I recently received a letter packet in the mail. I won’t name the ministry, but there are so many of them that do this, just fill in your own here. The packet was entitled “How to get your miracle from God.” And for a donation of only $50 they would send you the latest book by the head of that ministry on “How to Get Your Miracle from God”. And they would throw in a bottle of special “miracle working” anointed oil from the Holy Land.
What is wrong with this picture? First of all, if we just go on a common sense basis, you can go on Amazon.com and purchase this book for probably $13.00 and you can go down to the Christian bookstore in your area and buy a bottle of anointing oil in all sorts of scents for around $4.00. However, if this ministry were just preaching the unadulterated Word of God and were truly working to change the world through the salvation work of the Cross, everyone attached to that particular ministry should tithe or make offerings into that GOOD work. But most of the ministries on TV today are just spouting pure heresy! You ask, how do I know that? You read your bible and study it. You get commentaries that will help you understand it. You invest time in your soul! God will not honor any tithes or offerings that are sowed into a dead work or a work that goes against the true Word of God. You say you didn’t know? That is no excuse. Again, study the Word and it will keep you from silliness such as this!
So now that we have dealt with the books, and the anointing oils, and there are also water packets, and green pieces of cloth, and prayer clothes, and trees planted and the list just goes on and on, let’s look what God promises you personally. Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with asking for prayer, or going to the altar for healing, as that is all scriptural. Do you think I am wrong?…look it up…simple as that. Now, back to what is to me the most awesome scripture in the bible when it come to provision from God and this applies to ministries as well. John 15:4-8 (KJV) 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Verses 4 through 8 are beautiful. They are full of promise and blessing. But the heart of this word from God is verse 7. And there is a condition laid out here. Does Christ abide in you and you in Him? If you are involved in anything that preaches and teaches any doctrine but of Christ, Him crucified, and the finished work of the Cross, you are not abiding in Christ. You are abiding in some ministry and the men that are the heads of it. You have to understand that the enemy of all our souls will do anything to woo us away from the pure gospel of the Living God. You have to know the Word. There is an old saying that if you do not believe in something, you will fall for anything. And millions upon millions of Christians are “falling” daily. Another saying, P.T. Barnum said it, “There is a fool born every minute”
When Christ left the earth, his last instructions were twofold. First he said, John 13:34 (KJV) 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. He also left a commission for us to fulfill. Mark 16:15 (KJV) 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Not all of us can go into all the world. We have to limit ourselves to where we shop, go to school, and by whatever other means the Lord puts in our path. And of course we can give to ministries, both the one’s we attend and the ones on TV that are going into the world with only the pure gospel of Christ and with no agendas of man attached. But if you are giving to ANY ministry that is not fulfilling the commission that is specifically laid out in scripture, you are in error. You need to truly listen to the guests these ministries have on their programs. Get on the computer and check into what these people are all about. There is so much twisting and perversion of God’s Word today it is sickening. MAN always thinks he can build a better mouse trap. In many cases they are delusional and think that they have been chosen exclusively by God through a vision, or visitation, or a trip to heaven! They have not “tested the spirits” as the Word commands. They have not taken the “word” that they received and checked it against scripture! There are so many movements afoot today that you do not need to be involved in let alone supporting. There is the Oneness movement, the Word of Faith movement (name it and claim it), there is the Government of 12 movement, there is Dominionism, there is a Purpose Driven movement. You NEED to look these false doctrines up and then you will see the blasphemy and the workings of man and not God.
I don’t mean to sound harsh, but one day you will be judged on everything you did here on earth. And if you have supported evil works, you yourself will be counted evil. Proverbs 17:15 (NIV) 15 Acquitting the guilty and condemning the innocent-- the LORD detests them both. Why did I select this scripture? Because the men of these movements think that those who stick to the pure written Word of the living God, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, and condemn their blasphemy and heresy are to be condemned and dealt with severely. By supporting these ministries, you are supporting every word that they teach and say. Below is a an example of an absolute Christian television icon who is loved and respected by millions and takes in millions of dollars as well. His programing virtually goes into all the world. But the guests that he has on to push their agendas that are NOT scripturally sound, are doing nothing more than polluting the world and causing countless millions to lose their souls. If you are a part of this, your soul is in danger too. If you believe in once saved always saved, that too is not scriptural!
Here is the article that was in the March-May 1991 issue of Foundation Magazine. Please note the totally unchristian language of Paul Crouch of Trinity Broadcasting Network, (TBN) who is responding to a magazine article about him:
“That old rotten Sanhedrin crowd, twice dead, plucked up by the roots…they’re damned and on their way to hell and I don’t think there’s any redemption for them…the hypocrites, the heresy hunters that want to find a little mote of illegal doctrine in some Christian’s eyes…when they’ve got a whole forest in their own lives… I say to hell with you!
“Get out of my life! Get out of the way! Quit blockin’ God’s bridges! I’m tired of this!...This is my spirit. Oh, hallelujah!”
“Have you ever seen the old movie, Patton? He’s my hero, he’s my hero. Old nail-chewin’, tobacco-chewin’, cussin’ Patton. But he read the bible everyday. I have a feelin’ we will see old General George in heaven.
“There is a wonderful scene in Patton…they’re tryin’ to get the Third Army across the bridge in France and there’s an old, dumb jackass…donkey…right there on the bridge and it’s blockin’ the whole convoy of troops…General George roars up, pulls out that ivory handled revolver and he shoots the donkey.”
“There’s a spiritual application here…I want to say to all you scribes, Pharisees, heresy hunters, all of you that are around pickin’ little bits of doctrinal error out of everybody’s eyes and dividin’ the Body of Christ, get out of God’s way, stop blockin’ God’s bridges, or God’s goin’ to shoot you if I don’t! Let Him sort out all of this doctrinal doodoo!”
“I don’t care about your doctrines as long as you name the name of Jesus, as long s you believe He died dead and was buried but came out of the tomb on Sunday morning and ascended to the Father. I don’t care about anything else! Let’s join hands to get this gospel preached in all the world”
“The rest of this stuff is what Paul the Apostle calls dung, human excrement! It’s not worth anything! Get rid of it and get on with winning the lost.”
“I refuse to argue any longer with any of you out there! Don’t even call me if you want to argue doctrine. If you want to straighten somebody out, criticize Ken Copeland, or Dad Hagin, but get out of my life! I don’t even want to talk to you, I don’t want to see your ugly face!” (end of quote)
Does this sound like the sweet Jesus loving man that you see on TBN?! And parts of what he said are a twisting of scripture in itself! I don’t think Paul Crouch even knows the meaning of Philippians 3: 1-9. What Paul (the apostle) calls dung in this scripture refers to doctrinal and Biblical teachings that go beyond the basic truths regarding Christ’s death and resurrection! The very things that Paul Crouch is allowing on his programming! To say the things that he did simply states that he doesn’t care about what effect false doctrine will have on millions of his viewers or how these ministries that gain access to followers will be lead away from the true Word of God. As long as the time slot is filled, he’s happy. This is not a caring man of God. This is someone who doesn’t want his money flow interrupted! He, for the sake of that, will allow “another gospel” to be preached, and according to Galatians 1:6-9 (KJV) 6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
AMEN Y’ALL!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
MYSTERY BABYLON....today's church?
As I read the previous article about Dominionism by Sarah Leslie, I couldn't help but wonder at the words in the Book of Revelation about the end time church.
Revelation 17:1-6 (KJV)
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Mystery Babylon
Thirteen proofs the whore is a religious system:
1. Playing the whore in symbolic language always refers to religious fornication and idolatry (Rev. 17:1-4; Isa. 23:17; 57:3-7; Jer. 3:2-9; Ezek. 16:1-63; 20:30-32; 23:7-49; Hos. 4:12-19; Nah. 3:4; literal fornication must also be understood in some of these).
2. Her causing the many nations to commit fornication with her proves that idolatrous religious practices are being referred to, as in passages above.
3. She is not a political power for she is not classed as one with "the kings of the earth." She only causes the kings and inhabitants of the earth to be drunk with the wine of her fornication (Rev. 17:2,4). Since fornication here refers to religious harlotry then her influence over the nations is through religion.
4. The beast which the woman rides is the 8th kingdom, made up of the many waters or peoples inside the old Roman Empire territory (Rev. 17:1,3,11,15). Since the beast itself is the kingdom, the woman must be religion dominating the kingdom until she is destroyed by it (Rev. 17:12-17).
5. The attire of the great whore identifies her as a religious system or as a whore committing spiritual fornication, duping political powers by her whoredoms and idolatries (Rev. 17:4). The purple, scarlet, precious stones, pearls, and golden vessels indicate the wealth of the system (cp. Ezek. 23:40-41).
6. The golden cup in her hand, full of her uncleanness, spiritual fornication and abominations by which she dupes political powers, proves her to be a religious power (cp. Ezek. 23:29-31).
7. Her name, "MYSTERY BABYLON," indicates that she is not literal Babylon. The word "mystery" identifies her with the religious rites and mysteries of ancient Babylon. According to Hislop's "The Two Babylons" (which quotes 260 sources), the ancient Babylonian cult, started by Nimrod and his queen, Semiramis, spread among all nations. The objects of worship were the Supreme Father, the Incarnate Female, or Queen of Heaven, and her Son. The cult claimed the highest wisdom and the most divine secrets. Besides confession to priests there were many mysterious rites. Julius Caesar became head of the Roman branch of the Babylonian Cult in 63 B.C. Other emperors held the office until 376 A.D. when the emperor Gratian, for Christian reasons, refused it because he saw that Babylonianism was idolatrous. Demasus, bishop of the Christian church at Rome, was elected to the headship in 378 A.D. and from here on Babylonianism and organized Christianity became one. The rites of Babylon were soon introduced into the Christian church. Heathen temples were restored, beautified, and their rituals encouraged. Worship and veneration of images, saints, relics, private confessions, penances, scourgings, pilgrimages, sign of the cross, Christmas, Lady Day, Easter, Lent, and other pagan rites and festivals, little by little, became a part of Christian worship.
8. The name, "MOTHER OF HARLOTS," identifies the whore as a religious system (Rev. 17:5). The harlots refer to many branches which have sprung from her and have become as apostate as the great whore herself. She is a symbol of apostate religions being linked together after the rapture of the church to dominate the 10 kings of the Revised Roman Empire until Antichrist comes to full power over the 10 kingdoms by the middle of Daniel's 70th week (Rev. 17:1,3,9-17).
9. The name, "MOTHER OF ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH," identifies her to be a religious system fostering and tolerating all the abominations that go with idolatry and spiritual fornication. The word abominations is used many times of idolatry and whoredoms associated with pagan worship (Dt. 18:9-12; 29:17-18; 32:16-17; 1Ki. 14:24; 2Ki. 16:3-4; 21:2-11; Ezek. 16:22-58; etc.). The great whore of the future tribulation will be the mother of abominations in God's sight because she will exceed all others in wickedness.
10. Her drunkenness -- being drunken with blood of the martyrs of Jesus -- proves beyond doubt that she is a religious institution. Only religion has killed the martyrs of Jesus in all ages. Governments have carried out the dictates of leaders in religion, doing the actual killing of saints because of religion. Although this prophecy speaks of the future drunkenness of mystical Babylon after the rapture of the church, who among us does not know of the martyrdom of 200 million people in the past because they would not conform to organized religion?
11. The hatred and destruction of the great whore by 10 kings inside the Roman Empire territory prove her to be a religious system dominating them until they tire of her and give their power to the Antichrist. They turn on the great whore and destroy her so that the Antichrist might establish beast worship the last 3 1/2 years (Rev. 17:12-17).
12. The woman sits on the beast itself, not on the heads and horns in succession (Rev. 17:1,3,7,15). The 7 heads and 10 horns on the beast are a part of him and this is the only sense in which she rides the heads (Rev. 17:9). Since the beast is the 8th world empire (Rev. 17:11), it is clear that she is something separate from the empire, and only rides or dominates the peoples of that empire. What could she be other than religion?
