WHAT ARE THE KEY SIGNS OF A DOOMSDAY CHRISTIAN CULT?
By Ezekiel Kimosop
INTRODUCTION
The recent expose on the Shakahola deadly cult has shaken the Kenyan nation and Christian communities. Some have argued that the disaster is merely a tip of the iceberg, given the undeniable impact of the growing number of doomsday prophetic cult movements in Kenya. They say that worse is yet to come!
Others voices have suggested that the regulation of churches in Kenya is necessary in order to weed out "dangerous cults" from our midst. They point to the recent initiatives by the Rwandese government in cracking down on Christian cults. The freedom of worship enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010 however prohibits any state agency or authority from interfering with the freedom of worship.
What perhaps remains obscure and divisive among Kenyan Christian communities is the identity of a Christian cult. Meanwhile, the reality on the ground is disturbing. Several doomsday cult leaders periodically gather millions of their deluded followers in major towns of Kenya for what may appear to be normal Christian crusades or conferences. Some of the cults are not known because they maintain obscurity in order to conceal their identity. A close scrutiny of the rank and file of their followers reveals that they have been heavily brainwashed into total submission.
Under cultic ranks, the cult leader has absolute command over the hapless followers who consider their leader as a prophet, apostle, diviner, and God's special agent on earth. These movements are no different from previous apocalyptic cults such as the Jim Jones movement that committed mass suicide in Guyana in 1978. They appear to match towards an apocalyptic cul-de-sac at which point desperation takes toll and the leader may prescribe a final solution similar to Adolph Hitler's decimation of six million Jews in the Nazi Holocaust.
So what exactly is a Christian cult? I wish to outline below three primary features that, in my view, are compelling signs that describe a doomsday Christian cult. These are by no means exhaustive.
1. The cult leader has absolute command over the movement. The cult leader's word is law to his followers. He cannot be questioned or challenged even in circumstances of absurdity. This is what lends the leader the draconian powers for controlling the group. A disagreement with the cult leader is considered as a disagreement with God!
2. The groups are completely isolated from mainstream Christianity and society. This comes from years of separation and deliberate brainwashing. The cult followers are warned by their cult leaders against mingling with mainstream Christians, and to keep away from mainstream churches which they consider fallen! This effectively shuts them off from genuine Christian interaction and fellowship and reduces them to religious hermits. One cult leader once forbade his followers from listening to Christian sermons from other churches. In other circumstances, the cult members may be compelled to separate from their "unbelieving" family members in order to avoid "spiritual defilement".
3. They do not consider the Bible as the source of inspiration and authority for their group. Many doomsday cult leaders are known to discourage their followers from reading the Bible, claiming that God had revealed to them everything that they needed to know. The followers therefore totally rely on what the cult leader teaches. This effectively shuts them off from the revelation and authority of Scripture. Worse even, some of these cult members are either semi-literate or totally illiterate and are unable to read the Bible.
ANALYSIS OF CHRISTIAN CULTS
Some cultic movements are subtle in nature and may not be easily detected without a keen spiritual eye. It is important that a Christian should rely on the teaching of Scripture in order to identify Christian heresy and apostasy. It is also important to realize that cults can slowly drift away from mainstream churches under splinter groups led by cultic leaders, and draw further and further away from the authority of God's word. One leading prophetic cult in Kenya is known to target established charismatic churches for growing its membership. In one incident that occurred a few years ago, a rural Pentecostal church in Kenya was nearly shut down after a leading prophetic cult group succeeded in drawing away most of the congregation members including its pastor!
Here are some additional features that may be useful in identifying cultic and neo-cultic movements.
1. REJECTION OF THE DEITY AND DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST.
A number of cults reject or debase the deity and divinity of Jesus Christ as God. Early church Gnostics were identified with this attribute (see 1 John 4:1-7). This feature is common among trinitarian cults such as Jehovah's Witnesses that also reject the Trinitarian revelation of God in Scripture. The JWs are also known to deny the divinity of the Holy Spirit whom they refer to as "a force". Once a Christian sect is identified with this set of doctrine, it automatically qualifies to be a cultic group.
Paul confronted these Gnostic tendencies in his teachings in Colossians 1-2 where he affirms the deity and divinity of Jesus Christ which was disputed by Gnostic teachers. Gnostics argued that it was impossible for Jesus to have come as God incarnate among men while retaining His divine essence.
2. DEPARTURE FROM THE FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS OF SCRIPTURE
The second mark of a cult movement is that they openly depart from the fundamental teachings of Scripture. Instead, they substitute them with their own set of religious teachings that contradict the authority of Scripture. It is common to find them relying on literature written by their cult leaders or "prophets" that are believed to have heard directly from God. The leader's word is law to his followers and any dissent is vehemently crushed.
Paul mentioned a pair of leaders who fell away from the doctrinal foundation of the New Testament church (see 1 Timothy 1:19-20). While it is not explicit from this text of Scripture what these leaders had done, the hint given in 1 Timothy 1:19 concerns the violation of a fundamental doctrine, something that Paul metaphorically refers to as a shipwreck. This imagery serves to illustrate the perilous scope of the violation. The next verse reveals that they had blasphemed against God but the circumstances and specifics relating to the violation are not disclosed in the text (1 Timothy 1:20). The two ministers were suspended from Christian communion subject to evidence of remorse.
We learn from the second incident described in 2 Timothy 2:17-18 that another pair of Christian heretics had "strayed concerning the truth" and taught that the resurrection of believers had already taken place. Paul's excommunication of these heretics from the fellowship of the church was intended to teach them a lesson and to serve as a warning to others that heresy would not be tolerated under his apostolic oversight. A Bible centered Christian congregation should therefore not entertain false teachers in their midst.
