
“…be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their (pagan) gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” Deuteronomy 12:30
I imagine this will upset some people, perhaps even people I respect and love, but the occult and new age practices that have been creeping into the church need to be exposed and purged. I’ll post a video below that is doing just that, involving a popular internationally influential church.
Others have already given scathing reviews of the book “The Physics of Heaven”, calling this same church to repent for encouraging believers to find what they believe would be the supposed original Christian version of all new age teachings and practices – assuming they’ve been lost to Christians for centuries, stolen by other religions, and need to be reclaimed. Learning of these troubling teachings and others is part of what the Lord used in mid 2022 to catapult us back into studying occult infiltration in the church in depth again – more than a decade after He’d first revealed this issue to us in order to help us understand false teachings we’d encountered.
Though I do believe the enemy has counterfeit versions of all the gifts of the Spirit (I Cor 12), I believe it’s a misunderstanding to conclude that means that every practice found in the occult/new age has a direct equivalent in the Kingdom of God. For example, when we consider Tarot cards and divination, it’s correct to understand that those are counterfeits of God’s supernatural gifts of word of knowledge, word of wisdom, and prophecy by His Spirit. But I believe it’s incorrect (and dangerous) to conclude that, therefore, there must be a Christian version of Tarot. How can I say that with confidence? Because it doesn’t pass the most important of all “testing” (discernment) principles – determining whether or not something contradicts Scripture.
In addition to all the direct warnings in Scripture to stay away from such occult practices of the pagan nations, the Lord also told Israel not to inquire about how the other nations served their gods in order to imitate it – and not to learn their ways. (Deut 12:29-32, Jer 10:2). Yet some seem to be advising people we must do just that to rediscover and reclaim lost truths. Please take heed.
Last year, we heard a minister share that he was called in to do deliverance on a number of the leaders in a well known church (perhaps this same church ?) who were following that very guidance, and had ended up demonically oppressed.
When Paul said he became all things to all people in order to win some, He clarified that he didn’t mean he went to the extent of sin in his endeavors. (I Cor 9:20-21)
Even if someone could try to make a case that what’s being done is a modern day equivalent of urim and thummim or casting lots (which is addressed in this video), the instruction not to use the Name of Jesus or present the gospel in these attempts to minister should tell us everything we need to know. This is unfortunately not the first time I’ve heard of that alarming accusation in connection with some of this church’s outreaches.
As a continuationist from a cessationist background, I’m zealous to see clearly erroneous things like this and many others, that bring such reproach on true continuationism (and Christianity in general), accurately identified and eradicated. It’s a hard enough hill to climb to accurately represent continuationism to our beloved cessationist brothers and sisters and the lost without having all these obstacles of occult practices, other spirits, other Christs, and other gospels thrown in the way.
(If you cannot see the embedded video, it should be available at the original site HERE )
The woman who made this video is a former internationally known new age teacher, who was saved and is now a cessationist. I believe her cessationist views cause her to reach some wrong conclusions and make some wrong assessments in most of her videos, so I can’t endorse all her content. But I appreciate that she involved some continuationists in the making of this video. I haven’t seen her do that before.
Referenced:
Mike Winger’s Review of “The Physics of Heaven” (others have done reviews as well)