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The Zohar Speaks ( the original video) Spoken by Jonathan Cahn, author of “The Harbinger.”
I am posting this transcription because of confusion created by the SECOND video of the same name.
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“I found it in the mystical writings, Jewish writing of the Zohar..
The Rabbis are writing of the redemption of the world, with Messiah coming. They speak of life from the dead, they speak of the resurrection , the resurrection of the world. The resurrection of the dead and redemption of the world. And they speak, they say it all will come, the power of all this miracle of all…this will come from a sacred thing, a sacred place and this place, this thing where the mercy of God is stored, all the mercy of God pours out from this place and that is where all the resurrection will come, all the blessings come from this place, this thing.
What is it? Very strange. They call it the Gulgalta, this holy mystical thing. From the Gulgalta comes redemption of the world …from the Gulgalta comes life from the dead. From the Gulgalta is all…is mercy of God poured out to the world, the forgiveness of God is given from Gulgalta. Salvation comes from Golgatha.
What is Gulgalta.? In aramaic it is simply the word for Golgatha. (clapping)
The Rabbis are saying that all the mercy of God comes from Golgatha.
This is amazing.
From Golgatha the place that he died.. Calgary means the place of the skull. They got it all confused…it’s an incredible mystical thing, the holy spirit of God got in there, it just got in there..they speak about a skull and they ..and all the mercy of God is linked to a skull, It doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t make any sense at all from all this comes, drips salvation..resurrection. For all the forgiveness of God on it you have to go to Golgatha.
Why on earth would the rabbis, put it in there. it makes no sense at all except that God just slipped it in.
The rabbis are saying ‘From Gulgalta is all the mercy of God you could ever need…. From Gulgalta the forgiveness of donai is poured out to the world. From Gulgalta comes the redemption of the universe.”.. This is from Rabba Zohar 1, 28b.
In the Gulgalta sit thousands of myriads of worlds. And from the Gulgalta drips dew and the dew fills the world and the dead will awakenin the world to come as the dew comes forth. The dew is the lights of the Ancient One. The light of the Ancient One comes from Gulgalta and asit touches the dead come to life. From Gulgalta is the light of God bringing life from the dead…” Whoa. (4:31)
The death of Messiah, all point us in time and space…The prophet Daniel zeroes in on the time mathematically..70 times 7. The Rabbis in the Bood of Mode sp? unwittingly give the name of it. Gulgalta. Moses zeroed in on the place. And now the very hill, the very place here in, the rabbinical writings of the Zohar, unwittingly give the name of it, Gulgalta, the center of everything.
Listen to the rabbis.
Tom Horn’s Apollyon Rising: 2012 – Critique by Dr. Cathy Burns
Here are just SOME of the problems I found with Tom Horn’s Apollyon Rising: 2012.
P.41—He mentions that the descendants of the fallen angels went into hell “in full battle dress.” He used The Message version which states: “…the old-time giants who entered the grave in full battle dress….” Although we know this is a false version, Horn has manipulated the text by saying “hell” instead of the “grave.” (See Ezekiel 32, The Message.) Another problem with this is, we are told in the Book of Enoch that the Nephilim could not enter hell but were doomed to walk the earth as demons so even if Horn did not manipulate the text, this idea is contrary to the very book that teaches the Nephilim idea (which he endorses).
P.44—In reference to Iraq, Horn states: “the very land associated with future Armageddon (and against Saddam Hussein, no less…)….” Last time I checked Armageddon was in ISRAEL—not Iraq!
P. 62—On the copyright page Horn states: “All Scripture quotations from the King James Version.” This just isn’t true for the verse from Zecharaiah 14:3-4 is not KJV but the New International Version. (The verse on P. 41 wasn’t KJV either.) The timeline for Zech. 14 is not what Horn is claiming. He has these verses occurring so that the “tribulation temple” can be built on the site of the Dome of the Rock but if you look closely at the Scripture, the setting is AFTER the Tribulation and at the start of the Millennial reign of Christ (notice especially verse 9). Christ’s feet do not stand on the Mount of Olives at any time during the Tribulation—so Horn is wrong again!
P.67—At least four times, Horn mentions Gabriel as the angel that appeared to Daniel in chapter 10. We do not know for sure who this being is. Gabriel is mentioned in chapters 8 and 9 but this is a different vision—and may possibly be a different being. We can’t say for sure.
P.77—Horn states: “In Luke 3:23-38, there were seventy-seven generations from Adam to Jesus Christ. There were seventy-seven generations from Enoch to Christ, according to one account.” (He doesn’t mention WHICH account—so we can’t check it out.) Going to Luke 3 we find that there are 76 generations (counting Christ but not counting God since He didn’t beget Adam), but what do these generations have to do with Muhammad and faith having “seventy-seven branches”?
P.79—Horn states: “If the number seventy-seven on September 11, 2001, pointed to ‘revenge’ upon the United States by the royal bloodline descendents of Lamech, they were following the footsteps of Tubal-Cain indeed….” This statement cannot possibly be true because we see from Genesis 4:16-18 that Lamech is a descendent of Cain and ALL of Cain’s lineage perished in the flood—therefore there were no descendents of Lamech who could have attacked the U.S.
P.82—Horn refers to the “seed of the serpent” (which would be the serpent seed theory).
P.88—Horn says that the Antichrist “will champion worship of the ‘old gods’…” but Daniel 11:38-39: “But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory….” This isn’t the “worship of the ‘old gods’” but a strange god and one that his fathers did not know.
P.91—See document about “kosmos” and Horn’s definition.
P.131—Horn writes: “Incredibly, IF this supernatural leader were to be a magical REINCARNATION or resurrection of deity, the body or DNA of this SAVIOR may have been kept in or represented by a coffin….” (Emphasis added.) Horn often refers to REINCARNATION but since there is no such thing as reincarnation NO ONE (mythological or not) can be reincarnated. (See Hebrews 9:27.)
P.134—Once again reincarnation is mentioned. How could Osiris be reincarnated (or resurrected) if he never existed?! By the way, resurrection and reincarnation CAN NOT be equated or interchanged.
P.135 (with P.142)—Horn claims that Apollo, Nimrod, and Osiris are all the same “being.” We know from Scriptures that Nimrod was not a deity or part-god. He was FULLY human and he was the great grandson of the perfect Noah. Noah begat Ham; Ham begat Cush; and Cush begat Nimrod—all humans. (See Genesis 10:1, 6, 8.) We do know that Nimrod existed but Osiris and Apollo are mythological “gods” so these beings cannot be the same. Even if, as Horn is suggesting, they are the same, then Osiris and Apollo would have to be humans not some hybrid as Nimrod was a human.
P.139—Horn states: “Second Thessalonians 2:3 warns: ‘Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition [Apoleia; Apollyon, Apollo].’” Horn’s explanation seems to be highly exaggerated (like normal). The Greek word “perdition” is apoleia which means “damnable(-nation), destruction, die, perdition, X perish, pernicious ways, waste.” Do you see “Apollyon” or “Apollo” in the definition? I certainly don’t. (See the document showing all the verses where “apoleia” is used.)
P.142—Horn writes: “The fallen angel, Apollo, who unlocks the bottomless pit and unleashes the thunderous hoards of Great Tribulation locusts is therefore none other than the son of Satan and the spirit that will inhabit Antichrist.” (Emphasis added.) If (as Horn claims) Apollo is Nimrod, then he CANNOT be a fallen angel as I’ve already given the Scripture where Nimrod was fully human. Notice, too, that Horn says this being is the “son of Satan” but Nimrod was the son of Cush. Horn claims that Apollo unlocks the bottomless pit—but nothing of this sort is in the Bible. Notice Revelation 20:1: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.” The one who has the key is an angel FROM HEAVEN—not Apollo or Satan. If Satan had the key to the bottomless pit, do you think he would allow himself to be bound there for 1000 years (see Revelation 20:1-3)? Horn then adds: “Not to put too fine a point on it, but if the reader doubts the authority of the Scriptures cited above concerning the coming of Apollo as Antichrist or the dedication of the occult hierarchy to bring the prophecy on the Great Seal about, the ‘illuminated ones’ have you right where they want you.” In other words, if we don’t believe Tom Horn, we’re playing into the Illuminati’s hand. I don’t think so!!!!
P.175—Horn gives a quote from Scripture and other artifacts: essays on the Bible and archaeology in honor of Philip J. King by Philip J. King, Michael David Coogan, J. Cheryl Exum, Lawrence E. Stager (see footnote reference on P.348 of Horn’s book). I decided to check this reference—and as in previous cases—I found that Horn manipulated the text and DID NOT quote it correctly. Here is the page he is SUPPOSED to be quoting. He leaves out words without indicating that he has done so and then he CHANGED the text as well as ADDING his own words. Compare his quote on P.175 to the EXACT quote below. Notice that he has added (although he did put it in brackets) “including those of great height; giants, offspring of the Watchers.” As you can see from the page the words “giant” and “Watcher” are NOT mentioned AT ALL in the ENTIRE book—so Horn is making these authors say something that THEY DID NOT SAY! Isn’t this lying?
P.176—Horn writes: “If Job 38:31 is therefore interpreted according to these ancient astrological and mythological renderings, it would have God asking Job if he could bind the magic bands (kesatot?) of Osiris-Dionysus or loose the bindings (mispabot?) of the mighty hunter, the giant Orion/Gilgamesh/Nimrod/Osiris/Apollo.” Do you really think that God would ask Job about a MYTHOLOICAL being? Do you think God would refer to astrology when He warned against it? I certainly don’t think so. Besides, as just pointed out, the text that Horn quoted was misrepresented and then he adds further misrepresentation and ends by having God ask Job something that Horn has created in his own imagination!!
P.177—Horn writes: “The Pleiades points to Apollo-Dionysus while the Orion system points to the soul of Osiris in heaven and, on earth, to his speculative tomb location in Giza.” (Emphasis added.) We need to remember that those who teach the Nephilim theory claim that these creatures are without souls…so how could Osiris have a soul?? On P.188 Horn writes: “…I eventually hypothesized that the Watchers had to blend species in the way they did in order to CREATE A SOULLESS or SPIRITLESS body into which to extend themselves.” (Caps and boldface added.)
P.179—On P.142 Horn says Apollo is a fallen angel and on P.179 he asks if Apollo-Osiris can rise from a hidden tomb at Giza. Since angels do not die, how could the fallen angel rise from a tomb?
P.182—Horn states: “…the giants of the Old Testament, such as Goliath, were the part-human, part-animal, part-angelic offspring of a supernatural interruption into the divine order and natural evolution of the species.” Where’s the Scriptural reference for such a fantastical claim? The Bible calls Goliath a “man” (Hebrew: iysh) in I Samuel 17:24, 25, and 33. “Iysh,” according to Strong’s Concordance, means “a man as an individual or a male person.” Noah, Abram, Jacob, Joseph, Adam, etc. were all called “iysh” in the Bible. Were any of these people part-beast and/or part-angel?
P.183—Horn quotes Genesis 6:2 where the daughters of men were fair and then he goes to the Interlinear Hebrew Bible for an interpretation that states that “the daughters of Adam…were fit extensions.” The word “fair,” however means: beautiful, good, cheerful, favour, fine, graciously, joyful, kindly, loving, precious, sweet, etc. There is no indication whatsoever that they were “fit extensions.”
P.184—Horn writes: “…Gilgamesh (the two-thirds god and one-third human child of Lugalbanda and Ninsun).” How can this be possible? A child is 1/2 of each parent, not 1/3 and 2/3. Furthermore, angels are not gods so even if Gilgamesh were an offspring from an angel, he still couldn’t be 2/3 god (or even 1/2 god). It’s impossible!
P.185-186—Horn says: “But of all the ancient records, the most telling extra-biblical script is from the book of Jasher….Jasher records the familiar story of the fall of the Watchers, then adds an exceptional detail that none of the other texts is as unequivocal about, something that can only be understood in modern language to mean advanced biotechnology, genetic engineering, or ‘transgenic modification’ of species. After the Watchers had instructed humans ‘in the secrets of heaven,’ note what Jasher says occurred:
“[Then] the sons of men [began teaching] the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord. (Jasher 4:18)”
Does the Book of Jasher actually say what Horn claims it does? Not exactly. Jasher 4:18 states: “And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice, and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.”
First of all, there is NO mention in this entire chapter to fallen angels or Watchers (see enclosed copy of Chapter 4 of Jasher). There is frequent mention of “sons of men” but remember that “sons of men” refers to HUMANS–not gods, angels, or Nephilim. To claim that “sons of men” are angels is to manipulate the text. Besides, if the “daughters of MEN” (in Genesis 6) refer to humans, why wouldn’t “sons of MEN” also refer to humans?
Second, Horn then goes on to insinuate that the angels (who are definitely NOT mentioned in this chapter of Jasher) mixed animals with humans to produce chimera-like creatures. However, note that Jasher clearly states that the mixture of animals was with other animals and fowl. There is NO MENTION of mixing animals with humans.
Third, if this is the “most telling extra-biblical script” that Horn can find, then his entire theory has just been proven false because Jasher does NOT state what Horn says it does.
P.187—Horn writes that Noah was perfect. He adds: “The meaning was not that Noah was morally perfect, but that his physical makeup—his DNA—had not been contaminated with nephilim descent, as apparently the rest of the world had become. In order to preserve mankind as He had made them, God destroyed all but Noah’s family in the Flood.” This just isn’t true at all. The Bible tells us that Noah had brothers and sisters (Genesis 5:30): “And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters.” Noah’s brothers and sisters were just as perfect in their DNA as Noah was since they all had the same father—yet NONE of Noah’s brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, etc. were spared. Obviously, then, it wasn’t the “perfect” DNA that was the factor in Noah being spared. It was because Noah was upright and righteous before God. It was his spiritual standing in God’s sight, not his physical DNA. Notice what Genesis 6:9 says: “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” Genesis 7:1: “And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation.” That’s the secret to Noah finding grace in the eyes of the Lord.
P.190—Horn writes: “Former college professor and BBC correspondent, Dr. I. D. E. Thomas, in his highly recommended book, The Omega Conspiracy, chronicled the burgeoning of so-called ‘alien abduction’ activity and tied it to end-time prophecy concerning the return of the nephilim….and led Thomas to conclude that the identity of the Watchers and whoever the alien entities are were somehow connected.” Notice that the aliens (who are often described as about three-foot creatures) are somehow connected to the nephilim (who are supposedly extremely gigantic creatures). How do we go from such humongous creatures to tiny 3-4 foot creatures and claim they are connected? Also, where can you find “alien abductions” in Genesis 6?
P.191—Horn claims: “…the nephilim becomes important here, as the rephaim were associated by the ancients with the ‘shades of the dead,’ including nephilim in Sheol.” (Emphasis added.) Okay, we have another problem here. Let’s start with a definition for the “shades of the dead”: “Shades are SOULS that have been separated from their bodies, also called ‘disembodied spirits.’ They are thought to be able to be seen, but not touched.” (Emphasis added.) (http://www.ehow.com/facts_6734048_definition-shade-spirit.html) Notice that shades are SOULS and Horn claims that the shades include the Nephilim…but the Nephilim were supposedly SOUL-LESS beings. We can’t have it both ways! We are also told in the Book of Enoch that when the Nephilim died they were doomed to walk the earth as a demon because they couldn’t go to hell because they didn’t have a soul…yet Horn just said that the shades included the “nephilim in Sheol [Hebrew for hell].” Horn’s theory is so full of holes and discrepancies—yet people choose to believe him and ignore God’s Word. As II Thessalonians 2:10b-11 reads: “because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” When the truth is rejected, only the lie remains.
P.192-193—These pages mention “reincarnation” several times—again. One of these occurrences is: “These beings had the power to return from the dead through REINCARNATION into bodily form as nephilim.” (Emphasis added.) Horn then quotes from Mysterious World which mentions “the reincarnation of the demonic spirits of the Nephilim giants who had been destroyed in the Flood.” (Emphasis added.) Isn’t that a little strange? The soul-less Nephilim are “demonic SPIRITS”! Hmmmmm.
