Jhn 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, [and] one shepherd.
It has been fairly well understood that He was referencing the Gentiles as apposed to the people Israel. Sheep is sheep. Cows is cows. Ducks is ducks. People are people. Aliens are fallen angels or demons.
Fairly well understood true.
But if we ask ourselves, if God did create intelligent creatures which the power of will (other than Man), would this not apply to them as well?
in other words, this question (does the proof of ET life (cognizant or otherwise) prove that God is not the author of Life?
The answer is (without having to appeal to the Bible) is Of course not. God created EVERYTHING in the Universe, and indeed he created time and space itself. Jesus Christ himself holds the universe together (for those of you looking for the “God” particle).
So although you may ASSUME Jesus meant ONLY the Gentiles, Here are some arguments against that
1) It was evidenced in the scriptures that God wants to save the Gentiles ALSO, and creation included the Gentiles. God chose Israel not be the only saved, but to be the medium for transmission of salvation.
2) Although Jews may have viewed the Gentiles as “other sheep” God does not draw a line between Jew and Gentile for his intention to save (numerous scriptures reference this) . So this would be the same Sheep.
In summary, it was a popular belief that guided the interpretation of this scripture, not simple reasoning from the other scriptures. We should interpret scripture in the light of scripture, not belief systems.
So, this scripture at LEAST is an open door (e.g not enough information to decide one way or another), it in fact does not rule out the possibility that “other sheep” are men, not on other continents, but other worlds.
This same debate came up after the “discovery” of the New World.
Yes, the “Men” in the New World were God’s creation too. Some people wanted it NOT to be so they could exploit the natives. This does not change the truth.