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.

Does having the Spirit Negate the need for Scripture and its Theology

In one branch of Quakerism, there is no sermon or Scripture. Instead, all sit quietly until the Spirit stirs someone to get up and speak. One of their guiding lights, Rufus Jones, had written that the Quaker:

• “Turns away from arid theological notions and insists instead upon a real and vital experience of God revealed to persons in their own souls.”

For some Quakers, doctrine and scriptural teachings are dry and lifeless.  Although Jones insists on turning away from “arid theological notions,” his claim is highly theological and perhaps also “arid.” Nevertheless, he is right that God can speak to us in many ways, even directly into our heart and mind, as Scripture even asserts:

• For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Romans 1:21)

• "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”  (John 16:8)

In fact, as Proverbs tells us, the wisdom of God is all around us, crying out to be taken by all:

• Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand… (Prov. 1:20-24) 

Wisdom is available but rejected. Why? It is painful. It carries a “rebuke.” This is because wisdom first requires us to see the truth about ourselves and repent – the last thing in the world we want to do! It is only after we remove our own blindness through confession that we can see clearly enough to correct others (Mat. 7:1-5). However, according to Jesus, we prefer to hide away in the darkness of denial and rationalizations:

• “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”  (John 3:19-20)

Consequently, unless we are being drawn into the light of truth we grow to hate it. In order to cover up this hatred, we might even boast that we are seeking or even that the Spirit is talking through us. Consequently, it is just too easy for us to avoid the light by believing that our feelings and personal sentiments are those of the Spirit. If this is so, then the “Spirit” will never tell us anything that contradicts our agenda! How convenient!

Instead, Scripture warns us of our almost limitless ability to delude ourselves about the things of the Spirit:

• Thus says the Lord of hosts, "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; they speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:16)

• Then the Lord said to me, "The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds. (Jeremiah 14:14)

• Thus says the Lord God, "Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing.” (Ezekiel 13:3)

• All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart. (Proverbs 21:2)

How is it that we can be so horribly self-deluded? There are two reasons for this – one voluntary and one involuntary. We voluntarily harden ourselves to God. As a result of this, we beckon in the darkness of self-delusion (Rom. 1:18-32):

• But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels. (Psalm 81:11-12; 2 Peter 2:18-21) 

We also contend with immaturity. Growth into the light is a slow process, as Jesus indicated:

• “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

It’s a process! Sound theology doesn’t just suddenly appear. The Spirit gives wisdom (James 1:5) through study of the Word (2 Cor. 3:1-3; among other things):

• Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. (Psalm 119:97-100)

Meditation on the Scriptures is a process. It requires time, but, in conjunction with the illumination of the Spirit, it produces wisdom:

• The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. (Psalm 19:7)

The Spirit can also use the wisdom that comes from Scripture to lead us to salvation:

• How from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15)

Does the Spirit work apart from Scripture, as Jones claims? He certainly can, but He has ordained to work through Scripture, as Paul explained:

• How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"… Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:14-17)

Jones’ faith is not based upon hearing the message of the Gospel. Should not Jones question it, as Isaiah counsels:

• When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. (Isaiah 8:19-20)

Paul counseled that when we go beyond Scripture, we go beyond the wisdom of God, and get into trouble:

• "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? (1 Corinthians 4:6-7) 

Instead, if we want to be faithful to our Lord, we must be faithful to His Word:

• If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. (1 Peter 4:11) 

Consequently, when Paul departed from the Ephesian elders for the last time, he pronounced this benediction upon them:

• "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32)

According to Peter, blessing would come through the Word, not the Spirit alone:

• His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:3-4) 

What then does it mean to be a follower of Christ? Jesus answers this in many ways. He had warned, “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned (John 15:6). Well, what does it means to remain in Him? He explains:

• If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you… If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love… You are my friends if you do what I command. (John 15:7, 10,14)

There is no other way to be a friend of God without abiding faithfully in His Word, not in the Spirit alone.

Besides, the Spirit is the author of Scripture. He led its writers to write what they did (1 Peter 1:9-10; 2 Peter 1:19-21). It is therefore impossible to abide in the Spirit without also abiding in His Word. And without the Spirit, spiritual discernment is not possible:

• The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. (1 Cor. 2:14) 

Jesus also taught about the inseparable-ness of Word and Spirit:

• The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life. (John 6:63)

Because these two are inseparable, we cannot claim that we have the Spirit while we reject the Word. Consequently, if we are not born of the Spirit, we can have little assurance that we are being led by the Spirit.

His teachings weren’t “arid theological notions,” as Jones claims, but living and essential truths, as He always claimed:

• “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness... For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." (John 12:46, 49-50)

Others claim scriptural support for the notion that, since they are being led by the Spirit, they do not need the Word of the Spirit:

• But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth… As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in him. (1 John 2:20, 27) 

This interpretation is clearly mistaken, as we have seen above. However, there are many more reasons for this. For one thing, if Scripture had been made unnecessary by the spirit, then teachers of the Scripture are also unnecessary. But this is clearly not true:

• It was he [God] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,  to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-15) 

What happens when we don’t have the Word? We don’t have a proper foundation for our faith and are blown about by every wind of doctrine and belief.

