Age of Deception, Age of Delusion Part 1

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Authored By  :
Bill Kochman

Published On :
April 23, 1997

Last Updated :
January 10, 2011


NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.

The Year 2000 Hype, Aliens, Spirit Helpers, Channelers And Esoteric Knowledge, Propagation Of New Age Thought, Sheldon Nidle, UFO Mass Landings, Photon Belt, The Ascension Point, False Prophets And Charlatans Exposed By Time, The 2012 Hype, Stanley A. Fulham And The Transcendors, Weeds And Parable Of Wheat And Tares, Measuring Rod Of God's Word, Strong Delusion, Beware Of Time-Based Predictions, Verify The Reliability Of Source Information, Failed Predictions Weaken Faith In God's Word, Endtime Scoffers And Christ's Return, Satan's Scheme To Discredit True Prophets Of God, True Faith Does Not Require Evidence Signs Or Miracles, Endtime Apostasy, Mary Apparition In Wisconsin, Decline Of Roman Catholicism And Mary Worship, Evil Generation Seeks A Sign, Jewish Elders Demanded A Sign, Jewish Religious Elders Concealed Evidence Of Resurrection


Back in 1997 when I first wrote this article, I stated that as we drew closer to the year 2000 by the Western calendar, we should expect to hear and see more questionable material being propagated by those individuals who claim to have some special esoteric knowledge, or perhaps a special link with entities who are not of this world. In some cases, I stated, these entities would probably be presented as advanced alien civilizations from other worlds who are coming to help us in our transition to a higher order of consciousness. Within the world of New Age thought, this belief in acquiring a new spiritual awareness is referred to as "Ascension". In other instances, I noted that the so-called "revelatory" material would be attributed to channeled "spirit helpers", sages and philosophers from the past who had supposedly arrived to illuminate the spiritual medium, angelic beings of light, recently discovered lost parchments and other lost sources of information.

One example of this which I offered almost fourteen years ago, was that of a certain Mr. Sheldon Nidle. When I first became aware of the things that were being expounded by Mr. Nidle -- imminent UFO mass landings, the Photon Belt theory and the so-called "Ascension Point" -- I took an interest in some of his predictions. Of course, being the cautious person that I tend to be, I viewed all of Mr. Nidle's ideas with a great deal of skepticism. He wasn't even the author of some of these concepts; he merely borrowed them from a number of other people -- such as Samael Aun Weor, Paul Otto Hesse and Shirley Kemp -- and then promoted them as his own ideas.

Well, time can certainly be a revealer of truth; and it can also expose the false prophets for what they really are. It has now been almost fourteen years since I wrote the first version of this article, and no imminent UFO mass landings have occurred. Neither has the Earth passed through Nidle's Photon Belt, bringing with it a shift in consciousness. So, as I question in such series as "Sorry . . . Jesus Is Not Coming At Any Moment", how many times before have we seen prophecies or predictions with specific dates attached to them which ultimately fail? They are clearly too numerous to even name here, and they originate from many different areas of both religion and the New Age thought movement.

However, one by one, these deceptive charlatans have been exposed for what they are when their predictions have failed to materialize in the time frames which they have attached to them. I am reminded of the following clear warnings from the Scriptures regarding false prophets:

"But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."
Deuteronomy 18:20-22, KJV


"The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?"
Jeremiah 5:31, KJV


"For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD."
Jeremiah 29:9, KJV


"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
Matthew 7:15-20, KJV


"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many . . . And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many . . . For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
Matthew 24:4-5, 11, 24, KJV


"For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect."
Mark 13:22, KJV


"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."
2 Corinthians 11:13-15, KJV


"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived."
2 Timothy 3:13, KJV


"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;"
2 Timothy 4:3, KJV


"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."
2 Peter 2:1, KJV


"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, KJV


Truly, the previous verses perfectly describe our current day in which there are personal psychics galore, palm readers, necromancers, tarot card readers, etc. Sadly, as I point out in the aforementioned series, as well as in such series as "2012 - New Age Deception And Psychobabble" and "Modern False Prophets And Worldly Ecumenism", even our Christian faith has not remained immune to these deceptive spirits; and it is an absolute shame and embarrassment how many "wannabe prophets" now infect our faith with their nonsense, and give our faith a bad name; especially those who do it for money.

