The Occult

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It Was a LIE!

Any Christian with basic knowledge of the Bible knew it was a false tale – a lie – from the very Heaven

beginning. But how many professing Christians were taken in? We who claim Christ should not be such easy targets for deceptive tales that rail against the Word of God given to us.

Now, the publisher, author, his parents, and who all else who was involved in allowing this take the country by storm admit is was a lie! Of course, the Washington Post has the story – when has that paper not delighted in trying to bring disgrace to the body and name of Christ.

Read it before they take it down – click this sentence to open the story on the Washington Post web site.

Here’s how it opens:

Tyndale House, a major Christian publisher, has announced that it will stop selling “The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,” by Alex Malarkey and his father, Kevin Malarkey.

The best-selling book, first published in 2010, purports to describe what Alex experienced while he lay in a coma after a car accident when he was 6 years old. The coma lasted two months, and his injuries left him paralyzed, but the subsequent spiritual memoir – with its assuring description of “miracles, angels, and life beyond This World” – became part of a popular genre of “heavenly tourism.”

Earlier this week, Alex recanted his testimony about the afterlife. In an open letter to Christian bookstores posted on the Pulpit and Pen Web site, Alex states flatly: “I did not die. I did not go to Heaven.”

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Francis the Pontiff Speaks Against the Most High

Francis the Pontiff Speaks Against the Most High  Pope

By Richard Bennett and Robert Nicholson

In keeping with Pope Francis’s identity his upcoming visit to Israel is the perfect vehicle to move forward his objective.1 The unfolding of this religious drama is intended by the Papacy to present Pope Francis on the real world stage as a great reconciler in promoting peace in a land riven with racial conflict and ideological confusion. The May 24-26 trip to Amman, Jerusalem and Bethlehem will mark the 50th anniversary of a landmark trip there by Pope Paul VI in 1964, the first by a pope in modern times. Subsequently, Pope John Paul II visited in 2000 and Benedict XVI made a visit to the region in 2009.2 However, since Benedict XVI’s visit, considerable destabilizing changes in the region have added incentive to this latest opportunity for the Papacy.

On Monday, May 26, 2014, Francis will visit Islam’s Grand Mufti in Jerusalem. After 5:00 p.m., Francis will celebrate the Roman Catholic Mass in what is claimed to be the Cenacle, the site of the Last Supper. Francis and the Papacy officially teach that at a Mass people are to offer themselves with “the sacred victim” (Christ Jesus) and receive in the communion bread the same “sacred victim.”3 For Francis to enact publicly such a teaching is to speak against the Most High. Jesus Christ the Lord was never a victim. The idea of His being victimized is nowhere in Scripture. Rather, it was in conscious submissive obedience to the divine plan of redemption that the Lord Jesus followed His Father’s will.4 He declared, “No man taketh it [life] from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”5 In spite of Jesus’ clear words, Francis and the Papacy focus one’s mind on a tragic Christ as victim, and not on Christ as Victor; i.e. as “the Lord of lords and King of kings.”6

The Bible shows that the Lord’s Supper is a living memorial and not a sacrifice. The Lord Jesus Christ declared,“This cup is the New Testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”7 The root meaning of the word “remembrance” entails the concept of personal interaction with the Lord.8 The Apostle Paul explained the purpose of the Lord’s ordinance with the words, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he comes.”9The purpose is clearly given; it is to show forth Christ’s death, to proclaim and publish it. Believers are to declare His death and resurrection to be their life, the cause of their comfort and hope. They show forth His death and participate in its fruits before God the Father. Consequently, for Francis to enact a service called the Mass in which people are to offer themselves with “the sacred victim” (Christ Jesus) is a blasphemy! Thus, graphic words of the prophet Daniel aptly apply in our time,“behold in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. … And he shall speak great words against the most High.”10

The Significance of Francis meetings with Islamic Leaders in Jerusalem

No modern player commands the place that Francis has in the world today. While Francis has been careful to shun certain external trappings of his office, yet the whole history of the Papacy surrounds him as a cloak. It is of this historical position that the talented and well-trained Francis is making full use. Thus, with his Jesuitical cunning, he continues to deceive the nations of the world, seeking to entice even those within Islam. This is clearly evident by his careful preparation of a seductively diplomatic approach to the Muslim turbulence of the Middle East, especially prior to his visit to Jerusalem. Pope Francis has stated,

