= UFO RESEARCH CENTER =
THE INTERRUPTED JOURNEY
By Christopher Montgomery
PIERCING RAYS
Saul’s mission was about to come to an abrupt end. As he and his men neared the bustling city of Damascus, their journey would soon take a surprising turn. All at once, a blinding light came quickly from out of the sky. The object overtook them before they had time to react to its incursion into their comfort zone.
Its piercing rays immediately surrounded them and quickly knocked them to the ground. The light was brilliant, and its effulgent rays completely engulfed Saul and the soldiers. He groped around, as its brilliance had blinded the men. The light now surrounded him and his fellow travelers, as it flashed around them. They shielded their eyes, but the light penetrated their eyelids, and for a moment it seemed to burn into their skulls.
By some accounts, a buzzing sound could be heard. Others had reported nothing at all. But one man’s story remained the same. Saul had heard a voice. It came from within the flaming UFO. It was the voice of a man. Saul of Tarsus seemed to recognize the presence. “Who is this…Lord? The response would change his life forever. This calm, gentle voice asked, “Saul, Saul…why do you persecute me?”
Just as quickly as it had appeared, the light had vanished. It arose from its position over the earth and quickly sped off into the distance, fading from view. The men arose from the dry, arid soil. They began dusting themselves off. They looked around for any sign of what had taken place. There was nothing there. One man continued to grope the hard, parched earth. It was Saul. His eyesight had not returned! The close encounter with the UFO had left him completely blind. So blind, in fact, that the men had to lead him by the hand to the nearest town, which was Damascus.
This was a modern rendition of a historical event. I have taken the poetic license to alter its text in order to translate it into modern terms. Here is the text, taken from “The New Testament” of the HOLY BIBLE. It is the story of Saul, going to Damascus, who is called by Christ to follow the way.
“And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven; he fell to the earth, and heard a voice that said to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do persecutest thou me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.’ And he trembling and astonished said, ‘Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?’ And the Lord said unto him, ‘Arise, go into the city and it shall be told thee what thou must do.’ And the men, which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man; but they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.” Acts Chapter 9 verses 3-8 (HOLY BIBLE)
Saul of Tarsus was on a mission. This man was full of zeal for God and he was going to Damascus, to persecute Christians. Biblical text says that “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” What is interesting here was that those that were “scattered abroad” were not discouraged from spreading the conversion of both Jews and Gentile to Christianity. Their stories were a powerful witness to the signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth that underscored their belief in this dynamic, living God.
Jews that had converted to the Christian movement continued undaunted, even under the penalty of Hebrew laws. They were facing imprisonment, torture and death. Despite the risk to their safety and at great peril, the followers of “the way” continued teaching and sharing their life changing experiences. Those that were converted were often censured from their friends and family, but this did not dissuade them either. This fact surely must have angered Saul of Tarsus.
In one instance, Biblical text says, “By the hands of the Apostles of Christ were many signs and wonders wrought amongst the people.” This angered the Sadducees. While the apostles were teaching in the temple while in the Holy City of Jerusalem, historical text indicates that the high priest “rose up, and all of those that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees) and were filled with indignation” at the sight of this. They arrested the Apostles of Christ and threw them into the “common prison.”
Now these prisons were impenetrable, making any form of escape virtually impossible. Jesus had other plans, contrary to what the high priest had ordered. The Acts of the Apostles says, “The angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, ‘Go, and stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.’” And so they did, the very next morning.
The HOLY BIBLE indicates that this “angel of the Lord” was the messenger for Jesus Christ. Other translations indicate that this was none other than Christ himself. (See reference #1) It was the very same angel of the Lord that had spoken to Moses from within a flaming, effulgent UFO that appeared behind a shrub in the burning bush UFO incident. “A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto myself. Him shall you hear” Exodus 14:19
When the high priest had called the council, and all of the senate of the children of Israel, they asked the officers to bring them forth from the prison. They reported back that when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison where they had left them. They returned and told the council and the high priest that “The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.” The apostles had been taught by Christ and were followers of the way. These men were later found in the temple, teaching as Christ had instructed them to do once He had released them from the “common prison.”
They seized the Apostles and brought them before the council. “’Did we not straightly command you that ye should not teach in this name? And behold, you have filled all of Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’ Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said ‘we ought to obey God rather than men…and we are witnesses unto these things” (-Acts chapter 5). The Jews were “cut to the heart,” and “took counsel to kill them.” One man of the council stood up and commanded that the apostles be given some space. His name was Gamaliel. This man was well versed in Mosaic Law. He was also a Pharisee, known as “a doctor of the law.” He had a stellar reputation with his people, and was often consulted on difficult matters such as these.
