An Official World Religion?

Excerpted from the 1985 bestseller The Seduction of Christianity

Twenty-five years ago, Dave Hunt and T.A. McMahon's groundbreaking exposé, The Seduction of Christianity, shook the sleeping church and blazed a prophetic trail for those seeking biblical discernment in the Last Days. Today, although the names and faces have changed, identical deceptions have spawned a host of spiritual offspring whose "new" doctrines of demons now permeate the pews, virtually unchallenged.

Many people think of prophecy as an intriguing subject that involves the latest rumors concerning an alleged Trilaterialist plot, the newest developments in the Middle East, or recent maneuvers by the Soviets and Arabs in their continuing campaign against Israel. Interesting as that may be, there is something far more important. Whether one has a year's supply of food in case of famine or a suitable shelter for surviving a nuclear attack may be important, but it affects one's temporal condition only. However, to be deluded into believing "the lie" that we are warned will seduce the entire world into accepting the Antichrist will affect one's eternal destiny (2 Thes:2:11-12 [11] And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: [12] That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
See All...).

We have been in the midst of a cult/occult explosion for the last 25 [now 50] years--an explosion that began with the drug movement and turned into a mystical trip mainly oriented to Hindu/Buddhist practices. The counterculture that began as a largely political movement protesting the Vietnam war and evils of a materialistic society became a spiritual movement through the influence of drugs and Eastern mysticism. The failure of materialistic science to answer ultimate questions (but instead bringing us to the brink of a nuclear holocaust and ecological collapse) has caused modern man to turn to the realm of the spirit for the answers he seeks....

It is no longer a question of whether but when humanity will be united both economically and politically under a one-world government. Lists of the many top leaders and organizations working openly toward this goal can be obtained by anyone who is interested. Books on the subject are legion, from James P. Warburg's The West in Crisis ("We are living in a perilous period of transition from the era of the fully soverign nation-state to the era of world government") to Between Two Ages, by Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Zbigniew Brezenski, in which he openly advocates a one world government as a necessity. The United States has officially made statements favorable of a new world order, such as the following addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations: "[It] would be very hard to imagine that the American people would not respond very positively to an agreed and safeguarded program to substitute an international rule of law and order...."

It would be fruitless to speculate further about global conspiracy theories involving the Trilateralists, Masons, Illuminati, or New Age networks. These organizations are only pawns in the real game....Far more important than knowing the individuals and groups involved is understanding the common lie that deceives them all. The mastermind behind the scenes is Satan himself, and the world takeover is his move. Even so, that can only come when God allows it....

In language that cannot be misinterpreted, the Bible foretells that Antichrist will declare himself to be God and that the whole world--Marxists, Maoists, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, professing Christians, everyone--will believe this astonishing claim and worship him....The logical secret to Antichrist's mysterious power over humanity lies in the astonishing fact that...the new world religion will be thought of as [not only spiritual but] scientific. This new religious science will promise to lead humanity into the experience of its own divinity, that each of us is "God." This basic lie of the Serpent in the Garden of Eden will seem to be validated by godlike psychic powers the Antichrist will manifest and the whole world will pursue. It will be a religion of self-love and self-worship, centered in man himself and oriented to man's personal success rather than to the glory of the true God.

Raised a fundamentalist and now one of the most influential New Age leaders, David Spangler lays it all out, including cosmic evolution of the self to godhood and the key role played by Lucifer (Satan):

That this message of self-deification is gaining credibility and acceptability at an accelerating rate around the world is another convincing sign that the coming of Christ must be drawing near....That the world would follow such teachings comes as no surprise. But there is cause for alarm when we realize how [completely] this movement has penetrated the evangelical church and is subtly seducing overwhelming numbers of Christians....

This seems impossible to believe, because most people think of Satan-worshipers as weird fanatics performing bizarre rituals under a full moon at midnight in a cemetery. On the contrary, this will all be very scientific and respectable. Few if any will be aware they are worshiping Satan. And those who are, like David Spangler, will call him Lucifer, [an "angel of light"] who is allegedly "an agent of God's love acting through evolution." Spangler is not alone in honoring Lucifer; and such ideas repeated often enough exert a subtle influence even upon Christians. This is especially true of children and teenagers. Christians had better awaken to what is happening to their children.

Take the recently popular movie 2010, for example. In the film, a new sun suddenly appeared in the sky and brought peace to earth just as the Americans and Soviets were about to engage in nuclear war. What the film did not explain, Arthur C. Clarke did in his book: the sun was named Lucifer, no doubt in honor of the power that brought [the story] into existence. Spangler further explains the relationship of Antichrist to Lucifer and why Lucifer will be worshiped:

This would have seemed impossible even 50 years ago, but today it is right in line with growing trends. An incredible worldwide delusion is gathering momentum. So compelling will be the seduction that Jesus warned "even the elect" would be deceived "if it were possible." Such language ought to put every Christian on his guard....Though it may seem "negative," we dare not ignore the solemn fact that the Bible  warns of a coming apostasy--not as a possibility, but as a certainty. In fact, we are told quite clearly that many in the church will be seduced before the second coming of Christ takes place.

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