Saturday, April 19, 2014

False Christs: Exposing End-Time Deception



Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves (Matthew 7:15).
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; (Ephesians 4:14)
CULTS are nothing new under the sun.  Having existed for centuries, they have one common denominator—they follow a false Christ, false prophet or false teacher. 
Merriam-Webster defines the word cult as “A small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous.”
I also like thefreedictionary.com’s definition:  “A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.”   
Since DECEPTION is on the rise, cults continue to spring up all around the globe.  Satan knows that his time is short; therefore, he continues to raise up false christs, false prophets, false teachers and false religions, to accomplish his mission and will:
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him (Revelation 12:9).
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). [Emphasis Added]
The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I [Jesus Christ] am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).  [Emphasis Added]
I prefer to avoid glorifying the works of the devil, but people (especially the uneducated, gullible and easily-manipulated) need to be WARNED about the DANGERS of getting involved in a cult.  Satan, after all, is NOT playing games!  A person’s social, economic or educational standing does not matter to Satan who is constantly on the prowl seeking victims to devour (1 Peter 5:8)!
I need to pause long enough to share that humans are no match for Satan, nor can they fight him physically because he is a spirit being.  Even Spirit-filled Christians that know and exercise their authority in Jesus Christ should never attempt to do battle with Satan or his high-ranking demons.  God’s Archangel Michael and other warring angels deal directly with them.  God only permits believers to engage in spiritual warfare with low-ranking demons and only then when walking in holiness and obedience, by invoking the Name and Blood of Jesus Christ, and by wielding the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God! (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12).  Holy living and Obedience are key essentials for a believer to be successful in spiritual warfare:
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded (James 4:7-8).
Although Satan is NOT omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent like God, he does rule over a vast, multi-dominion, multi-dimensional kingdom that functions like a well-oiled machine.  His army, which never rests or sleeps, is well-trained, well-equipped, efficient, organized, loyal and obedient.  From his highest-ranking generals (seraphim, cherubim, thrones, powers, dominions, principalities, archangels and demons), to the lowest mischievous imp, Satan’s army is at his beck and call around the clock. 
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12).
Satan knows what your weaknesses are, just as he knows mine.  No, he cannot be everywhere at the same time, but he knows things because he assigns demons to follow and observe us, just as God assigns angels to minister to us (Hebrews 1:14). 
A demon on assignment will hang around and look for chinks in your spiritual armor, to measure your strengths and weaknesses.  A chink represents a weak point, a breach in your spiritual armor, and a potential point of entry for a weapon.  For example, if you are committing a willful sin like adultery and know better, your spiritual armor has been breached and compromised.  You are also DECEIVED and until you confess your sin and repent, you will not be able to engage in successful spiritual warfare.  Why?  Because willful sin gives demons free and legal license to wreck havoc in your life!
A demon will also hang around to listen to the words that you speak (Proverbs 18:21).  Your words and demeanor tell a demon everything it seeks to know.  By your words and behavior, a demon will know if your faith is Word-based (strong), or fear-based (weak).  It will also know if you, as a Spirit-led Christian, are a threat to Satan’s kingdom, or a carnal, worldly Christian who’s playing games with God!  On the flip side, God’s angels on assignment listen for the Word of God to come out of your mouth because they ACT only on the Word of God. 
A demon will also attack your mind with a fiery dart (Ephesians 6:16) which is an evil thought or a vain imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).  Then the demon will wait to see if you ACT on it.  If you do, you will reveal your weakness and the demon will know what strategy and weapon Satan can use against you.  This is why you should know what your weaknesses are and meditate on Scriptures that will renew your mind (Romans 12:2) and change those weaknesses into strengths! 
In short, Satan’s spies provide all of the information that he needs to plan and strategize attacks against you.  As stated before, his mission is to kill, steal and destroy, so you would be wise to divulge as little information about yourself as possible.  To keep your enemy guessing, do not act on bad thoughts and be careful what you say!  Personally, the only thing that I want Satan to know about me is my shoe size because my daily goal is to keep him under my feet!
