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many-paths1

 

As Christians we need to be aware of how the world is quickly changing and how fast the new spirituality is emerging. Here in America we are known as a Christian nation…but are we really?

Many are turning to odd and mystical religious systems, because they seek  “The Fundamental power they have within.”

From Huna.com

Huna is the modern or Western label given to the ancient healing and spiritual shamanism of ancient Hawai’i. In these pages you will find teachings that were once secret and carefully guarded.

– Connect with your Higher Self

– Access Universal Sources of Energy

– Awaken your Spiritual Evolution

• Introduction to ancient symbols
• Higher Self Connection
• Hakalau: the shaman state

This video starts with the statement “When God created the world…”,  but the end of the video shows the people drumming and chanting. This has nothing to do with the God of the Holy Bible.

Listen and hear a woman say, “…undeniable harmony, and that has to come from within.”  Then another..”there’s spirits in everything, in the mountain, in the rock or the stone, or in everything or the tree.”

This is panentheism – That God is in all things.

http://www.huna.com/video.php

When people resort to shamanism and easily accept it….the time is short for the return of Lord Jesus Christ.

The statement on one of their photos says ” There are many paths to personal transformation.”

Those who know scripture will recognize  the “many paths” statement as false.

John 14:6  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The world is being prepared for a new spirituality. Cling to the Lord Jesus Christ and do not deny Him by seeking god in rocks or trees or looking within.  Jesus is at the right hand of the Father.

Col 3:1    If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

 

Looking within yourself  to find God, is the oldest trick in the book. Which book? Genesis.  The serpent told Adam and Eve this lie, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

See also: Morningstar Ministries delving into paganism. This one is actually worse.

https://kimolsen.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/morningstar-ministries-paganism/

http://filesfromtoni.blogspot.com

Apostate Rick Warren Utters Qu’ran Inauguration Prayer (Todd Friel Video)


 

Watch Todd Friel go through a skit here of Rick Warren praying a prayer from the Qu’ran at Obama’s Inauguration
The Scripture tells us, “Hear, oh Israel, the Lord is our God; the Lord is one.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray.
Muslims will tell you god has no son, and he was not crucified, as taught in the Qu’ran, so obviously, Isa, the ‘muslim Jesus’ is not the same Jesus Christ who was crucified, died and rose from the dead on the third day according to the scriptures. So who was Rick Warren praying to is the question?

Here is a video of Rick Joyner at Morningstar Ministries.

This U-Tube video rightly asks if this is revival or paganism. Please watch with discernment.

The young man at the end of the clip  utters between convulsions:

“I need your hearts”

“You’re my people”

“I long for you”

“You are my creation”

Sadly, I do not think these words are from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

Morningstar is linked with IHOP ministries, Freshfire Ministries (Todd Bentley) and many false teachings on godtv.

“Take Heed” Ministries

Cecil Andrews, PO BOX 13, Ballynahinch, BT24 8AL, Northern Ireland.

Telephone/Fax 028 9756 5511. E-MAIL – takeheed@aol.com

WEBSITE – http://www.takeheed.net

Rick Warren: The art of ‘politically-correct’ praying

Invocation at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama

20th January  2009

 

When the Apostle Paul came to the city of Athens we read “his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry” [Acts 17:16] and later in verse 22 we read of how he stood up on Mars Hill in that same city and to a people whom he described as “very religious” he proceeded to proclaim the Biblical God of creation and His appointed coming judge of all people, His crucified but resurrected Son, Jesus Christ. Yesterday, along with countless millions around the world I watched on television the inauguration of President Barack Obama and not surprisingly I was particularly interested to listen to the ‘Invocation’ delivered by Rick Warren. As I listened to him speak, like Paul of old, ‘my spirit was stirred within me’ for this was not a prayer offered to the One true God of Heaven, Father, Son and Spirit but rather it was a cunningly crafted idolatrous prayer designed to placate and please many of the false ‘gods’ worshipped in Washington DC, in America in general and around the whole world.

 

This was a supreme example of ‘the art of “politically-correct” praying’. I want now to set out the text of what Rick Warren ‘prayed’ as downloaded from his church website and I will intersperse it with my own comments in red in the hope that readers will realize that this was simply a further attempt to idolatrously unify people of ‘faith’ and not an attempt to “earnestly contend for THE faith” [Jude 3].

 

“Let us pray…

 

Almighty God, Our Father, [God is only ‘The Father’ of those who have been “born again” of His Spirit and are trusting alone in His Son, “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” for their eternal salvation – these opening phrases were designed to put everyone of every ‘faith’ or even none at ease] everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of You alone. It all comes from You; it all belongs to You; it all exists for Your glory. History is Your story.

