THE LATTER RAIN - Part 2

The late 40’s was a time of spiritual hunger for the Pentecostals.  Unfortunately this hunger would lead some to leave the safe confines of the known and well established written Word of God.  (Any time we forget that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and try to force our own growth in him or give him a newer, cooler, more modern look, we place ourselves at the mercy of the devil.  He will come in and fill you with what appears to be new and exciting “information” that comes from various types of “messengers”.  Herein lays the perfect platform for false doctrine.  To stay focused, we must rely on the Cross and what Jesus did there and the truth and validity of the Word of God.)

In 1947 a group of students from the Pentecostal Bible College in Saskatoon, Canada, gathered to participate in the preparation of the buildings for the opening of the newly formed Sharon Bible College.  At the time the Sharon School consisted of three buildings located at the North Battleford Airport. The leadership of the small group of discontent Pentecostals were former Pastor’s of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.  They were George Hawtin, (who would become known as the father of the Latter Rain Movement) Ernst Hawtin, George’s brother, Percy Hunt, and later were joined by George Hawtin’s brother-in-law, Milford Kirkpatrick, and Herrick Holt who was a Pastor of the Four Square gospel in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada.  The initial 70 students that attended the opening of the Sharon school came with Hawtin and Hunt from Bethel Bible Institute in Saskatoon where both had been on the teaching staff.  Hawtin had been asked for his resignation for lack of cooperation with the Institute in Saskatoon and Hunt resigned in protest and sympathy of Hawtin’s release.

Prior to the Sharon school’s opening, the group of prospective students along with working by day to prepare the new schools classrooms, gathered nightly for intercessory prayer, fasting and prophecy, with some of the students fasting anywhere from 3 to 40 days.  On February 11, 1948 a young woman prophesied about an open door that God had set before the students and was asking them to “enter in”.  This was followed by another prophecy that said the open door was a doorway into the gifts and ministries in the Body of Christ.  In extended chapel services over a period of four days, a procedure emerged of “calling out” members of the audience and imparting a spiritual gift to them by the “laying on of hands” accompanied by a suitable prophecy.  The authorization and direction of these activities was a series of vocal prophetic utterances by the students and their teachers.  (You may ask what is wrong with this?  Nothing, if the utterance is being directed by the Holy Spirit and not man.  Only the Holy Spirit can “impart” the spiritual gifts.  We as Christians can lay hands on each other and pray for the gifts to come, but the “laying on of hands” of man does NOT impart that gift and therein lies the danger.  We start turning to man whether they be Pastor’s, members, or elders of the church for gifts instead of the author of those gifts, which is God the Holy Spirit!)

In the Spring of 1948, Easter weekend, special services were held at the Sharon School.  These services were called “Feast of Pentecost”.  Many came to North Battleford and attended the services out of curiosity.  This influx of people was labeled the “First Camp Meeting” from July 7-18, 1948.  the crowds grew into the thousands.  The teaching at this revival revived the seemingly banished “Latter Rain” movement, although it was “all new” to those in attendance.  (This doctrine of devils was brought back into a world that now had become distracted by war and upheaval.  Although people attended church, their lives were busy and hard and time taken for family Bible and church Bible study had waned.  Satan is a very patient adversary.  He never considers himself as defeated, just put off for a bit.  Like the Terminator, he’ll be back when the timing is right.  We must never allow our spirit man to sleep.  He must ever be alert.)

The revived movement quickly spread throughout Canada and infiltrated into the United States and eventually around the world.  There was deep opposition from denominational leadership, late in the spring of 1948.  The teachings and practices of the movement were severely questioned.  Resolution 7 of the 1949 General Council of the Assemblies of God USA, made the following declaration:  “We disapprove of those extreme teachings and practices, which being unfounded spiritually, serve only to break fellowship of like precious faith and tend to confusion and division among members of the Body of Christ, and be it herby known that this 23^rd General Counsel disapproves of the so-called “New Order of the Latter Rain”

George Warnock, former personal secretary to Ern Baxter, who was associated with William Branham’s Healing ministry, took up residence at the Sharon Schools in the Fall of 1949 in order to support the movement.  Warnock wrote a book titled “The Feast of Tabernacles” in 1951.  This book discussed the role of Sharon Schools and other affiliated groups in living out the completion of God’s feasts for Israel through perfection of the saints and their “dominion” over the earth.  The Jewish feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles were considered in the book to “pre-figure” and typify the whole church age beginning with the death of Jesus on the Cross and consummating in the “Manifest Sons of God” wherein the “overcomers” will step into IMMORTALITY (These people do NOT believe in the Ratpure in as much as it is not for them as the “chosen overcomers”!) and establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. (The Dominionist and the New Apostolic Reformers…i.e. holding the same beliefs as the Latter Rain and for all intents and purposes are one in the same, hold these beliefs to the letter!  As an example, these beliefs are defined in Bill Hamon’s book Prophets and Personal Prophecy and other books he has written.  I single out this man time and again not out of any personal grudge or hate in any form.  This man’s soul is as important to the Father as much as anyone else’s soul.  Jesus died for Bill Hamon as He did for all.  But he has strayed in the deepest sense from the true written Word of God and we pray for his return to Christ and the Cross daily!!  However, this man along with his followers, are doing more in this day and age to further the heretical teachings of the Latter Rain than any others.  They twist, refute and defile the precious Word of God.  To do so labels the Holy Spirit as some feeble minded part of God and He is NOT.  Just as God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, so is the written Word of God as it stands and has stood for centuries.  I love the fact that the King James Version of the Word of God is so near perfect to the original transcripts.  King James was a wise man because he chose to have scholars, men trained and prolific in the Greek and Hebrew languages translate the Word.  These men had no agenda for any individual church or denomination.  They just dealt with the words.  I feel it is the purest translation of the Bible in the world today.  

Many of the followers of Hamon are actually learned men and women that have attended accredited and legitimate Bible colleges. (We have met and spoken with them) And yet they have chosen to serve man and have turned their back on the scriptures as written and make them dance to the tune of man and his doctrines of devils.  What makes all this so much more unpalatable is that they will say that the written Word of God is complete and is in no need of additions nor subtractions.  But by their preaching they exhibit their self appointed right to twist that Word into whatever suits their needs.  They say that they have “divine insight” given to them by God.  Once again I say, why would a loving God give special insight to one or a few men when all man is to be judged by the Word?  And whatever happened to all the poor folks who died prior to this “movement” rearing its head again?  In reality, the Word of God actually explains itself without contradiction.  If you follow closely the doctrine preached by these people, you will find one contradiction after another to what they say is being preached from the Word.)

