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What an interesting study….
Matthew 12:38-39
Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you. He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
The Pharisees brought Jesus a demon-possessed man who was blind and could not speak. Jesus healed this man. The people were amazed at this and wondered if Jesus was the Son of David, which meant that he would be the one that God had sent to deliver them. This agitated the Pharisees and so accused Jesus of using the power of Satan rather than the power of God. Jesus knew their thoughts. Jesus answered in three ways. First, why would Satan use demons to defeat his own demons. Second, Jews had cast out demons and they did not question them, and third, Jesus was driving out the demons by the Spirit of God. They had made a terrible accusation that the work of the Holy Spirit was done by Satan. To deny the Holy Spirit’s revelation of Jesus as Christ and the promised Savior is not forgivable.
The words that the Pharisees spoke showed the evil in their hearts, and they were told that men will be judged for their careless words. Jesus warned that on the Day of Judgment our words will either acquit us or condemn us because they express the condition of our heart. The mouth is the overflow of our attitude.
Even though the Pharisees saw and heard, they did not want to believe. Jesus has power and authority over everything and is greater than Satan. The Pharisees had seen Jesus’ miracles and heard the evidence that Jesus was Lord. Yet they ask:
38 “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
39 He answered ” A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign. But none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Are we a wicked and unfaithful generation asking for a miraculous sign? Are we not content with walking in faith anymore? Do we need the experience of signs and wonders to fulfill a need of power in us?
The simplicity and and complexity of this one single thought! Jesus is the miraculous sign and wonder, till He returns to earth. What else is there to ask for? To ask for more than Jesus is unbelief. If ones receives anything beyond the Holy Spirit, He is deceiving himself.
Because of Jonah, Nineveh initially repented and God shows a remarkable display of compassion. Yet, Nineveh eventually was totally destroyed for her oppression, idolatry and wickedness.
Nahum 1:14…I will destroy the carved images and cast idols that are in the temple of your gods. I will prepare your grave for you are vile.
Matthew 12:43 says When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, “I will return to the house I left.” When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.
The Jews had rid themselves of idols, but they never replaced their idol worship with the worship of Jesus Christ.
If you have believed and then become unfaithful to the Lord by worshiping other idols, whether it be power, money, authority, or worship of another spirit, evil may return 7-fold and completely destroy you.
The Pharisees had seen the miracles that Jesus performed and they had heard the evidence that Jesus is Lord, yet they refused to believe. “We want to see a miraculous sign.”
Jesus promised the wicked sign-seekers that the only sign they would get would be the Sign of Jonah. Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of a whale before being coughed up onto the land. Jesus spent three days and three night in the tomb before he was resurrected. Those listening to Jonah repented. Jesus is greater than Jonah, so the wicked sign-seekers should repent.
Are we a wicked generation asking for signs and wonders? Do we need more than the written word? Jesus, is all the sign we need, but a wicked generation, asks for “more…more..Lord…more”. Jesus then goes on to say what will happen to those who repent but do not follow Him. Evil will return 7-fold. If you ask for a miraculous sign you may get one, but it may not come from the Holy One.
Jesus is THE sign and He is the miracle. He is all we need. To ask for more…is wicked. So if you are thinking of going down that road, you are going the wrong way.
After being called divisive and judgmental I decided it would be a wise thing to read scripture and pray about these issues.
My study group is in Matthew right now and what passage did we talk about? Judging Others. Matthew 7: 1-6. How timely!
First though, let’s take a look at society today. It seems that “tolerance” is the word of the day, and that all are seeking love, peace and unity. Yes, these are fine things up to a point. My breaking point is when those yearning for love and tolerance begin to change the gospel. My breaking point is when a pastor stands on the pulpit and tells me Revelation is no longer relevant.
