Saturday, November 12, 2011

Heaven Stories posts continue to attract denouncers. In answer to the latest, this post is about Akiane Kramarik

I got another comment on my main blog post about the stories of children's visits to heaven.

Bob Barker has this to say to me:
I think its disgusting to go calling Akaini's [sic] work, the other child's heaven experience and 90 minutes in heaven demoniacally inspired.

Where is your proof that Akainie is tied to Hinduism and new age deception?

You mention that some of these people have a lot to answer to God for. But how about yourself, speaking against Gods chosen servants like this? ...

Saturday, November 12, 2011
In response I decided to do a whole post on why Akiane Kramarik's visions are NOT Christian.

First I need to explain that Akiane Kramarik is another who claims to have been to heaven at a very early age -- I've seen both age three and age four at different sources -- just like the two boys who have had books written about their experiences. Akiane has an amazing artistic ability, or really a technical skill at painting realistic images, that seems to have "come from God" in a more direct sense than we usually mean that expression. She also writes poetry which she says comes to her already composed. She is now about seventeen and apparently still communicates with "God."

Since I've been challenged on this so much I want to make the case for the demonic inspiration behind the heaven visits and visions, although I think what I've already written on the general subject ought to suffice. Apparently it needs to be spelled out more clearly because there is such an amazing lack of discernment about these things on the part of many Christians.

First of all there should be major questions asked about such claims since there is no Biblical reason whatever why God should give anyone a vision of himself these days. Instead we get books published by supposedly reputable Christian publishing companies presenting them as perfectly acceptable Christian experiences, which in itself no doubt influences Christians to accept them uncritically. Such visions were very rare even in Old Testament times, given to specially chosen prophets such as Moses and Isaiah, and in the New Testament there was only the Transfiguration witnessed by three of Jesus' disciples, Paul's encounter on the Damascus road, and then the visions of John recorded in the Book of Revelation. These visions had very specific objectives in the furtherance of God's revelation to humanity, AND they provoked amazement and fearful worshipful awe in those who witnessed them -- attitudes we NEVER see in ANY of the current supposed experiences of God or heaven. The credulity given to a "prophet" such as Joseph Smith in our time is indefensible enough, but now apparently many thousands of people who ought to know better are all too easily accepting that some small American children have been allowed to visit the true heaven.

There is really no other possibility than demonic influence. Small children could not imagine or make up these things on their own, they had to come from outside, just as Akiane and the boys who have had such experiences claim. There is also a general agreement between the separate accounts of "heaven" about the nature of "God" and "Jesus" which is also evidence that they were not simply made up, but came from some outside source. So, was that outside source God or the devil? This post is to give my reasons why it had to be the devil.

Here's at thread at EvC forums where I posted a number of comments on Akiane Kramarik and her art a few years ago. I got the same kind of responses there that I get on my post about the heaven stories here, that is, with few exceptions denouncing me for my point of view. Most of the posters there are unbelievers but I know one of my critics on that thread is a believer, apparently as undiscerning as other believers I know of who accept these heaven experiences so uncritically. Most who have commented on these phenomena here are probably Christians, but they don't provide enough information for me to know for sure. Some may not be Christians at all, but generic New Agey God-believers, deists or cultists who don't believe in the God of the Bible anyway.

Here is a page on Akiane's own web site where her experiences are described but in much vaguer terms than I remember finding earlier. She's described as having had a "spiritual transformation" at the age of four but not a direct experience of heaven which I recall is what she'd first described -- so I think they've toned it down:
•At 4, had a life-changing spiritual transformation, bringing the family to God.
•Her poems often arrive fully conceived.
•The inspiration for her art and literature comes from her visions, dreams, observations of people, nature and God.

•Her biggest wish: "that everyone would love God and one another".
•Her life goal: to share her love for God and people around the world.
This God she knows through visions and dreams is an awfully vague generic sort of God, the God of the cults, the God of the New Age, with no specific attributes that would connect him with the God of the Bible. She paints a man she calls "Jesus Christ," usually against a background of stars and galaxies -- which in itself is a hint that we are not talking about the UNCREATED God who made all things, who is outside all of it -- only the false gods are part of the cosmos. She claims to be inspired by her very unspecific nebulous "God," and her "Jesus" is no more than a handsome not-very-authoritative-looking man (in fact he's perhaps rather befuddled-looking, no Christ he). Christ is not described as the Savior in anything she says there, far from Almighty God who came to die for the sins of His people.

Here's a short You Tube video about her in which she says she believes God wanted to show her what he's like and what he's done with this world or something like that. Not a word about sending the Son of God to die for our sins. There is nothing Christian at all about her generic God, he's just a typical empty amorphous New Agey "God" with all the pseudoChristian cant words like "helping people" and "love."

There is also her experience of having the poetry come to her already written as it were. When does God do such things? But it's very common in occult practices, the doings of demons, much like "automatic writing" and even more like the whole books that were dictated directly to Jane Roberts (The Seth Books) and Helen Schucman (A Course in Miracles). Demons do these things, God does not.

What makes Akiane's vision specifically "New Age" is her notion about Jesus' supposed "missing years:" Here's another You Tube video about her. She describes her experiences starting at 6:10. At 6:40 is her painting called The Missing Years. This is that New Age notion, which I'll say more about farther down the post.

On that same video Akiane says right after the Missing Years painting that God gave her many ideas she doesn't understand at all, mentioning one about "pyramids." I have to suppose she didn't understand the "missing years" idea either, that it was given to her without her understanding, just as her poetry is also given to her.

Since her website is so vague about her early experiences of visions of God I'm including this link to a critic because at least he mentions what I know I had read some time back, and I think on her website, about her claim to have had an actual visit to heaven and personal encounter with God.
What makes Akiane so fascinating is not so much how well she paints, but rather the subject of her work and her inspiration. Akiane claims to have met God when she was just 3. He told her that she needs to paint and help the less fortunate. He also noted that he’d be there to guide her along the way.

