How to Identify a Cult?
Is it possible to be part of a cult and not know it? Discover it’s identifying marks to avoid being fooled.
Who is the source of truth?
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Jesus is truth, and His Word to us, the Bible, is truth. It’s the Light that illuminates the path of life, that exposes the various lies of the world, and any message that is contrary to it is not from God. The truth of Jesus has the power to sanctify and set me free from deception and sin, but this also means that lies have the power to corrupt and bring me into bondage.
What warning did Jesus give about rejecting truth?
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The rejection of truth opens oneself up to deception, delusion, and the accepting of lies.
Does God have a people who believe the truth?
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Jesus began His work with His disciples; they were the beginning of His church. After He ascended to heaven, His disciples went about preaching the good news of the gospel with power, expanding His church in all directions. Ever since, Jesus has always had a people, His church, who have believed the truth as it was taught by Him.
What is the history of God’s church?
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
Revelation 6 outlines the history of God’s church with four symbolic horses. In Zechariah 6:1-8 there is a similar vision with four chariots of two horses, and when Zechariah asks the angel what they represent he is told they are essentially messengers that go out. The number four, on the other hand, represents the four corners of the earth (Revelation 7:1; Matthew 24:31), so the four horses in Revelation 6 refer to the spread of the church, and more specifically, the phases that God’s church goes through as it spreads Jesus’ gospel message to the whole world.
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White horse: The church began with the white horse, which is a symbol of purity (Psalm 51:7; Isaiah 1:18). This period began with the ascension of Jesus in A.D. 31 and lasted until the death of the last apostle in A.D. 100. The conquering of this horse refers to spiritual conquest, conquering falsehood with the arrows of truth (symbolized by the rider’s bow), and this the church did very well because after the Holy Spirit was poured out during Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), the gospel message went out to the entire then-known world (Colossians 1:23).
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Red horse: The second horse is red, a symbol of blood (2 Kings 3:22), and in this context it represents persecution, which lasted from A.D. 100 to A.D. 313. The success of the apostolic church did not go unnoticed, so Satan used the Roman Empire to start persecuting God’s people (symbolized by the rider’s great sword); nevertheless, the church continued to grow during this time (Romans 8:35-39).
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Black horse: The third horse is black, and since it’s the opposite of white (purity), it represents corruption. This period lasted from A.D. 313 to A.D. 538. It was a time when Christianity was accepted by the state, which led to the introduction of various false, pagan doctrines and practices that ended up corrupting the church. The pair of scales in the rider’s hand represent judgment (Daniel 5:24-28).
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Pale horse: The fourth and final horse is pale (near death), and the rider is called Death. This can only point to the period of the Dark Ages when Satan tried to extinguish the truths taught by Jesus and recorded in His Word (Acts 20:28-30; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10). This phase spans from A.D. 538 to 1517—the start of the Reformation.
What else does the Bible say about this last period?
And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Daniel predicted a time when truth would be cast down, and Paul wrote about a falling away that would occur before the second coming of Christ, marked by a religious system rising up that would oppose and exalt itself above God Himself (see “Who Is the Antichrist?”). This was also echoed by Jude, who encouraged his readers to contend earnestly for the unadulterated faith of the apostolic church. God used the Reformation movement to restore a lot of the truths that were cast to the ground, but this warfare against biblical truth has not ceased. The words of Paul and Jude are as relevant today as they were during the Dark Ages.
What did Jesus warn about in the last days?
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders<; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Jesus warned about false prophets arising in the last days whose aim would be to deceive people, which brings us to the first identifying characteristic of a cult: it has one powerful human leader. This is dangerous because Jesus never taught His disciples to establish a hierarchy; on the contrary, He taught about humility and self-sacrifice in service to others (Matthew 20:25-28), and so the apostles saw themselves as fellow workers with others (Philemon 1:24). The Bible is very clear that we are not to put our trust in fallible human leaders, but to look to God, who alone can save us.
What is another identifying mark of a cult?
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
The second characteristic of a cult is the leader’s teachings cannot be questioned; they essentially become absolute truth even if they go against the teachings of the Bible, thus elevating them, and their leader, above the Bible. Jesus knew this would happen and clearly warned against it.
What is the third identifier?
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
You shall not follow the crowd in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to join together with a crowd in order to pervert justice.
Cults will often pressure their members in order to coerce them into submission. This was the tactic the religious leaders used to coerce Pilate to crucify our Lord (Matthew 27:24) even though he was convinced Jesus was innocent. When there is a conflict between the demands of human beings and the will of Jesus as revealed in His Word, loyalty to Christ always takes precedence.
What is the fourth identifying mark?
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
The fourth identifier of cults is their denial that Jesus is the divine Son of God—a central truth of the plan of salvation. The Bible plainly teaches that salvation is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8) since God the Father gave His Son (John 3:16), and God the Son gave Himself, of His own free will (John 10:17, 18), on the cross for humanity. Incidentally, this denial of Christ’s divinity is almost a necessity as it opens the way for a human being to become the cult’s Messiah-like leader.
What is the final identifier?
And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
Cults will often pressure their followers to leave their families because such separation makes it possible to have more control over their followers. The Bible does not teach this. Paul says that, if possible, a believing wife should not separate from an unbelieving husband. Jesus, too, after healing the demoniac, told him to go home to his friends to share what He had done for him even though the man wanted to follow Jesus (Mark 5:18-20). Instead of leaving his family and friends, Jesus wanted him to first reach them with the good news of the gospel!
What counsel did Jesus give about the light of His truth?
Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
The Bible is the great Light (Psalm 119:105), which we have the privilege of following while walking through life, and those who do this become the children of light. The Light prevents us from being deceived by lies that can only lead to darkness and bondage. Isaiah invites us to test every teaching with God’s Word. Is it in harmony with the Bible? If not, it is not from God.
Will there be people loyal to God in the last days?
And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
God has always had a people who cling to biblical truth, refusing to compromise with man-made traditions, and this will be the case in the last days too, when God will have loyal followers who keep the faith and the testimony of Jesus, including His Ten Commandments (see “God’s Remnant Church”).
Will the truth ever be conquered by darkness?
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
God still had a people during the Dark Ages, like the Waldenses, Albigenses, and Huguenots, who faithfully preserved and followed the truth of His Word, which earned them only a life of relentless persecution, but this did not move them (Acts 20:23, 24) because they counted the truth of God’s Word more precious than life itself. When the Reformation began, the truth was unshackled and made even more accessible to the masses. Now with modern technologies like the radio, television, and the internet, the gospel is being, and will continue to be, preached all over the world until everyone has heard the good news of Jesus Christ’s love!