In Hinduism, it is common for the Guru to speak the word fire over and over again.  We must be careful to speak the fire of the Holy Spirit, nothing else.  We must judge this video very carefully and seek to understand its contents.  Beginning at 3:21, it is important to see what is happening.

Lee writes:

 “I have chosen not to renew my membership in ICA for several personal reasons. But I have not severed my personal relationship with these people. I am still in close fellowship with many of them. In fact many of them are very close friends. I love them and I will not end my relationship with them just because I disagreed with the way the Lakeland Revival was handled. The ICA is a diverse group of leaders who have differing views on a lot of topics, so it is unfair to say that a lot of them agreed on Lakeland.”

Source:  The information is from Contending Earnestly for the Faith from Christian Witness, Australia.  The author of the article is Philip L. Powell of Christian Witness, who was National General Secretary of Assemblies of God in Australia and Editor of the monthly Australian Evangel, 1989-1992. Christian Witness publishes Contending Earnestly for the Faith quarterly.
The article is The Judgement was set and the books were opened.  The information J. Lee Grady gave is found on page 31, under column 3, footnote 44.

Quoted From Source:

There is a video here - still full of the same old lies [and some new ones] - featuring Rick Joyner ’interviewing’ Todd Bentley….To sum the video up, there is no sign of a humble or broken man on this tape – as has been claimed by Joyner and Bentley. Todd Bentley is acting more subdued than normal to seem ‘broken’- and he is obviously insincere as he is a bad liar. Notice the over the top mannerisms and other body language accompanying his acting. Evil still emanates from him.

At times there are some well-choreographed chokes and tears, as Todd claims to be regularly shedding tears at being separated from his kids. [Recall, it was his choice to cheat on his wife, file for separation, break up his family, refuse to return to Shonnah, file for divorce and then remarry! And to lie continually at Lakeland about his marriage situation as well as everything else.]

The only real apology mentioned in this video is from Todd’s ex wife Shonnah Bentley, who allegedly apologised because of ‘martyr’ Todd having to suffer all the criticism from the public because of his actions!!   

[The other apologies from Bentley as I have mentioned before are not real apologies, far less genuine repentance.]

Todd Bentley and Rick Joyner focus for some time in this piece of video propaganda on how well ex wife Shonnah Bentley is allegedly doing, how she is being taken care of and getting on with her life, and how her and Todd’s relationship is better and maturing how – “there is honor there” says Todd. How one can quite ’honor’ his wife and do what he has done to her beggars belief.

Notice the deceitful intention here in focussing on Shonnah’s well-being, clearly negating the seriousness of the sin committed, and saying that’s ok then, all well and good, because Shonnah is doing fine and their relationship is better now than before!!! No harm done – really. Listen, even if Shonnah were really never happier, it still does not make the adultery, the divorce and remarriage ok.

A few one-liners for you from this -

Rick Joyner claims Todd is not blameshifting!

Todd Bentley says: we have nothing to hide, everything is in the light.

Rick Joyner says they will tell the story [good choice of word = story] of Todd Bentley’s restoration as frankly and openly as they can for the public’s sake!

Todd says: God hates divorce and I hate it more than ever now – [so why did he divorce then?!]

Todd claims it is a tale of ‘triumph and tragedy’ – no mention of sin. ‘Sympathy for the devil’ is never more fitting an expression.

The only criticism and demand for repentance is for the critics “self righteousness” – which, Rick Joyner says, is “far worse than any of the things we [meaning they] are judging and criticising” [in Todd]. Yet apart from this being unbiblical as well as an untrue straw man argument about those who speak the truth about Todd Bentley, I am actually to hear anything that Rick Joyner is judging and criticising in Todd or Jessa seeing as he continues to cover-up, whitewash, nullify and make excuses for their sin – oh, and to deceive.

Did Rick Joyner actually conduct the wedding service at Heritage and join the happy couple, I wonder?

“We have nothing to hide, everything is in the light”

_______________________

Lee, I think what you call “the Lakeland disaster” would be disputed by multitudes of people who got healed or touched there. If you are such judge of this what gives you the credentials? What moves of God have you led? What have you built? Paul the apostle claimed to have authority for building and for tearing down, but what gives you authority to tear down the work of others is having built something yourself.

I, Todd, Bill and Jack all know this is a very serious matter, and are treating it as such. I am deeply offended that you would call our work “a travesty.” The Lord had far more grace for sinners than for the self-righteous, who He had no grace for at all. I am
personally far more concerned for you than for Todd.

Lee, I love some of the things you write, but I also feel that some are straight from the mouth of the accuser. I do think you have done at least as much damage to the church as Todd’s fall has by your unrighteous and unfair judgments. I don’t think you have
earned the credentials for it, and you’re putting yourself in far more jeopardy by trying to be such a self-appointed judge.

I’m quite sure you will misunderstand what I’m saying, and I’m definitely not implying that we want to cover anything up, or promote cheap grace. We have just started the process and its being judged negatively. Give us some time, and some grace. Grace is, by the way, something we are supposed to be giving to each other.

If you care to follow this, Todd and I will be doing Video Special Bulleting each week that will be posted on our website, U-Tube, and carried by many others. These will be short, like the first, only about 10 minutes, but we want to cover the mistakes Todd has made, and as much as we can in the time we have, how he fell into some of the traps he did, strictly for helping others to not have to go through what Todd has. He will no doubt be doing a lot of public apologizing during this time because the public deserves these apologies.

I think you owe Todd, myself, Bill, and Jack apologies for your presumptuous judgments. I think they should be as public as this letter was. If not, I feel that I will have to address this publicly, and I don’t think that is in your best interest.

I also think you need to come down and spend some time with Todd and me. If you have problems with someone we have Matt.18 as a guide to how we should deal with them. Read the first part of that chapter. This was given to help protect people from becoming stumbling blocks, which the Lord made quite clear was something we do not want to be. If you think being a journalist exempts you from complying with Scripture, I would like to know what philosophy you have bought into that trumps Scripture.

Sorry if this comes across as harsh. I don’t mean for it too but I am quite busy and just don’t have the time that I would like to maybe be a bit more tactful. [--Rick Joyner].

This week’s announcement about evangelist Todd Bentley’s hasty remarriage and restoration is sending a confusing message to the church.

I groaned when I learned early this week that Canadian preacher Todd Bentley, leader of the controversial Lakeland Revival, had decided to divorce his wife, Shonnah, and marry his former ministry intern, Jessa Hasbrook. The news surfaced after almost nine months of silence and speculation, during which time the board of Bentley’s Fresh Fire Ministries in British Columbia publicly scolded him for committing adultery.

In a statement released March 10 by Rick Joyner, the popular author and minister who is overseeing Bentley’s restoration process, we were told that (1) Bentley married his new wife several weeks ago and moved to Joyner’s base in Fort Mill, S.C.; (2) Todd and Jessa agree that their relationship was “wrong and premature” and that it “should not have happened the way it did”; (3) Bentley will remain out of public ministry while he seeks healing; and (4) Joyner will oversee the healing process with input from Dallas pastor Jack Deere and California pastor Bill Johnson.

“Many of us have rejected biblical discipline and adopted a sweet, spineless love that cannot correct.”

It was also announced that Bentley plans to relaunch his ministry, called Fresh Fire USA, in Fort Mill, and that Joyner is now collecting donations from supporters to help rebuild it. (The Canadian ministry Bentley started has now been renamed Transform International, and it has severed ties with the evangelist.)

In a few places in his statement Joyner expressed tough love, especially when he said: “We know that trust has to be earned and that Todd will have to earn the trust of the body of Christ for future ministry, which will not be easy, nor should it be.” He also made it clear that true repentance and restoration “can only come if we refuse to compromise the clear biblical standards for morality and integrity.”

But there were some glaring omissions in the statements released this week that indicate a fundamental weakness in our freestyle approach to “restoring” fallen leaders.

First of all, it is outrageous that Shonnah Bentley, Todd’s first wife, does not seem to be an issue in the current discussion. Her name is never mentioned in Joyner’s statement—while Todd is mentioned 18 times. We are never told how Shonnah is handling the divorce. How will she manage to care for the three children she and Todd share? She and the kids seem invisible in this process. Yet if anyone needs healing and restoration, is it not the other half of this broken family?

Second, we charismatics still seem to have a habit of elevating gifting above character. It’s almost as if the end justifies the means. (So what if a preacher ruins one marriage and makes a hasty decision to marry a younger woman—the important thing is that we get him back in the pulpit to heal the sick!) That is a perversion of biblical integrity. God can anoint any man or woman with the Holy Spirit’s power; what He is looking for are vessels of honor that can carry that anointing with dignity, humility and purity.

What is most deplorable about this latest installment in the Bentley scandal is the lack of true remorse. In his own statement, Bentley apologizes for his actions and says he “takes full responsibility for my part for the ending of the marriage.” But how can he be taking “full responsibility” if he willingly chose to have a girlfriend on the side—and then married her immediately after his divorce was final? Why did he hide for several months when he should have been listening to counsel and seeking reconciliation with his first wife?

Many Christians today have rejected biblical discipline and adopted a sweet, spineless love that cannot correct. Our grace is greasy. No matter what an offending brother does, we stroke him and pet him and nurse his wounds while we ignore the people he wounded. No matter how heinous his sin, we offer comforting platitudes because, after all, who are we to judge?

When the apostle Paul learned that a member of the Corinthian church was in an immoral relationship with his father’s wife, he did not rush to comfort the man. He told the Corinthians: “You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst” (I Cor. 5:2). Sometimes we must draw a ruthless sword in order to bring genuine healing. The “wounds of a friend” are faithful to bring conviction and true repentance (see Prov. 27:6).

Paul actually delivered the unrepentant Corinthian man to Satan “for the destruction of his flesh” (5:5) so that he could be saved. That does not sound very nice. Many today would call Paul’s tactic harsh and legalistic. But that is because we have lost any true sense of the fear of the Lord—and we don’t realize that our laxness about God’s standards is a perversion of His mercy. When the sin is severe, the public rebuke must be severe.

In all the discussion of Bentley and the demise of the Lakeland Revival, I am waiting to hear the sound of sackcloth ripping into shreds. We should be weeping. We should be rending our hearts—as God commanded Israel when they fell into sin (see Joel 2: 13-14). To give guidance to a confused church, our leaders should have publicly decried the Lakeland disaster while at the same time helping both Todd and Shonnah to heal.

We have not mourned this travesty. We have not been shocked and appalled that such sin has been named among us. We act as if flippant divorce and remarriage are minor infractions—when in actuality they are such serious moral failures that they can bring disqualification.

If we truly love Todd Bentley, we will not clamor for his quick return to the pulpit. While we certainly want him to be fully restored to fellowship with God, we cannot rush the process of restoring a man to ministry. Leaders must live up to a higher standard. We must demand that those involved in Bentley’s restoration not only love him but also love the church by protecting us from the kind of scandal we endured last year.

By Rick Joyner

    Todd Bentley was used to spark the Lakeland Outpouring, which raised the faith level of much of the body of Christ. Testimonies of healings and miracles from it are now virtually all over the world. When Todd’s marriage failed, he abruptly stopped all ministry and virtually disappeared for almost nine months. In the meantime, his divorce was finalized and he has recently remarried.

    Todd has taken full responsibility for the failure of his marriage. He and Jessa also admit that their relationship was premature and should not have happened the way it did. Both are adamant that it was not the cause for the failure of his first marriage, nor did they begin their relationship until Todd was convinced that his marriage was over. They have both expressed that it was wrong and premature. They do not want to try and cover this up even though they know many will never accept them for it. Even so, they are married now and are resolved to make the most of their marriage, their lives, and t o continue to serve the Lord in the best way that they can.

    My position all along has been that I will do my best to comply with Galatians 6:1, “If a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (NKJV). To obey this Word, I have always felt that it did not matter what one had done, and that it was my responsibility to help them find the grace of God to return to the place from which they had fallen. I confess that with Todd, I am not just doing this as a duty. From the time I first met him nearly ten years ago, I knew that he had an extraordinary purpose and a gift of faith for the miraculous that would be desperately needed in these times. I consider helping any of God’s children an honor, and helping Todd is a privilege.

    I also confess to some selfish ambition in wanting to do this. I had a dream two decades ago in which one of my children had fallen into a sewage ditch and could not get up. My child was being scorned and no one would help him. A man came along who helped my child get up and then cleaned up. In that dream, I felt as if I would give everything that I owned to this man who helped my child. Then I heard the voice of the Lord say, “Jim Bakker is My child. Will you help him?” Since that time, I have been devoted to helping any of God’s chi ldren that I could who have committed any trespass, because I knew there were few other things that would bring the Father’s favor. I consider this willingness to at least try to help others this way a major reason for the extraordinary favor that our ministry, my family, and I have received. I love Todd and am glad to help him, but I also know by doing this, I will be doing something that means a great deal to our Father.

    When we release someone to minister in the body of Christ, we are releasing him or her to minister to God’s own children, and I personally do not do that with anyone who I would not allow to minister to my own family. For all that was done through Todd, and especially at Lakeland, which touched and helped countless thousands, many were also left confused and hurt by the way it ended. I think Todd is even more sensitive to this than I am. Although in some ways he greatly misses being in ministry and praying for people, he wants to be sure that when he comes back that his life and his ministry are on the most solid ground possible so that he does not cause these kinds of problems again.      

    Jack Deere and Bill Johnson have agreed to be a part of Todd’s restoration process. I asked them to be a part because I know they will probably see things I don’t, but also because both Todd and I trust them and know they would not sign off on something they d id not really believe in. However, both of them are going to be involved in this at a distance, and therefore, I will be the main person responsible.

    Being a believer in body ministry, I expect our whole leadership team, and to some degree, our whole local church, to be involved in helping Todd and Jessa. Our staff and all from the church that I have discussed this with are very happy about them being here and want to help them in any way that they can.

    In future Bulletins, we will go into more detail about what we’re doing and why, as well as what we think was a cause of some of the failures Todd experienced. We will only do this for the sake of helping others avoid the same traps. We know that trust has to be earned and that Todd will have to earn the trust of the body of Christ for future ministry, which will not be easy, nor should it be. Todd, more than most, does not want to jump back into ministry prematurely, even as much as he misses it in some ways.

    I for one have been very encouraged by the expressions of grace and genuine concern so many have expressed toward Todd in this situation. It gives me great hope. As we have been constantly reminded, the Lord had great patience with sinners, but He had none for the self-righteous. We’re all here because He had mercy on us, and we know we still need it. However, we also know that true repentance and restoration can only20come if we refuse to compromise the clear biblical standards for morality and integrity.    

         Todd wanted to personally say the following:

    It has been a long while since I have spoken publicly and openly. I am sorry for the hurt and confusion that my decisions have caused the body of Christ. It has been a true season of brokenness, hiddenness, and a long process of grieving.
    As many of you now know, my previous marriage has endured years of unresolved conflicts. I apologize that it has ended in divorce, and I take full responsibility for my part for the ending of the marriage. I realize that my silence and decisions have caused many of you to feel hurt, confused, and offended. The reason for the silence was for my need of healing, creating a restoration process under a team of qualified leaders, much needed rest after the Lakeland Outpouring, repentance, and the divorce process.

    I have now relocated to Fort Mill, South Carolina and have entered into my restoration and healing process under Rick Joyner, Jack Deere, and Bill Johnson. I am confident of this one thing—that God is faithful to His promise and my hope is to be fully restored, strengthened, healed, and to learn from all the m istakes I have made along the way.
    Thank you friends and partners for your continued prayers, encouragement, and love. I am committed to the work of the Holy Spirit and confident that the good men around me will help me be restored first as a man, as a husband, and ultimately to fulfill God’s call on my life.

    Those of you who were touched by the Lakeland Outpouring do not lose your encouragement. What happened there was from God, and Todd is a true servant of God. He has made some mistakes, and he is trying to get his life back in order, and you can be confident that he will. Throughout the Bible, many of the greatest heroes in it also made some of the worst mistakes. King David, possibly the greatest hero in the Bible after Jesus, made one of the most horrible mistakes, not only committing adultery, but murdering the husband of the woman he committed it with. God knew that was going to happen with David when He called him, and He loved David before, during, and afterward.

    One of the remarkable events in the Bible is that the Lord then used Bathsheba to bring forth the heir to the throne, Solomon, and she is part of the genealogy of Jesus. It still stretches me, but we need stretching in the grace of God. At the same time, we must balance it with how God hates divorce, and it is one of the scourges of our=2 0times that is tragically hurting many, many people. Marriage is under such an assault now because it is so important. However, legalism will not overcome lawlessness. This situation and similar ones that almost every church and family are now being faced with is one that we need answers for. We cannot run from Him, but must run to Him with our need…..  

   

A word given to Wilkerson late 80’s.

It’s about to happen—very soon, one nation, and I’m speaking prophetically- -if I’ve ever heard anything from God in my life, I heard it-the nations,…Very soon a European or North African or Eastern nation is going to default on it’s international loan and when that happens, within two weeks, Mexico is going to default. Mexico owes $100 billion —80% of it to American banks—and here’s what is going to happen: about two weeks after the first country goes bankrupt, (we’re going to survive that, because most of that (money of the first country) is owed to European banks—German, Swiss and French banks—) but a second country is going to go down, probably Argentina or Brazil, and we’ll kind of live that down and say: “Well, maybe it’s not going to hurt,” but two weeks after the first country goes down, Mexico’s going to default on $100 billion.

And when the banks open the next day at 9 in the morning, $15 billion an hour is going to be withdrawn from our American banks—they’re going to be running our banks—the Arabs—All the Latin American countries, they’re going to be running our banks–and before the day is over, the U.S.A is going to have to declare a “bank holiday.”

SIX MONTHS OF HORROR:

And we’re going into six months of the worst hell America has ever seen—there’s going to be chaos—not even the National Guard’s going to be able to quiet it down—we’re going to have to call out the whole U.S. Army.

Now I’ve had visions recently, for I’ve been in New York City and I was in Macy’s in a vision, and I saw people walking around stunned because they couldn’t get their money out of the bank.

Now I’m going to give you a word of advice, the first country goes bankrupt—I’ve documented this and I’ve got it sealed in an envelope, and I’m going to call all my friends and I’m telling you—this is the first time I’ve said it in a public meeting like this—but the first country that bellies up, you go get every dime you have—church get your money out of the bank–because there’s going to be a bank holiday and you won’t be able to get a dime for six months. Now, of course, there’s going to be -restored, but the nation will never be like it is again.

There’s going to be fear like we’ve never known—judgment at the door. When I was at Macy’s Dept. store in a vision and I watched people walking around stunned, they didn’t know what to do, they didn’t know what was happening; then a bunch of people walked into Macy’s and suddenly went wild and began to steal and within an hour everybody— I saw the spirit of everybody in the store—they were robbing and stealing—they raped Macy’s and destroyed five floors—Macy’s was raped and ruined in a period of an hour or two.

By David Wilkerson
undated
__________

Ezekiel stood alone against all the false prophets of Israel. These prophets would have nothing to do with the message of righteousness and impending judgment. Instead, they prophesied an era of peace, ease and prosperity.

Ezekiel 13 is the very word of Jehovah against preachers and prophets who accommodate people with flesh pleasing words they said were from the Lord. Their words were designed to make God’s people comfortable in the face of impending judgment.

In fact, they were not satisfied to prophesy good times ahead from their great houses and ivory beds of ease — they sought to provide a pillow for every elbow (Ezekiel 13:18). “Woe to those who apply pillows unto all elbows…” (Original Hebrew by Spurrell) “…Behold, I am against your pillows wherewith ye entice souls…” (Ezekiel 13:20).

Ezekiel was horrified at the sight of prophets who had developed an art of making God’s people comfortable. The Lord had said, “My people have set up idols in their hearts; they are brazenly setting up stumbling blocks in iniquity; they are all estranged from me because of their idols” (Ezekiel 14:1-5).

The true word of the Lord was, “Jehovah says — eat your bread with trembling, and drink thy water with grieving and fainting — and say unto the people, her land shall be emptied of its fullness, because of the violence — cities will be laid waste, the land made desolate — there shall be no more vain visions or flattering prophecies” (Ezekiel 12:17-24).

While Ezekiel went about calling the people to humility and repentance, trying to prepare God’s people for the soon coming judgments, these pillow prophets went about prophesying the dreams and imaginations of their own hearts. God had not spoken to them, even though they prefaced their predictions with, “Hear the Word of the Lord.” God said, “I did not send them: they do not speak for Me.

They carried with them fancy pillows to place under every elbow for all who flocked to hear their false prophecies. They placed handkerchiefs on the heads of every one of their disciples, a statement to others that meant, “Nothing but good times ahead. I see nothing ahead but peace and luxury.” They walked among the poor and sick, with a lace kerchief on the head, as a sign of their confidence in the message of the prophets of self indulgence and comfort.