BELIEFS

The Latter Rain sees Pentecostalism or any other established religion as dry and stagnated.  These people see themselves as movers and shakers for the modern church.  They must abhor Isaiah 40:31 which states Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)
³¹ But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. From their inception, the Latter Rain has had no patience for the Word of God and its timelines.  They know better and intend to do God’s work for Him to move things along.  I don’t know why they are in such a hurry as they only think that those who do not follow them will be going in the Rapture.  To state their beliefs as they do….only the “wicked” that will stand in God’s way will be raptured.  Well, this is one “wicked” one who cannot wait to go home to my Jesus!  These people seem so benevolent now.  But things will change when they “take over”.  That is their real purpose for the 7 Mountains Mandate.  They fully intend to see that every knee WILL bow and every tongue WILL confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  When Jesus was preparing to leave this earth he left a mandate for us to love one another.  John 13:34-35 (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.
³⁵ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Only the Holy Spirit can touch a heart and melt it for Christ.  No one can FORCE or “compel” any human being into submission to God!!  Those tactics are no better than the ones being employed by the Muslims!  God Himself gave man “free will” and freedom of choice.  Who are these men to employ such tactics, and who are these men to assume the work of restoration of the earth?!  This will clearly be the honor of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords when He returns to earth!!  He died for that honor!!  Revelation 17:14 (KJV)
¹⁴ These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. 

The Latter Rain has changed the focus from Christ to the “works of man” as they claim that they have been ordered by God to do.  They changed doctrinal and practical changes in the Pentecostal churches.  This has made the Latter Rain movement very distinct and it is the wise Christian that sits in any church that listens closely to the doctrine being preached, and gets up and leaves when this false doctrine is preached.  God will not accept the phrase, “but God, I didn’t know they were preaching false doctrine!”  You will be judged by the Word of God….you need to invest time in it, and then put it into practice for the sake of your own soul!  Jesus clearly says that the Father will erase those names from the Book of Life who have followed the doctrines of the Great Whore which is all the churches of the earth who have preached false doctrine and have added to and subtracted from the written Word of the Living God!  Revelation 22:18-19 (KJV)
¹⁸ For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
¹⁹ And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

For specific examples of “beliefs” and Eschatology of the Latter Rain movement, please make sure to catch Dave’s blog being posted, July 6, 2011.  He uses some quotes of scriptural beliefs of the Latter Rain and Post-millennialists which are one and the same as that of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and the Dominionists (DOM) in their foundational beliefs.  Again we remind you that they do not publically admit to any association with the Latter Rain because of its mingling with New Age and even the occult and mysticism. 

Members of the Latter Rain broke with the dispensationalism which is entrenched in Pentecostalism.  It appeared too pessimistic in the opinion of the Latter Rain movement.  Their personal “spin” on the Word of God gives them an absolute victorious outcome no matter what they do or say.  The truth is that we as Christians ONLY have complete victory through Christ and what He did at the Cross!!  The term “latter rain” comes from scripture found in Jeremiah 3:3, 5:23-25, Joel 2:23, Hosea 6:3, Zechariah 10:1 and James 5:7.  The idea of a “latter rain” is not new to Pentecostals.  That is why it “sounds” familiar.  (Please see our previous blog on “The Spirit of the Familiar Scriptures”).  And when scripture “sounds familiar”, many, many, many, sit and foolishly listen to the ramblings of the enemy spoken through Latter Rain taught, and NAR bought preachers.  Bought with the price of their own souls and now they are after the souls of those ignorant of the Word of God.  Could this be you?  Are you really ready to release your young people to these men and women?  Think long and hard.  Remember they say “latter rain” but these people mean “LATTER REIGN” at any price.

In actuality the Holy Spirit makes the former and latter rain clear in Joel.  Joel 2:23-27 (KJV)
²³ Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
²⁴ And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.
²⁵ And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
²⁶ And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
²⁷ And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.   I have highlighted verse 23 of this scripture because this is as far as the Latter Rain and the Dominionist’s go in this scripture to make their claims!  Never think that comments like this are speculative on our part.  We have sat in more than one church in south central Texas and others in other parts of the country and listened to this doctrine of devils!!  These folks believe that where ever Israel is spoken of in the Bible, it is them, (the Latter Rain believers) that the Holy Spirit is speaking about.  When the Holy Spirit is talking about Israel He means literal Israel.  If he meant the Latter Rain Movement, or the NAR or the DOM, He would have said just that!  These folks also believe that they have replaced Israel and that Israel has been cut off.  In David Chilton’s book Paradise Restored, Biblical Theology of Dominion(ists) (my insert) this point is made VERY clear.  I have to respect Mr. Chilton’s publications only from the standpoint that he was not afraid of stating exactly what he meant and believed. (Mr. Chilton was struck down at the age of 45 by two heart attacks.  The one in 1997 killed him.)  I find the “I am just a big old teddy bear that would never dream of taking you into the woods to make a snack out of you” approach of C. Peter Wagner, Bill Hamon, Rick Joyner, Lance Wallnau, John Kelly, and the list goes on and on, very underhanded, cowardly, and evil way of preaching and teaching.  They seem to say…”Look at me, I am just like you all!  Here is my lovely wife and my children and we always keep you posted on what we all do and of all the births in our family.  See we are just like you.  Loving Jesus, and His Word as written.”  If you have an agenda and you believe in it…stand up straight and just state your business.  Does it not make you wonder what they have to hide?  We as Christians need to stand up too and ask questions.  After all this is our souls and the souls of our children and family that we are talking about here!!  Ugh…But I digress.

The term “be glad then ye children of Zion” refers to Israel as it will be restored  as the premier nation of the world which will occur shortly after the Second Coming of Christ.  The “former rain” and the “latter rain” refers to the two rainy seasons in Israel.  The first or “former rain” occurred in October and promoted the germination of the seeds already sown and the “latter rain” that occurred in April, which matured the crops and prepared them for harvest.  Spiritually speaking, the “former rain” speaks of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and of its anointing and power given to those of the early church.  The “latter rain” is believed to have begun shortly after the turn of the 20^th Century and that will continue on through the Millennial Reign of CHRIST.  Verse 9 goes on to say that the unjust judgment of fellow Christians is NOT of God.  The Latter Rain fully intends to do that in their “Latter REIGN”.  Verse 9 says also that the judge stands before the door, and that my dear brother’s and sister’s in Christ is unmistakably Jesus Christ alone!  It goes on to point out the PATIENCE of the “former” prophets who were the most long suffering of all.  It speaks of the PATIENCE of Job and of the long suffering of our Jesus Himself.  In patience is testing which builds healthy spiritual strength and character, both physical and spiritual, and gives us ultimate victory through Christ Jesus!

