Cult – C = Christ is adjusted
Matthew 16:13 – 18
The following are some of the belief systems regarding Jesus Christ:
Jehovah Witness – They do not believe Jesus is God. Rather, that He is God’s first creation and that He was God’s agent in creation and the spokesman through the Word. They believe He died on a stake, not a cross, and that He became King in 1914.
Mormonism – They believe Jesus is the Spirit Child of Elohim; that He was originally one of the spirit beings that all humans used to be (which is why they believe we can become Gods). He is not divine, however. God is the Father of all spirits and in that relationship; Jesus and Lucifer/Satan are brothers. This is a belief oriented around the area of North and South America, not the Middle East – Land of the Bible.
Seventh Day Adventism – Jesus is God, but not almighty God. He is Michael the Archangel, as pronounced by Ellen White the founder. Their triune is God – angel – man, not the Jesus of the Bible as the mediator or middle man.
Spiritualism – Jesus is a medium of high power, yet not divine. He’s one of many.
Eastern Thought – Jesus is one in a long line of masters. There’s no distinguishing, though.
Unification Church (the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of the World) – Jesus is a great teacher who failed His ultimate mission – to become the new head of the human race and thus, replace the original parents. Jesus came as Christ and the second Adam, became one with God, but couldn’t build the Kingdom of God on Earth because He messed up and got crucified. In 1935 on April 17th, Jesus supposedly appeared to Moon, who told him to finish his work. “It is finished”, the real Jesus said.
Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) – Jesus is human; Christ is the divine idea. Here thought is the savior and there’s no reality to substance. Jesus is not eternal or God. In this belief system, Jesus is the name of the man who more than all other men, presented Christ, the true idea.
Scientology – Man is an immortal alien, trapped on this earth, but Jesus is largely absent from their belief system, because it is all about worshipping the mind.
Islam – Jesus is a messenger of God and the Messiah. He was sent to guide the children of Israel with a new scripture, the gospel. The name Jesus is repeated 25 times in the Koran, second to Mohammed. Their Jesus only healed by permission from God, not from His own power, and say He never claimed that He was incarnate, Son of God, nor was He crucified or resurrected. They cite Jesus as being a Muslim.
Matthew 16:13 – 18 says this:
Jesus asks the disciples: Who do people say I am? What is conversation out there? Then asks more pointed: Who do you say that I am? Verse 15.
The term “say” in the Greek is “legete or lego”, meaning “say or speak”. Think of the legos toys. One cannot put the pieces together without forming a picture/visual of something. Jesus came in one piece – the integrity of His deity and humanity are already in place. To remove anything is to adjust that picture.
Peter said: “Thou art ‘the’ Christ, ‘the’ Son of ‘the’ living God. This is a trinity of the definite article “the”, meaning, “only one of a kind”.
The world – religious and otherwise, cannot control Jesus, so they choose to redefine Him. He’s not only a teacher, for He knows everything without learning it; He’s not only a prophet, for He sees the truth of prophecy.
The beginning of any cult, world religion, or even what is considered Evangelical Christianity must build their church on the perfect God/man, the middle man -Jesus Christ. It is this scripture upon which the church is founded, and it was revealed to Peter by the Spirit of God, not some committee of religious thought.
We cannot think our way to God. We can only thank God that He thought of us first.
Cult – U = Under new management
Don’t follow these leaders – They are D.E.A.D.
D doctrinal issues – If foundational truths are “untruths”, then the whole will give way.
- They generally reject all fundamental truth from mainline churches.
- Personal problems, like Charles Russell-J.W., who had a fear of hell, so he expunged it from their belief system.
- Usually go from no deity (mind science, atheistic) to say all are Gods (Hindu, Mormon). “God is now throwing Christianity away” – Moon (9/30/74).
- Some of the religious backgrounds of the cult leaders:
- Mrs. Fillmore – Unity -was Methodist.
- Jim Jones – Disciples of Christ (rejected by the Assemblies of God).
- Mary Baker – Christian Science – Congregationalist (Calvinist).
- Rev. Moon from the Unification Church was rejected from the Presbyterians.
