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As the Body of Christ, we need to be very careful of those who propose to be prophets who carry secret messages that no one else knows of or that have never been revealed or spoken. We are talking of the danger of those who say they have received revelations of God which is so secretive, so mysterious, and so profound that it has never been spoken.
The reality is God will hardly speak of His plans in such a secretive manner that only one person knows about it. The Word says God reveals His plans to His prophets (Amos 3:7), and He still does, but hardly a message of importance in utter completion to one person. Even the revelations by John on Patmos were supported for example by the prophetic word of Daniel and many other prophets before the coming of Jesus. None of the prophets had such secretive knowledge. Ezekiel, Jeremiah, or even Isaiah never operated or spoke completely in isolation – their prophecies overlapped and supported each other. This is also the case with the “smaller” prophets.
In all my years in the prophetic, all that God has spoken has been confirmed over and over by so many across the world. None of the messengers may be connected or know each other, but this is how God works – He knows the Truth and so speaks to His servants and disciples so that we may have the complete and perfect picture of His will and purpose. Even when one speaks a prophetic word over someone then that word shouldn’t be a complete secret or something mysterious – it should simply confirm, align, or correct in connection with what the receiver of the word already knows within their spirit or soul.
In Matthew 13:11 we read: He answered, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to them.” Jesus was speaking to His disciples – those who were willing to listen, surrender and yield to Him. Today, the Spirit has been poured out to lead us in all truth (John 16). If we truly want to know the things of the Kingdom, then the same principle applies to Matthew 13 – we must abide in God, follow, yield, and submit. True disciples know the will of God, the ways of the Kingdom, and the Truth of His Kingdom. It is not because they are some kind of special or elite prophet, simply because disciples know the Lord and they are led by the Spirit in all Truth. Yes, for those who do not know God will not know the Kingdom or the ways of God, simply because they are not following and yielding to Him.
It says in 1 Corinthians 2: 11 For who knows the inner workings of a person except the person’s own spirit inside him? So too no one knows the inner workings of God except God’s Spirit. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit of God, so that we might understand the things God has so freely given us. 13 These are the things we are talking about when we avoid the manner of speaking that human wisdom would dictate and instead use a manner of speaking taught by the Spirit, by which we explain things of the Spirit to people who have the Spirit. 14 Now the natural man does not receive the things from the Spirit of God — to him they are nonsense! Moreover, he is unable to grasp them, because they are evaluated through the Spirit. 15 But the person who has the Spirit can evaluate everything, while no one is in a position to evaluate him. 16 For who has known the mind of Adonai? Who will counsel him? But we have the mind of the Messiah!
Disciples know the mind of Christ because of the indwelling Holy Spirit. So where does the prophet come in? Prophets are still called to lead the corporate church by speaking and declaring the will of God to the leaders (who are like the modern-day kings of old). Prophets still speak to believers. Still, today what the prophet utters may contain correction or judgment, or it may speak of encouragement, direction, or wisdom. Prophets still speak to nations, or even to a multitude of nations, declaring the will of God not just unto the Church but unto secular leaders as to warn, to guide, to direct, and to declare the heart and mind of God. Thus from the old to the new, nothing has changed in regard to the prophet. But there is nothing secretive or mysterious to such an extent that is only intended for a small group to know.
Why are such secret things so dangerous? Because it can lead to the formation of esoteric teachings, such as Christian Mysticism, to cults or sects. Such movements only enslave and lead us further away from God. People love the idea of things that are secretive. Consider The Secret, which is a best-selling 2006 self-help book by Rhonda Byrne. It is based on the belief of the law of attraction, which claims that thoughts can change a person’s life directly. The book sold 30 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 50 languages. It is because of a supposed “secret” that drew people’s attention and led to great sales. So when prophets come with secret revelation or information, then people’s attention is quickly grabbed, and the devil exploits it for his own agenda. Be thus careful of such revelations!
We read in 2 Peter 2:1 [Destructive Doctrines]: But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
And also … Ephesians 5: 1 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.