Another Scripture that is twisted in the Latter Rain, NAR, DOM, teachings is James 5:7 as they quote it.  They take it to mean the “take over” by man of the earth!  But if you read the entire scripture, James 5: 7-11 this is what is being stated by the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit through this scripture instructs us to be PATIENT until the return of the Lord.  Nowhere does it tell ANYONE to take matters in their own hands to steer things along!  It goes on to clearly say that the LORD will THEN RESTORE ALL THINGS.  Pretty clear isn’t it?  It also says that we should establish our hearts (NOT THE EARTH) and draw close to the Lord for strength against the evils of this present world.  God the Father nor the Holy Spirit have aged and become doddering old men now unable to function and rule and reign.  Nor has our Jesus.  They DO NOT now nor have they ever needed man to intercede for them.  It is the other way around!!  That is why our Jesus came!  That is why He died on the Cross!  That is why He sits at the right hand of the Father as our Advocate!  AGAIN…IF “MAN” WAS EVER ABLE TO BEAT THE SIN NATURE AND RESTORE THE EARTH TO ITS PREVIOUS GLORY, JESUS WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO US, LET ALONE HAVE COME AND DIED ON THE CROSS FOR US!!!   This is NOT rocket science here.  When ANY man starts talking of “taking over” whether it is his own neighborhood or the 7 MOUNTAINS, in the name of or on behalf of, or by the “private” instructions” of God or a “messenger” then he is a FOOL to himself and is greatly deceived.  At that point man is elevating himself ABOVE GOD, and makes himself an idol to be adored and followed by other deceived and foolish men.  This is the Great Whore of Revelation.  This is the “religious system” that will lead men astray and away from Christ crucified and the Cross and the mighty and eternal work done there!!  DO NOT FOLLOW THESE MEN!!!  And yet they dare to label us as the modern day Pharisees, and they label us as having the “spirit of religion” and being the Laodicean church spoken of in Revelation.  Well, again, if following the Word of God to the letter as inspired by the Holy Spirit is evil and “religious” then evil are we.  But when the NAR/DOM twist scripture and dare to tell us that some things were “lost” in the Dark Ages from the Word, and tell us that only “they” have received the truth, then they are saying the Word, as it has stood for multiple centuries is a lie.  And if one word of the Word is a lie, then the whole Word is a lie.  This is utter nonsense and the church better wake up before it is too late!!   Tell these men to set up “boldly” their own churches and preach their own gospel as do the Mormon’s and the Jehovah Witnesses.  Tell them to keep their twisted scripture out of our churches and to quit using our dollars and the pure and true written Word of God to promote their own evil agendas!!  If they have something to do, then they should stand up as grown men and go do it, but stop trying to use our churches, money, and our precious youth to accomplish their goals.  If they are so sure of it, then they should believe that God is behind them and they don’t need us, our money, or our manpower, to see it through!!!!!  In other words, we too need to stand up like men and women of God and say it!!  If these men and women wish to perish, and we are entitled to our opinions, then have at it, but stop trying to drag the children of God with you!!!  However, in all fairness, no one is hog- tying and dragging the children of God anywhere are they?  People are blindly and sometimes out of shear ignorance following these men.  And this is the saddest statement for the church today!!

I again must state our passion for the true and flawless and COMPLETE Word of the Living God.  When anyone comes against the majesty of our King of Kings and Lord of Lords this passion spews forth like a fountain.  We experience both anger and deep sadness for both the perpetrators and those that follow them.  Our heart aches for their souls and the souls of their children.  Are we intense in our writings sometimes?  Well, yes.  But this does not now, nor will it ever mean that we do not pray for everyone involved in the snares of the enemy of us all and that is Satan himself.  It is never our intention to offend.  Only to provide the truth of the Word as it stands, and to try and protect the precious sheep of God to the best of our ability through our blog.  Monday, we will present Part III which will include an extensive look into “Joel’s Army”.  Blessings…Patti and Dave

ESCHATOLOGY OF DOMINION: A SUMMARY

While Patti writes a several parts series on the “Latter Rain”, it was put on my heart to reproduce this summary in a blog of my own.  It appears as Appendix A in a book by David Chilton called “PARADISE RESTORED, A Biblical Theology of Dominion” starting on page 223.   This man seemed so learned, he was only 45 years old at the time of his death.  I can’t fathom how he was able to misrepresent scripture the way he did in this book. Oh yes, he claims to be a Post-Millennialist.  He had to change literal scripture and change it to symbolic to line up with his beliefs.  He pretty much ignores the Epistles of Paul, especially the letter to the Galatians, where it was specifically pointed out that the Law and the Old Covenant was replaced by the New Covenant at the Cross.   He claims in Point 32 that Revelation isn’t futuristic, but was written for first century readers, but may I point out that Revelation wasn’t revealed to John until the first century was pretty much over? (circa. 96 A.D.),but later he wrote a book on Revelation, called “The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of Revelation”.   After some of his 45 points given by Chilton, I will give my own comments in blue print in retort based on what the bible actually says before twisting the meaning by man, and taking obviously literal scripture and changes it to symbolism to fit his own manmade beliefs.    Chilton calls this his “Theses on Hope.”  (I’m sure I’ll have some fun here)

1.      The Bible teaches us to have hope, not despair: to expect victory and dominion for the gospel, not flight and defeat. (Dominion for the gospel ????)

2.      Biblical Prophesy is written in both literal and symbolic language.  The choice is not between “literalism” and “symbolism,” but between a Biblical and a speculative method of interpreting the bible.  Wow!  Speculation, no wonder they come up with so many different meanings for scripture.  The truth is:  Scripture should be taken as literal as possible, and when something can’t be literal, then is must be symbolic or figurative, but it will always have a literal truth.  God certainly didn’t purposely hide the truth from us.  How could he be an honest God if he purposely kept us in the dark of the very things we will be judged on at the final judgment. 