13. The angelic explanation of the great whore proves her to be a religious system reigning over kings spiritually. The Greek reads, "And the woman whom thou sawest is the city the great, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth" (Rev. 17:18). She has a kingdom within the kingdoms and over them. She is to be a religious system inside the old Roman Empire territory; one that has headquarters in a great city; and one that has a religious kingdom or reign over the kings of the earth.
We must recognize in the symbol two things: a great religious system and a great city where she has headquarters. The great whore will hold power over her loyal subjects, not through superior military forces, but by the deceptions of her spiritual harlotry and abominations.
Dake's Annotated Reference Bible.
We must keep in mind here that the true church that preaches only the Gospel that is directed by Paul in 1Cor 15, 1 Corinthians 1:22-23 (KJV) 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; and which has not twisted or perverted the scriptures to further one’s own agenda, will have been raptured by Revelation 4:1 (KJV) 1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. "After these things (after writing the things concerning the churches of Rev. 2 -- Rev. 3) I looked ... a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice ... said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be after these things," that is, after the churches (Rev. 4:1).Dake's Annotated Reference Bible.
If the church has been raptured out by Rev 4:1. then we are seeing the church that has been left behind. We are seeing Christian imperialism, taking over the “Seven Mountains” of influence or of society. We are seeing a trend today of Dominionists trying to establish an earthly kingdom. We see the melding of commerce and religion in our churches, the selling of health juice products, and other multi-level schemes to create wealth. We hear teachings of "taking it to the marketplace". The churches are seeing an infestation of the spirit of “New Age” and other doctrines of devils. 1 Timothy 4:1 (KJV) 1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (Galatians 1:8-9 (KJV) 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Paul made this very clear, that anyone preaching anything but Christ and Him crucified will be dammed, and certainly will never be raptured. This type of church which has become active today we can assume with the backing of scripture is “the great whore” spoken of in Rev 17. We certainly can’t feel any sorrow for these people that will have to endure the “great tribulation”, most of these don’t believe in the “rapture” anyway. I heard one author personally say, “I don’t want to see the rapture, I just wrote a book”. (this really happened here at an Austin church). These men truly believe, either that, or they are truly deceived in believing that they will bring in the ‘kingdom age’, and when everything is perfect again, then “they” will present the kingdom to Christ Jesus, only then can he return. How blasphemous it that? If man could have done it alone all along, Jesus would have never had to die on the cross for our sins. These men and women who are trying to impress other men and women are playing with their very souls. One other scripture comes to mind. I like what Paul says when men compare themselves with others, 2 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV) 12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. Lastly these men who have themselves puffed up with accolades from their peers, Galatians 1:10 (KJV) 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Revelation 17:1-6 (KJV)
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Mystery Babylon
Thirteen proofs the whore is a religious system:
1. Playing the whore in symbolic language always refers to religious fornication and idolatry (Rev. 17:1-4; Isa. 23:17; 57:3-7; Jer. 3:2-9; Ezek. 16:1-63; 20:30-32; 23:7-49; Hos. 4:12-19; Nah. 3:4; literal fornication must also be understood in some of these).
2. Her causing the many nations to commit fornication with her proves that idolatrous religious practices are being referred to, as in passages above.
3. She is not a political power for she is not classed as one with "the kings of the earth." She only causes the kings and inhabitants of the earth to be drunk with the wine of her fornication (Rev. 17:2,4). Since fornication here refers to religious harlotry then her influence over the nations is through religion.
4. The beast which the woman rides is the 8th kingdom, made up of the many waters or peoples inside the old Roman Empire territory (Rev. 17:1,3,11,15). Since the beast itself is the kingdom, the woman must be religion dominating the kingdom until she is destroyed by it (Rev. 17:12-17).
5. The attire of the great whore identifies her as a religious system or as a whore committing spiritual fornication, duping political powers by her whoredoms and idolatries (Rev. 17:4). The purple, scarlet, precious stones, pearls, and golden vessels indicate the wealth of the system (cp. Ezek. 23:40-41).
6. The golden cup in her hand, full of her uncleanness, spiritual fornication and abominations by which she dupes political powers, proves her to be a religious power (cp. Ezek. 23:29-31).
7. Her name, "MYSTERY BABYLON," indicates that she is not literal Babylon. The word "mystery" identifies her with the religious rites and mysteries of ancient Babylon. According to Hislop's "The Two Babylons" (which quotes 260 sources), the ancient Babylonian cult, started by Nimrod and his queen, Semiramis, spread among all nations. The objects of worship were the Supreme Father, the Incarnate Female, or Queen of Heaven, and her Son. The cult claimed the highest wisdom and the most divine secrets. Besides confession to priests there were many mysterious rites. Julius Caesar became head of the Roman branch of the Babylonian Cult in 63 B.C. Other emperors held the office until 376 A.D. when the emperor Gratian, for Christian reasons, refused it because he saw that Babylonianism was idolatrous. Demasus, bishop of the Christian church at Rome, was elected to the headship in 378 A.D. and from here on Babylonianism and organized Christianity became one. The rites of Babylon were soon introduced into the Christian church. Heathen temples were restored, beautified, and their rituals encouraged. Worship and veneration of images, saints, relics, private confessions, penances, scourgings, pilgrimages, sign of the cross, Christmas, Lady Day, Easter, Lent, and other pagan rites and festivals, little by little, became a part of Christian worship.
8. The name, "MOTHER OF HARLOTS," identifies the whore as a religious system (Rev. 17:5). The harlots refer to many branches which have sprung from her and have become as apostate as the great whore herself. She is a symbol of apostate religions being linked together after the rapture of the church to dominate the 10 kings of the Revised Roman Empire until Antichrist comes to full power over the 10 kingdoms by the middle of Daniel's 70th week (Rev. 17:1,3,9-17).
9. The name, "MOTHER OF ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH," identifies her to be a religious system fostering and tolerating all the abominations that go with idolatry and spiritual fornication. The word abominations is used many times of idolatry and whoredoms associated with pagan worship (Dt. 18:9-12; 29:17-18; 32:16-17; 1Ki. 14:24; 2Ki. 16:3-4; 21:2-11; Ezek. 16:22-58; etc.). The great whore of the future tribulation will be the mother of abominations in God's sight because she will exceed all others in wickedness.
10. Her drunkenness -- being drunken with blood of the martyrs of Jesus -- proves beyond doubt that she is a religious institution. Only religion has killed the martyrs of Jesus in all ages. Governments have carried out the dictates of leaders in religion, doing the actual killing of saints because of religion. Although this prophecy speaks of the future drunkenness of mystical Babylon after the rapture of the church, who among us does not know of the martyrdom of 200 million people in the past because they would not conform to organized religion?
11. The hatred and destruction of the great whore by 10 kings inside the Roman Empire territory prove her to be a religious system dominating them until they tire of her and give their power to the Antichrist. They turn on the great whore and destroy her so that the Antichrist might establish beast worship the last 3 1/2 years (Rev. 17:12-17).
12. The woman sits on the beast itself, not on the heads and horns in succession (Rev. 17:1,3,7,15). The 7 heads and 10 horns on the beast are a part of him and this is the only sense in which she rides the heads (Rev. 17:9). Since the beast is the 8th world empire (Rev. 17:11), it is clear that she is something separate from the empire, and only rides or dominates the peoples of that empire. What could she be other than religion?
13. The angelic explanation of the great whore proves her to be a religious system reigning over kings spiritually. The Greek reads, "And the woman whom thou sawest is the city the great, which has a kingdom over the kings of the earth" (Rev. 17:18). She has a kingdom within the kingdoms and over them. She is to be a religious system inside the old Roman Empire territory; one that has headquarters in a great city; and one that has a religious kingdom or reign over the kings of the earth.
We must recognize in the symbol two things: a great religious system and a great city where she has headquarters. The great whore will hold power over her loyal subjects, not through superior military forces, but by the deceptions of her spiritual harlotry and abominations.
Dake's Annotated Reference Bible.
We must keep in mind here that the true church that preaches only the Gospel that is directed by Paul in 1Cor 15, 1 Corinthians 1:22-23 (KJV) 23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; and which has not twisted or perverted the scriptures to further one’s own agenda, will have been raptured by Revelation 4:1 (KJV) 1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. "After these things (after writing the things concerning the churches of Rev. 2 -- Rev. 3) I looked ... a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice ... said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be after these things," that is, after the churches (Rev. 4:1).Dake's Annotated Reference Bible.
If the church has been raptured out by Rev 4:1. then we are seeing the church that has been left behind. We are seeing Christian imperialism, taking over the “Seven Mountains” of influence or of society. We are seeing a trend today of Dominionists trying to establish an earthly kingdom. We see the melding of commerce and religion in our churches, the selling of health juice products, and other multi-level schemes to create wealth. We hear teachings of "taking it to the marketplace". The churches are seeing an infestation of the spirit of “New Age” and other doctrines of devils. 1 Timothy 4:1 (KJV) 1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (Galatians 1:8-9 (KJV) 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Paul made this very clear, that anyone preaching anything but Christ and Him crucified will be dammed, and certainly will never be raptured. This type of church which has become active today we can assume with the backing of scripture is “the great whore” spoken of in Rev 17. We certainly can’t feel any sorrow for these people that will have to endure the “great tribulation”, most of these don’t believe in the “rapture” anyway. I heard one author personally say, “I don’t want to see the rapture, I just wrote a book”. (this really happened here at an Austin church). These men truly believe, either that, or they are truly deceived in believing that they will bring in the ‘kingdom age’, and when everything is perfect again, then “they” will present the kingdom to Christ Jesus, only then can he return. How blasphemous it that? If man could have done it alone all along, Jesus would have never had to die on the cross for our sins. These men and women who are trying to impress other men and women are playing with their very souls. One other scripture comes to mind. I like what Paul says when men compare themselves with others, 2 Corinthians 10:12 (KJV) 12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. Lastly these men who have themselves puffed up with accolades from their peers, Galatians 1:10 (KJV) 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Friday, April 22, 2011
THE MANIPULATIONS OF DOMINIONISM
ANNOUNCEMENT: We have been told that it was not possible to post comments on this blog. We looked into this and think that we have corrected this problem. Please know that we welcome all comments.
The following is another Newsletter that can be found at www.discernment-ministries.org as written by our friend Sarah Leslie. There are only so many hours in a day that we can devote to our writings and teachings and as we read more and more to further inform you, the most PRECIOUS SHEEP OF CHRIST HIMSELF, that we must supplement our blog with these postings from time to time. But they are brilliant and very informative. You will find that we have Sarah’s blog, http://herescope.blogspot.com as a link on this site and we encourage you to go there often. EVERYTHING is backed with scripture. You can go to www.discernment-ministries.org and go to “newsletters” and find this particular posting and at the bottom you will find all references given for this article. We pray that this article will bless you as much as it blesses us.