P.194—Horn claims that Nimrod changed into a Nephilim. (See separate paper on “Began to be.”) He also claims that “gibborim” is “one of the offspring of nephilim.” In another of Tom’s articles he calls the gibborim a “demon child.” This just isn’t true as the Bible tells us several times that God is “gibborim” and He certainly was not the offspring of a fallen angel or a “demon child”! (See separate paper on “Gibborim.”)
P.194—Horn favorably quotes from Annette Yoshiko Reed’s book where she states: “The Nephilim of [Genesis—Tom Horn] 6:4 are ALWAYS…grouped together with the gibborim as the progeny of the Watchers and human women.” (Emphasis added.) Obviously, this statement is not true but Horn uses it to try to “prove” his convoluted ideas.
P.194—Horn writes: “Therefore, in modern language, this text could accurately be translated to say:
“And Nimrod began to change genetically, becoming a gibborim, the offspring of watchers on earth.”
This is such a twisting of Scripture and II Peter 3:16 warns that we can twist (or wrest) the Scriptures to our own destruction. We are also warned about adding to God’s Word—yet this is what Tom Horn has done.
P.194-195—Horn writes about Nimrod where “he began to be” a Nephilim. If this would be true, then ANYONE can be turned into a Nephilim and no one is ever safe from this possibility. After all, Nimrod was the great-grandson of a perfect Noah and yet he supposedly was changed genetically to become the offspring of a demon. How much more quickly could anyone of us have this happen—especially since we are so far removed (possibly 100-150 generations) from Noah?
P.197—Horn writes about Genesis 11:4-6: “That this section of Scripture could be viewed as a secondary support for the concept of Nimrod having become ‘revived Watcher offspring’….” Nimrod WAS NOT the offspring of a fallen angel as the Scripture clearly shows us that Nimrod was Noah’s great-grandson. He then adds: “…if Nimrod was genetically modified according to the original Watcher formula, he would have inherited animal characteristics within his new material makeup….” Where is proof of this?
P.208—Horn seems to accept evolutionary teaching in this statement: “As an example of this possibility, in 2009, blood was extracted from the bone of a dinosaur that scientists insist is eighty million years old. Nephilim would have existed in relatively recent times comparably, making clonable material from dead biblical giants feasible.”
P.210—Once again we see Horn manipulates a text. He writes: “In my opinion, this is more than a possibility, and I remember with curiosity how in 1998, Zahi Hawass, the current secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, claimed to have found the burial tomb of the god Osiris (Apollo/Nimrod) at the Giza Plateau.” Really? Was the mythological god Osiris’ tomb found? Well…not really. The article by Hawass that Horn referred to states: “I have found a shaft, going twenty-nine meters vertically down into the ground….At the bottom, which was was filled with water, we have found a burial chamber with four pillars. In the middle is a large granite sarcophagus, WHICH I EXPECT TO BE THE GRAVE OF OSIRIS, the god….So several years will pass BEFORE WE HAVE FINISHED INVESTIGATING THE FIND.” (Emphasis added.) This quote simply states that Hawass was EXPECTING to find the grave but there is nothing conclusive yet Horn states that they “claimed to have found the burial tomb of the god Osiris” which just IS NOT TRUE!!
P.214—Horn writes: “…an incredible tenet emerges—that Satan has seed, and that it is at enmity with Christ.” Here we see the “serpent seed’ idea (as on P.82).
P.215—Horn writes: “Consequently, if the Antichrist is the REINCARNATION of the demon Apollo as prophesied by the apostle Paul, not only will he be the exact opposite of Jesus (Son of God), but the FORERUNNER of the return of the Nephilim.” (Emphasis added.) Let’s look at 3 items in this quote:
1. The idea of reincarnation is mentioned—again. By the way, how can a DEMON “reincarnate”?
2. WHERE is Scripture where the apostle Paul prophesied that Apollo would reincarnate?
3. The Antichrist is the FORERUNNER of the return of the Nephilim. The word “Forerunner” means “One that precedes, as in time; a predecessor” or “One that comes before and indicates the approach of another; a harbinger.” Now, if the Antichrist is the one who COMES BEFORE the Nephilim, then there can’t be ANY Nephilim here until AFTER he arrives—so there aren’t any Nephilim on earth at present yet we are told the Nephilim are here. We can’t have both ways. (Actually, neither view is correct but certainly both views cannot be held at the same time!)
P.215-216—Horn quotes from the Septuagint (Isaiah 13): “…open the gates, ye RULER.” (Emphasis added.) He insinuates that this ruler is the Antichrist, BUT if you go to the Septuagint you will not find the word RULER (as Horn claims) but rather RULERS. By using the plural word you cannot make this into a single Antichrist so Horn had to “manipulate” the text and change it into a singular word in order to continue to promote his false theory. Is this deception? (See enclosed copy of the Septuagint version of Isaiah 13.)
P.219—Horn writes: “According to Enoch, this unparalleled event is scheduled to occur after seventy generations have passed from the time of the Flood.
“This could be troubling.
“Although traditional scholarship places the time of the Great Flood between 2500 and 2300 BC, modern dating by some researchers has roughly estimated the Flood to have actually transpired between 2900 and 2800 BC….Because a prophetic generation is seventy years based on Psalm 90:10 (‘The days of our years are threescore years and ten’), Enoch’s seventy generations times seventy years equals exactly 4,900 years forward from the Flood. If the Flood took place between 2800 and 2900 BC, this brings the return of the nephilim to the immediate hour. In other words, if this 2800 to 2900 BC dating is correct, mankind is on the threshold of Watchers being raised from their underground prisons and thrown into an abyss of fire, while their giant offspring return to the surface of earth in violent fulfillment of multiple prophecies.
“We have no idea whether the modern time frame for the Great Flood is reasonable….”
Once again we find a number of problems with Horn’s comments.
1. There were 67 generations from the time of the flood until Christ (see Luke 3:23-36—starting with Noah and going to Christ) so the seventy generations were fulfilled by about 100 A.D.
2. The Bible does not say a prophetic generation is 70 years. The verse Horn used says nothing about a generation. Here the entire verse: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” Furthermore, the Bible gives its own definition of a “generation” which can be found in Matthew 1:17: “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.” Each “set” of 14 generations varies greatly in the amount of time. A generation, therefore, has no definite set time frame.
3. The Flood DID NOT occur between 2800 and 2900 BC BASED ON THE SCRIPTURES THEMSELVES.
FATHER AGE AT SON’S BIRTH SON’S NAME
Adam 130 Seth
Seth 105 Enos
Enos 90 Cainan
Cainan 70 Mahalaleel
Mahalaleel 65 Jared
Jared 162 Enoch
Enoch 65 Methuselah
Methuselah 187 Lamech
Lamech 182 Noah
By adding the years from Adam to Noah (130 + 105 + 90 + 70 + 65 + 162 + 65 + 187 + 182) we get the total of 1056 plus we add 600 years because the flood occurred in the 600th year of Noah’s life, we find that the flood occurred 1656 years after creation or 2344 B.C. Notice that Horn states: “We have no idea whether the modern time frame for the Great Flood is reasonable…” but we do know that the “modern” time frame is not correct because the Bible gives us the timing of the flood. The reason why Horn doesn’t want to accept the Biblical record is because the Biblical record shows that Horn’s theory is incorrect about the timing of the Book of Enoch “prophecy.” To make the Book of Enoch correct, we need to disregard the Bible. By changing the time of the flood, and claiming that a generation is 70 years, Horn can manipulate dates to fit his idea that the Nephilim are about to return around…2012!
P.229—Horn writes: “In describing the activity of the Antichrist demon Apollo, Revelation 9:1-11 says this ‘king’ of transgenic locusts opens the bottomless pit and releases synthesized insectoids to torment mankind.” Hmmmmm. For some reason I can’t find this in MY Bible. Can you? He then asks: “Are the locust hordes of Revelation chapter 9 created in human laboratories that employ the same Watchers technology we believe could give rise to Apollo’s return?” Now, how could these locusts be created in HUMAN laboratories and then get into the BOTTOMLESS PIT to be released during the Tribulation?
P.262—Horn writes: “As [Noah] Hutchings points out, the only kind of building in all the world that requires a head cornerstone is a pyramid. Because of this, Hutchings believes the ‘pillar’ that Isaiah (Isaiah 19:19-20) said would stand as a ‘sign and for a witness unto the Lord’ in the end times may be the Great Pyramid on the old border that separated lower and upper Egypt.
“Conversely, a few years ago, another friend of mine named Patrick (Paddy) Heron wrote a book entitled Pyramid of the Apocalypse, in which he postulated that the Great Pyramid at Giza had been built by the nephilim, the offspring of the Watchers. Besides associated legends, part of his reasoning had to do with the scale of the massive undertaking and the same biblical parallels—the one hundred forty-four thousand, the missing capstone, etc.,—which Heron viewed as the Watchers trying to copy, plagiarize, mimic, or borrow from the fame of something known only to the angels, namely, the design of the New Jerusalem in heaven, whose height and width are the same, as in a pyramidal structure (as opposed to those who believe the New Jerusalem will be cube-shaped).”
First of all, when would a pyramid supposedly built by the nephilim stand as a “sign and for a witness unto the Lord”? Second, the pyramid needs a CAPSTONE not a CORNERSTONE (see comment below about this). Third, the New Jerusalem is FOURSQUARE and a pyramid is not. Revelation 21:16 states: “And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.” In other references to “foursquare” in the Scriptures we see an altar and a breastplate (Exodus 27:1; 28:15-16; 39:8-9). Reading the descriptions of these items you will easily see that neither the altar nor the breastplate could have been a pyramidal shape. (See page on properties of a square.)
P.263—Horn writes: “The Great Pyramid capstone is missing, representing temporary vacancy by Apollo according to the mottoes, whose coming will ‘cap’ the pyramid, and yet as we have seen Jesus is also called the head cornerstone….
“Is this what is meant in Psalms 118 and Acts chapter 4 where Jesus is the capstone the builders refused?”
Horn evidently doesn’t know the difference between a capstone and a cornerstone. Let’s look at a dictionary definition for these words: CAPSTONE: “The top stone of a structure or wall.” CORNERSTONE: “A stone at the corner of a building uniting two intersecting walls….” A capstone CANNOT be the same thing as a cornerstone—and Psalm 118:22 clearly tell us that Jesus is the cornerstone—not a capstone as Horn claims: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” Acts 4:11: “This is the stone which was set at nought of your builders, which is become the head of the corner.” Once again we can see that Horn is manipulating Scriptures to try to prove his false theory.
Here are more Scriptures showing Jesus is the CORNERSTONE (not a CAPSTONE):
Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion [not Egypt!] for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Matthew 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
Mark 12:10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
Luke 20:17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?
Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
1 Peter 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.
Notice also the CORNERSTONE is laid as a foundation which means the “basis on which a thing stands, is founded, or is supported.” In no way, shape, or form can Christ be considered a capstone!
P.264-265—Horn writes: “This cipher also confirms the prophecies of Psalms 118 and Acts 4 concerning Jesus as the rejected capstone….
“To further verify this part of the cipher pointing to an ‘alternative capstone’ or second messiah….” Once again Horn is incorrectly referring to Jesus as a capstone.
P.270—Trying to bolster his theory for the Antichrist to appear in 2012, he appeals to an Islamic scholar and he quotes: “‘When Daniel specified the period between its distress and relief, between the era of anguish and the era of blessing, he put it at forty-five years! We have already seen that he specified the time of the establishment of the abomination of desolation as the year 1967, which is what in fact occurred. Therefore, the end—or the beginning of the end—will be 1967 + 45 = 2012.’” Once again we see that Horn’s research is faulty and in contradiction to God’s Word. If you turn to Daniel 12:11-12 you can see that there are 45 DAYS (1335 days – 1290 days = 45 days). Adding 45 DAYS to 1967 would still be 1967 or possibly early 1968 at the latest. This throws out Horn’s theory because he needs YEARS—not-days—to make his theory “fit.”
P.272-273—Horn writes: “John Kehne made an even more intriguing observation, directly coupling the Great Seal’s trestleboard date, 1776, and the Mayan ending date 2012:
“This Seal shows a thirteen-step pyramid with 1776 in Roman numerals.… [The year—T.H.] 1776 was not only the year that the Declaration of Independence was signed, but was also a special year in the Mayan calendar. Just as the last katun in the Great Cycle is “katun 2012,” the first katun in the cycle of thirteen was “katun 1776.” In fact, the katun ended thirty-three days before the signing. So 1776 is the bottom level of the pyramid, where the date is actually inscribed—the top of the pyramid is therefore 2012.
“As we shall show, early Freemasons were aware of the significance of these dates—1776, 2012, and 2016 respectively—and while the thirteen steps of the unfinished pyramid on the Great Seal account for the timeframe 1776–2012 using the slightly less than twenty-year periods (19.7) of the katun, the Gregorian twenty-year cycle produces 1776–2016, both of which fit perfectly within the trestleboard dating on the U.S. Great Seal cipher and the first Masonic tracing board, as we will reveal.”
There’s a problem here. On P. 266 Horn writes: “Yet if the year 1776 represents the starting date….” And on P.283: “This adds clarity to the reasons the designers of the Great Seal of the United States similarly incorporated the Mayan 13 katun system—which started in 1776 and ends in 2012—on the nation’s primary cipher.”
Horn also has a picture on P.273 of his book showing the “13 katuns” and the “13 cycles” on an unfinished pyramid. While he claims that the starting date is 1776, it is not true. Please look closely at the bottom of the numbers and you will find the starting date as 1756—not 1776 as he claims! This throws off his theory by 20 years—and negates his starting date of 1776 which is on the back of the dollar bill. So much for his secret code on the dollar bill!
P.288—Tom Horn quotes William Henry and Mark Gray as thus: “‘The designers of the city of Washington DC oriented it to the Sun – especially the rising Sun on June 21 and December 21 [the same day and month as the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012—T.H.]. The measurements for this orientation were made from the location of the center of the Dome of the U.S. Capitol, rendering it a ‘solar temple.’ Its alignment and encoded numerology point to the Sun as well as the stars. A golden circle on the Rotunda story and a white star in the Crypt marks this spot…It is clear that the builders viewed the Capitol as America’s sole temple: a solemn…Solar Temple to be exact.” (Emphasis added.)
While I do not have a copy of this particular book, I was able to find William Henry’s website and his comments on Washington, D.C. This is what he said on his site: “‘The designers of the city of Washington, D.C. oriented it to the Sun – especially the sunset on March 21 and September 21. The measurements for this orientation were made from the center of the dome of the U.S. Capitol, rendering it a ‘solar temple’. Author David Ovason imagines it as the center of a compass and as a point of stillness, where the arc of the sunset is ‘centered.’ This still point is the tip of an angel’s needle that weaves the abstract, event transcendent, concepts of Freedom and Liberty into the fabric of America.
“It is crystal clear from the statements set in the stone of the Capitol that the builders viewed it as America’s sole temple (a solemn, Solomon’s Solar Temple in Jerusalem to be exact).” (http://www.williamhenry.net/blog.html)
Did Horn change the dates (March 21 and September 21 to June 21 and December 21) and “sunset” to “rising”? Also, December 21st occurs EVERY YEAR—not just in 2012 but Horn has added this to try to prove his theory. This is VERY deceptive.
P.305-306—Horn states: “…an event that occurs only every thirteen thousand years. The precession of the equinoxes will conclude a twenty-six-thousand-year cycle, bringing the astrological Age of Pisces to an end and introducing the beginning of Aquarius, when the next cycle begins….” Horn doesn’t believe the Bible’s creation story if he accepts 26,000 year cycles, etc.
P.309—Referring to Terrance McKenna, Horn writes: “To his surprise, he discovered that the high and low parts of the graph corresponded with times in history when ‘novelty’ or major world events transpired, including a spike around the time of September 11, 2001, and a coming spike for October 2010. But one date was unparalleled elsewhere on the graph. This is when the line simply ends, abruptly plunging off the graph into infinity—December 21, 2012. This finding is all the more astonishing given that McKenna’s research was published in 1973 independent of any knowledge of the ending date in the Mayan calendar.”