3.      Salvation is re-creation.  In redemption, Jesus Christ restores man to the image of God.  (How many times do you hear someone say?, “Well we are all just little Gods”.  This is “New Age”.   When I accepted Jesus, I don’t remember being able to create a new universe.  All I know is that I am redeemed and thru the work Jesus did at the cross, I can have communion with the Father, with Jesus being our advocate.

4.      Salvation and its blessings are presented in the Bible as definitive, progressive, and final.  (HUH???)  At the cross Christ said “It is finished”

5.      We are not saved out of our environment; rather salvation works to restore the earth as a whole.  God’s Holy Mountain (the Garden) will grow until it fills the entire world.  Where did he come up with this?  This is nothing more than “new age” psycho-babble.  Are you reading this, Al Gore? 

6.      God blesses obedience and curses disobedience; this pattern will become dominant as history progresses.

7.      Through generations of obedience, the godly will increasingly become competent and powerful, while the ungodly will grow weak and impotent.  Chilton wrote this book in the early 80’s, certainly not seeing what the 21^st century would bring.  Just look at the evil in Washington D.C, not to mention Hollywood and the rest of the world.  Chapter 6 of the Book of Romans deals with the sin nature.  If it was possible for man to be obedient on his own, Jesus would never had to make the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. 

8.      The wicked are “raptured” first (i.e.,driven out of the earth and disinherited), as the righteous increasingly come into possession of all things.  For all of us Blood bought Christians, this means we will be kicked off the earth.  1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 (KJV)
¹⁵ For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
¹⁶ For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
¹⁷ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  The Latter Rain and Dominionists don’t believe they will go in the rapture.  It’s only conjecture on my part, but if you read the 17^th Chapter of Revelation, it tells about the “Great Whore”, which is obviously a religious system in place during the Great Tribulation.  If the Church is raptured by Rev. 4:1, then who is left?

9.      Jesus Christ came as the Son of Man (the Second Adam), to set up God’s Kingdom on the earth.  In the Gospels, especially in Matthew, Jesus taught a “spiritual kingdom”, not a physical kingdom, where every person will “be compelled” to be a part of it… What ever happened to free will?

10.  The Biblical prophecies that Christ would reign as King were fulfilled in Christ’s enthronement at His Ascension.  I have noticed that the Dominionists and Latter Rain ignore the Book of Revelation.    Revelation 20:4 (KJV)
⁴ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

11.  Daniel’s prophesy of the Son of Man “coming in the clouds” was fulfilled in the Ascension of Christ.  (I always thought that ascend meant to rise up.  To me ‘coming and going’ have the opposite meaning.

12.  Jesus Christ definitively defeated and bound Satan and the demons in His Atonement, Resurrection and Ascension.  Jesus defeated “sin and death” at the Cross, but satan is allowed to roam the earth seeking who he can “devour, kill and destroy” He won’t be bound until the Millenium Reign of Jesus Christ.  We still have free will to accept the sacrifice of Jesus, or continue in sin.   Revelation 20:1-2 (KJV)
¹ And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
² And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

13.  The Kingdom was established during the First Advent of Christ (including the judgment of A.D. 70); it is now in progress and will increase until the end of the world.  Here again, Chilton ignores the Book of Revelation.  Chapter 20.  Christ sets up his Millennial Reign. 

14.  Ethnic Israel was excommunicated for its apostasy and will never again be God’s Kingdom.  This is probably the dumbest thing I read yet.  Not only does Jesus reveal in Revelation of the 1^st fruits of Israel in the Great Tribulation as the Manchild, (the 144,000).  They will definitely be a part of the “Bride of Christ” from Revelation 21.  This is not just the ‘Church” as these jokers will try to get you to believe, but it’s the Holy City with all the redeemed saints, the raptured saints, the Manchild, the Tribulation saints, and Old Testament saints.  Also in the Book of Ezekiel 37:3-6 (KJV)
³ And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.
⁴ Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.
⁵ Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.  This definitely sounds like a promise from God that Israel will live again.

15.  The Kingdom is now made up of all those (Jew and Gentile) who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ.

16.  The Church is now the Temple of God, having been indwelt by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and fully established at the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

17.  The Olivet Discourse (Matt 24, Mk 13, and Lk 21) is not about the Second Coming of Christ, It is a prophesy of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D 70. Some of these I just don’t have to comment, they are so ridiculous.   Just wait until you read the next one.  

18.  The Great Tribulation took place in the Fall of Israel.  It will not be repeated and thus is not a future event (although Christians in every age have had to endure suffering for the faith.  How do these Dominionists then explain the fact that the Book of Revelation didn’t come about until the year 96 A.D.,some 26 years after the Fall of Israel.  Here again, they can’t explain away (or don’t want to), the Book of Revelation. 

19.  The Bible does not prophesy any future literal Temple or sacrificial system to be set up in Jerusalem.  The Biblical prophesies of the Temple refer to Christ and His Church, definitively, progressively, and finally.  Revelation 11:1-2 (KJV)
¹ And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
² But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. 4. The future Jewish temple in the days of Antichrist (Dan. 9:27; 11:45; 12:7; Mt. 24:15; 2Th. 2:3-4; Rev. 11:1-2)  If you check out these scriptures, it makes it very clear that indeed a temple will be rebuilt.  Matthew 24:15 (KJV)
¹⁵ When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)  If there is no temple, then where does the anti-christ stand, in the local Baptist or Lutheran church?  Or the local mosque?

20.  Although Israel will someday be restored to the true faith, the Bible doesn’t tell of any future plan for Israel as a special nation.  Read Revelation 21.  I would say that when God sets up his headquarters in the New Jerusalem, I’d say that will be pretty special.

21.  The Biblical language of de-creation (the “collapsing universe”) is symbolic of God’s judgment, especially reminiscent of the Flood and the plagues on Egypt at the Exodus.  I went back into the chapter that this guy was explaining all this, and I’m as clueless here as anyone.  Your guess is as good as mine, even after he explained it, and backed it up with twisted scripture, it was still a mystery to me.

22.  Antichrist is a term used by John to describe the widespread apostasy of the Christian Church prior to the Fall of Jerusalem.  In general, any apostate teacher or system can be called “antichrist”, but the word does not refer to some “future Fuhrer.”  The first part of his statement is partially true.  But my question is: Why was the church any different after the fall of Jerusalem?  And denying the anti-christ existence as the “son of perdition, as written in Zecchariah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation, and the Great Tribulation, is absolutely ludicrous.  They build there foundational beliefs on only certain scriptures, and the rest of the Bible they deny. 

