MYSTIC DECEPTION: TO UNDERSTAND OR TO EXPERIENCE GOD?

Does the Bible call us to experience God or to understand God? Are we to seek experiences of God or knowledge and wisdom? Are we to be meditating on the Word day and night (Psalm 1; Joshua 1:8), or are we to try out different mystical techniques see determine which will bring us into union with God?

Mysticism consists of a wide variety of techniques used by almost all religions to experience a union with God, apart from trying to understand God and to trust in Him based upon this understanding.

I am not trying to deny the experiential aspect of the Christian faith and the active work of the Holy Spirit. Instead, I just want to understand what God’s Word calls us to focus upon, and where our energies should be directed.

Scripture shows us that the Apostles and the Prophets of Israel never directed the faithful to experience God but rather to know Him. The evidence for this is found in just about every book of the Bible. Therefore, to limit our inquiry, let’s just take a look at the Book of Daniel:

·       And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:3; ESV)

Notice that Daniel never says that those who experience God “will shine like the brightness of the sky above.”

·       Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. (Daniel 12:10)

Notice that “none of the wicked shall understand,” but instead, the “wise shall understand.” Why is it that the wise understand but not those who experience God? Because those who are open to the light of truth are the same as those who are open to God and the wisdom that comes from God. In contrast, there is not a single verse that suggests that by practicing mystical techniques of experiencing God produces understanding or wisdom.

We also see that, in the end, those who love the Lord are the same who have understanding, not those who practice mystical techniques:

·       He [the wicked king, the anti-Christ] shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder… and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white. (Daniel 11:32-35)

Those who “know their God” are the “wise” who make many “understand” the saving faith, not those who teach mystical techniques.

Daniel was beloved of God. Why? This is a question that all who love the Lord should ask themselves. An angelic being informed Daniel:

·       “O Daniel, man greatly loved, UNDERSTAND the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to UNDERSTAND and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.” (Daniel 10:11-12)

What words? Daniel’s words that demonstrated not only truth, but an openness and reverence for the knowledge of God! And to those who have a heart for the knowledge of God, God gives more:

·       And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me” …. “But I [the angel] will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth…” (Daniel 10:19, 21)

This had been the very think that Daniel had sought to understand. Gabriel also assured Daniel of God’s profound love for him:

·       He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision. (Daniel 9:22-23)

What was the gift that Gabriel imparted to Daniel? Understanding! Why not a mountaintop experience? God knew what Daniel needed. Besides, contrary to mystical expectations, divine encounters are usually disturbing. The Israelites were terrified when God had manifested Himself on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20). Even the Apostles were terrified at the voice of God on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:6).

Daniel’s experiences were anything but ecstatic. Even after the angelic being had informed Daniel of God’s great love for him, he had to reassure Daniel to not fear (Daniel 10:12). Even with that assurance, Daniel confessed:

·       “O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength. How can my lord’s servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me.” (Daniel 10:16-17)

This response wasn’t unusual. After other privileged visions:

·       “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me.” (Daniel 7:15)

·       “Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.” (Daniel 7:28; also 8:27; 10:7, 10-11)

If Daniel, the man beloved by God, had experienced such trauma, what are the mystics experiencing when they claim to have achieved union with God?

Jungleman, a Yanomamo shaman turned Christian, had been convinced that the spirits he had been experiencing were divine god-like beings. However, in Spirit of the Rainforest, he later confessed:

·       “I wish I had known the truth about [Jesus] when I was a young man—it would have saved me so much pain and misery. But how could I? My spirits lied so much to me and tricked me. They were so beautiful, so wonderful, so hard not to want. They were the best at telling me split-truth. Now I’m at the end of this life, and I’m ready to begin my real life with [Jesus]. (Mark Andrew Richie, 238)

This kind of testimony should put any reasonable person on guard about the spiritual world. Also the warnings of Scripture:

·       For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

It is only now, through the Cross, that we have been enabled, through faith, to confidently approach God:

·       Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:19-23)

To enjoy this intimacy with Christ is only possible for those who have trusted in Christ. If we haven’t been forgiven and cleansed, to experience God is to experience His wrath. Yes, it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. However, this goodness cannot be a matter of intimacy achieved through various mystical techniques. Instead, it can only come through faith and repentance.

The Great Commandment, Pragmatism, and Seeker Sensitivity

What is the most important commandment in the Bible?

