Apostles Prophets and the Coming NEW AGE

The Better Thing

2010-07-14T03:58:00.000-07:00

One of the main premises of the Apostolic-Prophetic movement is that Christians should be seeking spiritual growth and be ascending to new and higher levels (an occult term by the way). Those who are actively developing the "ascension gifts" are considered the top guns, while those who focus merely on soul winning are regarded as spiritually undeveloped and fairly pathetic specimens of Christianity.

Those on the front lines of the Prophetic-Apostlolic movement have demonstrated a zero tolerance policy in regards to those who won't let go of "old religious traditions." The "old religious traditions" they are referring to are nothing more than holding to the authority of scripture over their prophetic utterances--"present restored truth" they call it--and focusing on obedience to the scriptures and soul winning rather than growing in the "ascension gifts."

Jesus had something very different to say along these lines. When he gave his disciples (not just the 12 he called apostles--but the seventy others as well) power over all the power of the enemy (fairly spiritually developed group I'd say--just from hanging around Jesus and being obedient to him), he told them having all that power wasn't the most important thing.

What was the better thing?

Soul winning. They were told to rejoice because their souls were saved.

Most people agree that a person's last words before leaving this world are usually about the things they consider most important. Well, Jesus' last words had nothing whatever to do with developing the "ascension gifts," they had to do with...

You guessed it...

Soul-winning.

So whose words are going to carry the most weight with us--those of Bill Hamon, Peter Wagner, Rick Joyner (who pooh-pooh, ridicule and viciously stereotype dedicated soul winners)...

Or the words of Jesus?

The God of Evangelical Christianity is a Monster?

2010-06-29T03:46:00.000-07:00

William Paul Young is not a Christian. And it is unbelieveable that an author who does not believe in the atonement of Christ or the Christian God has sold upward of 14,000,000 books largely through Christian bookstores, and events, and is touted as a Christian author.

Excerpt from Lighthouse Trails Article
This past Friday night, author and researcher Ray Yungen attended a lecture at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon to hear The Shack author William Paul Young. The name of Young's talk was "Can God Really Be That Good?" During the talk, Young told the audience that "the God of evangelical Christianity is a monster." He was referring to the evangelical belief that God is a God of judgment and will judge the unbelieving. Young also rejects the biblical view of atonement (wherein Jesus died as a substitute for us to pay the price of our sins). This view by Young is evident in a radio interview he had one year ago where he rejected this view of the atonement. He echoes the sentiments of William Shannon and Brennan Manning, who both say that the God who punishes His own son to pay for the sins of others does not exist:

"He is the God who exacts the last drop of blood from His Son, so that His just anger, evoked by sin, may be appeased. This God whose moods alternate between graciousness and fierce anger - a God who is still all too familiar to many Christians - is a caricature of the true God. This God does not exist. (Shannon, Silence on Fire, p. 110, also see Manning who stated the very same thing in Above All, pp. 58-59 )...
Young asked "evangelicals," "Do you want to hold onto your darkness?" and answered for them, "No, you want to get rid of it."

Fellow Christians, It is William Paul Young's book that we should be getting rid of, not the God of the Bible.

Visit this link to read the truth about the blood atonement of Christ and why following Young and his monster god is truly darkness.

How Can a Man that is a Sinner do such Miracles? John 9:16

2009-08-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

When Jesus made clay and healed a blind man on the Sabbath day, there was division within, and opposition from, the religious leadership of his time. All who opposed the works of God, did so simply because they were not of God. But some were confused and asked how a man that is a sinner could do such miracles?

That’s a good question, and it is one that Jesus addressed in Matthew chapter seven when he spoke of the false prophets who would not be granted entrance into his Kingdom. Jesus clearly told us that there would be men (and women) who were not of God doing miracles and performing great signs and wonders.

In the book of Acts, we read of a man named Simon who used sorcery to deceive the people. He claimed to be a great power of God and from the least to the greatest, because of the signs and wonders he performed, the people believed him.

The apostle Paul prophesied concerning the Man of Sin, who would use miracles, signs, and lying wonders to steal the souls of those who, because they chose to follow what they could see with their physical eyes rather than the truth of God’s Word, would follow The Son of Perdition into eternal condemnation.

And finally, in THE REVELATION, the apostle John was shown that spirits of devils could deceive people through the working of miracles and that some wonders are indeed lying wonders.

How can we tell the difference?

Read the rest of the article here: http://thehungryheartsbiblecommentary.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-can-man-that-is-sinner-do-such.html

Our Daily Bread

2009-06-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Truth is embodied in a person who is the Word of God and who emphasizes that his words are spirit and life. His words, the words of Jesus Christ, are recorded for us in the Bible, and according to Isaiah, inspirational words from the Lord will never contradict what has already been written (Isaiah 8:20). Jesus said we are safe if we hear his words and do them. His words are spirit and they are life. Flee from all who seek to undermine the integrity and power of the written word of God.

