Ancient texts and stories weave tales of time travel, thousands of years before science fiction movies would popularize the concept in the mainstream. They also tell stories of strange magical beasts that can talk and perform amazing feats. These stories appear in texts followed by millions of people all over the planet today.
One example is from the Sanskrit epics of ancient India dating back to 400 BC. The Mahabharata contains a story of a King who travels to another dimension, the home of the deity, Brahma. He sought a suitable husband for his daughter, Revati.
The King and his daughter were soon shocked to learn about time dilation. During their short visit, thousands of years elapsed on Earth. Everyone they knew back home would be long gone by the time they returned.
Another story about time dilation happens in the Bible recognized by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The story is left out of the mainstream Bible that most Christians know, but one researcher was keenly aware of the story in 4 Baruch, or the “Rest of the Words of Baruch,” or the Paraleipomena Jeremiou.
“Even in the Bible, the prophet Jeremiah was sitting together with a few of his friends, and there was a young boy. His name was Abemolik. And Jeremiah said to Abemolik,
Go out of Jerusalem, there is a hill and collect some figs for us.’ The boy went out and collected the fresh figs. All of a sudden, Abemolik hears some noise and wind in the air, and he becomes unconscious, he had a blackout. After a time he wakes up again, and he saw it was nearly the evening. So when he runs back to the society and the city was full of strange soldiers. And he says, ‘What’s going on here? Where is Jeremiah and all the others?’ And an old man said, ‘That was 62 years ago.’ It’s a time travel story written in the Bible.”
The story sounds very similar to one of America’s most cherished folktales, that of Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving.
So why was this story left out of the Bible? Biblical scholars consider it a pseudepigraphical work, meaning they dispute that Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, was the author as well as the date of origin.
One wonders if it was also omitted because it reads like folklore or mythology, similar to other ancient texts like those of ancient Sumeria or Egypt.
Overall, Von Daniken gets the story correct, except the period of years was actually longer: 66. Another Jewish pseudepigraphical text, the Jeremiah Apocryphon or the History of the Babylonian Captivity, records that Abimelech slept for 70 years and was written in Coptic Egyptian, Arabic, and Garshuni manuscripts.
5.1 But Abimelech took the figs in the burning heat; and coming upon a tree, he sat under its shade to rest a bit.
5.2 And leaning his head on the basket of figs, he fell asleep and slept for 66 years; and he was not awakened from his slumber.
5.3 And afterward, when he awoke from his sleep, he said: I slept sweetly for a little while, but my head is heavy because I did not get enough sleep.
5.7 So he got up and took the basket of figs and placed it on his shoulders, and he entered into Jerusalem and did not recognize it—neither his own house nor the place—nor did he find his own family or any of his acquaintances.
5.15 And as he sat, he saw an old man coming from the field; and Abimelech said to him: I say to you, old man, what city is this?
5.16 And he said to him: It is Jerusalem.
5.17 And Abimelech said to him: Where is Jeremiah the priest, and Baruch the secretary, and all the people of this city, for I could not find them?
5.18 And the old man said to him: Are you not from this city, seeing that you remember Jeremiah today, because you are asking about him after such a long time?
5.19 For Jeremiah is in Babylon with the people; for they were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar, and Jeremiah is with them to preach the good news to them and to teach them the word.
5.29 For behold it is 66 years today since the people were taken captive into Babylon.
As you can see, the story of time dilation is striking, but the story continues to get stranger. Author and skeptic, Jason Colavito discussed what comes next in 4 Baruch as he explained why any notion of time dilation should be discounted.
“If you don’t believe this book is a fantasy, perhaps the rest of the text can make the case: A magic eagle takes the figs to Babylon, where they have gained the supernatural power to raise the dead. Later, Jeremiah dies and is resurrected. During his ‘death’ he becomes convinced of the truth of ‘messiah Jesus, the light of all the ages’ and delivers a prophecy of the coming of Christianity. Then the Jews stone him to death,” wrote Colavito.
That’s right: a talking eagle serves as God’s messenger and resurrects a person who has died. When Abimelech wakes up from his slumber for over half a century, he and a much older Baruch reunite and find the eagle waiting for them.
