CHAPTERS

Introduction

In part one of this study we examined the central role "Latter Rain" doctrine is playing in the current revival. We also looked at the role Restorationism plays in the whole Latter Rain scheme. Today's revivalists are Restorationists. They believe they are restoring the proper governmental order of the Spirit to a divided, institutionalized Church. In their minds this apostolic government is not merely a temporary expediency which is necessary to bring spiritual life to a decaying Church System, it is the Kingdom of God.

According to their own teachings, the key to this whole restoration scheme lies in the re-introduction into the Church of modern-day apostles and prophets, with all their appropriate authority. It is believed that only these kind of men are capable of establishing a new Kingdom-of-God-type government in the Church. Revivalists interpret Isaiah's prophesy about the government being "upon His [Jesus'] shoulders" (Isa. 9:6) as a reference to the new apostolic leadership that is being raised up. In their eyes these new apostles and prophets—and by extension, the entire 5-fold ministry—are the shoulders to which Isaiah referred. For them, the Kingdom of God is this new order. It's just a matter of getting it fully established in the Church, and then through the Church, in the entire world.

Those who accept this idea seem utterly incapable of understanding the consequences of such a view. They don't realize that when you say the 5-fold ministry constitutes the "government of God" on earth, it means people cannot enter (or remain in) the kingdom unless they submit to the spiritual authority of that government. It means that obedience to this new priesthood becomes the qualification for entering (or remaining part of) the Church.

The idea of the door into the Church being this new priesthood, and the door into the kingdom being the Church (which is run by the new priesthood) is nothing but a Protestant version of Roman Catholicism. Indeed, the goals of Roman Catholicism and the goals of this new Catholicism are identical. Just as Roman Catholics think they have been called to bring all nations under their religious order (which they too think is the Kingdom of God), so revival leaders see their task as extending this new form of Catholicism to all nations.

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

II. Corinthians 11:13-15

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

NKJ II. Peter 2:1-3

The false apostles and prophets that Paul and Peter said would come are not Moonies, Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons. They are men and women who are part of the Christian Church, men and women who's names are very familiar to us. They are people who, after transforming themselves into apostles, "exploit" the saints with "deceptive" Christian terms in order to use them in the building of a counterfeit Christian kingdom.

Today these people who have transformed themselves into apostles are setting up a government, which they plan to impose not only on all churches, but in time, upon the entire world. It is a pyramid structure with a world-wide network of apostles and prophets at the top, governing nations and regions within those nations. Under them will be a giant edifice of religious leaders whose first allegiance will be to the new "divine" government, not Jesus Christ.

No longer will local churches be independent, self-governing or autonomous. All this will end under the new apostolic order as Pastors are called upon to submit to their local apostle. Each church will be required to come into unity with all the other churches in the area (regardless of what they believe or how they live) and sign covenants pledging not to discriminate or poach each other's members or criticize one another's doctrine.

Sound far-fetched? It shouldn't—this scheme has been in operation on a small scale for many years in the Restoration churches, especially in the UK. Today it's starting to catch on in America. Consider this report of a meeting held by Rock Church of Baltimore, a major part of the current revival:

"A Word From Pastor: We have just closed one of the most powerful months in God that I believe I have experienced! First, we gathered over 80 pastors from Baltimore city and county for a retreat called Peace For The City. This was the largest inter-denominational gathering of pastors that this area has seen. Our guest speaker was Dr. David Schoch, a true father in the faith. He provided the insight, impartation and guidance of a patriarch. The Peace gathering was marked with reconciliation, both denominational and racial. Then, in a sovereign move of the Spirit, a covenant was written and signed by the pastors. This covenant knitted the congregations, ministries and pulpits of their churches together into one church in Baltimore. On May 2, 1999, these pastors will trade pulpits and preach in each other's churches! Already, this covenant has been adopted by churches in other cities and has even been taken to Argentina!"

Pastor Bart Pierce

Rock City Church of Baltimore, March 99

The main speakers at this conference were Bart Pierce, Dr. David Schoch, (God chaser) Tommy Tenney and Michael Brown, formally of Brownsville. The covenant reads as follows:

We, the city wide Gatekeepers covenant this day to submit to the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ reflected in John 13:34&35 that we will be known by our love one to another. "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." We purpose in our hearts to fulfill the call to oneness as expressed in Ephesians 4:1-6 by these actions:

We covenant in sharing of pulpits without regard to race, ethnic, national origin, or denomination affiliation [ie., doctrine].

We covenant in securing our city-wide borders as Gatekeepers, we will not allow schisms, disputes, unkind criticism or defamation of character in our midst. We covenant as fellow shepherds and brethren in the Messiah, we will not tolerate the unethical practice of sheep stealing and recycling of disgruntled members without conferring one with another. We agree that these matters will be handled in the spirit of reconciliation.

We covenant as Gatekeepers that life and death are in the power of the tongue. Therefore, we will speak edification, exhortation, and comfort to our city. We covenant to deal with a fallen brother or sister in love according to Biblical principles as stated in Galatians 6:1. "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

We consciously covenant to fellowship together covering one another in the spirit of prayer, protection and care. As we covenant to pastor our city, we commit our gifts, callings and resources to our brethren to strengthen the work of the Kingdom of God. I_______________as a Gatekeeper, sign this covenant in commitment to the articles above herein stated.

Reports say the leaders who had come together were very comfortable with each other because they had spent the last year building relationships, networking, praying together, and working on programs together. Dr. Schoch said, "No one asked me what I believe about this or that doctrine." Tommy Tenney read from Nehemiah 3 where each man found his place repairing the walls and gates. Pastors stood arm in arm, black, white, Hispanic, Jewish, weeping and crying for the city. Others hugged one another in tears of reconciliation, repairing the breach. "It's no longer church as normal," said the report. "God is changing the mechanics and the agenda" of the Church.

So already we have religious leaders voluntarily joining together to form a single massive "city church". Already we have religious leaders signing solemn and binding oaths (covenants) before God not to discuss doctrine—sound doctrine that is—and not to allow anybody else to do so either. Of course, all this is being done under the guise of love, unity and "taking our cities" for Christ. All attempts at correcting false doctrine will now be viewed as "schisms, disputes, unkind criticism or defamation of character".

Also, please note that those who are part of the churches that signed this Satanic oath will no longer be able to leave their church and go to another local one without the approval of both pastors. Failing to have the consent of both pastors will now be considered "sheep stealing" and "recycling of disgruntled members". The way this oath is worded, there is no possibility that those seeking to leave one congregation and go to another one may have a good reason to do so—such as being led by the Spirit. It is simply assumed that all who seek to switch churches will be "disgruntled" members.

Moreover, we can see clearly the new paradigm approach to sin. These pastors pledged to deal with a "fallen" brother or sister in love, according to Biblical principles as stated in Galatians 6:1. A person who is simply "overtaken in a fault" is not quite the same as one who has "fallen." It may be proper enough to deal with each other's "faults" according to Galatians 6:1, but when someone has "fallen" (a term which implies indulgence in blatant sin with no intention of repenting), we are not to deal with them in the same manner. Rather, we are to deal with them "according to Biblical principles as stated in "First Corinthians 5:4‑6 & 9‑11.

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump...I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

I. Corinthians 5:4-6 & 9-11

Right now the new priesthood has its spiritual guns aimed at all who refuse to participate in this apostasy. In their eyes we are rebels; we are cancer cells in the body of Christ; we are the Antichrist and we are being marked for future reference. Once their new government is in full control of the Church they intend to deal with us accordingly. In fact, they believe as "God's government on earth" they have a divine mandate to purge all rebellion, first out of the Church, then out of the world. After the Church has been judged and cleansed by them, they intend to turn their attention to the rest of the nations and (with the help of Latter Rain power) install this same form of government all over the planet. This whole scenario is nothing but Babylonish confusion and it's going to backfire on them in a big way.

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...And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Revelation 17:3, 16-17

Friends, this is where the current revival is headed. It is helping to produce a Global, apostate church that is currently supported by (rides) the Global government. At present the real power brokers of Globalism are simply using deluded Christians to help them get what they want. But sooner or later this Global government will be able to exercise absolute authority over all the nations that are part of it. When that day comes, it will turn on the Global church that people like Rick Joyner, Peter Wagner, Cindy Jacobs, and all the rest of today's revival leaders have helped to build and will burn it with fire.

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: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 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.

Revelation 17:4-6

Before the Global government destroys it, the new priesthood will have taken full control of the Church and will have begun persecuting those who refuse to submit to them. For by then they will have become an integral part of the woman who rides the beast—and that woman is "drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus". While most of those who have been drawn into this Global Church (via the revival) will probably never persecute anybody themselves personally, they will be guilty of supporting the new apostolic government which will do the actual persecuting.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Matthew 7:21-23

Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

Luke 13:24-27

If all this seems too incredible to believe, it's because we really do not take the words of Jesus Christ seriously. The Lord clearly warned us that it's possible for "Christians" to become so deluded by demon spirits that, without their realizing it, they end up serving Antichrist instead of Jesus Christ. He warned us that many people would stand before Him one day and come to this horrible realization. Many of that "many" will undoubtedly come from this present generation, for multitudes of today's believers are being drawn away from Jesus Christ to a counterfeit Christ. Yet they have no idea such a terrible change is taking place. This is precisely why they will be shocked when they stand before the Lord and hear Him say, "I know you not".

The term "know" is not a reference to head knowledge about God and the things of salvation. It is a reference to spiritual union. While these Christians have been running to and fro, talking and preaching about Jesus, evangelism, revival, etc., while they have been doing all sorts of mighty works and manifesting supernatural power in His name, they have actually been in union with another spirit, another Jesus. If we don't want to end up like these poor deluded souls we must not allow ourselves to come under the influence of the demonic revelations and teachings they are spreading or the spiritual power they are imparting.

There are still quite a few believers in the churches who have a gut feeling that something has gone drastically wrong. They don't see the whole picture or understand the entire scheme of the new priesthood, but they see certain pieces. They see enough to know something evil is happening, yet they are choosing to stay in their churches anyway for various reasons—the most common one being the goal of helping others see what they are seeing. This approach may appear to be noble, but it is really foolish and actually quite dangerous. The longer you fellowship with those who have given themselves to this spirit, the harder it becomes to separate from them.

The most effective way to be a testimony against what is going on in the churches is to separate from it altogether. This is when others see we are really serious about what we believe because it is painful to separate from those we love, whether they be Christian friends or family. Those who can be helped will start to be affected by this kind of testimony. Those who can't be helped will not respond to us regardless of what we do or say.

There is still time to "come out"—but time is running short. Things are beginning to take shape very quickly and soon the last line will be drawn in the sand. When that line is drawn, those who have not heeded the call will find themselves too weak to flee. Like the proverbial frog who slowly boils to death without realizing it because the water heats up so gradually, they are allowing Satan to slowly weave his web of confusion around their minds. Many will wait until it is too late to flee and like Samson of old, will find that their spiritual strength is gone. Brethren, the time to separate from this deception and from those who are part of it is now.

Brother Daniel

Where Are The Real Apostles?

When you begin to expose what is happening in the Church right now, the first thing people usually ask is: do you believe there are true apostles today? The answer to that question is yes and no. No, there are no apostles in the sense that the Twelve were apostles. No, there are no apostles who have the authority to re-lay another foundation under the Church. That job was given to a specific group of men. They fulfilled that task and in the process they gave us the New Testament. This kind of apostle will never be restored. Also, there are no apostles who have authority to rule over the entire body of Christ. These kind of apostles never were true apostles, so the Spirit of God would never "restore" them—only Satan would.

However, this does not necessarily mean there are no apostles today. Aside from establishing the Church on its original foundation, there are functions which were carried out by New Testament apostles which are still valid for today. For example, any one who has raised up a new church where there has not been one can be considered an apostle to that congregation—though most of the time we call these people "church planters" or "missionaries".

The problem with the term "apostle" is that it has been hijacked by heretics and false prophets who have redefined it. There was never a time when God's true apostles ruled over the Church like today's "restored" prophets and apostles are planning to do. It was never God's will that the body of Christ be subject to a pyramid structure of ministers. But to the average person today, that is precisely what the term means and that is precisely what is being "restored". Never again will you be able to discuss the subject of apostles without having to make it clear that you are not talking about what is now universally understood by that term.

All of the apostles I know agree that a primary role of apostles is to lead the Body of Christ into aggressive spiritual warfare."

Peter Wagner

Notice that Peter Wagner says "all" the apostles he knows (and he knows a lot of them!) are into "aggressive spiritual warfare". That means all the apostles YOU know are into aggressive spiritual warfare—and aggressive spiritual warfare means they are Restorationists who are attempting a global overthrow of Satan. Thus, all the apostles you have ever probably heard of are in fact false apostles. We are not saying these people are irrevocably damned and on their way to Hell—though that is certainly a possibility. They may be, or at one time may have been, genuine believers—only God knows. What we are saying is that presently they are in total delusion, for they have not been ordained by God to do what they are doing. They have made themselves apostles.

One defender of the up-and-coming apostolic government is Jim Buchan. In an attempt to validate the effort to overthrow the current order, he says the objections people have to what's happening are not valid, and that these objections can best be answered by looking again at the list of functions of an apostle. He then lists these various functions and explains what they mean. These points need to be examined more closely because they are being "spun" by a pro-restoration individual, and these people are experts at deceiving us with terms and ideas that appear to be Scriptural, but which are in fact error.

"Un-reached Areas - Although the gospel has gone out to some degree to every nation of the earth, there are still an estimated 16,000 "people groups" that are geographically or linguistically isolated and have never even heard of Jesus Christ."

This function of an apostle is still valid as long as you are talking about missionary activity and leadership over those works which have been raised up by the individual ministry. It has nothing to do with apostles setting themselves up as head of the entire Church like some kind of Roman Catholic High Council—which is exactly what Mr. Buchan has in mind. The fact is, practically none of the people who today claim to be apostles have ever raised up churches in "un-reached" areas. Rather, they are trying to take control of fellowships that have been raised up by others, and which have been in operation for years. This is diametrically opposed to the way a true apostle moves, for Paul said: "It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation" (NIV Romans 15:20).

