Deception of the Bola

2 Thessalonians 2:9-10
“[Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

The bola spider is said to have evolved its amazing abilities all by itself. Why, then, is it smarter and why does it have more abilities than mankind?

The bola spider’s favorite food is moths, but it doesn’t weave a web. The bola spider produces the same scent produced by a female moth. Male moths are attracted to this scent, and the spider waits for the inevitable appearance of a male moth.

As the male moth nears, the bola senses the vibrations from its wings. At just the right moment, the spider casts out its bola. The bola, after which the spider is named, is a special spider-silk thread with a sticky glob on the end. Scientists who have studied this glue-glob say that modern chemistry could not equal it. The silken line is so elastic that it can stretch up to six times its original length. This allows the spider to conserve its energy while the moth struggles. Once reeled in, the bola wraps the moth in silk for storage until it’s hungry. The bola’s method works so well that it is not unusual for one spider to catch up to eight moths a night.

Normally, a species is unable to detect the mating scents of other species. How could the bola spider devise its plan? Once the plan was invented, how could the spider learn how to duplicate the female moth’s chemistry? How could the bola spider be more clever than our best chemists? Of course, the only answer to these questions is that the bola spider was designed and created by God, Who invented chemistry in the first place.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, the devil seeks to deceive and mislead me into both earthly and eternal destruction. What’s worse is the world and my own flesh try to help him. Therefore I seek refuge in You. Help me to use Your Word as a light that dispels his deception. Amen.

Notes:
D. Franklin. 1983. “Prey Caught with a Smell and a Stinker.” Science News, Dec. 17, p. 389.