It gets more bizarre when you discover that her mother is an Atheist and her father a recovering Catholic. Religion was never discussed in the house and the kids are all home schooled.
Wikipedia gives pretty much this same information, along with the same vague concept of "God."

Here's a report about her from April of this year. I see that most of the material in this article is taken from one at Christianity Today. They too just believe this stuff? I suppose this IS unfortunately the level of an awful lot of today's Christianity. Has nobody any discernment any more?
When asked how she knows that it's God who is speaking to her she said, "Because I can hear His voice....quiet and beautiful."
This ought to be a dead giveaway that we are not talking about the God of the Bible. Is this to be accepted as proof that it is God who communicates with her? "Quiet and beautiful?" Don't they know that scripture says the devil appears as an angel of light? That's his specialty. He was originally the most beautiful cherub in heaven. He can still muster an impression of that original beauty of form, voice, whatever, certainly enough to deceive an innocent child.

The article describes her finding a model for her paintings of Jesus, and one of the boys who had similar visions to hers said her paintings look exactly like the Jesus he also met:

The painting is startling. The eyes are loving and patient, but also piercing and fierce. He is beautiful. In fact, when Colton Burpo, the little boy who says he went to heaven at age three (see articles Part One and Part Two), saw the painting, he declared it to be the only one that ever captured what Jesus looks like. There have been many paintings since that one, though Prince of Peace is probably her most famous.
She also gives a generic vague explanation of why she believes she's been given these experiences:
People may wonder, “Why did Jesus choose to contact Akiane?"

“I have been blessed by God,” she said simply. “And if I'm blessed, there is one reason and one reason only, and that is to help others. I am donating a big portion of money to charity and to combat poverty," she said. "I want to help people. I want people to find hope in my paintings and draw people's attention to God."
There is no reason for Jesus to appear to anyone these days that I know of, certainly not to anyone who has access to a Bible and plenty of preachers and teachers such as we have in America, but let's say at a minimum if it really were Jesus talking to her He'd show her his nail wounds and tell her He died for her salvation, none of this mumbojumbo about "helping people." ALL the cults teach "helping people," the true God offers REAL TRUE TRANSFORMING salvation through the death of Christ, salvation that saves us from our Adam-inherited sin nature. Akiane is not saved, she's merely being exploited by a demonic intrusion into her mind.

The Supposed "Missing" Years of Jesus
What Akiane has learned through her visions is certainly NOT Christian. It's basically a New Age kind of teaching, which has roots in spiritism, theosophy and the like, and the mere mention of the notion of any supposedly "lost" or "missing" years in Jesus' life is a red flag clue to this. Akiane herself probably had no notion of its anti-Christian meaning when she first received this from her otherworldly communicant. Christians do not believe there were any "missing" or "lost" years in Jesus' life. There is simply a long period of His childhood that is not described in scripture simply because it is not of importance to the gospel, from age twelve to the beginning of his ministry around age thirty. New Age writers have claimed he traveled during those years and learned Eastern religion during that time, but the entire context of his life and ministry as shown in the Bible is the Old Testament, nothing outside that context. Clearly we are to assume he lived the life of a Jewish boy learning his earthly adoptive father's trade of carpentry and His heavenly Father's calling on His life through attendance at synagogue and temple.

Here's Wikipedia on the subject of the supposed Missing Years. It claims Jesus traveled in Tibet and India and learned from their sages and "holy men." This is taught in the Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ written in 1908 but now part of New Age lore such as in Elizabeth Clare Prophet's teachings. The Aquarian Gospel was supposedly learned from the akashic records which is the name for an other-dimensional "library of knowledge" some people claim to be able to access. I think Edgar Cayce the psychic healer of the early 20th century claimed to get his healing knowledge from some such source out there in cosmic neverneverland. It might be tempting to suppose there is such a record "out there" that practiced Riders of the Cosmic Circuit can tune into, except for the fact that it's lying about who Jesus Christ is and that proves its satanic origin: end of story.

The message about the Aquarian Christ is not Biblical at all, but obviously based on Eastern religion. It supports a belief in reincarnation, for one thing, a direct contradiction with the Bible, and treats Christ as merely a sage who came to save through his example and teaching, concepts utterly at odds with the Biblical Christ but familiar in all the false religions. Eastern religion, spiritism, theosophy, pseudoChristian cults, channeling of spirits, all feed into today's New Age. It's all demonically inspired at its root.

The Christ of the Bible, of Christianity, is God Himself, God the Son -- yes, THAT God, the God of the Old Testament -- who came to be born in human flesh through the virgin Mary, who grew up in the teachings of the Old Testament and fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah promised from Eden through all the prophets recorded there, and died on the cross to pay for the sins of His people. Everything He taught comes from the Old Testament. He quotes nothing but Old Testament scripture and He quotes from just about every book, treating it all as literally true.

Christ lived a perfectly sinless life and then laid it down as a sacrifice as prescribed in the Old Testament so that those who believe on Him can inherit eternal life through Him. There is no other way. It is ALL based on the revelation of the Old Testament. Only someone totally ignorant of Christianity or consciously determined to distort its truth could accept the utter stupidity of trying to link His message and life purpose with Eastern religion.

There is no other kind of "salvation." We are fallen, we lost our connection to God through our first father Adam who disobeyed and plunged us all into spiritual and physical death ever since, through our simple genetic inheritance from him. We are subject to sin ourselves as a result of the sin nature we inherited from Adam, we are corrupted and blinded to God by nature. We have NO ability to save ourselves. The most holy man's example couldn't save us even if we were able to follow it because he's fallen too. ONLY a sacrifice of a perfect sinless Victim as decreed by God to pay for our sins could abolish the sin and death that separates us from God and restore our original spiritual fellowship with God.