"Foundation Laying - Many churches in America and all over the world have never really been established on a solid biblical foundation. They have been built upon human traditions and human opinions, but not upon Christ Himself and His eternal Word."

The claim that many churches have not been "established on a solid biblical foundation" is patently false. Every true New Testament fellowship, be it Fundamentalist or Pentecostal, has been based on the foundation of what Jesus accomplished at Calvary. Of course it is true that many people are building "traditions and human opinions" on top of that true foundation. But this is not the same as not having a proper foundation to begin with. What Mr. Buchan is talking about is the fact that many churches have not yet allowed these false apostles and prophets to lay their counterfeit foundation over top of the original true foundation of Jesus Christ—and hopefully this will remain true of many churches!

"Training Leaders - Today the apostolic function of training leaders has been largely replaced by seminaries and Bible schools. Appointing the leaders of local churches has been made a matter of congregational voting, selection by a denominational hierarchy, or ambitious aspiring young preachers simply starting their own churches and appointing themselves the pastors. The result has often been that leaders are put in places of responsibility that they are not really called to by God, and are not adequately equipped to fulfill. They may have been good students at the seminary, but are likely to miss the kind of personal training and character development that Timothy received from Paul."

Mr. Buchan says the "apostolic function of training leaders has been largely replaced by seminaries". What then is the new priesthood offering as an alternative? They are offering us more "schools" run by men. Just shell out a few hundred dollars and in a fairly short time you can become a genuine, "certified" apostle. Then you can take your seat with the rest of the Apostolic Council Of Prophetic Elders who are busy usurping the headship of Jesus Christ over His Church.

All these people have done is set up their own brand of seminary, which is filled with worse doctrinal error than most "old-order" Bible schools. Hardly the ideal model of apostolic training! So, what's the difference between being trained in a denominational Bible College or one of these new Wagner-type schools? Both kinds of institutions are run by men and have curriculums that were created by men.

Technically speaking, the most important credential of an apostle is not the miracles he performs or the wiz-bang evangelization program he has invented. Rather, the essential thing that makes an apostle an apostle is that he has been personally trained by the Lord Jesus Christ (not by a bunch of self-appointed prophets and apostles). It is God who calls a man, equips him, trains him, ordains him and uses him in ministry. Certainly there is a place for education and mental preparation. We are not denying this. But to think we can go to a "school" to become an "apostle" is ludicrous! What training did Peter and John have? Who called Paul? Which seminary did he attend? God is our Employer and the Holy Spirit our Teacher. This is especially true when it comes to ministry.

A true apostle will have a history with God, which will consist of years (not weeks or months) of training on the backside of the desert. He will have gone through the Holy Spirit's school of hard knocks—judgment of his flesh, tribulation, suffering, etc.—and as a result, he will be intimately familiar with the character of God, the Word of God and the ways of God. He will never demand recognition or submission—much less blind submission!—and he won't desire to be on center stage. In fact, he will gladly fade into the wood work at the first opportunity. He will never usurp the headship of Jesus Christ over an individual or a fellowship. Most importantly, his deepest desire will be to see the day when his services are no longer necessary because those he has been helping have grown up spiritually.

Apply these standards to today's apostles and you'll be lucky to find one that fits the bill. And speaking of bills, how much money did Jesus charge for the training He gave His apostles? What tuition fee did brother Timothy have to pay Paul? Try enrolling in one of these new order "Apostolic Training Centers" for free and see what happens! You'll find that their burning desire to see apostolic leaders raised up suddenly vanishes. This is because, contrary to their much boasting, they are no different from those nasty old denominations. Just like the denominations, they are building their own kingdom, and just like the denominations, they need to rake in tons of money to achieve their goals. God doesn't need your money to establish His kingdom—that's why His "training program" isn't for sale.

Mr. Buchan also made reference to "ambitious young preachers appointing themselves pastors". What's the difference between ambitious young preachers appointing themselves pastors and ambitious middle-aged preachers appointing themselves apostles? Also, how does Mr. Buchan and all the rest of the new priesthood account for the expansion of the Church over the last 2,000 years—all of which has been accomplished without their presence?

"Problem Solving - It is clear that local churches frequently encounter problems that they have difficulty solving without outside assistance. Pastors are often without any personal accountability and often have no one to give them input regarding church problems. Sometimes local leaders have blind spots and cannot even see the shortcomings that exist. There is still a need today for men of apostolic authority to pierce through the blindness, ignorance and pride, speaking the Word of God to areas of sin, imbalance, false doctrine, division and other problems."

Mr. Buchan says that because local churches have problems, they should turn to apostles to straighten them out. While it is true God used the apostle Paul to help get congregations back on track that were going off doctrinally or morally, it is just as true that he did not consider this to be the ideal situation, and he certainly didn't seek to make a permanent religious order out of it. That is why he said what he did to the Corinthian assembly:

"If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?”

I. Corinthians 6:4-5

Considering the present spiritual condition of the prophetic and apostolic movements—which manifest low morals, worldly lifestyles, a Satanic lust for power, are presently engaged in spreading the doctrines of demons and are also involved in occultic practices—they might want to think about cleaning their own house first before they set themselves up as "problem solvers" for the entire Church! When they finally do succeed in what they are trying to accomplish, you will have a perfect example of the blind leading the blind, since they themselves are plagued with blindness, ignorance, pride, sin, false doctrine, division "and other problems".

"Unity - The disunity of the Body of Christ is still a scandal that robs us of the full blessing of God and undercuts our testimony to the lost. Men of genuine apostolic heart have a burden to see God's people come together as a united family and a united army. They see an overview of the universal church around the world and can sense the heartbeat of what the Lord is speaking. The vision is sorely needed in the church today, and only men of apostolic insight and authority can bring it about in a significant way."

Since the new paradigm definition of "unity" is simply agreement on subjective paranormal experiences and not doctrinal truth, any unity they produce can only be a counterfeit. The very fact that these people think the way to produce true unity is to impose a pyramid-style government on the Church shows that they have absolutely no idea what true spiritual unity is all about.

The apostle Paul gave us the highest revelation of spiritual unity in his analogy of the human body (I. Corinthians 12). He said the operation of the human body is an illustration of the body of Christ. So consider the unity of the human body. Your toes never get near your face, yet they both function in perfect harmony. Your nose never gets near your liver, yet they function in perfect harmony. The unity that exists between the various members of your physical body is not a unity of proximity. It is based on one thing—that each member be where it is supposed to be and that each one does what it is supposed to do.

It is the same with the body of Christ. Unity is based on whether or not we are where we are supposed to be and doing what we are supposed to be doing. It depends entirely on whether or not we are truly submitting to the Head. If you are being led by the Spirit and obeying the Spirit, you are in perfect unity with every other member of the body of Christ who is doing the same. It is immaterial whether or not you ever see them, talk to them, or even know them. In order to be brought to the unity of the faith, what is necessary is that each and every member of the body of Christ learn how to be totally "led by the Spirit."

Spiritual unity has nothing to do with religious groups joining ranks with other groups, or with getting everyone into close physical proximity of each other, or with everyone coming under the same kind of ministry, or with everyone becoming part of the same denomination or organization. Spiritual unity and division are not issues of our relationship with each other. They are issues of our relationship with the Head.

When you are walking in absolute obedience to Jesus Christ you cannot be divided from other saints who are doing the same. It is impossible. But when we begin walking in disobedience, not only is the unity between us and the Head broken, the unity between us and those who are still walking in obedience is also broken. If you are a "big toe" in the body of Christ and you stop being led by the Head and obeying the Head—guess what? Even though you are still connected to the "little toe" right next to you, you are no longer in unity with it. We can live in the same house, go to the same church, believe exactly the same doctrines, pursue exactly the same religious goals and all the rest of it; this will not stop us from becoming divided because spiritual unity does not rest on any of these things. It rests on being led by and obeying the Spirit.

"Supernatural - We live in a day when God is moving mightily to restore signs and wonders to the church. For too long we have relied upon our intellect, human wisdom, and persuasive words, the very things Paul put no confidence in: "My message and my preaching were not in wise and persuasive words, but with demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power (I Corinthians 2:4,5)."

Mr. Buchan says that for too long we have "relied upon our intellect, human wisdom and persuasive words" to further the gospel. He says Paul "put no confidence" in these things and then he quotes First Corinthians 2:4-5. While it is true Paul preached the gospel "with demonstration of the Spirit's power," we have to remember what that "demonstration" looked like. Exactly what kind of miracles flowed from Paul's ministry? Was it the bizarre kind of stuff we see in today's revival circles—holy laughter, spiritual drunkenness, making animal sounds, being thrown across the room like a rag doll, having spiritual birth pangs, and all manner of paranormal nonsense? I don't think so! Neither Paul or any other normal Christian would associate these kinds of demonic manifestations with the Holy Spirit. Thus, the very "miracles" to which today's prophets and apostles point as a validation of their ministry proves the exact opposite. It shows that under the guise of "ministry" they are causing multitudes of God's people to be overtaken with demon spirits.

Again, it is true that some people (especially Fundamentalists) have relied upon their "intellect, human wisdom and persuasive words" to further the gospel because they deny the present-day supernatural aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit. But Mr. Buchan is simply using this truth as a diversionary tactic. For you see, even though he and other revival leaders seem to down-play doctrine and emphasize following the Spirit, in reality they are very concerned about doctrine. Indeed, they are busy replacing the doctrine of the Scripture with their own doctrine, which is a mixture of Restorationism and Dominionsm. Since they are being guided by spirits of deception, they are very good at obscuring the fact that they are causing millions (maybe billions!) of believers to trade one kind of doctrine for another kind of doctrine.

This has got to be one of the biggest religious scams in the history of the Church, yet we don't see what they are doing! They have us convinced that they are helping us learn how to trade the practice of following mere "doctrine" for the practice of following "the Spirit" when in reality they are helping us trade the practice of following sound doctrine and the Holy Spirit for the practice of following false doctrine and religious demon spirits!

So, where are God's true apostles today? That's a good question. They must be out there somewhere because the Scripture says they exist. They are probably scattered throughout the body of Christ, going about the business God has assigned them very quietly and unobtrusively. They probably don't call themselves apostles. In fact, many of them probably don't even realize they are apostles. They aren't the heads of big ministries or para-church organizations. They don't run "Apostolic Training Centers" or sell "Apostolic Study Bibles" or have their own "Apostolic TV shows"—and they certainly are not involved in networking their brethren into the Global Antichrist church. In fact, when you consider that one of the most important functions of a New Testament apostle was to expose false apostles and the doctrines they were trying to introduce into the Church, it's quite possible that right now God's true apostles may be some of those who are sounding an alarm about what's happening in the Church. (No, I do not think I am an apostle.)

The real question isn't: where are the true apostles today? The real question is: why are people so concerned about finding them? Dear reader: who is it that saved you when you were in sin? Who is it that convicts you now when you sin? Who is it that enables you to understand the Scripture when you read it? Who is it that has been guiding you and protecting you and causing spiritual growth to take place in your life all these years? Is it not the Spirit of God who has done all these things? Why then do we seek after men? What can an "apostle" or a "prophet" do for us that Jesus Christ can't?

The reason we are looking for apostles is because we have come under the influence of this powerful Restoration delusion, which says every fellowship must either have an apostle or be under the covering of an apostle. That is pure theological garbage and it came straight from the mind and heart of Satan! The Scripture doesn't say every church has to have an apostle or be under the authority of an apostle. It simply says the gift of the apostle was given to the body—the whole body.

One of the major flaws in the whole Restoration scheme is that it totally ignores the Christian stream that has flowed outside the organized Church since A.D. 350. This stream never went into apostasy. It never "lost" all the things the established Church did. It never became part of Political Rome or Papal Rome and it wasn't part of the Reformation because it didn't need to be "reformed". Consequently, God's apostles don't need to be restored because they have always existed. They may not have been recognized as apostles, they may not have called themselves apostles, but they have always been with us.

What we are facing today is not a choice between true doctrine and blatantly false doctrine. We are at the end of this present age, and because this is so, we have moved into a whole new level of deception, which is extremely cunning. What we are faced with today is the choice between true doctrine and it's perfect Satanic counterfeit. It is not a choice between light and darkness, but a choice between true light and counterfeit light—and this whole idea of restored apostles and prophets is part of the counterfeit.

Friends, if the Lord sees that you need to run across one of His true apostles for some particular reason He will cause it to happen. Until then, forget about them because most of the people who are busy trying to find apostles or become apostles or follow apostles are in serious delusion. They are doing just what God cried out against through Jeremiah, one of His true prophets:

For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water...A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

Jeremiah 2:13 & 5:30-31

A Ministry Of Arrogance

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.

II. Timothy 2:15-16

One of the more "profane and vain babblings" coming from revival leaders is the 5-fold ministry teaching. Unfortunately, revivalists are not the only ones who have been duped by this error. Various streams within the Church have embraced it, as have many of those who have left the churches.

When you tell people who believe this teaching that it's a false doctrine, their reaction is similar to the one you get when you tell those who believe in a Pre-trib rapture that the Church is going through the Tribulation. To them it's incredible that someone would not believe the 5-fold ministry doctrine. It is so ingrained in us we never even consider the possibility it could be an error. Well, not only is the 5-fold ministry teaching a false doctrine, it is an arrogant doctrine which is absolutely contrary to the spirit of humility that undergirds the Christian faith. This arrogance can be seen in the following quote:

"We have entered into a period where the Lord is restoring and gathering the Five Fold Ministry. These restored leaders will operate in the spirit of Elijah, gathering and bringing to maturity those who are willing to pay the price and go on with the Lord....No one will come to maturity independent from the restored Five Fold Ministers. God is establishing order and the river of God's grace is being diverted and will flow from the head through the restored Five Fold Ministry to the body. Those that are on their own will not receive the abundance of grace that will be available to bring them to maturity and will even experience less grace in their lives than they have had in the past. Their lamps will be low on oil, they will have almost no discernment and they will be open to deception. These will be foolish virgins."

