B (11:45)

How about that?

A (11:46)

How about that for a punishment you got. Maybe some of y'all got to speak English. Who even knows? They were probably speaking Arabic. He goes, no, no, no, no, no, no. You guys are going to with me. You're Chinese now and you're English, and some. Some of y'all are going to have to be Canadian. And you can just draw straws. And I'm going to force some of you guys to be Canadian. And I'm allowed to say that because I'm. That's. They're white. Anyway, he confused all the languages, scattered them around the earth, and put an end to their giant project. How high did they go in that time? I don't know. Is this a literal account? Or maybe it's a metaphor. Who's to say? But all we know for fact is that this is probably ancient astronauts. Yeah, that's what some people have suggested. I don't really believe this one, but this is an interesting one. I'll explain. Basically, the ancient astronauts, they were using this Tower of Babel, and it wasn't just a tall structure, but rather an attempt to build a technological device capable of reaching the stars. And that the Tower of Babel maybe is, you know, some type of even launch platform to reach the sky. Again, is it that tall, or is it actually just a, you know, something that can fly out? It's interesting. I don't know. I don't really subscribe to that. But this is not the only time people have talked about this. Like, ancient Mesopotamians have these structures called ziggurats, and they're these massive pyramid, like, stepped temple things. And they're designed to connect with the divine, is what most people believe. Now, these ziggurats were built to be as tall as possible, which is why you, again, you build them in a triangle shape, because that's the easiest way to build up. And almost like they were trying to get closer to the sky or get, you know, closer to the heavens is again, what some people posit. The idea here is that the Tower of Babel might have been some technological structure inspired by extraterrestrial contact in an attempt by humanity to replicate what they had seen from these advanced beings. I don't know. I kind of think it's just an easy way to build up rocks. But some people think maybe there's ancient astronauts. That's what the Tower of Battle is about. Tell your kids that. Tell your friends. Tell whoever say you thought of it. Who cares, right? Life is short. Let me tell you about Elijah's fiery chariot. This is one of my favorite chariots. Probably one of my. Probably my favorite chariot ever is Elijah's fiery one. This is a story of Elijah being taken up into heaven, and it's actually awesome. This is a crazy moment in the Bible. I feel like when we talked about in school, didn't get talked about enough. There's only a couple of people that don't die. They just go. They just skip that part. Like that whole, oh, death and taxes. Not for Elijah. How about I just skip dying and I just pop right up into heaven? That's what he did. This is the man that again got in a fiery chariot. It was whisked away into the sky. Now, if you're living in ancient times, you saw a bright glowing object descending from the heavens that looked like a beam of light or exhaust flames. You'd probably describe it the best way you could. You'd be like, oh, it Was a chariot. I don't know. That's what we have. We got horses and chariots and, you know, you would try to make it dramatic, I'm sure. And that's what some people think happened in Second Kings, chapter 2, verses 10 through 15. You have asked a difficult thing, Elijah said. Yet if you see me when I'm taken from you, it will be yours. Otherwise, it will not. As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them again. This is Elijah and Elisha. Elijah went up in a whirlwind to heaven. Elisha saw this and cried out, my father, My father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel. And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. Elisha then picked up Elijah's cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood at the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah, struck the water with it. Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah? He asked. When he struck the water, it divided right into the left, and he crossed over. The company of the prophets from Jericho who were watching, said, the spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha. And they went to meet him and bowed on the ground before him. That's a pretty crazy thing to happen to your dad. Just gets swooped up out of here, straight to God. It'd be nice to get, like, a heads up, hey, meet me here at this time, make your goodbyes, set your will up, you know, organize some things. But no, poor Elijah. Just bang, straight up, got beamed up. You know what I mean? Now, what I find particularly interesting in this section is the whirlwind part. This detail might be, you know, just some dramatic flair, just something interesting, but maybe it indicates some type of propulsion system that this craft was using. Again, this is what some people have posited today. When rockets or aircrafts take off, there's an immense amount