by Texe Marrs
Chapter 42: JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
Jehovah’s Witnesses is definitely a New Age cult. This church’s doctrine is generally right in line with that of other New Age cults and denominations. For example, the belief that Jesus is a created being—just another one of many gods. Indeed, the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that Jesus is actually Michael the Archangel! Also, check out the Jehovah’s Witnesses bible, the New World Translation. In it you will see the revealing and perverted wording in John 1 that “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God.” Unlike the King James Version, the word “a” is inserted.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses also believe in other heresies shared by their companions in the New Age. First, we see the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ contention that Jesus is not only a created God, but He is a deity inferior to God the Father. Next, the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that unsaved men will not be sent to hell for there is no such place. Instead, to a Jehovah’s Witness, hell is merely the grave. When a person dies, he supposedly goes to “hell,” or the grave, and at the Last Judgment, the person rises out of an unconscious sleep. Then at the Judgment, the person will either get to live on the new earth or else be annihilated entirely. In effect, the biblical teaching that hell is a place of eternal punishment and torment is dismissed entirely by the Jehovah’s Witnesses cult. Moreover, according to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, no one can really know whether or not they are saved until after the Judgment.
Did Lord Maitreya appear to the Jehovah’s Witnesses?
Interestingly enough, many in the New Age are beginning to discover the common ground they have with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. For example, in Benjamin Creme’s publication, Share International (Vol. 7, No.8, October 1988), we are told:
Maitreya (Lord Maitreya, the New Age “Christ”) has appeared at meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses... Some Jehovah’s Witnesses have had certain experiences as a result of Maitreya’s presence among them which have led them to abandon an entrenched “ideological” position.
Benjamin Creme further explains that “Religion, political systems, ideologies, are ‘rungs of the ladder’ which are necessary in order to ‘reach the roof.’ Once you have reached the roof you do not need them.” In other words, all false religions are being lifted by Satan to “the roof.” In this, Creme does not lie, for indeed, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other New Age groups shall all “reach the roof’ when they become as One (see Revelation 17 and Revelation 13).
The Jehovah’s Witnesses were founded in the late 19th century by a man named Charles T. Russell. Russell had studied the oriental religions and was a confessed believer in pyramidology, expressing frequently his theory that the Great Pyramid contained signs and mysteries direct from God. In their book, Witnesses of Jehovah, Leonard and Marjorie Chretian fully expose the unbiblical, cult foundations of Jehovah’s Witnesses and its founder, Charles T. Russell. They note that stamped in gold on the front covers of the Studies and the Scriptures series of Russell’s books is a winged solar disc. The Chretians observe that:
This symbol originated in ancient Egypt, where it was the quintessential symbol representing Horus, the sun god. The winged disk was used throughout the centuries to represent the supreme god of other pagan cults and societies. It was the symbol for the baal god during Jezebel’s reign, as well as the god of the Zoroastrian cult, founded by Zoroaster, the Persian religious prophet whom Russell wrote about with admiration.
Though the Jehovah’s Witnesses are not fond of being reminded of it, their founder Russell made a number of false prophecies. In fact, even after his death, his successors continued to make false prophecies. For instance, in 1917 the Jehovah’s Witnesses book, The Finished Mystery, contained the prophecy that the following year, 1918, would see God destroying all of Christendom except the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the world falling into a global anarchy by 1920. Also, it was prophesied that God’s Kingdom would be established on earth in 1931. Naturally, none of these events transpired. It was not the first time the Jehovah’s Witnesses had inaccurately predicted the Lord’s coming. Their publication, The Watchtower, had also said that Christ would come in 1874, and that the Church would be caught up to Heaven in 1878.
The New Age Heresies of the Jehovah’s Witnesses
In their brochure, What Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Believe?, the cult itself clearly demonstrates its New Age worldview with the following statements:
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that God is greater than Jesus... Thus, we do not believe that Jesus is equal with the Father, as the Trinity doctrine says. Rather, we believe that He was created by God, and that He is subordinate to Him.
Jesus Christ will not be the only king of God’s government. He will have many co-rulers with Him in heaven.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses are guilty of many such heresies. For example, the cult teaches that a person is saved through works and not by grace and faith alone; it teaches that God is through with the Jews and with the nation of Israel. The 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 14:1-3 are simply humans who are resurrected to rule with Christ in heaven instead of the 12 tribes of Israel as the Bible clearly reveals.
But none of these heresies are as striking as the Jehovah’s Witnesses denial of the majesty of Jesus Christ. Although God’s name is indeed Jehovah (see Psalm 83:18), the Holy Bible unquestionably tells us in John 1 that Jesus is God and was God from the beginning. What’s more, we read in Philippians 2:9-11 that the name of Jesus is above all other names:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Chapter 43: KEN KEYES COLLEGE
Ken Keyes College is an adult learning institution in Coos Bay, Oregon which promotes the works of bestselling New Age author and speaker Ken Keyes. The College publishes Ken Keyes College Quarterly newspaper giving updates of course offerings which emphasize workshops and seminars on such pep-talk topics as “Unconditional Love,” “Playful Methods for Creative Living,” and “Methods for Awakening.” Mainly, these are sugar-coated training sessions for people hungry for self-help, pop psychology fast fixes.