Volume 17, Number 4 July/August 2006
The Manipulations of Dominionism
By Sarah Leslie
Dominionism is a form of futurism. Futurism is the belief that man can create his own future. This belief requires that man manipulate things in the present. For the past half century various groups of elite philosophers, scientists, sociologists, psychologists, economists, pastors, businessmen, and government leaders have met together and publicly discussed the future of planet Earth. All predicted dire scenarios for the future based on their calculations, speculations and political agendas. To solve this perceived crisis these leaders embarked upon a mind-boggling number of focus groups, councils, conventions, strategic planning sessions, and other futurist planning devices – all intended to reinvent, create, envision, or fashion a new future for mankind. The plans originating from each of these groups were remarkably similar. They were translated into a myriad of social policies, government programs, strategic plans, and vision statements. All of these future scenarios shared the common ideal that humans can forge consensus where none has existed, that harmony and unity will emerge if everyone “collaborates” on these plans, and that only Christian fundamentalists stand in the way of creating a 21st Century Utopian Society. The goal, then, becomes one of identifying and targeting these fundamentalists for a “global mind change.” It used to be that the chief tool in the futurists’ armament was fear. Fear was brandished like a sword, with venerable experts predicting global devastation scenarios if humans didn’t agree to take certain drastic political or personal action. But after several decades of “global warming” threats, Americans became desensitized to this type of fear mongering. They were more complacent than ever about continuing their affluent lifestyle. Fear of terrorism, however, still remains an effective tool to manipulate people into accepting new restrictions on their freedom. A positive-sounding strategy for the future came out of the New Age movement. On its face it appeared to be a utopian solution. It is the teaching that man is a cocreator: that man possesses the unique ability to intervene in his own evolution as a species, and that he can alter the future by creating a more utopian planet. This Theosophical teaching – that man can become a co-creator with God – has now found a comfortable home in the neo-evangelical churches, particularly amongst those who hold dominionist ideals. Dominionism has a goal to establish a visible and physical “Kingdom of God” on earth. It sounds utopian. But in reality it is totalitarian. Already, as this plan is underway, unethical and unbiblical tools are being utilized to push this agenda forward. Below are just a few examples of how dominionism leaders are manipulating people in the churches.
Forging a New Eschatology
The future is very important to dominionists. But they don’t currently use fear tactics to accomplish the switch to a new eschatology. Instead they are holding out promises of restoring Genesis 1 paradise conditions on Earth. This is an alternative to the Armageddon scenario and it bypasses Judgment Day. This may be a surprise to those who have read Tim LaHaye’s popular Left Behind series. But within the leadership of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), where the old Manifest Sons of God/Latter Rain doctrines have taken hold, a pre-tribulation rapture is no longer taught. In some ways, Left Behind has served well as a convenient decoy while the framework of the new eschatology could be constructed and marketed. Despite statements of faith to the contrary, most evangelical mission agencies and parachurch groups have now adopted the underlying belief structure of the new eschatology coming out of the NAR. At the very least, most agencies have borrowed the terminologies and methodologies of dominionism eschatology. The most extreme form of this new eschatology teaches that Jesus Christ will not return in the flesh, “but rather Christ and His Church are becoming one in nature and essence, and that the Church , as the ‘ongoing incarnation of God,’ is Christ on earth.”(Al Dager, DISCERNMENT PAGE 2 JULY/AUGUST 2006 PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 Vengeance Is Ours, p. 70). A significant variation on this eschatology teaches that the Bride can perfect herself on Earth, and that only when this is accomplished will Jesus return.
An important corollary to this doctrine is the idea that man is a co-creator with God. This doctrine is precisely the same as that of the New Age Theosophists, but it is sometimes cloaked in biblical-sounding terminology. This doctrine holds that the “Kingdom of God is a present reality in the earth, and is only waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God to demonstrate the Kingdom by taking their authority over the kingdoms of the earth. This will take place before Jesus can return.” (Dager, p. 72)
How will the “sons of God” achieve this dominion over the earth? First, they start by setting up dominion over the church. Leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation, such as C. Peter Wagner, teach that the offices of the New Testament “apostle” and “prophet” must be “restored,” and that the church needs to submit to these men as if they were the oracle of God on Earth. This is the cell church structure of small groups, which rely upon the very effective method of peer pressure to induce conformity to dominionist ideals:
For how can the leaders of the movement gain dominion unless Christians are made to conform to the dictates of the apostles and prophets?
And how can Christians be made to conform except through fear and guilt? No one wants to miss out on what appears to be a move of God. Ignorance on the part of those who are unsure of their relationship to God breeds indecision which, in turn, results in acquiescence to authority at the expense of their personal relationship to God.
Today the principles…are implemented in dominion theology through the use of covenants. (Dager, p. 81-82)
Spiritual Antics
New spiritual practices are the most evident manifestation of dominion theology. A host of new spiritual “methods” are being touted in the postmodern church today as a solution to every possible spiritual problem. These heretical practices promise a way to a “higher” spiritual ground (in a true Gnostic sense) where one attains a greater perfection in Christ. At best, these heretical spiritual methods cause people to focus time and energy (and money) on newfangled activities such as prayer marches, contemplative activities, cleansings and confronting demons, etc. This is time, money and energy that is not being spent on a positive presentation of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ from the Word of God.
At worst, these spiritual methods cause people to stumble into idolatry. Icons, anointing oils that are said to posses spiritual properties, chantings, spiritual formations, chakra healings, Reiki, Yoga, etc. all lead to eastern mysticism. Despite any application of Christian veneer, these practices lead one away from the Gospel Truth into error and heresies. There is a segment of the church, mainly those recipients of the Elijah List and/or Joel News on the Internet, who are regularly fed doses of hyperspiritual prophecies about dominionism activities. In many cases these readers are told to “do” something, but it is usually some sort of psycho-spiritual gobbledygook. Sadly, these pseudo-prophecies manipulate those people who are emotionally and spiritually vulnerable. The dominionist rhetoric of these “prophecies” is very militaristic, but at present it is still a spiritualized militancy. At some point in the near future, however, the spiritual antics may become bootcamps for a more serious and threatening militancy.
These spiritualized methods also serve as a decoy. They keep many Christians busily focused on activities that seem spiritual on the surface. They cloak the real manipulations of dominionism. In contrast to the sobering material presented below, these current spiritual antics look like a drunken picnic.
Physical Machinations
Rick Warren of purpose-driven fame epitomizes the physical machinations of dominionism. He has accomplished what the New Apostolic Reformation “apostles” and “prophets” could not. He has moved the Church-at-large into a new era of pragmatism and utilitarianism via the corporate business model. This model is not unique to Rick Warren. He has simply packaged Peter Drucker’s model and marketed it to the Church. The model is actually the same one used in government reform, education reform, and health reform. In Drucker’s 3-legged stool plan for “Society,” the Church must work collaboratively for the State welfare and to further Corporate interests. What does this model look like? And what does it mean for the Church?
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PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 First of all, this model is based on “systems theory.” The Church is seen as just one component of the Earth’s system, and must fit the parameters of an emerging world order in which all “spheres” of Society work together in a harmonious whole. This system works by monitoring human activity in every facet of life – from health care to mental health, from early education to workforce, from banking to giving, from worship to practice, from cradle to grave. To sell this idea to the Christian public, dominionists like the Coalition on Revival – and now the marketplace ministries – have focused on building the “kingdom of God” via these “spheres.” New ecclesiologies have been concocted to justify expanding the definition of the Church to include these “spheres” of the World. How is human activity monitored? Anything measurable can be assessed. Therefore human behavior has been broken down by the behavioral socialpsychologists into measurable units. This includes one’s values and beliefs. Performance criteria have been developed. Standards have been set, and methods to measure—such as assessments—have been developed. This information is then databanked. This system works on the principle of rewards and penalties. Those who meet the established goals (outcomes, purposes) will be rewarded. Those who don’t will be penalized, coerced, compelled, or worse…. And this is precisely where the New Gospel of Pragmatism and Utilitarianism comes to the forefront. Christians must be persuaded that these measurement, statistical and surveying activities are all for the common good. They must come to fervently believe the doctrine that “the ends justify the means.” In order to “fulfill the Great Commission” this pragmatism must be believed and carried out by churches, mission agencies and parachurch organizations. In this new system, one of the most important measurements will be that of a Christian’s “mental” and/or “spiritual” health. This is because there will be no tolerance for diversity. Dominionism intends to set up a global- government. This government will be both spiritual and political, a hierarchical new order for world governance. It will be easier if people already have the “correct” beliefs, values and attitudes. Last summer Rick Warren spoke at both the Aspen Institute and The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, both organizations with a strong internationalist agenda. Warren’s Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan is very interconnected with the United Nations and globalist agendas. This is a key point. Dominionist church leaders are openly networking with the globalist elites.
A Few Examples of Manipulations
STATISTICS: In his talks to these internationalist groups, Rick Warren relied heavily on statistics. Statistics is a key tool for dominion. With statistics one can monitor progress towards goals and manipulate the variables to achieve the desired outcome. In a recently published book entitled Mental Health Screening, Dr. Dennis Cuddy, an international expert on globalism, wrote about the significance of statistics and monitoring everyone’s mental health. One historical example was a Truman administration public health campaign to get the American public to accept water fluoridation. The architect of this campaign was Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, who had authored a 1928 book entitled Propaganda. Bernays wrote that politicians and businessmen should take “a survey of public desires and demands” in order to say “I must lead the people. Am I not their servant?” Those who manipulate the organized habits and opinions of the masses constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of the country…. It remains a fact that in almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world…. As civilization has become more complex, and as the need for invisible government has been increasingly demonstrated, the technical means have been invented and developed by which opinion may be regimented. (Cuddy, p. 22-23, quoting Bernays)
Another current leader who utilizes statistical surveys as a mechanism to change Christian behavior is George Barna of the Barna Research Group, Inc., who has recently written a book entitled Revolution. The explosion of Revolutionaries in the U.S., however, raises new challenges for people involved in ministry. “This new movement of God demands that there be new forms of leadership to appropriately guide people in their faith journey,” Barna said. “It requires new ways of measuring how well the Church at-large is doing, getting beyond attendance figures as the indicator of health. And it demands that new tools and resources be accessible to a growing contingent of people who are seeking to introduce their faith into every dimension of their life.”
[http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&B arnaUpdateID=201]
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PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 PSYCHO-SOCIAL: The manipulative methods of psycho-social engineering have been progressively refined and perfected over the past century. Dr. Cuddy explains some of the history and techniques of psychosocial manipulations which can alter a person’s beliefs, values, opinions, attitudes and practices. By subtly or subliminally suggesting new ideas, people can be lured into developing new patterns of thinking or acting. Dr. Cuddy also explains how psycho-social methods can be used for global social control. He quotes from a 1946 UNESCO document:
We are assigned the positive function of building peace in the minds of men through science, education and culture. The Executive Secretary’s report gives us the blueprints for the development of what one may call a world brain, a world mind, or a world culture, which alone can be the basis of a world authority or a world government. (Cuddy, p. 91) MARKETING: These same psycho-social methods have been widely incorporated into the advertising industry. The methodologies of marketing, including the manipulations of public opinion and buying behaviors, have been brought into the Church. Much of this has been done through the vehicle of leadership training, where converts enthusiastically begin to market new ideas (including dominionism and eastern mysticism) to the evangelical church.
PERSUASION: Another important piece of historical background cited by Dr. Cuddy comes from a book by Colin Simpson entitled Science of Coercion:
Communication Research and Psychological Warfare
1945-60, where Simpson refers to
the engineering of consent of targeted populations at home and abroad…. Various leaders in the social sciences engaged one another in tacit alliances to promote their particular interpretation of society…. They regarded mass communication as a tool for social management and as a weapon in social conflict…. Key academic journals of the day…concentrated on how modern technology could be used by elites to manage social change, extract political concessions, or win purchasing decisions from targeted audiences…. This orientation reduced the extraordinarily complex, inherently communal process of communication to simple models based on the dynamics of transmission of persuasive—and, in the final analysis, coercive—messages. (Cuddy, p. 23) FELT NEEDS: There are many subtle arts of persuasion. The integration of humanistic psychology into the church during the past four decades has particularly brought a mindset of “felt needs” to the forefront. People in the pews have been trained to respond like Pavlov’s dogs to emotive suggestions and appeals, particularly if it “meets my needs.” Rick Warren relied upon this method during the 1980s in his church growth seminars with C. Peter Wagner. SURVEILLANCE: One of the more sinister aspects of the creeping evangelical tolerance for persuasive tactics is the use of surveillance. Often this is done under the guise of “accountability.” Concerning America’s national mental health plan, Cuddy asked::
At this point, one might ask what an American mental health initiative has to do with world government. Relevant to this, Dr. David Satcher as U.S. Surgeon-General delivered a speech on November 12, 1998, declaring:
We have a clear blueprint in place…. Every child should be given the opportunity for a healthy start…. No priority yet has generated as much interest and enthusiasm as this one on mental health…. Our efforts will be focused on maintaining a global health surveillance…. Healthy People 2010 is the United States’ contribution to the World Health Organization’s call to the nations of the world to renew their commitment to health for all. (Cuddy, National Mental Health Program, p. 26) DATABANKING: Surveillance requires the databanking of information. Surveillance begins with the cell group structure, in which private aspects of parishioners’ lives are computerized, databanked and used for future reference. Obviously, given human nature, the uses for such personal data may not be wellintentioned. The cell church software is modeled after multi-level network marketing programs. How high up on the multi-level hierarchy can such personal information travel?