I have taken time to explain Satan’s strategies and assignments because God’s people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).  Armed with insight, knowledge and wisdom, someone you may know will be less likely to be deceived and led astray by a false Christ, false prophet, or false teacher.
Not all religious cults make headline news like the one pictured above.  Due to space limitations, this blog will not represent an exhaustive study or commentary about cults.  Instead, I will reference three notable cult leaders and their followers whose lives tragically ended in mass suicide.  Many readers, especially those of my generation, will remember and relive the horror and shock when these tragedies were reported in the news.  Years after, people are still asking the perplexing and troubling question, “How could those poor people have gotten themselves involved in something like that?”  I urge you to not judge them harshly.  The power of DECEPTION is that victims do not realize they are deceived!  As for the above question, the answer is still not readily or easily known because many pieces to a highly complex puzzle are still missing.  Only God and Satan know ALL of the dynamics that were in place and functioning at the time these tragedies occurred.  Still, many dynamics are known and will be referenced at the end of this blog.  From a Biblical standpoint, DECEPTION is at the root of these tragedies and Satan, his demons, and his deceived human puppeteers are responsible!
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:4-5);
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:1-2);
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).
The space between your ears, the mind, is Satan’s battlefield, which lends truth to the old adage that “an idle mind is Satan’s playground!”  This is why it is imperative that believers READ, STUDY, MEMORIZE and MEDITATE the Word of God!  Why?  Because at least three times a day and perhaps more, you feed your physical body to keep it strong.  Your inner man (comprised of spirit and soul) has an appetite, too.  It is sustained and fortified by the Word of God.  A mind that is void or empty of God’s Word is open and receptive to DECEPTION and cannot withstand fiery darts of the enemy (Ephesians 6:16).
PORTRAIT OF A CULT LEADER
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).
Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; (1 Timothy 4:1-2)
How does one recognize a cult leader? … Certainly not by the outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7).  
Listed below are twenty personality traits that stand out as a FIRST WARNING to anyone who might associate with a wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15).  Please understand that this is NOT an exhaustive list, nor is it the final authoritative word on the subject.  If you know a church or cult leader that is presenting many of these traits, the chances are good that this person is abusing members of his church or group emotionally, psychologically, physically, financially, spiritually and possibly sexually:
BELIEVES and CLAIMS that he is a deity or a chosen representative of a deity;
BELIEVES that he possesses answers and solutions to every problem;
BELIEVES that he is destined for greatness or that he will be martyred;
CONSIDERS AS HIS ENEMY, anyone who criticizes or challenges his authority;
DEMANDS blind, unchallenged allegiance and obedience;
ESTABLISHES and ENFORCES rigid rules and endless, mindless tasks or routine;
EXPLOITS members financially and sexually;
FEELS NO GUILT OR REMORSE and never apologizes;
FORBIDS MEMBERS from leaving, traveling, or pursuing life, liberty and happiness;
HAS A GRANDIOSE VIEW OF HIMSELF and what he can achieve;
IS CHARISMATIC and CHARMING, but superficially;
IS EGOTISTICAL and NARCISSISTIC (the word “I” dominates his conversations);
ISOLATES MEMBERS from having contact with family, friends or the outside world;
ISOLATES THE GROUP physically, to avoid being observed;
MONITORS or RESTRICTS member contact with family, friends or the outside world;
PEOPLE are TREATED as OBJECTS and mean nothing to him.  They are simply a means to an end;
PUBLICLY and PRIVATELY ridicules, criticizes, humiliates and devalues members;
USES BRAINWASHING and mind-control techniques;
USES ENFORCERS to insure compliance and obedience.
USES FOR PERSONAL GAIN, domination, intimidation, manipulation, exploitation and control;
For a more complete list of characteristics, visit:
NOTABLE CULT LEADER #1
JAMES WARREN “JIM” JONES
(May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978)
Who can ever forget the greatest single loss of American civilian life until September 11, 2001 happened?
