(N.K.J.V used throughout).

Introduction: Test this for yourself. Someone kept encouraging me to write an article warning about Catholicism and the interfaith movement. After two weeks of struggling with this I finally asked the Lord for His help. To my surprise the Holy Spirit, (I believe), then directed me to write about the way in which the following four components will polarise towards a One World Religion in the last days.

The One World Religion in scripture: The bible tells us that this global religion will ultimately enforce the worship of the antichrist in the end times. Concerning the antichrist scripture tells us; “authority was given him over every tribe, tongue and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him,” (Rev 13; 7, 8), as he “exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God,” (2 Thess 2; 4). I did not feel led to look into the issue of a single individual false prophet who many believe will head up this antichrist religion but instead at the religion itself. These are the four components, (the analysis is my own):

I) The Catholic Church: I saw that this will provide the structure for this new global religion, how it will function and be organised internally. Outwardly this new religion will also appear more like Catholicism than any other religion but with the core Christian doctrines missing.

II) The Interfaith Movement. Satan will use this movement to draw all the world’s religions together into one with promises of ending religious violence and the birth of a “new age” of peace on earth.

III) The New Age/occult: This will be the spiritual power behind this new One World Religion.

IV) Apostate, neo - charismatic ministers: Apostate “Christian” leaders from this group will be raised up more than those from other religions and will move in the most occult power within this religion.

I) The Catholic Church: [I am looking here at the Catholic Church as an organisation. This will slide into increasing apostasy over time but I believe that many individual Catholics will be saved as they move away from this]. The dominance of the Catholic Church as a religious and political power was founded on spiritual compromise as its Bishops submitted to the leadership of the Roman Emperor Constantine. This was despite the fact that Constantine had a dubious conversion experience, never turned away from his immoral lifestyle and insisted on leading their denomination whilst continuing as leader of two pagan religions at the same time. In 316 A.D Constantine also started the first inter Christian persecution which the Catholic Popes perpetuated for centuries afterwards. The Catholic Bishops effectively submitted to the authority of a multifaith leader in order to avoid further persecution themselves and to obtain political power within the Roman Empire. I believe something similar but even more extreme will happen due to spiritual pressures that will exist in the end times.

The Catholic Church has always believed that the Pope is called to be the Sheppard over Gods entire flock not just the Catholic denomination. This is probably why they are making such stringent efforts to link to as many protestant groups today as possible. The Catholic Bishops and Popes believe they are Gods main representatives on earth and will therefore seek supremacy in all spiritual matters in this world. As the interfaith movement continues to grow as a religious influence they will therefore seek to dominate this as well as the Christian church. In the process Catholicism will compromise its Christian stance in order to acquire a controlling influence over all the other religions in the world.

The core Christian doctrine of salvation is a major stumbling block to this as it teaches that only faith in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross can bring us forgiveness and peace with God. Catholicism will eventually set this aside in order to be able to influence and dominate all the worlds other religions. By then it will accept these as alternative paths to God. New Age influences will also continue to infiltrate the Catholic organisation. Because of the dominance of the Catholic church the coming One World Religion will have the outward appearance of Catholicism more than any other religion.

II) The Interfaith Movement: The devil will use this movement to draw all the world’s religions together as a stepping stone towards the formation of his One World Religion. Several factors guarantee the popularity and growth of the interfaith movement in the coming years. It provides a solution to the religiously inspired violence which is escalating around the world today. It could help solve the Israel Palestinian problem in the Middle East. It can provide a means by which people of different religions can come together to tackle problems caused by climate change. It could also help the western powers win the battle for hearts and minds within the Islamic community in their war on terror. The vast political influence of the western world is therefore likely to be thrown behind promoting this movement in the future; we are in fact already already seeing the early stages of this.

Misguided influential western politicians and Christian ministers are already emerging as leading figures within the interfaith movement already. Tony Blair, who has also recently converted to Catholicism, is also now the peace envoy to the Middle East, (link to his interfaith site), and evangelical leader Rick Warren, known by many as “America’s Pastor,” are both now leading figures within the interfaith movement. They plan to use good works, for example programs to help eradicate malaria from around the world, to gain support and draw people from different religions together. Many other influential people and organisations are now linking to these ventures and becoming involved in interfaith as a result. Many other Christians in the western world are already being drawn to this movement which looks set to continue. We are only in the early stages of this at present but a great momentum has now started and is almost certain to continue to expand, and at an accelerating rate in the coming years.

Whilst interfaith aims are often noble in themselves any Christian who becomes involved with this movement will expose themselves to powerful political and spiritual influences that can compromise or undermine their Christian faith. Their emphasis will subtly shift from walking the narrow road of faith in Christ as the only way to God to seeking common ground with other religions instead. As a result many will come under pressure to accept that other religions are also valid paths to God. This effectively contradicts the core Christian doctrine of salvation which teaches that forgiveness and reconciliation with God can only be found through faith in Christ’s death on the cross. Like Catholics many Protestants will come under pressure to compromise as this movement becomes popular.

Interfaith involvement will also expose many Christians to New Age teachings. We can see this in the ministry of Rick Warren who has now introduced his vast church network to three New Age gurus as advisers for his churches interfaith based health campaign. Between them these three men also teach various eastern meditation techniques and occult Reiki healing. As the saying goes “the path to hell is paved with good intentions” and the noble interfaith aims of achieving world peace and harmony between religions will fall right into the hands of those with an occult agenda.

III) The New Age/occult: The interfaith movement provides the perfect stepping stone toward an occult unified belief system incorporating and controlling all the world religions. There is ample evidence that leading occultists, New Agers and Satanists are already attempting to work toward the development of such a One World Religion. They aim to use this to promote and then enforce their occult belief that each person has their own path, own morality and is in fact a god themselves. Many, (perhaps most), of them believe that when enough people in the world accept this occult belief then their occult messiah will come, (who we know as the antichrist), who they claim will bring in a New Age of peace and harmony on earth. This of course is all based on deception from the devil.