Judge Not. Does this mean that a Christian cannot express views or opinions? No, it does not. Does “judge not”, mean that Christians should allow all false doctine to go unchallenged. Absolutely not. But…we are not to judge another’s character, and we are not to condemn another. Jesus tell us that when we see a speck in our brother’s eye, to first remove the plank from our own eye. But notice He does not stop at the plank in our own eye. We have to admit our own sin and bias first, then through God’s vision, not our own, we can then proceed. Only God can judge a man’s heart. To say that one can, is indeed self-righteous. However, we are still to use discernment between what is true and false and Jesus warns of false doctine and prophets in Matthew 7, as we continue on in this chapter.
Matthew 7:13-14
What is it that we are hearing today? There are many roads to God. Jesus warned that we are not to follow the crowd. The crowd is headed for the wide gate and the roads to this gate are many. Jesus tell us “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Only a few? Yes, it says only a few…This is so opposite of what we are hearing from the Latter Rain folks. They say that there is going to be harvest of a billion souls for Christ in the end times. What? A billion? The Bible doesn’t say this. Is a billion a few? Can you see that we have to discern the truth by what the Word of God says? Do you think what I just proposed is divisive? It is. It divides the truth from the lies.
Matthew 7:15
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you as in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
Jeremiah 6:14
“They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. Peace, peace, they say, when there is no peace”
Jesus is warning us against deceptions and delusions here. Not all who profess to be Christians are truly so. Jesus states that many so-called prophets are false in God’s sight.
Does Satan appear to us with a pitchfork and with flames leaping from his mouth? No. He appears mild as a sheep, within the church, speaking calm words. False prophets minimize the sin of the people by applying a soothing balm and avoiding issues like the Wrath of God on Judgment Day.
Matthew 7:22-23
“Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”
Many in the church today profess knowledge of the scripture, say biblical phrases and do works, but the Lord says some are evildoers. This really is a frightening scenerio. How do we tell the difference from a false prophet and a true prophet? We cannot see men’s heart like God can. This is one reason why we cannot judge someone. So what do we do? We abstain from following the words of men. We must study God’s word on our own and pray that truth and discernment will be given us. Also we are told to discern their fruit. So be a fruit inspector. It is biblical.
False prophets, false teachers and their followers, do not want others to use discernment…they do not want their words scrutinized. Even my words should be scrutinized and compared to the Word of God. I don’t mind. I welcome it. I am also learning and praying for the Lord to teach and instruct me in His ways.
Matthew 7:24
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Matthew 7:26
“But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”
This is not the entire passage but it is known as the scripture that tells us to build on the rock of Jesus Christ. While this is very true what is overlooked is “what” Jesus is telling us to put into practice. Jesus is definitely our foundation but He is telling us that after hearing His words we must put them into practice. What good is the Word of God if we do not learn it, and hold it dear to our hearts? So what is our instruction?
Judge not.
Remove your sin or bias first before helping others.
Do not follow men for they may walk the broad path to the wide gate which leads to destruction.
Beware of false prophets wearing sheeps clothing.
Watch those who appear righteous, they may be evildoers.
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Those who put these words into practice will protect themselves from destruction and deception.
Discernment is necessary in these times to recognize false teachings, apostasy, and spiritual conterfeits. We need the gifts of discernment and wisdom in these times of deception, so pray and ask the Lord for them. Committment is also needed to continuously study the Word of God and remain in prayer.
Those of us who create blogs and websites about apostasy, apologetics, heresies, discernment, or deception do so out of alarm of what we are seeing in our churches. We also do it because we love the Lord Jesus Christ. When I came back to the Lord and started going to church again, I was shocked to find out how much times had changed. Christian yoga, labryinths inside the churches, eastern meditation, no more need to bring your Bible, 10 minute sermons, quick services as to not interfere with the football game, Harry Potter books, and messages of inspiration but never conviction or sin. It was conviction of my sin that brought me back to the Lord. When the realization hit that time was short before the return of the Lord, I knew that I would fall short and was headed for destruction.
