A Coming New Pentecost?
Referring to the growing acceptance of mysticism, which is now influencing almost every area of society, a promotional mailer explains that the New Age Journal "was launched" in 1973 "because there was no publication that looked at this outpouring of consciousness as one trend -- an awakening of all peoples on earth."
What could be the cause and why is it happening on such a grand scale at this particular time? Researcher and best-selling author Brad Steiger, himself a New Age leader and practicing occultist, makes this interesting statement:
"Nearly every observer of the contemporary spiritual scene seems to agree that there is some kind of new Pentecost going on at this time, some kind of spiritual awakening process at work. And a good many of these observers feel that this growing mystical consciousness may have something to do with the Last Days." (Brad Steiger, Gods Of Aquarius (New York, 1976) p. 222)
This reference to "Pentecost" and the "Last Days" is interesting because these terms come from the Bible, most of which is incompatible with Steiger's convictions. In fact, the Bible records that shortly before His death Jesus Christ declared that an explosion of false religious beliefs involving unprecedented spiritual deception would be the primary sign of the "last days", indicating that His second coming was near. The nature of the deception is spelled out fairly clearly in the Bible and corresponds in remarkable detail to much that accompanies today's New Age mysticism.
The only factor this statement in 1988 failed to foretell was that the
New Age would actually invade the church itself and that the purveyors
of this new mysticism and spiritism in the counterfeit revival would be
saying virtually the same things as the occultists are saying. (Sandy Simpson,
1997)
