Creeped out by cryptid. Are monsters among us?

Cryptids are popping up all over these days.

August 24, 2009, WPTV NewsChannel 5: Strange sea creature in Lake Worth dubbed 'Muck Monster'
There's something lurking just under the surface of the Lake Worth Lagoon. This mysterious creature was caught on tape by the LagoonKeepers. "We spend a lot of time out here on the water and seen a lot of different creatures out here and this is the first time in three and half years that I’ve ever seen anything out here that didn't know what it was," Reynolds said.

August 26, 2009, Fox News: Proof That the Loch Ness Monster Exists?
Sun reader Jason Cooke spotted "Nessie" while browsing the Web site's satellite photos. The shape seen on the surface of the 22-mile Scottish loch is 65ft long and appears to have an oval body, a tail and four legs or flippers.

September 3, 2009: Chupacabra: blood sucking mythical beast 'found in Texas'
While its hairless, leathery body and pointed muzzle resemble a dog with severe mange, other animal experts who have inspected the corpse have suggested it may be a chupacabra, a predator first sighted in Puerto Rico in 1995.

September 10, 2009, Telegraph UK: UFO or pterodactyl photographed over Argentinian lake
A strange object photographed over a lake in Argentina has been described as either a flying saucer or a flying dinosaur. The object, photographed by a fisherman near San Rafael over an artificial lake called El-Nihuil, was, according the the newspaper Los Andes, witnessed by more than one person/

September 16, 2009, Telegraph UK: New Montauk Monster Spotted in Panama
A mystery creature reportedly beaten to death by a group of teenagers in Panama is the subject of much speculation on the web. The beast's hairless, rubbery body and revolting features have drawn comparisons with the Montauk Monster, the still-unidentified animal photographed on a New York beach last year. According to reports in Panama, the teenagers spotted the creature crawling out of a cave while playing in the town of Cerro Azul north of Panama City.

September 17, 2009: Satellite shots reveal a mysterious lake monster
Could this be the Loch Alexander Monster ... or is it something a lot less mysterious? The images captured on Google Earth show a large brown object in the murky water at Lake Alexander, where a giant cod bit a woman on the foot last month.

That was a huge monster list for just the past three weeks. So, monsters and the end time. What have they to do with each other? Jesus answered the disciples' query as to the signs of the end with what is known as the Olivet Discourse, a talk with the disciples on the Mount of Olives. Jesus used the word "deceive" many times, to indicate an end-time atmosphere of deception riddled with false christs and false prophets, lies upon lies and false wonders and signs to back up the lies.

In addition to deception, people have power to deceive through lying signs and wonders. This is consistent with the regular people in the Old and New Testaments. Pharaoh's magicians could perform lying miracles, they turned their staffs into snakes in front of Moses. Acts 8:9 talks of a magician named Simon who was practicing magic in the city and bewitching the people of Samaria. In the time to come, the false prophets of the tribulation and the antichrist will also perform lying signs and wonders to deceive even the very elect, if that were possible. 2 Thessalonians talks about the deceptions of the antichrist and how strong they will be and how pervasively they will penetrate. But that is a time to come. How do we get from here and now to then?

Gradually. Like creeping apostasy, preparing the secular world to accept supernatural events takes time. It is a gradual creep that builds, like an evil symphony dementedly moving toward the crescendo.

A Forerunner Commentary puts it like this:
"Before the man of sin appears, Satan must lay some groundwork to prepare for his acceptance. What better way than to throw the world into quarreling and divisive and wearying confusion? People then yearn for some strong and seemingly wise hands to set things straight, so the nations can "catch their breath" and have a span of peaceful calm. In its wake, confusion creates directionless people, with little desire to change the status quo, whose minds are turned in upon themselves in an attempt to keep what they have."

Add to the current mix of financial, economic, military, and cultural quarreling and division comes another kind: a worldwide array of seemingly real monster creatures. The scientific would be turned on its head because no neat category exists in which to put these creatures. Regular people would fear to swim or walk or play in the areas where the animals have appeared. Discussions started among friends and heated arguments in families as to the meaning of it all and questioning the veracity of the reports.

The point is not whether these weird creatures exist or are simply mutated everyday animals. The point is the world's reaction. First, the animals' existence are being taken seriously. Second, they are being reported widely. Third, people are highly interested. After the The Lake Worth Muck Monster video was uploaded to the LagoonKeepers' website their site went from 4 hits a day to 2000. Fourth, people are confused, shocked, fearful. Whether these are hoaxes or are freak accidents of nature, people are evaluating the facts and making decisions that enlarge their supernatural worldview, or in some cases, confirm it. The witness to the Argentinian "pterodactyl" said, "I was excited and I do believe life must exist on other planets."

We are even told that we already see through a glass dimly but add to that in these end times, an overlay of deception that we are also told is coming. Perceptions are skewed, emotions are running high, and "evidence" can be faked. Christians, stand firm in the Word. People are skeptical when they shouldn't be and accepting when it's wrong to be so. A commenter on my other blog responded to the photo of the DC rally that truly showed the massive scale of the march claimed that it had been Photoshopped. Yet people say, "Oh, did you hear there's a pterodactyl flying around a lake in Argentina?" Satan is doing his groundwork. Are we doing ours? Are we giving thanks to Him among the nations, and singing praises to His name? (Ps 18:49) You can avoid being consumed by the lion if you are a sheep who knows his Master's voice. Take off the dark glasses of deception and see Him who is beckoning. Then, no matter where satan's groundwork appears in the form of a lie, a war or even a 'monster,' you will know the truth.