T. A. McMahon
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew:7:13-14
Although the Word of God is timeless, I’m continually amazed yet very thankful at how it speaks to what’s going on now, meaning within our very hour. These two verses from the gospel of Matthew are prime examples, so let’s start with an understanding of them.
To enter in at the strait gate—or narrow way—is to enter the Kingdom of God, which can only take place when one is born again. And when that takes place, a believer receives the gift of eternal life, the consummation of placing one’s faith in Jesus for paying the full penalty for sin. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1 Peter:3:18).
Humanity has the choice of entering through the narrow way…or throughthe wide gate. Since Scripture tells us that the consequences of entering the wide or broad way leads to destruction, it’s a wonder that “many” choose that way. Then again, given the sinful heart of man and the seductive power of Satan, it’s no surprise.
Two points need to be made regarding an individual’s choice. Since one who enters at the strait gate has chosen and received eternal life, he is eternally secure. On the other hand, if one chooses to enter the broad way, he has rejected the gospel of salvation—which is the only way of salvation—and has chosen eternal damnation. But what then of a born-again believer who is attracted to and bewitched by some of the seductions of the broad way?
Galatians:6:7-8 warns us that we’re not to deceive ourselves: “God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.” Colossians:3:25
adds, “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” We’re also told that Satan’s lies promise liberty, whereas they are actually creating deceived servants of corruption, thus bringing them into bondage (2 Peter:2:19).
Yet for the believer who sins, God’s mercy prevails as he cries out for forgiveness. “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions” (Psalm:51:1). True believers indeed sin, but they don’t love or continually practice sin (1 John:1:8-9).
It should be obvious that the “wide gate” is booming. One reason is given in Revelation:12:12 . It indicates that Satan knows that his time of destruction is coming to an end and his response is “great wrath.” That’s good news…and bad news. The devil is about to be finished! Hallelujah! Yet the effectiveness of his wickedness is nearing its greatest hour.
Are there any indications of that happening today? Some of us who are baby boomers (being in our 60s and 70s) often wonder if we’ve been transported today to another planet, something not unlike Pergamos “where Satan’s seat is” (Revelation:2:13).
My best friend in the Lord has been Dave Hunt. He passed away in 2013. I know the Bible condemns necromancy, that is, communicating with the deceased (which today is being promoted as a special dispensation supposedly given to “Christians”). Nevertheless, in my imagination I’ve wondered how I could answer a simple question Dave might ask, such as, “So, Tom, what’s going on back on earth?” I could give him no answer short of him thinking I was hallucinating or reverting back to my Hollywood screenwriting days.
Moreover, I doubt that anyone reading this who’s under the age of 20 could relate to the differences now compared to the days of my youth. It’s not that my generation was righteous—far from it. Most weren’t even Christians, that is, biblically Christian. The most you could say favorably regarding the Christianity of my youth is that this era of history was not as blatantly antichrist as it clearly is today. However, it was certainly right at the “wide gate” of Eastern Mysticism, also known as the New Age Movement (NAM). This era ushered the religion of Hinduism to the west with great success, primarily by gutting it of its spiritual terms and selling it as ancient methods for healing and self-improvement.
The NAM’s financial success at that time is incalculable. Moreover, as a religion purposefully disguised, it has both tricked and transformed American culture. If that sounds a bit far-fetched, ask this question to a group of people—that is, most any group of Americans: “Is Yoga a religion?” Their response would be more of a that’s-a-dumb-question look, meaning “Of course not! It’s an exercise program.” Or ask a group of teens what the letters YMCA stand for. Very likely the teens will tell you the “Y” stands for Yoga. Furthermore, it’s not a wild guess that the vocabulary and understanding of Hindu terms such as karma, mantra, deva, avatar, nirvana, etc., far-and-away exceed the teen’s knowledge of Christian terminology.
Although the United States is often touted as a Christian country, that’s actually not the case. In truth it is a pluralistic nation that allows the practice of different religions and the worship of numerous gods. That alone should disqualify us as a “biblically” Christian country. We have never met God’s absolute and perfect criteria. Add to that the fact that many “Christians” today wrongly consider conservatism as a chief characteristic of Christianity, so they would regard our country’s shift to liberalism or socialism or even communism and Marxism as the major change taking place in our country—at least at the political level.
Once the trend away from traditional values and works gained a foothold here, religion in the US quickly turned to Eastern Mysticism, which started in all seriousness in the 1970s. Hindu gurus flooded our shores as missionaries, promoting their religious beliefs. But then they had to change their tune, dropping the obvious religious aspects by declaring them to be health programs, or simply forms of medical science. That was necessary because religion was not allowed to be introduced into our secular schools. Eastern meditation such as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Spiritual Regeneration Movement was banned in our schools because it was clearly the religion of Hinduism. But that was only a bump in the road for the missionaries of the millions of Hindu gods. It would be no problem to easily fix that.
Maharishi, who was the favorite guru of the Beatles, simply changed Spiritual Regeneration to Transcendental Meditation and sold it as a “scientific method” for achieving relaxation. That ended all the legal objections. The Beatles and other rock groups joined the promotion, as well as popular Hollywood celebrities, and the gurus had little difficulty converting the masses.
The now popular New Age Movement bewitched our country and much of the world. Here in the West, millions eagerly accepted Hinduism that has been remodeled to make it appeal to our materialistic cultures. How successful was it? It not only turned the West to the East, but it transformed our culture! As a college student, the first time I heard the word Yoga, ironically, was at the YMCA. Not so today.
Most who live here in Central Oregon may be aware of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, the East Indian guru who set up his ashram on nearly 70 thousand acres just north of Bend near Antelope, Oregon. Rajneesh was ousted from this country for being a part of a plot to poison the legislators in Jefferson County in order to take political control of the county. By God’s intervention, the “Big Muddy Ranch,” as it was popularly known, was taken over by Young Life and used as a Christian camp to minister the Word of God to young people.
As noted, the influence of Hinduism and Eastern Mysticism on the West cannot be calculated. The most popular series in the history of theatrical movies was based on the theology of Hinduism. It’s called Star Wars. In addition to the nine films that spanned 42 years, it became one of the top grossing media franchises of all time, exceeding $70 billion. For four decades young and old alike have learned of a theology that is the direct opposite of biblical Christianity.
Star Wars, for example, teaches that God is an impersonal Force. This “force” has a light side and a dark side but is completely devoid of morality. It also can be manipulated by humans. Everything that exists is a part of the Force. That is called “pantheism.” The Force is said to contain powers that can be developed as one submits to it. Occult powers such as “levitation, telepathy, teleportation, mind reading and control, manifesting energy fields”—all of which are beyond the natural makeup of the universe. They are, in fact, the same demonic powers condemned in Isaiah 47. They attempt to usurp God’s power in pursuing and realizing our godhood (v 10), which manifests itself as “wickedness.”
They include “sorceries,” “enchantments,” “demonic counsels,” and seeking to know the future from the stars. However, Isaiah:47:11 warns of the consequences of such a pursuit: “Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.” That warning was not just for that time period—in fact, we’re seeing the evil intensifying today.
Although much of the promise of achieving occult powers is directed at enticing young people with the dream of developing the god-like powers of superheroes, a far more widespread seduction has taken place. It involves the realm of healing through what’s being called alternative medicine. It’s actually a revival of the practice of shamanism.
A shaman, also called a witch doctor or a medicine man, is a mediator between humans and the spirit world. Anthropologist Michael Harmon, one of the world’s leading experts on shamanism, points out that the field of holistic medicine is simply ancient shamanism being practiced in our culture under the umbrella of “science” with new labels such as visualization, aspects of psychoanalysis, hypnotherapy, meditation, positive mental attitude, stress reduction, and mental and emotional psychotherapies.
The fundamental mode of a shaman is to enter into an altered state of consciousness (ASC) in which contact is made with a spirit entity who provides power and guidance in order to supposedly alleviate all kinds of illnesses. Witchdoctors and medicine men have relied upon drugs to achieve an ASC, but they also look to meditation, music, dance, and various forms of sensory deprivation. Yet no amount of psychologized labels and scientific-sounding consciousness-altering techniques can change the fact that contact with, and in many cases possession by demonic spirits takes place. That’s the documented history of shamanism.
The world today is being persuaded to believe that normal objective reality experienced in ordinary consciousness is unreal and that the illusion experienced on drugs, in Yoga, or in other altered states of consciousness is the true reality.
That belief is reflective of what Satan fed to Eve in the Garden of Eden: “…the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die…. Ye shall be as gods….” It’s the lie of godhood that completely contradicts reality. Denying normal objective reality is the wide gate and the broad way that “leadeth to destruction.” In both cases they present the lie of godhood for humanity (Genesis:3:4-5; 2 Thessalonians:2:3-4), which is the utmost blasphemy. It’s also the ceaseless message received from the spirit entities contacted while one is in altered states of consciousness.
As ludicrous as the Adversary’s attempts at flipping reality is, he has no choice. Why? He has no truth…which doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a gameplan for the destruction of humanity.
[To Be Continued]
TBC
Psalm 119: 38 