become obvious for those "with eyes to see": UFO phenomena are manifestations of demons.

If that's a new thought for you, here is what I hope is a step by step journey to understanding:

UFOs are real

Please note the terminology. I'm not saying extra-terrestrial aliens are real, I'm saying people, including astronauts and navy pilots, are actually seeing things flying that they cannot identify. The conflation of aliens with UFOs is why the military no longer users the term UFO.

With regards to the witnesses, it's not just average people who have sightings, but trained observers like pilots and astronauts who are not compromised (on drugs, psychotic, etc.) and have no reason to lie about it. Further, it's not just sightings. There are physical effects: they're viewable on radar, they're captured on various types of cameras - this in addition to being seen by the witnesses. And as professor Kaku tells Tucker Carlson during the segment on the Area 51 raid, instead of the burden of proof being on UFO witnesses to prove they're real, the burden of proof has shifted to the government and the military to prove they're not real. Because the evidence is "overwhelming."

What's brought these sightings to the forefront of mainstream reporting by people like Tucker Carlson however is the video captured by Navy pilots. There are three, each one with a unique name:

"FLIR1" (FLIR is Forward Looking InfraRed - the technology used to capture the images)
"Gimbal" (Gimbal is the name of the fighter jet)
"GoFast" (It's unclear what this name refers to)

Note that not only can these objects move (accelerate/decelerate, climb/dive, stop) in ways impossible for any known technology, but they also defy the laws of physics. (Breaking the sound barrier with no sonic boom, pulling g forces that would kill a human, showing no exhaust plume - which should be visible, multiple UFOs merge, they morph form, etc.) And keep in mind these are official Navy recordings and reports. (Though all the listed impossible phenomena are not in the videos.) But they aren't the only reports. In fact the DOD Task force, commissioned to report on UFO's, studied 144 incidents. They could only explain one. Meaning there are at least 143 incidents of " Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" the DOD cannot explain. As Tucker Carlson put it, "So the most sophisticated military in the world has no idea what these things are or even how they move from place to place."[1]  And there are plenty of other reports besides the three Navy videos above. Here are a few: (I will leave the details of the encounters to the linked videos, which are not actually video sightings but recreations of what happened, some of which contain actual photo evidence however.)

UFO Sightings from:
The International Space Station (2 Sightings)
Gemini 7
F15 Pilot in England
Mexico - Yucatan  caught on FLIR (Forward looking InfraRed)
Shuttle Discovery - Pilot Blaha

USO sightings

The Stockholme Incident
Russian Sub Encounter
Ghost Rockets (these were seen doing impossible maneuvers)
Underwater humanoid figures - Lake Baikal, Siberia
 

Note: These sightings use various different technologies to capture the image, also they're from different witnesses, different places and countries. The incidents include pilots, astronauts, submarine personnel, generals, governors of states. These sightings cannot be passed off as the illusions of mistaken witnesses, or bad/damaged equipment, counter electronic warfare or any of the common mundane, but clearly wrong explanations. There are simply too many over too long a period of time (hundreds of years actually) seen by too diverse a group of people from diverse countries and time periods. No, these cannot be simply brushed aside as some kind of mistake or error. As astrophysicist Michio Kaku points out, "the evidence is overwhelming."[2]

Common Secular Explanations Fail

Also as professor Kaku points out there are  a number of aspects of these objects that cannot be explained: the speed and agility with which they move, appear and disappear, pull unimaginable g forces, break the sound barrier with no sonic boom, etc. etc.    The various witnesses (generals, air force pilots, governors of states),  Kaku says, state these incidents  are simply "Beyond our understanding of the laws of physics." He goes on to say, "the handful of things that still cannot be explained defy known laws of physics."[3] That's an astrophysicist talking.