 

The Scripture tells us, ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God.’ [In Deuteronomy 6:4 this verse in many versions begins “Hear O Israel, The Lord our God” – in a few other versions it does read as Rick Warren stated, ‘The Lord IS our God’. The full declaration of Deuteronomy 6:4, also repeated by the Lord Himself in Mark 12:29, actually tells us “Hear O Israel. The Lord our God is one Lord”. The Bible Knowledge Commentary states, ‘This verse has been called the SHEMA from the Hebrew word translated ‘Hear’. The statement in this verse is the basic confession of faith in Judaism. The verse means that the Lord (Yahweh) is totally unique. He alone is God’. The Commentary goes on to say, ‘This confession of monotheism does not preclude the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. “God” is plural (Elohim) possibly implying the Trinity and “one” (ehad) may suggest a unity of Persons in the Godhead (see Genesis 2:24 where the same word for “one” is used of Adam and Eve).  In the printed text of Rick Warren’s prayer, ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God’ is in inverted commas/quotation marks indicating a direct biblical quote but the phrase that then follows is not in inverted commas/quotation marks suggesting that it is not meant to be a quote from Deuteronomy 6:4. What is Rick Warren up to by only partially quoting the basic confession of faith of Judaism and then following it with this statement ? The Lord is One [Having quoted an important portion of the basic confession of faith in Judaism Rick Warren now asserts that ‘The Lord is One’ – it seems to me that he is trying to tell ‘Israel’ that their ‘God’ is the same ‘One’ claimed by other monotheistic religions such as Islam and Christianity and his next words are the basis for my claim for this] and You are the compassionate and merciful One [EVERY Sura in the Koran except one begins with this dedication “In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful” – Rick Warren’s use of this terminology was I believe intended to ‘strike a chord’ with  the followers of Islam] and You are loving to everyone You have made [this was I believe Rick Warren’s ‘overture’ to Christians who are constantly but erroneously being told that God’s greatest attribute is ‘love’ whereas His greatest attribute actually is ‘holiness’. In these few phrases Rick Warren was I believe using terminology that, as I said earlier, would “placate and please” the followers of many ‘gods’].

 

Now, today we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the inauguration of our first African-American President of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequalled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And, we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven! [Scripture does not indicate that those in heaven are aware of what is currently happening down here on planet earth and we are told that the focus of praise, rejoicing, singing etc in heaven is “the Lamb” who was crucified to save sinners – see Revelation 5: 5-14 and 7: 9-10. To suggest that the attention of the saints already in heaven would be directed away from their worship of the Lord Jesus Christ to the installation of an American President is very close to if not actually blasphemy].

 

Give to our new President, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility; the courage to lead us with integrity; the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him [The One true God declares in 1st Samuel 2:30,  “them who honor me I will honor”- in his eulogy to Barack Obama and his ‘god’, the Religion Correspondent of the Belfast Telegraph, Alf McCreary wrote last Saturday (17th January 2009) ‘Obama appears to be a man who is not afraid to think beyond the narrow confines of one religious outlook…He said “I am a Christian so I have a deep faith. On the other hand…I believe that there are many paths to the same place and that there is a higher power, that we are connected as a people’. These are not God-honoring statements worthy and deserving of blessing from the One who said quite clearly in Matthew 7:14 “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it” and who in John 14:6 declared Himself to be the ONLY way and path to His Father in heaven]. his family, Vice-President Biden, the cabinet and every one of our freely elected leaders.

 

Help us, oh God, to remember that we are Americans united not by race, or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget You, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us. And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims [This I believe was a subtle plug for the global P E A C E initiative championed by Rick Warren and others that he is involved with such as the ‘Tony Blair Faith Foundation’ where he serves as a member of the ‘Advisory Council’], responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ. Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all [Does the ‘all’ include the ‘common good’ of unborn babies that Barack Obama is content to see aborted (murdered) on an ongoing massive scale?].

 

May all people of goodwill today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. [Tolerant co-operation does not exalt a nation or even a planet – according to Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalteth a nation” and righteousness is certainly not embodied in the ‘prayer’ offered by the actively ‘gay’ Bishop Gene Robinson who was invited by Barack Obama to pray at an event a couple of days before the inauguration – the following is a posting from the Christian blog of Ingrid Schlueter called ‘slice of Laodicea’] –

 

I [Ingrid Schlueter] just received this mailing from Bill Wilson at http://www.DailyJot.com and wanted to pass it on to Slice readers.

