x file 5

Preparation for Delusion
That the world in the last days will irrevocably turn its back upon
truth and righteousness and opt for a false peace, and thus reap God's
judgement and its destruction, is one of the clearest teachings in the
Bible. Yet at the same time it is one of the most puzzling revelations
of the stubborn perverseness of the human heart. Men and woman
everywhere long for peace, but the path that must be followed to reach
it is repugnant to human pride. Mankind is like a terminally ill patient
who desires the cure the doctor offers, yet finds the prescribed
medicine ("repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ" - ACTS 20:21) too distasteful to swallow - and take a
sugar-coated but deadly pill instead.
Even with all the evidence we have given, it may still seem
unbelievable that Antichrist could so thoroughly deceive mankind. Once
again it will help to turn to a man whose rise to power continues to
intrigue and mystify historians. Adolf Hitler emerged suddenly out of
obscurity and rose to a power unequaled in modern times. He deceived not
only Germany but nearly the entire world for a surprising lenght of
time. There is no rational explanation.
Film footage of the public appearances of Hitler with
their pageantry - solemn marchers carrying huge banners displaying the
swastika, and fanatically repeated "Sieg Heils" from hundreds of
thousands of throats - reveal an unmistakable but mysterious religious element. Demonic? Without doubt. Hitler evoked a spontaneous mass hysteria that bordered on worship. William Shirer, author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, who went to Germany in 1934 to report on what was taking place, wrote in his diary at the time:
today, as far as the vast majority of his fellow-countrymen are
concerned, he (Hitler) has reached a pinnacle never before achieved by a
German ruler. He has become - even before his death - a myth, a legend, almost a god ... (1)
There was a twisted genius in Hitler that accomplished some great
things. Between 1933 and 1937, while the rest of the world was still
wallowing deep in the Depression, Germany's unemployment dropped from 6
million to less than one million. National output doubled. The
Volkswagen went into production and the world's first highway system,
Germany's famous autobahn, was begun. So much good camouflaged the evil.
Simone Veil, who spent time in Auschwitz, where most of her family
died, confessed: "We had great difficulty believing that people were
actually being killed. Nobody imagined that there could be a plan for
extermination." (2)
After a honeymoon of peace, love and brotherhood, the
terror of Antichrist's rule will make Hitler's rule seem benevolent.
Those who refuse to worship him and submit to the new world order will
be summarily executed - and the whole earth will know and approve. After
all, mankind will have just experienced the incredible disappearence of
millions of people. Fear of being snatched from earth will keep
everyone in line - for awhile.
The most fascinating aspect of Hitler's deception was
the heavy "Christian" element that was involved - an element that will
be absolutely essential under Antichrist. Most of the church in Germany
went happily along with the new order. Hitler promised "liberty for all
religious denominations," much like the promises now being made in
Eastern Europe. In his March 23, 1933, speech, when he took over as
dictator, Hitler praised the Christian faith and promised to respect
liberty of conscience. A few excerpts from his wartime speeches reveal
an incredible pretense of being on God's side:
1940: "We pray our Lord that He would continue to bless us in our battle for freedom..."
1941: "We believe we shall earn the blessing of the
Supreme Leader...the Lord God has given His approval to our battle. He
will be with us in ...the future." 1942: "And we will pray the Lord God for that, the salvation of the nation ..."
1942: "And we will pray the Lord God for that, the salvation of the nation ..."
1943: "We will continue to give our whole strenght
to our nation this year. Only then can we ... pray to our Lord God, that
He will help us as He always has ..." (3)
Thousands of German pastors joined the newly organized "German
Christians' Faith Movement," which supported the Nazi doctrines and
promoted a "Reich Church" that would unite all Protestants under the
state. A minority of pastors, led by Martin Niemoeller (who had
originally welcomed Hitler to power), realized at last that Hitler's
"Positive Christianity" was in fact anti-Christian, and so opposed the
Nazification of the church.
