Breakfastwith Biblical

January28, 1993

Dr.Robert C. Newman

 

                                                    JESUSAND THE NEW AGE

 

Introduction

 

            NewAge movement attracting considerable attention today

            Muchvariety within movement

            Someforms designed for consumption in West make consider­able use of Xnterminology

            Mostforms have some place for Jesus, but the "Jesus" they picture is adifferent Jesus than pictured in Bible.

 

 

Jesus as Pictured by New Age Teachers

 

            Lotsof variety between teachers, within general New Age utlook; here give twoexamples:

 

1. Jesus according to Edgar Cayce, "the sleeping prophet":

[see Jeffrey Furst, ed., Edgar Cayce'sStory of Jesus (NewYork:  Howard-McCann, 1969)]

 

            Jesusbecame the Christ(through acceptance of God's will); the universal Christ-spirit orChrist-consciousness is exempli­fied by Jesus (16, 42).

 

            Jesusbecame aware he would be Savior of world when he fell in Eden (23).

 

            Jesushad several previous incarnations,in which he was:   Adam (andeven earlier, Amilius of Atlantis), Enoch, Melchize­dek, Joseph, Joshua,and Zend (the father of Zoroaster), among others (23, 28, 37).

 

            Jesussinned in at leastsome of these incarnations (23).

 

            Hismother, Mary, on theother hand, did not sin in her in­car­nation as his mother; she had nohuman father, either!  She wasearlier Eve, and the twin soul of Jesus (27-28).

 

            Cayce's"gospel": (cpRon Hubbard, Scientology)

 

                        Pre-Adamicspirits became inmeshedin creation, by project­ing themselves into rocks, trees, etc., and thenforgot who they were (34).

 

                        Sonsof God set about torescue these spirits by forming bodies of flesh and blood, which becamechannels for their eventual release from material being, [through our evolutionin successive reincarnations] (35).

 

                        Weneed to know about this previous history of our­selves (19), recognize we are portions of God(32), and live like it (21).

 

                        Eventuallywe will escape from matter and become one with God (44).

 

2. Jesus according to Benjamin Creme, who gained considerable attention with hisads in the major world newspapers in April, 1982, that the Christ came back toearth July 19, 1977 (RC 24)

[see Benjamin Creme, The Reappearanceof the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom (London/ LosAngeles: Tara, 1980); see also Benjamin Creme, Maitreya'sMission (Amsterdam/London/ L.A.: Share International, 1986)]

 

            Everythingis God (RC 110).

 

            Eventuallya new world religionwill be founded which combines eastern and western religion (RC 88).

 

            Allbeings are on a "ladder"which stretches from below man all the way to infinity (RC 72); we arecurrently humans, but others ahead of us have become (through multiplereincarna­tions) ascended Masters; they are currently perfect by our stan­dards,but can see great realms above them of which we know nothing (RC 115).

 

            TheChrist is the Master orall the Masters, but He is not God and never claimed to be God; he is a Son ofGod, but so are we (RC 115).

 

            Allreligions are (more or less) the same, holding out a promise of furtherrevelation to be givenby a future Teacher or Avatar:  Xnslook for the X's return; Buddhists for the Lord Maitreya; Muslims for ImamMahdi; Hindus, Krishna; Jews, Messiah; those into secret knowledge (like Creme)know these are all one Being, the World Teacher, the supreme Head of the SpiritualHierarchy of Masters, and look for his imminent return as we enter the Age ofAquarius (RC 28).

 

            Inevery age Teachershave come forth from this Sp Hierarchy to enable mankind to take its nextevolutionary step.  Some of theseare Hercules, Hermes, Rama, Mithra, Krishna, Buddha, and the Christ.  This plan works out through a hiddenhierarchy of Masters who are behind all world events and constitute the invisi­blegovernment of the planet.  TheseMasters of Wisdom are ahead of us in the evolutionary journey, guiding andhelping us to expand our consciousness and to become, like them, Divine,perfected or illumined Beings (RC 28-29).