I have heard and read so much about counterfeit spirituality lately that my head spins. There is a false spirit being introduced into the church. It a spirit spouting love..peace..unity…light. Satan comes as a light. This same light comes from meditation. If you are experiencing joy and never any conviction of your sin, you should wonder why.
Do you possess the “attitudes of the Beatitudes”? Do you recognize how poor in spirit we truly are? Do you mourn over your sin? Do you literally hunger and thirst for righteouness, asking Jesus to expose your sin to yourself for correction? Are you merciful to others? Are you pure in heart, seeking only the Lord and not material things? Do you promote peace as it depends on you? Are you being persecuted for Christ’s sake? These are the attributes of Gods children.
If you truly are filled with the Holy Spirit then you will no longer tolerate sin in your life. When you read the Word of God then you will be convicted of your sin, which causes repentence. Then you will have the freedom that is in Christ.
So am I being divisive? I want to continue to divide deception and the truth. Am I judging others? I hope to be testing the fruit or the result of what one believes. If you feel that I am judging you personally, please forgive me. I only want to discern the truth and I wish this for others. God will be your judge not me. The Day of Wrath is coming. Are you ready?
There are many who are very intrigued with the mysticism that has been entering the church. I have heard it said, I need and desire the mystical side of faith. Where does it say in the Bible that we are to understand the mysteries of God and the universe? Why is it that some need to go outside scripture to “get the feeling”, or to have an “experience”? There is a good reason…It is difficult to create a euphoric bliss, a new ministry, or create a new following on revelation of the scripture alone. Therefore, we have a “new gospel”, for those who do not get enough sensations or feeling from reading the Bible or worshiping God in a traditional manner.
A social gospel is being taught, and this gospel promotes a god of love and prosperity. The problem is…….without truly following Christ by repenting, and picking up a cross daily, your spiritual life will be void of any true regeneration.
I watched a special on GODTV last New Years Eve’s featuring Mike Bickle at IHOP. He was teaching young people at a huge conference. It hit me while watching that he was just all talk and had absolutely no substance. Over and over again he was telling these young people to Live For the Lord and to be Holy, Holy, Holy. But he did not give any scripture. Without scripture and the Holy Spirit, these young boys and girls were doomed to fail. When people fail in love, have no control over sin in their life, and have not the joy in times of trouble…..they become discouraged and may turn away from the Lord. It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can be holy. We have no righteousness of our own.
These are the ones who may need to reach out into an unknown mystical world for a spiritual “fix”. Gnosticism provides this spiritual fix.
First, let’s take a look at early Gnosticism. It was introduced into the first two centuries of the church and taught that the spirit was good and matter was evil. Therefore, to be saved was to be freed from the body which was deemed evil. To be freed from this slavery, one needed the special “knowledge” (gnosis). This eliminated the need for the cross and a savior. Today, much of this can be seen today…Man’s salvation is not by faith in God but rather, in the special, mystical knowledge than one can learn by experience. This experience or enlightenment is a key word in New Age religion.
This heresy flourished in the 2nd and 3rd century and the gnostics claimed to still be Christians. Please read this paragraph from a gnostic site that has a definition of Gnostic Christianity.
“A Gnostic is a person who believes that salvation is gained through the acquisition of divine knowledge or gnosis..When gnostics speak of salvation, they mean being freed from these illusions of darkness so that they can perceive Reality. Gnostic Christians have commenced following a Path of never ending increase in Knowledge, Enlightenment, Power, Peace, and every Divine Attribute. They are led along this Path by those disciples who have preceded them, a chain of initiates going back to Jesus himself.”
A spiritual fix…..What is it in the above sentence that may appeal to someone looking for spirituality? Divine Knowledge perhaps? Who doesn’t want to be in on a secret…Who doesn’t want to be part of an elite group…Is it Power? Hasn’t power corrupted men over and over again. To be powerful is to be over and above others. To be in charge or at the “Head of the Table” Ah, Divine….Divinity is self-consciousness, to find the Divine Spark within himself. Godhood. One can attain a spiritual fix by experiencing an emotional outpouring or is it “in-pouring”, of supposedly godly manifestations.