The "Reich Church," formed under leaders picked by
Hitler, was formally recognized by the Reichstag on July 14, 1933. On
November 13 a massive rally was held in the Berlin Sportpalast by the
"German Christians' Faith Movement." Leaders of the rally proposed
abandonment of the Old Testament and revision of the New Testament to
fit National Socialism. Resolutions called for "One People, One Reich,
One Faith," an oath of allegiance to Hitler to be signed by all pastors,
and the exclusion of Jewish Christians by all churches. The Gestapo's
reign of terror against followers of Christ began with the arrest of 700
pastors in the fall of 1935.
Always the justification under Hitler as under
Constantine, was ecumenical "unity." We are hearing the same appealing
slogan today - nor can the tide of ecumenism be stemmed. Those who
oppose it are accused of being narrow-minded bigots. Truth, which we are not to sell at any price (Proverbs 23:23), is already being bartered for a humanistic and mythical peace and unity.
All the time that he was deliberately moving to destroy
Christianity and replace it with his neopagan occultism, Hitler
continued to pretend that he was the champion of . All the time that he was deliberately moving to destroy
Christianity and replace it with his neopagan occultism, Hitler
continued to pretend that he was the champion of real
Christianity. The following excerpt from a speech by Hans Kerrl, Nazi
Minister of Church Affairs, reveals how blatant the lie can become while
still being eagerly embraced by "Christians":
The Party stands (for) ... Positive Christianity, and Positive Christianity is National Socialism ...
National Socialism is the doing of God's will ... God's will reveals itself in German blood ... That Christianity consists in faith in Christ as Son of God makes me laugh ...
True Christianity is represented by the Party, and the German people are now called by the Party and especially by the Fuehrer to a real Christianity ...
The Fuehrer is the herald of a New Revelation. (4)
National Socialism is the doing of God's will ... God's will reveals itself in German blood ... That Christianity consists in faith in Christ as Son of God makes me laugh ...
True Christianity is represented by the Party, and the German people are now called by the Party and especially by the Fuehrer to a real Christianity ...
The Fuehrer is the herald of a New Revelation. (4)
We are reminded by the homage afforded to cult leaders that the world
remains vulnerable to delusion. The Dalai Lama. for example, is highly
honored worlwide by political and religious leaders and greatly admired
by the masses. Yet his public claims are similar to those which will be
made by the Antichrist; That he is the 14 reincarnation of the original Dalai Lama and that he is literally "God."
He proposes to bring global peace through a heavily demonic Yoga
visualization technique into which he is initiating tens of thousands of
persons around the world. For this he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
in 1989! This forerunner of the Antichrist continues to be feted by the
Roman Catholic Church, which previously gave Hitler its blessing.
With all genuine Christians removed from earth and the Holy Spirit no
longer convicting consciences, mass deception will be a thousand times
easier for the Antichrist than for Hitler. Almost any "positive" belief
will be acceptable that supports the delusion of infinite human
potential, builds up self-esteem and self-worth, and concerns itself
with social justice through humanistic efforts. It is already a crime
punishable under the Genocide Treaty, which was recently signed by the
United States, to suggest that any religion is wrong. To be ecumenical
and "positive" is required by international law. It is but a small step
to Antichrist's harsh rule.
Today's "Positive Christianity" - which, like Hitler's dresses occultism
in Christian language - has virtually taken over in America and is now
being expored into Eastern Europe. Those who promote Positive Thinking,
Possibility Thinking, and Positive Confession are among the most
influential radio/television preachers and church leaders in America.
Any correction is rejected as "negative ." As for "new revelations," the
Charismatic movement is spawning "prophets" whose pronouncements are
being blindly followed by growing numbers of Christians even though the
"prophecies" often contradict the Bible. Like the world, the church too
is being set up for a great delusion.