“The sacred writings of Islam have retained some Christian teachings; Jesus and Mary receive profound veneration and it is admirable to see how Muslims both young and old, men and women, make time for daily prayer and faithfully take part in religious services. Many of them also have a deep conviction that their life, in its entirety, is from God and for God. They also acknowledge the need to respond to God with an ethical commitment and with mercy towards those most in need.”11

This statement is similar to what Francis believes and what official Catholic dogma states,

“The Church’s relationship with the Muslims. ‘The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.’”12

The idea that the faith of Abraham could be a common foundation for some kind of Roman/Islamic interfaith dialogue for mutual appreciation and cooperation is absurd. The Word of God completely demolishes the concept that there is some kind of Abrahamic connection either to, or between, Islam and Romanism. Abraham is united to the Gospel by faith and nothing else, as Scripture states, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed.”13All doubt on the issue of the content of Abraham’s faith is removed by direct testimony from the lips of Jesus, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.”14The synthetic construction of alleged Abrahamic interfaith dialogue between the Papacy and Islam is a casuistic engineered deceit that is deconstructed by biblical truth. We confidently declare its origin to lie in “the rulers of the darkness of this world”15 standing behind the promulgated apostate anti-Christian dogma of the present time.

With this anti-Christian propaganda – that the faith of Abraham is the common foundation for a Roman/Islamic interfaith dialogue – Francis will fly to Amman, Jordan, on May 24th. There he will meet with King Abdullah II and Queen Rania. The Pope will leave Jordan on May 25th and fly to Bethlehem for a meeting with Palestinian Authority, President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas is the one to whom the Vatican refers as “the President of the State of Palestine.” On May 26th, Francis will meet with the Grand Mufti in Jerusalem and also address other Palestinian authorities. If faced with the facts, one sees that Francis’s statement, “They [the Muslims] also acknowledge the need to respond to God with an ethical commitment and with mercy towards those most in need,”16 is sheer propaganda!Since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, Muslim terrorists have fired more than 8,000 rockets into Israel. Over 3.5 million Israelis are currently living under threat of rocket attacks. Most rockets launched from Gaza into Israel are capable of reaching Israel’s biggest southern cities. Rocket fire from Gaza is a constant threat facing Israel’s civilians. In 2011 alone, 630 rockets from Gaza hit Israeli towns. It is an even higher number than in 2010, when 231 rockets hit Israel.17 We raise these points so each one may weigh carefully the context of Francis’s visit before blithely accepting his professed intent of promoting peace. This pope is striding boldly into an arena where Islam’s malignant hatred of the Jews is constantly expressed. Francis has demonstrated an astonishing temerity in publicly stroking the religious vanity of the Muslim leadership by noting their “ethical commitment,” and “mercy toward those in need”! This is not just an offence to both common sense and the dignity of public honesty; it frankly is crass flattery! Clearly the Papacy intends to trollop around this land of troubles again, taking every opportunity to pontificate on peacemaking priorities and promote the Vatican to world media as the great reconciler of alienated brethren. Francis and his scarlet clad imperial cohort will dutifully ignore any point of historical or contemporary order for the sake of gaining influence within the political and social milieu of Israel-Palestine. There is no statist institution on this earth that can match the exquisitely subtle seductive tones of Roman diplomacy when it is bent on asserting influence. Every Middle Eastern leader who succumbs to this deceptive Vatican propaganda will eventually find this out, to his temporal and eternal loss.

“A mouth speaking great things”

Pope Francis’s outreach to Islam represents another tactical re-appraisal of circumstances and opportunities for the Vatican. The profound danger for Evangelical people is that they might incautiously support a push for peace by Francis while not appreciating the Papacy’s claim to be the only true spokesman for Christ on this earth. This subtle assumption of the supreme authority of the Papacy is deeply embedded in all the Vatican’s efforts to push its agenda of interfaith ecumenicity. Bible-believing Christians must recall the truth that the Pope is not a “first among equals” as a bishop, as he may with feigned humility claim. He is not even a bishop in the biblical sense of the term. Pope Francis is the head of a totalitarian hierarchy. Francis has his own secular government inside Vatican City and more property worldwide than any other person on the planet. He has territorial dominions, cardinals, worldwide ambassadors, a legislature, jurisprudence, laws, advocates, taxes, banks, foreign treaties, ambitious plans, and policy, more than any other secular prince. Yet, he differs from other secular leaders. Francis’s spiritual commerce goes hand in hand with his civil power, claiming infallibility and international recognition.18