7.1 And Baruch got up and departed from the tomb and found the eagle sitting outside the tomb.
7.2 And the eagle said to him in a human voice: Hail, Baruch, steward of the faith.
7.3 And Baruch said to him: You who speak are chosen from among all the birds of heaven, for this is clear from the gleam of your eyes; tell me, then, what are you doing here?
7.4 And the eagle said to him: I was sent here so that you might through me send whatever message you want.” The eagle takes a letter and some of the figs to Jeremiah. It finds Jeremiah officiating at a funeral and alights on the corpse, bringing the body back to life.
7.18 And the eagle came down on the corpse, and it revived.
7.19 (Now this took place so that they might believe.)
7.20 And all the people were astounded at what had happened, and said: This is the God who appeared to our fathers in the wilderness through Moses, and now he has appeared to us through the eagle.”
Eagle after the style of ancient Mesopotamia via Pixabay
This story would seem of great importance since it marks the end of the Israelite exile and is a resurrection miracle, but very few people have ever heard of it. There is very little written about it online, almost as if it never existed, but it clearly does. You can read the story in detail here.
The relevance of this story of time dilation and an eagle has been all-but swept away in history. Is it merely a tall tale, made up for dramatic effect? If so, it’s interesting to note that the Book of Baruch, part of the Apocrypha, or “hidden,” made it into the Old Testament of Catholic Bibles.
Stories about humanoid beings with eagle heads and wings are seen commonly in ancient carvings around the world, carrying bags and wearing wristwatches. Did these beings have the power to resurrect the dead? Now, that might sound far-fetched, but now you know that’s a story found in the “Rest of the Words of Baruch.”
Watch biblical scholars talk about why they don’t recognize this story below. No talk of a messenger eagle capable of bringing back the dead or time travel is ever discussed.
More reports than ever before are constantly being filed from people claiming to have seen Unidentified Flying Objects, while alien abduction stories continue to make waves as well. And, even though alien and UFO hunters like Scott Waring may believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are real, science has allegedly yet to prove any alien sightings or communication. And they have yet to confirm the existence of life in the universe other than our own here on Earth.
In spite of this, and because the possibility can’t be ruled out that we’ll eventually find something, whether here in our own backyard or elsewhere in the universe, NASA and scientists around the globe had no choice but to come up with a protocol outlining what we humans would say and do if such an encounter actually happened.
Those who work at SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) Institute have acknowledged the need for a protocol, and they developed one for the occasion. There are two big problems with the protocol, however.
First, they only considered what to do in the event that we receive some kind of communication or signal. It doesn’t outline what we should do if we do in fact find intelligent life within our solar system, or even on our planet.
In fact, it’s because scientists involved in the response protocol think the chance of getting communications from aliens elsewhere in the universe is so remote that they designed it that way. Factoring in the laws of physics as we understand them (and assuming that aliens also cannot travel with light speed), the chances of encountering an alien now, would be remote at best. For example, if a craft from within 1,000 light-years from us decided to travel to us, it would have had to leave about the time of Jesus Christ in order to get to us exactly now. This same logic applies to messages sent. It would take at least 100 years to get to us… And for us to send one back would take another 100 years.
The second problem is that if anyone actually encounters a signal or other communication from an alien source, those responsible for responding apparently don’t know what to say.
According to SETI senior advisor Seth Shostak, anyone who happens to encounter an alien signal needs to do two things. First, they have to let the International Astronomical Union know. Next, they have to let the United Nations know. Once they do that, and the signal or communication confirmed, the person who initially discovered the signal gets exclusive rights to let the world know via the “press conference to end all press conferences.” After holding the presser, however, any data collected would be made available publicly.
According to Brian Walsh, the author of a book that analyzes potential threats to humans called the End Times, there is an exception to the data they will make available. He said:
“The exception would be the actual coordinates of the signal source [would be withheld] to prevent anyone from simply starting up an interstellar conversation on their own.”
He went on to explain that at that time, humanity would need to figure out what to say – and whether or not they should actually respond – an issue that’s been debated for decades.
Should we respond at all? Many scientists believe that we shouldn’t, lest we say the wrong thing, or encounter a species that’s hostile towards us.
Probably the most famous dissenter to the response debate was noted theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who died in 2018. He said that humans should “be wary” of sending a response until “we have developed a bit further.”