ASSESSMENTS: Another surveillance tool can appear to be quite innocuous – the assessment test.
James Sundquist wrote an analysis of Rick Warren’s
SHAPE program in chapters 10 and 11 of his book,
Who’s Driving the Purpose Driven Church? This
quasi-spiritual, psycho-social inventory is aptly named “SHAPE.” Assessment tests are used as a mechanism to “shape” human behavior, and to “mold” people’s values, beliefs and doctrines. Chuck Colson has now partnered with Rick Warren to develop a dominionist “worldview” curriculum and assessment tool.
PHARMACEUTICALS: The late Dr. Francis
Schaeffer repeatedly warned about the dangers of
human manipulations. He feared – and rightly so – that
the evangelical Church in the near future would be
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seduced by utopian schemes and cave in to totalitarian
solutions. He worried that the evangelicals would slide
into a situation where they would accept an
authoritarian rule by an elite group. In a chapter from
The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century
entitled “Modern Man the Manipulator,” Schaeffer warned about Arthur Koestler, who wrote a book The Ghost in the Machine. Koestler believed that humans were still evolving. Schaeffer observed:
Not believing in the fall of man, he explained man’s dilemma this way: man has evolved with a lower and an upper brain that are not in harmony. What we must ask our scientists to do is to develop a super-drug that will bring the two halves into proper relationship. Such a drug would make man passive and prevent his constant quarreling. He has suggested that the way we may administer it is in the water supply. (p. 85) Dr. Dennis Cuddy in his book Mental Health Screening provides documentation on the role that the pharmaceutical industry plays in creating a new ethos of mental health across the globe. The pharmaceutical industry has teamed up with internationalists for the “transformation” of the continent of Africa, a goal that is shared by the dominionists.
UTILITARIANISM: Dominionism teaches the gospel of “whatever it takes” (Rick Warren). This doctrine is being taught to everyone in the pews. In How Should We Then Live? Dr. Schaeffer warned about the consequences of the church adopting the doctrine of utilitarianism: “the teaching that utility is the ultimate appeal on all ethical questions.” But when utilitarianism is made the standard—if there is no absolute standard to judge it by or if the standard existing in the Bible is not courageously applied—then the concept of “the greatest happiness for the greatest number” is easily manipulated. (p. 142) OTHER TECHNIQUES: In chapter 12 of How Should We Then Live?, which has the interesting title of “Manipulation and the New Elite,” Dr. Schaeffer warns about the “coming of an elite, an authoritarian state, to fill the vacuum left by the loss of Christian principles… a manipulative authoritarian government” (p. 229). He warned of the psychological determinism of B.F. Skinner, the sociological determinism of operant conditioning, and the chemical and/or genetic determinism of Francis Crick.
Dr. Schaeffer raised questions particularly relevant to dominionism. Schaeffer asked:
In light of this discussion about social manipulation, three questions arise. First, who will control the controllers? Second, what will happen now that people have no boundary condition indicating what they should do in contrast to what they can do? Third, if mankind is only what modern people say it is, why does man’s biological continuation have value? (p. 239) Particularly relevant are Schaeffer’s comments about the potential scenarios for a new authoritarianism:
“Random and indiscriminate terrorism is even more frightening…. We have already seen indications of how people give up liberties when they are faced with the threat of terrorism.” A “radical redistribution of the wealth of the world, including a “redistribution of power where a “manipulating authoritarian government might be easily welcomed, in the hope that such a government would somehow soften the unpleasant results caused by a lessening of prosperity and world power.” A “growing shortage of food and other natural resources” could lead NOT to compassion, but utilitarianism – “…we can expect open pragmatism increasingly to take the place of the partial compassion which has existed.”
“a growing food shortage is apt to constitute an increasing pressure to cause people to drift along with a growing authoritarianism which promises solutions.” (p. 247)
Dr. Cuddy’s book Mental Health Screening gives
current examples of precisely what Dr. Schaeffer was
warning about. The future is now!
For further information on these topics:
Dr. Dennis Cuddy has written two books on the subject of mental health screening. This 2-book set is available from Discernment Ministries for a price of $15.00. Many of the topics in this article have been covered in the daily posts at the Herescope blog run by the Discernment Research Group. Regularly visit this blog http://www.herescope.blogspot.com to stay informed. Other materials used to write this article are available from Discernment Ministries:
Education Reform: the deliberate dumbing down of america: A
Chronological Paper Trail by Charlotte Iserbyt. Dominionism: Vengeance Is Ours: The Church In Dominion, Al Dager.
Purpose-Driven model: The Pied Pipers of Purpose, a monograph by Leslie, Leslie & Conway, and Who’s Driving the Purpose-Driven Church? by James Sundquist.
DISCERNMENT PAGE 6 JULY/AUGUST 2006
PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 Every week you will see new information appearing on the www.discernment-ministries.org website under various topics of interest. The he HERESCOPE Blog is updated quite often. You can access this on the website and add it to your “favorites” list. The following is an article from last week that is most important in the light of the incredible days in which we live.
J U N E 2 8 , 2 0 0 6
Foundation Imperialism
It seems like an extraordinary coincidence. C. Peter Wagner launched his new “philanthropic apostles” at the same time that Bill Gates, the world’s richest billionaire, retired from running the Microsoft Corporation to spend his time doing philanthropy at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
On the heels of this, Warren Buffet, the world’s second richest billionaire, announced that he will give 5/6ths of his shares from his Berkshire Hathaway stock to The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This isn’t some wild-eyed conspiracy theory. The title of today’s post comes from a quote yesterday in Forbes magazine, in an article entitled “Philanthropy With A Business Bent” by Paul Maidment, which explains the changing face of philanthropy:
“[Buffet’s] Gates Foundation donation, marked a serious coming of age of entrepreneurial philanthropy. The skills and approaches of business are being applied to the work of doing good. A new breed of philanthropists is seeking to maximize the social impact of their actions, just as they sought to maximize shareholder value in their businesses.
“…The Gates Foundation is already moving beyond the pure medicine dimensions of health into agriculture and micro-financing. In the end, it and other foundations will inevitably find themselves in the business of promoting sound social infrastructure, open markets, the rule of law and transparent and corruption-free administration.
“Such a business-based approach to social and economic change will increasingly bring foundations into conflict with governments and special interests with their own political agendas….
“Nor will all cultures be comfortable with philanthropic foundations that promote Western values of freedom, technological progress and entrepreneurship to solve the world’s underlying problems.
“That day is still a ways off, that of foundation imperialism even further.”
It may be a myth—a media reinforced myth— that these philanthropic foundations will be promoting “Western values.” In reality, these foundations are promoting a form of Western imperialism that more closely reflects the values, goals and agendas of the United Nations, especially the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Ground zero for the world’s leading philanthropic efforts happens to be the continent of Africa. It is here where Bill Gates, Rick Warren, Ted Turner, Bono, Brad Pitt, the United Nations and an incredible array of multi-national corporations, think tanks, philanthropic groups, agencies, mission groups, churches, etc. have all focused their attention. The main public priority is global health issues, but underneath lurks all sorts of other agendas.
Domionism and the Great Outpouring of Wealth
Rick Warren’s connection to all of this is quite significant because of his Christian dominionism—that which he acquired from the New Apostolic Reformation (elsewhere documented in Herescope posts). The NAR leaders’ “prophetic” predictions about a “great outpouring” of wealth may be connected to these recent philanthropic maneuvers. The Christian mission agencies, parachurch organizations and international groups who have been promoting NARstyle dominionism for the past two decades have positioned themselves globally to be on the receiving end of this great outpouring of philanthropic wealth. Last November Rick Warren was invited to a Global Health Summit hosted by TIME magazine and supported by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At this summit he hobnobbed with over 400 leaders, including Bill Clinton (Clinton Global Initiative), Bill Gates, Condoleeza Rice, Ted Turner (who gave his fortune to the UN), Madeleine Albright, Bono, Paul Wolfowitz (World Bank), and others.
At this summit it was revealed that the World Bank was looking at “church-health facilities” to see how they could partner. Faith-based organizations took center stage as the participants were told that they “are able to reach those difficult areas that the government cannot reach.” Significantly—and perhaps an indication of future funding—Rick Warren “noted…that many times churches are the only infrastructure in a remote village that lacks a post office, a hospital, or a school.”
Following this summit, Warren traveled to speak to the Anglican Conference in Pittsburgh. At this conference he explained how churches would serve as DISCERNMENT PAGE 7 JULY/AUGUST 2006 PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 a distribution network:
“He envisioned the church—and here he includes non-Christian religious communities—as a global distribution network that could deliver solutions in villages with no school, no post office, no clinic and no phone service.”
An October 31, 2005 article in Fortune magazine entitled “Will Success Spoil Rick Warren?” confirmed this very point, also promising an “army of volunteers”:
“PEACE stands for Partner with or Plant churches, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, and Educate the next generation. ‘We don’t know how to do this,’ he told the pastors in Kigali, ‘but together we can figure it out. I’m going to get the best minds I can to help me.’ About all he knows for sure is that the project will be driven by local pastors who will get help from churches in the developed world. ‘The church has a distribution point in every community,’ he says, ‘and we have a massive army of volunteers that neither business nor government has.’”
The Truth:
Is the World using the Church? Or is the Church using the World?
Compromise with the spirit of the world and the spirit of the times will not produce a true love of one’s neighbor. And charitable acts devoid of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not true compassion.
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13)
The following is another Newsletter that can be found at www.discernment-ministries.org as written by our friend Sarah Leslie. There are only so many hours in a day that we can devote to our writings and teachings and as we read more and more to further inform you, the most PRECIOUS SHEEP OF CHRIST HIMSELF, that we must supplement our blog with these postings from time to time. But they are brilliant and very informative. You will find that we have Sarah’s blog, http://herescope.blogspot.com as a link on this site and we encourage you to go there often. EVERYTHING is backed with scripture. You can go to www.discernment-ministries.org and go to “newsletters” and find this particular posting and at the bottom you will find all references given for this article. We pray that this article will bless you as much as it blesses us.
