Dillibe Onyeama's Anti-Christ (Book Review)

 

I've always loved and enjoyed books by Dillibe Onyeama. This book is no exception. In the introduction, Mr Onyeama stated that the essence of the book Anti-Christ is an “attempt to open the eyes of those who care to look to the reality of how specific historic and current events are synchronizing exactly with chronological biblical prophecy.” 

He divided the book into two parts.

Book one, titled “Spirit of Deception” has seven chapters and book two titled “Spirit of Evil” has nine chapters. The main theme of the book is the deceptions and evils that have plagued the world since creation and the roles played by Satan and his fallen angels in deceiving the world and causing mayhem on earth.

Mr Onyeama traces the origin of man biblically and the place of the black race and African in the scheme of creation with particle reference to the Igbo people of Nigeria, with facts from different sources to authenticate the claim. According to the author, the emergency of different races, religions and pigments of the human species are all schemes of Satan, an effective ploy to deceive man and bring confusion in the world. He challenges the supremacy attitude of the white race and enthroned the black race as God’s first creatures on earth.

The book weaves its way through many controversial issues like the existence of ghosts, UFO’s, reincarnation theories and sightings of the Virgin Mary, which he sees as the antics of sly tacticians from the world of the fallen angels on earth and part of Satan’s web of deception and manipulation of man. There is a lot of build-up of theories that the antichrist is in the world already, waiting to fulfil its prophecy. The author cited world events and conspiracy theories that pointed towards the emergency of the antichrist with biblical landmarks.

Lots of conspiracy theories have been flaunted about the coming of the antichrist. Conspiracy theories are nothing new. Each generation comes up with its own conspiracy theories and the world has heard many tales of the birth of the biblical beast or antichrist which were quoted in the book. End-time prophesies are not new but with each generation, the story snowballs, and we hold our breaths and wait for the rapture to take place and the antichrist to take over and rule the world for three and half years as foretold biblically.

The book antichrist is a harvest of information on the world’s march toward Armageddon. In glaring words, Mr Onyeama narrates the efforts and plans of world leaders to bring about a new world order that will usher in world peace. However, their efforts seem to be a mirage as each fought for the supremacy of their races and countries, which according to Mr Onyeama is part of Satan’s script to take over the reign of the earth from God and distort God’s plan for humans on earth. 

He writes extensively of events and incidences of the presumed antichrist and Satan’s untiring efforts to deceive humans and set them against their maker. Some of which are the alarming disregard of God in civilized nations,  the rise of devil worshippers and the enthronement of atheist civilization. And then, the aspiration of man to play God through cloning of humans using DNA code.  He notes that the possibility of scientists creating humans with extraordinary superpowers through genetic engineering has only been a work in progress for decades. Though achieved in science fiction films, the world is yet to witness it in reality.

The growing incident of evil in the world, the death of Christianity in developed nations especially in America that is termed “God’s Own Country and computer technology that will produce a micro-chip which will contain financial and personal data of owners are mentioned in the book as part of the events that will herald the coming of the antichrist.

A well-researched book, overflowing with facts that will pique the curiosity of anyone who is interested in the story of man's creation and the conspiracy theories surrounding the coming of the antichrist 

Though engaging, there are some contestable summations in the book. For instance, Mr Onyeama writes that “The myth of reincarnation of human beings has no foundation in reality.” Reincarnation is a controversial topic which one cannot wave away as untrue. There are many cultures that believe in it.

 

And the ending is informative, but it wasn’t the ending I expected. Base on Arnold Schwarzenegger's current status ascribing his life as the prototype of the expected antichrist sounds far fetch. 

The book is an eye-opener,  a warning to the church not to lose its grip and to focus on the coming of Christ. And the world to prepare for the great tribulation that awaits it. The big question is when? Even Jesus couldn’t answer the question.

6-DEADLY-FEARS-THAT-HINDER-EMOTIONAL-INTIMACY

Intimacy is from the Latin word “Intimus”, meaning to have personal knowledge or to reach into the inmost parts of a person. Intimacy is a contact that explores deeply the very core of a person, resulting in extra-ordinary closeness and understanding.

Intimacy is of two types, physical intimacy and emotional intimacy, which is our focus here. It is better to establish emotional intimacy before the physical will be meaningful. In a relationship, it’s far easier to de-nude yourself physically than emotionally. And physical intimacy doesn’t give birth to emotional intimacy. To achieve this, you have to work at it.

Emotional intimacy involves being confident enough to share yourself, your heart, your fears, your aspirations, and your desires with your partner. A complete sharing and caring without reservation or hindrance. An unconditional and unrestrained giving of yourself, heart, body and soul to another.

However, emotional intimacy exposes you, makes you transparent, defenceless and vulnerable before another. It is for these reasons that getting real intimate is a tough ordeal for most people. They find it very hard and uneasy to let go of their core belief. They are afraid to expose the very centre of their being to another.

