Van Gorden Kurt - The Kingdom of the Occult

The Kingdom of the Occult

OTHER BOOKS BY WALTER MARTIN

The Kingdom of the Cults

Through the Windows of Heaven (Jill Martin Rische, coauthor)

The Christian and the Cults

Christian Science

Essential Christianity

Herbert W. Armstrong & the Worldwide Church of God

Jehovah of the Watchtower

Jehovahs Witnesses

The Maze of Mormonism

Mormonism

The New Age Cult

The New Cults

The Riddle of Reincarnation

The Rise of the Cults

Screwtape Writes Again

Martin Speaks Out on the Cults

Walter Martins Cults Reference Bible

The Kingdom of the Occult

WALTER MARTIN
JILL MARTIN RISCHE
KURT VAN GORDEN

2008 by Jill Martin Rische

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from KING JAMES VERSION.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE. The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible. 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

ISBN-13: 9-781-4185-1644-4
ISBN : 1-4185-1644-9

Printed in the United States of America

08 09 10 11 12 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedication

To Darlene Martin, with love. Thank you for trusting me with something very dearthe legacy of Walter Martin. I never could have done it without you.

And to Carol Rische, a mother-in-law who gave me a mothers love and taught me how to be content. Absent from the body and at home with her Lord. We miss you, Mom.

Her children rise up and call her blessed (Prov. 31:28).

JILL MARTIN RISCHE

To my wife, Cindy, who abounded in patience and love throughout this project.

And to the entire Martin family, whose love for Gods truth is never ending. When Dr. Martin officiated our wedding in 1980, he blessed my wife and me with a blessing that continues today. A hearty thanks to the Martin family for inviting me into this project, and for their love, prayers, and support for our mission work among the cults and occult all of these years.

And whatever you do, do it heartily,
as to the Lord and not to men (Col. 3:23).

KURT VAN GORDEN

ABOUT THE MANAGING EDITOR

KEVIN RISCHE is the founder and director of Walter Martin Ministries, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is the producer of the nationwide radio program Essential Christianity, featuring Dr. Walter Martin as The Original Bible Answer Man. Kevin designed, developed, and maintains the Walter Martin Ministries website www.waltermartin.com, including the extensive listening library and CD/DVD/audiotape catalog. He is responsible for conserving hundreds of Dr. Martins lectures and resources. Kevin is a graduate of Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Contents

This book could not have been written without the love and support of my husband, Kevin, and our children, Christina and Justin. I would also like to thank everyone who sent us Walter Martin tapesyour kindness means so much; Kathleen Rasmussenfor your excellent work transcribing my fathers tapesyou were a vital part of our team; Steve Laube, whose wisdom made a difference; my mother, Elaine Stein, for her constant encouragement; my sister and dearest friend, Elaine Martinyou brighten all our lives; my sister-in-law, Lynn Friedman, for the counseling ideas (and all those fun Fridays); Rick and Ronaele Wolf, for loving us you have a special place in my heart; Jan Loewen and her daughter, Amanda, for your friendship and loveyou are a gift to us; and Rhonda Hogan and Jennifer Stair, for their kindness.

JILL MARTIN RISCHE

I would like to acknowledge Steve Laube, who did a masterful job as our agent, and the hardest worker on my behalf, my wife, Cindy, who as the codirector of our missions assisted in keeping our work balanced, and proofread chapter after chapter, providing helpful suggestions. Mark, our son, also did a great job proofreading the manuscript chapters. I love you all.

Finally, I would like to thank my late friend and mentor Dr. Walter R. Martin, who taught me the skills of research and initiated our mission work among the cults. His biblical apologetic answers still stand today because truth is impenetrable by error.

KURT VAN GORDEN

xi

Y ears ago, I remember my father pacing the foyer of our home, leafing through a notebook of references on the occult. It had always been in the back of his mind to write a companion volume to The Kingdom of the Cults, but something always prevented him from beginning the new project.

Looking back, I can see that God had other plans.

When my husband, Kevin, and I began Walter Martin Ministries in 1998, we talked about the things we hoped to accomplish, and The Kingdom of the Occult was at the top of our list. I never thought I would be the one to do it; I just felt it should be done. And then one day our friend (and intrepid agent) Steve Laube brought up the pressing need for a book on the occult, and this time I knew Gods plan for The Kingdom of the Occult included me. Kurt Van Gorden, my fathers gifted researcher and longtime family friend, seemed the perfect fit for a coauthor, and this journey began. I can honestly say it has been an extraordinary one in so many ways. I never thought that working on a book about the occult would be the experience of a lifetime, but that is exactly what it has become. During the past year, one verse made all the difference in my life and in Kurts life as well: The joy of the LORD is your strength (Neh. 8:10).

In the midst of all the evil things that needed to be read and evaluated, the presence of the Holy Spirit constantly protected us. Each time we sat down to write, we prayed for Gods protection, and every single time, He answered us. Surrounded by books on Witchcraft, Satanism, and demon possession, our hearts would be filled with joy that Jesus defeated Satan and every dark aspect of the occult on the Cross. There was joy in the fact that He is greater than anything that might come against us, and peace in knowing He loves us and called us to His work. The Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit strengthened and encouraged us in a way we had never experienced before. It has been a wonderful year, and we hope the sense of overwhelming joy and victory we felt each day in writing this book shines through on every page.