As I waited for the Yoga class to begin, I watched people come and go from the large, well-equipped fitness facility that offers top-notch weights, treadmills, stair-climbers, exercise classes, swimming, and more. Most members entered looking fresh and clean; those leaving appeared red-faced, sweaty, and “worked-out.”

Often, I’ve thought of how much I would like to join a gym such as this one, but my present financial situation dictates that I should refrain from doing so. I don’t really mind, however, and try to stick to my home-based workout plan of jumping rope, walking, exercise, and stretching routines.

But I sat there that day on a mission. My heart had been moved to discover why so many Christian friends of mine are partaking in something I feel should not be taken up by followers of Jesus Christ. The practice of Yoga (the Hindi word for “yoke”) has come to popularity in our culture as more and more Westerners come to embrace Far Eastern ideas of health, mindfulness, and spirituality. Yoga is universally accepted as part of the New Age movement, yet many Christians have determined that the physical routines of Yoga might be beneficial and have expressed the idea that the poses (asanas) and breathing exercises can be performed without overtly delving into the spiritual aspects associated with this ancient practice. I’ve heard some say, “Well, to me the Wheel Pose is just a back bend, to me the Plank Pose is just a push up.” These professing Christians seem to strongly oppose the suggestion that, even if they are only doing Yoga as an exercise, there are dangers lurking.

The Yoga classes offered at this gym (a Christian-based facility) had been described to me as not having anything to do with spirituality. Noting my concern, I decided the only way to judge for myself was to observe one of the classes. When I reflect back on my life before I came to know Jesus, I am forced to admit that I, too, took Yoga classes. Back then, I was looking for spiritual fulfillment. I have sat in meditation for long periods of time, trying to empty my mind of everything but awareness of my breath. I wanted to become “one with the universe,” “one with my divine inner self.” So now, I needed to see for myself if what my Christian friends had told me could be true.

So, Bible in hand, and prayers for guidance, knowledge, and protection said, I wandered down the corridor to join the Yoga students that were gathering outside the room where the class would be taught. One of the first people to greet me was the instructor, a lithe, blond woman who seemed to be ten or so years younger than I. I’ll call her Mandy.

Mandy was friendly and welcoming as we engaged in small talk before the room opened up to us. She asked if I had ever been to a Yoga class before. I told her, “Yes, many years ago.” Despite the fact that I was obviously not dressed to exercise, she invited me to participate, advising that I should do only “what you feel you can.” I told her I really was only there to observe and I hoped that was all right with her. She said, “Of course.”

When we entered the room, I removed my shoes and quickly made my way to the back, where I sat on the floor and leaned against the wall. I watched as fifteen or so ladies and one gentleman entered and milled about, readying their mats, starting to stretch out and get into position. Several went immediately into the familiar cross-legged posture so linked with Yoga: the Lotus Pose. A couple of the students were obviously advanced, evidenced by their being able to attain the full Lotus posture with the tops of the feet being placed on the tops of the thighs. Many placed their hands on their knees, palms up, tips of the thumb and the middle finger touching lightly. Classic Yoga. Meanwhile, the instructor went about adjusting the lights and fans then started the soothing, meditative music that regularly accompanies Yoga classes. Quietness settled in.

Breathing correctly is very important in Yoga for helping one ease into the various stretches and poses. This class started as other Yoga classes, sitting quietly for a moment as Mandy instructed the students to let go of their thoughts and worries and concentrate on their breath, breathing deeply from their abdomen and letting their face relax into a smile. After a few shoulder shrugs and basic stretches, Mandy slowly and methodically led the group through various poses, postures, and routines, naming them as she went. The names were familiar to me: Monkey, Downward Dog, Walk the Dog, Cobra, Tree, Corpse, and Sun Salutation, the latter being a routine consisting of a series of poses. Sun Salutation was executed several times during the hour. At more than one point, students were instructed to bring their palms together at the “Heart Center” in a Prayer Pose.

The class continued on for nearly an hour and ended with a series of relaxation poses including the Child Pose and Downward Facing Dog and culminated in the Corpse Pose where one lays out flat on ones back, arms to the side, palms up, legs slightly spread and feet allowed to naturally fall outward. After a few moments, Mandy instructed the students to slowly come to a cross-legged seated position, concentrating on their breath and relaxing their faces into a smile. She ended the class with a prayer pose, and, as traditionally done in most Yoga classes, spoke the word, “Namaste.” She then dismissed the class and the students slowly gathered their gear, put on their shoes, and headed out.

I went up to Mandy after the class and thanked her for allowing me to be there. She told me that she hoped I would return. I asked her if she would be so kind as to tell me the name of the CD she was playing. She said it was from a two-CD set titled “Zen” and that she had gotten it from Target. I once again thanked her and left the room.