At the beginning of a relationship, it is usually better to give a little of yourself per time. It’s a budding romance and like a blooming bud, you unfold your layers gradually. Getting involved in a relationship is like travelling to an unknown territory. You put your foot forward one at a time because you’re unsure of the ground you’re treading upon.

At the onset of a relationship, there is that tendency to please, to give and to care for each other because each is trying to put up a good front, each is trying hard to make the other feel wanted and accepted, but that’s not intimacy yet, you’re still test driving the union, by the time you’re on full motion, the struggle to achieve real intimacy begins.

The one reason we don’t always realize real emotional intimacy in relationships is FEAR. We are being captivated, dominated, subjugated and intimidated by fear. And what is fear? False-Evidence-Against-Reality, a psychological state of the mind, a situation in which your mind holds court and puts up evidence that is more imagined than real; it tells you a thousand and one reasons why you should not take that bold step and surrender yourself completely to your partner.

Fear imprisoned us and makes us less committed in our relationships. Fear makes us put up facades and hold ourselves in check. What are these fears?

1. FEAR OF REJECTION:

At the beginning of a relationship, people strive for acceptance, so the fear of rejection will make a person hide his/her true self, especially the part they consider being the negative side of them or a defect in their personality.

This is because of the feeling that if you reveal yourself if you allow your partner to know you intimately too soon, it will diminish their love for you. Which is better, to face rejection at the beginning of a relationship or to struggle with it in the middle of it? It’s your take.

2. FEAR OF CRITICISM:

If it’s not rejection you’re afraid of, then it's criticism. Maybe if he/she knows the truth about you, then the person may be critical of what you have or have not. Some of us are not really good at taking criticism, especially from someone we love so much, but is it not those who love and care for us that will give us honest and unbiased critique about ourselves? If we are confident enough to open up to the person, however, we prefer not to risk the person’s disapproval, so we hide our thoughts and actions from the person, making achieving emotional intimacy an arduous task.

3. FEAR OF MISUNDERSTANDING:

Again, we keep our feelings and words in check because we are afraid to be misunderstood. Fear of misunderstanding makes us, at times, keep our opinion and thoughts to ourselves when we need to voice them out. We do this with the assumption that the person may not understand or appreciate the significance of what we will say.

It is better to say it and give the person the benefit of doubt. Being misunderstood isn’t the end of the world or a heinous offence, rather it will also give you an inkling of your partner’s reasoning ability. A healthy debt or argument draws out each person’s inner thoughts and strength of personality and also throws light on the person’s mental capabilities. If you didn’t say it out loud, you will never know how the other person will react.

4. FEAR OF RIDICULE:

We believe that if the other person doesn’t understand and appreciate your words or action, then you will look stupid before them. We are afraid to be ridiculed, which is humiliating, so because of fear of being humiliated, we are always conscious of our words and actions which work against complete openness about our feelings.

5. FEAR OF SUFFOCATION:

Most people see emotional intimacy as a threat to their self-identity and a complete loss of individuality. People want breathing space, so to say; they want to retain part of whom and what they believe they are. So because of fear of suffocation, of being taking over by another person, they cling to themselves by being aloof as a kind of psychological defence.

They don’t want to be dominated or feel sequestered in the relationship. They feel it’s threatening to allow someone else to take over your heart, your thoughts, and your emotions. Emotional intimacy calls for complete surrender and not partial involvement.

It only takes a mature mind to understand this sacrifice and not abuse it. More often, it is the abuse that holds people back.

6. FEAR OF VULNERABILITY:

It is assumed that if you let your defence down, if you’re completely honest and open with your partner, then you will be at the mercy of that person because he/she might use what they know about you as a weapon to hurt, to control, humiliate or even suppress you. Yes, fear of vulnerability makes people cringe from real intimacy. Vulnerability is susceptible to emotional manipulation.

All these fears make intimacy a very expensive venture.

Intimacy is a long-time process that is arrived at gradually but not without some emotional battle and fireworks. Achieving emotional intimacy is a struggle, a battle between you and yourself, your emotion and being, and also between you and your partner. This is because emotional intimacy calls for humility, honesty, trust and commitment towards one another.

Before you could achieve emotional intimacy, there is always a power tussle, or war of supremacy, which is nothing more than a testing of your emotional love boat to find firm anchorage. Mostly, the war is not always verbal but a silent acting out of emotions, where both parties are trying to find out things like does she/he really love and care for me? Can I trust him/her with my life? Can I depend on his/her love, understanding, and acceptance of who I am?

It is only when you assuage your fears that trust and understanding will be established. With a little give and take, intimacy will grow and flourish. You can only achieve complete surrender when you accept your relationship as a precious union, something worth compromising over, something that requires you to back down and surrender to your desires and emotions. But as said, it is not instant. It is a journey, and the distance depends on the individuals involved.