Volume 17, Number 4 July/August 2006
The Manipulations of Dominionism
By Sarah Leslie
Dominionism is a form of futurism. Futurism is the belief that man can create his own future. This belief requires that man manipulate things in the present. For the past half century various groups of elite philosophers, scientists, sociologists, psychologists, economists, pastors, businessmen, and government leaders have met together and publicly discussed the future of planet Earth. All predicted dire scenarios for the future based on their calculations, speculations and political agendas. To solve this perceived crisis these leaders embarked upon a mind-boggling number of focus groups, councils, conventions, strategic planning sessions, and other futurist planning devices – all intended to reinvent, create, envision, or fashion a new future for mankind. The plans originating from each of these groups were remarkably similar. They were translated into a myriad of social policies, government programs, strategic plans, and vision statements. All of these future scenarios shared the common ideal that humans can forge consensus where none has existed, that harmony and unity will emerge if everyone “collaborates” on these plans, and that only Christian fundamentalists stand in the way of creating a 21st Century Utopian Society. The goal, then, becomes one of identifying and targeting these fundamentalists for a “global mind change.” It used to be that the chief tool in the futurists’ armament was fear. Fear was brandished like a sword, with venerable experts predicting global devastation scenarios if humans didn’t agree to take certain drastic political or personal action. But after several decades of “global warming” threats, Americans became desensitized to this type of fear mongering. They were more complacent than ever about continuing their affluent lifestyle. Fear of terrorism, however, still remains an effective tool to manipulate people into accepting new restrictions on their freedom. A positive-sounding strategy for the future came out of the New Age movement. On its face it appeared to be a utopian solution. It is the teaching that man is a cocreator: that man possesses the unique ability to intervene in his own evolution as a species, and that he can alter the future by creating a more utopian planet. This Theosophical teaching – that man can become a co-creator with God – has now found a comfortable home in the neo-evangelical churches, particularly amongst those who hold dominionist ideals. Dominionism has a goal to establish a visible and physical “Kingdom of God” on earth. It sounds utopian. But in reality it is totalitarian. Already, as this plan is underway, unethical and unbiblical tools are being utilized to push this agenda forward. Below are just a few examples of how dominionism leaders are manipulating people in the churches.
Forging a New Eschatology
The future is very important to dominionists. But they don’t currently use fear tactics to accomplish the switch to a new eschatology. Instead they are holding out promises of restoring Genesis 1 paradise conditions on Earth. This is an alternative to the Armageddon scenario and it bypasses Judgment Day. This may be a surprise to those who have read Tim LaHaye’s popular Left Behind series. But within the leadership of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), where the old Manifest Sons of God/Latter Rain doctrines have taken hold, a pre-tribulation rapture is no longer taught. In some ways, Left Behind has served well as a convenient decoy while the framework of the new eschatology could be constructed and marketed. Despite statements of faith to the contrary, most evangelical mission agencies and parachurch groups have now adopted the underlying belief structure of the new eschatology coming out of the NAR. At the very least, most agencies have borrowed the terminologies and methodologies of dominionism eschatology. The most extreme form of this new eschatology teaches that Jesus Christ will not return in the flesh, “but rather Christ and His Church are becoming one in nature and essence, and that the Church , as the ‘ongoing incarnation of God,’ is Christ on earth.”(Al Dager, DISCERNMENT PAGE 2 JULY/AUGUST 2006 PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 Vengeance Is Ours, p. 70). A significant variation on this eschatology teaches that the Bride can perfect herself on Earth, and that only when this is accomplished will Jesus return.
An important corollary to this doctrine is the idea that man is a co-creator with God. This doctrine is precisely the same as that of the New Age Theosophists, but it is sometimes cloaked in biblical-sounding terminology. This doctrine holds that the “Kingdom of God is a present reality in the earth, and is only waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God to demonstrate the Kingdom by taking their authority over the kingdoms of the earth. This will take place before Jesus can return.” (Dager, p. 72)
How will the “sons of God” achieve this dominion over the earth? First, they start by setting up dominion over the church. Leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation, such as C. Peter Wagner, teach that the offices of the New Testament “apostle” and “prophet” must be “restored,” and that the church needs to submit to these men as if they were the oracle of God on Earth. This is the cell church structure of small groups, which rely upon the very effective method of peer pressure to induce conformity to dominionist ideals:
For how can the leaders of the movement gain dominion unless Christians are made to conform to the dictates of the apostles and prophets?
And how can Christians be made to conform except through fear and guilt? No one wants to miss out on what appears to be a move of God. Ignorance on the part of those who are unsure of their relationship to God breeds indecision which, in turn, results in acquiescence to authority at the expense of their personal relationship to God.
Today the principles…are implemented in dominion theology through the use of covenants. (Dager, p. 81-82)
Spiritual Antics
New spiritual practices are the most evident manifestation of dominion theology. A host of new spiritual “methods” are being touted in the postmodern church today as a solution to every possible spiritual problem. These heretical practices promise a way to a “higher” spiritual ground (in a true Gnostic sense) where one attains a greater perfection in Christ. At best, these heretical spiritual methods cause people to focus time and energy (and money) on newfangled activities such as prayer marches, contemplative activities, cleansings and confronting demons, etc. This is time, money and energy that is not being spent on a positive presentation of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ from the Word of God.
At worst, these spiritual methods cause people to stumble into idolatry. Icons, anointing oils that are said to posses spiritual properties, chantings, spiritual formations, chakra healings, Reiki, Yoga, etc. all lead to eastern mysticism. Despite any application of Christian veneer, these practices lead one away from the Gospel Truth into error and heresies. There is a segment of the church, mainly those recipients of the Elijah List and/or Joel News on the Internet, who are regularly fed doses of hyperspiritual prophecies about dominionism activities. In many cases these readers are told to “do” something, but it is usually some sort of psycho-spiritual gobbledygook. Sadly, these pseudo-prophecies manipulate those people who are emotionally and spiritually vulnerable. The dominionist rhetoric of these “prophecies” is very militaristic, but at present it is still a spiritualized militancy. At some point in the near future, however, the spiritual antics may become bootcamps for a more serious and threatening militancy.
These spiritualized methods also serve as a decoy. They keep many Christians busily focused on activities that seem spiritual on the surface. They cloak the real manipulations of dominionism. In contrast to the sobering material presented below, these current spiritual antics look like a drunken picnic.
Physical Machinations
Rick Warren of purpose-driven fame epitomizes the physical machinations of dominionism. He has accomplished what the New Apostolic Reformation “apostles” and “prophets” could not. He has moved the Church-at-large into a new era of pragmatism and utilitarianism via the corporate business model. This model is not unique to Rick Warren. He has simply packaged Peter Drucker’s model and marketed it to the Church. The model is actually the same one used in government reform, education reform, and health reform. In Drucker’s 3-legged stool plan for “Society,” the Church must work collaboratively for the State welfare and to further Corporate interests. What does this model look like? And what does it mean for the Church?
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PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 First of all, this model is based on “systems theory.” The Church is seen as just one component of the Earth’s system, and must fit the parameters of an emerging world order in which all “spheres” of Society work together in a harmonious whole. This system works by monitoring human activity in every facet of life – from health care to mental health, from early education to workforce, from banking to giving, from worship to practice, from cradle to grave. To sell this idea to the Christian public, dominionists like the Coalition on Revival – and now the marketplace ministries – have focused on building the “kingdom of God” via these “spheres.” New ecclesiologies have been concocted to justify expanding the definition of the Church to include these “spheres” of the World. How is human activity monitored? Anything measurable can be assessed. Therefore human behavior has been broken down by the behavioral socialpsychologists into measurable units. This includes one’s values and beliefs. Performance criteria have been developed. Standards have been set, and methods to measure—such as assessments—have been developed. This information is then databanked. This system works on the principle of rewards and penalties. Those who meet the established goals (outcomes, purposes) will be rewarded. Those who don’t will be penalized, coerced, compelled, or worse…. And this is precisely where the New Gospel of Pragmatism and Utilitarianism comes to the forefront. Christians must be persuaded that these measurement, statistical and surveying activities are all for the common good. They must come to fervently believe the doctrine that “the ends justify the means.” In order to “fulfill the Great Commission” this pragmatism must be believed and carried out by churches, mission agencies and parachurch organizations. In this new system, one of the most important measurements will be that of a Christian’s “mental” and/or “spiritual” health. This is because there will be no tolerance for diversity. Dominionism intends to set up a global- government. This government will be both spiritual and political, a hierarchical new order for world governance. It will be easier if people already have the “correct” beliefs, values and attitudes. Last summer Rick Warren spoke at both the Aspen Institute and The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, both organizations with a strong internationalist agenda. Warren’s Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan is very interconnected with the United Nations and globalist agendas. This is a key point. Dominionist church leaders are openly networking with the globalist elites.
A Few Examples of Manipulations
STATISTICS: In his talks to these internationalist groups, Rick Warren relied heavily on statistics. Statistics is a key tool for dominion. With statistics one can monitor progress towards goals and manipulate the variables to achieve the desired outcome. In a recently published book entitled Mental Health Screening, Dr. Dennis Cuddy, an international expert on globalism, wrote about the significance of statistics and monitoring everyone’s mental health. One historical example was a Truman administration public health campaign to get the American public to accept water fluoridation. The architect of this campaign was Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, who had authored a 1928 book entitled Propaganda. Bernays wrote that politicians and businessmen should take “a survey of public desires and demands” in order to say “I must lead the people. Am I not their servant?” Those who manipulate the organized habits and opinions of the masses constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of the country…. It remains a fact that in almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind, who harness old social forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world…. As civilization has become more complex, and as the need for invisible government has been increasingly demonstrated, the technical means have been invented and developed by which opinion may be regimented. (Cuddy, p. 22-23, quoting Bernays)
Another current leader who utilizes statistical surveys as a mechanism to change Christian behavior is George Barna of the Barna Research Group, Inc., who has recently written a book entitled Revolution. The explosion of Revolutionaries in the U.S., however, raises new challenges for people involved in ministry. “This new movement of God demands that there be new forms of leadership to appropriately guide people in their faith journey,” Barna said. “It requires new ways of measuring how well the Church at-large is doing, getting beyond attendance figures as the indicator of health. And it demands that new tools and resources be accessible to a growing contingent of people who are seeking to introduce their faith into every dimension of their life.”
[http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&B arnaUpdateID=201]
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PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 PSYCHO-SOCIAL: The manipulative methods of psycho-social engineering have been progressively refined and perfected over the past century. Dr. Cuddy explains some of the history and techniques of psychosocial manipulations which can alter a person’s beliefs, values, opinions, attitudes and practices. By subtly or subliminally suggesting new ideas, people can be lured into developing new patterns of thinking or acting. Dr. Cuddy also explains how psycho-social methods can be used for global social control. He quotes from a 1946 UNESCO document:
We are assigned the positive function of building peace in the minds of men through science, education and culture. The Executive Secretary’s report gives us the blueprints for the development of what one may call a world brain, a world mind, or a world culture, which alone can be the basis of a world authority or a world government. (Cuddy, p. 91) MARKETING: These same psycho-social methods have been widely incorporated into the advertising industry. The methodologies of marketing, including the manipulations of public opinion and buying behaviors, have been brought into the Church. Much of this has been done through the vehicle of leadership training, where converts enthusiastically begin to market new ideas (including dominionism and eastern mysticism) to the evangelical church.
PERSUASION: Another important piece of historical background cited by Dr. Cuddy comes from a book by Colin Simpson entitled Science of Coercion:
Communication Research and Psychological Warfare
1945-60, where Simpson refers to
the engineering of consent of targeted populations at home and abroad…. Various leaders in the social sciences engaged one another in tacit alliances to promote their particular interpretation of society…. They regarded mass communication as a tool for social management and as a weapon in social conflict…. Key academic journals of the day…concentrated on how modern technology could be used by elites to manage social change, extract political concessions, or win purchasing decisions from targeted audiences…. This orientation reduced the extraordinarily complex, inherently communal process of communication to simple models based on the dynamics of transmission of persuasive—and, in the final analysis, coercive—messages. (Cuddy, p. 23) FELT NEEDS: There are many subtle arts of persuasion. The integration of humanistic psychology into the church during the past four decades has particularly brought a mindset of “felt needs” to the forefront. People in the pews have been trained to respond like Pavlov’s dogs to emotive suggestions and appeals, particularly if it “meets my needs.” Rick Warren relied upon this method during the 1980s in his church growth seminars with C. Peter Wagner. SURVEILLANCE: One of the more sinister aspects of the creeping evangelical tolerance for persuasive tactics is the use of surveillance. Often this is done under the guise of “accountability.” Concerning America’s national mental health plan, Cuddy asked::
At this point, one might ask what an American mental health initiative has to do with world government. Relevant to this, Dr. David Satcher as U.S. Surgeon-General delivered a speech on November 12, 1998, declaring:
We have a clear blueprint in place…. Every child should be given the opportunity for a healthy start…. No priority yet has generated as much interest and enthusiasm as this one on mental health…. Our efforts will be focused on maintaining a global health surveillance…. Healthy People 2010 is the United States’ contribution to the World Health Organization’s call to the nations of the world to renew their commitment to health for all. (Cuddy, National Mental Health Program, p. 26) DATABANKING: Surveillance requires the databanking of information. Surveillance begins with the cell group structure, in which private aspects of parishioners’ lives are computerized, databanked and used for future reference. Obviously, given human nature, the uses for such personal data may not be wellintentioned. The cell church software is modeled after multi-level network marketing programs. How high up on the multi-level hierarchy can such personal information travel?
