Dangerous, Demonic, And Entirely Unbiblical: A Deep Dive Into The Enneagram

The inner self, secret self, divine spark, or in secular terms, streaming essence, supposedly evolving and transcending to higher levels of consciousness are foundational principles of evolutionary pagan Gnosticism, Eastern mysticism, New Age pagan and pantheist nature religions or worldviews and occult devices like the Enneagram. In this ancient way of thinking the “true self” is divine and perfect, but through confusion, wrong beliefs, forgetfulness, and misperceptions, ‘true self’ has identified with ego instead—the false self. 

This ancient way of thinking, now become widespread in our own time, is based in a false understanding of the human soul and its citadel, mind (spirit).

Ancient pagans believed that souls (false self) died with bodies while ‘true self’ (divine spark, essence, etc) ascended into astral planes to evolve, transcend and perhaps transmigrate or reincarnate into another body. in another life. In this way of thinking, ‘true self’ is separable from soul.

This fallacious way of thinking was thrown down by the Genesis account of creation and Christian thought. In Christian thought, ‘true self’ is actually the mind (spirit) of our living souls, making ‘true self’ inseparable from our living souls. God created human beings as living souls (source of personality) embedded within physical matter. His or her mind (spirit) interfaces with the physical world through the amazing physical brain designed by God the Father. Thus mind is to living soul as brain is to body.

Rather than ‘true self’ astral plane traveling, evolving, and reincarnating through thousands of lifetimes within the space time dimension or first and second heavens, in Christian thought, there is one life and one death. Upon death of ones body our living soul/spirit ascends either to the 3rd heaven—abode of God the Father, Jesus Christ, holy angels, and saints, there to reside until history ends in Gods Kingdom (Paradise remade)—or descends into hell.

The ancient and now modern belief in the separability of ‘true self’ (mind) from false self (living soul) is a doctrine of demons stretching back to Buddha. It was as the doors and windows into Buddha’s mind were opened during Vipassana (mindfulness) meditation that he was enlightened by the knowledge that his soul is false or non-self. Linda

Joseph Kerr, Harbingers Daily, 11/20/22

The blind and spiritually misinformed hypotheses of the Enneagram are dangerous, deceitful, and antithetical to Christianity. Unfortunately, many in the Church have been drawn into this doctrine of demons—I do not use that phrase lightly. It is one of many last days deceptions leading believers away from the Gospel, the Bible, and Christ and into searching for humanistic or mystical understandings of who we are instead of what God’s Word clearly says. 

There is ample evidence available on the Enneagram’s true history. Even a modest internet search would uncover that the Enneagram has roots in the occult, Gnosticism, New Age, and Eastern mysticism. It is not, nor has it ever been, a personality assessment. We will address each of those issues, the history of the Enneagram founders, and their intent for the system. None of it is innocuous or spiritually benign. It is dangerous, demonic, and entirely unbiblical.

To understand what the Enneagram is, you can begin with the website for The Enneagram Institute (EI). By their numbers, they are one of the most widely used and accepted authorities on the topic. The EI openly refers to concepts from the mystic George Gurdjieff, such as “the Work” and “inner work,” referring to some mystical work on your inner self. This “work” involves transcending one’s Ego to find one’s “Essence.” 

This principle does not exist in Scripture. The Bible says we must crucify self, not elevate or transcend it. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

The inner self, secret self, and transcending to higher levels of consciousness are foundational principles of Gnosticism, Eastern mysticism, and New Age worldviews. In this paradigm, one’s “true self” is divine and perfect, but through confusion, wrong beliefs, and misperceptions, one has identified with ego instead—the false self. This concept is familiar to anyone who has ever studied false religions or New Age teachings. 

The EI website admits, “the philosophy behind the Enneagram contains components from mystical Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism, and ancient Greek philosophy (particularly Socrates, Plato, and the Neo-Platonists).” For more on false religions, I recommend Jill Martin Rische’s book, Kingdom of the Occult.

Jill is the eldest daughter of the late apologist Dr. Walter Martin, the original Bible Answer Man. His classic, Kingdom of the Cults, is now in its 11^th edition. It is the standard for studying the major cults of the world and has been used by Bible colleges for nearly five decades.

