Introduction: Fear as the Foundation of a Global Cult Mindset

A global cult-like mindset has begun to take hold – one driven by fear, manipulation, and deception on a massive scale. From pandemic panic to climate alarmism to AI surveillance, the world is experiencing a series of crises and narratives that are conditioning people to think and act in unison, often without question.

Psychologists like Professor Mattias Desmet warn that these conditions can induce a “mass formation” – a kind of group hypnosis where critical thinking is eliminated and individuals surrender their judgment to the collective. In such an environment, society can start to resemble a cult, complete with groupthink, idolized leaders, suppression of dissent, and punitive social coercion.

This series is a deep dive into how mass formation psychosis is paving the way for what Bible prophecy calls the end-times “Beast” system (Revelation 13). We will examine three major examples shaping this global conditioning:

>The COVID-19 pandemic – how lockdowns, mandates, and censorship created an atmosphere of sustained fear and compliance.

>The climate change agenda – how apocalyptic environmentalism and indoctrination of youth are fostering a religious fervor for drastic policies.

>The rise of artificial intelligence – how digital dependency, algorithmic control, and surveillance are training us to submit to pervasive monitoring.

Woven throughout will be insights from psychology (e.g. Desmet’s theory of mass formation) and Bible prophecy (Romans 1, 2 Thessalonians 2, Revelation 13). We will see that the cult behavior we observe today – from chanting crowds to canceled “heretics” – has eerie parallels with what Scripture foretells about the Antichrist’s global dominion.

Finally, we will look at how even the professing Church is being compromised by calls for unity at the expense of truth, and conclude with a pastoral call to vigilance, discernment, and bold proclamation of the gospel.

Mass Formation Psychosis: The Psychology of Totalitarian Control

Before analyzing specific cases, it’s crucial to understand mass formation, sometimes called “mass formation psychosis.” This concept, popularized by Belgian psychology professor Mattias Desmet, describes how societies under certain conditions can form a collective trance, similar to the dynamics of a cult. Desmet identifies four key psychological conditions that must be present for a population to be susceptible to mass formation:

1. Widespread social isolation and loneliness: People feel disconnected from one another and lack social bonds. (Tellingly, even before recent crises, some countries appointed “Ministers of Loneliness” to combat epidemic isolation.)
2. Lack of meaning and purpose: There is a pervasive sense that life is meaningless or that work is “useless.” This existential void leaves people psychologically adrift.
3. Free-floating anxiety: A general anxiety with no clear object or cause afflicts a large portion of society. (For example, the WHO estimates 20% of the world’s population has an anxiety disorder.) This anxiety is “free-floating” – attached to nothing specific, making it all the more desperate for a target.
4. Free-floating frustration and anger: Related to the anxiety, people feel frustrated and aggressive but have no identifiable outlet or enemy to blame.

When these conditions are in place, all that’s needed is a “catalyst” – a compelling narrative that provides a focus for the anxiety and a strategy to deal with it. As Desmet explains, if a story is introduced that identifies a threat (“X is the cause of your anxiety”) and offers a solution (“Unite against X to overcome it”), the previously isolated individuals begin to feel connected. They find new meaning and purpose in a heroic collective battle against the threat. Their anxiety now has a target, and their loneliness is eased by camaraderie in a common cause. In essence, a new social bond and a new kind of ‘solidarity’ form, giving rise to a mass movement.

Crucially, this process is fueled by indoctrination and propaganda “injected on a daily basis via mass media,” while alternative voices are actively silenced. Under constant fear messaging, critical thinking is short-circuited. A kind of collective hypnosis sets in, in which logic and evidence often no longer matter to the true believers of the narrative. Desmet notes that about 30% of people become true believers – fully committed and even zealous enforcers of the narrative. Another 40–50% go along passively, not entirely convinced but unwilling to resist the social pressure. The remaining 10–30% retain independent thinking and often become dissenters.

The characteristics of a society in the grip of mass formation are strikingly totalitarian – and cult-like. Desmet calls the resulting behavioral pattern “astounding”: individuals willingly sacrifice personal interests for the collective, show fanatic intolerance toward dissenting voices, adopt an informant mentality (reporting those who don’t comply), absorb propaganda uncritically, and follow authorities with a blind, one-dimensional logic that no counter-evidence can penetrate.

In such a crowd state, people parrot the same slogans in unison and are impervious to rational argument. The group gains a sense of righteousness – we are on the “good” side fighting an imminent evil – which justifies extreme measures. Anyone outside the group is branded as a bad actor and becomes a target for blame.

