What if you met the mother of evil and thought she was a lovely woman? Would you then invite evil over for cookies?
In Men in Black, Will Smith engages in training to battle alien invaders. During a simulation, he and the other trainees encounter a scene that involves a little girl walking in a dark city at night surrounded by evil looking creatures. Smith is the only trainee to pass the test because he chooses to shoot the little girl.
Smith correctly interprets the situation when he discerns that most of the obvious aliens are simply going about their business. What’s suspicious is a schoolchild alone on a city street at night carrying books on quantum physics. Disguised by sweet innocence, she is the only character with truly evil intent.
I think studying that scene should be mandatory for Christians.
If every evil showed up declaring itself a public menace, displaying a threatening and repulsive demeanor, affirming its allegiance to Satan, well, life would be simple then, wouldn’t it? And we know life is not simple.
Unfortunately, most of us react these days like the other agents in the scene, spraying gunfire at every scary thing that moves, creating a lot of noise and excitement, while missing the real danger purring like a kitten at our feet.
We forget that evil is just as likely to live in a modest cottage on a wooded lane and invite us in for coffee in a kitchen that smells like cinnamon scones. Evil will introduce us to its well-educated, soft-spoken mother who delights us with her wisdom and the puppy she rescued from an abusive owner. In cultured tones with soothing music in the background, evil will likely convince us that what we formerly understood to be wrong, isn’t wrong at all, of course.
In fact, evil will shame us for even once thinking that we knew anything for certain. How could we? Who do we think we are? Soon, we begin seeing life through the lens of evil without even moving from our comfy chairs.
Yesterday, I watched a documentary about the four U.S. doctors who perform late-term abortions. The film takes us face-to-face with these two men and two woman. We’re in their living rooms, their kitchens, and their exam rooms. We’re treated to close-ups of their compassionate counsel, the comforting hugs they give their patients, and their fears about being killed by religious zealots. We meet their lovely moms.
And throughout, we have a front row seat to layer upon layer of justification for injecting an unborn child with a deadly drug that stops his or her heart so that the mother delivers a stillborn baby.
Quietly, so quietly, they present their arguments as they dab at tears and we see their shoulders practically bent from the burden of responsibility they’ve assumed of deciding who will die and who will survive the womb. They seem almost noble and the filmmaker clearly is trying to portray them as heroic so that it almost sneaks up on you when one doctor states something to the effect that there’s no denying what she’s doing. She can’t call it a fetus. She’s choosing to end the life of a baby and to call it anything else would be disingenuous. For this admission, she actually seeks points for honesty.
ISIS is honest. Let’s give them points for that. “We’re coming to kill you,” they say. “We believe our way is the only way so you can join us or die.” You’d think that would be off-putting and ISIS would have no chance of recruiting volunteers. You’d be wrong.
A news story Friday reported on the propaganda ISIS produces. Slick enough to recruit the disenfranchised from educated, well-off nations. There are glossy magazines. Twitter accounts. YouTube videos showing the softer, human side of ISIS soldiers as they give ice cream to schoolchildren, share pizza with comrades, and provide personal glimpses of the men behind the masks. There are even warrior heroes among them, like NBA stars, admired for prowess in their one-sided battles. Major league terrorists meriting their own following of brutal bully wannabes.
And I thought. All of those men have mothers. If we met their moms, would these men seem less murderous?
And then I thought, we will need to walk through the end times on our knees.
We received this warning in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Beware the strong delusion, loved ones.
For a strong delusion to be effective, it cannot be immediately repulsive or frightening. It must be alluring, engaging, believable, beautiful, even. It won’t look like a masked gunman. It will look like his mother, a kindly old doctor, or a little pig-tailed girl.
It won’t coming brandishing weapons; it will offer us tea, a listening ear, and a compassionate face. It will tell us stories that draw us in but it will lace those stories with the arsenic of deception on the chance that we can be lulled into the stupor with all the rest.
That’s why I get peeved at all the scattershot chatter on social media and broadcast news shouting about obvious evil. It’s like the agents in Men in Black who are so busy aiming at monsters they miss the real source of danger.
It takes mental, emotional, and spiritual energy to remain alert in the face of widespread deception. It demands effort. It requires a constant intake of truth from God’s word and from sound, Biblical teachers. It’s hard work and we must pay close attention.
A lazy faith won’t survive these times. Worse, apathetic, lazy believers are a poor line of defense against the spread of delusion.
This is no simulation, people. This is it. This is what we’ve been warned about. This is why we’ve trained. This is no time to fall prey to magical illusions and sleight-of-hand ethics. These are the days of full-on alert faith.
Are your eyes open or are you sipping tea with the mother of all evil?
What bothers you about these times in which we live? I want to hear your perspective be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts!
