Visions and Revelations:
Colossians 2 v 18
“Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind”.
Most cult leaders or leaders of unhealthy religious groups claim that God reveals himself to them in special ways. They also may appear to perform miracles of knowledge or miracles of healing used to enhance their own power or wealth. For example, a group leader might say, “God spoke to me last night and said that it is his will for everybody in this church to sell all of their possessions and give the money to the church.” He may then use relevant scriptures in the book of Acts to “confirm” this revelation from God.
Biblical Refutation: While all believers should pray to God, seek guidance from his Spirit, and be prudently open to divine visions and revelations (1 Cor 12:31; 1 Thess 5:20), no believer should ever use visions or revelations as a means to manipulate others. This is spiritual abuse. In Colossians 2:18, Paul writes, “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind.” Church leaders who claim special access to God as a way to manipulate their flock into fearful obedience and a sense of awe have put themselves on a pedestal. They have made themselves the mediator between God and men. But the Bible says that there is only one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5).
Higher Purpose/Elitism. This is the hinge of the door. The first two steps had more to do with the leader; these last four have more to do with the follower. In this step, followers subscribe to the claims and visions of the group leader and rally to his or her flag. They do this to gain a privileged part in God’s plan, or to become special agents of God, or to become the chosen few who have discovered hidden truth. By doing this, they climb on top of a pedestal with the group leader(s). Like Simeon Stylites, they live somewhere between heaven and earth; less than God, but greater than other people.
Biblical Refutation: The Bible never advocates a spiritually stratified church. Instead, it says that all believers are royalty in the sense that they are sons and daughters of God. Christians should strive to follow Christ and not compare themselves with other believers. Indeed, those who think they are better than others are usually the ones most in need of saving grace (Luke 18:9-14; Matt 20:16). Paul writes in Romans 12:3, “For through the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
MYSTICAL MANIPULATION
Submitting to Exploitation. The final step of the “Mystical Manipulation” cycle is when followers submit to exploitation with the idea that they are doing good. Leaders of cults or other destructive groups convince members that they must give 100% of everything they have to the Lord in order to be considered a true disciple. The problem here—catch this—is that the group itself is equated with the Kingdom of God. The idea that time, money, and effort could be given to other things outside of the group is rarely considered, since the group represents the purest form of God’s work in the world. Salvation is thus reduced to the quantity of cash given to the ministry (“The more you give, the more you love Christ”); the amount of time devoted to church activities; and the amount of effort devoted to submitting to the leader(s).
Biblical Refutation: The Bible always advocates generosity with finances, but with the caveat that money should be given cheerfully and not under compulsion (cf.2 Cor 9:7; 1 Tim 3:3, 8; Titus 1:7). It is up to the individual believer to determine how his or her money is spent. In terms of time commitment, while the Bible does command believers not to forsake the assembling together of the saints (Heb 10:25), the Greek word for “forsake” means total abandonment, not merely missing a church service or going on vacation and missing several church activities. Church leaders who use this verse as a means to enforce 100% attendance at every church activity have misrepresented God’s heart.
Conclusion:
Stephen Martin provides a wonderful summary of the process of “Mystical Manipulation”:
“What begins as a deceptively awe-inspiring group and leader, leading the participants to believe that they are in an elite group, turns insidiously toward abusive manipulation and a loss of freedom. All of the above factors combine to make the member fearful of leaving the group because the member has been deceived into believing that his or her salvation depends on it. The deceived members are led to believe that to leave the group is to abandon God’s work, and thus to abandon God.”
Nothing mystical about it.
