Hypnosis

RV89-01

© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1993)

We continue to look at the scene that John is observing in God's throne room. It is a scene of worship, and it is based on Revelation 4:6-11. It is obvious that the world today is rapidly shaping up for a united world government and a united world religion. These things that, just a few years ago, seemed highly unlikely and practically impossible are now almost a sure bet. There is going to be a world government, and there are forces in various areas of society which are moving for that. There is going to be a uniting of religion.

That force is taking place powerfully as well in our day. This is being brought about by demonic forces, which are brainwashing mankind with the doctrines of Eastern mysticism, which we have been considering. Humanity is being led into a mind trap, and this trap is baited by some very attractive bait. It is baited by the demonstration of psychic powers. It is baited by the euphoric feeling of peace with the universe, and it is baited with the sense of the individual being God. People today are surrendering their objectivity. They are entering a state of mental passivity, which enables the deceiving spirits to pose as messengers of light, and to manipulate the minds of people. The bait is being taken up rapidly. The assault against humanity is on, and the occult is readily accepted even by science today. This is the new age of awareness, and it's very exhilarating to people. They feel that they're on the horizons of a new movement forward in the evolution of humanity.

However, the Bible indicates that, near the rapture time when the Lord returns from heaven, there is going to be a great transformation of consciousness which will take place as the result of a great mental delusion which God will permit to come upon all unbelievers. It is a principle of divine dealing that if you insist on ignoring God's viewpoint, and following a path in opposition to that viewpoint, God will say, "OK, you may pursue it. You may experience the consequences of your self-will." And in the tribulation period, that is exactly what's going to happen.

So, when we get to Revelation 13:8, we read, "All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (that is the antichrist), whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world." The consciousness delusion will have come to the point where this man, the antichrist, is viewed as deity, and the world turns to worship him.

Mind Control

The key to that kind of delusion has to be control of the human mind. The American CIA and the Russian KGB have for many years been conducting extensive experiments of various kinds in order to try to discover a means of controlling the minds of people. If you can control the mentality, you can move huge human forces in any direction that you want them to go. Mind control is sought by all the cult leaders today in order to direct their devotees, and also to keep them from being influenced by the light of Scripture. The only escape from this kind of spiritual darkness, this mystical experience of psychic power, is a personal regeneration through trusting in Jesus Christ as personal Savior.

Rabindranath Maharaj

One of the fascinating stories of this kind of a regeneration is described for us in The Cult Explosion by Dave Hunt concerning Rabindranath Maharaj, a young man who was born into a high caste Hindu family who was a devoted follower of Hinduism and all of the worship, meditation, karma, and all the beliefs of Eastern mysticism, and whose father was viewed as an avatar, the reincarnation of one of the gods. He was a father who was so devoted that shortly after he was married, he decided to devote himself completely to his god, and he never said another word to his wife, and never said a single word to his little baby boy.

When his son was born, and as he grew up, he used to stand before his father, as his father would, from morning to night, stay in the lotus position, worshiping out in the outer spaces, spaced-out, communicating with the gods of Hinduism. His Son was viewed as one who had great potential who was to be himself a great spiritual leader. Even when he was a boy, people would come by, and no matter how poor they were, they wanted to leave an offering with Rabindranath, because that was one of the ways that you improved your karma for the next life – by giving offerings to one who had upon him the qualities of deity.

However, suddenly the day came when Rabindranath Maharaj came into contact with the gospel, and the Spirit of God did His work of enlightenment, and Rabindranath was born again. That is the only way out of the darkness that is encompassing the mentality of people today. Here's his testimony. Rabindranath says, "Krishna said there are many ways. Buddha, before he died, said that he hadn't found the way. Yet, Jesus said, 'I am the way.' Well, I had to consider this very seriously. I couldn't ignore such a powerful message. After much inner conflict and turmoil, having counted the cost: loss to friends and family; and, what Hindus who had worshiped me would do, I finally went on my knees and prayed a simple prayer, asking Jesus Christ to forgive all my sins; to come into my life; and, to bring me into contact with the true and living God.

"The moment I prayed that prayer, something radical happened. I literally felt tons of dark things go out of me. For the first time, I realized that all the mystical experiences I'd had: the visions; the mystical music; the astral travel; the gods I had visited and conversed with; and, the psychic power – they were all part of the darkness that had gone out of me. And Jesus Christ who said, 'I am the light of the world' entered my life. He completely changed me. He transformed me into a brand new person. I was really born again.