Let's explore for a moment what they mean when they say these things "defy" the known laws of physic. Let's consider just one aspect: no sonic booms. Any time an object moves faster than the speed of sound, a sonic boom is created. Why? When an object moves through the air at subsonic speeds, a pressure wave is created around the object. This pressure wave allows the air to flow around the object and get out of the way of the object smoothly as it moves. But when the object moves at supersonic speeds, the air no longer has time to get out of the way. The object impacts the air before the pressure wave can move it out the way. The result is a shock wave, a sudden drastic change of pressure which creates the sonic boom, which attaches itself to the object (typically an aircraft) and flows backward from the aircraft.  The resulting sonic boom is created for the entire duration of time that the object is moving at supersonic speeds, following the craft from the attachment points of the shock wave (the leading and trailing edges).  This happens anytime a physical object is moving at supersonic speeds. Note in passing, the supersonic Concorde was limited to flying routes over oceans. Why? Because they didn't want the supersonic jets creating the very loud sonic booms day and night all over the country, particularly over heavily populated areas. And it would defeat the purpose to fly the Concorde at sub-sonic speeds (though they reportedly did do that for one segment (Braniff) for  one route) across the country. You don't need the super-sophisticated supersonic Concorde flying at sub-sonic speeds across the country. Any airliner can do that. So it's quite significant for scientists and the military to note there are no sonic booms. It confirms what they're saying: they defy the laws of physics.

So like the scientists, the military are just as perplexed. They have no idea what these UFOs/UAPs are, or how they do what they do. But since they are loathe to admit there is an intelligence that invades their airspace at will, clearly posing a threat, and they - the military - can do nothing about it, they therefore will not go into detail about how much they don't know. Tellingly, the closest guess professor Kaku can come up with is that the UFOs are either experimental hyper-sonic drones that move at 5 to 20 times the speed of sound, or (the game changer) they are created by extraterrestrials who could be thousands or millions or years more advanced than us and have a deeper understanding of physics. I find it amazing that Kaku is proposing hypersonic craft given what's being observed and specifcallly that they create no sonic boom. I suspect the only reason he mentions it is so that he has an option other than his "game changer." Here you see why worldviews are so important. In the Christian worldview ET's of the type he describes are precluded, as are millions of years - since the universe is little more than 6,000 years old. When you consider that it can't be either of Kaku's suggestions (it can't be a human made hyper-sonic craft for reasons discussed above, and it can't be multi-million year old aliens since the universe is only thousands, not millions of years old) you realize Kaku, as brilliant as he is, has no idea what they are. And I suspect that is because he lets his secular blinders prevent him from considering the obvious.

The Jacque Vallée Understanding/Explanation

Jacque Vallée came very close. Consider this summary of his views:

(starting at time reference: 3:23)
"Vallée proposed the existence of a technologically mediated, extra-dimensional intelligence that has operated throughout human history. Masquerading as creatures of myth and legend in the witnesses' culture. This intelligence has repeatedly manifested itself in the form of a technologically or spiritually advanced civilization, unreachable by humans, and just outside the understanding of the witnesses. It has evolved its appearance to keep up with our ever expanding worldview and technological capabilities. But always represents what's just ahead of us in our vision of the future. For example, this intelligence appeared over medieval Europe in flying ships, with occupants who claim to originate from a civilization above the clouds. After the industrial revolution, the same intelligence appeared above the southern United States in dirigibles, with pilots claiming to be from foreign continents, or the planet Mars. The intelligence then appeared in rounded metallic saucers when the world's super powers began experimenting with jet engines and disc shaped crafts. And just before humanity's exploration of outer space, renewed interest in the possibility of extra-terrestrial life."[4] (emphases mine)

The idea of an "extra-dimensional" being is part of the Inter-Dimensional Hypothesis (IDH) - which overcomes the  travel distance problem. So Vallée is taking seriously that this intelligence is able to defy the laws of physics, - though IDH does not explain all the phenomena.  He also takes seriously that these entities have been manifesting for hundreds of years (I'd say since the garden of Eden), and particularly with his book "Messengers of Deception" he recognizes these entities are at root deceptive. But he still hasn't put the whole picture together yet. His secular worldview precludes him from considering the real origin of the UFO's: the spiritual realm. This is the wall most UFO researchers run into which keeps them from recognizing the truth.