Clearly these other notions of Christ MUST be demonically inspired, there is no other possibility. And this must be because the demons do not want anybody to learn how to be saved and they love to make us feel like we can do it all ourselves, be "gods" in our own right, which was Satan's lie to Eve in Eden.

Akiane was an innocent young child deceived by a demonic counterfeit of God, the same way the other innocent young children have been whose stories of visits to heaven have become so popular. It's also the way Joseph Smith was deceived, but he was a grownup and a con man to boot, and there are others who have been deceived the same way. Because in this case these are children, people are more than usually indignant against critics of their experiences and want to protect them from such as me, but they should want to save them from the devil's deception instead. You should be outraged at the devil's exploitation of children, which includes one child suffering terribly as the Malarkey boy is, rather than outraged at someone who calls it like it is. And you should be outraged at yourselves for trying to shut up this attempt to expose what is really going on. Pray for these children that they be set free and find the true Christ. Start with praying for yourselves, that you be disabused of your spiritual blindness.

Too many of today's "Christians" need a good sharp slap upside the head. WAKE UP!

The frequency with which such experiences are coming to people these days is certainly part of what is to be expected of the last days when the powers of Antichrist are coming to the fore.

54 comments:

ljmn963 said...

I've been trying to make up my mind about her. Thank you for writing this. In an interview at age 15, she said that she is the same person as when she was 4 years old, and when asked what her religion was she just settled on the word "spiritual."

We all must pray fervently and stay close to His word!

Michael said...

I believe that all these "Heaven" stories, including Akiane's paintings, Young's Shack and Cross Roads, Rob Bell's Love Wins etc are all preparing the world for the Jesus which is not the Christ, i.e. the AntiChrist. One major clue is that their quest is not about Christianity but about following "Jesus". It is a new religion with a Jesus who does not save from hell but takes you there.

Faith said...

Exactly, Michael. Thanks for your comment.

stef said...

im still trying to discern akiana's religious status: new age or spiritual or christian. I don't believe her early paintings came from the devil..how would a 4 or 5 year old be painting pictures so majestic? yes, she does not quote the Bible. but through her early paintings she expresses some key elements that the Bible tells us to do. such as loving one another and following God because he is light. In her painting of the bears, she describes the symbolism in each bear and weather they are running away from God's light or embracing it. this is clearly in the bible 1 john chapter 5. yes she does not quote the bible (which she should do)...and if these so called "demonic" paintings came from the devil, why are there paintings of jesus, the tree of life(also described in the bible), and heaven sanctuarys (also in the book of revelations). i think she may be quite confused of where her religion stands, but take into consideration that she was raised isolated in the outskirts of towns with atheist parents before she started painting. on a recent interview she states that she doesn't want to have a religious 'label' but all she knows is that she believes in God and that Jesus is the only way to God. which if you have read the Bible, you would know that in the book of 1 john, thats all jesus talks about (I am the way the truth and the life no one can come through father except through me). in conclusion, i dont blame her for not labeling herself as anything because now a days there are plenty of "christian" who live like sinners and live the opposite from a christian-bible-based lifestyle. so for you to say that she is demonic because she doesnt label herself as a christian, is quite ignorant. I am ashamed of what 'chrsitians' today represent; wouldn't blame her for not wanting to become part of a corrupted religion. because its not about religion, its about a relationship with Christ, reading your bible daily, praying, and truly living for him. yes, i am a christian but i am not conformed to this world and the only reason i call myself a christian, is because it has the closest interpretation to the Bible.

Faith said...

Hello Stef, thanks for your comment. I understand you are struggling to make sense of this, and clearly it's hard for any of us to think of a child's being deceived by the devil as I've concluded she is and all these children with similar experiences have been.

how would a 4 or 5 year old be painting pictures so majestic?

I guess you mean it had to be from God? Well, I can't say I know how these things occur, but I did know a woman years ago who was following Hindu teachings who also had an astonishing ability to make realistic images, sculptures in her case, which she said she recently got from "God" but it wasn't God because she wasn't following God.

New Agers and unbelievers and even some Hindu teachers love the message of loving one another from Jesus but they reject all the rest of it, how He died for our salvation and heaven and hell, which are more important.

The "light" is also a favorite concept in New Age and Eastern religions, but what light are they really following? The light of Christ leads to salvation by His sacrifice on the Cross to pay for our sins. Where is there any mention of any of that? And you don't mention it either. They are following a bogus "light" and a bogus "love." It's all mere sentimentality, not of God.

And you seem to be completely unaware that the devil loves to counterfeit "Jesus" and "God" above all. A painting of "Jesus" is bound to be a deception. And I've said a lot about that already.

If she doesn't talk about Jesus' death on the Cross to pay for our sins, and she doesn't, the Jesus Akiane is following is not the true Jesus. It is possible to quote much of the Bible out of context and love parts of it without having any idea about salvation. From what you say, Akiane does not want to be "labeled" but she wants to follow Jesus, but she can't follow Jesus without following ALL of His teachings and ALL of the Bible.

I agree with you that there are many false "Christians" these days, but they are all part of the same deception Akiane is a part of.

I hope you ARE a Christian as you claim to be, but I'm afraid that you are so easily deceived by what is not a Christian message at all, and don't show any understanding of the main Christian message that Jesus died for our sins, so that I doubt that you are a Christian. You can't have a relationship with Christ unless you have repented of your sins and recognize that He died to pay for your sins. He did the work to save us, ALL the work to save us. Akiane's Jesus is not the true Jesus, and at this point I don't think yours is either. I hope you will find Him.

Anonymous said...