"In Jesus Christ, I can say that I encountered the true and living God. In Him I have found a lasting peace and real hope such as I never had as a Hindu leader. I was able to love with His love people whom I had formerly hated in spite of my religiosity. Christ added a whole new dimension to my life. In Him, I found a real purpose for living. I know who I am; why I'm alive; and, where I'm going."

This is the tremendous testimony of the only conversion that's going to make it out of the darkness of these doctrines that we have been reviewing.

The Consciousness of Female Dominance

There is perhaps one more doctrine that we should add, because it is such a powerful force in our society today. It lies also as one of the bases of Eastern mysticism. That is the doctrine of the consciousness of goddess dominance, or the consciousness of female dominance. In ancient pagan religions, there was a close association between goddesses and the serpent. This reflects, of course, the historical account in Genesis of Eve being deceived by the serpent. But as archaeologists began digging in ancient civilizations, they were fascinated by finding numerous statues that associated the woman with the serpent, and, obviously, in religious contexts. The ancient statues of these goddesses were usually in the form of a nude goddess who was entwined by snakes. One of these was a limestone image of Ashteroth. Ashteroth was Baal's wife.

Sometime ago, we studied the phallic cults of Baal, and the impact of Baalism upon the people of Israel, particularly in time of Ahab and Jezebel. Well, this particular statue was found at Kiriath Sepher in a strata of archeological dirt which was pre-Israelite in its timing. When they uncovered this limestone statue, they discovered, again, a nude goddess, and from the earth between her legs was coiling a snake (a serpent). It had coiled up around her legs, and its head had entered the sex organ. Solomon built the temple to the worship of this very goddess for one of his wives who had come from Sidon where Ashteroth was worshiped. This same goddess was known as Ishtar in Babylon, and as Astarte among the Greeks and among the Romans.

Erich von Däniken

It was common in ancient civilizations, to have an outstanding devotion directed toward female gods (the goddesses). They were viewed as having enormous power, and they played a great role in pagan religious systems. Erich von Däniken has written several books relative to UFOs, and his theories relative to the fact that there were some ancient astronauts. Von Däniken has concluded that there is a connection between idols and unidentified flying objects. He believes that there were ancient astronauts who appeared on earth, and these inspired the pagan belief in gods and goddesses. They made images, consequently, to honor these astronauts whom they treated as deities.

Brad Steiger

UFO expert Brad Steiger relates a powerful, out-of-the-body experience that he had in 1974, which he claims was caused by the Egyptian love goddess Sekhmet, and that when he talked to her, she provided for him powerful information (extensive information) on UFOs which he used in writing one of his books.

UFOs

So, here we have an opinion by, again, people who are researching this field, of a connection between strange appearances of forces out in space – the unidentified flying objects. And don't forget that there have been thousands of those sightings now that are on official record, and that these people who have been experts in this area have connected these with the goddesses of the ancient pagan world. The Bible teaches, of course, that idols are a representation of demon powers, and the UFOs are probably demonic manifestations which are communicating Satan's basic lies. As a matter of fact, when we have had occasion of people who have been actually taken into contact with these UFO creatures (encounters of the third kind), they have brought back information. This information, interestingly enough, is a reiteration of all of these lies of Satan that we have been studying. This gives us a clue as to what kind of creatures these are that are communicating.

This particular goddess Sekhmet is a very interesting goddess. I'd like to read to you a comment again from The Cult Explosion by Dr. Robert Masters, who is a student also of considerable reputation of UFOs, and is a psychologist. Quoting from page 122: "The well-known psychologist, Dr. Robert Masters has also attested to the power wielded by Sekhmet. He claimed that a large statue of the goddess in his office has produced psychic phenomena, including materializations and mysterious movements of physical objects. At times when he has hypnotized patients for psychotherapy, Dr. Masters says that the goddess has snatched the patients' minds away. Suddenly, they were not in trance with me. They were in trance with the statue. When they would come out, they would tell me about it. Dr. Masters claims that the idol has revealed to him relationships between her powers and the consciousness-altering effects of UFOs. It is not surprising, then, that increasing sightings of UFOs, and the proliferation of UFO cults, accompany today's neo-paganistic consciousness revolution."