"The Two Trumpets"

Tommy Thompson

Regardless of how humble they may try to act, deep down inside, those who push this error are thinking what Mr. Thompson frankly states—"no one can come to maturity independent from the 5-Fold ministry". Those who remain "on their own" (refuse to come under their "covering") are seen by them as "foolish virgins" whose lamps will soon run "low on oil" because they are no longer receiving the "grace" (some say life) of God. Why are they no longer receiving God's grace? Because that grace has now been "diverted" to the ministry. It no longer flows directly from Jesus Christ (the Head) to the individual parts of His body. It now flows "through the restored 5-fold ministry to the body".

Not only is the 5-fold ministry doctrine an arrogant doctrine, unworthy of any Christian's acceptance, it is a blasphemous doctrine because it elbows Jesus right out of the picture for all except those who are part of this ministry. Many times we have heard the 5-fold ministry likened unto a "hand" (which has 5 extremities). In this analogy, the hand is the organ that takes care of the rest of the body. It feeds the body, it washes the body, it clothes (covers) the body, it protects the body, etc. With the "Hand Ministry" taking such good care of us, who needs Jesus?

The real issue in all of this is the proper role of spiritual authority. The role of spiritual authority is so foundational to Christianity, much more is at stake here than just the personal opinion of this writer. There is no more fundamental question one can ask in spiritual things than, "By what authority?" (Matt. 21:23). In fact, one could make the argument that the entire Protestant Reformation was fought over this single issue.

Who speaks for God in the Church—the Church hierarchy or the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer? Who infallibly represents and reveals God to the members of Christ's body—religious leaders or the Scripture? During the Reformation hundreds of thousands of believers shed their blood to overthrow the very ecclesiastical tyranny these new apostles and prophets are trying to establish. Satan is taking the authority that God has given every believer who is a "member in particular" of His body, out of their hands and is putting it into the hands of the 5-fold ministry.

This over emphasis on submission to human authorities colors everything God is doing in this hour, and in fact turns it into a counterfeit. For instance, today God is raising up an army of overcomers who will be fit to ride into battle with King Messiah when He personally returns to Jerusalem. You will hear this army referred to quite often in revival circles, but what they are talking about and what God is actually doing are two different things. How can you tell the difference? Well, it's not really that hard.

First, they are raising their counterfeit army to establish the kingdom before Jesus actually returns. Second, at the head of this counterfeit army stands today's restored prophets and apostles who are even now calling themselves "generals". Since the army they are forming is no different than a regular military outfit—minus the guns—the issue of strict obedience to the generals is very important. Everyone in their army must walk lockstep according to their direction. To accomplish this they have established a chain of command.

In stark contrast, at the head of God's genuine army stands Jesus Christ. His army has no chain of command because there is no need for one. In His army the Commander in Chief is instantly available to lead every soldier personally. All you have to do to be part of this army is learn how to be "led by the Spirit". But Satan doesn't want believers to be part of God's true army, so he is busy establishing a counterfeit one. He has sent these deceived ministers into our midst who talk about God's army, who talk about helping the body of Christ come to full maturity, but who are in fact being used by Satan to make sure we never reach that maturity as the result of submitting to their false authority.

The New Testament teaches that the proper role of government in the Church's life is similar to the attitude of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Government is necessary, but it should be limited as much as possible. Just as an over-reaching government intrudes upon the freedom of its citizens, so God cannot maximize His working in the lives of His people in an atmosphere of oppression, manipulation and authoritarianism. In the life of the Early Church the primary role of leadership was to be examples to the flock, not lords over it (I. Pet. 5:3). That is still true today, but not for the new priesthood. They want to RULE the house of God. This is why one verse of Scripture you will never hear dropping from their lips is I. John 2:27:

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

The new priesthood does not want you and me to depend upon the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us and feed us and teach us. They want us to depend on them to do all these things, for the more we depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us and discern the truth for us, the more their doctrines, revelations and visions are reveled for what they are—religious delusion.

That the 5-fold ministry teaching is unscriptural, that it in fact can only be supported by wrongly dividing the Scripture, is easy to demonstrate. Apart from Ephesians 4:11, there is not another verse in the entire New Testament that supports the idea of a special "5-fold" class of ministry. What you have to do in order to support this error is hang Ephesians 4:11 out there all by itself and deliberately ignore (or maybe explain away?) what the rest of the New Testament has to say about gifts and ministries.

To take a single verse of Scripture and build an entire doctrine around it, especially one as serious in its consequences as that of the 5-fold ministry, is contrary to even the most basic principles of Biblical exegesis. For this reason, it has always struck us as incredible that so many end-time brethren who claim to have a superior revelation of what God is doing have swallowed this error.

One of the reasons people get deceived in this area is because the 5-fold ministry teaching contains a large dose of truth—that's what makes is such a successful counterfeit. It's true that God raises up leaders in the Church to help the young in spirit (by being an example to them, not by becoming their head or covering). It is also true that the function of all true Spirit-led ministry is the edification and the equipping of the saints. Moreover, it is true that God still calls believers to be apostles and prophets and evangelists and teachers and preachers. What is not true is that these five offices constitute a special class of ministry within the larger role of ministry laid out in Scripture. What is not true is that only these five were given to equip the saints, or that only these five carry any real spiritual authority.

Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

I. Corinthians 12:27-31

As we mentioned in Part One of this study, what Paul said in the above passage is often side-stepped because it puts the lie to all this arrogance. Here Paul lists some of the gifts God has given to the Church in their order of importance. Obviously this is not an exhaustive list, but it is still instructive.

Now think for a moment. If the apostle Paul believed and taught the 5-fold ministry doctrine like so many claim he did, wouldn't this be the perfect place to mention it? He is writing to believers in Corinth who are fighting over whose gift or ministry is more important and which one carries more authority. In order to straighten them out he says: "God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues".

Why didn't brother Paul say: "God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly evangelists, after that pastors and teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, then helps, governments, diversities of tongues? If the 5-fold scheme of ministry is what Paul believed and taught, why did he only mention 3 of the 5 offices listed in Ephesians 4:11? Why would he fail to even mention evangelists and pastors? These two offices in particular have been the most important offices in the Church for the last 2000 years, yet Paul didn't even mention them! The reason he didn't mention them is because he did not teach a 5-fold ministry doctrine.

If we wanted to follow the example of those who are pushing this error we could hang this passage out there all by itself and proclaim that the Word of God plainly teaches the office of evangelist and pastor are no longer necessary. After all, Paul didn't mention them in this list—that must mean we don't really need them. Moreover, based on this list, we should reject the "5-fold" scheme of ministry and adopt the one above, which is an "8-fold" scheme.

Would you (or anyone else for that matter) accept such a preposterous way of interpreting the above passage? Of course you wouldn't. Why then do we listen to ministers who do exactly the same thing with Ephesians 4:11? They are wrongly dividing the word of truth. They are deliberately ignoring the whole counsel of the New Testament, choosing instead to build their entire doctrine on the twisted interpretation of one isolated verse of Scripture. The idea that the "big five" are the only ones that carry any real spiritual authority, or that they are the only ones God gave to the Church for the purpose of equipping the saints, is so blatantly unscriptural it's a joke.

And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.

Acts 14:23

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

Titus 1:5

Paul said he ordained "elders" in the various churches he established. Not only did he himself ordain elders in these churches, he instructed Titus to do likewise. Now why, if Paul taught a strictly 5-fold ministry scheme, do you suppose he referred to these leaders as elders instead of apostles or prophets or teachers or preachers or evangelists? Did elders have spiritual authority? Were they capable of equipping the saints?

Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 11:29-30

Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

I. Timothy 5:17

Notice that when the disciples in Antioch decided to send relief money to the brethren in Jerusalem, they didn't send it to the apostles or prophets or teachers or preachers or evangelists there, they sent it to the "elders". Also, Paul said the elders that "rule" well should be honored, especially those who "labor in doctrine". Elders had spiritual authority (ruled) and taught doctrine—functions that would certainly qualify them as "equipping" the saints. There goes your "5-fold" ministry scheme, right out the window. The New Testament speaks of 6 kinds of ministries that are for the equipping of the saints. In an effort to get around this obvious reality some have suggested that the term "elder" was not really any kind of "gift" (office), but was rather a generic term for one of the five offices listed in Ephesians 4:11.

And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.

Acts 21:17-18

When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

Acts 15:2

Well, it certainly wasn't a generic term for apostles. When people went up to Jerusalem to have meetings and get things straightened out, the Scripture says they went up to the apostles and the elders.

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and in ordain elders every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

Titus 1:5-9

While Paul is instructing Titus to ordain "elders" in the churches, all of a sudden he starts talking about the requirements of being a "bishop". The casual switch by Paul would seem to imply that if the term elder was a generic term for any one, it would be for the office of bishop—which means that either way you look at it, now you've got a "6-fold" ministry scheme going.

Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Philippians 1:1

Please notice that when writing to the saints at Philippi, Paul and Timothy did not refer to elders (a possible generic term) or the apostles or the prophets or the preachers or the teachers or the evangelists. Instead, they address the letter to the "bishops" and the "deacons" of the Philippian Church. Thus, the New Testament reveals that bishops and deacons functioned as leaders of some kind in at least some of the local congregations—and if leaders, they also had spiritual authority and were equipping the saints.

In an effort to get around this reality, some say the revelation or understanding that there was a specifically anointed five-part ministry in the body gradually dawned on Paul, and that by the time he finally wrote his letter to the Ephesians this revelation had been fully formed in his mind—that's why he didn't mention them until then.

This is stretching it quite a bit, but even if this were the case, it still doesn't work, for Paul wrote the Philippian letter after his letter to the Ephesians. Now, wouldn't you think that if he just got this brand new revelation about there being five specially anointed ministries in the body of Christ he would have mentioned it in the Philippian letter? I mean, when was the last time God gave you a super-duper, totally awesome revelation and you didn't share it the first opportunity you got?

Friends, the 5-fold ministry scheme never entered Paul's mind. It is not taught in the Scripture. It only exists in the minds of religious leaders—and it didn't even enter their minds until 1948! It was one of the new revelations that came out of the New Order Of The Latter Rain movement in Canada. It didn't come from the reverent study of the Scripture, it came by way of supernatural visions and prophesies.

Separation The Greatest Sin

"The Biblical admonition to 'forsake not the assembling’ was not just referring to meetings, but the joining together of the different parts of the body. The Lord sees only one Church. The Lord's people are going to be freed from the Spirit of division which emphasizes differences instead of our common purpose. A severe judgement is coming upon all who separate instead of join, who are in fact building for themselves instead of for Him. This includes individuals, local churches, as well as denominations and different streams flowing within the Church...Presently the different streams are in the Lord's purpose, but ultimately all of them will flow together into one river. At that time this river will swell to become an irresistible force before which no other religion, philosophy, or doctrine can stand."

Rick Joyner

"The Harvest"

Right now the primary job of the new 5-fold priesthood is to demolish any and all forms of "division" within the body of Christ, thus bringing us to the "unity of the faith". Separating from other believers—regardless of the reason—is viewed by them as the greatest evil you can possibly commit, for they are anticipating the day when all the various streams within the Church "will flow together into one river" and "become an irresistible force before which no other religion, philosophy, or doctrine can stand".

The pressure to join together to achieve "our common purpose" is becoming incredible. Of course, the common purpose to which Mr. Joyner refers is none other than the great Latter Rain revival/harvest. The common purpose is the Toronto Blessing. The common purpose is the Brownsville Revival. All who refuse to join together in this common purpose are guilty of promoting the "spirit of division" and of "emphasizing differences" instead of the things we have in common. According to him, all who refuse to join together in this common goal are building their own kingdoms instead of God's kingdom.

In the minds of revival leaders, separating instead of joining is proof that we are putting our own little selfish opinions above the common good of the rest of the body of Christ, and ultimately above the common good of the whole unsaved world—since in the long run their being blessed is dependent on our reaching visible unity. We are doing the very same thing cancer cells do.

"Failure to integrate into larger structures indicates a tendency towards isolation and therefore reveals an unhealthy condition or malfunction...The condition expresses itself in many ways: sectarianism, fear, doubt, guilt, selfishness. If a cell turns and rejects the physiological structure of which it is a part; if a person turns and rejects the family of which he is a part; or if a family turns and rejects the community of which it is a part; the rejection indicates an unhealthy condition or some sort of malfunction…Cancer is a biological example of what I am talking about. Cancerous cells want to live, but they refuse to integrate with other cells; they will not function with the whole. They draw life from the body, they multiply, but they will not integrate with others."

Charles Simpson

"Integrity: Where Unity Begins"

New Wine Magazine; June 1983

According to Mr. Simpson, separated brethren are doing to the body of Christ what cancer cells do to the human body. We refuse to "integrate with other cells" or "function with the whole". Of course, we all know what we do to cancer cells, don't we? We cut them out of the body; we destroy them. Whether or not Mr. Simpson will carry his analogy to its logical conclusion remains to be seen.

The pressure to connect or network or in some way be involved with other Christians in your area just keeps building. In the past this pressure has been manifested as a friendly exhortation. It was presented as something Christians should want to do. Those who didn’t jump on the unity bandwagon were not necessarily viewed as "unhealthy" or "malfunctioning" parts of the body of Christ. Neither were we viewed as "cancer cells" in the Church.

However, in the past decade this friendly exhortation to join together has become an authoritarian demand with threats of retribution and God's judgment for non-compliance. And those who still refuse to get with the unity program are not only viewed as unhealthy, malfunctioning cancer cells in the body of Christ, we are also said to be "Pharisees" and "God mockers" who are "anti-anointing" because we refuse to agree that crawling around the floor and barking like a dog is a "manifestation" of the Holy Spirit.

