So yesterday afternoon the news broke that we might finally know the identity of the Zodiac killer. Gary Frances Poste, who died in 2018, is the latest name that’s been offered as the serial killer that terrorized California in the 1960s. The Zodiac killer has been the subject of numerous documentaries, films, and TV specials related to unlocking the secret of his identity. Thus far, many of his cryptic letters—filled with coded glyphs—have been at least partially deciphered, while others remain entirely unsolved. Poste was rarely ever mentioned as a suspect so his name being dropped on the world yesterday was quite the surprise.

Here’s the relevant snippet from the Washington Times article…

One of the photos shows scars on Poste’s forehead that match* scars on a sketch of Zodiac, Fox News reported the team as saying.

Jen Bucholtz, a former Army counterintelligence agent who works on cold cases, told Fox News that one of the letters gives away the identity by producing an alternate message when the letters of Poste’s full name are removed.

“So you’ve got to know Gary‘s full name in order to decipher these anagrams,” Ms. Bucholtz said. “I just don’t think there’s any other way anybody would have figured it out.”

*

Alright, I’m getting too in the weeds here but I do have a spiritual application to make. Before I can, I need to lay down two facts…

First, nothing really changes with this revelation because there is no way to definitively prove that Poste is the killer. The ciphers of the Zodiac’s many messages are so short the key is impossible to figure out with perfect accuracy. Basically you can come up with a very good key that can unlock 90% of the message, but a different key might unlock 80% with an entirely different message. Poste might very well be the guy, but we can never know for sure.

Second, nothing really changes with this revelation because Poste is dead. He died in 2018, meaning even IF we could absolutely identify him as the killer there is no way for any semblance of justice to be done in this world. The Zodiac killer actually failed to kill two people in his many northern California attacks; Mike Mageau and Bryan Hartnell are still alive and have contributed to many documentaries and reports related to the case. If Poste was the killer, and if Poste was still alive to be punished, then Mageau and Hartnell might gain some closure and satisfaction in knowing justice was done. Instead, even IF Poste was the killer, it would only serve to seal their frustration for the rest of their lives, due to their tormenter having died without ever facing justice for his crimes.

Now here’s where we turn to the spiritual…

…be sure your sin will find you out.

(Numbers 32:23)

The quote is from Moses, speaking to the children of the tribes of Gad and Reuben, who had informed Moses that they were going to camp on the east side of the Jordan river, leaving the rest of the tribes on the west. Moses words here are a warning, telling them that if war comes to the people then Gad/Reuban were expected to come to fight with their brethren. And if they don’t… “your sin will find you out.”

In other words, actions have consequences and you might get away with something here and now, but the Lord is the Judge for all time. A person may die having slipped through the fingers of justice in this world, but if their deeds were ignoble and if their actions were wicked, they can be sure that eventually, the final Judge will have His say and all those unrepented sins will be set right.

Gary Poste might have been the Zodiac killer. I don’t know. It might’ve been Arthur Leigh Allen. It might be someone we have never heard of before. The murders were done over fifty years ago and every year that passes makes it less and less likely we’ll ever know for sure. All we can know is that God knows, that God is just, and that in the end, if you’re a sinner and you think you’ve gotten away with it, “your sin will find you out.”

~ Matthew