At no time during the class did I hear the instructor say to “empty your mind,” though she several times emphasized concentrating on the breath and letting go of random thoughts. At no time did she instruct the class to repeat a mantra, or to sit quietly in meditation. If I did not have any knowledge of Yoga from my past, I would say that this was a very relaxing and calming class in which to participate.

My Objections

But . . . I do have a past with Yoga, thus I am compelled to say I felt there were many nuances permeating the instruction that made me uneasy and was glad that I had prayed so hard before going in. I left with a sincere belief that everything about this class, innocent as it seemed on the surface, offered a classic example of the way the church has allowed secular humanist acceptance of “all being one”—all gods, all views, all paths.

Let me begin with the name “Yoga” and protest that if the class is just a stretching and strengthening class, why is it called “Yoga?” Why not call it “stretch class” or something else? Why “Yoga?” I believe it is because we are forgetting how subtle the adversary can be when getting us to accept anything that has its roots in paganism, idolatry, mysticism, humanism, the occult, or anything else that should be unacceptable to true Christians. The following is quoted from an online article titled “The Meaning and Purpose of Yoga”:

[Y]oga . . . states that our “true nature” goes far beyond the limits of the human mind and personality—that instead, our human potential is infinite and transcends our individual minds and our sense of self. The very word “Yoga” makes reference to this. The root, “yuj” (meaning “unity” or “yoke”), indicates that the purpose of Yoga is to unite ourselves with our highest nature. . . .

The process of Yoga is an ascent into the purity of the absolute perfection that is the essential state of all human beings. This goal requires the removal of our enveloping personal impurities, the stilling of our lower feelings and thoughts, and the establishment of a state of inner balance and harmony. All the methods of Yoga are based on the perfection of our personalities and may help to create a new world order. (source)

Notice: “The very word yoga makes reference” to the idea that we can transcend our individual minds. And did you catch this? “Absolute perfection that is the essential state of all human beings . . .” I thought we were all sinners and lacking any perfection. I thought that Christ was the only “perfect” human! In fact, I know I am right about this.

One of my friends told me, there are “all sorts of Yogas.” The one he participates in, he said, is a good one, not one of the bad ones. Did you notice that in the quote above, it is stated that “all the methods of Yoga” are based on the perfection of our personalities.” All. That means . . . all! Not only Vinyasa, not only Kundalini, not only Bikram or Hatha, but all methods. This is revealing.

And then there is the music, admittedly titled “Zen.” The following is from my Macintosh computer Dictionary:

Zen |zen| (also Zen Buddhism) noun; a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition. . . .

The aim of Zen is to achieve sudden enlightenment (satori) through meditation in a seated posture (zazen), usually under the guidance of a teacher and often using paradoxical statements (koans) to transcend rational thought.

Did you get that? “The aim of Zen is to achieve sudden enlightenment . . . .” Not to just relax, but to “achieve sudden enlightenment.” I can assure you, most meditative music used in Yoga classes is derived from music composed and performed by musicians that adhere to Zen principles, not to Christian principles. As a Christian, any enlightenment I receive should come from God, from his Holy Word, and not from sitting in meditation or using koans to transcend rational thought. I want my mind focused squarely on God and what He has to teach me.

So what about the postures or poses, asanas. I couldn’t help but recall what my friend had said: “To me the Wheel Pose is just a backbend; to me the Plank is just a pushup.” O.K. . . . so why not call them “backbend” and “pushup?” Why, when I overheard this friend talking to another about these poses, did they not call them backbends and pushups, but instead called them by their yogic designation? I think this is once again the work of the adversary; subtle acceptance. Named after animals or aspects of human life, Yoga poses are symbolic of taking on all of the forms of life and unifying them by giving them expression in our one body. Once again, the idea is that all is one. [LT Note: And we must not forget that the Yoga poses are designed specifically to receive the kundalini spirit (serpent power) and to “activate the psychic energy centers” (i.e., the chakras). source]

The use of the term “Heart Center” when performing the Prayer Pose was particularly disturbing as this is reference to the fourth of seven chakras believed by Buddhists and other occult groups to be the sacred energy centers within us that carry us on our journey toward greater awareness and aliveness. They are believed to be power centers within our bodies located along the spine that help to show us the path to enlightenment and integration.

At the end of the class when Mandy said, “Namaste,” I could not help but think about the meaning of that word as I had learned it. Within Buddhist practice, it is believed that a Divine spark is within each one of us, located in the heart chakra. This is not the same as Christians believing that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer of Jesus Christ. This is declaring that part of us within is divine.