of energy released, often creating dust and wind and noise. Essentially a whirlwind. So when Elijah was taken up by some type of advanced spacecraft and it kicked up all this dust and they were like, oh, it's a whirlwind. Who knows? Or, you know, was it just the spirit of the Lord that came down in a ball of light and took him up? According to the Kabbalah tradition, okay, this is like a subset of Judaism, a Kabbalistic tradition, that's basically the mysticism of Judaism. There is a concept known as merkabah. This is a central part of the entire mystical tradition. The word itself, merkabah, means chariot, but. But it represents a deeper symbolic way for the soul to travel to higher realms, connecting with divine energies, or even to God himself. Some scholars propose that merkabah mysticism could have been an early attempt by ancient Jews to comprehend or even replicate encounters with beings or objects that defied conventional understanding. I mean, they argue that the meditative techniques, visualization practices, complex symbolic representations found in the kabbalistic texts might have been inspired by interactions with advanced beings, angels, aliens or whatever capable of traveling between dimensions or even, you know, across space itself. However they're convening with us, maybe it's a phenomena of consciousness, or maybe they're actually, you know, coming physically through, you know, some type of complex space travel. The idea that Jewish mystics sought to emulate these experiences through their merkabah practices suggests that they may have been striving to understand an experience that was both spiritual but also physical. Something that modern UFO researchers, you know, describe as contact with alien intelligence. Right, like what happened to Elisha is spiritual but also physical because he never dies. It's an interesting point. All right, let's do another one. You guys freaking asked for it. We should also bleep my profanity in this. I think this should be a non profanity, profane. We'll find a funny way to bleep it, but for now we should bleep it. Just let that note be known. Anyway, let's talk about another one. All right. The Ark of the Covenant. You've heard of this? Maybe in the Bible, maybe in Indiana Jones. Those are the two pieces of media I consumed as a child. So there's a story in Exodus 19, verses 16 through 20, and the scene is described in vivid detail. I'll just read it to you. Right? Let's open our Bibles. On the morning of the third day, there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire. Now, again, this description could be interpreted as an encounter with advanced aircraft landing on the mountain. That's what some people believe. The thunder, the lightning, the smoke. Could this be some type of, you know, antiquated description of some propulsion system? It's possible. The loud trumpet blast, maybe it's not a trumpet at all, but rather a supersonic boom or the spacecraft's engines. If we think about Mount Sinai as a landing site, the descriptions of Exodus take on a new dimension. The fire and smoke that covered the mountain resemble accounts of modern rockets landing and advanced propulsion systems that generate immense heat and smoke as they touch down. Additionally, the Bible mentions that the mountain trembled violently as God's presence descended upon it, which could be compared to the seismic impact or vibration caused by, you know, a giant aircraft landing. Interestingly, the idea that Mount Sinai was a contact point has really amused a lot of, you know, ancient astronaut theorists, and they've kind of suggested that these descriptions align with UFO encounters. They argue that the cloud was a cloaking device or an energy field used to obscure the craft's true nature from those witnessing the event. Now, again, I don't know about that one. I don't. I don't necessarily believe the Mount Sinai joint. But the Ark of the Covenant is where it gets a little bit more interesting. Moses is instructed to build an Ark of the Covenant, a sacred, like, chest or like a box or something, designed to house the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The specifications for constructing the Ark are extremely precise, indicating that its design was not arbitrary or just like, yeah, you know, make sort of a box thing. It's a blueprint with exact measurements and requirements. The Bible describes the Ark as being made of acacia wood overlaid with gold inside and out, and fitted with rings and poles so that you could carry it. This meticulous construction hints at more than just a religious artifact and suggests that the Ark may have been built to house or contain something of immense power. Now, regardless of what your political or religious persuasion is, I think most religious people will agree that what is inside the Ark is of immense power. Right? It's, you know, containing effectively, the predecessor to Christ. It is, you know, the staff, the. You know, the Aaron's rod, which is this example of the priesthood manna and the Ten Commandments. Like, certainly these things are powerful, and anyone who touched the Ark