Antichrist and Zombies

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. -- 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10

Again we see that deception is the enemy's weapon.  Flip Wilson's 'Geraldine' used to say, "The devil made me do it."  This is an easy excuse and incorrect.  Rather, as James tells us:  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:13-15) 

The problem is that a desire is generally rooted in something good.  It may get twisted into a macabre thing, like topiary that is shaped into a monstrous image, but the root is sound and legitimate.  All too often we are deceived as Eve was into disobedience, seeking that which we already possess.  The Serpent told her that she could be "as God, knowing good and evil", yet the man and woman were made in the image and likeness of Elohim from the start.  They already knew that obeying God was good and disobeying Him was evil.  The bargain they made was for dust, ending in death and bitterness.

There are no doubt exceptions, but in the majority of cases, I doubt that sexual pleasure is the primary motivation for adultery — as silly as that sounds.  Most of the time, adultery is about power, emotion, and status.  People feel neglected or oppressed in a relationship and think that a new partner will give them the attention and freedom they deserve.  Envy, greed, and slander are also rooted in a quest for control and dominance.  Yet the Lord told mankind from the very beginning that we have dominion over all the earth — just not over one another for we are all responsible to one Master. 

It is not necessary to seek to satisfy any need or to grasp for any good gift outside of a relationship with our Father.  He will pour into our lives everything we require, satisfying every desire at the root, like abundant rain that soaks down and is drawn up from the ground.  By comparison, yielding to temptation and seeking satisfaction in the world is like squirting water on a leaf.  You can't keep most plants in good health merely sprinkling a little moisture the leaves and branches.  Nourishment has to come up from the hidden roots for life and growth and fruitfulness. 

It all comes down to whom — not just what — we are going to believe.  God speaks the truth.  He cannot do otherwise and still be God.  Sometimes that truth is uncomfortable, disturbing, even confusing.  There is truth that will be incomprehensible to us, especially at the beginning.  Speaking for myself, if I lived twice as long as I have, much would still be beyond my comprehension.  On the other hand, our adversary is a liar and the father of lies, as Jesus said (John 8:44).  The devil will not tell the truth except in halves, distorted so as to serve his deception.  It is not just a matter of choosing whom we will serve.  We need to decide whom we will believe. 

In order to believe God, we will sometimes have to trust Him in spite of illusions, the "false signs and wonders" to which Paul refers.  This spirit of lawlessness, or the antichrist spirit, if you prefer, has a long history.  It is entrenched in the thinking and understanding of the old nature.  It is relentless and so tied to sensory perception that — despite it being rendered inoperable, it has the appearance of living on.  Zombies really are everywhere.  And they really do eat away at your brain. 

I confess that sometimes for days, even weeks, even months on end, I am living more like the walking dead than a son of the Living God.  It is not all that hard to get caught in the cycles of pressure, fear, stress, work, and worry.  We are apt to get locked into focusing on getting to the end of the day — and, honestly, even as we are believing the true report, some days are going to be a challenge just to survive.  But love the truth even when the thorns of it pierce the flesh.  As painful as it may be, it sharpens our awareness, deepens our understanding, awakens, and quickens, and it will cling to us even when we might rather let it go.