November 30: “NEW AGE” IS NOT NEW AT ALL

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. Isaiah 8:20

In Isaiah’s day, a class of people among the Hebrews claimed to have special communication with the dead. Such encounters with “familiar spirits” were profitable for the mediums and wizards (v.19) who facilitated connections. Such dealings were (and are) an abomination to the LORD, and solemnly prohibited as a defilement in Scripture (Leviticus 19:31) that calls for the death penalty (20:27). The Bible declares that “familiar spirits” are not talking dead people at all, but rather demons (Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20). King Ahaz was deeply entrenched in pagan religion. Satan’s counterfeit religions involve occult practices, and the common denominator of them all is the belief that dead people are alive. This is a pillar of false systems of belief, and is simply an extension of Satan’s first lie to Eve: “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). It conditions people to latch on to the idea of inherent immortality, which is nowhere taught in God’s word. Trusting anything over God’s word makes one vulnerable to the deadly influence of satanic power. Therefore, Biblical law categorically forbids all occult sources of knowledge (Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 19:26,31; 20:6,27; Deuteronomy 18:9-14).

What do faithless people do when they crave advice or knowledge of the future, but dislike the knowledge that God has made available in His word? A popular option is to seek alternative, occult sources of knowledge. Today, there is a tidal wave of such “New Age” activity among all classes of people to seek the dead on behalf of the living (Isaiah 8:19). The idea of inherent immortality among many Christians (passed on to Protestantism from Catholicism) is not only false, but poses a serious danger of last-day deceptions. Demons can pose as dead loved ones with false messages re: what lies beyond death. Satan especially targets children. Fellowship with demons is promoted as “harmless” in movies and books for children. Nothing could be further from the truth. People of any age who are conditioned to ignore any part of Scripture will develop a preference for untruth. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10). This verse alerts us to our fallen human nature, saying that the love of the truth itself is something that must be received, as a gift from God.

In a last-ditch effort to counteract true revival across the world, Satan will instigate a spectacular counterfeit revival, working through religious people to promote it. It will be sensational, but those who truly know God will not fall for it and will instruct many along the way.

For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Revelation 16:14

Keep learning: Does the LORD want us to understand that death is not life (See 2 Kings 20:1; Isaiah 38:1)? Yes, in order that we will put our complete trust in Him, the only Source of life who desires for each of us to live eternally! Dead people are not conscious, know nothing, cannot speak, think, work, dream, or plan. See Job 14:12,21; Ecclesiastes 9:5,6,10; Psalm 115:17; 146:4. They wait in their graves until Jesus comes. See Job 14:14; 17:13; Matthew 24:31; John 5:28-29; Acts 2:29,34; 1 Corinthians 15:23,52