William DeArtega (one of the chief defenders of the Toronto Blessing) and Stephen Hill (chief evangelist of the Brownsville revival) have both written diatribes against those who reject the current revival. Mr. DeArtega's book was called Quenching The Spirit. In it he repeatedly calls non-revivalists modern-day Pharisees and concludes that it is we who must be removed from the Church, not the heresy which he defends.

Since those rejecting the revival are now commonly referred to as Pharisees, it is essential to understand just what a "Pharisee" is. The Lord did not have a problem with the Pharisee’s interpretation of Scripture. Their interpretation of the Law of Moses was correct—as the Lord acknowledged in Matthew 23:1-3. Rather, it was their hypocrisy that the Lord objected to, for the Pharisees added to the written Torah. They formulated endless laws, customs, and doctrines of their own, which they called the Oral Tradition, which had been passed down and added to from generation to generation, which they elevated to the same level as the authority of Moses. They then used those traditions to escape the requirements of Moses.

Thus, a modern-day Pharisee is not one who cherishes the sound doctrine in God's Word. A modern-day Pharisee is one who exalts his own extra-Biblical revelations or experiences to the same level of authority as the written Word of God, and then uses these revelations and experiences to escape the requirements of the Scripture.

Mr. Hill's book is called The God Mockers, which is his term for those who oppose the current revival. He also takes great pains to list some of the major characteristics of a God mocker:

"The second mark of a God mocker is a fear of confrontation and change. They are so stuck in religious tradition that they are closed to new revelation, The pastor who mocked God as he left the Brownsville Revival was steeped in religious legalism. He was in bondage and totally closed to the moving of the Holy Ghost. How anyone can come into a revival meeting in Brownsville and fail to feel Jesus is beyond me! I can't imagine it."

Mr. Hill defines everything that does not validate the Brownsville revival as "religious tradition." This would include many of the doctrines laid down by the original apostles, which expose the revival as Satanic. He also says God mockers are "closed to new revelation". The problem here is with his definition of new revelation. We should be open to new revelation that is in line with the written Word, but not to new revelation that is extra-Biblical, like revelations based on Numerology, Pyramidology, Psychology or Astrology (the Gospel in the Stars). Neither should we be open to new revelations that contradict the revelation of the New Testament. What Mr. Hill seems incapable of understanding is that much of the new Oral Tradition and subjective experience of the revival not only contradicts the teaching of Scripture, it contradicts the very character of God Himself. This kind of "new revelation" we don't need, thank you!

His apparent inability to understand how anyone could attend one of his meetings and not "feel" Jesus stems from the fact that he thinks he is above being deceived by demon spirits. Like the rest of his fellow revival leaders who are convinced they have established a direct line to God’s throne, he is incapable of even entertaining the possibility that he has been deceived, and that what is being felt in his meetings is another Jesus.

Certainly nobody can go to one of those meetings and not "feel" anything. The power that buzzes through the place is felt by all. What Mr. Hill saw was a Christian who could still tell the difference between the real Jesus and a demon spirit who impersonates Jesus. Discerning that the "Jesus" of the revival was not the Jesus of Scripture, he refused to "feel" (come under the power of) the counterfeit. Mr. Hill goes on to say:

"God mockers have disturbed and confused this country. Most unsaved folks are trying their best to find somebody who really lives for God. If they could just find one person who lives holy and practices what they preach, they would hove a standard, and they would get on fire for God too! However, all they find is a mockery."

If this statement isn’t the height of stupidity and spiritual pride, nothing is. Are most unsaved folks in this nation really looking for God? Is it true that all they need is to find "one person who lives holy and practices what they preach" and they will "get on fire for God"? Hardly! Most unsaved folks in this nation love the sin and iniquity they are drowning in. You could turn yourself into a flaming angel right in front of them and they still wouldn’t repent because they have been hardened by the pleasure of sin.

Mr. Hill is saying that all who refuse to jump in the river are not only unholy, they are hypocrites (do not practice what they preach). Moreover, they have "disturbed and confused this country" because they are trying to warn people that this is not a genuine revival. In reality it's the revival that is making a mockery of true Christianity! It's the revival that has disturbed, confused and divided many churches, families and individuals in this nation. He then says:

"I’ll stand alone (before God, the Judge), and you will stand alone before Him too, you will stand alone to answer for every seed of disunity and discord you have sown among the brethren, for every occasion you cursed another man’s ministry."

Mr. Hill is confident that he and his fellow revival leaders will be vindicated on the Day of Judgment, and that all the "God mockers" will answer for the things they have said against the revival. Neither he or any of the rest of these leaders have any idea what kind of damage they have done to the body of Christ. Neither do they have the slightest inkling that when they stand before God they are much more likely to hear the Lord say "depart from me ye that work iniquity" than "well done thou good and faithful servant."

He also accuses God mockers of “cursing” the ministry of revival leaders. But for the most part, those exposing the revival are simply good Bereans who are trying to stay true to God’s Word. They are not cursing the people involved, neither are they threatening them. They have focused on the revival's doctrinal error and its acceptance of occult practices. If anyone is guilty of cursing anyone, it is revival leaders themselves who are guilty. But they can't see what they are doing because they are under the power of a strong delusion.

"And Mr. Hanegraaff, I want to say to you, before you get back on national television and start spouting off at the mouth again about something of which you know nothing of, you better be careful because God says vengeance is mine saith the Lord. [shouting and clapping by the congregation] I want to say something else to you. If you want to keep any kind of semblance of a ministry, you had better back off from this revival and from what God is doing here. You had better back off because I’m going to prophesy to you that if you don’t, and you continue to put your tongue in your mouth against this move of God, within 90 days the Holy Ghost will bring you down! I said within 90 days the Holy Ghost will bring you down!"

Pastor John Kilpatrick

Brownsville Assembly of God, 4/6/97

"I think God's given up on that old rotten Sanhedrin religious crowd, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. I think they're damned and on their way to hell and I don't think there's any redemption for them...the heresy hunters that want to find a little mote of illegal doctrine in some Christian's eye and pluck that little mote out of their eye when they've got the whole forest in their own lives and in their own eyes. I say to hell with you! Oh hallelujah. Get out of God’s way, quit blocking God’s bridges or God’s gonna shoot you if I don’t! I refuse to argue any longer with any of you out there. Don’t even call me. If you want to argue doctrine, if you want to straighten out somebody over here, if you want to criticize Ken Copeland for his preaching on faith, or bad mouth Dad Hagin. Get out of my life! I don’t even want to talk to you or hear you. I don’t want to see your ugly face! Get out of my face in Jesus’ name."

Paul Crouch

TBN Praise-a-than 4/2/91

"God, we proclaim death to anything or anyone that will lift a hand against this network and this ministry that belongs to You. God, it is your work, it is your idea, it is your property, it is your airwaves, it is your world, and we proclaim death to anything that would stand in the way of God’s great voice of proclamation to the whole world. In the Name of Jesus, and all the people said Amen!"

Paul Crouch

TBN 11/7/97

"You know I’ve looked for one verse in the Bible—I just can’t seem to find it—one verse that says,'if you don’t like 'em kill 'em'. I really wish I could find it. Sometimes I wish God would give me a Holy Ghost machine gun. I'd blow your head off!"

Benny Hinn; Quoted by Dave Hunt

Signs of the Times; CIB Bulletin 1/92

"I place a curse on every man and woman that will stretch his hand against this anointing. I curse that man who dares to speak a word against this ministry."

Benny Hinn

September 1999; TBN.

"I’m telling you right now you’ll drop dead if you prohibit what God is doing!"

Rodney Howard Brown

Melodylond Christian Center; 1/17/95

Excuse me! Who is cursing who, here? Talk about hypocrisy! It's the new priesthood that is causing both division and confusion everywhere in the Church. It's they who are destroying the last remnants of Protestant Christianity. It's they who demand that we uncritically accept the new Oral Tradition they are receiving from the spirit realm above the Scripture. It's they who demand that we accept all this fleshly (and in many cases demonic) insanity they call the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. And it is they who threaten us with God’s retribution if we refuse to drop our guard and open up to this delusion.

However, at least they have one thing right—doctrine divides—and that is exactly what it’s supposed to do. If we hold to it, the truths of Scripture will separate the wheat from the chaff, truth from error, and light from darkness. In the Early Church, true apostles kept false apostles out of the assemblies by publicly exposing them and their doctrines. It was because of the spiritual diligence of true apostles that false apostles and their followers ended up leaving the fellowships.

Unfortunately we face just the opposite situation today. False prophets and apostles, as well as all manner of deceived church leaders, are in the majority in our fellowships. They have become the majority precisely because those in the assemblies have turned the control of the churches over to them and no longer hold them accountable to the written Word. The Laity has been conquered by the Clergy and have become slaves to their authority. When the Clergy goes into error—or even worse, full-blown apostasy—most of the Laity just follows them blindly and silently. Those few souls who do protest end up having to leave the assembly.

The New Charismatic Magisterium

"I personally believe that in the 1990’s and into the 21st century, as prophets and apostles are being restored back to proper order and function within the Church, many of these church councils of leading present—truth ministers will be necessary. One particular apostle or prophet or camp will never receive the whole revelation for the establishing of prophets and apostles back into the Church. Many will have visions (even of Jesus), dreams, rhemas, angelic visitations and supernatural personal experiences and sovereign moves of the Holy Spirit in their meetings. But doctrines that claim to be binding on all Christians must not be established by only one apostle, prophet, or camp. There must be meetings of a Church council with other leaders of past and present restorational streams of truth."

Bishop Bill Hamon

"Apostles, Prophets and the Coming Moves of God"

Mr. Bill Hamon is recognized by almost all restoration people as the "father" of the modern prophetic movement, out of which sprang the modern apostolic movement. Since he has been critical in shaping the views of the new priesthood, it is interesting to see what kind of vision he has for the coming apostolic government.

In one of the many books he has written, he explains how the new priesthood intends to set up a Charismatic version of the Roman Catholic Magisterium that will decide all matters of faith and practice. For those not familiar with the term "Magisterium," it is a Roman Catholic term that refers to the church's collective authority residing in its Bishops, councils and ultimately the Pope. It has the authority to formulate doctrine and transmit it to the flock. Since most of the doctrine it formulates is considered infallible, the Magisterium's teaching in effect becomes the Bible for the average Catholic. When there is a contradiction between what the Scripture says and what the Magisterium teaches, the Scripture is set aside.

What Mr. Hamon and his new priesthood are setting up is a Protestant version of the Roman Magisterium, which they are calling the 5-fold ministry. This combined ministry will have the authority to formulate new doctrines and they will be binding on all Christians. Moreover, these new doctrines will be based on the visions, dreams, rhemas (words of revelation), angelic visitations and supernatural personal experiences of the new priesthood.

Please notice that the Scripture was the only thing not mentioned as being one of the ways the new council will determine matters of faith and practice. When the teachings, revelations, visions or other supernatural experiences of this new Magisterium conflicts with the Scripture, we are expected to set the Scripture aside and follow their collective authority.

This is why Mr. Hamon says the proper order and function of the coming government must not be established by the prophecy, dreams or personal spiritual experiences of any private (single) individual, but must also be approved by the other apostles. He assumes individuals can be deceived but not the collective (5-fold) ministry. He continues:

"When the five-fold ministers come together to consider doctrines and practices this way, they will need to keep several areas of insight in mind: (1) The claimed revelation from God; (2) The fruit of the ministry among those who have received the doctrine or practice; (3) The supernatural working of God accompanying it; (4) The logos [written] and rhema word of God application and authority for the doctrine or practice; and (5) The witness of the Spirit and the unified consent of those present."

At least this time he includes the Scripture in the program. But even though he says the Logos will be consulted, as we have already seen, these people constantly manipulate the Scripture so it will conform to the revelations they are getting from the spirit realm. Moreover, since this new Charismatic Magisterium is going to be basing their new doctrines on mystical visions and prophesies, just how good is their level of accuracy? Well, it's about as good as Jean Dixon's—and that is their own estimation. Some years back, an interview was done with the Kansas City prophets and they were asked if any of their prophesies were ever wrong. They all agreed they had "occasionally" been proved wrong.¹ Occasionally? Rick Joyner writes that:

"Bob (Jones) was told that the general level of prophetic revelation in the church was about 65% accurate at this time. Some are only about 10% accurate, a very few of the most mature prophets are approaching 85% to 95% accuracy. Prophecy is increasing in purity, but there is still a long way to go for those who walk in this ministry. This [35-90% inaccuracy] is actually grace for the church now, because 100% accuracy in this ministry will bring a level of accountability to the church which she is too immature to bear at this time. It would result in too many ‘Ananias and Sapphiras.’ That so many of the prophetic ministries are still missing so much is also meant to work humility and wisdom in them [Good Luck!] so that they will be able to handle the authority and power coming in the near future."

"The Prophetic Ministry"

The Morning Star Prophetic Newsletter; Vol. 3 No. 2

According to the new priesthood, not only should we accept the fact that they are giving forth false prophesies between 35 to 90% of the time, we should be thankful they are performing this service for us, for if they were 100% accurate many would end up like Ananias and Sapphira! We shouldn’t worry too much about all these inaccurate prophesies because God explained to Mr. Jones that prophets are like guns and prophecies are like bullets—and inaccurate prophecies are like blanks. Supposedly the Lord said, "I'm loading the guns, I’m putting the blanks in".

Please! Now we are expected to believe that God is responsible for false prophecies? According to Mr. Jones, even when we shoot "blanks" it scares the enemy. If Mr. Jones and the new priesthood really believe this nonsense they should start supplying us with big erasers when we buy their books, newsletters and Study Bibles, just in case God put some "blanks" in them!

Speaking of blanks—in December of 1998 some of the leaders of the new priesthood had a whole chamber full of them. Rick Joyner, Bob Jones and Jim Bakker gave a series of "prophecies" at a meeting in North Carolina, the gist of which was that some specific kinds of natural catastrophes were coming. They predicted an earthquake in Southern California that would cause it to sink into the ocean, possibly after being blown up by nuclear bombs smuggled in by terrorists. Also, a good portion of the Midwest was to be submerged under water, with the water level almost covering the St. Louis Arch.

