An interesting article on the Nephilim

What are the Nephilim?

While examining Genesis 6:1-4 and the word  נְפִילִים  from verse 4 many scholars have come up with a variety of conclusions.

"Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
 And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown" Genesis 1-4 NKJV

Some say the word is translated literally Giants as it has been in so many English translations.

Others see them as the demonic unholy offspring of Angels (sons of God) and humans, citing Verses 1 and 4.

Borrowing from this theory, many UFO researchers and Ancient Alien theorists see the sons of God as aliens who bred with humans and produced the Nephilim: human/alien hybrids.

So which one is true? Throughout history many scholars espoused one of these theories or another (primarily the first two; the Ancient Alien theory is a modern viewpoint not within traditional biblical scholarship) and this interesting article addresses this issue in a thorough and scholarly manner. Follow the link below.

Demon Semen: Traditional and Metaphysical Assumptions in Early Lutheran and Reformed Treatments of Genesis 6:1-4

2013 Erie MUFON Convention

This May 4th Erie Pennsylvania will be host to its first MUFON Convention. Those who read my blog or are familiar with current UFO flaps know that Lake Erie is the scene of some odd and spectacular UFO sightings. Tickets are available online at MUFONPA or at the Erie Bookstore, pre-register at the Erie Bookstore now and save $5 off the ticket price! The guest speakers are:

Keynote Speaker

Stanton Friedman

Nuclear Physicist-Lecturer Stanton T. Friedman received his BSc. and MSc. Degrees in physics from the University of Chicago in 1955 and 1956. He was employed for 14 years as a nuclear physicist by such companies as GE, GM, Westinghouse, TRW Systems, Aerojet General Nucleonics, and McDonnell Douglas working in such highly advanced, classified, eventually cancelled programs as nuclear aircraft, fission and fusion rockets, and various compact nuclear powerplants for space and terrestrial applications.

He became interested in UFOs in 1958, and since 1967 has lectured about them at more than 600 colleges and 100 professional groups in 50 U.S. states, 10 Canadian provinces and 18 other countries in addition to various nuclear consulting efforts. He has published more than 90 UFO papers and has appeared on hundreds of radio and TV programs including on Larry King in 2007 and twice in 2008, and many documentaries. He is the original civilian investigator of the Roswell Incident and co-authored Crash at Corona: The Definitive Study of the Roswell Incident. TOP SECRET/MAJIC, his controversial book about the Majestic 12 group, established in 1947 to deal with alien technology, was published in 1996 and went through 6 printings. An expanded new edition was published in 2005. Stan was presented with a Lifetime UFO Achievement Award in Leeds, England, in 2002, by UFO Magazine of the UK. He is co-author with Kathleen Marden (Betty Hill’s niece) of a book in 2007: Captured! The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience. The City of Fredericton, New Brunswick, declared August 27, 2007, Stanton Friedman Day. His book Flying Saucers and Science was published in June 2008 and is in its 3rd printing. His newest book, also co-authored with Kathleen Marden, is Science Was Wrong released in June 2010.

He has provided written testimony to Congressional Hearings, appeared twice at the UN, and been a pioneer in many aspects of ufology including Roswell, Majestic 12, The Betty Hill-Marjorie Fish star map work, analysis of the Delphos, Kansas, physical trace case, crashed saucers, flying saucer technology, and challenges to the S.E.T.I. (Silly Effort To Investigate) cultists. He has spoken at more MUFON Symposia than anyone else.