For decades, I had struggled unsuccessfully against depression. Even after coming to the Lord, I was consumed by powerful feelings that God did not like me and might not have accepted me. It was so natural for me to assume that these powerful feelings were the leading of the Spirit. However, Scripture trumped these feelings and convinced me that they didn’t represent the Spirit’s revelation to me.

Besides, how can we have confidence about any decision without the light of Scripture? After all, many claim the guidance of the Spirit, and they contradict one another. One pastor claimed that the Spirit had led him to divorce his wife and to marry a younger woman. The congregation – and they thought that these personal leadings took precedence over Scripture – agreed. However, some years later, this same pastor received another “revelation” from the Spirit to divorce his second wife in favor of a far younger woman. It was only then that his congregation began to ask questions.

This same problem pertains to dealing with all unrepentance. Many of these unrepentants claim that they are led by the Spirit to commit sin. How are these problems to be addressed? There must be a source higher and more reliable than our personal feelings of how the Spirit is guiding us, and that reliable source is Scripture.

How then do we interpret 1 John 2:20 and 27? These verses never say that the Spirit teaches us apart from Scripture! Instead, His anointing teaches us through Scripture (and the teachings of the Apostles), as John writes elsewhere in this same letter:

• We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. (1 John 1:3-4)

In fact, had the Spirit’s anointing been enough, John would have had absolutely no reason to even write this letter! John concludes:

• We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding [through His teachings], so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true--even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)

According to John, Salvation came through the teachings of Jesus, not apart from the anointing, but in conjunction with it!

The Beautiful Face of Evil and Jim Jones

On November 18, 1978, 909 members of Jim Jones’ People’s Temple killed themselves in the Guyanese jungle. They had established themselves there to pursue Jones’ communist-socialist dream, which became a nightmare.

The People’s Temple started out as the People’s Christian Temple. However, the “Christian” facade was soon laid aside as the Temple grew to thousands. Slowly, Jones revealed his true self-identity:

• What you need to believe in is what you can see…If you need me to be your God, I’ll be your God.”

However, evil often comes in the form of the good and moral. Jones boasted that he had created four state-of-the-art senior homes. He had adopted inter-racial children, and the first black child in Indiana. He received everyone as an equal. He repeatedly proclaimed that all were one big family. Members would sell everything they had and the People’s Temple would take care of all their needs.

There was much good, but, not far from the surface, the evil lurked. Jones declared that many of the Temple members were:

• Hung up on the Bible…[It has] held Black people down for centuries.

At this, he threw the Bible down to the ground.

Temple members would work 20 hours a day. Some stayed up for days. Others felt guilty if they attempted to sleep through the night. Sleep-deprivation became the norm. Reports of Jones’ sexual appetite for both men and women became know. He even prevented members from speaking to one another.

Nevertheless, these inconsistencies were overlooked. Members would say:

• He really understood [the Black plight].

• Every person felt they had a purpose there…Something bigger than themselves.

• They had life; they had soul; they had power. We were alive in those services.

The footage of the members celebrating and worshipping testifies in favor of their “alive-ness.” Thousands were attracted, even as the focus began to shift to a Jones-worship. About him, people would say, “He has power!” In the midst of healing services, he’d tell his multi-racial “family” to look towards him. Many regarded him as a miracle-worker and a healer.

Nevertheless, some began to sense that there was something wrong but felt that it was too late to escape. The Temple had become their home, their family. Sometimes, it was the threats and intimidation that kept members from leaving, until they finally found their “liberation” through mass suicide.

Evil is alluring. It dresses itself in the clothing of righteousness. It must do so, or no one would be seduced by it. Paul had warned the Corinthian church:

• Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. (2 Cor. 11:14-15) 

How then can anyone tell the difference between true goodness and its copy? One Facebook blogger responded:

• I guess I better stay away from beautiful, ethical stuff.

I responded that we must be careful and discerning. Jesus taught:

• "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-17) 

Jones’ inconsistencies had been apparent from almost the start. However, he and his Temple family were very attractive and inviting. When we are so in need of friendship, family, and moral involvement, we are willing to overlook the shadows.

However, this should not only be a lesson for seekers. It must also be a lesson for the church. What Jones had done with racial reconciliation had been radical, while we had been neglectful and sometimes even worse. Instead, we are supposed to be the example for the world, as Jesus proclaimed:

• "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” (Matthew 5:13-15)

However, we have largely failed in this. No wonder people have left our churches for cults and defective off-shoots like the Emergent Church! Lord have mercy!

Jesus left us with this mandate. (It also served as His prayer – John 17:21):

• "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35)

How can people know that Jesus is the Way when we remain divided – racially and interpersonally? How can we stop the rupturing of the church if we fail to humble ourselves before our Lord’s instructions?

Oh Lord, come to our aid. We have failed to love as we ought. We have failed to forgive as we ought. We haven’t poured ourselves out for others as You have done for us. Empower us Lord. Pour out Your Holy Spirit upon us that others might know the truth about You. You alone are our hope!