Even for many evangelicals, "faith" no longer requires God as its
object, but is touted as a "positive" power of the mind that creates
what we firmly and sincerely believe. Thus what we "pray " for will come to pass, not if God wills it, but if we can only believe it will happen.
"Your unconscious mind ... (has a) power that turns wishes into
realities when the wishes are strong enough," (5) promises a "Christian"
leader whose writings are read each month by 16 milion persons. His
protégé, one of the most popular promoters of this occultic delusion
that "faith" is a force wielded by our minds, explains this seductive
gospel enthusiastically:
What is the magic ingredient that can insure success and eliminate failure from our lives? It is FAITH! Possibility Thinking is just another word for faith. (6)
You don't know the power you have within you!... You make the world into anything you choose. Yes, you can make your world into whatever you want it to be. (7)
Enticed by such false teaching, Christians begin to view prayer as a
religious technique for getting their own way. They set their sights
upon what they want, then try to have "faith" to make it happen.
Seminars in How To Write Your Own Ticket With God (8) by thinking certain thoughts, speaking certain words, or visualizing goals are eagerly attended by thousands.
Today's false gospel is spawning "Christians" who have been attracted to
a "Christ" who has the attributes of Antichrist. This widely-presented
false "Christ" no longer calls sinners to repentance before a holy God
but excuses ungodly behaviour as a psychological problem resulting from
traumas suffered in childwood. Instead of requiring his disciples to
"deny self and take up the cross," he teaches them to love and accept
themselves and to recognize their inherent "self-worth." Nor does this
"Christ" promises the "meek" that they will inherit the earth, but
offers "self-assertion" training. Instead of blessing those that
"mourn," he warns against "low self-esteem" and promotes a new "positive
self-image." And rather than promising heaven to the "poor in spirit,"
this false "Christ" offers to the financially poor the enticing gospel
of a hundredfold return for gifts to certain ministries.
Furthermore, the dynamic, motivating hope of Christ's imminent return is
being denied by many who claim to belong to the Lord. That Christ will
come back to earth visibly and in person is a view that is increasingly
rejected in favour of some kind of "spiritual" second coming. Popular
author M. Scott Peck, though a New Ager, professes to be a Christian and
is so accepted even by evangelicals. He speaks for a growing sector of
the church:
When I think of the enormity of the changes required (for global
peace) ... it sometimes seems that a virtual Second Coming is required. I
am not talking about a bodily second coming. In fact, I am profoundly
pessimistic about a church that would sit around passively waiting for
its messiah to appear in the flesh.
Rather, I am talking about the resurrection of Christ's spirit, which would occur in the church if Christians took him seriously. (9)
Rather, I am talking about the resurrection of Christ's spirit, which would occur in the church if Christians took him seriously. (9)
Here we have one of the most persuasive New Age lies that was ever
inspired by Satan. Many Charismatic leaders are now promoting the idea
that the second coming is not the return of our Lord personally in His resurrected individual body to earth, but the attainment by His spiritual body,
the church, to a higher spiritual state evidenced by great signs and
wonders. A leading New Ager presents this lie persuasively:
So as we accept Christ in our hearts ... not just a simple emotional
emotional conversion that the electronic evangelists calls for, but a
radical transformation of consciousness ... we experience the coming of
Christ, now ...
There is no Second Coming of Christ, that is a false concept ... There is only, as the Bible puts it, the coming of Christ, through you and me, as we ascend in consciousness ...
The final appearence of the Christ will not be a man in the air whom all must kneel ... (but) an evolutionary event ... A new race, a new species will inhabit the Earth - people who collectively have the stature in consciousness that Jesus had. And in that process the kingdom of God will truly be established on Earth under the rule of the Christ in the hearts and minds and souls of all people. (10)
There is no Second Coming of Christ, that is a false concept ... There is only, as the Bible puts it, the coming of Christ, through you and me, as we ascend in consciousness ...