Ezekiel thundered the Word of God at them, as the masses congregated to hear their pleasant words.

“You see for God’s people a vision of prosperity, when there is no prosperity, saith the Lord Jehovah” (Ezekiel 13:16, Spurrell).

“You follow after your own imagination – when actually you have seen nothing.” (Ezekiel 13:3).

The pillow prophets are still with us! They talk about the Word of God, about prophecy, and they salt their soothing messages with a lot of Scripture. But there is a falseness in what they preach. They are not preaching the Cross or holiness and separation. They make no demands on their followers. They seldom speak of sin and judgment. They abhor the very mention of suffering and pain. To them, the heroes of Hebrews were faithless cowards and penniless losers who were afraid to claim their rights.

Like the pillow prophets of Israel, their one supreme desire is to promote luxurious lifestyles and make people comfortable in their pursuit of the good life. They are not speaking for God. All they are doing is passing out pillows. One for every elbow of every follower. No wonder the crowds flock to sit under their message — it’s painless. There is not the call of Christ to deny self and take up a cross.

What is the difference between pillow prophets and Jehovah’s true prophets? The preacher or parishioner who doesn’t know the difference is on dangerous ground. With so many going about gathering huge followings, it is imperative to have Holy Ghost discernment. The confused prophets must be exposed by truth. Most of them and sound like sincere, Bible loving men of God. But the Lord has given His people infallible tests to prove what is true and what is false. We are to test every man and every message — by the whole Word of God.

Let me bring to your attention three characteristics of a true prophet of God.

---

1. A true man of God is consumed with
a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ.

---

He has been so overwhelmed, so mastered by that glorious vision, he can speak of nothing else. He preaches the whole counsel of God — as it relates to Christ.

God said of the false prophets, “Woe unto the deceiving prophets who follow after their own imaginations… they have seen nothing” (Ezekiel 13:3).

Yet of Moses, it was said “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible” (Hebrew 11:27).

Jesus said of Abraham, “Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:5-6).

Stephen had a glorious vision of Him. “And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:5-6).

Ananias said to Paul, “The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth” (Acts 22:14).

To His own disciples, Jesus said, “In a little while the world will see me no more, but you will see Me” (John 14:17).

The one thing every one of these men of God had in common was their life-controlling vision of Christ the Lord. Christ was the great and only cause in their life. They saw Him through the eye of faith.

Moses willingly forsook the ease and prosperity of Egypt to suffer privation in a wilderness because he had been mastered by a vision of Christ. Nothing else mattered now, not even his dream of becoming a great deliverer He saw beyond all human ambition. He was weaned from all that was earthly because he had seen Christ. He could endure anything, for nothing on earth could compare with what his spiritual eyes beheld.

Abraham became totally detached from this world and willingly became a foreigner on earth, for his eyes were fixed on a city whose builder and maker was God. But best of all, he had seen a vision of Christ on His throne in that holy city. Never again would he settle for things temporal or earthly. His faith was built upon his continual vision of Christ. He rejoiced and was glad, for he had eyes for the invisible, the eternal, Christ!

The moment Paul saw Him everything else on earth became dung to him. The very moment Christ was revealed in him, he determined to know nothing else among men but his Lord. He gladly endured hardships, shipwreck, stoning, beatings, privations, imprisonment; none of these things moved him because he gloried in his vision of the Lord.

Any man of God who is tied to this earth or the things of earth has seen nothing. If he had a vision of Christ, if he was in constant union with Christ, he could preach of nothing else. He would stand before the crowds, proclaiming, “I count it all loss — it’s all dung! It is Christ and Him alone. He is all; He fills all things. He is my very life.”

Like Isaiah, the true man of God who sees the Lord, high and lifted up, will fall on his face and weep over his sins and the sins of God’s people. Then he will be purged and go forth in the power of his awesome vision to preach Christ.

God warned Israel, “The prophets are like foxes…” In other words, some have no single eye focused on Christ alone, but they have eyes filled with covetousness. They spoil the vine, taking the best for themselves. They go their own way, feeding their own egos!

These self-seeking prophets claimed to have heard from God. Theirs, they claimed, was a prophetic word directly from heaven. “They say, Jehovah saith, when Jehovah hath not sent them, and they caused others to hope that their word would be verified” (Ezekiel 13:6).

The multitudes of God’s people who run about to hear only soothing messages need to take a second honest look at what they are hearing and believing.

“Have ye not seen a deceiving vision and spoken a lying divination when you said Jehovah saith whereas I have not spoken” (Ezekiel 13:7)

“They have seduced my people, saying, Peace, when there was not peace” (Ezekiel 13:10).

Their message was, “God told me all is well. No trouble ahead. Good times! No trial or tribulation. God’s desire is that all be happy, prosperous and at ease…. ” Jehovah calls that deception! I don’t think ministers are taking seriously enough the tragedy of preaching the wrong message. How dare we preach peace and endless good times to a nation and a people on the brink of judgment!

Israel’s sin was about to explode in unbelievable fires of divine wrath. Ezekiel did not want to preach such a disturbing message, especially to a people who had heaped to themselves pillow prophets who went about telling God’s people that all was well.

Listen to what God was trying to say to His people. “Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: like as the wood of the vine amongst the trees of the forest, which I have given unto the fire to devour, so have I given the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set my face against them: from one fire shall they escape that another fire may devour them…. I have set my face against them…. I will make this land desolate, because they have trespassed a trespass, saith the Lord Jehovah” (Ezekiel 15: 6-8, Spurrell).

The people rejected the true Word of God. The masses ran off after their favorite teachers to hear the deceptive message — “God is not that kind of God. He desires only the best for us all. Great peace and good times lay ahead. Don’t listen to the old prophets of doom. God told me, right from His throne room that the best is yet to come.”

I ask you, what will those pillow prophets do when God begins to judge the sins of this nation and cut off its bread and its fullness? Think of the unprepared multitudes of sincere Christians who should be repenting of lukewarmness; who should be weeping because of compromise and covetousness; who should be forsaking all rather than accumulating.

Thank God the Holy Spirit is raising up a holy people who are sick of all the self-centered ministries, and their cry is, “We would see Jesus” The man-centered gospel cannot last much longer. A time of purging is ahead. We are heading into refining fires. While the covetous lounge on their beds of ease and comfort themselves with luxuries, a remnant will break away and go out seeking the Bridegroom. Christ is going to reveal Himself to the humble, the poor in spirit, and the true Word of the Lord will flow forth with unction and power. Union with Christ will become the pearl of great price.

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2. The true man of God preaches
and practices self denial.

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Compare this with what the pillow prophets focus on! God said of them, “They pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley, and for morsels of bread… they lie to my people” (Ezekiel 13:19). A modern translation is, “These pillow prophets have money on their minds. It has made liars of them.” Here is the full picture of a pillow prophet. He lets his imagination run wild. He operates on the idea that prosperity will last forever. He builds on dreams and schemes. To do it, he needs money — lots of it. His need for money becomes the focus of ministry. He ends up telling lies to God’s people to get it. Then he pollutes it all by saying, “God told me”

The message of Jesus Christ is painfully blunt — deny yourself and take up your cross.

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

Self denial — what a foreign sounding concept in this day of self-pampering and ease. The pillow prophets have rejected it flat out. Self denial is the giving up and forsaking of all and everything that hinders the constant presence of Christ.

There is no merit in self denial. We are saved and secured by grace alone. It is not to be entered into to earn benefits from God. But self denial removes hindrances to constant communion with Christ. Paul said, “I bring my body under… and bring it under subjection: lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

We are not bringing our bodies under control; our passions and appetites are not under subjection. Sensuous television programs now whet the appetites among Christians for pornography. Lust is nearly out of control, even in the ministry. Almost daily I hear of ministers that are spending hours viewing X-rated movies and cassettes.

Multitudes of God’s people, including preachers of the gospel, waste precious hours lounging before the TV idol. Like Lot, our minds are getting vexed by the things we see and hear.

Food is becoming the narcotic of believers. We don’t need cocaine or alcohol — we have a legalized sedative — food. Never in all my ministry have I seen so many Christians with appetites out of control.

The deepest truth about self denial goes beyond giving up material things. You can sell your TV, shun all erotic sights and sounds, and bring all appetites under control, and still not have denied self.

What Christ is calling for is a kind of devotion to Himself that expels everything in the heart that hinders. It is a commitment to becoming absolutely nothing before God and man. It is being able to say with Paul, “I no longer live– it is Christ living in me.

The world must lose its charm to us. We must die to all self ambition — to all attachments to earthly things, until we can honestly say, “I am dead to this world and all it represents. I no longer live.”

Physically alive, yes! But I must die to all that hinders my vision and love for Christ. Whatever it is — it must go. Lust? Self-made plans? Bitterness, grudges? Recognition, self esteem? I must die to it all. I must bring it all to the cross and execute self judgment.

Why is it that Christians who are about to die become so detached from the world and material and physical things? Because eternity is in view. It all pales in comparison to the joy ahead. Why can’t we live like that all the time? Why not keep our minds fixed on Christ at all times?

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3. A true man of God has
a holy boldness against sin
– he never whitewashes evil.

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The pillow prophets have no foundation of holiness upon which to build. Ezekiel said, “Their foundation thereof shall be discovered.” (13:14).

The pillow prophets were building walls with untempered mortar and painting the flaws over with whitewash. Worst of all, their message and manner “grieved the hearts of the righteous because of their falsehoods” (Ezekiel 13:22).

And they “strengthened the hands of the wicked.” God accused them of damning souls by ignoring sin. It grieved God that compromising children of God were being encouraged rather than exposed. Lightness about sin only confirmed them in their compromising.

God will not let any minister of the gospel grieve or trouble His chosen and devoted ones without His express permission. But neither will He permit prophets of ease to call evil good and pamper backslidden Christians who need to repent.

Certainly we are called to proclaim the gospel of grace, mercy and pardon. But the man of God is also commanded to “Lift up his voice, cry aloud, and spare not — showing my people their sins.”

Could it be we can’t lift up a holy standard because of corruption in our own hearts? Have our own sins robbed us of holy boldness? Do we wink at the sins of others because of besetting sins in our hearts?

Do you know of a man of God who boldly thunders against sin? Does his message ring, not of legalism, but of deep personal purity? Then run to his feet — sit under his message, for he has the truth that will set you free. He is the true prophet of God, and he makes all other prophets tremble and fear. The pillow prophets despise him because he walks with truth in the inward parts.

Seek out a man of God who makes Christ real! One who makes you sit up and take notice that he has been with Jesus. One who convicts you for wasting time and for becoming earthly minded. One who will point a finger in your face, discern sin, and cry out, “Thou art the man ” He is the one who truly loves you and looks out for your soul.

The pillow prophets are building their huge walls. They look very successful and blessed. But Jehovah says, “Your walls shall fall. I will bring it all down with my stormy wind. I will demolish your wall and level it to the ground” (Ezekiel 13:11-14).

God has told us that in these last days our young men shall see visions. Not of success, of prosperity or of great achievements. There will be but one vision for all — CHRIST!

—
Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O. Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

Tests for a True Prophet:  (must pass all tests)

-         moral character – w/ positive fruits

-         authentication by signs  (includes consistency where words come to pass)

-         discernment of the people (you aren’t a prophet just because you call yourself one)

-         fulfillment of prophecy (some prophecies are for future)

-         purpose of prophecy ( turn you away or toward the true Jesus)

-         prophecies line up w/ scripture

-         true prophets teach conviction & repentance, false prophets teach (false)peace

-         must have correct view of scriptures (early church rejected those who did not follow teachings of Moses and apostles)

-         false prophets drum up their own prophecies w/ false assurance

-         true prophets are called and chosen by God (they do not progress from immaturity to maturity marked by mistaken prophecies to accurate prophecies as a man would learn a profession)

        

        

main scriptures:  Is 28:7, Jer 23:17,22, 28:8,22,29, Ex 7:9, 2 Kgs 4:1-7, 1 Kgs 22:7, Dt. 18:13,15,18-20, Dt 1, Ezk 12:21-14:11

From C. Peter Wagner October 29, 2008

Dear friends,               This is an update on the aftermath of the Lakeland Outpouring.               As most of you know, a day or so after I went to Lakeland and helped align Todd Bentley with Revival Alliance on June 23, the veil of secrecy over a number of serious, hidden sins began to come off.  God has now shaken what could be shaken in Todd’s life.  On August 12 he announced that he was leaving his wife of nine years, and it had been revealed that he had been directing his attentions toward another woman.  This is now history, but many have been asking for an update.               I have delayed sending you this email until I had an official statement from Todd’s apostolic alignment, John Arnott, Ché Ahn, and Bill Johnson of Revival Alliance. Here is their statement, issued October 23, 2008, four months after the alignment:   PUBLIC STATEMENT ON TODD BENTLEY FROM REVIVAL ALLIANCE   Dear friends, several years ago, six leadership couples came together formed a relationally based, non-denominational network called Revival Alliance.   When the Lakeland revival broke out Todd Bentley and the revival meetings were coming under much criticism. At the suggestion of Peter Wagner, three of the members of the Revival Alliance team went to Lakeland because the Alliance as a whole wanted to express support for the Lakeland Outpouring and to commission Todd as a revivalistic evangelist. Having been powerfully touched in the Toronto outpouring, and seeing the opposition that came from leaders in the church because of that movement, we wanted to stand with Todd and deflect some of the personal assaults that were coming against him. Many of the attacks were coming from well-respected Christian leaders, people that we still hold in high esteem. Yet the mandate from the Lord was clear. And we stood with Todd and the Fresh Fire Ministries team to both endorse and support this move of God.   Rory and Wendy Alec of God TV also took tremendous risk in airing the revival prime time and broadcasting it to over 200 nations around the world. Their heart is to capture and release the move of God, no matter where it happens, or who God uses as His instrument. This unparalleled media attention gave unusual advertisement for the outpouring. But it also put their whole team in an unusual, high-level position of receiving both praise and criticism.   The impact of the Lakeland Outpouring has been amazing, and it still continues. The record of conversions and miracles of healing is extraordinarily great in number. And the spreading of the revival to nation after nation has also been very significant. The God TV broadcast stirred up the hunger in people from around the world to go to Lakeland and receive from God, but then bring it home to their local churches. Impartation seems to be one of the unusual markers of a genuine move of God. Revival fires began to spread around the world as a result of the impartation received at Lakeland. But as great as the fruit has been, so have the devastation and fallout from Todd’s personal failure.   While there must be no toleration or whitewashing of sin, there must also be no allowances for ungodly judgments in the name of Jesus. Hatred often masquerades as a passion for holiness. And while the church has had its share of tragic failures of leaders in recent days and equally tragic reactions, we must get this one right. It is possible to promote holiness and accountability in the spirit of grace.   The quickness to condemn and abandon a fallen comrade has caused us as much concern as has the actual sin of our friend. Some want to humiliate and expose Todd before the world. And then there are others who want to point to the obvious anointing on Todd’s life as the sign of God’s approval of Todd’s behavior. Neither is acceptable to us. There must be deep repentance and thorough restoration.   The restoration process must be firm but loving, while holding to the Kingdom standards of both holiness and grace. The initial goal is not to get Todd preaching again. It is to get him healed from the issues of the heart that have brought devastation to his family, and such shame and failure to him. His gift will always function when given an opportunity. We just want it to come from a place of personal victory and triumph this next time.   Since the announcement of Todd’s leaving his wife, Revival Alliance has been working to help restore our fallen brother. Sin is disastrous on any level, but it is well known that “to whom much is given, much is required.” Gross sin from someone on Todd’s level of influence is devastating. Even so, God is ready to heal and restore.   Todd recently spent three days in Redding, California, with Bill Johnson dealing with the issues of his personal life. Following that, he went to Morningstar Ministries in Charlotte, North Carolina, to be with Rick Joyner for the same reason. Rick, along with the Morningstar leadership team, has offered to help in his restoration. With great confidence, Revival Alliance recommends this as the appropriate process for Todd’s healing and restoration. Todd will be moving to Morningstar Ministries to live for a season. Rick Joyner’s wisdom, along with the strength of the Morningstar community of believers, will be a great support to Todd as he deals with the heart issues that brought about his failures. A council of three has also been formed to give oversight to the restoration process. Rick Joyner, Jack Deere, and Bill Johnson will give oversight as needed.   We appreciate the prayers and support of countless numbers of believers who have continued to support Fresh Fire Ministries. We also appreciate the prayer support of so many for the Revival Alliance. We are also very thankful for Rick Joyner and his whole team that will be working to bring about a complete healing to our friend, Todd Bentley.   It should also be noted that effort is being made to ensure that Shonnah (Todd’s wife) and children are also cared for and given opportunity to receive ministry and help. As you may imagine, they have suffered great hurt from this failure.   There are many in Fresh Fire Ministries who also need help. Efforts are being made to serve them as best as possible. John Arnott recently invited the Fresh Fire Ministries associates to Toronto for their Signs and Wonders Conference to receive personal ministry and encouragement. These kinds of efforts will continue.   Bill Johnson, John Arnott, and Rick Joyner have each spent time with the Fresh Fire Ministries board, and will continue to assist them as needed through this tragic season.   Fresh Fire Ministries will continue their crusades and conference schedule around the world. They are a group of ministers with much integrity and a great heart for the lost. Pray for them as they maneuver through the challenging season ahead, while serving the church at large.   We are thankful for the honor of being involved in this crisis.     On behalf of Revival Alliance:  John Arnott, Ché Ahn, and Bill Johnson Thursday, October 23, 2008   Apostolic Protocol               The Todd Bentley situation affords us a good contemporary case study in the proper application of agreed-upon apostolic protocol.  Before an international TV audience, Todd affirmed that he desired to be apostolically aligned with Revival Alliance, and then received their apostolic commissioning as a revivalistic evangelist.  Almost immediately, the shifting that this alignment produced in the invisible world caused Todd’s hidden personal life to begin to unravel until he left the Lakeland Outpouring in early August.  Host apostle, Stephen Strader, continued services in Ignited Church until he finally closed it in October.               The Revival Alliance took the first steps toward dealing with Todd’s discipline and possible restoration.  However, Rick Joyner of Morningstar Ministries in Ft. Mill, South Carolina, a friend of Todd’s, offered his services to help in the process.  Revival Alliance, then, decided to outsource the long-term hands-on restoration to Rick.  Rick brought his friend, Jack Deere onto his team, and Bill Johnson was added to maintain a link with Revival Alliance.               After reading the Revival Alliance statement above, some have asked not only who is now in charge of the restoration (Rick Joyner authorized by Revival Alliance), but also who would make the official announcement to the body of Christ if and when the restoration is complete and give Todd clearance to resume public ministry?  The answer to this question revolves around responsible apostolic protocol, and the proper answer is that only Revival Alliance would be authorized to make such an announcement.               How would I reach that conclusion?  Later on, I will explain the Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Team, but first let me introduce an official statement on apostolic protocol dealing with situations such as Todd Bentley’s issued by the group in October:            Statement from the Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Team   Current issue:  Paul Cain and his appearance on the platform of the Lakeland Outpouring I.               The background.  At one point rather early in Lakeland Outpouring I, prophet Paul Cain was invited to appear on the platform.  A few months before the Outpouring began he had prophesied publicly that such an outpouring would break out in Lakeland, and Todd Bentley felt it would be appropriate to recognize Cain on the platform and let the audience know about his accurate prophecy.  While Cain was there, he took the opportunity to announce, among other things, that he had been living a chaste life and that rumors about him were not true.               This event drew criticism from many observers who knew something of Paul Cain’s recent experiences.  It turned out that he had been living a secret life which involved problems with drunkenness and homosexuality.  Three Christian leaders who had been long-time friends and colleagues of Cain, namely Rick Joyner, Mike Bickle, and Jack Deere, attempted to bring correction and restoration privately, but to little avail.  Consequently, they decided that, following the precepts of Matthew 18, they had come to the place where they needed to announce Cain’s moral turpitude to the church at large with the hope that this public reprimand would speed the process of his restoration.  Cain’s response was to place himself under the accountability of other, self-chosen, Christian leaders who after a period of time announced that his restoration had been completed and that he was free to return to public ministry.  This was an obvious violation of apostolic protocol.  The correct apostolic protocol would have been for the three who first blew the whistle publicly to have been involved directly in any announcement to the body of Christ that Cain’s restoration had been complete.  Not only were the three not involved, but they felt that the timing for such an announcement had been premature.               Bentley knew something of this situation because he reportedly later commented that he had thought (wrongly!) that he had first cleared his intentions of inviting Cain to the platform with Rick Joyner.  The problem had become more complicated with Cain’s public confession of having lived a chaste life, apparently denying that he ever had been involved in homosexuality.  His later explanation that he really meant that he had been chaste only since his “restoration” was not sufficient to change the impression left with the huge international television audience who heard his first words.  Our conclusion is that inviting Cain on the platform and allowing him to have the microphone was an unfortunate mistake on the part of Bentley since it was an intended or unintended violation of apostolic protocol.               The principle.  What can we learn from this?  The principle is that the prescribed  restoration of a fallen leader should be undertaken only by or under the direct supervision of the apostle or apostolic group (whether or not the term “apostle” is used) with which the fallen leader has previously aligned.  The practice of the leader, himself or herself, slipping out from under a recognized accountability structure in order to select what would inevitably be a more lenient person or group of persons should be regarded by the body of Christ as unacceptable behavior.  The proper apostolic protocol should be for  those involved in the initial apostolic alignment, and those people only, to make any public announcement on the progress of the restoration or that the restoration has been completed and that the restored leader be allowed once again to resume public ministry.               As a footnote, it should be recorded that in recent years Paul Cain has not been the only high-profile leader to attempt this evasion of accountability.  Others have taken similar erroneous pathways, and our opinion is that there should be a general consensus in the church that such behavior will not be repeated or tolerated in the future.   Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Team October 10, 2008               In light of the above statement it seems clear that public reports of the progress or successful termination of Todd Bentley’s restoration be made only with the explicit approval of Revival Alliance.  Any attempt to circumvent this apostolic protocol (as was done in the case of Paul Cain) should not be regarded as acceptable to the body of Christ.  Especially those of us in the charismatically-inclined evangelical stream feel deep embarrassment over a number of recent cases that have taken this deviant route.   The Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Team               As I have told you in other emails, after I moderated the meeting at which Todd Bentley was aligned and commissioned, I received over three thousand emails.  Many of them expressed dismay and concern over issues that had surfaced during the Outpouring itself and during the commissioning.  I carefully cataloged these and simultaneously pulled together a group of apostles which I called the Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Team.  The team included Stephen Strader, Steve Strang, David Cannistraci, Ché Ahn, Lee Grady, Joe Askins, Jeff Beacham, Chuck Pierce, and John Arnott besides myself.  One of the first things we did was to analyze the issues raised and end up with a list of 24 important concerns, each of which we would discuss and attempt to issue a public statement to the body of Christ.               We began our work and issued the statement above on apostolic protocol for the Paul Cain case, reducing the list to 23.               Meanwhile, God began speaking to Dutch Sheets, whom many of you know is my pastor at Freedom Church here in Colorado Springs, and who has been recognized as an apostle to our nation.  Dutch felt that God was giving him an assignment to deal with many of the issues that I had on my list, and others as well, from a proactive, rather than a reactive posture as I had been doing.                After consulting with John Kilpatrick, Dutch approached me with the possibility of making some changes.  I gladly received his suggestions and, frankly, I was greatly relieved.  While I chaired Todd’s alignment ceremony in obedience to a direct word from God, I did not have the same clear assignment from God to deal with the issues.  I had organized the Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Team only because I felt it was my duty.  Dutch now has a passion for the task, while I only had a sense of responsibility.  The upshot is that I have now disbanded the Lakeland Outpouring Apostolic Team and passed the torch to Dutch Sheets, who will form a similar group.  One condition for Dutch’s action was that I would agree to be a member of the new group, which I did.  I also think that a proactive stance will be much more profitable for the body of Christ long term than my reactive approach, dealing specifically with problems arising from the Lakeland Outpouring which no longer exists.   Conclusion               That is my update for now, and probably the last one I will issue on the subject of Lakeland.   Criticisms of what I have done have been severe, but affirmations have outnumbered them maybe one hundred to one.  Only a few have been so upset that they have severed relations with me, and I deeply regret this.  But I have no regrets over what I have done in the last four months, although there are undoubtedly a few things that I could have done better.               Let’s move on to new horizons for the kingdom of God!   Blessings, Peter

