As has been pointed out in earlier postings, Jesus warned in Matthew 24:5 that in the latter days many false prophets would rise up among God seekers and attempt to lure them away from the Father: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name (claiming to represent Him) saying I am Christ (admitting that He is the Christ), and will deceive many (into following them).” For many years I assumed that this statement had only one meaning–that false prophets would admit that Jesus was indeed the Christ/Messiah of God and that they represented Him. Then, having deceived the masses into following them, would lure them away from God’s Way and into Satan’s way. The Lord had previously warned His disciples (and us) about this future situation in Matthew 7:13,14 when He spoke of two conflicting “ways”–one featuring a strait gate and a narrow way, the other featuring a wide gate and a broad way. Preying on man’s innate spirituality, false prophets would present God seekers with His strait and narrow way (the Way of His Word), then, having convinced them to follow their lead, would lure the unsuspecting believers into Satan’s wide, broad way (Catholicism/Protestantism). See Bait and Switch. I was right as far as I took it. The Lord has since opened my eyes further.

Over the past several decades I have come to realize that there are two meanings–a duality–relative to the Lord’s Matthew 24 statement. In it He was warning us that there would come a time when men would come to believe that they were gods in their own right and would present themselves as such. At first glance this idea was totally unbelievable–the stuff of fantasy. Who would be so brazen as to believe that he/she–a mere human being–is in reality a god? BUT THIS IS HAPPENING NOW. The belief that human beings are in fact gods is the foundational principle of the New Age Movement.

The New Age Movement began to rise up out of the darkness during the 1970’s as an obscure part of what was called the Charismatic Movement. Those in the movement, myself included, latched onto God’s promises of power from Him to heal the sick, cast out demons and perform other kinds of miracles. The problem was not in His Biblical promises, nor in our faith in those promises, nor was it in our working of miracles. The problem was that some–a minutely few in the beginning–came to believe that they themselves were the originators of all goodness and power, that they had awakened the “godness” within themselves and needed only to acknowledge their own god status. Beginning with a small number of believers, what would later become known as the New Age Movement slowly began to form. Over time it has evolved into a social phenomenon that, like all things Satanic, will grow exponentially in the future. Satan’s work is growing in size and intensity ever more rapidly in these latter days as the time of Christ’s return draws near. Man does not realize that Satan is preparing him for a final onslaught which will make the supernatural common. Future postings will reveal his methods.

The prevailing mantra among New Agers is “We (mankind) are all gods; we are all part of the godness and goodness that permeates the universe.” The belief is that, once mankind understands who and what he is–he embraces his innate god qualities–a state of human oneness, goodness and godness will prevail upon planet earth. In this heavenly state the concept of evil (sin) will no longer exist. According to New Agers, evil exists only in the mind of ignorant man. Evil/sin is merely the absence of the recognition of man’s godness. Once man realizes his innate deity and embraces it, the mental construct of evil will no longer exist in the universe. How can sin exist among men in that man is a god. And in that God is incapable of sin, whatever godman does is right. Sin will become nothing more than an ancient, pre-enlightenment memory. By looking closely at the Institutional Church and her rebellion against God and His Word, one can see the effect that the New Age Movement is having as religious man “does what is right in his own eyes.” See the previous postings on this website.

The New Age Movement is in reality as old as man himself. Beginning in the Garden of Eden where Satan convinced Adam and Eve of their innate power to determine right and wrong, the Movement has slowly, secretly evolved, eventually raising its ugly head within the Israelite community. Satan’s latest push began in the Holy Land and adjoining areas in which the apostles and the early church operated. Beginning in 33 A.D. With the rise of Simon Magus’ religious movement in Rome, the devil’s final attack on God’s church took form. The apostles, especially Paul and John, began to fight against this Satanic power as is evidenced in their letters to the churches. See First Love, Strong Delusion and The Power of False Religion. God’s messages to the seven churches in Asia Minor as recorded in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 bear witness to the debilitating effect Simon’s religious system was having on God’s church during the first generation of her existence. A reading of chapters 2 and 3 of First John, along with Paul’s letters to the churches, will reveal the extent of Satan’s powerful, relentless attacks on the New Covenant Church in her early years. To be continued. L.J.