So, the goddesses of the ancient world were creatures that bore tremendous powers. Today, we are in a godessness consciousness era. Today, there is a great reawakening of the power of the female. The Los Angeles Times declared in 1978 that this goddess consciousness reawakening was the power behind the feminist movement. In paganism, if you remember your Greek and Roman mythology, the goddesses were always more powerful than the gods, which again reflected Eve's role in opening mankind to Satan's universal religion. In Hinduism, the most feared deity is the goddess calling Kali. Sometimes she is called Durga. She is the wife of the god Shiva the Destroyer. That is a very fearful God. Shiva is feared by the Hindus, but his wife Kali is feared even more. Kali is also called Shakti, which means "force," and represents the impersonal deity which is running the universe.

The Shakti Pat

One of John Denver's favorite gurus, Mukundananda, in his meetings with people, manifests the force of the goddess Shakti through what he calls a Shakti pat, where people stand in front of him, and he pats them on the forehead with a Shakti pat, in Shakti's name, and they fall into a faint. They drop to the floor in a trance, and they enter a state of instant enlightenment. I found that very fascinating – the Shakti pat. Those of you who have some acquaintance with the charismatic movement know that one of the favorite meetings with the charismatics is when people line up to have the leader give them the pat on the forehead so that they will be slain in the spirit. The preacher will invite the people forward who want to be slain in the spirit. And that is a fascinating meeting to be in. If you hear of a charismatic meeting where they're going to slay people in spirit, by all means, attend. It's a show worth seeing, because they do exactly the same thing that the Hindu gurus do with the Shakti pat.

They'll get a man or a woman before them, and he will ask them if they believe: Do they have faith? And of course, the whole meeting has jacked them up emotionally now such that they're ready. Then he says, "In the name of Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit," and he hits them on the forehead. And sometimes I thought that he was just knocking them out, and that's why they were doing it. But I saw them wiggling a little so I knew they weren't completely out. It was just that something hit them. And those women fall to the floor, and right away a man comes up with an apron and covers their legs. That's for modesty. I mean, you've got this church with all these bodies lying around all up here in the front area (at the altar area) covered over because the women always push into the line first. Of course, in the days of the miniskirt, this was quite a problem. I mean, it expanded the show considerably, but they try to reduce the attraction of that.

This is being done in honor of God the Holy Spirit. You realize that there is a power out there that is enormously deceptive, such that people would swallow something like this, and believe that what is taking place is something being produced by God the Holy Spirit. The charismatics don't realize that all they're getting is a variation of the Hindu Shakti pat.

In Hinduism, they believe that the force that moves the universe is really female. In witchcraft, the force is viewed as being female. Of course, that is evident to us in terms that we use. We talk about Mother Nature. Did you ever hear anybody talk about: "It's not nice to fool father nature?" The same is true of the term "mother earth." We don't talk about father earth. We talk about mother earth. All of these are terms which reflect to us the concept that the power in the universe is female.

In a witch's coven (an association of witches), it must always be headed up by a woman – never by a man. This again is interesting in reflecting what takes place in the charismatic movement where there are so many women pastors and women preachers, and they are accepted. The connection between the demonic forces and the charismatic movement is obvious to anybody except the most deliberately, willfully blinded individual. To be blinded to this serious matter is going to be very costly. The witches worship the force of nature. Perhaps that's the indication of the fascinating connection between the feminist movement and the concept of the worship of the environment – Mother Nature, and so on.

One of the fascinating things that indicated further the connection of the feminist movement with witchcraft was a course which was taught at the University of California at Santa Cruz in April of 1978. It showed the real spiritual power which is behind the feminist movement. The course was advertised as designed to raise the consciousness level of the female in the feminist movement. It was specifically for women who were in the liberation movement – to take this course to raise their consciousness level. The study program was called the Great Goddess Reemergence. They connected her right back to the goddess concept. There was only room for 450 women, but they very quickly filled the class, and probably an equal number were turned away.

These students, in the process of this course (to express their liberation; their freedom; and, the sense of power that they experienced) rejoiced and celebrated their position in the movement by dancing bare-breasted on the campus to the beat of the bongo drums, frolicking like a bunch of natives. Here's what the Los Angeles Times had to say in reporting the event:

"Eerie monotones reverberated on the University of California Santa Cruz campus. Cheers and whoops went up for the goddesses of Yore: Isis; Astra; Dimitar; and, Artemis. The event was indicative of a burgeoning spiritual dimension to the feminist movement in America. Christine Downing, head of San Diego State University's Religious Studies Department, estimates that many, if not most, spiritually sensitive women in the women's movement are willing to replace the biblical God with a frankly pagan and polytheistic approach.