·       Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40)

It even seems that if we get the first one right, the second one will fall into place:

·       This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome. (1 John 5:2-3)

This means that when we love God and follow His commands, we love “the children of God” at the same time. Consequently, if we want to love others, we cannot do it without first seeking to please God.

This principle also pertains to loving the church and our community. This idea might seem entirely uncontroversial, but it is not. Today, there are many completing ideas about how to build the church and to serve our world. For example, In “This Little Church Went to Market,” Pastor Gary Gilley notes that marketing considerations have trumped the first great commandment:

·       [People are] into spirituality, not religion….Behind this shift is the [church’s] search for an experiential faith, a religion of the heart, not the head. It’s a religious expression that downplays doctrine and dogma, and revels in direct experience of the divine–whether it’s called the ‘Holy Spirit’ or ‘cosmic consciousness’ or the ‘true self.’ It is practical and personal, more about stress reduction than salvation, more therapeutic than theological. It’s about feeling good, not being good. It’s as much about the body as the soul….Some marketing gurus have begun calling it ‘the experience industry.’ (pp. 20-21)

There is nothing the matter with marketing. However, when marketing and pragmatic concerns marginalize the first great commandment, we are treading on unholy ground. Jesus illustrated this principle with the Pharisees who elevated had their traditions to the level of Scripture:

·       “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" (Matthew 15:7-9)

The seeker sensitive churches seem to be more concerned about results – numbers and building their church – than in loving God by keeping His commandments. This concern can take many forms. Not teaching doctrines that might cause offense and drive seekers away is almost ubiquitous among them. In contrast, Paul claimed that he was innocent of the blood of all men because he didn’t shrink back from God’s entire counsel (Acts 20:26).

By pandering to the culture instead of faithfulness to God, the seeker sensitive church will not preach on many topics, like sexual sins, creationism, and even the persecuted church. They also tend to be ashamed of any show of favoritism towards other Christians, even Christian refugees who face genocide. Fearing the charge of “favoritism,” seekers sensitives hide their prophetic voice. Instead of serving as the light, they have embraced the prevailing, popular culture.  As one expert put it:

·       The church must show society that it does not favor Christian causes. This will merely further the polarization and heighten the tension between the church and its surrounding culture. (Rough paraphrase)

However, by embracing the culture, we have lost our prophetic voice.

Instead, we are directed to show mercy first to the household of faith (Gal. 6:10). Jesus also indicated that loving the brethren was especially important to Him:

·       “’When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'” (Matthew 25:39-40)

In contrast to Jesus’ priorities, seeker sensitive churches pay little attention to the extermination of Christians. Even prayer is seldom offered up on their behalf.

Instead, a disproportionate number of sermons are devoted to maintaining the community of believers, sometimes in ways that stretch the Word of God beyond its limits. For example, one seeker sensitive plant of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church, NYC wrote in the front of their Sunday bulletin:

·       “Prayer requires community. Prayer is not possible outside of, apart from, or in spite of the praying community… The assumption that prayer is what we do when we are alone – the solitary soul before God – is an egregious, and distressingly persistent, error.” (quoting Eugene H. Peterson)

Sadly, no one informed Jesus that His solitary mountainside walks to pray by Himself “is not possible” to do, and that His conduct represented “an egregious, and distressingly persistent, error.”

Why would this purportedly biblical church print such unbiblical nonsense? I can only guess that keeping their members in church, the only place that their prayers would matter, trumps biblical doctrine.

The life of Daniel and his friends illustrates the very opposite of seeker sensitivity. No, they weren’t trying to form a church, but they were concerned about their witness as Jews. However, it seems that Daniel hadn’t taken any seminar on influencing the culture. Instead, he rejected the generous Babylonian provisions of food in favor of vegetables in order to honor the Word of God. This could have brought upon him and his friends the contempt of the king. However, they were willing to risk it so as not to offend God. And God blessed them with great wisdom, and, ironically, the king was favorably impressed (Dan. 1:20).

Later, Daniel was able to not only interpret the king’s dream but also to tell him precisely what he had dreamed. As a result:

·       The king said to Daniel, "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery." (Daniel 2:47)

What a testimony! As a result Daniel’s faithfulness:

·       The king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. Moreover, at Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court. (Daniel 2:48-49)

But didn’t Daniel realize that having his friends appointed would incur the jealousy of the other officials? And it did! The king had made a great statue of gold before which everyone was required to bow. Some officials reported to the king that the three Hebrew friends failed to do so. He was furious and had the three brought before him. He then gave them another chance to bow and worship the statue.