While perhaps no one in this particular class is possessed by a kundalini spirit or any demon, I can’t help but believe that if we call something good, even when it is based on pagan or occult practices, we are walking on thin ice. I think of it like this: If I raised a tiger from a cub and that tiger lived with me, slept in my room, walked with me, played with me—surely, I might call it my pet. But the fact would remain that my pet is actually a tiger, a large predatory animal capable of killing me quickly and easily. It might be that that would never happen, but the possibility is very real. In my opinion, embracing Yoga in any form is like owning that tiger—extremely dangerous.

My concern is that my friends are fooling themselves when they say “To me . . . .” That expression is prevalent in today’s society where moral relativity is the norm. The idea that what is true and moral to me might not be true and moral to you is exactly what secular humanists embrace and promote. The idea that truth and morality can be different things to different people is totally opposite to the teachings of Jesus: there is ONE truth, ONE way, ONE path.

I must conclude that participating in and promoting Yoga for health only contributes to the doctrine of tolerance that is infecting the church and that it takes us perilously close to apostatical behavior. Another problem I see in the case of my friends is that some of them are leaders in local churches and that they might prove to be stumbling blocks to people who are considering answering Christ’s call or to new Christians who are not yet well established in the Christian faith. Such people may see these church leaders practicing or talking about Yoga and conclude that New Age concepts and spiritual practices are compatible with the Christian walk. I pray that those who are taking these classes for health will find better ways to shape and tone their bodies. I pray this for their sakes as well as for preservation of the reputation of the church.

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LT Note: For further information about Yoga, please read: Ray Yungen’s report: “Yoga: Exercise or Religion—Does It Matter?” and Chris Lawson’s report: “Yoga and Christianity: Are They Compatible?“

By Oliver Melnick
Shalom in Messiah

When people speak of Zionism, it generally is a polarizing conversation between Zionists and anti-Zionists. Today more than ever, the validity of Zionism is a critical subject. I have covered the history of Zionism before (here and here.) The Bible is the best place to start if we care to understand Zionism as defined by God’s word in the Torah and the Prophets. . . . .

In all fairness, Zionism can be defined beyond the religious and biblical boundaries because it also has political and cultural aspects to it. The terms “Zionism” and “Zionist” were coined in 1890 by Jewish activist Nathan Birnbaum (1864-1937), who also played an essential part in the first Zionist Congress held in 1897. The word Zion comes from the Hebrew tzion, a reference to Jerusalem and often, by extension, to the Land of Israel itself (first mentioned in II Samuel 5:7.) Click here to continue reading.

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Related Information:

New Booklet: Is the CHURCH the NEW ISRAEL? by Tony Pearce

Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa Leader Dismisses Israel’s Present Right to Their Homeland!

The apostle Paul was a man with a passion for the truth. While his ministry clearly focused on proclaiming the saving grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he was also concerned when he saw the truth being compromised by Satan’s subtle deceptive plan. While Paul made every effort to teach the church at Corinth the truth about Jesus and His death on the Cross to save them from their sins, false teachers and false doctrines had infiltrated the church. Obviously, some were being led astray. Thus, he expressed his concerns:

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. (II Corinthians 11:3-4)

The urgent message Paul delivered to the Corinthians is the same message I believe God wants proclaimed today.

Satan’s plan to deceive has not been altered throughout the ages. His efforts to produce “another gospel” inspired by “a different spirit” that seduces people into believing they know Jesus Christ when in reality they do not, are not new. Current trends indicate we are heading down a similar pathway leading toward a strong deception that has the potential of deceiving the whole world.

Jesus made it clear there are serious consequences for those who think they have believed in Him but instead have been deceived by an experiential form of Christianity centered on the miraculous instead of an understanding of the Gospel. Proclaiming these thoughts in a message referred to as “The Sermon on the Mount” recorded in the Book of Matthew, Jesus said:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:21-23)

These sobering words should be a reminder to all those who profess the name of Jesus to pay close attention to the statement Jesus made. Imagine what it would be like to be a sincere Jesus follower, then find out you were not following the true Jesus Christ. While it is possible to encounter miraculous experiences in the name of Jesus, it is not these experiences that qualify anyone to go to Heaven or validate one’s walk with the Lord.

I am reminded from Scripture, contending for a faith based on God’s Word is not an option. As Jude wrote:

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 3-4)

My love and compassion for those who have been deceived compels me to share this message. The subject of where human souls spend eternity is a serious matter. The Bible teaches that Satan is the instigator and author of deception. His goal is to destroy mankind and take as many lost souls hostage with him to Hell as he can. As believers in Jesus Christ, we must warn those who are in spiritual deception in an attitude of love.