ORIGINAL ARTICLE – “WHY I LEFT THE PROPHETIC MOVEMENT”

- by Andrew Strom (-Nov 3, 2004).

A report on the Kansas City ‘Whitedove’ Conference, Oct 28-30, 2004. (-Main speakers: Bob Jones, Paul Keith Davis, Bobby Conner, John Paul Jackson, Shawn Bolz – plus Jim Goll and others).

It is with great sadness that I make the following report.

I said last week that the ‘Whitedove’ conference in Kansas City this past weekend would be a pivotal one. It certainly was pivotal for me personally. I wish I could say that there was deep repentance – that the preaching was incredibly anointed and the crowd were on their faces crying before God. I wish I could say that, but I can’t. In fact, it seemed to me that the opposite was true. The saddest thing of all is that many people probably came away from this conference saying how “wonderful” and “uplifting” it was (-just as they always do). But I have to tell you, I was grieved to the core by it. Many parts of it I would even describe as spiritually “sick”.

Some people believe that the fall of Paul Cain into serious sin is some kind of aberration – just one individual’s problem. But I am convinced that the fall of Paul Cain (-who was recognised worldwide as the ‘father’ of this movement) is a symptom of a much wider disease. The whole movement is sick. As I have stated in previous articles, the ‘Prophetic’ as we know it is really a “fallen” movement – since the early 1990’s. But I always held out hope that it would somehow turn around and get back on track again. In fact, I believed that this conference was a heaven-sent opportunity for that to happen.

However, after what I saw this weekend, I no longer believe this is possible. The deception is now too deep. This movement is being “given over to believe a lie” and I want no part of it. I am cutting myself off, because I cannot afford the disease to spread into what we ourselves are doing. Things have now gotten so bad that we have to separate ourselves – and to do so publicly.

As you know, I requested special prayer from you all last week that a true spirit of Repentance might prevail in this conference. The reason I made this request was because God had woken me up at 6 am the previous Friday and given me a strong word about the conference. (God only wakes me up like this quite rarely – perhaps five times a year).

The word He gave me was that this must be a ‘repentance’ conference – that this was in essence the “last chance” for the Prophetic movement because it had become more and more corrupt – centered around money and ‘ear-tickling’ words, false prophecy and so-on. This was a gathering of KEY prophets at a moment in time when the ‘father’ of the movement had just fallen. It was God’s ideal moment for a truly “solemn assembly”. (And yes – I did write and pass this word on – in person – to the three main leaders of the conference).

However, what actually eventuated at this event seemed to me to be more akin to a circus than a solemn assembly. The music, the concert-style lighting, the stage dancers, the groaning tables stacked high with books and CD’s for sale, the ‘ear-tickling’, the hype, the $40.00 door fee (plus extra offerings taken each session) – and that’s just for starters.

What really bothered me about the weekend was the total lack of any truly ‘prophetic’ preaching. There was some good stuff on Self-pity and Bitterness right near the start, but after that it was mostly downhill. As always, there were plenty of anecdotes and tales of angelic visitations, etc. There were Scriptures quoted and a few helpful insights. But as far as a message that truly pierces and challenges and convicts – well, don’t go looking for that in THIS prophetic movement! In fact, there were warnings AGAINST any message that might come across as even slightly “condemning”, and there was even one of those cute talks on the need for “loving oneself”, etc.

Today’s prophets seem to talk a lot ABOUT the ’sword of the Lord’ but never actually bring it to bear. They bring no piercing word. And thus the entire movement is open to great deception. And instead of REPENTANCE, people are getting all kinds of counterfeit spiritual experiences. There seems to be almost no discernment at all.

The ON-STAGE DANCING throughout this conference was a good example. Now, I myself am a rock musician, but from the beginning these dance items had a rather ‘wild’ aspect to them that truly made me uncomfortable in my spirit. There was even one that came across like a sensual ‘Harem’ dance. Much of it really felt “off” – and almost anyone who sees the videos will tell you so. Even the worship had a very “tribal” feel to it at times. And by Day Three they were doing dance items with just loud voodoo-style drums only – and leaping around in a frenzied circle making weird cries to the super-amplified beat. The feeling in the room was so oppressive and “pagan” during this, that I could hardly even bear to stay in there. Then came one of the most shocking statements of the whole conference – from one of the main prophets. He got up and said that people may feel uncomfortable with such obviously “pagan” type dancing, but that it was originally God’s type of dancing and we were just now ’stealing back’ what the pagans had stolen from God!

I have to admit, this was the last straw for me. What could be more blatant? What kind of ’spirits’ do they think are being transmitted to people who open themselves up to that music? There is no discernment in this movement at all.

Now, I do not primarily blame the dancers. They were young and possibly immature. (-They weren’t actually from ‘Whitedove’ itself). Clearly, most of the blame lies with the main prophets who invited them in and openly endorsed and promoted what was happening the whole time. They would get up and publicly acclaim these dance items, thus ensuring that the spirit of it would pervade the entire event. And indeed it did – more and more.

Remember, most of the major “movers and shakers” of the Prophetic movement were at this conference, going along with this stuff. I repeat what I said earlier: This movement demonstrates absolutely NO DISCERNMENT. I urge everyone to GET OUT NOW, before even worse is brought in. I believe this movement is RIGHT NOW being given over to deception by God – and it is going to get much worse.

Even the ’spiritual’ moments in this conference often had strong touches of “Charis-mania” excess about them. And this was not the ‘harmless, silly’ kind of excess, either. It was at a level where I believe demonic spirits of deception were clearly at work. By the last session the audience was so hyped that they threw away all inhibition and leapt into the ‘pagan’ dancing themselves with wild abandon. And one of the main prophets even got up and announced that there were angels in the room going around “blowing on peoples’ fingers” if only they would lift them up in the air. That particular part sounds silly, but actually the whole thing by this stage had become awful beyond words. Virtually every day I came home utterly grieved and depressed. I had come to this conference with great expectancy and hope, thinking that the return of Bob Jones may bring a renewal of all that was originally good about this movement. I literally came as a ‘friend’ and they turned me into an enemy in the space of three days.

Below are the SPECIFIC THINGS that God told me He has against this movement as a whole:

-The giving and receiving of “ear-tickling” words.
-The giving and receiving of money in expectation of prophecy.
-False words and false teaching.
-The lack of a true Repentance message.
-The spiritual ‘blindness’ that allows familiar spirits and spirits of divination to flourish.
-The failure of this movement to judge itself, meaning that God must judge it.
-The idolising of well-known prophets – placing them on a pedestal.
-And so on….

WHAT NOW FOR US?

Well, obviously, with great sadness we must now totally cut ourselves off from today’s Prophetic Movement. Any related links and articles will be removed from our web-site immediately.

As you know, for some time now I have spoken of the ‘John-the- Baptist’ type ministries that must arise to preach REPENTANCE in the Western nations. -Preachers of righteousness with a piercing word, like the Finneys, the Wesleys and the Whitefields of old. Such ministries are essential for true Revival to come. I now see that this new move must completely “separate itself” from the influence of the existing Prophetic movement. We need a completely ‘NEW’ Prophetic, and to keep it from being tainted by the sickness that has infected the old, there must be a complete cutting-off and a “leaving behind”.

I urge all of you to take this before the Lord for yourself. We live in very dangerous times, and I believe the old Prophetic literally stands under the judgement of God.

For our ministry in Kansas City, what this means is that we have to go right back to the original calling and mandate over this city, and build on that. We cannot build on the movement that came after. The 21 days of prayer and fasting, the comet that came, and the comission to preach Repentance to the Lukewarm church – these were all foundational elements. So too were the four standards of “Holiness of heart, Unwavering faith, Day and Night prayer, and Extravagant Giving to the Poor”. The original Prophetic move here seemed to be relatively pure for only a few years – and then quickly became a quagmire. So we have to stick to only the original foundations – and build on that. Our Sunday night meetings in Kansas City will certainly continue.

There were prophecies last year that a ‘new’ prophetic – a “second phase” was about to begin. I do believe this. But what we need to make sure of is that it does not become ensnared in the garbage of this previous movement. It must be totally NEW.

I would ask that you forward this announcement to as many Lists as you can, and to your Christian friends. We want it as widely known as possible that we have cut off all relations with the current Prophetic movement – and why we did it.

To email me with any feedback, please write to: prophetic@revivalschool.com As you can tell, it has been a terribly sad and devastating weekend for myself and my family. We would truly appreciate your prayers at this time, my friends.God bless you all.Kindest regards in Christ,

Andrew Strom.

PART #2 – WHY I LEFT THE PROPHETIC MOVEMENT

-by Andrew Strom.

I guess you will not be surprised to hear that I was flooded with 600 emails within 24 hours of my announcement that I was leaving the Prophetic movement. Many of them seemed to be highly supportive of the stand I had taken. (-A lot of people have seen alarming things in this movement). But I’m sure I will receive a lot of flak also.

For many years, even when I was truly disturbed by something I usually avoided “naming names” as much as possible. I do not approve of the ‘Heresy Hunters’ who seem to take such delight in maligning Spirit-filled ministries across the Internet. There is no delight in such things for me. Only grief and sadness that the name of Jesus is once again being brought down into the mud. We live in very sad times in the church today, don’t we?

After my previous article, many people asked me again to “name names” and announce clearly who the leaders were at this conference – even though that info was already at the top of my first email. For this one time, I am actually going to accede to their request – because we need to clear the air about these leaders and also a number of others as well. But I have to tell you, I have been totally heart-sick at having to talk about all this.

The speakers at this KC ‘Whitedove’ Conference were Bob Jones, Paul Keith Davis, Bobby Conner, John Paul Jackson, Shawn Bolz – plus Jim Goll and one or two others. Sadly, I have to say that I have rarely felt so grieved or devastated as when I witnessed the carryings-on at this event. If you get the ‘Elijah’ List (-the main Prophetic email List) you will recognize most of the names above as being amongst the top “movers and shakers” of the whole movement.

A number of people asked me about Rick Joyner and Morningstar Ministries. Where do they fit into all this? Well, seemingly Rick has always managed to keep himself at a slight distance from the worst excesses and controversies of this movement. (-Except for when he joined the Knights of Malta – an ancient Catholic Order. -By the way, that is probably what led to the fad of using swords to ‘knight’ people that swept through this movement a few years ago). I have read some of Joyner’s books and enjoy some of the things he says, but frankly, just because he has kept himself at a slight distance does not absolve him from the mess that the Prophetic is in today. The fact is, Mr Joyner is very close friends with almost all of the main leaders at this recent conference. He regularly ministers alongside them – and knows them very well. As a ‘father’ in the movement, if he had brought correction it would have been heeded, but he has clearly failed to do so. Thus, he has to be held accountable for the state of things as much as anyone else. And it would not surprise me if similar deception is finding it’s way into Morningstar conferences. (-A number of the same people are involved). Sadly then, I have had to remove any articles or links to Rick Joyner from my web-site – along with all the others.

And speaking of the sad and grievous state of this movement, I wonder how many of you received the following notice from the Elijah List recently about a forthcoming ‘School of the Prophets’: “God is releasing a new level of revelation that goes beyond just operating in the nine gifts of the Spirit…. Sessions will cover topics like Hearing the Voice of God, Activating your Spiritual Senses, Third Heaven Experiences, and Exploring Spirit Realms.” The advertised speakers are Todd Bentley, Stacey Campbell, Larry Randolph, Paul Keith Davis, and Bobby Conner.

Now, I have come across Todd Bentley’s teachings on “How to visit the Third Heaven” before, and I tell you, it is nothing less than ‘Guided Visualization’ taken straight out of the New Age movement. Nothing less and nothing more. It is exactly the same. And I want you to know that if you attend these kinds of things, or allow these men to ‘guide’ you or lay hands upon you, then you are opening yourself up to all kinds of spirits and demonic counterfeits. As I have stated before, this movement has absolutely NO DISCERNMENT at all. It has sunk into such deception that it’s leaders are opening people up to all kinds of demonic experiences on a daily basis. It has no idea that it is even doing it. -It behaves exactly like a movement that has been “given over to deception” by God. I urge again that everyone reading this would prayerfully consider CUTTING OFF all ties to this movement, lest you yourself become tainted by it.

It is with great sadness that I make the above points. I have refrained from saying such things in the past, but I can no longer do so, because untold people are being spiritually damaged by what is going on. Please understand my heart in this.

For the same reason I also need to warn you about another ‘prophetess’ who is often featured on the Elijah List. Her name is Jill Austin and I have personally witnessed her ministry in action. I would describe it as one of the most disturbing (by far) meetings that I have ever been in. There was definitely a strange “power” operating, but it certainly did not seem like God to me. She is also an expert at ‘hyping’ an audience. Please be very careful in such environments, my friends. -You can end up taking part in things that you would never normally do, just because you are part of a large crowd.

Sadly, there seem to be many other ministries in this movement involved in similar deception. In fact, I hate to say it, but a general rule might be that if someone is featured on the Elijah List, there has to be at least an 80% chance that their ministry is “off” in some major way. I will say just one more thing about the Elijah List: I am convinced that they will one day give account to God for taking upon themselves the name “Elijah” and then doing what they have done with it. Literally, by their own words they will be judged.

HOW TO AVOID DECEPTION

What a lot of people don’t seem to recognize is the sheer level of ‘peer pressure’ and “crowd manipulation” that is going on at many of these events. They end up being led into doing things they feel uncomfortable with, just because “everybody else” is doing it. They squash down their discernment. They ignore the “little voice” or the tiny ‘alarm bells’ inside them that are trying to get their attention. And thus, multitudes of Christians are being led astray – and paying through the nose for the privilege. I urge anyone reading this who has ever squashed down their discernment and participated in such things, to get before God and REPENT of opening yourself up in that way. It is very important that you confess this before God and ask His forgiveness. RENOUNCE all deception in Jesus’ name.

One thing we don’t have much time to discuss here is the MONEY issue. This is a huge problem in the Prophetic. Now, I do understand that ministries need finances to operate. I run a ministry myself. And as most of you know, about 5 times a year we put out a book or CD (available for any donation – or even just postage) to go towards the costs of keeping this ministry operating. However, the word itself is always free. It is terribly sad to see the charging of ‘entry fees’ to hear the word today, and the over-bearing emphasis on MONEY in the church. Did not Jesus clearly command: “Freely you have received, freely give”?

REDEFINING “PROPHET”

Just because I have cut myself off from today’s Prophetic movement does not mean that I believe there is no place for prophets in the church. In fact, I believe we need true prophets now more than ever. But you will notice that there has been a subtle shift in the use of the term “prophet” over the last 25 years, and I believe we need to get back to the original meaning. It was not long ago that when you spoke of a ‘prophet’ you were usually referring to someone like Keith Green, Leonard Ravenhill or David Wilkerson – someone who was crying out to the lukewarm church, “REPENT.” And if you look down the annals of history, you will find that there has never been a true Prophetic movement that did not have this as it’s core message. Every true Prophetic movement, right from the Old Testament down through every Revival and Awakening that I have ever studied, has been a movement of REPENTANCE. And yet we find today a movement that calls itself “Prophetic” – but with spiritual ‘revelations’ and words of knowledge at its core. -No piercing word. This is the precise reason why it has gone off the rails. -It has abandoned it’s age-old message. It’s ‘word’ has been corrupted.

I am convinced that God IS going to raise up true prophets in this hour to cry to the lukewarm church “Repent”. There is a movement coming that is utterly different from that which we have seen. God is coming to clean house. The “shaking” has already begun. And the “John-the-Baptists” whom God has prepared in the caves and wildernesses are about to arise and speak His word – just as in every Great Awakening down through history.

Some people asked me if I was going to shut down our web-sites and email Lists. Not at all. The whole point of what we’re doing is to call forth and encourage these “John-the-Baptists” whom God is raising up in this hour. We will not stop crying aloud until we see a great ‘Repentance’ Revival sweeping this nation from coast to coast.

As A.W. Tozer wrote of all true prophets down the ages: “God has always had His specialists whose chief concern has been the moral breakdown, the decline in the spiritual health of the nation or the church. Such men were Elijah, Jeremiah, Malachi and others of their kind who appeared at critical moments in history to reprove, rebuke and exhort in the name of God and righteousness… Such a man was likely to be drastic, radical, possibly at times violent, and the curious crowd that gathered to watch him work soon branded him as extreme, fanatical, negative. And in a sense they were right. He was single-minded, severe, fearless, and these were the qualities the circumstances demanded. He shocked some, frightened others and alienated not a few, but he knew who had called him and what he was sent to do. His ministry was geared to the emergency, and that fact marked him out as different, a man apart.”

I was sent an email about an article dealing with Joel’s Army.  If Joel’s army becomes a real army, then we may be seeing the beginning of another inquisition.  Those who are trying to bring it forth are Dominionists and express Latterrain Movement Teaching.  The same spirit behind the Latterrain Movement was behind the crusades and any movement where the Church will conquer by force the world.  The article is “Militant Joel’s Army Followers Seek Theocracy,” By Casey Sanchez Photography by Lowell Handler.  The article is given in its entirety.  We may not agree with every part of it, but it is very informative.  Quote:

Joel’s Army followers, many of them teenagers and young adults who believe they’re members of the final generation to come of age before the end of the world, are breaking away in droves from mainline Pentecostal churches. Numbering in the tens of thousands, they base their beliefs on an esoteric reading of the second chapter of the Old Testament Book of Joel, in which an avenging swarm of locusts attacks Israel. In their view, the locusts are a metaphor for Joel’s Army.