The final appearence of the Christ will not be a man in the air whom all must kneel ... (but) an evolutionary event ... A new race, a new species will inhabit the Earth - people who collectively have the stature in consciousness that Jesus had. And in that process the kingdom of God will truly be established on Earth under the rule of the Christ in the hearts and minds and souls of all people. (10)
How diabolically clever! The author does not argue as an anti-Christian but as a true Christian. He does not reject the Bible but claims to correct a false interpretation
of the Bible. His thesis is very persuasive. To rise to the full
stature of one's innate perfection seems far more ennobling than to
repent of one's rebellion before a holy God. And this thesis fits
perfectly with the Antichrist's probable claim that he is the
reincarnation of the Christ's spirit that was in Jesus - a "higher state
of consciousness" into which he promises to lead the world.
The Roman Catholic Church, by its dogmas, also denies the rapture. The
best that most Catholics hope for after death is to awaken in purgatory,
a place where they must suffer for their sins for an indeterminate
lenght of time, depending upon how many indulgences they have earned and
how many rosaries and Masses and alms and good deeds others perform for
them after their death. Thus the teaching that "the dead in Christ
shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (1
Thessalonians 4:16,17) must be ignored or reinterpreted. After all, some
good Catholics may have to spend several thousands years in purgatory,
others only a few days or weeks. The Church has no clear guidelines to
say how long anyone will be in there. Therefore all Christians could not
be resurrected at once and, together with the living believers, taken
to heaven simultaneously, as the Bible teaches.
Moreover, the Pope has apparently received a most interesting
"revelation" from Our Lady of Fatima: that a great disaster is coming
which will transform human thinking and catapult him into a position
where he will play a key role in bringing order out of chaos. It sounds
very much like the mass disappearence of millions in the rapture.
Malachi Martin, "former Jesuit and professor at the Vatican's Pontifical
Biblical Institute," writes:
John Paul is waiting. God must first intervene, before John Paul's major ministry to all men can start ...
He is waiting ... for an event that will fission human history, splitting the immediate past from the oncoming future ...
John Paul's waiting and watching time will then be over. His ministry as the Servant of the Grand Design will then begin ... when the fissioning event occurs ... (11)
He is waiting ... for an event that will fission human history, splitting the immediate past from the oncoming future ...
John Paul's waiting and watching time will then be over. His ministry as the Servant of the Grand Design will then begin ... when the fissioning event occurs ... (11)
As we have seen, the rapture of the church will be a "fissioning event"
indeed! Unity and peace will not come as "Our Lady of Fatima" has
revealed, but that will not matter. The disappearence of multiplied
millions will create the opportunity which both the Antichrist and the
Pope await. Neither will realize that Christ has taken His bride home to
heaven, but they will know that their time has come.
The great delusion will be furthered by the spurious "Holy Spirit" which
is so evidently operating within the Charismatic movement - a movement
that includes an estimated 10 million American Roman Catholics. One of
the first "prophecies" that was spoken at the inception of the Catholic
Charismatic movement, which began in the mid-1960's promoted the
delusion that "what Mary promised at Fatima is really going to take
place." (12) The "gift of tongues" was received spontaneously by many
Catholics as they were engaged in unbiblical prayers to Mary; "With Tom
N. it was as he was finishing his rosary ... with sister M., it came as
she knelt in silent prayer to the Blessed Vergin," (13) The general
effect upon Catholics of the "baptism in the Spirit" has been to
increase their heretical devotion to Mary and to make the many other
abominable dogmas of Romanism all the more acceptable and meaningful.
(14) The "spirit" that endorses such delusion will also endorse
Antichrist.
That spirit operating through Catholic leaders is already deceiving
Protestants. This was demonstrated again at "Indianapolis 1990," an
ecumenical Charismatic conference on "the Holy Spirit and World
Evangelization" where Roman Catholics had the largest representation
among the 23,000 in attendance. Charisma magazine reported
enthusiastically that the "Roman Catholic (evangelism training) session
... was centered on leading people to salvation in Christ, not on
persuading them to join the Catholic Church as was feared by some
people." (15) That session was, however, a dishonest misrepresentation.
