My family and I were members of the cult’s inner circle for years. I will refer to the leaders as Simon and Marigold Blackwell as I did in my novel, Eve’s Covering. If you’re wondering how these ordinary people got their hooks into us and sucked us into their cult, you’re not alone.

First, they pulled us in by targeting 3 things:

1. Our hearts: they befriended us. They took their time getting to know us, finding out what made us tick, as the saying goes. They spent a lot of time with us and became dear to our family. So much so that we came to trust them without question.
2. Our minds: they convinced us they had the authority to unlock the mystery of Scripture. They did this mostly through their meetings, or crusades, as they called them. They twisted the Bible to back up whatever agenda they had at the time.
3. Our egos: they said we were special. Special enough to join their inner circle.

Five lies that I believed:

1. The cult leaders had special knowledge of scripture, which they passed on to their chosen few-us! I remember one time when Simon claimed God had given him a new interpretation of Genesis. He used Gen. 1:27 which says, “…God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” From this verse, he claimed God was both a man and a woman, having the physical characteristics of each.
2. We were told our futures through personal prophesy. Perhaps it was a promise of wealth if you gave so much money. Maybe it concerned doing something radical to step out in faith, like my parents did when they sold everything they had and bought a motorhome to follow the Blackwells. For me, it was a prophecy warning me about my future. I was told that I shouldn’t go to college because something or someone bad waited for me there.
3. God promises health, wealth, and prosperity to all who follow Him. I’m not saying that any of these are bad-they are good! But we should follow God for who He is, not what we think He should give us. More importantly, God promises these things spiritually. What I mean by that is He heals our hearts and minds. When we have a relationship with Him, our soul flourishes.  
4. The cult leaders had supernatural power to see into the spirit world. For a while, I even believed that they could read my mind. Imagine the power you would have over someone who believes this!
5. Have you heard of the phrase, “Name it and claim it”? I was taught that all you had to do was say, “I claim _____ in the name of Jesus,” to get what you wanted from God. This is done for greed, not God’s glory. Matthew 6:33 says, “…seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Maybe what you’re claiming isn’t God’s will. Then what? God isn’t a bellhop. We can’t just ring him up and place an order. But God does tell us to pray. When we pray, asking Him for the desires of our heart, we should also pray for His will to be done. The awesome thing is that even though we might not know how to pray, or what to say in a certain situation, He prays for us! It says in Romans 8:27, “the [Holy] Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

Are these lies really that dangerous?

• Lies are not new. Satan has challenged God’s authority, His holiness, and truth since the beginning of time. Satan hates God and wants to destroy everything good.
• In Genesis, he disguised himself as a serpent to deceive Eve in the garden.
• Satan claims to be an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:13
• Satan is not on your side. He comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Satan does everything he can to hurt those who want to live for Jesus. This includes using people to lead you away from God. 2 Timothy 12-13 says, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”

Something was terribly wrong:

Even though these lies had a tight grip on me, I knew something was terribly wrong. I saw things in the Blackwells that troubled me:

1. Arrogance. They wouldn’t listen to anyone. They said they had a direct line to God, so why would they listen to anyone else? I remember Simon bragging about being thrown out of Bible College because of his radical beliefs. Red flag!
2. They were not loving people as the Bible says is necessary for the Christian life. Galatians 5:22 says, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
3. They didn’t point us to Christ. They encouraged us to pursue the power-the signs and wonders of Jesus-but not a relationship with Him.

The Rescue

God, in His grace, rescued me from the cult. He opened my eyes to the truth, and I realized I was in a dangerous situation. I immediately fled from evil, without thought to where I was going or how I would survive. You see, I was alone in Thunder Bay, Ontario with less than $5 in my pocket. When my panic concerning the cult subsided, another anxiety took its place. What would I do about food and shelter? I wandered between the bus stop and the mall, just trying to survive.

God didn’t rescue me from the cult to leave me stranded on the streets. My aunt and uncle brought me back to Michigan, where I stayed with my sister. She attended a little church in the country. It’s here where I met David, my husband and soulmate. 

How can we identify false teaching and the devil’s lies?

• We must look to God for truth. He’s sovereign and good. Without truth, we can’t identify false teachings and the devil’s lies.
• We know truth through God’s Word. He’s given us the Bible to guide us and sustain us. 2 Timothy 15, says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God.” It goes on to say that these writings are sacred and bring us the gift of salvation through Christ Jesus.

If you’ve been hurt by the devil’s lies, turn to the truth. Turn to Christ. He was slandered, beaten, and mocked. Believe in Him. He died so that we could live – forever with Him.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Blessings,

Elsie