Look Up Fellowship "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near." Luke 21:28

One of the first false Christs I remember reading about when I first began studying prophecy about 7 years ago was a man by the name of Maitreya.

Immediately, even despite my very limited understanding of prophecy and those concerning the Antichrist at the time, it was evident that this guy seemed to fit the profile perfectly.

Here's why (based on what little bit we've been told about Maitreya and what I knew at the time about the Antichrist from the Bible):

Maitreya is to appear at a time when catastrophic events are overtaking the earth.
The Antichrist to appear at a time when catastrophic events are overtaking the earth.

Maitreya to appear in connection with a major shift in the world's economy.
The global economy will be immediately affected by the preliminary events of Revelation. End-times Babylon (the world's superpower) will cease to function as the world's economic center (Revelation 18). The Antichrist will replace free-market capitalism with a single economic system connected with the Mark of the Beast (Revelation 13), allowing no one to buy or sell without the mandatory Mark.

Maitreya is predicted to establish a New World Religion, (despite the fact that Benjamin Creme often denies that Maitreya is here for that purpose).
The Antichrist will establish a single, mandatory religious system. Revelation 13:8. "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (Antichrist), whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Revelation 13:15, "as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed."

Maitreya will be aided by the Master Jesus, who is predicted to soon take control of the Roman Catholic Church and lead Christianity to accept Maitreya as the Christ returned.
The Antichrist will be aided by the False Prophet, a spiritual leader, possibly to come from Rome, who will lead the world to worship the Antichrist.

Maitreya will play an important role in achieving peace in the Middle East.
The Antichrist will be instrumental in confirming a covenant with Israel that will bring peace and allow the Temple to be rebuilt. (NOTE: I have suggested that our understanding and interpretation of this aspect may be slightly skewed.)

Bible believers will reject Maitreya based on misunderstood scriptural warnings.
Bible believers will reject the Antichrist based on simple scriptural warnings that are almost impossible to misunderstand.

As if that weren't enough to set off spiritual bells and whistles and make your head spin, we find that his name in and of itself is also suspicious as this video will demonstrate:



Obviously, it's tough not to make the connection when both are so similar. So that begs the question, is Maitreya the man of sin?

He was (and I assume still is) a very curious figure. For starters, his true identity and everything else about him is aggressively protected by a man named Benjamin Creme, and an organization called Share International.

For three decades, they have decided to release information about this individual in a systematic fashion, and often only with one small "fact" at a time. He has been shrouded in secrecy since day one, and has only made a handful of public appearances.


WHY THE HECK SHOULD WE EVEN CARE?


I know it sounds like some description of a new television series set to debut in 2009 on the Sci-Fi Channel, but I can assure you that it's as real as real can be. Now, as for the people associated with all of this, who they claim to be, and what they believe? They're all purely delusional for we know the truth! The truth of the Word. This Maitreya - - whomever he is - - is not the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Even so, that doesn't mean that us Christians should ignore all of this. Why? Because they represent spiritual deception of the worst kind! In fact, they could very well be working to unveil the "man of perdition" himself! Is this Maitreya the prophesied man of sin? If he is, we better alert others, and make sure we get right with God ASAP because that would mean we know what's coming.

We've already made a good case, but let's use current events to investigate them further. They're all back in the news again after many have recalled what Benjamin Creme had said about 10 years ago on the popular national radio talk show "Coast To Coast AM Show" with the legendary Art Bell. Basically, that Maitreya would not reveal himself to the world until the right geo-political forces existed (and he strongly hinted that there needed to be a global economic crisis first; much like the one we're experiencing now).

Obviously, those comments have raised some eyebrows in recent weeks. Yet, it was an ad that ran in a Wall Street Journal publication just a few days ago that announced that Maitreya will be "emerging" and doing a major U.S. television interview "shortly after Christmas." It was in the form of a Press Release posted on the Dow Jones & Company’s Market Watch website dated December 12, 2008, and it reads like something from a supermarket tabloid. Come to think of it, didn’t Rupert Murdoch just buy Dow Jones & Company not long ago? As mentioned, they also publish, among other things, the Wall Street Journal.

The financial collapse seems tailor made for desperate people to fall for these anti-Christ lies, but that the WSJ would lend credence by labeling it a "Christmas Miracle" (see the Press Release's headline) is astounding! Anyway, whether this speaks to the decline of a once great business publication or the growing power and influence of a coming world leader, only time will tell. Either way, it is clearly another ominous sign of the desperate times in which we live.

Here is the text of the Share International Press Release including a screenshot:


According to the Press Release, "in the very near future a large, bright star will appear in the sky visible to all throughout the world -- night and day. Unbelievable? Fantasy? No, a simple fact. Around a week later, Maitreya, the World Teacher for all humanity, will begin his open emergence and -- though not yet using the name Maitreya -- will be interviewed on a major US television program."

On the surface, that's significant because it would mimic Jesus Christ's own "emergence" into this world, with the whole Christmas Star a part of the story of His birth and all. We know that the Antichrist wants to mimic Jesus in every possible way that's imaginable as a form of mockery so this would definitely fit the bill.