One wonders why those who claim miraculous gifts of the Spirit so often
lack the discernment to know that they are being deceived.
Tom Forrest, a priest who directs Rome's "New Evangelization 2000" from
the Vatican, used all the right evangelical terms when speaking before
the joint Protestant-Catholic audience. He drew applause from
Protestants when he called for "Christian unity" in "World
Evangelization." But when he spoke to a Catholic-only workshop he let it
be known, to repeated loud applause from fellow Catholics, what he
really believed:
Our job is to make people as richly and as fully Christian as we can make them by bringing them into the Catholic Church
... our visible sacraments of salvation. I like saying those words ...
"Our visible sacrament of salvation." That's what the Church is, and ...
we have to be evangelizing into the church ...
No, you don't just invite someone to become a Christian, you invite them to become Catholics. Why would this be so important? ... there are seven sacraments, and the Catholic Church has all seven ... we have the body of Christ, we drink the blood of Christ. Jesus is alive on our altars, as offering ... We become one with Christ in the Eucharist ...
As Catholics we have Mary ... Queen of Paradise ...
As Catholics - now I love this one - we have purgatory. Thank God! I'm one of those people that would never get to the Beatific Vision without it. It's the only way to go.
... our job is to use this remaining decade evangelizing everyone we can into the Catholic Church ... and into the third millennium of Catholic history. (16)
No, you don't just invite someone to become a Christian, you invite them to become Catholics. Why would this be so important? ... there are seven sacraments, and the Catholic Church has all seven ... we have the body of Christ, we drink the blood of Christ. Jesus is alive on our altars, as offering ... We become one with Christ in the Eucharist ...
As Catholics we have Mary ... Queen of Paradise ...
As Catholics - now I love this one - we have purgatory. Thank God! I'm one of those people that would never get to the Beatific Vision without it. It's the only way to go.
... our job is to use this remaining decade evangelizing everyone we can into the Catholic Church ... and into the third millennium of Catholic history. (16)
....Contact with demonic spirits is accellerating, making both the world
and the church of our day far more vulnerable to satanic deception than
was the case in Hitlers's time. Involvement in the occult, Yoga, and
other practices from Eastern mysticism and New Age philosophies is even
greater today than in Hitler's Germany of the 1930's. The United Nations
has a Meditation Room containig Babylonian occult symbolism, where
followers of all religions, who visit by the hundreds of thousands each
year, may awaken the "god within." The Pentagon has its own Meditation
Club, which seeks to prevent war by creating a "psychic peace shield"
around the earth with positive thoughts. The Soviets have a similar
program. Dabbling in the occult in order to "develop human potential"
has gained a large following among political leaders.
... Through his pursuit of the occult and New Age medicine, Prince
Charles, the next King of England and thus the next head of the Church
of England, has concluded that all religions are basically the same. He
considered himself to be psychic and believes in guidance from the
spirit realm. The Queen (also involved in spiritism) and the Prince both
believe that he, Charles, "is the Chosen One - placed in line for the
throne through a divine, preordained plan." (21)
Prince Charles is representative of many other prominent world
figures who are also involved in the occult and anticipate the coming of
a humanistic one-world religion. Scientists, too, are supporting the
belief in psychic forces. Foundations of Physics recently
published an article by Princeton University researcher Roger D. Nelson
to the effect that scientific experiments demonstrate that the human
mind can influence computers at a distance. (22)The increasing openness
to paranormal events and alleged psychic forces is an important
preparation for the coming Antichrist, who will manifest such powers to a
degree never before known.
... What these seducing spirits would teach in the last
days, Paul warned, would be "doctrine of devils." Both the world and the
church are being deceived for the epitomy of diabolical delusion, which
is yet to come. It is not difficult to see the day when untold millions
of such spirit guides will identify the Antichrist as the Christ and
wil be believed. What a setup!
