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Summary
The New Age is a counterfeit spiritual system that has deceived many into accepting substitutes for the real God. First episode in “The Top Ten Countdown of New Age Lies”. Marla describes some of the serious consequences of becoming involved in the New Age.
Introduction
In today’s program we’ll be starting out on a fascinating journey to explore the lies and deceptions of the New Age, a supposedly “new” counterfeit spiritual system which is not new at all but a repackaging of old spiritualistic practices for a more sophisticated post-modern audience. Today’s study is preparation to count down from the No. 10 to the No. 1 biggest lies and deceptions of the New Age.
We’ll be contrasting what the Bible has to say about the different New Age teachings and practices. I’ll be sharing some of my personal story with you since this is what the Lord rescued me from. It’s only by His amazing grace and love that I’m here to tell you the story.
We’re going to lay the groundwork for our Top Ten Countdown by examining these 5 points:
- The New Age is a counterfeit spiritual system akin to “Babylon” in the Bible
- The New Age leads to spiritual death
- There are other serious consequences of becoming involved in the New Age
- God will reveal truth to you if you walk closely with Him
- God alone can rescue you, because you’re standing on Satan’s turf
Let’s begin.
The New Age is a counterfeit spiritual system
The New Age is a counterfeit spiritual system. “Counterfeit” means “fraudulent”, “made in exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive or defraud”, “forgery”. The New Age has all the trappings of being spiritually sound: numerous books and other media dedicated to it, successful authors and teachers, famous practitioners, and a big mainstream following.
The Bible uses an interesting term to refer to counterfeit spiritual systems: it calls them “Babylon”. All New Age practices and beliefs originated in the ancient kingdoms of Egypt and Babylon, both of which were capitals of sorcery and black arts during antiquity. The New Age is a form of spiritual Babylon. The New Age is an intelligent re-packaging of the same Babylonian teachings and practices in ways that are acceptable to our intellectually sophisticated post-modern generation.
In the Bible Babylon (also known as the land of the Chaldeans) represents spiritual confusion and deception. In fact the city of Babylon was derived from the Tower of Babel, where God confused men by confusing their language so that they could not rebel against Him. In the same vein as the Egyptian Pharaoh’s court with the infamous Mystery Schools, the occult arts thrived in the Babylonian court. Astrologers and magicians were the official counselors of the Babylonian king.
New Agers believe that human beings, and the world around us, are permeated by invisible mystical energies. Just like the rulers of antiquity they believe that these energies can be focused and directed to help us live more successful lives and achieve the outcomes we desire. Although many are pure-hearted seekers, there’s also a quest for power and control.
As the last generation on planet earth before the second coming of Jesus, God is calling us to come out of Babylon. In the Book of Revelation chapter 18 we read: “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” ….
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” Although strictly speaking this text is referring to another counterfeit spiritual system as discussed on previous programs, it is every bit as applicable to the New Age.
The New Age leads to spiritual death
This counterfeit spiritual system does NOT lead to God. The Bible says in the Book of Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death”. The Bible gives very clear warnings about engaging in any of the occult arts, whether it be astrology, magic, witchcraft, divination, channeling, time telling, or any other.
Listen to this short passage in Deuteronomy 18: – 9 – 15: “When you are come into the land which the Lord your God gives you, you shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord your God does drive them out from before you. You shalt be perfect with the Lord your God. For these nations, which you shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for you, the Lord your God has not suffered you so to do.”
In the Book of Revelation Chapter 21 we see the contrast between those faithful to God and the unfaithful, who will receive the ultimate punishment: “He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Then, closing that chapter and referring to the New Jerusalem the city of God, the Bible says: “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Magic, sorcery, divination, channeling, curses and spells, call upon supernatural evil powers to exert control over people, situations and things. What’s behind is a need to control, the exact opposite of surrendering to God’s will. This is why the Bible says that witchcraft is the spirit of rebellion. Make no mistake about this: these are not superstitions, and none of them are harmless. All of these occult arts are very real and invoke very real evil forces. Harry Potter is for real. Voodoo for example is savagely evil and conjures up flesh-eating spirits to haunt their victims.