But there's another layer to all of this that's much more sinister. Given this information (particularly the part about a bright object in the sky) and what we know about Maitreya, Share International, and anyone associated with either, we may want to start to take notice especially after what we just looked at regarding the prophesied return of the Nephilim in the end times. First, some additional background info before assuming we know what this could mean for us and the world.


HOW TO CREATE A SAVIOR. HOW TO SELL A LIE.


Share International works in cooperation with The Hunger Project, based in San Francisco, and founded in 1977 by Werner Erhard, Founder of EST. Contrary to what many may think, The Hunger Project is not a charitable organization which feeds the poor. It is an organization which works to influence people's thinking toward redistribution of wealth, which is the very concept of socialism.

Apparently, Benjamin Creme has been called by the "Masters of Wisdom" to represent them and prepare the way for the "unveiling." So, he and others like him, are like modern-day John the Baptists for this new Christ.

In 1975, he was given the mission of announcing publicly the coming of Maitreya. At the time, Creme did not yet know precisely when that would occur and still does not. Well, at least he now knows that it will be "shortly after Christmas."

Who is Benjamin Creme? He is a 75-year old Scot, and a former artist. Since his childhood he has had an interest in "the esoteric", which is the "ageless wisdom" that has been transmitted by spiritual masters to occult initiates throughout time.



Who is the Maitreya? We are told by Creme that Maitreya’s the one expected by followers of all religions alike. He's the one that has been expected for generations by all of the major religions of the world. Creme points out that Christians know him as Jesus Christ, and expect his imminent return. Jews await him as their Messiah. Hindus look for the coming of Krishna; Buddhists expect him as Maitreya Buddha; and Muslims anticipate the Imam Mahdi or Messiah. Thus, he’s everything to everyone.

Creme says that Maitreya had spent the last 2,000 years in a “body of light” at a retreat in the Himalayas, but has now resurrected in a physical form that he "self-created," and that he lives and works in London. Many of Maitreya's messages are based around the idea of sharing and global cooperation.

The years and names will change, but one thing remains constant. All of these false Christs have one thing in common - they deceive people and ruin their lives physically and spiritually.

Still, the one that has made (is making) the most impact is Benjamen Creme’s New Age Christ Maitreya, who has had a coming out party for the last 30 years, and he’s widely regarded by New Agers and spiritual globalists alike, as the most likely to succeed.


Why is this latest Press Release significant? We are told that Maitreya will demonstrate His true identity on the "Day of Declaration." On that day, the international television networks will be linked together, and Maitreya will be invited to speak to the world, and reveal himself for the first time on a mass scale.

Furthermore, while we will supposedly see his face on television, each of us will hear his words telepathically - - in our own language - - as Maitreya simultaneously impresses the minds of all humanity. Even those who are not watching him on television will have this experience. On this day, humanity's shared experience of his profound love will cause hundreds of thousands of spontaneous healings to take place throughout the world.

Could this upcoming television interview be their Day of Declaration? Let's assume for a moment that he is the prophesied man of sin and think about what this might mean then for us and the rest of the world.

Now, here's where things get exciting for the faithful like you and me! Creme claims that Maitreya will make his public appearance through this occult Day of Declaration, when he will telepathically overshadow every human being on the Earth, and put forth his plan for humanity calling us to his service. Assuming he's the Antichrist, Biblically, there is only one moment in time when the Antichrist may actually do this. This Earth and every human being on it is the legal property of Satan, everyone except the individuals who have declared their allegiance to God and received His divine "seal of ownership" through acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 - "Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."

Of course, this "one moment in time when the Antichrist (Maitreya) may actually do this" can only logically refer to the Rapture of the Church! In the moments after this event, every single person left on Earth will be the legal property of Satan, and the Antichrist could conceivably fulfill the prediction that Creme has made concerning Maitreya's Day of Declaration.

Prior to the Rapture, Satan has no way of violating God's "seal of ownership" and intruding into the minds of those who follow Him. Unless we consider Jesus' words in Mathew 24:24 that says, "for there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and they shall give great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, also the chosen." So, unless we're looking at a direct fulfillment of Matthew 24:24, and assuming he is the man of sin, he could not telepathically reach out to every single individual on Earth until the moments immediately following the Rapture.

How incredible is all of this especially in light of our Rapture piece from just last week!?! Friends, we may not want to believe it (or we might want to take a "wait-and-see" cautious approach), but things seem to be lining up in a such a way that we must at least take notice and consider the possibility.


BE PREPARED AND BE STRONG IN YOUR FAITH (JUST IN CASE)


Folks, this might finally be their move - - the one that was frustrated back in 1982 (Creme actually set things in motion to try and introduce Maitreya to the world on the very day that Israel celebrated its anniversary of becoming a nation in 1948 in an attempt to quell the violence that was occurring at the time) - - only this time it's for real! Just think about it for a minute. Sure, Christmas might well come and go this year without a miraculous star compelling us all to tune in to Maitreya’s big network television debut.