- Victor Wierville (The Way, Intl) – Ordained by Evangelical and Reformed Church (now the United Church of Christ) he left them, yet got a Masters in Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.
- David Berg -Children of God -was Christian and Missionary Alliance minister.
- They build all doctrine and practice around themselves. Their books transcend Bible. Their story is the only real story.
- They take material from other groups.
- Scientology- from Eastern religious philosophy.
- J.W. Founder Russell says: “People cannot see the divine plan by studying the Bible itself.”
- Worldwide Church of God -Armstrong -taken from 7th day Adventism, Judaism.
- Buddhism, T.M., Hare Krishna- from Hinduism.
- Christian Science, spiritualism -taken from Hinduism.
- Certain key issues exposed: Fix dates for 2nd coming, they are the only church, chantings necessary, physical abundance or debasement (pendulum).
E = Experiential – The life and experience of the founder is road map.
- Some of the cults began during the culture shock of the 60’s: Unification, David Berg. Any belief founded on rebellion will seed and produce it.
- Many of the leaders had some type of serious injury prior to their “revelation”:
- Mary Baker was sickly as a child and went to faith healer Phineas Quinby and he hypnotized her and laid hands on her. She later denounced it.
- Peter Hurkos -was sickly and depressed as a child, fell from a ladder and fractured skull.
- Charles and Myrtle Fillmore -Unity -much sickness (was healed of tuberculosis by reading scripture and she felt it meant spiritual reality only). She believed in 24-7 silent prayer and the word, much like the 18th century Moravians, who influenced the Wesley’s.
- Edgar Cayce -Psychic -Injured as a youth by a thrown baseball, then got vision.
- Mohammed, founder of Islam, claimed to have revelations from the Angel Gabriel and during some of those moments, he would be foaming at the mouth, as if in a fit.
- Religious experience:
- Jeanne Dixon – Psychic -a gypsy fortune teller read her palm and snake coiled around her. Roman Catholic devotee, though.
- Edgar Cayce – Grandfather was psychic, Edgar had psychic experience as a child. When he lost his voice as a child, he was hypnotized and regained voice (a satanic healing will take away symptoms, but bring forward bondage).
- Sirhan Sirhan prepared himself through the study of the occult and self- hypnosis for the assassination of RFK.
- Mohammed had a disturbing vision as a youth; spent most of his life in solitary meditation.
- Maharishi Yogi spent two years in a cave before coming up with the new Hindu technique of Transcendental Meditation (isolation – no contact – no light).
- Rev. Moon was 16 on a lonely Korean mountainside when he received the vision of Jesus to “carry out my undone task”.
A = Attitudes – They are “me” oriented and have a philosophy that equals them with truth.
- “I am the new God, Messiah, Prophet”. Notice the word “new”. They are, in fact, the old lie – Lucifer who wanted to be as God.
- They will use anything to bring in people – drugs (children of God, Satanism, TM), sex (children of God, unification).
- Weaker, special needs individuals are seen as not valuable.
- The leader is generally a dominant personality – insecure individual who belittles others, like in Jonestown.
D = Delusions -They gave themselves over to a lie.
- Falsehoods- Mary Baker -her doctor (Alvin Cushing) said she was never critically ill, as she stated. Extremism is utilized. At Jamestown, homes were burglarized and mail tampered with in an effort to get information for “words of knowledge” – kind of like Peter Popoff. Miller admitted error in prophecies.
- Paranoid behavior -Jim Jones through the FBI was coming; he set up fake suicides. David Berg simply disappeared since 1972. Rev. Moon stated everyone is against him and that he was arrested for ‘righteousness’.
- Drugs – Mary Baker used morphine, Sigmund Freud used cocaine. David Berg was on hallucinogens.
- Supernatural delusions-They know enough of the Bible to confuse, but not enough to bring freedom.
These cult leaders are dead people spewing the grave.
In an effort to keep truth out of their belief systems, cults utilize lies that feel good to the mind, for they do not deal with guilt, separation from God, or the consequences.
Issues of sin:
Jehovah Witness – Man is born in sin, which is inherited.
Mormonism – Adam was punished for his personal sin only.
Armstrong – sin is disobeying the law.