The Bible teaches that the end times will be characterized by a strong spiritual delusion that blinds many from the true Gospel and also leads those who have believed into apostasy. As Jesus warned:

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. (Matthew 24:23-25)

I challenge everyone to first, consider carefully and honestly what God has revealed in His Word. Second, consider the facts presented in light of current trends. May the light of God’s Word shine bright and reveal the truth.

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(This article was written by Roger Oakland over 15 years ago. How much more relevant is it today as spiritual deception is at an all-time high in so many respects.)

 

By Jim Fletcher

The death of a child has rightly been called soul-crushing. Whether a miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of an adult child, the parents are never quite the same. The tragedy usually lingers; it can also negatively impact a marriage. As has been said many times, a parent should never outlive offspring. Our human pattern in this was set with the first death: Abel dead at the hands of his own brother.

Overall, the death of someone close to us is dreadful. The pain is so bad that that person never really leaves our thoughts. My own father has been dead many years. A decade after his passing, my grandmother died. When I went back to settle up my grandmother’s estate, I walked through the dining room and was enveloped with bittersweet memories of the holidays spent there when I was growing up. I stood at the buffet table. Three China cups were set at the back. In one of them, I noticed a curled-up piece of paper. On it was the address and phone number of a medium. I was aghast! My grandmother, a devout believer, had been so consumed by the pain of losing my father that she had actually tried to communicate with him. Later, I discovered other evidence that she had done this many times, even carrying on two-way conversations with who she believed was him.

That memory has stayed with me. I am deeply sorry that her grief led her to necromancy.

In the Bible, necromancy is described as the effort by humans to communicate with deceased loved ones. The practice has been wildly popular from antiquity. During the last few years he lived, Thomas Edison worked on a machine to talk to the dead. The magician Houdini attempted to speak to the dead (though he did with the intention of exposing charlatans trafficking in human pain). This practice gained great popularity in the late 19th century with the arrival of spiritism from Europe. Suddenly, seances and Ouija boards were all the rage.

God anticipated all this, of course. As part of His set of boundaries for mankind, He forbade necromancy. Why? Because the spirit world (i.e., demons) could use it to gain an unearthly hold on people. Sincere people think they’re speaking to their loved ones, but according to the Bible, in each case it is a “familiar spirit,” one that we should want nothing to do with.

A little-known passage example of contact with a malevolent spirit is found in Job 4. There, a demon appears to one of Job’s friends. The spirit is bitter that God rejected him and chooses instead to dispense grace to humans. A malevolent spirit is never the friend of a human.

Necromancy in the Church Today

Well into the 21st century, it shouldn’t be a surprise that necromancy has more than a toe-hold in America. Especially, and most pathetic, scores of evangelicals think talking to the dead is legitimate. Foundationally, many of today’s American evangelicals don’t know their Bibles any better than unbelievers know their way around Scripture.

In the summer of 2010, a book titled Have Heart was published by Grace Church in Franklin, Tennessee and written by pastor Steve Berger and his wife Sarah. The book details the parents’ grief after the untimely death of their son, Josiah, who was killed in a car wreck in 2009.

From the Berger’s online description of Have Heart:

This book is excellent stuff for those who are grieving; we specifically tell our story so we can gain credibility with the hurting.

That’s the first problem with this book. An attempt to “gain credibility” can also be seen as using emotional manipulation to lead the reader to a preconceived idea. In the case of the Berger’s, that idea is the claim that Josiah appeared after his death and communicated with people. As we will see, Steve Berger has gone to great lengths to convince people that he doesn’t promote necromancy, yet that is exactly the book’s aim. Interestingly, Berger has since moved on from pastoring, which you can read about here and here, and established a new organization (ASI) in Washington D.C., with the goal of influencing our national political leadership. In the context of what he teaches about life after death, this is alarming. Washington is in desperate need of biblical wisdom, not the opposite.

In the years since the book was published, Berger has received pushback from readers concerned about necromancy entering the church. He’s worked hard to disavow such, but just like Washington operatives, he’s learned how to deny what he is in fact doing.

In Have Heart, the Bergers write:

This visit [from Josiah] proves that our loved ones in Heaven are spiritually active and that they care—they are aware of times that we need special encouragement.1

No, they aren’t. Nowhere in Scripture do we see that the deceased are directed by the Lord to offer “special encouragement.”

In a 2020 video from Berger, he states: “We’re surrounded by the saints who have gone before us, and however God chooses to use them to encourage us, you know, we ought to be open to it.”2

No, this is dangerous. Again, from Scripture, God does not encourage the dead to speak to the living. Our standard must be God’s Word, not the words of men. With the latter, we leave ourselves open to terrible deception.