FOLLOWING IS A COPY OF AN EMAIL I SENT TO LIGHT HOUSE TRAILS IN RESPONSE TO AN ARTICLE THEY PUBLISHED ABOUT MART DE HAAN AND OUR DAILY BREAD:

You are right on in your lead story. I cancelled our subscription, and then started chucking our copy of "Our Daily Bread" (which continues to be delivered in spite of cancellation requests) when I read an article by Mart De Hann entitled "Missing Prophecies" (June 2007), where he claimed The gospel writer, "Mark," repeatedly claimed fulfillments of prophecy where, quote, "Most of us would probably agree there are no clear predictions." I took that to mean Mart was telling his readers the gospel of Mark was unrelialable. In doing that, Mart was clearly undermining the reliability of written word of God in general. At that point, I decided I didn't have any use for anything else he had to say. ~~jocelyn

******LIGHT HOUSE TRAILS ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN JANUARY 2008******
Radio Bible Class was founded by the respected Dr. De Haan in 1938. On the RBC website it states: "His commitment to ministry was to lead people of all nations to personal faith and maturity in Christ." Dr. De Haan faithfully delivered God's Word for nearly thirty years. We believe if he was here today, he would agree with us when we say that Radio Bible Class is erroneously quoting and promoting contemplative authors and in so doing straying away from the goal that Dr. De Haan had ... to maintain biblical purity and present the Word of God in accuracy and truth.

Several instances from RBC will be listed here to show why we are concerned:

June 6, 2006 - Henri Nouwen
July 13, 2005 - Henri Nouwen
2002 - The Lord is My Shepherd - Henri Nouwen (p. 21)
April 2, 2002 - Brother Lawrence
January 25, 2007 - Brennan Manning
September 15, 2005 - Brennan Manning
2003 When Fear Seems Overwhelming (p. 32) - Richard Foster, Brennan Manning, Gary Thomas, Larry Crabb, Dan Allender (emerging leader), Daniel Goleman (New Age mystic)
December 15, 2005 - Larry Crabb (numerous other references to Larry Crabb in other issues)

We have contacted RBC in the past but have never heard back from anyone. Today, we have sent another email stating:
We have noticed that you are making numerous references to contemplative authors like Henri Nouwen, Richard Foster and Brennan Manning. Because we have serious concerns about the spirituality they teach, we hope you will reevaluate your use of these authors. May we send you a complimentary book we publish that clearly, and in a graceful attitude, shows the documentation regarding this? Thank you for your time.
We hope that Dr. De Haan's grandson, Mart De Haan (who now runs RBC) will look at all the facts about contemplative spirituality before referencing contemplative teachers in the future and will remove those references that are already there.
Now, nearly a year later, we must report that RBC is not only turning to contemplatives for wisdom but New Agers as well. In their Discovery Series, they offer a booklet titled "What in the World is Satan Doing?" An introduction in the booklet explains:
Dan Vander Lugt, RBC biblical counselor, has written this booklet to correct some current misconceptions about Satan. It is our prayer that it will help you to be both forewarned and forearmed against an evil empire organized not only to rule the world but to take the place of Christ in your heart.
Unfortunately, Vander Lugt favorably references the late New Age proponent M. Scott Peck throughout the booklet. In the first quote (p. 2), Vander Lugt says that Peck had been led toward the Christian faith through his "grappling with the reality of evil." Later quoting Peck from his book People of the Lie, Vander Lugt refers to Peck's discussion on self-deception and self-exposure. It is ironic, as will show later in this report, that Vander Lugt suggests that people with these two attributes can end up practicing mysticism.

Vander Lugt says that "recent" books by Peck are "valuable in counteracting unbiblical skepticism ... concerning the reality of Satan" (p. 25) and that Peck's work "sounds serious warning to Christians."

For RBC to quote M. Scott Peck in the context of Christian understanding is alarming. Some would say that M. Scott Peck was once a New Ager but later became a Christian. Others would contest this, based on a steady history by Peck that proves contrary. Mike Oppenheimer, in his excellent report "Spiritual Fusion - East Comes West," explains:
The late M. Scott Peck who is popularly read by Christians said, 'While I continue to make use of what I have learned from Buddhism, there are aspects of Buddhism [like reincarnation] that I am agnostic about. That means I don't disbelieve it and I don't believe it; I just don't know. On the other hand, I find distasteful the traditional idea of Christianity which preaches the resurrection of the body' (Further Along the Road Less Traveled, pp. 168-169).1
This book by Peck was written after his book People of the Lie (1983). And People of the Lie was written by Peck just five years after his extremely popular book (still today) titled The Road Less Traveled was released. Research analyst, Ray Yungen, discusses that book:
The late psychologist M. Scott Peck wrote a phenomenal best seller on psychology and spiritual growth titled The Road Less Traveled. The book contains insights and suggestions for dealing with life's problems, which is why it has generated the interest it has. But the book also incorporates the central theme of the Ancient Wisdom:
God wants us to become himself (or Herself or Itself). We are growing toward godhood. God is the goal of evolution. It is God who is the source of the evolutionary force and God who is the destination. This is what we mean when we say that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end....