The supposedly Christian roots the EI references are the Gnostic and neo-Platonic distortions of Christianity, not the authentic historical Christianity of the Bible and early Church fathers. All of their attempts to “Christianize” the Enneagram fail miserably beside Scripture. They align with George Gurdjieff, the originator of the Enneagram and the one who fostered many of the ideas now taught by his followers. 

Gurdjieff and those like him follow theosophy – the blending of theology and philosophy. They often called themselves “Christians” but believed they had discovered the mysterious secrets of “true Christianity.” They discovered something mysterious, but it was neither true nor Christian.

Is the Enneagram a Personality Profile Test? Plainly stated, no. The Enneagram incorporates the same false premise as many other tests; “Oh, this is why I am the way I am….” Instead of seeing ourselves as divine creations, fallen, redeemed, and in the ongoing spiritual battle and process of sanctification by applying the Gospel to all areas of life, the Enneagram rationalizes people into manufactured inescapable numbered pods. 

The Enneagram and many personality profiles and inner-self tests (besides being subjective and deceptive) teach Christians to focus on the self and not on Christ. They lead to a distorted version of Christianized narcissism. The mythological Narcissus gazed at himself in a pool of water until he became so absorbed in his own image that he drowned in the pool. Many Christians are drowning in the deep end of the enneagram pool.

Any possible application or benefit from the Enneagram can easily be attributed to what is commonly called “confirmation bias.” It is the simple concept that people tend to associate with an idea or definition if they see some modicum of themselves in it. The more they hear about it, the more they identify with it until they eventually reflect the characteristics of the analysis rather than discovering something about themselves. They become what they read and absorb.

Just as some details of an astrology chart might sound like you, the same thing happens with the nine types of the Enneagram. I don’t recommend reading astrology charts, but if you read one, you will undoubtedly find something that sounds like you on a particular day in any astrological sign chart. They are random and meant to pull in as many people as possible, so they are intentionally vague, leading people to want more, and thus read more. 

People see something that seems like them in these readings or the types and believe the type is causal, not merely coincidental. Many are sucked into other mystical beliefs like psychic readings, astrological charts, Tarot cards, psychic healing, and crystal readings in the same way – “It sounds like me, it must be me.” 

They all work the same because they originate from the same source (1 Corinthians 11:14). All of them, including the Enneagram, should be avoided, denounced, and confessed as pagan occultic substitutes for Christianity. The deceitful idea that “all truth is God’s truth” (a phrase found in several Enneagram books) has deluded many into believing much bigger lies that lead them away from Christ. 

People see themselves in a type, gravitate toward others with the same number who espouse the same causal theories, and begin to live trapped and encumbered in those assumptions. It is a falsely imposed antibiblical doctrine, and make no mistake; it is a doctrine. It colors how the purveyors view themselves and how they view others. 

Most of these tests are subjective and generic and entirely dismiss God’s creative intent for humanity. They attempt to define people in numbers, degrees, or diminutive lettered categories that supposedly define who people are and how they function. In short, like many other personality tests, the Enneagram is about as legitimate as an internet meme that promises to tell you in 20 questions whether you are a collie or a beagle.

But it works… I’ve heard several people use this as the reason why the Enneagram must be true – they have seen it produce positive results in their marriage and work interactions or helped them better understand themselves. When did “It works” become the measure of truth?

Washington, D.C., and governments worldwide use deception to manipulate people and agendas to their liking. Deception is an effective tool; it’s wrong but effective. Put in modern terms, if you want to win Survivor, you do so by being the most deceptive liar, the most disloyal ally, and the most untrustworthy opponent. You’re almost guaranteed a million bucks. 

Lying also often “works” in a practical sense – it accomplishes a purpose. The devil has been a liar from the beginning. He is a deceiver, liar, murderer, and slanderer. There is no truth in him (John 8:44). Yet he continues employing the same tactics. Why? Because they work! Lies work. Deceit works. Sex sells. Sin is fun. “Moses, when he was older, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the children of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:26). Pleasures of sin…sin is fun. If it weren’t, it wouldn’t be so tempting. It’s still wrong, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t enjoyable for a while.

Have you ever gotten an email promising that someone in some other country has 4.2 million dollars from a lottery you didn’t know you won? They promise they will send you that money if you will just provide your bank account information and social security number. They’re lying, but it works on some people. Deception is lucrative business—it works. Does that make it right?

