Visions as Aliens?
There are two similar descriptions in the Bible of men that appear as visions in the Old Testament to Daniel (Standard King James Version, Daniel 10:5) and in the New Testament to John (Rev. 1:13-16). Although there is much religious scholarly debate as to whether these visions are of Jesus or merely an angel, it remains that the description of these men are highly similar to each other and contain very specific details that provide many points of reference. These descriptions can be used in the current time in an attempt to interpret what might have actually happened, in view of the many technological advances that have been made since the Bible was written. In particular, this paper will explore the possibility that the men described both by Daniel and by John are in actuality space travelers from an exoplanet that were visiting Earth, but had been misinterpreted as visions of spiritual beings by Daniel and John due to technological ignorance.
The description of the vision in Daniel is as follows:
Then I . . . behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. (Daniel, 10:5-6)
In Revelations, John also notes that the vision is wearing a long robe, a golden sash or belt, has a head white as snow, eyes like blazing fire, flesh like glowing bronze, a voice like rushing water, and a face shining like the sun (Pytlik, 2003). Although scholars expect these two events to be separated by an estimated 635 years (Explore Daniel & Revelation, 2013), these two visions have many similarities. It is possible that the two visions are from inhabitants of the same exoplanet or maybe even the same explorer, but the realities of space travel resulted in the large span of Earth years between the two visits.
These descriptions, when separated from the fearfulness and ignorance of the reporters, can be explained in technological terms. One assumption that helps explain many of these descriptions is the speculation that the exoplanet of the visitor receives much less light from its parent star than the Earth receives from the Sun. This is actually much more likely than previously believed, given the recent discovery of the number of red dwarfs that have orbiting planets and the larger “habitable zone” for planets of red dwarfs than previously thought (Choi, 2012). Linen robes could be long light protective garments and the use of a reflective color, assumed to be white, could be necessary due to the comparative increased brightness. A face and/or eyes appearing like lightening could be due to light produced by the body of the alien so it can function on its home planet, but is not as necessary on Earth.
Continuing with the need for protection against the light of the Sun, the description of the body can be better understood. Specifically, beryl is a glassy mineral that can be many colors depending on the impurities and emerald is an example. So it is difficult to know exactly what color the body was, but having a glassy appearance could be due to protective suit materials. This can be seen easily by comparison to the space suits warn by the Mercury astronauts in 1963 (Figure 1, NASA). To a technologically ignorant viewer, it could appear that the body is made of some sort of translucent, reflective, or jewel-like material. Similarly, the arms and feet of brass could be protective reflective material but of a contrasting color in the arms and feet section of the suit. In fact, such composite space suits are known that utilize different materials in different part of the suits to provide greater flexibility or increased protection in the different areas.
The belt of gold could easily be some sort of device for communication or guidance. Such belts, called haptic devices, have been developed for soldiers to allow them to be able to receive orders about how to move even when a solider cannot see or hear (Nicholson, 2011). If the alien was in a light-blinded state on Earth, this belt could be necessary for effective movement or even just communication with their home ship. The voice, like rushing water or a voice of the multitudes, could be the result of amplification or even a translational device to allow verbal communication. Thus, from review of the Biblical description of the visions seen by Daniel and John, each element could be explained using technology that is present even today, so it need not be even advanced beyond what is available now. Given that exoplanets can exist for extremely long times around a red dwarf – up to an estimated 10 billion years -- if the alien or aliens came from such a planet it would have had more than sufficient time to develop technology such as described by Daniel and John. Based on these contemporary comparisons, the exoplanet alien visitation explanation of these visions should be given just as much weight as the current leading interpretation that these beings were spiritual messengers from a Christian Supreme Being.
Figure 1. Mercury Space Suit (NASA, 1963).
Works Cited
Choi, C. Extending the habitable zone for red dwarf stars. Astrobiology Magazine. 23 February 2012. Web. 20 July 2013.
“Explore Daniel & Revelation: A study of the prophetic books of the Bible.” 2013. Web. 20 July 2013.
NASA. Alan shepard.jpg. 9 September 1963. Web. 20 July 2013.
Nicholson, C. Vibrating belt guides solders when they cannot see. Smartplanet.com 28 June 2011. Web. 20 July 2013.
Pytlik, G. “Daniel: God’s messenger to the future.” 2003. Web. 20 July 2013.
Standard King James Version. The Official King James Bible Online. 2013. Web. 20 July 2013.