"Witchcraft is aiding the women in their search for roots and rituals without the connotations of evil usually associated with witchcraft. A Santa Cruz woman said, 'Some of the women think of themselves as witches, but not all.' A brief unscheduled appearance met with enthusiastic applause was made by Z Budapest, a self-described witch. The goddess movement knows her more as a leader of the Susan B. Anthony Coven No. 1 in Los Angeles, and a charismatic spokeswoman for a feminist brand of Wicca, an ancient women's religion (witchcraft). The Goddess Movement, also called the Women Spirit Movement, apparently considers its first major gathering to have been a conference attended by about 1,200 women at the University of Massachusetts in late 1975. 'The ancient Mediterranean world; pagan Europe; native America; and, Hindu tradition were all sources for goddess imagery,' Dr. Christ (which rhymes with grist) said. Dr. Christ is head of the San Jose State University Women's Studies Program, a religious phenomenon virtually unknown outside feminist circles. 'Goddess consciousness will be widely known in three to five years predicted,' Dr. Christ."

So, here's an interesting phenomenon of the association of the Women's Liberation Movement and the ancient Hindu principle of the dominance of the female goddess.

All of this has brought about for us a worldwide deception, and has laid the ground for a world religion. The religious forces which are sweeping the world today are not likely to be turned back. The result is going to be a world of religion based upon the demonic doctrines of Eastern mysticism. Psychic powers are being demonstrated which are designed to counterfeit the miracles of Jesus Christ, so as to reduce the Lord to just another psychic worker. The return to life of some who had been declared clinically dead is also an interesting ploy of Satan – people who have come back to life to report what they saw on the other side, who have been declared to have been clinically dead by doctors. The purpose of these is to deny the reality of death and of divine judgment, and to belittle the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Whatever the ins and outs of the explanation may be, I guarantee you that if those people had been absolutely dead, the scriptural principle would have come in, which declares that once a person is truly dead, then comes the judgment of God upon the individual. Satan is deceptive. He has tremendous powers, and we can't always explain how he brings about what he does.

Satan today does not evoke revulsion in people, but rather he fascinates them. The Hindu snake charmer thinks that he's charming the cobra, but it is Satan (the serpent) who has the Hindu snake charmer under his spell. The religious cults all share a common set of beliefs, and they are out to win the world. The plan is to devise ways to capture the mind of people, and to control them. Vast numbers of people are now willing to go into trances, which is one of the primary ways of capturing the minds to control them. Minds can be directed then to spirit powers. Their vocal cords can be used to convey the lies of demons.

This is easily done today. You want to remember that, not so long ago, there were not many people who were willing to go into a séance. People shied off from that sort of thing. They were not willing to participate in spiritism. It frightened them. They were afraid of that. But now that Eastern mysticism has captured the mentality of so many people, it's easy to find people through whom the demonic spirits can transmit their messages. There is now a popular acceptance of psychic phenomena. People are not afraid of it. These mystical experiences are now attractive to them. The psychedelic drugs have made an impact that has made them receptive to that – and, hypnosis also.

So, we're dealing with the battle for the mind of man. The cults proclaim that all human problems are in the mind, and they can be solved by positive thoughts about peace, prosperity, and good things happening to us. We don't have to deal with the old sin nature or with the issue of regeneration. The cults declare that the problems are in what you think, because the mind is what is real. The spirit is what is real. You remember that we learned that Maya principal in the previous session. Everything else is illusion.

Hypnosis

One of the primary ways that the cults of mysticism use to solve the problems for controlling the minds of people is hypnosis. Today, we are constantly reading ads in the newspapers on books that you may send off for to teach you self-hypnosis. In the ads, you're told that great things can be accomplished. Great powers will come to you. You may reach many of your goals through the technique of self-hypnosis.