23.  The “Great Apostasy” happened in the first century.  We therefore have no Biblical warrant to expect increasing apostasy as history progresses; instead, we should expect the increasing Christianization of the world.  I wonder what Chilton calls his book, and I wonder what the Dominionists and Latter Rain call their movement if it isn’t apostasy and heresy.  

24.   The Last Days is a Biblical expression for the period between Christ’s Advent and the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D.70: the last days of Israel.  (Oh Pollleezze!!!)

25.  Before the Second Coming of Christ, the vast majority of Jews and Gentiles will be converted to the Christian faith.  25 years after this book was written, we don’t exactly see this happening either.

26.  All of Christ’s enemies are gradually being subdued under His reign from heaven.  He will remain in heaven until all enemies have been defeated.  The last enemy, Death, will be destroyed when He returns.  The “Manifest Sons of God” believe that they will become immortal.  Why then do they need Jesus to come back at all?

27.  Jesus Christ will return on the last day, when the Resurrection and the Last Judgment will take place.  Revelation 20:11-12 (KJV)
¹¹ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  If you take a peek at Revelation 20, you will read that the “Great White Throne Judgment comes after the Millennial Reign.  Maybe they figure Jesus won’t need to be around for the Millennial Reign, after all, won’t they be immortal and like God?

28.  The Rapture and 2^nd Coming will occur at the same time together.  The Church is not mentioned in the Book of Revelation after Chapter 4:1.  Greek: meta (GSN-<G3326>) tauta (GSN-<G5023>), after these things (note a, Jn. 5:1). This Greek phrase is used at the beginning and at end of this verse thus: "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). This confirms and settles the question as to the time of the fulfillment of all the events of Rev. 4 -- Rev. 22. They must be after these things of the churches, or after the rapture of the church. The church is no longer on earth when the events of Rev. 4 -- Rev. 22 take place. Dake's Annotated Reference Bible.

29.  There will be one Resurrection of all men; the righteous will be raised to everlasting life, and the wicked will be raised to damnation.

30.  The primary concern of prophesy is ethical conduct: obedience to God’s commands.  Perhaps in the Old Testament this statement is somewhat true, but Paul’s letter to the Corinthians doesn’t agree.  1 Corinthians 14:3 (KJV)
³ But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.

31.  The Canon of Scripture was closed in A.D. 70, when the Old Covenant passed away.  Gee, I always believed that the Old Covenant ended at the Cross…. Jesus said, “It is finished”. 

32.  The Book of Revelation is not to be interpreted “futuristically”; for it’s first-century readers, it’s message was contemporary, and the time of it’s fulfillment was “at hand.”  Here again I reiterate, If John didn’t receive the Revelation from Christ and it wasn’t written until about the year 96, how do you suppose the writing of this was for the 1^st century Christians?

33.  The “Beast” of Revelation was a symbol of both Nero in particular and the Roman Empire in general.  See Point 22 above where he says there will be no futuristic “fuehrer”.   Also I must point out that Nero died in 68 A.D., some 28 years before the Book of Revelation was written. 

34.  The “False Prophet” symbolized the Jewish religious leadership.  (LOL) Revelation 16:13 (KJV)
¹³ And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

Revelation 19:20 (KJV)
²⁰ And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Revelation 20:10 (KJV)
¹⁰ And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

35.  The “Harlot” symbolized apostate Jerusalem, which had ceased to be the City of God.  I guess if you don’t believe that the Book of Revelation is futuristic, you can come up with all sorts of wild twisting of scripture.  Read Revelation Chapter 17.  It’s made clear to the reader that the “Harlot” is a religious system that will be destroyed by the anti-christ.  If God’s church has been raptured by Rev.4:1, then who is left?  Obviously it will be the remaining church, the church that hasn’t been raptured.   The apostate church. 

36.  The “Millennium” is the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, which he established at His First Advent.  In Point 38 below, Chilton claims a thousand years is symbolic, not literal.  Does he believe that God doesn’t know what a thousand is?  Revelation 20:1-4 (KJV)
¹ And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
² And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
³ And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
⁴ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

37.  The “First Resurrection” is a Spiritual resurrection: our justification and regeneration in Christ.  Revelation 20:5-6 (KJV)
⁵ But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
⁶ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.  Here again, Chilton ignores the literal Word of God and decides to make it symbolic and come up with his own meaning. 

38.  The “thousand years” of Revelation 20 is symbolic for a vast number of years, most likely many thousands.  See my notes for Point 36 above.  There is no reason not to take the scripture literally, why make it symbolic?  If God said a thousand, he means a thousand. 

39.  All Christians are priests in this age; all Christians are now seated in the heavenly places in Christ.   Revelation 1:4-7 (KJV)
⁴ John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
⁵ And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
⁶ And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
⁷ Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. The scripture points to Jesus’s Millennial reign, Chiltons spin on it is “kingdom now”

40.  The New Creation has already begun:  The Bible describes our salvation in Christ, both now and in eternity, as “a new heaven and a new earth.” Revelation 21:1-2 (KJV)
¹ And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
² And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. This is the only place in the bible that that quote, “a new heaven and a new earth” appears.  And it’s at the end of the Book of Revelation.  But Chilton claims that Revelation is not futuristic. 

41.  The “New Jerusalem,” the City of God, is the Church, now and forever.  Does this sound like just the Church to you?  Revelation 21:2-4 (KJV)
² And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
³ And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
⁴ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Twenty-one Other New Things in Rev. Chapter 21 -- Rev. Chapter 22

1. New city on earth (Rev. 21:2-3,10-27)

2. New and visible presence of God the Father on earth (Rev. 21:3-7; 22:3-5)

3. New earth conditions (Rev. 21:4-7)

4. New water of life for all people on earth (Rev. 21:6; 22:1,17)

5. New realization of eternal inheritances for all mankind (Rev. 21:7)

6. New segregation between godly and ungodly (Rev. 21:8-27; 22:15; Isa. 66:22)

7. New and eternal relationship (Rev. 21:3-10,24-27; 22:1-5)

8. New eternal generations of natural people (Rev. 21:3-7,24-27; 11:15; 22:4-5; Gen. 8:22; 9:12; 13:15; 17:7,19; Ex. 3:15; Dt. 5:29; 29:29; 2Sam. 7:24-26; 1Chr. 23:25; Ps. 45:17; 72:5; 89:4; 102:12,24; 106:31; 145:13; 146:10; Isa. 9:6-7; 51:8; 59:21; Jer. 31:35-36; 32:38-40; Ezek. 37:24-28; 43:7; Dan. 2:44-45; 7:13-14,18,27; Lk. 1:32-33,55; Heb. 12:28)

