“NEW AGE” DECEPTION – HE THAT HAS AN EAR TO HEAR…
by Gwendolyn D Hanssen
A few weeks ago, I was awakened out of a dead sleep and I heard the words, “There are those in this generation who are attempting to take the city, but refuse to crawl on their bellies through the water shaft in order to do so.” Immediately, I had an acute awareness of exactly what this meant. I knew that the Spirit of the Lord was speaking to me about those who are attempting to “take the city”, the stronghold of spiritual Mount Zion, (2 Samuel 5:7) and conquer in some other way. My mind went immediately to the book of 2 Samuel where we read that David and his men took the city, Jerusalem, and conquered Zion, which at that time was occupied by the Jebusites. They captivated the city by crawling on their bellies through the water shaft, or the gutter as is translated in the King James Bible. Can you imagine, crawling on your belly through a gutter? Expectedly, this would have been cold, wet, and dark and would have required an absolute commitment to the cause.
Since we know that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for us now, in this present day, (II Timothy 3:16-17) then we can glean from this scenario by applying it to our spiritual lives. The Word of God is full of allegories in both the Old and New Testament that are rich in spiritual patterns and principles for our present-day application.
With that being said, we know that since David and his men captivated the stronghold of Zion by crawling on their bellies, then we too must crawl on our bellies, so to speak, in order to take our spiritual strongholds and conquer the Jebusites just as they did in order to possess spiritual Mount Zion! Since we know that the Word of God is allegorical, then we can deduct that crawling is most definitely not a picture of walking upright in our pride or in self-confidence, but rather it is always a picture of humility, submission, and going low.
Let’s make a contrast to this spiritual principle of crawling, humility, and submission to what I believe the Lord was showing me concerning many in this present-day generation. Currently, we see a generation that is leaving the religious world and departing from churches in droves; literally, in droves. The statistics are absolutely chilling. The saddest thing in all of this is that not only are a large number leaving the Church in droves, but they are also embracing a new approach to spirituality. This new approach is not only ungodly, but also highly demonic and intensely deceptive as it is providing that which, sadly, the mainstream church has lost, and that is the true power of the Holy Ghost and Fire! Just to add and to be clear, there are counterfeits of the Holy Ghost in the mainstream churches as well, but I will save that for another time, and another article.
The question is, “Why have so many lost the Holy Ghost and Fire?” I touched on that in a previous article, so I won’t belabor it here. However, there is one main reason that I would like to identify in a nutshell. That being, many who once sold-out in body, soul and spirit, have decided that they no longer desire to pay the price of consecration and of making a clear distinction between the Church and the world. Standards have been dropped, boundary lines blurred, and the world has been invited into our midst. There, many sit in the church pews having lost what they once possessed, now cold-clinkers, spiritually dead, or possessing a false spirituality while an entire generation is on-looking and saying, “No, thank you. There is nothing fulfilling or satisfying in your religion. I will go and look elsewhere.” It is heartbreaking to watch those who are carrying this New Age spirit of the day seemingly demonstrate more power (a stolen power) than those who are in the Church and profess to be God’s people. What is wrong with this picture? Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on us!
This New Age spirit of the day teaches that a person can chart his/her own spiritual journey and is laced with a bold theology that we mortal humans can be like God, if not be gods. This whole New Age belief system flows from the same falsehood that the serpent enticed Eve with in The Garden: “You will be like God.” So, she ate of the Tree of Knowledge, and then what happened? Eve became enlightened to those things which God had never intended. Hence, God’s strong command not to eat of that Tree!
Fast forward to the present day, and what do we see? Many are still eating of that Tree by using New Age spirituality that is so rampant in the land. What we see happening today is nothing new. This is an age-old deceitful method of demonic powers that are attempting to draw creation away from true life that can only be found in God’s Son, Jesus! Tarot cards are being used, as well as numerology, incantations, yoga, manipulation of diet, astrology, graphology, Eastern religions, white witchcraft, and psychedelic drugs to mention a few. Even the Bible is thrown into the mix, and as a result, pure unadulterated Truth is twisted and tainted until it is unrecognizable. Sadly, this is the case in the lives of many who used to take joy in suffering with the people of God (Hebrews 11:25) and to be marked as God’s peculiar treasure. (I Peter 2:9)
The Word of God tells us that if we attempt to climb up some other way, then we are a thief and a robber (John 10:1). What does that mean? That means that there is a ‘climbing up’ in our spiritual journey. As we climb up in our spiritual journey through Jesus Christ who is the only way to the Father (John 14:6) and as we ascend and grow, we become more spiritually aware, and we become enlightened as the Lord reveals His Word to us through His Spirit. As our eyes become enlightened, we see things about Him, about ourselves, about life, and about how we are supposed to behave. We become more sensitive in the Spirit to our natural and spiritual surroundings. All of these things are progressions in the Christian journey as we press on to know the Lamb of God, Jesus, our Bridegroom. In the pressing on to know Him and in ascending to the heights of Zion’s Hill, we often have to crawl. We have to get on our bellies, as it were, just like those who took the city of Zion by crawling through the trenches. We must humble ourselves and take on the form of a servant, just as Jesus did.
In contrast, we see the ‘New Agers’ climbing up another way. Oh yes, they are spiritually aware of the fallen spiritual world because they have tapped into a stolen power. But just as much as they are aware of the fallen spiritual world, so are they also as unaware of the world of God’s undefiled Glory and Power. This is the exact power that Eve tapped into when she ate of that forbidden fruit. Those who embrace this ‘doctrine of devils’ (1 Timothy 4:1) are attempting to climb up another way to ‘take the city’ without crawling through the trenches. The Word tells us in I Corinthians 3:18-19 that if we are to become wise in this present age, then we are to become fools. Again, we see this principle, humility, crawling, becoming small, and becoming foolish in the eyes of the world. For us to attempt to climb up to the heights of God’s eternal purpose any other way is to be a thief and a robber.
The only way up is down. We must crawl! We must travel the lonely road of crucifixion of the flesh and walk in the footsteps of Jesus in order to gain true power, holiness and resurrection life. Otherwise, we are only behaving ourselves as thieves and robbers while attempting to strut into the Kingdom of God by taking an alternative route. That route does not lead to our appointed end. It does not lead to Zion. It leads to death, and an eternal fellowshipping of the kingdom of darkness where Lucifer is the king and master.
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12)
I will conclude this article with one final thought. Pilgrim, in John Bunyan’s book “Pilgrim’s Progress”, walked on the enchanted ground right before he reached the Celestial City. The word enchanted means: to be placed under a spell, to be filled with delight, to be bewitched and charmed. The Apostle Paul wrote these words to the church in Galatia: “Oh foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth…” (Galatians 3:1). Read that again, and choose your road wisely. We are, just as Pilgrim, about to reach the end! The Celestial City is in view. It pays to know where you are in your spiritual journey!
This New Age spirit of the day is nothing but enchantment, bewitchment, and a twisting of stolen light. It is bewitchment in its highest form. The road less traveled leads to eternal life. “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be* that find it.” (Matthew 7:14). Be willing to crawl, be willing to become a worm, be willing to crawl through the trenches. As my husband often says, “The safest place to be is in the low place, because from there you cannot fall.” He that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches!
-Gwendolyn D Hanssen
*italics added by the author