Also I was interested to find out what the Path was. Here is what I found:
The Mystic Christ
by Ethan Walker IIIThe light of non-duality and the path of love according to the life and teachings of Jesus. The Gnostic path is the inner path to God-realization. Buddha, Krishna, Jesus and the other great Masters are all one and in essence taught the same thing.
Meditation is the means by which the individual may achieve direct union with God. In order to attain this gnosis, one must first fully understand the mind. All through our lives, we have grown accustomed to indirect experiences.
See how Jesus Christ is grouped with Buddha and Krishna? Jesus Christ is the Son of God and here He is reduced to a great master. Another heresy is that they “taught the same thing”? Unfortunately, Gnostic trends were never totally eliminated and have always been filtering into the church and of late have exploded and taken a stronghold. Meditation is added to assure that one can reach God directly. What happened to prayer?
Have you heard any of these phrases lately?
LatterRain, Overcomers, Manifest Sons of God, Universal Consciousness, Christ Consciousness, A New Breed, The Anointed, The New Prophets, New Order, A Harvets of a Billion Souls, A New Thing, or Spiritual Warfare. This is but a thimble in a pool of phrases. Lingo is created in certain ministries to numb the mind of the believer. When jargon is heard over and over again, one ceases to question it. This is a huge issue in these end times, because the Bible teaches of end-time deception and if you do not know the Word of God, and study it in context, relying on the KJV, you may be easily deceived.
Most of these phrases come out of the LatterRain influence, and out of LatterRain we have Word-of-Faith, The New Apostolic Reformation, and Dominionism. Because we hear and read these phrases that are being used readily today, we know that Gnosticism is alive and well and is currently at work destroying the true Christian faith. If you hear these or similar phrases in your church then you need to do some research.
So Gnosticism has many names. From it flows the Rosicrucian Order and from it Freemasonry. All is a basis for New Age thought and religion. I know that many cringe at the thought that some churches today may truly be involved in New Age religion, but sadly it is so. Theosophy’s main goal was to infiltrate the church with Eastern mysticism and this is being accomplished.
According to Theosophist Alice Bailey, (she was a channeler) the Church is being used as merely a part of an overall plan to bring in world peace, world domination and to set up the “Kingdom on Earth”. This kingdom is not a godly kingdom. This kingdom belongs to Satan.
2Ti 3:1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
2Ti 3:2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
2Ti 3:4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–
2Ti 3:5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
So if you are falling into the trap of Warrens Peace Plan, Wagner’s Apostolic Reformation, or IHOP’s Joel’s Army, you are furthering the plans of the “enlightened” ones. Is this what you are doing? If so, then you are not following Jesus Christ. He told us in the Beatitudes to: Mourn over our sinful nature, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and that we will be persecuted because of Him. Can this be any more opposite than the Gnostic gospel of self-deity?
So if you are in need of a spiritual “fix”. Get down on your knees, confess your sin, repent and turn away from sin.
Todd Friel Interviews Doug Pagitt of the Emergent Church
11/17/07 UPDATE:::: I found someone who transcribed the entire interview…Read it here http://www.robwillmann.com/blog/2008/07/10/wotm-radio-transcript-todd-friel-interviews-doug-pagitt/ A reader sent me two audio interviews of Doug Pagitt of Solomon’s Porch in Minnesota. Todd Friel is the interviewer from Way of the Master Radio. I have already posted an article about this church here: https://kimolsen.wordpress.com/2007/09/20/solomons-porch-an-emerging-church/ I do not want to clump all emergents in one defining category or imply all their theology is like Pagitt’s but all emerging churches seem to be involved in either mysticism, contemplative spirituality, a road back to Rome, universalism, ecumenism, or adding Jesus’ name to another religion. Please listen to these audios:
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These comments are from YouTube
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Doug Pagitt is fulfilling
2 Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
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Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and ALL LIARS, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Wow, heresy.
