Lies and Truth Contrasted

Lies and Truth contrasted – with God’s help I will fix it!

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How in this contemperory world are we to be able to distinguish between truth and error? Lies and falsehood are the order of the day. Just because someone says something to you does not mean that they are being truthful. They could be spilling a pack of lies. Fake news abounds – During the current Israel – Gaza war each time Hamas says something you can be certain they are engaging in deception.

When we fudge the margins between truth and falsehood, the consequence is that trust between people is undermined, and we then lack any certainty as to where we stand. In everyday layperson’s speech someone said to me the other day:

“By telling the truth it feels good! And consequently, by saying how it is, it has a way of clearing the air between people.”

And the converse is also true:

“If you lie to me, then you act like an enemy, and alas as an outcome because of your lies, you become my enemy!”

I bear witness to the certitude of both of these options, when on several occasions that I have experienced a misunderstanding or disagreement with someone, when I have spoken truthfully to them about what had transpired, clarify what happened, and having apologised, the positive outcome has been immediate. Peace, harmony, and concord is always effectively restored between those concerned.

Conspiratorial theories

Conspiratorial theories abound with large sectors of modern western society happily embracing what is all too often a concoction of nonsensical notions put forward as the truth. Some of these theories would be laughable in their ridiculousness if folk weren’t believing them. An example that we have only recently lived through is the global Corona virus – with its COVID variants has caused a global pandemic. Conspiratorial theorists having enjoyed a field day, and in many quarters are still being held as being the truth. The ‘no-jab’ campaigners saying that if you received the jab, you were micro chipped at the same time.

The micro chip allows the sinister ‘one world government leaders’ to track your every movement and action, making you into one of their zombies–robots that they can control at a whim. Some saying that this is the anti-Christ Mark of the Beast – 666: ‘You have been warned!’

Another equally disturbing issue at hand is the Russia – Ukraine war. On the Microsoft Edge news updates, the apparent misinformation, propaganda campaign being waged is equally misleading and confusing:

“Putin has been dead for over a year, and it’s a body double that has replaced him.”

“Russia’s war against the Ukraine is being pursued for the sole purpose of its ‘de-Nazification,’ despite the fact that Ukraine’s President Zelensky is a Jews.”

These types of nonsensical behavior are symptomatic of a much deeper problem taking place in today’s world, where truth is all too often in reduced measure.

A religious perspective

Equally from a religious perspective the end-time prophetic proponents are having a field day. It is important that I elaborate what is involved in any attempt to explain the prophetic.

Firstly, the Hebrew Scriptures (OT) is divided into three categories. The Pentateuch, also known as the Torah, or Five Books of Moses; Prophets or Nevi’im; the Writings or Ketuvim. In terms of the prophetic, the demarcation line is not clear cut, and it is wrong to assume that the Torah and the Ketvuvim don’t contain any prophetic acclimations or predictions. Notwithstanding, the major prophetic scriptures are found in the Prophets. In the New Covenant Scriptures, specifically the Book of Revelation is its major prophetic New Testament source. But similarly, the other books of these scriptures, particularly the Gospels also contain prophetic passages.

Prophecy into two categories, namely, ‘forth telling,’ and ‘foretelling.’ ‘Forth telling’ means to exhort or challenge individuals, and specific groups of people for them to take note, and to prepare to act when required. It is the ‘fore telling’ dimension of the prophetic that is our particular concern, and it is to this aspect of the prophetic that we now focus.

Two theological terms occur in the prophetic, namely, Apocalyptic, and Eschatological, or also referred to as eschatology. Firstly, apocalyptic may best be described as coming judgement and end of the world which culminates with the Battle of Armageddon as described in the Book of Revelation. It is popularized in cinema with films intitled ‘Apocalypse,’ ‘Apocalypse Now!’ According to Letterboxd ^[1] the 10 Best Apocalyptic Movies of all time are,

‘Interstellar’ (2014)

‘28 Days Later’ (2002)

‘The Cabin in the Woods’ (2011)

‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ (1991)

‘Melancholia’ (2011)

‘Shaun of the Dead’ (2004)

‘This is the end’ (2013)

‘Children of Men’ (2006)

The Book of Eli (2009)

‘I am Mother’ (2019):

I Am Mother: Ending Explained:

I Am Mother is a science-fiction film post-apocalyptic thriller directed by Grant Sputore. The cast includes Hilary Swank, Rose Byrne (the actors from the X-Men and Insidious series), and Clara Rugaard. The plot is set in a dystopian future where an unexplained global extinction event took place that killed most human life on the planet. An android raises a human girl, apparently all alone, claiming to help to repopulate Earth. ‘I Am Mother’ is in the genre of other films like Moon, Ex Machina, 10 Cloverfield Lane, and I Robot. The plot summary and the I Am Mother ending is inconclusive and needs explaining.^[2] Currently there over 100 titles of films in this apocalyptic genre. So why this fascination and obsession with coming judgement? There are several plausible explanations for this rising tide of ‘doomsday,’ scenarios being acted out and portrayed in film, music, works of art, and popular books too.