However, there remains unfinished business, particularly in Europe and the US, from the reigns of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Weary of Vatican hypocrisy and stonewalling, the secular media has drawn concerted attention to the consequences of the Roman clergy’s scandalous criminal behaviour throughout the world.19 Again, recently it is reported that, “The U.N. is cracking down on the Vatican. A U.N. committee said Monday [May 4] that the numerous cases of sex abuse by priests should be prosecuted and dealt with by the Vatican as cases of torture….Pope Francis has asked for victims’ forgiveness and said he takes personal responsibility for the ‘evil’ of what had transpired.”20The Lord Jesus Christ gave us the sure means by which we know the moral condition of those purporting to speak for God.He said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.”21

As the Scriptures teach, “we wrestle not against flesh and blood,”so we must gird ourselves for conflict with Satan in the right spiritual frame and only with the God-given weapons for warfare.22 It is incumbent upon the Lord’s people to recall that the principal arena of Satan’s operations is not the phenomenal, but the noumenal.23 That is to say, Satan’s most effective devices consist in the development, promulgation, and insinuation of deceits that correlate directly to the conceits which are latent in the darkened understandings of men.24 This supreme element of cunning is exposed in his wickedly effective appreciation that nothing is more powerful than a lie whose time has come.25 The urgent need for interfaith ecumenicity built on mutual respect and appreciation between apostate Christendom and false religions like Islam is a lie whose time has come. Satan is sure of it. Francis believes it. Sadly the spiritually diminished pseudo-evangelical “leaders” may end up ignorantly applauding both of them.26 Our exhortation to all our dear brethren in the Lord is, be not deceived!27 When you see the so-called Supreme Pontiff standing in the “cenacle” exercising his claimed priestly powers of turning a miniature-sized pancake into deity, to be worshipped and venerated by the “faithful,” remember that John the Apostle states emphatically, “you have heard that antichrist shall come…”28 John confirms that while there were contemporary opponents of Christ (many antichrists), these spiritual forces of wickedness would eventually coalesce in one entity. If contemporary Evangelicals accept what Francis is attempting to propagate in Jerusalem, without open public protest, it will mark yet another significant betrayal of the Gospel testimony toward the poor, deluded adherents of Romanism and leave them languishing in the claws of the devil. It is imperative to take heed of the warning in Holy Scripture that in these last days the lure of fleshly false religions and their embedded demonic delusions will be so great that, “insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”29 We have before us the harlot religious system pretending to be the bride of Christ while factually being a political and religious power under the dominion and direction of the powers of darkness.30

Francis trip to the Middle East will be broadcast worldwide. It will be proclaimed by the secular and religious media as a grand act of reconciliation in that the Church of Rome is set forth as peacemaker in the world. Many religious people who mistakenly think they are Christians will be deceived. But to true believers in the Lord, we exhort you from the Word of God with these words, “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.”31 Fellow believer, recollect the heartfelt words of Luther when he received his final excommunication from the Roman system. Luther wrote,

“Unless with all your hearts you abandon the Papacy, you cannot save your souls. The reign of the Pope is so opposed to the law of Christ and the life of the Christian, that it will be safer to roam the desert and never see the face of man, than abide under the rule of Antichrist. I warn every man to look to his soul’s welfare, lest by submitting to the Pope he deny Christ. The time is come when Christians must choose between death here and death hereafter. For my own part, I choose death here. I cannot lay such a burden upon my soul as to hold my peace in this matter: I must look to the great reckoning. I abominate the Babylonian pest. As long as I live I will proclaim the truth. If the wholesale destruction of souls throughout Christendom cannot be prevented, at least I shall labour to the utmost of my power to rescue my own countrymen from the bottomless pit of perdition.”32