It is at this point that a mass formation becomes highly dangerous, veering into what Desmet (following Hannah Arendt) calls totalitarianism. A totalitarian mass movement inevitably turns to scapegoating: those who refuse to go along – the “dissenters” or “heretics” – are vilified as causing the group’s misfortunes. In extreme cases, the cult-like mass will even condone or participate in the persecution, exclusion, or elimination of these scapegoats. “The way in which unvaccinated people are denied access to parts of public spaces… evokes the most unpleasant reminiscences,” Desmet wrote during COVID, warning that dehumanization of an out-group can be the first step in a vicious cycle.

In the end, a fully developed totalitarian cult will “devour its own” – it not only targets outsiders, but even turns on its own members in purges of those insufficiently loyal. This pattern was seen in historical cult regimes (Stalin’s USSR, for example), and as we’ll explore, echoes of it can be observed today.

In summary, mass formation psychosis is a group brainwashing phenomenon that creates a cult-like cohesion in a society. It thrives on fear, sustained by propaganda, and leads to intolerance and persecution of anyone not “in the cult.” With this framework in mind, let’s examine how recent global events exhibit these very dynamics – seemingly conditioning the world for an even more sinister end-times deception.

COVID-19: A “Trial Run” for Global Obedience

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, it unleashed an unprecedented wave of fear and social control that, in retrospect, looks like a textbook case of mass formation. Virtually all four pre-conditions described by Desmet were rapidly met and amplified:

>Isolation: Lockdown policies around the world forced people apart – workplaces shut down, churches and schools closed, families and friends separated. Social life went largely online, which, as Desmet notes, “dehumanizes the conversation” and cannot replace face-to-face community. The result was extreme loneliness for many, even on a global scale.

>Lack of meaning: Normal life routines and projects were abruptly halted. Jobs were lost or put on hold; education went virtual; personal goals were deferred. For many, life during lockdown felt stagnant or “on pause,” sapping meaning and purpose. Work, if it continued, often felt disconnected (endless Zoom meetings) or even pointless amid the crisis.

>Free-floating anxiety: The constant news of an invisible, deadly virus created intense anxiety – not tied to any one tangible situation, but a general dread that anyone, anywhere might be infected next. The media’s relentless counting of cases and deaths without context (Who was at risk? How high was the survival rate?) amounted to fearmongering. By bombarding the public with worst-case scenarios and harrowing images (like overwhelmed hospitals), panic spread faster than the virus. People were terrified for their lives and those of their loved ones – a free-floating anxiety that was ready to latch onto any promise of safety.

>Free-floating anger and frustration: The disruptions and uncertainties of the pandemic – from economic hardship to the stresses of confinement – led to growing frustration. Fear often breeds anger, and many looked for someone to blame: some blamed government officials for not doing enough (or for doing too much), others blamed those who didn’t follow rules. Society was a powder keg of tension.

The catalyst narrative that crystallized these elements was the declaration of a global “war on COVID-19.” Authorities and media presented the virus as an existential threat to society, and issued a clear strategy: unite in fighting the virus through strict measures – lockdowns, social distancing, mask mandates, and ultimately mass vaccination. This narrative provided a target for the anxiety (the virus, and by extension, anyone deemed to spread it) and a “meaningful” mission for individuals: to do their part in defeating COVID by complying with the mandates. Suddenly, the lonely, anxious individual could “contribute to a (seemingly) worthy project,” finding purpose and solidarity by obeying the public health directives.

As one commentator noted, “The declaration of a global pandemic and the hourly drumbeat of cases and deaths accentuated fear. The lockdowns greatly worsened social isolation… The ‘fight’ or ‘war’ against Covid-19 offered the necessary object. The individual’s ‘contribution’ – compliance… – provided a sense of purpose.” In other words, COVID united a mass of people into a crusade.

It worked: a new social bond emerged. Perversely, people found camaraderie in shared isolation – “we’re all apart together.” Slogans like “We’re in this together” and “#StayHomeSaveLives” proliferated, giving a virtuous gloss to what individuals were sacrificing. Mask-wearing, initially a personal health precaution, quickly became a symbol of group loyalty – a “visible sign” that you were one of the righteous who cared about others. Getting vaccinated became not just a private medical decision but a moral litmus test of good citizenship.

The narrative and rituals of the COVID response took on an almost religious character: daily case counts were like a prayer recitation of the plague’s progress; televised press conferences became homilies from the high priests of science; masking and sanitizing were akin to purity rites; and the vaccine was heralded as the savior that would deliver humanity from evil.