**Please understand that I believe Jesus loves and died for terrorists, abortion doctors, and others who choose to believe the lies of the evil one. Our enemy is the evil one. People become seduced by his lies and become his pawns but they should not be treated as if they are evil. Christians should not assassinate abortion doctors.
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It takes mental, emotional, and spiritual energy to remain alert in the face of widespread deception. It demands effort. It requires a constant intake of truth from God’s word and from sound, Biblical teachers. It’s hard work and we must pay close attention.
As for myself I’ve learned and am still learning or should I say, putting into practice, “ACKNOWLEDGING GOD IN EVERYTHING I THINK AND SAY AND DO” after all He NEVER leaves or forsakes us so why not acknowledge Him and get His wisdom in all things?
Amen!
What bothers me about these days of deception? Don’t get me started! But, seriously, and sadly…
It’s that no one will listen! Even when the opportunity is ripe for this much.needed discussion, or a nugget of sharing encouragement, some Christians will cover their ears and sing, ‘la, la, la’; and the lost (especially, my lost husband) will either look at me as though I’m bonkers and overly concerned; or, they just want life to continue in a bubble.
Please hear me, though… I don’t preach! Along with a hopefully, loving discerning heart, I try to listen and hear what God wants me to say, or not. To stay in that blissful state of joy with Him, during these times, is a challenge; but I’m getting there! And, I know that Words.of.Truth are being sown into fertile hearts.
Our faith and hope must be focused on our Mighty and Loving Father and (you are SO right – His Word), so that we will think less of the enemy’s tactics – hovering close to doubting ears; snatching these seeds we’ve sown, thru more deceptive lies, distractions and soothing rhetoric. He does know who to speak scripture!
In my prayers, I’ve been lifting up our pastors and those who teach. After completing Charis Bible College, I’ve come to realize how much false doctrine is out in our world. I don’t pretend to have all the answers; but when given a Holy Spirit moment, I ask people why they believe what they’ve just said, and try to give them a deeper thought to contemplate. Thank you got for mobile bible apps! 🙂
Regardless, I know in Whom I trust and put my hope! I will not waiver, but persevere! One other scripture that comes to mind is 2 Peter 1:5-11:
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; to virtue knowledge; to knowledge self-control; to self-control perseverance; to perseverance godliness; to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
“Therefore! Believers! be even more diligent to make your call and election sure! For if you do these things, you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you… abundantly… into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
May most of us be a Living.Light in this: ‘… to brotherly kindness love’. For we know if we lack love, our effectiveness will profit the Lord’s glory nothing!
We need to live prayerfully, with hearts emboldened by love and tongues harnessed with grace.
Another great post Lori. If the devil & his comrades all had red pointy ears & had a tail, we’d know to avoid them. These are indeed the days of itching ears…..(2Timothy 4:2-4).
Good scripture, Cyn.
Thank you Lori for this eye-catching, heart-gripping description of the strong delusion that pervades the world (the entire world!). I think Isaiah sums it up: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” I don’t ever minimize the evil that is ‘the world’ — it tears me up and cry out about it to the Lord. But I find myself equally (maybe even more) distressed over the delusion that has taken over the church. Yes — HAS taken it over — and is exponentially invading the hearts and minds of those who think they are worshiping the real Lord God when they are really being deceived by the angel of light. While we are watching out for the devil who we perceive to have horns and a pointed tail (figuratively speaking), the beautiful creature who lived before God and His throne, is inserting his beautiful self into the places where we worship the Living God. New Age thinking (Oprah Winfrey style), the social gospel and evolutionary compromises in theology have pervaded seminaries, pulpits and pews. What a heartbreak for the God who wants us to know Him deeply so that we can hear His voice and recognize His hand upon us. While the children of ISIS are being taught to hate and kill — the children of Christendom are being taught to worship mother earth and “how to have the life you’ve always wanted.” Biblical sounding ‘theology’ with mankind at the center and the Lord Jesus shunted off to the side so He can be brought out when it suits us — this is the postmodern church. The deception is so thorough that church leaders don’t even realize they are palming it off on their congregations. We — every one of us — needs to be prayerfully, intelligently steeped in the Word of God . . . reading it for ourselves and verifying Scripture with Scripture.
We do need to pray, to love, and to live the light.
About scripture, you are right. As I said in my reply to the blog: after attending a Word.Based college, there is a dire need to get the real gospel out there. If any of us senses we know we are called to teach, and have that kind of accountability to God, then we should definitely step up – sooner than later!
