The most dangerous heresies in Christianity

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There are numerous false teachings surrounding Christianity. But a handful of them are particularly dangerous because they are generally accepted and, in some cases, very widespread.

Probably the Most Explosive Heresies

Within Christian-oriented communities, there are fundamental heresies that are particularly dangerous because they are generally considered true and self-evident. These misconceptions include, above all:
– An immortal soul
– God’s laws that are no longer valid
– An eternally burning and tormenting hell
– A (secret) pre-rapture of the Christian community
– The possibility of communicating with the dead
– The theory of evolution

Supposedly immortal soul

After death, the human soul is said to pass into another realm. It leaves the body and, depending on the belief system and orientation, goes either directly to heaven, directly to hell, or into a kind of “mystical sphere.” The latter applies especially to groups that succumb to New Age ideas.

The false belief in a soul that separates from the body after death and continues to live is also the basis for other fantasy teachings that are particularly prevalent in the Roman Catholic Church. The focus here is on the concept of purgatory and the associated indulgences granted through “papal grace.” In this sense, the false idea of ​​an immortal soul can also be described as the mother of numerous other myths.

Bible as the (only) basis

Anyone who calls themselves a Christian should (actually) only have the Bible, i.e. the Word of God, as their basis (e.g. sola scriptura – Info). However, the Bible makes no reference to an immortal soul. On the contrary, it clearly emphasizes that after (earthly) death, there is a kind of spiritual sleep. The deceased knows nothing, thinks nothing, and is unaware of his surroundings, as if “switched off.”

The Church of Rome also knows this, but nevertheless consciously teaches the opposite. (Info).Unfortunately, the theory of a soul independent of the body was also adopted by most (formerly) Protestant churches. Martin Luther himself believed in what is described in the Bible, namely, death in the form of sleep.

Self-deification

Only in God, or rather Jesus Christ alone, is (eternal) life. God grants life and can also take it back. Even on the promised new earth, there will be a “tree of life” (Revelation 22:2), just as it once existed for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). The (false) belief that one has an immortal soul is nothing other than self-deification, which is again the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. (Info).

Humans, like all other living beings, are, so to speak, dependent on God for their “better or for worse.” He not only gives life, but also sustains it. Thus, separation from God through sin inevitably leads to death (the final second death – Revelation 21:8). Furthermore, this consequence of separation from God is also a clear indication that Jesus Christ, from the very beginning, acted as the mediator between (fallen) humanity and God. This is already an expression of grace, for otherwise, humanity would immediately drop dead after sinning and the resulting separation from God.

God’s laws no longer valid

“The laws were nailed to the cross with Jesus,” is a widely held theory. In this case, a relatively exclusive problem of the (formerly) Protestant churches, as the Roman Catholic Church does not subscribe to this error. However, the Church of Rome, as usual, interprets God’s laws very idiosyncratically (Info).

Everything, absolutely everything, stands and falls with God’s laws. The Gospel, the good news of the path to salvation for humanity, was written solely because every human being (except Jesus as a human being) has transgressed God’s commandments. The laws and their transgression are the original reason and thus the foundation of the Gospel. To simply declare the commandments to be abolished deprives the gospel and thus also the justice of God of its foundation (Info).

Confusion of the legal texts

The fundamental problem is often the confusion or mixing of God’s Ten Commandments with the ceremonial laws. The latter were indeed ended with the crucifixion of Jesus, but the commandments written in stone by God himself remain valid. (Info). There ARE the Ten Commandments, and there WERE the ceremonial laws according to order and statutes. A huge difference (Info).

It is a paradox to declare the laws of God (10 Commandments) as obsolete (Info). The enormous danger here is that people are no longer even aware of their sin. Sin is defined as the transgression of one of the laws. If the law were to cease to exist, sin would also be obsolete. No one is saved IN sin. Jesus Christ came into this world to save people FROM sin. The goal here is to overcome sin completely. The grace of God lies in the fact that this is possible through His intervention, if one only wants to.