9. New traffic in the new city (Rev. 21:24-27)

10. New river on earth (Rev. 22:1)

11. New food for the new natural people (Rev. 22:1-2,14)

12. New and eternal health (Rev. 22:1-14)

13. New earth inhabitants -- the resurrected people residing in the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2,9-10; 22:1-5)

14. New location for the capital of the universe (Rev. 21:2,9-10,24-27; 22:4-5)

15. New method of living forever (Rev. 22:2)

16. New kinds of fruit (Rev. 22:2)

17. New and eternal King and kingdom on earth (Rev. 21:3-7,24-27; 22:3; Eph. 1:10)

18. New unity between heaven and earth (Rev. 21:3-7,24-27; 22:3; Eph. 1:10)

19. New and eternal responsibility of man in carrying out the original plan (Rev. 21:3-7,24-27; 22:1-5; Isa. 45:18; Gen. 1:26-28)

20. New future for natural and resurrected people (Rev. 21:3-7,24-27; 22:1-5; Eph. 2:7)

21. New and eternal realization of God's plan for man fulfilled (Rev. 21:2-7,24-27; 22:1-5)

Dake's Annotated Reference Bible.

42.           The center of the Christian reconstruction of the world is the Church.  The essence of Biblical religion, and the source of Christian culture, is the worship of God.  Read the 21 points above, does it sound like God needs the churches help to reconstruct the world?  The only mandate given by Jesus was the “Great Commission”,   Mark 16:15-16 (KJV) ¹⁵ And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. ¹⁶ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.   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.

43.  The Church’s worship and government are officially recognized in the heavenly Court.  When the Church pronounces lawful judgments, they are executed on earth, in history, through God’s providential administration of the world.  If you believe in Post-Millennialism as Chilton does, you may be able to understand this one.  It reminds me of the Infallible Doctrine of the Pope in the Catholic Church.  

44.  The Christian goal for the world is the universal development of Biblical theocratic republics, in which every area of life is redeemed and placed under the lordship of Jesus Christ and the rule of God’s law. In Misunderstanding of the Hope #2, pg 227.  They believed that Christians would… [bring] about the Kingdom of God on earth through their own efforts.  Chilton explains, “This is one of the most commonly heard objections to the Hope.  The dominion outlook is equated with the liberal “Social Gospel’ movement of the early 1900’s.  Such an identification is utterly absurd, devoid of any foundation whatsoever.  The leaders of the Social Gospel movement were evolutionary humanists and socialists, and were openly hostile toward Biblical Christianity.”  Today, 2011, we see exactly this happening.   You can order the teaching tapes of C. Peter Wagner, and the “7 Mountain Mandate”.  My old pastor in the church we used to go to preached on the “7 mountains of society.  Believers of “Joels Army” believe that Christians will be compelled to join the kingdom of God.  This is no better than Islam who force people to become Muslim. 

45.  The Christian standard for ethics in every area-for individuals, families, businesses, and governments-is Biblical law.  The Christian cannot be satisfied with “pluralism,” or his calling is to work for the dominion of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom throughout the world.  Prosperity for the world will come from Jesus Christ, and from Jesus Christ alone.  This doesn’t exactly sound like the ‘Great Commission” or the Kingdom that Christ taught in the Book of Matthew and Luke?  Every mention of the Kindom in these two Gospels and others refer to a Spiritual Kingdom, not a physical kingdom that the Dominionists teach.  Paul said it best in his letter to the Romans 14:17 (KJV)
¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.   How much clearer can you get than that?

I will end this by adding a scripture from the Book of Revelation since Chilton was so free with misquoting and twisting the scriptures, here is a good scripture for all of us to remember: 

 Revelation 22:18-19 (KJV)
¹⁸ For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
¹⁹ And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

THE LATTER RAIN MOVEMENT TODAY - ALIVE AND WELL

The Latter Rain movement, thinks they are winning souls to their “movement” which is to take over Earth and every inhabitant on the planet and return this planet to its former glory as it was in the Garden of Eden for Christ. (They were never commissioned to do this by the Jesus of the Bible.  There is no scripture to back up this belief.) Then, after accomplishing this, they will “call Jesus down from where He is seated next to the Father” (they consider Him as being held in heaven until their work is complete) and tell Him He can then return to the earth, that they have restored, in order to rule and reign.   I am going to quote their opinion on this very issue by citing Bill Hamon’s book Prophets and Personal Prophesy.  The following is how Mr. Hamon interprets Acts 3:21…”Acts 3:21 declares that the heaven until the times of restitution (restoration) of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy PROPHETS since the world began.  There are Old and New Testament prophetic scriptures which must be fulfilled before Christ can return.  The PROPHETS have been given the anointing and responsibility to receive from Christ the proper revelation and application of these Scriptures.  They are hidden from the eyes of men until God’s time for that truth to be restored and established.”  (taken from page 21)  Now you read Acts 3:21 and see if you can find all that in that scripture!  These people DO NOT intend to go in the Rapture of the Church.  They are of the opinion that only those who stand in their way, those who do not believe in their interpretation of Holy Scripture, will go in the Rapture. I have read in other books written by men of this movement who actually call those who insist on the “old way of reading and interpreting the scriptures” as the “evil ones”, and trust me, they will take full credit for “sending us away” after the Rapture happens.  That will make them appear very powerful to the rest of the world won’t it?  (We pray and fully intend to be on the Rapture boat when it sails!  We do not believe in nor condone the twisting of Scripture to further one’s own agenda, so we can proudly be labeled as the “non-believers or “evil ones ” in the “movement” of the NAR [New Apostolic Reformation] and the Dominionists).