John Ventre











John Ventre is the retired Pennsylvania State Security and Public Affairs Director for UPS and was his Companies liaison to his local Congressman. John used to also head up his companies crisis management team for 3 states.He is a member of the FBI’s InfraGard group and the DHS Regional Business Coalition. John is the Pa State Director for the Mutual UFO Network and on MUFON’s Board. John is the author of the novel’s “12/21/2012 A Prophecy”, “The Day After 2012”, “UFOs over Pennsylvania” and “Apophis 2029”. John is also a lifetime member of the NRA. John sits on the Board of Directors for JDRF, the Westmoreland Economic Growth Connection, MUFON, and Rotary. John is a United Way Tocqueville Society member for charitable giving. John is the co-inventor of the Thor Wood Splitter and owns the UFO themed Mexican restaurant trademark “Flying Salsa”. John appeared in the Discovery Channels “UFOs over Earth” series in 2008 and the History Channels “UFO Hunters” in 2009, the Anderson Cooper show in 2012 and Destination America’s Alien Mysteries in 2013. John has appeared on numerous radio shows and is a speaker at various UFO and Paranormal conferences such as the MUFON and Paradigm Symposium’s, UFO Congress and Fortean Conference’s. John has also lectured at Duquesne and Drexel Universities. John gives four different presentations: End Time Prophecy, The Case for UFOs, UFOs in Art and History and the 2008 Pa UFO Wave.

Stan Gordon

Stan Gordon was trained as an electronics technician, specializing in radio communications. He worked in the advanced consumer electronics sales field for over forty years. Gordon began his interest in the UFO subject and other strange incidents at the age of ten in 1959. In the late 1960’s, he acted as the telephone UFO sighting report investigations coordinator for the UFO Research Institute of Pittsburgh.

Stan began in the field investigations of UFOs and other mysterious events in 1965, and is the primary investigator of the December 9, 1965, UFO crash-recovery incident that occurred near Kecksburg, Pennsylvania. In 1969, Gordon established a UFO Hot-line for the public to report UFO sightings to him to investigate.

In 1970, Gordon founded the Westmoreland County UFO Study Group (WCUFOSG), the first of three volunteer research groups which he would establish to investigate UFO sightings and other strange occurrences reported in Pennsylvania. Since November, 1993, he continues to investigate and document strange incidents from across the Keystone state as an independent researcher.

Gordon is a former PA State Director for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), and was its first recipient In 1987 of the MUFON Meritorious Achievement in a UFO investigation Award. Gordon has been involved with the investigation of thousands of mysterious encounters from across Pennsylvania. He has appeared on numerous local and network news and documentary shows, including the Syfy Channel (formerly the Sci-Fi Channel), Discovery Channel, History Channel, and Fox News Channel. He has been featured on many television shows, including Unsolved Mysteries, Sightings, Inside Edition, A Current Affair, and Creepy Canada.

Karyn Dolan

Karyn Dolan is the host of Through the Keyhole, a live internet radio program which explores topics relating to UFOs and the paranormal. Each week, Karyn interviews a researcher or author about their work in these fields. The show is heard worldwide each Friday at www.paranormalradionetwork.com.

Karyn has spoken at several UFO conferences, including the Roswell UFO Festival, the UFO Crash Retrieval Conference, and the UFO Congress in Bordentown, NJ on the subject of alien images in media outlets targeted toward children. She is also the Media Relations Director for the International UFO Congress, which holds its annual conference in Laughlin, NV.


Robin Swope

Pastor Swope has been a minister for over 20 years and currently is the pastor of historical St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Erie, Pennsylvania. He is also a writer in the topic of the supernatural and paranormal, having written or contributed to many books on the topic. He has had numerous personal encounters with the odd and unexplained and although skeptical, he likes to keep an open mind.

Join us this May 4th for a wonderful, entertaining and deeply thought provoking series of seminars. Discount pre-sales of tickets are available at The Erie Bookstore, 2609 Peach Street, Erie PA 814-455-1088. Or order online at The Pennsylvania MUFON website.

The Paranormal Pastor on Coast to Coast AM

I will be on tonight's (2/1/13) Coast to Coast Am as the guest of documentary Film maker Christopher Maloney. Tune in!

How to do a Blessing or Consecration

I get about 3 to 4 requests a week for advice from people who are having disturbing experiences with a local haunting.

They want to know how they can rid their house or building of entities which harass the family members dwelling there, spirits which seem to be malevolent or even demonic.

My first response is to try a Blessing or Consecration ceremony. Now these are Christian Ceremonies and the references are Christian. Other faiths have their own traditions, customs and ceremonies. If you object to the use of Christian terminology or Biblical references I am sorry, you will have to find help elsewhere. But in my worldview it is with the power of God through Christ only that you can have successful results when confronting malevolent entities. So here is how to preform the ceremonies for the novice.

