Does Scripture refer to life in space?

The Bible records that spirit beings, both good and evil, are to be found in space. Ephesians 6:12 NIV refers to “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms,” and Daniel 10:13 gives us a glimpse of the warfare that goes on in high places. Beyond this, selected Scripture verses are sometimes also quoted in support of physical beings in space as distinct from the spirit world:

Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you. —Deuteronomy 30:4 NIV

And the multitudes of heaven worship you. —Nehemiah 9:6 NIV

In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above. —Isaiah 24:21 NIV

And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the Earth to the ends of the heavens —Mark 13:27 NIV

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. —John 10:16 NIV

It is important to notice that several of these references could well refer to angels. The verses could also describe different groups of people scattered across the Earth. Therefore, these texts are not evidence of extraterrestrial life. In contrast, Scripture in general indicates the uniqueness of the Earth as a sustainer of life.

The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the Earth he has given to mankind. —Psalm 115:16 NIV

He who fashioned and made the Earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited. —Isaiah 45:18 NIV

Author: Dr. Donald B. DeYoung - adapted from Astronomy and the Bible: Questions and Answers, 2nd Edition (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 2000), 176 pp.

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