by Jim Bramlett
The information below is
summarized from numerous expert sources on cults and the occult) The two words,
"cult and occult," sound similar. But while different, they both pose
a similar spiritual threat to people by appearing to be something they are not.
Both can cause its victims to miss God's loving and free provision for their
lives through Christ, and cause them to face a tragic, Christless eternity.
There are many nice, friendly and caring people in the cults and the occult.
God loves them, so much that Christ died for them. They are not our enemy. Our
enemy is Satan and his deceiving spirits.
Cults In popular usage,
"cults" are religious groups predicted by the Bible (2 Peter 2:1)
that deviate from the central, historic truths of biblical Christianity and
God's revelation in Christ. Some cults are offshoots of ancient pagan
religions, have no similarity to Christianity, and are easy to identify. Others
falsely try to imitate Christianity, often using the Bible and Christian
terminology, and are more difficult to distinguish. These latter cults
typically exhibit one or more of the following traits:
1. They may consider Jesus Christ as not equal to God the Father, but
something less. But Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the
Father" (John 14:9), and Paul said that Christ is the "image of the
invisible God" (Colossians 1:15) The Bible is repeatedly clear that Jesus
is deity, and when on the earth, He was God in human form. We can be redeemed
from our sins only because God's own perfect blood (in Christ) was shed for our
perfect cleansing.
2. They may typically reject the clear biblical revelation of a triune
God, sometimes called the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy
Spirit -- one God, not three, but manifest in three Persons. The Bible refers
to all three as Persons, yet One. A mystery, but truth.
3. They may have their own "sacred" book in addition to the
Bible. And although they usually deny it, these books conflict with and are
given precedence over the Bible.
4. They typically reject the wonderful biblical truth that salvation is
a "free gift" from God by grace through faith alone (this truth
glorifies God and not man). Instead, cults and all other "religions"
falsely say that people must "earn" their salvation by certain works
and deeds, often works that will perpetuate the cult (this glorifies man rather
than God).
5. Cults are often exclusive, centering around a strong leader (or late
founder) who has the only "true" interpretation of Scripture. Whereas
Christ came to give us freedom, (Galatians 5:1), cult members are in bondage to
that cult or leader, with the threat that leaving the cult will cause a loss of
salvation.
Thousands of these cults exist, but here are some major ones listed in
most cult reference books: Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, The
Unity School of Christianity, The Way International, The Children of God,
Scientology, The Unification Church, Unitarianism and the New Age Movement
(which is also occult).
If involved in any cult, run -- don't walk -- to the nearest exit, and
find a Christ-centered, Bible- believing church. Also, apply the four-step
process below.
References. There are many excellent books
available on cults. Four are: The Kingdom of the Cults, by Dr. Walter R.
Martin; The Deceivers, by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart; Cult Watch, by Dr.
John Ankerberg and John Weldon; and Larson's New Book of Cults, by Bob Larson.
The Occult
The word "occult" refers to what is hidden, concealed, or
secret. The occult involves the spirit world, but the spirit world of darkness.
The occult is particularly deceptive because the spirit world is very real.
Practitioners are dealing with reality -- but dark, forbidden, and evil
reality.
There are two kinds of spiritual reality. The first is God's spiritual
Kingdom of truth and light, where Christ is King, the nature of which is
"righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17),
and where God's holy angels dwell, worship and serve Him. The second is the
world of Satan (a fallen angel), a world of darkness and hopelessness, void of
God, and where other fallen angels (called demons) who hate God work to advance
this evil kingdom under their leader, Satan. This latter world of spiritual
darkness is that which is experienced through the sinister practices of the
occult.
The Bible does not reveal a "dualism," or co-equal forces of
good (represented by God) and evil (represented by Satan). Satan is totally
subject to the sovereign, omnipotent Creator. But God has given Satan certain
authority to operate in the earth as a result of man's sinful fall. He operates
through the minds and wills of fallen humanity, and he has constructed a
complex web of many evil schemes, including occult practices, even religions,
to deceive and snare people by appearing to offer them access to supernatural
power and knowledge. The Bible says that such deception will increase in
"the last days" before Christ returns (1 Timothy 4:1). But the Bible
also says, "The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might
destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). Those who trust and obey
Jesus Christ have protection and victory through Him.
Any degree of occult involvement can produce problems of oppression,
depression, despair, hopelessness, and many physical problems, sometimes
bringing death, even self-destruction. Demonic influence can produce
obsessions, phobias, bizarre behavior, violence, homicide and sexual perversion
in its victims. Worse, it can deceive a person into eternal darkness. The
occult is a form of idolatry and a sin expressly forbidden by God (Deuteronomy
18:9-12). In the New Testament when the gospel was proclaimed and received, the
liberated people gladly burned all their occult materials (see Acts 19:19).
Here are just a few of the many occult practices: astrology, various
kinds of "fortune telling," witchcraft, satanism, ESP, telepathy,
clairvoyance, seances, spiritism meetings, use of mediums or
"channeling," automatic writing, ouija boards, hypnosis,
parapsychology, psychic surgery, eastern religions, reincarnation, voodoo,
magic charming, yoga; involvement with psychics such as Jeane Dixon, Edgar
Cayce; the Rosicrucians, and the New Age Movement. The New Age Movement is a
catchall term embracing many modern occult beliefs and practices. There is even
compelling evidence that UFOs are real, but supernatural and often occult
manifestations of fallen angels whose ultimate purpose is to deceive humanity
into thinking super-intelligent extraterrestrials will help usher the earth
into a golden "New Age" of happiness without God. But with God
rejected and without His blessings, occult-practicing, lost and depraved humanity
will soon bring upon itself the end-time global holocaust prophesied by the
Bible.
If you are now or have ever
been, anytime in your life, involved with any cult or occult practice, you can
be set free of it and any symptoms it may have brought by doing the following:
(1) Confess sincere faith in and commitment to Christ; (2) confess the cult and
occult sins to God, naming and forsaking each one; (3) renounce Satan, in
Jesus' name, and commanding him and his demons to depart; and (4), receive and
claim your liberation by faith, without doubting, trusting in the authority and
total faithfulness of God and His Word. If you do this, Satan must obey and
release you, by the authority of Jesus' Name and God's Word, and any symptoms
that Satan put on you must disappear.
I. The
Biblical Mandate
All Christians are commanded by God to defend the Christian Faith (Jude
3). Thus we should not to be ignorant of Satan's devices (II Cor.
2:11). Jesus foretold the coming of false Christs and false prophets
(Matt. 24: 4-5, 11, 23-27). He said that we will be able to know them
(Matt. 7: 15-23).
II. The Amazing Growth Of The Cults
One hundred years ago there were only five or six cults in the U. S. with only
a few thousand followers. Today there are over five thousand cults with
over fifty million people involved. New cults are being incorporated
every day.
Why did the major cults arise in the 19th Century?
- There
was a crisis in religious authority.
- Unparalleled
natural catastrophes occurred.
- An
"End of the World" mania gripped the population.
- Prophets
and prophetesses appear by the dozens.
- Occult
beliefs and practices became popular.
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