Although you will seldom hear the label “Latter Rain”, these movements (NAR/DOM) are firmly grounded in the beliefs and fantasies of the Latter Rain Movement.  You will seldom, if ever, hear anyone of these heretical movements claim any association with the Latter Rain  as the “Latter Rain” has been condemned for centuries as we will show you.  Why you ask?  It is because it is saturated with the occult and New Age philosophies.  Both of which are philosophies of men.  Men, who without proper study and time spent in recognized and “accredited” bible colleges, pass down this twisted philosophy.  A philosophy of how they perceive scripture, both as individuals reading the bible, and as men receiving “messages” from whom they perceive as angels or God Himself, as to how scripture is to be translated.  The only problem with these “messengers”, is  that they, if true angels from heaven, or the  Holy Spirit, or God Himself, the message would never contradict the written and established Word of the living God authored by the Holy Spirit.  And if they cannot find in the scriptures what they want to convey to suit their own intentions, they will tell us, as does Bill Hamon in his training course “Prophetic Training, anyone can prophesy course” that God has given them (him) parts of the bible that mysteriously vanished during the Dark Ages!  How convenient.  The KJV Bible that I read clearly states, and this is Jesus speaking, John 15:14-15 (KJV)
¹⁴ Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. ¹⁵ Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. This statement by Jesus clearly states that all He has told us all the Father has told Him.  If this same Jesus who prophesied the future was given this information by the Father, so was the Holy Spirit.  He is the author of this book.  And if in the future God for one moment thought that what we needed to know would be secreted away by man, He would have made that know to Jesus as well as the Holy Spirit and He would have made provision for that in the Word.  But he clearly did not.  If God had ever thought for even one moment that there were ANY men on earth that were capable of “making all things new” as in restoring the earth to it’s intended glory as in the Garden of Eden, His most precious Son Jesus would never have been sacrificed in the brutal way He was to pay for the sins of ALL men, past, present, and future!  He was and is the Lamb of God.  The greatest sacrifice of all time, past, present, and future!  But the Word also tells us that He will come again, not as a meek lamb, but as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to set up His Kingdom on earth.  Set up means to “make it happen”.  It doesn’t mean to be summoned from Heaven by mere mortals, after mere mortals have beaten the world into submission and the acceptance of Christ as their Lord and Savior (how else did you think the Dominionist’s intend to make every knee bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord as is their intent!?  This is no better than the tactics of fanatic Islam!)  We have seen throughout history how fanatics and terrorists have beaten and killed and herded their prey into submission.  But did they ever turn their hearts to what they were forced to do?  Salvation only comes through a convicted heart, not a beaten, driven, and terrified one.  But, and I am sure they would have an answer for this question as they always have answers for everything. How do they intend to get the animals back to the creatures of peace and harmony that they were in the Garden of Eden?  Genetic engineering?  It all sounds crazy.  But this crazy is frightening, very frightening.  My Jesus does not frighten me.  He stands for love and peace and free will.  So are these NAR/Dom types saying that God lied to us?  Did God forget to put into scripture that the likes of them would come and make the world a better place?  Did God forget to write in the Bible how they would overcome the anti-christ?  The Bible that I read says that the anti-christ will be the beast.  BUT…the bible actually does speak of the NAR/DOM movement in the Book of Revelation.  The Holy Spirit refers to them as the “Great Whore”.  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.  (The Great Whore refers to all the religions of the world that ever have been, which are devised by men as a substitute for “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified” and the Bible as it is written by the Holy Spirit.  There is nothing hidden.  Just the open truth conveyed to man by the Holy Spirit.  The “many waters” are a symbol for multitudes of people.  All have, over time, followed “religions” devised by men, and even the parts of Christianity that have been corrupted, are labeled by the Lord as “spiritual fornication” (Rom 7:1-4)  The part of the scripture that refers to “being made drunk” actually proclaims the addiction of religion which is the most powerful narcotic in the world!)

Now if you listen to the NAR’s interpretation of this scripture, you will find that they refer to the “Whore” as Israel.  In her rejection of Christ, he has polluted the world.  We certainly cannot speak of every man that has studied scripture and is a part of this “movement” (and if they have actually attended an accredited Bible College, shame on them for turning from the truth to heresy!)  but we can after looking long and hard at the educational background of Bill Hamon, state that he attended an unnamed “bible college” for a total of four months, and then by a prophecy and “laying on of hands” was sent out to preach and teach.  These facts were provided by his wife in the Preface of his book, Prophets and Personal Prophecy, pages 5 through 10.  His BA and Masters of Theology degrees were given to him by his own Christian International School, and his Doctorate which he uses shamelessly was only an honorary bestowal by “a well respected Bible College”, again no names given.  I recently asked a licensed and degreed Minister of the Gospel if they could get their “degree” or be sent out to preach and TEACH with only four months of schooling behind them.  They said it was not possible.  Well we know different. 
 But if you look at it from their perspective, (NAR/DOM) they truly believe that they are filled with "revelation" for their ears only by the Holy Spirit.  And now the evil fairy tales are being spread throughout the church.  Their eyes are blinded to all biblical truth as are those that sit and receive this heresy.  Those that receive this lie are dangerously lacking a true knowledge of the Word of God.  And their names will be erased from the Lamb’s Book of Life as written in the Book of Revelation.  And most sadly of all, so will the names of all those who follow these treacherous men.  Rev 3: 2-5  2."Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3. Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.  If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come upon you.  4. You have a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy. 5. He who overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment and I will NOT BLOT out his name out of the Bok of Life but I will confess his name fefore My Father, and before His angels. (Emphasis is mine)  This scripture should eliminate any debate of "once saved always saved".  In this scripture Jesus makes it perfectly clear that He has the power to remove anyones name from the Book of Life.

Now I made a statement earlier that these men are not formally trained in accredited schools.  Most are not.  They have been “trained” in the doctrine of devils and had a “laying on of hands as an anointing of MEN” and were sent out into an unsuspecting world.  You see in times past everyone felt that their church was one place where they could find solace.  A place were they could find comfort and hear truth spoken by true men of God who would never dream of putting their own “spin” (lies) on scripture.  But as the world has waxes cold men seek earthly recognition.  Matthew 24:12-14 (KJV)
¹² And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
¹³ But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.  (Notice here that there is no mention what so ever that the “Kingdom is a in any way restored to a Garden of Eden by men.  It only speaks of the Kingdom as it exists in every mans heart as it relates to preaching the Gospel to all creatures, after they have accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.)

The general church population has let down their guard.  They have become lazy and complacent.  They stopped studying their Bibles.  They “trusted” without reservation those who were “in church”.  But Satan being who he is, and that is evil personified, saw his chance to awaken the lies that he had taught those of the Latter Rain so well, and brought it back into the churches where a scripturally challanged people would blindly follow the heresy.  The Latter Rain movement actually started back in the late 16^th century.  But by the end of the late 17^th century, the then still well educated churches exposed their blasphemous biblical philosophies for what they were, and the Latter Rain movement virtually disappeared from the public eye.  It was tucked away in Satan’s bag of tricks for a later and less educated time in church history. (That time is now!)  And as a result the Great Falling Away that the Bible warns us of is here!  This is a wake up call so please read these series of articles and print them off and take them to your Bible studies and give them to your friends that may still sit blindly in these churches.  Once you are aware of the deception you cannot merely say, “Oh, well, that is on them!”  We have a duty as Christians, commissioned to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, to also point out lies that will bring death and destruction to unsuspecting souls sitting in what they believe to be “safe churches”. 