ASSESSMENTS: Another surveillance tool can appear to be quite innocuous – the assessment test.
James Sundquist wrote an analysis of Rick Warren’s
SHAPE program in chapters 10 and 11 of his book,
Who’s Driving the Purpose Driven Church? This
quasi-spiritual, psycho-social inventory is aptly named “SHAPE.” Assessment tests are used as a mechanism to “shape” human behavior, and to “mold” people’s values, beliefs and doctrines. Chuck Colson has now partnered with Rick Warren to develop a dominionist “worldview” curriculum and assessment tool.
PHARMACEUTICALS: The late Dr. Francis
Schaeffer repeatedly warned about the dangers of
human manipulations. He feared – and rightly so – that
the evangelical Church in the near future would be
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seduced by utopian schemes and cave in to totalitarian
solutions. He worried that the evangelicals would slide
into a situation where they would accept an
authoritarian rule by an elite group. In a chapter from
The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century
entitled “Modern Man the Manipulator,” Schaeffer warned about Arthur Koestler, who wrote a book The Ghost in the Machine. Koestler believed that humans were still evolving. Schaeffer observed:
Not believing in the fall of man, he explained man’s dilemma this way: man has evolved with a lower and an upper brain that are not in harmony. What we must ask our scientists to do is to develop a super-drug that will bring the two halves into proper relationship. Such a drug would make man passive and prevent his constant quarreling. He has suggested that the way we may administer it is in the water supply. (p. 85) Dr. Dennis Cuddy in his book Mental Health Screening provides documentation on the role that the pharmaceutical industry plays in creating a new ethos of mental health across the globe. The pharmaceutical industry has teamed up with internationalists for the “transformation” of the continent of Africa, a goal that is shared by the dominionists.
UTILITARIANISM: Dominionism teaches the gospel of “whatever it takes” (Rick Warren). This doctrine is being taught to everyone in the pews. In How Should We Then Live? Dr. Schaeffer warned about the consequences of the church adopting the doctrine of utilitarianism: “the teaching that utility is the ultimate appeal on all ethical questions.” But when utilitarianism is made the standard—if there is no absolute standard to judge it by or if the standard existing in the Bible is not courageously applied—then the concept of “the greatest happiness for the greatest number” is easily manipulated. (p. 142) OTHER TECHNIQUES: In chapter 12 of How Should We Then Live?, which has the interesting title of “Manipulation and the New Elite,” Dr. Schaeffer warns about the “coming of an elite, an authoritarian state, to fill the vacuum left by the loss of Christian principles… a manipulative authoritarian government” (p. 229). He warned of the psychological determinism of B.F. Skinner, the sociological determinism of operant conditioning, and the chemical and/or genetic determinism of Francis Crick.
Dr. Schaeffer raised questions particularly relevant to dominionism. Schaeffer asked:
In light of this discussion about social manipulation, three questions arise. First, who will control the controllers? Second, what will happen now that people have no boundary condition indicating what they should do in contrast to what they can do? Third, if mankind is only what modern people say it is, why does man’s biological continuation have value? (p. 239) Particularly relevant are Schaeffer’s comments about the potential scenarios for a new authoritarianism:
“Random and indiscriminate terrorism is even more frightening…. We have already seen indications of how people give up liberties when they are faced with the threat of terrorism.” A “radical redistribution of the wealth of the world, including a “redistribution of power where a “manipulating authoritarian government might be easily welcomed, in the hope that such a government would somehow soften the unpleasant results caused by a lessening of prosperity and world power.” A “growing shortage of food and other natural resources” could lead NOT to compassion, but utilitarianism – “…we can expect open pragmatism increasingly to take the place of the partial compassion which has existed.”
“a growing food shortage is apt to constitute an increasing pressure to cause people to drift along with a growing authoritarianism which promises solutions.” (p. 247)
Dr. Cuddy’s book Mental Health Screening gives
current examples of precisely what Dr. Schaeffer was
warning about. The future is now!
For further information on these topics:
Dr. Dennis Cuddy has written two books on the subject of mental health screening. This 2-book set is available from Discernment Ministries for a price of $15.00. Many of the topics in this article have been covered in the daily posts at the Herescope blog run by the Discernment Research Group. Regularly visit this blog http://www.herescope.blogspot.com to stay informed. Other materials used to write this article are available from Discernment Ministries:
Education Reform: the deliberate dumbing down of america: A
Chronological Paper Trail by Charlotte Iserbyt. Dominionism: Vengeance Is Ours: The Church In Dominion, Al Dager.
Purpose-Driven model: The Pied Pipers of Purpose, a monograph by Leslie, Leslie & Conway, and Who’s Driving the Purpose-Driven Church? by James Sundquist.
DISCERNMENT PAGE 6 JULY/AUGUST 2006
PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 Every week you will see new information appearing on the www.discernment-ministries.org website under various topics of interest. The he HERESCOPE Blog is updated quite often. You can access this on the website and add it to your “favorites” list. The following is an article from last week that is most important in the light of the incredible days in which we live.
J U N E 2 8 , 2 0 0 6
Foundation Imperialism
It seems like an extraordinary coincidence. C. Peter Wagner launched his new “philanthropic apostles” at the same time that Bill Gates, the world’s richest billionaire, retired from running the Microsoft Corporation to spend his time doing philanthropy at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
On the heels of this, Warren Buffet, the world’s second richest billionaire, announced that he will give 5/6ths of his shares from his Berkshire Hathaway stock to The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This isn’t some wild-eyed conspiracy theory. The title of today’s post comes from a quote yesterday in Forbes magazine, in an article entitled “Philanthropy With A Business Bent” by Paul Maidment, which explains the changing face of philanthropy:
“[Buffet’s] Gates Foundation donation, marked a serious coming of age of entrepreneurial philanthropy. The skills and approaches of business are being applied to the work of doing good. A new breed of philanthropists is seeking to maximize the social impact of their actions, just as they sought to maximize shareholder value in their businesses.
“…The Gates Foundation is already moving beyond the pure medicine dimensions of health into agriculture and micro-financing. In the end, it and other foundations will inevitably find themselves in the business of promoting sound social infrastructure, open markets, the rule of law and transparent and corruption-free administration.
“Such a business-based approach to social and economic change will increasingly bring foundations into conflict with governments and special interests with their own political agendas….
“Nor will all cultures be comfortable with philanthropic foundations that promote Western values of freedom, technological progress and entrepreneurship to solve the world’s underlying problems.
“That day is still a ways off, that of foundation imperialism even further.”
It may be a myth—a media reinforced myth— that these philanthropic foundations will be promoting “Western values.” In reality, these foundations are promoting a form of Western imperialism that more closely reflects the values, goals and agendas of the United Nations, especially the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Ground zero for the world’s leading philanthropic efforts happens to be the continent of Africa. It is here where Bill Gates, Rick Warren, Ted Turner, Bono, Brad Pitt, the United Nations and an incredible array of multi-national corporations, think tanks, philanthropic groups, agencies, mission groups, churches, etc. have all focused their attention. The main public priority is global health issues, but underneath lurks all sorts of other agendas.
Domionism and the Great Outpouring of Wealth
Rick Warren’s connection to all of this is quite significant because of his Christian dominionism—that which he acquired from the New Apostolic Reformation (elsewhere documented in Herescope posts). The NAR leaders’ “prophetic” predictions about a “great outpouring” of wealth may be connected to these recent philanthropic maneuvers. The Christian mission agencies, parachurch organizations and international groups who have been promoting NARstyle dominionism for the past two decades have positioned themselves globally to be on the receiving end of this great outpouring of philanthropic wealth. Last November Rick Warren was invited to a Global Health Summit hosted by TIME magazine and supported by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At this summit he hobnobbed with over 400 leaders, including Bill Clinton (Clinton Global Initiative), Bill Gates, Condoleeza Rice, Ted Turner (who gave his fortune to the UN), Madeleine Albright, Bono, Paul Wolfowitz (World Bank), and others.
At this summit it was revealed that the World Bank was looking at “church-health facilities” to see how they could partner. Faith-based organizations took center stage as the participants were told that they “are able to reach those difficult areas that the government cannot reach.” Significantly—and perhaps an indication of future funding—Rick Warren “noted…that many times churches are the only infrastructure in a remote village that lacks a post office, a hospital, or a school.”
Following this summit, Warren traveled to speak to the Anglican Conference in Pittsburgh. At this conference he explained how churches would serve as DISCERNMENT PAGE 7 JULY/AUGUST 2006 PO BOX 2535 – WEST LAFAYETTE, IN 47996 a distribution network:
“He envisioned the church—and here he includes non-Christian religious communities—as a global distribution network that could deliver solutions in villages with no school, no post office, no clinic and no phone service.”
An October 31, 2005 article in Fortune magazine entitled “Will Success Spoil Rick Warren?” confirmed this very point, also promising an “army of volunteers”:
“PEACE stands for Partner with or Plant churches, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, and Educate the next generation. ‘We don’t know how to do this,’ he told the pastors in Kigali, ‘but together we can figure it out. I’m going to get the best minds I can to help me.’ About all he knows for sure is that the project will be driven by local pastors who will get help from churches in the developed world. ‘The church has a distribution point in every community,’ he says, ‘and we have a massive army of volunteers that neither business nor government has.’”
The Truth:
Is the World using the Church? Or is the Church using the World?
Compromise with the spirit of the world and the spirit of the times will not produce a true love of one’s neighbor. And charitable acts devoid of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not true compassion.
“No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
THE NEW BREED - THE PRIESTHOOD OF MELCHIZEDEK
The following will shock you as much as it did me. Everyone spoke of this “fine man of God” and we went to hear what he had to say. I have heard Bob Jones speak before and it always seemed to me that age had caught up with him and that he just rambled on and on and didn’t make much sense. But then Dave and I went to hear him with the Word of God firmly in our hearts and minds and this stuff just seemed ridiculous to us. It was about a year later that all the warning sirens went off and we realized that “Houston, we have a problem!” These people are serious and there are many of them, and we have been sitting in a nest of those who preach the doctrine of devils. We kept saying to one another after attending one of these things, “that was not scriptural” Then a horrible pattern started to form, and we ran for our souls. We suggest that if you find yourself listening or being taught things such as the following…first get your bible (we suggest the KJV as it was translated by plain everyday scholars of King James time, and was not touched by any “religious” people with any agendas of their own. It is the most true to the translations from the Greek and Hebrew and some Aramaic writings of the Word of God.) Make every word you are hearing line up with the ONLY infallible Word of the living God and you should be able to find more than one scripture to back every word up with. If it does not…get up and run out of the door. We have found that these people will not debate you nor will they discuss scripture with you. They will love to have you sit and not bother anyone and pay your tithes to support their agenda however. But you need to leave and not sow one more dollar into the propitiation of the doctrines of devils. Below is an excerpt from a blog that we suggest that you read too. http://herescope.blogspot.com/ Just so you will know that we are not alone.