Recently, the third largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world was robbed of $477 million dollars. Their supposedly impenetrable security didn’t stop the thieves, and many people lost millions. Upon investigation, it was discovered that not only had they been hacked, but the business owner, Sam Bankman Fried (SBF), had mismanaged and redirected [read: embezzled] billions in customers’ funds.

On November 14, FTX, its sister trading firm Alameda Research (run by Fried’s twenty-something girlfriend with zero trading experience), and 130 affiliated companies under the FTX banner filed for bankruptcy. More charges are pending, and many people will go to jail, but deception paid really well for a while. It still does many places. Did it work because it was right? Is the fact that it worked sufficient to justify the practice?

Just because the Enneagram seems to “work” doesn’t mean it is valid, godly, wise, true, or has any basis in fact or Christian principles. Many ungodly things work but will eventually end in destruction (Philippians 3:19).

Some background: The Enneagram is the best practical illustration of Paul’s words to Timothy to avoid “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). The chart, types, and applications are a not-so-subtle mixture of new age pseudo-psychology and outright occult practices masquerading as a personality profile. 

Anyone following it, applying it to their work, teaching it, promoting it, or evaluating others based on its premises is guilty of Galatians chapter one, a book that Paul wrote to refute the heresy of Gnosticism that had crept into the early church. It claimed to be inspired by God but pointed people to self-improvement rather than the biblical principle that says we are to put self to death daily, not glorify, exalt, or try to improve it. 

Paul opens the book with this question: “I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Jesus Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is not even a gospel. Evidently, some people are troubling you and trying to distort the Gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6,7). Then Paul issues this stern and sobering warning: “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed! As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed!” (Galatians 1:8). 

What does it mean to be accursed? Simply put, in modern vernacular, it means to go to hell. We know this because Paul used it in one other place. In Romans 9:3, Paul writes, “I wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood, the people of Israel.” 

Paul was saying that if possible, he would die and go to hell if it meant that his people, the Jews, would be saved. That’s an amazing statement on many levels, but we won’t go into that here. He used ‘accursed’ to describe the process of being eternally separated from God. That only happens in one place – Hell. 

Paul warns the Galatians against accepting any other gospel except the biblical Gospel of Christ. His warning comes with a heavy invocation – to be accursed. Why would Paul use such strong language? Because it is no small matter to introduce another gospel into the Church. As we discuss at the end, some will pay a massive spiritual price for having misled God’s people. They will be accursed. 

The Enneagram is another gospel. It has no basis in facts, certainly, no biblical basis unless you count the reference to doctrines of demons. Some promoters and authors have traced its history to “ancient wisdom.” Those who promote this theory often point to 4^th-century monk Evagrius Ponticus, who was defrocked as a heretic by the Catholic Church. Others point to Ramon Llull, a medieval mystic. 

Neither Ponticus nor Llull wrote about anything called an Enneagram. Both Llull and Ponticus wrote about the seven virtues and seven vices. Llull, first in his Book of the Gentile,then continuing the theme in Ars Brevis, where he added two virtues and vices for a total of nine. 

Llull claimed to be a Christian but also a mystic. Interestingly, Llull’s views were intended to develop a logical system that one could use to prove the Trinity to Muslims or Jews. Whether he was a believer in Christ and the Bible or not, twisting his writings to validate the Enneagram is a reach and a misrepresentation of his intent. 

Llull and Ponticus both drew illustrations in their work. Ponticus wrote extensively on various types of sins, including his book Antirrhetikos (Greek for Counter Arguments), which includes 487 temptations and categorizes them into 8 evil thoughts. Neither man’s works were attributed to personality types, nor did they suggest that God inspired their drawings or that Christians should define their lives by their illustrations. You can see Llull’s work online at the Stanford library. Ponticus is listed on many sites.

The idea that the Enneagram descended from the likes of Llull or Ponticus is inaccurate, so why did the Enneagram promoters lie and make those assertions? By their own admission, they were looking for a way to legitimize their heresy and make it more palatable to mainstream scholars and Christian leaders. 