Most New Agers practice some form of white magic, such as healing with crystals or space clearing or numerous others, thinking that they’re helping others or helping themselves. But all of the occult arts without exception are evil, because they’re all powered from the same supernatural evil source, hosts of spiritual wickedness in the second heaven as is explained in Ephesians 6. These hosts of spiritual wickedness are none other than Satan’s fallen angels.
Today these dark arts are so widespread and have become so mainstream that the stage is not the Amazonian rain forest or the African plains but rather Paris, London, New York, Seattle and other big and prosperous cities across the world. Thus these evil principalities obtain legal right to rule over a given territory, trying to hinder God’s work and engaging in spiritual warfare against God’s people.
To conclude on this point, the New Age alienates us from God because in His great wisdom He has forbidden us to pursue the occult. The occult is Satan’s turf, he’s the mastermind deceiver behind all of the occult arts even those that appear to be benign. There is no benign New Age belief or practice: they’re all lies and deception intended to lead us astray from God. The one sure thing you can expect from Satan is betrayal – he will destroy you sooner or later, whether in this life or in the life to come.
Deuteronomy 29:29 sums it up this way: “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of His law.” Remember this: If it’s not revealed, leave it alone!
Other serious consequences of being involved in the New Age
The first and most common consequence of dabbling in the New Age is that your involvement tends to grow until it has taken over your life. It has tentacles like an octopus and will pull you in deeper and deeper, so like me you may start out with yoga and meditation but somehow that leads to studying the various schools of Mind Control, then the Law of Attraction and then consulting mediums looking for answers until I learned to do my own card readings. The New Age completely took over my life, especially after I interrupted my career in corporate consulting to devote myself entirely to the practice of Feng Shui. I studied the real Chinese Feng Shui with a Chinese Feng Shui teacher and travelled to Asia to pass my exams and become a certified practitioner.
I had no interest in anything else but the New Age. My social circle was entirely composed of New Agers – my friends were either astrologers or Feng Shui practitioners or students of the Law of Attraction or brothers and sisters from New Age religions or magnetic healers, and on and on … After I came to the US and to this day I have had very little contact with my dear friends in France and Switzerland simply because we have no common ground other than the New Age. When I go back to see them it will be as a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The second level of consequences is that we open so many doors to demonic influences that demons come and go as they please, wreaking havoc in our lives and homes. I had so many disturbances by demons, countless incidents! I’ll mention just a few. Once I was in my workout studio at home doing a yoga standing pose and very distinctly felt a hand on my shoulder tip me off balance. I fell against a radiator on the wall and hurt my head with a lot of bleeding. The following morning I was still very shaken yet I had to take a flight to go visit clients in Zurich.
On another occasion I had a very scary apparition – a woman’s head floating in the air – wake me up during the night. I was also the victim of multiple astral projections of witches and wizards, who entered my home in the spirit to do intrusive things, including using the television set to send me messages but most often to watch my every movement, announcing their presence with wrappings and other loud noises.
In every single home I lived in while I was involved in the New Age all kinds of spirits lurked in my home, including a couple of very dark and dangerous ones. On one occasion I’d been harassed by this demon for a period of 4 to 5 months until I was at my wit’s end. Finally I had to hire a South American shaman who works in Paris and paid him 1000 euros to come and destroy the spirit. (As a side note this aspect of the New Age is called entity removal and is very big business because demon infestation is very widespread, not something people like to talk about…).
In that night’s seance at around 1:00 in the morning there was a real battle in my apartment with the invisible demon first taking knives out of the kitchen and hurling them at the shaman in the dark, then taking a heavy book off the bookshelf and throwing that also. I personally witnessed when the book was hurled at the shaman because although the apartment was nearly dark he was within my range of vision. The book just barely missed him and landed with a big thud on the floor. I was very shaken by the whole incident and relieved that afterwards I had peace for a few months, but not for very long. Little did I know that in the next three to four years I was to experience much, much scarier things than that.
The third consequence you can expect, if you’re deep enough into the New Age, is that someone will betray you. The betrayal comes because sacrifice is required in order to maintain power in the demonic world. Anyone who has been given demonic powers will need to sacrifice innocent victims once in a while in order to keep their powers, otherwise their power is taken away. Personally I was so innocent that twice I was offered to demons in sacrifice. Two spiritual teachers and leaders in whom I had placed my trust betrayed me, both put my life at great risk. It’s a miracle of God’s amazing grace and love that I’m still here in one piece, although with quite a few feathers missing.