Dave Hunt
from "GLOBAL PEACE AND THE RISE OF ANTICHRIST by DAVE HUNT
(1) - Wiliam Shirer, Berlin Diary, as quoted by Gerard Suster in Hitler: The Occult Messiah (New York: St. Martin, 1981), pp. 140-141
(2) - Time, August 28, 1989, p. 43
(3) - Taken from a German condensation of Hitler's key speeches that has not been translated into English as yet
(4) - Dave Hunt, A Study Guide for The Cult Explosion (eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1981), p. 121
(5) - Norman Vincent Peale, Positive Imaging (fawcett Crest, 1982), p. 77
(6) - Robert Schuller, "Faith, The Force That Sets You Free!" Possibilities, September/October 1988, p. 22
(7) - Robert Schuler, "Possibility Thinking: Goals," Amway Corporation tape.
(8) - The title of a booklet authored by Kenneth Hagin
(9) - M. Scott Peck, New Age Journal May/June 1987, p.51
(10) - John White, "The New Age and the Second Coming of Christ," Body, Mind and Spirit, November/December, 1988, pp. 48-53
(11) - Martin, The Keys of This Blood, pp. 639-56
(12) - Edward D. O'Connor, C.S.S., The Pentecostal Movement in the Catholic Church (Ave Maria Press, 1971), p. 58
(13) - Ibid., p. 128
(14) - Ibid., pp. 166-67, etc.
(15) - "Ready to Evangelize the World: 23,000 charismatics gather for Indianapolis '90" Charisma and Christian Life, October 1990, p. 25
(16) - "Roman Catholic Double-Talk at Indianapolis '90," Foundation, pp. 14-16, excerpts from talk by Fr. Tom Forrest to the Roman Catholic Saturday mornig training session
(21) - John Dale, The Prince and the Paranormal: The Psychic Bloodline of the Royal Family (W.H. Allen & Co. Plc., 1986), pp. 14-18; US, January 14, 1985, pp. 18-19, etc.
(22) - "ESP exists, scientists reports," The Orange County Register, April 1, 1990, p. A10
(2) - Time, August 28, 1989, p. 43
(3) - Taken from a German condensation of Hitler's key speeches that has not been translated into English as yet
(4) - Dave Hunt, A Study Guide for The Cult Explosion (eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1981), p. 121
(5) - Norman Vincent Peale, Positive Imaging (fawcett Crest, 1982), p. 77
(6) - Robert Schuller, "Faith, The Force That Sets You Free!" Possibilities, September/October 1988, p. 22
(7) - Robert Schuler, "Possibility Thinking: Goals," Amway Corporation tape.
(8) - The title of a booklet authored by Kenneth Hagin
(9) - M. Scott Peck, New Age Journal May/June 1987, p.51
(10) - John White, "The New Age and the Second Coming of Christ," Body, Mind and Spirit, November/December, 1988, pp. 48-53
(11) - Martin, The Keys of This Blood, pp. 639-56
(12) - Edward D. O'Connor, C.S.S., The Pentecostal Movement in the Catholic Church (Ave Maria Press, 1971), p. 58
(13) - Ibid., p. 128
(14) - Ibid., pp. 166-67, etc.
(15) - "Ready to Evangelize the World: 23,000 charismatics gather for Indianapolis '90" Charisma and Christian Life, October 1990, p. 25
(16) - "Roman Catholic Double-Talk at Indianapolis '90," Foundation, pp. 14-16, excerpts from talk by Fr. Tom Forrest to the Roman Catholic Saturday mornig training session
(21) - John Dale, The Prince and the Paranormal: The Psychic Bloodline of the Royal Family (W.H. Allen & Co. Plc., 1986), pp. 14-18; US, January 14, 1985, pp. 18-19, etc.
(22) - "ESP exists, scientists reports," The Orange County Register, April 1, 1990, p. A10