It is one thing to believe in a nice old God who will take good care of us from a lofty position of power which we ourselves could never begin to attain. It is quite another to believe in a God who has it in mind for us precisely that we should attain His position, His power, His wisdom, His identity.
[Occultists] Madame Blavatsky and Alice Bailey could not have said it any better. Peck revealed where he was coming from when he said, "But (The Road) is a sound New Age book, not a flaky one." This book, which was on the New York Times best seller list for over 400 weeks, has been incredibly popular in Christian circles for years.(from For Many Shall Come in My Name, 2nd ed. pp.125-126)
We find it extremely ironic that RBC would rely so heavily on M. Scott Peck throughout their booklet "What in the World is Satan Doing?" Furthermore, the question must be asked, why does RBC continue to find wisdom from contemplatives like Richard Foster, Henri Nouwen, and Larry Crabb (who incidentally is also in the RBC booklet)? Perhaps only Mart De Haan and the present day staff at RBC can really answer that question. But it is a question that should not be ignored.

Incredibly, in the RBC booklet, Vander Lugt actually warns against New Age mysticism. M. Scott Peck, who said in Further Along the Road Less Traveled that he was "proud to be listed as an Aquarian Conspirator" (i.e., New Ager - said this considerably after he supposedly became a Christian) also said in an interview with New Age Journal (12/85), "that The Road Less Traveled was dropped on him from God, and that there are 'an enormous number of people who have a passion for God, but who are fed up to the gills with fundamentalism.' The interview also divulged that Peck moved from 'Eastern mystical religions toward Christian mysticism [contemplative prayer].' (ATOD, p. 56)" And this is our very concern, that Christian mysticism has the same source and foundation as Eastern mysticism; that's why Peck could move so smoothly from one to the other. And that is exactly why RBC should not be turning to mystics for spiritual wisdom and guidance.

Other Quotes by M. Scott Peck:

"I have said that the ultimate goal of spiritual growth is for the individual to become as one with God ... It is for the individual to become totally, wholly God." The Road Less Traveled

"Zen Buddhism should be taught in every 5th grade class in America." (Further Along the Road Less Traveled)

"Christianity's greatest sin is to think that other religions are not saved." (Further Along the Road Less Traveled)

"If the New Age can reform society rather than just adversely challenge it then it can be extremely holy and desperately needed." Further Along the Road Less Traveled (written after The People of the Lie)

"Since the unconscious is God all along, we may further define the goal of spiritual growth to be the attainment of godhood by the conscious self." (The Road Less Traveled)

Related Research:
Excerpts from The Different Drum by M. Scott Peck, compiled by Kjos Ministries

M. Scott Peck - New Age Thinker (1936-2005)

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/index.php?c=1&more=1&p=924

Should Bible Believing Christians Be Learning From Phillip Yancey?

2008-09-22T05:04:00.000-07:00

Phillip Yancey's views should deeply concern any Bible believing Christian, yet Lifeway Baptist Bookstores and more and more evangelical churches continue to promote his work. There is much information available concerning Yancey's views. This link to Lighthouse Trails serves as only a sample: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/yancey.htm

The Toronto Deception by former Toronto Vineyard Pastor Paul Gowdy

2008-07-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

It has taken me nine years to actually come to the place where I would write this story. Part of the reason was because I was not fully convinced that it is appropriate to speak out against weaknesses in the body of Christ publicly. Another reason is because it has taken years of soul searching to become convinced that what happened in the Toronto Airport Church was actually all bad or at least more bad than good!

For the past number of years I have called it a mixed blessing. I think James A. Beverly called it this in his book Holy Laughter and the Toronto Blessing 1994. Today I would call it a mixed curse concluding that any individual good that came from this experience is far outweighed by much harm and satanic deception. I suppose that therein has been my dilemma. I have tried to live my life in the fear of the Lord and Jesus told us that the unforgivable sin was the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Attributing to Satan what was in fact a work of God. If pressed as to whether or not the Toronto blessing is all God or all Devil I will still be hedgy, but I am convinced that Satan has used this experience to blind people to the historical doctrines of God, to produce fruit in keeping with repentance, to failing to test and discern the spirits and failing to test prophecy.

After three years of being in the thick of the Toronto blessing our Vineyard assembly in Scarborough ( East Toronto) just about self destructed. We devoured one another, with gossip, backstabbing, division, sects criticism etc. After three years of ‘soaking,’ praying for people, shaking, rolling, laughing, roaring, ministering at TACF on their prayer team, leading worship at TACF, preaching at TACF, basically living at TACF we were the most carnal, immature and deceived Christians that I know. I remember saying to my friend and senior pastor at Scarborough Vineyard Church in 1997 that ever since the Toronto Blessing came we have just about fallen to bits! He agreed!

My experience has been that the manifestation of spiritual gifts mentioned in 1st Corinthians 12 was much more common in our assembly, before January 1994 (when the Toronto blessing started.) than during this period of supposed Holy Spirit visitation.

During 1992-1993 when praying for people we would experience what I believe was genuine prophesy, deliverance and much grace and favour from the Lord. After the Toronto Blessing started, all ministry time changed, the only prayers were ‘More Lord MORE ’, the shouting of ‘Fire’ the jerky shaking of the body with the ‘ooh ooh OOH WOOOAAH’ prayer. (I kid you not!)