Possibly the most interesting thing about the prophecies was the time frame attached to the predictions—they were to begin in nine months. Mr. Joyner was so impressed his organization sent tapes of the service out as part of their "Prophetic Tape of the Month Club".

Of course, none of the predictions came true. As a result, in June of 1999, Mr. Joyner published a question and answer paper in which he attempted to explain some of the prophecies. It would be instructive to examine these answers because Mr. Joyner and Mr. Jones are high ranking leaders of the new Magisterium. The article was originally found at: www.do-you-love-me.org/wsomers/laquake.html and was titled, "LA Earthquake: Answers To Frequently Asked Questions". Some excerpts are as follows:

"Question: When do we think that the California earthquake that we prophesied in our January 1998 Prophetic Tape of the Month is coming?

Answer: I do not know anyone who has the timing on this. Some misunderstood Bob Jones to say that it was coming in nine months (from New Years when the tape was made). When I listened to the tape again it was easy to understand how Bob's statement could be interpreted that way, but it is not what he meant. When he said that "we have nine months" he was trying to say that it would not come for nine months. In a visitation that Bob had last fall he was told that this quake would not come before the next Day of Atonement. He was also told that each Day of Atonement we would be told if we have another year, but he would only show us one year at a time. I must apologize for letting this tape go out without correcting this potentially confusing statement."

Going back to the original source of the information, here’s what was said on the cassette tape:

"Prophets stand in a window and see what will happen in the world. But now, the Lord has told Bob to step out of the window into it. The vision that he has received over many years is not going to delay any longer. He has got a message that we have about nine months of preparation, of putting on Christ for what is about to happen. I don’t think we have until 2,000. I think we’ve got about nine months. Some of these things, like Mammoth Lake, are going to happen before that. The trembling and things are going to happen. Some of the major things aren’t going to happen for nine months."

Mr. Joyner says that when Mr. Jones said we had nine months, he meant nothing was going to happen for at least nine months. Thus, the not-for-nine-months statement could mean it actually wouldn't happen for years. But Mr. Jones said, "we have about 9 months"—which implies that once the nine months are up, things will begin to happen. Also, notice that Mr. Joyner says: "I must apologize for letting this tape go out without correcting this potentially confusing statement" Exactly how do you "correct" a Holy Spirit-inspired prophecy? Time to break out those erasers all you Joyner fans! It's also time we understand that this is how the coming apostolic government is going to operate. On that same tape Mr. Jones goes on to say:

"God will warn. He will warn those cities. I’ve been telling people for a year to get out of Los Angeles. They tell me that they’re really brave out there. (sigh) I’m not that brave. Because that bravery is against God. If I lived in Los Angeles, I’d get out. I want to tell you something. The earthquake is not the only thing you got to worry about in Los Angeles, and I’m not sure it will be first. In a vision, I saw suitcases being smuggled in by terrorists into California. They had nuclear bombs in them."

After this tape had gone out, apparently people started writing Mr. Joyner and asking him if, based on this prediction, they should get out of Southern California. His answer was:

"Bob Jones has warned some people that it is time to leave Southern California. I have told people to seek the Lord and leave only if He directs them to. However, I have been told that the time is soon coming when I will have to begin telling people that they should only stay if they hear from the Lord to stay. I also personally feel that I am to invest in some kind of retreat property in Southern California. I have been told that I am not to abandon the area, and that I must be willing to spend time there doing what I can to help the church in that region."

What are these prophets saying? They are saying that living in Los Angeles is "bravery against God," but you only need to leave if God "directs" you to because Mr. Jones is only warning "some people" to leave. On the other hand, God might tell you to "invest in some kind of retreat property" in the Southern California and not abandon the area, even though your next door neighbor may be a "terrorist" with a "nuclear bomb" in his suitcase! Understand?

"Question: Do I believe that this quake can still be averted?

Answer: No. However, as I shared last New Years Eve, it is my conviction that the destructive power of this quake can be greatly reduced, by repentance and intercession. He also showed me that it can be delayed if we will honor the fathers and mothers of the faith from that region which have so powerfully blessed our nation...If a profound repentance does not come, much of the Los Angeles basin will be destroyed to the point where the ocean will lap at the base of the mountains in Pasadena. The buildings in downtown Los Angeles will sink into the earth like stones in a jar of sand when it is shaken...

...Then Abraham asked the Lord if He would spare Sodom if there were just ten righteous men found there the Lord said that He would spare the whole place just for them. We do not know at what point the Lord will relent and spare Los Angeles, but there is a delusion in much of the church now that is presuming on God's grace...Pride comes before the fall, and there is an arrogance toward the Lord that has even permeated much of the church in Southern California. One way that this is manifested is the disregard of His warnings, which He sent in the previous quake, and even the tendency to believe that they can handle them."

Mr. Joyner says that if the "fathers and mothers of the faith" from the LA region are "honored," then that region won’t be hit as hard as it would be otherwise. However, the churches of the fathers and mothers of the faith in Southern California are delusional about God’s grace, are prideful, and display an arrogance towards the Lord that is manifested by their "disregard" for the warnings of Mr. Joyner, who is telling them that maybe "some" of them should get out of LA before he moves there to help them! Got it?

At one point Mr. Joyner must have started to receive a significant amount of flack about his dubious predictions and the kind of "prophetic whitewashing" he indulges in when they are proved to be wrong. Thus, he wrote an article in his journal defending false prophesies:

"One of the greatest hazards affecting maturing prophets is the erroneous interpretation of the Old Testament exhortation that if a prophet ever predicted something which did not come to pass he was no longer to be considered a true prophet (see Deut. 18:20-22). The warning was that if this happened, the prophet had been presumptuous and the people were not to fear him. If one predicts something in the name of the Lord and it does not come to pass, he probably has spoken presumptuously and needs to be repented of, but that does not make him a false prophet. No one could step out in the faith required to walk in his calling if he knew that a single mistake would ruin him for life."

"Prophetic Ministry"

The Morning Star Prophetic Newsletter; Vol 3 No. 2

How many of Isaiah's or Jeremiah's predictions did not come to pass? Where in the Scripture do we find Hosea or Zechariah practicing the art of predictive or directional prophesy with a 35-90% failure rate while they mature?

You see, what Mr. Joyner and his fellow prophets are doing is mixing the Old Testament office of prophet with the New Testament gift of prophesy. The New Testament gift of prophesy can mature because the person to whom the gift is subject (I. Cor. 3:6) must mature. When some ordinary "Joe" in the assembly gives forth a prophesy, he may or may not be getting it right. As he matures spiritually the function of the gift matures. His ability to discern between the pure voice of the Spirit and the mixture of his own thoughts and desires or the influence of other spirits increases.

In this setting we don't call him a false prophet or stone him if he thinks he is speaking in the name of the Lord but it turns out to be otherwise. However, this is not what Mr. Joyner and his fellow "prophets" are doing. They are not simply prophesying in their own local assemblies and then allowing others to judge the validity of these prophetic words. They are not making themselves accountable to others and they are not submitting to (the much needed!) correction when it becomes clear beyond all reasonable doubt that their predictions were not God-inspired.

What they are doing is claiming to be prophets, just like Isaiah and Jeremiah were prophets—minus the accountability of course. They claim to be speaking God's mind and heart for the entire Church. They are presuming to give forth not only predictive prophesy but directional prophesy for the whole body of Christ. They are attempting to use their so-called prophesies to establish doctrine (and false doctrine at that!) in the Church. This is a totally different situation than simply exercising our spiritual gift when we meet together.

Since they have transplanted the Old Testament office of prophet into the New Testament Church they must be held accountable to the same standard of accuracy as those who moved in that Old Testament office. The problem is that they can't possibly be held accountable to that standard and they know it, for under the New Covenant we do not "stone" those who are serving other gods and leading people astray. Rather, we expose them, rebuke them, pray for them, and if they do not repent, we separate from them and leave them to the fate they have chosen.

Another reason we cannot hold them accountable is because we (the Laity) have been conquered by them (the Clergy) and have become virtual slaves to their false authority (Don't touch God's anointed!). The idea of CORRECTING "the ministry" sends waves of terror down our spines. How sad!

Mr. Joyner's argument seems to be the standard line coming from the prophetic movement. In the forward to David Pytches Some Said It Thundered, Canadian revivalist John White writes:

"Anyone who has experience in helping to nurture baby prophets realizes they have difficulty in distinguishing the words that the Spirit speaks from those that come from their own hearts or from evil sources...Prophets are, of course, human beings. As such, they need not cease to be prophets for their mistakes and their failings."

Baby prophets? What's a baby prophet? Does the new Magisterium really expect us to blindly submit to "baby" prophets who prophesy falsely 35-90% of the time? Do they really expect us to accept these people as a "spiritual covering" when they themselves admit they can't tell the difference between the words the Spirit speaks and those coming from their own hearts or from evil sources? Do they really expect us to rely on their judgment to verify their own dreams, visions, revelations and personal experiences as they go about formulating the new Oral Tradition of the new apostolic government? Do they expect us to take anything men like Rick Joyner and Bob Jones say seriously? You bet they do—and why shouldn’t they? Mr. Jones had a vision in which he has actually seen the new Magisterium. Thus the whole idea has been confirmed by the Spirit of God.

"The Holy Spirit took me to a place...He took me to a place and I saw the Lord, high and lifted up, by some young men that He set upon the golden ark. And I looked and there were men that had hold of the ark and they had the ark upon their shoulders. And the government will be upon their shoulders...They will reign and reveal to the world that they truly ore the faithful and true leaders..."

Visions and Revelations Cassette Tape; 1988

Of course it will have to be young men leading the new government because the older generation—which by and large is comprised of stuck-in-the-mud types who rely far too much on the Scripture to judge between what is right and wrong—has been passed by. It’s the young generation that will carry the torch, for they are not attached to the Word of God and indeed have little respect for it. Mike Bickle says:

"There’s apostles, there’s imminent apostles and there’s most imminent apostles...There’s various levels of apostles and the Lord was showing us that...out of this movement would be 35 apostles...That will be the highest level of apostolic ministry...the government rests on apostles and prophets"

Visions and Revelations Cassette Tape; 1988

Looks like the new Charismatic Magisterium is going to be made up of 35 young men. Speaking of this new breed of young leadership, Bob Jones says:

"The last day church is being birthed now out of the old church. The old leadership is coming to an end and the new young leadership is being raised up to reign over the end-time church that will bring forth the Bride. Your children, my grandchildren, will be the Bride. You’ve got to have the church first on the right foundation. That’s what he (Jesus) said. ‘Come back and touch those that will be the right foundation’"

Visions and Revelations Cassette Tape

Notice that the new young leadership, which is being drawn from within the ranks of the "old Church," is destined to become the "right foundation" for the Church and "reign over" it. They will carry the "ark upon their shoulders," which means the "government will be upon their shoulders". It seems that Mr. Jones had yet another vision in which He actually saw God and the angels hand-picking this new breed of leaders who are to make up the new Charismatic Magisterium that will be the government of God on earth.

"I went and I seen the Lord, and it was like he was looking at little yellow things: little round yellow things...there were billions of them. And it was like Him and all the angels were looking through them and every once in awhile they’d say, Hey, here’s an end-time one; put it down there on the end. Here’s another good one!

I said, What are you doing?

He said, Oh, we’re collecting those who are foreknown and predestinated for the end times, for you see, they’ll be the best of all the seed that’s ever been. We’re looking through the seeds and the best of them will be your grand kids. This will be the end generation that is foreknown and predestinated to inherit all things. And these will be like grandchildren to you. The ones you are ministering to now won't be this generation, their grandchildren will be the generation.

You are to write into their minds as they write into their children’s minds. You’re to bring them to the place where they will start to allow My Spirit to rule in their life, so they can begin to set the church on the proper foundations as they will. They [the generation Jones is ministering to] will birth the church, but their children will attain levels of the Holy Spirit that they will not...And the [current new paradigm] church that is raising up the government will be the head and the covering for them. "

Visions and Revelations Cassette Tape

Bob Jones & Mike Bickle; 1988

Notice that the Church will not only be set "on the proper foundation" by the new Magisterium, it will function as both the "head" and the "covering" for the Church that now is, and the Church that will come forth from the next generation, the young generation. These people really do plan to take control of and rule over the Church. What "spirit" do you suppose would drive men to usurp the Headship of Jesus Christ over His own body? It is the spirit of Antichrist—and right now it is taking its "seat" in the temple of God, which temple we are (I. Cor. 3:16; Eph.2:21). This spirit is showing itself to be God by cunning deception and supernatural power and many Christians have begun to follow it and worship it.

The Coming Charismatic Inquisition

Those who think the leaders of the new Magisterium would never repeat the Roman Catholic "Inquisition" once they assume full ecclesiastical power need to wake up and smell the coffee. These men are already under the power of Satan and have already manifested an unmistakable lust for power. They have already threatened fellow believers who do not agree with them or submit to them with death—at the hands of God, of course. Many of us do not realize that they are already prophesying our demise and destruction.

"How is God going to bring judgement on the Church, and then judgement upon the land after his Church? He's going to do it with a large and mighty army---it's so mighty that there's never been anything like it before. Not even Moses, not even David, not even Paul. What's going to happen now will transcend what Paul did, what David did, what Moses did, even though Moses parted the Red Sea. [He then says this army is the 144 thousand mentioned in Revelation]

See, 144,000 is a multiple of 12. What is 12? Twelve is the number of the apostles, apostolic government. And he says that before them a fire devours...what is this fire that devours. Exod 24:17 says His glory (cloud) was a consuming fire Deut 4:24 Zeph 3:8 Here is Yahweh speaking about his coming...The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger...The Lord says I am getting ready to come, and I'm going to consume the whole world by the fire of my jealous anger. Now what is he jealous for when he comes? He is jealous for his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And He's coming to the Church right now and anything that is opposed to his Son, anything that tries to take the glory from his Son, anything that beats up on his children, that beats up on his sheep, that robs or steals or rapes them, anything that does that, He is coming as a consuming fire and he is going to destroy them."

