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CHAPTER 2 Awakening to the New Age Movement

Although I had a strong biblical background as a child, I must confess that, like many of my peers, I paid scant attention to end-time prophecies in my adult years. This changed for me when I began to notice a profusion of materials in bookstores, both religious and secular, containing similar unique vocabularies and an apparent political platform.

Many of the books also contained postcards enabling one to obtain additional information, an old political organizer’s trick to help compile a mailing list of sympathizers. I thought the proposals — even those appearing on Christian bookstore shelves — appeared suspiciously similar to what is described in Revelation 13:16-17:

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

“And that no man might buy or sell, save he had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

These books, even the Christian ones, were calling for a New World Order with an accompanying global food redistribution program — aided of course, by modern technology, i.e., computers. This startled me, for even during my “wilderness years” I had retained an opinion that for a system such as that described in Revelation to come into being, it would necessarily require computer implementation.

I also understood, even as a child, that Christians were to resist this system with every ounce of their being. Therefore, I was particularly startled when I found one such book, by a Baptist writer, that told Christians they must champion this New World Order even if it meant imprisonment!

Many of these books either openly advocated Eastern religions or told Christians we had much in common with their essentials.

The vocabularies included such New Age “buzz” words as holistic, Spaceship Earth, Global Village, celebration/celebrative, transformation, crowded planet, paradigm, right brain/left brain/whole brain, matrix , linear thinking dualistk, mechanistic, global thread, new vision, initiation, interdependent, new age, etc.

Since childhood I had been familiar with Paul’s Thessalonian prophecies regarding end-time events:

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

“That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, that the day of Christ is at hand.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away [apostasy] first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” {II Thessalonians 2:1-3, KJV).

Reviewing these New Age materials, I faced a growing and troubling certainty that what I was witnessing was indeed apostasy in the fullest sense of the word. My belief was strengthened by the fact that I found these neo-gnostic beliefs even in Fundamentalist publications, not to mention their widespread infestation of mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic publications.

What is apostasy? The scriptures are clear:

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son” (I John 2:22, KJV).

“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” {I John 4:3, KJV).

Many of these same books — particularly the mainline Protestant ones — stated that we could worship God and call him by names such as Buddha, Tao, Shiva and a variety of other pagan monikers.

Of course, this is a clear violation of Isaiah 42:8:

“I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”

Further, we are scripturally admonished that they who worship idols worship demons, a warning evidently conveniently forgotten by far too many “modern” theologians:

“What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing!

“But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

“Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils” (I Corinthians 10:19-21, KJV).

But now I faced a situation where respected theologians were telling us we could partake of both tables. Was it a case of “evolved theology”7 Or was it a case of apostasy? I strongly suspected it was the latter.

A theologian I am not, but the Lord did see fit to bless me with a fair amount of common sense and a legal education. From both standpoints — common sense and logic — this appeared to be apostasy in the clearest sense of the word.

Another thing I noticed was that the New Age books containing this exotic new theology had a vocabulary very similar to the books calling for the New World Order. I suspected a connection.

The pieces of the puzzle were still falling together when I chanced upon The Aquarian Conspiracy by Marilyn Ferguson. This book contains the same unique vocabulary as that of the others.

The author herself has great insight into this Movement and her book carries the message that radical change is upon all of us. She said:

“A leaderless but powerful network is working to bring about radical change in the United States. Its members have broken with certain key elements of Western thought, and they may even have broken continuity with history.” 1

So they had broken with certain elements of Western thought! I wondered which ones. A hint appeared in the next paragraph:

“… But whose perspective sounds so mystical that they hesitate to discuss it.”

I turned to the section on “Spiritual Adventure.” There I learned what they have broken with is exactly what I suspected based upon my collection of curios acquired from religious bookstores: orthodox religion! Mystical experiences and “experiential religion” were the new order of the day.