It could either clear up the problem or make it worse.

If it gets worse then you know for sure you are dealing with a demonic entity and you need to get someone involved who knows the Exorcist rite. My book, "An Exorcist's Field Guide to Blessings and Consecrations" goes into detail about 'how to' preform more detailed rites of Blessing and Consecration as well as the more advanced rites of Cleansing and the Exorcism of demonic entities from buildings or areas.(please, unless you have professional counseling and spiritual warfare training  DO NOT attempt to deal with the possible possession of a human being. If you do not know what you are doing you can leave the person worse off in the end and could actually face a malpractice or civil lawsuit if you unintentionally do psychological damage)

First:You need two to three others to help, they will be your prayer support. It is best to find believing Christians who know how to pray and have them either come with you (best) or pray at another location.

However, it is very important that you are not alone, have at least one with you who is a Christian of faith. They can support you and if you have others praying elsewhere they could text message them as to how the ritual is going.

Materials needed:

Holy Water (get it at your local Catholic Church, use any bottle you wish)

Incense ( any kind you feel like: sage and charcoal or even cone)

A Hanging Incense censur

Instructions:

Before you begin read Ephesians 6:10-17 from the Bible. Read as a prayer of protection and blessing.

Go into every room with incense and holy water. As you enter swing the incense and pray,

"We consecrate this room in the name of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. As the smoke from the incense rises so do our prayers to the ear of God. We command any evil spirit in this room to depart and to never return. We bind them and command them to leave all occupants and visitors alone in the Name and through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth who gave His life for the remission of sin."

Sprinkle Holy Water with each name as you say, "We consecrate this room and this house in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, Amen."

Read one of the following Scripture passages from the Bible, choose which one is more pertinant to the situation:

1 John 4:1-4; Colossians 2:11-15; Matthew 10:1; 2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1; 1 John 1:5-9

Repeat in every room and then have everyone gather for prayer in whatever main room the host decides upon, or the room where the most activity happens.

"Lord God we commit this house to you today, if any wrongs have been done to bring this upon this house or this family we ask forgiveness and cleansing in the blood of Christ and we accept and welcome that forgiveness. We ask you would call Angels to guard this house as we now commit it to you dear Father. Guard each one of the family (ask God to guard each person dwelling there by name). This house and these people are now consecrated and freely given to you God and we now put our trust and confidence in you to protect us. In The name of Jesus we Pray, Amen."

(note: If it is a serious infestation or has a casual connection to any of the buildings occupants you might hear some phenomena or see one of the occupants behave strangely during this last prayer)

Then as a finale, read aloud Romans 8:33-39 from any version of the Bible you wish .

It is important to stress the Blood of Christ because this will either rid the house of the evil spirit or if it is a strong entity it will rile it up.

Until Next Time,

Pastor Swope

REPOST from 2009: 2012 and the Coming Apocalypse

Montanus was a former priest of Cybele. A recent convert to Christianity, he began his ministry as a prophet and mouthpiece for God during the late 2nd Century in the small village of Ardabau in Phrygia (Asia Minor-Modern Day Turkey).
He claimed that God came to him and filled Him with His Spirit, causing ecstatic utterances and prophecies. He gathered to himself two others who proclaimed to have the same gift, Maxamillia and Priscilla, and the two of them went about Asia Minor proclaiming that God Himself was speaking through them and the end of the world was nigh. As his message of Apocalypse spread across the world, Montanus commanded his followers to gather together in the city of Pepuza, which (according to his prophecies) would become the New Jerusalem after the global conflagration. His followers obeyed and came to him in this new city of hope and awaited the appointed time. But the end of the world did not happen. Some were dissapointed, but some still 'girded their loins' in determination and continued to believe in the prophecies of Montanus. Later the prophet would be condemned as a heretic for various bizarre teachings, the foremost being that he proclaimed to be God the Father Himself when he made his prophecies, and not just a prophet indwelt with the Spirit of God.