Marc Dupont - Vineyard

"The Next Wave"

Who exactly do you suppose this man is talking about? In his eyes, who is it that "opposes" Jesus? Who opposes the revival? Who is it that "robs or steals or rapes" the sheep? It's the Pharisees—that nasty old religious crowd who keeps on judging things by the Scripture. It's those who won't get with the unity program. It's the God mockers who won't let go of their stupid "tradition" and resist that "large and mighty army" (the 144,000) that constitutes the new "apostolic government". It is you dear friend, if you haven't signed up.

In a truly strange twist of fate, the spiritual fence has been moved and those of us outside the Religious System who have been walking in genuine Sonship and Tabernacle truths for years, now find ourselves on the wrong side. We are now viewed by revival leaders who preach a false Sonship and Tabernacles message as part of that rebellious mass—mostly Fundamentalists, along with an ever-shrinking number of Pentecostals—inside the System who reject the revival and therefore must be judged.

"When this army comes...everybody will either submit to the proclamations of the sons of God and submit to the son of God, or they will harden their hearts and resist it, and when they (this army) get through, it will truly be a burnt over field. It will truly be a burnt over field of God's judgement with either submission or rebellion now made apparent to everyone. Nothing will escape them....When this army prays, the earth is going to tremble. When this army prays, the earth is going to open up and swallow its adversaries....the people are going to fall down. People are going to shake and tremble and quake under the power of this army that is coming - people like Saul, carnal Christians, people that are hostile, [ie., to the Revival] like that army that came to get Jesus in John 18 - those 600 soldiers fell on their faces when he stepped out of those shadows and said "I am HE".

Jack Deer - Vineyard

"Joel's Army" Audio Tape

"I, the Lord, have risen up out of My holy habitation. No longer will I sit still in the heavenlies, for it is time for My warriors to arise...Let the edge [of the sword] be set against every unholy alliance that has come against My word and against the presence of My power and against My purpose. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and under His banner you shall go forth. His banner is the banner of blood. I call you to take the land; I call you to become the "cutters down" of every altar and every idol and every high place established throughout."

Prophecy by Bill Burns

Faith Tabernacles, July 1999

Exactly who constitutes the "unholy alliance" Mr. Burns refers to? Who do you think he is talking about when he tells his congregation to let the edge of the sword be set against all who "come against" the Lord's word, purpose and power? The Lord's word, purpose and power in this hour is the revival. It is Toronto and Brownsville and all the other clones they have spawned. Who is coming against these revivals? Certainly not the unsaved. Who do we imagine he is referring to when he calls his people to go out and become the "cutters down of every altar and every idol and every high place" in the land?

Mr. Burns is also one of the revival leaders who promotes the "Third Day Church" error, which we will be looking at later in this series. In a recent message entitled The Day Of His Power (6/3/2001), he says this year revivalists will begin to prevail against those who are fighting God's purposes.

"We are the first born sons of the Third Day. We are the sons of the right hand of Christ’s power. Today, we have come to receive the double portion anointing of the first born. Let the wind of Pentecost blow, and let the fire of Pentecost fall. The first 5 months of this year were given as a time of preparation for these next 7 months in which the Lord will begin to demonstrate His power through His sons and daughters of the Right Hand. God will now begin to separate the sheep from the goats and establish His people in Zion. The last verse of Psalm 101 establishes God’s intentions:

Psalm 101:8 Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, That I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD.

This is the Third Day of Christ, and I believe that the Third Day of Christ is the Day of His Power. We are about to see the fulfillment of Psalm 110 according to the word of the Lord. For this reason, I want to use this time to expound and amplify the prophetic realities of Psalm 110. Psalm 110 declares the coming of Jesus Christ and His people as priests and kings. Psalm 110 was written by David, and those who volunteer to be used in this day will find themselves dwelling in Zion, the rebuilt Tabernacle of David.

Psalms 110:1 The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."

Psalms 110:2 The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!

The Father is saying to Jesus…”Be seated here at the right hand of My power (authority), and I (by My Spirit) will send the rod of Your strength (power of the right hand) that you give your sons of the right hand out from their dwelling place in Zion to rule in the midst of Your enemies, and they shall be found under Your feet. Zion is the spiritual habitation of the Third Day Church. We are the weapons that God will use against Satan and those who agree with his purposes. The command is “rule in the midst of your enemies!” There will not be any of the Lord’s enemies dwelling in Zion. Those who are of Babylon will be removed, for the Third Day Church will be those who dwell in the beauty of holiness

As usual, in order to grasp what these people are really saying, you have to examine it thoroughly. Mr. Burns says today is the "prophetic Third Day of Christ". In this prophetic Third Day, God is going to start doing some things, a few of which are detailed in Psalms 101 and 110. Starting in the latter half of this year, God will begin to:

(1) Separate the sheep from the goats.

(2) Destroy all the wicked of the land.

(3) Cut off all the evildoers from the city.

(4) Make the enemies of Jesus His footstool.

(5) Make Jesus to rule in the midst of His enemies.

(6) Remove all those who are part of Babylon from Zion.

Exactly who do you suppose the goats, the wicked, the evildoers, the enemies of Jesus, those who are part of Babylon and those who agree with Satan's purposes are? They are people who refuse to jump in the river. They are people who refuse to fall in line with the new Oral Tradition of the revival or blindly submit to its new government.

From what he says, it sounds like God Himself will be doing all this but that is just more double-talk. For when you examine his words closely, you find that God is going to do all this through the "first born sons of the Third Day" who are even now receiving "the double portion anointing". Mr. Burns says quite frankly that "we [meaning revivalists] are the weapons that God will use against Satan and those who agree with his purposes...Those who are of Babylon [that is, non-revivalists] will be removed".

It is a sad day when Christians have such little discernment that they will listen to this kind of stuff and not have the slightest idea what is actually being said. This man boldly claims he and his new priesthood buddies are going to cleanse the Church of all who refuse to follow them—and he's not the only one. Steve Hill makes similar statements in a message given at his Brownsville church in January 1998. He says there's something big on the horizon, and that the day of the Lord's return is near. He then warns the sceptics, the religious ones, to fear what is about to happen:

"The violent will be overcome by the violent. My Spirit's wooing is about to cease. No one will grieve me any more. No one will quench my spirit any more. No one will resist me anymore. Their days are OVER. Let them know the warm season of grace and mercy will soon be turned to a chilling winter of judgement and wrath; the warm days of my wooing will be exchanged for the fiery days of my vengeance..."

You see, in the minds of Mr. Hill and many other revival leaders, the coming apostolic government must be free from dissension. It will therefore be necessary to remove all those who challenge their authority. There are differences of opinion as to how this will come about: (1) God will finally have enough of us who are opposing His apostles and prophets and will strike us dead supernaturally; or He might send (or allow Satanic forces to send) various deadly plagues upon us. (2) The new apostles and prophets will pronounce God's judgment upon us and move Him to destroy us. (3) The new government will, out of "necessity," use physical force by which it will judge, sentence, and execute penalties (including death) upon us. This would require the assistance of the secular government and also a change of the current laws of the land. Some leaders are clearly anticipating option # 2.

"By the turn of the century, denominations as we know them will no longer exist...God will transcend denominations in the renewal of the apostolic and prophetic ministries to the Church...When the ministries of the apostle and prophets return throughout the decade of the 90's, so will the anointed power to judge the Church supernaturally...We may experience more judgments like that of Ananias and Sapphira."

"Spiritual Megatrends"

Earl Paulk

Mr. Paulk, who is Bishop of the Atlanta area Harvester Church and one of the founding board members of Oral Roberts' Charismatic Bible Ministries, is not afraid to say what many revival leaders are thinking—when the new priesthood is fully integrated into the Church, the "anointed power to judge the Church supernaturally" will return. Of course, he is only talking about the Protestant Church. In an attempt to refute Dave Hunt's claim (in The Seduction of Christianity) that the Charismatic movement has been flooded with New Age teachings and theological heresies (which it has), Mr. Paulk asks:

"Who dares accuse Father Bertolucci of heresy because he honors the Virgin Mary with a reverence which is uncomfortable to many other Christians? Who has been given the right to judge his views of spiritual authority?...I contend that religious systems are the harlot church."

"That The World May Know"

Here Mr. Paulk indignantly rails against Dave Hunt for accusing the Roman Catholic Church (arguably the most "religious" system in the world) of heresy, and then turns around and says the real harlot church is theologically conservative groups. You can't get any more muddled than that.

Rick Joyner approaches the issue from a different angle. He says God gave him a vision of a "civil war" in the Church. In a copy of Morning Star Prophetic Bulletin (May 1996) Mr. Joyner shared his vision of this coming civil war.

"On February 23^rd of this year I was shown for the third time that the Church was headed for a “spiritual civil war”…the definition of a complete victory in this war would be the complete overthrow of the accuser of the brethren’s strongholds in the Church…this will, in fact, be one of the most cruel battles the Church has ever faced. Like every civil war, it will cause brother to turn against brother like we may never have witnessed in the church before…this battle must be fought. It is an opportunity to drive the Accuser out of the Church, and for the Church then to come into unity that would otherwise be impossible…what is coming will be dark. At times Christians almost universally will be loath to even call themselves Christians. Believers and unbelievers alike will think it is the end of Christianity as we know it, and it will be, through this the very definition of Christianity will be changed for the better. The Church that emerges from what is coming will be full of unprecedented grace, unprecedented truth, and unprecedented power."

Whoops! You mean this great move of the Spirit isn't about "unity" after all; it's about war? Doesn't this sound just a little foreboding? He uses words like "cruel" and "dark". It sure sounds like he’s predicting a real, physical civil war with real bloodshed. Yet he denies this is what he is implying.

"What will this coming conflict be over? Like the American Civil War, the coming spiritual civil war will also be between the Blues and the Grays. In dreams and visions, blue often represents heavenly-mindedness (i.e. the sky is blue), and gray speaks of those who live by the power of their own minds (i.e. the brain is often called “gray matter”). This will be a conflict between those who well may be genuine Christians, but who live mostly according to their natural minds and human wisdom, and those who follow the Holy Spirit."

Notice that all the people in the coming conflict are believers. So this battle will be a fight between heavenly-minded Christians (those who follow the Spirit) and carnally-minded Christians (those who live by the power of the carnal mind, and by implication, the written Word). Of course, Christians who "follow the Spirit" (Blues) are those who accept all the visions, revelations, miracles, signs and wonders of the new priesthood, and are ready to submit blindly to their coming government. Christians who "live by the power of the [carnal] mind" (Greys) are those who reject the new priesthood and their new government.

"What is the main point of contention in this spiritual civil war? Just as in the American Civil War, the primary purpose is going to be to free the slaves - the spiritual slaves who are being held in bondage by the Grays who are insisting on Biblical accuracy. Again, the main point in the impending civil war will be over the institution of slavery - or the institutions of spiritual slavery [Which he has just defined as the insistence of Biblical accuracy]. When I speak of “institutions of slavery” I am not necessarily speaking of denominations, but rather of any organization including denominations or movements, that are holding their people in spiritual bondage. The longer we continue to compromise with such institutions, which use manipulation or control for the sake of unity or any other reason, the more it ultimately cost us to remove the cancer from our midst."

Pretty clear is it not? The "main point of contention" and the "primary purpose" of the war is to free those who "insist on Biblical accuracy" from this cruel form of "spiritual bondage". Those who "insist on Biblical accuracy" are actually a "cancer" in the Church, which must be "removed from our midst". And so, Mr. Joyner and his prophet buddies have gallantly answered the call to free us all from the chains of God's written Word.

"Another cause for the American Civil War was the compulsion for many in the South to simply “preserve their way of life” or “traditions” . This will likewise be a cause of many conflicts in the impending spiritual civil war…one of the powers of a religious spirit is to honor the things that God has done in the past in order for them to justify their opposition to what he is presently doing…there is a huge portion of the Church held in bondage to the same religious spirit that manifested itself in the Pharisees, and it will attack any new movement that arises in the church. The more anointed a new movement is, the more these traditionalist will be threatened by it, and the more vehemently they will attack it."

According to Mr. Joyner, religious "slavery" or "bondage'" is anything or anyone that would demand that their visions and revelations be judged against the Word of God as the Bereans did. It is the act of not moving the old landmarks, of holding to that which is proven to be Scriptural in the face of that which has proven to be error. He is in fact calling on Pentecostals and Charismatics to join together and destroy Fundamentalists, for that is the group, (who in his mind) lives by the power of the carnal mind and opposes the supernatural moving of the Spirit in this day and age.

Since Mr. Joyner has no idea that the new movement (in which he has become a leader) is actually a counterfeit of what God is doing, he naturally assumes those who resist it are "traditionalists" who are only interested in "preserving their (Fundamentalist) way of life".

Mr. Joyner is not alone. Other “prophets” and leaders of the revival have seen the same thing. Wes Campbell, speaking at the Toronto Vineyard, said:

"The Church was gathered in a large civil war-type stately mansion, a big ballroom, and they were dancing. And they were dressed in colorful clothes and happy, and they were moving and they were laughing and they were dancing and they were just having the most wonderful party of their life...Then what happened is that strangely in the ballroom, the crowd began to change. They began to take sides, and they began to have blue coats and gray coats, and in a moment civil war broke out. A bloody civil war broke out.

James Ryle has had a similar vision. The Lord even showed him how the blue coats stand for the revelatory, the revelation, and the gray for gray matter, man’s wisdom. And in this context, the North fought the South and the South fought the North, and the South wanted to keep the people enslaved. They wanted their money. They wanted their bodies. They wanted their personhood to keep the system going. And the North said no! Freedom! Freedom! And they went into a terrible fight, and it was father against son, brother against brother, and a man’s enemies were in his own house.