By the way, the Ten Commandments of God actually mean 10 commandments, not 8 or just 9. Therefore, the Fourth Commandment remains as relevant as ever. (Info).

A bitter end

Anyone who speaks of abolished laws and lives by them runs the risk of hearing terrible words one day, Matthew 7:23:
“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.“

Ignoring the constant calling of the Holy Spirit, misguided man lives a perpetually sinful life without even a hint of remorse or a guilty conscience. Added to this are the erroneous narratives about an “all-loving and never-destroying God.” Yes, God does not want people to perish because He loves His creatures, but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. For God will not deviate from His justice even one inch.

An eternally burning hell

With such narratives, it was easy to keep people submissive, especially from the early Middle Ages to the beginning of the so-called modern era. By spreading such fear, the Roman Catholic Church was even able to pursue its geopolitical ambitions. Furthermore, the eternally burning hell presupposed an immortal soul, which ultimately does not correspond to reality.

The “eternal burning hell” is not only a first-class horror story designed to intimidate people, but also distorts the true character of God. “A punishing and eternally tormenting monster,” is the inevitable conclusion when faced with this depiction of hell. Furthermore, such a construct would also make God a blatant liar, as Revelation 21:4 states.:
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.“

Neither suffering nor crying nor pain WILL BE ANYMORE. So, not “anywhere else” either.

The Bible does speak of hell, but the image it draws is a construct of human minds from Hellenistic Greece, embraced with great enthusiasm by the Roman Catholic Church and also cultivated by most (formerly) Protestant churches. Yet the original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible paint a completely different picture than the one attributed to the term “hell.” (Info).

(Secret) Pre-Rapture of Christians

These stories, especially widespread in the USA, about a pre-rapture before a seven-year tribulation period are the product of so-called futurism and dispensationalism. Not exactly new, but having gained considerable traction in recent years. Anyone looking for a pre-rapture before a time of tribulation in the Bible will not find it. Indeed, individual verses, without considering the context, are certainly capable of supporting the pre-rapture thesis, but an unbiased look at the context does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about these fairy tales.

Furthermore, the originators, advocates, and disseminators of this rapture theory, before the arrival of a (first-time) Antichrist, are quite well-known. This development began as early as the second half of the 16th century under the leadership of Jesuits. (Info).

Chained deception possible

The real danger in this theory is the possible sudden loss of faith if this doesn’t happen. Even with a large-scale “show,” there will still be those who aren’t raptured. They stand on earth in horror and recognize themselves as unworthy or even lost, assuming anything of their former faith remains. For the next deceptions are already at hand. These primarily concern the prophesied events of Revelation.

The described circumstances are often taken literally, such as a deep opening from which smoke and flying scorpions will rise. This completely overlooks the fact that the events are to be understood spiritually and, above all, the prophecies are already far more advanced than commonly assumed. For example, according to Revelation 9, the 6th trumpet has long been “heard” starting in verse 13.

One deception follows the next and people don’t know what to do, they have lost their orientation and in their blindness within the (spiritual) darkness they are stumbling straight towards the abyss.

“Communicating” with the dead

The false belief that one can contact the deceased is based on the misconception that humans possess a separate soul that separates from the body after death. This is also the basis of the teachings of the Church of Rome, which states that the Pope will eventually declare the deceased saints and then allow them to worship them. This also applies to Mary, who is virtually idolized in the Catholic Church (Info). She, too, once died and has been waiting for her resurrection ever since.

Whether you call it worship, praying to them, praying with them, asking for mediation and intercession, is completely irrelevant. It is and remains a form of communication with the deceased. This is an abomination to God, just as King Saul once did when seeking advice from the deceased prophet Zechariah. He went to the “Witch of Endor,” and she actually made a ghostly figure appear that resembled the prophet. However, it was not the spirit or soul of the prophet, but a representation of a fallen angel, a demon.

