The Greatest Famine of the 21st Century

Defining and Understanding Cults

A biblical definition for cult is a non-Christian belief system that deal with supra-normal forces, such as divination, magic, paganism, and sorcery.

Exodus 7:10-13 “10 So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. 11 But then Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers—the magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same thing by their occult practices. 12 Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed their staffs. 13 However, Pharaoh’s heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had said.”

Deuteronomy 18:9-14 “9 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable customs of those nations. 10 No one among you is to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire, practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, 11 cast spells, consult a medium or a spiritist, or inquire of the dead. 12 Everyone who does these acts is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable acts. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 Though these nations you are about to drive out listen to fortune-tellers and diviners, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do this.”

1 Samuel 28:7 “7 Saul then said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” His servants replied, “There is a woman at En-dor who is a medium.””

Isaiah 2:5-6 “5 House of Jacob, come and let’s walk in the Lord’s light. 6 For you have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of divination from the East and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines. They are in league with foreigners.”

Acts 8:9-13 “9 A man named Simon had previously practiced sorcery in that city and amazed the Samaritan people, while claiming to be somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least of them to the greatest, and they said, “This man is called the Great Power of God.” 11 They were attentive to him because he had amazed them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip, as he proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Even Simon himself believed. And after he was baptized, he followed Philip everywhere and was amazed as he observed the signs and great miracles that were being performed.”

According to The Quick-Reference Guide to Addictions and Recovery Counseling: 40 Topics, Spiritual Insights, and Easy-to-Use Action Steps, a broader definition for cult is:

a religion group with strange beliefs out of the cultural mainstream.

Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witness, Scientology, Unitarianism

conveys a message that the world is bad or evil and that they are good and pure by using intense methods to strike fear in their members and ensure adherence to their strict codes.

Controlling by use of coercion, intimidations, threats, physical and verbal abuse, manipulation, dishonesty, sexual bullying, isolation, separation from friends and family, and forfeiture of personal finances.

There’s a difference between the word cult and sect (Hoekema, 1963).

Sect: comes from the Latin sequi, meaning to follow, may describe any dissenting or schismatic religious body, which may or may not have parted company with a longer-established communion.

Examples: Pharisees, Sadducees, groups that did not break away from Judaism.

Christianity could be considered a sect of Judaism, just as Protestantism may be identified as a sect of the Roman Catholic Church.

Cult: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; a minority religious group holding beliefs regarded as unorthodox or spurious (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary).

Additionally, here are some of the techniques of psychological manipulation that are often used in cults:

The Quick-Reference Guide to Addictions and Recovery Counseling: 40 Topics, Spiritual Insights, and Easy-to-Use Action Steps Cults

— Isolation: a loss of reality is induced by physical separation from society and all rational references.

— Mind control: a state of high suggestibility is created through a thinly disguised form of meditation.

— Peer-group pressure: the suppression of doubt and resistance to new ideas is achieved by exploiting the natural need to belong.

— Love bombing: a false sense of family and belonging is contrived through hugging, kissing, touching, and flattery.

— Lack of privacy: a loss of the ability to evaluate is achieved by preventing private contemplation.

— Sleep deprivation and fatigue: disorientation and vulnerability are created by prolonged mental and physical activity and by withholding adequate rest and sleep.

— Games: the need for direction when playing games with obscure rules is used to increase dependence on the group.

— Meta communication: subliminal messages are implanted by stressing certain key words or phrases in long, confusing lectures.

— No questions: an automatic acceptance of beliefs is accomplished by discouraging all questions or challenges to authority.

— Confusing doctrine: complex lectures on an incomprehensible doctrine are used to encourage blind acceptance and rejection of logic.

— Rejection of old values: acceptance of a new lifestyle is accelerated by constantly denouncing former values and beliefs.

— Confession: destruction of personal egos, increased vulnerability to new teachings, and the recruits’ weaknesses are revealed through sharing innermost secrets and fears.

— Guilt: teachings of eternal salvation are reinforced by exaggerating the sins of the former lifestyle.

— Fear: loyalty and obedience to the group are maintained by threatening soul, life, or limb for the slightest “negative” thought, word, or deed.

— Chanting and singing: non-cult input is screened out by demanding repetition of mind-narrowing chants or phrases when faced with non-cult ideas.

— Lack of inhibition: abdication of adult responsibility is encouraged by orchestrating childlike behavior.