I had wondered what had happened to Sheldon Nidle after all of these years; and lo and behold, it appears that he has now attached his star to the 2012 hype, and claims the Earth will pass through the Photon Belt sometime in 2012. I suppose we can add him to the growing list of deceivers who have chosen to use 2012 as a springboard to promote their ideas, or to earn money from it. This includes a host of authors, such as Tom Horn, who I discuss in the 2012 series.

If there is one thing that I can say, it is that if the times have changed over the past fourteen years, they've certainly changed for the worse. The spiritual deception in the world is clearly growing stronger by the year. As an example, just over three months ago, a news article appeared on the Yahoo news site called "Retired NORAD Officer's New Book Predicts a Tentative Worldwide UFO Display on October 13, 2010". I was rather surprised that Yahoo would even publish such a story. I was equally surprised that a retired professional military officer would go so far out on the limb by making the claims that he makes. The September 14th news article said in part:

----- Begin Quote -----

A newly-published 352-page book by a retired Air Force officer, Stanley A. Fulham, tentatively predicts October 13, 2010 as the date for a massive UFO display over the world's principal cities. According to the author, the aliens will neither land nor communicate on that date; they are aware from eons of experience with other planets in similar conditions their sudden intervention would cause fear and panic.

The book, Challenges of Change (3rd ed.), reports this event will be the initial interaction in a process leading to mankind's acceptance of the alien reality and technologies for the removal of poisonous gases from the earth's atmosphere in 2015, if not sooner.

----- End Quote -----

Well, October 13th came and went; and obviously, absolutely nothing happened, unless it occurred while I was sleeping. I imagine that Mr. Fulham must be feeling rather foolish right about now. I would too if I wrote a book that was based upon communicating with Outer Space aliens -- who Fulham refers to as the Transcendors -- by way of a channeler. The same news article also notes:

----- Begin Quote -----

For more than a decade, through the services of a world renowned channeler, the author has communicated with an ethereal group of entities known as the Transcendors -- 43,000 very old souls who combine their vast experience and knowledge through eons of incarnations, providing advice and information to humans in search of basic realities of mankind's existence.

----- End Quote -----

I honestly don't know what this man was thinking. Considering his military training, what would induce him to fall for such nonsense? Of course, as such people often tend to do, they'll simply claim that the aliens changed their mind at the last minute, or some other such nonsense. In fact, it seems to be their standard practice to always leave an open door, just in case their predictions don't occur as they anticipate. In the case of Mr. Fulham, he used this very ploy by stating that if the aliens didn't appear by the end of 2010, we should blame the aliens, and not him. The article concludes with this:

----- Begin Quote -----

Fulham clarifies there are no absolutes; the principal of free will and choice that exits with all souls precludes all absolute realities, and the aliens may decide to postpone their intervention -- but the Transcendors confirm it will nonetheless occur in 2010. Quoting the author, the event will "occur this year, in what will surely be one of the great dramas of our galaxy, the introduction of their alien civilizations and technologies to mankind. We are not alone, and our world will have changed forever."

----- End Quote -----

As I have said so many times before, it is time for everyone to wake up and stop being duped by these false prophets and false messiahs, these false seers and prognosticators, these alien and UFO promoters, these 2012 Mayan Calendar advocates, and all of the other subtle deceivers who seem to grow like weeds. The annoying thing about weeds is that if one chooses to chop them down, within a relatively short period, new ones appear in their place. It is a never-ending battle. However, Jesus offered us some very wise advice concerning spiritual weeds, when He stated the following in the Gospel of Matthew:

"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn . . . Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, KJV


There are many such weeds -- or deceptive spirits and lying voices -- in the world right now, which some folks, due to their foolish rejection of the one true God and the truth of His Word, have sadly received with open arms and minds. In my view, I believe everyone should sincerely question how much of this current New Age material is actually God-inspired, and how much of it might be demon-inspired. How much of it agrees with the Bible, and how much of it contradicts what the Bible teaches us? As I have said before, God's Word is our only reliable measuring rod with which we should compare all things. When people choose to reject His Word, it serves as an open invitation for strong delusion; and the Lord will oblige, if that is what we truly want. Consider these verses:

"I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not."
Isaiah 66:4, KJV


"They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy."
Jonah 2:8, KJV


". . . 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:"
2 Thessalonians 2:10b-11, KJV


So to reiterate an earlier point, whenever anyone starts to make all kinds of predictions, whether they are a Christian, or a New Age psychic or channeler -- such as Sheldon Nidle, Gordon Scallion, Kryon Metatron, Oahspe, Ashtar, and a host of many others-- when they start attaching specific dates to their predictions, they are really asking for trouble. They are climbing out onto a limb and sawing it off. Unless they are absolutely convinced of the reliability of their source of information, and are certain of their understanding and interpretation of the information that they have been given, it is indeed a very foolish idea to provide specific dates.

As we have now seen, not only do false predictions discredit them when they are wrong, but it also discredits who or what they claim to be their source of information. Furthermore, and even more importantly, failed predictions feed the fires of doubt in the would-be believers, while at the same time providing ungodly scoffers, debunkers and non-believers with more ammunition with which to discredit the real truth of the Bible, when it is presented to people.

In other words, one of the problems with failed prophecies, misguided New Age predictions, silly psychic readings and such, is that they result in collateral damage by hardening and desensitizing people's hearts, and filling them with doubts about all things spiritual. Thus, when a Prophet of God comes along and shares a truly inspired word from the Lord, because of the generalizations we all tend to make by lumping everything together and stereotyping people, this true Prophet is likewise thrown in with all the rest of the deceivers, and he is viewed as just being another one of many crazed, false messengers. The end result, insofar as the Endtime message is concerned, is that more and more people scoff at the idea of Jesus' Return; and even weaker Christians are losing faith. Both Jesus and the Apostle Peter foresaw this sad day arriving. Thus we read in God's Word:

". . . Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
Luke 18:8b, KJV


"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."
2 Peter 3:3-4, KJV


Personally, I have no doubt that Satan himself is behind this vile scheme. I believe that he purposely sends his demons to these false prophets, New Age advocates, psychics and seers, and purposely has these demons lie to these people, just so he can purposely discredit them, and make fools out of them, in the end. Don't be so surprised. Satan thinks nothing of destroying his own human pawns. So by raising up these false prophets and false messengers, and then discrediting them in the end, Satan preempts, and neutralizes, any true Prophets who may come along later, by sowing strong doubt in people's hearts. This is indeed a very tricky but effective tactic.

There should be no doubt then that strong delusion is the order of the day; and all of these false prophets and phony messengers certainly seem to be an indication that we are now living in the period known as the Endtime. As I explain in such articles as "Faith And The Shroud Of Turin", true faith does not require evidence, or great signs and wonders, such as aerial displays of UFOs in the sky, before we will believe. True faith believes, just because God's Word says so. As people of faith, we shouldn't require any physical proof of God's existence. Furthermore, as we are told in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, faith is believing without seeing, and not seeing and then choosing to believe. You will recall that Jesus also told Thomas that blessed are those who believe, without having ever seen. Consider these verses:

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1, KJV


"But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
John 20:24-29, KJV


Sadly, in this current age of Apostasy -- or falling away from, or abandoning the truth of God's Word -- some people require signs and wonders before they will believe. As I explain in such articles as "Lying Wonders Of The Endtime", "Mary Worship, Christianity And Roman Catholicism", "Have You Been Slain In The Spirit?" and "God's Golden Teeth, Or Satan's Delusion?", Satan is more than happy to give these people whatever they want if it means getting them into his bag. He will go to any length in order to deceive and trick naive, gullible, ignorant people. In fact, just yesterday I was reading a news article which explains how Catholics in the United States can now boast that they too have a site which the Roman Catholic Church has officially recognized as a place where Mary -- the mother of Jesus -- is claimed to have appeared several times just over one hundred and fifty years ago. This December 23rd New York Times article states in part:

----- Begin Quote -----

Now, a little chapel among the dairy farms here, called Our Lady of Good Help, has joined that august company in terms of religious status, if not global fame. This month, it became one of only about a dozen sites worldwide, and the first in the United States, where apparitions of the Virgin Mary have been officially validated by the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1859, the year after Mary is said to have appeared in Lourdes, a Belgian immigrant here named Adele Brise said she was visited three times by Mary, who hovered between two trees in a bright light, clothed in dazzling white with a yellow sash around her waist and a crown of stars above her flowing blond locks. As instructed, Ms. Brise devoted her life to teaching Catholic beliefs to children.