He said “Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nothing: But if it be of God you cannot overthrow it; lest you haply be found even to fight against God.” It was the decision of the high priest and the council to whip the apostles of Jesus Christ and loose them from their captivity. After their flogging, the apostles were set free. They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer the stripes of persecution. And once again, they returned to the work that Christ had instructed them to do. The HOLY BIBLE says “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”
Saul was well versed in the Mosaic Law. Saul was also student of the Hebrew scholar, Gamaliel. He knew that Christianity was heresy and treason, and was punishable by death. Combined with this knowledge of Hebrew laws, he was also a Roman citizen, which entitled him to certain legal rights under the laws of Rome. “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem” -Acts 9:1-2
It was on his journey to deliver these letters to the synagogues of Damascus that he encountered Jesus in the bright, flashing UFO. Downing says,
“One of the key turning points in the history of the Church, was the conversion of the Apostle Paul. Paul, then Saul, had studied theology under the brilliant teacher Gamaliel. Paul was so zealous in his support of the Jewish faith that he became in a sense a ‘missionary’ against the Christians, their chief persecutor. Paul was apparently present at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 8:1), and he was so successful as a ‘chief persecutor’ in Jerusalem, that he was commissioned to go to Damascus to carry his talents to a new field. When Paul was converted, it was this same militant spirit, which made him such an effective Christian missionary- he was willing to travel anywhere and do anything for the gospel.”
The conversion of Paul from Jew to Christian is recorded in two other chapters in “The Acts of The Apostles (Acts). These two passages do not repeat exactly what Paul had said in Acts 9:1-7. In the first passage, Paul says that the men that were traveling with him had heard the voice but had seen no one (Acts 9). In the second, Paul stated that “Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.” (Acts 22:9) In Paul’s testimony to King Agrippa, he said “At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining round me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 26:13, 14) Downing says that “However one goes about reconciling the passages, the overall impression is that the men who were with Paul were stunned by the bright light, although not blinded as Paul seems to have been (acts 22:11).
The men with Paul seems also to have felt the brunt of the experience because remarks to this effect are reported in each instance; this is a good indication that Paul did not experience a purely emotional or subjective experience.
Saul was called to follow Jesus Christ from the flashing UFO, which he’d encountered on the road to Damascus. Upon his conversion to Christianity, his name was changed from Saul to Paul. Since Christ had called Saul, he was regarded as an Apostle of Jesus Christ from that time forward. These were the words of Jesus to Paul on that Damascus Road – “I am sending you to them, to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (Acts 26:17b-18)
CONCLUSION
There are several key aspects to this close encounter that closely resemble other UFO cases, which I have researched. One case that comes to mind is the Cash/Landrum encounter. This data further supports the UFO hypothesis. Let me explain the scientific aspects of this close encounter that Paul the Apostle had with Jesus Christ.
Some heard an audible sound or a voice coming from the light source while others heard nothing. When sound particles are accelerated through an intense field of force (like a gravitational or magnetic field), their behavior is influenced, or changed. This type of action upon sound particles would be predictable. It is what I call the dopplerization effect and it could explain why Saul heard a voice while others heard only a buzzing sound. By all accounts, some of the eyewitnesses had heard nothing at all.
Saul was standing closest to the object, and that would explain why he had heard the voice clearly. If our theory is correct, it would follow that those standing only a few feet from Saul would hear a buzzing noise as the sound waves were influenced by the warping effect of the field. As the particles were accelerated to higher and higher velocities, the force of the sound wave could be oscillated to a frequency that would make it inaudible to the human ear.
We can also examine the rays coming from the UFO. This too had an affect upon the men. All of the energy emitted by this object would have been influence by the intense gravitational field it was generating. Its effect upon the men would depend upon where the men were located in relation to the unidentified object. Saul was made legally blind, “he opened his eyes and saw no man…” which suggests that the radiation that was emitted by this object would fall within the spectrum of microwave radiation.
The radii that was emitted by the UFO would pose a serious health danger to anyone standing too close to the object, and would cause severe ocular clouding of the eyes in some. In many UFO cases, people have reported burns to the top layers of their skin when they got too close to these objects. It follows that intense microwave radiation could result in irreversible blindness. (See the Cash/Landrum case).
Those standing farther away from the object may not have noticed any effect, because the energy would have been so highly excited, the ionized material would quickly pass through them and probably would not cause the heating of deep tissue like microwaves, but would result in radiation exposure. Due to the insidious nature of radiation sickness, they would not even associate it with the UFO event, which would explain why it was not recorded in the Gospels nor ever reported in Acts. The blinding effect of the UFO would suggest that microwaves were being generated by the object at the closest proximity to its location in relation to the eyewitness Saul.
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REFERENCES:
#1: Or literally “As myself.” This translation adheres to the interpretation that the Angel of the Lord is Jesus Christ himself. Acts, chapter 7, verse 37
THE HOLY BIBLE: (New Testament) "The Acts of the Apostles," Chapter 9, 22, and 26
NOTE: All Biblical translations were taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
Thompson CHAIN REFERENCE BIBLE and the GIDEON BIBLE
CHRIST, UFOs AND THE RAPTURE HYPOTHESIS
http://www.uforc.com/research/page33.html
Reverend Barry H. Downing, THE BIBLE AND FLYING SAUCERS,
1968; Avon Books, New York, New York See “The New Testament and Flying Saucers”
UFORC 2002 CORE
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