Jim Jones, leader of Peoples Temple, was born in Indiana.  His father, an alcoholic who associated with the Ku Klux Klan, fought during World War I.  His mother allegedly believed that she had birthed a messiah.  As a child, Jones studied Joseph Stalin, Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi and Adolf Hitler, noting their strengths and weaknesses.  He also developed an intense interest in religion, allegedly because he found making friends difficult and being treated as a social outcast.  Later in life, childhood acquaintances described Jones as a “really weird kid” who was “obsessed with religion … obsessed with death.”  It was alleged that he stabbed a cat to death.
In 1949, Jones married nurse Marceline Baldwin and moved to Indiana where he attended the University in Bloomington.  He was a self-professed agnostic and atheist.
In 1951, Jones began attending Communist Party meetings and rallies in Indianapolis.  Frustrated and provoked by ostracism of open communists in America, Jones asked himself, “how can I demonstrate my Marxism?  The [fiery dart] thought was, infiltrate the church.”  [Emphasis Mine]
In 1962, Jones traveled with his family to Brazil with the idea of setting up a new Temple location.  On his way to Brazil, Jones made his first trip to Guyana, then still a British colony.
In 1965, when he returned from Brazil, he told his Indiana congregation that the world would be engulfed in a nuclear war on July 15, 1967 that would then create a new socialist Eden on earth.  He moved his Temple to California, presumably for safety.
While Jones always spoke of the social gospel’s virtues, before the late 1960s he chose to conceal that his gospel was actually Communism.  He perverted the Gospel of Jesus Christ by preaching that, “If you’re born in capitalist America, racist America, fascist America, then you’re born in sin.  But if you’re born in socialism, you’re not born in sin.”
By the early 1970s, Jones thought of Christianity as a “fly away religion.”  Having rejected the Bible, he authored a booklet titled “The Letter Killeth,” criticizing the King James Bible.  He also denounced The Bible’s “Sky God” as being no God at all.  Jones believed that he was the reincarnation of Mahatma Gandhi (murdered in 1948) and Father Divine (died in 1965), as well as Jesus of Nazareth, Gotama Buddha and Vladimir Lenin.
In 1973, Jones was arrested and charged with soliciting a man for sex in a movie theater bathroom known for homosexual activity.  The man was an undercover Los Angeles Police Department vice officer.  At least one account exists of his sexual abuse of a male member of his congregation in front of the followers, to prove the man’s own homosexual tendencies.
In a 1977 New York Times interview, his wife Marceline admitted that Jones was trying to promote Marxism in the United States.  She stated that Jones had slammed the Bible on the table yelling, “I’ve got to destroy this paper idol!”  That same year, Jones and several hundred Temple members abruptly decided to move to the Temple’s compound in Guyana when allegations by former Temple members that they were physically, emotionally and sexually abused, were to be imminently published.
Religious scholar Mary McCormick Maaga argues that Jones’ authority decreased after he moved to the isolated commune, because he was not needed for recruitment and he could not hide his drug addiction from rank and file members.
In November 1978, California Congressman Leo Ryan led a fact-finding mission to Jonestown Guyana, to investigate allegations of human rights abuses against Jones.  The delegation included relatives of Temple members, an NBC camera crew and reporters for various newspapers.  After being transported to the Jonestown encampment, Congressman Ryan was attacked with a knife, but the attack was thwarted, bringing the visit to an abrupt end.  When the delegation left Jonestown, fifteen People’s Temple members who had expressed a wish to leave, accompanied them.
At the airstrip, as members of Ryan’s delegation boarded two planes, Jones’ “Red Brigade” armed guards arrived on the scene and began shooting.  The five who were killed were Congressman Ryan; Don Harris, a reporter from NBC; Bob Brown, a cameraman from NBC; San Francisco Examiner photographer Greg Robinson; and Temple member Patricia Parks.
Back at Jonestown, Jones talked 910 inhabitants, 303 of which were children, into committing mass-suicide by drinking cyanide-laced grape-flavored Kool-Aid.  Jones was found in a deck chair dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.  His wife, Marceline, who had taken reporters on a tour of Jonestown earlier that day, was found poisoned at the pavilion.