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Systematic theology=taking your own views and imposing them on the Bible.
Biblical theology=reading the scriptures, with historical context in mind, and trying to figure out what is being said through it.
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Bless his heart, Todd Friel is a radio host. He did well given the extremely combative, elusive Padgitt. It’s difficult to nail down the Emergent doctrines because they are continuing to evolve.
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These comments are from the below site that also featured these two interviews:
http://reformedvoices.blogspot.com BTW i really like this site…..
Anonymous said…
- If I have to wander about in goat skins and starve half to death to preach out against this heresy I will this is a shame and is perverted enough to make me weep. Please hold fast to the bible. Thank you for exposing this garbage. Greg.
- Anonymous said…
- Paggit is just another in a long list of heretic kooks who have no understanding of the word of God, for they have not the Holy Spirit to open their blind eyes to see, yet they proclaim to be teachers of men. Unfortunately,there are too many in the church today that are not truly born again, and are willing to swallow ANY teaching that comes down the pike. They love to have their itching ears scratched. It is also unfortunate that some seem to be so complacent and gullable, that they may as well wear a sign around their neck saying, “feed me and burp me when it’s over”. In season and out of season.
- Jason L. said…
- DP didn’t surprise me one bit. One of the Po-motivators posters describes it best:”If you don’t agree with my new point of view, then it’s pretty obvious who the divisive one is”http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/posters.htmPray for the “sheeple” of these false prophets, that God would deliver them out of those places.
- Vaughan Smith said…
- I think it was funny when he almost claimed Luther, Calvin, Whitfield, Spurgeon and Moody.
When studying false ministries or New Age religion I always seem to end up at Genesis 3:5, and there is a reason for this. It is so applicable in today’s world. We always hear that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Unfortunately Satan’s lies fall under the first two categories. We can look forward to the day when Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and destroyed but until that day we will have to stand up to him using God’s word as our armor.
Let’s take a closer look:
Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (NIV)
Consider these statements from Word of Faith promoters….
Kenneth Copeland “You’re all God. You don’t have a God living in you; you are one.”
Paul Crouch “I am a little God!…I have his name. I’m one with Him. I’m in covenant relation. I am a little god!. Critics, be gone!”
Benny Hinn “When you say I am a Christian, you are saying, I am mashiach in the Hebrew. I am a little messiah walking on earth, in other words, that is a shocking revelation ..May I say it like this? You are a little god on earth running around.”
It seems as though those who stray too far from the Word of God become unscriptural or twist its meaning. The phrase “and you will be like God” is spoken by the serpent in the garden of Eden. Oh, what power the serpent can have over us. Look at Adam and Eve. Here they were living in a virtual paradise, all their needs were met, they communed directly with God, and yet……they were tempted by the desire to know more…to be like God.
There are three temptations Satan used on Eve to entice her to disobey the commandment of God in Genesis 3:3 which is:
But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
TEMPTATION 1
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Hath God Indeed Said?
Notice how the serpent took a commandment from God and changed it into a question. He asked Eve: “Yea, hath God said..?”or…. Did God really say? Satan created a seed of doubt in Eve’s mind. Now she may have asked herself in response to this question: Why is God withholding this beautiful fruit from me? Surely, God would not hold back His blessings from me. Did I misunderstand?
TEMPTATION 2
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Surely you will not die.
Now that the seed of doubt was planted, Satan contradicted God’s word outright, with “surely you will not die”. Eve’s fear of death was removed by this lie. God said that even if she touched the fruit she would die. When the consequence of disobedience is removed, sin is meaningless.
TEMPTATION 3
Genesis 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
You shall be like God.