Ken Keyes and his wife, Penny, founders of this institution, are on close terms with the elite of other New Age organizations, such as Jerry Jampolsky (A Course in Miracles), Unity Church, and the various 12-step programs.
Wally Hill, the administrator of the college, says that his “personal growth trip” involved yoga massage, hypnotism, and Reiki natural healing. His boss, Ken Keyes, is author of the million-seller book, Handbook to Higher Consciousness, which claims to teach readers how to use meditative, selftalk techniques for self-transformation into the new consciousness paradigm.
Keyes is also author of the influential book, The Hundredth Monkey, which many New Age authorities cite as proof of the validity of their theory that society is about to take a quantum leap into the New Age—as soon as enough people are into the new consciousness. True scientists, however, scoff at Keyes’ ideas.
Another Keyes book, Planethood, calls for a one world government to insure world disarmament and peace. Keyes is well-known for his advocacy of One Worldism.
Chapter 44: KOSMON (OAHSPE)
In 1881 Dr. John Ballou Newbrough sat in front of his typewriter as spirits began to dictate to him a new bible, which was published under the name OAHSPE. Some 1,008 pages in length, OAHSPE proclaims the arrival of “the New Kosmos Era,” a New Age in which man will be exalted and all of the other gods, including Jesus, will be put away. As Walter Wiers states in the Kosmon book, Last Battle For Earth, “It’s time for a change of gods. The old gods—Allah, Buddha, Christ, Jehovah, and the others of the East and the Mideast have at last reached the age of retirement.
The book of OAHSPE itself, on pages 562 through 564, quotes the Kosmon god Jehoviah (note the simil
arity to Jehovah) as saying: “When the Gods have fulfilled their time in earth and heaven, behold, I put them away.”
According to the spirits who dictated this new bible to him, John Newbrough said that OAHSPE means: O for earth, AH for sky, and SPE for spirit. He contended that the new bible is “A book of advanced spiritual truth, universal light and knowledge, adapted to this new Kosmon Age.” Newbrough maintained that the god Jehoviah “is the father-creator of all gods, goddess, and lords!”
Newbrough taught that the spirit authors of OAHSPE were nine chief gods, each of whom has ruled the earth during a particular cycle of time. Among these nine chief gods are Sethantes, Su, Apollo, Thor, and Osiris. It is interesting that the OAHSPE cult and its bible totally neglect Jesus Christ, yet, they exalt the Greek god Apollo, the Norwegian god Thor, and the Egyptian father god Osiris.
In addition, OAHSPE promotes the Great Pyramid of Egypt as a sacred monument and even reveals an astounding story about a submerged continent know as Pan. Pan was the Greek horned god of the forest: but to the OAHSPE cult, Pan is a continent, later known as Lemuria, located in the Pacific Ocean which was submerged about 24,000 years ago. The similarity between OAHSPE’s teachings and those of Helena Blavatsky’s Theosophy in her books on The Secret Doctrine is quite informative.
The OAHSPE cult particularly admires the Persian teacher Zarahustra, whom they say was also Zoroaster. They say it was Zoroaster who first gave revelations of a divine nature to human beings.
OAHSPE incorporates just about every New Age doctrine imaginable. This eclectic group, through the Amherst Press, in Amherst, Wisconsin, has put out books dealing with the spirit world and spiritualism, the coming of UFOs, New Age politics, magic, the Green Man (the Green Man was known by the pagans to be Lucifer), and North American Indian religions.
Even though the book of OAHSPE was published over a century ago in 1882, this cult has not been able to gain a significant following. The Universal Faithists of Kosmon, headquartered in Riverton, Utah, are perhaps the best known OAHSPE group. They publish the Kosmon Voice magazine which carries articles promoting vegetarianism, holistic healing, environmentalism, and meditation. Another OAHSPE publication is Search magazine, distributed by Amherst Press.
The OAHSPE cult holds out to men and women the promise that after many cycles, they themselves may become a god of a planet, such as the earth. Kosmon also pretends to answer many of the mysteries of the universe, such mysteries being revealed by spirits in the spiritual realm. According to OAHSPE, there are many gods and lords. In fact, there are also countless millions of worlds and each world has its own chief ruler, who is a commissioned god, or a goddess.
OAHSPE cultists, who call themselves “Faithists,” are found isolated throughout America. I have been able to locate groups in New York, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, California, Georgia, and Wisconsin.
Chapter 45: KRISHNAMURTI
Jiddu Krishnamurti was a discovery of Annie Besant, president of the Theosophical Society in the late 19th century and early 1900s. Besant and occultist Charles Leadbeater became enamored of the young man Jiddu Krishnamurti and believed him to be the new avatar, the great World Teacher, the Christ of the New Age.
