Heiser's review of the book:

Review of Nick Redferns Final Events

http://michaelsheiser.com...ck-redferns-final-events/
Nick Redfern, Final Events and the Secret Government Group on
Demonic UFOs and the Afterlife (Anomalist Books, 2010)
Well, I finally carved out some time to review Nick Redferns latest
book. Im hoping you all went ahead and bought it and read it during
the wait (and despite the [deliberately?] cheesy cover). Its worth a
read since it will stimulate discussion in ufology. But as I said a few
weeks ago when I first brought it to your attention on this blog, I
have mixed feelings about it. My reservations are not related to Nicks
effort, but because of the content. I apologize ahead of time for the
inordinate length of the review.
1. Content Overview
1.1. The Collins Elite and their Work
Primarily by means of informants whose true identities are concealed,
Final Events tells the story of a secret government cabal called the
Collins Elite (CE). The CE was formed in response to interest in the
work of occultists such as Aleister Crowley and Jet Propulsion Lab cofounder Jack Parsons. The CE came to believe that the magical /
occult activities of these two famous occultists possibly open portals
between the human world and the other side allowing passage of
evil, demonic entities into our world. The CE reached the conclusion
that these releases (or transgressions) had explanatory power for the
wave of UFO sightings in the late 1940s and which have continued to
this day.
As the CE began investigating what they came to consider a causeand-effect relationship between these entities, UFOs and, as time
went on, alien abductions, the group began to pursue research into
other paranormal issues that were also associated with alien contact
and abductions: out-of-body experiences, the nature of the soul /
consciousness, and life after death.
1.2. The Occult/Alien Endgame
Readers naturally wonder what the endgame is in this scenario, and
the book doesnt disappoint. Redferns information sources made it
clear that the CE firmly believes that not only are the aliens who are

thought by millions to be visiting earth and abducting people actually

demons, but that these entities are controlling a process (involving
humans) of disclosure. The goal of disclosure is quite sinister: to
convince the public that ET life is real and that it has been in contact
with humanity for some time. And this will of course make the idea
put forth by wacky people of faith that aliens are demons look
perfectly sillywhen that is precisely what they really are. In order to
meet the ET threat, or at least to stave off any deadly conflict, a new
world order for global governance will have to be put in place. Evil
demonic entities masquerading as aliens and wicked humans will run
the new world order, thereby enslaving humanity. The alien goal is
further described by the CE as the harvesting of human souls. That
about covers it.
1.3. The Strategy of the Collins Elite
The CE is described as divided on what to do about all this. On one
hand, there is a sense of urgency about stopping the enslavement of
humanity and the soul stealing. Yet the CE has been afraid to
publicize its findings, sensing that they would wreak social and
spiritual havoc. Not only would an official government revelation that
demons are real throw people into panic, but an announcement of the
CEs findings would amount to an endorsement of the Bible. End
times hysteria on a massive scale would not be far behind. As a result
of this predicament, Redfern details how certain members of the CE
have in turn moved in the direction of doing all they can to reestablish what can only be called a Christian theocracy in the land.
The logic here is that mass conversions would somehow result in a
spiritual tide (of the right kind and moving in the right direction) to
meet the demonic forces head on. (How that would *not* be
Armageddonor would be a better Armageddon isnt clear to me
but theres a lot of thinking in the book that isnt clear to me).
2. Content Analysis
2.1. The General Credibility of the Story
What can you say about a story that rises or falls on secret
informants? Not a lot. Granted, the mode of information neither
argues for or against the material. Nick of course knows this, and is
up front about the nature of the material. Along the way, there are
crumbs thrown here and there by his informants, mostly in the form
of documents that affirm *pieces* of the narrative told by these
mystery men but those pieces tend to be quite innocuous and
nothing surprising.. For example, there are documents that affirm
that Jack Parsons had a top secret security clearance. Is that really
unusual for the co-founder of JPL? There is documentation that the