Who are you to say how God does and does not operate? Or who He chooses to appear to? God, by nature, defies human logic. To so easily put Him and His ways into a box formed by your preconceived ideas of His character, in my opinion, is insulting to Him and the Christian religion in general. You guys spend so much time trying to qualify the spiritual experiences of someone else. It makes me sad that my brothers and sisters in Christ are so hung up on a topic like this when there are far bigger problems in the world that need to be addressed. The girl endorses the ideas of love, God, and charity. Doesn't Jesus call us to have faith like a child and to love others? And since when is it "demonic" to follow Jesus rather than a religion, when religious people in the Bible were often the ones persecuting Jesus and His followers? I think it's important that we all take a step back here and ask ourselves what is really important here. The Jesus I know would never condemn a little girl for creating art that glorified Him. You can call me "new age", but all my beliefs are biblically founded. I just think you guys are being a little cynical.

Faith said...

Nothing I've said rests on who I am or think I am but on my understanding of what the Bible says. Akiane's idea of Christ is simply not the Christ of the Bible. She accepts the New Age idea that Jesus' "lost years" were spent studying Hinduism, she says nothing whatever about sin and salvation. There is nothing about her view of Christ that is Christian or Biblical. Sorry I failed to demonstrate that to you.

ColoradoMom said...

Thank you for writing this. I so agree that today's Christians are alarmingly undiscerning! To those who still aren't convinced that Akiane's idea's aren't New Age, here is one part of the poem that accompanies her 'Jesus the Missing Years' painting:

"You are the breathing survivor
of spiritual perfection
in the sevenfold universe..."

What is the 'Sevenfold Universe'? Well, google it for yourself and see. It is NOT Biblical, but Theosophical, a blatant, New Age, demonic belief system. The very thing we were warned against falling prey to in Scripture!

Please, my brothers and sisters in Christ....be careful! We were told there would be false Christs, false prophets, and demons appearing as angels of light. We were told that the very elect would be in danger of being deceived. Please pray for wisdom and discernment.

Angela said...

All I will say is this...
Satan knows scripture and tried to tempt Jesus Himself by quoting scripture. So for the devil to show something to an unsuspecting little one is not outside of his tactic to deceive. We all view children as innocent and untainted so what better way to use a child then to catch people off guard, appeal to there emotions and human nature than a child to deceive even the elect.

Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

Matthew 24:24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Unknown said...

hi.. I was happy to read your blog on the matter... you brought up some good points that I had questioned... I caught some things on some interviews where she says she doesn't need to go to church.. she is satisfied just going to a corner to pray and she comments on one of her paintings called Co-Creation about how we can all be co-creators ???... I was left feeling that perhaps she might have a transforming encounter when she was 4 but that experience is long gone.. I heard her at 8 and I see her interviews now.. at 8 she just talked about how safe and wonderful she felt in the presence of God and Jesus.. but now its a completely different experience she is discussing... The Lord does say that in the last days he will give visions to the young... but he also says it will be a time when the elite chosen will fall...there is no mention of salvation in her mission.. that is the ultimate giveaway that this is just not right..

Faith inGod said...

Completely agree with this article. it is easy to understand now which I didn't. yes Satan uses children, from personal experience I say this, because he Knows our weaknesses and where to get our attention. Beware of who is who and who they follow. A blind person cannot guide another... Remember that And it is not about been "old fashioned" Gods word was, is, and will remain the same... no matter what.

Michelle said...

Akiane's early experiences were most certainly Christian, not demonic as you propose.

45 years ago beginning at the age of 3 or 4, I too, "traveled" to heaven almost every night for a period of weeks while entering a sleeping state, the same state that I have since learned is similar during deep meditation. The colorful cosmos which she paints with the centered white light is a very similar depiction of my own experience, and my travels to heaven were through the cosmos to the bright white light which grew ever larger as my spirit drew ever closer. If you study her painting, you will see the white light is small in comparison to the colorful cosmos surrounding it. Heaven is the white light far beyond the cosmos, not within it. I could continue to go on and on about my own personal experiences while in heaven but as it's clear that you do not have God in your heart, I will not waste my words but rather implore you to seek God's truth and not pass judgment on others that have received a gift that is more Christian than anything that can be comprehended and interpreted by mankind.

Faith said...

Well, Michelle, as so many do with this topic you assert that Akiane's experience was Christian without saying one thing to show why you believe it is Christian, while ignoring everything I said that demonstrates that it can't be Christian because it contradicts the Bible. As with so many others you prefer to believe your own personal experience whether it violates the Bible or not. I find this astonishing myself. What sort of "Christians" ignore the Bible in favor of personal experience? Aren't you aware that the devil masquerades as an "angel of light" looking to deceive whomever he can?

It is hard to let go of a conviction you've had all your life but please please reconsider your attachment to your unbiblical early experiences, and seek salvation through Christ's death for you. Akiane's Christ is a false Christ who cannot save, and I hope she too will ultimately find salvation in the true Christ.

Faith said...

Thank you Faith in God, for your comment. Sorry I'm so late in responding to it.

Yes, the Word of God is always to be our standard and if we are true to it we can see that these heaven stories are not of God.

Alice said...

About this girl, it's interesting that she said"Nobody taught me who God is". I think it's normal for a young person, even if she has had an amazing gift from God, not to know who God is if she has never really studied the Bible. She is just a young girl, with an amazing God-given talent (every good gift comes from above), but she needs to put her faith in Jesus like everybody else, so we should pray for her!

Faith said...