Despite their overt militancy, there’s no evidence Joel’s Army followers have committed any acts of violence. But critics warn that actual bloodletting may only be a matter of time for a movement that casts itself as God’s avenging army.

Those sounding the alarm about Joel’s Army are not secular foes of the Christian Right, few of whom are even aware of the movement or how widespread it’s become in the past decade. Instead, Joel’s Army critics are mostly conservative Christians, either neo-Pentecostals who left the movement in disgust or evangelical Christians who fear that Joel’s Army preachers are stealing their flocks, even sending spies to infiltrate their own congregations and sway their young people to heresy. And they say the movement is becoming frightening.

“The pitch and intensity of the military rhetoric of this branch of the global Dominionist movement has substantially increased since the beginning of 2008,” writes The Discernment Research Group, a Christian watchdog group that tracks what they call heresies or cults within Christianity. “One can only wonder how long before this transforms into real warfare with actual warriors.”

‘Snorting Religion’
Joel’s Army believers are hard-core Christian dominionists, meaning they believe that America, along with the rest of the world, should be governed by conservative Christians and a conservative Christian interpretation of biblical law. There is no room in their doctrine for democracy or pluralism.

Dominionism’s original branch is Christian Reconstructionism, a grim, Calvinist call to theocracy that, as Reconstructionist writer Gary North describes, wants to “get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God.”

Notorious for endorsing the public execution by stoning of homosexuals and adulterers, the Christian Reconstructionist movement is far better known in secular America than Joel’s Army. That’s largely because Reconstructionists have made several serious forays into mainstream politics and received a fair amount of negative publicity as a result. Joel’s Army followers eschew the political system, believing the path to world domination lies in taking over churches, not election to public office.

Another key difference between the two branches of dominionism, which maintain a testy, arms-length relationship with one another, is Christian Reconstructionism’s buttoned-down image and heavy emphasis on Bible study, which contrasts sharply with Joel’s Army anti-intellectual distrust of biblical scholars and its unruly style.

“Some people snort cocaine, others snort religions,” Joel’s Army Pastor Roy said while ministering a morning program at Todd Bentley’s Lakeland, Fla., revival in late May.

As this article went to press, Bentley’s “Florida Outpouring” had been running for more than 100 days straight. Many attendees came in search of spontaneous physical healing and a desire to be part of a mystical community marked by dancing, shouting, gyrating, speaking in tongues and other forms of ecstatic release.

Snide jabs at traditional church services are fairly common at Bentley’s revivals. In fact, what takes place onstage at the Florida Outpouring looks more like a pro wrestling extravaganza than church. On stage, Bentley and his team of pastors, yell, chant, and scream “Fire!” and “Bam!” while anointing followers.

The audience members behave as if they are at a psychedelic counterculture festival. One couple jumps up and down twirling red and silver metallic flags. Dyed-haired teenagers pulled in by the revival’s presence on Facebook and MySpace wander around looking dazed. Women lay facedown on the floor, convulsing and howling. Fathers wail in tongues as their confused children look on. Strangers lay hands on those who fail to produce tongues or gyrate wildly enough, pressuring them to “let it out.”

Bentley is considered a prophet both by his followers and by other leaders of the Joel’s Army movement, whose adherents claim to be reviving a “five-fold ministry” of prophets, apostles, elders, pastors and teachers, as outlined in the Book of Ephesians. Not every five-fold ministry is connected to the Joel’s Army movement, but the movement has spurred an interest in modern-day apostles and prophets that’s troubling to the Assemblies of God, the world’s largest Pentecostal church, which has officially disavowed the Joel’s Army movement.

In a 2001 position paper, Assemblies of God leaders wrote that they do not recognize modern-day apostles or prophets and worried that “such leaders prefer more authoritarian structures where their own word or decrees are unchallenged.” They are right to worry. Joel’s Army followers believe that once democratic institutions are overthrown, their hierarchy of apostles and prophets will rule over the earth, with one church per city.

Warrior Nation
According to Joel’s Army doctrine, the enforcers of the five-fold ministry will be members of the final generation, for whom the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade constituted a new Passover.

“Everyone born after abortion’s legalization can consider their birth a personal invitation to take part in this great army,” writes John Crowder, another prominent Joel’s Army pastor, who bills his 2006 book, The New Mystics: How to Become Part of the Supernatural Generation, as a literal how-to guide for joining Joel’s Army.Both Bentley and Crowder are enormously popular on Elijah’s List, an online watering hole for a broad spectrum of Joel’s Army enlistees, from lightweight believers who merely share an affection for military rhetoric and pastors who dress in army camouflage (several Joel’s Army pastors are addressed by their congregants as “commandant” or “commander”) to hardliners who believe the church is called to have an active military role in end-times that have already begun. Elijah’s List currently has more than 125,000 subscribers on its electronic mailing list.

Rick Joyner, a pastor whose books, The Harvest and The Call, helped popularize Joel’s Army theology by selling more than a million copies each, goes the furthest on Elijah’s List in pushing the hardliner approach. In 2006, he posted a sermon called “The Warrior Nation — The New Sound of the Church,” in which he claimed that a last-day army is now gathering and called believers “freedom fighters.”

“As the church begins to take on this resolve, they [Joel's Army churches] will start to be thought of more as military bases, and they will begin to take on the characteristics of military bases for training, equipping, and deploying effective spiritual forces,” Joyner wrote. “In time, the church will actually be organized more as a military force with an army, navy, air force, etc.”

In a sort of disclaimer, Joyner writes at one point that God’s army “will bring love, peace and stability wherever they go.” But several of his books narrate with glee what he describes as “a coming civil war within the church.” In his 1997 book The Harvest he writes: “Some pastors and leaders who continue to resist this tide of unity will be removed from their place. Some will become so hardened they will become opposers and resist God to the end.”

Two years later, in his book The Final Quest, Joyner described a vision (taken as prophecy in the Joel’s Army world, where Joyner is considered an “apostle”) of the coming Christian Civil War in which demon-possessed Christian soldiers enslave other, weaker Christians who resist them. He also describes how the hero of the novel — himself — ascends a “Holy Mountain” in order to learn new truths and to acquire new, magic weapons.

Kids on Fire
Bentley, who claims to be a supernatural healer, is no less over the top, playing his biker-punk appearance and heavy metal theatrics to the hilt. On YouTube, where clips of his most dramatic healings have been condensed into a three-minute highlight reel, Bentley describes God ordering him to kick an elderly lady in the face: “I am thinking, ‘God, why is the power of God not moving?’ And He said, ‘It is because you haven’t kicked that women in the face.’ And there was, like, this older lady worshipping right in front of the platform and the Holy Spirit spoke to me and the gift of faith came on me. He said, ‘Kick her in the face … with your biker boot.’ I inched closer and I went like this [makes kicking motion]: Bam! And just as my boot made contact with her nose, she fell under the power of God.”

The atmosphere is less charged with violence at “The Call,” a 12-hour revival of up to 20,000 youths led by Joel’s Army pastor Lou Engle and held every summer in a major American city (this year’s event was scheduled for Washington, D.C. in August).

Attendees are called upon to fast and pray for 40 days and take up culture-war pledges to lead abstinent lives, reject pornography and fight abortion. They’re further asked to perform “identificational repentance,” lugging along family trees and genealogies to see where one of their ancestors may have enslaved or oppressed another so that they can make amends. (Many in the Joel’s Army movement believe in generational curses that must be broken by the current generation).

As even his critics note, Engle is a sweet, humble and gentle man whose persona is difficult to reconcile with his belief in an end-time army of invincible young Christian warriors. Yet while Engle is careful to avoid deploying explicit Joel’s Army rhetoric at high-profile events like The Call, when he’s speaking in smaller hyper-charismatic circles to avowed Joel’s Army followers, he can venture into bloodlust.

This March, at a “Passion for Jesus” conference in Kansas City sponsored by the International House of Prayer, or IHOP, a ministry for teenagers from the heavy metal, punk and goth scenes, Engle called on his audience for vengeance.

“I believe we’re headed to an Elijah/Jezebel showdown on the Earth, not just in America but all over the globe, and the main warriors will be the prophets of Baal versus the prophets of God, and there will be no middle ground,” said Engle. He was referring to the Baal of the Old Testament, a pagan idol whose followers were slaughtered under orders from the prophet Elijah.

“There’s an Elijah generation that’s going to be the forerunners for the coming of Jesus, a generation marked not by their niceness but by the intensity of their passion,” Engle continued. “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Such force demands an equal response, and Jesus is going to make war on everything that hinders love, with his eyes blazing fire.”

Although Joel’s Army theology is mainly directed at people in their teens and early 20s via events like The Call and ministries like IHOP, sometimes the target audience is even younger. In some of the most arresting images in “Jesus Camp,” a 2006 documentary about the Kids on Fire bible camp in North Dakota, grade school-aged kids dressed in army fatigues wield swords and conduct military field maneuvers. “A lot of people die for God and they’re not afraid,” one camper told ABC News reporters in a follow-up segment.

“We’re kinda being trained to be warriors,” added another, “only in a funner way.”

Cain and the Intellectuals
Both Christian and secular critics assailed the makers of “Jesus Camp” for referring to the camp’s extremist, militant Christianity as “evangelical.” There is a name, however, that describes Kids on Fire’s agenda, if you’re familiar with their theology: Joel’s Army. Pastor Becky Fischer, who runs the camp, said that a third of the kids at her camp were under 6 years old because they are “more in touch in the supernatural” and proclaimed them to be “soldiers for God’s Army.” Her camp’s blend of end-times militancy and supernaturalism is perfectly emblematic of the Joel’s Army movement, whose adherents believe their cause is prophesied in the Old Testament chapter titled “An Army of Locusts.”

The stark, evocative passages of that chapter describe a locust swarm that lays waste to Israel (to this day, the region suffers periodic locust invasions): “Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come.” As remarkable as the language is, most biblical scholars agree that it is a literal description of a locust invasion and resulting famine that occurred sometime between the 9th and 5th centuries B.C.E.

In the Book of Joel, the locust invasion is described as an omen that an Assyrian army to the north may attack Israel if it fails to repent as a nation. But nowhere is the invasion described as an army of God. According to an Assemblies of God position paper: “It is a complete misinterpretation of Scripture to find in Joel’s army of locusts a militant, victorious force attacking society and a non-cooperating Church to prepare the earth for Christ’s millennial reign.”

The story of how an ancient insect invasion came to be a rallying flag for 21st-century dominonists begins just after World War II in Canada. Out of a small town in Saskatchewan, a Pentecostal preacher named William Branham spearheaded a 1948 revival in which he claimed that his followers lived in a new biblical time of “Latter Rain.”

The most sinless and ardent of his flock would be called “Manifest Sons of God.” By the next year, the movement was so strong — and seemed so subversive to some — that the Assemblies of God banned it as a heretic cult. But Branham remained a controversial figure with a loyal following; many of his followers believed him to be the end-times prophet Elijah.

Michael Barkun, a leading scholar of radical religion, notes that in 1958, Branham began teaching “Serpent Seed” doctrine, the belief that Satan had sex with Eve, resulting in Cain and his descendants. “Through Cain came all the smart, educated people down to the antediluvian flood — the intellectuals, bible colleges,” Branham wrote in the kind of anti-mainstream religion, anti-intellectual spirit that pervades the Joel’s Army movement to this day. “They know all their creeds but know nothing about God.”

The Gates of Hell
Branham was killed in a car accident in 1965, but his Manifest Sons of God movement, the direct predecessor of Joel’s Army, lived on within a cluster of hyper-charismatic churches. In the 1980s, Branham’s teachings took on new life at the Kansas City Fellowship (KCF), a group of popular self-styled apostles and prophets who used the Missouri church as a launching pad for national careers promoting outright Joel’s Army theology.

Ernie Gruen, a local pastor who initially promoted and  gave  citywide credibility to KCF pastors in the early 1980s, cut his connections in 1990. Concerned about KCF’s plans to push its teachings worldwide, Gruen published a 132-page insider’s account, based on taped sermons and conversations and interviews with parents who had enrolled their kids in KCF’s Dominion school.

According to Gruen’s report, students at the school were taught that they were a “super-race” of the “elected seed” of all the best bloodlines of all generations — foreknown, predestined, and hand-selected from billions of others to be part of the “end-time Omega generation.”

Though he’d once promoted these doctrines himself, Gruen became convinced that the movement was turning into an end-times cult, marked by what he summarized as “spiritual threats, fears, and warnings of death,” “warning followers to beware of other Christians” and exhibiting “a ’super-race’ mentality toward the training of their children.”

When contacted by the Intelligence Report, Gruen’s spokesman said that Gruen stands by everything he published in the report but no longer grants media interviews.

The Kansas City Fellowship remains in operation and has served as a farm team for many of the all-stars of the Joel’s Army movement. Those larger-than-life figures include John Wimber, the founder of a California megachurch, The Vineyard, who, before his death in 1997, proclaimed that Joel’s Army would not only conquer the earth but defeat death itself. Lou Engle founded The Call based on the Joel’s Army visions that KCF “prophet” Bob Jones (not to be confused with Bob Jones III of Bob Jones University) received while at KCF. Mike Bickle, another KCF member, stayed in Kansas City to form the International House of Prayer.

IHOP members and other Joel’s Army adherents are well aware of how their movement is perceived by other conservative Christians.

“Today, you can type ‘Joel’s Army’ into a search engine and a thousand heresy hunter websites pop up, decrying the very mention of it,” writes John Crowder in The New Mystics. Crowder doesn’t exactly allay critic’s fears. “This is truly warfare,” he writes. “This battle is not a game. They [Joel's Army warriors] will not be on the defense; they will be on the offense — and the gates of hell will not be able to hold up against them.”

So far, few members of the secular media have taken notice of Joel’s Army, even as they report on Protestant dominionists like Pat Robertson or the more outrageous calls for the stoning of gays and lesbians emanating from Reconstructionist circles. There are exceptions, however. On the DailyKos, a well-read, politically liberal blog, a diarist has been blogging for two years about her experiences as a walkaway from a Joel’s Army church. She writes under a pseudonym out of fear of physical reprisals.

She may have real cause for concern. As Wimber, the late founder of The Vineyard, put it in one of his most famous and fiery sermons, one that is still frequently cited by Joel’s Army followers: “Those in this army will have His kind of power. … Anyone who wants to harm them must die.”

If you read last Thursday’s post (”Burned“), then you know all about the latest piece of bad news coming out of the Lakeland “revival.” By now, I’m sure the news has proliferated throughout charismatic ranks like the plague. Only time will reveal the extent of the damage.This much I know: Change must come to the charismatic movement. This post and ones to follow are about the changes I believe must take place.

Before I get into that, though, my only legitimate credentials for speaking on this issue come from my degree in Christian Education and nearly 25 years in the charismatic movement. I’m not even a fan of the term charismatic;  I don’t believe it means anything. I wish I didn’t have to use it to describe any one group within the Church, but it exists as a distinctive, so I have to use it.

I came to the belief in the continuing charisma, the supernatural gifts of the Spirit, through the Lutheran Church. While that may seem odd, many people fail to realize that the modern charismatic movement really got its boost through mainline churches, especially those of the Episcopal/Anglican stream. Yes, liturgical churches. My spiritual mentor in this was the manager of a Lutheran camp. To this day, I have never met a man more filled with the Spirit of God than he is. Trying to explain how this man could pray for people and they would be healed, or how he knew things about people that no one else could know, or that he spoke in tongues, or that he could call to the animals and they would come to him—none of it fit in my existing worldview. So in my mind I sought ways to explain him .

I experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as it is often called, on a weekend at that camp while serving as a chaperone for my church’s youth group. That night is as clear as crystal; I still find it amazing after all these years.

So I didn’t come to the movement through the Pentecostal/Assemblies of God/Third Wave channels. I tend to identify most with the school of charismatic thought typified by such godly men as Andrew Murray, R. A. Torrey, Leonard Ravenhill, and A. W. Tozer, none of whom were found within the denominations that exemplify the charismatic movement as it stands. That said, I am a member of an independent Pentecostal today but largely because of the quality of the people in that church more than anything else. My theology still largely rests on a Lutheran understanding, with boosts from my sojourns in Presbyterian, Methodist, Evangelical Free, non-denominational, and Vineyard churches or camps. For this reason, I believe I am a little bit more removed from what constitutes the contemporary charismatic movement.

If you want to read what I’ve written in the past on the topic of charismatic issues, please check out the “Charismatic” category listing in the right sidebar or click on the link.

With that background in place, I write this post because I have been profoundly grieved by the train wreck that is the contemporary charismatic movement. What grieves me is that the meltdown within the movement threatens to burn even the legitimate people, the ones that haven’t succumbed to the rank carelessness and non-existent discernment that have been the hallmark of the majority of the movement for the last twenty years or so.

To that end, I offer the following solutions:

Problem: In our rush to regain a proper pneumatology, today’s charismatics abandoned a proper Christology.

Solution: We need to get the focus back on Jesus.

The love relationship that is the Trinity consists of three persons united as one Creator God, wholly bound up in each other, but with unique roles. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He dwells within believers and empowers them to do the work of the Father. It is good that charismatics have nudged the modern Church to look at the Holy Spirit anew. For too long He was the forgotten member of the Trinity. Even today, I believe most Christians in the West have a deficient pneumatology, though the churches born out of the Azusa Street revival have worked hard to overcome that lack.

But the Holy Spirit will A-L-W-A-Y-S point back to Jesus. Jesus Himself makes it clear in John 15 and 16 that the Spirit comes to glorify the Son. The focus is on Jesus.

Yet I would suspect that in too many charismatic churches today, the word spirit is spoken ten times as often as the name of Jesus. That’s a travesty, and it comes out of the shrunken, deficient Christology that afflicts many charismatic churches.

How can it be that so many charismatics can go on and on about the Spirit, the power, the anointing, but can’t put together a decent, sharable testimony about the person of Jesus? Lee Grady, in his forensic analysis of Lakeland, states that a prominent charismatic evangelist is convinced that many charismatics will follow the antichrist one day. The sheep hear Christ’s voice and know the voice because they know the speaker. Yet too many charismatics, in their overemphasis on the knowing the Spirit, have instead fallen prey to not knowing Jesus Christ except on the most superficial level. To me, that calls into question how well they actually know the Spirit, especially since the Spirit always points to Jesus. You can’t know one and NOT know the other.

The cure for this is simple: More Christ-centered preaching and teaching.

Which leads me into the next set of problems…

Problems: Too much of the charismatic movement is self-centered. People rush around looking for a spiritual fix for selfish reasons. Too many are obsessed with more power. Too many leaders lack even the most basic humility.

Solution: Get the cross back into the picture.

Nothing bothers me more than charismatics who have no sense of what it means to die to self. I think the main failure of the modern charismatic movement hinges on this point. I believe a majority of charismatics want everything that Christ bought for them on the cross, but none of the cross’s death. The problem is that one has to die at the cross before one can tastes of its glories. There can be no end-run around dying to self.

But what else explains the mad rush for the limelight that practically defines the movement today? The dog and pony shows. The million dollar preacher boys (and girls). The Brylcreem prophets. What else explains the need for people to hop a jet and fly to the other side of the world so they can “get me some o’ dat!” at the latest “revival” to crop up?

Self, pure and simple. The contemporary charismatic scene is filled with an enormous two-letter word nearly everywhere one looks: ME.

The only answer to that insanity is the cross. If you’re preaching Jesus like I said above, you can’t get around the cross.

Problem: The movement is awash in Old Testament rituals or theology that were fulfilled in Jesus.

Solution: Get back to the New Testament and its New Covenant.

Somewhere, the charismatic movement fell in love with the Old Testament. That would have been great—since many Christians don’t understand the Old Testament at all—except that charismatics went nuts trying to recreate Israel at the time of David rather than living out a genuine New Testament Church. Remember, as the Lord Himself said, “Something greater than the temple is here.” Christ’s Kingdom more than trumps David’s. The Lord outshines Moses.

Why the fascination with Old Testament worship patterns? Why the need to brew up batches of anointing oil using herbs mentioned in Old Testament recipes? The shofar-blowing. The Jericho marches. Joel’s Army. And what about the abject legalism everywhere you look? I swear, some of the bizarre rituals charismatics cook up look more like witchcraft than anything of God.

Folks, the answer to so much of what some people are trying to recreate out of the Old Testament is Jesus. If anything, trying to recreate the Old Testament today shows a profound lack of understanding of the finished work of Christ. I guess that’s to be expected, though, when the Christology of much of the movement is so lacking.

There’s no need for charismatic practices today that look like something that came a thousand years before the Savior. That’s not going to work. We need to define ourselves according to a New Testament model, not the Old Testament model that was intended to point to the Christ—the Christ we already have, the one indwelling us by the Spirit, a reality the Old Covenent could never provide.

