For those who aren’t familiar with me and my testimony, I was brought up in a Christian home but, in my early adulthood, fell into New Age theology for a few years. It began because I was dealing with sleep paralysis. I was also experiencing, what I considered to be, demonic manifestations and attacks. I didn’t know anything about spiritual warfare and had no idea how to solve this problem. I confided in a friend about my problem and she handed me a book about astral projection. Before that time, I had never heard of such a thing. Her idea was I could use astral projection (the process of meditating in order to leave your own physical body) to escape the attacks. I felt it was worth a shot.
I practiced and meditated, even becoming a vegetarian (something the book suggested), for six months before it actually happened. This was when I discovered that, yes, astral projection is fully real and not just a dream, hallucination, or product of imagination. Once I became better at it, I decided to test it. I would astral project into places I’ve never been before, then later visit those places to see if the projections were accurate. They were. Every time.
I quickly found out there would be no way astral projection could help me with my sleep paralysis and demonic attack problem. The type of meditation needed would have been impossible under such strenuous conditions. In fact, there were times when meditation would spur on sleep paralysis and subsequent demonic manifestations. Regardless, I was already hooked. I didn’t care. For me at the time, it was well worth it.
By this time, I was becoming more and more entrenched in New Age theology. One of my favorite people to read about was Edgar Cayce. Stories of him falling asleep on a Bible as a child and waking up with full recall of scripture absolutely fascinated me. Even the depiction of his self-sacrifice; continuing to use his gifts for the benefit of others until it eventually killed him, really spoke to me. At the time, I was thinking, now here is a good man and an example of what the world needs more of. It was easy for me to justify Cayce’s New Age theology by believing he was truly a Christian and everything else he taught was just an extension of that. Of course, this was during a time when I wasn’t taking the Bible very seriously and was going out of my way to ignore all of the inconsistencies between Edgar Cayce and the Bible.
A couple of years after my first introduction to Edgar Cayce, I renounced everything New Age. The details of the reasons behind this decision are quite lengthy and beyond the purposes of this article. The short version of the story is, while astral projecting, I came across a group of spiritual beings who, at the time, seemed very friendly. They told me they would help me leave my body if I asked them to. The next time I tried to astral project, I couldn’t. However, I decided not to ask the entities for help. Shortly after that, our home came under a spiritual attack that I did not think was possible outside of horror movies. Basically, the entities were upset that I didn’t invite them in, so to speak, so they were trying to force their way in. This put me on a path to getting back into the Bible, rededicating my life to Christ, learning about spiritual warfare, and using the authority in the name of Jesus to force these things out. It worked. Not only did it solve that problem, but it also ended up completely solving my issue with sleep paralysis and demonic manifestations. Because of Jesus Christ, I no longer have to live in fear of those things.
This new spiritual transformation caused me to look at New Age theology through a truthful lens. Suddenly I felt awake and could not believe the types of things I was involved in. Looking at Edgar Cayce through a biblical lens was especially eye-opening. Once I realized what a Christian actually is, any belief I had that Edgar Cayce was a true follower of Christ was dispelled.
Now, to be clear, I am not saying Edgar Cayce wasn’t saved. Besides God, no one can know that. For all anyone knows, Cayce could have repented at any point in his life. He could have accepted Jesus just before he died. No one knows. However, being saved and being a follower of Christ are a bit different. Accepting Jesus as your savior is the first initial step toward a relationship with God. Actively cultivating that relationship, however, is what it means to be a follower of Christ.
Edgar Cayce might have accepted Jesus at some point. He might be in Heaven right now. We have no way of knowing. However, we do have the information available to deduce, based on biblical premises, if he was a true follower of Christ or not.
One of the biggest evidences we can look at are his prophecies. This is actually what has spurred on this study. A while ago I posted a video about one of Edgar Cayce’s prophecies involving Russia and World War Three. See the video above.
In the video, I put forth the possibility that Edgar Cayce was under demonic influence rather than Godly influence. This wasn’t an attempt to insult Cayce, only to provide another answer that I believe is more accurate. In the comments, one of the things that was repeated the most by people was the claim that Edgar Cayce was a Christian. I felt it would be good to examine that claim and see if it holds up biblically.
In Jesus’ own words, Matthew 7:15-20 reads:
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Jesus tells us we can know someone, specifically false prophets, by their fruits. What have they produced? What was the cause or motivation of their actions? Did they win people to the Lord or lead them astray?