The pursuit of wealth and power is a major influence within witchcraft and many believe that occultist have already infiltrated and now influence powerful organisations such as the Freemasons, the World Bank’s, for example the Eurozone Central Bank, the European Union and even the United Nation’s, (Satanist Alice Baileys Lucis Trust, originally called the Lucifer Trust, is said to have a permanent seat on some U.N committees). Some Catholics even claim that occultists and Satanists have already infiltrated positions within the Catholic Church and some protestant groups as well. I don’t want to drift into conspiracy theories here but the point is that the people who pursue the occult agenda are not just a disparate group who meet in small covens on the outskirts of society but include many who hold positions of power in the mainstream as well, people who will be keen to influence the direction of the interfaith movement in the future. Whatever the case the occult agenda itself is well known and available for anyone who wishes to study it, no one disputes it existence and so in that sense it is not controversial.

The deceased Satanist, Alice Bailey, (1880-1949), claimed that her “spirit guide” had given her a strategy to help bring about the occult agenda of a one world government and religion. She is perhaps the most influential occult teacher of all time and was responsible for coining the phrase “New Age". Most people involved in the New Age/occult will therefore be familiar with her writings and many will already be promoting this strategy. The Christian doctrine of salvation in Christ is a major obstacle to their occult agenda as it directly opposes the idea that there are many ways to God/paradise. The Christian church is itself a major obstacle as it identifies witchcraft as a sin. A central cornerstone of Bailey’s strategy is therefore to oppose, attack and undermine Christian values in every area of society, particularly the Christian churches influence on the youth, so that over time Christianity will have less influence on each subsequent generation. Is it a coincidence that this is exactly what has been happening in the western world over the past few decades?

Interestingly Bailey predicted that a new enlightened age would soon come, not around the Christian church, but through it. She foresaw the Christian church, or large parts of it, taking on board New Age ideas and then being used to promote these on the way toward the full introduction of an occult One World Religion later on. Today we can see how Christians like Rick Warren and others already appear to be, inadvertently, moving in line with this, as they endorse New Age teachers. Alice Bailey claimed that the outer layers of Christianity would initially be kept intact with Christian terminology still being used, but that changes would take place obscurely from the inside of the church leading it down the occult route. This already appears to be happening within many Christian streams today as we get nearer the end times, (many now think they have already started).

IV) Apostate, protestant, charismatic leaders: Many of these leaders are already receiving deception and a counterfeit occult anointing as are some of the largest Christian sites online, (see other articles on this site for more details). Many well known ministers are already seeking messages from demonic spirits claiming to be departed saints, (which is spiritualism), or from fallen angels which masquerade as angels of light. Some claim to be able to visit heaven whenever they want, but instead experience the equivalent of occult astral projection. All sorts of New Age visions, occult beliefs and spiritual practices are already being promoted by these ministries, things which have no scriptural foundation. Sometimes these deceptions are also accompanied by occult healing power.

Many churches in the western world have been open to the deceptive New Age anointing for decades and this is now spreading fast. Scripture warns us that as the end draws near Satan will move “with all power, signs, and lying wonders,” (2 Thess 2; 9), and that “false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect,” (Matt 24; 24). This means that toward the end times Christians will be targeted and churches infiltrated by these deceptions. We already see this happening today. Unfortunately many Christians think that if healing power is present that this must be of God, however so this is not necessarily the case as Satan also has the power to heal. Many people are already receiving the occult anointing due to this error.

The counterfeit occult anointing is leading to all sorts of bazaar manifestations in some Christian meetings, things that neither Jesus nor any believer in New Testament times ever experienced when the Holy Spirit came upon them. Manifestations such as animal noises, (as in shamanism), shaking and convulsions, (as when a demon is manifesting according to scripture), hysterical laughter and intoxication as if high on drugs or alcohol, are now often accepted as manifestations of the Holy Spirit despite this being completely unbiblical. This is particularly prevalent in the western world where many do not attempt to test the spirits, (1 Jn 4: 1), or weigh these influences against scripture. Not surprisingly such manifestations also take place in occult cults, paganism and Hinduism, (interesting video). This is all evidence of the infiltration of occult deception into sections of the church as the devil paves the way for the emergence of his deceptive One World Religion.

Many of the deceived ministries are also linking to the Catholic Church and submitting to the authority of the Pope which brings this article full circle. People like Paul Cain and Rick Joyner for example, along with others, have already joined the Catholic Order of the Knights of Malta and therefore submit to the spiritual authority of the Grand Master of that Order, who has authority equivalent to a Bishop within the Catholic Church and reports directly to the Pope. Joyner himself has now been given authority to Knight anyone who he sees fit, and ordain them into this Order, so we could see a sudden increase in its membership in the future amongst those he associates with.

Satan likes to use backslidden, deceived “Christians” more than anyone else and unless such ministers gain discernment or repent many will eventually become apostate and then be used by the devil as key promoters of the occult strategy. Many of them will also be used more powerfully than leaders from any other religion in occult signs and wonders in the coming One World Religion.

Conclusion: If things accelerate we may witness the emergence of this One World Religion far sooner than many of us are expecting. No one knows the day or hour but if these things start to take place in the world around us it will be important to remember that this will only be for a short season, lasting only a few years, and will be followed by the Second Coming and physical return of Jesus Christ to earth, when the kingdom of God and His rule will be established. Praise God!

[See also Rev Ch’s 13, 17 and 19 and Daniel Ch’s 7 and 12].

S. Dobbs, June 2011.