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I have recently returned to a Catholic Church that is more orthodox in its teachings of the Bible, the Catechism and church doctrine. It’s not that I disliked my old parish — In fact, I loved it for awhile. The music was uplifting and youthful, and the priest was an excellent public speaker. But a foreign ingredient began bubbling to the surface of the mix.

Matters of doctrine were downplayed. Example: Divorced and remarried couples taking the Eucharist without having the first marriage addressed by the bishop. It didn’t matter. (I know — all you Protestant Evangelicals will probably find fault with the Catholic position of marriage being indissoluable and the practice of Catholic annulments. I was an Evangelical for 25 years, and I know the drill. Let’s just agree to disagree on the marriage/divorce issue. This writing is not about that).

Back to the “liberal” Catholic Church:

All-in-all, there was a sort of “I’m Okay, You’re Okay” mentality permeating the place, starting with the priests on down. Church teaching was virtually non-existent — not even with potential converts. I found this quite disturbing. How were new Catholics supposed to know what to do when no one taught them?

One teacher of RCIA (Right of Catholic Initiation – Adults) said that the new converts would just assimilate the dogmas of the Holy See sort of by — osmosis. But there is not one sentence in the Bible or the Catechism or even in the writings of the Church fathers on theological “osmosis.”

The New Parish:

So I migrated to another parish. No, it’s not the Latin Mass, and the women do not wear head coverings. But everything is handled the way the Holy See has instructed the Church. The Bible is taught, and the Catechism is referred to often. I had returned to Rome.

A Revelation:

After leaving the liberal Catholic Church and connecting with the more conservative parish, I had an epiphany: In the conservative parish black is black, and white is white. In the liberal parish, there is grey and ivory. After my period of attendance in the liberal parish, I realized that it was as if the people were slowly being conditioned to accept only what feels good. But Christianity doesn’t always feel good.

What’s wrong with this picture?

New Age Thought :

Is one of Satan’s tactics to gradually condition Christians to allow non-Christian beliefs and practices to infiltrate the church — in the name of unity? The Bible does say that we are supposed to strive for unity within the church — but not the kind of unity that contradicts Biblical teaching and the teachings of the Catholic Church.

A Discovery:

My experience with the two polar-opposite Catholic parishes opened my eyes to how careful all Christians need to be in guarding their beliefs. Then, one night while I was surfing the Web on the End Times, I discovered one of Raj Patel’s lectures, and my eyes almost popped out.

Raj Patel is a highly educated economist, lecturer, author and advocate for an organization called Share International that claims to be receiving direct communications from their version of the Messiah. They have announced that this Messiah, called the “Maitreya” or “World Teacher,” is similar to Buddha, Christ, Krishna and Allah and is in the world now.

The main spokesperson and evangelist for Share International is an artist and self-proclaimed “esoterist” named Benjamin Creme, who lives in Great Britain. In 1982, Creme’s organization took out a full-page ad in newspapers all over the world that announced, “The Christ is Coming.” There was also a lot of discussion in the article of various occult and New Age philosophies asserting many Christs, reincarnation, and a cacophony of New Age beliefs. The Maitreya is supposed to be an amalgam of Budda, Christ, Allah, Krishna and others.

Many False Prophets?

All Christians know that the Bible talks about the emergence of many antichrists in the End Times, i.e., Jim Jones, Bhagwan Shree Raineesh (Guru of the Rajneesh movement), Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church and many more. Is Raj Patel one of these antichrists (with a small “a,”) or is he false prophet who is supposed to appear in the End Times?

According to Creme, the Maitreya was born in India in 1972, moved from India in 1977 and has a stutter. Raj Patel was born in 1972, moved to Great Britain in 1977 and has a stutter.

Maybe a coincidence or maybe not.

The message of Raj Patel is of a one-world government, wealth and food redistribution, and rebellion for the sake of “positive” change. He was one of the organizers of the 2011 Arab Spring protest movement.

Share International has all but admitted that Raj Patel is the Maitreya that the organization has been preparing the way for. Raj Patel has denied that he is the false prophet.

Appearance of Star Sign:

A star-like object appeared all over the world, beginning in 2009. It was filmed and watched by millions of people. It was of tremendous brilliance and moving. Share International’s Benjamin Creme compared the Maitreya’s star sign with the star that guided the Wise Men to the Baby Jesus. (Not very original.)

Healings:

In 1988 a man called the Maitreya appeared at a Nirobi prayer/healing meeting before 6,000 people. Several people were healed.

According to Benjamin Creme, the Maitreya has predicted various interntional events, i.e., the release of Nelson Mandela, the end of strained relations between the blacks and whites in South Africa. He also said that governments would give way to the “voice of the people” before the fall of the Soviet Union. He announced that a worldwide stock market crash would begin in Japan, which happened shortly thereafter.

The Maitreya espouses a “safe, scientific, non-denominal” activity known as Transmission Meditation that is supposed to be conducive with all faiths and philosophies. (I don’t think so.)

What Does the Bible Say?

The Bible says that these things must happen before Jesus returns:

The Gospel must be preached throughout the world. (Matthew 24)

The Re-establishment of the nation of Israel. (Luke 21 — Happened in 1947)

There will be a great falling away or mass apostasy of the church. (2 Thessalonians 2)

There will be a war of Gog and Magog — a war between Iran, Russia, and parts of Turkey will fight Israel. (Ezekial 38 and 39)

The false prophet reveals himself and makes peace with Israel. His headquarters (he pitches his “tent”) in Israel. The peace lasts for 3 years (Rev. 13)

Many Jews become Christians. (Romans 11)

* Battle of Armageddon. (Revelation 16)

Christ Returns. (Matthew 24; Revelation 19).

All of the above events are greatly simplified for the sake of this article.

*Armageddon may take place after the Second Coming.

Be Mindful:

One thing is certain. When Christ returns, he is not going to be an economist, an author or a politician. He’s going to come in the clouds and the entire world will see.

The false prophet or Beast (antichrist) will proclaim to be “everybody’s” Messiah, and his message will be of a utopic one-world society with peace and abundance for everyone. Raj Patel and Share International are propagating this message.

Watch the videos, and read the articles on Raj Patel. Interestingly, even Muslims are calling him a devil. Time will tell if Raj Patel is the real Beast/antichrist or just one of the many antichrists that will appear in the End Times.

Either way, study and hold fast to your faith. Do not be seduced by promises of abundance.