Source:  Wikipedia
NOTABLE CULT LEADER #2
MARSHALL HERFF APPLEWHITE, JR.
(May 17, 1931 – March 1997)
Sadly, the journey of the “Heaven’s Gate” religious group began on the road of DECEPTION and ended in Hell instead of their preferred destination of a “higher evolutionary level.”  Unfortunately, the only fame that Marshall Applewhite, their delusional, grandiose leader, received was that the cult’s organized demise still stands as the largest mass suicide to occur inside the United States! 
MARSHALL APPLEWHITE (aka Do, Bo, Tiddly, Nincom, Guinea), was a native of Texas, the son of a Presbyterian minister, and very religious as a child.  As a young man, he served in the United States Army and attended several universities.  In 1952, he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and enrolled in a Seminary school to study theology, hoping to become a minister.  At about this time, he also married and fathered two children. 
Marshall Applewhite was a baritone singer and earned a master’s degree in music.  For a brief time after failing to launch a professional singing career in New York, he taught at the University of Alabama, where he lost his position after pursuing a homosexual relationship with a male student.  When his wife learned of the affair in 1965, they separated and divorced three years later.  Applewhite was described as mentally jumbled, disorganized, and a master manipulator that suffered from emotional problems. 
In 1971, Applewhite’s father died which took a significant emotional toll on him, causing severe depression.  In addition, his debts mounted, forcing him to borrow money from friends.
In 1972, Applewhite met Bonnie Nettles, a nurse who shared his interest in mysticism.  Their discussions led them to believe that they were called as divine messengers.  Applewhite, who believed in reincarnation, was convinced that they had met in a past life.  Nettles told him that their meeting had been foretold to her by extraterrestrials, which persuaded him that he had a divine assignment.  By this time, Applewhite had begun to delve into astrology and have visions, including one in which he was told that he was chosen for a role like that of Jesus.  In fact, he described in a pamphlet that Jesus’ reincarnation was as a Texan, implying himself.
Applewhite and Nettles also believed that they were chosen to be the two witnesses described in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 11:3-13), and were thus fulfilling biblical prophecies.  They believed that they would be killed, restored to life, and transported onto a spaceship in full view of others.  Applewhite’s view of the Bible was materialistic, seeing it as a record of extraterrestrial contact with humanity.
In 1974, Applewhite was arrested for failing to return a rental car and jailed for six months.  While imprisoned, he discussed the topics of extraterrestrials and evolution.  Upon release, Applewhite and Nettles became resolved to contact extraterrestrials, seeking and recruiting like-minded followers.  Applewhite also believed in the ancient astronaut hypothesis that claimed extraterrestrials had visited and populated earth in the past and would return to collect a select few.
In 1975, Applewhite and Nettles were invited to California to speak to New Age devotees and managed to persuade about half of the 50 attendees to follow them.  They also focused on college campuses.  Most of their disciples were young and interested in occultism or lived outside of mainstream society.  Their followers came from a variety of religious backgrounds, including Eastern religions and Scientology.  Most were easy converts because they were well-versed in New Age teachings.
Applewhite and Nettles believed that they represented beings from another planet, the Next Level, who sought participants for an experiment.  They stated that those who agreed to take part in the experiment would be brought to a higher evolutionary level.  They believed that a prerequisite of ascension to the Next Level was complete separation from earthly desires.  Members were instructed to forsake friends, family, media, drugs, alcohol, jewelry, facial hair, and sexuality.  Concerning the latter requirement, Applewhite and seven others opted for surgical castration which was performed in Mexico.  Leaders also had little contact with their followers who were dispersed because Applewhite wanted to prevent close friendships, fearing that this could lead to insubordination.  Applewhite instructed his disciples to submit themselves like children or pets with their sole responsibility being to obey their leaders.  Members became totally dependent on Applewhite, were desperate for his approval, and he used this to control them.  He encouraged his followers to see him as Christ because he (Applewhite) was the only way to salvation.