After Satan first questioned the Word of God then openly defied it, he then tempted with a new thought. You will be as God. Doesn’t this speak to our pride. That somehow we are in control of our own life and our destiny without Jesus Christ as our Lord. That God’s plan for our lives is not good enough for us. Our way is better than His way.
Can you see the sequence of these three temptations? Satan first used a suggestion to create doubt, then he defied scripture and then baited the trap with deity of self.
Of course this has been happening since the fall of man but you can see it easily in today’s world. The questioning of the Bible. It is authentic? Then the rejection of His word or the twisting of it by man’s sorry translations of today. Then the practices of meditation coming into the churches. Meditation invites oneself to go within. To look within for the answers.
THE ANSWERS ARE NOT WITHIN. THE ANSWERS ARE IN THE HOLY BIBLE. ALL OF THEM. ALL THE ANSWERS FOR HOW TO LIVE OUR LIFE. THE BIBLE IS OUR OWNER’S MANUAL. CHERISH IT. READ IT. PRAY WITH IT. (whew! sorry for yelling)
The New Age/Emergent Church is coming on strong and this will be the trend till the end of time. Theosophy teaching reveals that their goal is to introduce mystism, especially Buddhism and Hinduism into the West and into the churches. OUR churches. Yours and mine!!!! And I can assure you it is happening. The blending of Eastern religion into the West is rampant. Consider how President Bush just warmly received the Dalai Lama. I have read of goddess worship, labryinths, celtic worship, Taize, Yoga, meditation by contemplative prayer in the evangelican churches all across the country. These activities have been advertised in my local newspaper in the religion section. So, when is the New Age? It is NOW. It is here. It is in our churches as I speak…er…write!
There is tremendous power for the Christian who is trying to stay from deception by remembering Genesis. The three lies of Satan can help us detect deception in the false ministries, false teachings, and new age philosophy of today’s ever increasing sinful ways.
1. Did God really say? (Here read my book instead * The Bible is irrevelant)
2. You will not die. (Sin doesn’t exist * there is no hell * reincarnation)
3. You shall be like God. (God is already within all of us * man is divine * we are one with the universe)
Let’s turn this around so we can find the truth!
We are not like God. We are fallen and sinful. But when we confess our sin, repent by turning away from sin, and call on Jesus Christ and follow Him as Savior, we can have eternal life. God’s Word is true, inerrant, and available for all who believe in Him. There is only one way to resist the sin that is presented to us on a silver platter day in and day out. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit.
When confronted with their sin, Adam blamed Eve, and then Eve blamed the serpent. Who are you blaming for your sin or disbelief? Are you puffed-up, full of pride, relying on yourself instead of God? Are you trying to do things your way instead of God’s way? Will you rely on God’s strength instead of your own?
kim
serpent poster from:
http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/posters.htm
Motivational Posters for the Emerging Church.
….. a Ministerial Association will host Kitsap County clergy, chaplains and spiritual leaders in a second annual retreat day Oct. 16th at Firway House Retreat….The retreat will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the theme “Thank God You’re Here!” The day includes holy leisure, celebration of call and humor. A rustic outdoor labyrinth is available on site for prayer, play and pondering.…..
My local newspaper seems to be fodder for many articles lately and then readily delegated to the dumpster for toxic removal. (IMHO). This weeks surprise in the RELIGION section was the above ministerial retreat complete with labyrinth and all the expected goodies for….pondering?
So now it seems I have to research labyrinths since they are coming to a neighboring town so that our local spiritual leaders can do their Buddhist meditations for “holy leisure”.
I found this at http://www.Cephas-library.com.