On January 20th 1994 about 15 people from our church traveled over to Toronto Airport Vineyard in order to listen to Randy Clark, a Vineyard pastor from the USA. John Arnott had called our senior pastor to invite us. He communicated that Randy had been to the Rodney Howard Browne meetings and that the stuff had broke out in his church in the following weeks. John was hoping that something might break out with us too. We were only too happy to travel over. We were a church plant out of the Toronto Airport and we started in 1992. In those days there were three Vineyard Churches in Toronto. One Down Town church, Scarborough vineyard church to the east and the Airport Church. We were one big happy family. Because we were small in number we did special meetings, conferences etc, together.

The year before most of our leadership teams joined and had headed to Nicaragua for a short term missions trip. We had genuine love and fellowship with each other. Since leaving the Vineyard churches I have read a fair bit of analysis from the critics. Some make out that the Toronto Blessing was one huge conspiracy to lead the body of Christ into heresy. Heresy and apostasy I suspect may well be the result, but none of these destinations were intentional. I am honestly convinced that the leaders in the Vineyard churches are genuine born-again Christians who love the Lord, but have fallen into deception. They have not loved the Lord enough to keep His commandments. They have failed to obey the scriptures and have been led astray by our longing for something bigger and brighter and more exciting and dynamic. I am guilty of this sin also. I have preached renewal in Korea, the United Kingdom, the USA and here in Canada. I am genuinely repentant and in writing this story I would ask you the bride and body of Christ to forgive me. Especially the Pentecostal / Charismatic Christians among you, for you are my immediate family theologically. I am an evangelical Christian, I always have been but I do not believe in the cessation of the spiritual gifts at the end of the apostolic era. I believe that it was my evangelical roots (my family are Baptists and I was born again in the Presbyterian Church.) that started to open my eyes to problems with this so called renewal. In hind sight I look back and think how could I have been so blind? I laughed at people acting like dogs and pretending to urinate on the columns of the TACF building. I watched people pretend to be animals, bark, roar, cluck, pretend to fly as if they had wings, perpetually act drunk and sing silly songs. How I thought that any of this was from the Holy Spirit of God amazes me today. It was loud irreverent and blasphemous to the Holy God of the Bible. I suppose in my mind I reasoned that as long as they did not teach any thing in direct violation to scripture then it was what we called the exotic. This is a buzz word for manifestations that could not be justified from a biblical perspective. I was taught from the pulpit that we had two options. The order of the nursery full of life and messy or the order of the graveyard, very orderly but dead! As a young immature pastor I wanted life with mess. I failed to remember that God wants us to become mature and grow up in him. I became disconcerted by the prophetic words that came forth especially one by Carol Arnott in which she had her bride experience where she was taken into the very presence of Jesus and said that the love that she experienced was even better than sex! I was shocked in my spirit and thought how can one compare the love of God with sex? When we suspected that demons were running riot in our services John Arnott would teach that we should ask are they coming or going. If they are leaving then that is ok! John would defend the chaos by saying that we ought not be afraid of being deceived, if we have asked the Holy Spirit to come and fill us then how could Satan come and deceive us? This would make Satan very strong and God very weak! He said that we needed to have more faith in a Big God to protect us than in a Big Devil to deceive us. This sounded very convincing but was totally contrary to scripture for Jesus and Paul and Peter and John all warn us about the power of deceiving spirits and especially so in the last days. Again we did not love God enough to obey His Word and the result was that we opened ourselves up to lying spirits. May God have mercy upon us!

Finally the penny dropped for me as I was rolling around one night ‘drunk in the Spirit’ as we would say. I started singing and as I rolled around the floor the Nursery Rhyme ‘Mary had a little lamb its fleece was white as snow.’ came to mind. I sang this in a mocking spirit and instantly my heart told me this was a demon. Instantly I repented and was in total shock. How could a demon get into me? Did I not love God? Was I not zealous for the things of God? Was I not nuts about Jesus? I knew that an unclean spirit had just manifested through me and I was guilty of great sin. After this experience I stayed away from TACF. I did not go back there any more. I did not possess the conviction to denounce the whole experience but thought that we where failing to pastor the Blessing well enough.

Even after I stopped going over to TACF, I had to pastor the fruit of it. One example was when some of our people returned from a meeting there asking us if we had all received the golden sword of the Lord? I asked them what they were talking about thinking that it was some prophetic reference to the Holy Scriptures but they said, ‘no, its not the Bible, it’s an invisible golden sword that only the really pure can receive. If taken in an unrighteous fashion then the Lord would kill you. But if you are holy enough to receive it then you can wield this sword and it will heal aids, Cancer etc. and bring salvation. How one wielded this sword was by pretending to have this invisible sword in your hand and motioning to strike people with it when in prayer! I thought while even in deception at this time that the TACF had become Looney bins! This was purportedly first received by Carol Arnott and then given to the ones holy enough to receive it! Another thing was the golden fillings in the teeth. We had people in our assembly peeping down one another’s throats looking for the gold fillings that God had placed there to show how much he loved them! In all my time there I only heard one message on repentance given by a visiting speaker from Hong Kong named Jackie Pullinger. It went over like a lead balloon. We were not there to repent, we were there to party in the Lord! After one year into the blessing I spoke out at a pastors meeting and said ‘guys we have shaken, rattled, rolled, laughed cried and bought the tee-shirt. But we have no revival, no salvation, no fruit and no increased evangelism so what’s the deal?’ I was soundly rebuked - who was I to expect to see fruit when the Lord was healing his broken people? We had been legalistic long enough and God was spending this time restoring his wounded and freeing us from legalism I was told not to push the Lord and the harvest would come in his time.’