In a September 9, 2024 e-mail reply to my inquiry, Steve Berger denied ever practicing necromancy. To his credit, he did reply—something not many evangelical leaders are ever willing to do when challenged. He repeatedly said the practice is demonic. He referenced passages in Have Heart. But what the Bergers say in their denials is that they have never practiced classic occultic platforms:

As we said earlier, we’re not talking about mediums or séances. God specifically warned the Israelites in Deuteronomy 18:10–12, “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you“.3

To some degree, the Bergers are clever with words. But no one is accusing them of holding seances or consulting mediums. The whole of their book, however, makes it clear that they believe their son communicates with the living. In the Deuteronomy passage, we read: “Or one who calls up the dead.” With that in mind, it should be noted that the Bergers relate the story of a worship leader that one evening asked God if “Siah” could “come worship with us tonight?”4 This on the heels of another story in which a church member clearly describes Josiah as making an appearance; his clothes are described, and he is said to have knelt down next to this person and talked. Again, the descriptions are somewhat ambiguous, taking care to say that Josiah didn’t literally walk into the sanctuary, but that he also went beyond just some sort of hazy “presence.”

In 2 Samuel 12, we read the tragic story of King David’s sin regarding Bathsheba. His actions resulted in the death of her husband, Uriah, and a child was conceived between the king and Bathsheba. Nathan, the king’s advisor, confronted David about what happened and told him that his son was going to die (and the child did die). Crucially, David accepted the circumstances caused by his sin. He even expressed quite clearly that the dead do not return to the living in any way.

And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” (v.v. 22-23; emphasis added)

This is clear as a bell.

While Berger now somewhat distances himself from the controversy of his book, he is still promoted within evangelical circles, and his book is still a consistently good seller on Amazon.

Promise Keepers

In August, I attended a Promise Keepers event in Tulsa, and Steve Berger was on the speaker list (at that point he had been a PK board member for a few years). Berger appeared with fellow pastor Corey Russell during a panel discussion. While Berger didn’t speak at length specifically about Josiah, the discussion overall was presented as two men who had a shared tragedy; Russell and his wife lost a son to SIDS.

Russell’s son’s name? Josiah.

I thought that was an extremely odd coincidence. And it does appear to be just that, a coincidence. But the exchange proves that Berger is still promoting his overall premise from Have Heart. He repeated his contention that, to paraphrase, “if God is doing it, we should be open to it.” Berger said from the stage, “If God is allowing this to happen, we need to look at it through His perspective.”

Purporting to speak for God is also dangerous and reckless.

After that comment, Berger also said, “Did you know there’s times that God needs to trust you.”

No, he doesn’t. We are not on God’s level.

(Ironically, during a “Biblical Masculinity” panel, outgoing Promise Keepers chairman Ken Harrison said, “We gotta help the church stop compromising.” This was said in the context of the discussion, but still, shouldn’t the statement apply to also platforming someone who promotes necromancy?)

In an e-mail reply on August 29, 2024 (two weeks after the event), Harrison stated:

I’m glad you got to go to the event, Jim. As you probably saw, that was my final event. Both Steve [Berger] and I stepped off the board just after in order to turn it over to new and younger leadership. This thing with Steve has received a lot of attention the past year and I’ve spoken to numerous people about it. Steve denies any assertion that he believes in speaking to the dead. I find Steve to be a bold man of God, who is doctrinally sound and not afraid to take on any issue in the cause for Christ. I’ve moved on and don’t want to do any more interviews on the topic. You’re free to use any of the quotes here. I do hope you’ll be sensitive to the fact that you’re dealing with a book that is more than a decade old, which was written by two people who had gone through the worst emotional trauma a person can experience.” 

Several things to unpack here. First, people deny things all the time. A denial is often not legitimate. Read Have Heart and do your own research. The Bergers have stated that their son either appeared at a church service, or has otherwise communicated with the living. In Have Heart, Sarah Berger also referred to “our meetings with Josiah” (p. 101). No, someone that does this is not doctrinally sound.

Third, the book could be 100 years old, and it wouldn’t matter. There is no statute of limitations on theological malpractice.

Finally, while all of us have been touched by death, and any morally sound person would  lament the death of young Josiah Berger,  “emotional trauma” is no cover and no excuse for false teaching. There seems to be a lot of such covering up going on among evangelical leaders these days. In the instance of  Steve Berger and his long-standing connection with Promise Keepers, numerous people and ministries had tried communicating their concerns to Ken Harrison over the past year about the open door to necromancy that Have Heart and Berger were providing. In the end, rather than properly and biblically dealing with the issue, Ken Harrison and Steve Berger quietly step down from their roles in Promise Keepers without dealing with the issue at hand or addressing it publicly, even though countless numbers of people have and continue to read (and be affected by) Berger’s book.