If they would simply do this, they would not only win their own lives but would spare their Jewish brethren from the possibility of persecution. Furthermore, worshipping the statue would demonstrate to the Babylonians that the Jews were loyal citizens and that becoming a Jew would be something they’d be able to do without great cost to themselves. However, they rejected the idea of seeker sensitivity regarding the Babylonians who might have been contemplating Judaism.

Besides, they could have prayed secretly to Yahweh as they bowed before the statue. However, they wanted to remain faithful in every way. Instead, they proclaimed:

·       "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Daniel 3:16-18)

Evidently, this stance pleased God, who miraculously rescued them from the furnace. Their witness also glorified their God before the King:

·       Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." (Daniel 3:28-29)

There is no greater witness than our faithfulness before God. All of our politically correct thinking pales before the God who will act on behalf of those who trust in Him. Nevertheless, it is true that some will die as martyrs. But Jesus warned that once we put our hand to His plow, we cannot turn back. We cannot compromise for the sake of expediency or cultural acceptance.

The king then gave the three promotions. He recognized men of conviction.

Many years later under King Darius the Mede, Daniel had to undergo a similar trial. The king had appointed Daniel as one of his three administrators over his kingdom. However, Daniel excelled and incurred the jealousy of the others. Therefore, they persuaded to king to issue an unbreakable edict that no one would be allowed to worship another god besides Darius for the month. Daniel could have demonstrated his loyalty and gratefulness to the king by complying. This might have been sensitive thing to do for evangelism by demonstrating that the people could become Jews and remain loyal citizens at the same time.

However, as his enemies anticipated, Daniel continued in prayer to his God. They were then able to betray him to the king, who had no choice but to throw Daniel to the lions. Miraculously God rescued him. The impression on Darius was profound:

·       Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: "May you prosper greatly! I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. "For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." (Daniel 6:25-27)

Such a witness cannot be the result of seeker sensitivity or a calculated church growth analysis. Instead, this is the fruit of a man who will humble himself to trust in Christ alone!

How did God regard Daniel? Did He regard Him as a rigid legalist who lacked the sensitivity to weigh the obvious costs? Not at all!

·       While I [Daniel] was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill-- while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. (Daniel 9:20-23)

What greater commendation could anyone receive! Let us trust in the One who promised that hell and death would not prevail against His Church. The One who has promised to give us an everlasting kingdom!

Prayers that Move God

You might object to this title. “Prayers don’t move God. Instead God moves prayers.” Although I can respect your rebuttal, I still think that we can say that there are prayers that please God – prayers are worship and must be conducted in spirit and in truth – while others are a turn-off.

Just take the prayer of the Pharisee who entered the temple. His prayer was a self-righteous abomination, according to Jesus:

• To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector.’” (Luke 18:9-11)

This was a prayer that God wouldn’t hear. It was a prayer about the Pharisee’s “own righteousness;” it was “about himself” (“with himself;” KJV; suggesting that it wasn’t even a real dialogue). Jesus concluded that because the Pharisee sought to exalt himself, God would humble him. However, those who humbled themselves to acknowledge their need for mercy, would find mercy (Luke 18:14).

All of the great prayers of the Bible are characterized by humility – the acknowledgement of sin and the overwhelming need for mercy. Now, let us regard the three great chapter-nine prayers: Ezra’s, Nehemiah’s and Daniel’s.

In all of these prayers there is found a confession of sin – a recognition that Israel deserved nothing from God but judgment. Ezra’s starts this way:

• "O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens.” (Ezra 9:6)

Far be it from Ezra to minimize the weightiness of Israel’s sins or to make light of them. If sin is not trivial in God’s eyes, then it mustn’t be trivial in our eyes. We must treat sin with the seriousness with which our Lord regards them. They are so weighty that only His blood could atone for them. Therefore, Ezra didn’t say, “OK God, we sinned, but what do You expect of us mere mortals living in this fallen world!”