Once again, let’s look at the illustration that Horn provided. If you look closely, the “coming spike for October 2010” is really in 2008. He also insists that the line abruptly plunges “off the graph into infinity—December 21, 2012” but that is not true, either. Notice that the graph ends in July 2012—not December 2012. The last number on the graph is “07” which is the 7th month (or July). Furthermore, there are no “days” listed in the graph—only “months” and “years” so there is NO POSSIBLE WAY for Horn to “know” the EXACT day for ANY of the months listed. (Please refer to the chart on the previous page.) How can a person who manipulates text after text and document after document be considered trustworthy?
P.313—See the document referring to “aion.”
P.317-318—Horn writes: “…sometime around the Pleistocene age (thirteen thousand years ago), fossilized human skulls were unearthed together with seashells and remnants of tropical plants. The skulls have nearly three times the cranial capacity of modern man….” This sounds like Horn believes in evolution.
P.318—In referring to an Incan myth, Horn writes: “He (Viracocha) created animals and a race of giants. These beings enraged the Lord, and he turned them into stone. Then he flooded the earth till all was under water, and all life extinguished. This flood was called uñu pachacuti, by the Inca which means ‘water that overturns the land.’ They say that it rained sixty days and nights, that it drowned all created things, and that there alone remained some vestiges of those who were turned into stones. Viracocha rose from the bosom of Lake Titicaca, and presided over the erection of those wondrous cities whose ruins still dot its islands and western shores, and whose history is totally lost in the night of time.
“Inca mythology involving giants, followed by world deluge, agree with similar legends from the Maya, Olmec, and Aztec cultures of Mexico. These stories are consistent with Sumerian and Hebrew accounts of the Flood and of the giant nephilim….” (Emphasis added.) How can such a story be CONSISTENT with the Bible (the Hebrew account of the flood) when it differs greatly from the Bible account?
P.319—He then quotes from a Greek legend to “prove” Giants built megalithic structures: “The Jinn were before Adam: They built huge cities whose ruins still stand in forgotten places.” The Bible clearly tells us that Adam was the first man. The first city recorded in the Bible was built by Cain (see Genesis 4:17).
P.322—Horn writes: “With this in mind, Flynn made the unprecedented disclosure that 33.33 degrees of the great circle of the earth represents 2012 nautical miles, the identical number at the end of the Mayan calendar that ‘measures the ending of the earth.’ Flynn further revealed that Mount Hermon in Phoenicia, the first location of the descent of the Watchers, lies precisely at 33.33 degrees north, 33.33 degrees east, 2,012 miles from the equator, and 2,012 miles from the prime meridian, a location of Mt. Hermon in longitude based on the Paris 0 meridian 2.20 degrees east of Greenwich.”
Mount Hermon is located at 33◦24’38” latitude and 35◦51’26” but Flynn is using the Paris meridian which is 2◦20’14” so the “corrected” location of Mount Hermon would be 33◦24’38” latitude and 33◦31’12” longitude. Neither coordinate is at 33.33—as Flynn and Horn claim. It may be a minor difference—but it dismantles their theory since they are relying on the precise location for their figures. Furthermore, you can do your own calculations at http://www.export911.com/convert/distaCaIc.htm but you aren’t going to come up with 2,012 miles from Mount Hermon to the equator or from Mount Hermon to the prime meridian.
THIS IS THE MAP that is printed on P.322 of Horn’s book. It may look convincing but it is not factual. Notice also that the point where the lines intersect IS NOT at Mt. Hermon but above and to the right of it!
THESE ARE THE ACTUAL COORDINATES which can be found at http://itouchmap.com/latlong.html (and many other sources).
These are just some of the problems in Horn’s book but I believe that any thinking person should be able to see that his book is riddled with errors, miscalculations, incorrect quotes, false Bible interpretations, etc., etc.
Cathy Burns
“…how is it that ye do not discern this time?” Luke 12:56
Latest HERESCOPE
THE SERPENT SEED & THE NEPHILIM
NEPHILIM ESCHATOLOGY, Part 2
A Crash Course in the Emerging Endtime Prophecy Heresy
By Gaylene Goodroad*
Those fallen angels who descended to Mount Hermon introduced the “seed of the serpent” into the human race. Evidently, after the Flood, they consorted with members of the tribe of Dan, mixing the “seed of the serpent” into the human genome once again.
~J.R Church with Gary Stearman[1] [bold added]
In the first book of the Bible we find an intriguing clue to the possiblelineage of the coming Antichrist…. In Genesis 3:14-15 we read the response of God as he, so to speak, takes Satan to the woodshed…. This is one of the most pivotal portions of scripture in the entire Bible. It sets up the battle between the seed of the woman… and the seed of Satan…. The Hebrew word translated seed is the word zera, meaning “offspring, descendants, posterity, and children.” Satan is going to have [biological]seed! Who is the seed of Satan, and what is his future destiny?
~Chuck Missler and Mark Eastman [2] [bold added]
After the falling away Paul states that “the man of sin… the son of perdition” will be revealed. This is a fascinating insight that may relate to the very parentage of the Antichrist himself. The word translated “son” is the Greek word huios, which is used in a general sense to mean “a male offspring”…. The composite we can draw from these verses [2 Thess. 2:3-4] is disturbing indeed. We have examined in detail the intrigues of Genesis 6, where the fallen angels consorted with the “daughters of men” and produced supernatural offspring…. If the fallen angel interpretation is indeed a valid description of the state of affairs in Genesis 6, then it is likely that Satan, as a fallen angel himself, must also have the ability to cohabit with a human female. By definition any offspring produced by such an ungodly union would be the seed and the son of perdition!…
If the Antichrist does arise from such a union, then from a Biblical perspective, he would be a Nephilim (“fallen one”). While this notion may seem radical, it turns out that there is additional Biblical evidence that the Nephilim will play a major role in the end-times scenario…
~Chuck Missler and Mark Eastman [3] [bold/underscore/italics added]
Part one of this article series on “Nephilim Eschatology” drew an outline of these popular false teachings arising in the evangelical world. These teachings speculate that there will be a return of the lecherous “Watchers” (space aliens, extraterrestrials) of the apocryphal Book of Enoch to planet earth to copulate with female earthlings in an all-out demonic effort to thoroughly contaminate the human gene pool (DNA)-resulting in the eternal damnation for all demon/human hybrids: i.e., the Nephilim.
Those who teach and promote these salacious sci-fi scenarios have contorted the Scriptural text – most especially the foundational Genesis record-into a myth focused upon the X-rated bestial behavior of dark ghastly entities returning through unseen portals in the heaven lies.
They are also revivifying and re-engineering the old horrific Serpent Seed heresies. What follows is an in-depth research report on the disturbing rise of a new hybrid Serpent Seed false doctrine, its history, its associations, and its far-reaching implications.
.
Read full Story HERE
The Harbinger, the Inverted Tree, and Why Christians need to Discriminate very carefully between Prophecy and Speculation
by Jeremy James
Trinity Root : sculpture of an inverted tree outside Trinity Church on Wall Street
“The Sephirothic tree of the Qabbalah was therefore inverted…”- Manly P Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages
_______________________
The Harbinger
is a best-selling book by Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, published in January 2012. The publisher’s blurb on the back cover includes the following: Is it possible…That there exists an ancient mystery that holds the secretof America’s future? That this mystery is behind everything from 9/11 to the collapse of the global economy? That God is now sending aprophetic message on which America’s future hangs? Before its end as a nation, there appeared in ancient Israel a series of specific omens and signs warning of destruction – these same Nine Harbingers are now manifesting in America with profound ramificationsfor America’s future and end-time prophecy.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/98699045/The-Harbinger-The-Inverted-Tree-And-Prophetic-Speculation
Hidden in an ancient biblical verse from the Book of Isaiah, the mysteries revealed in
The Harbinger
are so precise that they foretell recent American events down to the exact days…the 3,000-year-old mystery that revealed the exact date of the stock market collapse of 2008…the ancient prophecy that was proclaimed from the floor of the US Senate and then came true…and more. The revelations are so specific that even the most hardened skeptic will find it hard to put down. Though it sounds like the plot of a Hollywood thriller –
it’s real
.***
Fact or Fiction?
The message of repentance in
The Harbinger
is immensely important. We should shout it from the rooftops. But there are serious problems with the way the message is presented. And if we remain silent about these problems, we are failing in our duty to examine prophetic warnings, from whatever source, in strict accordance with God’s Holy Word. Americans find it very hard to accept that their nation is not mentioned in the Bible, except as one of the many Gentile nations on the earth today. Any responsible theologian who claimed that it was mentioned would be expected to demonstrate his conviction in a sound scriptural manner, in accordance with accepted principles of Biblical exegesis. But Rabbi Cahn does not do this. Instead he expresses his opinion in a fictional format and so avoids the need for traditional, legitimate scholarship. He assumes that his readers will get caught up in the flow of the narrative and will choose to believe his thesis. This would be perfectly okay were it not for the fact that he, or at least his supporters, also want his thesis to be accepted as though its truth had already been demonstrated in a sound Biblical manner. But he can’t have it both ways.
Either The Harbinger is fiction or it is fact. Since he chose to publish it in a fictional genre he is not entitled to claim that his work is anything other than speculation.
Methodology
In his videotaped talk,
The Zohar Speaks (which can be viewed on YouTube), Rabbi Cahn refers to the following passage from the Kabbalistic book, the Zohar, but then proceeds to quote it in a very selective way, as we shall see: “In the Gulgalta sit thirteen thousand myriads of worlds which move on feet and lean on them. And from that Gulgalta dew drips upon Him who is outside, and fills his head every day, as it is written, My head is filled with dew
(Songs 5:2). And from that dew which He who sits outside shakes from His head, the dead will awaken in the World to Come, as it is written, For a dew of light is Thy dew, and the earth shall bring forth thes hades
(Isa. 26:19). That dew is the light of the pale glow of the Ancient One. And from that dew exist the supernal saints, and it is the manna which they grind for the righteous in the World to Come. And that dew drips down to the field of Sacred Apples…” Idra Rabba, Zohar 3: 128b
[Quoted in The Messiah Texts by Raphael Patai, Wayne State University, 1979]
He argues that the Gulgalta (skull) in the Zohar is a reference, albeit unwitting, to Golgotha (skull), the hill of Calvary where Christ was crucified. However, a plain reading of the text would strongly suggest that such an interpretation is completely unwarranted.
The Gulgalta of the Zohar is the skull or cranial cavity of the Kabbalistic godhead in which thousands of worlds exist and from which emanations project to support a messiah-type figure in the worlds below. Here is the text as quoted on YouTube by Rabbi Cahn (which I transcribed from the audio feed):“In the Gulgalta sit thousands of myriads of worlds. And from the Gulgalta drips dew and the dew fills the world and the dead will awaken in the world to come as the dew comes forth. The dew is the lights of the Ancient One. The light of the Ancient One comes from Gulgalta and as it touches the dead come to life. From Gulgalta is the light of God bringing life from the dead…”As you can see, the differences between the actual Zohar text and the one quoted by the Rabbi are significant. I am not suggesting for one moment that the Rabbi was deliberately misleading his audience in any way, but simply showing that he did not have full regard to what the Zohar was actually saying. In his eagerness to see a connection, he found one – just as he saw a connection between the tragic events of 9/11 and a solitary verse from Isaiah.
This kind of enthusiasm may be understandable in an evangelistic forum, but it should not be accepted as a substitute for sound scholarship and careful exegesis.
The So-called Secret Destiny of America
The book has caught the popular imagination, and is fêted by celebrities like Glenn Beck, because it treats America as a nation of Destiny, a nation that has been ordained by God to play a major part in His plan for mankind. Those who hold to this view –which has no scriptural basis – have actually adopted a belief that is central to Freemasonry. Few Americans today, including readers of The Harbinger, seem to realize that their country’s history and future development has long been shaped and planned by the ultra-rich elite who control Congress (which in Masonic symbology is regarded as a Temple), as well as other key institutions in American society. Here’s the proof. Most American Masons will have read, or will at least be familiar with, a work published in 1944 by Manly Palmer Hall. This highly influential scholar is widely revered as one of the greatest authorities on the Craft. His book, The Secret Destiny of America , which is little known outside of Freemasonry, sets out the remarkably ambitious plan that the top Masonic degrees have long been following for the United States. It is worth one’s while to persevere with the following excerpts from Hall’s book since they shed considerable light on what is really happening in America today:
America cannot refuse the challenge of leadership in the postwar world .Mere physical reconstruction of ravaged countries and the reorganization of political, economic, and social systems is the lesser task we will face. The larger problem and the great challenge is in how to set up a new order of world ethics firmly established on a foundation of democratic idealism…I dedicate this book to the proposition that American Democracy is part of a Universal Plan…Thousands of years ago, in Egypt, these mystical orders were aware of the existence of the western hemisphere and the great continent which we call America. The bold resolution was made that this western continent should become the site of the philosophic empire…And so it is from the remote past, from the deep shadows of the medieval world as well as from the early struggles of more modern times, that the power of American democracy has come. But we are only on the threshold of the democratic state. Not only must we preserve that which we have gained through ages of striving, we must also perfect the plan of the ages, setting up here the machinery for a world brotherhood of nations and races…Greek mythology perpetuates the knowledge of a blessed land beyond the Western Boundaries of Ocean. In this blessed land dwelt the Hesperides, the beautiful daughters of Night, and here also at the end of each day the sun came to rest. In popular mythology the Hesperic Isles were a kind of terrestrial paradise…By the wisdom then of those gods who are eternally vigilant over the needs of man, the blessed lands of the west were set apart, for none of the great civilizations of the past rose in North America to overshadow the continent with the ruins of old tradition, or to set up the corruptions of old administrative policy…The old seer [ Nostradamus ] refers to this country under several names. He calls it the Hisparides, the Blessed Isles of the West. In another place he simply names it America. And his third designation of it is, the Land Which Keeps the Thursday. This last form is the most astonishing. For it refers to the unique American holiday, Thanksgiving, which always falls upon a Thursday. And this the only holiday which depends upon the day alone for its observance…Franklin spoke for the Order of the Quest [ the secret society behind Freemasonry ], and most of the men who worked with him in the early days of the American Revolution were also members. The plan was working out, the New Atlantis was coming into being, in accordance with the program laid down by Francis Bacon a hundred and fifty years earlier. The rise of American democracy was necessary to a world program.- Manly P Hall, The Secret Destiny of America , 1944
Curiously, the “field of Sacred Apples” mentioned in the quote from the Zohar is the same as the “Blessed Isles of the West” mentioned by Hall and Nostradamus – where the “Hesperides” serve as guardians of the Sacred Apples. Hall also makes an unsettling reference to Thanksgiving (which falls this year on 11/22).Let’s summarize what Hall is saying here: America was long ago identified by the gods as the country through which a new world order would be established. The secret society system in Europe set it up with a view to covertly bringing the rest of the world into step with its agenda. This plan is not simply man’s plan, but a divine plan – a “Universal Plan” or “plan of the ages” – that is designed to create a “world brotherhood”. Under the benign supervision of “those gods who are eternally vigilant over the needs of man”, the plan is taking shape and the “world program” is coming into being. That’s the Masonic agenda. And since high-level Masons worship Lucifer, the plan is demonic in nature. Here is how Hall himself described Masonry: “Masonry is a university, teaching the liberal arts and sciences of the soul to all who will attend to its words. It is a shadow of the great Atlantean Mystery School, which stood with all its splendor in the Ancient City of the Golden Gates, where now the turbulent Atlantic rolls in unbroken sweep…When the Mason learns that the key to the warrior on the block is the proper application of the dynamo of living power, he has learned the mystery of his Craft. The seething energies of Lucifer are in his hands and before he may step onward and upward, he must prove his ability to properly apply energy.”- Manly P Hall,
The Lost Keys of Freemasonry
(1923)
Christianity is seen as the enemy. It got in the way of Lucifer’s plan and forced the secret societies to be even more careful and secretive in pursuing their goals: “The rise of the Christian Church broke up the intellectual pattern of the classical pagan world. By persecution of this pattern’s ideologies it drove the secret societies into greater secrecy; the pagan intellectuals then reclothed their original ideas in a garment of Christian phraseology, but bestowed the keys of the symbolism only upon those duly initiated and bound to secrecy by their vows.”- Manly P Hall,
The Secret Destiny of America
( 1944)
Note that the secret society system adopts a ‘Christian’ face – “a garment of Christian phraseology” – in order to hide itself in plain sight. It also uses severe vows of secrecy to control its members and prevent information from leaking out.