The fact is, well-known leaders cover for each other. Marketing and cross-promotion of books, seminar slots, and other resources appears to be a top priority so there is very rarely breaking of the ranks. It’s how Rick Warren and many others have escaped real scrutiny. They’re too powerful, while masquerading as selfless servants for Christ.

It would never occur to me to be in contact with the dead. If I encountered such a spirit, I would know it wasn’t my dead loved one. Why would I know this? One reason. The Bible tells me that the living do not communicate with the dead. That’s it.

Endnotes:

1. Berger, Steve; Berger, Sarah. Have Heart: Bridging the Gulf Between Heaven & Earth (p. 100). Grace Chapel Inc.. Kindle Edition.
2. Video titled, “Heaven: What’s Going on up There?” (August 16, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4HN18vYiNY), mm. 2:19-3:24.
3. Berger, Steve; Berger, Sarah. Have Heart: Bridging the Gulf Between Heaven & Earth (pp. 101-102). Grace Chapel Inc.. Kindle Edition.
4. Ibid., pp. 97-101, Kindle Edition.

Related Articles:

Promise Keepers, Steve Berger, and the Dangerous Implications of Ignoring Necromancy in the Church

Dead Men Talking—Necromancy in Today’s Church

A Cree First Nations Talks About Necromancy As Interest Increases

This week, Lighthouse Trails is going to give away 20 copies of Warren B. Smith’s booklet 10 Scriptural Reasons Why Jesus Calling Is a Dangerous Book. It’s an essential read. If you are reading Jesus Calling or have a friend who is reading it, you may get one of these copies (the first 20 requests – 1 copy per request – to US/CA addresses). You may also read it free online.

Dear Lighthouse Editors:

After reading “Letter to the Editor: A Plea to My Church Leaders Regarding “Jesus Calling,” I decided to share a personal experience that occurred about seven years ago but is relevant for today. At that time, I had been aware of New Age for a number of years. I started reading your materials about 15 years ago, and they have been a tremendous source of information.

My husband passed away in 2016 after some very difficult years. I was distracted and not as spiritually aware as I should have been. A friend recommended Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. I had never heard of this book, and for the first time, I did not investigate a book before reading it. I started reading with skepticism, but soon NEEDED to read it daily. It seemed to speak right to my heart every single day. I often wondered how she could know what I needed each day.

I continued reading daily for about two months. During this time, I began to see a vision in my mind when I would worship the Lord. In my mind, I saw the image of a beautiful “being” who I felt was the Holy Spirit. This “being” took my hands and danced with me in the heavens, and it was a beautiful and peaceful vision. This happened to me whenever I worshiped the Lord. At one time, a vision of my husband also joined us in this dance. I did not realize that I was being totally deceived.

One day, as I was reading Jesus Calling, the Holy Spirit opened my spiritual eyes. I realized that Sarah Young was speaking as though she were Jesus and that a lot of what she was saying was not even biblically correct.

At the same time, I became aware that the beautiful being in my visions was actually a spirit guide. Immediately, I threw the book in the garbage. I went before the Lord and asked for forgiveness and thanked Him and praised Him for delivering me from this deception. I never again saw the spirit guide or had any similar experience.

At first, I couldn’t believe that I had fallen for this, but having had this experience I was able to tell the women in the ladies Bible study I was involved with about the deception of Jesus Calling from personal experience. Several of the ladies were already reading the book.

I thank you very much for all that you do to warn the people of God. I know that you take a lot of criticism from within the church, but the Scriptures are very clear that what you do in warning the people of God is biblical.

Yours in Christ,

Carol

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Other Letters:

Letter to the Editor: On Jesus Calling, My Wife and I Thought You Were Wrong, But We Have Been Deceived!

Letter to the Editor: “Pastor’s Wife Gave Me Jesus Calling – I Should Have Known!”

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Cree Chief Maskepetoon Photo: Glenbow Archives, NA-4169-1

A true story taken from Northern Campfires and Indian Wigwams (LT edition)

By Egerton Ryerson Young
Missionary to the Cree people in Northern Manitoba in the late 1800s

The following incident occurred years ago on the great plains of the Canadian Northwest, long before the waves of Anglo-Saxon civilization began to surge over those glorious fertile prairies which for so many generations were hid from the gaze of the outside busy world.

Among the Indian tribes that roamed over those vast regions, the Crees in those days were perhaps the most numerous and powerful. The terrible small-pox and other epidemic diseases had not entered in among them, mowing them down by thousands, leaving them, as they are to-day, but a shadow or a wreck of their former glory.