The devil loves secrets and where people seek things that are apparently hidden. He loves to secretly manipulate, deceive and lead astray. And so he still deceives people to believe in secret and hidden messages. Numerology is an example of such a devious practice, where people truly believe there are great hidden secrets or meanings in numbers. Or how about astrology, where people even determine their future and their daily operations by the star signs? Some have even resorted to the Bible code, also known as the Torah code (a purported set of encoded words hidden within the Hebrew text of the Torah) to unearth secretive and hidden meanings in the Bible. If you want to know anything about the Bible, your life, or your future, then ask God, and not the stars, or try to find secret messages that do not even exist!
It should be noted how many cult/sect/esoteric movement leaders often see themselves as prophets, thus special messengers. The devil has done this on purpose to discredit the true prophetic, and the devil also knows that people are intrigued and fascinated by the prophetic, especially by secretive or hidden things. And so as soon as some or other so-called spiritual guru claims himself to be a prophet, then immediately there is some or other kind of allure, and so man is tricked and is deceived by the devil. The devil uses the prophetic for a specific purpose, because of the allure and fascination it holds. And so many will stream towards these “prophets”, who claim to be special messengers or have extra knowledge of the spiritual or the divine.
Take note of Deuteronomy 13 (NKJV): Punishment of Apostates: 1 “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk[a] after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.
It is therefore clear in this case that if any prophet leads someone away from God, or the Truth of God, or the Kingdom of God, in any way, shape, or form, then they are false and it is regarded as evil. Peter warns in “2 Peter 2: But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you”.
Indeed, there are many deceptive, dangerous, and demonic movements in this world today that are led by so-called prophets of God, yet they proclaim, declare and teach knowledge that is contrary to who God is, His Word, and His Kingdom. Yet, because of their charismatic nature, their ability to brainwash and to masterfully entice through propaganda, they will lead so many people astray and cause them to stumble in their ways. Their words and teachings are like poison. These “prophets” drew people unto them and unto their own darkness because they apparently have access to a special message or some sort of revelation that is so exclusive that no one else knows anything of it.
These prophets eventually become false messiahs. They develop God-like mentalities of their significance. Listen to what Jesus warned about:
And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray (Matthew 24:11);
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:14);
For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. (Matthew 24:5)
Examples of such prophets who led cults because of their so-called special message included Jim Jones, David Koresh, and Inri Cristo, who is a Brazilian philosopher and educator who claims to be Jesus Christ reincarnated. He is well known for his many appearances in the media of Brazil and other countries as well. Then you get Sergey Anatolyevitch Torop, known by his followers as Vissarion who is a Russian mystic. He founded and heads a religious movement known as the Church of the Last Testament with its head church in Siberia. Vissarion claims to be a reincarnation of Jesus. There is also a man in Australia named Alan John Miller, who says he is THE Christ.
Sadly, we have seen and still see the rise of many such false prophets who lead cult groups, sects, and secret societies. We also have seen many prophets operating within churches, drawing large crowds, because of their incredible, profound, and seemingly mind-blowing revelations. Be warned. And as I mentioned, many come in the form of the prophet. But the devil only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Indeed, if God has not spoken, then the word either comes from the flesh or from the devil. And so it says in 1 Timothy 4:1: But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons.
Jesus’ word in Matthew 24:4 sums it all up … “Watch out that no one deceives you.”
In the Body of Christ more than ever we need a lot of discernment in these days of such great apostasy and deception. For there is a lot of deception out in the world. Every false and counterfeit movement, often manifesting among the prophetic, only enslaves and captives to the delight of the devil. Jesus knew so many will come, posing as prophets, to pretend to know the Truth.
Paul writes in “Galatians 5: 1 It was for this freedom that Christ set us free [completely liberating us]; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery [which you once removed].” Indeed, Christ has set us free, but sadly not just those in this world but even believers allow themselves to be captured and enslaved by the counterfeit and by the deceptive movement disguised as the truly prophetic.
