Sinister Spirit SINISTER SPIRIT P Tracing the Spirit of Antichrist Through Current Issues Timothy Zebell Self-published Niles, MI Sinister Spirit Copyright © 2014 Contents Preface viii Introduction 1 Chapter 1. Spirit of Antichrist – Part 1 7 Chapter 2. Spirit of Antichrist – Part 2 27 Chapter 3. Opposing the Spirit of Antichrist – Part 3 54 Chapter 4. Christian Mysticism – Part 1 65 Chapter 5. Christian Mysticism – Part 2 111 Chapter 6. The Paranormal – Part 1 165 Chapter 7. The Paranormal – Part 2 202 Chapter 8. Evolution – Part 1 230 Chapter 9. Evolution – Part 2 267 Chapter 10. Transhumanism – Part 1 280 Chapter 11. Transhumanism – Part 2 317 Chapter 12. Dark Technologies 344 Chapter 13. Homosexuality 377 Chapter 14. Conclusion 425 Appendix A.1 – The Antichrist 427 Appendix A.2 – Spiritual Ranks of Authority 446 Appendix B.1 Montanism 450 Appendix B.2 – Christian Leaders Who Embrace, Emulate, and/or Promote Christian Mystics 460 Appendix B.3 – Contemplative Books 465 Appendix B.4 – Organizations Helping to Bring Contemplative Spirituality Into the Church 468 Appendix B.5 – Christian Colleges and Seminaries that Promote Contemplative Spirituality 471 Appendix C.1 – Harry Potter 480 Appendix C.2 – Twilight 499 Appendix C.3 – Paranormal Gateways to Vampirism, Wicca, and the Occult 513 Appendix C.4 – Witchcraft in the Church 524 Works Cited 540 Preface This book, though informative to read, is intended to be taught and to supplement such teaching. Therefore, it is not structured for the popular audience. Instead, it is arranged to match a teacher’s cadence—both in the pre- sentation of the content as well as in the necessary repe- tition of this content when teaching. Also, this book cites internet sources wherever possible in order to provide the greatest level of convenience for the teacher to verify the information himself. Furthermore, when a cited source relies upon another source for its information, every attempt has been made to find and provide within the footnotes both the original source information as well as the cited source. This too is intended to make it as conve- nience as possible for the individual who wishes to verify the material cited in this book. At times additional information to support or clarify various statements would be helpful, except that this information would interrupt the flow of thought if included within the body of the book. For this reason, such information is included within the footnotes. To dis- tinguish these among the over 800 footnotes, these partic- ular footnote numbers have been marked with an asterisk sign (*). Also, unless otherwise noted, all Bible verses are taken from the English Standard Version of the Bible. This translation was chosen because the English rendering of the original manuscripts is similar to contemporary Eng- lish speech while also maintaining as literal a translation as possible. SINISTER SPIRIT ix Because this book is intended to be taught, extensive appendices have been included to supplement the body of the book. Some of these appendices are included in the back of this book, and others are available online at www.InquisitiveChristianity.com. These appendices are designed to provide the reader with a fuller understanding of issues which are mentioned within the book but are not expounded upon. Also, they are intended to provide those who wish to teach through this book with enough information to field many of the questions that are likely to be asked. Given that this is the intended purpose of the appendices, this book relies upon the works of others wherever such works seem sufficient. By doing so, not only is valuable information relayed to the reader, but hope- fully the reader will also be encouraged to further investi- gate the works of these other authors. Also included online at www.InquisitiveChristianity.com is an entire database of supplemental websites, media content, blogs, and books related to many of the topics addressed in this book. These resources constitute some of the best resources the author could find both in favor and against these topics. Readers are strongly encouraged to visit the website. The author’s prayer is that this book will be helpful. It is the result of many years of research. The included content is the author’s best understanding regarding these issues. He has sought to be as fair and yet simplified in his explanation of these topics as possible; nevertheless, he remains fallible. For this reason, any who disagree, are intrigued, or are confused regarding these topics are x Timothy Zebell encouraged to study them further. However, given the spiritual nature of these issues, anyone interested in studying these subjects is strongly encouraged to place himself underneath the guidance and accountability of another pastor. Hebrews 13:17 teaches that God has pro- vided His church with pastors who can help guard our souls. Some