THE HIDDEN POISON: A Lesson on Trust and Divine Protection From The Tylenol Murders #COTU
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Hello, Weirdos! Welcome to the Church of the Undead. Earlier this week in the Weird Darkness podcast, I brought you a tragic story about the Tylenol murders. The autumn of 1982 brought terror to the quiet suburbs of Chicago. Twelve-year-old Mary Kellerman woke up with a sore throat and runny nose on September 29th. Her parents, wanting to help their daughter feel better, gave her what they thought was safe medicine – extra-strength Tylenol.

By 7:00 that morning, Mary was dead. That same evening, Adam Janis collapsed in his home in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He'd taken the same brand of pain reliever after feeling sick at work. When his brother Stanley and sister-in-law Teresa came to grieve Adam's sudden death, they too took pills from that same bottle of Tylenol. Within hours, they were also dead. The killing spree continued.

Mary McFarland, a new mother of four, took the medication for soreness and collapsed minutes later. Flight attendant Paula Prince bought Tylenol at O'Hare Airport and was found dead the next morning. Mary Reiner was declared dead before 9:00 a.m. Seven innocent people, trusting that what they put into their bodies would heal them, instead found death. What those families discovered in the most tragic way possible

was that evil had infiltrated something they completely trusted. Something had carefully tampered with those innocent-looking white capsules, filling them with deadly cyanide. While leaving the bottles and packaging perfectly intact, the medicine that was supposed to heal became an instrument of death, and the very thing that they turned to for help became their destroyer.

This chilling reality from over 40 years ago holds a profound spiritual lesson for believers today, because just as those poisoned pills looked identical to safe ones, the spiritual dangers we face are often disguised as things that appear helpful, normal and trustworthy. Hello Weirdos, I'm Pastor Darren. Welcome to The Church of the Undead,

Here in the Church of the Undead, I step away from being the host of weird darkness and step into the robes of a reverend. But that doesn't mean I'm not sharing things that are dark, strange, or macabre. You'd be surprised how many of the stories you hear from true crime and paranormal creators actually has a spiritual message as well.

If you're a Weirdo family member from my Weird Darkness podcast, or a Weirdo in Christ from this one, welcome to The Church of the Undead. And I use the word "undead" because, as Ephesians 2 states, even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ. If you want to join this Weirdo congregation, just click that subscribe or follow button. And visit us online at WeirdDarkness.com/Church.

Full disclosure, I might use the term "pastor" because I've branded this as a church and I got a minister's license online, but I do not have a theology degree nor did I ever go to Bible college. I'm just a guy who gave his life to Christ at the age of 21 and has tried to walk the walk ever since. And has stumbled a lot along the way. Because, like everybody else, I am an imperfect, heavily flawed human being.

So, please don't take what I say as gospel. Dig into God's Word yourself for confirmation, inspiration and revelation. That being said, welcome to the Church of the Undead. In the Tylenol murders, the evil was hidden inside something that looked perfectly normal. The bottles appeared untouched. The capsules looked exactly like they should.

But someone had carefully opened those pills and filled them with potassium cyanide, the same deadly poison used in the Jonestown Massacre. The containers gave off a faint almond smell, but most people never noticed it until it was too late. A nurse named Helen Jensen became the detective who solved the mystery. When she visited the Janus home and counted the missing pills, she realized the terrible truth.

Three people dead. Six capsules gone. The medicine that was supposed to bring healing had become an instrument of murder. The investigation that followed was massive. 140 people worked on the case. They gathered 15,000 documents and conducted over 400 interviews. Thousands of tips poured in, but they all led nowhere. The FBI looked at James Lewis, who had written a letter demanding $1 million to stop the killings.

They even investigated Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. But to this day, more than 40 years later, no one has been arrested for these murders. What happened in Chicago was not just a crime. It was a warning about the world we live in. Evil often hides behind things that look good and safe. The very medicine that families trusted to heal their loved ones became the weapon that destroyed them.

