Chipped, Spiritualized and Deceived

by Michael G. Mickey

(10-30-06)

Believe it or not, Jesus Christ is coming soon!

How on earth anyone who has ever been introduced, in any manner whatsoever, to a literal interpretation of Bible prophecy can deny this, at this point, is impossible for me to conceive. All we need do to realize we are living in the season of our Lord's return is simply read the news of our world today, two examples of which I'm going to share with you in this commentary, as well as a brief explanation as to why so many are failing to make the connection between events taking place in the world around us and the soon-coming return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Chipped Like Dogs?

Revelation 13:16-17: And he [the False Prophet of Antichrist] 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 that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

An Evening Standard article, providing a chilling glimpse into how close we are to a time when Revelation 13:16-17 will be literally fulfilled (as all previously-fullfilled prophecies in the Bible have been), indicates the following, in part (emphasis added mine):

• "Human beings may be forced to be 'microchipped' like pet dogs, a shocking official report into the rise of the Big Brother state has warned."
• "They [referring to implantable microchips] could be used by companies who want to keep tabs on an employee's movements or by Governments who want a foolproof way of identifying their citizens - and storing information about them."
• "...its use in humans has already been trialled in America, where the chips were implanted in 70 mentally-ill elderly people in order to track their movements.

  And earlier this year a security company in Ohio chipped two of its employees to allow them to enter a secure area. The glass-encased chips were planted in the recipients' upper right arms and 'read' by a device similar to a credit card reader.

  In their Report on the Surveillance Society, the authors now warn: "The call for everyone to be implanted is now being seriously debated.""

Coincidence? No. Prophetic posturing? I believe so, beyond any doubt!

Spiritualized

Deuteronomy 18:10-11: There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

1st Timothy 4:1: Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

A Wichita Eagle article begs the following question: Can faith and the paranormal co-exist? Answer? No, as shown above and yet the Wichita Eagle article indicates that "more Americans are trying to find ways to balance the two." God help us!

The article indicates that a 2005 Gallup poll found that "about 75 percent of Americans hold some form of paranormal belief in at least one of the following: extrasensory perception, haunted houses, ghosts, mental telepathy, clairvoyance, astrology, communicating with the dead, witches, reincarnation and channeling."

If it's accurate that 75% of Americans hold some form of belief in these things, it stands to reason that many of those holding these beliefs are Christians! But why?

William Dinges, a professor of religious studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., is quoted in the article as saying "one explanation for such findings is the growing "spiritual, but not religious" mind-set among people."

Now, let me put what Professor Dinges believes is causing this trend to occur in perspective for you as I believe he is correct in his assertion.

Presently, at the request of one of my site's most loyal supporters, Denise Gumprecht, I'm reading a book by Ray Yungen entitled "A Time of Departing." This book, which I am finding to be far more than eye-opening, documents how New Age and Eastern Spirituality is infiltrating many Christian denominations - and doing so very quietly.

What I already knew somewhat and am now coming to understand more thoroughly is that many today who profess faith in Christ are seeking a way to speed up the process of getting closer to God in a hectic world through means other than attending church regularly, reading the Bible, and spending time with God through meaningful thought-laden prayer, opting instead to chant a prayer word or spirit word, for example, until their mind is cleared of all conscious thought and they enter into what one writer quoted in Yungen's book refers to as "the void, the emptiness, the nothingness...the profound mystical silence...an absence of thought."

Do we find anyplace in the Bible anything even remotely resembling this as an example of how one is to communicate with God? Quite to the contrary! We need look no further than Matthew 6:7-13 to see this:

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

What do we know exists in "the void", "the nothingness" or the abyss which may be encountered when we chant mind-numbing mantras and the like? Demons, of course! That would be why Jesus told us not to pray as the heathen do and then showed us how to properly pray in Luke, chapter 8!

One of the most famous encounters between Christ and a demon-possessed man is recorded in that chapter wherein a group of demons living within the man are seen begging Christ to send them into a herd of swine as opposed to being commanded to go out into "the deep" (Luke 8:31).

The term for "the deep" is abussos {ab'-us-sos}in the original Greek which is defined in part as an abyss. An abyss is what? According to The American Heritage® Dictionary it is "an immeasurably deep chasm, depth, or void."

Is it any wonder, therefore, that, when one takes their mental consciousness into "the void", what one finds is not of God? Simple logic as I see it. This is what happens when people get themselves mixed up with the paranormal things described in Deuteronomy 18:10-11 and forms of prayer that include what is prohibited in Matthew 6:7! Doorways into spiritual darkness are, naturally, swung wide open, allowing demonic powers to influence our weakly flesh in very destructive and deceptive manners! Therefore, we should resist things like contemplative prayer, breath prayers, spirit words, seances, ghost hunts, horoscopes, practitioners of the occult and the like with all our might as these things do not lead us closer to God, but farther from Him!

What Christians need today isn't a new way of reaching God by traversing labyrinths, many of which are being built at churches all over America in yet another example of New Age spirituality invading Christianity, or anything of that nature! All of that garbage is the spawn of hell!

What Christians need to get closer to God and lead more spiritual lives is to use the time-tested methods of living in God's will and having a relationship with Him as described in the owner's manual for Christian living we commonly refer to as the Bible! As we're told in the Word in Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!

Our Lord Jesus, when He walked upon the earth, didn't weave His way through labyrinths to get closer to the Father nor did He chant Himself into a brain-dead coma to clear His mind of all conscious thought to be capable of hearing from the Father in prayer! And yet we're finding these things appearing more and more often in mainstream Christianity.

The bottom line? We need to remember that Satan is a liar and the father of lies! Simply because someone appears, on the surface, to be godly, doesn't mean that they are! We need to bear that truth in mind at all times, particularly in this age of spiritual deception, lest we be DECEIVED. When people become spiritually deceived by false prophets such as those attempting to pass off New Age spirituality as some form of enlightened Christianity, it weakens their discernment concerning what is going on around them to the point they are essentially "flying blind" in a world that is about to blow apart at the seams! Thus, the need for every Christian to be suspicious of all matters relevant to sound biblical doctrine.

1st John 4:1: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

I don't know about any of you but I have no desire to be chipped like a dog, spiritualized through means other than those described in the Word of God, or deceived by the powers of darkness! Therefore, I plan to stay alert and remain steadfast in my faith as taught in the Word of God alone!

Because all the things I've discussed in this commentary are symptomatic of end times Bible prophecy being fulfilled on every side of us, I believe our redemption draweth nigh!

What do you think?