For us today in the early 21st century the dire mystery of the 2012 Apocalypse prediction looms menacingly. I will not go into any of the theory, I am sure most of the readers have heard of it and the multitude of substatiating 'facts' that surround this view that the world will end on December 21st 2012. You do not even have to do any research, you just have to watch the History Channel regularly to get the full rundown. Myan Calander interpretation, planetary and galaxy alignments, solar storms, climate change, economic disaster and an upcoming volitile Presidential election all seem to point to a very rough time is to come near the end of 2012.

It seems as if someone flushed an M80 firecracker down the cosmic toilet and we are all waiting for the big explosion.

Of course when there is fear with potential death and mayhem Hollywood can't but be drawn to the fire and produce an epic movie where all our previous fears pale to the technicolor global holocaust that assaults our eyes in a darkened movie theater. So this weekend as the epic opens we are also bombarded by various news monkeys who have just discovered that the world will end soon. Of course almost all of them do not take the source material for the movie seriously. But with most reports you do see an ominous tension.

I think it is because socially we feel like we are all teetering on the edge of the abyss, and are waiting for something to push us over.

Many are overwhelmingly pessimistic because of the dire straits they find themselves in. Be it economic trouble, environmental worries or social and political disdain, many find themselves gripped by a fear that the worst is yet to come. We are communally holding our breath and waiting for what we feel is inevitable, hoping that we are wrong.

So the end of the world is a natural conclusion, not just because of the substantiating evidence of the 2012 theory, but because of the global angst we all perceive.

But such is the human condition. Since the dawn of civilization mankind has been waiting for the dusk to overwhelm them in darkness.

A clay tablet dated at 2800BC was found that has the inscription "Our earth is degenerate in these latter days. There are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end. Bribery and corruption are common."Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts

Since then humanity has faced the coming apocalypse thousands of times, mostly fired by social or religious motivation. An incredible resource for those who wish to study the history of Doomsday is found on the website A Brief History of the Apocalypse, where you can view each failed prediction chronologically.

Armageddon for good or ill is hardwired into our human consciousness. Prognosticators and those who diligently follow are part of who we are as human beings. It is a means to find order out of the chaos that surrounds us. There will always be a coming apocalypse. And one day there will be an end of the world. How will we know which one is the real end? Christian Scripture can shed some light on that. In the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 24 the Disciples ask Jesus how they will know when the end is near:

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them- “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.-the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:3b-4a;36;44b.

So safe to say from a Christian perspective is that whenever a 'prophet' or anyone else claims to know the exact date or time that the world is going to end, you can rest assured that that will not be the day or time. There might be incidents of trouble, disaster or tribulation. But such is life on the planet Earth. Looking at the dilemmas brewing worldwide, we may face unprecedented challenges for freedom, liberty and survival on a global scale in the years preceding and following 2012.

The Mayan calendar does stop in December 21 2012; but then it starts all over again.
It has a new beginning.

Like any situation we find ourselves in we can look at the end pessimistically, or in hope we can look at the new beginning with optimism and take advantage of a new opportunity.

Mankind grows and flourishes when faced with trouble, for it is a challenge to overcome which brings with it personal and communal character.
In the words of Captain James T. Kirk, "Man stagnates if he has no ambition...We were meant to fight our way through - struggle, claw our way up, scratch for every inch of the way."

So whatever befalls us on Friday December 21, 2012- Saturday the 22nd will prove to be a most exciting day.

Until Next Time,
Pastor Swope

Slenderman for Christmas

This Christmas give the gift your kids will remember, "Slenderman: From Fiction to Fact"!

The book has been in the top 50 in Folklore and Mythology on Amazon for the past 2 months, and the positive reviews keep pouring in! Get yours today and have it before Christmas!

Erie Pennsylvania's first recorded Haunted House

The first colonists to Erie Pennsylvania arrived in the mid 18thCentury, building a small town adjacent to the newly constructed French Fort Presque Isle. With wars and migrations soon to follow, English settlers would also arrive in the area by the end of that century and build a permanent settlement.