She noted that there has been alarm expressed in religious circles over the new spiritual mentality:

“Not unexpectedly, some religious groups see the emergent spiritual tradition as a fearful threat to the Judeo-Christian tradition. The fundamental Berkeley Christian Coalition, sponsor of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project, devoted its August 1978 journal to this threat.” 2

I was relieved to see that somebody had shown some alarm. If the churches were not alarmed, they should be! How big is this Movement? Again, clues are given:

‘The Aquarian Conspiracy, Marilyn Ferguson, p. 23. ‘Ibid. , p. 369.

“They have coalesced into small groups in every town and institution. They have formed what one called ‘national non-organizations.’ Some conspirators are keenly aware of the national, even international, scope of the movement and are active in linking others.” 3

And, the Movement has widespread, powerful influencel She says so!

“There are legions of conspirators. They are in corporations, universities and hospitals, on the faculties of public schools, in factories and doctors’ offices* in state and federal agencies, on city councils and the White House staff, in state legislatures, in volunteer organizations, in virtually all arenas of policy-making in the country.

“Whatever their station or sophistication, the conspirators are linked. . . .*

“In bureaucracies, in every corner of government, human beings conspire for change. An Aquarian Conspirator at the cabinet level of the United States government helped foster departmental change by setting up staff workshops in human development, saying, ‘If you want to change bureaucracies, you have to first change bureau

The book liberally boasted of widespread infiltration at every level of society. I was not so sure it was the “benign conspiracy” she represented it to be.

Another important clue to the nature of this conspiracy was found in the chapter on “Spiritual Adventure.” There she quoted from The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ. I decided to locate that source document for myself and the next day purchased a copy from a local religious bookstore.

Reading The Aquarian Gospel, I was in for new shocks. I read on page 16:

‘Ibid., p. 24. ‘Ibid., p. 24. ‘Ibid., p. 235.
“In the infinite One manifest we note the attributes of Force, Intelligence and Love, and a person may be in full accord with one of these attributes and not with the others. One may enter fully into the spirit of the God of Force. …”

A strange bell was rung for me by this particular passage. I opened my King James Bible and read Daniel 11:38:

“But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.”

On page 14 in the introduction of The Aquarian Gospel I read:

“Jesus was not always Christ. Jesus won his Christship by a strenuous life, and in . . . chapter 55, we have a record of the events of his christing, or receiving the degree Christ. . . .

“We recognize the facts that Jesus was man and that Christ was God. …”

Again I looked at my Bible:

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (I John 2:22, KJV).

“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that SPIRIT of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (I John 4:3, KJV).

I could hardly believe my eyes. I had discovered two major tests of the antichrist in The Aquarian Gospel introduction alone. I read on through chapter 14 where I discovered an alleged colloquy between John the Baptist and his pagan “master.” John asked why any new sacred books Would be needed.

He was told, in part:

“And so the Holy Ones have judged; when men have needed added light, a master soul has come to earth to give that light. Before the Vedic days the world had many sacred books to light the way; and when man needed greater light, the Vedas, the Avesta and the books of Tao Great appeared to show the way to greater heights. And in the proper place the Hebrew Bible, with its Law, its Prophets and its Psalms, appeared for man’s enlightenment. But years have passed and men have need of greater light. And now the Day Star from on high begins to shine; and Jesus is the flesh-made messenger to show that light to men. … But in the ages yet to come, man will attain to greater heights, and lights still more intense will come. AND THEN, AT LAST, A MIGHTY MASTER SOUL WILL COME TO EARTH TO LIGHT THE WAY UP TO THE THRONE OF PERFECT MAN.” 6

Now I knew for sure that I was encountering a direct satanic prophecy of his own chosen messenger to men — the antichrist! I was sure that I needed to learn more of this socalled “Age of Aquarius” or “Aquarian Conspiracy” and I needed to do so quickly.