In a rare moment of transparency, Claudio Naranjo, one of the Enneagram’s leaders and the man primarily responsible for bringing the Enneagram diagram and types to modernity, admitted that the “ancient wisdom” ruse was a lie. 

Now that his words are on record regarding the fake history, other proponents tie the nine “enneatypes” to information communicated through “higher authorities” rather than ancient wisdom. Notably, they do not say “God.” This is to their credit because God has nothing to do with the Enneagram, at least not the God of the Bible. 

The interview where Naranjo documents all these claims are HERE. Additionally, I point anyone interested in the Enneagram to the exhaustive work of Marcia Montenegro. She is an expert on the occult origins of the Enneagram, its founders, history, and modern direction.

Marcia is a respected Christian apologist. She is also a converted New Age astrologist, former mystic, and psychic. She was well-known in the New Ager movement for years. Some of the books she wrote as a psychic are still used by new agers even though she has recanted those teachings and now exposes them. 

Marcia immediately recognized the Enneagram as occultic and not Christian. You can document everything listed here and much more about the Enneagram at Marcia’s site, Christian Answers for the New Age. Marcia’s work is excellent, always heavily documented and balanced. I cannot recommend her work strongly enough. 

An abbreviated Enneagram history: The Enneagram line could be loosely traced as follows: Mystic George Gurdjieff (1866-1949), to his pupil P. D. Ouspensky (1878-1947), then to mystic Oscar Ichazo (b. 1931), next to Claudio Naranjo, then to Jesuit priest Richard Rohr, then Ian Morgan Cron who wrote probably the most widely recognized Enneagram manual that has deceived the Church, The Road Back to You. 

I refer to it thus primarily because it came from a Christian publisher, which served to legitimize it in the Church. Many well-intentioned pastors and ministry groups have taught it. Trying to make it sound more Christian by adding some Bible verses out of context does not make the Enneagram Christian. It is not. 

Gurdjieff’s followers claimed that Gurdjieff gave one story of having learned the Enneagram from the Sufis (a mystical spin-off sect of Islam), one of many lies that has since been debunked.

Gurdjieff was an Armenian teacher of esoteric spiritual philosophies based on knowledge he allegedly garnered during travels and contacts with secret groups, which he recounted in his book, Meetings with Remarkable Men. Gurdjieff held that man is unaware of his true reality and needs to have his consciousness awakened. 

Gurdjieff is widely credited as the first to make the Enneagram known publicly, although he taught it as a secret and only revealed it to certain select students who taught it selectively to others. This same method is employed by secret societies today, which pass on supposedly secret wisdom to hand-selected individuals.

Oscar Ichazo is a Bolivian philosopher and practicing mystic who was heavily involved in shamanism and the use of psychedelic drugs. Ichazo founded an occult school in Chile called Arica. The school still exists. Their site tells the school’s history: “In 1956, groups of people formed in major cities in South America to study the Universal Knowledge — including mystical insights, original philosophical theories, and the in-depth understanding of the human psyche — that Oscar was proposing. In 1968, Oscar founded the Arica School of Knowledge in Chile, and in 1969, he presented lectures about the Theory of Protoanalysis and the ‘doctrine of the Fixations’ to the public at the Institute of Applied Psychology in Santiago, Chile….”

Chilean psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo attended Ichazo’s school, where he claims Ichazo taught him the basics of the Enneagram, which he says were “secret at the time.” Naranjo added the chart and elaborated on the definitions and applications. He refined it to be passed off as a tool of psychological assessment in which a person discovers his number in the chart and then studies the best and worst traits of that number via his diagram. His findings and the chart have no basis in facts, psychological study, mental assessments, brain function, or personality evaluations.

Naranjo is a psychiatrist and self-described “spiritualist.” He brought his version of the Enneagram teaching to America in the early 1970s, founding the Esalen Institute in California. Naranjo describes Esalen as “a breeding ground of psychology, New Age teachings, and experiments with psychedelics.” Naranjo came up with the nine personality types chart while at Esalen. 

Naranjo taught the Enneagram to Bob Ochs, a Jesuit priest, who began teaching it in Chicago in 1972. Ochs influenced another priest, Richard Rohr, a Franciscan friar who subsequently co-wrote The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective, the book largely responsible for introducing the heresy to mainstream Catholicism. Rohr is still a sought-after speaker on the subject, holding seminars and offering “Enneagram certification” trainings designed to spread the teaching.