Misusing Scripture
The Masons use their ‘Christian’ persona to hide the fact that they are steadily undermining traditional Christian values through the judicial system, socialist indoctrination, media propaganda, and in many other ways. They are also striving where possible to appropriate Biblical prophecy for their own purposes. British Israelism is part of this agenda, the belief that the aristocratic and elite bloodlines of both the United Kingdom and the United States are direct descendants of the lost tribes of Israel and thus the ones that will inherit the promises made to Jacob and the Patriarchs in the Old Testament. Interpretations of Biblical prophecy which fit in with this agenda are highly esteemed by the Masonic fraternity. This has the dual advantage of giving a scriptural veneer to their “plan of the ages” while at the same time opposing the LORD’s will for Israel. The 9/11 ‘prophecies’ profess to find a connection between the sycamore tree which was uprooted in Wall Street and its symbolic return some years later in the guise of a garish street sculpture outside Trinity Church. The work, an inverted tree cast in bronze and known popularly as Trinity Root, was officially installed in 2005. It is significant therefore that Manly Hall refers specifically to the occult meaning of the inverted tree: The Mysteries taught that the divine energies from the gods descended upon the top of the Pyramid, which was likened to an inverted tree with its branches below and its roots at the apex. From this inverted tree the divine wisdom is disseminated by streaming down the diverging sides and radiating throughout the world. – Manly P Hall,
The Secret Teachings of All Ages
(1928)
The mediæval Qabbalists represented creation as a tree with its roots in the reality of spirit and its branches in the illusion of tangible existence. The Sephirothic tree of the Qabbalah was therefore inverted, with its roots in heaven and its branches upon the earth. Madam Blavatsky notes that the Great Pyramid was considered to be a symbol of this inverted tree, with its root at the apex of the pyramid and its branches diverging in four streams towards the base. – Manly P Hall,
The Secret Teachings of All Ages
(1928)
The inverted or Sephirothic Tree has been exalted by magicians and occultists for centuries. For example, the works of Robert Fludd, a magus in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, include a representation of this revered occult symbol – see graphic overleaf.
The Harbinger is thus a very welcome book from the Masonic viewpoint. While I am not suggesting for a moment that its author is familiar with the “plan of the ages” and the goals being pursued by the Masons and the Vatican, his fictional speculation about Biblical prophecy plays right into their hands. It is truly astonishing that so few Americans seem to understand the forces that control their country.
The Kabbalistic inverted Tree of Life or Sephirothic Tree,from Robert Fludd’s
Philosophia sacra
, 1626

To identify Isaiah 9:10 – “The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars” – with the collapse of the Twin Towers is foolishness of a very high order. It hardly seems possible that so many Christian leaders could be taken in by this. Whatever happened to discernment? And without discernment, what hope is there for repentance? The verse in Isaiah that they should be studying is “Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.”- Isaiah 66:5 Only the professing Christians of a truly backslidden, rebellious nation could be moved by the fate of a sycamore tree and yet not be drawn to repentance by the awful realization that – through their indifference and flagrant hypocrisy – they have allowed more than 50 million unborn children to be murdered in their country since 1973.
Jeremy James
Ireland
28 June 2012
A Commentary on The Harbinger: A Warning About The Harbinger
by Christine Pack
Source
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=8385
A book called The Harbinger is fast becoming a lightning rod issue among evangelical Christians, with many Christians saying it is exactly what America needs right now to “wake up” and repent, and come back to biblical truth, but other Christians documenting that Cahn quotes liberally from extra-biblical and mystical sources for his book. The cover of Cahn’s book (right) boldly claims that The Harbinger is an “Ancient Mystery that Holds the Secret of America’s Future.”
Could this be true? Could it be that there are hidden truths that need to be decoded and unveiled to Christians today? And if so, for what purpose? Cahn seems to think so, and has written a book which proclaims just that. The Harbinger is a fiction book, and features a character known as The Prophet who is slowly giving seals to one of the main characters. These seals contain messages (nine in all) which are meant to be put together as clues in a mystery, so that a final, distinct message will emerge and be revealed. This message, once decoded, is intimated to hold the secret to bringing America back to its moral center and becoming once again a Godly nation.
I have many concerns about this book, and so I will address them one at a time.
Gnosticism
There is an exchange between two of the characters in The Harbinger who are discussing a secret message from a mysterious character (“The Prophet”) in the book:
“It’s the appointed time, but not for an ancient nation. It’s time for the word to be given…..for the mystery to be revealed…..for the message to go forth. It’s the appointed time⎯but not for an ancient nation.” (The Harbinger, p 13)
Friends, anytime you see language like this, and like the language below (also from The Harbinger)…..
¡ “ancient mystery hidden for thousands of years……but now revealed”
¡ a “mystery” that holds a “secret” to our future
¡ “clues” needed to “unlock” a mystery
¡ “messages” that need to be “unveiled”
……what you are dealing with is an ancient heresy called Gnosticism.
Gnosticism is a very old heresy that teaches that the truth has to be decoded, uncovered, unlocked, unveiled, discovered.
Secret Knowledge = Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a heresy because, according to God, we are given all that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) in God’s word. We don’t need to decode secret mysteries, unravel sealed up messages, decipher clues, or pull back the veil on hidden things. All that we need, all that God wants us to know, is contained in the Bible. Now, I will grant that in the New Testament, Paul does talk about the mystery of Gentiles and Jews being united together in a common church and common faith (something that could have scarcely been imagined in Old Testament times). There is also the mystery of Jesus Christ, who was dimly glimpsed through types and shadows in the Old Testament, but Who was gloriously revealed in his fullness as our Savior in the New Testament. But these are mysteries which are laid open for all to see and know and understand and respond to, and not clues on a Mysterious Journey to Somewhere (which is really the more western understanding of the word “mystery”).
“I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right.”(Isaiah 45:19)
As a former Gnostic, I found great comfort as a born again Christian in understanding that all that God truly wants me to know He has plainly revealed in his Word. I spent more than a decade of my life as a New Ager/Gnostic going from teaching to teaching to teaching. I lost track of how many conferences I went to, books I purchased, teachers and gurus that I sought out, all in an effort to find truth. My quest for truth was sincere, but truth proved to be surprisingly elusive to attain. By the time God saved me, I was weary. I was worn out. I didn’t have it in me to go after One More Thing. All I could think of at the end was that I wanted rest, just a little bit of rest, from all my fruitless searching. The Lord, in his infinite mercy, gave me rest by rescuing me out of the mire of man-made wisdom and giving me the elegant simplicity of his Word. There is such a lovely purity and clarity in knowing that I can rest securely in the knowledge that all that God wants me to know I can find in the Bible.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
If you are unfamiliar with the heresy of Gnosticism, please listen to Phil Johnson in this in-depth discussion of what Gnosticism is, and see if you don’t come away from that talk thinking of The Harbinger.
Fiction? or Fiction Masquerading Itself as Fact?
Much like William P. Young’s troublesome book The Shack, The Harbinger also has a fictional character who is teaching things that are contrary to Scripture, but which the author wants to claim as truth. Of course, when pressed on the biblical problems with the teachings, both Young and Cahn have resorted to saying, But it’s only a fictional character! The problem with this is that Young and Cahn both personally believe what they have written, and are seeking to teach a wide audience of readers what they believe to be true, while hiding behind the label “Fiction.”
The Truth About America’s Future
The truth about America’s future (and the future of all nations, for that matter), is that God holds the future in His hands. Yes, we should pray, we are commanded and exhorted to pray, but ultimately, we know that our sovereign Lord will work all things together for the good of those who love him and for HIS own purposes (Romans 8:28). And sometimes, in God’s sovereign wisdom, this means that He will allow countries to fall, and nations to topple. Even, that is, nations that He has used in a mighty way to proclaim his truth to the world. I certainly do not desire to see America fall, and I pray for the leaders of this country, but at the same time, we know from the Bible that God has often used times of distress and difficulty as a means of chastening and disciplining his people.
“The kingfs heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.” (Proverbs 21:1)
When I was a fairly new Christian, I came across a resource called James Ussher’s Chronological Chart of History that helped steady my thinking in this regard. James Ussher was a 17th century Anglican bishop who painstakingly charted out the bloodline from Adam and Eve to Jesus. His chart features the Biblical timeline going across the top and the corresponding world history underneath it. It’s so amazing to look at this chart, and see God’s hand sovereignly guiding all of human history. Below the scarlet thread of Jesus’s bloodline, you see nations and kings rise and fall, rise and fall, but above it all, God’s bloodline marches steadily onward toward the fulfillment of his purposes.
As Americans, we tend to think that we are so mighty, the greatest nation on earth. Well, when you look at Ussher’s timeline, you realize that ALL these kingdoms once had their day in the sun, but where are they now? Egypt was once the mightiest nation in the world, known for the architectural magnificence of their awe-inspiring pyramids, and for taming the Nile River. Babylon, known for their acclaimed Hanging Gardens, and brilliant military campaigns led by Nebuchadnezzar. Rome, their amazing Roman roads and contributions to education and government. Where are they now? Some of them are still around, but do they rule the world? Looking at this chart is truly humbling, and it brings the deeper realization that all that is here will be one day be burned up and destroyed, when God himself creates a new heavens and a new earth. No government that exists here on earth – not even America – will be reigning in that Kingdom to come. But this is not bad news, this is glorious, good news, that should gladden the heart of all who truly love God and bend the knee to his sovereign will and purposes.
As far as America goes, all people everywhere are commanded to repent and believe on Christ for the forgiveness of sins, but that is not the basic message of this book. This book teaches that there is a secret message encoded in the Bible that needs to be decoded to be understood, and if we will only buy this book and decode this message, then we can bring America back. But as I wrote above, this is the heresy of Gnosticism. Our country does not need a “special” Gnostic teaching to tell us what we already know about repentance, salvation and the forgiveness of sins. In fact, I tend to agree with John MacArthur (When God Abandons A Nation), that when we look around us, we don’t need to wonder, will we be judged? because we are already under judgment. First came the sexual revolution of the 60s/70s/80s (Romans 1:24), then came the homosexual revolution (Romans 1:26-27), and next comes the debased mind (Romans 1:28). We are following the trajectory laid out in Romans 1, and where we are indicates not a country that is basically good and can come back to its moral center, but a country that has been given over to its depravity. So we can churn out book after book about “taking back America” and “reclaiming America” (including Jonathan Cahn’s The Harbinger), but in my opinion, America is past the tipping point. True Bible-believing Christians are in the minority in this country, and a minority is never going to reclaim a culture. We need to proclaim the gospel and snatch the few that we can from the flames.
Jonathan Cahn’s Extrabiblical, Mystical Sources
“An incredible thing, it blew me away, I found it in the mystical writings, Jewish writings, of the Zohar*….” Jonathan Cahn, discussing extra-biblical, mystical writings as his sources.
* Please note that Zohar is an extrabiblical, mystical source from which the occultic and mystical Kabbalah is derived.
The Zohar Speaks
Jonathan Cahn | Myspace Video
Jonathan Cahn Goes on Glenn Beck’s Show To Discuss How To “Save A Nation”
Harbinger author Jonathan Cahn joined Mormon Glenn Beck for two segments of Beck’s June 26/June 27 programs, and said the following things about The Harbinger:
“The Harbinger is a two and a half thousand year mystery that lies behind everything.”
“The message of The Harbinger is not to condemn, it’s to wake up and it’s to call back. This is I believe coming out now for a reason, it’s to save a nation, and to turn back.”
“We can’t maintain our blessings without God…..America is blessed as much as America follows God. If America does not follow God, you cannot expect the smiles of heaven.”
Once again, a Gnostic teaching about a “mystery” that has to be decoded, and a call for America to turn back to God. But, why is Jonathan Cahn, who is a Christian pastor, linking with a Mormon (Glenn Beck) in order to proclaim his message? Christians and Mormons do not worship the same God, and for Cahn to appear with Mormon Glenn Beck and for the two to discuss God and America turning back to God can only serve to send a very confusing message to the world about who “God” is.
Conclusion
Does The Harbinger hold clues to helping America find her way back God? In my view, Jonathan Cahn’s book is “hooking” those Christians in America who are burdened over the rising tide of immorality in our country, and who desire for America to repent and come back to the Lord. This is not a wrong or wicked desire…..it’s just that, it might not play out that way, in God’s sovereign plan. And this desire can become problematic, especially when Christians begin linking with non-Christians (as Jonathan Cahn did with Mormon Glenn Beck) in an effort to force those desires to come to fruition.
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)
Yet another book is being promoted from the Christian community. The reviews are out and here are what some of the well-respected ministries are saying about this book.
Paul commended the Bereans for examining everything he said. They wanted to know if what he was saying was true. If Paul was not above examination, certainly neither is the Christian book writing community.
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/scarpatiletter.html by “a former Associate Pastor who was with Jonathan Cahn for years” Robert Scarpati
http://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2012/07/critical-look-at-harbinger.html# by Dr. Thomas Ice
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=8385 (Christine Pack, Sola Sisters)
http://www.worldviewweekend.com/worldview-times/article.php?articleid=8405 Mark Dinsmore
http://www.biblicalintegrity.org/blog/2012/04/26/harbinger-fact-fiction/ by Dave James
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/2012/harbinger.htm Berit Kjos
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/2012/James/harbinger.htm Jeremy James
http://www.thebereancall.org/content/harbinger-matter-critical-discernment T. A. McMahon
http://gracethrufaith.com/selah/a-critique-of-the-harbinger/ Jack Kelley
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2012/06/harbinger.html Pastor Larry DeBruyn
http://apprising.org/2012/06/01/gary-gilley-reviews-the-harbinger-by-jonathan-cahn/ Gary Gilley
Final Preparations to Receive the New Age Christ
by Prof. Johan Malan, Middelburg, South Africa
Christianity experiences unprecedented attacks on its foundational truths. These attacks are motivated and coordinated by evil forces that are intent on deceiving all people as a prelude to revealing the Antichrist and physically establishing Satan’s kingdom on earth. Their main obstacle is biblical beliefs in the deity, atoning death, resurrection and second coming of Jesus Christ. As a result, attacks against evangelical Christianity are on the increase, being aimed at discrediting the canonical books of the Bible, and thus also the God and Saviour of the Bible.
When the Lord Jesus was asked about the signs indicating the nearness of His second coming He first and foremost mentioned the widespread occurrence of spiritual deception: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many” (Matt. 24:4-5). The many people who will be deceived by many false teachers refers to the general occurrence of a changed mindset, or new paradigm, in terms of which people will perceive Christ in the end-time. That accounts for the disturbing phenomenon why the entire world will marvel and follow Satan’s false Christ (Rev. 13:3). The Amplified Bible says: “…and the whole earth went after the [Antichrist] in amazement and admiration.” That will be a united, multireligious form of worship.
The ultimate form of deception will be reached with the appearing of the Christ (the Antichrist) who will pretend to be the universal Christ of all religions. He will be empowered by Satan to perform great signs and wonders (2 Thess. 2:7-10; Rev. 13:2) and will also introduce a false peace and unity on earth (1 Thess. 5:3; Rev. 13:3). Halfway through his reign of seven years he will enter the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and in utter arrogance declare himself to be God (2 Thess. 2:4).
There are clearly different forms and stages of deception by which Satan attempts to draw people away from believing in, worshipping and following the true God of the Bible. Once they have rejected the truth they become spiritually so blinded that the ability to discern good from evil rapidly decreases to a dangerously low level. Such people entertain distorted and completely unbiblical views on Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the gospel. Among them are also former believers in Christ. Paul says:
“I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you put up with it well” (2 Cor. 11:2-4).