Good thought, Alice.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your article. I have been saved by the true Jesus and I know she has not met God but a counterfeit. If she had met the true Jesus, he would have given her the true gospel to share, which she is not sharing. Everything is about being one with God and one another. That is not the gospel. Christ died for our sins because we all Have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. When she talks, it's all about what 'she'feels, not the gospel. A true christian wants to bring people to see their sins and their only Savior not for the 'good'in them, which there is none, and to unify the world in this 'supernatural love'. Wonderful talent but unfortunately not used for the right master. A truly saved Christian should recognize her counterfeit talk right away.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your article. I have been saved by the true Jesus and I know she has not met God but a counterfeit. If she had met the true Jesus, he would have given her the true gospel to share, which she is not sharing. Everything is about being one with one another. That is not the gospel. The gospel is that Christ died for our sins because we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. When she talks, it's all about what 'she'feels, not the gospel. This counterfeit spirit is giving her feelings, not the truth of the Bible. A true christian wants people to see their sins and their only Savior who died on the cross. By the way, it was on the cross that Jesus said 'Father, forgive them' And at that point, He was totally disfigured. Dying for our sins. There is nothing in the Bible about the'good'in us, which there is none, and the talk of unification of the world in the name of'supernatural love'relates to the spirit of the antichrist. She has a wonderful talent but unfortunately not used for the right master. A born again Christian should recognize her as deceived and what she says as counterfeit talk coming from the enemy of God. It's a real shame. It's hard to think of children as speaking lies, but she is deceived.The Bible is clear, no one has seen or heard the things that God is preparing for us. They are too wonderful. I trust God and can't wait to be surprised.

Anonymous said...

I may have posted twice. Sorry! The second posting is the one I really wanted to post. Thanks.

Deaf Christians said...

I agree with your post! When I saw her art, honestly she really has amazing art skills but she said her skills came from "God", why didn't she draw a picture of Jesus on the cross....She said God wants her to help people...how can she help people without telling the salvation message about Jesus what He has done on the cross, shed blood for us. Why didnt she ever mention about Jesus on the cross? I never heard of her saying she reads the bible or mention the scriptures. I saw her art of a nun...RED FLAG...why would God want her to draw a nun if He knew that Catholics are not Christians. Catholics worship Mary. Something is wrong here! Nark 13:21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. 2 Corinthians 11:4
For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Faith said...

Thank you very much for your comment, very nice to hear from someone who has discernment about these things.

Unknown said...

I'm 100% in agreement with you. It's indicative of the time we live in. Satan is leaving nothing to chance because he knows his time is running out.

Faith said...

You are SO right, Kimberly. Thanks very much for commenting here.

Anonymous said...

I have read a number of blogs, articles as well as "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo. As Christians, we are told to discern. This is healthy and protects us spiritually. However, in order to critically evaluate information and personal accounts, we need to look at all the underlying factors that are influencing the person we are trying to figure out.

Akiane states that she started seeing visions of God and Heaven at the age of three to four years. At the age of three to four, children still throw temper tantrums because they don't know how to express themselves. Children at this age draw pictures to express themselves or play out experiences in fantasy play with toys, which is why these methods are so often used to investigate whether young children have been abused or traumatized in some way. Akiane drew and painted in order to express what she saw.

Akiane was apparently brought up in a home where no one spoke about God. But she claims she met God through her visions. When her paintings became popular knowledge, it seems that she was shunned by several church leaders, and was not taken gently into the fold in order to further investigate what her beliefs were and what she actually saw and what she felt it meant. If Akiane is indeed "lost" or if Akiane does seem to believe that there may be more than one way to God (which is contrary to what she apparently told Mars Hill in an interview), why is it that no articles show that people have taken it upon themselves to give her the guidance that she apparently needs? So whose fault is it really if Akiane's original visions of Heaven and God have somehow become polluted by other religious influences??

We should be praying for Akiane to come into God's light fully, , to help her understand that Jesus died for her sins, to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savious, and that Jesus is truly the only God in whom one can find and enjoy eternal salvation.

Furthermore, Acts 2:17 is proof that God will reveal Himself in the last days. See Acts 2:17, "In the last days, I will pour out my Holy Spirit on all mankind, and your sons and daughters will prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams."

Faith said...

If you are right about how Akiane was treated by some Christian churches, that's a terrible shame, but perhaps there is more to the story. There usually is.

But as far as what she believes goes, there really can be no doubt. Her visions did not teach her Christ, they did not come from God, they came from a deceiving spirit. This is evident in everything she's done and said. She is not a daughter of the faith so her visions don't fit Acts 2:17.

I would love to see her BECOME a Christian of course and am sorry to hear that Christians may not have approached her in a loving spirit.

I'm not familiar with her encounter with Mars Hill, should research that.

Thanks very much for your comment.

ColoradoMom said...

The connection Akiane has with Mars Hill is not with Mars Hill Church, but rather with a blog called Mars Hill that is rewritten by a pastor in Ontario:
http://marshilltop.blogspot.ca/2011/02/akiane-kramarik.html

Faith said...

I did research that connection after your first post and discovered the blog. Although he makes some good points about how Christians should approach Akiane, I'm afraid his judgment of her work, and of the Heaven books too, is disappointingly unbiblical. I've been considering whether to write him a comment or not.

Anonymous said...

Catholics ARE Christians and have the fullness of the Christian faith. There is one, holy Catholic and apostolic Church founded by Christ, the Catholic Church. Satan is so deceiving us into thinking we can be a bunch of different denominations - some Chrisians are pro choice which comes from Satan himself. Only the Catholic Church has stood firm on this teaching, against abortion and contraception. And yes, I am "born again" and saved by the blood of Jesus, and a faithful Catholic thanks be to God. We don't "worship Mary". Become informed and open your eyes to the Truth. As for this artist, I agree that she may be New Agey. Something doesn't seem totally right. But also, we must look at ourselves and see our OWN sins, repent Daily and throw ourselves on the mercy of God.

Faith said...

I hope you are born again and saved by the blood of Jesus, I really do. But I've been informed, by many sources, of the things you deny, people who have experienced false salvation through the Roman Church and were gratefully saved by faith alone and left that institution. I hope you are saved but I think you are the one who needs to get informed.

Yes the RCC has been solid on abortion but being solid on such things doesn't save people. Pope Francis just came out affirming that one is not saved except in the church, meaning of course the RC church, and you are saying something very similar. That's not trusting in Jesus, that's trusting in the church. He didn't mention a thing about Jesus. Nevertheless I hope you are not deceiving yourself though many others do as a result of such teaching in the RCC.