I knew this was wrong because the Lord had commanded us to go into all the earth and make disciples! Not, that everyone should take a sabbatical for who knows how long, while God does some strange new thing! Ultimately I left over something as controversial as the ordination of women. Personally I believe from scripture that women should not be pastors/ elders in a local assembly. I could be wrong on this and there is much debate in the Church today but that is my conviction and in the Vineyard churches they were ordaining all the pastors wives to co pastor with them. I am certainly for women in ministry but believe that the Elder/ pastor role in a local assembly has been reserved for men. I did not write scripture but God willing I will have the grace from now on to obey it.

So there is my story. I could go on and document much excess, folly, sin and latter day reign teaching that manifest from the prophetic end of this Blessing but others have already done that. We sang about Joel’s army and the billion soul revival as if it were one of the Ten Commandments, and as always it was just around the corner. Next month, next year etc. Jesus said that when the son of man returns will he find faith upon the earth? And if he does not return when he does no flesh would be saved but for the sake of the elect he comes. This is a far cry from the dominionism that is being taught all through the vineyard / prophetic/ spiritual warfare movement. I honestly think that they think they are going to take over the whole world! While in the Vineyard I embraced a life verse from the Apostle Paul the phrase do not go beyond what is written!

To finish I just want to say sorry for the damage, that I have personally done by teaching things that are not correct biblically. I repent before men as I already have before God. I will not excuse my falling into deception. I did not bother to test things when the scriptures commanded us to do so. Everyone who was there when this thing started knows that what I write is true, they would just come to different conclusions especially if they are still promoting the ‘river!’

To those in the river I would say swim out, there are things living in the water that will bite you real good! I love the people of TACF and the Vineyard movement but I think that we have much to answer for and may the Lord open your eyes sooner rather than later. I suspect that when this letter goes online I will get bombarded by emails from both camps, some damning me for still believing in the ministry of the Holy Spirit and still walking in deception and some old friends damning me for exposing dirt or being negative about the Lords anointed! Well, the Lord knows my heart and by his grace he will guide me into all truth as I seek to know Christ and him crucified! If you believe that I walk in sin and error please pray for me that the Lord would forgive me and open my eyes. I will study the word to show my self a work man approved! I would call on all who read this to pray that the Lord would open the eyes of all who have been involved in this deception. Whether leader or follower, we are loved and the Lord is a forgiving God. He says if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. I believe we are like the church in Laodicea, we think that we are rich, have prospered and need nothing, we do not realise that we are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind and naked. We must take the Counsel of Jesus and buy gold refined in the fire (which is his suffering, not a false spirit!), white garments to clothe our shameful nakedness and salve for our eyes that we might see again. Jesus is calling us to repentance and thank the Lord that he is, for it will lead us to true restoration with our Father! If God has forgiven me and opened my eyes then he can do it for all those caught in deception too. I will finish with a warning from Paul, he says if you think you are standing firm be careful lest you fall.

Sincerely Paul Gowdy.

Paul Gowdy's article - © 2004-2006. Discernment-Ministries Inc. All Rights Reserved. ~ www.discernment-ministries.org/TheTorontoDeception.htm

If These are the Days of Elijah, Who are the DRY BONES?

2008-07-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

Will Elijah Himself Really Come Prior To the Return of Jesus

2008-07-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

In the course of some research I am doing, I am reading Bill Hamon's book Apostles Prophets and the Coming Moves of God.

I am fairly shocked at the incredibly flawed theology I'm finding throughout the book. Of course that doesn't surprise me as those who revere the written word of God are also viciously attacked throughout the book as well.

One example (of twisting scripture)is found beginning on page 108 where Hamon uses Malachi 4:5 and Matthew 17:10-11 to prove God is sending out a company of prophets in these last days in order to restore what has supposedly "been lost" to the church.

I find it interesting that this approach lines up with almost all false teachers and cults (i.e., the church has "lost" something, and they are restoring it--compare with
Watchtower, Ellen G. White, Joseph Smith, etc).

Elijah himself is coming, literally, before the Lord's return. Malachi said he would come and Jesus said he would come. He will be one of the two witnesses described in
Revelation 11 (Revelation 11:6).

John the Baptist came to the Jewish people in the spirit and power of Elijah prior to Jesus' first coming, and his preaching turned the hearts of many to the Lord and prepared them to receive him as the true Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6).

Jesus compared John the Baptist with Elijah. John and Elijah have an identical ministry--preparing Jewish hearts to receive the Messiah. Jesus said Elijah had indeed come. And the disciples understood he was speaking of John the Baptist. But we must rightly divide the word of God on this. Jesus also said, in the same breath, that Elijah would (future) surely come.

The angel, Gabriel, clarified that John was not Elijah but instead came in "the spirit and power of" Elijah (Matthew 17:11-12, Luke 1:16-17).