It is instructive that doomsday cults and neo-cultic teachers reject church discipline and refuse biblical correction when offered to them in truth. Instead, they break away from the communion of God's people and gravitate into apostasy. They should be condemned by right standing Bible-centered communities.
3. SUBSCRIBING TO EXTRA-BIBLICAL REVELATION
An extra biblical revelation comprises any set of teachings on God's revelation of Himself that contradicts the fundamental doctrine of Scripture. More specifically, it proclaims the redemption of man outside the authority of Scripture. A cultic group may for instance proclaim a strange "revelation" that purportedly came from God. They may declare that they an exclusive group through which people can discover God! This is perhaps one of the most dangerous features identified with doomsday cultic movements. These cults mistakenly believe that they are the only true way to God and that their leader is the final prophet from God. This teaching violates John 14:6 that proclaims that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. The cult leader views other churches within the "them-versus-us" mentality.
One leading doomsday cultic movement in Kenya is led by a flamboyant preacher who claims to have heard directly from God and that God exclusively speaks through him. The man rarely uses the Bible to teach his followers. He considers other churches as doomed and his followers unquestioningly obey his heresy. Interestingly, none of the prophecies he has predicted has been fulfilled!
4. MANIPULATION, CONTROL AND COERCION BY CULT LEADER
The fourth attribute is that doomsday cult members are heavily manipulated and brainwashed by their cult leaders who are often perceived to be equal to, if not above Jesus Christ. These leaders demand absolute loyalty from the followers who are victims of threats, coercion, and manipulation. The cult leader claims to speak directly to God and that he receives direct revelation from Him. He cannot therefore accept correction for his error. The cult members exclusively depend on his twisted teaching rather than the authority of Scripture.
It is instructive that once a Christian community fails to recognize the authority and finality of Scripture in shaping its beliefs and practices, it begins to drift away into heresy and apostasy. A Christian heretic teaches or subscribes to error and rejects legitimate correction for their error. A Christian apostate is a person who has departed from the fundamental doctrines of Scripture and has rejected any legitimate correction. A heretic can be corrected and restored to the path of truth in certain circumstances if they own up to their error but an apostate is difficult to handle. Some consider apostates as unregenerate.
The truth is that the word of God must remain the supreme voice that speaks to our circumstances, corrects our failings and directs us along the narrow path of our earthly pilgrimage. Traditional Evangelical theology holds that no person or leader can take the place and authority of Christ in His church and that no literature however finely written can oust the authority of God's word in a Christian community. Scripture alone reveals to us the mind of God and His divine purposes for us in Christ Jesus. It is the indispensable guide to Christian obedience.
CONCLUSION
The emergence of apostate groups in the last days is foretold in the Bible. These groups will gain prominence as the coming of Christ draws near. They will mislead and turn many away from the path of truth through their depraved and counterfeit gospel. Jesus warned his disciples that false prophets would come and will attempt to mislead the church (Matthew 24:11).
In 2 Timothy 3:1-9, we learn that false teachers would arise in the last days and take advantage of a community of morally susceptible religious people who are given to sensuality, greed, and blasphemy. The Bible warns standing believers to keep away from such people who have a form of godliness but deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5). Scripture further teaches that the time will come when sections of Christians will no longer endure sound doctrine and instead "turn their ears away from the truth..." (2 Timothy 4:4).
In conclusion, one significant feature cannot be overlooked - the influence of the prosperity gospel identified with sections of the charismatic Christian communities. Some of the leading charismatic cults today are controlled by billionaire charismatic preachers who fleece their followers through the sale of "miracle prayers" and merchandise in order to maintain their flashy lifestyles - complete with private jets, top-of-the-range limousines, executive mansions in leafy suburbs of major cities and offshore property investments.
These preachers are religious entrepreneurs who do not have the calling of God in Christian ministry. They propagate the accursed doctrine of Balaam son of Beor, a man "who loved the wages of unrighteousness" (2 Peter 2:15). Jude describes the latter day greedy apostates as having gone "in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit..." (Jude 1:11). These millionaire preachers teach the prosperity gospel at the expense of preaching Christ crucified. We should keep away from such leaders or groups and warn others about them.
It is important that every child of God stays alert and keeps away from the tentacles of false teachers. We should rely exclusively on the revelation and authority of Scripture. Jesus asks "...when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on earth?"
How can we keep away from Christian cults?
First, we should consistently and devotionally study the word of God at personal and group level. Psalm 119:105 metaphorically proclaims that the word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. In this way, we can examine every teaching in the light of Scripture. This is what the men of Berea diligently did when Paul and his associates preached to them (Acts 17:10-13, cf. 2 Timothy 2:15;1 John 4:1-3).
Secondly, we should identify and stick with a Bible-centered Christian congregation where the word of God is faithfully and holistically taught and upheld. Do not be a church hopper or a nomadic Christian that moves from one Christian congregation or community to another and feeds on a concoction of doctrines!
Thirdly, we should pray for the discernment of the Holy Spirit whenever we are confronted by agents of a suspicious cultic group. We need the wisdom of God and the revelation of Scripture to discern and to counter Christian heresy and apostasy.
Finally, we should seek the counsel of our local church pastors in addressing difficult Bible questions and issues touching on the fundamental doctrines of our Christian faith. Never turn to cultic teachers for answers!
Shalom.
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2023.