As for denominations most of the differences are not major and I identify with the vast majority of Protestant denominations. Better such evidences of fallible human nature than belonging to the apostate RCC that has led and is leading millions to Hell every year. Again I hope you aren't one of them.

frank said...

I went to see the movie "Heaven is for Real" and the description of Jesus by both children does not look like the Glorified Jesus that John saw in his vision. Since the story does not line up with scripture, we have to conclude the story was a message of occult divination, if the facts about the phenomenon did occur as the family testified. The girl who drew the picture, when asked to state her religion replied she is spiritual and says all religions are equal which went a long with one of the messages of the movie that indicated non-Christians are in heaven which is a message Satan would like us to believe. I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Revelation 1:12-18

Faith said...

Good comment, Frank, thanks. When you compare these things to the Bible they are way off.

Unknown said...

Faith aka Connie, I start by quoting you.
“there should be major questions asked about such claims since there is no Biblical reason whatever why God should give anyone a vision of himself these days.” Yes, there are. These are the End Times. And the Christian Church is a mess.
“Such visions were very rare even in Old Testament times, given to specially chosen prophets such as Moses and Isaiah,” Not true. Here are some examples: 1) The butler and the baker of the King of Egypt saw dreams that Joseph interpreted (Genesis 40:5-19. 2) Pharaoh dreamed a dream which Joseph interpreted (Genesis 41: 1-44) 3) In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep.” (Daniel 2:1 ) 4) Pilate’s wife pleads for Jesus’ release (Matthew 27:19).
When the scribes said Jesus, “hath Beelzabub, and by the prince of the devils casteth out devils, Jesus responded, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand, And if Satan rise up against himself and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. (Blesphemy against the Holy Ghost, Mark 3:22-30)
Here is where I feel I should add some psychology to this discussion. When someone sees dreams and visions, they can only interpret them from their perspective, if there is no Daniel, Jacob, Joseph, etc. to help them. Before his death, Rabbi Kaduri revealed his dreams of seeing Jesus. Kaduri felt that Jesus is already here. The reason for this is most probably Kaduri did not believe Jesus was the Messiah. So having actually seen Jesus, he still had the old ways in his heart. He was not brought up a Christian. So he could not speak as a Christian. What he saw was probably the AntiChrist, or he saw Jesus and had it in his heart that Jesus was already here. From St. Malachy many of us get the idea this will be the last Pope. Malachy named him Peter the Roman. Although Francis is now the Pope, he is Italian with a large probability of having Roman genes. Malachy could only tell us what he dreamed based on his knowledge base and experience. Which brings me to Akiane. With her parents being atheists, there is only so much she can get out of her dreams and visions. She was not brought up a Christian. So she could not speak as a Christian.
I too have seen visions. I’ve seen them at night and in the morning. Something (as if mice were in my room) usually awakened me and, if I didn’t open my eyes, I could see the visions on my eyelids. They are the most beautiful things I have ever seen. (My visions were a cross between Akiane’s art and Baruchh Nachshon’s art, but more awesome. Some crisp, others barely there.) I didn’t understand them. Sometimes they went by slowly and sometimes they zipped by. Some went by as if I were viewing a slide projector. When I let earthly things come into my mind, the visions disappear. Being a single man, I lust after women. This is one thing that keeps them away. If Satan were involved, you’d think I’d see more of them when I seek earthly gratification. I don’t. The Bible tells us to beware of false prophets who prophesy against the Bible. Nowhere does that fit Akiane.
Lastly, you talk about what she didn’t do, rather than what she did. Did she show anything that is against the Bible or prophecy? No. That she didn’t talk about Salvation is not contradiction of the Bible. Matter of fact, her paintings, “Prince of Peace: The Resurrection”, and “Father Forgive Them” express Salvation. If she were of the devil, she would be contradicting Bible prophesy like Hananiah did. What you can really get out of her paintings is the "Pie in the sky" is infinitely better than what we yearn for here on earth. If only people knew that our earthly desires are pushing us away from God.

Faith said...

Yes, her images of Christ are against the Bible, they are New Age notions of Christ and not Biblical.

God isn't going to give anyone unbiblical visions or dreams in the End Times or any times.

And He isn't going to support unbiblical interpretations of dreams or visions either. Visions of Jesus that do not affirm that He is the Messiah, do not affirm His role as Savior, are not from God.

Unknown said...

You are right. This poor girl is being used to deceive. And she is unaware. The evil one is crafty. I heard of her a few days ago. At first I was intrigued, but shortly found that there was not any substance or scripture to what she is doing or saying. Sounds too new agey to me too. I know. I was a New Age loony many years ago. Sounds all fluffy and sweet and mystical. Pure deceit! I agree that she is being used by christ; the Anti-christ. No mention of God's will that all should come to repentance and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. We are not here to ALL GET ALONG. We are called to preach the Gospel of Christ. THAT'S IT!

Faith said...

Well said. Thanks for your comment.

Luke 21:8 said...

I was so relieved to read your blog!! My husband and I just saw Heaven is for Real last night. At the end I found myself uneasy with how Colton looked at Akiane's painting and said that was what Jesus looked like. More and more I have found myself feeling that it is a slippery slope we are sliding down as we continue to make images of Jesus, whether in this movie or in others such as The Passion by Mel Gibson.

As I became curious to learn about Akiane and watched a 30 minute video of her at age 11-12 on Youtube, red flags were flying as she spoke.

She said that at age 4 or 4 1/2 a voice began guiding her as she traveled through galaxies. She asked who the voice was and then said, "I began calling him god." (I refuse to dignify her demonic conclusion with any capitalizations.)

She spoke of the "supreme master Ching Hai" in glowing terms and indicated a desire to be like her.