Richard Rohr is a panentheist who runs the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in New Mexico. At his conferences, Rohr promotes not only the Enneagram but also Buddhism, panentheism (God is in everything, i.e., the earth as God’s ‘body’), and the work of self-proclaimed New Ager Marianne Williamson. 

Rohr’s CAC colleague, Cynthia Bourgeault, has a “Wisdom School,” which she claims is based on the teachings of mystic George Gurdjieff. 

Richard Rohr is a panentheist. The panentheism quotes below are from an interview with Richard Rohr on the “Cosmic Christ.” 

“Jesus died, Christ arose.” 

“Christ said things that Jesus would never have said.” 

“Christ began to exist with the Big Bang.” 

“The world was the first body of Christ.”

The Scripture always presents Jesus Christ, the God-man, as one person. Scripture never says the deity did this or the humanity did that. It says the person did this or that. The person, not the nature, was tired, hungry, wept, and did all the normal human functions of life except sin. The person, not the nature, healed the sick, stilled the storm, raised the dead, and created bread and fish with His hands.

A nature is not a person but part of a person. Jesus Christ is one person with two natures: deity and human, and one personality, God the Son, as informed by the two natures. The two natures worked together in harmony so that the person, acting through his two natures, said the words and did the works. The only Scriptural distinction between Jesus and Christ is where the writer used Christ to point out that He was the promised Messiah. The person is one and the same – the Incarnate eternal Son of God, the second member of the Trinity.

Bible answer site, Got Questions, notes the following:

To the surprise of some, “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name. “Christ” comes from the Greek word Christos, meaning “anointed one” or “chosen one.” It is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Mashiach, or “Messiah.” 

“Jesus” is the Lord’s human name given to Mary by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:31). “Christ” is His title, signifying Jesus was sent from God to be a King and Deliverer (see Daniel 9:25; Isaiah 32:1). “Jesus Christ” means “Jesus the Messiah” or “Jesus the Anointed One.” 

Enneagram goes mainstream—Occult mainstream: The Enneagram isn’t only a Church thing. In 1988, psychic Helen Palmer co-founded the Enneagram Professional Training Program to spread the teaching among psychics and New Age therapists. Her system is based on the Gnostic idea of seeking the “True Self” or “divine Self.” Self-salvation is the simplest definition of the heresy of Gnosticism. Many scholars believe Paul was refuting this exact Gnostic heresy in the book of Galatians. Galatians begins with a stark warning to reject false doctrines, even if they come from angels from heaven. Can anyone say, “higher authorities?”

Naranjo confirms that Ichazo originally attributed the Enneagram to “an ancient source… possibly Sumerian or Babylonian” (which has since been denied by Naranjo and others). Naranjo now claims his information comes from “a higher source.” Ichazo has used the term “inspiration” and “revelation,” but he was not talking about divine inspiration or biblical revelation. This is easily determined because the Enneagram teachings are doctrinally devoid and spiritually toxic.

Naranjo allowed his teaching to be attributed to “ancient wisdom” deceitfully because he knew it would make the Enneagram seem more academically credible. He admits this in his own words [2:45-3:12]. He even jokes about it, quoting Oscar Wilde, “If you want an idea of yours to become famous, attribute it to a famous person.” Immediately following admitting to this deception, Naranjo acknowledged that he got the nine types (his words) “through automatic writing” [3:50-4:00].

For clarity, automatic writing is a satanic process practiced by psychics, astrologists, and practitioners of occult magic, whereby they enter a drug-induced trance or surrender to demonic possession. While under this semi-conscious spell, the person’s hand begins moving and writing or drawing. When they return to reality, they have written or drawn something they did not instigate. This practice and others employed by Ichazo and Naranjo are straight out of occult rituals and strictly forbidden in Scripture (Deut. 18:9-12). 

What does the Bible say about “higher authorities?” You need only consult one passage of Scripture to understand this concept. Paul wrote, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Look at the word choices: rulers, authorities, powers, forces, in heavenly (high) places. When Enneagramers like Ichazo, Naranjo, and Rohr describe interactions with “higher authorities,” they talk to higher authorities, but it’s not God! They are demonic higher authorities. As believers, we are expressly forbidden to communicate with them. We are called to battle them (6:13), resist them (1 Peter 5:9), cast them out (Matthew 10:8), and condemn them (Ephesians 5:8), but never to accept “higher knowledge” or personality advice from them.

