1. Questionable Credentials and Ultimate Authority
Seers with little or no background in theology claim they are receiving messages and instructions directly from Jesus, Mary, and God the Father. Many seers are divorced and remarried, are very young or infirm, or have little education. The seer is the ultimate and final authority concerning questions about the interpretation of messages or exactly how the new era will be ushered in, but they often do not have answers. Many employ priests as spiritual directors, who either approve messages containing theological errors or edit them out, thus providing a semblance of ecclesiastical authorization.

2. Demanding Unconditional Trust
Believers are asked to surrender themselves completely to the entity channeling messages through the seer, without thinking or questioning matters that are confusing or troublesome. Criticism is never tolerated. Believers are led to believe that any questions or doubts are from Satan. God is not to be questioned, but blindly obeyed. He is free to operate in a manner foreign to how he has operated in the past because he can do as he pleases. Followers become convinced that God is choosing to bypass the Catholic Church, because the Church is corrupt and untrustworthy, and that if they abandon the group, they will be condemned to hell for having rejected God’s special graces and favors.

3. Greed for Wealth and a Demand for Financial Contributions
Books and other materials are distributed in order to raise money. The formation of prayer groups leads to financial contributions, where volunteers are recruited and expected to work for nothing. Seers emphasize the need for donations, including substantial gifts of money and property. They often thank large donors with special messages and privileges, which make them feel they are playing a big role in the unfolding of God’s plan for salvation. The endless repetition of rosaries has a hypnotic effect on those present during message services, who are then exhorted to make contributions of time and money.

4. Unique Contact with God
Seers claim to be in union with Jesus or Mary, who use them as a mere mouthpiece or channel. Many exhibit special signs, such as the stigmata or gift of tongues, while others claim unusual gifts, like automatic writing or mystical communion. Such paranormal phenomena is offered as proof that the messages are from God. Some followers are periodically given their own special messages from Jesus or Mary to make them feel important and keep them in line.

5. Demonizing the Opposition
All problems are blamed on sinister forces, such as the masons, communists, or other groups, creating a sense of paranoia. Leaders warn that Satan will persecute their followers, so that anyone who criticizes them will appear to be pawns of the evil one. Those who leave the cult’s frame of messages are threatened with death and loss of salvation. Family and friends who express concern about loved ones are said to be part of Satan’s operational web. Believers are often urged to separate themselves from unbelieving family members because they present an obstacle to entity’s plans for the new era. The group demonizes anyone on the “other side” in this apocalyptic battle between good and evil, where all the rules and concepts that have been taught by Christianity for two thousand years have been reversed.

6. Grandiose Promises
These groups claims to be leading the Church and the world into a new era, dubbed the Reign of the Sacred Heart and the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or the millennial Reign of Christ. The messages are the greatest in the history of the world, surpassing Holy Scripture in importance. Only those who believe in the messages and disseminate them will be saved. Each seer claims that his movement is the most important in God’s plan for renewal, which will be accomplished through the dissemination of their own messages, newsletters and propaganda rather than in union with the Catholic Church.

For more information about false prophets please visit Mary & The New Age Movement.