— Change of diet: disorientation and increased susceptibility to emotional arousal is achieved by depriving the central nervous system of necessary nutrients through the use of low-protein diets.

— Controlled approval: vulnerability and confusion is maintained by alternating between rewarding and punishing similar actions.

— Dress: individuality is removed by demanding conformity to the group dress code.

— Flaunting hierarchy: acceptance of cult authority is produced by promising advancement, power, favor, and salvation.

— Finger pointing: a false sense of righteousness is created by pointing to the shortcomings of the outside world and other groups.

— Replacement of relationships: pre-cult family relationships are destroyed by arranging cult marriages and “families” and by restricting contact and communication with the outside world.

— Financial commitment: an increased dependence on the group is achieved by “burning bridges” to the past through the donation of all assets to the group.

Anthony Hoekema provides the following traits of a cult:

Extra-Scriptural Source of Authority

“A Bible in the left hand.” -Hutten

Story goes: A Sweden-borgian minister, who held a Bible in his right hand and one of Swedenborg’s books in his left. Hutten observed that every cult has such a “Bible in his left hand,” which actually supersedes the Bible in his right hand.

The Bible is often declared as the only authority. However, it is manipulated to form peculiar doctrines by correcting Scripture, reinterpreting Scripture, or adding other sources of authority.

The Denial of Justification by Grace Alone

The most basic characteristic of the cult.

“Grace is no longer considered the free gift of God to the unworthy sinner, but a reward which has been earned by the faithful keep of various conditions and requirements.”

The Devaluation of Christ

When a group gets to determine how salvation is distributed, they automatically minimize Jesus Christ as Mediator.

The Group is the Exclusive Community of the Saved

The community will absolutize itself as the exclusive community of the saved.

The cult sees itself as the only true community of God’s people. Therefore, it must try to show that the church is either an apostate organization or an actual instrument of the devil.

The Group’s Central Role in Eschatology

The cult will always play a role in the eschatological climax of history.

The cult sees itself as being called into existence by God for the purpose of filling in some gap in the truth which has been neglected by the ordinary churches.

The Famine in Amos 8:11-12

The question we should be asking ourselves is, why does God allow cults? What’s going on? Surely, God could dismantle these organizations and groups with one blow. Yet, they exist.

Many times, we think of false prophets, harmful organizations, and the likes as the enemy’s effort to oppose God. However, it much more to it than that. There are some instances where, false doctrine is an expression of God’s judgment. This is what Amos 8:11-12 is stating.

Amos 8:11-12 is not a way of saying man is getting so bad, they are resisting God’s Word. It’s not a way of saying man is in control of the famine. Rather, it is very clear that Amos is declaring that this famine is a direct expression of God’s judgment on Israel.

Amos 8:1-3 “1 The Lord God showed me this: a basket of summer fruit. 2 He asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A basket of summer fruit.” The Lord said to me, “The end has come for my people Israel; I will no longer spare them. 3 In that day the temple songs will become wailing”—this is the Lord God’s declaration. “Many dead bodies, thrown everywhere! Silence!””

Amos 8:7-8 “7 The Lord has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: I will never forget all their deeds. 8 Because of this, won’t the land quake and all who dwell in it mourn? All of it will rise like the Nile; it will surge and then subside like the Nile in Egypt.”

Amos 8:9-10 “9 And in that day— this is the declaration of the Lord God— I will make the sun go down at noon; I will darken the land in the daytime. 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation; I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make that grief like mourning for an only son and its outcome like a bitter day.”

Clearly, everything leading up to Amos 8:11-12 is a sign of God’s judgment against Israel, because of her acts of injustice and idolatry. During this time, the northern tribe of Israel had turned away from God. They created a shrine at Bethel during the reign of Jeroboam II, and the nation was filled with sin.

The key here is: A nation that is so filled with sin and injustice is the fertile ground for cults and false teaching because, as judgment, God’s Word has been taken away.

The word referred to in Amos 8:11 is referencing the spoken word. That is, God always send individuals who speak His word into the culture and environment. That is, there’s always a voice. Yet, when that voice is taken away, that place is in trouble. For, it is the judgment of God.

How to Avoid a Famine

Don’t listen to them Jeremiah 23:16

Don’t believe everything you hear Matthew 24:23-27

Guard yourself Matthew 16:11-12

Keep a clear mind 2 Timothy 4:3-5

Discern spirits 1 John 4:1-6