When John was asked about this, he plainly said, "No," he was not Elijah. And (as already stated) Jesus also agreed with his statement by re-affirming what Malachi prophesied, that the real person, "The prophet" Elijah himself, surely would (future) come and restore all things (John 1:21).

What things will Elijah be restoring before the 2nd appearance of Jesus on this earth? …the hearts of the fathers to the children (and visa versa) How does anyone get "lost truth" out of that (Malachi 4:6)?

There is absolutely no indication anywhere in scripture that the prophecy of the coming of Elijah is only "symbolic" of a "company of prophets" restoring lost truth to the church. Truth has never been lost to any generation of God's people--ever (Psalm 100:5 kjv)

The prophet Elijah himself will personally return to this earth in order to prepare Jewish hearts to receive the true Messiah. Under his prophesying, Fathers will again teach their children of the Messiah and the children will listen.

It is a favorite tactic of false teachers and cults to spiritualize the written word of God to the point where people are convinced it cannot be properly understood without their anointed, revelatory interpretation.

But we know that it will be Elijah himself who comes personally and not some vague "company" of prophets representing Elijah who will be sent because of the specific wording found in Malachi 4:5.

Malachi specifically stated that it would be Elijah "The" prophet (singular) himself who would come.

It doesn't get any plainer than that.

Elijah: His Purpose for Coming

2008-07-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

When the foundation is faulty, the entire building is at risk. And that is exactly the case with the Prophet and Apostle movements.

In the course of my research, I have discovered two books that I believe are foundational to both of these movements—one was written in 1987 by Rick Joyner. And the other was written ten years later, in 1997, by Bill Hamon.

Each of these books lays a seriously faulty foundation. Each of these authors shamelessly twist scripture, but so artfully that if the reader is not well grounded in (and obedient to) the word of God it is easy to see how so many have been led astray (2 Timothy 4:3-4, 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, 13-15).

Those in the prophetic movement align themselves closely with the prophecy in
Malachi concerning the prophet Elijah who is scheduled to appear just prior to the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ.

They align themselves so closely with this prophecy, in fact, that they claim they are Elijah.

I have already dealt with that erroneous claim, in detail, in a previous article. What I would like to address in this article is Bill Hamon’s interpretation of what, exactly, Elijah’s purpose is.

Hamon claims the Elijah prophesied by Malachi is actually the plethora of prophets we presently see popping up everywhere.

He also claims their job is to prepare the way for Christ to establish his kingdom over all the kingdoms on earth.

This is a serious error.

It is obvious that Bill Hamon neither knows the scriptures nor the power of God.

For starters, it is “the prophet” (singular) Elijah himself (personally) who will come just prior to the appearance of Jesus (Malachi 4:5).

And for finishers, Jesus does not need our help in order to establish his supremacy and Kingdom. We could not redeem ourselves, but he needs our help…??

So why is God seeing fit to send Elijah the prophet” back to earth as a forerunner to Christ’s return? What will his job description be?

I have already stated that it is not Elijah’s job to prepare the way for Christ to establish his Kingdom. He is coming for a much more personal reason than that.

Elijah will be coming in order to prepare a people’s heart to receive their savior. It is to turn the hearts of the Fathers to the children and the hearts of the
children to the fathers (Malachi 4:6).

John the Baptist and Elijah (in regards to being forerunners) have been given, essentially, the same ministry—that of preparing the hearts of the Jewish
people to receive their savior.

To know what Elijah’s ministry will be during the time of Jacob’s trouble, we need only to look at what John the Baptist’s ministry consisted of.

Did we see John the Baptist engaging in political propaganda while preaching and baptizing? No. He preached repentance—he baptized with the Baptism of repentance—so will Elijah be doing the same. Winning souls to Christ is the issue.

John was concerned with nothing else and neither will Elijah be (Luke 1:16-17).

Christ is coming to establish his Kingdom. But it needs to be clearly understood that the times and the seasons were set and established at the time Christ was chosen to be the Lamb of God—before the foundation of the world(1 Peter 1:19-20).

He does not need our help in bringing about any part of his plan. Except for the one part he chose to commission us with, and that is in preaching the gospel—winning souls and making disciples.

God chose the foolishness of preaching as the primary way of drawing mankind to himself through his son (Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 10:14).

Elijah certainly is coming. And he will be preaching repentance just like John did. And just like John, he will be turning many in Israel to their God (Luke 1:16-17).

And Jesus is surely coming. He will establish his Kingdom. And it will be without our “help” …or the help of Hamon’s company of so-called prophets and apostles (Matthew 7:15-23).

Sharecropper Christian Radio Random Segments

2008-06-19T06:09:00.001-07:00

Enjoy watching the interactions of Jonah and Sophia as you listen to a random Segments of Sharecropper Christian Radio featuring the music of independent Christian Artists. Hear Bible Readings, testimonies of supernatural healings, challenging and provocative commentaries and much much more. Sharecropper streams 24/7 AT www.ShareCropperRadio.com.