For those who hold supposedly such secretive knowledge tend to fall into the category of esotericism (or esoterism), which signifies the holding of esoteric opinions or beliefs, which are understood by ONLY a small group of those specially initiated. You can say the term esoteric refers to knowledge or beliefs which are hidden, or which are understandable only by those initiated in their meaning In other words, only a small group of people have access to some really secretive information, and they become, yes, disciples of such a messenger. And this has always been the intention of the devil – to lead people away from God. The serpent will do anything so that people are not disciples of God but disciples of man or of his demons or demonic teachings. Remember, the devil operates in the dark, and by definition, anything secretive or hidden is not revealed and thus is in the dark. God is the Light, and we must stay in His light of truth.
Synonyms for esoteric include the words arcane and mystic. On the other hand, the term occult signifies those beliefs and practices which involve evoking (i.e. conjuring) the power or assistance of the unknown (or the unknowable), thus which deals more with the supernatural. Examples of esoteric religious movements and philosophies include Alchemy, Astrology, Anthroposophy, early Christian Mysticism, Freemasonry, Gnosticism, Kabbalah, Neoplatonism, and Magic.
Another example of esotericism is Christian Mysticism, which holds real danger for it focuses very much on the spiritual experience, or sensory stimulation and on the inward journey of finding peace, just like Buddhism and its Eightfold Path (also called the Middle Path or Middle Way, which is the system of following eight divisions of the path to achieve spiritual enlightenment and cease suffering). All of this should cause alarm bells to ring, for already it borders on Buddhism, and even flows into New Age concepts of spiritual evolution. And this is no small movement. For hundreds of years, there have been numerous Christian mystics that have shaped the Faith, politics, and Society. Ultimately, Christian mysticism leads us away from sound doctrine and a true and real relationship with the Lord. Christian Mysticism remains dangerous, for the very reason you can become completely detached from the Word of God, or even God Himself, as you seek a spiritual path that you still deem is of the Christian faith but has become a path of the esoteric, or the spiritist.
Take note, the Bible does not have hidden meanings, nor do the elements of communion become Christ’s literal body and blood. Although it is true that Christians experience God, Christian mysticism tends to elevate experiential knowledge and revel in the mysterious, focusing on mysticism for spiritual growth. Christian Mysticism is very much alive and real, even in churches, and has seeped into the charismania movement. To be honest, for someone who is not spiritually mature, it can be difficult to discern the presence and the move of the Holy Spirit compared to a spiritual experience of self-desire driven by sensory, emotionalism, or simply sensory overload and hype.
While we must always be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and be aware that our God works in mysterious ways, we must always be discerning for it is easy to step out of the presence of the Spirit. And this is happening a lot these days for example in the Charismatic movement, where more than ever there is a greater emphasis on the sensory experience, or the spiritual hype and the seeking after the ‘moments of spiritual ecstasy’. After a while, we are no longer in the Spirit of the Lord, but we are driven by the flesh, or the imagination, or some kind of emotionalism, or sensory gratification, or worse, we are even ‘channeling something demonic. Yes, the Holy Spirit does move in great and wondrous ways, but never in a manner to contradict the Word, or to remove the glory of the Lord and never to put in question the honor due to the Lord.
The Pentecostal and Charismatic movement gained momentum based on a hunger to again move in the Holy Spirit, but such a journey becomes murky when one does not remain grounded in the Lord, in the Word, and in the Truth. This calls for great spiritual discernment, for not everything that happens in churches that seem so spiritual is from God. Sadly, many of the prophets who come to deceive and lead astray thrive because those they deceive are not grounded in the Word, and thus are unable to discern the real from the counterfeit. And so these prophets of destruction simply take people on a dangerous spiritual journey of the New Age and esoteric.
A lot of supposed secretive prophetic words and teachings we are finding these days, therefore, fall into the categories of mysticism and therefore are dangerous, for while it pretends it stands upon the Word of God, it is not really grounded in the Word, as it tends to become spiritually goofy, and it can even flow into the world of the occult. For example, there is one such mystic who preaches out of the Bible and declares the divinity of Jesus, yet his course for example is labeled as “Guided Christological Ascension Meditation” and “Telepathic Universe & the Transmutation of the Human Soul”. While God desires us to become more like Him, we are certainly not called to transmute (change one substance into another). This is New Age, for it speaks of spiritual evolution by channeling/harnessing energy. We need to therefore remain very alert and discerning to the truth of the matter, for the lines are sometimes blurred.
