I realize that this isn’t my usual type of blog about filmmaking, but given that we are a Christian film ministry, I think that gives me a bit of leeway to comment on current events from time to time.
For years, people have been imagining, speculating and even preparing for the “zombie apocalypse”, and now many fear that it’s here. We’ll address that in a bit, but first, what is a zombie? According to Wikipedia, “They are typically depicted as mindless, reanimated corpses with a hunger for human flesh, and particularly for human brains in some depictions. Although they share their name and some superficial similarities with the zombie from Haitian Vodun, their links to such folklore are unclear[1] and many consider George A. Romero’s seminal film The Night of the Living Dead to be the progenitor of these creatures.”
The zombie genre of horror films (see, I brought it back to movies) has been growing with immense popularity in recent years. I should know, I used to make horror films. Though I never did do a zombie flick, I was a fan of films such as “I Am Legend”, the “Resident Evil” series and “Planet Terror”. With the growing fan base of such a genre, is it any wonder fears of a world overrun by flesh eating, reanimated dead bodies has flooded into our consciousness? The dreaded “zombie apocalypse” is a feared, fictional event where the human race is threatened by zombies, leaving small pockets of survivors that must fight to stay alive or become zombies themselves.
As many of you are probably aware, recent events have stirred up much fear that the zombie apocalypse is actually happening right now. On May 26, 2012, a man was seen naked and eating the face of another man. Reports say it took multiple shots from police to put him down. Since then, countless reports of “zombie-like” behaviour have been filed around the globe. Could it really be the start of zombie apocalypse? Or is there something even more alarming taking place? If we are to base our knowledge of zombies from the movies (brilliant idea, right?), then a large part of zombie lore is missing from these events-In film, if you get bitten by a zombie, you become a zombie. The result is that the undead population grows exponentially. That’s the rule, yet we don’t see this occurring with the current slew of sightings. So this isn’t the zombie apocalypse, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be worried.
We are witnessing an apocalypse of a magnitude unimaginable. I study eschatology, or the end times, and my speciality is Bible eschatology. The 1260 year prophecy of the beast has been fulfilled by the papacy. The Great Tribulation of Matthew 24 was the Dark Ages. And now, when you look back at the last ten years, it’s astounding how much prophecy has started to pass. Matthew 24:7 says that there would be famines, diseases and earthquakes, and that these are just the beginning. Given the numbers of rampant disease, third world famines, and the massive amount of natural disasters, among other signs, I think it’s safe to say that the real apocalypse has begun.
Back to the “zombies”, if this behavior is not being caused by a zombie virus, and it’s not bath salts (this has been proven), then what is going on? Demonic possession. Jesus had to cast out many devils from people when He was on this earth. Mark chapter 5 tells of one such incident that reminds me of the May 26 event. It’s sad that as a civilization, we can’t comprehend something as simple as a man being possessed. It’s like we don’t want to admit it, because that means there is a God, and if there’s a God, there might be some rules He wants us to follow. If these recent occurrences were witnessed by people living 200 years ago, almost any one of them could tell you that person is possessed. And now we want to blame it on drugs and mental disorders. And if we can’t explain it in those constraints, then we’re at a loss?
It’s time to wake up people. Satan is working overtime to snare as many of us as possible and this “zombie apocalypse” is just one way he’s doing it. It’s time we re-examine every faucet of our beliefs. As Christians, we need to read our Bibles. Not just a verse or passage that we think proves our beliefs, but entire chapters! And if what we read doesn’t match up with what we believe, we need to change our beliefs, not twist the Scriptures to fit our thoughts.
Closing thoughts: The dead have been brought back before, and will be again. Matthew 27:52 tells us that when Christ died, the graves where opened, and the dead walked around in the city. And when He comes again, the dead Christians will be raised from their graves to meet Christ in the clouds with the living saints. And after 1000 years, the wicked dead will be raised to have their judgement pronounced and then will be thrown into a burning lake of fire to die forever. The to all this is that when the dead are raised, it’s too late, your case will already be decided. Which side do you want to be on?