The J. Allen Hynek Understanding/Explanation

Both Hynek and Vallée, who collaborated for a time in  research efforts, came to the conclusions that UFO phenomena could not be merely physical objects. Hynek put it this way:

"...Certainly the phenomenon has psychic aspects. I don't talk about them very much because to a general audience the words 'psychic' and 'occult' have bad overtones. They say, 'Aw, it's all crazy.' But the fact is that there are psychic things; for instance, UFOs materialize and dematerialize. There are people who've had UFO experiences who've claimed to have developed psychic ability. There have been ... reported cases of precognition, where people had foreknowledge or forewarning that they were going to see something. There has been a change of outlook, a change of philosophy of persons' lives. Now, you see, those are rather tricky things to talk about openly, but it's there. Many people, like Jacques Vallée and I, to some extent, feel that it might be a conditioning process."[5]

So once again, Hynek is close, but his secular blinders prevent him from seeing the full truth.

The Christian Understanding - The Mystery of UFOs and USOs solved

Once you remove the secular blinders that prevent you from considering spiritual truths, you're free to consider not just extra dimensions but the spiritual dimension. Which leads to the obvious question: Can UFO's be manifestations of demons? Let's review the evidence:

  • These entities defy the physical laws at will
  • They are able to appear and disappear at will
  • They are able to make physical manifestations
  • They are at root deceptive
  • Valle noted that "The specific content and logic of these encounters are self contradicting and frequently absurd." Precisely. Do you mean to tell me that a society that has managed to defy Einstein's universal speed limit (below the speed of light), and create some kind of  ship capable of warp speeds (multiple times the speed of light), and travel across the galaxy to arrive at this distant planet, with the goal to communicate to inhabitants, and the most sophisticated means they can think of is to communicate is to make undecipherable crop circles and lines in the desert (Nazca lines). That's preposterous!

Are we aware of any creatures in scripture that meet this description? Let me throw in a couple of more descriptors:

  • Though not noted in secular literature, Christians have pointed out that the content and goal of alien messages always seems to be to refute biblical truth.[6]
  • I have not dealt with alien abductions in this article but mention this in passing since it helps complete the picture. (Also in passing - alien abductions display the same characteristics and effects on people as demon possession.) MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) investigators trying to understand alien abductions did research into whether there was a group of people who had no reports of abduction. Interestingly, they found there was: Bible believing Christians - not just "talk the talk" Christians, but "walk the walk" Christians. That is, Christians who display their faith was active in their life. Apparently this was well known to those who researched alien abductions, but was ignored.[7]

Is the picture clearer now? It should be crystal clear. These entities who have appeared throughout history in various forms displaying technology such as flying canoes to Indians, flying shields to ancient Romans, flying sailing ships, flying dirigibles, and today as UFOs are one and the same group: they  are fallen angels. Demons. Consider the following scriptural description of angels  (Remembering whatever angels can do, demons being fallen angels, can also do.)

  • Angels are often seen flying. Is 6.2,  Luke 2.13
  • They are able to appear, disappear at will Luke 2.9, Acts 12.7, 10
  • They can have physical effects/manifestations on the world. Matt 28.2, Acts 12.7
    Speaking now strictly of Demons:
  • They are at root deceptive Gen 3.1, John 8.44, 2 Cor 11.4
  • They are self contradicting and frequently absurd 1 Tim 4.1, 6.20
  • Stand against Biblical knowledge and truth 1 John 2.22
  • The Holy Spirit living in the Christian deters demons from attempting to afflict Christians 2 Cor 5.5, 1 John 4.4
  • They cannot be understood by those who are not enlightened by the Spirit of God. 1 Cor 2.14

What does Satan do? He seeks to destroy. John 10.10 How does he do that? By deception. By changing his appearance. As he did in the garden (Gen 3.1), or as he does when making himself appear as an angel of light. (2 Cor 11.14-15)  Truly, there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl 1.9). Satan has been deceiving people by appearing to be an advanced or knowledgeable being since the beginning of time. But as Christians, we are not unaware of his schemes. (2 Cor 2.11)

John Keel, a UFO researcher,  has summed it up well:

"The UFOs do not seem to exist as tangible, manufactured objects. They do not conform to the natural laws of our environment. They seem to be nothing more than transmogrifications tailoring themselves to our abilities to understand. The thousands of contacts with the entities indicate that they are liars and put-on artists. The UFO manifestations seem to be, by and large, merely minor variations of the age old demonological phenomenon." (emphasis mine)

Epilgoue

In A talking snake and the alien connection, I detailed the nature of the deception that Eve was subject to in the garden by the serpent. I addressed the question as to whether Satan possessed a snake, or transformed to appear as a snake. (In the article I explain why I suspect he transformed his appearance, as it says he does in 2 Cor 11.14, and as he is clearly doing with the many UFO appearances throughout history.)