 

            TheChrist is not anindividual but an office, currently held (for the past 26,000 years) by the LordMaitreya.  He was manifested in Palestine byovershadowing his disciple, Jesus (RC 30).  Jesus is not the Christ.  He was, and still is, a Disciple of the Christ and made thegreat sacrifice of giving up His body for the use of the Christ.  By the occult process of overshadow­ing,the Christ Maitreya took over and worked through the body of Jesus from theBaptism onwards.  In his nextincarnation (as Apollonius of Tyana) Jesus became a Master.  He lives now in a Syrian body which issome 600 years old, and has his base in Palestine (RC 46).

 

            Atthis point, with the Age of Aquarius dawning, the Masters are about toreturn to the everydayworld for the first time in countless thousands of years, to inaugurate the NewAge.  They will walk openly amongus and lead us into the Aquarian experi­ence.  They stand now, waiting for us to take, of our own freewill, the needed first stepsin the direction of unity, coopera­tion, and fusion.  Then they will emerge with the Christat their head (RC 30)

 

 

A Biblical Response to These New Age"Jesuses"

 

Understand What's Happening

 

Don't be surprised: Biblical warnings re/false prophets

 

Matt 7:15   Beware of the false prophets, who come to you insheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

 

Matt 24:11 And many false prophetswill arise, and will mislead many.

 

Matt 24:24 For false Christs and falseprophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, ifpossible, even the elect.

 

2Pet 2:1 But false prophets also aroseamong the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who willsecretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who boughtthem, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

 

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believeevery spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; becausemany false prophets have gone out into the world.

 

Some of Creme's picture, in particular,looks like what we might expect to be Satan's program for the end of theage.  Can't tell how much of thisis Satan's real program for the world, since he is a great liar, and in anycase, he not in control of history.

 

Another Jesus

 

2 Cor 11:4 For if one comes andpreaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a differentspirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have notaccepted, you bear {this} beautifully.

 


Another Gospel

 

Gal 1:6-8 I am amazed that you are soquickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a differentgospel; 7 which is {really} not another; only there are some who are disturbingyou, and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even though we, or anangel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we havepreached to you, let him be accursed.

 

 

Help Others Attracted by New AgeMovement

 

We and they need to know what the Biblesays about who Jesus is:

 

John 1:1-4  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things cameinto being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has comeinto being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

 

Col 1:15-20 And He is the image of theinvisible God, the first‑born of all creation. 16 For by Him all thingswere created, {both} in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible,whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities‑‑ all thingshave been created by Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and inHim all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; andHe is the beginning, the first‑born from the dead; so that He Himselfmight come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the {Fath­er's}good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him toreconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of Hiscross; through Him, {I say}, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

 

Heb 1:1-3 God, after He spoke long agoto the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in theselast days has spoken to us in {His} Son, whom He appointed heir of all things,through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation ofHis nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had madepurification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high;

 

We and they need to understand why onlythe real Jesus can save:

 

            OnlyJesus was good enough:

 

Heb 4:15 For we do not have a highpriest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been temptedin all things as {we are, yet} without sin.

 

Heb 7:26   For it was fitting that we should have such a highpriest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above theheavens;

 

            OnlyJesus gave us His righteousness and took upon Himself our sins

 

2 Cor 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin{to be} sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God inHim.

 

Eph 2:4-9 But God, being rich inmercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we weredead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace youhave been saved),6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in theheavenly {places}, in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the ages to come Hemight show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in ChristJesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not ofyourselves, {it is} the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no oneshould boast.

 

1 Pet 2:24 and He Himself bore oursins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live torighteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

 

Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His ownlove toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

1 Thess 5:10 who died for us, that whetherwe are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.

 

We need to be able to share the reasonfor our hope:

 

1 Pet 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lordin your hearts, always {being} ready to make a defense to everyone who asks youto give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness andreverence;

 

 

Ask, "What kind of evidence do theseguys have for their beliefs?  Whatkind of evidence do I have, and how can I share it with them?

 

            Evidenceof fulfilled prophecy about Jesus

            Evidenceof historicity of Jesus' ministry

            Evidenceof changed lives

           

We need to warn ourselves and others ofthe consequences of following the wrong Jesus:

 

Heb 2:2-4 For if the word spokenthrough angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobediencereceived a just recom­pense, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great asalvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was con­firmedto us by those who heard, 4 God also bearing witness with them, both by signsand wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit accordingto His own will.