She spoke of "having encounters when I started visiting these places, especially the galaxies." Hello? Does this sound New Age to anyone but me?

Akiane said that with all the technology out there, she thinks there will be "more of this" in the near future. Scary.

Here is a little analogy that I have presented to people on occasion to help them understand the putrefaction of deception: If I baked a beautiful chocolate cake, cut you a piece, and as you dug your fork into it I said, "...and I only put one teaspoon of dog poo in it." Would you eat it? No!!!

So this is my conclusion of Heaven is for Real - it's been tied to a deceived New Age demonically inspired girl. Therefore I will not recommend it to anyone.

Faith said...

Thank you so much for your comment, sorry it took me so long to get to it. You are so right and I'm glad my blog made you feel relieved. There's so much falseness out there, just finding one person who can see through these things is a rare experience.

I haven't seen that particular video of Akiane that you mention. Sounds like I should.

Thanks again for writing.

Unknown said...

Aren't angels watches over little children? Is this a case of God allowing bad things to happen to them much like he allows children to die in war and injustices?

Faith said...

Their parents should be doing a better job of watching over them and recognizing that these visions are false by biblical standards. Christian parents yet. It's the parents God is going to hold responsible for the false doctrines coming out of these visions. Akiane's parents wouldn't have had a Christian perspective but I'm sure many people have contacted her to try to steer her away from her false "Christian" vision.

Terre said...

I was glad to read all of this. I have been torn over things that have happened in my own life. After my husband passed away - my grandchildren claimed to of seen him - also his mother 'saw' him. I prayed and prayed to 'hear from him' After 5 years of prayer I felt 3 taps on me. Gentle and loving... I was so sure God allowed my beloved husband to 'let me know' he was OK and still loved me and was waiting for me. I have been tormented now because people have said it was demonic...so I still don't know. I just know that I have been saved by the blood of our Savior. What about NDE's? or death bed visions? My mother 'saw' my father within 24 hours of her death and said that my father stated 'we will all be together again in heaven..and heaven was more beautiful that anyone could imagine" My dad was a stong Christian - I don't know about mom. It is all these mystery's that confuse me...are they really from heaven? or from the devil? I felt uncomfortable after seeing the movie about Colton... just a feeling.... I just wonder how God would judge a little boy or girl who was so terribly deceived (?) Like, how can a child who was 4 or 5 blow themselves up for Allah when that is literally all they were ever taught about... I could use some help on this - Peace.

Faith said...

Thank you for writing, I'm so sorry to hear about your distress and confusion over these things but as I've been finding out it's very common for people to be in such distress. The answer is always what the Bible says, it's our only standard. Without it we are at the mercy of unexplainable phenomena. As I've tried to show here such experiences are not supported by the Bible, and the only explanation for them has to be demonic phenomena. We're all susceptible to such deceptions if we don't maintain our footing on the solid rock of Christ through His word. Knowing the Bible is our only defense.

I don't think the children who have been deceived are to be held accountable, but their Christian parents will be, and Christian friends who do not try to undeceive them. It is very sad that Muslims put their children in harm's way like that, but I don't think God holds small children accountable for the foolishness of their parents.

Just hold onto Biblical truth, read the word, learn the word, listen to preachers who preach the true Word. That's our only safety against the deceptions coming at us in these last days.

Anonymous said...

Actions speak louder than words do and I say that if a child chooses light and love over darkness by painting beautiful images, professing in her heart what she knows to be true and giving to people in need; all of these things trump jealousy and critical judgments against her experiences. Matthew 7:16 You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Her fruit is absolutely gorgeous and yours is full of deceit. The one true God has unconditional love for all of humanity, all life on it as well as the universe and it is this one that speaks through her, not the man made demiurge of the bible.

Faith said...

One does wonder where anyone could get a clear idea of God without His own revelation in His word, but I guess making it up is sufficient for many, sad to say.

Sweet sentimentality, which is easily manufactured by the Evil One in his endless disguises as an Angel of Light, is convincing to some.

We should pray for Akiane to be set free from such deception, but those who are caught in deception themselves obviously can't do that. But thanks for your comment.

Anonymous said...

It's so sad that Christians are attacking Akiane. Jesus, the Son of God is too great to be restrained in Christianity. Jesus was not a Christian. Christianity was made to follow Jesus. Don't you see?
Akiane knows the true meaning of Jesus far better than most Christians. Following Jesus directly is of higher concept than believing in Christianity's dogma. Man-made orthodox has no right to judge her on its own. Dear Christians, I beg you to broaden your sights. Attacking Akiane shows that you are no different from the Pharisees 2000 years ago. Christianity should not try to replace Jesus's authority. You guys are doing the same thing that you are blaming Catholics about the Pope replacing Jesus.
I wish you guys to be thankful to Jesus for giving Akiane the talent to show his love toward us and our world.
(By the way, Jesus came to Earth to manifest the unconditional love of God toward us. Jesus never said that he came to this world to pay for our sins. Remember, though the Bible is a great book of truth, The disciples and Paul were men, not Jesus himself. Though they tried to portray Jesus as best as possible, it is inevitable that they cannot embrace the pure, entire purpose and personality of Jesus.)
God bless you all!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the posting this article. This child Akiane is a sweet innocent child? At 1st I was amazed until she claimed to know Ching Hai aka Supreme Master my skepticism is rrising. I can't say "Thank you" enough for posting this article. God Bless you and all.

Imelda

Unknown said...

