I love things pertaining to Jesus Christ, but Christianity, like most religions, has its share of cultish practices. And it isn’t isolated to 3rd world mixtures of Christianity with witchcraft, idolatry, or spiritism. Plenty of it is main-stream. Far from being practiced in darkness, it is headlined in Christian media and some of the largest churches in the western world.

In this brief space I can highlight just one very salient example; the ‘end-time prophecy’ industry. I call it an industry because it reaps for its proponents hundreds of millions in revenue. Books, CD’s, seminars, conferences, and Christian media exposure has pushed ‘rapture’ fascination to an all time high. The problem is, too much of it is speculative, creative, or pure fiction. Again, it is another movement that can often be tracked by the watchword, “Follow the Money.”

Please consider these most common characteristics of cult leaders or of cultish practice:
• Leaders have a scrubbed public face but little is known of their background or family practice.
• They are a ‘chosen one’ on a mission to enlighten.
• They are occupied with ‘end of the world’ scenarios.
• They claim special revelation or discernment.
• The scriptures hold a deep hidden meaning under-stood only by the initiated or a special group.
• They are not accountable to anyone.
• They are exploitive regarding money and allegiance.
• They accept an elitist status because of their insights.

Some of the New Testament letters were written, in part, to combat the influence of Gnosticism, defined generally as ‘knowledge of divine mysteries for an elite population.’ Today, many high profile prophecy teachers (Not all of them) openly claim special insight, and their behaviors and life style often fit many, if not all, the cultish criteria I have listed here.

Understand, this is not about Pastors teaching Revelation, Matthew 24, or Thessalonians to their local church. Everyone should be informed about what the Bible says pertaining to the end of the age. The end-time cult is something else. They over-emphasize and dramatize the truth of the second coming of Christ (a precious biblical promise). They often distort, even torture the scriptures to squeeze out another sensational insight, thereby seizing the attention and resources of many sincere believers who realize little corresponding benefit.

If believers knew the precise identity of the Antichrist, for example, how would that change their daily life? If they knew the exact moment of Jesus’ return to earth, what would they do differently? Isn’t that something they should do anyway? The prophecy cult appeals to our desire to know the future, and openly claims up-to-the-minute revelation about the ‘what’ and ‘when’ of end-time events. The fact is, they cannot say anything with certainty other than Christ will return one day as He promised. For over 150 years both Bible students and scholars have labored to predict ‘the last days,’ and they’ve been wrong. These contemporary guys are wrong too!

Recently a ‘new revelation’ was introduced all across charismatic television; the ‘Psalm 83 War.’ Supposedly Psalm 83 foreshadows an end-time war against Israel; a conflict just prior to Revelation’s battle of Armageddon. There is not a shed of internal evidence in that Psalm to support this notion. Read it again. For over 3,000 years there has been a movement by some nation or nations to obliterate Israel. Yet believers are enamored by the ‘new revelation,’ (Acts 17:21) showing yet another cultish tendency: Accepting a statement as truth because of who said it rather than because of the validity of its content.

I don’t really care what folks believe about the ‘details’ of Christ’s return. One’s view of the ‘latter times’ does not constitute a basis for our fellowship. There are a host of viewpoints about this subject held by true Christians across the world. Yet I know believers who will not fellowship with you if, for example, you don’t embrace the very popular ‘secret rapture’ doctrine which came out of 19th century England.

I don’t teach it because as a teenager I didn’t find it in the Bible, and after 50 years of study I still don’t. Popularized by C.I Schofield in his reference bible, my generation grew up hearing it. My parents accepted it, like most Evangelicals.

You might find it interesting that fifty years ago almost every Evangelical seminary taught the rapture theory; today, only about one-third still teach it. Compromise? Not at all. Honest scholarship and Biblical exegesis demands we elevate clarity over sentiment and tradition. This example shows just how vulnerable earnest believers are about ‘end-time’ stuff!

I won’t argue with any Christian’s sincerely help beliefs about the end-time, how to dress, how to baptize, or what day of the week to worship. If they love and serve Jesus Christ, we have fellowship. My issue is with professional prognosticators who claim to know more than they do, and who expect others to naively accept it while paying them handsomely for the mis-information. That’s cultish, pure and simple. No thanks.