Problems: Discernment of any kind is sorely lacking at all levels within the movement. Many charismatic teachers craft entire theologies from disconnected or lone passages of Scripture.

Solution: Build a holistic worldview by teaching the Bible from cover to cover, not from topic to topic.

The legacy of 20th century Christianity in the West can be summed up nicely: “My people perish for lack of knowledge.” We simply are not getting sound biblical teaching. I cringe every time I see the latest biblical literacy figures from George Barna. Needless to say, J. Vernon McGee must be doing his best gyroscope imitation in that casket of his.

Charismatics are no worse than most other Western Christians in this regard, though. However, charismatic teachers seem much more likely than non-charismatic teachers to build elaborate theologies based on an out-of-context passage of Scripture that they then ply as “new revelation.” And their pupils suck it all up. The result? Well, have we looked around lately?

Having been around the denominational block, I can say without hesitation that many charismatics have a poor grasp of the breadth of Scripture because their teachers tend to teach the Bible topically rather than from book to book. For that reason, the students of charismatic teachers may never see the wider picture. No one has given them the view that unites biblical truth from Genesis to Revelation. Because of this lack of scope,  when discernment issues arise, charismatics may have little or no basis from which to make godly decisions about truth claims. They end up falling for lies that would never get past someone who has even a cursory overview understanding of the Bible.

I also think that too many people are sucked into going “by the spirit” instead of by the word of God. The Spirit never contradicts the Scriptures, though. Therefore, the Scriptures are ALWAYS the prime source by which decisions about truth claims must be made. Yet the carnage out there tells the real story.

That “charismatic theologian” is practically an oxymoron compared with some other streams of Christianity should shame us. It also explains our shortcomings well.

If the movement doesn’t start teaching the Bible holistically, it’s people are doomed to fall prey to the antichrist, just as that prominent charismatic said. The hope is this: It’s an end game that is completely avoidable.

Those are my comments for today. What are yours? Tell me what you think. I’ll tell you more of what I think in posts to come.

Something is amiss in the charismatic movement.

If you read the first part of this series, in this post you’ll find more analysis of what’s wrong with the charismatic movement and what we can do to clean up the mess it has created in the Western Church.

Problems: Too many charismatics are more interested in what they can get than what they can give. Also, we love to talk about taking dominion over the kingdom of darkness, but we forget the primary means by which we cripple the Enemy’s purposes.

Solution: We need to be drilled on the Great Commission.

The selfishness of the charismatic movement that I mentioned in the first part of this series is dramatically evident in the general lackadaisical attitude too many of us have toward the Great Commission. So many of us in the West are chasing after gifts and ecstatic experiences that we’ve completely lost the others-centric focus of the Gospel. We’re experts at claiming promises and prosperity for ourselves, but terrible at leading people to Christ. And even when we do get that juxtaposition of soul-winner and Spirit-seeker like you find in some Pentecostal churches, the discipleship program consists of “Now here’s your Bible, good luck.”

As they say in my neck of the woods, that ain’t gonna fly.

Now we can talk all we want about Joel’s End Times Army and psych ourselves up for spiritual warfare, but nothing breaks the Devil’s back more than leading others to Christ and discipling them to maturity. So for all our talk of dominion, unless we’re making disciples, we’re losing the war. End of story.

And we are losing, I hate to say. At least in the West. In other countries, charismatics are astonishingly good at leading others to Christ. They stand as an Ichabod-like statement against us Western charismatics, especially those of us obsessed with prosperity gospel teachings. My fear is that our disease will infect the still-vibrant Third World charismatic Church some day and not the other way around.

Problem: The charismatic movement is a cult—of celebrity.

Solution: Time for the old guard, who failed to guard what they were entrusted with, to get off the stage.

I mentioned in my post entitled “Burned” that the prominent leaders of the last 20 years of the charismatic movement need to move on and let someone else lead for a change. By and large, the self-appointed apostles and prophets out there have run the movement into the ground. They simply don’t know what they are doing, and for people who supposedly exemplify Spirit-controlled leadership that’s a damnable crime.

We need to see new faces in the charismatic movement who are untainted by past stupidity. Better yet, we need more nameless and faceless people rise up. I think the second someone in the movement announces “Hey, I’m a prophet,” we should run the other way. The mark of God’s blessing on someone’s ministry is that he draws people to Jesus without drawing attention to himself. That’s the gold standard as far as I’m concerned. That’s humility. It recognizes that if we’re doing this thing right, then anyone is replaceable.

I’m really sick of these slick charismatic celebrities and their private jets and Armani suits. They’re killing the movement almost singlehandedly. Their followers should be ashamed, too, not only of the way their “heroes of the faith” act, but at the braindead way in which they’ve followed them.

Listen, no one should be immune from questioning. This “touch not the Lord’s anointed” thing is little more than a power trip used by self-centered leaders (and their minions) and a “check your Bible at the door” capitulation to spiritual sloth.

Frankly, I’m appalled at the backtracking I’m seeing from some of those supposed leaders involved with Lakeland. They’re repudiating people and events faster than you can say “blind guides.” That’s despicable. Those people deceived many. If the cadre of jokers leading the charismatic movement today won’t get off the stage, then we either need to boot them off or just start ignoring them. Sadly, the best way is to stop the flow of money. That will be immediately noticed, let me tell you. It may even wake some of these posers up. Repentance is a good thing; so is a little reliance on the need for daily bread.

Problem: We let the miraculous enthrall us.

Solution: We need to be more discerning and less surprised by the miraculous.

“But what about the miracles?” some will say.

You mean the normal Christian life?

Yes, normal. The wordly should be surprised by the miraculous, but charismatics shouldn’t be. Yet we giggle and fawn like Hannah Montana fans, running screaming to wherever the slightest inkling of the miraculous appears, often wasting huge amounts of money in the process.

That’s inane and childish.

What about the miracles? We should be used to them. Not in a ho-hum sort of way, but as mature believers accustomed to moving in the Spirit. Faith makes it so. We trust that God will make good on His miraculous promises, so we rest. It’s the faithless who should go ga-ga.

The Enemy can make miracles. Jannes and Jambres threw down their staffs and those inanimate pieces of wood turned into snakes, just as Moses’ did. The Bible speaks plainly that the antichrist will do miracles. Miracles, by themselves, are proof of nothing.

I will even contend that without the power of either God or the Devil, people may still work miracles. I offer Watchman Nee’s very deep book The Latent Power of the Soul for evidence. I didn’t understand that book the first time I read it. What Nee was saying went over my head. My review at Amazon was not all that positive. A few years later, though, and I see it now. Witnessing some of the so-called revivals that have cropped up in recent years, I wonder if we’re not seeing perfect evidence of the power of the soul on display. It would explain quite a bit.

Look, I’m absolutely in favor of “…with signs accompanying.” But one crucial lead-in statement must go before that trailer: “The Gospel of Jesus Christ preached in doctrinal purity….” If the charismatic movement misses that, it’s missed everything.

Problem: The charismatic movement is obsessed with novelty.

Solution: We must understand that there is nothing new under the sun.

I’ve written in the past about this obsession charismatics have with novelty. If I hear “new move of God” one more time, I’m going to scream. Why? Because that’s marketing hype, not Holy Spirit truth. If God moves in a untouched place on the globe among people who have never heard the name of Jesus, then by all means call that a new move of God. But the manner in which God moves doesn’t change because the means by which He has chosen for us to minister is perfect as is. We are to minister by the Spirit of God according to His Word. That was new once, but that was a long time ago. We should have gotten well acquainted with how that works by now.

Instead we work to add on to what God has done. We try to make it fresh when there was nothing wrong withits freshness to begin with. we are the ones who got stale, not God. And for the reasons I’ve already outlined in these last two posts.

My advice? The smartest thing any of us can do is to ignore the circus barkers who keep yelling “new” and “anointed.” If we do that, we’ll keep out the tired lies that are the foundation of so many of these supposed “new moves.”

Problem: We continue to tolerate the aberrations of the past, the worst excesses of the charismatic movement, digging them up repeatedly for each new generation after they were long buried.

Solution: It’s time to grow up and face today. In many cases, the good old days weren’t all that good. Wrong doesn’t get right over time.

Big-league heretic William Branham has been dead for decades, yet his name was invoked over Lakeland. Then someone dredged up Paul Cain. Sadly, the charismatic movement today resembles a bad horror flick: we are overrun with vampires who suck out the life out of people or zombies who eat our brains. And then there are the vampire zombies. Hey, if you’ve been hanging around the charismatic movement long enough, then you know what I’m talking about….

You know a movement has reached the putrefaction stage when it starts mining its old heresies and heretics for new material. I just don’t understand the fascination.

I’m going to end today’s comments with a warning.

While many aspects of Lakeland were old news, one was not. I’ve not seen anyone comment on this, but it’s something to watch for. This kind of convergence may serve as a warning in the future.

Lakeland was new in one startling regard: It brought many of the different streams of charismatic practice together.

Looking over the most recent “revivals,” each had a flavor unique to their particular stream. Toronto was largely a Third Wave charismatic happening. Pensacola was Pentecostal.

But Lakeland was different; it attracted everyone. It was the Rosetta Stone of charismatic events. You had charismatics of all stripes: Pentecostal, Third Wave, Mainline, Sympathizers, and variations thereof. Toward the end, in what was probably the pivotal moment of Lakeland, you had Third Wave poobah C. Peter Wagner swooping in with his New Apostolic Reformation banner attempting to tie it all up under the auspices of his group.

I’m telling you now, watch out for this. The days ahead will be marked by increasingly bold attempts to unite all the streams of the charismatic movement. I believe that will not be a good thing because instead of bringing a cleansing to the movement, it will instead unite all the craziness. Lakeland already proved this to be the case. We have not seen the last of this, though.

Be open to the Lord, but never stop being watchful, faithful, and wise.

Over the last few days, thousands of people have come to Cerulean Sanctum looking for answers concerning the meltdown in the charismatic movement in light of what happened at Lakeland. People are searching. They want answers and reassurance.

Here is the word that I have for them. It comes from a prophet who did no miracles but was called the greatest by the One who truly matters:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
—John 3:30

John the Baptist said this in context of knowing his ministry was not what mattered in the end. He said it because he knew he was being surpassed, because he understood his place was to shine the light on the Lord and not himself. His curtain had risen, but now it was falling. And John rejoiced in that.

Because John was, above all else, humble.

I do some of my best reflecting in the shower. Something about being alone and naked brings clarity. It’s quiet and peaceful. The whispered voice of God stirs among the waters. Or something like that. Whatever the case, my morning shower has been the birthplace for many a post here.

During Tuesday’s shower the word that God dropped into my heart was humility.

If we are to clean up the mess within the contemporary charismatic movement, above all else, we need to rediscover humility.

We need leaders who have been tested by the twin crucibles of time and tragedy. It’s those folks who speak softly who often possess the most wisdom, but among the noisy clamor of the modern charismatic scene we have drowned them out. We have ignored them because they are not flashy, hip, or “charismatic” in the other sense of the word.

I believe they are the ones who must rise up at this time in history.

We need people who understand the grace of God. People who, like Job, can stand before God and put their hands over their mouths because they understand that they are nothing in the presence of God. Yet that same God offers them mercy because they realize they are dust before Him.

We need people in the charismatic movement who, again like Job, are so concerned with the holiness of God and our tendency as fallen creatures toward sin that they make sacrifices on behalf of others who may have sinned so as to ensure that God has not been slighted. Fostering that kind of mentality will stifle excess before it has a chance to poison others.

I believe that charismatics need to stop promoting those people to leadership positions because of the force of their personalities or the novelty of their ministries. Instead, we need to seek out those who would otherwise have been forgotten, those who are not shameless self-promoters, but promoters of Jesus Christ. In other words, humble servants.

Do we remember the word servant ? Is it still in our vocabulary? Find me a servant who is dedicated to pouring herself out and who finds her filling not before adoring crowds but before God alone in her prayer closet and I’ll show you someone ready to lead.

Do we understand humility? Have we seen any signs around us that it still exists? Give me a man who would rather be wrong before millions of people than besmirch the character and name of Jesus Christ and I’ll show you a man worthy of his calling.

But where are those people in the charismatic movement in the West?

I see their counterparts in the East every Sunday in my church.  We support a number of native missionaries in Asia through Gospel for Asia, a charismatic missionary organization. Their pictures line the wall outside the sanctuary. For the most part, these are poor people who have nothing but their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. They live for Jesus alone. They are nameless, faceless people who have counted the cost and know that He is worthy even as they are not. They are the reason that the Gospel goes forth in power in developing countries even as we in the West flock to the next dog and pony show looking for the next spiritual fix.

They are people who understand that He must increase while they must decrease.

I used to meet people like that here in the States. Not so much anymore, though. Most of us have our own agendas. We squeeze the Lord in when we can, but it’s still mostly about us, about our families, about getting ahead in life.

When I told my Dad that I was going to go into ministry full time, he said something I will never forget: “Then prepare to be poor because you won’t get anywhere in life.” Ouch, right?

Still, that kind of statement doesn’t make humble people flinch because they know their treasure is in heaven, not on earth.

Have we American charismatics counted the cost? A quick look around would answer that question, and not in the positive. We are a proud, selfish people who look down on the publican beating his breast and say, “Thank you, Lord, that I am not like that sinner.”

The problem is we are like that sinner. We’re just not humble enough to admit it.

In closing, I wish to offer a few links to other sites with good words concerning the charismatic movement and what can be done to prevent further damage and how we might repair the broken down walls before us:

I like so much of what Frank Viola writes. He has many good thoughts here.

John Piper wades into the mess with his usual sense and sensibility.

Dr. Harold Bussell contributes some excellent thoughts on the evangelical susceptibility to being lured into cults and cult-like activities. Good warnings and wisdom here. In addition, he takes a look at authority issues as well, something that most charismatics need to heed, especially as everyone goes nuts over “coverings.”

On this issue of humility, the best book I have read on the topic comes from Andrew Murray, the South African pastor who oversaw a great revival in that nation during the 19th century. Murray reads like a kinder, gentler Jonathan Edwards, sharing many experiences with Edward’s own during the Great Awakening. Murray, an amazingly prolific author, should be required reading for all charismatics as far as I am concerned. To our great fortune, Murray’s book on humility is online in its entirety.

I mentioned Watchman Nee’s book The Latent Power of the Soul in a previous post in this series. Fortunately, that book, too, is online in its entirety. We can learn much from Nee’s understand of soulish power versus genuine Holy Spirit power. I suspect that if we stripped soulish power out of the contemporary charismatic movement very little Holy Spirit power would be left. And that should alarm us.

Rob McAlpine discusses what it means to be “postcharismatic.” (I believe, though, that it might be better to think of reform as being “precharismatic”. Also, in a case of horrid timing, it seems McAlpine’s publisher in Canada is forgoing releasing his book here in the U.S. on postcharismatic thought.  I would think this would be the perfect opportunity to ride the wave of confusion concerning this blowup within the charismatic movement.)

Much ado is being made about modern day apostles and prophets. We hear of new “apostolic” networks and ministries, with their  “impartation meetings” and “apostolic anointings.” Everybody who  is somebody in the body of Christ is now an apostle. Even the  prophets are becoming apostles. Maybe the pastors are becoming prophets to fill the vacuum? Apostles are people who are sent by  God to a specific people or for a specific mission. We’ve often  used the word “missionary” in place of “apostle” because of the  connotation. By definition, an apostle is a “sent one.”

Anyway, the Lord reminded me of a very special apostle that I  spent time with early in my Christian walk. His name was Tacho.  He was probably in his mid 50’s when Edith and I met him. He had  been a laborer for most of his life, barely spoke English and was  illiterate. He and his wife (Elfida) had been Catholic most of their  lives, until meeting Jesus and being baptized in the Holy Spirit by  a supernatural encounter. When Tacho was baptized in the Holy  Spirit, he suddenly was able to read the Bible, both in English and  in Spanish. We spent a lot of time with Tacho and Elfida, mostly in the ghettos of Mexico. I remember many times when Tacho  stood up in the streets to preach the gospel, Elfida would fall to  her knees and cry out to God, battling in the heavenlies, and the glory of God would fall on those filty streets. Demons screamed and left, people were healed and delivered, witches converted to  Jesus, it was a glorious time. Edith and I learned through their  example the role of husband and wife in a spiritual war that battled for the souls and hearts of men.

I never heard Tacho speak of anything except Jesus, even in conversations with others on the team. Jesus was his passion, his  only vision, his entire life. Elfida was always right beside him,  supporting, battling, praying for needs. What a powerful team that God had put together as a witness to His life and glory. These  simple people had the most profound effect on our lives. They  never elevated themselves in any manner, were always totally humble and poured themselves out to the poor people that they were sent to. When they weren’t on the streets, they pastored  some of the little churches that met in shacks and byways. They  were always feeding the poor, taking clothing and necessities, even giving food and Christmas presents to sometimes thousands of children.

Edith and I didn’t speak much Spanish, but we always knew what was being preached (in Spanish) by the Spirit. Once Tacho told  me that the Spirit had told him to blow on someone and they fell down in the Spirit. He was humbled and amazed that God would use him like that. He truly did what the Spirit told him.

Nobody ever told Tacho that he was an apostle. He only thought of himself as a humble servant of the wonderful God who had  saved him and filled him with His Spirit. I believe he served faithfully until he died as an unknown soldier of the Lord. Tacho was the greatest example of an apostle that I have ever personally  known, though we grew up with several others who had similar  callings. Tacho was the one who was of the least value to the world, but of immense value to the kingdom of God

I have no idea how many souls were touched by the Lord through this precious saint. If I had asked him, I’m sure he would have had  no idea that he had touched them. . . he only knew that the Lord had touched them. I suspect that hundreds, perhaps thousands of  folks had a personal encounter with Jesus as Tacho crossed their path. Jesus working in a simple, devoted, humble vessel that  hardly was aware of anything other than his Lord. If I could send a message to Tacho in heaven, I would say, “Tacho, I want to be like you when I grow up!”

God bless you all, and God bless you, Tacho….

Statement Concerning Todd Bentley by John Kilpatrick

Quote:

Those that know me know that I love revival, but I also place great emphasis on doctrine and integrity.  In fact, I make decisions of support of people and their ministries based on these two qualities.  That being said, in the very early stages of revival, I went to visit Todd Bentley in Lakeland, FL.  My purpose was to champion revival, and I had great hope that it would be one that would sweep the world.

At that time, I didn’t know much about Todd or his doctrine, but had some concern.  Over the last two months, it has become a major concern to me.  I have some strong doctrinal issues with his extra-biblical views.

Also, our hearts are saddened that Todd has chosen to resist council from credible individuals and has legally separated from his wife.  Our prayers go out to both him and his family.  We know this will bring great hurt to many in the Body of Christ.  That’s just what this type of thing does.  It’s the sheep that usually get hurt the most.

John Kilpatrick

In these days, compromise is full in the air.  We are being pushed very hard to compromise the very basics of Christianity.  We are being pushed to accept every wind of doctrine and every bizarre manifestation that can be seen or felt.  The church must come back to her sanity. 

In particular, the Pentecostals and Charismatics must again face the very fact that very little discernment is found within their circles.  We, as Pentecostals and Charismatics, must seek God for a renewal of discernment.   In many respects, we have no discernment.  We have become so gullible that no one can discern that which is of God and that which is not of God.       

“Dear Mishpochah (Family),

Like many of you, I was saddened by the news that Todd Bentley and his wife, Shonnah, have recently separated. Todd was a point man for a major move of God’s Spirit. We should pray for Todd and Shonnah and believe God for their restoration.

This does not diminish the great victories that were won through the Lakeland Revival (also called the Florida Outpouring) including the multitudes who were saved and healed. It was a genuine move of God’s Spirit.

Personally, my faith has developed dramatically and the miracles have increased in my ministry as a result of participating in several of the revival meetings.

For now, until we have more complete information, we have decided to remove Todd’s interviews from our TV and radio archives.

Please join me in praying for Todd and Shonnah as well as the entire staff of Fresh Fire Ministries.Shalom and Love,

Sid Israel Roth”

Is there another spirit infiltrating the Church?  YES!  Too many in the prophetic circles are accepting not the Holy Spirit, but the spirit of Jezebel.   Has the spirit of Jezebel so seduced us that we fail to see the control, manipulation and absolute pretence within certain circles?  Have we failed to judge prophecy according to Scripture that is given “by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perferfect, thoroughly furished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)?  The Word says “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God…” (1 John 4:1). That means put what is said to you on trial, and don’t be afraid to do it.