This story reminds us of what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesians 6:11: "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." The word "schemes" in the original Greek language means "methods" or "strategies." The enemy of our souls does not always attack us with obvious temptations. Sometimes the most dangerous traps are the ones that look helpful and harmless.

just as those poisoned Tylenol capsules appeared normal on the outside. Sin often comes disguised as something good. The serpent in the Garden of Eden didn't approach Eve with obvious evil. Instead, he questioned God's Word and made the forbidden fruit appear desirable. Genesis 3:6 tells us that Eve saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.

The poison was hidden inside something that looked beneficial. Consider how this principle works in our daily lives. A small lie might seem harmless when it saves us from embarrassment. Gossip can feel like innocent conversation. Looking at inappropriate content online appears to hurt no one.

But these seemingly small compromises are like those tainted capsules. They look normal, but carry spiritual poison that can kill our relationship with God. The families in Chicago trusted the medicine they gave to their loved ones because it came from a reliable company in proper packaging. Similarly, we often trust things in our culture because they come from sources that seem respectable.

Television shows, movies, books, and websites can contain spiritual poison even when they come from popular sources. 1 John 4, verse 1 warns us, "...beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God."

When Nurse Helen Jensen realized what was happening, she broke protocol to investigate. She did not wait for permission or follow proper procedures. She acted on her conviction that something was wrong. As believers, we need that same kind of spiritual alertness. We cannot assume that everything around us is safe just because it appears normal or because other people accept it.

The Bible calls us to be wise as serpents, but innocent as doves, according to Matthew 10.16. This means we should understand how deception works without becoming cynical or suspicious of everyone. We need discernment, the ability to see the difference between what is truly from God and what only appears to be good. How do we develop this kind of spiritual discernment?

First, we must know God's Word. Psalm 119 verse 11 says, "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." When we fill our minds with Scripture, we create a standard by which to measure everything else. The families in Chicago had no way to detect the cyanide because they could not see inside the capsules. But God's Word acts like spiritual x-ray vision, helping us to see the true nature of things around us.

Second, we must maintain close fellowship with other believers. Proverbs 27:17 tells us that iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. When we isolate ourselves from godly friends and church family, we become more vulnerable to deception. Other believers can often spot spiritual dangers that we will miss ourselves. Third, we must pray for wisdom.

James 1:5 promises that if we lack wisdom, we should ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to us. The Holy Spirit serves as our counselor and guide, warning us when something is not right. The Tylenol murders also show us the importance of taking responsibility for others' safety.

When Johnson & Johnson learned about the poisoned pills, they acted immediately. They recalled more than 31 million bottles from store shelves. They offered to replace any Tylenol that customers had already bought. They put a $100,000 reward for information leading to the killer's arrest. The company sacrificed millions of dollars in profits to protect people they did not even know.

As Christians, and well, let's face it, as human beings, we have a similar responsibility to protect those around us from spiritual poison. When we see friends or family members being deceived by false teaching or harmful influences, we cannot stay silent. Galatians 6:1 instructs us, "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness."

This does not mean we should become spiritual police officers constantly criticizing everyone around us. We have enough of those people in the world already. But it does mean that we should care enough about others to speak truth and love. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do is warn someone about spiritual danger, even when that warning is unwelcome. The aftermath of the Tylenol murders led to important changes.

Congress passed laws making product tampering a federal crime. Companies began using tamper-proof packaging to protect consumers. The tragedy resulted in safety measures that have prevented countless similar crimes. In the same way, our spiritual failures and mistakes can lead to greater wisdom and stronger protection against future deception.

Romans 8:28 reminds us that we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. God can use even our worst moments to teach us valuable lessons and help us help others. The investigation into the Tylenol murders remains open today. The FBI continues to follow leads and test evidence.

Justice has not yet been served for Mary Kellerman, Adam Janus, Stanley Janus, Teresa Janus, Mary McFarland, Paula Prince, and Mary Reiner. But we serve a God who sees everything and will one day judge all evil. Revelation 20:12 tells us that the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

The person who poisoned those capsules may have escaped human justice, but they cannot escape God's justice. This should comfort us when we see evil people seeming to get away with their crimes. They might, temporarily, but in the long run, they won't. It should also motivate us to make sure that our own hearts are right with God. Just because we get away with something that we know was wrong

doesn't mean that God didn't see it, and that we'll have to answer for it someday. The families who lost loved ones in the Tylenol murders discovered that the medicine they trusted could not save their children, spouses, and siblings. But believers have access to medicine that never fails and never contains hidden poison.

