Outline For Building-up And Equipping The Body Of Christ

This Biblical Christianity website encourages people to know and to live, God’s Word; thus enabling us to live now as God intended for us to live, and preparing us for eternal life in God’s kingdom.

Site Navigation:This left-column outline contains links to website pages and sources pertaining to helping the Body of Christ gain the potential for which God designed it. The menu below pages down to the individual sections of this outline from which you can navigate to other web pages. There is a fourth level to some of the third level or decimal elements of this outline that is hidden, to view this level click on the (c) symbol in the outline; to hide the fourth level, double-click upon it (I found out, the last time I checked, that Mozilla's Firefox browser doesn't support this fourth level expansion feature, sorry).

The Bible Versus Occultism

Many of the past and present religions’ roots can be traced back to the time of the flood of Noah’s day and of Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. The next eight paragraphs are taken from Gary Kah’s book: En Route to Global Occupation by Huntington House Publishers (1992). I strongly recommend Gary’s book, he does an excellent job of showing the satanic ties of many of the past and present false religions and practices, as well as political and economic institutions. (Used with Gary’s permission)

It was interesting to discover that all of the ancient mystery religions from the Bible era were pantheistic. Pantheism originated in the ancient city of Babylon in Mesopotamia and from there spread rapidly in all directions to cover the face of the earth. Hinduism is one of the off-shoots of the original Babylonian pantheism (via the Aryans of ancient Persia). And Buddhism is an off-shoot of Hinduism. all of the Eastern religions of today are ultimately traceable to ancient Babylon, where the post-flood rebellion against God began.

The nation of Israel was completely surrounded by these occult societies. To the west were the Egyptian Mysteries (also known as the Mysteries of Osiris), out of which God had delivered the Israelites. To the south were the Arabian Mysteries; to the east were the Babylonian and Persian Mysteries (respectively known as the Mysteries of Semiramis and the Mithraic Mysteries, or Zoroastrianism). To the north were the Assyrian and Phoenician Mysteries (including Baal worship) and later on the Mysteries of Greece and Rome (referred to as the Mysteries of Eleusis, Dionysus, Bacchus, etc.). All of these pantheistic religions (at their base) were the same and were traceable to ancient Babylon and the time of Nimrod.

God scattered the people from Babylon at the building of the Tower of Babel, but this did not put an end to occultism, it merely broke it up and slowed its spread for a time. As new civilizations arose in Egypt, Persia, India, etc., the occult practices of old were revived. The people, as it turned out, had merely taken their beliefs and practices with them.

Although some changes and modifications took place in these "new" mysteries to suit the developing cultures of the various language groups, the basic tenets and practices remained the same. All of the ancient mysteries, for example, had an occult priesthood, which ruled the country or empire in association with the appointed priest-king. In order to enter the priesthood, one always had to go through a series of secret occult rituals and initiations. When a initiate reached the highest level (or inner circle) of the priesthood, the secret doctrine was revealed. It always included the worship of Lucifer, more frequently referred to in the mysteries as the God of Hades, or the God of the Underworld and usually symbolized by the serpent or dragon. This should have sent a clear message to the people of the day that their religions were satanically inspired.

The highest priests took their orders directly from Satan or his demon messengers in altered states of consciousness. The techniques for achieving these states were once the deepest, best kept, secrets of the high priests. Later, they would be kept alive and carried forward by the secret societies. Within the past generation, however, these same techniques (or variations of these techniques) have made it into the mainstream of Western society.

The demonic spirits with whom the priests communicated became the gods and goddesses of the mystery religions. I further believe that the idols worshiped in these religions, in many instances, were formed in the actual images of the demons as they appeared to the priests. If this is true, the masses were worshiping more than mere pieces of stone, clay, or metal; they were actually praying to the demons portrayed by the images. This is why God was so adamant in his commandments to Moses that the Israelites worship no other gods. (pp. 73, 74)

I also found that many, perhaps most, of the world’s secret societies view Freemasonry as their mother organization from which their ceremonies, rituals, and beliefs emanate. World Book Encyclopedia supports this conclusion stating that "more than a hundred fraternal organizations have a relationship with Masonry. . . . (p. 92)

The history of Freemasonry, I discovered, was also the history of the secret societies, and the history of the secret societies is the history of organized occultism – particularly in the Western world. Perhaps the most complete history of organized occultism has been provided by Albert Pike in his 861 page occult classic entitled Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (more commonly referred to by Masons as simply Morals and Dogma). Drawing from the sources available to him as the long-time leader of Freemasonry (1859-1891), Pike was able to trace the chronological growth and spread of the Mysteries over the face of the earth from ancient Babylon down to the present-day Masonic Order. (p. 95)

The following is from Dave Hunt’s book Occult Invasion.

WHAT IS THE OCCULT?

The word occult comes from the Latin occultus, which means "concealed" or "hidden." It involves mystic knowledge and magic powers received from the spirit world and dispensed for the benefit of devotees or directed destructively at enemies by those who have been initiated into its secrets. The masters of occult power are known as medicine men (or women), witch doctors, witches, psychics, priests, sorcerers, astrologers, gurus, yogis, shamans, mediums, seers, or healers.