Much more than only perverting the image of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit with a view to depriving people of a biblical basis of faith, spiritual deception is now specifically aimed at deconstructing the biblical image and attributes of Jesus Christ to make Him conformable to the image of the Antichrist. This other Jesus will arise from the kingdom of darkness but present himself as the true Jesus who has come to save, bless and empower humanity. Preparations are in an advanced stage to receive him as the global messiah of all faiths. The mounting evidence on the nature and extent of this movement is very compelling, as indicated below:
Another Jesus
There are various independent initiatives, driven by the same spirit of error, to distort the biblical image of Jesus. The following initiatives clearly set the scene:
Liberal interpretation of Scripture. Liberal, humanistic-inclined theologians do not respect the root meaning of God’s Word – particularly those sections which describe God’s supernatural intervention in the affairs of humanity – and decide for themselves which other meaning(s) to attach to these scriptures. Many of them take literal concepts such as heaven, hell, the devil, the Antichrist, Israel, the millennial reign of Christ, as well as the end-time judgements of God, and offer explanations which differ radically from those which the Bible gives. Their agnostic mindset eventually leads them to question and attack the very foundations of the doctrine of salvation by denying clearly stated biblical concepts on the virgin birth of Christ, the spiritual significance of His atoning death, as well as His bodily resurrection. The starting-point for this serious delusion is the denial of the virgin birth of Christ. If He was not miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit He could not be the only begotten Son of God who was destined to be the Saviour of mankind and the King who will rule the world in righteousness from the throne of David (cf. Matt. 1:20-21; Luke 1:26-35; Acts 15:16-17). Consequently, these theologians and their followers end up with anotherJesus who is satanically-inspired and humanly conceived. This counterfeit Christ is endued with various unbiblical attributes and presented as one of many divine figures in the deceived family of world religions. To them, He is not the unique Son of God who defies the sinful conventions of human existence and denounces non-Christian religions as false institutions aimed at worshipping the Father of Lies (cf. 1 Cor. 10:20; 2 Cor. 6:14-18). These misguided people are paving the way for the coming of the Antichrist (1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:3).
The Jesus Seminar. On the extreme end of this rapidly expanding movement aimed at rejecting the Jesus of the Bible by utterly perverting His divine image is the US based Jesus Seminar which was established in 1985. They discredit more than 80% of the testimony of Jesus in the four Gospels as historically inaccurate. This is evident from their publication, The Five Gospels, to which the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas was added. In their efforts to portray the historical Jesus they strip the true, biblical Jesus of all His divine characteristics and render Him a mortal man who was no more than a human prophet. They do not hesitate to make grossly blasphemous statements about Jesus. During his visit to theological faculties at two universities in Pretoria, South Africa, John Dominic Crossan of the Jesus Seminar called the crucifixion of Jesus an act of transcendental child abuse and said that we should hate a God who surrendered His Son to such a cruel death. He also postulated that Jesus was never buried and did not rise from the dead. Another member of the Jesus Seminar, Prof. Marcus Borg, said during his visit to SA that there was never a full tomb, let alone an empty one, and added: “I think it is quite possible that his body was eaten by dogs.”
These ideas were eagerly accepted by prominent South African theologians who are members of the New Reformation. One of them, Prof. Andries van Aarde, wrote a book, Fatherless in Galilee, in which he describes Mary as a prostitute and Jesus as an illegitimate child who was begat by a Roman soldier. Being ‘fatherless’ in Galilee allegedly induced Him to fantasize about a heavenly Father. Despite its heretical premise this book was well received by fellow theologians. Those members of the Jesus Seminar and the New Reformation who do somehow agree that Jesus was a divine incarnation are quick to indicate that He was not the only incarnation of God. Religious leaders such as Buddha are also described as incarnations of the divine. The time for the revelation of the false Christ must surely be at hand.
Resurgence of the Gnostic Gospels. In keeping with the modern trend to relegate Jesus to the level of a mortal man and human prophet there is a new interest in the Gnostic Gospels. Since the time of the early Christian church theological development was strongly influenced by philosophy. Initially, it was the heathen Greek philosophy of Plato that had the greatest impact on religious thinking. Since the first century, Gnosticism developed concurrently with evangelical beliefs on the deity and incarnation of the Lord Jesus. This philosophy was derived from the concept “gnosis” (knowledge of spiritual mysteries) and teaches that knowledge, rather than faith, is the key to salvation. This philosophy enjoyed great support until the sixth century and during that time perverted the truth of various theological concepts. It was developed with the purpose of making the Christian religion more acceptable to Greek-speaking intelligentsia, but in the process the biblical concept of God was fundamentally changed. The Gnostic love for knowledge was shaped by the mystic beliefs of Plato, as well as his concept of God as the “Absolute,” which is not compatible with the biblical concept of the Holy Trinity. After these views were mixed with Christian concepts it was argued that there is a singular Creator-God, the Father, and that He created Jesus as a lower order God, or even as an angel. That was a vicious attack against the deity and incarnation of the Lord Jesus. Profs. Walvoord & Zuck (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, 1983:677) say: “Both Christ’s deity and humanity were challenged by this early Gnostic-like heresy. Those heretics diminished Christ to an angel whose ‘body’ was only apparent, not real.” But Paul defended the deity of the Lord Jesus, as well as His complete incarnation: “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). He was fully God and fully man.
The large public acclaim enjoyed by false, apocryphal Gospels such as The Gospel of Judas, and other unauthentic accounts on the life of Jesus are indicative of this time of great deception prior to the dawning of the new dispensation of the Antichrist’s reign on earth. Just before Easter 2006, the National Geographic Society announced that they discovered the lost Gospel of Judas which contradicts the canonical gospels about Judas and his betrayal of Jesus. There were even claims in the press that this was the greatest discovery of the century and that it would result in a re-evaluation of Christians’ beliefs as we know it. The front-page headline of USA Today read, “Long-lost gospel of Judas casts ‘traitor’ in new light.” The Gospel of Judas presents Judas in a positive light as the only disciple who truly understood Jesus and who betrayed Him only because he was asked to do so. Jesus allegedly wanted to be released from the constraints imposed upon Him by His human body. The Gnostic Jesus described in the Gospel of Judas is not almighty God or the Creator of the world; He did not die for man’s sin, and did not rise bodily from the dead. It is no Gospel at all.
The Davinci Code. One of the modern platforms used to raise public awareness for the false Gnostic Gospels is Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code, as well as a film with the same title. This book is based upon evidence derived from the Gnostic Gospels, which is presented as a true account of Jesus and His works. Many questions are raised concerning the deity of Christ and the trustworthiness of the canonical Gospels. Jesus is described as a mortal man who was married to Mary Magdalene, and these assertions cast doubt on the authenticity of the New Testament. The world has been looking for convincing proof that the Bible is not the Word of God. Scientists and researchers have been searching for credible reasons to reject the claims of Scripture. The public is hungry for such information. If the Bible is not the Word of God people are free to choose their lifestyles and behaviours without fear of punishment in this life or the next.
The Da Vinci Code has been on nationwide bestseller lists for extended periods since it was first published in 2003, including 87 weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. As one reads this novel one finds that Brown blurs the lines between history and fiction, thereby suggesting that Christianity is based on a lie. What is the proof? A Gnostic Gospel and Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper where he contends that the person sitting next to Jesus was a woman, namely Mary Magdalene. The central claim that Brown’s novel makes about the Christian faith is that almost everything we learned about Jesus is false, thereby reinforcing the claims of heretics and apostates. In May 2006, a film with the same title was released. In the first four days it grossed $224 million at box offices world-wide.
The novel opens with the murder of an elderly curator at the Louvre, the world famous museum in Paris. The curator was harbouring a secret that, if revealed, would destroy the very foundations of Christianity. In his dying moments the curator left a series of numeric and cryptographic clues that would decode the fatal secret. The investigation of the murder produced clues that lead to the Holy Grail. As it turns out, the Grail isn’t the cup that Christ drank out of at the Last Supper, but Mary Magdalene, the true Grail who held the blood of Jesus in her womb while bearing His children. Furthermore, it is claimed that Mary’s reputation as a prostitute was fabricated by church leaders to undercut her influence, and that of women in general, in the early church. The real story was kept by a secret society called The Priory of Sion, to which many famous Europeans, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, belonged.
The Da Vinci Code is one of a series of blasphemous Hollywood films aimed at destroying the biblical image of Jesus. The ball was set rolling by films in which Jesus is portrayed as sinner, e.g. Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus of Montreal and The Last Temptation of Christ. By these films the scene has been set of the revelation of “the man of sin” (2 Thess. 2:3) who will soon make his appearance in the name of the true Jesus.
The New Age Christ. The highest ranking deities in the New Age Movement are (1) the universal god of all faiths, (2) the cosmic Christ, and (3) Lucifer. In his book Reflections on the Christ the head of Planetary Citizens, David Spangler, included a chapter titled: Lucifer, Christ and God. In it, an important role in the development of a Christ consciousness in humans is assigned to Lucifer: “When man entered upon the pathway of self, he entered into a great creative adventure… There he can say, ‘I have fully and absolutely accepted the responsibility of who and what I am. In so doing I am free…’ The being that helps man to reach this point is Lucifer. That is his role. He is the angel of man’s evolution. He is the angel of man’s inner light. Lucifer is the spirit of light in the microcosmic world. God is the spirit of light in the macrocosm, and Christ is the bridge between the two that spells freedom in manifestation… Lucifer works within each of us to bring us to wholeness, and as we move into a new age, which is the age of man’s wholeness, each of us is brought to the point of a Luciferic initiation, the doorway through which the individual must pass if he is to come fully into the presence of his light and wholeness.” Through the spirit of the cosmic Christ of the kingdom of darkness (the Antichrist), people are introduced to the false light and peace of Lucifer, who is the father of lies. Full luciferic revelations are at present still confined to the inner circles of the New Age Movement, as members must pass through various stages of spiritual illumination before the real identity of the movement’s leader is revealed to them. Ordinary members of the movement are not aware that they actually open themselves up to Lucifer when they strive to attain spiritual illumination through the Christ consciousness.
The coming interfaith Christ will be the highest incarnation of the god of this world and be enthusiastically accepted by the deceived masses as the common Messiah of all faiths. Nominal Christians and orthodox Jews won’t have any problem when, after his revelation as the cosmic Christ, he also reaches out to the other religions to gather them under his banner. Muslims expect the prophet Jesus, who is not God, to appear soon and act in unison with the Imam Mahdi, who is a descendant of Muhammad. Hindus await a Jesus who, according to them, will be and end-time incarnation of Vishnu and Krishna. Buddhists equate the coming Christ with the fifth Buddha. According to the New Age Movement, Lucifer will work in the hearts of people to accept the universal Christ, while motivating them to become christs (or little gods) themselves.
Satan’s spirit of error (cf. 1 John 4:6) is actively working in the world to blind people’s minds to the truths of the gospel, while guiding them on how to have mystical experiences and empowering them to perform signs and wonders with occult powers. The many demons which Satan has at his disposal are evil spirits who are sent out to deceive people, thereby advancing the interests of the kingdom of darkness. The following actions of these spirits are very evident in the time in which we live:
Strange phenomena. The New Age Movement and its associated false religions is at present focusing attention on the discovery and use of the miracle-working psychic powers of healing, as well as the promotion of various supernatural manifestations. Even at many Christian meetings strange phenomena are now common, e.g. falling (or slaying) in the spirit.
Other phenomena, such as laughing in the spirit, prophesying in the spirit and dancing in the spirit, which result from this experience, are also attributed to the Holy Spirit. Many believers blindly accept these phenomena without testing the spirits, despite the danger of spurious satanic imitation in such manifestations.
Most of the Word of Faith preachers create strong expectations of powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit. However, there is no scriptural basis for the signs that allegedly occur at their meetings. There is also the phenomenon of gold-dust falling on the hands, arms or hair of those at the meetings, while some claimed that fillings in their teeth turned into gold!
Another modern fad in this movement is the so-called “New Wine” meetings where people experience typical symptoms of drunkenness. This is accompanied by falling, dancing and laughing in the spirit, also pogo stick jumping and making a wide range of animal noises, such as barking like a dog, crowing like a rooster and roaring like a lion! Are not the claims that such highly dubious phenomena and extraordinary behaviour are attributable to the activity of the Holy Spirit quite blasphemous, grossly insulting to Him and detrimental to the Christian witness to the world? It is not difficult to see how ideally this suits Satan’s purpose to discredit the Christian faith and deceive as many as he can. The express purpose of deceiving spirits is to destroy the faith of believers and to mislead, confuse, corrupt, overshadow and control them with the power of deception.
A new spirituality. The deceiving spirit of Satan imitates the Holy Spirit and instils a new kind of spirituality in people. It is a spirit of self-exaltation, pride and arrogance which makes you very important and powerful in your own eyes because of the gifts you have received, the recognition you enjoy, the strong influence you have over people, and also because of your material wealth. The presence, power and gifts of this spirit become the dominating reality in your life, while Jesus is subtly moved to the background. This spirit instills nice and relaxed feelings in you so that you forget all your problems and sins. He does not convict of sin, always condones it, and has no problems to live with lies, deceit, distorted versions of the truth, and moral laxity. He gives people the false hope that they are saved and will go to heaven. He uses so-called ‘prophets’ as human mediators to convey messages to you about what God wants you to do. He also majors on extra-biblical revelations from God through dreams and visions. He removes guilt complexes on his own authority, without specific reference to the cross, and surrounds you with light and joy. You are ever dependent upon him. He guides you through a process of inner healing to a spiritual reprogramming of your life in which the scars of the past, and even from before your birth, are put right by self-healing, positive confession, hypnotic regression and the breaking of generation curses.
This new spirituality is contemplative. People are taught to switch over to their ‘right-brain’ through meditation, walking labyrinths and practising mystical techniques such as yoga. They empty their minds by the using of mantras (the repetition of a single word or short phrase) which helps them descend to the deeper levels of their subconscious mind where they experience an altered state of consciousness. In this spiritual state some people meet spirit guides who teach or inform them, while others even hear voices speaking to them. There are also those who receive supernatural gifts such as prophesying, healing, tongues, astral travel, clairvoyance, and the performing of miracles.
This spirit also tells you that you are a king already, who has dominion on earth, and can claim and demand anything you like. You do not have to suffer poverty, disease or any other afflictions, and you can change anything through positive confession. You are in command of your life. He motivates people to organise transformation rallies as a means to usher in the kingdom of God on earth. He also makes his victims believe they can pull down demonic strongholds in any society by making use of strategic spiritual warfare. Any notable success is evading them as Satan will only be incarcerated when Christ comes (Rev. 20:1-3). In this dispensation, only individuals can be set free from the power of Satan – not entire cities or countries!
Berit Kjos posted a very helpful chart in which she indicates the transition from evangelical beliefs to the new spirituality: http://www.crossroad.to/charts/new-spirituality.htm From this chart it is evident that a spiritually blinded humanity explores mystical powers in its quest to become divine, united and in full control of its own destiny. People end up discovering a mystical christ in their own hearts (the god within) who guides them into gaining a position of dominion on earth.
The Secret. Modern times are characterised by a strong resurgence of the secrets of ancient mysteries. In her book, The Secret, Rhonda Byrne says that when Christianity started spreading the forbidden forces behind magical arts went underground. They were hidden in secret societies and occult orders until the late 20th century when interest in the mystical powers of the past was revived by the biblically illiterate members of postmodern society. This new thought enables people to do miracles. The author says that if you begin to understand the hidden, untapped powers that are within you, this revelation can bring joy to every aspect of your life, including you financial interests, your relationships and your health. In her article, A New Mask for an Ancient Secret, Berit Kjos (Feb. 2007) says: “Now as [in ancient times] those dark Luciferian teachings have become shining lights to post-Christian cultures inspired by ‘false apostles and deceitful workers’ – servants of Satan, the evil one who masquerades as an angel of light. After all, The Secret offers gullible seekers everything under the sun: There isn’t a single thing that you cannot do with this knowledge. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are, The Secret can give you whatever you want. The law of attraction is the law of creation… You create your life through your thoughts. With this powerful knowledge, you can completely change every circumstance and event in your entire life…”
In his article The Secret Seduction (June 2007) Dave Hunt says: “The latest occult scam to capture the imagination of the West is called The Secret. The book by that name, a top New York Times bestseller, has quickly sold more than 6 million copies and the DVD over 2 million copies… The numerous misrepresentations [in the book] begin with the title itself. The Secret is not a secret at all, but recycled Hinduism, shamanism, and New Age folly. One of many huge lies is its claim: ‘You create your own reality with your mind.’ This was the serpent’s false promise to Eve – the promise of godhood (Gen. 3:5). Embracing that delusion cost Eve and her descendants Eden’s paradise – and would have barred mankind from heaven had not Christ died for the sins of the world. In the 6,000 years since Eden, the serpent’s promise has not been fulfilled in even one person’s life.”