And the angel said this: 'There won’t be a house that escapes weeping.' We do not know how long this time of visitation will continue in this capacity. But when the time is up you run with all your might, because as this begins to be known throughout the entire Christian community of the world, there will come a polarization, there always has come a polarization. And there will eventually become wars. There will be wars in your household. Your own family may not understand what’s going on. Your own family may turn against you. That doesn’t mean they’re evil. That just means as Christians they haven’t seen this aspect of the Holy Spirit. ‘Cause they’re Christians. We’re talking about Christians. But the end of the vision was this: That after the time of bloodshed, the Lord was going to heal the breach."

Again, pretty clear is it not? Brother against brother in a bloody civil war. What these men are proclaiming in their visions is not just a "spiritual" war—it is a physical war between fellow believers in which some Christians are going to literally die at the hands of other Christians. Yet, when these men are confronted with this reality they deny that they are referring to anything physical.

Are they bold-faced liars or what? Not exactly. What we have to understand is that they are not just prophesying out of their own human hearts and minds—though this is true at times. They are under the supernatural power of a very real spiritual being, and that spirit speaks through them. Since this spirit is not the Holy Spirit but the spirit of Antichrist, it is speaking forth its true desire, which is to literally kill God's people.

When the actual prophesy (or vision) takes place, the spirit's intentions become crystal clear. But after the spirit has spoken, you are back to dealing with men again—and although they accept what the spirit has said at face value, they do not want to be seen as predicting a literal war with literal bloodshed. So they say they were only speaking metaphorically.

We need to get a grip on the fact that in the eyes of most of these revival leaders, anyone who insists on Biblical accuracy, anyone who refuses to jump on the unity bandwagon, anyone who rejects the new apostolic order is an unhealthy, cancerous, malfunctioning, carnally minded, heresy hunting, God-mocking, Pharisaical traditionalists with a religious spirit who is an accuser of the brethren and part of that old rotten Sanhedrin religious crowd that is damned and on its way to Hell and must be removed from the Church!

Because they have been overtaken by spirits of delusion and are becoming one with the woman who rides that beast, deep down inside, many revival leaders hate all opponents of the revival. Once they come to full power, it won't take very much for those spirits to convince them that they would be doing God a much-needed service by getting rid of us. After all, we are the only thing that stands between them and a completely unified Church (under the divine apostolic government of God) which will be empowered to save the world.

We want to stress once again that we are not saying the average revivalists will be personally involved in the persecution of those who refuse to sign up. Most of these people have no idea what is happening. They are so mesmerized by the spirits of delusion that these false apostles and prophets walk under they don't even understand what they are saying half the time. In their minds, they are just out there doing their part to make the world a better place and evangelize the lost—it's called "zeal without knowledge" (Rom. 10:2).

We personally know people who are caught up in this revival spirit and they are decent people. We are not expecting them to break down our door some night and blow us away just because we won't fellowship with them. Having said that, it must also be said that once people come under the power of this spirit they continue to support the revival and its leadership regardless of what direction it takes. While the average revivalists may never desire to personally hurt anyone, they will have to turn their head and look the other way—just like many Christians did as the Jews were being persecuted—when those who have no reservations about ridding the body of its "cancer" rise up and start purging the Church.

Here Come The Generals

(And They Want Your Children)

"The five fold ministry is the governmental Hand of God in the earth today administratively and strategically. We are in a war. We are reclaiming territory from Satan that is ours by God's command and mandate. Therefore God has a Body that needs officers, not only for administration but also strategically, for His advancing Kingdom on earth."

Pam Clark - Trumpet Wind Ministries

"The Calling of the Apostles"

"Last-day apostles and prophets will be the generals that lead God’s fivefold officers and warrior saints into and through the coming moves of God after the Apostolic Movement…There is another restorational truth coming to the Church that will lead us into full maturity."

Bill Hamon

"Apostles, Prophets, and the Coming Moves of God"

As was already stated, the leaders of today's new priesthood see themselves as "generals" who have been called by God to raise up and lead a great "end-time army" in the overthrow of all existing government structures—first in the Church, then in the world. This divine commission is commonly referred to by them as a "revolution".

Supposedly these generals are "the governmental Hand of God" in the earth—and just like any natural army, if the revolution is to be successful, this spiritual army must have more than just "officers" who sit in conference rooms, plotting the war strategy. It must also have a great multitude of "warriors" in the trenches (local churches) who support and obey the leaders of the revolution. Thus, from the very beginning of the revival there has been a strong focus on the youth. Consequently, one of the most tragic things about the revival is that it is being used to raise up an entire generation of arrogant, Scripturally illiterate, experience-oriented youth who are totally given over to the counterfeit Christ of the revival.

Mrs. Gwen Shaw, president of a well known religious group called the "End Time Handmaidens," shared what the generals of the revolution (Apostolic Council Of Prophetic Elders) were predicting about the youth in the year 2000.

"We have just left Colorado Springs where we were gathered together for a very special meeting called by Dr. C. Peter Wagner and Cindy Jacobs. It was a round table discussion of the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, a group of some of the leading prophets and prophetesses of this nation. We had a very glorious, revealing, and soul-searching time as prophets compared notes with other prophets, seeking out what God is saying and what He has said, and where and how we can serve the purposes of our calling to the Church more fully. We realized these are momentous days in which we need to stand up and be counted because never before has the prophetic ministry been so widespread and had such an impact on the Church...

What God spoke to Jim Lafoon is that God is going to move mightily among the youth. Youth are going to take a strong place of leadership in bringing in the revival. We know we had some of that in the Jesus People revolution that took place in the 60’s and 70’s. It will be something like that—very revolutionary. It will be hard for the older Christians to accept some of the things God is going to do through the youth, but the Holy Spirit has warned the prophets: Don’t kill the move of the Holy Spirit on the youth, and don’t commercialize it, but be tolerable towards it, and don't suffocate the life out of the youth. God is going to use them in a very special and significant way. They are going to be leaders in the forefront of this mighty move of God."

"Prophet's Report" - Gwen Shaw

End-Time Handmaidens Newsletter, June 2000

According to these generals, God is going to "move mightily among the youth" and they will "take a strong place in leadership in bringing in the revival". They are going to be used by God "in a very special way". In fact, they have such a bright future and are so central in the establishing of God's kingdom on earth, it almost makes you want to be a teenager again! The statement by Mrs. Shaw that "it will be hard for the older Christians to accept some of the things God is going to do through the youth" sounds very much like what Mike Bickle predicted years ago about the emerging apostles and prophets:

"... and they [apostles, prophets] will do things that you have no frame of reference for understanding because, believe me, what's going to be coming down in the next twenty years, you and I have no frame of reference for understanding. It is going to be so unusual you are not going to be able to look at the Word for every manifestation and find one there because the Spirit of the Lord has so many manifestations that you and I know nothing about."

"Divine Appointment" [Introduction]

Mike Bickle

Of course, we now know what these "many manifestations" are. It is people going berserk in church; it is hysterical, uncontrollable laughing; it is being zapped and thrown across the room; it is crawling around the floor, acting like wild animals; it is being glued to the floor for hours; it is running around swinging an imaginary sword at the enemies of revival; it is going into labor pains to "birth" something mighty for God. How clumsy of God to forget to put all these wonderful manifestations in the Scripture! Just think of all the trouble, division and misunderstanding that could have been avoided if only He would have recorded all these manifestations.

Whether they are talking about the restored apostles and prophets or the new young generation that will carry on the work these men and women have begun, over and over again you hear revival leaders singing the same deceiving tune: don't judge what is happening by the Word of God, for what's happening is a new thing that neither you or the Scripture have any frame of reference for. Mrs. Shaw goes on to say:

"The youth are the ones that will break the spirit of Jezebel. They are the only ones who can break the spirit of Jezebel over this nation, which is a spirit of the killing of the prophets. The youth are going to be able to destroy the Jezebel spirit like adults can never do it, and we are going to see a great revival and move of God in Washington. D.C."

Mrs. Shaw says the young leaders being raised up by the revival are the "only ones" who can break the "Jezebel spirit over this nation". The Jezebel spirit, as she defines it, is "a spirit of the killing of the prophets". Of course she is not referring to the literal murdering of today's prophets, but rather, the refusal by many "old order" types to submit to the authority of the prophets or follow what the prophets are telling them. The way these new young leaders will destroy this spirit is by submitting to and following the prophets.

A few months after this momentous roundtable meeting, Cindy Jacobs—one of these "Prophetic Elders" who calls herself a General of Intercession—called on fellow revivalists to "sacrifice" their children in order to "bring a revolution" to the Church.

“And the Lord says, these are going to be days where I am going to trouble the enemy through you. These are going to be different days than you have ever known, and I am going to require sacrifice of you that you cannot imagine. I am going to require a sacrifice of your children, says the Lord...There are churches that will be command posts for revolution, and to these command posts I would say, I am going to bring a revolution. Look and see; I am calling radical revolutionaries to the church. There is a sound going forth from heaven, says the Lord. I am calling from the north and the south and the east and the west. They're going to move, they're going to change universities to come to these command posts. They're going to change jobs. I'm going to bring the 18, 19, 20, 21 year olds, and they're going to mentor the generation under them. And then the high schoolers are going to mentor the generations under them."

"A Prophetic Call to Revolution”

August 14, 2000

Sadly, many deluded parents are obeying this general and are introducing their children to the revival spirit. Then, after these kids have been zapped, they stuff their little brains with delusional fantasies about how they are God's special "new breed" of super-Christians, destined to defeat Satan globally and bring in the Kingdom of God.

Many of these kids who have received the "new anointing" are paraded before the Church and the world as evidence that the revival is of God. One example of this can be seen on a (pro-revival) propaganda video from the Smithton Revival. Two teenage sisters (12 and 14 at the time) were said to have the ministry of "intercession". They were called up to the platform by the pastor in order to explain what they were doing as they performed their ritual.

First, they began describing what happens to them. As they were describing it, they started going into convulsions—which looked like a bad case of "the bends"—after which they began to pray out loud for the congregation, rebuking all manner of mental and physical illnesses. Finally one of them collapsed on the floor in what looked like an epileptic seizure. As she laid there shaking and mumbling (for the rest of the meeting), the pastor said she was "interceding" for the people. This carnival-like demonstration was diametrically opposed to what Jesus taught regarding prayer:

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Matthew 6:5-6

Those who are not part of this revival need to be aware that the new priesthood is determined to recruit your children into their army. They intend to get them involved in this revolution by hook or by crook. Don't ever underestimate the radical determination of revivalists. They believe they are carrying out the express will of Almighty God—the most dangerous of all religious delusions. The day has arrived when Christian parents can no longer trust their kids to church related ministries which they are not personally familiar with, regardless of how "orthodox" they may appear to be on the surface.

Many children have been coerced into receiving "the impartation" and have suffered its often horrifying consequences without their parents knowledge or permission. The following plea for help was received by Midnight Cry Ministries:

Dear Sir,

My son (13 years old) has been attending a church (_____Fellowship) with a friend from school for about a year now. I assumed he was safe because he was attending church and not out on the streets. Tuesday, November 11 he came home after a prayer meeting in a condition that neither I or my wife have ever witnessed. He was convulsing violently and laughing as if he were possessed. His head was knocking against his shoulder in an uncontrollable frenzy. It has been four days now and there has been no improvement.

My wife and I have asked for explanations from the pastor of this church and he insists that my son is experiencing a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, and that this is an act of God. We do not believe this and are very concerned for the safety and well being of our son. We need help, we need advice. What can we do to stop this? We will never let him return to this church and desperately need advice on how to cure him of this.

They say this all began in Pensacola, Fl. and that they are not sure what exactly is happening, but they say they are sure it is an act of God. Several children in our area have had to stay home from school because of being exposed to this church's activities. I refuse to believe that God would get pleasure in seeing these kids in epileptic type fits. Please if you can advise us in any way it would be most appreciated. I have not slept for three days now, out of concern for my son. We live in ______ and the pastor of this church is a Mr. ______.

Please, please email me ASAP!

We can no longer assume that if it’s a church activity it must be okay. There are revivalists who's whole mission in life seems to be the recruitment of teenagers into God's end-time army. In their minds, they must have the youth of America if "the revolution" is to succeed, for God has (supposedly) spoken through virtually all of these restored prophets and apostles that the youth are going to lead this revival.

These leaders aren't just prophesying that the young people will have a major part in the revolution, they are working behind the scenes to make sure the prophesies are fulfilled! One way they are helping to fulfill their own prophesies is by organizing big rallies for teenagers—one of which was The Call, which was advertized in Mrs. Shaw's Newsletter—in order to get them motivated. When she said: "we are going to see a great revival" in Washington. D.C. she was referring to this rally, which was being planned for September 2, 2000.

Notice the presumptuous headline of this advertizement: "Almighty God Summons You to an Assembly in His Honor!" Exactly who says Almighty God was summoning these youths? This one line reveals the pride and arrogance of the new priesthood, for you see, Mrs. Shaw wasn't just announcing a big gathering in Washington D.C. and then inviting young people to attend. She was commanding the youth of America to come in God's name. Like the rest of the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, she believes God has given her the right and the authority to rule over the Church. She and her comrades are convinced they are God's generals, and as such, they expect us to submit to them when they issue orders in His name.

I wonder how many of those who saw this Ad recognized what was happening? How many do you suppose understood that the spirit leading this Prophetic Elder is the same spirit that leads Roman Catholic Bishops and Popes? Describing this massive rally, she goes on to say:

"The Holy Spirit has called for the youth to come to Washington. DC. on September 2 (2000), and they are expecting multiple thousands of youth to come in fasting and standing on the Mall. There will he no preaching; but there will be worship, prayer, weeping, travailing and calling upon the Lord to bring America back to God...God said for the youth to bring their parents to the Mall with them, and there is going to be a blending of generations."

Notice that there was to be "no preaching" at this rally; only worship, prayer, weeping, travailing and calling upon the Lord to bring America back to God. Why no preaching? Because preaching involves discussing and teaching doctrine (and doctrine divides). Preaching also engages the mind in rational thinking—two things that would not be very conducive to the emotion-filled hype that was to be the basis for this whole show. The creators of the event didn't want these kids thinking; they wanted them feeling. Neither did they want them submitting to the discretion and guidance of their parents with regards to attending. At their Web Site, the organizers of The Call urged teenagers to persuade their parents to permit them to attend.