Lack of the proper reference label stymied my efforts for a short while. Then I received a major break. At a political party for a local candidate, I heard a woman I had known for 14 years address the crowd. She told us that she had been a student of the “mind sciences” for the past 20 years.

Marilyn Ferguson had said that the “conspirators” communicated by code words and signals; and from the little reading I had done, I was certain that “mind science” was one of the words.

Approaching the woman cautiously but amiably, I mentioned that I had had an interest in the “mind sciences” since reading Psychocybemetics years before. When I suggested that we discuss the subject over dinner, she agreed.

We adjourned to a nearby delicatessen. There she told me

“Ibid., p. 48, emphasis added.

that the mind sciences are part of the “New Age Movement/’ also known as the ” Age of Aquarius, ” “Aquarian Conspiracy/’ “Human Potential Movement,” ” Holistic Movement/’ “Humanistic Psychology” and by several other but lesser important names as well.

She said they believe that the mind operates on principles just as the body does, and that it is necessary to know the principles if one wants the mind to work efficiently.

She gave several of these “principles,” but only one truly caught my attention. That was the one she cited as the most important: karma. Admitting that it has something to do with Eastern religions, she insisted that it is much larger than the Eastern religions!

I told her I had read The Aquarian Conspiracy. Growing cautious, she said that book was not an accurate representation of the New Age Movement. Unwilling to reveal my suspicions of the Movement as yet, I told her I had enjoyed the book and innocently asked what was wrong with it. Much to my dismay, she told me that the New Age Movement was far larger than that book portrayed it as being. That worried me, for Ms. Ferguson had described the Movement as being so large that it had kept me awake worrying several nights.

I had heard enough! It was time to share my true feelings with her. I explained that my research combined with Bible studies had convinced me that this was the Movement of the antichrist. To my surprise she agreed. I showed her Daniel 11:38 relating to the God of Forces and the parallel passage in The Aquarian Gospel.

Complimenting me on my perceptiveness, she told me that I should also remember that in the New Age Movement as well as at Unity, which is a part of the Movement, they believe Jesus and the Christ are two distinct entities. I answered by showing her I John 2:22, which declares that particular teaching to be a mark of the spirit of antichrist.

Quickly perceiving that: (a) I did not wish to join the Movement; and (b) she had already told me far too much, she said it was difficult to converse with me because she had received “a vision of light” — a phenomenon many New Agers seem to have in common. She suggested I pray for wisdom to help me see the “hidden meaning” of those Bible passages.

Sharing with her a rule of construction for lawyers that I felt to be just as applicable to Bible research, I told her that the plainest meaning fitting the facts should be the one to govern.

She suggested that I familiarize myself with the history of how the Bible was written as well as how contradictory it was. I replied that I found nothing contradictory or illogical about it, and asked her if she had read the Bible all the way through. She said she had not because it might tend to confuse her. I suggested it would be logical to know its contents before offering criticism of it.

Our food arrived and we concentrated on eating for a few minutes.

Then to my surprise I heard her say: “It’s just not right — not right. That book should not be allowed! It’s too misleading!”

Unable to believe my ears, I asked what book she was referring to and she exclaimed: “The Bible!”

I asked her why she would say something like that and she replied: “The antichrist is not the negative thing the Bible’s made him out to be!”

That statement literally changed the course of my life, causing me to lay aside my law practice and concentrate on researching and exposing the New Age Movement. If indeed there is a movement afoot that is larger than Eastern religions and larger than the gargantuan enterprise described in The Aquarian Conspiracy, then we need to expose it for what it is!

The Christian world — myself included — has been blissfully asleep for far too long. It is time that somebody sounds the alarm — awaking sleeping Christians to this Movement and warning innocent participants to come out of it.

The book of Daniel predicts that there will be those in the last days who will give such warnings:

“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

“And they that understand among the people shall instruct many . . .” (Daniel 11:32-33, KJV).

This book is my attempt to assist in delivering this warning — “to come out of her” before it is too late for us and our children.