A Closer Look at Martial Arts, Tai-chi, Yoga, Eastern mysticism and the Coming End-time Great Deception !
The Serpent’s Whisper – part 1
Spiritualism in our Modern World?
“For I fear, lest by any means, that as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ . . . for we are not ignorant of his devices ” (2 Corinthians 11:3;2:11).
I will never forget that late night after training . . . . It had been a long day, filled with new techniques and teachings; a day filled with blood, sweat and tears, striving to obtain that which the grandmaster under whom we all worked to advance in the art of kung-fu, sought to impart to us. The time was nearly midnight; myself and a handful of other men now waited to see what this man of more than 45 years of experience, and renowned for his rank and ability in the martial arts would have us to do?
Usually after a weekend seminar like this, the man we called Sijo (Founder), would dismiss us and send us home; with our thoughts racing and striving to comprehend and remember all that we had learned. But today was different; after dismissing our students, he had asked that the black belts remain that evening for some specialized training, something which he was unwilling to openly give to those not yet initiated into the higher levels of the Eastern arts. So we waited in anticipation, hoping to learn something which would give us another clue to the mystery of true martial power.
As we sat together, after eating with our instructor, he began talking of the celebrities and persona so often recognized in Hollywood and the music industry for their often uncanny abilities and charisma. And as he described the skill and “talents” of men such as Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and others he said something that I will not forget. This man who was recognized as a 10th dan in two systems of the Chinese combative arts, and well known as a master instructor in martial and medical Qigong, told us that the same power which we were taught to use at the higher levels of training within the martial arts; a power known as Chi, Prana, Ki, Oregon, or vibrational “energy,” was the very same power which these men were able to “tap into” and channel, while performing on stage or screen. The alarms began sounding in my mind . . .
Growing up as a 7th day Adventist Christian, memories of things my mother had read to me came flooding back to my mind; Words from the Bible, and pages from a set of little red books written by a Christian woman long ago.
Our LORD “looked with compassion upon men who were becoming corrupted, ruined, murdered, and lost, through choosing a ruler who chained them to his car (train) as captives, and yet these slaves were so bewildered, so beguiled and deceived, that they were actually pleased with their slavery as they moved on in gloomy procession toward eternal ruin . . . to death in which is no hope of Life, toward night to which comes no morning.
Satanic agencies were incorporated with men. The bodies of human beings, made for the dwelling place of God, had become the habitation of demons. The senses, the nerves, the passions, the organs of men, were worked by supernatural agencies in the indulgence of the vilest lust. The very stamp of demons was impressed upon the countenances of men . . . . and human faces reflected the expression of the legions of evil with which they were possessed. Such was the prospect upon which the world's Redeemer looked. What a horrible spectacle for the eyes of infinite purity to behold! Wherein can He behold His image?” - Desire of Ages, p.36 and RH, October 22, 1895
I knew that these men and women whom Hollywood and the music industry held up as icons in the entertainment world were anything but Christian; but how was it that their gifted abilities were derived from the same source as ours in the martial arena? Was this even possible? . . . After nearly 25 years of active teaching and training in these mystical arts, had I been subtly deceived?
“As we near the close of time, there will be greater and still greater external parades of heathen power . . . . heathen deities will manifest their signal power, and will exhibit themselves before the cities of the world; and this delineation has already begun to be fulfilled . . . All need wisdom carefully to search out the mystery of iniquity that figures so largely in the winding up of this earth’s history.” - Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p.117-118
What I share here is only a small portion of the testimonies we have been given of the lives and experience of many of today’s well-known actors, actresses and musicians who are unashamed of the powers of darkness upon which they have called to perform as they do. It is my sincere prayer that their eyes will be opened, that they may see and know the love of their Father in heaven, of the price that has been paid for their redemption, and His great desire to set every captive free . . . !
Bob Dylan
In the lyrics of his 1979 song, Gotta Serve Somebody, Dylan says, “Well, it may be the Devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Then, twenty-five years later in an interview with Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes, Dylan, now 63, reveals the true source of the inspiration which brought him fame and fortune and guided him throughout his career . . .
Bradley: I’ve read somewhere that you wrote ‘Blowing in the Wind’ in 10 minutes, is that right?
Dylan: Probably (he answers, thinking)
Bradley: Just like that?
Dylan: Yea (Dylan answers, as he slowly nods his head)
Bradley: Where did it come from?