Conclusion

For anyone to substitute living personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by trusting in the Pope and his superstitious system of sacramentally communicated grace and works righteousness is eternally fatal.33 The Roman religious cultus and doctrinal system is the epitome of a man-made religion system. It is an authoritatively self-referencing dogmatic belief system that substitutes itself in the place of a relationship with the living God through the Gospel.34 “The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.”35 True Christians see God’s power and boldly proclaim His grace; every individual who is saved is “being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”36The precious blood of Christ shed once on Calvary is the appointed means that God uses to save His people from their sins.37 Thus, it is proclaimed, “but God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved).”38Sin is an evil of infiniteconsequence because it is committed against an infinite HolyGod. There is no way of escaping the wrath of God against sin except by His grace. Thus the Scripture states, “how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.”39The Scripture interprets grace as power, mercifully extended. Redemption comes by this means, because it was by “the grace of God” that Christ tasted death for each true believer. The Lord Jesus Christ alone saves His people from their sins. He sends His Holy Spirit into their hearts, so that they are radically changed from what they were previously. The Holy Spirit sheds forth the love of God in the hearts of those whom He regenerates from spiritual death.40 That love is manifested by a deep desire and honest resolve to please the Lord and to serve Him: “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”41When Christ Jesus saves a soul, He also delivers that soul from the rule and power of sin.42 It is true that the Lord has not yet completed His work in believers, for the sin which still resides within them must be eradicated. However, any person that He has truly saved is delivered from the “dominion of sin.”43 We thank God for those who are saved that do not live in sin as Scripture states, “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”44 Can you say that this is true for you? In the difficult age of compromise in which we live, do you act under the guidance of the Holy Spirit? Do you make the Word of God your measure of truth and the grace of God your assurance of life? If you can honestly say yes to these questions you will understand that you are not under the condemnation of law, but your faith is in Christ Jesus and His righteousness alone! You can then proclaim joyously, in harmony with the Apostle Paul, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit…for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”45 ♦

Permission is given by the authors to copy and post this article, if it is done in its entirety without any changes.

1 See http://www.bereanbeacon.org, “Key to Pope Francis’s Identity: Master of the Jesuit Spiritual Exercises” “Pope Francis Portrays Himself as a Reformer,” “Pope Francis Shows His True Colors,” “Pope Francis Elected, Mystery of Iniquity Moves On”

3 “Consequently the eucharistic sacrifice is the source and the summit of the whole of the [Catholic] Church’s worship and of the Christian life. The faithful participate more fully in this sacrament of thanksgiving, propitiation, petition and praise, not only when they whole-heartedly offer the sacred victim, and in it themselves, to the Father with the priest, but also when they receive this same victim sacramentally.” Vatican Council IIDocument No. 9, Eucharisticum mysterium.

4 Philippians 2:8, Acts 2:23, 3:18, 15:18, Daniel 9:26, 1 Peter 1:18-21

5 John 10:17-18

6 Revelation 17:14

7 I Corinthians 11:25

8 Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, #364 Anamnesis, “a remembering, recollection to call me (affectionately) to remembrance.”

9 I Corinthians 11:26

10 Daniel 7:8, 7:25

12Catechism of the Catholic Church, Para. 841

13Galatians3:6-8

14John 8:56

15 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”Eph 6:12

18Revelation 18:12-13 The Roman Catholic Church went apostate formally at the Council of Trent in 1548 when it denied the Gospel in favor of its Sacramental system. No Pope, including Francis, has ever denied the Council of Trent. Rather they all teach it – including Francis. The merchandise involved in Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Anointing of the Sick is the souls of men!

21 Matthew 7:15-16

22 1 Thessalonians 5:8 cf. Ephesians 6:12 -19

23 Ephesians 4:17-19

24 2 Chronicles 18:20-22, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, Rev 12:9

25 John 8:38 cf. Acts 13:10

26 Daniel 11:35

27Matthew 24:24, II Peter 2:2-3, II Timothy 2:19

28 I John 2:18 (The Greek text says that the antichrist shall come.)

29 Matthew 24:24 cf. Daniel 11:35

30 Revelation 17:1-8

31 2 Peter 3:17

32Martin Luther, December 11, 1520, Sermon at Wittenberg. Wylie. History of Protestantism, Book 6, Ch 2, p 296

33 Galatians 1:8-9, cf. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

34 Mark 7:6-9, cf. 1 Timothy 3:1-6 and Titus 1:14

35 Romans 1:16

36 Romans 3:24

37 Hebrews 10:10-15 and I Peter 1:18-20

38 Ephesians 2:4-5

39Hebrews 2:3

40 John 3:5-8, Titus 3:5-7, Ezekiel 36:26-27, cf. Romans 5:5 and 8:15, Galatians 4:6

41 1 John 2:3-6

42 2 Corinthians 4:6, Colossians 1:12-14, 1 Peter 2:9

43 1 John 1:5-10, Romans 7:14-25

44 Romans 6:2-7

45 Romans 8:1, 14

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BE STILL: CONTEMPLATIVE OR LISTENING PRAYER 7 PSALM 46:10

By Larry DeBruyn.