government was involved in having various occultists observed. Big

deal. If you are watching Parsons youre watching others associated
with him. True, the intelligence community (and the CE) were
interested in occult information and abilities but that isnt what
we really need documented here. What we need is some actual data
that shows a cause-and-effect relationship between these occult
activities and UFO sightings and alien abductions. No such luck in
that regard. This leaves me ambivalent toward the general credibility
an ambivalence that turns toward incredulity when I consider the
thinking demonstrated by the CE.
2.2. Specific Problems
Ah . . . where to begin. There were a number of this is silly
moments for me in the book with respect to the research of the CE.
In my mind, the most disturbing thing about the book is that highlyplaced insiders within the intelligence community could think so
poorly especially if they are Christians. Maybe I should stop being
jolted by this, given that what passes for serious Bible teaching
these days comes through folks who ought not be thought of as
careful biblical readers much less biblical scholars. Think of it this
way. The biggest non-fiction publishing sensation in the Christian
orbit over the last decade was Rick Warrens The Purpose Driven Life.
While I admire the intent, its pretty disturbing that a book whose
message is that our lives have a purpose would rocket to bestseller
status within the Church. Is it really that much of a revelation that
the Bible says our lives have a purpose? Do people within the Church
not know that? How could they miss it? Are Christians really that
theologically illiterate? I guess the sales numbers answer that
question.
2.2.1. Uncritical Assumptions About End Times
My illustration above was from the non-fiction world. The most
successful fiction in Christian circles was of course Left Behind. How is
it that millions of readers could simply absorb the ideas in Left Behind
and have no idea that all its ideas derive from certain assumptions
brought *to* the biblical text. Most Christians have no idea these
ideas are *not* self evident realities in the Bible but only hold true if
certain outright guesses are correct. Heres a sampling of what I
mean.
I ask again, are Christians really this theologically illiterate? Yes. And
that includes those in the CE if the content of Final Events is any
indication. Didnt anyone in the CE ever really study eschatology?
Arent they aware of how tenuous *any* position on end times really
is? Did they not filter their observations and speculations through

any other grid? Did they know any other grid even existed? If the
Armageddon / Rapture position they cling to isnt correct, what then?
Was this given any thought at all? How might that position be used
anyway to demoralize the Church even if it isnt correct? Again, if the
CE was so careless at analysis here, why should I trust anything else
theyre thinking about? At least give some indication that end times
has several possible scenarios (but maybe Tim LaHaye heads the
CE!). At least Ray Boeche (a key contact person mentioned early in
the book) is aware that there are issues here.
2.2.2. A Cartoonish Demonology and Human-Centered Theology
Ive put my cards on the table (see these archived posts) regarding
demons as an explanation for UFOs and alleged alien abductions
before. I consider it one of several possibilities (with respect to
abductions, not UFOs) and a minority explanation at that.
Theologically, I accept the reality of God and a spiritual world. That
means I accept the reality of what Christians call demons and angels
but most Christians grasp of what is actually said or not said about
demons and angels bears little resemblance to the Bible and it
would be based on the English Bible anyway, not the original
language texts. Think Im overstating this? Try this out: Did you
know that the word demon is only mentioned twice in the Old
Testament and never in the context of a hell or underworld? Did you
know that the Hebrew term used for demon has no parallel in other
Semitic languages for a denizen of hell or an underworld? Did you
know there are no instances of demonic possession in the Old
Testament? And what about the word for demon (daimon) in the
New Testament it can be used of any spirit being, good or evil.
There are also no biblical verses that call fallen angels demons. I
could go on quite a while. My point here is that I wonder if the brain
trust in the CE is even aware of any of this. My guess is that they
arent. Again, why should I trust their thinking if they cant get this
much right? Why should I trust their intuition or whispers about
documentation when they have a document right in front of them
called the Bible that they havent paid close attention to?
My real demonic gripe, though, is how silly the demonology of Final
Events / the CE sounds when you really think about it. While I would
agree that the entities of the spiritual world (good or evil) can and do
interact with the human world (thats biblical), that is a far cry from
saying that demonic entities must wait on the acts of humans to carry
out a plan or evil act, or that human activities determine the scope of
demonic activity. Think about the ideas that the book poses to us by
way of the CE thinking:
a) That the activities of Alister Crowley and Jack Parsons were the

catalyst for the UFO waves of the 1940s (and subsequent). Maybe its
just me, but I dont find Crowley or Parsons or any such person
frightening. I think they get far too much credit for power than they
deserve. Crowley, the self-styled beast and most evil man in the
world. BS. Try Hitler or Idi Amin or Stalin or Mao Crowley was
nothing compared to those guys. Lets see, Maos arrogance and
planning leads to tens of millions of deaths, and Crowley is having
sex parties and practicing alchemy? Ooh, scary. What a crock. OK,
they had sex parties and did incantations. Big deal. Its amazing the
PR machine that has been erected by occultists around these spiritual
buffoons.
b) Even worse, can you see whats going on in the demonic realm in
this view? Demon: Oh, crap, Parsons *almost* got that incantation
right so we could come into the human realm. Maybe that human
idiot will succeed next time. Until then, were just warming our
fannies here in hell waiting for him to say the right words with the
right intonation. Give me a break. Again, while someone wanting to
solicit evil for personal gain may succeed, that is quite different than
saying one human (or even on orgy of occultists) hold the key to
triggering cosmic events. Where is the biblical support for such an
arrogant view of our own human importance that the spirit realm
depends on us to act?
c) If this notion were true that evil entities are somehow
dependent on the work of occultists to act then why do the
innocent suffer? If it is true that evil needs human spell casting or
solicitation to act, then it is equally true that without it or with
opposite human force of godliness the demonic world is crippled.
This is actually a violation of free will when it comes to spiritual
beings, not to mention (again) an inflated view of human influence.
Frankly, it amounts to cosmic nose-counting and a proportionately
low view of the sovereignty of God. Did the battle of Normandy tip in
favor of the Allies because just the right number of people prayed?
Did the bubonic plague ravage Europe because the godly prayer
count missed by five people? (Boy, Ill bet that frustrated God). Did
the people who survived 911 do so because a certain number of
people prayed for them but the same number wasnt reached for
those who died? Or stated another way, if a few less people had
prayed or gone to church or read their Bible, then the demons behind
the 911 terrorists would have had a higher body count right? Is
this biblical theology? I say its not. Its Hollywood demonology and
(bad) pop theology. The idea that Crowley or Parsons or anyone else
had to do a lot of mumbo-jumbo *in order to usher in* something
that demons and other fallen celestial beings would want to do
anyway is ridiculous. Who made us their handlers?