The spiritual message of this book clearly implies that God is obsolete and that real spiritual empowerment is not to be found in the Bible but in The Secret. The popularity of this book throughout the world is staggering. This is indicative of the widespread interest in occult ideologies and practices which elevate fallen man to a position where he becomes the master of his own destiny. When he is his own god, everything is permissible, including any imaginable sin. In this frame of mind people will be willing followers of “the man of sin… whose coming is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:3-12).
A Course in Miracles. In keeping with the rising interest in magical, occult powers that are often marketed in a ‘Christian’ package to deceive more people in Western societies, a course in miracles is offered on internet websites, in books and by celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey. On her daily radio program Oprah will offer a year-long course on the New Age Christ from the Course in Miracles Workbook. Those who finish the Course will have a wholly redefined spiritual mindset – a New Age worldview that includes the beliefs that there is no sin, no evil, no devil and that Jesus did not die to pay the penalty for your sins. It is emphasized in the course that in Jesus we are not under the law, so everything is lawful. A perverted kind of forgiveness is propagated, which is the world’s way of promoting unity and healing apart from the cross. Oprah told her television audience that Williamson’s book, A Course in Miracles, was one of her favorite books, and that she had already bought a thousand copies and would be handing them out to everyone in her studio audience. Oprah’s endorsement skyrocketed Williamson’s book to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. A Course in Miracles was originally dictated to channeller Helen Schucman in 1977 by her spirit guide who claimed to be Jesus.
The Miracle Times (www.themiracletimes.com) say on their website: “A course in miracles is a message to you from… the whole resurrected mind of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It is an experiential guide to help bring about the illumination of your mind and body through the practical application of love, healing and forgiveness.” They define inspiration as follows: “Inspiration means: a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation. What is your qualification? You are the Holy Son of God Himself! You need only remember who you are. It is your purpose to inspire.” The real author of A Course in Miracles is described as “Master Jesus, who is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit… He became completely identified with the Christ, the Son of God.” People are influenced to see themselves as sinless: “See then the light that is all about you… You are as perfect as God created you.” Through positive thinking, forgiveness, love and positive confession people are to creatively change their lives by miracles.
The Moses Code. The global campaign of deception which is driven by Satan’s spirit of error, popularised by the media and promoted by celebrities, is taken one step further with the publishing of James Twyman’s book, The Moses Code. This book, as well as the film based upon it, elevates fallen mankind to the position occupied by Lucifer when he openly deified himself in heaven. He said, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14). The author offers people a secret code which will dramatically change their lives from indigence and mediocrity to prosperity, royalty and abundance. That will happen when they can say to themselves, “I AM.” This code was revealed to Moses at the burning bush in the wilderness and enabled him to perform unprecedented miracles.
The book is promoted as follows by the publishers: “Twyman describes the most powerful manifestation technique ever known to humanity, hidden or ignored for almost 3,500 years. And yet, this powerful tool was responsible for some of the most amazing and famous miracles in the history of the world. Why, then, has the Code been held in such secrecy when it changed the world the few times it was applied? Is it possible that this technology is so powerful that our ancient forefathers decided that humanity wasn’t ready to wield such a mighty sword? When properly applied the Moses Code gives you everything you need to easily attract your Heart’s Desire. When used by large groups of people the Code also has the power to initiate a world based upon the laws of compassion and peace. In the first chapter you will learn what the Moses Code is and why it is so important today. In chapters two and three you will learn the beginning techniques for applying the Code in your life, and in the world. In short, chapters two and three will give you the necessary tools for changing your life and the lives of those around you.”
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 1: “You’ve likely heard the story before, all about Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt, an astounding accomplishment that began with him standing before a burning bush listening to the voice of God. But have we ever really heard the deeper message being communicated, not only to Moses but to each one of us? Is it possible that there is a code hidden somewhere in this story, a secret that gives us the power to attract everything we desire into our lives? Could this secret be the most powerful gift God has ever given the world? What are some of the things you most want to receive? Abundance, your soul mate, the perfect house, or your dream car? Did Moses receive from God the secret of how to achieve all your dreams, easily and automatically, attracting into your life everything you have ever desired? If so, is it possible for you to use this same secret today and for the rest of your life, achieving what the rest of the world would call miraculous?”
It is further explained that God called Moses from the bush and he responded by saying, “Here I am.” He was standing on holy ground when he said, “Here I AM.” The author then continues: “It’s almost as if God smiles at him and says: ‘Ah, well said, Moses. Indeed, Here I AM. This ground is holy because it is the spot where you have known yourself to be who you are.’ You may be thinking: ‘Wait a minute! Are you saying that God was pleased because Moses seemed to recognize himself as one with his Creator?’ The answer is YES!!! For thousands of years we have been sold a lie, and this lie has led to the suppression and dismissal of The Moses Code all through the world. We have been told that we are weak and vulnerable, unable to do more than eke out a meagre existence on earth. If we’re lucky we’ll be able to accumulate a relative degree of comfort, maybe a few houses and a big bank account, but none of that ever really satisfies us. We are here but to live then die, hopefully with a few moments of joy in-between. We have imagined ourselves to be in a prison that we can never escape, and we have convinced ourselves that the prison yard is our real home. What if the door to that prison cell was never locked? What if the world we live in is nothing more than a projection of our thoughts about ourselves, and that God has never shared that vision at all? If God is all-powerful, all-knowing and fully present in every moment and form, is it possible that God would rejoice when we realize the TRUTH? … Hold on before you answer. Your response will determine your entire experience of life, and how willing you are to accept everything God intends for you. Your answer will determine how open you are to receiving miracles and ultimately crack the Moses Code.” The author further says that God told Moses He would lead the Hebrews out of the bondage of Egypt into the Promised Land where they would live in abundance. He says that the same promise applies to us, also in a material sense.
In their e-newsletter of March 4, 2008, Lighthouse Trails says: “The Moses Code – taking the next step toward a world-wide awakening (“Awakening” is a dominant New Age term, now being used by most, if not all, current so-called Christian leaders; every conference is an Awakening event): On April 5th, The Moses Code film will be released in a unique synchronized worldwide opening, just a few weeks after this week’s release of the book with the same title. The book and film will most likely become best sellers with expected promotion by Oprah Winfrey and others of influence. The book/film is following the release of last year’s The Secret, which has remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for over 59 weeks. The Secret, also a book/film, was highly promoted by Oprah and carries a similar-type message. In essence, both projects focus on humanity being divine and having the ability to alter our personal lives and ultimately alter the world in which we live through hidden mysteries that the projects supposedly reveal.”
The Moses Code represents self-deification and prosperity in its most extreme form. But it goes beyond this and also offers this secret code as the solution to all the world’s problems of division, hostility and suffering. The assurance is given that if thousands of people gather at the same time, assume their position as gods and co-creators, and focus their positive thoughts on problem areas such as the Middle East, everything will change for the better.
Another gospel
The arrogant and unrestrained proclaiming of another Jesus under the instigation of another spirit has become a world-wide phenomenon. Preachers, politicians and celebrities with very large constituencies are joining hands to celebrate the divine nature of humanity, raise the level of people’s consciousness, promote global unity and peace, and ensure prosperity and good health to all. The following are popular themes for preaching:
Ecumenism. It is generally believed that religious globalism holds the key to the revelation of God’s kingdom on earth and a future of unity, prosperity and peace to divided humanity. Within this approach the fragmentation of Christianity into many denominations (referred to as vintage Christianity) should be countered by establishing mega-churches without strict and very explicit creeds, and without standing strong on the inerrancy of the Bible. Mega-churches should merge into post-denominational city churches that function under the guidance of prophets and apostles. Regional, national and international ties should then be forged among the various local branches of the church. Collective actions such as transformation rallies or meditation meetings are believed to wield the spiritual power needed to overcome evil and change the destiny of societies. This is New Age philosophy. They believe that when a critical mass (a representative group of people who believe they are divine) comes together to meditate, the scale will swing away from evil and divisiveness, draw humanity into this oneness, and heal the world.
The uniting of the Christian church is only an interim objective which paves the way towards multireligious ecumenical ties – an alliance of world religions in which the members of all faiths join hands on the premise that they worship the same God. It stands to reason that if they believe they worship the same God, they are also awaiting the same, universal Christ to finally unite them. When he has come, no insubordination will be tolerated and all people will be obliged to worship him (cf. Rev. 13:3-4,8,15).
Ecumenically-minded preachers of deceived mega-churches are preparing the way for the coming universal Christ of the New Age Movement. The vagueness of their creeds, the ignorance of their members, and the strong impact of postmodern thinking allows them to present another Jesus who, in many respects, differs from the biblical Jesus. Without much resistance they unwittingly make Jesus conformable to the New Age Jesus, simply by denying His uniqueness, the redemptive significance of His cross, and His insistence on repentance. They only emphasise His mission to bless and unite all people, to inspire them to realise their full potential so as to prosper in everything they do, and to empower them to establish and extend the kingdom of God on earth.
However, where there are still significant numbers of evangelical Christians, like in the US and South Africa, ecumenically-minded theologians first engage in a relentless campaign to slander and discredit the biblical Jesus by reducing Him to a historical Jesus who was just one of many human prophets. After that, their spiritually uprooted and disillusioned followers will be introduced to the cosmic Jesus of the emerging New World Order, thereby drawing them into the multireligious structures of the ecumenical movement.
Dominionism. The message proclaimed by the emerging church is that they are called upon to take control over the world, thereby physically establishing the kingdom of God to the good of all people. A wealth of concise and well written articles have been produced on his subject by the Discernment Research Group: see http://herescope.blogspot.com See also Sarah Leslie’s excellent article, Dominionism and the rise of Christian imperialism on http://www.discernment-ministries.org/
Herescope offers interesting excerpts from an article by C. Peter Wagner, in which he says: “We need to take a new look at one of our most quoted Bible verses: ‘The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost’ (Luke 19:10). In the past, most of us thought that Jesus was saying ‘to seek and to save those who were lost.’ Consequently, we applied it to saving souls. But now we realize that we should have taken Jesus’ statement at face value, namely ‘that which was lost.’ What is it then, that was lost and that Jesus came to seek and to save? The answer is in the first chapter of Genesis. God’s original design was that Adam and Eve should have dominion over all of God’s creation (see Gen. 1:28). But they disobeyed God, they lost their authority, Satan usurped it and he became the god of this age. Satan’s kingdom encompassed all of the human kingdoms of the earth (see Luke 4:5-6). Why did Jesus come? He came with His kingdom, namely the kingdom of God, to invade the kingdom of Satan for the purpose of taking back dominion of God’s creation which was lost in the Garden of Eden. The Holy Spirit is now speaking to the churches and saying that God’s people must do what it takes to transform society, segment by segment, until God’s kingdom is seen on earth as it is in heaven” (C. Peter Wagner, Transform Society! Global Prayer News, Vol. 6, No. 3, Jul-Sep 2005).
Herescope also reviews an article by Rick Joyner, The true soldiers of the cross are mobilizing, in which he says that coercive measures will be used to usher in the kingdom of God before increased liberty will be allowed: “At first it may seem like totalitarianism as the Lord will destroy the antichrist spirit now dominating the world… and will shatter many nations like pottery.” In support of this vision, various dominionists have devised a strategy of defeating the so-called giants of unbelief, poverty, disease, illiteracy and self-centred leadership. The forces of marketplace transformation are the main method which dominionists intend using to overcome the negative factors which deprive societies of the prosperity and abundance of the kingdom.
The deceived church tries to do now what only Christ can do at His second coming! Their heavy reliance on human resources and methods renders their efforts unbiblical and dispensationally out of place. Instead of preaching salvation to lost sinners they endeavour to restore paradise conditions on earth during this dispensation, thereby pre-empting the coming of Christ as King to reveal His kingdom on earth. The counterfeit kingdom of dominionists differs substantially from the true kingdom of Christ, and actually paves the way for a false king, the Antichrist, who will arise from the ranks of fallen humanity before Christ comes.
Positive thinking. This ideology, which is also promoted by liberal theologians, represents a clever mix of humanitarian and biblical objectives. It appeals to governments, businessmen, churches and communities at large, whether secular or religiously oriented, to uplift society, eradicate poverty, treat the sick, educate the illiterate, and promote peace and reconciliation among all factions of society. This approach was refined and used very successfully by Norman Vincent Peale (The Power of Positive Thinking), Robert Schuller (Self-Esteem: The New Reformation) and Rick Warren (The Purpose Driven Life). The ideology of positive thinking, by its very nature, excludes all negative thoughts, e.g. sin, judgement, deception, false prophets, false religions, the Antichrist, the false prophet, Satan, suffering, tribulation, etc. It refrains from giving offence to anybody – not even to the sinner in his natural (sinful) state. All people must be made to feel welcome just as they are, and to accept Christianity for the sake of the advantages and blessings that are in store for them. No warnings are issued to any people on the basis of God’s impending judgments upon the wicked.
Positive thinking is contrary to the gospel message and leads to the perversion of the gospel in churches where it is taught. That is the reason why Rick Warren does not dwell on God’s judgements upon sin, which include the crucifixion of Christ. His poor doctrinal foundation also renders him ecumenical in his outreaches to pastors of various denominations, not even excluding the Mormons. A Jesus without the cross is not the true Jesus, however much people might think that he preaches the biblical Jesus. Furthermore, Warren’s approach leads him to support transformation initiatives towards changing the world through joint efforts to establish God’s kingdom. No warnings are given on the coming Antichrist and the great tribulation. What will his supporters do when the cosmic Christ appears on the scene as a peacemaker? Won’t they think he is the true Christ?
A marriage between religion and politics (NAR & Dominionism). There is a very conspicuous movement in the world to ally religion and politics. This was common practice in the ancient world empires, where the emperors deified themselves and were not satisfied only with political allegiance but also demanded religious worship. The Antichrist will do the same. (Rev. 13:4,7,15). Modern political leaders increasingly mobilise their followers by means of a religious ideology to help change and improve the word. They either collaborate with religious leaders in the ecumenical movement or they pose as religious leaders themselves. This is all part of kingdom theology, in which political, business and religious leaders work closely together.
Rick Warren says that stability in any nation is dependent upon a strong and healthy government, a strong and healthy business sector, and strong and healthy churches. He likened it with a three-legged stool. With a view to promoting this view he travels to various countries to address government leaders, business leaders and church leaders to make them aware of their responsibility to work together in realising the objectives of stable, prosperous, and purpose driven nations. According to dominionists, that is the way in which the kingdom of God will be ushered in. Little do they realise that the next world empire will be that of the cosmic Christ. He will have a three-legged throne – as political leader, universal messiah, and head of the global economy.
In this other gospel which is preached by leaders of the emerging church, promoted by political leaders, supported by global business, and popularised by celebrities, there is no reference whatsoever to the coming of the true Jesus for His bridal congregation, the subsequent revelation of the Antichrist and the judgements of God upon a self-centred, sinful, materialistic and utterly wicked world. “When they say, Peace and safety! then sudden destruction comes upon them” (1 Thess. 5:3).
The unlocking of occult powers
The paradigm shift towards the emerging new world order of the cosmic Christ has been underway for quite a number of years. Although it has been implemented as unobtrusive as possible, the changes are far-reaching and constitute a radical break from the truth of God’s Word to the alternative spirituality of the ‘angel of light.’ It is only in an advanced stage of change that people are actively exposed to the hidden sources of power which are offered to them. Special formulas, codes, or actions are needed to unlock these powers and use them for whatever purpose they are offered. In her article, Mysticism and Global Mind Change (Sept. 2007), Berit Kjos says: “Do you wonder why yoga, labyrinths and other meditational practices have suddenly emerged in churches across America? Or why ‘Christians’ now use the old occult formulas (a combination of concentration, meditation, visualization and mental projection) practiced by sorcerers, alchemists and ‘enlightened’ yogis to invoke the presence of ‘God’? This East-West synthesis didn’t happen by chance. For several decades, influential church leaders have been promoting a new way of thinking, an end to ‘separatism,’ and an inclusive oneness that would fulfil their vision of an earthly kingdom of God.”
