As you drive along US 101 through the redwoods of Northern California, a large sign appears along the road announcing that you have arrived at "Mystery Hill." And indeed there are many puzzling and mysterious phenomena to be seen there: gravitation seems to be haywire; balls roll uphill; plumb bobs don't hang straight down.
There are other mystery spots such as the one in Santa Cruz and elsewhere and they all exhibit the same incongruous manifestations. These are optical illusions designed to confuse the observer into illogical conclusions based on the evidence of the senses.
Recently a TV documentary was entitled, "Masters of Illusion." It was not about magic, as one would expect from the title, but was about artists. Egyptian and Greek paintings all look flat with no depth, but during the Renaissance artists discovered perspective, and they were able to create the illusion of depth. This is accomplished by making parallel lines, such as railroad tracks, converge as they recede and even come together at a point on the horizon; buildings and people appear smaller in the distance. This illusion of distance and depth is created on a flat canvas.
When God commissioned Moses to go to Egypt to deliver His people from bondage, Moses asked that he be given some proof of his divine mandate. God told him to cast his staff to the ground and, when he did so, it became a snake. Later, when he performed this demonstration before Pharaoh, the king called in his magicians, and they threw down their staffs which also became snakes. This was an example of satanic deception. However, it is not his last one; we are told that such apparent miracles will increase toward the end of time, and "that so closely will the counterfeit resemble the true, that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures" (Great Controversy p 593). We are told that we will need to question the evidence of our senses if we are to avoid being deceived. We are also told that in the last great delusion Satan will appear to duplicate every miracle performed by Christ.
Today, magic is a big business; extravagant shows are staged on TV and in concert halls where skillful magicians practice prestidigitation and grand illusion for the amazement and entertainment of large audiences. Animals and people are made to disappear and reappear; beautiful ladies are sawed in two or pierced with swords and then reappear unscathed; death-defying feats are performed with no apparent harm done. If we can be deceived today by mystery spots, perspective, and magical tricks, what will happen when we are confronted in "the last great delusion" by the real "Master of Illusion"?