Bible Interpretation 101 teaches that every text without a context is pretext. Extracting Psalm 46:10 to be an endorsement of meditative-listening prayer is just such a pretext. Here’s why.

After reading Ephesians 1:15-23 (lectio divina, i.e. Latin for reading sacred things) at the Passion 2012 conference, and while standing on stage with the other keynote speakers beneath a giant screen reading Jesus, speak to me,
Beth Moore tells the audience:
Without any comment please, let’s pause and be still,
and ask Jesus to speak His word to us.
Held in Atlanta, GA, last January 1-3, at the Georgia Dome, and attended by over 42,000 college age youth, one can observe Lecrae (a converted rap and Hip Hop artist), Francis Chan, Louie Giglio and John Piper, along with thousands of youth, participating in the mystical practice of contemplative or “listening” prayer at Moore’s behest, and this despite the fact that Scripture provides no instruction or any illustration for engaging in such a “spiritual” activity.[1] 
“Be still, and know that I am God . . .” (Psalm 46:10)

Those promoting contemplative or “listening” prayer refer to this Scripture as a biblical endorsement for pursuing this spiritual discipline. As a precondition for experiencing Soul-to-soul communication from God, contemplative Christians advocate cultivating quietude for the purpose of creating a spiritual tabula rasa(i.e., Latin for blank slate) in which personal communication from God can be received. Influential Christian leaders and spiritual directors encourage listening prayer (praying without words) as a means to experience ”God’s guidance in everyday life.” At face value, Psalm 46 verse 10 appears to endorse this increasingly popular but ancient and mystical way to pray.

Read the rest of the article here.

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New Age vs Christianity

New Age vs Christianity

 

Naturalism

New Age

Christianity
God God does not exist; belief in God results from superstition Pantheism: God is impersonal; is above good and evil; everything is God God is the triune, eternal, personal, almighty, sovereign, all-knowing, loving, just and holy Creator
Metaphysics The natural order is eternal, self-sufficient and uncreated. It is ultimately matter/energy The world is divine The world was created by God
Epistemology Human sense experience; the scientific method Truth lies within every human; it is attained through states and mystical consciousness Truth has objective standing; it is independent of human desire; functional view of truth is false. Humans can know because God created them as rational creatures
Ethics Ethics is relative Ethics is relative Ethics is not relative. The moral law grounded in the being of God
Humans Humans are highly evolved animals Humans are spiritual beings who are gods Humans are creatures made in the image of God
Basic Human Problems Superstition and ignorance Ignorance of our true human potential Sinners in rebellion against God
Solution to the Human Problem Scientific advancement and technology Transformation of consciousness Salvation by faith in the finished work of Christ
Death The end of human existence An illusion; the entrance to the next life The end of our earthly life; eternal life for the believer and eternal wrath for the unbeliever
Jesus Christ A merely human teacher One of many gurus or master teachers from history The unique incarnation of God; the only Lord and Savior

 

Taken from Worldviews in Conflict by Ronald H., Nash, pages 139 & 140; slightly modified.

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The Spirit of the Age

I was going to post this as a response to this: http://defendingcontending.com/2011/02/17/inner-promptings/ but decided it warrants its own post.

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Many people have been misled by folk about how to find out the will of God – as if He’s hidden it from us and left us to our own devices. Throughout human history, folks have neglected the Word of God and relied on human wisdom to determine “god’s will” for things that the Bible tells us nothing about – where to live, where to work, whether to be a missionary to the Marshall Islands, and on and on.Listen to this message (preached by Voddie Baucham, taken from Romans 12:2) and see if you – like so many others – have been misled. Let us repent of none-sense and – by the Holy Spirit of the living God – pursue knowledge of Him and be content to let our future be in His capable hands.
There is another spirit operating among us and we must be able – and willing – to discern between the two and, if born again in Christ Jesus, choose that which is True.
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Quotes (780)

“There are hidden perils in our life with God whenever we disobey Him. If we are not obeying God physically we experience a craving for drugs, not only physical drugs out of a bottle, but drugs in certain types of meetings and certain types of company—anything that keeps away the realisation that the habits of the bodily life are not in accordance with what is God’s will.