Dylan: It just came, it came from . . . uh, like um . . . right out of that ‘well spring’ of creativity, I would think. You know?
Bradley: Do you ever look at music that you’ve written, looked back at it, and said . . . ‘Woe, that surprised me?’
Dylan: I used to . . . Uh, uh, I don’t do that anymore. Uh, I don’t know how I got to write those songs.
Bradley: What do you mean, ‘You don’t know how?’
Dylan: Those early songs, they were almost magically written; ‘Darkness at the break of noon, Shadows even the silver spoon, The handmade blade, the child's balloon, Eclipses both the sun and moon, To understand you know too soon,’ . . . There is no sense in trying, well, try to sit down and write something like that. There’s a magic to that, and its not Siegfried & Roy kind of magic, you know, it’s a different kind of . . . penetrating magic.”
This is a startling admission, especially from someone who has reportedly also surrendered their life to the Lord Jesus Christ in 1979. Ed Bradley goes on to ask the legendary musician, after nearly 5 decades of performing, “Why do you still do it? Why are you still out here?”
Dylan slowly answers: "Well, it goes back to that destiny thing. You know, I made a bargain with it, you know, long time ago. I’m holding up my end.
Bradley: What was your bargain?
Dylan: Get where I am now.
Bradley: Should I ask who you made the bargain with?
Dylan: With the Chief . . . you know, the chief commander.
Bradley: On this earth?
Dylan: This earth, and the world we can’t see.
Denzel Washington
In another more recent interview, Ed Bradley of ABC’s 60 Minutes asked Oscar award winning actor, Denzel Washington, after reviewing his 2001 film “Independence” . . . how he was able to bring forth such a powerful performance. Denzel’s reply will never be forgotten:
Denzel: “Basically, what I did was . . . got on my knees. And sort of, communicated with the spirits. And when I came out, I was in charge.”
Bradley: Powerful scene!
Denzel: “Powerful scene . . . . it, it would, I couldn’t have acted that. I couldn’t of written that down and made a decision to play that . . .”
Robin Williams
“Yeah! Literally, it’s like possession . . . . all of a sudden you’re in, and because it’s in front of a live audience, you just get this energy that just starts going . . . . But there’s also that thing ‑ it is possession. In the old days you’d be burned for it …. But there is something empowering about it.
I mean, it is a place where you are totally ‑ it is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where you really can become this other force. Maybe that’s why I don’t need to play evil characters [in movies], ‘cause sometimes onstage you can cross that line and come back . . .” (Robin Williams, by James Kaplan, US Weekly, January, 1999).
And many of these superstars, although professing faith in Jesus Christ, we find that their lives and work actually stand in direct opposition to the testimonies of His Spirit in God’s Holy Word!
Oprah Winfrey
“I ask God for grace, and the power of the spirits.... Calling on you.
Calling on you.... I really believe I can call her (the spirit) up. Her and so many others” (Journey to Beloved, p. 54, Hyperion Books).
“Oprah Winfrey calls these her ‘go there’ moments, spiritual episodes of divine guidance that far transcend the chatty exchanges with her studio audiences . . . . Winfrey says that she has come to know each of them (these spirits of the dead) personally and calls them in at will to guide her in her work" (Daring To Go There,” Time Magazine, June 24, 2001).
What had been revealed to me that night by our Lord and Saviour, I should not have forgotten. But like so many of us I did all that I could to dismiss the conviction, and I pushed the thoughts from my mind. After all I was a Christian, and regardless of what they called upon to inspire their work, I knew in Whom I believed. But as our LORD tells us . . . “the devils also believe and tremble,” “but faith without works is dead" (James 2:19-20).
A few months later, I found myself traveling to see the grandmaster again. I knew that I was growing closer to that day when I would be honored as a 6th dan, and recognized as a master in the arts I had trained and taught for so many years. And I was yet unwilling to sacrifice this coveted privilege and title for that which I was being led to perceive as a simple premonition, rather than the still, small Voice (Word) of the Living God; that sense of foreboding I had felt late one night, when the Spirit of God was knocking, and seeking entrance to the door of my hardened heart. As I walked into the training hall (do-chang, dojo) that afternoon, I was greeted with a smile from my teacher. And as I look back now, I realize all too well that he also was listening to the voice of his instructors as he waited to hear that which they would have him reveal to me that day. As we began an ancient exercise called “Five Animals at Play,” a young black belt arrived at the school, carrying a large piece of artwork carefully wrapped in brown paper. He excitedly told Sijo that the artwork which he had commissioned to be done was now complete; the young man was then dismissed with a nod of the grandmaster’s head.