Seventh Day Adventism – Sin is disobedience to the law.
Eastern thought – no good or bad; suffering is from past bad deeds spiritualism –There never was a fall; all things are relativism.
Unification – sin came by Eve having relations with the Devil.
Christian Science – conquer sin by denying its existence; sin is unreal
Why is sin not stated biblically? Because they do not have its anecdotes. The snake’s venom is countered by the one who crushed him/ drew out the poison with his blood.
Issues of judgment:
Jehovah Witness – There is no hell the dead are inactive, with the annihilation of the wicked. There is a “little flock” that goes to heaven – 144,000; all others hope of the resurrection to a cleansed earth after Armageddon.
Mormonism – There is indefinite time; they are not specific.
Armstrong – They believe the dead stop being; annihilation.
Seventh Day Adventism – The wicked are annihilated.
Eastern thought – They believe in reincarnation.
Spiritualism – There is no hell or judgment.
Unification –They don’t refer to judgment, only to restoration in a new age.
Christian Science – no fall or hell, no devil or judgment, no resurrection.
Why is judgment denied? Because just like Charles Russell (J.W.) had a fear of hell during his youth.
Cult – L = Lies of sin and judgment
James 2:19 tells us that “….the devils believe and tremble”. Cultists don’t know this, but the Devil and his demons sure do:
The demons – Greek word “daimonia” or “daimonion”, meaning, “an evil spirit, demon”. Notice the word “onion” in the Greek daimonion – the demons will peel you and make you cry.
They believe – the Greek word “pisteu”, “to trust/believe”. Their belief, however, is based on sight, not on faith and that is why they cannot be redeemed.
They do well, James said. The Greek word well is “kalos”, meaning, “well, nobly, rightly, well perceived, good, act uprightly.” It’s pretty sad that the demons are nobler than the bulk of humankind. It won’t get them to heaven.
They believe God is one = the Greek word “heis” (pronounced “hice”, meaning, “one – the cardinal number”. Theos is one and only.
They believe and shudder, which is the Greek word “phrisso”, meaning, “to bristle from extreme fear”. This fear is based on truth and it terrifies them. The word also means: “to be rough, shiver, shudder”.
Matthew 8:29 reminds us that the devils know their time is coming.
Ultimately, the deceiver will, himself, receive the judgment for his rebellion, and unlike the deceived of this earth, he can hear the fire crackle.
Let us be in prayer for those who reject truth to accommodate a lie. Their future accommodations will be the original smokehouse
Cult – T = Trinity decimated
To divide, bring disorder, or dissect the eternal Godhead is to decimate the source of life. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit worked in concert for the creation of the world, the forming of Adam and Eve, plus the eternal work in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of the second part of the Godhead, Jesus Christ. This threefold cord, if cut, has no strength or viability, for it would deplete one or more of its persons within: either cut off the Father -the provider, or the Son, the performer, or the Spirit, the power. Which part of the Godhead could we live without?
The following is a random list of what some of the cults believe regarding the Trinity:
Jehovah Witness – They believe the Father is Jehovah, yet Christ the Son is not God. They also believe that the Spirit is the active force, but not a personality. They assert that Satan started this doctrine.
Mormonism -They teach three Gods- not one in substance. Christ and the Spirit are not omnipresent. They also believe their followers can become God.
Armstrong -They believe God is a family, with the Father being the creator, yet He is less than God the Father. There is no trinity in their view.
Seventh Day Adventism – They believe in the triune God.
Spiritualism -They speak of divinity that dwells in all. There is no personal Holy Spirit.
Eastern Thought – They believe in an impersonal God who is in the heart of everyone. Man is divine and has their own trinities.
Unification – They believe God is composed of pairs -They follow the two-ness, to substantiate the importance of the two being the perfect parents. There is no trinity.
Christian Science – They believe the triune thought of life, truth, and love is their trinity.
Falsehood regarding the Trinity is why we have the Nicene Creed, for instance. A man named Arius taught Christ was a created angel so, these deceptions are not new. There is nothing new under the sun, says Ecclesiastes 1:9.
I John 4:1-7-Test the spirits, whether philosophical, spiritualistic, or whatever.