Additionally, the Israel – Gaza war, started of 7 October 2023, in which Israel has come face to face with an existential threat that has raise fears not experienced since WWII, when the Nazi genocide attempted to wipe out the Jews of Europe. This type of threat plays right into a doom and dread that has an apocalyptic sense. Many are asking, is this this the fulfilment of Ezekiel chapter 36 and 37, where the prophet speaks of coming judgment.

Bob Dylan’s 20 Best Songs About the Apocalypse^[3]

Most people take the apocalypse as an article of faith, but what exactly the apocalypse entails are in the eye of their beholder. Questions asked include:

Will the universe dissolve and all matter cease to exist, or will the pillaging be more localized? Perhaps the sun will explode. Or, more specifically (and likely), the oceans might rise and drown large swaths of humanity. generated virtual reality simulation, with our robot overlords overseeing out inert sleeping bodies. But in reality, none of us know how it all will end. AI – Artificial Intelligence will take control of our world, becoming our over–lords, enslaving humanity to do its bidding in a dystopian world.

“A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall” is at-times terrifying in its depiction of the dire aftermath of the Cuban missile crisis, but it also left room for the emergence of a visionary poet who would serve as a sort of bohemian Moses to lead his people out of the wilderness. The track Doomsday provided great grist for the mill when Dylan was a fire-and-brimstone preached in the late-70s and early 80s. This style of music followed Dylan’s profession of faith in Jesus as his Messiah and Lord, and he came under the influence of evangelical, hardcore gospel proclaiming Vineyard Ministry. Part of their message emphasised the Second-Coming of Christ, and the cataclysmic Apocalypse that will precede Jesus Second Advent.

Apocalypse

Firstly, this anticipation of an apocalypse is not a new phenomenon, by any means. And as described in Dylan’s Doomsday music, there numerous possible scenarios that will take place attending the Apocalypse. Since ancient times humanity has been fascinated, fearful, and apprehensive concerning human destiny. This is particularly when there are huge national or international disasters, such as wars, plagues, now called pandemics, cataclysmic earthquakes, volcanic eruptions drought and famine, to mention some of the most familiar tragedies that take place.

Secondly, it is of particular significance that at the turn of the century there is an increase in apocalyptic fervor which is often stimulated by a sense of uncertainty at the end of an epoch. It is as if people’s appreciation about what lies ahead is heightened by an impending feeling of doom. This fear is all too often irrational and may have no specific reason, nevertheless this often has driven individuals to speculate that some impending cataclysm is about to take place.

Thirdly, humanity is progressively sinking to such a low level of moral depravity, particularly in the western world, as the world leaders. It has become largely a-religious, with its having rejected its Judaic-Christian heritage, with ‘truth’ being in critically short supply. Few leaders can be fully trusted, and most are only concerned in their own self-interests. What transpires at the top, alas filters down into the farthest reaches of society, affecting everyone’s life. The biblical imperative, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself,” has largely been ignored, and rejected as being an outdated ideal. Nonetheless, the biblical concept of accountability, and judgement is so deeply imbedded into human psyche that an apocalypse is the inevitable outcome for our aberrant godless behavior. Thing cannot continue as they are, with humanity being hellbent with its own destruction. Who, or what, or how the end is triggered is in the realm of pure conjecture with the imagination running wild. Those who take a clear stand for the truth are labeled as being bigoted, fanatical and are viewed as swimming against the tide.

Apocalyptic art

The artist has the unique ability to portray ‘a window of the sole,’ offering an opportunity to give expression to the deep longing of humankind in a visual way. Visual illustrations, paintings, sculptures, glass window art, mosaics, etchings, and wood block printing, photography, and film, are just some of the artistic mediums often is used to represent apocalyptic imagery. Some of the great works of art stand as representations of our fears, our sense of foreboding, and our hopes, and dreams, that have been given expression through diverse media.

We have creation of Albert Durer’s Woodcut of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse of St John, 1497-1498:

‘The Four Horsemen’

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. These are described in the Book of Revelation 6:1–8 NIV,

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – by Albert Durer of Germany

The Seals

6¹I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” ²I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest. ³When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” ⁴Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword. ⁵When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. ⁶Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds^[^a^] of wheat for a day’s wages,^[^b^] and six pounds^[^c^] of barley for a day’s wages,^[^d^] and do not damage the oil and the wine!” ⁷When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” ⁸I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

It appears in the Revelation 6:1-8 we are presented with the opening of the first four of the seven seals that bring forth the cataclysmic climax and catastrophe of the long anticipated apocalypse.

The first horseman, depicts a conqueror with a bow and crown, and he rides a white horse.’ Scholars occasionally interpret this to represent Christ or the Antichrist.

The second horseman reeking judgement upon humanity is given a great sword and rides a red horse, symbolizing war and bloodshed.

The third horseman is depicted carrying a balance scale, and he rides a black horse, that symbolizes famine upon the earth.

And the fourth and final horseman rides a pale horse and is identified with Death.

