FIVE SATANIC DECEPTIONS DESIGNED FOR
THE END-TIMES - Part III
It bears repetition: Arguably, the
foremost satanic deception of our time is the New
Age movement, a blatant denial of the supreme revelation of
God-in-Christ, who gave His life to redeem and restore fallen humanity. New Age thinking rejects Jesus Christ as God’s
only begotten Son, elevates fallen humanity to a level of divinity, denies the
reality of Satan and sin, and thus nullifies our need to seek salvation. In the process, all customary religious
practices are redefined or deemed irrelevant. Since faith’s ultimate goal is reduced to a generic
form of brotherly love and peace, all religions become equal and therefore none
can attest to any authentic or higher revelation of divine truth. My candid response: NONSENSE!
I will highlight a brief history of
my alma mater, Yale University, as a cautionary tale about the impact of PLURALISM
(the everything is o.k. mentality) on the Christian faith. According to the university website, “Yale’s
roots can be traced back to the 1640s, when colonial
clergymen led an effort to establish a college in New Haven to preserve
the tradition of European liberal education in the New World. This vision was fulfilled in 1701, when the
charter was granted for a school wherein youth may be instructed in the arts
and sciences and through the blessing of Almighty God may be fitted for public
employment both in church and civil state.” As the third oldest American university, Yale
was preceded only by Harvard and William and Mary. Since its original emphasis was on the
training of ministers, for the first 200 years of its 313 year history every
Yale president was a Christian minister. Early on, Yale was responsible for dispatching
dedicated missionaries across the globe. And history records that one of its earliest
and most highly regarded presidents, Jonathan Edwards, was even known to “speak
in other tongues” in Yale classrooms.
Wow!
Let’s contrast Yale’s Christian roots
with the situation today. Nowadays, the Yale University Chaplain’s Office
does not exclusively or prominently display the primary symbol of Christianity,
the cross. Rather, the cross is displayed in an
inclusive graphic circle, as one of 14 equally endorsed faith communities. Besides Christianity, the Yale Chaplain’s
website supports participation in the Baha’i Faith, Judaism, Taoism, Islam,
Jainism, Shintoism, Buddhism, Unitarian Universalism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism,
Hinduism and Native American Traditions. Additionally, many contemporary religious
leaders at Yale are proactive advocates for ‘lifestyle rights’ which are
diametrically opposed to the Word of God. All of
this is deemed ‘normal’ because the university culture now demands openness to (and
a full embrace of) diversity. How far will it go, and where will it end?
The Bible declares that the “spirit
of antichrist even now already is in the world.” (I John 4:3) What a timely and true prophetic pronouncement! While religious pluralism ‘feels’ reasonable
and equitable, and ‘seems’ just and appropriate based upon the current values
of our society, Proverbs 16:25 asserts “there is a way that seems right unto a
man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
As Christians, we are sorely tempted
to allow our voices to be muted by those who resist or resent divine truth. Why?
Because we can be labeled as narrow-minded or closed-minded when we
espouse views that do not coincide with mainstream thinking. This is increasingly true in America, and so
it is throughout the world.
Two examples immediately come to mind:
1) During the summer of 2014, Samuel
Truett Cathy, the recently deceased founder of Chick-fil-A, expressed strong support
for traditional marriage between a man and a woman. As a result, he came under intense attack by
the gay and lesbian community and by all who support their lifestyle agenda. It was not Mr. Cathy’s intention to ‘bash’ gay
citizens; he was merely invoking his first amendment constitutional right to
freedom of speech, and most importantly, he was affirming the Word of God. It is amazing to me that gay citizens can appear
in the media as outspoken advocates of their worldview; they can organize and
participate in gay pride parades; they can even mobilize political leaders to
speak out on their behalf…but the moment someone publicly states an opposite
point of view, they are labeled as gay-bashers. This is neither the original design of America,
nor the righteous plan of God.
2) To attain my second Yale degree,
I enrolled in an urban education graduate program. From day one, it was established fact that I
have long since been (and always will be) active in ministry. During class, we participated in wide-ranging
discourse on social and moral issues surrounding public education. However, it quickly became apparent that there
was a collective expectation of silence regarding THE MINISTER IN THE ROOM,
that is, the group consensus seemed to be that I should sit quietly and
passively while being ‘indoctrinated’ by a barrage of liberal worldviews via my
professors and fellow students. One day,
we had a controversial discussion about a brochure entitled “My Two Moms”
(involving two gay parents) and how we would present such a brochure to our
students. When I was directly asked my
opinion and decided to candidly share it, I was firmly rebuked and informed
that “educators are public servants!” As
such, we “have no right” to express any personal perspectives on the gay
lifestyle. Please remember that my
opinions were expressed in direct response to their questions (within a
UNIVERSITY SETTING), and please know that I would not have shared my personal
views with students in a PUBLIC SCHOOL SETTING. [Note: Neither would I have presented that
brochure, as was being asked of me]. As
the class proceeded, both my position and I were completely condemned. My response was simply this: “If you can speak
so openly and freely about SIN AND YOUR ADVOCACY OF THE SAME in my presence, I
must and shall exercise my right to present GOD’S PERSPECTIVE, which matches
and mirrors my own.” Thankfully, I did
obtain my second degree from Yale, but eventually became persona non grata, based upon my “narrow
and politically incorrect” views.
Consider this: New Age thinking is NOT neutral thinking,
even though it typically purports to be so.
That which is usually characterized by its proponents as “open-minded
thinking” is a viewpoint that is PROFOUNDLY
CLOSED to the Word and will of God. As such, New Age thinking is a proactive
strategy that seeks to minimize Christ and maximize Satan’s plan to prepare the
world for the one-world religion and one-world government of the antichrist. To
be perfectly candid, I am amazed at how we Christians allow ourselves to be so easily
maneuvered into SILENCE for the sake of political correctness and popular
acceptance. With that being said, please
know that it is not necessary for us to live each moment in ‘open confrontation
mode’ with the world. Our nonverbal
witness is often sufficient to speak volumes to (and against) the world system.
Nevertheless, whenever this is insufficient,
we must be ready and willing to stand up and speak up as ambassadors of Christ,
in harmony with His Word and empowered by His Spirit. Point to Ponder: Are you equipped and
empowered to effectively represent Jesus Christ in these end-times?
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