The Smiling Face of Evil — What Holly Thinks

A screen capture from a recent Alliance of Civilizations promotional video for young people.

What does the face of evil look like?

Watch this video produced by interns at the United Nations, and see how kind the young people look as they promote the Alliance of Civilizations initiative.

They’re all smiles and sincerity as they share their hopes that the alliance will create a peaceful world. It’s hard to look at their bright faces and think anything sinister could lurk in their words.

Yet, it does. The alliance’s war against religious extremism and exclusivism – defined by the alliance as the belief that one’s religion has sole ownership of the truth – is a direct attack on Christianity. If the alliance’s goals are successful – including media and education censorship — the world will become a much more threatening place for Christians. Read about the alliance’s plans here.

There’s an important lesson for Christians to learn in this. When we think of the face of evil, we often think of a face that is ugly, sinister, scowling. But the evil the Bible most often warns us about is outwardly beautiful and inviting. The unthreatening appearance gets us to let our guard down.

In Matthew 7, Jesus warned his disciples about false prophets who would come to them in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly would be ravenous wolves. And, in Revelation 13, we’re warned about the ultimate False Prophet who will have horns like a lamb, but will speak as a dragon. This individual won’t only appear kind, but he’ll also perform great miracles – leading many religious people to worship the Antichrist.

Today, we can see how false prophets lure Christians with their claims of healing and miracles, while promoting teachings that lead people away from the true Christian faith. The recent Lakeland Revival is an example of this. Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley gave the credit for his alleged healings to an angel he said empowered the healing ministry of William Branham – a false prophet of the late 1940s and 1950s who taught that the Trinity was a satanic doctrine, and, thus, led people away from the Triune God of the Bible. See Bentley’s statement here. See more about Branham here.

Likewise, we see how entities like the Alliance of Civilizations lure people with their promise of a peaceful world, while requiring them to give up the essential Christian belief that Jesus Christ is the only path to peace with God and man.

That’s what the face of evil looks like.

— Holly Pivec
8/14/08