I watched with anticipation as Sijo (founder, great ancestor of the art) unwrapped the mysterious package which had just arrived. And as the artwork was revealed, I beheld the familiar calligraphy of an experienced Chinese artist. My teacher look very pleased as he considered the place in our school to display the painting. It was then that I asked, “Sijo, it's beautiful, but what does it mean?” The grandmaster turned and looked deep within my eyes, as if measuring something which I could not see. And then he answered in words I will never forget, “The closest translation in English would be . . . . It's the devil that’s in the details!”
After all the years of searching to truly understand the nature and the mystery of the arts I sought to master, I was finally brought face to face with the Truth . . . . a truth which I had desperately sought to avoid. Memories flashed through my mind of all of the lessons I had received from the Sensei, Gurus and instructors of the arts I had loved. I saw the admonitions and warnings* given by our Father in heaven in His Word, and each time my Saviour had sought to pierce the darkness that had blinded my eyes.
To the ancient Chinese, it is this spiritual energy which they call “Chi” that is credited as the source of the martial artist’s true power. And it is this same mysterious energy that is said to be channeled through the practice of Tai-chi, Qigong, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Aurveda, Yoga, Reiki, and almost every other Eastern mystical art form.
And it is these same spiritual powers today, which are working through their subtle whispers to prepare mankind for the coming of an “overwhelming surprise!” An event foretold in the Holy Scriptures soon to take place just before the return of our Sovereign King and Saviour in the clouds of heaven and glory (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 and Maranatha, p.161).
I could no longer ignore that Voice sounding in my heart and mind . . . “How long halt ye between two opinions? Choose ye this day ___________ (your name) whom ye will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served and obeyed, that were on the other side of the Jordon, or the gods of the Amorites (Babylon), in whose land ye now dwell . . . . If the LORD (Jehovah, Yehuwah) be God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him . . . !” (Joshua 24:15 and I Kings 18:21).
And my only answer could be, “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD !”
Raised in a 7th day Adventist Christian home, Eric Wilson began training in the martial arts at the age of fourteen, just after his parent’s separation and divorce. Searching for purpose and meaning in his life, and struggling to understand the storm which had destroyed his family and his home, Eric began the journey on a path which promised confidence, assurance, and control. Yet little did he realize the darkness into which that first step would lead him, nor the influence which these mysterious arts would play in his own marriage and his walk with the LORD.
Over the next 24 years of training, Eric received black belt and instructor certification in seven styles of the combative arts; and was inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame. With a background in natural and alternative medicine, Eric also studied extensively in the field of “energy healing,” and was recognized as an instructor in the Chinese Internal arts of Tai-chi chuan, Bagua zhang, Qigong, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The life he lived was to all appearances a success. But through the years involved in these Eastern mystical arts, he had become blind to the forces which had set themselves to destroy both he and his family, and in 2003 his marriage crumbled and fell apart.
But praise be to our Mighty God! . . . After nearly 5 years of separation and divorce, the LORD in His great love and mercy began to open Eric’s blinded eyes, and to turn him from darkness to Light. Now, Eric began to see the character and power of God as never before; as our Lord (Sovereign King) Jesus Christ wrought mightily to break the chains which had held him in bondage to the powers of darkness, doubt and sin, nearly all his life. Through the unfailing promises of His Word, the LORD reunited Eric and his wife in their love for one another and His Covenant of marriage, restoring both their family and their home.
In 2008, as Eric was reading aloud the promises of God’s Word, he heard our Saviour's Voice, saying, “Go and tell what great things the LORD hath done for you!” It was that day that Isaiah Ministries was born. And since that moment in time, it has been his greatest desire to share the Glad Tidings of the Salvation, freedom, deliverance, healing and restoration, which has been wrought in Christ Jesus upon Calvary, and is now freely given to all who will in simple living (active) faith, take hold of Him and the unfailing power of His Life-giving Word !
“For the Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to proclaim the Glad Tidings to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind . . . . To set at liberty all those that are bruised (repeatedly beaten down), and to proclaim the time of acceptance* of our Lord and Sovereign King!” (Luke 4).