The True Face Of Evil
Very few things are more concealed than the true face of evil. The following pictures depict the perception of evil and although each has evil aspects they serve to deceive you from what is truly evil.
Serial killers and terrorists are known for their evil and the world has a history of these fiends. They touch the life’s of more than their direct victims causing anything from fear to disgust and even disbelief that human beings are capable of such things. One might think man would have progressed over history in the treatment of each other but today’s world has an abundance of serial killers and terrorists. Yet, this is ultimately not the face of true evil.
Another face of evil is what I call fantasy terror and it can be very real, scary to many people. It is contrasted with terror that is and has been in the past a reality to millions of people. In one case people can be overcome the fantasy horror of the movies although these things can become very real to people. The latter is the sad case that has played out consistently over history and that sometimes involved genocide or just the murder of millions of innocents. As much as this would seem to be the face of true evil it is ultimately not because despite its horror it is temporary.
These pictures above represent the greatest of contrasts. On one hand you have many innocent people who are adversely affected although they have done nothing to deserve their condition. The bottom portion has people suffering as a result of the evil they have chosen. They typically did not make the choice because they believed it would result in pain and suffering for themselves but because of some short-sighted, and usually short-lived pleasure or perhaps financial gain. They invariably end up suffering greatly in terms of pain, loss of friends and family and any previously earned respect they may have achieved. Yet once again these evils that occur to the innocent and to the guilty are not ultimately the true most serious face of evil.
We arrive at an evil that many realize, namely the devil, Satan, Lucifer. This character who is very real represents evil to many in the world. Yet, even the very personification of evil is not the true face of evil. Where there is evil there is usually also deception and the deception has worked very well hiding the true face of evil. Satan turns out to be a very good reason for you to discover the true face of evil. If you in any way end up sharing eternity with Satan it will be as the result of in some way being deceived. More than likely it will be deception that you embraced. All these things previously discussed may be awful, may be scary, may be sad, may be pathetic but in the end they are just misleading and thus mask true evil.
Jesus provided what is truly evil and it was the reason His father sent Him to the terrible death. In order to make this distinction, Jesus did not come to solve the suffering in the world but His calling was much, much higher. It can be summed up in something Jesus said and He said it many times in many ways but in this one verse it should be clear what is truly evil.
Matthew 10:28
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
The verse says to fear God and that is because He will be perfectly consistent with His promise only to save those who are obedient. That is, those who become children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. If you are misled you are still responsible for only the truth can save you not some well conceived or misguided deceit. You need a love of the truth, that you might be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2.10-12
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The pictures above show religion as prominent in what is truly evil. Religion brings comfort to many, but if the truth is not taught and lived there is ultimately no comfort. So people become complacent believing all is well. True evil is very simply those things that keep you from having a successful life following your earthly existence.
The choice you make in life against the Creator and in favor of the creation is the evil you will have to live with for eternity.
We frequently see depicted the things of God as superstitious, mysterious things. In more modern times the science of man questions God as creator suggesting a natural beginning. Day in and day out these depictions is before us. Much of the problem lies with humanism but the root cause usually lies with religion. Humanism is largely the result of the confusing, often historical (and to this day) violent world of religion. Of course, what is missed is very simply that the religions are not of God but just men’s idea of God and not surprisingly that is filled with problems. Christian religion, “SO-CALLED” turns out to be more the culprit than all the instances of evil suggested above. Normally, those who call themselves Christian are not children of God because what God planned in Christ is not their doctrine. The Christian churches you observe are not the plan of God but represent men’s idea of what God intended. In all the confusion, religion appears silly, confused, and certainly inconsistent. Those who see this and reject religion are just being logical. Unfortunately, in the process they also never find the truth. The metaphor of throwing out the baby with the bath water applies. So people abandon what they desperately need to know by tossing out all religion along with the evil they reject. There are so many ways to stumble in this life that result in your final end being “highly undesirable.” So some stumble because of a confusing “Christian” culture and others out of pride, selfishness or some combination of those things. The world is filled with religious teaching. Truth matters and there is no reason to miss finding it. If you love the truth you can find it. Many will be fooled by the appearance of evil, false supernatural phenomena, the evil of suffering and never find, obey and live the truth. There is serious deception believing the many things depicted as evil and allow those things to overwhelm your life’s critical decision making. Different people fall to different things and what gets one person will not be a problem for another. God desires no person to be lost and that is something you may not understand because of all the things this world places before you and you blame God.
Finally in the end, you will understand it was your choice, the thing or things that caused your destruction. Don’t let it happen! Right now, you can make a decision that today and for the rest of your life right things will matter. God’s plan is perfect and aligned perfectly with His purpose and indeed you will be fooled by true evil or impressed with God’s true goodness in Christ.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The choice you make in life against the Creator and in favor of the creation is the evil you will have to live with for eternity.
We frequently see depicted the things of God as superstitious, mysterious things. In more modern times the science of man questions God as creator suggesting a natural beginning. Day in and day out these depictions is before us. Much of the problem lies with humanism but the root cause usually lies with religion. Humanism is largely the result of the confusing, often historical (and to this day) violent world of religion. Of course, what is missed is very simply that the religions are not of God but just men’s idea of God and not surprisingly that is filled with problems. Christian religion, “SO-CALLED” turns out to be more the culprit than all the instances of evil suggested above. Normally, those who call themselves Christian are not children of God because what God planned in Christ is not their doctrine. The Christian churches you observe are not the plan of God but represent men’s idea of what God intended. In all the confusion, religion appears silly, confused, and certainly inconsistent. Those who see this and reject religion are just being logical. Unfortunately, in the process they also never find the truth. The metaphor of throwing out the baby with the bath water applies. So people abandon what they desperately need to know by tossing out all religion along with the evil they reject. There are so many ways to stumble in this life that result in your final end being “highly undesirable.” So some stumble because of a confusing “Christian” culture and others out of pride, selfishness or some combination of those things. The world is filled with religious teaching. Truth matters and there is no reason to miss finding it. If you love the truth you can find it. Many will be fooled by the appearance of evil, false supernatural phenomena, the evil of suffering and never find, obey and live the truth. There is serious deception believing the many things depicted as evil and allow those things to overwhelm your life’s critical decision making. Different people fall to different things and what gets one person will not be a problem for another. God desires no person to be lost and that is something you may not understand because of all the things this world places before you and you blame God.
Finally in the end, you will understand it was your choice, the thing or things that caused your destruction. Don’t let it happen! Right now, you can make a decision that today and for the rest of your life right things will matter. God’s plan is perfect and aligned perfectly with His purpose and indeed you will be fooled by true evil or impressed with God’s true goodness in Christ.
Summary:
- Real Evil is anything that distracts you from finding and living the truth. Your passions for sport, for financial success, for your children’s success, your desire for great relationships as good and noble as these things might be they are not what life is all about. First, take care of the spiritual, then you can help others.
- As evil and terrible as the things mentioned at the beginning of this post are all in the same category, namely “temporary evil.”
- There is truly only one evil thing – the loss of your soul. If you succeed in life or fail that will be the only thing that really mattered.
- The true face of evil is associated with deception and never has that been more true than in the case of what religion (the religion of man claimed to be from God) has wrought! The height of folly is to blame God for anything, but especially to look at the world’s religions which God abhors and fail to find the truth in Christ, which God intended for you.