Even so, I find it VERY HARD TO BELIEVE that these guys would spend so much time, so much effort effort, and so much money over the past 30 years preparing for a non-event that would render everyone involved a complete laughingstock. Getting people to take them seriously after a fabulous faux pas like that might be a little tough to pull off don't you think?

I mean, their ENTIRE MOVEMENT depends on this "emergence" and "Day of Declaration" being a complete success does it not? Food for thought that we may be a lot closer to the fulfilment of end times prophecy than we think.

So, stay strong, stay in the Lord, and stay skeptical about Creme's Maitreya (whoever he turns out to be) and what is sure to be his well-received "solution" to our global economic problems.

Paul Proctor wrote it best in a recent column he wrote about all of this: "What I find fascinating is that this Maitreya fellow seems to have a strangely similar 'share and save the world' agenda to that of Purpose Driven Pastor Rick Warren with his Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan and also President-elect Barack Obama with his Global Poverty Act and Universal Service Plan - - men who apparently have no aversion to working with any or all of the world religions or non-religions to save the planet - - which may explain, at least in part, why Warren is scheduled to lead the invocation at Obama’s upcoming inauguration." Please read his article in full because it proposes a very interesting theory to all of this.

Mike Oppenheimer also has an interesting and informative piece on this mysterious “World Teacher” titled "Maitreya The Betrayer," along with a host of links to other related subjects that I have no hesitation recommending to my readers - - especially in light of this peculiar press release.
Could this be "the hour of temptation to come upon all that dwell on the face of the Earth?" For the record, let's remember that there is no Christ except Jesus. Another false Christ emerges as the pushers of this particular anti-Christ figure at at it again, as when they ran those full page ads in 1982 proclaiming "The Christ Is Now Here!"

That newspaper ad campaign in 1982 cost upwards of $500,000.00! Nobody spends that type of money without very serious intent, but "Christ" and/or "Messiah" he clearly is not. Be very careful with this bunch. Constance Cumbey personally witnessed a large Detroit audience of hundreds of relatively sophisticated, and even wealthy people, go under Benjamin Creme's spell when he was promoting this same "Christ" back in 1981 there. Only upon witnessing that did she have any notion as to how Hitler had pulled off his bewitching of the German public - - mass hypnosis!

This bears watching given what we know about the Antichrist and False Prophet from what the Bible tells us. Plus, it's worth noting that if this report is true, it's the first time this individual has agreed to "introduce" himself to the world on a mass scale despite 30 years of silence, only 1 public appearance (to a small group in the remote parts of Nairobi, Kenya), and after being shrouded in secrecy all this time.

That should also tell us all we need to know about the times we are living in. If false Christs think now is a good time to show themselves then they must see the same signs that we students of prophecy are trying to alert the world to.

As Mike Oppenhiemer writes in his article on this subject, "Truth will never change, just as the God who gave it. In the New Age truth is relative so it can be whatever one wants."

It's time to be prepared, for anything can occur as we are now deep in the time of deception. He’s at the door so look up for our redemption is coming! The Tribulation comes for those who reject the Christian message of Jesus Christ, but the hope of the true Jesus is there for the Christian.

Do not be fearful, be hopeful.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 - "Let no one deceive you by any means, for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition."

***UPDATE 1/22/2009: Bright Star Heralds The Emergence Of Maitreya The World Teacher : Thanks to an Anonymous visitor for bringing this to my attention yesterday in our Comments section. Friends, this is MAJOR news because it's like I've said before, I find it VERY HARD TO BELIEVE that these guys would spend so much time, so much effort effort, and so much money over the past 30 years preparing for a non-event that would render everyone involved a complete laughingstock. Getting people to take them seriously after a fabulous faux pas like that might be a little tough to pull off don't you think? I mean, their ENTIRE MOVEMENT depends on this "emergence" and "Day of Declaration" being a complete success does it not? Food for thought that we may be a lot closer to the fulfilment of end times prophecy than we think. So, stay strong, stay in the Lord, and stay skeptical about Creme's Maitreya (whoever he turns out to be), and what is sure to be his well-received "solution" to our global economic problems. Oh yeah, those promoting this Antichrist figure are even becoming bold in their claim that "In the very near future, people everywhere will have the opportunity to witness an extraordinary and significant sign, the like of which has been manifested only once before, at the birth of Jesus. Then, according to Christian teaching, a star appeared in the heavens and led three wise men from the East to the birthplace of Jesus. Soon, once again, a star-like luminary of brilliant power will be seen around the world. What does this mean? How is it possible? The answer lies in the fact that this mysterious event is a sign, and heralds the beginning of Maitreya's open mission. Soon after the sign appears in our skies, Maitreya will give His first media interview on American television." God help us.***

RECOMMENDED READING:
Maitreya The Betrayer
The New Age Religion: Brought To Us By The "Ascended Masters"
The "Ascended Masters" Are The Fallen Angels
AUDIO: Creme's 1998 Interview With Art Bell
Maitreya Rising?
False Christs Emerge