In June 1976, Applewhite and Nettles gathered their remaining followers in Wyoming, promising a UFO visit.  Nettles later announced that the visit had been cancelled.
In 1983, one of Nettles’ eyes was surgically removed due to cancer.  She would live two more years before dying in 1985.  Applewhite told their followers that she had traveled to the Next Level.  After Nettles’ death, Applewhite became increasingly paranoid, fearing a conspiracy against his group.  He allegedly avoided new converts, worrying that they were infiltrators.
THE COMET HALE-BOPP
In October 1996, the “Heaven’s Gate” group rented a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California, where two video messages were recorded that offered viewers “the only way to evacuate this Earth.”  Applewhite also learned of the approach of the Comet Hale-Bopp, believed that Nettles was on board a spaceship trailing the comet, and that she planned to rendezvous with them.
In March 1997, the group (between the ages of 26 and 72) isolated themselves and recorded farewell statements before committing suicide.  Fifteen members died on March 24; fifteen died on March 25, and nine died the next day.  On March 26th, after receiving an anonymous tip, the sheriff’s department was led to search the mansion.  Inside, they found 39 bodies lying neatly in their bunk beds, faces and torsos covered by a square, purple cloth.  Everyone was dressed identically in Nike Decades athletic shoes, black shirts and sweat pants and armband patches reading “Heaven’s Gate Away Team.”  Beside most bodies was a bag that contained a few dollars and a form of identification.  Most of the members had taken phenobarbital mixed with pineapple and washed down with vodka before securing plastic bags around their heads to induce asphyxiation.  Applewhite’s body was found seated on the bed in the master bedroom.  Two female assistants had helped him commit suicide before killing themselves.  Only one of the cult’s members did not kill himself.  Weeks before, he had left the group to ensure future dissemination of the cult’s videos and literature.  However, two former members later committed suicide in a similar manner.
The mass death of the “Heaven’s Gate” group was widely publicized in the media as an example of cult suicide.  On April 7th, Applewhite’s wild-eyed face was featured on the covers of Time and Newsweek.  His final video message was widely broadcast, giving the public yet another chilling example of cult-related MASS DECEPTION and SUICIDE.
Source:  Wikipedia
NOTABLE CULT LEADER #3
DAVID KORESH
(born VERNON WAYNE HOWELL)
(August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993)
The tragedy in Waco, Texas was cited by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols as motivation for the Oklahoma City bombing terrorist attack they carried out on April 19, 1995.
DAVID KORESH (born Vernon Wayne Howell) was the Leader of the Branch Davidians religious sect and believed himself to be the group’s final prophet. 
Born in 1959 in Texas, Koresh’s mother was a 15-year-old single mother, impregnated by a 20-year-old man, who abandoned mother and unborn baby when he met another teenage girl.  Koresh never met his father and his mother began cohabiting with a violent alcoholic after David’s father left. 
In 1963, she placed her 4-year-old son in the care of his maternal grandmother and returned when he was seven.
Koresh described his early childhood as lonely and at age 8, he was allegedly gang-raped by older boys.  Due to poor study skills and dyslexia, he was enrolled in special education classes and nicknamed “Mister Retardo” by fellow students.  Koresh dropped out of high school in his junior year.
At age 22, Koresh had an affair with and impregnated a 15-year-old girl.  He claimed that he became a born-again Christian in the Southern Baptist Church and joined his mother’s church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
In 1982, he moved to Waco, Texas, where he joined the Branch Davidians, a religious group that originated from a schism in 1955 from the Shepherd’s Rod, themselves disfellowshipped members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1929.
In 1983, Koresh claimed the gift of prophecy.  The voice of speculation claims that he had a sexual relationship with Lois Roden, 77-year-old prophetess and leader of the sect, claiming that God had chosen Koresh to father a child with her, who would be the Chosen One.  The same year, Roden allowed Koresh to teach his own message, which invoked controversy and jealousy.  George Roden, the intended next leader of the group, considered Koresh an interloper.  In the ensuing power struggle, Roden who claimed to have the group’s majority support, forced Koresh and his group off the property at gunpoint.