The NEW BREED defined
The term "new breed" has particular significance in the Latter Rain cult and it may be slithering into the neoevangelical mainstream via the New Apostolic Reformation. This is one of the most offensive and heretical doctrines to ever be set forth. It teaches that there is a coming generation that has special super spiritual powers to exercise dominion over the Earth. (See yesterday's post for an overview.)
The following quotations come from a transcript of tapes called "Visions and Revelations," from the Fall of 1989, Kansas City Fellowship (so-called at the time), with Mike Bickle and Bob Jones. The following is a discussion about some prophetic visions that pertain to this "new breed."
WARNING: If you are a young believer, or a believer who struggles with the teachings of the New Apostolic Reformation, this "prophecy" may be difficult for you to read. Herescope suggests that you glance at the highlighted words and skip to Professor Anton Bosch's critique of this false prophesy at the end of this post.
The following quotations come from a transcript of tapes called "Visions and Revelations," from the Fall of 1989, Kansas City Fellowship (so-called at the time), with Mike Bickle and Bob Jones. The following is a discussion about some prophetic visions that pertain to this "new breed."
WARNING: If you are a young believer, or a believer who struggles with the teachings of the New Apostolic Reformation, this "prophecy" may be difficult for you to read. Herescope suggests that you glance at the highlighted words and skip to Professor Anton Bosch's critique of this false prophesy at the end of this post.
A MESSAGE to seasoned believers or non-believers: As alarming and/or ludicrous as this false prophecy may seem, there are many who have been seduced and greatly deceived by it, taking these words very seriously.
"NEW BREED" Transcript
Bob Jones, relating a vision that he had: . . . “And as I was looking at that, he said, “Come, I want to show you something else.” And so I went and I seen the Lord and it was like He was lookin’ at little yellow things – little round yellow things like a spirit of God itself. And there were billions of them. And it was like Him and all the angels were looking through these and every once in awhile they’d say, ‘Hey, here’s an end-time one; get it down here on the end. This is a perfect one. Here’s another good one.’
"I said, ‘What are you doing?’
"He said, ‘Oh, we’re collecting those who are foreknown and predestinated for the end-times, for you see they’ll be the best of all the seed that’s ever been. And we’re looking through the seeds and this’ll be your grandkids. This will be the end generation that is foreknown and predestined to inherit all things. And these will be like grandchildren to you – even those that you minister to won’t be this generation. Their children will be. You are to write into their minds – as they write into the children’s minds. You’re to bring them to a place to allow my Spirit to rule in their life where they can begin to set the church on the proper foundations – as they will. They’ll birth the church, but their children will attain levels of the Holy Spirit that they will not. Although their parents will reign over them and be the leaders of the last day church – their children will possess the Spirit without measure – for they are the best of all the generations that have ever been upon the face of the earth. And the best of all generations are those elected seeds that will glorify Christ in the last days. That’s the purpose so that Jesus in the last days has the seeds that will glorify Him above any generation that has ever been upon the face of the earth. They will move into things of the supernatural that no one has ever moved in before. Every miracle, sign and wonder that has ever been in the Bible – they’ll move in it consistently, they’ll move in the power that Christ did. Every sign and wonder that’s ever been will be many times in the last days. They themselves will be that generation that’s raised up to put death itself underneath their feet and to glorify Christ in every way. And the church that is raising up in the government will be the head and the covering for them. So that that glorious church might be revealed in the last days, because the Lord Jesus is worthy to be lifted up by a church that has reached the full maturity of the God-Man!”
Mike Bickle: “I’m going to sum that up real well. And you add to it or subtract from it, if it is not just what you shared it with me or how you remember it. What the Lord did, I’m just gonna put that in real tight there, the Lord took him to this beach before an ocean and this beach spoke of the sands of time and the ocean spoke of the nations of the world in all of history. And he saw these men and they put their hand in the sand and pulled out this box and they were empty. And then a little bit later, another guy did and it was empty. And then a little bit later, another guy did and it was empty – another did and it was empty. The Lord came to Bob and said, ‘You do it right here.” Bob said, ‘Lord, they’ve all put their hands in and got empty boxes. They came up empty-handed – without a box. Why should I do it?’ The Lord said, ‘Put your hand in here.’ He pulls it out and he sees this box full of draft notices for the end-time army. And he said the Lord told Him there was 300,000 enlistment notices that he was going to send out across the nations in this next generation. It wasn’t all going to be sent out then. 300,000 that would be the main leadership over one billion converts in the earth.”
Bob Jones: “Amen”
Mike Bickle: “He said, ‘I’ll cause 300,000 to bear a distinct anointing of leadership over the one billion.’ 300,000 sounds like a lot of leaders, but a billion is a thousand million. I calculated that out and that is 3 anointed vessels in that distinct way for 10,000 people. That is nothing.
"He said, ‘I’m going to cause 300,000 like Gideon’s 300 [Army] in Israel. I’m going to have 300,000. That will be a small number for the nations of the earth. But they will have like that apostolic anointing and the signs and wonders of the early church will be on 300,000. The Earth will have it. The rest will move in the miraculous, but I will have 300,000 that will have a special measure of the Spirit like the leaders of the New Testament.’
"Like they had even more than the people did. And so then he pulled out this box, he sees the 300,000 names, he actually reads a number of them and he says, ‘Lord, who are these guys?’
"He looked back, ‘Those were the leaders of past generations like John Wesley, Charltes Finney, Martin Luther, who thought their generation was the chosen generation.’ And every time they pulled their hand up they came up empty-handed because the chosen generation – because there is one generation that will enter into that which is beyond all the others in power. They thought it was theirs. It is not.
"‘Put your hand here.’ So he sees the 300,000 and the Lord looks at Bob and says, ‘From out of the sands of time I have called the best of every blood line in the earth unto this generation.’
"He said, ‘Even the blood line of Paul. Even the blood line of David, the blood line of Peter, James and John, the best of their seed is unto this generation. They will be superior to them in heart, stature and love for me.’
"He says, ‘For out of the sands of time, I have elected to bring them forth in this hour.’ And he said, ‘This generation of the young people that are coming’ – their children is the elect generation.'
"And he said, ‘As the thing grows,’ he says, ‘this generation will see the inception of this move. It will begin in their time. They will be as children in the Spirit.’ . . .
Bob Jones (much later) . . . “Not only will they have the word of God in them, that’s the foundation – apostles and prophets – but they will have the word of God in them and they will have the power with the word – the Spirit. And the barrenness of the church will be over and the foundations of the church will be raised up. The walls will be raised up. You will see the glorious church begin to come in and you will begin to birth it. It will take probably another 15-20 years to get some of you into some level of maturity. There will be neither male or female in this. There will be maturity – what God is seeking. And He will be raising the saints up – to that level. First He will bring the five-fold [ministry], but there is a ministry after the five-fold called the Ministry of Perfection – the Melchisedek Priesthood.
"You that are here now, you’ll be moving into the five-fold ministries, but your children will be moving into the ministries of perfection. Coming to that characteristics – coming into that divine nature of Jesus Christ. Not having to come out of the wilderness, but being birthed natural into the Spirit. All their days movin’ with the Spirit. Movin’ in the ways of – that the Holy Spirit does. There is a purpose. It takes awhile – you’ve gotta get out of religion, or Egypt or death and then it takes awhile of dying out in the wilderness and getting the next generation into the warfare – that’s where you are now – you’re in the warfare, start to take the promised land – and then you raise up the generation to possess it. Well the children that are coming forth are to possess the promises of God. It is the last day generation. . . .
Mike Bickle: “I want to say one things about this. The Lord said to Bob we were like the David generation that had many wars because there is going to be great transition in the body. Many misunderstandings, gossip, slanders, persecution – even within the house of God. He said that’s why we won’t enter into the fullness ourselves, but like Solomon who built the temple – because the Lord gave him permission to build the temple because he was not a man of blood – or a man of war. But He said this generation in the next 10 or 15 years is a time of war and transitioning of whole new orders in the body – but our children will be kings and priests of peace and not of wars and that’s why they will go beyond where a lot of us are. . . .”
The Truth:
"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." (Matthew 7:15)
The following paper was prepared by Professor Anton Bosch in order to effectually refute the heresies presented above.
New Breed
It has become very fashionable for modern-day “prophets” to make all sorts of wild predictions concerning the future. The Scripture is clear however, that when prophets speak, their words are to be judged by the rest of the church (1Corinthians 14:29). The judging of such statements cannot be based on subjective things such as whether the statements “feel” right or an inner witness. The Bible has to be the final Plumbline against which any statement, prophecy or teaching is measured since the Word of God is immutable and unchanging (1Peter 1:25, Matthew 24:35 etc). If the words of men do not accord with the Word of God, they have to be rejected with contempt.
For example, prophecies of Bob Jones, Mike Bickle et al predict a new breed of Christian leaders who will lead a world-wide revival which will gain one billion new converts across the earth. Let’s examine some of these statements in the light of the Word.
According to these predictions, the 300,000 latter-day leaders who will usher in the Kingdom, will be the third generation from now. In other words, Jesus will not come in this generation or the next. Yet the Bible says: “the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44).
Jones says that the next generation “will birth the church” yet the Bible is clear that God fathered the church on the day of Pentecost, 2000 years ago!
According to Jones, that generation will be “the best of all generations that have ever been on the face of the earth… (they) will glorify Him above any generation that has been on the face of the earth.” But the Bible paints a bleak picture of Christians in the last days: “…in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. (2Timothy 3:1-5). “Having a form of godliness” tells us this is not a description of the world but of the church!
This generation “is predestined to inherit all things,” says Jones but the Bible says "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1Corinthinas 15:50). The inheritance belongs to all who are “in Christ” (Ephesians 1:11); to those who are the descendants of Abraham (Acts 7:5); to the meek (Matthew 5:5) and to the overcomers (Revelation 21:7). The idea that the inheritance belongs to one fleshly generation goes against all of the teaching of both Old and New Testaments.
Jones says that the penultimate generation “will set the church on the proper foundations.” By this he suggests that the church has not had “proper foundations” for the past 2,000 years. What an indictment against Jesus who has been building the church all this time! (Matthew 16:18). If this generation will be laying a “proper foundation” then, it has to be assumed that the foundation that was laid by the Apostles (Jesus Christ) was somehow deficient. Alternatively, this is a clear confession that what these men are building is not the church of Jesus Christ (1Corinthians 3:11, Ephesians 2:20).
About the only Biblical statement Jones made during this discussion is: “Every sign and wonder that’s ever been will be many times in the last days.” (sic). This is confirmed in 2Thessalonians 2:9: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders.”
Jones continues: “They themselves will be that generation that’s raised up to put death itself underneath their feet.” Yet the Bible says that it is Christ who will put death under His feet. (1Corinthians 15:25-27).
Jones predicts that this new generation of 300,000 leaders will gain a “billion converts.” This represents 17 percent of the world population which indicates a major revival. Perhaps influenced by this Latter Rain false prophecy, Great Commission leaders are working to plant five million new churches and train five million pastors for a one-billion soul harvest. God’s perspective is not of a major harvest of souls but “that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first” (2Thessalonians 2:3) and “that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1Timothy 4:1).
For example, prophecies of Bob Jones, Mike Bickle et al predict a new breed of Christian leaders who will lead a world-wide revival which will gain one billion new converts across the earth. Let’s examine some of these statements in the light of the Word.
According to these predictions, the 300,000 latter-day leaders who will usher in the Kingdom, will be the third generation from now. In other words, Jesus will not come in this generation or the next. Yet the Bible says: “the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44).
Jones says that the next generation “will birth the church” yet the Bible is clear that God fathered the church on the day of Pentecost, 2000 years ago!
According to Jones, that generation will be “the best of all generations that have ever been on the face of the earth… (they) will glorify Him above any generation that has been on the face of the earth.” But the Bible paints a bleak picture of Christians in the last days: “…in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. (2Timothy 3:1-5). “Having a form of godliness” tells us this is not a description of the world but of the church!