Within this charged atmosphere, cult-like behavior took hold in many ways:

>Groupthink and Silencing Dissent: From early on, any voices that questioned lockdown efficacy, school closures, mask mandates, or later the safety of the new vaccines were aggressively shouted down or censored. Platforms like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook banned content that deviated from official guidelines. Eminent scientists and doctors who presented alternative approaches (such as the Great Barrington Declaration calling for focused protection of the vulnerable instead of broad lockdowns) were maligned as fringe or irresponsible.

The mantra “Trust the Science” was repeated ad nauseam – effectively meaning trust the selected experts who toed the official line. It became heretical to suggest that “The Science” was not infallible.

In true groupthink form, any evidence or arguments contradicting the accepted COVID narrative were ignored or branded misinformation, even when coming from highly credentialed experts. Public debate – a cornerstone of real science – was largely snuffed out in favor of one authoritative viewpoint.

>Idolizing Leaders: Health officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci (in the US) or Dr. Theresa Tam (in Canada) attained cult figure status among large segments of the public. When SNL and others literally put Fauci’s face on prayer candles as a “Saint,” it was half-joking but pointed to a truth: many entrusted him with quasi-religious faith, taking his every word as gospel. He was dubbed “America’s Doctor” and even “the Science” itself (as in Fauci’s own statement, “Attacks on me are attacks on science”). This uncritical veneration is a hallmark of cults – elevating leaders beyond normal accountability. Political leaders, too, were lauded if they imposed strict measures, or demonized if they didn’t – a binary of saviors vs. devils.

>Collective Rituals and Slogans: People engaged in coordinated acts that reinforced unity – like clapping from balconies nightly to thank healthcare workers, or lighting candles for COVID victims. These had genuine sentiment but also served as rituals of communal emotion, bonding participants in the cause. Pandemic catchphrases (“flatten the curve,” “new normal,” “build back better”) became ubiquitous rallying cries, repeated uncritically – much as cult mantras condition the mind.

>Punishing Defectors: Perhaps most striking was how society began to treat those who refused to go along. The unvaccinated became the quintessential out-group. Public figures and media personalities openly accused unvaccinated people of endangering others, even when it became clear that vaccines did not fully prevent transmission. In some places, governments imposed vaccine passport systems that barred unvaccinated individuals from restaurants, gyms, travel, or even workplaces.

Ordinary citizens supported these exclusions: there were reports of popular sentiment to deny medical care or even grocery store access to the unvaccinated, casting them as virtual lepers outside the acceptable community. This level of scapegoating and dehumanization – citizens cheering as a minority is segregated – chillingly “evokes the most unpleasant reminiscences” of 20th-century totalitarian regimes. It is exactly how cults and oppressive systems fortify themselves: by casting out the unbelievers.

Taken together, the COVID-19 response showed how quickly a free society can slide into an almost cultic conformity under the pressure of fear. Intelligence and education proved no defense; indeed, Desmet points out that many highly educated people are most susceptible when they believe they are following “Science.” In the span of months, liberal democracies accepted draconian controls (curfews, church bans, tracking apps) previously unthinkable – largely because the mass formation dynamic made these sacrifices feel not only necessary but virtuous. A spirit of “intolerance of dissident voices” prevailed, and an informant mentality was encouraged (neighbors snitching on neighbors for having guests over in lockdown, for instance).

In retrospect, COVID can be seen as a trial run for how a global authority could induce uniform behavior worldwide. As one analysis put it, COVID policies “triggered or accelerated all the psychological conditions for mass formation as well as adding the catalyst.” It demonstrated that with the right fear-based narrative, billions of people across diverse nations could be steered into the same collective actions, with surprisingly little resistance.

This is sobering when we consider biblical prophecy: “And all the world marveled and followed the beast” (Revelation 13:3). The rapid global compliance during COVID – often enforced by social shaming and government mandates – is a foretaste of that coming reality. It is not hard to imagine a future crisis (real or manufactured) where a charismatic leader or system demands similar absolute allegiance “for the public good.” The mechanism for mass obedience is in place; we have lived through it. All that remains is for a figure – the Antichrist – to harness it on an even greater scale, complete with miraculous signs and a deceiving narrative that “all who dwell on the earth will worship him” (Revelation 13:8).

Two other arenas we’ll examine – climate (part 2) and technology (part 3) – where mass conditioning is also well underway, form the strands of what could become a threefold cord of deception in the last days.

Prophecy Recon | Bible Prophecy & Current Events