In 1985, Koresh and approximately 25 followers camped at Palestine, Texas, 90 miles from Waco.  That same year, Koresh traveled to Israel where he claimed he had a vision that he was the modern day Cyrus.
After being exiled to the Palestine, Texas camp, Koresh and his followers eked out a primitive existence, living in buses and tents for two years.  Upon Lois Roden’s death in 1986, the exiled Branch Davidians wondered if they would ever return to Mount Carmel Center. 
In 1987, a power confrontation between George Roden and Koresh led to a gunfight that left Roden wounded, and Koresh and his followers charged with attempted murder.  Koresh’s followers were acquitted and Koresh was granted a mistrial.
In 1989, George Roden murdered Wayman Dale Adair with an axe blow to the skull after Adair expressed his belief that he (Adair) was the true messiah.  Roden, convicted of murder, was imprisoned in a mental hospital at Big Spring, Texas.
On May 15, 1990, Vernon Wayne Howell legally changed his name to DAVID KORESH for publicity and business purposes.  The last name Koresh was chosen because it is the Persian name of Cyrus the Great, a Persian king who is named a Messiah for freeing Jews during the Babylonian Captivity.  By choosing David for a first name, Koresh was professing to be the spiritual descendant of the biblical King David.
Allegations of child abuse and sexual abuse have been widely circulated by the press.  Koresh’s doctrine did lead to spiritual marriages with both married and single women in the group, which involved at least one underage girl, whom Koresh took as a spiritual wife when she was 13 years old.  Koresh, who was in violation of state law, could have been prosecuted for statutory rape in Texas.  A second allegation involved an underage girl who testified in the 1995 Congressional hearings that from the time she was ten years old, Koresh had forced her to perform sexual acts.  Although there were allegations of child abuse reported by detractors and ex-members, the evidence is less compelling.  However, there is no question that Koresh had multiple children by different women in the group.  His doctrine, based on a purported revelation, involved the reproduction of 24 children by chosen women.  These 24 children were to serve as the ruling elders over the millennium after the return of Christ.  Koresh acknowledged on a videotape sent out of the compound during the standoff that he had fathered more than 12 children by several “wives.”
On February 28, 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) raided Mount Carmel Center, resulting in the deaths of four agents and six Branch Davidians.  Shortly after, the FBI HRT (Hostage Rescue Team) took command of the federal operation.  Over the next 51 days, communication included telephone exchanges with various FBI negotiators.  As the standoff continued, Koresh was seriously injured by a gunshot wound.
The 51-day siege ended on April 19th when U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno approved recommendations of veteran FBI officials to proceed with a final assault to remove the Branch Davidians from their building by force.  During the assault, the church building caught on fire under circumstances that are still disputed.  Barricaded inside the building, 75 Branch Davidians, including David Koresh, did not survive the fire; seventeen victims were children under the age of 17.
Source:  Wikipedia
SCRIPTURES THAT REFERENCE THE
DEMONIC DYNAMICS PRESENTED BY
THESE THREE CULT LEADERS
Satan is responsible for the Peoples Temple, Heaven’s Gate and Branch Davidians tragedies and the following demonic dynamics were present, changing, energizing and controlling these Cult leaders:
Abandonment
When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up (Psalms 27:10).
The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself brings his mother to shame (Proverbs 29:15).
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?  (Matthew 27:46)
Abuse (animal, child, physical, sexual, verbal)
AnimalA righteous man regards the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel (Proverbs 12:10);
ChildAnd, you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4);
PhysicalWhat? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?  For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's (1 Corinthians 6:19-20);
SexualYou have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28; 1 Corinthians 7:1);
VerbalThere is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men (Proverbs 30:14; James 3:6-8);
Addiction (alcohol, drugs, etc.)
Alcohol—Who has woe? who has sorrow? who has contentions? who has babbling? who has wounds without cause? who has redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it gives his color in the cup, when it moves itself aright. At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder (Proverbs 23:29-31).