However a question not addressed is why did he appear as a snake? When you consider both the context of the Eden appearance, and the insight of Jacques Vallée, the answer becomes clear. Satan clearly wants to depict himself as more advanced than humans. Yet he couldn't appear as another human. There was only one other human, and if Satan wanted to appear superior to man, he couldn't appear to Eve as the only other human in existence - Adam.  There were no legends of fairies, goblins or little green men for him to draw on at the time. So that was out. What options did Satan have left to appear to Eve in a form she would understand?

Eve would not have understood the form of flying saucers, or dirigibles or sailing ships. That would have been completely beyond her comprehension. So Satan was severely limited in the types of deception he could use on Eve. It couldn't be technological. It couldn't be human. Satan was clearly limited in his options. The only question that remains is who chose the final form he used to appear as, God or Satan? Regardless of who chose, that form  would become a representation of his true nature, what would be in the Bible a symbol of deception and rebellion: a snake.

Thus the mysterious, unable to be explained UFOs can be explained: they are manifestations of demons. As Christians, we are to "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." (Ep 5.11)  Do not be deceived by the UFO phenomenon, but rather expose them as the lying demons that they are.


Side Bar
Key Events in UFO History:

  • 1947 Origin of "Flying Saucers"
    • Business man Kenneth Arnold is flying a light plane over Mt Rainier
    • Said he saw nine saucer shaped disks,  that looked as if they were "skipping across the water"
    • The name "Flying Saucers" stuck
       
  • 1947 The Roswell Incident, New Mexico
    • A rancher, W.W. (“Mac”) Brazel found unusual debris
    • The Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF), after collecting the wreckage, issued a press release that stated that a “flying disc” had been retrieved from a local ranch.
    • The famous headline of the Roswell Daily Record read, "RAAF captures Flying Saucer On Ranch in Roswell Region"
    • After initially confirming the find, the military denied the claim, stating first that it was a weather balloon, then a balloon used for military high-altitude surveillance.
    • It is this incident that lead many to believe the U.S. military has a downed UFO, aliens, and alien technology which they store in Area 51.
    • The military later claimed this was part of Project Mogul, a program of surveillance, presumably to surveil the Soviets  using high-altitude balloons (in the days before satellites were available).

       
  • 1952 Washington DC Sightings
    • Hundreds of sightings
    • Seen on 3 separate radar installations traveling at 100 mph and could move up to 7,200 mph (hyper-sonic speed range)
    • Officials attributed them to "temperature inversions"

      Washington DC
       
  • 1952 The U.S. Air Force launches Project Blue Book
    • Project Blue book is a systematic study of UFOs to determine if UFOs posed a threat to national security, and to scientifically analyze UFO related data.
    • Astronomer Dr J. Allen Hynek was (famously) the consultant to Project Blue Book. While initially a skeptic, he came to realize UFOs represented something worthy of scientific scrutiny, and if we are to believe the depiction from the History TV Series of the same name, thought he could both figure them out, and gain lasting scientific glory from it as the father of the new field of ufology.
       
  • 1955 Sighting by Jacques Vallée
    • Jacques  Vallée, a key researcher with keen insights into UFOs, is 16 at the time and has a sighting
    • Valle sees a disc with a half dome on top hovering half a mile away from his home in Pontoise France
    • Valle begins PhD work in computer Science at Northwestern University where he meets Dr. J. Allen Hynek
    • Valle and Hynek share research and discuss explanations
    • Valle initially supports the ET hypothesis, but later comes to believe it is too simplistic to account for the great variety of UFO reports. (More on his final hypothesis above and here)
       
  • 1976 Candidate Jimmy Carter statement about UFO sighting
    • During his presidential campaign, Jimmy Carter told reporters he had seen a UFO (an event that had happened in the 1969 time frame) and that if he became president would:
      "If I become President, I'll make every piece of information this country has about UFO sightings available to the public and the scientists"
    • Carter backed away from that statement after becoming president citing "defense implications" and did not make any major releases of information. A position taken time and again by politicians which only fuels further conspiracy theories.

