UFOs, Prophecy and The End of Time

By Sean Casteel

Reviewed by Katharina Wilson for The MUFON Journal

Journalist Sean Casteel, whose book reviews we often read in various media such as UFO Magazine, the MUFON UFO Journal, FATE, American UFO Magazine, and others, has written a book in which he takes three controversial subjects and makes a plausible and very interesting case for a relationship between them.

UFOs, Prophecy and The End of Time is the culmination of interviews Sean Casteel conducted over several years with leading researchers, authors and some well-known experiencers of the UFO-abduction phenomenon, as well as leaders in the field of prophecy and authors of religious studies.

He begins by sharing his personal turmoil relating to the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and the disbelief and shock that he and the entire country experienced. What follows is a partial transcript of the now well-known video showing Osama Bin Laden meeting with fellow terrorists in Afghanistan discussing a topic that certainly got my attention when I heard it: the dreams and visions that Bin Laden’s so-called ‘brothers’ had about the attack they were planning.

According to the tape, no one except those planning the attack knew anything about the operation and according to Bin Laden, none of the ‘brothers’ who had dreams or visions about that upcoming fateful day knew about it either. Bin Laden even told one of his ‘brothers’ that if he had another dream, not to tell anybody "…because people will be upset with him."

I did not hear much in the media concerning Bin Laden mentioning these dreams and visions his ‘brothers’ had prior to the attack and without their knowledge of what was being planned. As with much of what the American media refuses to report on, I found their lack of interest disappointing, but typical.

Do people have dreams and visions of future events? Are people abducted by alien beings? Do people see Angels? Do people see God? Can people act as a channel for another being or consciousness? Is there really prophecy in the Bible? These are just a few of the complex questions that are addressed in this book.

Sean provides answers to explain these topics by giving the reader examples of prophecy through dreams, prophecy in the Bible and the possibility that there is mention of alien beings in scripture. He builds a credible argument for the relationship between the gods and angels of ancient times and the aliens of our own time. 

Sean Casteel writes, "My own belief is that both the Bible and the UFO phenomenon are inseparably related and represent a form of divine revelation from the Heavenly Ones On High, who themselves determine the moment they make the truth of their existence and presence known to the world in general. An unplanned, seemingly accidental ‘discovery’ of the truth is not possible without them. There is no proof of God in the most objective terms unless he himself makes that truth evident through his own divine revelation of himself. Seeing is believing, but only when God is ready for us to see."

Sean shares a very interesting excerpt published in Joseph Campbell’s Occidental Mythology, The Masks of God from "The Acts of John," an alleged book of the Bible that was left out because the Council of Nicaea condemned it. This is an excerpt you will want to read in its entirety to see the similarities between an event that was written about almost two thousand years ago and events that abductees report today.

Many abductees and abduction researchers have been interviewed by Sean Casteel over the years and he shares parts of those interviews with the reader. His focus in this set of interviews was to determine what their moral and religious perspectives are concerning their research and/or experiences. Partial interviews are provided with Raymond Fowler, Betty Andreasson Luca, Whitley Strieber, Linda Cortile, Budd Hopkins, Dr. Leo Sprinkle and myself.

Dr. Leo Sprinkle discusses how he became involved in the study of the UFO phenomenon, his meeting with Arthur C. Clarke, his perspectives on "positive" ETs versus "negative" ETs and what his feelings are relating to prophecy.

The tragedy of Heaven’s Gate is revisited by way of a revealing interview with Rio DiAngelo, the survivor of the cult and the man who led the police to the cult members’ bodies. Sean explores whether the cult’s doctrine was sound or not in a discussion with "…one of the most often read and innovative scholars of the early Christian church," Elaine Pagels, Ph.D. who has written several books on Gnostic Christianity.

Gnostic Christianity involves a system of belief of early Christian groups that valued inquiry into spiritual truth above faith. Gnostic Christians believed that salvation was only attainable by the few whose faith enabled them to transcend matter. They also viewed Christ as non-corporeal.

Sean Casteel interviewed Budd Hopkins the same year of the Heaven’s Gate tragedy to determine what his opinions were on the suicides, and for people who know Budd, it is not surprising that his approach would be a pragmatic one. Importantly, Budd brought out the true ‘UFO relationship’ to the Heaven’s Gate cult: "…there was no relationship."

Quoting Hopkins, "I pointed out how the UFO cults such as this one, that has no knowledge of the UFO phenomenon whatsoever, and no personal experience, is essentially a situation of ‘all beliefs and no miracles.’ Whereas, we investigators are looking at a phenomenon that is in effect ‘all miracles and no beliefs.’"

An excellent chapter is dedicated to an interview with Gary Stearman, a researcher and writer for Prophecy In The News. Stearman says he has collected a library of two or three thousand volumes on the Bible and has spent the last 30 years of his life totally immersed in the subject. According to Stearman, events prophesied long ago in the Bible are now becoming our reality. It seems that the prophecy of the past is the present. 

Not to get the reader lost in prophecy and things unseen UFOs, Prophecy and The End of Time keeps its focus. The now referred to 1967 "Incident in Montana" is discussed. For those individuals who are new to the field, this was an incident where Minuteman Missiles shut down when lights were observed to be flying over the facility from which they were controlled. The reader will find himself or herself coming full circle back to Raymond Fowler. I was amazed to read about the life this man has lived and what he has accomplished, as if he had a destiny to fulfill, but I will leave the rest of those details for the reader to discover.