Hypnosis is closely related to witchcraft. The person comes under a spell. In this case, it's under the spell of the hypnotist. Hypnotism has been part of pagan practice to ancient times. It has been part of witchcraft all along the line. It has been part of demon worship all along the line. Suddenly, we're finding Christian spiritual leaders who are now advocating hypnosis as a means for improving one's worship and spirituality. Here's a Christian who's gotten himself into psychiatry. Here's a Christian doctor who is a psychiatrist or a psychologist, and he's recommending hypnotism as a way of dealing with certain problems. The Christian psychologists are using this in their counseling. This is how they are seeking to resolve problems.

Hypnotism has always been an integral part of witchcraft; of spiritism; of voodoo; and, all kinds of other forms of occultism. Here we have Christians using this very technique. However, hypnotism fits in with the major thrust of the last days' deception, and with its emphasis on self, and the belief that there is a subconscious power (a mind power) within man that needs to be released. The justification for hypnotism by Christians is that it works. So, it's seen as scientific, because science now accepts occult powers as real. It was Sigmund Freud who said that emotional problems could be solved by delving into one's past, and he used hypnosis to do that. That's what is being done today – solving your problems by delving into your past while the individual is placed under hypnosis.

However, the Word of God is very clear about what to do in dealing with your past problems. In Philippians 3:13, the apostle Paul says, "Brethren, I don't count myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." The way you deal with those problems; those disappointments; those distresses; those failures in your life; and, those sins is to confess them; forget them; and, move on – not to probe into your past, but as quickly as possible to dismiss them.

There is a great danger in hypnotism, and you would be well-advised not to fool with this practice. It has been commonly conveyed to people that hypnotism is an innocent practice, and that nobody can be hypnotized against his will. That is wrong. If there were somebody here in this room now who had the capacity to hypnotize, he could bring some of you under without you cooperating at all. Furthermore, people have been wrongly told that you would never do under hypnosis what is contrary to your will (what you would do out of hypnosis). That is wrong. It has now been demonstrated that people can be brought to do things under hypnotism that they would never do if they were in their normal state of mind.

For example, if a person is under hypnotism, you can give him a gun, and you can tell him to point it at somebody and say, "This is a water pistol. Why don't you squirt him in the face?" And the person will pull the trigger, and they'll blow the person's head off. A person will break his own moral code under hypnotism. Don't kid yourself. What you would not do in your normal controlled state, morally, you will do under hypnotism, when you're under the control of the mind of the hypnotist. A person who has this capacity is amazing. I have seen people who have the capacity to hypnotize who could say, "Now watch. I'm going to talk to this person," and the person didn't even know what was going on: "And I'm going to hypnotize the person."

He goes to this person and talks to him, and he says something. He makes a movement, and the person goes out – into a trance, and then he demonstrates how he has this person under control. He didn't even do anything like: "Now watch this shiny watch. Think about it. Keep your eye on it. It's going back and forth. Now you're drifting. You're dreaming." There doesn't have to be any of that kind of stuff. It's just bingo! I couldn't believe it. That person is gone. You can be put under hypnotism against your will if you put yourself in the position where that can be done, and you will do things against your will once you're under.

The Demonic World

You can see that this is a made-to-order condition for the demonic world. It is the hypnotic state that achieves for Satan what he is looking for – a mind which is out of gear (in neutral), that he can then direct. And this is true not only when you're under hypnosis, but after you've been brought out, and you don't even remember the matter. But you are now programed by that demonic force to some line of action.

So, it is not an innocent thing to say. "Well, I'm practicing hypnotism for a good reason. I eat too much, and I'm doing this to take my weight off. I smoke, and I'm doing this to break that habit. I do something else, and I'm going through hypnotism to stop it." What you have done, no matter what your reasons are, is that you have opened yourself to demonic forces.

Of course, if you're a Christian, the devil, being no fool, is not going to come along (after you've played with self-hypnosis, or somebody else hypnotizing you), and have you do some really dramatic immorality, because you would catch on. You'd say, "Hey, wait a minute, what's going on here? Why am I doing this?" And you might put two and two together. The thing that Satan will have you do (and his demons will have you do) is to program you in some subtle way, so that you make moves in your life. And only when you stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, will you look back and realize the price you paid, and the forces to which you exposed yourself that took over your volition.

Remember that the whole basis for hypnosis is deception. It changes a person's view of reality so that he believes something which is not true. A Christian can think that he's gaining good things from the process and, unbeknownst to him, he may discover down the line that he has entered into some problems as the result of the open door that he made to demonic influence. Anything that short-circuits the conscious mind is bad, and it's made-to-order for Satan. It eliminates moral responsibility for one's actions.

