Israeli Harvard astrophysicist: ‘The Messiah’ will come ‘from outer space’

Israeli Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has predicted that the Messiah will be an extraterrestrial, superhuman entity. Last week, he suggested such a figure may lead us in a “cosmic exodus” beyond Earth.

Loeb is currently a professor of Science at Harvard University, was the chair of Harvard’s Department of Astronomy for nine years, and in 2020, served on the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

He is publicly best known for his argument that the ‘Oumuamua interstellar object – the first known interstellar object to pass through our solar system – is likely an artifact of extraterrestrial technology. Loeb argues this on the basis of the scientific evidence of several anomalous features, such as its “peculiar acceleration” and its lack of cometary tail. These anomalies, he argues, are best explained by the theory that ‘Oumuamua is an artificial rather than naturally occurring object.

Loeb shared his view of the Messiah last year during a private dinner held by an organization called WORLD.MINDS, which describes itself as an “invitation-only community” of “1500 individuals who are making proven contributions in science, the arts, business and government.”

During the dinner, at which Loeb and former CIA director David Petraeus were the special guests, Loeb said: “My personal belief is that the Messiah will arrive, not necessarily from Brooklyn, as some Orthodox Jews believe, but rather from outer space,” according to a report from New York Magazine.

Loeb went on to say that this extraterrestrial Messiah would help end territorial conflict on earth, “because there is much more real estate available throughout the universe.”

Loeb expanded on his idea of an extraterrestrial Messiah in a recent blog post. As this year’s Passover celebrations began, Loeb argued that humanity is heading towards a “cosmic exodus” led by an extraterrestrial, “superhuman entity.”

“The traditional Exodus liberated a few thousand people from slavery, created their sense of a community and established their bond with ‘God,’” Loeb wrote. “What would the cosmic Exodus moment for humanity entail? My vision as an astrophysicist is straightforward: our cosmic exodus would mean the liberation of a space community of people from the confines of Earth’s gravity.”

Such a “cosmic exodus,” he argues, would not ultimately be human-led.

“What would replace ‘God’ in this story? An advanced extraterrestrial civilization.”

“Extraterrestrial technologies,” Loeb wrote, “could result in apparent miracles on Earth of the character that triggered the traditional Exodus.”

Drawing a parallel between Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness and a potential journey to another solar system, Loeb argued that such a journey could “allow a new space community to free itself from the terrestrial mindset,” just as in the desert the Israelites acquired “a new mindset, free of slavery and worships [sic] that characterized their mentality in Egypt.”

“Who would serve as Moses for the new space community?” Loeb wrote. “This baby may have been already born by now.”

Loeb argues that, similar to the Bible’s account of God’s special revelation to Moses via the burning bush, extraterrestrial beings may be contacting humanity via UAP (the official U.S. government term for what are popularly called “UFOs”).

“Moses was convinced to believe in a superhuman entity, ‘God’, after witnessing a burning bush that was never consumed. Would an Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon (UAP) serve as the burning bush moment for our new Moses?”

Loeb concluded by arguing that we may soon be “saved” by an extraterrestrial “superhuman entity.”

“All we need to do is open our cameras and telescopes, as well as our mind, to the possibility that we might be saved from our terrestrial miseries by a superhuman entity,” he wrote.

“Our traditional religions celebrate the past. On this Passover holiday, we should all reflect about our future among the stars and hope that a message of peace and prosperity will be delivered to our mailbox soon in the form of an extraterrestrial technological package.”

Loeb’s work with the government and the scientific community on UAP research

Loeb is one of a growing number of prominent scientists and government officials who are now investing a significant amount of time and resources into investigating UAP.

Last March, Loeb co-authored a paper with Sean Kirkpatrick, then-director of the Department of Defense’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).

AARO, which was established in 2022, says it is “leading the U.S. government’s efforts to address Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) using a rigorous scientific framework and a data-driven approach.”

Loeb and Kirkpatrick’s paper argued that UAP may be “extraterrestrial technological probes.”

In addition to his work with the Pentagon’s UAP-focused program, Loeb is involved with several other projects doing similar work outside of government.

Loeb sits on the advisory board of the Sol Foundation, a recently-established organization that held its first conference at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California this past November.

“The Sol Foundation is…establishing itself as a premier center for UAP research,” its website states. “Under the direction of academic and government experts already professionally engaged in the study of UAP, the Foundation is assembling teams of noted specialists in the natural sciences, the social sciences, the humanities, and engineering, information science, and other technology-focused disciplines. Collectively, these teams will undertake a rigorous, methodical, and cutting-edge inquiry into UAP and their implications as well as help set the agenda for UAP Studies.”

Loeb also founded Harvard’s Galileo Project, which aims “to bring the search for extraterrestrial technological signatures of Extraterrestrial Technological Civilizations (ETCs) from accidental or anecdotal observations and legends to the mainstream of transparent, validated and systematic scientific research.”

Among those Loeb has worked with on the Galileo Project is Luis Elizondo, reportedly the former head of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP).

Launched under the Defense Intelligence Agency, AATIP was a program that researched UAP as a potential threat to the U.S. government, operating from 2007-2012.

AATIP’s existence was revealed publicly in the 2017 New York Times article, "Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious UFO Program."

Speaking of his time in the program, Elizondo has publicly stated that “there were elements within the Department [of Defense] that rigorously opposed” AATIP’s research because of their “theological perspective.”

Specifically, at least one senior official warned Elizondo that “these things are demonic, and we should not be pursuing them.”