A specific code, key-word, mantra, ritual initiation, mindset, symbol, belief system, or action is needed to invoke the occult powers or spirits which Lucifer offers in a disguised form to his unsuspecting victims. In The Da Vinci Code, a series of numeric and cryptographic clues were given to decode the secret. The breaking of the code in Da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper represents a major deviation from the truth of God’s Word. It introduces a false teaching that Jesus was not divine but an ordinary, mortal man who had a wife and children. The implications of these assumptions are that Jesus is not God, the Bible is not true, the rejected Gnostic gospels reflect a more credible account of Jesus’ life, and somewhere among his unknown descendants a person may emerge in the end-time to claim the office of the Christ.
The Secret is also based upon the idea that hidden powers can be unlocked to fulfil all your dreams and needs. A new thought pattern enables people to do miracles as they create their own reality with their mind. Visualisation becomes a method of focussing the mind on an occult source of energy, thereby attracting and activating it.
The Moses Code is presented as a powerful method of declaring yourself to be God, thereby tapping creative powers in the universe to realise your dreams and changing your circumstances for the good. In saying, “I AM…” and adding to it whatever divine attribute you wish, e.g. “I AM the way and the truth,” you will share in Lucifer’s rebellious deed of self-exaltation and deification. The condition for promoting yourself to the level of co-creator is to despise and disobey God’s clear commandments to you, thereby becoming your own god. If you are prepared to do that, Lucifer will immediately empower you to become his co-worker and also allow you to enjoy certain short-lived benefits in his kingdom. The serpent achieved great success with this lie, which was first used to deceive our first parents in the Garden of Eden. He said to Eve that if she ignored God’s commandments she would not die, as God said, but that she would, instead, “be like God” (Gen. 3:5). She never became a god, only a deceived rebel who turned against the true God at her own peril. If it wasn’t for God’s grace to restore repentant sinners she would have died in her sins.
The Antichrist’s rise to power
The coming Antichrist will follow exactly the same course while rising to a position of absolute power as a self-declared God. He will oppose and exalt himself “above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:4). When he openly states that he is the great I AM, Satan will strongly empower him do even more signs and wonders. He will be the lawless one, who breaks and despises all the laws of God, while acting “according to the working of Satan, will all power, signs and lying wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9). The devil will give him “his power, his throne and great authority” (Rev. 13:2). His co-ruler, the false prophet, will wield the same powers: “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men” (Rev. 13:13).
The Antichrist, who will call himself the Christ or God, will deceive the whole world to worship him in order to share in his great power. He will also use a code which will give people access to his dark powers. No one will be able to buy or sell, “except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of man: His number is 666” (Rev. 13:17-18). The numeric symbol of the beast and the mark of his name will be used to physically mark all his followers. They will have to sign an oath of allegiance to him whereby they commit themselves to worshipping him and his image, to utterly reject the God of heaven, and to also denounce the true Christ who will still, during that time, be worshipped by a minority of people.
Be warned that the use of hidden codes to access supernatural powers will make you an enemy of God because you will arrogantly call yourself God or the Son of God, thereby exalting yourself to His position, and thus sharing in the rebellion of Lucifer. Eternal condemnation awaits people who do that: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name” (Rev. 14:9-11 KJV).
We are on the threshold of the revelation of the Antichrist. The large-scale deceiving of millions of people during recent years has prepared the spiritual climate for the appearance of the self-deified, universal Christ. It is obvious that secrets which are unlocked by codes are playing a major role in the satanic brainwashing of the masses: TheDa Vinci Code popularised the lie that Jesus is not God. The Moses Code proclaims the lie that human beings can equate themselves with God and use their power to do astounding miracles. Through the coded number of the coming universal Christ the lie will be embraced that he is the God of humanity, and that he is the one who gives his followers the powers to be prosperous and to do miracles.
According to the Bible, the judgements of God rest upon the Antichrist and his deceived followers. These judgements will be poured out upon them during the great tribulation and also during the second coming of Christ (Rev. 6 to 19). The Lord Jesus will deliver His true disciples from the coming wrath of God, and expects of them to prepare themselves for this appointment: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).
Source:
http://www.bibleguidance.co.za/Engarticles/Preparations.htm
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Horn has some VERY convincing arguments in many instances, and he has some rarely exposed research information. Horn is correct that Freemasonry and other secret orders want a new order of the ages using America as a springboard to do it and they are in deep alliance with the occult. This is highly seductive to the Bible believer who is interested in prophecy. His errors are that he accepts the Apocrypha (when even the Reformers didn’t view the Apocrypha as inspired of God) as equivalent to the Bible and refuses to expose the Vatican as a heretical church system explicitly. Horn supports the Apocrypha and the Book of Enoch as a means to promote his view on the Nephilim.
The Palestinian Jews or Jewish people in Israel never accepted the Apocrypha as inspired. Nor did the Samaritans. The Jews in Alexandria never officially accepted the LXX as canonical. The leading fathers of the Greek Church did not accept the Apocrypha as inspired writings. Principle lights among the Early Church Fathers rejected the idea of the inspiration of the Apocrypha. The book of Enoch and the Book of Jasher have tons of contradictions and aren’t divinely inspired of God. Jasher 18:9 states that one of the angels tells Abraham that Sarah will have a son, but Gen. 17:16 says that God told Abraham. In Jasher 42:30-41, Rachel talks to Joseph from the grave. This is of course necromancy and is an abomination unto the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:11-12). Tertullian admits that the Jews never accepted the Book of Enoch as authentic and that Christians of his time also rejected it. So, it isn‘t wonder that New Agers like the late Elizabeth Claire Prophet supports the Book of Enoch. In Chapter 40:9-10 of the Book of Enoch, it falsely says that the angel Phanuel can give eternally life to over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life: “…9 seen and whose words I have heard and written down?’ And he said to me: ‘This first is Michael, the merciful and long-suffering: and the second, who is set over all the diseases and all the wounds of the children of men, is Raphael: and the third, who is set over all the powers, is Gabriel: and the fourth, who is set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life, is named Phanuel.’ 10 And these are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits and the four voices I heard in those….”
The Bible is clear that Phanuel does not exist in the Scriptures. It’s blasphemy to say that an angel is set over the repentance of those who inherit eternal life. That statement in itself contradicts everything the Word of God teaches. We read in 1st Timothy 2:5 that Jesus Christ is the ONLY Mediator between God and men, not some angel named Phanuel… “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Salvation is found ONLY in Christ Jesus, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” King David said in Psalm 62:6, “He (Jesus) only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.” Repentance is strictly between a man and Jesus Christ alone. Only Jesus died for our sins, and shed His blood to pay for them (1st Peter 1:18-19); therefore, we must be diligent to guard and defend against LIARS and imposters who would lead people to believe otherwise. 1st John 2:22 clearly indicts all Christ-deniers as LIARS, guilty before God. The Book of Enoch, on chapter 69:8-12 says that a being named Penemue told man to write in ink and paper, etc. which doesn’t exist in the Bible at all. The Book of Enoch teaches that 450 tall feet giants exist in the world via relations of angels plus women. There is no biblical or scientifically evidence of this reality.
*Tom Horn is promoting his new book on Prophecy in the News, called “The Researchers Library of Ancient Texts Volume 1. He and Gary Stearman say that these books are not on a par with the Bible….yet then go on to say that “these studies are on the front burner,” the “predictions are astonishing”, it is for “serious Bible researchers..”
I have come to believe that these studies are meant to distract from the simple truths we find in the books of the Canon. Satan’s plan is to distort truth of the Word of God and make people believe it has no power in itself. Seduction lies in wait as a promise of hidden knowledge only for those who are enlightened enough to find it. I reject all teachers or pastors who promote these books, hidden codes, esoteric knowledge or long lost texts. I accept only those teachers who are faithful to God’s Word in the canon and who guard and shepherd the small flock by teaching the Bible and its truth and applications so that we can find salvation and learn to live lives holy unto the Lord.
By Ronald Harnage
This subject opens a whole realm of questions that need to be addressed in order to arrive at a biblically sound conclusion.So I did what I always do with a difficult subject,I completely discarded my own ideas and approached it like I had not dealt with this subject before,so I examined it from every angle and balanced it against scripture,and what God has taught me through His word.There are two main camps of doctrinal beliefs surrounding this issue.After closely examining both and spending all morning trying to make their entire teaching of either fit into scripture I came up empty handed on both sides,neither of them will completely line up with God’s word.It goes back to what you often find in the church concerning two sets of doctrines,often times one is counterfeit and the other is religious,both of them having some truth and both of them being unreliable because they focus on some scriptures yet exclude others,the whole counsel of God has to be considered.So what do we have?
Lets start with the occultic infiltrations so that we can whittle down the confusion a bit. A lot of the basis for the Nephilim teachings are extra-biblical and primarily are focused on the book of Enoch.Let us consider first that the book of Enoch has never been a part of cannonical scripture.It wasn’t listed by the Jews in the Old Testament and I believe largely because it did not exist until the rise of Gnosticism that we see at the advent of Christianity,but lets start with the inception of it’s modern influence.
It begins with James Bruce,the discoverer of what is widely accepted as the book of Enoch.Rumors of a surviving copy of the book in 1773 sent the Scottish explorer James Bruce to distant Ethiopia in search of it. There he found the Ethiopic church had saved the book and kept it alongside of the other books of the Bible. Bruce was able to secure not one, but three copies of the Ethiopic book that he brought back to Europe and England. In 1821, Dr. Richard Laurence, an Oxford Hebrew professor, produced the first translation.
Richard Laurance,translator of the Book of Enoch had this to say about the timing of its writing-” Presuming therefore that the book before us,(Enoch) was a composition of some unknown Jew or Jews. I shall therefore consider what criteria afforded us to determine at what period it may have been written…There exists sufficient internal evidence to indicate that it was written long subsequent of the commencement and conclusion of the Babylonian captivity. This book was written a few years AT MOST before the begining of the Christian era.” The earliest Ethiopic text was apparently made from a Greek manuscript of the book, which itself was a copy of an earlier text. The original text appears to have been written in a Semitic language, now thought to be a dialect of Aramaic that is commonly asscoiated with the Essenes,who were a Gnostic sect.
New Agers,Luciferians and other occultists use the book of Enoch to indoctrinate the unsuspecting into occult mysticism.When I was in the occult the book of Enoch was actually the first book in my library. I had it for most of my occult career. Along with other Gnostic books such as the book of Moses(The Assumption of Moses and the Testament of Moses),and the Greater and Lesser keys of Solomon,they are highly regarded in the occult world.
I think one point you may find interesting is what is commonly known about Bruce in the occult world.Bruce was a disciple of Helena Blavatsky,who as you may recall I mentioned in my note “Inside the Occult 2”, that she was the first female member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn,and a colleague of Aleistar Crowley,the most famous satanist to date. Blavatsky created the first tenants of theosophy which were accepted as organised doctrines for Luciferianism.Blavatsky gave high praise to the book of Enoch and its author.In her book “The Secret Doctrine” volume 3-and I quote”Thus the book of Enoch is entirely symbolic.It relates to the history of the human race and their relation to theogony,(basically theogony is greek myths),the symbols being interblended with astrological and cosmic mysteries.” Blavatsky goes on to mention Bruce by name and grants him high regard and status in the occult world for his work.James Bruce introduced this book into the new age movement and it has long been known to be a Gnostic text.
Next question,who were the Gnostics? To put it simply the Gnostics were the first Qaballists to incorporate Christian themes, which were in turn perverted to suit their own beliefs.This they then combined with Greek mythology.What they produced was highly heretical literature that would be the first established beliefs in what would later be termed as luciferianism. Many of their writings perverted the diety of Christ and soveriengty of God,in fact making God the villain who was ejected from heaven and lucifer the maligned and misunderstood hero and true reigning god.
Qaballism goes back to ancient times,it is basically Jewish sorcery,where they have learned the paganistic practices of the heathen nations and incorporated it into their own culture,making their own cultural type of sorcery.
The Qabbalah itself consists of a large body of speculation on the nature of divinity, the creation, the origin and fate of the soul and also the role of human beings. It generally is subdivided into four sections: meditative, devotional, mystical and magical. It is for this reason that Qabbalah is regarded as an occultic offshoot of Judaism.
The gnosis of the Qabbalah is well recognized by Jewish scholars. From an article cited in the Jewish Encyclopedia, we see the intimate relationship between Gnosticism and the Caballa:The Jewish Encyclopedia quotes the opinion that “The central doctrine of Gnosticism,a movement closely tied to Jewish mysticism,was nothing else but the attempt to liberate the soul and unite it with God; but apparently this was to be affected through the use of mysteries,incantations and the use of the names of angels,(angel worship),..etc. It will be seen how widely even this phase of Gnosticism differs from Christianity and identifies itself with the magical Qabbalah of the Jews.”
You can see how at the outset Gnosticism completely abandons salvation through Jesus Christ,and places it solely in the hands of the practitioner to somehow obtain salvation through magical means,you could not possibly get any more occultic than this.
M.Matter states in Histor de Gnosticisme, that Jewish scholars fully understand that secret oral traditions of the Cabbalah were previous to any Christian Gnosticism.
In Some notes on various sects of Gnosticism and their possible affects on Freemasonry,D.F. Ranking notes that the secret oral tradition of the Cabbalists confirms them as being Gnostics.” This claim to a secret oral tradition confirms the conception of the Gnostics as Cabbalists and shows how far they had departed from Christian teaching.For if only in this idea of one doctrine for the ignorant and another for the initiated the Gnostics restored the very system that Christianity had come to destroy.”
Author Nesta Webster concurs with M. Matter and other historians that Gnosticism involved an attempt to Cabbalise Christianity….”M. Matter was therefore right in saying that Gnosticism was not a defection from Christianity,but a combination of systems into which a few Christian elements were introduced.The result of Gnosticism was not to Christianise the Cabbalah but to Cabbalise Christianity by mingling its pure and simple teaching with theosophy and even magic.”
I could include a great number of other secular historians and Jewish scholars that say the same thing,as a matter of fact you will not find one that doesnt see that Gnosticism was but a new sect of Qabbalism that arose to directly confront Christianity.
The book of Jude quotes Enoch in verses 6, 14, and 15.Which he just as well may have taken from oral tradition. This does not mean that we should accept the whole book as the authoritative word of God and that it should be included in the bible.Jude’s quotes are not the only quotes in the gospels from an unbiblical source.The Apostle Paul quotes Epimenides in Titus 1:12. That does not mean we should build doctrines around Epimenides entire writings.The same can be said about Jude.Jude’s quotes by no means grant carte blanche’ to the entire works of Gnostic literature,which is what I see happening in the church,not only with the book of Enoch, but other Gnostic writings as well.All Jude is saying is this particular passage is true.We do the same thing on facebook everyday when we post clips and sermons from people that we dont entirely agree with but what they are saying on a particular subject happens to be biblically correct.Evidently though,this was something that Enoch prophesied or the bible would not attribute it to him. Apparently, this may have been handed down by oral tradition,as was Genesis and the book of Job were largely taken from oral tradition until they became among the first scriptural traditions.We should treat the book of Enoch and other Gnostic writings as interesting but heretical documents that only entertain an acceptance of occult philosophies.Some of what it says is true but a great deal of it is false and I could easily do a lengthy note on just the heresies found in it.They are not the inspired authoritative word of God.They are however fullfilling the purpose for which they were created and that is to sow doubt and confusion along with occult teachings into the Body of Christ.
Jude quotes from 1 Enoch, a second-Temple Jewish writing, (Jude 14 = 1 Enoch 1:9) and another Gnostic work in Jude 9, possibly what early Christian writers identified as the Assumption of Moses.The honest problem facing the infant Roman Church of 390 A.D., when first assembling today’s Bible, was that the existing copies of 1 Enoch varied. There is no way of knowing which versions are the original and which are the errors,it does make it impossible to anchor beliefs or arguments on any given section.
