The Unholy Baptism

Since the mid-20th century, crime and moral depravity have exploded across the world, and particularly in the west. Certainly, those increases fulfill prophecies that Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul revealed concerning the end times.

Christ revealed that "because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 24:12-13) What did Christ mean when he stated that "the love of most will grow cold"? He clearly meant that many people who will claim to be His followers--or Christians--will lose their love for God and turn away from the faith in the last days.

But how does that translate into the increase of crime and moral decadence? When people lose their love for God, their faith declines. And they no longer honor or respect His laws and commandments. Nearly 3,000 years ago, King Solomon wrote this: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." (Proverbs 1:7)

The apostle Paul echoed Christ's prophecy with this message in his second letter to fellow apostle Timothy: "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

There's a cause and effect relationship between the world's increasing rejection of God and the rise in crime and depravity. But there's also an overlooked factor in that relationship, and that factor is the use of hallucinogenic drugs, and the practices of occultism and eastern mysticism that have increased exponentially since the middle of the previous century.

What's the common denominator? Drugs, occultism and eastern mystical practices bring people into direct contact with demonic spirits that influence their worldview and encourage them to violate God's transcendent moral laws. Paul recorded another relevant prophecy that directly relates to the increase of crime and depravity, and the rising popularity of psychedelic drugs, occultism and eastern mysticism: "The (Holy) Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Timothy 4:1)

Why did hallucinogens, occultism and eastern mysticism become so popular in the previous century? Because they promised people a new consciousness that promised them happiness and an escape from fear and anxiety. And they promised to prepare the world for the next alleged step in the evolution of human consciousness.

But in reality, hallucinogens, occult practices and eastern mysticism bring people into direct contact with demonic spirits that seduce them into embracing an imaginary world that doesn't exist. For those people who rejected God's caveat that forbids them from getting involved in such practices, they're given "a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness." (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)

Emanuel Swedenborg was a famous medium who trafficked in demons for much of his life until he finally realized who the spirits were who he was communicating with. He issued this warning: When spirits begin to speak with a man, he ought to beware that he believes nothing whatever from them; for they say almost anything. Things are fabricated by them, and they lie. They would tell so many lies, and indeed with solemn affirmation that a man would be astonished. If a man listens and believes, they press on, and deceive, and seduce in many ways. Let men beware and therefore not believe them. (Samuel M. Warren, A Compendium of the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, 1977)

What does God's word say regarding hallucinogens, occultism and eastern religious practices? It says this: "There shall not be found among you . . . anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them (the nations that practice these things) out before you." (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)

Though the Bible never mentions hallucinogens, it refers to sorcery which was the ancient equivalent of modern psychedelic drugs. Some bible translations use the Greek word Pharmakeia, which is where the word pharmacy comes from. Sorcerers concocted potions that were designed to put folks into altered states of consciousness so they could make contact with the spiritual realm.

The Book of Revelation contains a scripture that indicates the entire world will be seduced by sorcery, or drugs in the end times before the return of Christ. (Revelation 18:21-23) Considering how popular hallucinogens have become over the past 50 years, it's hard to dismiss that scripture as a coincidence. Indeed, the nations of the world are succumbing to hallucinogenic drugs on a massive scale.

One of the reasons for the increase in psychedelic drugs is the search for spiritual truth, or experience above the mundane, boring existence of everyday life: But in the search for God, many people take the broad way, the fork in the road that leads to destruction. That road is the search for experience, not a submission to belief. They seek feelings, and when they cannot find them, they turn to drugs. A melding of drugs and the spiritual is the most dangerous kind of sorcery, because it dulls the senses and creates a false god: self. The End Time: Pharmakeia: psychedelic drugs and spirituality

Not everyone who takes hallucinogens, or gets involved in occult or eastern mystical practices encounters demonic spirits. However, they do give Satan a legal right to invade their lives and influence their minds. And that's a right that he'll never fail to take advantage of.

What happens to people who use hallucinogens or get involved in occult and mystical practices? Their worldview often changes from a Judeo-Christian worldview to an eastern, pantheistic worldview. And they often become nihilistic and extremely antagonistic towards authority and Christians.

A study published by Psychology Today concerning the spiritual transformation of psychedelic drug users underscores that: Psychedelic drug users endorsed more mystical beliefs, such as in a universal soul, no fear of death, unity of all things, existence of a transcendent reality, and oneness with God nature and the universe…psychedelic drug users defined spirituality as one's relationship to God, or whatever you perceive to be the "Ultimate Transcendence."

Christian researchers John Ankerberg and John Weldon have interviewed several people who've come into direct contact with demonic spirits via drugs, occultism and mysticism. Not surprisingly, these people have reported receiving nearly identical messages concerning God, death, sin, eternal judgment and hell. They reported that the spirits told them that God is an impersonal being; there is no sin, death is an illusion and there's no eternal judgment or a place called hell.

According to Ankerberg and Weldon, who do the spirits claim to be? The spirits claim to be many things. Judging from their own teachings, by far the most common assertion is that they are the spirits of the human dead…the spirits most often claim they are human spirits who have survived physical death. They also claim that they can reveal important information to men that will hasten their spiritual growth. (Ankerberg and Weldon, The Facts on Spirit Guides, Harvest House Publishers)

Of course, the "spiritual growth" that the spirits promote is a very eastern, new age spirituality that's found in Hinduism and Taoism. Not surprisingly, those are pagan religions that utilize occult practices to contact "deities" that are demonic spirits in disguise. It's not uncommon for people who use psychedelic drugs to begin practicing eastern religions because the spirits they encounter on drug trips often encourage them to get involved in eastern mysticism.

One of the more popular demons that's deceived multitudes is a spirit that calls itself "Ramtha." Ramtha has been channeled by a medium named J.Z. Knight who's become quite popular by allowing the demon spirit to promote Satan's messages through her. Here are samples of the lies this demonic spirit has promoted: The Christian God is an idiotic deity…God the principle is all things. There is no such thing as evil. For 2,000 years, we have been called sinful creatures, but we are equal with God or Christ. God has never judged anyone. There is no hell and there is no devil. There is no death, but there is a belief in death. Death is the central dream from which all illusions stem.

You can understand why God's word in the bible forbids all contact with the spiritual realm. Why? Because people will come into direct contact with demons that will deceive them and lead them into eternal damnation.

Indeed, hell exists. Indeed, the devil exists, and he works relentlessly to prevent the salvation of every human being that he can through his lies. Consider the lies of "Ramtha" and consider this lie that Satan spoke to Eve a long time ago in the primordial Garden of Eden when he enticed her to rebel against the Lord and eat fruit from a forbidden tree: "You will not certainly die," the serpent said to the woman. ^"For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4-5)

That's the same lie that Satan has told through his fallen angels for thousands of years. It was that lie that brought sin and death into the human race. And because Eve and her husband Adam chose to believe that lie and sin against the Lord, every human being since then has been under the curse of death and eternal damnation.

That necessitated God to send His only begotten Son into the world to save mankind from the curse of eternal death by His own death on the cross for all sin.

How do we escape the curse? Paul explained: "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, 'Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (Romans 10:9-13)