Christianity has been hijacked. At least in some places.
There are more and more so-called “Christian” churches, ministries, conferences and books being established, advertised and authored that are in fact not Christian at all.
The authors, teachers and presenters are very deceptive in that they use various Bible words and Christian categories; but their message has nothing to do with Christianity. Often their message is pure paganism, more aligned to the false religions of the 1st century world than the Bible.
A recent conference in our neighbourhood was advertised as the “Heavenly Courts Conference” that promised “land and territory from the Heavenly Courts”. One of the conference presenters has written a book entitled, “Securing and Restoring Land and Territory From the Courts of Heaven”.
According to the ministry’s website,
“Territories lie in bondage under ancient thrones and blood-stained altars. In this critical hour, Heaven is summoning Kingdom ambassadors to rise—not in fear, but in divine authority—armed with the decrees of the King and the protocols of the Courts of Heaven. In Securing and Restoring Land and Territory from the Courts of Heaven, Dr. Brigette Marx unveils powerful, Spirit-breathed strategies for reclaiming the earth from demonic occupation and restoring God’s original intent for nations, regions, and jurisdictions. Through prophetic revelation, in-depth spiritual mapping, and judicial decrees, this book equips you to uncover and uproot the dark infrastructures that keep land bound.”
This website uses Bible words to promote the book, but the book is what the Bible warns us against.
The promo goes on to say,
“Each chapter includes prophetic decrees and courtroom legislation designed to break curses, remove defilement, and unlock spiritual inheritance. This is not just a book; it is a divine manual for reformers, intercessors, prophets, and gatekeepers called to possess and govern territory under the Lordship of Jesus Christ…The Courts of Heaven are open. Will you step into your Kingdom assignment?”
This conference and book are sadly not unique.
There are thousands of “Christian” ministries claiming that, with their help, you can unlock the spiritual mysteries, wear the prophetic mantle, access the heavenly dimension, break the generational curse, access angelic protection, discover the secret to victorious living, unlock the divine vault, and be delivered from your earthly issues.
Nothing new under the sun
The city of Ephesus in the time of the New Testament was steeped in this same kind of religiosity and manipulation of the gods (magic). People worshipped different deities and prayed to various spirit-guides for help and assistance for their day-to-day life. They believed that the various deities and powers were able to deliver, protect and grant favour. 1
Into this superstitious city, the Apostle Paul preached the gospel. (Cf. Acts 19:8-10) Many people repented of their sins and put their trust in Jesus.
As evidence of their conversion, “a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.” (Acts 19:19)
Some years later, the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to these new Christians.
It seems like some of the new Christians may have wondered whether Jesus could protect them from evil, or whether they should they offer prayers and incantations to their old gods just in case? These new Christians accepted that Jesus could save them, but may have wondered if Jesus was powerful enough to keep them safe Should they make an offering to their previous spirit-guides just in case?
The letter to the Ephesians addresses all these concerns and more.
Every blessing
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 1:3)
As Christians, we have every spiritual blessing. There is no spiritual benefit or blessing that we lack. These spiritual blessings are listed in the following verses: predestined, adopted, redeemed, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
One day in the New Creation we will have all the physical blessing, but as we wait for the world to come there is no spiritual blessing we lack.
We don’t need another conference or book. We have Jesus. In Jesus, we have everything that God intends us to have. There are no spiritual secrets, or hidden mysteries, or higher dimensions, or strategic pathways. There is only Jesus, and if you put your trust in him, the blessings of Ephesians 1:3-14 are yours. Every one of them.
Trinity
Ephesians 1:3-14 also tells how the Triune God has acted to save us (if we are Christians). God the Father has chosen us. God the Son has died to redeem us. God the Holy Spirit has sealed us to guarantee our future inheritance in the New Creation.
We don’t need another top-up, spirit-guide, or spiritual dimension. The all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal, Triune God has purposed and acted to save us and adopt us into his family. We can be 100% sure our salvation is 100% sorted, sufficient and secure.
