I immediately began to check out this author and the mission organization he represented and founded. I was impressed with the names of persons who spoke well of him. I was doubly impressed with some of the ideas he presented and the cost-effective plan he used to carry out the Great Commission in foreign lands.

I joined. I committed some income. And I decided to sit in on a weekly streaming prayer meeting that the group put together. I was blessed to find that the author himself was leading this meeting.

But I started getting nervous a little ways in. He shared with us that the image of Jesus in the Book of Revelation is not of One who will come and murder all His enemies, but rather, the Lamb.

That's odd, I thought. Both images are clearly in Revelation. Lion and Lamb. Why did he center on Lamb? But I continued. I don't need to be in perfect agreement with someone's eschatology to believe he is a good man and doing the work of the Lord.

Then he talked about how the church ought to be communion-centered, and not Bible/preaching centered. Hmmm. I remembered how Acts 2 mentioned they continued (first) in the apostle's teachings. I see Paul preaching until midnight. Preaching and teaching are specifically mentioned in the Great Commission.

The Lord's Supper was to be in the church for sure, but not as central. This was a development of Romanism, with its accompanying rituals and rules that eventually bound the hand of God to reveal Himself intimately to His people - in most cases.

But by far the most serious issue that the good director brought up was actually at the very beginning, but I did not know it at the time. He said that we all should see a movie that had not been shown for many years (he never said why), named "Journey to the Sky."

It was an old ken Anderson film. Usually reputable stuff. I looked for the movie immediately following the prayer session, determining to purchase it immediately if possible.

I had never heard of the movie, nor of its subject, one Sadhu Sundar Singh. Wow, where have I been, not to have heard the name of one obviously so important to the work of God, I thought. For, in spite of the doctrinal problems I was having with the leader, he himself said things and seemed to live and practice things, that I felt were just the kind of messages the Body of Christ needed to hear. Certainly the Lord was leading me...

Oh my. This is how false teaching spreads. We little birdies with our mouths wide open just waiting for someone to drop a juicy worm. Thankfully I had the presence of mind from the Lord to keep checking things out.

Who was the Sadhu? Sadhu is a title given to certain holy men in India and elsewhere. Born in 1889, Mr. Singh grew up under the influence of both Christianity and Sikh (outgrowth of Hinduism) mysticism. In connection with the very painful loss of his mother, Singh converts to Christianity at 16, and yet still considers himself a part of Sikhism so that he can win Sikhs to Christ.

All well and good. But as he continues on, he begins to build his spiritual life around visions. Or so we are told. There were no eyewitnesses to much of his life's activities, as he chose to work alone. Not only was he unmarried, but he disdained fellowship with most all humans. Yet he was considered a "holy man", a sadhu, by the Indians. When he came to America he wore Eastern garb here too, and repudiated much of the Western lifestyle.

Up to this point, we are still willing perhaps, to give him the benefit of the doubt. Western lifestyle among Christians is pretty corrupted when compared to the book of Acts. He wants to work alone, be unmarried like Paul, be all things to all (Eastern) men. Fine.

Then we see more about his visions and revelations. He is in contact, by visions, with Swedenborg, the spiritualist teacher of 200 years earlier. He calls Swedenborg a "seer of clear visions," says that he "occupies high places in the spiritual world," and he "thoroughly recommends him as a great seer."

So I now needed more info about Swedenborg. I found that he believed he was called to reform Christianity in the 18th century. He visited heaven and hell, talked with angels, talked with demons. He taught that the last judgment occurred in 1757, along with the second coming. He believed his written works were divinely inspired. He talked with spirits from all the planets, except Uranus and Neptune, which had not yet been discovered! Go figure. He taught that the Trinity exists in one person, namely Jesus, and that faith and good works are necessary for salvation. 'Nuff said?

Again, Singh thoroughly recommends Swedenborg. In addition, Singh gave little importance to public worship. He said that the holiness of one's life is the basis for salvation. He taught that hell's punishment is not eternal since after this life we are given another chance to be made good. It might take several ages to do this, but it will happen. Shades of reincarnation.

Worst of all, Singh was a universalist. Not Jesus, not a particular confession, but holiness, was the basis for entry into Paradise. He fully expected to see his "holy" but unsaved mother in Heaven. He planned to ask God to send him to hell if he did not see his mother in Heaven. He desired above all things to be re-united with his mother.

Gulp. What had I walked into?

A little more research and I find that Todd Bentley, tattoo-toting evangelist of our own day, had a vision of Singh! Bentley now tells people in his meetings about this holy man, a model for God's people today.

See how it happens?

Swedenborg filled with the enemy spirit. He or his impersonator contacts Singh in visions. Singh contacts moderns either by dreams or movies, and sincere followers of the Lord - we must assume for this present writing - buy into it and pass it on. It's a virus that can take out many lives.

Be not deceived! How many times has that simple medicine been prescribed by Bible authors? I pass it on to you now. Perhaps you will want to pass it to others...