Some of those involved with occult powers attribute them to a variety of deities, others to a "Force" inherent within the universe with a "dark" and "light" side which humans can tap into. Still others claim they are simply using a normal power of the mind which can be cultivated in a special state of consciousness. There are also those who attribute occult powers to the God of the Bible. (p. 39)

Occult powers that produce results which cannot be explained by material science are found in the practice of almost every religion, from much that calls itself Christianity to paganism, idolatry, witchcraft, and Satanism. Occultism is present even in religions which are opposed to one another. For example, it is found in the Sufism of Islam and in the Kaballah of Judaism; in aberrant Christian sects as well as in satanic and UFO cults.

Of course, the Roman Catholic Church would argue that the apparitions of "Mary" and other "saints" and the mystical experiences of "saints" in trance have nothing to do with the occult but come from God. The same argument would be made by Pentecostals and charismatics (whether Catholic or Protestant), who attribute their mystical experiences and seemingly miraculous healings to the Holy Spirit. What is the truth? We shall see.

In Christian Science and the other Mind Science religions, where God is "Universal Mind" and the biblical gospel of salvation by God’s grace through Christ’s death and resurrection is denied, the connection to the occult becomes more obvious. And when it comes to the mysterious powers manifested in voodoo, macumba, Candomble, and other native and nature religions, the occult connection is even clearer.

That ‘spiritual" powers which can neither be affirmed nor denied by materialistic science (because they are beyond its reach) do indeed exist has been amply demonstrated among all cultures, peoples, and religions throughout human history. The acceptance and proliferation of all aspects of the occult are increasingly viewed as perfectly legitimate and desirable in today’s world. Whether this is beneficial or detrimental to the best interests of society and the church is another question. (p. 45)

In our previous page, The Bible Versus Modern Humanism, we had a section from WorldBook 2003 encyclopedia that stated that John "Dewey was strongly influenced by the then-new science of psychology and by the theory of evolution proposed by the English scientist Charles R. Darwin." It should therefore be no surprise that evolutionism, psychotherapy, transpersonal and parapsychology have also been a bridge from Humanism to the Occult, and many people who claim to be Christians have been deceived into crossing this bridge without even knowing it. Dr’s John Ankerberg and John Weldon give additional insight in their article below.

Reasons for the Modern Occult Revival—Part One By Dr. John Ankerberg, Dr. John Weldon

Our current occult revival can be explained, in part, by the following factors:

1. The failure of rationalism, secular humanism, and materialism as comprehensive worldviews. While such ideologies have provided a welcome insulation against the occult, they have also indirectly promoted it by default. Millions of people have found such philosophies cannot meet their deeper personal needs, provide an outlet for spiritual expression, or offer a legitimate basis for genuine meaning in life. This explains why those who have no religious affiliation, far from being committed rationalists, are frequently the first to explore the supernatural.

According to the Bible, man is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26,27), and has an innate need for fellowship with God. This explains why the history of mankind is the history of almost endless religious involvement—a search after divine reality. Unfortunately, men and women often turn to counterfeit religious expression in an attempt to satisfy these yearnings.

Thus, thinking the world of the psychic realm is something divine, many have turned to the paranormal, mystical, and occult in search of what they would not or could not find elsewhere.

2. A spiritual vacuum has resulted from the abandonment of orthodox Christianity, providing a cultural reorientation to greater acceptance of an occult/mystical worldview. Perhaps the most important cause of our occult revival is our nation’s turn from Christian faith. It is a simple fact that wherever Christianity is biblically practiced, occultism is rejected. Several decades ago there was at least a general consensus that the Bible was a divine revelation; that a personal God existed; that prayer was important—regardless of the number of people who actually lived such a philosophy in their daily lives. Even non-Christians benefited from a culture influenced by a Christian worldview. Such a cultural consensus provided a buffer against not only occult practice but also the barren implications and nihilism of non-theism.

However, our culture today has rejected even the minimal tenets of Christianity, and occultism, agnosticism, humanism, and religious and cultural relativism have come to power; as a result, in some ways our society is imploding from within. A substantial cultural shift is currently underway:

DEUTERONOMY 18:9-14.... When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of these nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or who uses divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and it is because of these abominable practices that the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless [and absolutely true] to the Lord your God. For these nations whom you shall dispossess listen to soothsayers and diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.

Although God forbids all occult activity, as the above Scripture indicates, the previous paragraph by John Ankerberg and John Weldon states that our culture has indeed embraced it and rejected Christianity. How can we hope to escape the same judgement that the nation of Israel experienced when we have done the same things in disobedience to and rejection of God? Is this the reason that the United States of America is going bankrupt in every area; economically, politically, morally and spiritually – what could possibly make us think otherwise? We are progressively losing our freedom and sovereignty as a nation, as well as the ability to survive because we have rejected God’s way and choose other paths to pursue instead.