We must be aware that apocalyptic predictions are open to interpretation, and this alas has led to, and at times this subject continues to result in weird, fanciful, and very dubious interpretations. And has even spored suicide cults such as The Jones Town mass suicide of over 900 people in British Giana, and Branch Davidian massacre in Waco, Texas.

The outcome has had some dire consequences for the three Abrahamic faiths, that each in turn having development of a number of sub-Jewish, sub-Christian, and sub-Moslem sects. I have not included in this discussion other major faith groups such as Hindu, Buddhist, etc.

For just as Jews and Christians, so too Moslems have used their Sacred Texts in an attempt to interpret possible end-time apocalyptic scenarios. Some Islamic suicide bombers are a case in point, with those involved in perpetrating these destructive acts as fulfilling the will of Allah. For the non-Moslem it is vital to our understanding the rising cult of the suicide bomber, is not sanctioned by main-stream Islam.

Islamic apocalypticism^[5] is a powerful force. According to a half of Muslims, and particularly in Muslim-majority countries, there is a growing conviction that the coming of the Mahdi is “imminent,” and could happen in our lifetime. The Islamic State, Islamic Jihad, El Shabab, and Al Kida just goes further by claiming that it is bringing the prophecies to life. This mentality is particularly one of the most influential factors driving the Islamic Revolution in Iran, and equally other centres such as Afghanistan where Sharia law in enforced. Even aside from jihadist violence, Islamic apocalypticism often continues to have negative consequences. When recent history and current events are seen as best explained by prophecies, it becomes difficult to analyse them. Take, for example, the main quandary of the Muslim world for the past two centuries:

“Why have we moved so far backward compared with the West? The apocalyptic narrative, revived since the 1980s by popular Islamic writers such as the Egyptian Said Ayyub and many of his followers, states that this happened because of the forces of “Dajjal” — Islam’s version of the Antichrist. This type of thinking is used by the more extremist elements within Islam to justify the use of jihad in preparation for the end-of-days and to vanquish the forces of the ‘Dajjal.”

Christian fundamentalist attitudes have had equally damaging consequences when coupled together with political power. Religious wars all too often have been carried out in an attempt to fulfil some perceived divine imperative. Christian Crusaders were encouraged by Emperor Constantine the Great to conquer with their

Eschatology

The terms eschaton and eschatology pertain to ‘things to come.’ It is an inherent characteristic in humankind that we desire to know what shape will coming events take. When will Messiah/Christ return? What will be some of the attendant circumstance surround that event? How should we prepare ourselves? What will be the ‘sign of the times?’ And several other important questions concerning his return. We must not discount a genuine concern about biblical truth connected with eschatology and consign it as belonging only to the lunatic fringe of faith. It is important that we are well informed, and also prepared for the return of Messiah, without getting swept along in some kind of prophetic hysteria. I have included a quotation from my recent book, Encountering This Jewish Jesus^[6] :

“This brings us to the consideration of end-time things, severally know as Eschatology, Apocalyptic and the Parousia, which relates directly to the return of Yeshua at the end of time to this earth. The Scriptures have many texts that deal with this subject. In this area of Christian teaching there are many different interpretations about the end of time.

Premillennial, a-millennial, and post-millennial interpretations of the Scriptures have produced whole schools of prophetic interpretation. One thing that is abundantly clear to me is that Yeshua is coming again, as the long-awaited Messiah and the Scripture says in

Revelation 1:7 CJB,

⁷Look! He is coming with the clouds!^[^a^]
Every eye will see him, including those who pierced him; and all the tribes of the Land will mourn him. Certainly, my heart’s cry is,

“Even so, come Lord Yeshua, come!”

This is a sin-sick world, that needs redemption, yet no one knows the hour of his return, not even Yeshua during his earthly life knew. We are encouraged to be watchful and alert, looking forward to his return but making the fullest use of being his faithful followers each day and telling others the good news of our Messiah and Lord.”

May our response be threefold, alertness, preparedness, and a keen anticipation expecting the return of Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah and Lord. We are promised in Holy Scripture that his return he will set up his kingdom, and it will be a kingdom characterised by righteousness, justice, and truth. No longer will humankind wage war anymore because universal peace will prevail.

Revelation 1:7 NIV,

⁷“Look, he is coming with the clouds,”^[^a^]
and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”^[^b^] So shall it be! Amen.

^[1] https://www.bing.com/search?q=list+apocalyptic+movies&form=

^[2] https://www.thisisbarry.com/film/i-am-mother-ending-explained-plot-spoiler-2019/

^[3] https://www.the-dowsers.com/the-dowser-posts/bob-dylans-20-best-songs-apocalypse.

^[4] https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en/duerer-or-duerer/the-four-horsemen-from-the-apocalypse-of-st-john-1497-98-woodcut/woodcut/asset/1706182

^[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/opinion/the-problem-with-the-islamic-apocalypse.html

^[6] Encountering This Jewish Jesus, Roni Mechanic, 2023, p 307-308

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