Dragon Deception and God’s Warriors…
I often speak about my New Age past. By now I suppose a lot people are cringing…”Here he goes again.” Please bear with me. One reason I do this is because I’m eternally thankful for God’s faith and patient love in delivering me from that lifestyle.
It is impossible to adequately express in words the frustration I experienced towards the end of those years. Nor the sudden contrasting joy of deliverance.
One of the pathways which led me into the New Age was through several books on meditation and Zen Buddhism penned by men claiming to be Christian priests (Catholic and Episcopalian). They came to me at a time when I was looking to improve myself, and looking for Jesus Christ.
There was no internet back then. The only churches I knew were Roman Catholic. The smattering of Protestant denominations in my area had largely departed from biblical teaching.
The one “Christian” bookshop I found sold titles which I was immediately drawn to, and led me into a spiritual desert. It was a desert because Jesus wasn’t there even though his name was mentioned. It was like being lost in a desert, always seeing an imaginary oasis, yet never finding cool water to quench my thirst.
The NA promotes a counterfeit Jesus devoid of divinity and the Cross. That Jesus cannot forgive sin. He cannot bring joy or eternal life.
My departure occurred within a span of two weeks in which I felt a feverish spiritual war raging inside. It happened abruptly and ended the same way. It was as if God grabbed me by the shoulders and pointed me in the right direction saying, “Stop! That is the Way you have to go!”
The reason I bring this up again is the recent passing of Caryl Matrisciana. We rejoice that her battle with cancer is over and that she is now with her Lord. We also keep her family in prayer. Caryl’s departure to heaven follows Ray Yungen’s. They will both be missed.
Caryl’s passing reminded me of her courageous crusade against the infiltration of New Age spirituality in Christian circles. You can find her website HERE.
On hearing the news I searched YouTube for her videos. The first to pop up was Gods of the New Age and The Bible 2. (See also Part 1.) And there was the familiar face of Dave Hunt, another warrior who went to be with the Lord in 2013! Dave was associated with The Berean Call.
What I appreciated about these departed warriors was their ability to bridge the academic gap and reach ordinary folk like myself. Too many current apologetic works don’t address the same issues and don’t seem to reach the crowds.
Hunt is both famous and infamous for his books: A Woman Rides the Beast and What Love Is This? These took courage to write as they brought inevitable criticism from Catholics and Calvinists. He was humble enough to admit correction in some areas, yet stand firm where he thought he was right.
My past issues with the New Age flooded back to me. As I watched Caryl Matrisciana’s video there was a segment of Pope John Paul 2 eulogizing Mahatma Gandhi in a way no authentic Christian should:
The figure of Mahatma Gandhi and the meaning of his life’s work have penetrated the consciousness of humanity. In his famous words, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has expressed the conviction of the whole world: “The light that shone in this country was no ordinary light”
The pope spoke of Gandhi as an apostle of “non-violence and associated Matthew 5:3-10 with him. John Paul 2 even mentioned the realization of a “new world order” via Gandhi’s non-violent example.
Only Jesus brings lasting peace – even in the midst of suffering and turmoil. Jesus and His disciples are the only true lights (John 8:12; Matt 5:14). Despite his lauded accomplishments for India, Gandhi was a flawed individual (like all of us) who rejected Christ as his savior. The horrifying reality is that his good works won’t have granted him access to heaven.
Similarly, Pope Francis is playing the same social-justice-works ecumenical tune. He’s made it a priority to raise concerns about the environment, the poor, the evils of capitalism, and the plight of the Muslim refugees.
Francis has courted Islam by drawing a connection between the Qur’an and the Bible and stating that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. He has also reached out to certain American “evangelicals” and the Russian Orthodox Church.
More recently he extended the hand of friendship to the Lutheran Church in Sweden. The latter was often touted as “the end of the reformation” and “the beginning of Unity.” Notably, the Swedes are secular and the churches liberal, hence vulnerable.
Popular Christian voices like the pope’s don’t inform audiences that non-Christian faiths are assigning their followers to hell. The politically correct, sensitive and inclusive, social-justice gospel won’t allow it.
There’s also a burgeoning blogger market of “Christian” freethinkers who deny God’s wrath against sin and the exclusivity of Christianity. They often tinker with the eastern practices of yoga and meditation.
Universalism is becoming popular. If everyone gets saved in the end then of what use is the gospel?
The Dragon has many irons in the fire. If New Age peddlers don’t deceive God’s sheep, the churches just might! The devil is quite comfortable working within the church.
Some day that global anti-Christ religion will be here and enforced. Could we be seeing that progression today? The devil may not be omnipresent but he has troops on the ground and has been at it since the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1).
Charles Spurgeon noted how Michael and his angels fight against the dragon and how the dragon and his cohorts fight back. Spurgeon added:
All His [Jesus’] servants, whether angels in heaven or messengers on earth, will and must fight; they are born to be warriors. At the cross they enter into a covenant never to make a truce with evil; they are a warlike company, firm in defense and fierce in attack. The duty of every soldier in the army of the Lord is every day, with all his heart and soul and strength, to fight against the dragon.
We’ve lost good soldiers along the way. Their work is done. But we’re still here and there’s more work to do until we go home or the Lord returns for us. Remember…
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Eph 6:10-12
We are strong in the Lord for He has already won the victory. So be of good courage!
You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4
Maranatha!
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