The most powerful chief among this tribe was called Mask-e-pe-toon, or “Crooked Arm,” from the fact that one of his arms had been so hacked and wounded in his hand-to-hand conflicts with his neighbors, the Blackfeet Indians, that, in healing, the muscles had so contracted and stiffened that the arm remained crooked.

Mask-e-pe-toon was a warlike chief, and his delight was in all the excitements of Indian conflicts, in cunning ambuscades, and, when successful, in the practice of unheard-of barbarities upon the captives of other tribes who fell into his hands.

Very picturesque was the dress of many of these warriors of the plains. The quills of the eagle, which with them is considered the royal bird, formed the head-dress. Their shield was generally made of the tough leather of the neck of an old buffalo bull. The clothing, which was most elaborately ornamented and fringed, was made of the skins of the deer or moose, most beautifully tanned and prepared by the Indian women. Some of their horses were really magnificent animals and marvelously trained for Indian warfare.

The Rev. Mr. Rundle, of the English Wesleyan Missionary Society, was the first missionary who at great personal risk visited the Cree tribes and faithfully declared the message of salvation to them. The Rev. James Evans, also, in some of his marvelous trips through that land of “magnificent distances,” visited Mask-e-pe-toon and faithfully preached to him and his people. Some accepted the truth and became Christians, but Mask-e-pe-toon was too fond of war to receive the message of peace.

A number of years later the Rev. George McDougall went out, in prosecution of his missionary work, to those mighty plains. That he might be more successful in his efforts to bring them to Christ, Mr. McDougall frequently left his own home, and for months together lived with these red men as they wandered over vast stretches of country, hunting the buffalo and other game.

Rev. McDougall’s custom was always to have religious service every evening where they camped for the night. These camp-fire services are quite an institution in connection with work among the Indians of the different tribes. Their habits are so migratory that it is necessary that the missionary should follow them up in their various haunts where they have gone hunting the various kinds of game and gather them together in larger or smaller numbers as is possible and there preach to them. At these camp-fire services, hymns were sung, prayers were offered, and God’s Word was read and expounded.

One evening, Rev. McDougall read as his lesson the story of the trial and death of the Lord Jesus. He dwelt particularly upon the prayer of the Savior for his murderers, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,” and, well aware of the Indian spirit of revenge that was so prominent in the hearts of his hearers, he dwelt strongly upon it, and plainly told them that if they really expected forgiveness, they must have the same mind that was in Christ, and forgive their enemies. Mask-e-pe-toon was observed to be deeply moved under the sermon, but nothing was said to him that evening.

The next day, as the great company, consisting of many hundreds, was riding along over the beautiful prairies, an Indian chief rode quickly to the side of Rev. McDougall, and in quiet but excited tones asked him to fall back in the rear, as they did not wish him, the missionary, to witness the torture and killing of a man who was in that little band of Indians that was approaching them, although still so far away as to be almost indistinguishable to the eyes of a white man.

It seems that months before this, Chief Mask-e-pe-toon had sent his son across a mountain range or pass to bring from a sheltered valley a herd of horses which had there wintered. Very sublime and magnificent is some of the Rocky Mountain scenery. Travelers who have visited the Alps and other picturesque mountainous regions declare that some of the views in the Canadian “Rockies” are not excelled in any other part of the world. Tourists in ever-increasing numbers are availing themselves of the opportunities presented by the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway through and across those sublime mountains to there see these magnificent fir-clad, snow-capped objects of the Creator’s handiwork.

Among the foothills of these mountains are many beautiful valleys, where the grass and herbage abound all the year, and it was in one of them that Mask-e-pe-toon had kept his reserved horses. He selected one of his warriors as his son’s comrade to aid him in the work. From what afterward was found out, it seems that the man, having a chance to sell the horses, his cupidity was excited, and so he murdered the chief’s son, disposed of the horses, and hiding for the time his booty returned to the tribe with the plausible story that when they were coming across one of the dangerous passes in the mountains the young man lost his foothold and fell over one of the awful precipices, and was dashed to pieces, and that he alone was unable to manage the herd of horses, so they had scattered on the plains.

Knowing nothing at the time to the contrary, Mask-e-pe-toon and his people were obliged to accept this story, improbable as it seemed. However, the truth came out after a while, for there had been, unknown to the murderer, witnesses of the tragedy. And now, for the first time since the truth had been revealed, the father was approaching the band in which was the murderer of his son.

That the missionary might not see the dire vengeance that would be wreaked upon the culprit was the reason why this subordinate chief had requested Rev. McDougall to slacken his pace and fall into the rear of the crowd. But instead of doing so, he quickened the speed of his horse and rode up to a position a little in the rear of the mighty chief, who, splendidly mounted, was leading the van of his warriors. On they galloped over the beautiful green sward, the missionary’s heart uplifted in prayer that the wrath of man might be turned to the praise of God.