Nehemiah starts his prayer by exalting God (Neh. 9:5-15), and then contrasts God’s faithfulness with the unfaithfulness of Israel:

• "But they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and did not obey your commands. They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery.” (Neh. 9:16-17)

After God would bless the people, they would become arrogant, convinced that they knew better about their own welfare than God. Consequently, “they refused to listen,” and brought destruction upon themselves.

Once again, Nehemiah made absolutely no attempt to justify Israel’s sins and no suggestion that perhaps God had been unduly harsh with Israel. In the view of both Ezra and Nehemiah, God had been perfectly just, even though Israel had endured extreme hardships at His hands. Why did they retain such a view in light of Israel’s suffering? They had no doubt that Israel’s sins deserved even worse!

Today, we lack a necessary awareness of the seriousness of our sins and the extent of our guilt. We tend to trivialize our sins with many rationalizations:

1. “Well, God knows my heart. He knows that I am trying as hard as I can.”
2. “God is love, and so He doesn’t want us to feel guilty.”
3. “God knows that I’ve been through a lot.”
4. “I’m better than most people!”
5. “I am a good person, and people like me!”
6. “No one is perfect!”
7. “Well, this is a fallen world! What can God expect of us!”

Of course, if we trivialize our sin like this, we also have little respect, taste or understanding for the righteousness and judgments of God. Instead, we might regard Him as slightly tyrannical. We then wonder why we do not feel intimate with a God we regard as a tyrant!

Although we might acknowledge that God is merciful, it is imperative to first realize that we need His mercy, and lots of it! Instead, we try to mitigate our guilt and think, “Well, I really don’t require that much mercy, since I’m really a good person.” This attitude is unacceptable. It minimizes God’s great sacrifice at the cross, and it also minimizes His mercy. It demeans His gift. It is as if someone gave a homeless person a house, and he responds, “I don’t really need your house. Since you gave it to me, well, I am willing to make use of it.”

We must never minimize God’s gift of grace by minimizing our sins. Daniel certainly didn’t:

• "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame--the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. O Lord, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you. The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.” (Daniel 9:4-10)

Is God pleased with such prayers? Evidently! While Daniel was still praying, the archangel Gabriel appeared and informed him:

• “As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed.” (Daniel 9:23)

Today, our church – the Bride of Christ – is so weakened. We have become arrogant and have strayed. We no longer meditate on the Word day and night (Psalm 1: Joshua 1:8). Rather, we have compromised and have adopted the ideas of the world, instead of His ideas. We have sought self-confidence rather than God-confidence, and now we are being brought low.

Pray that our Savior would revive His church. It must begin when the church humbles itself to grieve and mourn over its sins and to cry out for the promised mercy of our Lord – mercy that will wipe our sins clean and fully restore us (1 John 1:9).

Why it is Imperative to Preach Predestination, Part 2

For a while, I had avoided teaching this doctrine. It breeds fights and disunity. However, I’ve come to see that, if I want to be faithful to Scripture and to my students, I have no choice.

God had given King Nebuchadnezzar little choice. God had ordained him

King over mighty Babylonia, but the King thought it was all about him. However, he had had a disturbing dream and he consulted with the only one who could interpret it – Daniel.

Daniel explained that the fallen tree that the King had seen in his dream was himself. The King would loose everything, but only for a period of seven years:

·        "This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes” [“chooses;” NKJV]. (Daniel 4:24-25)

However, the King couldn’t accept this interpretation:

·        Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?"  The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, "This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times [or years] will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes." (Daniel 4:29-32)

For seven years, the King thought that he was a cow until he came to see the truth of one single doctrine – “the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes [or “chooses”]."

Seven years of insanity is a great price to pay to learn one simple lesson. I had to learn this same lesson and had to pay a similar price. After God saved me, I was convinced that I had chosen Him and not He me, contra Jesus’ words (John 15:16). I was also convinced that He had a pretty good catch in me. Not that my good deeds had made me deserving of His salvation, but I thought that I had a more spiritual nature than others, and so I knew a good spiritual deal when I saw it. Although I didn’t see it at the time, this idea made me proud, even arrogant. I was better and more deserving than others!

I had no idea that my attitude was offensive to my Savior. It required years for me to let go of my self-inflating drug. However, in order to do this, I had to be brought low, very low, to the point where I painfully understood that there was absolutely nothing in me worthy of His love – even that, on my own, I would never choose Him.

If I don’t teach this doctrine, I would be condemning my students to endure a similar suffering. Their suffering would be upon my hands.