To give an example of how dangerous these Esoteric movements are (considering how they enslave so many), consider the New Church (or Swedenborgianism), which is the name for several historically related Christian denominations that developed as a new religious movement, informed by the writings of scientist and Swedish Lutheran theologian Emanuel Swedenborg.
Swedenborg claimed to have received a new revelation from Jesus Christ through continuous heavenly visions which he experienced over a period of at least twenty-five years. In his writings, he predicted that God would replace the traditional Christian Church, establishing a “New Church”, which would worship God in one person: Jesus Christ. The movement was founded on the belief that God explained the spiritual meaning of the Scriptures to Swedenborg as a means of revealing the truth of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. He denied the Trinity and deity of the Holy Spirit. He also said all religions lead to God, though all are not equally enlightened. One of its goals is to bring the world together under a new religious understanding. It teaches a need for Christianity to undergo a rebirth — according to Swedenborgian interpretations. He also maintained there is no personal devil.
What we find here is nothing new – such erroneous doctrines have been around for a long time. Red flags should be raised when someone claims a personal divine message from Christ regarding the Gospel. But again, this is another example of indoctrination and brainwashing, leading people further away from our Lord Jesus. Take note, this dangerous mystical non-Christian religion promoted the Oneness of Jesus, which has taken the Church by storm of late. This theology denies the Trinity, with this movement picking up steam of late.
The ramblings of Swedenborg remind us also of Mormonism, which is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter-Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr in the 1820s.
Joseph Smith claimed the Book of Mormon was translated from writing on golden plates in a reformed Egyptian language, translated with the assistance of the Urim and Thummim and seer stones. He said an angel first showed him the location of the plates in 1823, buried in a nearby hill, but he was not allowed to take the plates until 1827. Smith began dictating the text of The Book of Mormon “by the gift and power of God”. After the translation was completed, Smith said the plates were returned to the angel.
As with Swedenborg, Joseph Smith had a supposed direct revelation from God, having been visited by an angel. Another man who supposedly had a direct revelation from God was the American cult leader of the Branch Davidians sect, believing himself to be its final prophet. Koresh prophesized about the Second Coming of Christ as well as the imminent end of the world. Authorities said he successfully converted more than 100 people and convinced them to live in his secluded compound near Waco after preaching his teachings throughout the US, Israel, Australia, and Great Britain. Koresh died in the Waco compound along with 74 other “followers” following a 51-day standoff with the FBI.
And so we need to remind ourselves that the devil himself poses as the angel of light. He is the master of deception. The Branch Davidians sect is but one of many throughout the world that has led to disaster, self-destruction, and great deception.
Consider another such “prophet”, by the name of L Ron Hubbard (Elron) who founded The Church of Scientology, which is a cult created in 1952 as an outgrowth of his earlier self-help system called Dianetics. Scientology and the organizations that promote it have remained highly controversial since its inception. Scientology teaches that people are immortal spiritual beings who have forgotten their true nature. As with Freemasonry, members of Scientology advance in degrees of knowledge, and with each level are exposed to greater “truths” and thus greater self-empowerment. Clearly, Scientology is a lie and a deception from the devil. It is designed to brainwash people and it is designed for self-enrichment.
Jesus was the last mystery that was revealed when He came to earth as the Messiah to die on the cross. God’s Word is accessible to all. His Spirit is accessible to all. It is a matter of just listening, abiding, knowing the Word, and being led by God, for then we shall know the will of God. Again, be very careful of those who know supposed deep and hidden things revealed to only them or a few e who regard themselves thus special. This leads to inclusivism and even borders on a cult. There is only one who is special and who was sent as the mystery revealed to show us the true way to the kingdom – His Name is Jesus. But thus very careful of secret or mystical revelations, instead seek God in Spirit and truth lest we are led astray.
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