Whether shaman or Catholic priest

The very belief in the deceased being contactable because of a supposedly immortal soul is spiritualism. And thus an abomination to God. An absurdity that has indeed become very widespread. What the shaman of a primitive people performs is nothing other than the worship of “saints” and the underlying false belief in the Roman Church. While the shaman may dance around and utter mantra-like formulas, with the drums setting the hypnotic rhythm, the impressive organ rattles in the church while the priest devoutly performs his impressive, “Christian” ritual. This would be the end of the visible differences. Whether priest or shaman, both address the dead.

Saul paid a heavy price for this. Honoring and worshiping is directed solely to God (1st and 2nd Commandments). Contact with the dead, who are actually demons, also leads to a person’s contamination, opening the door to dark forces for their continued destructive work. They practically invite the forces of darkness in. It’s like letting the genie out of the bottle.

Evolution theory

Until the advent of scientific archaeology, the Bible served as a reference work on historical events and also as a source of clues. This changed with Napoleon, who occupied Egypt and initiated “professional digging.” About half a century later, an amateur biologist came along and published the book “On the Origin of Species” in 1859. Charles Darwin, a trained theologian, laid the foundation for the new “priesthood of science” based on the “reason” discovered during the 18th century.

The creation account, that is, creation within six literal days plus completion with the establishment of the Sabbath on the seventh day, was undermined by the theory of evolution. Even Protestantism, which began with Johann Salomon Semler (Info), received a new definition, welcomed the theory of evolution with open arms. The view of the Word of God changed to a contemptuous rejection.

Spiritual aspect revelation

This theory of evolution provides a wonderful insight into the symbolic-spiritual aspect of the prophecies in the Book of Revelation, a time described by the fifth trumpet. See the excerpt from Revelation 9:3-5.:

“And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

At this point, locusts, smoke, scorpions, greenery, and trees appear. People are facing death, and this for five months.

A large number, especially from the ranks of evangelical churches, are already waiting for the earth to open so that smoke, locusts, and scorpions can emerge. They will wait in vain and—and this is precisely where the danger lies—they will realize that the 5th trumpet has long been heard and will also be sounded in the 6th trumpet.

They are not real scorpions

Just as Jesus Christ told his potential successor not to go and bury his father, for “the dead shall bury the dead,” the statements in Revelation are to be understood in a similarly spiritual sense. Jesus was referring to the spiritually dead, who, due to their persistent unbelief, are headed toward certain death. Conversely, a believer already has eternal life. Earthly death, as we know it, is not meant here, for it is a kind of sleep. The final, second death is being addressed.

Just as Jesus Christ told his potential successor not to go and bury his father, for “the dead shall bury the dead,” the statements in Revelation are to be understood in a similarly spiritual sense. Jesus was referring to the spiritually dead, who, due to their persistent unbelief, are headed toward certain death. Conversely, a believer already has eternal life. Earthly death, as we know it, is not meant here, for it is a kind of sleep. It refers to the final second death.

Grass (green) and trees represent believers or a believing people (e.g., Isaiah 37:27 and Ezekiel 17:24). Scorpions are a symbol of false teachings, whose tail represents the prophet of this false teaching (Isaiah 9:14). According to this theory, humanity will suffer a spiritual death through the theory of evolution, which is anything but a minor historical anecdote. If we assume that the theory of evolution began in 1859 and factor in the five months (prophetic) – Info), then that would result in a period of 150 years until the sixth trumpet is blown. So, the year 2009!

Only the Bible remains

The topics listed above are not the only heresies circulating, but due to their prevalence and general acceptance, they are among the most dangerous.

The doctrines of an immortal soul, eternal burning hell, and intercession for the dead are sometimes defended with almost fierce vehemence. Although the Bible contains the exact opposite, people vigorously persist in these ideas that give them a sense of security, support their own comfort, and, above all, their unwillingness to submit to God and His laws.

All that remains is what is written. In the Bible…and in the real Bible. (Info).

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)