When the two bands approached within a few hundred yards of each other, the eagle eye of the old warrior chief detected the murderer, and, drawing his tomahawk from his belt, he rode up until he was face to face with the man who had done him the greatest injury that was possible to inflict upon him. Rev. McDougall, who still kept near enough to hear and see all that transpired, says that Mask-e-pe-toon, with a voice tremulous with suppressed feeling, and yet with an admirable command over himself, looking the man in the face who had nearly broken his heart, thus sternly addressed him:

“You have murdered my boy, and you deserve to die. I picked you out as his trusted companion and gave you the post of honor as his comrade, and you have betrayed my trust and cruelly killed my only son. You have done me and the tribe the greatest injury possible for a man to do, for you have broken my heart, and you have destroyed him who was to have succeeded me when I am not among the living. You deserve to die, and but for what I heard from the missionary last night at the campfire before this I would have buried this tomahawk in your brains. The missionary told us that if we expected the Great Spirit to forgive us we must forgive our enemies, even those who have done us the greatest wrong. You have been my worst enemy, and you deserve to die.”

Then, in a voice tremulous with deepest emotion, he added, “As I hope the Great Spirit will forgive me, I forgive you.” Then, speaking up sternly, he added, “But go immediately from among my people, and let me never see your face again.” Then hastily pulling up his war-bonnet over his head, his forced calmness gave way, and, quivering with the suppressed feelings that tore his heart, he bowed down over his horse’s neck and gave way to an agony of tears.

Mask-e-pe-toon lived for years afterward the life of a devoted, consistent Christian. All his old warlike habits were given up, and, mastering the syllabic characters in which the Cree Bible is printed, the Word of God became his solace and his joy. He spent the remainder of his days in doing good. Very earnest and thrilling were the addresses which he gave to his own people as he urged them to give up all their old sinful ways and become followers of that Savior who had so grandly saved him. Many listened to his words, and, like him, gave up their old warlike habits and settled down to quiet, peaceful lives.

Anxious to benefit his old enemies, the Blackfeet, and to tell to them the story of the Savior’s love, he fearlessly and unarmed went among them with his Bible in his hand. A blood-thirsty chief of that tribe saw him coming, and, remembering some of their fierce conflicts of other days, and perhaps having lost by Mask-e-pe-toon’s prowess some of his own relations in those conflicts, he seized his gun, and in defiance of all rules of humanity, he coolly shot the converted Christian chieftain down.

Thus, sadly fell Mask-e-pe-toon, a wondrous trophy of the Cross, and one whose conversion did a vast amount of good, showing the power of the Gospel to change the hardest heart and to enable the warlike savage to conquer so thoroughly the besetting sin of the Indian character, even under the most extreme provocation, where very few indeed could have found fault if the price of blood had been exacted and the murderer summarily executed.1

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Endnote:

1. This story is from Egerton Ryerson Young’s book, Stories from Indian Wigwams and Northern Campfires (Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2011), pp. 109-115.

From the back cover: Over the last fifty years, concerned individuals and various discernment ministries have tried to warn the church about the New Age/New Spirituality and its overriding influence in the lives of countless believers. However, most church leaders have consistently ignored these warnings. As a result, our Spiritual Adversary has made huge inroads into today’s church as he paves the way for his New World Religion and his false Christ—the Antichrist. And as he attempts to deconstruct biblical Christianity, he is simultaneously constructing a New Gospel/New Spirituality while today’s church is walking right into his spiritual trap.

How does one stand in the face of what is happening?

From the vantage point of having come out of the New Age himself, Warren shares the truths and insights he has learned along the way. As Night Comes On is an ensemble of identifying the deception and at the same time providing the scriptural means to stand and endure. In these increasingly challenging and deceptive days, this book exhorts believers to hold fast to the true Christ—Jesus Christ—and to strengthen the things that remain.

But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. (Revelation 2:25)

Click here to order the book.

Book Information:
Pages: 224
Retail price: $14.95
ISBN: 978-0-9846461-8-0
Prologue

Available through Lighthouse Trails and major online book outlets.

Author Bio: Warren B. Smith (B.A. University of Pennsylvania; M.S.W. Tulane University)—A former community social worker, who served as a program coordinator for people with special needs, directing several homeless programs and working as a Hospice social worker in New Orleans and on the California coast. After leaving the New Age movement and becoming a Christian, he began writing extensively on the subject of spiritual deception. As Night Comes On is Warren’s tenth book, and he has also written over forty topical booklets and given numerous radio interviews and conference talks.

(Image in cover is from istockphoto.com; used with permission)