Ancient astronauts.
Actual extraterrestrial visitors?
Notable scientists have seriously considered this a possibility.
Proponents of ancient astronaut theories point to gaps in historical and archaeological records and the corresponding absence of definitive explanations in certain contexts from the archaeological sciences. Advocates of these theories put forward as evidence their interpretations of various archaeological artifacts, which they deem to have been anachronistic or "beyond the (presumed) technical capabilities" attributed to the historical cultures they are associated with. Another common theme relies upon the interpretation of depictions in certain ancient artworks as being representations of actual extraterrestrial visitors as realized by the contacted cultures.
Critics maintain, however, that such gaps in contemporary knowledge of the past do not
demonstrate that such alternative accounts are a necessary, or even plausible, conclusion to draw
from the (lack of) available data. A number of ancient astronaut claims are made in direct opposition
to the consensus scientific interpretation of evidence in situations where there are alternatives
supported by more widely accepted theories. The scientific community remains generally skeptical,
and the dominant view is that the evidence for ancient astronaut and paleocontact theories is
undemonstrated.
Ancient astronaut theories may be considered a subset of paleocontact theory, a hypothesis
that intelligent extraterrestrials have visited Earth. Carl Sagan, I.S. Shklovskii and Hermann
Oberth are three notable scientists who have seriously considered this possibility.
Gods of old Mesopotamia.
Zecharia Sitchin theorizes that the gods of old Mesopotamia were actually astronauts from the planet Nibiru, which he claims the Sumerians believed to be a remote "12th planet" associated with the god Marduk. According to Sitchin, Nibiru continues to orbit our sun on a 3,600-year elongated orbit. Sitchin also suggests that the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter is the shattered remains of the ancient planet Tiamat, which he claims was destroyed in one of Niburu's orbits through the solar system.
Ancient astronauts have been described as bi-pedal entities often with beaks or wings, or reptilian looking, gray aliens, ethereal, or humanoid coming and going in space craft of some kind or moving in and out of our dimension. Different theories or stories of creation cite these entities, not unlike gods from heaven who many believe seeded the human experiment and will return one day.
Erich von Daniken.
One of the strongest proponent of ancient astronaut theory is Erich von Daniken, author of several
popular books on the subject. His best-selling Chariots of the Gods, published in 1968, argued
that spacecraft landed long before modern humanity peopled the Earth.
The ancient visitors carried out breeding experiments and produced a creature intelligent enough to
have the rules of society imparted to it. These new beings invented agriculture and became the first
artists, then created their own warlike civilizations. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed
by an atomic bomb.
The Ark of the Covenant was allegedly an electrified transmitter that allowed Moses to
communicate with the astronauts. Von Daniken claims that ancient astronauts, complete with space
helmets, were carved on stela at the Mayan city of Copan.
Genesis 6:4
"There were giants in the earth in those days;
and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old,
men of renown."
Ancient astronaut theories.
Ancient astronaut theories are various proposals that the Earth has, at some point in its early history, been visited by intelligent extraterrestrial beings, and that such contact is linked to either the origins or development of human cultures, technologies and/or religion. Indeed, some of these theories suggests that gods from most -- if not all -- religions are actually extraterrestrial beings, and their technologies were mistaken for divine entities by primitive man. While no peer-reviewed scientific journal validates such claims, these theories have been popularized, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century, by writers Erich von Daniken, Zechariah Sitchin and others.
Apocryphal writings.
The apocryphal Book of Enoch tells of flying objects called "the Watchers" who have mutinied from "heaven" and descended to earth, and also states that Enoch is taken on journeys to various corners of the Earth in an object and at one point even travels to the heavens.
Genesis Chapter 1:26:
"And God said, let us make man in our own image, after our likeness". This quote still uses the plural "us" rather than the singular"I", suggesting that God was not a single entity, as many of us have been brought up and conditioned to believe.
Every known culture today like Japan, America, India, Europe, Middle East, and from the past like the Greeks, the Romans, Mesopotamians and ancient Indians; have recorded in their history encountering "Gods" sent to influence or instruct the chosen people with secret knowledge and ideology. Evidence shows that these gods arrived from heaven in "chariots of fire" or "air-ships", much like what we would call UFO’s today.
According to the book of Genesis.
In the Book of Genesis, Genesis 6:1-4 states that "When men began to multiply on the
face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters
of men were fair; and they took to wife such of them as they chose... The Nephilim were on the
earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men,
and they bore children to them." In the King James Version they are identified as "giants".
The Nephilim are perhaps children of the fallen angels, although scholars are uncertain.
Erich von Däniken sees an extraterrestrial connection in this passage, and suggests that
here "we have the sons of God, who interbreed with human beings."
Chuck Missler and Mark Eastman argue that UFOs carry the fallen angels, or offspring of
fallen angels, the Nephilim of Genesis, who have now returned. They believe it was this
interbreeding between the angels and humans that led to what they call "the gene pool
problem." Noah was perfect in his "generations," that is "Noah’s genealogy
was not tarnished by the intrusion of fallen angels. It seems that this adulteration of the
human gene pool was a major problem on the planet earth."
Von Däniken also suggests that the two angels who visited Lot in Genesis 19 were not angels,
but ancient astronauts. They may have used atomic weapons to destroy the city of Sodom.
In any case, the otherworldly beings acted as if there was a time set for Sodom's destruction.
Von Däniken questioned why God would work on a timetable and why an "infinitely good
Father" would give "preference to "favorite children," such as Lot’s
family, over countless others."