of the popular teachings addressed in this book appear to be spiritual and seem sound, but they are heresy and cancerous to the soul. For this reason, every- one would do well to take advantage of this safe-guard that God has provided for our spiritual well-being. Introduction Every Christian is involved in an unseen cosmic war against spiritual forces. Intellectually, we understand that these spiritual forces are our true enemy, but on a practical level, this is not so readily apparent. Instead, our focus is drawn to the tangible threats which surround us because of social issues. Many become obsessed with confronting and resisting these social threats. As such, they boycott products, promote specific legislation, and endorse polit- ical candidates. Certainly, this is not wrong, and if truth be told, we could use more people who care enough to tackle these issues. However, we must be careful that we do not lose sight of the bigger picture. Our true enemy is not mortal. Our true enemy is not the individual who rep- resents and inspires these issues. Behind these represen- tatives and under-girding these social threats is a far more menacing foe. At the core of today’s social issues is a spirit that is manifesting itself in the physical realm via these issues. As time progresses, this spirit is becoming more brazen in its efforts. In fact, during a 2014 interview with Tony Perkins, Franklin Graham publicly declared that many American political leaders are now openly anti-Christ in their efforts.*1*2 CNS News reports, “Some of the people 2 Timothy Zebell working in the Obama administration and in the White House are trying to ‘completely secularize our military’ and are ‘hostile to Christians,’ to the point that they ‘are anti-Christ in what they say and in what they do’ …”3 No longer does this spirit of antichrist feel the need to lurk in the shadows. Today it is revealing itself as the motivating force behind many of our world’s hottest headlines. Our struggle against this spirit is intensifying. For this reason, it is imperative that we be capable of identifying the true enemy. Scripture provides us with seventy-six characteristics which constitute this spirit of antichrist. Moreover, it supplies the Christian with five specific lit- mus tests to identity this spirit. In this book, we will study each of these identifying factors. Once we are capable of defining and identifying this spirit, we will then trace this spirit through six categories of current events which spawn numerous social issues. Along the way, we will also question how we as Christians ought to respond to these matters: 1) Christian Mysticism Contemplative spirituality has taken the church 1. As a pioneering Louisiana legislator, Tony Perkins authored such mea- sures as the nation’s first Covenant Marriage law. He now serves as the presi- dent of the Family Research Council. Additionally, he hosts a daily national radio program titled “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins,” and he sends a daily Washington Update e-mail to grass roots political activists. 2. Franklin Graham is the son of the renowned evangelist Billy Graham. He serves as the president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, which is an evangeli- cal Christian organization that uses humanitarian aid to victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine as a means of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. 3. Chapman, “Franklin Graham: Some Administration Officialsre A ‘Anti- Christ’.” SINISTER SPIRIT 3 by storm. This issue is no longer relegated to the fringe elements of Christianity. No denomination is immune to its effects, despite the fact that it is the legacy of Roman Catholic monks who merged East- ern spirituality with Christianity. We will consider several of the most prominent practices of this “Christian” mysticism, such as contemplative prayer, the prayer labyrinth, yoga, lectio divina, etc. 2) The Paranormal America is obsessed with paranormal entities and practices, but do people understand their true nature? In England, more people believe in the existence of aliens than believe in the existence of God. Millions of people around the world believe they have encoun- tered the paranormal, but when they turn to those who should be best equipped to provide them with answers—the church—they are disbelieved or ignored. Because of this, they become offended and seek answers elsewhere. 3) Evolution The theory of Darwinian evolution is a clear example of how our adversary has blinded the minds of men. This blindness is not based upon facts, or even upon what is more plausible. This blindness is based upon a spirit that rejects the authority of God and His Word. What then is the antidote to this the- ory which has nearly monopolized the scientific com- munity? 4) Transhumanism Humanity as we know it is being fundamentally altered.