What is a study of UFOs, Prophecy and the End Times if one does not look into the phenomenon of channeling? Here Sean dedicates a chapter to his interviews with Diane Tessman. Diane channels an entity named Tibus whom she met on her family’s farm in Iowa when she was a little girl.

The encounter involved what she perceived as a light coming down from the sky. She had no fear, but years later, while under hypnosis with abduction researcher Dr. R. Leo Sprinkle, she recalled "…being taken onboard a craft and encountering a man who looked human and had tawny or gold colored hair." Tessman believes her soul was "…a soul that was always intended to be part of the change times or to ring alarms about the condition of the planet."

Ancient prophecies from other cultures are also explored in an interview with Judith Bluestone Polich, author of Return of the Children of Light: Incan and Mayan Prophecies For a New World. This is a look at prophecies that are hundreds of years old, but seem to be for the present day. Interestingly, Ms. Polich has also had a powerful experience during a meditation which, "…filled me with deep love, a sense of well-being, and a penetrating clarity."

Astrological forecasts of Dr. Louis Turi are explored in relationship to the theory of End Times. I must admit, I have absolutely no knowledge of anything astrological other than I know what my astrological sign is. Even so, it seems to me that if there is not a "science" to it all, there is certainly an art to it, in that it takes a special person to be able to truly understand and apply astrology to events of our time. Interestingly, Turi says he became interested in the study of astrology "…by a series of encounters with UFOs that began in his childhood."  

Probably the most famous abductee who has ‘come out’ to date is Whitley Strieber, author of several books about his abductions and visitations by alien beings. Whitley discusses his latest book The Key, which is about a visit from a mysterious being. Strieber is not sure if this was a very unusual human or an alien, but this being allegedly gave Strieber a ‘blueprint’ for mankind’s future.

Whitely Strieber was given information concerning coming changes in the makeup of mankind. He writes, "One result of those changes will be in the way we relate to the world of the dead, which we will come to access as easily as walking across the street."

My first thought when I read this is that is seems reminiscent of the coming time the Bible speaks of when we (those of us who are lucky) will walk with God. Not that this means death, but rather that the barriers between our existence and other dimensions and the Creative Force will no longer exist as we perceive it. Perhaps because of a future change in the physical and spiritual makeup of mankind, we will be able to achieve this. 

A later chapter of the book covers interviews Sean conducted with Dr. Joe Lewels, author of The God Hypothesis. Dr. Lewels’ belief is that we are not really seeing a type of invasion by large-eyed hostile aliens, but a new relationship with the beings who created us and have protected us since our creation.  

One of tenets of The God Hypothesis is that there is "…a huge difference between the God of the Old Testament and the later God who brought Jesus Christ into the world." Lewels believes the basic experiences that abductees describe are not much different from "…what was described in the past by the ancients." 

When Sean asked Lewels for his opinion on the prophecies given to abductees, Lewels responded by saying, "In my research, I have found that the people we call abductees have uniformly been given some kind of message that the world is in trouble…They have been shown visions…of the things that we’re doing wrong on Earth…They’re aware of the bad things that we do to animals and other species. They’re cognizant of all this and it comes to them from their experiences."

One of the last two chapters of the book covers another interview with Gary Stearman. I found this interview very interesting - there is so much information he shares with Sean relating to his specific area of study that I cannot give it justice in a book review. It really is something you will want to read in the context of the line of reasoning that Sean puts forth in UFOs, Prophecy and The End of Time.  

When I finished this book, I wondered if other readers will recognize what I did while reading UFOs, Prophecy and The End of Time. Everyone interviewed in this book seems to have experienced what they consider to be an incredible life-changing event occur in their lives, which in turn led them on their present life path. Interestingly, it seems that the two common themes everyone has touched on as being a life-changing in their lives involved either seeing a UFO, accepting God (or the Creative Force) into their lives, or both. 

Portions of many interviews Sean has conducted since 1989 make up this book, and they all come together with Sean’s insightful logic. To quote the author, "The similarities to what Diane Tessman and Judith Bluestone Polich and others in this book have had to say are obvious, and therein may lie a testimony to the truthfulness of their message: even though they all draw their information from different sources, the consistency of their predictions is nothing short of remarkable." 

Prior to writing this review, I was not sure if I was knowledgeable enough about the subjects of UFOs, Prophecies and The End Times to adequately review this book, and I am not even sure if I have done a good job. However, I can say this: I am very glad I read UFOs, Prophecy and The End of Time. When I finished this book, I realized there is a common thread running through the lives of many people in our world and I am glad that some of us realize it – better still, I am glad we know about each other. Thanks Sean! 

About Sean Casteel

Sean Casteel received his BA in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in 1985. He has been writing about UFOs, alien abductions and related phenomena since 1989. Sean Casteel’s first book was titled Nikola Tesla, Journey to Mars, Are We Already There? Sean has recently contributed chapters to such books as Flying Saucers in The Holy Bible and MJ-12 and the Riddle of Hangar 18. He is currently a Contributing Editor to the American UFO Magazine.

Sean’s books can be purchased on-line from his Web site at http://seancasteel.phantombookshop.com/ and from www.amazon.com. 

UFOs, Prophecy and The End of Time © 2003 was published by Global Communications/Inner Light Publications, Box 753, New Brunswick, NJ 08903

140 pages; 8-1/2 x 11 format w/ photographs,$16.95 +$5.00 s/h