If in the providence of God, obedience to God takes me into contact with people and surroundings that are wrong and bad, I may be perfectly certain that God will guard me; but if I go there out of curiosity, God does not guard me, and the tendency is to “drug” it over—“I went with a good idea to try and find out about these things.” Well, you plainly had no business to go, and you know you had no business to go because the Spirit of God is absolutely honest.

The whole thing starts from disobedience on a little point. We wanted to utilise God’s grace for our own purposes, to use God’s gifts for our own reasoning out of things in a particular way.”

Oswald Chambers
1874-1917

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Rob Bell invites heretical mystic woman to speak

 

Phyllis Tickle (She’s the one on the right. And yes, that’s her name, and that’s what she does to the ears) was invited to speak at a pagan shrine in Grand Rapids, MI recently. The shrine to the gods is headed by emergent guru Rob Bell, and was host to this woman who quoted all kinds of “Christian” msytics and heretics–but precious little Scripture. In fact, she calls those of us who do believe the truth of Scripture “fools” for daring to examine the filth she is spewing. It’s over at A Little Leaven; stomach it if you can. If you thought Mark Driscoll’s take on Song of Solomon was weird, wait till you hear how whacky this woman gets right before the 7:00 mark.

For those of you who come down on us for opposing “Christian” mystics and those who teach “contemplative prayer” &c, as well as exposing the people who quote them (all the while claiming to be Christian)–now do you see the danger that comes with following those heretics? This is the kind of drivel you get when you follow mystical enchanters instead of the One True God and His Christ. And when yolu follow someone like Rob Bell.

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Todd Bentley exposed as fraud

Macs-for-Dummies

Unfortunately, we don’t have a category here called “News of the Obvious.” Because if we did, this would be at the top of the list. As if we needed any further proof that Todd Bentley was a liar, conniver, charlatan, false prophet, etc–in addition to the kicking, kneeing, motorcycle boots to the face, and all the other shenanigans that with the Bentley Brothers and Joyner and Branham Flying Circus™, here is a story about the list of those whom Todd Bentley Ministries claimed were MIRACULOUSLY HEALED!!

However, there’s a problem with some of those who were supposedly “healed.”

What’s the problem, you ask?

They’re dead.

I kid you not. From World Magazine (via A Little Leaven) [emphases mine]:

[W]hen [Christopher] Fogle got severe cancer, his relaxing fishing trips, which he sometimes took with his children, ended. It was a devastating blow for the active 45-year-old. But for Todd Bentley, television preacher and self-proclaimed healer, the cancer represented an opportunity to “proclaim the glory of God.” [Or was it more to proclaim “The glory of Todd“?–Ed.] At the height of what many called a revival, WORLD asked Bentley to talk about the healings, like Fogle’s, and asked for a list of people who had been healed at the services. His associates told me Bentley was out of the country and a list could not be produced. But six weeks and more than a dozen requests later, the ministry eventually sent a list of 13 names. Fogle was No. 12 on the list, along with this note: “Healed through the Outpouring and is back to fishing.”

That was on Aug. 8, 2008. There was just one problem. Two weeks earlier, on July 22, Christopher A. Fogle—according to his obituary in the Keokuk (Iowa) Daily Gate City, “left this life . . . after a courageous battle with cancer.”

Oops. But the fraud doesn’t end there. Read on [emphases mine]:

A review of the list nearly one year later reveals that Fogle is not the only person “healed” who is now dead. When I called Phyllis Mills, of Trinity, N.C., on April 22, to hear the testimony of her healing, a polite family member said, “Phyllis passed away a few days ago. In fact, we’re on our way to her funeral now.”

Any more? Yep [emphases mine]:

Another problem with Bentley’s list is that some of the healings, even if legitimate, didn’t happen at Bentley’s services. Gaila Smith, 53, of Yerington, Nev., was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago, at age 43, and had what she called a “total mastectomy” at that time. But the cancer had spread to her liver. Over the next decade she endured more rounds of chemotherapy, the latest one ending in December. She eventually attended a women’s conference, where “God touched me,” she said. She says she was healed at the women’s conference, but when she attended Bentley’s meetings in Lakeland, they asked, “If you had experienced a miraculous healing, come forward.”Smith went forward and told her story, and she ended up on Bentley’s list, with this note: “Healed of breast cancer that had spread to liver. Totally healed in Florida, all scans are now clear.”