What are Christians to believe? Instead of following occultic teachings, Gnosticism, panentheism, and pop psychology, we are commanded to have spiritual discernment. We apply the Bible to our lives, not nine points or fake mystic revelations from demonic higher beings. “But (you) have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2).

According to the authors and teachers of the subject, the Enneagram’s stated purpose is not a personality assessment. They expressly say that it is a tool for “spiritual awakening.” It is a tool of deception; a means to influence your spiritual understanding away from God and toward self. 

Anyone who sees themselves in the nine types is merely misled; they can be corrected lovingly and patiently as you would bringing anyone out of a cult or false religion. It takes time to deprogram them, just as it took time to program them with the lies in the first place. We teach them the truth to combat and purge the lies they’ve accepted until they’re filled with more truth than lies. Then the lies become obvious. I’ve counseled people who said later, “I can’t believe I fell for that nonsense. It’s so obvious to me now that it was never God.”

Anyone who claims Enneagram is harmless or legitimate is deceived; they should be rebuked. This will not be easy. I have been involved in educating several churches on the subject. Thankfully, some held meetings to discuss the Enneagram, and after reviewing the information they were provided, their elders voted to prohibit its teaching in their church. Others chose differently, but at least they were informed of the truth. Leaders who have been deceived by the alluring Enneagram’s promise of secret knowledge and revealed mysteries may need some time to be delivered of that. Leaders don’t like to find out they’ve been wrong, but when they do, they need to either admit it and repent or be removed from leadership.

Anyone who defends or regularly employs the Enneagram is in danger of God’s judgment. They should be avoided (Romans 16:17). It is a sad reality that some people will choose false doctrine over the truth of Scripture. We are saddened when this happens, but we should not be shocked. Sometimes it is from biblical ignorance, and they can be instructed. Other times it is a result of feeling like they know something others do not, like the Enneagram. 

Especially in the last days, the confusion and misdirection are deliberate, calculated, and Satanic deceptions meant to steer people away from the Gospel and into eternity without God. Discern what is going on and treat people accordingly. 

So, to be crystal clear without apology, with literally volumes of evidence and over 150 years of documented history behind this research: The Enneagram is evil. 

It should never be applied to ministry, and you should never be subject to anyone who does. It is a false and dangerous doctrine, another gospel, and a demonic deception. Peter warns us about those who persist in false doctrine: 

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭2:1-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬ – “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; and delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:”

Secrets, deceptive words, destructive heresies, greed, denying the sovereign Lord; does any of that sound familiar? Are those teachers guilty? Will God judge their false teachings? Will God dismiss their blaspheme and false doctrine because it was only a personality test? How will their doctrines of demons end?

Peter does not mince words, so I will leave you to his conclusion: It will not be pretty. They will be judged and punished. God will bring swift destruction, which Peter compares to Sodom and Gomorrah, Noah’s flood, or the angels who intermingled with human women and produced the giants of the Bible (Genesis 6). God judged the angels in a special place in hell (Jude 1:6). He repeatedly sentenced the Nephilim giants to death throughout the Old Testament. And we all know the stories of Sodom, Babel, and Noah’s flood.

God reserves a special level of judgment for false prophets, teachers of heresy, destructive false gospels, sexual deviancy, and last days deceivers of His Church. Paul says they are “storing up wrath against themselves for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. God will repay each one according to his deeds” (Romans 2:5). 

We are responsible to God for what we ingest spiritually and physically. In these difficult last days, our spiritual diet is all the more crucial. Be careful what you take into your spirit. Avoid the marginal and worldly. Refuse to be involved in any philosophy that does not align with God’s Word. Be a Berean. Search the Scriptures to see if what you are being told is true.

What lodges in our hearts determines what we say and do. “The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

Fill your heart with the word. Follow trusted teachers and content like you find on Harbingers, Real Life with Jack Hibbs, and other reliable resources. We’re in the last few laps of a marathon. Don’t let anything distract your gaze or reduce your focus. Finish well watchmen!