Since the time of those first settlers Erie’s history has been awash with folklore tales of mysterious places where the paranormal seems to manifest itself quite frequently. Be it cursed Indian burial grounds or old dwellings where spectral apparitions of the past startle the present owners; Erie has a rich history of unexplained phenomena.

However, it was not until the late 19thcentury did one of these locations rise to prominence in the imagination of the local populace to a point where it would become infamous. It was in name if not in fact Erie’s first haunted house. And few today have ever heard of it, since it was long ago lost to popular memory for those who encountered its horrors have long turned to dust. This lost Erie legend is the old Crowley Mansion of Harborcreek.

The house was located on the west side of Walbridge Road, less than a hundred yards south of East Lake Road. It was built by a member of East Erie’s first pioneer families, the Crowleys. Thomas Crowley, b. 1789, came to Erie in 1821 or 1822, as did his younger brother Michael. Thomas and his wife Ellen Ahern had several children in Ireland and several more in Pennsylvania, as late at 1836. Michael married a girl from a family from New York State and Canada. Michael's son Thomas was Erie police chief in the 1860s and 70s. The Crowley family very were wealthy and owned considerable property and built the brick mansion as their family homestead. Thomas's eldest son Bartholomew, 1813(4)-1897, lived with his growing family on the property. Beautifully manicured, the grounds of the mansion boasted a diverse orchard and lush gardens.

Tragedy struck 80 year old Bartholomew and his daughter in 1893 when a team of burglars broke in and pulled off a home invasion, pouring oil over him and lighting him afire and threatening to cut the rings off his daughter's fingers. The original report can be viewed in this copy of the November 3rd 1893 Buffalo Express here: http://bit.ly/y6KLcc

As time marched on and the Crowley family grew, the pioneers’ children moved on and the estate was purchased by another family. The ancient legend told by local residents was that not long after moving into the mansion the husband and wife began to fight often and began to despise one another. When typhoid fever began to break out in the community, the husband was gravely stricken. A skilled local doctor attended the man and soon he was on his way to a healthy recovery. One of the instructions given the wife was that the man was not to be fed any salty foods, for they could not only halt the recovery process, but they could actually prove to be fatal to her husband.

The story goes that this advice by the doctor gave the wife a ghoulish idea. She would rid herself of her loathsome husband by feeding him rich meals that contained large quantities of salt. Her unsuspecting husband ate the heavily seasoned meals with gusto every day. After one excessively salty dinner of corned beef the husband died just before midnight that very evening. From that day forward the ghost of the husband was said to manifest itself in the house just as the clock stuck midnight. Some of these were said to be extremely violent, one night a china cabinet in the main dining room where the husband often dined shook so violently that all the dishes inside were smashed to pieces. Oddly enough the glass housing of the cabinet was untouched. It was not long after this that the wife moved out of the house never to return.

Others lived in the house afterwards, but none of them stayed very long. Whether it was because of paranormal activity or just the ominous story itself that made the mansion abhorred none can say. But soon none wanted to live in the haunted house on Walbridge Road.

For over fifty years the mansion remained unoccupied and soon time took its toll on the building and it went into disrepair and eventual ruin. The beautiful orchards soon became overgrown with weeds and the trees withered and died. The once elegant mansion became an ominous and foreboding presence of desolation which lived up to its disturbing reputation. Children shunned the house and passers by would claim to see ethereal figures staring out at them from the mansions broken windows.

John G. Carney in his 1958 book “Tales of Old Erie” tells that in the years before the mansion was torn down the legends began to flourish once more. A new generation had used the building as a place to prove their bravery by trespassing its grounds and playing practical jokes on one another.

The land on which the mansion once stood is now an abandoned field, given over to weeds and wild overgrowth. There still is a sense of desolation and sadness to the area that one cannot quite explain. You can sense a sadness, a dreadful emptiness there that is somewhat otherworldly. Perhaps the long betrayed spirit of the murdered husband still abides there, mourning his betrayal at the hands of one who promised to love him forever.

Below is a google map of the area where the house once stood, directly across from the Fairfield Fire Department and Catering Hall.

Until next time,

Pastor Swope