This alone is a legitimate reason to exclude it from the holy writ. When faced with the task of declaring what is and what is not the “inspired, infallible Word of God,” erring on the side of caution and certainty must be the case every time! (Only those who do not believe in the divine inspiration, and modern integrity, of scripture will be dissatisfied with this reasoning. ) The translation copies available (presumably) in 390 A.D., and especially those we have today, could not with any certainty also be classified as “infallible.”The church did in fact suppress The Book of Enoch.
Realistically however, there was also a “point” to the canon. The goal and even eternal function in assembling the earliest Bibles was NOT merely sorting out what was inspired of God and what was not. They also had the specific intent of promoting and preserving a solid doctrinal foundation for all believers in Christ. Like Paul, they had to passionately argue against Gnosticism – “the doctrine of salvation by knowledge ,” or the idea that gaining “superior” and/or “hidden” knowledge ensures one some higher spiritual position – opposed to a simple obedient faith in Christ.
Gnostics strive for a mystical face to face experience with God that does not include the gospel of repentance or Christ as Saviour. It is one of the most volatile combinations of witchcraft and self-justification ever produced.The Church strongly opposed Gnostics… labeling mystical experiences as from God was taboo… Putting a stamp of approval on such a wild tale (Enoch) would have too many people believing that they could experience God for themselves without any need for a saviour or repentance, … Those who experience visions or personal insights from mystical sources are dangerous to the gospel,because the very purpose is to instill the belief that supernatural experinces alone qualify one for salvation. They lead people astray by supporting beliefs and practices that are clearly not of God and that are centered around pagan philosophies . This has been brought to bear on us in a very real way today as we can see that the Charismatic movement does highly esteem,and promote those who have had mystical experiences while at the same time disregarding any serious promotion of the gospel.
The truth is that Gnostics “strive for” experiencing God without knowing and submitting to Christ or His Body, the church. Even today, the wish to “experience God face-to-face” without Christ’s mediation (1 Timothy 2:5) is not just an honest effort to avoid false religion (of which there is much), but to not submit to any spiritual authority at all – whether it be God’s Church, God’s Word or even God’s Christ! It should always be kept in perspective that “the church” was not Rome’s, or even man’s idea. Jesus said “I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Mt 16:18).” The early church rightly opposed Gnosticism, but beginning with Paul’s letters, not with the Roman Church. Many who passionately promote (or just reprint and sell) 1 Enoch today do so not with the intention of promoting a deeper faith in God’s inspired Word, but more with the intent of undermining the Bible’s authority – and especially the church’s. 1 Enoch’s clear historical integrity but “lack of inclusion in the Bible” is often used to “springboard” arguments for other “favorite” heretical books, left out for all the right reasons. Modern Gnostics are often fond of several other “gospels” ,such as Thomas and Mary, both of which have heretical statements and theologies that clearly contradict the message of the gospel, proving they were NOT inspired by God,but definitely inspired..by satan himself.
Now,having established that the book of Enoch was from Gnostic literature we can proceed to look at the doctrines surrounding Genesis 6, having set the Gnostic myths surrounding it aside.This should be a more than reasonable course for anyone that considers God’s word to be the authoritative source of all truth.
DiscernIt 
from HERESCOPE
February 18, 2013 in apologetics, discernment, Gnosticism | Tags: Christian Books, Heresy, Humanism, Matthew Poole's 1600s Bible Commentary, The Gospel | Leave a comment
http://herescope.blogspot.com/2013/02/add-ons.html
Augmenting Scripture
With Diverse and Strange Doctrines
For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace;
which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
We have an altar,
whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
(Hebrews 13:9-10)
tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,
by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ:
(Eph. 4:14-15)
It is an age-old deception. Adding to the Scripture is one of the easiest ways to deceive believers. Why? Because error is cleverly brought in as “new information” that it is claimed will “illuminate” the Word and enrich the life of a believer. Sola Scriptura is being challenged by many new modes of augmentation. Adding to Scripture with supplemental “diverse and strange doctrines” is a form of heresy.
Today’s evangelical leaders are adding to Scripture in every possible way. The rush is on! Things that would have been considered unimaginable even ten short years ago are rapidly being incorporated into the Christian faith. The Bible plus. Adding to Scripture is a popular pastime, very lucrative, and exciting to the senses, particularly as it pertains to speculating about biblical prophecy, envisioning new revelation, or attaining deeper levels of spirituality. But what did the early reformers think about adding to Scripture? And what does the Bible have to say about it? Today’s post takes a look at Matthew Poole’s 1600s Bible Commentary* on the verses above.
“Added to the Gospel”
According to Matthew Poole, “diverse and strange doctrines” are things that add to the Gospel in Scripture:
“Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines“: the doctrine of Christ being immutable, it is but necessary to dehort [dissuade, ed.] His subjects from deserting it, which the apostle doth here; that they should not be wheeling or whirling about with an unstable and inconstant motion of judgment, faith, and practice, about such human doctrines which are vain rules to lead to God, such as are different in nature from Christ, one and the same rule, and those very numerous and various, strange and untrue, taught by false apostles and teachers, taken out of Gentilism and Judaism, and added to the Gospel by them, as necessary, together with Christ, to justification and salvation. [bold added]
The Gospel is being added to by those claiming that their new information is necessary, “together with Christ,” as supplementary material that enriches and enhances the plain doctrine of Jesus Christ. The following Scriptures are among those cited by Poole as evidence that believers should exercise caution lest they “carried about,” “corrupted” or “beguiled” by these added-on “diverse and strange doctrines,” i.e. heresy:
through his subtilty, so your minds
should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
(2 Cor. 11:3)
that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Speaking lies in hypocrisy;
having their conscience seared with a hot iron;…
But refuse profane and old wives’ fables,
and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.(1 Timothy 5: 1,2,7)
even as there shall be false teachers among you,
who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them,
and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And many shall follow their pernicious ways;
by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
(2 Peter 2:1-2)
Have you noticed? These verses, and others like them, are seldom taught in churches anymore. There is a carefree, even careless and lax attitude about warnings regarding “diverse and strange doctrines.” Many evangelicals think they can handle the adding-on of extra-biblical material and still stay sound in the faith. Some flatter themselves that they are immune to heresy. Others seem to think that the modern-day church is perfecting to the point where it doesn’t need to be concerned about heresy anymore. Their focus has shifted to all of the exciting methods being brought into the church world, or the “new” revelations being unearthed, or the rapidly changing global or cosmic events happening. This flood of information substantially alters how the Bible is viewed. The Bible is deemed insufficient and must be augmented with data pouring in from all sorts of spurious sources.
However, Scripture is true and it doesn’t change. It warns believers that they can be “beguiled,” “corrupted,” and “tossed to and fro.” It warns believers they are susceptible to the “sleight of men,” and can be seduced and “deceived” by “cunning craftiness.”
In Ephesians 4:14-15 the Apostle Paul uses the word “children.” This is referring to those who are weak, immature or unstable in the faith. These tender ones are most susceptible to being “tossed to and fro” when Scripture is added-onto with enticing allurements. They are most apt to be “carried about with every wind of doctrine.” They are easier to manipulate by “sleight of hand” or “cunning craftiness.” Matthew Poole, commenting on the phrase “whereby they lie in wait to deceive,” points out:
…ambush; the word here used, is translated wiles (Eph. 6:11), against which the apostle would have them fenced with “the whole armour of God,” and seems to signify a laying in ambush, or assaulting a man behind his back; a secret and unseen way of circumventing, a laying wait to draw them that are weak from the truth.
In our era of pervasive Humanism, where evangelicals now believe that human beings are basically good at heart, it is hard to grasp this sober scriptural warning. No one seems worried about being spiritually ambushed. But this is what Scripture says, and unfortunately we hear many examples of shepherds fleecing and abusing sheep — their own flock as well as the sheep of other shepherds. Popular leaders sell their add-on wares in the great evangelical marketplace. They have thrilling new books, exciting new programs, arousing new theologies, provocative new revelations, unveiled new secrets, decoded new mysteries, stimulating new understandings, etc. There is great profit to be had by ambushing immature sheep with their own ***exclusive*** add-ons to Scripture.
“PUFFED UP” with “A SHEW OF WISDOM”
There is a specific danger of adding to God’s Word with “diverse and strange doctrines.” Believers are prone to becoming “vainly puffed up” with a “shew of wisdom.” Matthew Poole explained this phrase in Hebrews, and cited additional verses to make this point:
“Not with meats”: doctrines of meats and ceremonies, which are divers, and strange from Christ’s cannot make the heart agreeable to God, but only distract and divide it from Him; for whoever is not in and from Christ, is strange to God, and abhorred by Him…
and worshipping of angels,
intruding into those things which he hath not seen,
vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,…
Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship,
and humility, and neglecting of the body;
not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh. (Col. 2:18, 22)
for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
And their word will eat as doth a canker:(2 Tim. 2:16-17a)
(James 1:8)
“Meats” here refers to adding-on requirements to the faith that “beguile” believers into feeling they need to do more spiritually. It can lead to a “puffed up” feeling of elitism, especially when a believer feels he is privy to exclusive new information that is superior to to the old outmoded plain Bible teaching. There is a temptation to make “a shew of wisdom in will worship.” Indeed, there is a mad scramble in the evangelical world today to try to out-do one another in being hip (“puffed up”) by jumping into any new-fangled, spiritual-sounding thing. No need to exercise discernment; everyone’s doing it so it must be okay, right? As long as it is “spiritual” it must be Christian, right?
Following “divers and strange doctrines” eventually ends up in some sort of legalism, which is why the writer of Hebrews stated “not with meats” in the context of discussing “diverse and strange doctrines.” Adding-to Scripture may not seem like legalism on its surface, but a believer soon discovers that additional teachings come equipped with additional requirements. There is a point when a believer may begin to notice an unsettled “carried about” or “tossed to and fro” feeling. How much energy is spent engaged in the added-on commitments of time, talents and money! “Diverse and strange doctrines” are man-made add-ons that promise believers a heightened spirituality, greater insights, the acclamations of man, and even prosperity if believers do certain things. Following the latest blog postings, book publishings, conferences and spiritual-sounding pronouncements of the leaders who are busily adding-on to Scripture can be a full-time job! But at what cost to one’s faith?
Note: If a leader is charging money to divulge “new” secrets or “hidden” revelations, save yourself the money and hassle. Don’t buy it! The plain Gospel of Salvation is FREE, sufficient and open to all!
Matthew Poole warned that we will reap no true spiritual benefit from adding-on strange doctrines and practicing them, in his comments on the phrase “which have not profited them”:
“which have not profited them that have been occupied therein”: those who did converse in these various and strange doctrines, professing and constantly practising them, observed times, and meats, and ceremonies, have not been profited by them; for being carnal and earthly, they could not justify them as to their state God-ward, nor could they renew or sanctify their souls, nor yield any advantage to their spiritual life; and being perishing could not profit to the attaining of eternal life…
Adding-On: Another Altar
False altars are associated with idolatry in Scripture. The fact that the writer of Hebrews mentions an “altar” in the context of “diverse and strange doctrines” is noteworthy. Adding-on to Scripture is a form of idolatry, a strange altar with strange fire. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we have an altar, which is Jesus Christ. Matthew Poole commented:
“We have an altar”: these strange doctrines are not only unprofitable, but perilous to Christians, since they disinterest all that entertain them, as to any participation of Christ; since His subjects, adhering to His simple and immutable doctrine, have a right and just claim to, and an actual use of, Christ, as their altar, in opposition to the Mosaical; and from whom they have altar sustenance for their souls, in opposition to the Jewish meats, while they attend on Him; all the quickening benefits issuing from the sacrifice of His human nature on the altar of His God-head, as reconciliation and adoption to God, justification and perseverance therein, to the perfecting of it in glory…. We have altar sanctification of our persons and offerings in our access to God from Him…. God had but one altar under the law, and He prohibited all others, and complained of and threatened the increase of them…
that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.
(Hebrews 13:15)
Matthew Henry in his 1700s Commentary on this same verse agreed, and made the point this altar is Jesus. Any other altar, with “diverse and strange doctrines” is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
The Christian church has its altar. It was objected against the primitive Christians that their assemblies were destitute of an altar; but this was not true. We have an altar, not a material altar, but a personal one, and that is Christ; He is both our altar, and our sacrifice; He sanctifies the gift.
altars shall be unto him to sin.
(Hos. 8:11)
according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars;
according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.
Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty:
He shall break down their altars, He shall spoil their images.(Hosea 10:1-2)
Those who add on to Scripture, who dally at fascinating foreign altars, will soon find their heart is divided, as it states above. And the Lord Jesus Christ warned that “No servant can serve two masters.” We cannot serve both “God and mammon.” (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:16) The cognitive dissonance of a divided heart ultimately results in the bad fruit of a seared conscience. And those who look for truth at the pagan altars of “diverse and strange doctrines” will not find it.
Profane ADD-ONS
Diverse and strange doctrines are “profane,” i.e. “unholy.” New teachings don’t usually come into the church in flaming colors proclaiming they are a new heresy! Rather, most heresies come in as subtle additions, challenging ideas, new thoughts to consider, speculations, etc. Add-ons can come from such scholarly sources as “scientific revelations.” Most originate from pagan sources! But Scripture takes a dim view of these “profane” teachings, likening them to “fables” and “vain babblings”:
and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.(1 Tim. 1:9)
avoiding profane and vain babblings,
and oppositions of science falsely so called:(1 Tim. 6:20)
for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
(2 Tim. 2:16)
lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you,
and thereby many be defiled;
Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person,
as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
(Hebrews 12:15-16)
Note that it says that “profane and vain babblings” will “increase unto more ungodliness.” There is a tendency for profane teachings to spread like leaven, corrupting believers and then entire churches. Hebrews 12:15-16 refers to Esau as a “profane person,” and Matthew Poole noticed how the “root of bitterness” acts like leaven in increasing profanity:
the springing up and growing of errors, heresies, or immoralities, as profaneness, filthiness, etc., which are apt to infect churches, and as they spread, to molest, trouble, and disturb them, and to keep them from pursuing holiness.
“thereby many be defiled”: lest by but one such poisonous root, a whole church of Christians may be infected and poisoned, their sin being as apt to spread and diffuse itself as leaven, 1 Cor. 5:6, to taint the whole lump, Gal. 5:9; and how early, even in the apostles’ time, for want of obeying this caution, were the primitive churches corrupted, both in doctrine and morals, by loose, filthy heretics among them!
Pursuing “diverse and strange doctrines” will only “increase unto more ungodliness.” There is a very real defilement that takes place when anyone begins to search into occult and pagan mysteries to try to glean truth. Those who take this route find that it becomes a never-ending spiral of “new truths,” each new nugget more intoxicating. Believers will soon discover themselves lost and wandering on dark paths with no end. These are dangerous paths that do not fulfill, and do not lead to the Cross of Jesus Christ.
BE ESTABLISHED & STEADFAST
Believers, lost and unsteady in their faith, can repent and return to a sole dependence on God’s Word for sustenance, spiritual edifying and strengthening. A symptom of losing one’s moorings on Scripture can be the actual feeling of being “carried about” and “tossed to and fro.” What is the remedy for this? Matthew Poole asserts that only the mercy of God’s grace can make our hearts steadfast and established on the “simple doctrine of Christ,” which gives us a solid foundation of maturity:
“For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace”: for the goodness of heart-establishment unto God is no less than full and complete salvation of the soul…. And this is only wrought by grace, the free love of God put out in Christ, for regeneration and preservation of souls unto life eternal, carried in the simple doctrine of Christ, which is always the same,
be ye stedfast, unmoveable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
(1 Cor. 15:15)
seeing ye know these things before,
beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked,
fall from your own stedfastness.
But grow in grace,
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
(2 Peter 3:17-18)
and God, even our Father, which hath loved us,
and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
Comfort your hearts,
and stablish you in every good word and work.
(2 Thess. 2: 16-17)
who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
after that ye have suffered a while,
make you perfect, stablish,
strengthen, settle you.
(1 Peter 5:10)
*All quotations taken and adapted for blog posting from A Commentary on the Holy Bible, Volume III, Matthew-Revelation, by Matthew Poole (Hendrickson Publishers). All bold and emphases added.
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