Not only did any healing take place elsewhere, Smith now admits that the scans are not now clear. “The doctors tell me that my numbers are going up,” said Smith, who told me that she, too, had a healing ministry. “But we don’t buy into that. That’s a fact, but it’s not the truth. The truth is that I’ve been healed.”

It’s a fact, but it’s not the truth. So if I say my bald head “is a fact but not the truth,” does that mean I have hair up there? But, he does have his supporters [emphases mine]:

“We don’t regret our time there at all. We saw many miracle signs and wonders. The Lord knew what was going to happen, but he chose Todd anyway. And there are still fires burning all over the world. How can you argue with that?”

Still fires burning all over the world. Hmmm, I was starting to wonder why I keep smelling sulfur.

And the downward spiral that is Todd Bentley continues. All that “counseling” he was going through because he is such a “man of God?” Man of God, huh? What kind of “man of God” does this sound like [emphases mine]:

In November, the Fresh Fire board said that Bentley was “not submitting” to the counseling and restoration process and that he was guilty of adultery…..On March 9, 2009, [it was] announced that Todd had remarried—to the same “former employee” with whom he had had the inappropriate relationship.

In clear violation of the word of God that he was supposed to be so dedicated to. Except, he was NOT committed to the word of God. He was too busy being led around blindly by “angels.” Of course, those weren’t God’s angels who were leading him through darkness. If only Fresh Fire had shown that kind of sense before this circus got out of hand. But, hey, since he’s going to be restored to the charismatic circus, why not learn from the worst [emphases mine]:

Bentley relocated to Ft. Mill, S.C., where according to statements he is undergoing a “restoration process” under the direction of controversial charismatic ministry leader [and rank heretic–Ed.] Rick Joyner…..Joyner admitted that Bentley’s remarriage was “wrong and premature,” but he said that Bentley’s restoration process would continue.

Expect the Bentley excuse train to start firing up the locomotive any time now.

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Parents Give Away Their “Witch” Children!

Another viewpoint showing the horrifying aspects of life in Nigeria, West Africa, where parents are being so duped! These parents are willing to believe the charlatans called “bishops” or “pastors” who are regularly condemning their very children in order to make a living “exorcising demons.” The pastors are not true ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ and what they are preaching and teaching has absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH CHRISTIANITY!

Praise the Lord for the few that are willing to take a stand against these cruel injustices. However, just as with the first video on Sam & Esther, what good does rescuing these children do if they are not presented the wonderful Words of Life??!!

I recommend that the following article from the Guardian Newspaper in the UK be read to have a full understanding of the video posted here for you to watch. Please pray for Nigeria! Pray for West Africa! Pray that the Lord will send forth more laborers into the Harvest fields!

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Zero church to perform a “demonstration seance.”

Zero church is making news on DefCon again (see the previous post here). This time they are holding a “Halloween fun” service on November 1st in which the following description is provided:

“Ghost”

. . . More than Halloween fun, although we will have plenty of that with illusions and a demonstration seance. We ask the big question, what happens after you die? Can we communicate with the dead?

You can see the advertisement here.

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Saturday Message – Can a Christian Be a Freemason?

For the third week in a row DefCon interrupts our regularly scheduled Saturday sermon series Studies in Ephesians to bring you a message which we believe is VERY vital to all who claim to be a Christian and are also involved in Masonry.

This message entitled Can a Christian Be a Freemason? was preached by Ed Decker.

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Becoming a God

If you’re looking for a religion that promotes the aspiration to become a god, you won’t have to look far.

This seemingly popular doctrine must appeal to a basic desire of sinful men. Satan played on this desire in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) when he convinced Adam and Eve to doubt God, who had said the couple would die if they ate the fruit. Instead, Satan told them, they would be like God if they transgressed the only law God gave them.

Mormonism teaches that good Mormons will become gods. This is a doctrine that the Mormon missionaries won’t bring up on their first door-to-door visit, but, from my experience, they will defend it when confronted with it. Becoming gods is a clear teaching of the LDS church, contained in their Scripture:

Referring to those who are married eternally through Mormonism, and don’t commit murder,

“Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.” (Doctrines and Covenants 132:20).