Most of you understand the functions of the soul: the mind; the will; and, the emotions. Most of you understand the role of the human spirit. Most of you understand the relationship with those – the domination of the mind: a mind which is controlled and guided by God's word, and a mind that then governs the emotions and governs the actions of the will, and thus God the Holy Spirit is able to lead in the life. But if you want to practice something like hypnotism, I guarantee you there are other spirits out there that will be quite happy to move in and replace the work of the Spirit of God in your life.

People who regularly practice hypnotism on themselves have discovered that they inadvertently secure psychic powers. They suddenly discover that they have psychic powers. When you find yourself in that position, you better start calling upon the name of Christ, and back out as fast as you can, because psychic powers are demonic powers.

If hypnotism were a legitimate practice, just think of what a great tool it would be for evangelism. All we would have to do is hypnotize people, and say, "Now, when I say 'Hallelujah,' you're going to come awake, and you're going to trust in Christ as Savior, and you're going to lead a good moral life. Hallelujah!" The person would say, "I believe." From then on, he goes on. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Some of you probably would like that yourselves. You could use that improvement. But obviously, this is a bypassing of volition, and God does not work in anything that bypasses your volition. That's why Eve could get into the trouble that she did in the Garden of Eden. God permitted the exercise of her will, and the exercise of her husband's will, with consequent responsibility for the actions they took.

One of the things about hypnotism that I think is fascinating is the connection that is obvious between hypnotism and the charismatic movement. The charismatic movement uses openly and unabashedly the technique of emotionally induced hypnosis to experience what is described as the power of God. Included in that is being slain in the spirit, which is a way of going into a hypnotic trance, which the Hindus called the Shakti pat. There is a mass emotional high that is produced in a charismatic meeting to override the control of the mind in the person.

Let me read a comment to you by Dave Hunt out of The Cult Explosion beginning on page 187. Here is a man who has observed the workings of the charismatic movement, and the workings of Eastern mysticism in a demonic world. Here are some interesting observations that he has made:

"Unfortunately, even evangelical Christians have been influenced by Eastern mysticism and magic. The techniques of mind science and witchcraft, usually rationalized as good psychology, which they are, are regularly used and advocated in evangelical circles, wittingly or unwittingly, especially among extreme charismatics. The emotional level of the Sunday evening church audience is built up to the point of excitement by the same methods that any good hypnotist or witch doctor would use, except that the repetitive phrases are filled with seemingly orthodox references to God and Christ and faith. A state of expectancy is generated that is mistaken for biblical faith, but which has been created by the charisma of the pastor, and is more often rooted in the contagious effects of crowd hysteria than in a quiet confidence in the living God."

You see why the phrase is used that Oral Roberts came up with: "Something good is going to happen to you." And they started the program with it on TV this morning. When Oral Roberts' son came out, the first thing he said was, "Something good is going to happen to you." Immediately, expectation is built up. Immediately, there's the excitement that that kind of an idea generates, and it is the first step toward a hypnosis condition.

He continues: "Some of the more discerning leaders (that is, in the charismatic movement) recognize what is happening, but justify it all as the use of God-given methods or obedience to spiritual laws that God has revealed to them. Learning to activate these spiritual laws through a positive attitude is the mind game many Christians play. Prayer ceases to be a call for God's personal intervention, and becomes instead a technique for tapping into spiritual power. Instead of leading us into a more intimate relationship with the giver of life who inspired it, the Bible becomes a set of formulas for living. God Himself is less the object of desire than the things He promises in His Word. And certain overemphasized verses, if claimed by faith, become the secret key that unlocks the door to perpetual health and prosperity.

"Very subtly, God is eased out of prayer, even though we still address Him. The answer no longer depends as much upon God's will, or even God's grace made possible through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, as upon the way we think. Faith is looked upon as some magic power that can be released by the mind, if only we can really believe. Though the evangelical still acknowledges a personal God in theory, in actual practice, he often acts as though God were some cosmic force that can be manipulated by positive affirmation of scriptural principles. Without realizing it, many born-again Christians have substituted mental gymnastics for spiritual warfare, and, of course, the enemy is very happy about that.