Edgar Cayce is not known for bringing people to salvation through Jesus Christ. In fact, Cayce is most known for his large number of prophecies. Specific numbers vary on just how many prophecies and other writings there are of Cayce’s, but they are usually counted as somewhere around 20,000. He also had a vast array of teachings, including things about astral travel, the Akashic records, and reincarnation. Here is one source of interpretation of Cayce’s teachings:
Cayce predicted that the so-called “Battle of Armageddon” described symbolically in the Bible would begin in 1999. Cayce foresaw that this “battle” will not be a war fought on Earth. Rather, it will be a spiritual struggle between the “higher forces of light” and “lower forces of darkness” for 1000 years of Earth time. The reason for this struggle is to prevent souls from lower afterlife realms from reincarnating to Earth. By preventing souls from the lower afterlife realms from reincarnating to Earth, only enlightened souls will be permitted to reincarnate. The result will be 1000 years of building a world of peace and enlightenment. After 1000 years, souls from lower afterlife realms will be permitted once again to reincarnate to Earth. By this time, the so-called “kingdom of heaven” will have been established on Earth. (source http://www.alamongordo.com/the-edgar-cayce-predictions/ )
This type of teaching is common in New Age theology; I remember it quite well. However, we can see how New Age theology and Edgar Cayce’s teachings are incompatible with the Bible. In this example, the first thing to point out is the battle of Armageddon did not begin in 1999. Also, there is nothing in the scriptures to signify this is meant to be understood as symbolic. The specific text, Revelation 16:16-21, reads:
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
We have very literal language used here. There is talk of angels, of course, but this is not an event that is happening in Heaven or another spiritual location. We read about an earthly place called “Armageddon” in the Hebrew language, a physical earthquake, an earthly city, earthly islands, earthly mountains, earthly men, and hail falling on the earth. These are all physical and literal things mentioned throughout the text. Therefore, if Cayce taught the battle would not be on Earth, we have a choice to make. Are we going to believe Edgar Cayce or the Bible? Either the Bible contains the truth or not. Biblical teachings compared against Edgar Cayce’s teachings offer no middle ground nor compromise.
Reincarnation is a big belief taught by Cayce and other more modern New Age sources. However, Hebrews 9:27 states:
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Again, we have a choice. Are we going to believe Cayce or the Bible? The Bible teaches once you die, you are sealed in your eternal choice. Either you have accepted Jesus or rejected Him. You have either followed God or you haven’t. Cayce taught reincarnation. These two beliefs cannot go hand in hand without compromising one or the other.
Then the question inevitably comes up, did Edgar Cayce have prophesies that turned out true? Yes. In fact, he is regarded as one of the greatest worldly prophets because, based on certain estimations, he has over an 80% accuracy rating. Does this mean he was a Christian? Quite simply, no.
The Bible teaches that anything less than a 100% accuracy rating in the realm of prophecy is unacceptable. In fact, in the ancient days of Israel, one false prophecy was enough to earn a death sentence. This is because any prophecy of God will come to pass exactly as it was prophesied. However, a prophecy by any other source will never be able to have that kind of accuracy. This is how we can tell if a prophet is representing God or not. YHWH, the God of the Bible, takes prophecy very seriously. Jesus consistently warned against false prophets, and the Old Testament give us the method to tell if a prophet is true or false. Deuteronomy 18:19-22 reads:
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Therefore, we once again have a contradiction between the Bible and Edgar Cayce. Which do we trust? The Bible holds up to its own teachings by providing a 100% prophetic accuracy rating. The Bible has been help up to scrutiny for millennia, yet has never been disproved. The great thing about all this is it should be incredibly easy to disprove the Bible if it weren’t true. All one would have to do is find one prophecy that didn’t come to pass when and how God said it would. Many have tried and all have failed.
I don’t say these things to be insensitive or rude. I completely understand the allure of the New Age. However, once I was out of it and started seeing things clearly, I realized the reality behind all the things I was inherently interested in was found in the Bible. Personally, I absolutely love prophecy. I love the idea that I have a book at my disposal that consistently tells the future before it happens. Of course, the world will claim this isn’t true, but also offers no real evidence to back up that claim. Again, if the Bible were not true, it should be incredibly easy to disprove.
As I stated before, the purpose here is not to insult Edgar Cayce or show disrespect to any person. I don’t hate or hold anything against Cayce personally. My belief is he was more of a victim; a deceived person who believed was doing good and right by the world, but who the forces of darkness were using towards their own ends. I see people like Edgar Cayce as prisoners or war rather than the enemy. The truth, the biblical truth, is that our true enemy is not each other. In essence, people aren’t the problem. Ephesians 6:12 teaches us the true enemy is a spiritual one. It reads:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Fallen angels and demons are our true enemy. They are the ones who are sowing discord amongst humanity. They are the true promulgators of deception. However, that doesn’t let us off the hook either. We all have a personal responsibility to find the truth and share it with others through God’s lead. That is my hope here.
My main reason for this study is the hope that there might be people who are beginning to question New Age and want more information. This isn’t an attempt to prove myself right or slam people who subscribe to New Age beliefs. If you are into New Age theology, I don’t hate you, I don’t blame you, and I don’t judge you. I would be the biggest hypocrite in the world if I did. Instead, my only concern is to provide you with the evidence of truth and hope you will consider it seriously and logically.
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Josh Peck
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Thanks for posting Josh. Keep up the great work for the Kingdom!
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Will do, thank you so much for the encouragement brother !
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