Meat -Vs- Milk

2008-06-15T14:12:00.001-07:00

Audio Commentary / Discipleship / Christian Growth

Seduction of Christianity Revisited

2008-06-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

Discussing Occult Practices in the Church
www.thebereancall.net/audio/2008/2408a.mp3

Book of Revelation Video Library

2008-06-05T10:07:00.001-07:00

New studies added to this playlist daily

Rapture 2nd Coming Video Library

2008-06-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

New studies added to this playlist regularly

Contemplative Prophetic Video Library

2008-06-05T10:04:00.001-07:00

New studies added to this playlist regularly

What Do Spiritual Formation and the Prophetic have in Common?

2008-06-04T06:10:00.000-07:00

What do Spiritual Formation and The Prophetic have in common? On the surface, these two movements seem to have nothing in common. But surface appearances are known to be deceptive. Both movements weave New Age/ Occult precepts and practices into the very fabric of believer’s lives and faith so subtly that complete paradigm shifts from previous positions and belief systems begin to take place.

To the delight of many pastors, these movements have the effect of drawing many into Christian church membership. Sadly though, many of these new members are not being brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. They are drawn to, and embrace a spirituality—a form of godliness—that has no saving power whatsoever.

Prophetic ministries and those with Spiritual Formation programs, introduce adherents to spiritual habits, “disciplines.” At the core of Spiritual Formation lies contemplative prayer, a form of prayer not found in scripture but rather in the pagan religions of the east. Contemplative prayer is also called: Soaking Prayer, The Silence, Meditation, Practicing His Presence, Lectio Divina, etc.

All who embrace contemplative spirituality, eventually, at some point, begin to hold the traditional beliefs of evangelical Bible-believing Christians in utter contempt.

Bill Hamon, the Father of the Apostle-Prophet Movement, had this to say about the amazing fact that 20,000 new believers per day were being won to the Lord in China, “…that sounds great, but…(Apostles Prophets and the Coming Moves of God 1997).”

How can you add a “but” to the fact that 20,000 believers a day are coming to the Lord? But to those in the Prophetic movement, signs, wonders and words of prophecy—experiences—supercede the amazing miracle of the salvation of a soul.

Rick Joyner, another prominent figure in Prophetic circles, shared a vision he received where he saw a holy mountain which illustrated the different levels of growth he claims Christians should strive to achieve. He portrayed Christians who focused primarily on soul winning as being at the bottom of the developmental heap. According to Joyner, ardent soul winners were the most pathetic, least spiritually developed of all Christians (The Final Quest, 1996).

Spiritual Formation is taking root within every Christian denomination. These programs basically promote an experiential spirituality, along with occult practices (clearly forbidden in scripture). Those who embrace this spirituality begin losing their regard for the written word of God as well as their burden for soul-winning—although they seldom realize that this is taking place. Aggressive, individual, overt evangelism (as in verbally, or in writing, sharing the gospel) is discouraged and civic, national, even global, relationship evangelism is encouraged. It sounds good on the surface but denies the fact that it is the gospel of Jesus Christ (described in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4)—and nothing else—that is the power of God unto salvation.

Most evangelical seminaries have instituted Spiritual Formation classes into their curriculum. It is easier to list the ones that do not offer Spiritual Formation than those that do. Many seminaries are training future pastors and ministers to facilitate certain occult activities such as labyrinth walking which is an occult, contemplative, meditative practice. Contemplative prayer is the premier feature of Spiritual Formation, and it is nothing more than a Christianized form of Transcendental Meditation (TM).

I personally received an email from within the Dean’s office at the United Methodist University of Dubuque Theological Seminary requesting information on Labyrinth Walking. They had confused my ministry, Hungry Hearts Ministries, with a Presbyterian “Hungry Heart” spiritual formation outreach, and wanted my permission to use one of the Hungry Heart Newsletter articles in training their seminary students to facilitate labyrinth walking as part of their spiritual formation program.

Below is a copy of that correspondence:
“The University of Dubuque Theological Seminary located in Dubuque, Iowa would like copyright permission to reproduce "Labyrinth" from the Summer 2000, Vol. 8, No. 2 edition of Hungry Hearts.

The purpose is for use in our Spiritual Formation Group class. We are seeking permission to use as part of our curriculum for several years. Is there a one time copyright fee that would cover us for several years? We have approx. 30-40 students in the class per year.

Thank you for your assistance.”

When I responded that I had no idea as to what they were referring to, and they realized their mistake, I received a rather brusque reply.

A few descriptive terms used by those who have embraced, or are in the process of embracing contemplative spirituality are: going deeper, opening ourselves to God, meditation, solitude, listening, reflecting, silence, quietness, spiritual disciplines, etc.

All who are experiencing paradigm shifts by means of these “disciplines” become enamored with eastern culture. Both their words and writings are peppered with frequent references to the un-spirituality of the “western” church. Listen for that one. You’ll hear it. Peace, unity and love are the words of the day. But the same ones whose conversation is so liberally sprinkled with these, also do not shrink from criticizing, often viciously, those with more “traditional” beliefs.

All contemplatives eventually come to hold a low opinion of biblical prayer, supplication and systematic Bible study, referring to these in derogatory terms such as “mental praying,” “recipe theology,” and “formula living.”

Prophetic leaders can become even more vicious in their attacks on Christians and churches that hold to the written Word of God, the Bible, as their ultimate spiritual authority. They refer to them in the vilest terms, calling them such names as “withered hand,” “anti-Christ religious system,” and their over-all favorite, “Pharisee.”