Most of the practicing New Age occult world has known and still does, that the introduction of the labyrinth prayer walk is a victory for their cause, bringing the unsuspecting Christians into agreement with the overall plan of the Aquarian Age, where those participating in this practice could be captured or ensnared into the ways of Satan. (‘The Labyrinth: The Occult Has Truly Gone Mainstream’ can be found at http://www.cephas-library.com/na/new_age_labyrinth.html )
Even though the labyrinth is a Western concept, it shares some similarities with Asian monastic and spiritual practices. The patterns of the labyrinth are similar in design and conception to the mandalas of South Asian Buddhism, which are physical representations of the spiritual realm designed to aid in meditation. Labyrinths blend their visual symbolism with the process of walking, which is similar to the Japanese Zen practice of kinhin, literally “walking meditation,” where all of the attention is focused on the process of each step, one foot in front of the other, and the breath is controlled and regulated. Both of these techniques are used in Buddhist meditation, which combines the elements of calming and insight into the single goal of samadhi, or “awareness.””
From what I am reading from different sites the labyrinth is an ancient symbol of wholeness with a purposeful path to a journey to our own center and back. It creates a sacred place to “That Which is Within.” This journey to center of our deepest self broadens our understanding of who your are.
Why would a Christian be involved in such an activity? We have already learned that to go “within” is an occult eastern mystical practice using meditation and controlled breathing patterns. To go “within” is to search for one’s own divinity. Again I have to ask why a Christian would even think twice about getting involved in the metaphysical.
“In walking the Chartres style labyrinth the walker meanders through each of the four quadrants several times before reaching the goal. An expectancy is created as to when the center will be reached. At the center is a rosette design which has a rich symbolic value including that of enlightenment. The four arms of the cross are readily visible and provide significant Christian symbolism.”
Can you see the readily visible four arms of the cross in this labyrinth? Oh yeah…maybe there…no…there…I give… I guess they are referring to the gaps between the four quadrants but to suggest that this is a Christian symbol is ridiculous. The above passage from lessons4living explains that reaching the center has a symbolic message of enlightenment.
Enlightenment is a New Age term for all-knowing or being as God. This is an anti-Christian message found over and over again in spiritual mysticism. The labyrinth is no exception.
Here is a picture of a Labyrinth right inside of a Presbyterian church in Maryland. I simply do not understand. Do the congregations of today no longer have any discernment whatsoever? Do they not realize that this is an unholy blend of eastern mysticism and Christianity? Do Christians absent-mindedly swallow everything that is introduced by their leaders as “spiritual”?
The use of such a method as a labyrinth… is merely another method of meditation which is a way of emptying the mind. We have learned that the use of meditation is the doorway between worlds and the key to the metaphysical.
Contact with the higher self – inner self- or the search for divinity is the ultimate goal of occultism. Any terms in New Age circles such as enlightenment, Christ Consciousness, breath prayers, new gospel, centering prayers, contemplative prayer are suspect and to be avoided by the Christian.
Christianity is being invaded by eastern mysticism. Christians are allowing themselves to be taught how to achieve altered states of consciousness in order to enhance their lives. This is deceit. The bible teaches that were are not to be involved in such practices.
Below is part of an article from Steve Muse of Eastern Regional Watch
The Labyrinth: A Walk to Life or a Walk to Death?
Is it a coincidence that within the last 20 years an ancient practice that had been abandoned by the “Church” has once again been introduced within its very walls that is impacting thousands? Why now is it being welcomed with open arms with such great enthusiasm by an unsuspecting church populace? This is another of many deceptions that have risen up within the body of Christ to bring delusion upon those who do not love the truth of God’s word. What affect will this ancient practice have upon we the believers in Christ?
Across the country and throughout the nations a practice is being revived within the church, which has been dormant for centuries. In effect, an ancient tool has been “unearthed” or re-discovered and people have begun to experiment in the practice of walking the labyrinth. This is a practice that seems to bring a sense of spiritual well being for those participating in it but in reality it has trapped and is snaring many in darkness because of the labyrinth’s Occult origins.