"The humanistic theories of psychology have so influenced the church that the subconscious mind sometimes supersedes God as the object of faith. There are those who teach that God's healing power works through the subconscious, and faith is the attitude of mind that triggers it. Such teaching implies that sin has only affected man's conscious mind. The subconscious is still perfect, and can heal any disease. Thus, man could live forever if he could only tap the amazing powers lying dormant within his own being. This is exactly what psychology, parapsychology, occultism, and all the false religions teach. Without resorting to faith, the subconscious mind is being tapped by non-Christians through drugs; yoga; TM; hypnosis; and psychological techniques, and impressive results are being obtained.

It is not true that Jesus healed through tapping the powers within the subconscious. On the contrary, He introduced the creative and resurrecting power of the transcendent God into a sick and dying world. He did not merely activate godlike qualities already within man. Both the humanist and the occultist would agree with evangelical teaching that leads one to have faith in his subconscious mind, as though it has the inherent power unaffected by man's rebellion against God to heal any disease. In contrast, Jesus said, "Have faith in God."

The power of the charismatic experience is the power of demons.

Psychosomatic illnesses are a mild form of self-hypnosis. You know what psychosomatic illnesses are. You've got some kind of symptom. You think you have some kind of illness. But it's because something happened to you. You've had a mental trauma, so you have this illness. You've had a boyfriend that has jilted you. He has left you at the very day of the wedding. So, therefore, you can't lift your arms anymore. You say you're a broken bird, and you'll never fly high again. There's nothing wrong with your arms. You go to the doctor, and you say, "I can't lift my arms anymore, doctor." It's psychosomatic. Your mind has affected your body because of that experience.

Faith healers (I guarantee you) know how to exploit this kind of thing. They psych people in their meetings out of this hypnotic state. The delusion then is made that the person has been healed, when all that has been used is the power to enable a person to get out of his psychosomatic trauma. The faith healers always avoid terminal illnesses. They do not raise the dead. One of the things that Jerry Sholes talks about in his book on Oral Roberts, Prime-Time Religion was on one occasion when a faculty member at Oral Roberts University had a baby that was desperately ill, and the faculty member and his wife determined that they would not take the child to a doctor, but that they would pray for his healing. Several days went by. The baby got worse, and finally died.

That was terrible enough. But now the faculty member and his wife decided that they were really going to believe God. They refused to report the death of the child. They decided they were now going to pray that God would resurrect their baby. What could be more natural than to call upon the man who loves to say that God has called him to transmit God's healing power to mankind – Mr. Roberts? What could be more natural than to call upon the president of the university who has that high and mighty calling from God to transmit God's healing power to the world? And so they did. They asked him, "Mr. Roberts, would you come and pray for our dead baby, and raise him for life?" What a grand opportunity! The gift of healing in its ultimate expression was raising people from the dead. One of the vice presidents told Mr. Sholes at the time, "Oral wouldn't touch that with a 40-foot pole." Most of us wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole, but Oral Roberts wouldn't touch it with a 40-foot pole, because he's smarter. He knew what he was dealing with. For three days, that man and his wife kept that little corpse in their home, praying that God would resurrected it, if they would only believe. But Oral Roberts never showed up.

The psychosomatic status is a mild form of self-hypnosis, and it is used by the devil in the charismatic movement to give the illusion of healings that have taken place, and to con sincere people who will go to such an extent as that that faculty member and his wife did. There is a lot of this kind of white magic which is being used in Christian circles – an emotional type of self-hypnosis. There is a lot of the occult power being turned loose in Christian circles, because Satan works everywhere that there's an opening for him.

So, this is the significance of what John has seen in that throne room of heaven. He saw a God who is declared holy. By that statement, He is declared to be the sovereign personal Creator. And by that same statement, he declared that there is, in this universe, that which is unholy and sinful, and that which is manipulated by the devil. The world in which we live today is a world that has given itself over to the new mind sciences, and the control of their thinking to these demonic forces, with all the tragic consequences that that entails. They do it in India; they do it in China; they do it all over the world, where these doctrines are held; and, they do it in the United States, in our society today. This is the kind of thinking to which we have been called to witness. Like with Rabindranath Maharaj, the only way out is through the Savior who can bring them out of this delusion into the light of the reality of God's Word – a reality that is based upon the mind which is filled with the content of Scripture, and which is acted upon by your will. The next time you get tempted to play with your mind in self-hypnosis or some other technique, remember who's waiting in the wings to move in and take over.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1982

Back to the Revelation index

Back to the Bible Questions index