would die. The Ark's mysterious properties have fueled speculation that it might have been some type of technological device, possibly left behind or gifted by extraterrestrial beings. This is what some people believe that, you know, according to Bible accounts, the Ark was able to emit bolts of lightning which could kill anyone who came too close or touched it without proper precautions. Again, if you look at it from a sort of spiritual perspective, it's the power of God that kills you. But maybe it sounds like electricity. I mean, in 1st Samuel, chapter 6, verse 19, it said that 70 men of the Beth Shemesh were struck down for looking inside the Ark, while Uzo was instantly killed when he touched it in 2nd Samuel, chapter 6. These incidents are reminiscent of the dangers posed by high voltage electrical equipment or exposure to radioactive materials, suggesting that the Ark may have functioned as a form of energy storage or a weapon. If you've seen this episode of Mythbusters, my favorite show of all time, you'll know that they one time hooked it up and they wired it up, and they used, like, an ancient battery to get a charge. They didn't really get, like, a proper charge from it, but they did get a car battery attached to it and, you know, snapped the out of Adam Savage, which is a hilarious moment of the show. Anyway, let's get back to this actual story. Not only is the arc extremely, you know, powerful and kills people, it also generates intense light and heat and even has the ability to hover or carried without touching the ground. This is a bizarre little feature of the Ark, and it's basically levitating. And coupled with its apparent electrical discharge capability leads some people to the hypothesis that the Ark might have been powered by some advanced energy source, possibly, you know, anti gravity or electromagnetic systems. Again, this technology would have been far beyond the understanding of ancient Israelites and has, you know, far beyond our understanding even now. So they would have naturally attributed these effects to the divine. The Ark's formidable power was not limited to the electoral discharges in the Bible. It was also used as a weapon in battles. That's right. The Israelites were literally using the power of the Lord with this Ark to blast people. In Joshua 6, Israelites carried the Ark around the city of Jericho for seven days. And on the seventh day, the walls of the city collapsed. After the priests blew their trumpets, some people brought up the question, could the Arks have emitted the energy field or frequency that destabilized the structure of the walls, causing them to crumble? Some type of, you know, Tesla earthquake machine. This is all pretty crazy, but it's fun. Another example is found in Samuel 1, 1st Samuel, chapter 4, where the Israelites brought the Ark in a battle against the Philistines, believing that its presence would guarantee their victory. Yeah, I would agree. This thing can kill anyone that touches it, just ramming into people. The Philistines were terrified, exclaiming, God has come into the camp. They have already heard of the Ark's terrifying power, which suggests that it was widely regarded as a formidable weapon. And although the Israelites were ultimately defeated, you know, and the Ark was captured, whoops, the Philistines returned it because it brought devastation and plagues upon them. Yeah, they brought the Ark Home. And then immediately, it was like a scary movie. The whole. The whole camp just got haunted, and they were like, well, get rid of this shit. Again, this further reinforces the idea that the Ark possessed some type of destructive capability. Whether it was divine or explainable through our modern lens, if we consider that the Ark was, in fact, let's say, an advanced technological device, it raises the question of where this technology originated. Again, it could be divine, you know, but maybe, just maybe, Moses received the blueprints for the Ark from an extraterrestrial intelligence during his encounter on Mount Sinai that I talked about before. It sounds crazy. Again, I don't necessarily subscribe to this, but it's just a wild theory that some people brought up. Was the Ark a piece of alien technology left behind to, you know, help humanity on their way? Theories about the Ark's extraterrestrial origins have become even more intriguing when we consider the possibility that it may have served as a means of communication between Moses and these advanced beings. If, hypothetically, Mount Sinai was a landing site for this alien craft thing that some people brought up, maybe the Ark was designed to facilitate the ongoing contact or even transmit power from the craft to the Israelites, ensuring their survival in the harsh conditions of the desert. Either way, whether it's God or aliens, the Jews are chosen. That's one thing for sure. I mean, they got that in battle. They got just a. Just a electro blaster. That's crazy, right? And they got it stolen. And then even when you get it stolen, they can't even use it. I mean, I'm pissed if I'm the Philistines. I'm like, yo, can we figure out how to use this?

