The preacher said, “It is inexplicable to me why there is an interest in zombies.” He explained that zombies are animated corpses in certain pagan worship rituals, particularly in Africa. In modern culture they are walking dead corpses that mindlessly go around eating people.
So, what was a preacher doing talking about zombies, and is it really inexplicable? Genesis 2:17 says, “From the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” And “since by a man came death,” and “in Adam all die” (I Corinthians 15:21,22), then all of unregenerate mankind are walking dead, zombies, physically alive and deteriorating toward death and spiritually dead. (1)
Our physical vitality is the reason we don’t immediately understand our spiritual death, but I believe that there is another reason that most of the society doesn’t believe it. Death is defined in our culture as annihilation. Afterall, if we are no more than a set of chemical reactions slated to one day end, then this life is all that there is and death ends existence. I think that the strongest evidence that this is the prevailing idea about death is found in what happens after a mass shooter has done his worst. Almost always one does or attempts to take his/her (2) own life. Why do they do that? I believe that they think that they are getting away with it, since there is no afterlife and no consequences for their murders.
But as the preacher said and I heartily affirm, the Scripture teaches that death is a separation. By this definition there are three types of death: 1) physical (2 Corinthians 5:1-10), 2) spiritual (Isaiah 59:2), and 3) eternal (Matthew 7:21-23, Revelation 20:14-15). God has made us to be eternal being, not existing from eternity past, but continuing on into eternity future, some to eternal life (John 3:16) and others to eternal death (Romans 6:23, Revelation 20:14). Therefore, the spiritual zombies of this world are triply dead, already dead, deteriorating toward death, and eventually permanently dead. I further believe that this biblical definition of death helps us to understand the concept of hell. Whatever hell is, it need be no more than separation from God and His good gifts of common grace. Those who hate God, all who are lost, long to be far from Him. He will oblige them with separation from Him and all that he provides. There will be no hanging out with your buddies in hell. There will be a mutual separation, death, of all beings from one another because of hatred and fear and the absence of God and His grace.
And the fascination with zombies does not seem inexplicable to me. Those who are called to eternal life love and seek life. Those who are destined for eternal death, love and pursue death. From my experience of talking with, listening to, and observing students, death is fascinating to those not seeking after eternal life. I suspect that somehow, they feel an association with zombies because they innately know that it is an analogy for their life. They lack purpose, wonder if life and thought is real or illusory, and believe death is a natural part of life rather than an intrusion foisted upon life through the agency of sin.
If you have held on this long, you may think this a needlessly morbid diatribe upon humanity. However, it is needful to jolt some into hearing the solution and encouragement. Whereas “the wages of sin is death”, encouragingly, “the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23), for “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name [Jesus] under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4;12) Sinner, take heed to it, turn away from sin in both your love of it and pursuit of it (repent), and believe in the Lord Jesus as your Rescuer from zombie death in all of its forms. Do not say that you must see to believe. Dead people cannot see or believe. Call out to God to bring you to life, no longer separated from Him, so that believing you may see. You will be eternally grateful and alive.
- “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12) We are sinners by nature and by practice.
- Why almost none of the mass shooters are females is a discussion for another day about the brokenness of males in our society and how it manifests as opposed to the brokenness of females and how it manifests in equally destructive ways not so viscerally apparent.
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