Drugs—And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will (2 Timothy 2:26);
Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Romans 6:16).
Agnostic (one who holds the view that God is unknown and probably unknowable)
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded (James 4:8);
But you have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things (1 John 2:20);
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32).
Approval of Man vs. Approval of God
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10);
And whatsoever you do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; (Colossians 3:23).
Atheist
The fool has said in his heart, There is no God.  They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good (Psalms 14:1);
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has showed it unto them: For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Romans 1:19-20);
Belittlement & Mocking
And he [Elisha] went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head (2 Kings 2:23).  [Emphasis Added]
And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him (Luke 22:63).
Confusion & Double-Mindedness
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints (1 Corinthians 14:33);
A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8);
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded (James 4:8).
Control, Domination, Intimidation & Manipulation (the practice of witchcraft)
For you suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face (2 Corinthians 11:20).
Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Romans 6:16).
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3);
You shall not suffer a witch to live (Exodus 22:18).
But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: (Acts 8:9);
Depression
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness … (Isaiah 61:3);
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4).
And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him: but you know Him; for He dwells with you, and shall be in you (John 14:16-17).
Evolution
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1);
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen (Romans 1:25).
False Christs
And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not: For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shows signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take heed: behold, I have foretold you all things (Mark 13:21-23).
Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by Me (John 14:6).
False Prophets, Prophecies & Delusions
Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in My name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spoke unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart (Jeremiah 14:14);
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11).
False Religions (Mysticism, Astrology, New Age, Occultism, Eastern, Scientology)
As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:9).
And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger (2 Chronicles 33:6).
There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD your God does drive them out from before you (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
Neither give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27).
Fear & Paranoia
For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).
For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father (Romans 8:15).
Fornication (sex outside of marriage)
Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge (Hebrews 13:4).
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man does is without the body; but he that commits fornication sins against his own body. What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).
Generational Curses (a repeating cycle of generational sins)
The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation (Numbers 14:18).
The soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him (Ezekiel 18:20).
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing (Isaiah 10:27).
Grandiose & Prideful Ego
But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one (Acts 8:9);
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3).
Likewise, you younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5).
Homosexuality
You shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination (Leviticus 18:22).
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; (Romans 1:26-28)
Indebtedness
The rich rules over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7);
Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Romans 6:16).
Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
Infiltrators of the Church
Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which you have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:17-18).
If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that bids him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds (2 John 1:10-11).
Isolation & Loneliness
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him (Genesis 2:18).
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:25).
Obsession
You shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3);
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2).
Outcast (ostracized)
For I will restore health unto you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says the LORD; because they called you an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeks after (Jeremiah 30:17);
A man that has friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).
Perverts the Gospel
I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:6-8).
Philosophy
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ (Colossians 2:8).
Polygamy (multiple wives)
If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly (Titus 1:6).
Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband (1 Corinthians 7:2).
Rape
But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die:  (Deuteronomy 22:25)
Reincarnation
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation (Hebrews 9:27-28).
Rejecting The Gospel of Jesus Christ
In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (2 Corinthians 4:4).
Schism
That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another (1 Corinthians 12:25).
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Corinthians 1:10).
Suicide
You shall not kill (Exodus 20:13).
You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment (Matthew 5:21).
Traitors
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:1-7).
UFOology
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).
Violence
You have heard that it has been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That you resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also (Matthew 5:38-39).
Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again your sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword (Matthew 26:52).
For we know him that has said, Vengeance belongs unto Me, I will recompense, says the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people (Hebrews 10:30).
In closing, will the Peoples Temple, Heaven’s Gate and Branch Davidians religious sects be the last ones to end under such appalling and heartbreaking circumstances?  While we all hope so, the voice of reality based on experience dictates that history often repeats itself.  For as long as Satan is god and ruler of this world and causes people to reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, it is certain that he will continue to use DECEPTION to snare millions more and lead them down the broad road that leads to destruction. (Matthew 7:13)
Blessings!

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