Having thus bypassed the spiritual authority of the parents, Lou Engle, Executive Director of The Call, had the audacity to say this event—along with the Promise Keepers Sacred Assembly of October 4, 1997—would be the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5-6. According to Mr. Engle, the Promise Keepers gathering represented the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children. Now, three years later, The Call was to represent the turning of the hearts of children to their fathers. Speaking of the event, Cindy Jacobs said:

"The Call is a massive gathering of Extreme Youth who are willing to fast and pray to create a violent spiritual shift in the destiny of America...I believe that a massive spiritual earthquake occurred, at the Promise Keepers event in Washington D.C., as the fathers turned their hearts to the children. I believe the curse began breaking over America. That event was a hinge upon which the doors of history opened...The Lord is now summoning the youth to respond, to be the counterpart to the PK rally: a million young people on the D.C. Mall!. There would be the turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers...A national blessing or curse is decided by this change of heart or the lack of it. This is the Elijah Revolution!"

Generals of Intercession

G.I. News 2000

Notice that this rally was to be the counter-part of the massive "million man" PK rally held a few years earlier. Indeed, the PK leadership was deeply involved with the organization of The Call. The list of "Advisors to the Board" reads like a "Who's Who" of revival, prophetic/apostolic, intercession and world-evangelization movements. Believe me friends, you don't want these people leading a massive army of "Extreme Youth" who are determined to "create a violent spiritual shift" in our nation!

The thing that made The Call so important was not the rally itself, but the fact that it drew together in one joint venture, and with the same aim—World Evangelism & Dominion—all the various streams of the poisoned river of Protestant Globalism. At this one rally you had representatives from the Word of Faith Movement (Richard Roberts, Marilyn Hickey), the Religious Right (Pat Robertson), the Prophetic Movement (Mike Bickle, Bill Hamon), Revival Churches (John Kilpatrick, Todd Hunter), Global Evangelism (Ed Silvoso), Apostleship Organizations (Tom Haggard, Peter Wagner), Spiritual Warfare Groups (Cindy Jacobs, Chuck Pierce), Restoration Groups (Dutch Sheets, Tom Pelton), and various Youth Mission Organizations (Bob Weiner, Winkey Pratney, Bill Bright).

As you listen to revival leaders and read their books and newsletters, you see a constant stream of flattery, in the form of prophesy and visions, pouring forth which says that today's teenagers will be tomorrow's saviors. Of course, none of these people pay any attention to the Scripture, which warns us not to put novices into places of leadership because they will be lifted up with pride and end up falling (I. Tim. 3:6). Taking this verse of Scripture seriously would hinder the goal of revival and world dominion—and we can't have that.

What kind of adults will these kids grow up to be when they have never had any Scriptural training (and in fact, look down their noses at the Bible), when they have never learned to truly submit to God, when their whole concept of "ministry" is nothing but Roman authoritarianism, when they have spent years cultivating the false "anointing" they received as youngsters, and when they have been told over and over again that they are special, the cream of the crop, the best of the "seeds" of all generations—better than David, better than Paul, Peter and John—who will smash everyone and everything that stands in their way? If you want a preview of what kind of people they will turn out to be, just check out one of the many "Youth Ministries" out on the religious circuit. Though a few of these ministries are doctrinally sound and are leading the kids to the true Jesus, the vast majority of them are pushing all kinds of heretical doctrines and are leading the kids into the worship of a false Jesus.

One example out of many that could be provided is Mr. Kim Clement, a minister operating out of the Detroit area, but who is originally from South Africa. Mr. Clement is very popular at the moment. He ministers all over the world and in various kinds of churches and has been a repeated guest on Paul Crouch's TBN. He is one of those "Extreme Youths"—though no longer a teenager—Cindy Jacobs referred to. He advocates a "violent shift" in this nation and he is gathering a small army of violent youth who will assist him in that goal. His ministry has come to represent a whole segment of young people called the Kick Devil Butt Generation. Speaking of this unusual description, he says:

"The trademark of being a 'Kick Devil Butt Generation' has become common place in our meetings. It challenges religious minded believers and ignites the hearts of revolutionary believers that are ready to forcefully advance God’s Kingdom. The violent and aggressive spirit that resides in this generation is strategic by God against our true adversary the Devil."

Instead of teaching these kids that Jesus died to make them a new creation, and that they should be seeking deliverance from the wild, rebellious spirit that drives their whole generation, Mr. Clement is seeking to harness all that evil energy in order to "forcefully advance" God's kingdom here on earth. He thinks that having such a violent and aggressive generation of youngsters at this particular time in history is a brilliant strategic move by God!

"My passion for this generation has consumed me. I am only interested in the youth of America at this time...[They are] the royal heirs of the latter glory and the double portion. They are the ones that will invade the fashion industry, music, media, Hollywood, Motown, Wall Street, and will not tolerate satanic control in the legal and education system. They have no religious overtones, they are strange to look at, but they are Radical, Revolutionary and Dangerous, and will shake the kingdoms.

These are the Davids that will bring down the Goliaths...These are the emasculated Daniels who will invade the Babylonian kingdoms and prophesy to the rulers of the East. These are the pretty Esters who will use their influence to reverse the curse of Haman, and deliver Gods people from a hangmans noose. These are the Josephs who will bring righteous economy in the midst of greed and injustice.

They are not interested in religious games with silly clichés and slick terminology. These are kids who were denied access to family and have been chased into caves and mountains by javelins of raging jealousy. They are the antagonizers of dead religion. They will defy the religious spirit that has perfected the art of persecution and the skill of crucifying the saviors of the day. They have no hidden agenda. Only a kick butt attitude toward an enemy that has lived on the holy grounds for too long."

From: "Vision Statement"

The "dead religion" to which Mr. Clement refers is everything that resists the revival. The "religious spirit" that persecutes and crucifies the saviors of the day—which Mr. Clement and his army are going to "defy"—dwells in you if you are not supporting the revival. He says today's youth have a "kick butt attitude" toward the enemy that has lived on the holy grounds (the Church) for too long. Again, this is you if you do not support the revival.

We are not trying to deny the fact that many people are involved in a "dead religion," for it is true that many are. However, God is not telling us to try and revive or restore this dead religion. Neither is he asking us to call down His judgment on it or try to overthrow it in His name. He is calling us out of it.

Not only are the new apostles and prophets and Youth Ministries inflating the egos of these teenagers, most of today's big Youth Organizations are doing the same. One such ministry is TeenMania, a Charismatic outreach known for its "Acquire the Fire" conventions.

"Acquire the Fire is a mega-gathering of thousands of teenagers throughout North America, who have a burning desire to change the world. At Acquire the Fire conventions, teens and adults alike are challenged to live radically on the edge of Christianity throughout their teen years and the rest of their lives! Acquire the Fire conventions present the gospel in a relevant format that will radically change the lives of all those present. Prepare yourself for a live praise & worship band, live comedy sketches, video roll-ins on mammoth video screens and pyrotechnic 'bombs' igniting throughout the convention! In 1999 more than 125,000 teens were expected to attend ATF conventions. Don't be left out - this convention is intense!"

Acquire the Fire Convention Web Site

For most of these organizations, preaching the gospel from the Scripture is now viewed as outdated and lacking in power. In order to present a "relevant" gospel they have turned to fleshy, emotion-driven programs which attempt to garner "decisions" for Christ and a commitment to the organization's agenda. In this case, the teenager must take an oath, which was called, TeenMania's World Changer 2000 Oath:

I am determined to have passion for the Almighty God and to use that passion for His cause.

I will love all, honor all, and lead all I can to Him.

I am determined to keep my relationship with Jesus alive by keeping my quiet times.

I commit to defend God's cause by being active in Bible Study, my church, and my youth group.

I commit my mind to God and my courtship to purity.

I am determined to honor my parents and to be accountable to Godly friendships.

I refuse to live in slow-motion because I am determined to live a life of worship and holy actions.

I commit to reach out through missions while I am a teenager.

I will start a revolution in my hometown.

I am determined to stand up, shout loud, sweat hard, pour out, give all, love, live, breath, and die if I must for the one who died for me, for I am a World Changer.

"World Changer Oath"

www.teenmania.org/wc2000/oath.html

This one-size-fits-all oath is a recipe for disappointment, humiliation and pride. Scripture forbids taking oaths, but that will never stop those bent on manipulating others to further their agenda. Not even the ministers of most churches are expected to do all that is required of these kids—how much less a teenager who has not even reached the point of full understanding and maturity?

Notice that one of the commitments of this oath is to honor your parents. What if the child's parents do not want him or her traipsing off to the mission field while they are still teenagers? That teenager is now faced with a losing proposition—he has to either obey his parents and break point 8 of the oath, or disobey his parents (breaking point 6 of the oath) and fulfill point 8.

And what if the parents don't want their teenager trying to start a "revolution" in their town? Which part of the oath will the teenager break? The motive of these ministries becomes clear as you investigate them. They are not the least bit interested in what the parents of these kids think—they must have warriors for the revolution and they intend to get them.

Teen Mania is not merely an organization unto itself. It is a network of youth ministries from around America, which is touching many churches through their use of youth-oriented attractions. It also links with other similar organizations in order to mobilize youth for the cause of Christ, which is the implementation of new paradigm spiritual warfare to "take our cities" for God.

While many have never heard of TeenMania, most of us will be familiar with YWAM (Youth With A Mission). YWAM used to be a reputable youth organization, but no more. Today it offers a smorgasbord of false doctrines, including Moral Government Theology and Third Wave Spiritual Warfare.

In 1995, YWAM planned a big "Reconciliation Walk" from Europe (Germany) to the Middle East (Syria, Lebanon), which would retrace the old routes taken by the Crusaders in order to cleanse the sins of these Catholic soldiers and bring peace to the region. C. Lynn Green, one of the leaders of YWAM (from England), wrote the original proposal and Peter Wagner wrote the introduction to it, part of which says:

"Arguably the most massive challenge for identificational repentance for Christianity as a whole is the accumulative, corporate sin of the medieval Crusades. I join Lynn Green in the deep conviction that unless the sins of Christians committed in the Crusades are remitted through the blood of Jesus Christ, barriers to sharing the love of God with precious Muslims and Jews will remain as high as they have been throughout history...The Prayer Track is calling 1996 the year to 'Heal the Land,' and Lynn Green of the European and Middle east YWAM office, located in England, has agreed to serve as the coordinator of what he is calling the 'Reconciliation Walk.'

The Walk would be inaugurated with a simple ceremony in Clermont Ferrand in France s Massif Central on November 27, 1995. This would mark the 900th anniversary of Pope Urban s first call to arms. Then, in the spring of 1996 walkers could begin to travel from Cologne, Germany up the Rhine and down the Danube, thus retracing the footsteps taken by the first Crusade exactly 900 years earlier. The geographical goal would be to reach Istanbul by the autumn of 1996. During the last quarter of that year and throughout 1997 and 1998, hundreds of small groups of followers of Jesus Christ could be encouraged to walk through Turkey, the Syria and Lebanon, retracing the many routes taken by the Crusaders."

According to Mr. Green, the culmination of this Walk of Reconciliation was to be an ecumenical religious service of Jews, Muslims and Christians within the walls of Jerusalem on July 1999. Since we will be dealing with the subject of spiritual warfare in the next part of this series, we don't want to say too much about it here, except to point out that Christians cannot repent for the sins of others—period. To think that we can repent for the sins of dead, unsaved Roman Catholic Crusaders is the height of spiritual confusion! This is Babylon. The fact that Mr. Green thinks Catholic Crusaders were genuine "Christians" to begin with shows what kind of delusion he is in.

The best we can do for the living, as far as helping them to receive forgiveness is concerned, is pray and ask God to convict them so they, of their own free will, will turn and repent. Whenever we start doing anything with regards to those who have already died we are stepping into the occult.

Recruiting agents of the revolution are not confined to churches, youth ministries and youth mission organizations. They are also at work on College Campuses. An article in the May 1999 issue of Christianity Today entitled, "Spiritual Renewal Sweeps Schools," claims that a mighty revival of confession and joy is spreading across campuses. Yet, after reading the article you are left with a sense of unease because the focus does not seem to have been on conviction of offending a Holy God, nor on receiving the forgiveness of God. According to this report at least, it seems to have been about sharing hurts and struggles with others in order to gain a sense of release, freedom and acceptance.

One girl says: "I have never felt such freedom...I now know it’s all right, that they accept me as I am...People are glad to find out I am not a perfect person." Another says: "There’s lots of hurt and no place for the hurt to come out. The revival gave people the chance to say, This is who I am".

The setting for confessions was always public (often by use of a microphone in front of the whole assembly). The areas brought up for healing by confession were often psychological and students were looking for comfort from rejection, low self-esteem and family dysfunction.

Unfortunately, having an emotional release is not the same as the cleansing that results from genuine repentance—and getting a loving hug from a classmate is not the same as the forgiveness of God. However much others are prepared to understand our failings and accept us as we are, that is not God's way. He requires a conviction of having offended Him and a change of behavior—that is true repentance.

What is happening on these campuses is just another part of the new paradigm way of doing spiritual warfare, which includes other extra-Biblical rituals like prayer walks, spiritual mapping, strategic level intercession, spiritual stake-outs, identificational repentance and redeeming the land. By infiltrating churches and youth organizations, the generals of the "revolution" are recruiting literally millions of youth into their counterfeit army. It's like they have cast a giant net into the waters of modern Christianity and it is being filled to the brim!

How it must grieve the heart of God to watch an entire generation of young people being seduced into the worship of Antichrist by self-serving, power-hungry revival leaders. The Spirit of God is crying out against this carnage through his true prophets, just as He did in the days ancient Israel:

O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord. They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word. Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken? Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God. And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God.

Ezekiel 13:4-9

To Be Continued