I am sure you have heard about the latest apostacy coming out of Redding Bethel Church - more compromised liberal Christianity in that pro-LGBTQ, charismatic mega-church in the anarchistic state of California. What are they doing? They are using revamped occult Tarot cards, and rebranding them as 'Destiny Reading Cards' as part of their 'Christ-alignment' program which embraces New Age philosophies.

The Christalignment website explains:

"The Christalignment team use at least five different types of cards in Destiny Readings. These are not necessary for an intuitive reader, as we are all hearing from the third heaven realm, but greatly enhance the reading.

"We believe they are more predictive and higher than most tarot, and can address a current life question that you may have. Card readings with Christalignment are always followed by the reader taking the client into an encounter in the highest realm. Often color is seen and it is in this realm that answers come for poignant questions that clients have and lives are changed" [1].

Christians can't 'improve' on the psychic performance of Tarot card readers with a 'higher', 'predictive' rate of success because the whole practice is demonic from the roots upwards. Christians and psychics operate out of two entirely different realms of reality, the one spiritual and the other psychic. You can't 'improve' on the occult, period! It is what it is. So what Bethel Church is doing is plain old mediumship. Biblical prophecy simply does not work in the way they operate at all and to relable what is going on is simply dishonest and confusing. The Bethel Church folks claim that everyone has this mediumistic 'gift of prophecy' whereas the Bible is clear that not everybody has the gift of prophecy beyond being able to testify that Yah'shua (Jesus) is the Messiah (Rev.19:10). Only some have the gift. So these Californian charismatics are going way beyond what Scripture permits.

Their selling point is, they claim, that lots of people are being 'saved' and getting both emotional and physical healing from illnesses. But they forget (or perhaps they never actually knew) that Satan can not only counterfeit salvation and take care of 'hurts' (by anaethetising parts of the heart), but that he can physically heal too. I have met several ex-satanists who testify to having been healed in devil-worshipping cults. Because something happens that is supernatural doesn't mean it is from Elohim (God) because there are two supernatural realms, not just one. Not all 'supernatural' is good and not all 'signs and wonders' have the same source or 'benefits'. Satan can duplicate everything...except the fruit of the Ruach (Spirit) (Gal.5:22ff.) though he has shallow look-alikes that are able to deceive those not actually spiritually regenerated.

What is Theresa Dedmon's justification for all of this? Given the 'season' we are in, you will find this particularly interesting. In a nutshell, she claims that if Christianity has historically borrowed from paganism's Saturnalia to create 'Christmas' then why can't charismatics do the same and borrow from the occult?

"We see many examples in Church history of creatively expressing the message of the Gospel through “worldly”, and even “demonically inspired”, expressions...Constantine instituted the tradition of celebrating Christmas (the Christ Mass) on December, 25 to counteract the Winter Solstice Festival, which was a heathen religious festival to offer sacrifices to the god of Saturn in return for protection, blessing, and hope through the dark and cold winter months. Christmas has become a sign to the world that Jesus is the light of the world, offering salvation and hope.

"Easter was originally a holiday feast that celebrated Ishtar, the goddess of fertility. Christians have transformed the day into the celebration of the resurrection of Christ, who makes all things new" [2].

Where in Scripture are we cold that it is possible to build on anything that is "demonically inspired", which Dedmon clearly believes Chrtistmas and Easter to be. What does Yahweh expressly say?

• 1. "Learn not the way of the heathen" (Jer.10:2, KJV)
• 2. "For the customs of the people are vain" (Jer.10:3, KJV)

Yahweh even identifies an early pagan precursor of the Christmas tree and warns believers not to cut it down and decorate it the way the heathen do:

"One cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold..." (Jer.10:3-4, KJV).

So if we are not to learn and imitate the "way of the heathen" - "the way of the nations" (ESV) - then justifying something on the basis of what is forbidden because it is IDOLATRY, automatically condemns what you are doing as IDOLATRY too. And what does Scripture say about "idolaters"?

• 1. Don't associate with them if they claim to be your brother or sister (1 Cor.5:10-11);
• 2. They will not inherit the Kingdom of Elohim (God) (1 Cor.6:9; Eph.5:5);
• 3. They will find themselves "in the fiery lake of burning sulphur" and experience "the second death" (Rev.21:9, NIV);
• 4. They will find themselves "outside the Holy City" and be denied any "right to the Tree of Life" (Rev.22:15, NIV); so
• 5. Don't be an idolater (1 Cor.10:7).

What is ironic is that similar arguments are also advanced by conservative Evangelicals who rightly repudiate the Tarot and the occult as idolatry whilst pursuing the same idolatry in observing Christmas and Easter [3]. In some ways the liberals are more honest, however deceived. The conservatives want one foot in both worlds. Does that make them more hypocritical? That is not for me to judge since none of us knows how many of them are genuinely ignorant of the paganism and idolatry of Christmas and how many of them are deliberately supressing the emet (truth) so as not to undermine their denominational traditions. Nevertheless, the emet (truth) must be stated, again and again. Each of them - liberals and conservatives - refuse to see the emet (truth) about these pagan practices. Both are compromising to do, as they suppose, 'good', just as King Saul did anciently in performing sacrifices he was not entitled to. For these charismatic liberals in Bethel Church, California, they are openly using Christianised Tarot cards as an excuse to continue in their antinomian (lawless) religion using the name of 'good' (rather like the Israelites building a golden calf to symbolise Yahweh). They say they are "sharing the Gospel to people in their own “language” (occultism)" [2] in order to reach them. But with what compromised 'gospel'?

