Bible Answer

Did God create life on other planets?

Did God create life on other planets?

The Bible teaches that the Earth is the only place in God’s creation where life exists since all things in the universe were created specifically for man. All other celestial bodies besides Earth are merely adornment of man. Genesis tells us:

Gen. 1:13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day. 
Gen. 1:14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 
Gen. 1:15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. 
Gen. 1:16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. 
Gen. 1:17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 
Gen. 1:18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

Notice the three reasons the Lord made all celestial bodies in the universe: signs, seasons and days and years. Pastor Armstrong explains these reasons in detail in his Genesis study, but in summary all three reasons point to man. They exist to provide use for God in communicating to mankind.  These objects have no purpose outside of man on Earth.  
Beyond the reasons given in Genesis 1, the Bible says the universe testifies to man concerning to the glory of God:

Psa. 19:1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; 
    And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 
Psa. 19:2 Day to day pours forth speech, 
    And night to night reveals knowledge. 
Psa. 19:3 There is no speech, nor are there words; 
    Their voice is not heard. 
Psa. 19:4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, 
    And their utterances to the end of the world. 
    In them He has placed a tent for the sun, 
Psa. 19:5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; 
    It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. 
Psa. 19:6 Its rising is from one end of the heavens, 
    And its circuit to the other end of them; 
    And there is nothing hidden from its heat. 

Here again, the Bible states that the heavenly testimony is a declaration for man’s sake. The universe is for man. Next, the Bible says that man rules over all that God has made:


Psa. 8:3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, 
    The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; 
Psa. 8:4 What is man that You take thought of him, 
    And the son of man that You care for him? 
Psa. 8:5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, 
    And You crown him with glory and majesty! 
Psa. 8:6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; 
    You have put all things under his feet, 

Man rules over all (not just some) of the works of God’s hands, which precludes the possibility of other life existing outside of Earth. 

Finally, once the Lord returns to Earth and reigns in HIs kingdom, then the entire universe is destroyed according to scripture:

Rev. 21:1  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 
Rev. 21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 

Likewise, Peter declares that when God's program for earth reaches conclusion, God will destroy the His first Universe:

2Pet. 3:7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 
2Pet. 3:8  But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 
2Pet. 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 
2Pet. 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. 

The fact that our universe’s end will come once God’s program of events on Earth has been completed tells us that there is no other program taking place simultaneously elsewhere in the universe. The events on Earth dictate the beginning and end of everything in the universe. Clearly, the Lord made the universe for us, and therefore the rest of the universe must be lifeless and without a plan of its own apart from Earth. 

Knowing that Earth life is alone in the universe, then we must conclude that the reports of “aliens” and spacecraft are either hoaxes, mistakes or demonic appearances. The demon world is capable of manifesting in various ways, and it seems reasonable to assume that demons make such manifestations from time to time to provoke fear and unbiblical speculation among the people on the earth. Such speculation serves to undermine confidence in the word of God, which is a priority for Satan and his armies. 

Nevertheless, careful attention to the word of God alone will lead us to understand that there is no other life in the Heavens beyond what God created on this planet. Mankind is unique as God intended, and maintaining that understanding will serve to magnify our love for God and awe of His works.  We alone were made in His image, and we alone have been provided with a plan of redemption through Jesus Christ (see Heb 2:16).