This generation “is predestined to inherit all things,” says Jones but the Bible says "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1Corinthinas 15:50). The inheritance belongs to all who are “in Christ” (Ephesians 1:11); to those who are the descendants of Abraham (Acts 7:5); to the meek (Matthew 5:5) and to the overcomers (Revelation 21:7). The idea that the inheritance belongs to one fleshly generation goes against all of the teaching of both Old and New Testaments.
Jones says that the penultimate generation “will set the church on the proper foundations.” By this he suggests that the church has not had “proper foundations” for the past 2,000 years. What an indictment against Jesus who has been building the church all this time! (Matthew 16:18). If this generation will be laying a “proper foundation” then, it has to be assumed that the foundation that was laid by the Apostles (Jesus Christ) was somehow deficient. Alternatively, this is a clear confession that what these men are building is not the church of Jesus Christ (1Corinthians 3:11, Ephesians 2:20).
About the only Biblical statement Jones made during this discussion is: “Every sign and wonder that’s ever been will be many times in the last days.” (sic). This is confirmed in 2Thessalonians 2:9: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders.”
Jones continues: “They themselves will be that generation that’s raised up to put death itself underneath their feet.” Yet the Bible says that it is Christ who will put death under His feet. (1Corinthians 15:25-27).
Jones predicts that this new generation of 300,000 leaders will gain a “billion converts.” This represents 17 percent of the world population which indicates a major revival. Perhaps influenced by this Latter Rain false prophecy, Great Commission leaders are working to plant five million new churches and train five million pastors for a one-billion soul harvest. God’s perspective is not of a major harvest of souls but “that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first” (2Thessalonians 2:3) and “that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1Timothy 4:1).
As if all the above is not ridiculous enough, Jones suggests that Paul had children since this New Breed are “the best of every blood line in the earth… Even the blood line of Paul.” This new generation “will be superior to them (Paul, David, Peter, James and John)." This statement can only come from someone who has no idea as to stature of these unique men who were chosen by the Lord to not only be mentioned in the Bible, but who were chosen to write various parts of it. If this generation is so superior to the fathers of the faith, then how come they did not make it into the Bible – anywhere?
According to Jones “there is a ministry after the five-fold called the Ministry of Perfection, the Melchizedek Priesthood” and this new generation “will be moving into the ministries of perfection.” Yet the word says that “Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 6:20). So these people are going to replace Jesus who alone, and forever is the Priest after the order of Melchizedek?
The Bible says that “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints…” (Ephesians 4:11,12). So now God has changed His mind and shifted the responsibility for the perfection of the saints from all the ministries to this generation? This seems to confirm the rest of Jones’ false statements that all the other generations, ministries and people have failed, and that even Jesus Christ has failed to build the church, and that this New Breed will do what Christ Himself has failed to do! (May the Lord have mercy on us!)
Jones continues that they will: “Not having to come out of the wilderness, but being birthed natural into the Spirit… All their days movin’ with the Spirit” (sic). He thus claims that these individuals will not be born sinners but will be born saved and be led by the Spirit all their lifetime. So what happened to the Scriptures that say: “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10) and “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “the scripture hath concluded all under sin” (Galatians 3:22)?
The question we have to ask is simply this: Has God overthrown His entire Word and denounced everything He ever said, or is this a false prophecy by a false prophet? It seems what is being suggested is a replacement for the work and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is exactly what the spirit of Antichrist is about – to provide a replacement and substitute for Him who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End and the All in All to the Church.
Jones continues that they will: “Not having to come out of the wilderness, but being birthed natural into the Spirit… All their days movin’ with the Spirit” (sic). He thus claims that these individuals will not be born sinners but will be born saved and be led by the Spirit all their lifetime. So what happened to the Scriptures that say: “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10) and “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “the scripture hath concluded all under sin” (Galatians 3:22)?
The question we have to ask is simply this: Has God overthrown His entire Word and denounced everything He ever said, or is this a false prophecy by a false prophet? It seems what is being suggested is a replacement for the work and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is exactly what the spirit of Antichrist is about – to provide a replacement and substitute for Him who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End and the All in All to the Church.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
A POUND OF FLESH ANYONE?
Ephesians 2:4-10 (KJV) 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
These are some basic scriptures that should quicken your spirit when you hear the teachings of false prophets and teachers. The one above is a wonderful one and is truly a measuring stick of “works”. Whether it is the Word of Faith movement, Government of 12, the Purpose Driven movement, New Age or Dominionism (and trust me there are vestiges of New Age in everyone of these movements, as I spent (wasted) six years of my life in the New Age movement) , they ALL practice “works”. Works of the flesh. Works of man. They all have “small groups” to “work out” problems that stand in ones ability to grow in your church and serve “it” more effectively. There are seminars on “personal growth”. There are classes on how to get God to “work” in your life through “meditation and deep breathing prayer.” How to reach your “inner man and God” though “maze walking and meditation, and long fasting.” Just to mention a few of the more popular ones.
Why, when on the Cross our precious Jesus said with his last breaths, “It is finished”, do we want to beat a now and forever dead horse to death again and again? I guess it is so simple that men that consider themselves “brilliant in matters of things religious” can not see the simple miraculous beauty of it. Christ paid it all. All we have to do is follow His amazing example, go into the lost and dying world and preach THE true gospel as given to us primarily by the Apostle Paul, and show love and concern for their eternal souls and it is FINISHED. We carry the Holy Spirit and we must trust Him to give us the right words to say when we go out into this world. But some say things like, “I just had the most brilliant thought!” and run with it almost feeling a need to copyright it so everyone will know just how clever they were. YOU had no thought. If you are a true Christian and follower of our Lord and Savior, you know that the thought was placed their by the comforter, sent by God the Father after Christ’s resurrection, and He is the Holy Spirit. If we give any credit to ourselves, it easily becomes a work of the flesh. Our enemy is so cunning and the easiest way to play us like puppets is to attack through human pride. Pride is behind every work of the flesh. Pride in its simple and healthy form is a wonderful emotion, but the one most easily corrupted by Satan. There is the pride of keeping oneself clean and presentable. We take pride in our service to our Lord. (As long as we remember we are but servants in this world) We feel a sense of pride when we buy someone a birthday gift for example and it is a hit. We let pride become fleshly when being presentable means always boasting about the label on your drawers, or fleshy pride in a position we hold in church, or when we condemn all other gifts given to someone as inferior because of our great taste and awareness makes our gifts the best always, we have turned good pride into a work of the flesh and therefore a work of the devil. And it will lead to our destruction. John 10:10 (KJV) 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
All of these different “movements” that we speak of have men of pride and arrogance at the helm. THEY have the answer for humanity not God or His written Word which they twist, misquote, and use out of context as it fits THEIR needs. It is not the finished work of the Cross, but a scheme of WORKS that can do the Cross one better. They know some things that God didn’t think of. They can make the world such an amazing place that Jesus will want to come back to it as soon as they give Him permission to leave Heaven! All that these men of “works” have done is to reopen for them, and whoever follows them, the “Law of Sin and Death” once again. Once you walk away from the finished work of the Cross, and Jesus and Him crucified, and you follow false prophets and depart from the infallible Word of God, you have made yourself subject to the law once again. Romans 8:1-9 (KJV) 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And you force God’s hand to bring destruction to the church, just as His hand was forced to allow destruction of Israel in A.D. 70. Proverbs 16:17-19 (KJV) 17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And you force God’s hand to bring destruction to the church, just as His hand was forced to allow destruction of Israel in A.D. 70. Proverbs 16:17-19 (KJV) 17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
Would it not be easier to just accept and allow the untarnished and untwisted Word of God to prevail in your life? Is it not easier and wiser to look to the Cross where MERCY met RIGHTESOUSNESS? Why when you know that the Cross of Christ bought your forever freedom from hell, death and the grave, would you turn from that incomparable free gift and follow the works of foolish and treacherous men? (Again we stress that we are aware that evil and seducing spirits encamp about these lost men and we pray daily that they will return to Christ and Him crucified and depart from seducing spirits and the teachings of devils.)
Pray, seek the Lord and open your spiritual ears. The Holy Spirit will let you know when something is not right. We know that you have made friends where you attend church and you don’t want them to think ill of you if you leave. Do friends let friends lose their salvation? Light always overcomes darkness. Return to Christ Who is the Light. John 8:12 (KJV) 12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. And maybe, just maybe you will allow His light in you to shine a path for your friends to follow the way out of a church of false prophets and teachers and one that leads back to the Cross. What do you have to lose….just your soul!
Love and blessings…Dave and Patti
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Just call it what it is…EVIL
Our intention when we started this blog was to read a book of one of these false prophets at a time and quote from their own words, and do a book review of sorts and hold their words and choices of scripture up to the infallible Word of God. We have discovered that at any given time in our home, we have some 15 books open that we are reading. Some are to educate us further in the Cross, Christ, and Him crucified and we so enjoy this enriching time with the Holy Spirit. Then there are the books that we are reading that will enable us to warn any who will take heed of this heresy taking place all round us in these last days. And as much as we enjoy spending time in the Lord and HIS true Word, I in particular become very unsettled and angry at the utter blasphemy I am reading with regards to the writings of these heretics. And if it grieves me I can only imagine how it grieves our precious Holy Spirit. These men write lies, and then say “the Holy Spirit told me”. Well, I have a news bulletin for y’all. Whoever you are talking to is not the Holy Spirit. If what you are hearing, doesn't line up with the Word, and it doesn't, then it is not from the Holy Spirit. I think you are chatting with your “holier than thou” spirit that has come to nest inside you and has totally replaced the Holy Spirit we all know and love. It is just EVIL. I read 1 Kings 1:30 (KJV) 30 Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. It got me to thinking about the evil plots that began in the hearts of some men of David’s day to overthrow the order of God himself. Even though they knew themselves that this was the wish of God, Adonijah, Joab, and Abiathar (the High Priest!??!) decided to set up their own kingdom in opposition to God’s elect King. Had God allowed these evil men to succeed, it would have surely been the death of Israel. And yet men today are doing that very thing. Even though they know that only CHRIST will come and establish HIS Kingdom Age, ( these scriptures just leave no room for any other interpretation if you are of sound mind), so again I say, these men are being deceived greatly and they are permeating the Church with this evil deception as well. The only comfort that we have is that if we pray, God will put ruin into their evil plans for their own Kingdom.
Once again we warn all. You have a choice to make here. Either you follow the ravings of madmen or you follow Jesus. If you don’t know the Bible, then get into a good Bible study. But be aware that if you go to any Bible study and they want to meditate, hum, posture, walk through a maze, or hang from a chandelier, or speak of anything or anyone other than the Cross and Jesus and Him crucified, you have gone to the wrong place. RUN out! Pray and the Holy Spirit will guide you to a good place. But there are so many good Expositor’s Bible’s out there today, you can be confident to study the Word of God yourself. I would suggest the "Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible", and the other that we find is true to the Cross and Christ and Him crucified is the "Expositor’s Study Bible" by Jimmy Swaggart. These two are both the best weapon that you can have in your personal arsenal against our enemy and his servants that will lead you to the loss of your salvation and hell if you allow it. Now for those who may have a comment about Jimmy Swaggart and all that he went through when he fell back in the 80’s, I would like to remind you that not one of us…not even ONE has not done the same or worse, but we were not caught or were not held to public shame the way Jimmy Swaggart was. I assure you that our precious Jesus DIED ENOUGH for Jimmy Swaggart too. The reason that the enemy would love to have the bashing of this man of God continue is that he is one of the most brilliant Bible scholars alive today and he has many other scholars that work along side of him to bring you the most complete and untampered revelation of God’s Word available today. Dake’s Study Bible is available on line and Jimmy Swaggart’s Expositor’s Study Bible is available at www.jsm.org. You won’t regret purchasing either of these investments in your soul.
Love and blessings…Dave and Patti
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