B (26:48)

Anyway, let's talk about one more little passage from the Bible. And let's just look at why some people think that this has anything to do with aliens.

A (26:57)

UFOs. All right? This is.

B (26:58)

This is a great one. Okay? The star of Bethlehem. Oh, yeah. You know this. You know what this is? This is famous little Christmas story of the wise men who followed the star of Bethlehem to find a sweet old baby Jesus laying in a manger. Which is kind of weird if you think about it, right? Like, you just have a kid in a. In a barn, and all of a sudden, three dudes walk up and they're.

A (27:18)

Like, dude, we brought you a gift.

B (27:19)

It's like, who the are you anyway? According to the Gospel of Matthew, the wise men saw a star in the east, and they followed it. And where did they go?

A (27:29)

To the birthplace of Jesus. That's right.

B (27:31)

It wasn't just any star. It moved, changed direction, and eventually stopped right over where Jesus was born. Now, if you've been tracking me, if you've been tracking me for the past.

A (27:42)

25 to three hours, I don't know.

B (27:45)

Even how long we've been recording if you're tracking me. You know what this already is. This star is moving and it's pointing us to where Jesus is. I don't know about you, I've never seen a star move. Except for a shooting star, which I don't even think that's a star. I think that's like a space rock. Anyway, they don't lead people to specific destinations or hover over one place. Okay, so this has led some researchers.

A (28:04)

And by researchers, I mean people that like UFOs, to suggest that the star.

B (28:09)

Of Bethlehem might have actually been a spacecraft or a drone, maybe. Who knows? Could have been a drone guiding the wise men to their destination.

A (28:18)

Look.

B (28:18)

Ancient Chinese, Greek and Roman texts also describe mysterious moving stars that seem to have intelligence and purpose, hinting at the concept of, you know, that maybe this flying light wasn't just a regular old star. Maybe it was an actual saucer. And these wise men themselves, they weren't just random travelers. They were scholars, astronomers. They were experts in celestial movements. Their decision to follow this star indicates that they recognize that it might have been something extraordinary, something interesting and unique.

A (28:45)

And not just, oh, what is that star?

B (28:47)

Never seen that before? I don't know.

A (28:50)

That one is.

B (28:51)

That one's an interesting one. So what do we make of this? Is the Bible just riddled with instances of, you know, ancient aliens?

A (29:00)

I don't know.

B (29:01)

I'm not fully convinced, to be honest. We're talking about the Bible here, right?

A (29:05)

Like, this is.

B (29:05)

We're talking about divine intervention. We're talking about acts of God.

A (29:09)

So it's like, could it just be God?

B (29:11)

Could it be aliens? I don't know. I'm not going to be one to say specifically, but it is interesting to read the accounts and to understand why people believe this, why people find it so interesting. I mean, from Ezekiel's wheel within a wheel to the Ark of the Covenant, there are countless stories that hint at something otherworldly. Maybe it's divine, maybe it's God, maybe it's just a spiritual metaphor, or maybe it's aliens.

A (29:34)

Rabbi Joey, as he says, the existence.

B (29:37)

Of intelligent life beyond Earth wouldn't contradict Jewish beliefs. And I think the Pope even said that it's possible. If there's extraterrestrial life, that's worthy of human consideration. It's possible Christ died for them, too. So we would just have to expand our appreciation of the universe vastness. I mean, God created everything. Why couldn't he just create another earth with another me? It was way more successful, right?

A (29:58)

That wouldn't be crazy.

B (29:59)

Or maybe the Jewish Bible has been telling us that we're not alone. Thank you guys for tuning into another episode of Religion Camp. See you next time. Peace be with.