The Order of the Star in the East was formed to promote Krishnamurti as the Christ. But on a tour to America, Krishnamurti bombed out. American theosophists, as well as the news media, noted that this shy young Hindu was totally inept and devoid of spiritual knowledge and understanding. Dejected and embarrassed, Krishnamurti sailed back to India where, in 1929, he broke away from his sponsors in Theosophy and, in fact, repudiated all connections with organized religions and ideologies. From then on until his death in 1986, Krishnamurti traveled the world, writing and speaking to as many people who continued to believe in him.
Evidently, Krishnamurti did gain significant support in later years. For example, he spoke before the United Nations and was endorsed or lauded by such notables as U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell and noted economist Milton Friedman. Krishnamurti also wrote a number of books and articles which his modern-day followers have collected in the Krishnamurti library and the Krishnamurti Archives. His work in America is carried on by the Krishnamurti Foundation of America, headquartered in Ojai, California. Moreover, Krishnamurti’s teachings are emphasized at the Oak Grove School, a day-school for elementary students which is a project of the Krishnamurti Foundation.
Chapter 46: LAZARIS
Lazaris is a spirit, an entity which Christians easily recognize as a demon but the New Age honors as an all-wise, all-knowing, much reincarnated Master. Jach Pursel is the medium and spirit channeler who has given the new “Lazaris” to the world. Jach Pursel was a regional insurance supervisor in Florida when he began dabbling in meditation. In 1974, he fell asleep during a meditation exercise and suddenly, he and his wife Penny say, an entirely different entity who later identified himself as “Lazaris” suddenly began speaking through Jach’s mouth as he lay asleep. Lazaris, who speaks with an unusual Chaucerian Middle English accent, has now been speaking through Jach Pursel for 15 years. His themes are quite familiar to those in the New Age since they echo other demon spirits channeled by New Age mediums such as Seth and Ramtha.
Lazaris has become quite popular. Jach Pursel, his channeler, has traveled around the United States presenting seminars, workshops, and speeches. I recently received a letter from a businessman in Florida who was absolutely flabbergasted when he attended a recent Chamber of Commerce meeting. He was told that there would be a wonderful motivational speech given. At the podium was Jach Pursel. When Lazaris’ voice began to utter words from Jach’s mouth and spout a mish-mash of business advice, the man got so disgusted that he abruptly got out of his chair and left the room. Yet later, many businessmen who were in attendance told this Christian man that they were very pleased with what Jach Pursel and Lazaris had to say.
Jach Pursel’s ads promise people “a night of magic and miracles” with Lazaris. Brochures say such things as: “Lazaris is stunning. People marvel at the intensity of the love... They are in awe of the way Lazaris’ love and insight seem literally to dissolve the blockages and resistance and then open the doors to success. Words cannot describe the wonder.”
According to the “wisdom” of Lazaris, “You enter your personal New Age when you are ready to know that you create your own reality.” Becoming a God, says Lazaris, is taking back the power that you have given someone else (probably meaning Jesus Christ). Lazaris gives this definition of God:
God is the name given to the creator of all reality or the Source. God is all that is... God has been referred to as “the All,” the “Is-ness,” “All-ness,” the “god force,” “the god energy.”
Lazaris also insists that God is both male and female and that people are just as well off worshipping the goddess as a male god.
Chapter 47: LIFESPRING
The National Law Journal (August 13, 1984) reported that “Lifespring”, like other California human potential groups founded in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, mixes Eastern philosophy, psychology, and strict discipline in an effort to get students to reevaluate their belief system. Lifespring has come under intense criticism in recent years from people who claim to have suffered psychotic episodes and from relatives of students who have committed suicide after taking the course. ”
The same article from the National Law Journal reported that a former Lifespring participant had won $800,000 in a suit against the organization. A Philadelphia jury awarded Debra Bingham, 30, the money after they heard testimony that she had attended two Lifespring training courses that led to her being hospitalized for a month in a mental institution for severe depression and suicidal tendencies. The woman had also lost her job as a result of her continuing psychological problems.
Founded in 1974 by John P. Hanley and associates, Lifespring has trained well over 150,000 individuals in its methods. Yet, the group continues to receive negative publicity, being the subject of repeated lawsuits and even the tar
get of a scathing expose conducted by investigators of ABC’s “20/20” television news program.
Lifespring teaches that man is perfect, that “at the essence, or core, of each of us is a perfect, loving, and caring being.” Lifespring promises enlightenment. In one advertisement of Lifespring, a man is quoted as saying that if he had gone to Tibet and meditated on a mountain top it would have taken years for enlightenment, but “Lifespring got me there in just five days.”
Lifespring also teaches that we ourselves are the creators of our own light. Its instructors say that our own self-esteem and self-worth are paramount and that “self-love is the greatest love.” The training involves meditation and the development of mind and psychic powers alien to traditional Christianity. The group’s publication, Lifespring Family News (Vol. 1, No.2), bragged, “The seminars make use of the most effective principles, intellectual concepts and techniques of... parapsychology... and Eastern disciplines.”