d) This poor thinking is also reflected in the CE idea that, to stem this
tide, a theocracy needs to be re-instituted. What is the theological
logic of this? That if the ruling elite are Christians, the demons will be
powerless? Or that if a majority of U.S. citizens are Christians, then
God can or will act? (This makes God capricious to say the least ["I
won't intervene against evil unless enough humans measure up"] or
powerless to act unilaterally ["I cannot intervene against evil unless
enough humans measure up"]). You can have that God. And how
small-minded is this approach to presume that the fate of
humanity lies in the hands of the Church in the United States? What a
muddled theological mess.
2.2.3. An Uninformed and Theologically Naive View of Human Souls
The chapters (22-25) dealing with souls and the presumed knowledge
of the soul are especially bad with respect to biblical theology and
any sort of thoughtful theological approach. The CE bolsters its ideas
without any appeal to exegesis of the Hebrew or Greek texts and no
citation of scholarly sources. But wait, arent books by theologians
and ancient theological authorities found in these chapters? Yes
and Ill stand by what I said above. All of this source material is
English-Bible based and amounts to theological speculation or
antiquated traditions, not exegesis. And Im nearing the point where
the last person I want to see quoted about the Bible is Augustine.
Augustine didnt know Hebrew or Greek (and he is quoted as hating
Greek). He did not know how to interact with the original language of
the Scripture text. A fledgling seminary student who has a year of
Hebrew and Greek under his/her belt could do more in the text than
Augustine. Everything he does is based on the Latin Vulgate or
Church traditions. Period. He is only viewed as an authority because
he was a political-ecclesiastical heavyweight, not because he could
delve into the Scripture text. Besides that issue, biblical scholars,
textual critics, and archaeologists have actually learned a lot in the
past 1500 years that Augustine couldnt have known (and that goes
for Aquinas and the Reformers as well). My point isnt that these
people were dumb. They werent. They were brilliant. But their
limitations and resources are dramatically transparent to anyone in
these fields. Just because they said something doesnt mean it should
be considered authoritative or, in some instances, even coherent.
The fact is that the Bible never actually tells us where the soul comes
from. It merely presumes that a human being is only a complete
human being when body and life force (Hebrew: nephesh) are
united. Modern scholars/theologians continue to struggle with how to
understand and articulate biblical anthropology. This is especially true
now that brain science and neuroscience have produced findings that
need to be factored into any such articulation. (See here for a whole

series of posts I wrote on this on my Naked Bible blog).

I see no evidence that the CE gave the biblical text any thought at all
when articulating their demonology or views of anything else. They
are guided by tradition and popular theological speculation. That just
doesnt cut it. There is zero biblical warrant for thinking a soul can be
taken or stolen from its body, or sucked away after death from the
Creator who made it and gave it in the first place. More Hollywood
theology. Would someone yank the CE away from the boob tube?
I know it may sound startling, but I could go on. Ill just have mercy
and stop here.
3. Impressions
My suspicion with the storyline of this book (and, again, I view Nick
Redfern as merely an honest reporter) is that its ending has a sinister
intent. I think the storyline is a set-up. It stinks like a ufological
trajectory of the political Leftist strategy to cast Christians (and pious
Jews) as clandestine fascists. Why is it that a much more coherent
possibility (that UFOs are the result of decades of effort put into manmade technologies developed by gifted human scientific minds) is so
easily dismissed in favor of Cartoon Network demons? Because when
the military industrial complex is perceived to have the country in its
grip (with or without some sort of alien disclosure) the ufological
community will now know whos responsible: the CE and its Christian
theocratic fascists. This means that the Collins Elite, if it is real and if
it is made up of Christians, could simply be a bunch of witless dupes
that are being used to advance the propaganda I just described.
Since they come across as tragically illiterate when it comes to
biblical theology, that seems sadly possible. On the other hand, this
group (and boy, doesnt that term bring back Facade memories?)
might be willing participants in the creation of this meme, or perhaps
an intelligence fiction used as a storyline vehicle.
In any event, if you care about what the ufological community is
thinking about, you should read the book sort of like Belshazzars
handwriting on the wall.