All things
Ephesians 1 also shows us the magnificence and magnitude of God’s sovereignty and power over all of life, including our own lives.
“…a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (v10)
“…having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will…” (v11)
“And he put all things under his (Jesus’) feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (v22-23)
If the all-powerful God, who has given us every spiritual blessing, is ruling the entire universe, do we need extra protection or power?
If Jesus is exalted to the highest place and reigns over everything for the sake of the church, are we – who are in Christ – somehow lacking access to true power or need something more?
The answer is clearly: no. Jesus is enough. The gospel is all-sufficient for the Christian life.
Cf. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:19-21
Modern Day Deception
The promotors of this new theology use Christianese but teach a barely disguised paganism. They believe, like the 1st century practitioners of magic, that by using the right words or techniques, or right amount of faith, they can manipulate God into giving them what they want. More money. More victory. More territory. More influence. More spiritual power.
Jesus is not sufficient. To truly succeed, you need (fill in the blank). And for R1000 per person we’ll tell you how to get it.
Why is the rise of “Christian” paganism so popular?
(1) It promises success
The reason this hijacked Christianity is so popular is the same reason the veneration of the deities and practice of magic were so popular in the 1st century: it promised success, victory, safekeeping, health and prosperity.
However, the reality is that we live in a fallen, broken world and we are fallen, broken people. Things go wrong. Plans don’t always work out. Many Christians live in poverty. Other people sin against us. Our car breaks down. We get sick. This is our world.
In contrast to the perceived “successful, victorious life”, the Apostle Paul reminded the Ephesian church that he was in prison (3:1). Yet, rather than seeking deliverance, spiritual breakthrough or a new prophetic mantle, the Apostle Paul saw his imprisonment as part of the great plan of the God who works out “all things” according to his purposes “to the praise of his glorious grace” (1:6). Even in prison, he had “every spiritual blessing” in Christ (1:3).
God has orchestrated our lives, our circumstances and situations. Rather than seek spiritual strategies to change our lives, circumstances and situations, we should entrust ourselves to God’s providential care in the midst of our challenges. Besides, we have the best strategy to change our situation, circumstances and attitude: simple prayer, knowing that God answers our prayers according to his good purposes.
(2) There is no repentance
What God demands of each one of us is to repent of sin and believe the gospel. This is how we start the Christian life, and this is how we continue in the Christian life. The Christian person keeps turning from sin and keeps believing the gospel.
We grow as Christians, not as we discover higher dimensions and new spiritual pathways, but as we turn more and more from sin and understand the gospel more and more with its implications for every area of our lives.
Of course, it’s much easier to pay the money, attend a conference and “be delivered” from our sins and problems. It takes courage and determination to do the hard work of continued repenting of sin and steadfast trust in Jesus in the midst of challenging circumstances.
A different, deficient Gospel
This hijacked, corrupted, deceptive form of Christianity is no Christianity at all.
It has removed the centrality of the cross and it has obscured God’s lavish grace towards every Christian in Christ. It is a form of paganism that promises blessing for those who learn the right technique; and it uses Bible words to do this. It is a form of Gospel + Something = Nothing.
This hijacked gospel cannot save. This corrupted gospel cannot put us in a right standing with God. This deceptive gospel cannot give us every spiritual blessing. This paganised gospel promises much but delivers naught.
The inevitable result of this false paganised theology is that it’s followers live from conference to conference, deliverance to deliverance, book to book, breakthrough to breakthrough, hoping to achieve spiritual and physical success; instead of a fixed trust in God’s once-for-all Gospel revealed in God’s revealed Word, the Bible.
The Apostle Paul had choice words for those who preach a different gospel under the guise of Christianity,
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let them be accursed. (Galatians 1:8)
*
- Many of the prayers and incantations to the various deities have been preserved for scholars to study. ↩︎
Click here for a fuller treatment of the letter to the Ephesians in light of the religious climate of Ephesus in the 1st century AD.