Amen!! Everything you have said is true. Those who are up in arms when deception like this is revealed have not the love of the truth in them. Paul the apostle said, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." The gospel this girl is preaching is not in revelation with the word that was committed to the apostles. And what was the word? 1 Timothy 3:16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory. John 3:16 For God so loved the word that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believed in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Thank you for this post and my discernment be you portion.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad to read this post. I kept telling people I thought Heaven Is For Real wasn't quite right, and Prince of Peace does NOT look like Jesus, but I was usually told that was my own error.
I have had several visions, but never of heaven itself. I know my visions are true because they stress Jesus's salvation and His saving work on the cross, and when I read the Bible, they match what it says; words and places pop up in my visions that I later find in the Bible, described just how I saw them. But I've also seen terrifying demonic visions, and they were disturbingly like Akiane's paintings. I looked at her paintings and was like, "Whoa, I know how that feels." It's not from God. As for poetry coming from another source, I've felt it both ways; when I was into the demonic, I came up with horrifying poems. Now, God gives me beautiful ones that ALWAYS stress the Biblical truth of Jesus and His salvation. But I recognize that neither visions nor inspired poems are infallible; they are tempered by my interpretation and flaws. The Bible is the only thing we can count on 100%. I know this article might sound harsh, but please consider: I've seen how much the demonic hurt me, and these things reek of it. This article is kind in that it helps us escape the lies. Remember, hold fast to the Word of God, and "the truth will set you free".

Faith said...

Nobody is "attacking" Akiane, rather hoping to rescue her from her sad delusion. As usual, the problem here is your failure to take the Bible as God's authoritative word. Once His guidelines are overstepped we have no trustworthy objective standards of judgment left to us. The idea of a Son of God who can contradict His own word is a recipe for theological chaos and a sure guide to delusion.

Faith said...

Imelda: Thank you very much for your encouraging comment.

Anonymous said...

akiana kramerick is an indigo child. check out the film "The Indigo Evolution". she's about 6 minutes into the film. Then check out Lee Carroll/Kryon. He wrote the first book on the "indigos"...new age deception, pushing the next great transforming evolution of mankind. No wonder Colton loved the children...starseed, crystal, fifth-wave, indigo....false prophets, false Christs. read Michael Sabom"s book, Light and Death...fascinating read. the church has dropped the ball on NOT questioning NDE's, visions from kids,etc. DISCERNMENT. I used to be a new ager.

Unknown said...

Hasn't anyone asked Akiane who Jesus is? Does she believe He is the Savior of the world? Does she believe He died on the cross for our sins? Could it be that God visited her at age 3 and she believed as simply as a child believes but because she had no "teaching" from her non-christian parents, her "belief" hasn't "grown" into the "salvation" message. Her parents are responsible for that but she is now responsible, as we all are.........to learn and grow through the Bible. She says she does read the Bible (among other "spirtual" books) so I just pray that she will eventually listen again to God's words and be able to discern them from among the many other "voices" she's listening to. She is indeed in a difficult and confusing place in her life. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me." Everyone needs to believe that in order to escape Hell and live in Heaven eternally.

Faith said...

It would make me happy to hear that she has a true Biblical understanding of who Jesus is and His death for our salvation, but there is no hint of that in anything she's said that I know of, while on the other hand she definitely has ideas that come from eastern religions instead. We can always pray that she will come to the truth eventually.

I think one thing Christians need to learn from these experiences of heaven people have been reporting, is that God simply does not communicate with us through such means. He gave us His word as His method of instruction. And really, it makes no sense that the all-wise God would give a small child an experience without also providing people in her life who could help her with it. This is out of character for the God of the Bible.

But yes, hope and pray that Akiane will come to the truth of salvation.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the post. I had a 'check' in my heart when I read of her experiences and her paintings. Everything looks good, but I felt there was something not right. I did a check and read an interview of her saying that she no longer is Christian but rather more interested in buddhism?!

Anonymous said...

This article describes exactly how I felt looking at her work. Hopeful it could be possible and matching it up to scripture and what I know of our enemy. Something is very wrong here. Notice her picture of heaven has a building called church? In Heaven? Really.....the colors aND presentation of this painting in particular looks almost identical to the murals of the nwo painted in the Denver airport! Her mother is an artist.....True Christians are in awe of what happened at the Cross. We would never leave that out. She isn't sharing the gospel in any form. Jesus would come to someone to spread vague ideas of love and helpfulness?? Is this liberal Jesus?? The pictures of Christ are not even cohesive adam looks extraordinarily feminized. She draws what look like "indigo children" and the leopards all distinctly mirror the nwo vision of "utopia". There are so many red flags I could go on all day. Two of the biggest I wanted to address are these- any Christian who has researched and studied the rise of the nwo knows their jesus will be a "master" and an alien who claims to have created us. The alien agenda is distinct. They are indeed soaking every corner of the globe with the preparation of the antichrist. The picture is telling in that "prince of peace" is the title. The prince of FALSE peace. The false alien messiah. And lastly and I cannot BELIEVE that in all I have read and studied on this child and heaven stories I have yet to hear this sentence--- the bible clearly states when you are dead you are dead. Nothingness. At all. Until Christ returns. Then the dead in Christ will be raised. Heaven is EMPTY. Empty. Until Christ returns and after the battle of Armegeddon........then the dead rise. THEN THE LITTLE Living CHRIST Ian's THAT remain. How have such a vast amount of people miss this obvious contradiction to the Word of God?????? How do people travel to heaven or he'll in nde when the idea your soul goes straight to heaven is not biblical??? It makes clear the dead in Christ ONLY are risen from the Graves after revelations occurs?? No one is in Heaven looking down on us except the Lord and His angels. And that is all you need to know this is fake lies straight from the devil. Keep fighting the good fight. You're not being abusive or condemnING a child but EXPOSING THE WORKS OF DARKNESS AND LIES OF SATAN. AND I THANK YOU FOR SPREADING TRUTH. IT'S DO HARD TO REBUKE OTHER Christians when you are the 1% and they want a warm and fuzzy vague hippie Jesus. Jesus has kept His appearance veiled on purpose. He would not reveal it now before the tribulation. He would not draw attention to His physical appearance. BUT THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST SURE WOULD.