With the shooting down in recent weeks of what are believed to be unwelcome reconnaissance balloons within American and Canadian airspace, attention has been drawn to the entire notion of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs. Interestingly, the U.S. government has gone out of the way to assure its citizens that these objects give no evidence of being alien spacecraft. White House press secretary Karine-Jean-Pierre said in her briefing with the media on February 13, 2023:
There is no—again, no—indication of aliens or extra-terrestrial activity with these recent takedowns [1].
It is not the purpose of this article to speculate as to the origin or purpose of these intrusions into American airspace or that of other countries, or to comment regarding the alacrity or lack thereof in their destruction. But it is difficult not to see parallels, if only remotely, between the attention lately drawn to these objects and some of the predictions from the inspired pen regarding sights in the heavens and their role in the events of the last days.
“Fearful sights of a supernatural character”
In her chapter on “The Time of Trouble” in The Great Controversy, Ellen White speaks of how “the wrath of Satan increases as his time grows short, and his work of deceit and destruction will reach its culmination in the time of trouble” [2]. Then she writes, in one of her most dramatic predictions:
Fearful sights of a supernatural character will soon be revealed in the heavens, in token of the power of miracle-working demons. The spirits of devils will go forth to the kings of the earth and to the whole world, to fasten them in deception, and to urge them to unite with Satan in his last struggle against the government of heaven. By these agencies, rulers and subjects will be alike deceived [3].
She continues on the following two pages to describe Satan’s ultimate impersonation of Christ [4], and how all but the faithful children of God will be taken captive by this “strong, almost overmastering delusion” [5].
In another statement she offers a similar prediction, possibly even more terrifying than the one noted above:
As we near the close of time, there will be greater and still greater external parade of heathen power; heathen deities will manifest their signal power, and will exhibit themselves before the cities of the world [6].
When we consider just how much of a focus has been placed by both politicians and the media on these unidentified objects floating across the sky, one can only imagine just how powerfully the sights predicted in the above statements will grab the world’s attention and bring about the subsequent events foretold by the inspired writings.
Conclusion
Some of us remember when a movie called “Independence Day” made the headlines, which featured city-size space ships coming down over the great cities of the world, and the White House being destroyed by aliens. The end result of the story was that the whole world came together to fight the extra-terrestrials, launching a counterattack on the Fourth of July, and in the words of the American president gave new meaning to the words, “Independence Day” [7].
I was living in southern California at the time, and the members of my church youth group came over that evening for my annual Fourth of July vegetarian barbecue. The movie in question was the big topic of conversation at the party, and I asked those present, “Can you see just how quickly the world could become united in the face of an event like that?” I then quoted the above Ellen White statements about fearful sights being seen in the heavens, and how these demonstrations will bring the world together against the people of God.
The mysteries lately observed in the skies over America and Canada are trivial by comparison. But in a very small way, they offer a glimpse into what we will witness when the dragon’s rage against God’s final generation of Christians will reach its climax. The modern prophet’s supreme admonition to those awaiting these events is found following her description of Satan’s appearance as Christ in different parts of the world:
Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures, and who have received the love of the truth, will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive [8].
REFERENCES
1. Bill Chappell, “UFOs? Airborne objects? What we know about 4 recent shootdowns,” npr, February 13, 2023 https://www.npr.org/2023/02/13/1156498101/ufos-unidentified-objects-what-we-know-4-shootdowns
2. Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 623.
3. Ibid, p. 624.
4. Ibid, pp. 624-625.
5. Ibid, p. 624.
6. ----Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 117-118.
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(1996_film)
8. White, The Great Controversy, p. 625.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan