Trojan Horse

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="002a11c3.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Home Page"><U>HOME</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Book Page"><U>BOOKS   </U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Articles"><U>ARTICLES</U></A></div> <bR> <div>  <A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tapes"><U>TAPES</U></A>   </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spiritual Warfare/Occult "><U>SPIRITUAL WARFARE, OCCULT   </U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sexual Abuse Issues"><U>SEXUAL ABUSE ISSUES</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id11.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Exposing the Darkness Seminar"><U>***EXPOSING THE DARKNESS SEMINAR***</U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#808080" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="3cd7ba50.jpg" border=0 width="123" height="165" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Trojan Horse</div> <bR> <div> <B>“…That Day shall not come unless there come a great falling away first.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>We know by these words that before Jesus returns, great deception will come to the church. Right now, we are totally unprepared for it.  One of the crying alarms in my heart is the almost total lack of discernment in the church. We have come to a place where we are so conditioned to the slow infiltration of all things sensual and worldly, that we judge the rightness of a thing based on how we feel, how something looks, how big and how popular something is. Humans by nature are trend junkies. The church, through compromise, have become trend junkies. There is always the “latest” thing to make your church a success, make your program work, etc. There is something to be said for the steady faithfulness of a tiny church. In Revelation I never read Jesus commending a church for their astonishing growth. He does commend them for faithfulness under fire.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The thing about “phenomenal church growth” that concerns me is, who is populating the “growth?” Why are they really there? How many are truly committed to following Jesus for a lifetime?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>My concern is that in all the growth, there are scarce few watchmen. In fact, because of the “bigness”, which to most means God has to be behind it, any watchmen who raise a concern are seen as divisive troublemakers, and are marginalized, scoffed at and dismissed as irrelevant in the face of this “big” thing “God” is doing.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I need to make it plain that I do not agree with or want to be seen as like so many self-appointed “watchmen” who viciously attack anything related to Christian counseling or the gifts of the Spirit or anything that is not cut and dry traditional. There is a difference between mean-spirited heresy-hunters and true watchmen, and I am always trying to stay on the right side of that line.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>But the problem certainly NOT that we have a bunch of “heresy hunters” making life miserable, or even that there are many true watchmen raising concerns. In fact there are precious few, and their voices are extinguished or silenced very quickly, and rarely get any real hearing in the Christian media. When it comes to mega-church movements, dissenters are as welcome as a party crasher at a Quincenera. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And THIS is how the Trojan Horse of deception is going to get in: No one will be watching the gates, because everyone's so awestruck at the size and the majesty of this Horse. And anyone who opposes it will be ridiculed as a “chicken little” doomsday preacher.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Let me give you a little history lesson, which is necessary because most believers are either unaware of, or have forgotten, the alarm of the 1980's concerning the “New Age Movement.” Lawyer-turned-advocate Constance Cumbey wrote an astonishing and accurate book called, “The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow.” She exposed the powerful and committed agenda of the New Age, which was - and is - the heart and core of the coming one world religion that the antichrist will lead. The book exposed the New Age's gradual infiltration of the media, politics, education, and especially the church.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Unfortunately, the church's concern and alarm about all of this was just a “trend junkie” fix and the New Agers retaliated and wiped Cumbey out, and we quickly forgot and moved on to the next “thing”. Now when you mention it, most Christians say, “New Age What?” The problem is, though the church has forgotten that the New Age has an agenda, the agenda remains. And that agenda, as clearly stated long ago by the New Age teachers, is the “blending” of Christianity as just one of many religions. Those who did not go along would be marginalized, isolated and eventually eliminated if necessary, or as one said, “Evolved to the next life.”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>As I've watched several generations of Christians pass by since 1969, I see how this is being carried out. There were key elements - solid pillars of the church - that had to be weakened, and “new ideas” had to be put in their place. This is how it has evolved:</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The dumbing down of the Word of God.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The serious study and application of the Word of God has always been a cornerstone of the true church. Less than 30 years ago, believers in the former Soviet Union were murdered for even possessing a Bible. In some countries, they still are.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Today, if you want a Bible, going to a Christian bookstore is like a huge smorgasbord. There are dozens of translations, cool covers, devotional Bibles for everyone from golfers to pet lovers. Most are designed for Snippet readers - a little bite, not too much, with a warm-fuzzy story to go with it. “Devotional reading” has replaced real study.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Have you noticed how the big “megachurch” movements push certain translations? “So we'll all be on the same page.” Problem is, many of these new translations can't even be called scripture (like “The Message”) so greatly have they been altered from true scripture.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I'm not a “King James only” person, but I'm getting close, especially as I learn more about many “new” versions and how they have eliminated key verses and words about the Lordship of Jesus and His shed blood. You would do well to do an online search on “King James Debate” and make your own conclusions. It rattled me enough to pare down my Bible collection to a few proven, sturdy ones rather than the plethora of spurious “new” ones.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Every generation has become less studious and more “devotional” to where now, you need only “follow the bouncing ball” on Powerpoint once a week at church and that suffices as “scripture study.” I'm grateful for some of the young people I know who are comparing these new “translations” with the old and saying, “Hey, that's NOT what it says!” </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The dumbing down of the scriptures has led to compromise in every area - sexuality, “lifestyle” and relationships. The result is, discernment is utterly gone. Counterfeits are supposed to be good; only if you know the REAL, inside and out, does that precious gift of discernment rise up to contest the lies. And that REAL is only found through committed study of the Word of God.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Christian Media: Diluting and merchandising.</B></div> <div> <B>One of the biggest joys of my early Christian walk was to visit Christian bookstores. They were full of substance, Spirit-filled music and great books and tools for evangelism.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Now, they are like a homey mini-mart. And it's all about trends, popularity and money. They cater to “trend junkies.” They are overrun with Christian romance books. The non-fiction bestsellers are vapid and weak and empty, books that are making a fortune on “principles” so basic that most Christians should have had them down in the first month of their walk, and instead are being touted as “great revelation.” You have to special order anything of real value - Amy Camichael, AW Tozer, Spurgeon. The music section is filled with trendy bands that sound like the world but have no redeeming power. There are exceptions, but they are rare, and they are not in the “top ten” rack. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Why are we shocked? Almost all of the major Christian book and music companies are owned by powerful secular corporations. As a result, MONEY is what dictates what fills the store - what sells - and secular corporations care only for what will sell, and not for the truth. Thus most Christians do not even have the opportunity to taste of the richness of true Christian literature. This part of the “Trojan Horse” is crucial - those who control the flow of information into the hearts and minds of believers, will control what they read and what they think and what they follow. The wholesale control over Christian media by secular corporations has nearly guaranteed that books that are controversial, challenging or don't “follow the flow” are never going to see the light of day.</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>The “Inward” Life</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The church is never stronger than when they are bringing people to Christ. Former revivals brought thousands to Jesus and closed down bars. (Now Christian performers want to “cross over” and PLAY in bars.) Evangelism is powerful. Therefore it is necessary for satan and those who carry out the “new age” agenda to neutralize it.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The “new evangelism” is gutting us. It starts by making believers introspective. “FIND your purpose. Look inside! Use breath prayers and contemplative thought. Read the `desert masters'!” The desert masters, unfortunately, that are gaining a new audience in the church, lived in isolation and took much of their teaching from Buddhist and Hindu religion.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I believe in meditation, yes, but not the “new way” it's being taught. Yes, Elijah had to wait for a still, small voice. But just as often, God spoke powerfully through visions, prophetic utterance and knocking someone off of their horse! True meditation is ACTIVELY engaging your mind and heart in scripture, not EMPTYING your mind and waiting for an “impression” or “feeling.”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Beware of the new “contemplative Christian prayer” trend. It is repackaged New Age teaching. It is virtually indistinguishable from New Age thought, and includes new age tools such as “prayer labyrinths”, and will do nothing but keep believers from their evangelical purpose as they turn more and more inward looking for the next “Holy Spirit” hit.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I recently viewed a new DVD series designed for teens and college kids. It's slick, MTV quality and “cool.” It is going to be marketed - and accepted - hugely in youth groups. It's called the “Nooma” series by Mars Hill Pastor Rob Bell. I watched one entitled “Bullhorn” and it made me spiritually sick. The background for Bell's message is a fat, bald, coke-bottle glasses middle aged man with shirt tail hanging out and passing out literature and using a bullhorn to do street evangelism.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Bell went on to make the preacher come across as a fool, and worse - he proclaims that this man is actually turning people AWAY from Christ, and that he thinks even Jesus thinks he's an embarrassment.  Bell peppers his short message with new-age words like “diversity”, “inclusiveness” etc. It was very slick, and yes, many of us have seen someone like that. But the real message was, underlying it all, that evangelism is uncool and unnecessary, that we need to reach people by caring and putting and arm around their shoulder, and listening. These “bullhorn” types are a terrible offense, and Jesus thinks so too.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>What a damnable lie.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Our problem is not that too many bullhorn preachers have taken to the streets. The real problem is that the overwhelming majority of Christian youth don't share their faith AT ALL. They have NEVER evangelized, never been on the street and WILL not. This DVD, if it gains a wide audience, is a preemptive strike designed by satan to GUT this generation of its mandate to evangelize! They already do not know how and do not want to. This DVD's message is, it is WRONG to, it is UNCOOL to, and Jesus doesn't like it either!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>This part of the Trojan Horse is extremely crucial to the New Age agenda, which wants to make the church “inclusive”, “diverse” and harmless. They will ostracize anyone who still wants to “shove religion down people's throats.” Be ready to hear more and more talk about how we need to see how much we have in COMMON with other religions, rather than what makes us DIFFERENT. One World Religion won't initially try to take away your faith; they will just neutralize it, TAME it, and get it to SHUT UP.</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Syncretism and “NewSpeak”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Syncretism is essentially molding the Gospel to fit the culture. I understand we don't need to take an “Americanized” Gospel to third world cultures, but this current trend toward syncretism is different, and it is going way too far. We have gone so far in dressing up the Gospel in worldly clothes to fit the culture that we have forgotten we are called to be a SEPARATE people. We do not take our cues from the world; we take everything from the scriptures, whether it is socially acceptable or not. We are not called to make the Gospel fit people's lives; the Gospel makes people fit the Kingdom Life, which is UTTERLY SEPARATE from this world system.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I believe the church has an identity crisis. Because our weak programs and powerless efforts have failed to get the world's attention, we decided to become “the good guys.” The megachurch movements have suddenly become a huge self-help and relief agency. Believe me - the church should ALWAYS feed the poor, care for the destitute, the widow, the orphan. But it is not the center of the Gospel, and I am concerned that we are doing much of this because we want so much to be relevant, to be LIKED. The megachurch movement is becoming absorbed in good social works, but the Gospel message is becoming more and more diluted and muted, so as “not to offend.” Instead of “silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee, in the Name of Jesus Christ RISE UP AND WALK”, it's “Here's some silver and a voucher. God bless!”, leaving the soul unsaved, unhealed.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Again, the New Age masters cannot complete their vision without doing something about the Christians. And the Trojan Horse here is to slowly transform it from evangelical and separate to inclusive, helpful and nonoffensive.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Perhaps if you understood the basis of Luciferian philosophy and goals, which underpins the New Age, you would see the danger. Their vision is a world as one religion, one nation, without God, because YOU are “God.” Sharing wealth, healing the world. Megachurch programs promoting a “peace plan” which seeks to cure disease, stop wars, erase poverty etc., but in a weak, safe religious context, are MORE than acceptable in Luciferian/New Age context. It is in fact the best way to absorb the church, dilute the message and eliminate the divisive hard-line “religious fanatics.” Can I spell out the message? “Come join us in healing the world. We like Jesus too. Just don't push your religion on us and we will accept AND applaud your efforts!” And so they are. Megachurch world-healers keep dangerous company and seem to have no problem cozying up to new age thinkers and spokesmen, as long as it “gets the job done”, choosing to see what they have in COMMON rather than what makes them DIFFERENT.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Why am I bothered that the world is beginning to applaud the efforts of the church world-healers? Because frankly, the number of horrible things said about me personally over the internet tells me I'm doing my job. I do not want the world's accolades. “They hated me”, Jesus said, “They will hate you also.” And, “Beware when all men speak well of you.” The Gospel is an OFFENSE to those who do not believe. Shouldn't we be concerned if we suddenly are becoming the world's harmless darling? We should, indeed.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>If you've read George Orwell's 1984, you might recall the concept of “newspeak.” It is the interjection of a new vocabulary to brainwash people. Repeat it enough, it will alter people's thoughts and behavior.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The New Age has their own NewSpeak. This part of the Trojan Horse is beginning to change the church's vocabulary. Words, and some of these words I will list, aren't necessarily bad, but they are charged with new age meaning. This is just a partial list:</B></div> <div> <B>Global; Inclusive; diversity; radical shift; emerging church; paradigm shift; syncretism; Oneness; inner work; contemplative; possibility thinking; fulfilling your dream; finding your destiny; positive message.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>You get the idea. Not one of these words or concepts are in scripture. But slowly, NewSpeak is prevailing, and God help those who cry caution; they will be labeled divisive and haters and dissenters. How, dear Jesus, did we get so far from the pure, unvarnished powerful message of the Gospel?</B></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>“Last Days”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>In order to succeed, a cloud of absolute confusion has to come concerning the last days. It was so simple when I first believed; Jesus was coming back. We believed, we waited, we spoke it to one another: “Maranatha!” We cut our teeth on Hal Lindsay's Late Great Planet Earth. It may not have been 100%, but it was a good scriptural guide on what to watch for. No, He has not yet come, but we watch, we wait, expect, love His appearing.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Today, a vast number of churches and believers do not talk about His return, do not preach it and many new believers don`t even know to expect His return. When was the last time you heard a message on His coming? Emphasis on the return of Jesus has nearly gone from our midst, which suits the New Age agenda well; they don't want this silly talk of Jesus returning. Why not just repair THIS world instead of pining for the “pie in the sky by and by”?</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I do not know how it will happen. I doubt very much it will turn out like the fiction series has portrayed, or that the Antichrist's name is Nicolae. I do not know the when, or the how of His return, but I know He WILL, and we are commanded to WATCH and look for the signs and wait.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>But in the midst of a growing ignorance about the last days, there is a renewal of the “preterist” movement, largely revived by Hank Hannegraff's “Anti-Left-Behind” fiction book “The Last Disciple” whose message is, “Revelation happened already. Nero was the Antichrist, get over it.”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>How nicely this fits the New Age agenda! “Don't expect doomsday, it happened. Christ HAS come again - IN YOU! So get with the program, stop all this negative last-days talk and get busy repairing the world!” The church, either having either a fictional and flawed version of the last days, or a belief that Revelation is irrelevant, will stop expecting His return or believing that “the end of all things is at hand.”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And now, the last underpinning of Biblical prophecy is slowly being discredited: The Timepiece of God, Israel. She is woven into every aspect and detail of true Biblical last-day prophecy from Scripture.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>It is no surprise that a great surge is developing in the church that is teaching that the CHURCH is the new Israel, that God abandoned Israel for crucifying Jesus, and that the church should abandon their support for Israel in exchange for the “Roadmap for Peace.”</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>All these things the scriptures told us beforehand: The great falling away; doctrines of demons; lovers of this world more than God; one world, one religion; All the world turning on Israel, and then the man with a “peace plan”. It's all there. And for the first time, I can see how many Christians will miss it and believe the lie.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>It's easy to see why. These things are not taught, believers are not warned, the lies are not contested. But the primary reason: The Book is not READ. Today's church is as Bible ignorant as anytime since the Dark Ages when they COULDN'T read it. Deluged by variety and Vanity Bibles, we are nearly Scripture Snippet Christians, who embrace the positive and eliminate - or IGNORE - the negative.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>And oh, look! What a BEAUTIFUL horse!</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Gregory Reid</B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>