I would encourage all in Christ to resist unscriptural malice and control even when delivered with a spiritual sounding “thus sayeth the Lord.” Further, I would like to appeal to you old-timers in the Lord, guardians and friends of the faith that were raised around the Holy Ghost to help those in this generation rightly divide the Word of Truth and to understand the sensible, loving and gentle ways of the Holy Spirit and to look to God, not man, even prophetic ones, for counsel, wisdom and direction. Derek Prince once said regarding the manifestation of the Spirit, “The manifestation of the Spirit is always given for a useful, practical, sensible purpose.”

In his letter written and posted online, John Arnott writes:

Todd has chosen to do something that is wrong according to Scripture, and his timing to announce it was equally inappropriate. Everyone is asking, “What happened?” “Why didn’t anyone see this coming?”  We are making the answers to those questions a matter of prayer, and are as shocked and saddened by what has just happened as you are.   Furthermore, it has now come out that there has been some inappropriate behavior, both with excessive drinking and also with a female member of his staff. Please don’t jump to conclusions or assume the worst, but this behavior is wrong before the Lord.

Todd Bentley’s moral failure was publically exposed this week. There is more that has come forth from young women and pastors from his home town and around the world, so more information should be forthcoming, unfortunately. We have tried to be wise in our reporting, as we felt compelled to report because so many questions were being asked and so many were being influenced by wrongful doctrine and untruthful claims. Many leaders have been deceived and so we know the deception was very powerful, even though many of us were wondering how so many had been caught up in it.
Lakeland was not revival, but there were many who made the journey who were touched. The question was, how could that be? Well we know that God inhabits the praises of His people and there were many who came to worship Him in the Lakeland meetings. Many came expecting, and God met them in their expectation of Him. There were claims of the dead raised and other extravagant miracles, and this simply did not happen. Some people were healed and many were touched in the worship. We have seen in the past from Ted Haggard, William Branham, Paula White, etc., that results can happen regardless of the character and lifestyle of those from the platform. Todd’s lifestyle, character, doctrine, methods, etc., often did not line up with the Word of God and that is why there was such a schism in the charismatic church. Those that supported Lakeland and felt touched and those of us that were watching in shock as we seemed to be watching a completely different story.
We have asked leaders to not put a spin on their involvement and to consider acknowledging that they were duped. I have been duped before and will again. I was fortunate that on this occasion, we had information early on of the deception that was going on. We witnessed how this was in fact perpetrated by man, for man’s agendas. We shared this with many of leaders involved, and many would not listen. Instead they warned us to not come against Todd Bentley, his lifestyle, his methods, or his doctrine, because he was God’s choice to mess with our religion. We were called “revival police”, and other names for asking questions. The fact was that they needed revival police, because there was criminal activity going on. Todd should have been arrested for assault when he kicked a sick man to the ground in Jesus name.
I am hoping that those leaders who supported Lakeland and used the same platform for gain would come forth and admit that they either were too concerned with their own agendas to listen to those who warned them of such things, or they simply just missed it. God TV has an enormous responsibility in all this and ignored wisdom from many leaders regarding this. At the time of this writing, many have back pedaled claiming that they did not lay hands on Todd, or endorse him. It would be refreshing if they came out and said, I am so sorry, please forgive us for our blindness in these matters. And also ask Todd for forgiveness in using his platform, rather than having Todd come down from the platform for the ministry and healing that was needed.
If you have talked to the people who have been hurt by this violence and abuse, you would understand the frustration from many of us. When we questioned staff members, and former staff members about Todd, many used the same words to describe him, Pathological Liar”. These lies in the guise of ministry and Todd’s behind the scenes lifestyle made it difficult for his board and others to discern. I have gotten emails wondering if I am happy now that Todd has been caught in an affair, (see message from Todd’s board). We are not happy about this, it has been sickening and impacts us all. I am saddened for him, for his family, for the other woman, and for all of those who have been hurt through this process and Todd’s lifestyle. I pray for repentance, I pray for mercy, I pray for reconciliation and I pray for total exposure so that Todd can finally get the deliverance and healing he needs. This did not happen 3 years ago, and this led to this sad moment.

Written By Steven Strang 

It’s time for the spiritual fathers to step up and help Todd Bentley, the former leader of the revival that has come to be known as the “Lakeland Outpouring.”In light of the tragic news of the break-up of Bentley’s marriage and some type of breakdown by Bentley himself (close associates are being tight-lipped), I believe his apostolic covering needs to minister not only to him but also to the larger body of Christ.

In June, at the request of Stephen Strader, pastor of Lakeland, Florida’s Ignited Church, Peter Wagner, head of the International Coalition of Apostles, agreed to lead an effort to address some of the concerns other ministers had voiced regarding the outpouring. As a result, Bentley and the revival in Lakeland were put under apostolic covering in what I consider a very healthy step

Too often in the “anything-goes-if-there’s-an-’anointing’ ” charismatic environment there is no clear line of spiritual authority. But at Wagner’s leading, Bentley submitted to the authority of three mature men of God–John Arnott, Ché Ahn and Bill Johnson–who love him and who agreed to give him and his ministry apostolic oversight

I know all three of these men personally. Each of them has a stellar reputation and is known for his desire to see revival come to the body of Christ. Each endorsed the Lakeland Outpouring and on June 23 laid hands on Bentley to commission him to lead that revival

About a week ago Wagner issued a statement about the commissioning process, which I believe was needed and very helpful. Little did any of us know that within a matter of days revelations would come out about Bentley. In 20/20 hindsight perhaps we should have seen it coming.

• -Anyone who is in services 4 to 6 hours a day, 7 days a week for weeks on end is bound to have some type of breakdown.
• -Anyone who covers himself with tattoos while in the ministry raises questions about his stability.
• -Anyone who talks about the “Angel of the Healing Revival” that ministered to A.A. Allen and William Branham must have overlooked the fact that Allen and Branham both were discredited with moral shortcomings.
• -Anyone who baptizes people in the name of the Father, the Son “and BAM” is playing lightly with the Holy Spirit and is bordering on blasphemy.
  

Many of us who long for revival saw the hungry people coming to Lakeland and witnessed the powerful anointing. We recognize that God can use flawed people (because He uses us!), yet we had major questions about Bentley. But rather than censoring him, we wanted to help correct the problems.

Now is the time for Bentley to be corrected. But it would also be good for Arnott, Ahn and Johnson, as well as other leaders such as Wagner, to issue a statement to the body of Christ to help the tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands who were affected by the outpouring understand what is going on spiritually.

Because all of these men endorsed the revival, it might even be appropriate for them to issue an apology. Some of Bentley’s critics say an apology is necessary.

Perhaps some of the problems would have been prevented if men had spoken into Bentley’s life several months ago. As good as it is to have an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff to help the injured, it is much better to have a fence at the top of the cliff to prevent someone from going over.

The Old Testament is full of the stories of flawed men God used powerfully. He continues to use flawed men and women today. But at the same time I believe God sets a higher standard for leaders in the church, requiring them to live righteous and holy lives. It is not right for the leaders who encourage us to follow God with utmost devotion to fall into divorce and other sins while the mocking world watches.

Strader, the pastor to whom Bentley handed “the baton of the Outpouring” earlier this month and who is continuing the services at his church, said that a television news crew was outside his church Tuesday covering what is happening. Newsmen are usually skeptical of high-profile preachers because they’ve seen them rise and fall in the past.

Strader told me that his church, which seats about 800, was packed with people wanting a touch from God. But he admitted that many have been devastated by the news about Bentley’s marriage, including many of the young staff members who were employed by Bentley’s ministry, Fresh Fire. Bentley, his wife, Shonnah, and their family, also, are clearly in turmoil.

Strader mentioned as we talked that we have to be careful not to shoot our wounded. I was reminded of his comment during my daily Bible reading this morning, which included Galatians 6—a passage that says we need to restore those who fall with a spirit of gentleness so that we don’t fall into the same sin. But he also pointed out that there must be a reason why the story of Ananias and Sapphira is in the Bible as a warning to others.

Shortly, I will speak out about Lakeland.  Indeed, I will discuss its connection to the Latterrain Movement, the Manifested Sons of God teaching, the Dominion Theology, its angel Emma, and other such things.    

We must pray that the deception will continue to be broken.  We must pray that true repentance will come forth from those who have allowed such a degrading of the Holy Spirit to come forth.  

Doing much research, I came across a vision that was given to Bryan Hupperts of a flowing river.  This vision amazed me.  Why?  I understood quite well what God had done for me.  He had prevented me from drinking from that river in its pollutted state.

In 1999, He was given a vison of a flowing river.  Upstream, many prophets were urinating and defecating into this river and the unsuspecting saints down the way were dipping their cups of salvation into this river and gagging on the disgusting human waste and inpurities.

This vision was a warning to the saints to become like the Bereans,  and judge expereience by the Word of God, not the other way around.  We must believe and accept Sola Scriptura–Scripture Alone; Solus Christus–Christ Alone.

“In 1989, Dalit and I pleaded and warned the leaders of a local Messianic congregation we attended and were married in to not go out to Kansas City (Mike Bickle’s church) and have a well known “prophet” named Paul Cain prophesy and lay hands on them. God had shown us that this minister Paul Cain was a homosexual and was operating in something which he called “the mantle of the late William Branham”. The leaders of our congregation told us to be quiet and not spread our opinions to the other members because they considered themselves more spiritually in tune with what God is saying than Dalit and I.”

“Being discouraged but still not willing to be quiet with this strong warning rolling on the inside of me about Paul Cain, God arranged a few days later for us to have a spontaneous meeting with the late Derek Prince. In this small and intimate meetings, we had the chance to share some of our prophetic concerns with Derek and he wisely told us a testimony of one of his best friends named Earn Baxter who travelled many years with William Branham. Before Earn had passed on into the glory realm, he told Derek Prince that at the end of William Branham’s ministry there was a strange thing happening. Branham had the great ability to operate in a very accurate word of knowledge from God but also at times seemed to operate in a spirit of divination! Derek Prince then went on as a wise sage to warm us as young bucks to have nothing to do with any in so called “prophetic ministry who say they have the mantle of William Branham transferred on upon them!!!!  No matter how many signs and wonders are evident!!!!”

By Scott Holtz

“PROTECTION FROM DECEPTION” by
 Derek Prince.
Navigating Through The Minefield Of Signs And Wonders

[Chapter One of a book by Derek Prince - Nov1996].

 

Chapter 1

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Let Us Honor God’s Holy SpiritThis is the first in a series of three messages. In this, number one, I will seek to analyze a problem that has arisen in many sections of the church in many parts of the world. In the next message, I will seek to analyze how the problem arose. And in the third message, I will consider ways to guard against that problem arising again. The title of this first message is “Let Us Honor God’s Holy Spirit.”

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Signs and Wonders Do Not Determine Truth

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There has been in recent years a worldwide explosion of signs and wonders. Some have been biblical and helpful. Others have been bizarre and unbiblical. Signs and wonders are not new. They are recorded in various passages of the Bible and in different periods of church history. However, the current explosion extends more widely than any particular church or denomination and has attracted widespread attention in both the religious and the secular media.I want to make it plain that I have no personal prejudice or anxiety concerning unusual manifestations. In actual fact, I have in my own lifetime experienced quite a number of them. They do not frighten me. I am not negative about them.As I recorded in my booklet Uproar in the Church, my own personal encounter with Jesus in World War II began in a very unconventional way. In the middle of the night, in a barrack room of the British Army, I spent more than an hour on my back on the floor, with my body first racked by convulsive sobs and then filled with a river of laughter which grew continually louder.Next morning, I found myself a completely different person, changed not by any act of my will but by yielding to the supernatural power that had flowed through me. I then looked up various passages in the Bible that speak about laughter. To my surprise, I discovered that – for God’s people – laughter is not primarily, as we imagine, a reaction to something comical, but rather an expression of triumph over our enemies.

In Psalm 2:4, David actually depicts God Himself as laughing:

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh: The Lord shall hold them in derision,

Here, God’s laughter is not a reaction to some comedy that is being enacted on earth. Rather, it is His response to the ridiculous human midgets who have the effrontery to oppose His purposes. It is His expression of triumph over all the forces of evil.

Sometimes, God fills us with His own laughter that we may share in His triumph over those who are both His enemies and ours.

Later I pastored a fellowship in London that met on the top floor of a five-story building. One evening a lame man was miraculously healed and threw away his crutches. We all burst into spontaneous praise. At that moment the building began to tremble and shake with the power of God. The praise and shaking continued for about thirty minutes.

I realized that something similar was recorded of the early church in Acts 4:31:

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

At that particular time, our fellowship was conducting several evangelistic meetings each week in the streets of London, and we certainly needed more than natural boldness.

But with regard to any kind of manifestation, there are two questions that I always want to ask. Number one: Is it a manifestation of the Holy Spirit of God? Or is it a manifestation from some other source? And number two (and this is related to it): Is the manifestation in question in harmony with Scripture?

In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. In other words, the Holy Spirit is the author of all Scripture, and He never says or does anything to contradict Himself. Every genuine manifestation of the Holy Spirit will, in some way. harmonize with Scripture.

Now, I want to begin with some warnings of Jesus, particularly related to the end time period in which I believe we are living. These are warnings against deception. They are found in Matthew chapter 24, verses 4, 5, 11 and 24. In other words, four times in 21 verses, Jesus specifically warns us against deception in this period of the close of the age.

The first thing Jesus said about the events leading up to His return, in Matthew 24:4: “Take heed that no one deceives you.” Verse 5: “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah (Christ),’ and will deceive many.” Verse 11: “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” And then in verse 24: “For false messiahs (christs) and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”

So, Jesus warns us four times against deception. Anybody who shrugs off that warning or treats it lightly does so at the risk of his own soul.

The greatest single danger in this end time is not sickness, nor poverty, nor persecution. It is deception. If anybody says, “It could never happen to me,” it has already happened to that person, because that person is saying something could never happen that Jesus said would happen. That is a sufficient indication that such a person is deceived.

Next, I want to say something important about signs and wonders. They do not determine truth. It is very essential to understand that. Signs and wonders do not determine truth! Truth is already determined and established, and it is the Word of God. In John 17:17, Jesus is praying to the Father, and He says, “Your word is truth.” And in Psalm 119:89, the psalmist said, Forever, 0 Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Nothing that happens on earth can ever change the smallest little sign or letter of the Word of God. It is forever settled in heaven.

Now, the Bible speaks about signs and wonders. It says some things about them that are good, and some that are very frightening. I want to turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and read a few verses there, beginning at verse 9.

The coming of the lawless one [that is the title of the Antichrist] is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

So, Paul says here there are such things as lying signs and wonders. There are true signs and there are lying signs. True signs attest the truth. Lying signs attest lies. Satan is fully capable of supernatural signs and wonders. Unfortunately, many in the Charismatic movement have the attitude that if something is supernatural, it must be from God. There is no scriptural basis for that assumption. Satan is perfectly capable of producing powerful signs and wonders to attest his lies, and the reason such people are deceived is because they did not receive the love of the truth. On such people God will send strong delusion.

That is one of the most frightening statements in the Bible. If God sends you strong delusion, you will be deluded. I think that is one of the most severe judgments of God recorded in Scripture, sending these people strong delusion. They will be condemned, these people, because they did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Therefore, signs and wonders are not a guarantee that something is the truth. There is only one sure way to know the truth. It is in the Word of God. Jesus said in John 8:32, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” There is no other way to be sure that we can escape deception in these days except that we know and apply the truth of God’s Word, the Scripture.

In 1994, for the first time, I was brought into fairly direct contact with one of the groups where those manifestations were occurring. A group of leaders went to some of their meetings and returned all excited, saying they had experienced something wonderful and we all needed to experience it. They said, “Now, you don’t test it. You don’t try it out. You don’t examine it. You just open up to it and receive it.” That was the first time that I really began to be suspicious of some of these things, because such a statement is directly contrary to Scripture.

In I Thessalonians 5:21, Paul says to Christians, Test all things: hold fast what is good. So, if we do not test things, we are disobeying Scripture, and anybody who tells us not to test things is, himself, not in harmony with Scripture.

Our hearts cannot be relied upon to give us the truth. Proverbs 28:26 says, He who trusts in his own heart is a fool. So do not be a fool. Do not trust your own heart. Do not rely upon what your heart tells you, because it is not reliable. Again, in Jeremiah 17:9 the prophet says, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

That word deceitful in the Hebrew is a very interesting word. In 1946, I was attending the Hebrew University in Jerusalem as a guest student studying the nature – or the law – of the Hebrew language. I was listening to the head professor in this field at that time talking about this verse: Jeremiah 17:9: The heart is deceitful above all things. He gave reasons which I cannot carry over from Hebrew to show that this form of the word deceitful is active, not passive. It does not mean that your heart is deceived. It means that your heart deceives you, so you cannot trust your own heart.

The professor gave a very vivid picture of what it means to find out the truth about your own heart. He said it is like someone peeling an onion. You peel off skin after skin, but you never know when you have reached the last skin – and all the time your eyes are watering. So that has remained with me now for 50 years – such a vivid, scriptural warning against relying on my own heart to tell me the truth. There is only one source of truth, and that is the Scripture.

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Mixture Produces Confusion and Division

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Now, I would like to give briefly my summation of this whole phenomenon /movement/whatever-you-want-to-call-it, based partly on personal observation and partly on what I believe to be reliable reports. My summation is very simple: it is a mixture of spirits, both the Holy Spirit and unholy spirits. They are mixed together.In Leviticus 19:19, God warns us against mixture. He is opposed to mixture. God says this, “You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.” So, God warns against three things: breeding mixed livestock, sowing with mixed seed and wearing a mixed garment.We could say that sowing with mixed seed represents the message that we bring, when it is partly truth and partly error. Wearing a mixed garment would be like a lifestyle that is partly scriptural and partly of this world. And letting livestock breed with livestock of an incompatible kind would be equivalent to a Christian ministry or group aligning itself with a group or ministry that is non-Christian.It is an interesting thing about such breeding; its product is always sterile. For instance, you can mate a horse with a donkey and the product is a mule. But a mule is always sterile; it cannot reproduce. I think that is one reason why there are so many “sterile” operations in Christendom – they are being bred with the wrong mate.

Now, I have observed this carefully, and I have had grievous experience of this condition of a mixture of spirits. I find that it is something which the Scripture warns us against. For instance, there is a character in the Bible, King Saul, who had a mixture of spirits. At one time, he prophesied in the Holy Spirit; at another time, he prophesied in a demon. His career is really a warning. He was a king who ruled for forty years. He was a successful military commander. He had a lot of successes. But mixture was his undoing, and his life closed with tragedy. On the last night of his life, he went to consult a witch, and the next day he committed suicide on the battlefield. Surely that offers no encouragement to any of us to cultivate any kind of spiritual mixture in our lives.

I have observed that the result of mixture is two things: first of all, confusion; and then division. For instance, we have this mixed message, part of which is true, part of which is false. People can respond in two ways. Some will see the good and focus on it, and therefore accept the bad. Some will focus on the bad, and therefore reject the good. In either case, it does not accomplish God’s purposes.

Once upon a time I was a pastor, a long time ago, but I remember that the most difficult kind of people to deal with were people who were a mixture. I will give you a little imaginary example. We have Sister Jones in our congregation. One Sunday she gives a beautiful, prophetic message and everybody is uplifted, excited. But two Sundays later, she stands up and gives a revelation which she had in a dream. The further she goes with this revelation, the more confused and confusing it becomes. Eventually, as pastor, I have to say to her, “Sister Jones, I thank you, but I really don’t believe that is from the Lord,” and she sits down – but that is not the end.

After the meeting, Sister White comes to me and says, “Brother Prince, how could you talk to Sister Jones like that? Don’t you remember that beautiful prophecy she gave two Sundays ago?” And when Sister White is gone, Brother Black comes to me, and he says, “If that’s the kind of revelation she has, I won’t listen to any more of her prophecies!”

So, you see what we have? Confusion, and out of confusion, division. I believe that is exactly what is happening in the church: confusion resulting in division. Certainly there is tremendous division! I believe confusion will always produce division.

The Bible gives us no liberty to tolerate the incursion of evil into the church. We are not to be passive; we are not to be neutral. Proverbs 8:13 says, The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. It is sinful to compromise with evil. It is sinful to be neutral toward evil. In John 10:10 Jesus spoke about the thief, the devil, who comes: to steal, to kill and to destroy. We always need to remember, whether it is in an individual life or in a congregation, the devil only comes with three objectives: to steal, to kill and to destroy.

I can remember many times I have been speaking with a person who needed deliverance from an evil spirit, and I have said to that person, “Remember, the devil has three reasons for being in your life: to steal, to kill and to destroy. You need to take a stand against him, not be neutral – you must drive him out.” What is true of an individual is true of a congregation. It is true for the body of Christ, worldwide.

