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of the New Age so optimistic? There is a saying "that an optimist is someone who is simply lacking all the facts." Is this the case, or is there a hidden agenda behind the warm-fuzzy optimism expressed by New Age gurus? What is the agenda behind such statements? As we will see in the next chapter, the authors and gurus of the New Age believe that our redemption, our salvation from certain destruction, will come at the hands of our extraterrestrial, benevolent space brothers and creators! Art Bell's choice of the expression "the quickening" to describe the accelerating geopolitical predicament is ironic indeed. "Quickening" is the medical terra used by obstetricians to describe the first movement of the fetus in the womb. What is ironic As he neared the end of his ministry, Jesus' disciples came to him privately and asked him what would be the sign of his Second Coming and of the end of the age. Jesus' two- chapter answer is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 24 and 25. In this portion of Scripture, Jesus gave an outline of the signs which closely parallel the signs that Art Bell monitors and calls "the quickening." Although Mr. Bell is careful not to interpret the signs, Jesus Christ told us that we should do just that! "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, ‘See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.' And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?' And Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows' " (Matthew 24:1-8). After telling the disciples that the temple would be destroyed ("There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."), it's interesting to note that first sign Jesus gave them regarding the time of his coming was, "Take heed that no man deceive you." Jesus wanted them to under-stand that one of the primary signs of the times before his coming would be the existence of tremendous deception. This deception would be characterized by "many" coming in his name. Notice that it is not just one coming in his name but many! The mission of these false Christs will be to "deceivemany" Deception can take many forms. It can be a false statement or doctrine. It can be a physical deception, such as per-forming miraculous signs and wonders. Or, these false Christs could purposely misinterpret the signs of the times so that nations of the 106 THE TIME OF THE SIGNS about this choice of idiom is that Jesus Christ used the very same illustration, pregnancy LAAN Aa te tt and childbirth, to describe the signs before his coming!