 “Don’t think for one moment that because the New Age has the word “new” in its title, that it is “new” in any sense of the word.  This bizarre philosophy has existed for centuries and has only become worse, even unto this day, because men’s hearts and minds wax more evil every passing day.  These movements have many members.  Some will come right out and tell you what “their” plans for mankind are, such as David Chilton (now deceased) in his book "Paradise Restored, A Biblical Theology of Dominion".  Again the twisting of scripture by virtue of “special incite” granted to these modern “self anointed and self appointed” Prophets is mindboggling!!  Their contention is that Jesus is being held in Heaven.  Spiritually chained where he sits at the right hand of the Father, until “they” restore earth to it’s former glory and then “they”, by their spoken summons, will loose Jesus from Heaven so that He may return to rule with “them”, who at some point in their endeavors on earth will be “transfigured” into the likeness of Christ.  They will be like Him, including His deity! Their contention is that they will all become “God” in oneness with Christ.  This is a perfect example of New Age philosophy polluting the Word of God.  I want to suggest that you all get a copy of the aforementioned book by David Chilton and as difficult as it will be, read it.  He is not trying to be gentle and slick like some of these new prophets and apostles of the NAR/DOM.  He just tells it like it is and you need to know “what it is”.  After you have read this book, you will be amazed at just how much of this philosophy you hear in your churches.  And you will see how our youth is being prepared for “battle”. 

I am going to give you an overview of all that we are telling you about the Latter Rain.  I could literally write for months on end about this poisonous heresy, but I will just for times sake give you this overview.  And then over the next several weeks, once you are familiar with all this movement is, I will write on more blatant and overt believers in this hellish philosophy, and the things they have done and said over the centuries, up to and including those of today.  I will be giving you examples of the scriptures that they have and still use to convince you that they are right, and then I will give you what these scriptures actually do mean.  I do this because I can draw on the knowledge of learned men and scholars who down through the ages have taught the truth of the Living Word.  I will not be calling on the wisdom of supposed angels and messenger visitations to convey their “truth” of God’s Word.

Here is the Overview:

LATTER RAIN – POST WWII MOVEMENT

The Latter Rain, also known as the NEW ORDER or NEW ORDER OF THE LATTER RAIN, was a post-World War II movement within Pentecostal Christianity which remains controversial to this day.  Here are some needed distinctions;

• The Latter Rain Revival (1948-1952)
• The Latter Rain Movement (1952-1960s)
• Sharon Schools (Global Missions)
• Other groups influenced by the Latter Rain

The names that you are now going to hear will shock you a bit…but it is all documented.

The Latter Rain Movement came to the forefront after World War II and became an integral part of the contemporary evangelical awakening that was occurring with Billy Graham at the forefront, and with the Healing Revival of Oral Roberts, (This will explain that when you pick up Bill Hamon’s book Prophets and Personal Prophesy, you will read a glowing Forward written by Oral Roberts himself!)  Jack Coe, and William Branham.  William Branham is often erroneously considered the founder of the Later Rain because those who started it were inspired by attending one of his meetings.  Several leaders of Sharon Orphanage, a small Pentecostal orphanage in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada, were inspired to look for a deeper dimension of Christianity after visiting Branham’s meeting and they began to fast and pray in search of it.  Later that year revival events occurred and news quickly swept across Canada and into the United States, deeply influencing some Pentecostal believers creating a fanaticism that continues to this day.  After a few years as the “newness” of what this so called revival brought, those Pentecostal’s that had been deeply influenced by this new doctrine formed groups which became know as the Latter Rain Movement.  Those who formed the (resurrected) movement emphasized “relational groups” as opposed to more accepted organizational structure.  The term “Latter Rain” has become a pejorative label, (one that is criticized or disapproved of), so many ministers who “practice” this movement, (conform scripture to meet their agendas and inject New Age philosophies into their churches), are very reluctant to associate themselves openly with the Latter Rain.  But if the public becomes more aware of their practices, they will not be able to run rampant over Christianity as they have, especially since the 1980’s.  And it is for this reason history has not been able to fully document the full extent of this movement.  However, in 2000 the Assemblies of God USA paper on End Time Revival, the Latter Rain Movement was rejected by what remain to this day classical Pentecostal denominations.  This is another reason that you will find this movement establishes itself in mostly non-denominational churches where you find “apostles and prophets” in leadership who will appoint “pastors” “prophets” and “elders” who have no formal training but that of the movement by a laying on of hands.  An ordination by the Latter Rain is only recognized by the Latter Rain.

In Part II, I will give you some history of this movement and for the sake of education and time will concentrate on the years 1948-1952.  I will then lay out the following;

• Beliefs
• Eschatology
• Joel’s Army
• Ecclesiology
• Pneumatology
• Controversies
• Leaders (Founders)
• MFI (Ministers Fellowship International)
• Disputed movements
• Other names linked to the Latter Rain Movement
• Institutions

I am trying not to get bogged down in this exposure.  I think that if you will get copies of the books I have and will reference in this Blog, you will see why reporting on this popular tripe is so depressing.  We love the true and unaltered, and un-tampered with Word of the Living God as written and inspired by the Holy Spirit.  It will quickly, as it has us while doing our research, move you from sorrow to near rage at the audacity of these men and women who have chosen to believe and spread doctrine given to them by “messengers”.  We will get into these “messengers” at a later time.  Overall, I found from a personal exposure to these “followers” an immature, almost playground, type personality.  If you confront them with the true scripture, and if they respond at all, they will say, “No, you are wrong”.  Playground fights consist of one child or group of children trying to control the swings and slides.  Those just trying to enjoy themselves confront the bullies and tell them they are to blame for the fighting.  The response of the bullies is simply, “NO, YOU ARE”.  It sounded stupid as children, the twisting of the bully’s words, and it is even more childish and silly today.  When you cannot make an intelligent stand, you just push the blame on the accuser and walk away.  Why then do so many choose to follow the playground bullies when now as adults their very souls are at stake?

Blessings…Patti