I’ve had people in church share their testimony with me of how their own parents who practiced voodoo witchcraft sacrificed their own children and grand children. And because the evil I experienced in my own life was consistent with what the Bible says, I believe in God’s Word. The Bible’s promise of blessings for those who walk with God and the warnings of curses for those involved in New Age abominations are both true.
God will reveal truth to you and give you signs and wonders if you walk closely with Him
There’s a very interesting story in the Book of Daniel Chapter 2. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that he couldn’t remember. So he calls upon all the wise men of his court, whom as we have seen were all sorcerers, magicians, astrologers and soothsayers. The King asks them not only to interpret the dream for him, but to actually tell him what the dream was because he can’t remember it. All of the wise men were confounded and tell the king that his request is unusual and unreasonable, that only the gods would know what the dream was. The king got very angry and commanded that all the wise men of the court be killed. This included Daniel, a Jew who served in King Nebuchadnezzar’s court, and his three Hebrew friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. When Daniel heard of the matter, he asked the king for some time so that he could inquire of his God.
Let’s pick up the story in Daniel 2: “Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to his companions. That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he gives wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding. He reveals the deep and secret things: he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. I thank You, and praise You, O You God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have made known unto me now what we desired of You: for You have now made known unto us the king’s matter.”
God is trying to make a point with this story: the supposed wise men of the court had no way of knowing the king’s dream. But when Daniel and his friends went to the Lord in prayer, He revealed all to Daniel. In 1 Corinthians 10:11 it says, referring to the Bible stories of the Old Testament: “Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”
God knows ALL things and He gives revelation knowledge to those who walk closely with Him. Why would you be satisfied with revelations coming from lying spirits, when you can have God Almighty give you true revelation knowledge? Unfortunately religion has so watered down and distorted and failed to reveal the true character and personality and attributes of this awesome divine being that is the true living God, that we turn to substitutes because when we go to the “right place” to seek God i.e. the church most people are not having a real experience of God.
God is awesome and amazing, mighty beyond words, the Creator of all that exists, a being of infinite power, love and intelligence. He is the author of mighty miracles and signs and wonders. When we walk closely with Him we get to experience that first-hand. But the religious commitment of most Christians is so lukewarm and therefore their experience of God so feeble and far removed that they inspire no one! In the Book of Revelation Chapter 3 John writes what Jesus spoke to the church of Laodicea, the lukewarm church of the end time: “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. But because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth”. This is not the kind of experience your soul yearns for! Somewhere deep inside of us we expect our spiritual walk to be intense and exciting and we should be experiencing miracles on a regular basis.
But instead of turning to God for miracles and signs and wonders many are turning to the occult. And they find magic instead of miracles, Merlin instead of Christ. I can promise you with absolute certainty than when you commit your life fully to the Lord, He will bless you and communicate directly with you and provide you with the kind of supernatural spiritual experience your soul hungers for.
God alone can rescue you, and He will
There’s good news and bad news in all of this. The bad news is that you’re standing on Satan’s turf. The New Age is demonic from start to finish, and you’re in for a rude awakening if you don’t believe me.
You are playing with fire. Every New Age relationship, belief or practice is an open door that gives the enemy of our souls legal right to enter your life. God alone can rescue you from Satan’s clutches and God alone can save your soul. You only need to be willing to learn the truth. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears”.
Many New Agers have very clean lifestyles, eat mainly vegan, don’t hang out in bars, understand the spiritual implications of having sex with someone, get up early to meditate or practice yoga, and so forth. Yet sadly, they are just as deceived as I was, engaging in activities that are abominations in the sight of God. “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.” (2 Timothy 3)
Don’t be deceived any more
Don’t read the horoscope. Don’t bow before a Buddha statue before or after your yoga class. Don’t burn sage to clear the energy in your home. Don’t consult Angel Cards. Don’t listen to any channeled messages. Stop all of it, and join me for an eye-opening journey into the lies and deceptions of the New Age. It is no coincidence that when Abraham, the father of our Christian faith, was called to follow the Lord to found a great nation that would bless the world, he was called out of Ur, in the land of the Chaldeans. You must leave Babylon in order to enter God’s promised land. May the Holy Spirit guide you into all truth as you leave behind all counterfeits and substitutes. May you open your heart to receive the only true living God and may you be received by Him.