What bothers me most about these times….not so much how the secular world falls for every lie and deception (though sometimes it is just stunning to watch) it’s how many Christians compromise with the lie. There are so many who go out of their way to justify sin (living together, “o.k. to be gay” [this was my sin], deceptive business practices [“I don’t mix business with religion”], etc…) or to involve themselves with deceptive thought. I’ve seen so many Christian friends posting New Age philosophies on their Facebook pages or extolling the “open-minded” sentiments of celebrities and TV talk show hosts. The number of followers of questionable ministries is astounding — they like the water-downed, no conviction, no cost message that’s all about YOUR success and YOUR prosperity and YOUR happiness. They like to quote the Buddha or the Dalai Lama or some Maharishi. They read books by Marianne Williamson or Rob Bell. They talk about communicating with dead relatives. So many rarely bother to check whether what someone preaches actually lines up with scripture and too many churches recommend teachers who’s teaching raise eyebrows at least if not totally causes one’s jaw to drop. So few know basic Christian doctrine. Eastern mysticism is infiltrating the Church. Christian Socialism and Emergent doctrine are invading. We don’t talk about the “wages of sin” or Hell…that just makes people feel bad. But if you do tell someone that living together is wrong or it’s not o.k. to be gay then you’re labeled legalistic and narrow-minded. Truth is hate speech and taking the Bible literally is foolish. THAT’S what bothers me.
There has to be a desire for our fellow Saints to go deeper in love with our Father and His Holy Spirit inspired Word; and if we carry the Good.News, all we can do is share it, and let God to do the rest.
Perhaps, if you’re a part of the solution – to teach or to encourage others to do so – it’s a start. In the meantime, why not ask God how much more you can let His love flow thru you and share whatever wisdom you have with them? Whatever you are to do, intimate prayer time and worship will provide the peace and joy you need to carry on. You… are not… alone!
We have to live the truth and suffer the consequences of speaking out. That’s how it is.
This post has made me see that I have let the noise of bad news distract me. I don’t seem to be tempted by the allure of “reasonable arguments” and sentimental approaches, but I AM pulled away from the truth by the trumpeting of news coming from headlines and political sites.
“This is it. This is what we’ve been warned about.” I needed to read the truth and remember to fight. Not flesh and blood, but in the heavenlies through my prayer. I’ve directed my attention to the wrong things — that cloud of deception takes many shapes! — and I desperately needed to be reminded that rather than share the headlines and my opinions I should pray and share the truth.
Thank you!
I love your reaction to the piece, Kathy. Thanks for letting me know!
Thanks for this perspective, Lori. Your writing definitely makes one put the thinking cap and heart monitor on.
Cork Hutson
http://thetalkingpen.com
My favorite comment of the week, Cork!
Lori, You have initiated a great discussion here. I wish I could find Christians like you, and the people that read and respond to your blog, to talk to face to face. . . .Christians who see through the New Age blather. I’ve come across some authors/teachers who are exposing the New Age infiltration of Christianity: Caryl Matrisciana and Warren Smith — both have been saved out of New Age religion. As with over-fascination for the headlines of the day, one can read these books and listen to youtube messages to the point of obsession. I found myself doing that and went running back to my Bible to regain my focus on Christ alone. Funny how trying to educate yourself can easily become just another distraction. Also, yesterday I found an online sermon by a Scottish pastor, Eric Alexander, that set my mind and heart singing the praises of God the Father, the Lord Jesus and His Spirit. The sermon is number 4, “The Indwelling Christ,” in his ‘Knowing Christ’ series. I’ve been studying God’s Word for a long time and I’ve never heard anyone use Scripture to explain what it means to have Christ indwelling as this man does. It took my breath away! This message will be a huge encouragement to anyone who listens. (And the Scottish accent is nice too.) http://www.ericalexander.co.uk/sermons/knowingchrist.php
Thanks for the encouragement, LoriAnne! And yes, I agree that it’s hard to find like.minded people to share, pray and generally… just be with! But He is faithful to show us those precious few, in our midst, even when we least expect it! But, that’s the thing, isn’t it, sometimes? What… do we.. expect God to do; and more importantly, and how will we respond?!
Re: educating ourselves – yes, knowledge and wisdom are good; but, in my humble opinion, it’s our intimacy, our deeper love for God that will carry us through these days and make the more supernatural, glorious difference.
I pray… “that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit… together… in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2,3 (on up to vs. 10!)
Sometimes we’re surrounded by those Christians, Lorianne, but by staying silent we don’t find one another.
Hi Betsy – You sound like a lover of Paul’s writings! I think you will really appreciate the message by Eric Alexander — he truly understands “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27) and brings it to light in a way I’ve not heard before. He compares Scripture with Scripture to reveal the depth of the Father’s love for us in making our hearts the dwelling place of the Savior. Talk about intimacy — it’s purely awesome!
I am late here, and have enjoyed not only the blog post but also the discussion – God is bringing like minded folk to us in surprising ways in our small corner of the world, and it is so refreshing, as is this blog and the resulting discussions.
Blessings
Maxine