Article #324
by Bill Nugent
The New Age Movement was front page news all during the 1980s. Terms like “channeling” and “harmonic convergence” were discussed and warned against. Followers of the New Age Movement claimed that their Lord Maitreya could appear any day. Christians began to think that Maitreya would be the antichrist.
The New Age Movement is an amalgamation of occultic, eastern mystical, philosophical and pseudo-scientific doctrines. It was, at one time, a powerful popular movement that captured the hearts and minds of millions of Europeans and Americans. Most observers agree that it peaked in the 1980s and has been in decline ever since.
First, let me give you a brief sketch of its doctrines, history and practices. The two central concerns of new agers are 1) personal transformation and 2) societal transformation through the bringing in of a new age of peace and harmony. The doctrines of the New Age Movement reach back to the gnosticism of the second century and the neoplatonic philosophy of ancient times. The New Age Movement also incorporates eastern religious concepts including reincarnation and meditation.
New agers seek personal transformation through Tarot readings, Yoga, eastern religious style meditation, channeling (mediumship) and other occult practices. The New Age Movement was never one central organization. It was, and still is, a movement embraced by many occult groups.
The immediate precursor to the New Age Movement was theosophy. Theosophy (theos = god, sophia = wisdom) was an occultic movement popular in the 1800s and early to mid twentieth century. Occultist Helena Blavatsky (1831-1891) co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She engaged in occultic and paranormal activities. She was, at one point, accused of fraud and faking some of her experiences.
After Blavatsky’s death there was turmoil in the society and she was succeeded by Annie Besant (1847-1933). Besant believed that the Indian teacher, Jiddah Krishnamurti was a coming messianic figure but he defected and renounced aspects of theosophy in 1929.
A generation later, Alice A. Bailey (1880-1949) was the leading figure of theosophy. Bailey founded The Arcane School in 1923 and claimed that a messianic figure, the Master Maitreya, would appear sometime between 1975 and 2000. Bailey used the term “new age” extensively in her writings. Her frequent use of “new age” in her writings has caused some to regard her as a principle foundress of the New Age Movement.
The late twentieth century saw the rise of a man named David Spangler (1945- ) who is a clairvoyant and a prolific author of occult, new age books. He traveled to the occultic Findhorn community in Scotland at age 25 in 1970. He made a major impact there and is considered one of the founders of the New Age Movement. The first of his many books: Revelation: The Birth of a New Age was published in 1976.
Spangler differed from Alice Bailey in that he claimed that people must work to bring in the new age whereas Bailey had claimed it would come to humanity without human effort. The 1980s saw the emergence of Benjamin Creme and his claim that Maitreya would come in 1982. Maitreya didn’t appear that year or since. There was a widely promoted “harmonic convergence” of new age gatherings worldwide on August 16-17, 1987 seeking to bring in a new era of peace and an end to racism, hunger and war. It was a noble objective but with demonic power behind it.
Evangelical and Charismatic Christians were alarmed at these developments and many leaders spoke out against this rampant occultism that was deceiving millions. The new age claims of a coming messiah were regarded by many Christians as heralding the coming of the antichrist of Revelation thirteen. Constance Cumbey’s 1983 book The Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow was one of many books sounding the alarm.
A real watershed moment occurred in the early 1990s when David Spangler and some editors of new age publications rejected the claim of a coming new age. They instead advocated for transformation of people on the personal level only. I guess they were disillusioned by the fact that the claims of a coming new age messiah were unfulfilled. These leaders also lamented some of the hype and commercialization associated with the movement. (Wikipedia, Britannica.com)
The New Age Movement has been in decline ever since. Occultists of our own generation, at present, seem to have shifted focus to UFOs and extraterrestrials as the possible bringers of change to planet earth. So, instead of new age mediums “channeling” spirit beings, we now have many people claiming to have been abducted by aliens and receiving messages allegedly from extraterrestrials.
Let me say unequivocally that the remnants of the New Age Movement and the now popular UFO movement are focused on demonic experiences and anti-Christian doctrine. The Bible teaches that there will be an antichrist figure arriving to deceive mankind in the end-times just before the second coming of Jesus Christ. In the Bible we read: “Ye have heard that antichrist shall come” (I John 2:18). “And they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? and who can make war with him? . . . and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations” (Revelation 13:4 & 7).
Since the New Age Movement has been largely supplanted by UFO cults, let me briefly explain where UFOs come from. UFO researchers are divided into two different viewpoints in explaining UFOs. These viewpoints are the extraterrestrial hypothesis and the interdimensional hypothesis. The extraterrestrial hypothesis is the claim that UFOs are metal spaceships with astronauts from planets in star systems within our own physical universe. The interdimensional hypothesis is that UFOs are nonphysical entities or spirits that travel from different dimensions and enter our atmosphere from the unseen spiritual realm.
The interdimensional hypothesis is more consistent with the Bible and the Christian worldview because it can be inferred that the other dimensions from which UFOs travel are the same as the realm of spirit. The Bible certainly teaches about the spirit world.
Christian researchers and even some secular researchers reject the extraterrestrial hypothesis and maintain the interdimensional view. Famous secular UFO researcher, Jacques Vallee, holds the interdimensional view. In studying UFOs, I’ve come to believe that we’re dealing with intelligent life not from another planet but from another dimension. It’s not astronauts from outer space but spirit beings from the realm of spirit. Malevolent UFO aliens are demons and they can disguise themselves as humanoid beings or astronauts.
I’m open to the idea that good angels can also appear as lights in the sky or as lights on earth. The Bible, in Acts 12:7, tells of an angel appearing to the apostle Peter in light. Also remember that the prophet Ezekiel saw some bizarre but holy phenomena recorded in the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 1:4-28). Angels are good spirits that inhabit other dimensions. The dimensions they inhabit are the dimensions of the spirit world. I hold to the interdimensional viewpoint.
I regard demonic UFO aliens who travel from the spirit dimensions as generally of the same category as poltergeists, hauntings, occultism, shamanism and other manifestations of evil spirits. I hold this view because the teachings that are transmitted from aliens to leaders of UFO cults are antibiblical and often lead to bizarre behavior such as the Heaven’s Gate mass suicide. Also, the horrific animal mutilations attributed to UFOs in which animals have their blood drained and have organs removed with surgical precision is further evidence of the demonic origin of UFO aliens.
Have no fear of demons appearing as flying saucers or disguised as extraterrestrial humanoid beings. Don’t be deceived by cult groups claiming extraterrestrial connections and phenomena. The Bible teaches that Christ is above all and every knee must bow before Christ who conquered sin through His death and resurrection. People have thwarted UFO abductions by commanding the aliens to stop in the name of Jesus Christ.
UFO aliens tempt young people with drama and adventure in our present age of rocketry and space exploration. UFO cults lead people to spiritual ruin. UFO abduction theory is just one more thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. It must be exposed and vigorously refuted.
We must point people to Jesus Christ who came in fulfillment of over 300 Old Testament Bible prophecies written hundreds of years before His birth. No other person in all of history can match this claim! Jesus worked miracles in front of eyewitnesses and this proved that He is the Messiah and the Son of God. Miracles continue to be worked today by Christians who rely on the power of Christ.
Jesus suffered and died to take upon Himself the penalty of our sins, thus making atonement. He rose from the dead in victory to offer forgiveness of sins to all who turn to Him in repentance. I invite you to call upon Jesus Christ today to receive forgiveness of sins!
Steps to salvation:
Jesus said “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7).
Prayer to receive salvation:
“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:
“Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner. I repent of my sins and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
If you prayed this prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!