Some of these unusual manifestations have been compared with unusual manifestations that accompanied the ministry of John Wesley, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards and Charles Finney. Undoubtedly there were unusual manifestations in the ministries of those four men, and I have studied some of them myself, but I think the differences are greater than the similarities with the present situation. Let me point out to you three differences:

First of all, all those men majored on the strong preaching of God’s Word. They hardly did anything until they had preached the Word of God, or apart from the preaching of the Word of God. Finney, himself, commented somewhere about his ministry, “I usually spoke an hour or two.” I do not know how many contemporary Christians in the West would listen to a two-hour sermon, but Finney gave the Word in its purity and in its power.

Second difference: All those men made a strong call for repentance. That was their primary demand on the people to whom they ministered. Some people call what we are seeing today “a refreshing,” but in Acts 3:19 Peter says that refreshing must be preceded by repentance. Any refreshing that bypasses repentance is not scriptural.

The third difference is that in the ministry of those men, there is no record as far as I know that any of them laid hands on people. I am not saying that it is unscriptural to lay hands on people, but there is a difference. There is a situation in which people receive directly for themselves from the preached Word and another situation in which people have hands laid on them by others.

If I could take a simple example. It is like rain. If you are out in the open and the rain falls upon you, you have received your rain direct from heaven. But, on the other hand, if rain is caught and stored in some kind of a cistern, then you are not receiving that rain direct from heaven. You have to take into account the cistern and the pipes through which you receive the rain.

This is very vivid for me, because my first wife, Lydia, and I lived in Kenya for five years in a house where our water came from rain caught on the roof and channeled into concrete cisterns. Although the water came from heaven, we quickly learned by experience that if it stayed for any length of time in the cistern, worms developed in it and, consequently, we always had to boil our drinking water. There was nothing wrong with the rain as it came down, but something happened in the channel through which the rain came to us, and it was no longer pure. I think this can be true of laying on of hands. It is a channel which is not always pure.

Recently some ministers have moved from actually laying on hands to some other action of the hands – such as waving or pointing. However, this does not change the fact that something is being transmitted through the hands. Otherwise, there is no reason to use the hands at all. The important question still remains: Are those hands pure channels through which only the Holy Spirit can flow?

For instance, Ruth and I were in a meeting fairly recently where ministers deeply involved in the current move were speaking. We were sitting about two rows behind a woman who was having a terrible experience. She was like somebody continually trying to burp or trying to vomit, and she just went on and on and on. Eventually, I said to Ruth, “I think we ought to try to help her.”

So, although it was not a meeting for which we were responsible, we went over quietly and started to talk to her. We discovered very quickly that she was speaking in a tongue, but for both of us it was evident that it was a false tongue; it was not a Holy Spirit tongue. We challenged her to confess that Jesus is Lord, and she was not willing or able to say that. So I conclude that she had a false spirit.

Later on, the people who were with her came over and talked to us and asked us what they should do about it. I asked them, “How did it happen?” And they said, “Well, she went to a church that’s involved in this move and somebody laid hands on her and this is the way she has been since then. But,” they said, “she’s convinced it’s from God. We can’t help her.” That is just an example of “rain” that came through a “cistern” that was not pure.

Also, in the present move, there is a great deal of emphasis on love. I agree that love is the greatest thing. But the trouble is that people are not always clear about the nature of love as it is described in the New Testament. First of all, love in us is expressed by obedience to the Lord. Any kind of love that does not result in obedience is unscriptural love.

In John 14:15, Jesus said to His disciples, “If you love Me, keep My commandments,” or, in a perhaps better text, “You will keep My commandments.” In other words, what is the evidence that you love Him? The evidence is keeping His commandments. Then in verse 21a. Jesus says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them. it is he who loves Me.” And in 1 John 5:3, it says, For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. Therefore, any kind of love that does not result in obedience to the will of God revealed in His Word is not scriptural love. It is a counterfeit, a substitute for the real thing.

Then, we need to consider the way that God expresses His love toward us. True, God is our Father, and He loves us. But as a Father, if necessary, He is prepared to discipline us. In the messages to the seven churches depicted in Revelation, I would say that Laodicea is probably the one that corresponds most closely to the contemporary church in the West. And to that church the Lord said, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent” (Rev. 3:19).

So, God’s love is not sloppy. It is not sentimental. It is right down-to- earth. If we are straying from His ways and if we are disobedient, His love is expressed in rebuking us and chastening us, and He commands us to repent. Once again we have the problem of trying to get what God promises, but bypassing the basic condition of repentance – which is a deception.

I recently read the following comment by a British Bible teacher:

Some Christians take the text “God is love” and turn it around to mean “Love is God.” In other words, nothing can be wrong if it is rooted in love. However, any love that comes between us and God is an illegitimate love …

Likewise any love that diverts us from obedience to God’s Word is illegitimate.

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The Identity of the Holy Spirit

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In all of this that we are speaking about. this worldwide phenomenon, I believe there is one, central, underlying issue, which is often obscured. In fact, very seldom do we come really to grips with this issue.This issue is the identity of the Holy Spirit. How do we recognize the Holy Spirit? How do we know what the Holy Spirit is like? And how do we distinguish the Holy Spirit from other spirits?I read a statement recently by some New-Ager in which she said about the “New Age,” “When the holy spirit comes, then the New Age will be here.” Of course I am sure most of you would understand that when she talks about the holy spirit, she is not talking about the same Holy Spirit that the Bible speaks about. This is one of various indications that there is a counterfeit holy spirit.It is nothing new for Satan to produce a religious counterfeit. Since the time of Jesus, history records a whole series of counterfeit messiahs who have risen among the Jewish people. All of them had a following. Some like Sabbetai Zvi, had a widespread and enduring influence. The latest of them died in 1994.Another religious counterfiet is the being titled the “blessed virgin Mary.” With all the claims that have been made for her and all the titles that have been ascribed to her, she bears no resemblance to the humble Jewish maiden who became the mother of Jesus, and later of His brothers and sisters. Yet over the centuries this counterfeit has claimed the devotion of millions of sincere Christians.

We need to be on our guard, therefore, that we do not entertain a counterfeit “holy spirit.” I want to suggest to you three ways to identify the Holy Spirit, to recognize who the Holy Spirit is.

The first way I refer to in my little booklet Uproar in the Church, which I wrote about two years ago. I will just quote a few paragraphs:

Another danger that threatens those who minister in the supernatural realm is the temptation to use spiritual gifts to manipulate or exploit or dominate people. At one period in my ministry I found myself casting spirits of witchcraft out of church-going people. Eventually, I asked the Lord to show me the true nature of witchcraft.I believe the Lord gave me the following definition: Witchcraft is the attempt to control people and get them to do what you want by the use of any spirit that is not the Holy Spirit.

After I had digested this, the Lord added: And if anyone has a spirit that he can use, it is not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God, and no one uses God.

That is very important. The Holy Spirit is God, and no one uses God.

Then I went on to say,

Today I tremble inwardly when I see or hear of a person who claims that he has spiritual gifts which he is free to use just as he pleases. It is surely no accident that some of those who have made such claims have ended in serious doctrinal error.

It is important to see that there is a difference between the Holy Spirit Himself, as a Person, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 11:29, Paul tells us that the gifts … of God are irrevocable. In other words, once God has given us a gift, He never takes it back. We are free to use it, not to use it, or to misuse it. But even if we misuse it, God does not take it back. Otherwise it would not be a genuine gift, it would only be a conditional loan.

It is a fact that people do misuse gifts of the Holy Spirit. Paul provides a clear example in I Corinthians 13:1:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

Obviously the Holy Spirit Himself does not become a clanging cymbal. But the gift of speaking in tongues – when misused – can become an empty, discordant noise. Unfortunately this often happens in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles.

I believe it is possible to misuse other spiritual gifts – such as a word of knowledge or a gift of healing. This can happen when a person uses a spiritual gift to achieve a result or promote a movement which is not in harmony with the will of God. One obvious misuse would be for personal gain.

In such a situation, our safeguard is to be able to recognize the Holy Spirit as a Person and to distinguish between Him and His gifts. This, then, is the first and most important fact about the Holy Spirit: HE IS GOD. And we need to relate to Him and treat Him always as God.

The second fact about the Holy Spirit is that He is the servant of God the Father and God the Son. This is an exciting revelation because it gives such a high value to servanthood. Many people today despise the idea of being a servant. They feel it is demeaning and undignified to be a servant. But I think it is wonderful that servanthood did not begin on earth. It began in eternity and it began in God. God the Holy Spirit is the Servant of the Father and the Son. This does not demean Him or make Him less than God. But it is a fact that we have to recognize about Him, which directs His activities and the things He does.

In John 16:13-14 Jesus gives us a glimpse of the Holy Spirit’s ministry and activity:

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth: for He will not speak on His own authority [literally: from Himself] but whatever He hears He will speak: and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

So we see: the Holy Spirit does not speak from Himself; He has no message of His own. Isn’t that remarkable? He only reports to us what He is hearing from the Father and the Son. Secondly, His aim is not to glorify Himself, nor to attract attention to Himself, but always He glorifies and focuses attention on Jesus. That is the second important way to identify the Holy Spirit.

Now, I want you to listen to this carefully, because it is revolutionary. Any spirit that focuses on the Holy Spirit and glorifies the Holy Spirit is not the Holy Spirit. It is contrary to His whole nature and purpose. Once you have grasped that, it will open your eyes to many things which are going on in the church that are otherwise difficult to understand.

For example, we have a very beautiful chorus that we sing about the Father, the Son and the Spirit. The first verse says to the Father, “Glorify Thy name in all the earth.” The second verse says to Jesus the Son, “Glorify Thy name in all the earth.” The third verse says to the Spirit, “Glorify Thy name in all the earth.” I love to sing the first two verses, but I decline to sing the third verse, because I do not believe it is scriptural. The Holy Spirit never does glorify His own name. His purpose is to glorify the One who sent Him.

Let me make another statement which may surprise you. I have not found in the Scripture anywhere an example of a prayer addressed to the Holy Spirit. So far as I can understand, no one in the Scripture ever prayed to the Holy Spirit. You probably would do well to check that for yourself, but I have looked carefully and have not found one example.

You might ask, “Why so?” And I would give you this answer: It is a question of heavenly “protocol.” There is so little respect nowadays for protocol on earth that we sometimes do not realize that there is protocol in heaven. It is protocol relating to a master-servant relationship. In such a relationship, when you are dealing with a servant, you do not speak to the servant, but to the master. You ask the master to tell his servant what to do. It is wrong to directly address a servant when his master is available for you to speak to.

I believe that is heaven’s protocol. When you recognize the relationship of the Holy Spirit to God the Father and God the Son, you understand that we never give orders to the Holy Spirit. When we want the Holy Spirit to do something, we address our request to the Father or to the Son.

When I was looking through this, I found a passage in Ezekiel chapter 37 which I thought, at first, was an exception. It is part of Ezekiel’s well-known vision of the valley full of dry bones with no life in them. First of all, he prophesied and the bones came together, but they were still lifeless corpses. Then, in verses 9 and 10:

Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, 0 breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”‘” So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.

So, I thought that the “breath” is really a picture of the wind – or the Holy Spirit – and so Ezekiel was praying to the wind. But he was not praying. He was prophesying. And it did not come from himself. He merely passed on to the wind a command that he had received from God Himself. Therefore, as far as I have been able to discover, there is not a single example anywhere in the Scripture of praying to the Holy Spirit.

Now, I am not seeking to make a big issue out of that. On the other hand, I think it is very important as we try to discern the nature and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. You would say to me, “Well, doesn’t God hear our prayer when we pray to the Holy Spirit?” I think He does. But we are not praying in full accord with heaven’s protocol. If we really want to please the Lord and show respect for Him, we will show respect for His protocol.

The third important fact about the Holy Spirit is what is indicated in His name: He is Holy. This is His primary title: the Holy Spirit. In Hebrew it is the Spirit of Holiness. He has many other titles: for instance, the Spirit of Grace, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Power, and so on, But they are all subsidiary. His name and His primary title is the Holy Spirit. Anything that is unholy does not proceed from the Holy Spirit.

The Scripture also speaks of the beauty of holiness. There is a beauty in holiness when it proceeds from the Holy Spirit. It is not necessarily external. It may be internal beauty. For instance, in I Peter 3:4, Peter speaks about the hidden person of the heart, and he speaks about the adornment of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price. This is not external beauty. It is internal beauty, which comes from the Holy Spirit.

I want to say, however, with the utmost emphasis: Anything unholy or ugly does not proceed from the Holy Spirit.

I will give you a list of 12 adjectives, all of which I believe cannot be applied to the Holy Spirit or to anything that is the product of the Holy Spirit. As I go through the list, I suggest you check mentally and see if you agree with me. Here, then, are words that would never apply to the Holy Spirit:

self-exalting self-assertive       degrading flippant

rude sham vulgar indecent

insensitive stupid silly degraded

I have in my heart, if God wills and I live, to write a book at some time of which I have already chosen the title. The title is this: Holiness Is Not Optional. Only God knows whether I will ever succeed in writing the book, but I want to say, in any case, that the title states the exact truth. In the Christian life, holiness is not optional. Many Christians seem to think about holiness as if it is like something added to a car, such as fancy leather upholstery instead of the normal kind of plastic. But that is not true. Holiness is an essential part of salvation. In Hebrews 12:14 the writer says, Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no man will see the Lord. What salvation do we have that does not bring us to see the Lord? But without holiness, no one will see the Lord.

We have in our contemporary Western Christianity a very incomplete picture of salvation. “If I get saved and born again, and then I want to go on and be holy. I can do it – but it is an option.” I want to tell you that your salvation depends on your being holy. And holiness comes only from the Holy Spirit.

There are many features of purported moves of the Holy Spirit that I could pick out and hold up as examples of things that are not holy. But I will only deal with one, and that is: animal behavior in human beings attributed to the Holy Spirit. There are many such examples, some I have witnessed and some have been reported.

First of all, there is no passage in Scripture that I know of where the Holy Spirit causes any human being to behave like an animal. There is the example of Balaam, but that is a strong contrast. God caused Balaam’s donkey to speak like a man – but He never caused Balaam to bray like a donkey!

There was one man whom God caused to behave like an animal: Nebuchadnezzar.

He was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

(Daniel 4:33)

But that was God’s judgment, not His blessing! Revelation 4:6-8 depicts four living creatures that surround the throne of God. Three are there as representatives of the “animal” kingdom: a lion, a calf and an eagle. But none of them make noises that express their “animal” nature. All of them alike proclaim the holiness of God in pure and beautiful speech.

It is important to understand that there is an order in God’s creation. Man was created in the image and likeness of God to exercise authority over the animal kingdom (see Genesis 1:26). Man is, in fact, the highest order of the creation described in the opening chapters of Genesis. This has a bearing on the way the Holy Spirit blesses us. He uplifts those whom He blesses. He will at times cause an animal to act in some ways like a human being. But He will never degrade a human being by causing him to act like an animal.

I have a certain amount of experience in this area because I have encountered animal spirits many times in Africa. I recall one particular deliverance service that I held in Zambia with about 7,000 Africans present. When I had finished the teaching and began to command the evil spirits to manifest themselves and come out of the people, there were all sorts of animal spirits that were let loose. By “animal spirits” I mean evil, demonic spirits that enter human beings and cause them to behave like animals.

The first thing that happened was that a man with a “lion spirit” tried to charge me. But someone tripped him up and he did not reach me.

You need to know that the reason these Africans in this part of Africa have so many animal spirits is because many of them are hunters of animals. They have this superstition that in order to hunt an animal successfully, you have to get the spirit of the animal in you. So a man tends to have the spirit of the animal which he seeks to hunt. For instance, the man who is hunting a lion, will get a lion spirit.

There are many others. We dealt with spirits of wild boars that caused people to burrow in the earth with their noses like a wild boar rooting for something. Then there were many snake spirits. These were mainly in women, and when they were manifested, the women were flat on their bellies slithering around like snakes. All these I actually witnessed myself.

There was one other spirit that I did not witness, but heard about from the missionary couple who organized the meeting. Later I met the lady concerned. She was a very sweet Christian lady – a school teacher – but her husband was an elephant hunter. When she came to the missionary couple for deliverance, they commanded the elephant spirit to come out. Immediately she dropped on her hands and knees, crawled out through an open door, put her forehead up against a small tree, and began to try to push it down. Wasn’t that remarkable?

Perhaps some well-meaning Western Christian might have said, “Our sister is pushing a tree down for Jesus,” but that was not the explanation. The elephant spirit in her was causing her to do what elephants regularly do, which is push down trees with their foreheads. As soon as she was delivered from that spirit, she no longer had any urge to push trees down with her forehead.

In the West, we sometimes tend to speak about the people in Africa as unsophisticated and to consider ourselves more sophisticated. However, I think in this realm of animal spirits it is we, in the West, who are unsophisticated and the Africans who are sophisticated. They have lived for generations with such spirits, but until the gospel came, with the power of the name of Jesus and the Word of God, they had no way to deal with them. Thank God that many of them now know how to deal with them!

Another example of which various reports have been given is people behaving like dogs. I am a dog lover, but I think dogs should be kept in their rightful place. I do not believe that the Holy Spirit ever causes anybody to bark or to run around like a dog.

Where such manifestations of animal spirits have occurred, there are certain steps that we need to take. We cannot tolerate or encourage such manifestations. Nor can we merely sweep all this under the carpet and go on as if nothing had happened.

In Matthew 12:33, Jesus instructs us:

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.”

Wherever there is bad fruit, it comes from a bad tree. It is not enough to get rid of the bad fruit. We must also cut down the bad tree that produced it. If we fail to do this, the bad tree will go on producing more bad fruit.

Undoubtedly the tree that produces animal behavior of this kind is some form of occult or pagan practice. For instance, there are frequent manifestations of animal behavior in some parts of Africa and India.

To cut down the tree requires that the leaders responsible identify the problem, confess it as sin and repent of it. Nowhere in the Bible is there any ground to suppose that God will forgive sins that we are not willing to confess.

Somebody has said, “The confession must be as wide as the transgression.” If leaders have tolerated these things in the presence of their people, then in the presence of their people they need to confess it as a sin and cancel it. Otherwise, if the bad tree is not cut down, it will go on producing bad fruit.

In closing, I want to give a little “parable” of my own construction, which is about my relationship with my wife. In this parable my wife represents the Holy Spirit and I represent God. Now please understand, this is a very simple little parable and I am fully aware that the Holy Spirit is not the wife of God. But with those cautions, let me relate the parable.

A friend comes to me and says, “I saw you and your wife together on the platform the other evening and she looked so beautiful, so fresh, so full of the Holy Spirit.” So I say, “Thank you. That’s really how she is.” Then, a little later, the same man comes to me and says, “You know, yesterday I saw your wife in a bar with a man drinking.” And I say, “That was not my wife! My wife is a pure and godly woman. She does not go to bars and she does not drink with strangers. My wife was right here with me all day yesterday. Don’t speak that way about my wife!”

But a little later, he comes to me and says, “You know, I saw your wife yesterday sunbathing topless on the beach.” Then I get really angry. I say to him, “My wife was nowhere near the beach yesterday, and she would never expose herself like that! If you want to remain my friend, you’ve got to come to the place where you don’t identify that loose, immoral woman as my wife, because that’s an insult to her and to me, If you want to remain my friend, you’ve got to change the way you speak about my wife.”

The application, of course, is this: if you want to remain a friend of God, you cannot afford to identify His Holy Spirit as something that is loose or immoral or ugly or unholy, because that angers God intensely.

Now we come to one final Scripture, which is in Matthew 12:31-32. Jesus says,

“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”

That is a very solemn and frightening warning. We are warned by Jesus Himself to be very, very careful how we speak about the Holy Spirit, how we represent the Holy Spirit.

Jesus uses the word blasphemy, and I decided to look it up in my big Greek lexicon. The primary meaning of to blaspheme is given in the lexicon as this: to speak lightly or amiss of sacred things. So when you speak lightly or amiss concerning the Holy Spirit, or misrepresent the character of the Holy Spirit, by definition you are close to blaspheming.

If you have ever done that, or been prone to do it, or been associated with those who do it, I want to offer you some sincere advice: You need to repent. You need to settle that matter once and for all with God and never again be guilty of misrepresenting God’s Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit is holy and He is God.

copyright © Derek Prince Ministries
Originally published July 1996
Revised and expanded November 1996
Reproduced here with permission, May 2000

© 1998 by John Green

 This article may be reproduced in it’s entirety for non-commercial purpose as long as it contains this notice.

 “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed…” — Noah Webster of Pennsylvania An Examination of The Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, Philadelphia, 1787 “[W]hen the resolution of enslaving America was formed in Great Britain, the British Parliament was advised by an artful man, who was governor of Pennsylvania, to disarm the people; that it was the best and most effectual way to enslave them; but that they should not do it openly, but weaken them, and let them sink gradually.” – George Mason of Virginia:  Virginia’s U.S. Constitution ratification convention, 1788.