    1997 Mexico City Sightings

    • Silvery Shiny craft hovering in Mexico city
    • Dozens of video recordings
    • No explanation of what they are

      Mexico City
       
  • 2017 Two Navy Videos of UFOs are made public

    FLIR1


    Gimbal
     
  • 2018 A third Navy Video of UFOs is made public

    Go Fast
     
  • 2019 The Navy Acknowledges UFOs are real and they're tracking them, but calls them  "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" (UAP)
     
  • 2019 "Area 51 Raid" / "Storm Area 51" Facebook post elicits excitement across the internet among millions.
     
  • 2020 DOD Task Force Formed
    • Sen Marco Rubio of Florida inserted a requirement in a federal appropriations bill that demanded the DOD release its full assessment on UFOs.
    • The Department of Defense (DOD) announces the creation of a task force that will analyze the nature and origin of "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" (UAP)
    • Announcement of the Task Force


       

  • 2021 The DOD  Task force report is released.

Duane Caldwell | September 16, 2021


Notes

1. Tucker Carlson, from "Tucker Carlson Tonight", Broadcast on Fox, 6/25/2021
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2. Michio Kaku, from "Tucker Carlson Tonight", Broadcast on Fox, 9/20/2019
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3. Michio Kaku on Town Square from video "Michio Kaku - Are UFO's Real?", YouTube April 24, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v12kdzbyDFg
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4. Narrator summary from video "Jacques Vallée, UFOs, and the Case Against Aliens", YouTube, Jan 22,2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhM6q7roy1w
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5. Dr J. Allen Hynek, Today's Student, April 3, 1978
ref. From Gary Bates, "Alien Abductions and UFOs - Exposed!", Creation Ministries International (DVD), 2009
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6.Gary Bates points this out in his presentation on UFOs:
Gary Bates, "Aliens, UFO's and the Bible - Are we Alone In the Universe", Answers In Genesis (VHS), 2004
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7. Related by Gary Bates in:
Alien "Abductions and UFOs - Exposed", Creation Ministries International (DVD), 2009
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Selected Sources

Bates, Gary, "Abductions and UFOs - Exposed", Creation Ministries International (DVD), 2009

Bates, Gary,  "Aliens, UFO's and the Bible - Are we Alone In the Universe", Answers In Genesis (VHS), 2004

Carlson, Tucker, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Fox News Broadcast, Sept 20, 2019 (Topic: Raid on Area 51)

Carlson, Tucker, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Fox News Broadcast, Aug 21, 2020 (Topic: DOD UFO Task Force)

Carlson, Tucker, Tucker Carlson Tonight, Fox News Broadcast, June 25, 2021 (Topic: DOD TaskForce Report)

Cukoo for Kaku (YouTube Account), "Michio Kaku - Are UFO's Real, Apr 24, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v12kdzbyDFg

Documentary: UFOs: Uncovering the Truth - Deep Sea Encounters, AHC, Original Air Date: 6/17/2017

Documentary: UFOs: Uncovering the Truth - Pilots & Astronauts, AHC, Original Air Date: 7/15/2017

Dyer, Andrew, "U.S. Navy says it's tracking UFOs", The San Diego Union-Tribune, Sep 17, 2019

Epstein, Kayla  "Those UFO videos are real, the Navy says, but please stop saying ‘UFO’", The Washington Post, Sept 18, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2019/09/18/those-ufo-videos-are-real-navy-says-please-stop-saying-ufo/

Ham, Ken, "Do I believe In UFOs? Absolutely!", Answers In Genesis, Dec 5, 2007, https://answersingenesis.org/astronomy/alien-life/do-i-believe-in-ufos-absolutely/

Think Anonymous (YouTube Account), "Jacque Vallée, UFOs, and the Case Against Aliens", Jan 22, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhM6q7roy1w

Wootson Jr., Cleve R., "The Government admits it studies UFOs. So about those Area 51 conspiracy Theories...", The Washington Post, Dec. 18, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/12/18/the-government-admits-it-studies-ufos-so-about-those-area-51-conspiracy-theories/