1 Peter 2:24 tells us that Christ Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree , that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. The healing that Jesus provides goes deeper than physical medicine. He offers forgiveness for our sins, peace for our troubled hearts, and eternal life that cannot be destroyed by any earthly poison.

Unlike the contaminated Tylenol, God's grace is pure and perfect. It has no hidden dangers and produces no harmful side effects. When we face sickness, trouble, or spiritual attack, we can trust completely in God's protection and provision.

Psalm 91:9-11 promises, "Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place, the Most High, who is my refuge, no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." Now, this does not mean that Christians will never face physical death or earthly suffering.

The seven victims in Chicago might very well have been Bible believers who trusted in Christ, but it does mean that nothing can separate us from God's love or destroy our eternal relationship with Him.

Romans 8:38-39 declare that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The poisoned Tylenol capsules looked identical to safe ones, but God sees everything exactly as it really is.

He knows every hidden motive, every secret plan, and every disguised danger. When we walk closely with him through prayer, Bible study, and obedience to his commands, he protects us from spiritual poisons that could destroy our souls. The people of Chicago learned to examine their medicine more carefully after the murders. They started looking for tamper-proof seals and checking expiration dates.

In the same way, these tragic events should teach us to examine the spiritual influences in our lives more carefully. We should ask ourselves, what am I allowing into my mind through entertainment, social media, and friendships? Are these influences helping me grow closer to God, or are they pulling me away from Him? The nurse who discovered the truth about the poisoned pills had to break protocol and investigate on her own.

Sometimes following God requires us to go against popular opinion or cultural expectations. We may need to leave parties early, turn down invitations, or speak up when others remain silent. But protecting our spiritual health is worth any temporary discomfort or social pressure. As we conclude, let us remember that the same God who sees every hidden danger also provides every needed protection.

The evil person who poisoned those Tylenol capsules thought they could hide their crime forever. But God sees all things, and His justice will ultimately prevail. The families who suffered such terrible losses found comfort in knowing that their loved ones who trusted in Christ are now safe in heaven, beyond the reach of any earthly poison. Today, we can choose to trust in the perfect medicine that God provides through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Unlike any human remedy, this healing is guaranteed to work and comes with no dangerous side effects. It costs us nothing, because Jesus already paid the full price with His life on the cross. We can also choose to become more vigilant about the spiritual influences in our lives, testing everything against God's Word and seeking His wisdom in all decisions.

We can commit to warning others about spiritual dangers while showing them the hope that we have found in Christ. The story of the Tylenol murders reminds us that evil often hides behind innocent appearances, but greater than any hidden poison is the revealed power of God's love. Greater than any scheme of the enemy is the protection that comes from walking in God's light.

and greater than any earthly tragedy, is the eternal joy that awaits all who trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that unlike those families in Chicago who couldn't detect the hidden poison, you've given us your word to guide us and protect us from spiritual dangers that masquerade as good things.

Grant us wisdom to discern truth from deception. Encourage to turn away from influences that appear harmless but carry spiritual poison. Help us protect one another and share your truth in love, even when it's difficult. We lift up those who have deceived or hurt by false promises. Draw them to the perfect healing found only in Jesus Christ, medicine that never fails and contains no hidden harm.

Thank you that in a world full of counterfeits, your love is pure, your promises are certain, and your salvation is complete. Help us rest in your protection and share this hope with others. Lord, I pray that you look after everyone who's listening to me right now, that you will be with them and guide them in their daily walk and keep them from evil. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

If you like what you heard, share this episode with others whom you think might also like it. Maybe the person you share it with will want to join this weirdo congregation too. To listen to previous messages, visit WeirdDarkness.com slash church. That's WeirdDarkness.com slash church. I'm Darren Marlar. Thanks for joining me, weirdos, and until next time, Jesus loves you, and so do I. God bless.

For the ones who get it done.

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Rungs of Disclosure, Following the Trail of Extraterrestrials and the End Times, by L.A. Marzulli. Narrated by Darren Marlar. Hear a free sample on the audiobooks page at WeirdDarkness.com.