He said of potential alien contact that the species we encounter could be stronger than us technologically, and “may not see us as any more valuable than we see bacteria.” He makes a good argument by likening our potential contact with alien life to the time when Christopher Columbus brought Europeans to America, which led to the slaughter of Native Americans.
Other scientists believe that meeting another species in the universe could ultimately be a good thing, but even those who do think that believe that we need to be extremely cautious. We don’t know if they’d be a threat to us or not and as such, we’d be in a better position to communicate if we studied them for a few decades.
Whether you’re on the side that wants to answer or not, simply having a protocol in place is definitely a good idea. But with space-faring technology advancing at a rapid pace, we’d better decide what we want to do soon, as the chances of our finding aliens or getting contacted by alien races get better every day. This is especially true today, as the Navy just confirmed that recently released videos are in fact videos of UFOs… In the strictest sense of the word, anyway. We still don’t know if aliens were flying them.
Deep beneath the surface of distant exoplanets known as super-Earths, oceans of molten rock may be doing something extraordinary: powering magnetic fields strong enough to shield entire planets from dangerous cosmic radiation and other harmful high-energy particles.
Back in the earlier days of the internet, there was a viral video from a creator called Bill Wurtz called “the history of the entire world, i guess” which spawned a number of memorable memes, some of which are still in use to this day. One of those was a clip from the video where Wurtz states, “The sun is a deadly laser.”
After more than 10 years in orbit, the first Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, Sentinel-2A, is still finding new ways to contribute to Earth observation. With its younger siblings, Sentinel-2B and Sentinel-2C, now leading the mission’s core task of delivering high-resolution, ‘camera-like’ images of Earth’s surface, the European Space Agency is pushing Sentinel-2A beyond its original remit.
Chinese researchers have braved the cold and harsh environment of Antarctica in order to get a unique view of star formation in the interstellar medium (ISM). The Chinese National Antarctica and Arctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) has managed to complete a study at Dome A—the highest ice dome on the Antarctic Plateau—and successfully collected submillimeter data to form a better understanding of carbon cycling in the ISM. Their research is published in Science Advances.
Different atoms and ions possess characteristic energy levels. Like a fingerprint, they are unique for each species. Among them, the atomic ion 173Yb+ has attracted growing interest because of its particularly rich energy structure, which is promising for applications in quantum technologies and searches for so-called new physics. On the flip side, the complex structure that makes 173Yb+ interesting has long prevented detailed investigations of this ion.
Researchers at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) have developed an innovative microscopy technique capable of improving the observation of living cells. The study, published in Optics Letters, paves the way for a more in-depth analysis of numerous biological processes without the need for contrast agents. The next step will be to enhance this technique using artificial intelligence, opening the door to a new generation of optical microscopy methods capable of combining direct imaging with innovative molecular information.
Wormholes are often imagined as tunnels through space or time—shortcuts across the universe. But this image rests on a misunderstanding of work by physicists Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen.
Quantum computers could rapidly solve complex problems that would take the most powerful classical supercomputers decades to unravel. But they’ll need to be large and stable enough to efficiently perform operations. To meet this challenge, researchers at MIT and elsewhere are developing quantum computers based on ultra-compact photonic chips. These chip-based systems offer a scalable alternative to some existing quantum computers, which rely on bulky optical equipment.
The suspect is believed to have entered a lumber store and fatally shot a man; when two Gainesville PD officers responded to the scene, the suspect shot both of them before being fatally wounded
Radio telescopes are instruments that capture faint radio signals from space and convert them into images of celestial bodies. To observe distant black holes clearly, multiple radio telescopes must capture cosmic signals at exactly the same time, acting as a single unit. Research teams at KAIST have developed a new reference signal technology that uses laser light to precisely synchronize the observation timing and phase of these telescopes.
SpaceX is starting to get the ball rolling on its Florida launch card with its fourth mission of the year coming less than two days since the last launch, setting a record for its Cape Canaveral launch pad.
One of the most vivid portraits of “reborn” black hole activity—likened to the eruption of a “cosmic volcano” spreading almost 1 million light-years across space—has been captured in a gigantic radio galaxy.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new Type II supernova. The newly detected supernova, named SN Eos, exploded when the universe was only 1 billion years old. The finding was reported January 7 on the arXiv pre-print server.