Catholicism also teaches that people can become gods—in very plain language.

“For the Son of God became man so that we might become God. The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods.” Catholic Catechism 460

While there are many schools of thought in Hinduism, new ageism, paganism, and Satanism, many who practice these religions also hope to become gods. Hindus can become gods through many cycles of reincarnation. The new age religion teaches that men will evolve into gods someday (in the age of Aquarius). Pagans worship nature and deities that control nature, and through learning more and more about esoteric truths, they believe they may attain godhood (also known as Gnosticism). Some Satanists believe that Satan is the true God of the universe, and will someday re-ascend to his previous place. When this happens, his loyal followers will be made gods as their reward.

Mormonism and Catholicism appear to me to be merely Christianized versions of new age, pagan and Satanic religions. They all use the prospect of becoming a god to appeal to the pride of fallen man.

The Bible teaches something much different: There is only one God (Isaiah 43:10, John 17:3). If that isn’t a big enough blow to the pride of sinful man, here’s an even bigger insult: Every human is commanded to die to him or herself, and live for the glory of the only true God. Anything else is idolatry.

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Bezel333 on “The Circle of Life”

The title of the video is “Reincarnation or Resurrection?” Ever see “The Lion King?” With so much Eastern Mysticism running rampant in American churches (“The Gospel According to the Beatles,” for example) the fact that all will be resurrected–the just will be resurrected to life, the wicked will be resurrected to death. We will not “come back” as a dog or a cat or anything else. Once we die, that’s it.

And why do we die? Sin. When sin conceives it brings forth death. It was because of Adam’s sin, that each and every one of us inherited, that these bodies break down and we die. It’s not a “circle”: we don’t get another chance. So, here’s Bezel:

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Bezel333 on the “Intentions” of D. Wayne Dyer

In this Age of New Age, the sound scholarship of men like Bezel333 is a welcome oasis in a desert of…yuckiness.

D. Wayne Dyer, who sounds like a High Priest in the Church of Oprah, teaches a mushy-gushy, “You are everything” type of religion–kind of like the “prosperity ‘gospel'”.

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Oprah Winfrey’s necromancy

Isaiah 8:19-20–And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

You can hear Oprah Winfrey, the woman behind the man who wants to be our next president (Hussein Osama bin-Obama) speaking with a woman who “channels” Abraham. Ask yourself if this is the kind of person you want so close to the White House.

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Was Hitler a Hindu?

Interestingly, there are many similarities between Hitler’s beliefs and Hinduism.

Hitler Hinduism
People of Aryan descent are a more pure race. Society is divided into castes, and the higher castes are expected to have lighter skin. The term “Aryan” comes from Hinduism.
Humanity can be bred to become a master race. Through yoga and many lifetimes, people may become gods, and eventually reach Nirvana.
The symbol of Nazism was the swastika. The swastika is a symbol that has been used for hundreds of years to represent the Hindu god of creation, Brahma. It is a prevalent symbol in Hindu society.

 

Hinduism seems to provide much of the foundation for many religions, including new age thought, Buddhism, and Wicca. Nazism is just one more in a long line of such adaptations.

Clearly the swastika has some satanic significance. While Hindus believe the swastika has a positive meaning, it represents opposition to the one, true God, which is never positive. When the swastika arrived in Germany, all positive pretenses from India were discarded and evil—in its most palpable, horrendous form—was unveiled.

Hitler, who didn’t claim to be a Hindu, nevertheless believed in a combination of evolution and occult concepts stemming from Hinduism. Evolution conveniently provides a seemingly scientific reason to believe in the caste system of Hinduism. Hitler took this belief—that some have evolved more than others—to its ghastly, yet logical, conclusion.

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Todd Bentley’s disturbing account of his demonic visitation.

This two-part video is the best examination I’ve seen of Todd Bentley thus far. And one of the most disturbing! I encourage all believers to watch this video, especially those who are following the pied pipings of Bentley.

This video is of Bentley recounting his experience he claims he had with beings that he calls “angels.” He tells of being beamed up through a ceiling and placed onto an operating table in Heaven (seriously) where these “angels” strapped him down and cut him open (seriously).

If you want to know more about what possesses Todd Bentley I believe this two-part video says it all. I’m thinking “Legion.”

Part One:

Part Two: (This video has images depicting alien abduction that can be disturbing)