It is enlightening indeed to hear those who claim to be so enlightened and full of the “Love of God,” heartlessly trampling the sincere beliefs of, and showing tremendous disrespect—even hatred—for, those who do not hold to their own unbiblical, ecumenical and experiential viewpoints.

Flowery language is another thing to watch for: destiny, passion, extravagant love…these and many more such words and expressions are used over and over among those involved with this spirituality. Jude called them, “great swelling words…” This is not a minor point.

Believers should be alerted to the fact that the modern day contemplative spirituality promoted within Protestant, evangelical and Prophetic fellowships, descends not from the Bible but from the Roman Catholic mystics who adopted it from eastern, non-Christian, belief systems and cannot be fully embraced without referencing Catholic roots at some point—Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Ignatius, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, The Desert Fathers (who are the fathers of contemplative prayer) are just a few of the mystics. However, these may not be mentioned at first while introducing the “spiritual disciplines” to non-Catholics.

Mike Bickle, a leader in the prophetic movement who heavily promotes contemplative prayer, makes no excuses for the fact that if you want to “go deeper,” into God, you must embrace both contemplative prayer and the Roman Catholic Mystics. He freely admits contemplative prayer cannot be found in scripture nor can it be found anywhere in protestant tradition—it can only be found within the eastern religions that passed it on to Christianity via the Roman Catholic Church. Most leading contemplatives have no problem agreeing with Mike Bickle on this (recorded teachings of Mike Bickle on Contemplative Prayer [1-4] http://mikebickleteachings.blogspot.com/2005/09/teaching-links.html).

One of the first observable fruits of contemplative spirituality is a disregard for biblical doctrine and an ecumenical mindset which fails to discern important doctrinal differences between the Protestant and Roman Catholic religions. This eventually leads to a failure to understand why there are religious differences of any sort—between anyone—who truly seeks God using any means. The prevailing attitude becomes, “Seek God. It doesn’t matter how you do it—just do it—he’ll accept you regardless.”

Bible believing Christians should know that this is simply not true. Jesus Christ the only way, the only truth, and the only life made exclusive claims. But within both the Prophetic and Spiritual Formation movements, doctrine is a dirty word and becomes subordinate to the experiential. The exclusive claims of Jesus Christ become secondary to the false panentheistic premise that God is in everything and everyone. And contemplative prayer, the silence, becomes the most important aspect and barometer of true spirituality—period.

A few popular authors who promote contemplative spirituality are Rick Warren, Richard Foster, Father Thomas Keating, Henry Neuwen, Brennen Manning, Max Lucado, Beth Moore and Sue Monk Kidd. The list of contemplative leaders is growing so quickly, it is impossible to list them all. Almost all popular evangelical leaders today are promoting contemplative spirituality in some way or another, either overtly through plain teaching and practice or covertly through promoting and affiliating themselves with those who do.

The dangers of contemplative, experiential, spirituality cannot be overestimated and are severe enough that Bible believing Christians should give anyone promoting this spirituality a very wide berth. The end result of contemplative spirituality is a complete paradigm shift—not only away from the simplicity which is in Christ, but altogether away from the fact that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life.

The Bible teaches that God only resides within those who belong to him by virtue of belonging to his only begotten and risen son Jesus Christ. Individuals who have experienced new birth (been born again) by calling on God to save them through faith in his risen son, are the only ones who can expect eternal life and the indwelling presence of the one true God.

All prominent contemplatives—all—as in every single one—stress that they have finally come to understand that God is in all things. The end result of contemplative spirituality is panentheism.

Panentheism is the unscriptural belief that God is in all things as opposed to the biblical teaching that he resides only within those who belong to him through faith in his risen son, the only Christ, Christ Jesus.

The set piece of spiritual formation, its bedrock and premiere feature, is contemplative prayer, which is now being taught in seminaries and in churches of every denomination. In its wake, Bibles are becoming mere props, prayer and supplication becoming memories—relics even—of the faith of our fathers, almost long gone.

The “old fashioned,” biblical paradigm, that the Spirit of God resides only in born again believers, is rapidly being exchanged for an ecumenical, panentheistic paradigm that God is in everything and everyone.

This should not surprise students of Bible prophecy. Paul predicted this would happen when he wrote about the departing from the faith (the falling away) that would occur in the last days. Paul warned that those who rejected the truth would be given over to believing the lie and would end up losing their souls.

Jesus predicted this as well when he said, “When the Son of Man cometh, will he find faith on the earth?”

Of course, that’s another thing Prophetic and Spiritual Formation groups have in common—an almost complete disregard for Bible Prophecy. It’ll all pan out in the end they say.

Yes, it will all pan out in the end. And called it “formula living” or “recipe theology” if you will, but it will pan out exactly as it is written.

The Church is Selling: Who's Buying?

2008-06-04T02:41:00.000-07:00

Money, Money, Money, Money ...Money!

Money is the bait. Ancient, "historic," Christian traditions is the hook. Contemplative spirituality is the line. And a paradigm shift straight into panentheistic hell is the sinker...Read More at: http://hungryheartsministries.blogspot.com/2008/02/church-is-selling-whos-buying.html