This, at least, is what Dedmon has kidded herself into believing. She is under some major delusions. For one, attracting the people through 'look-alike' (Tarot cards) is in reality a form of deception - it is an attempt to recruit people under false pretenses, the same false pretenses offered by the early Roman Catholic Church to persuade pagan Romans to embrace Christianity by retaining their pagan festivals and then rebranding them as 'Christmas', 'Easter', 'St.Valentine's Day', and so on. Australians Ken and Jenny Hodge of the 'Christalignment' organisation specialise in taking teams of undercover Christians to New Age festivals where they set up psychic look-alike booths. But the dishonesty goes far deeper as those who promote these Christian tarot cards continuously change their narratives [4].

The excuse is now made that "the apostle Paul emphasized that he became all things to all men, so that he could somehow win them to Christ (1 Corinthians 9:22)" [2], reminding me of the son of a charismatic pastor in Oslo who decided he would witness to the biker culture by dressing up in leather, using their symbols, drinking beer, smoking pot, and riding noisy motorbikes with them - the whole show - all this in order to make them feel comfortable to 'reach' them. Predictably - and this is the problem - he started becoming like the very 'Hell's Angels' he was trying to convert. They converted him by cross-fertilisation. Compromise always leads to a comromised gospel and a fall.

When Paul said that he 'became all things to all men', all he meant was that he attempted to make the Besorah (Gospel) clear at a lower level of comprehension within the bounds of the Davar Elohim (Word of God). Simplifying (like writing a paraphrase Bible, for example) is not the same as breaking a mitzvah (commandment) in order to be more 'appealing' to those you are witnessing to. Paul didn't join in pagan orgies in order to reach the participants.

For example, it is perfectly fine for me to minister to a vegetarian community by abstaining from meat in order to be around them to witness and not offend their weak consciences but it is not fine for me to go nude in a nudist colony in order to witness to nudists! A friend of mine, years ago, went to a bar and drank a pint of beer in order, as he supposed, to befriend someone he was witnessing to make him feel more comfortable. He didn't convert him but he did break his Rechabite vow not to drink alcohol. So, yes, we can use "creative ways", as Dedmon suggests, in order to communicate the Besorah (Gospel) provided we don't commit sin in doing so - one kind of creativity edifies, the other leads to disobedience and destruction. Imitating occult practices is not one of the 'edifying' methods - it's pure rebellion against Yahweh.

I am quite sure we will see more and more of this compromising in that part of the Body of Messiah that finds itself in the metaphorical 'Courtyard' of the Temple, because here is where the psyche currently governs. The spiritual is to be found in the Tabernacle. This is all a part of the separation spoken of in Scripture for Yah'shua (Jesus) will have a spotless bride, not a compromised whore. We really to have to make some fundamental choices because the days of procrastination are fast over. My whole journey out of pagan Christianity began with taking a stand against Christmas - in some sense it is where my 'exodus' began over 30 years ago. For me, then, it was a big move, and it earned me a lot of hostility at the time, lost me a lot of friends and brethren, but I do not regret what I did.

Today is Christmas Eve. This is truly your chance to become separated - qadosh - or holy. You can still honour Yah'shua's (Jesus) birth but not at this time of demonic revelry and certainly not by celebrating using pagan practices. I still love many if the old carols, O Holy Night and Silent Night being my favourites, but I don't celebrate and certainly not in the traditions of the heathen. Since the Nativity is not a Divine Moed (appointment) there is no day set-apart to praise Yahweh for the birth of the incarnate Elohim (God).

Messianic Evangelicals believe Messiah was both born and died at Pesach (Passover) [5] and was resurrected at Yom haBikkurim (Day of Firstfruits) during the spring festivals. In order to separate the birth and death, we will often privately hold a Nativity Day on the first of Aviv, the Biblical New Year 14 days before Pesach. There are no trees, Yule logs, holly, cards, presents, decorations, Christmas turkey or ham (which is unkosher anyway) or puddings or any of the trappings of the pagan 'Christmas'. We read Scripture and worship by singing nativity songs stripped of all the old traditions. It is short, simple and plain just as Yah'shua's (Jesus') birth was. And we do this at home with friends if any happen to be with us during the springtime, the correct season of new birth.

In the meantime, 'Destiny Cards' are used for divination and are just remodelled 'Tarot Cards' with a thin Christian veneer. Don't have anything to do with them or the lawless charismania that has so readily embraced them. Rebuke such believers as use them. This is just yet one more example of satanic infiltration. And until the churches continue in their anti-Torah positions, they will be vulnerable to ever more deception in the days ahead.

Endnotes