Most of the practicing New Age occult world has known and still does, that the introduction of the labyrinth prayer walk is a victory for their cause, bringing the unsuspecting Christians into agreement with the overall plan of the Aquarian Age, where those participating in this practice could be captured or ensnared into the ways of Satan. ttp://www.cephas-library.com/na/new_age_labyrinth.
After researching the many websites on today’s use of the labyrinth, most agree that the labyrinth is a tool or device created to bring one into a higher spiritual realm through the use of meditation whether your are a practicing Zen Buddhist, a Hindu, a Muslim, a New Age Occultist, a Satanist, an atheist or even a “Christian.” My question now as it was at the beginning of this article is what is this labyrinth all about and how will it affect the believer in Christ?
If someone were to hand you an Ouija Board, telling you that it had been thoroughly redeemed and that other Christians were successfully using this board to bring them to a greater experience of God, would you also begin to entertain the thought of using this well known Occult method to seek God? Would you then use this Occult device, knowing full well that this is a tool or rather a gateway and portal to bring you into communication with “higher” spiritual entities (demons and familiar spirits). The labyrinth is much the same as the Ouija Board in its intent and purpose, to open one up to the influences of the demons of darkness, to supposedly gain wisdom and knowledge of the mysteries of life. Then why even begin to experiment or experience the sacred walk of the labyrinth?
In Deuteronomy 12:1-14 and again in Exodus 34:10-17, God commands us clearly not to participate in anything that has ever been used in pagan ritual for worship or for any other use, for that matter. The labyrinth has been from the very beginning a demonic temple, a Kundalini energy source, a tool of divination, a gateway and a portal to communicating with other spirits and was incorporated into the Roman Catholic experience at a time when there was little understanding of the Bible and little or no discernment.
People are drawn to the labyrinth by the subtle seductions of the spirit world trying to convince us that anyone can get to know “God” through some kind of spiritual experience. If this were the case then we have all been duped as Christians. If I knew that I could have a “God” experience just by walking the labyrinth then all that God did through the sacrifice that Jesus gave on the cross is really unnecessary to bring us into relationship with the Father, I just have to have an “experience” and all will be well.
Many believe that the labyrinth is the beginning of a “spiritual journey” opening up relationships with the ancient masters who will in turn offer the knowledge and wisdom of the ages to all who will take the first step or “the initiation” to enlightenment. Most Christians know or should know that the ancient masters are really familiar spirits or seducing demons and the initiation is a bonding with the powers of hell itself. Is this really a walk to life or a deception that will lure us onto a path to death?
http://www.erwm.com/TheLabyrinth.htm Here is the link for the entire above article from Eastern Regional Watch Ministries.
Researching labyrinths has been interesting. There are about 1954 currently in the United States. 793 of these are located within churches. YES…. IN THE CHURCHES OR ON THE CHURCH GROUNDS. I randomly scanned about 300 of these and here is the number of each denomination that has installed a labyrinth on their premise.
Baptist – 3
Church of Christ – 9
Lutheran – 17
Presbyterian – 24
Catholic – 28
Unity – 13
Unitarian – 16
United Methodist – 39
Undefined- 63
Episcopal – 88
These numbers are only representative of the total… but they show which churches are allowing contemplative spirituality into their ministries. The Undefined churches had a general name like Hope Church, The Foothills Church, etc. so they were impossible to designate. The remaining number of labyrinths (1161) not on church properties….were located in health/medical facilities, spas, retreats, private residences, parks, etc……I discovered that a local retreat about 10 miles from my home has 3 seasonal outdoor labyrinths.
http://wwll.veriditas.labyrinthsociety.org/locate-a-labyrinth (link now broken) Here is the site I used to find where the labyrinths are located. I invite you to take a look for yourself.
*updated* link http://labyrinthlocator.com/
All of this eastern mysticism found in the church today is making me very cranky, sad, and burdened. I weep inside when I wonder what the Lord must think when He looks down at His own children, walking the traditional path of the lost and pagan.
kim
DiscernIt 
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