On Dec. 8, after a two-year investigation by theologians who found no evidence of fraud or heresy and a long history of shrine-related conversions, cures and other signs of divine intervention, Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay declared "with moral certainty" that Ms. Brise did indeed have encounters "of a supernatural character" that are "worthy of belief."

----- End Quote -----

Considering how long ago this occurred, I would say that it is a safe bet for the Roman Catholic Church, because there is no way to prove, or disprove, that the "miracle" actually occurred. No actual witnesses remain alive to talk about it; so all that remain are stories concerning the event, as well as the testimonies of people who attribute "cures and other signs of divine intervention" to the holiness of the place. I don't doubt that within a matter of a few years, we will see brisk business as new hotels and other tourist-related enterprises begin to sprout up in the area, as has occurred at other Roman Catholic apparition sites around the world.

I suspect that the real reason why the Roman Catholic bishop approved the Wisconsin site is in plain view in the previous paragraphs. You will notice that this news article uses the phrase "shrine-related conversions". In my view, that may be what this is really all about. In other words, it is common knowledge that due to its restrictive doctrines concerning such issues as celibacy, abortion, birth control, marriage, etc., as well as the sex scandals and financial scandals which have harmed the church in recent years, membership in the Catholic Church is in serious decline. I would venture a guess and suggest that perhaps the Roman Catholic Church is hoping that a "miracle" such as this will turn the tide, and bring more people back to Roman Catholicism; at least in the United States, which has long been a troublesome region for the Roman Catholic hierarchy in the Vatican.

While I honestly don't know what occurred in Wisconsin in 1859, or at Lourdes, France in 1858, or at Fatima, Portugal in 1917, or outside of Mexico City, Mexico in 1531, or at any of the other alleged Roman Catholic apparition sites, as I explain in some of the aforementioned articles, based on what has resulted from these apparitions, I must express serious doubt concerning their divine origin. As Jesus plainly stated in the Gospels:

"Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them."
Matthew 7:20, KJV


While many dedicated Roman Catholics vehemently reject this accusation, the fact of the matter remains that the alleged apparition of Mary in all of these places has resulted in this humble woman being elevated to almost the same status as Jesus Christ. In other words, contrary to what the Bible plainly teaches us concerning Jesus Christ being the only Mediator between God and man, Roman Catholics refer to Mary as Co-Redemptrix and Co-Mediatrix. They have concocted this unBiblical belief that Salvation is obtained through Jesus and Mary together, and not through Christ alone. Regardless of what the Vatican actually teaches concerning Mary, the fact of the matter remains that in practice, there are many Roman Catholics who do worship her, pray to her, and honor her with statues, yearly processions, etc. These things ought not so to be. We are only to honor and to pray to God the Father, and Jesus His Son.

But returning to the theme of faith, and signs and lying wonders, in closely reading the Gospels, we discover that Jesus chided those people who required some kind of a sign before they would believe in Him. In fact, Jesus plainly called them an evil generation, as we see by these verses:

"Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Matthew 12:38-40, KJV


"The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed."
Matthew 16:1-4, KJV


"And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation."
Mark 8:11-12, KJV


"And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. . . . And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation."
Luke 11:16, 29-30, KJV


"Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
John 2:18-19, KJV


"Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:"
Luke 22:67, KJV


"Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe."
John 4:48, KJV


"And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."
Luke 16:31, KJV


Jesus certainly knew the hearts of His unbelieving Jewish enemies. He realized that they were so yielded to Satan, and so blinded by the Devil's infernal lies, that even His own Resurrection from the dead would not convince them otherwise. Thus, acting in accordance with their own lack of faith, the Jewish religious hierarchy made a vain attempt to conceal the evidence of Jesus' Resurrection, as we see by the following verses:

"Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day."
Matthew 28:11-15, KJV


Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

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