Counterfeit #3 – That mortal wound
Think again to Jesus, but move this time beyond his birth, beyond his ministry and unto his death and resurrection. Jesus really did die and really was gone for 3 days before returning from the grave restored, revitalized and made anew.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the greatest validation that could be granted. The Lord of life had been brought back to life.
One of the 7 heads of the beast had what appeared to be a mortal wound that had been healed. This head had not fully died. Some would say Jesus only swooned or had been mostly dead, but that is not so. The Romans were effective dispatchers; they did their job effectively for their lives were on the line in the event of their own failure. Jesus did not just appear to be dead, but really was.
Death to life events are things that amaze humans and so Satan harvests a bit of that genre for his not-so-fantastic beast. Again, though, he only mimics not going the full way. The Dragon has no power to bring back from the dead.
Counterfeit #4 – Worshiped the Dragon
God the Father put all things under the authority of Jesus Christ and a proper reaction is for men and women the world over to worship God the Father as a result. That is fitting. Here the Dragon does a similar thing. He has orchestrated the beast. He has healed that mortal wound and given authority to it. Humanity recognizes this and honors the Dragon for it. Satan’s pride has drove him to this point.
Counterfeit #5 – “Who is like the beast?”
“Who is like the Lord our God,” (Psalm 113:5a–ESV)
In that Psalm great praise is offered to God for his attention to the needs of people lifting the poor from the dust and the needy from the ash heap. Lucifer wants people the world over to speak the same of him and for a time he gets that sort of talk. Of course the praise is not over help for the needy, but over his strength. “Who can make war against him?” “We want to be on his team.” That is the way the people think when they see the beast.
The problem is Satan does not want the people on his team. He does not need a team. Under his thumb is more like it and that thumb grinds its followers to dust.
All that glitters is not gold
Satan can glitter and can manifest himself as an angel of light. He knows what he wants and he knows what mankind is drawn to. Skillfully he enmeshes that glitter, but it is only fool’s gold. Wine sparkles in the cup but in the end it can bite like a viper and poison like a snake (to quote a Proverb of Solomon). Satan wishes worship and he wants God’s post, but he must counterfeit God’s things in order to gain that. Unfortunately he is playing with the souls of men. He is careless of those, however, and willing to cash them in that his own ego might be temporarily stroked.
Don’t be fooled by things that sparkle
Mark Felt revealed himself in 2005 for who he was. Maybe you know that name, maybe you do not. He was the man who played the role of “Deep Throat” beginning way back in the early 1970s Watergate scandal. For years it was postulated that he was acting in a selfless manner for the good of the country, the good of the Presidency. In his book, “Leak: Why Mark Felt Became Deep Throat” Max Holland points out that Mike Felt was vexed over not being given the post that J. Edgar Hoover vacated: Director of the FBI. On top of it all this post was given to the Nixon supporting outsider Patrick Gray III. Mark Felt leaked time and time again to discredit Patrick Gray and Mark did so in a manner to aggrandize himself. John McDermott was the special agent in charge of the Washington Office beginning in October of 1972. In a 2006 letter McDermott wrote “Felt was the Bureau’s Benedict Arnold.”
So Mark Felt sparkled as Deep Throat for many years, but the truth eventually came forth.
The truth at the end of all time, too, will shine forth. God is God indeed and Satan is but a powerful counterfeit wanting his day in the sun. Short it will be and unfortunately damning for probably millions if not billions of people. We need to make sure that we stay fixed to God in prayer. We must be on the look out for counterfeits. Some of these will be very subtle. Adherence to God the Father and Jesus Christ his son (and not the Jesus Christ of the many counterfeit religious groups) is the point of great safety. There is where I want to stay and where I hope you will as well.
Some play for the short term
In August of 2017 while I was running a clinic in a local prison a bit of a yelling match developed in the hall outside my door. It was a bit of a fight one of the inmates decided to pick with one or two of the higher echelon security officers. A scuffle ensued as one might imagine. I did not see the outcome, but the short term yelling event assuredly did not result in privileges for this inmate.
Later on a fellow came in and sat down. My tech asked him how he was doing and asked about his stitches…the ones over his eyebrow. She muttered to me, “he was caught in the crossfire.” So one inmates boisterous activity did not result in a thing good for him or for those around him. That confrontational inmate got his moment of yelling. That didn’t do much good for him.
As I walked to my car with the senior resident who is on my service he mentioned how it was a bit baffling how an inmate would pick such a fight. The security officers he picked the fight with were wearing their body armor, etc. and are specifically on the lookout for these events. What kind of gain was he likely to get? I’m sure someone wiser than I can elaborate on secondary gain, personality types, etc. Regardless it was not to his long term advantage. I think my resident and I are so tuned to delayed gratification (that is, staying in school from kindergarten to we are 29 or 30) the short term gain for the long term cost just does not mesh.
In Ken Kesey’s book One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest Randle McMurphy seems to have a similar mentality. Never cave to the demands of those around you even if it will come at the ultimate personal cost. His cost? (Spoiler alert…) 1 Never submit, always subvert.
Be shrewd but innocent
Jesus admonished his followers to be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. We need to make sure that we are not taken in by the Felts, the McMurphies, the devils. These characters are present around us. They are a real and present danger to themselves and others. We need to be careful that we do not go overboard with this and become too skeptical of those around us, but our antennas should be up and ready to recognize that some of the glittering things we are offered are not in fact the gold they advertise.
Leave a Reply