 As history has shown, it is a common tactic for the oppressing force to gain control of a nation by seizing the means by which individuals might defend themselves. Once the citizenry are disarmed, it is a relatively easy matter to exert complete tyrannical control. It seems to me that the same principal holds true in the spiritual realm. Those who would remove the defensive weapon of discernment are binding the hands of the Church. They are preparing God’s people for the slaughter. Why are they doing this? Why would they want to expose millions to the myriad deceptions of the enemy with no protection. Why do they take away what the Father has given? The Church is becoming a slaughterhouse slick with the spilled blood of saints who have been seduced by false teachers. The faithful plod forward to the killing floor, their trusting eyes fixed on their leaders. Error and deception runs rampant. Charlatans rule the bestseller list. Pseudo-knowledge is dispersed around the world, speeding through electrical synapses. Make no mistake. It is a battle, and much is at stake. The New Testament is replete with warnings of false teachers and teachings, of lying signs and wonders, and of corrupt men who would seek to draw followers after themselves. God has not left His people defenseless. He has indwelt us with His Spirit of Truth, provided us with the example of Christ, His teachings, the teachings of the apostles, and all the other writings found in the Bible. There is a gift of the discerning of spirits given to some, but more importantly, there the ability to test all things and to be discerning, which is the responsibility of all believers. If the believer is to be armed against the deceptions of the enemy, and to remain free from his oppressive regime, then he must exercise discernment with continual vigilance. If this defensive weapon is seized and taken from you, then you are easy prey for any who would desire to take you captive. Because of these things, it is very disturbing to me to observe a trend in the Body of Christ today. This trend is to scorn and belittle those who would exercise their God-given self-defense weapon of discernment. Those who would obey scripture and “test all things” are mocked and ridiculed from the pulpit, and labeled ‘Pharisees.’ It seems that the Church has fallen prey to the pluralistic, non-judgmental mindset of our present age. The one unpardonable sin is to question someone’s belief, or dare to say that it might be wrong. These new leaders demand you climb on the bandwagon, and if you cannot agree, then you must remain silent at all costs. They call for us to experience now, and evaluate later. Adam and Eve had no experiential knowledge of good and evil. The Serpent called their attention to the attractiveness and desirability of the fruit, and enticed them to experience for themselves. In their later evaluation, they knew that they had been wrong to ignore what God had said on the matter, but by then the damage had been done. Let us examine the logic (or lack of it) behind what some of these leaders are saying:

“You have to experience it yourself before you judge it.” This is pure nonsense. It is the method the Mormons use to get people hooked in (pray about the Book of Mormon and see if you get a ‘burning in your bosom’). You don’t have to experience suicide to know that it is bad for you. Christians are never commanded to authenticate a questionable spiritual experience by submitting themselves to it.

“If you don’t jump in the River, then you may miss out on the move of God.” If you don’t exercise your duty to test everything and hold on to what is good, then you may be deceived. God is not in a hurry. If you are walking with Him, seeking to please Him, then He will guide you into all He desires for you. Just because someone proclaims something is a move of God, doesn’t make it so. Beware of the salesman who pushes you to make a decision on the spot. He may have something to hide.

“God offends the mind to reveal the heart.”I don’t know what this is, but it is not Scripture. It is true that God’s ways may be offensive to human wisdom. Often though, this quote is used to say that if you are offended by something going on in the Church, then your heart isn’t right. The real issue is, are you offended because what is going on is unscriptural? If so, then stand fast.

“Don’t oppose what is going on, in case it turns out to be a move of God.” This is the argument used by Gamaliel in Acts chapter 5. Although this argument worked in favor of the apostles, it must be pointed out that Gamaliel was a Pharisee making a pragmatic argument. His was not a directive from the Lord on how believers should conduct their discernment. If something is not from God, ultimately, it is true that it will not succeed. In the time that it takes for a false movement to runs its course however, many lives will be damaged, and many souls deceived and damned. Look at the phenomenal growth and apparent success of Mormonism. Christians rightly oppose Mormonism on a basis that it twists and deviates from Scripture. Things which occur within Christianity should receive no less scrutiny. Or consider the works of Satan. We know that he will not succeed, but we certainly do not sit back and allow him to do his work unhindered. When souls are at stake, we cannot afford to sit back and do nothing.

“Don’t you want more of God in your life?”This is a sneaky one. Of course, any sincere Christian realizes that they need to grow closer to God, and they desire to do so. This should not lead us to embrace everything that comes down the pike however. Part of growing closer to God includes obeying His commands to test and be discerning. The desperation of some Christians reminds me of King Saul turning to the witch of Endor. He wanted an answer at any price. The price he ended up paying was his own destruction. Look for yourself. See how many times the New Testament references false teachers, false teaching. Using your concordance, look up the commands to discern and test, to not be deceived. Shake off the chains of those who would seek to bind you. Exercise your “Right to bear arms” as a believer.

The healthy soul, like the healthy blood system, has it’s proper proportion of white and red blood cells. The red corpuscles are like faith: they carry the life giving oxygen to every part of the body. The white cells are like discernment: they pounce upon dead and toxic matter and carry it out to the drain. In the healthy heart there must be provision for keeping dead and poisonous matter out of the life stream.   A.W. Tozer 

GREAT JUDGEMENTS

This prophetic word was spoken by Stanley Frodisham who was a personal friend of Smith Wigglesworth. It was given in Chicago in 1965 five years before he died.

“With great judgments will I plead with the population of this country. Great darkness is coming upon the countries that have heard My gospel but no longer walk in it. My wrath shall come upon them. The darkness shall be so great and the anguish so sore that men shall cry out for death and shall not find it. There shall be a lingering death, famine and great catastrophes.My wrath shall be manifested against all ungodliness. It shall come with great intensity. You have known my love but have not experienced My wrath or My severity. My judgments are literal and not a thing to be passed over lightly. Realize the severity of My judgments and My intense anger against the sin in My Household. My judgments shall begin in My House, for I will cleanse My House that it be not a partaker of My wrath against the iniquities of the cities. Before I visit the nations in judgment I will begin at My House. When I do cause My wrath to come upon the cities of the world My people shall be separate. I desire a people without spot or wrinkle and such will be preserved by Me in the time of My wrath, which will be coming upon all iniquity and unrighteousness.I am going to prepare you for the coming days by a hard path that will cause many to cry out continually unto Me. For when the going is easy men do not seek Me, but rejoice in a temporary blessing. And when that blessing is removed they so often turn this way and that way but do not come to Me. I am showing you these things in order that you may seek Me continually and with great diligence. As you seek Me I will open up truths to you that you have not seen before, and these very truths will be such that will enable you to stand in these last days. As you are persecuted, reviled and rejected by your brethren then you will turn unto Me with all your heart and seek Me for that spiritual life that you need. So that when persecution comes you will have that which will enable you to stand. For many will be tossed to and fro, men’s hearts shall fail them because of trouble on every hand. These days shall be very terrible the likes of which have never been seen before.

Coming Glory – and – Deceiving Spirits

When I visit My people in mighty revival power, it is to prepare them for the darkness ahead. With the Glory shall come great darkness, for the Glory is to prepare My people for the darkness. I will enable My people to go through the darkness because of the visitation of My Spirit. Take heed to yourselves lest you be puffed up and think that you have arrived. Many shall be puffed up as in the olden days, for then, many received My message but they did not continue in it. Did I anoint Jehu? Yet the things that I desired were not accomplished in his life. Listen to the messengers, but do not hold men’s persons in admiration or adulation. For many whom I shall anoint mightily with signs and miracles shall become lifted up and shall fall by the wayside. I do not this willingly for I have made provision that they might stand. I call many into this ministry and equip them, but remember that many shall fall. They shall be like bright lights and the people shall delight in them. But they shall be taken over by deceiving spirits and shall lead many of My people astray. Hearken diligently concerning these things, for in the last days shall come seducing spirits. They shall turn many of My anointed ones away, many shall fall through diverse lusts and because of ‘sin abounding.But if you will seek Me diligently I will put My Spirit within you so that when one shall turn to the right hand or to the left hand you shall not turn with them, but instead you will keep your eyes fixed wholly on your Lord. The coming days are going to be most dangerous, difficult and dark for there shall be a mighty outpouring of My Spirit in judgment upon many cities and many shall be destroyed. My people must be diligently warned concerning the days ahead. Many shall turn after seducing spirits and already many are seducing My people. It is those who ‘Do Righteousness’ that are righteous. Many cover their sins by great theological words. But I warn you of seducing spirits who instruct my people in an evil way. Many of these I will anoint that they in turn may purify and sift My people, for I will have a holy people. When I come I shall not find faith upon the earth but in a few, for when the time of testing comes many will depart from their Lord. Many shall come with seducing spirits and hold out lustful enticements. You will find that after I have visited My people again the way will become more and more narrow, and fewer shall walk therein. Be not deceived, the ways of righteousness are My ways. For though Satan come as an angel of light hearken not to him; for those who perform miracles and speak not righteousness are not of Me. I warn you with great intensity that I am going to judge My House and have a church without spot or wrinkle when I come. I desire to open your eyes and give you spiritual understanding, that you may not be deceived but may walk with uprightness of heart before Me, loving righteousness and hating every evil way. Look unto Me and I will make you to perceive with the eyes of the Spirit the things that lurk in darkness, that are not visible to the human eye. Let Me lead you in this way, that you may perceive the powers of darkness and battle against them. It is not a battle against flesh and blood, for if you battle in that way you accomplish nothing. But if you let Me take over and battle against the powers of darkness then they are defeated, and then liberation is brought to My people.The Ways of DeceiversI warn you to search the Scriptures diligently concerning these last days. For the things that are written shall indeed be made manifest. There shall come deceivers among My people in increasing numbers, who shall speak forth the truth and shall gain the favour of the people. For the people shall examine the Scriptures and say, ‘What these men say is true’. Then when they have gained the hearts of the people, then and then only shall they bring out their wrong doctrines. Therefore I say that you should not give your hearts to men, nor hold people’s persons in admiration or adulation. For by these very persons Satan shall gain entry into My people. Watch for seducers! Do you think a seducer will brandish a heresy and flaunt it before the people? He will speak words of righteousness and truth and will appear as a minister of light, declaring the Word. The people’s hearts shall be won. Then when the hearts are won, they will bring out their doctrines and the people shall be deceived. The people shall say ‘Did he not speak thus and thus’? ‘And did we not examine it from the Word’? ‘Therefore he is a minister of righteousness. This that he has now spoken we do not see in the Word but it must be right, for the other things he spoke were true’.Be not deceived. For the deceiver will first work to gain the hearts of many, and then shall bring forth his insidious doctrines. You can not discern those who are of Me and those who are not of Me when they start to preach. But seek Me constantly, and when these doctrines are brought out you shall have a witness in your heart that these are not of Me. Fear not, for I have warned you. It is possible that the very elect may be deceived. But it is not possible if you walk in holiness and uprightness before the Lord, for then your eyes shall be open and the Lord will protect you. If you will constantly look unto the Lord you will know when the doctrine changes, and will not be brought into it. If your heart is right I will keep you, if you will look constantly to Me I will uphold you.

The minister of righteousness shall be on this wise — his life shall agree with the word, and his lips shall give forth that which is wholly true, there will be no mixture. When the mixture appears then you will know he is not a minister of righteousness. The deceivers speak first the truth and then error, to cover their own sins which they love. Therefore I exhort and command you to study the Scriptures relative to seducing spirits, for this is one of the great dangers of these last days.I desire you to be firmly established in My word and not in the personalities of men, that you will not be moved as so many shall be moved. I would keep you in the paths of righteousness. Take heed to yourselves and follow not the seducing spirits that are already manifesting themselves. Diligently inquire of Me when you hear something that you have not seen in the word, and do not hold people’s persons in admiration, for it is by this very method that Satan will hold many of My people.The Way of TriumphI have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly, that you may triumph where I triumphed. On the cross I triumphed over all the powers of Satan and I have called you to walk in the same path. It is when your life is on the cross that you shall know the victory that I have experienced. As you are on the cross, seated in Me, then you shall know the power of the resurrection. When I come in My Glory the principalities and powers in the heavenly places shall be utterly broken. Fear not, for I have given you the power whereby you may tread down the powers of darkness, and come forth victorious through every trial. As you are on the cross then you are victorious. It was on the cross that I triumphed over all the powers of the enemy. My life shall flow through as you enter into these precious truths. Look unto Me and appropriate My life. As your eyes and desires are toward Me and you know what it is to be crucified with Me, then you shall live and your anointing shall increase. It was not in My life as I walked upon the earth but rather it was in My life as I hung upon the cross that I openly spoiled principalities and powers.I am showing you truth that shall cause you to overcome, to have power over the wicked one, this is the truth that will liberate you and those around you. You shall know also the fellowship of My sufferings. There is no other way whereby you may partake of this heavenly glory and to reign with Me. My word says that If we suffer with Him we shall reign with Him. I desire to make these truths real within you. As you keep them before you, you will in turn liberate many who are in bondage. You will have revelation of those who are in darkness and will have the keys to liberate the captives. Many seek to liberate but do not have the keys. Upon the cross continually you will know the power of My resurrection.If you will indeed judge yourself you shall not be judged. As you seek My face and desire to be cleansed by Me in all truth and sincerity of heart, I will judge you in the secret place, and the things that are in the secret place of your heart shall not be made manifest to others. I will do it in the secret place and no man will know it. The shame that will be seen on many faces shall not be seen on your face. Therefore in mercy and love I am instructing you in order that you may partake of My Glory. As you are willing to walk with Me and rejoice in your sufferings, you shall in turn partake of My Glory. Look unto Me for you have need of power to overcome the wicked one and the bondages in other’s lives.I said that if a man will judge himself he shall not be judged. It is not My good pleasure that the shame of My people be seen by all. How can I judge the world if I judge not first My own house? Hearken unto these things that I am telling you, for if you will not hearken unto Me thy shame shall be evident to all.God’s Part and Our PartI would have you consider My life on earth — the anointing upon Me was great and yet the temptations were great on every side; they came in one form and then in another, offering Me first the glory of the kingdoms of the earth and then in the form of reviling and persecution. There will be great glory given to My people but also the temptations will be intensified on every side. Think not that with the glory there shall be no temptations or persecutions. The glory to My church shall be great and so also the temptations from the enemy to turn My people from My paths. I warn you again that when the glory shall be manifested the temptations shall be great until very few that started shall finish the course. First of all they shall be offered great worldly possessions and then will come great revilings and unbelief.Consider your Lord, that as He walked so it shall be for you. There shall be need of great intensity of purpose. At times it will seem that everyone is rising up against you, trying to turn you from the course that I have set for you. It is written of Me that I set my face as flint to go in the direction that My Father had prescribed for Me. If you will finish the course the Lord has laid down for you, you too will have to set your face as a flint. With great determination you must walk in the course laid down for you. Many of your loved ones and those who follow with you will seek to persuade you and try to turn you from the course. With many words that seem right in the natural they will speak to you. Did not Christ rebuke Peter who would turn Him from the course God had prescribed?Understand these two things and meditate upon them solemnly — the persecution and the darkness shall be as great as the glory in order to try to turn the elect and the anointed ones from the path the Lord has laid down for them. Many shall start but few shall be able to finish because of the greatness of grace that shall be needed to be able to endure unto the end. The temptation and the persecution of your Lord were continuous. He was tempted by Satan in many forms throughout His entire life and even to the cross where the ungodly cried out ‘if thou be the Christ come down from the cross.’ Think not that there will be a time of no persecution, for it shall be from the time of your anointing until the end. Difficulties and great persecution will go on to the end. The Lord must prepare you to be an overcomer in all things, that you may be able to finish the course. The persecution shall increase even as the anointing shall increase.In paths of judgment and righteousness shall the Lord God lead His people and bring them into that place which He has chosen for them. The Lord has chosen a place for His people, a place of righteousness and holiness where He shall encamp around them. All who will be led of the Lord will be brought into this holy place. For the Lord delights to dwell in His people and to manifest Himself through His people. The holiness of the Lord will be manifested through His people. Let the Lord lead you and He will lead you in the difficult places. He led His people of old through a place where no man dwelt, where no man passed through, in a place of great danger and in the shadow of death. The Lord will indeed lead His people again through such places, and at the same time will bring them out into a place of great glory. Understand that the way toward the glory is fraught with great danger and many shall fall to the right or the left, many shall camp on lesser ground. But the Lord has a place of holiness and no unclean thing shall dwell among His people.Put your trust in Him and He will bring you into a place of holiness. He desires to bring His people into a great glory — the likes of which has never been seen, for this is what the Lord will do for those who put their trust in Him. It is a place of darkness and great danger and it will separate His people into the place where he would have them walk. He will protect them from the voices that would turn them from His path. He will bring them through the dark places and treacherous paths and lead them out into the light of His glory. He will rejoice greatly over His beloved and cause them to be filled with joy unspeakable. He seeks to lead His people into a new place of grace and glory where He will indeed encamp among them. Put your trust in Him and He will surely bring you into this new place.Fear not the days to come, but fear this only — that you shall walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord. In this time I am ordering and setting up My church and it shall indeed be pure, without spot or wrinkle. I will do a work in My beloved that has not been seen since the foundation of the world. I have shown you these things that you may seek the Lord diligently with all your heart, and that you may be a preserver of His people.Run not to this one or that one for the Lord has so ordained that salvation is in Him and in Him alone. You shall not turn to this shepherd or to that one, for there shall be a great scattering upon the earth. Therefore look unto Him for He will indeed make these things clear to you. You shall not look here or there, for His Wells shall increase your strength and your faith as He prepares you for the times that are coming.The truths that I have revealed to you must become a part of you — not just an experience, but a part of your very nature. Is it not written that I demand truth in the inward parts? It is the truth of the Lord expressed in your very being that shall hold you. Many shall experience the truth but the truth must become a part of you, your very life. As men and women look upon you they will hear not only the voice but see the expression of the truth. Many shall be overcome because they are not constant in My ways and because they have not permitted the truths to become a part of them. I am showing you these things that you may be prepared, and having done all, to stand.  

Time and again, I have wondered why the ministry has been so hard.  It has taken years to arrive at the point where we are at.  I have recently uncovered the problem.

The problem is the fact that I still hold on to the Doctrine of Imminence.   That the New Testament teaches Christ could return at any moment is a strong doctrine supporting the pre-trib rapture doctrine (see 1 Cor. 1:7; 16:22; Phil. 3:20; 4:5; 1 Thess. 1:10; Tit. 2:13; Heb. 9:28; Jam. 5:7-9; 1 Pet. 1:13; Jude 21: Rev. 3:11; 22:7, 12, 17, 20). Pretribulationists call this the doctrine of imminence. If Christ can return at any-moment, without the necessity of intervening signs or events, then it renders pretribulationism most likely and posttribulationism impossible. Imminence in relation to the rapture has been defined as consisting of three elements: “the certainty that He may come at any moment, the uncertainty of the time of that arrival, and the fact that no prophesied event stands between the believer and that hour.”

I have seen those who believe in the prophetic, healings, miracles, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit taken by some force other than by God away from the Doctrine of Imminence.   I have been pushed to deny the Doctrine of Imminence and to accept Dominion Theology, Latter Rain, and the Manifested Sons of God teachings.  I still stand firm against such teachings.  These teachings have almost taken the prophetic movement over.  They have seized the hearts of the saints making the saints look away from the Coming of the Lord to that of a now kingdom upon the earth.  

So as it were, there are two camps of the prophetic.  Those who follow still the Doctrine of Imminence and believe in the prophetic, healings, miracles, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are faced with a up hill battle to have a ministry.  However, we can overcome this and promote and defend the Doctrine of Imminence.

 

While I believe in the Prophetic Gifts and all other such manifestations of the Holy Spirit, I cannot accept all things that are on going in the Pentecostal and Charismatic circles.  I cannot accept the mixture of Christianity and New Age.  I cannot accept the New Age techniques being used by Christian leaders and Christian teachers.

Within these circles it seems as though babes are leading babes.  Many of these modern day manifestations that are flowing out of these circles are not genuine.  They are the result of fanaticism and hysteria wrought in the midst of psychological release or, even worse, the work of Satan.  But thank God, the Holy Spirit still works. So there are genuine workings of God. 

Many of us are seeking this and seeking that instead of seeking the Lord.  Every time a word is spoken of a revival, we think that the revival is of God without praying and checking it out.  I do believe that a new revival is coming, but it is not here.  We are receiving many counterfeit movements.  Thank God that there are some movements that are of God, but these are not that of which have been spoken of for the last thirty years.

I have witnessed several movements in the last thirty years.  Some have done great good and have truly come from God.  Others have not come from God, but have come to mislead the community of the saints.

Another revival is on the scene now.  This is another revival coming from those who promote Dominion Theology, the Latter rain movement, and the Manifested Sons of God. People who believe in all of these things have an over realized Eschatology.  They have placed themselves in the Millennial Reign of Christ when the Millennial kingdom had not as yet come.   Paul condemned this type of belief in 1 Cor. 4:8-21.