A big Amen to Mr. Wilson.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Greetings in the Name of Him Who Is Truth!

Sunday, January 18 marked the beginning of the U.S. presidential inauguration. Kicking off the ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial was homosexual activist and false minister of the gospel “Vickie” Eugene Robinson, the apostate Episcopalian. Robinson was charged with opening the event with a prayer. He began his prayer for the new administration at the White House with these words, “O god of our many understandings. . .” From then on, Robinson called on this pagan god to “bless” America, but each “blessing” was actually a curse pronounced over the nation, a prophetic call from the abyss to the one world order and the encoding of the true gospel into words that tickle the ears, but destroy souls.

Robinson asked god to bless our nation with tears, anger and discomfort that we might not accept: poverty around the world; women being raped because they seek an education; the discrimination of homosexuals, transgender people, immigrants and people of color; simplistic answers rather than the truth about ourselves as a nation. Robinson then asked for the blessing of patience to understand that our problems will not be fixed anytime soon; with humility to embrace with respect our differences and to know that our national needs must be balanced with the needs of the world; and compassion, “remembering that every religion’s god judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable.”

It is with these curses embraced by the new administration that our nation begins another chapter in its history, a chapter that when it is written will say that Americans stepped outside of its underpinnings as a Christian nation and its leadership fell apostate to a strange word. Even the man who claims to lead evangelical Christians served as an apologist for the apostate. Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life and pastor of SaddlebackChurch, praised the choice of Robinson to pray, saying that the president-elect “has again demonstrated his genuine commitment to bringing all Americans of goodwill together in search of common ground.” Warren could not be more incorrect. Robinson is not a man of goodwill. He is an apostate that mocks the word of God. And in lacking discernment by promoting common ground with such a man, Warren is deceived and is deceiving others. What has occurred is the cursing of our nation and its leadership with heresy. And it is a sad day that Christian leaders would embrace such compromise. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Discern that you may not compromise.

Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry
www.dailyjot.com

 

 

And, may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before You. [This of course is the ‘One Lord’ conjured up by politically-correct interfaith activists such as Rick Warren]

 

We now commit our new President and his wife Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into Your loving care. I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life [The only Saviour of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and God The Son not only changes lives but He changes eternal destinies through the redemption He purchased for His people on Calvary’s Cross, even the forgiveness of their sins] – Yeshua (Hebrew), Isa (Arabic), Jesus (Spanish), Jesus (English) – [The use of these names for Jesus was designed to convey or imply a supposed ‘common bond’ between Judaism, Islam, (Hispanic) Roman Catholicism and Protestantism through some measure of common recognition of Jesus Christ – this was devious as of course Judaism rejects Jesus Christ as the Messiah, Islam rejects the deity and death of Jesus Christ and the Jesus Christ of Roman Catholicism is a ‘false christ’ embodied in a supposedly transubstantiated piece of bread – there is absolutely no common bond and recognition of Jesus Christ flowing through these differing religions] who taught us [The Lord Jesus Christ taught HIS disciples to pray this prayer] to pray, “‘Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.’”

 

Rick Warren’s ‘witness’ on Capitol Hill, through this ‘prayer’, bore no resemblance to that of the Apostle Paul on Mars Hill and I do not believe for one minute that anyone in heaven would have been ‘shouting’ as this prayer was offered, and certainly not the Triune God, for we read in John 9:31 “Now we know that God heareth not sinners; but if any man be a worshipper of God, AND DOETH HIS WILL, him he heareth”. Being ‘politically-correct’ when it comes to praying is certainly not “doing God’s will”.

 

Cecil Andrews – ‘Take Heed’ Ministries – 21st January 2009

Charlie Robinson and his ‘Pillow Fight with Jesus’

Does the word BLASPHEMY ring a bell?!

by Bud Press, Director

Christian Research Service

http://www.christianresearchservice.com

December 29, 2008

Charlie Robinson, associate of Todd Bentley and Fresh Fire Ministries1, is known for his off-the-wall super-unnatural stories that go well beyond the usual super-duper fantasy conjured up by many within the hyper-Charismatic camp.

It seems that Robinson just isn’t satisfied with the real Jesus Christ (the One Who is so eloquently revealed within God’s holy and inspired written word; the One Who is God Himself in human form, second Person of the Trinity and Creator of the universe; the sinless Savior Who suffered and died on the cross and arose victoriously from the grave; the One Who returned to heaven to prepare a place for those who truly love and worship Him).

That said, the Jesus described in God’s written word is not the same “Jesus” Robinson described in the following excerpt:

After this wonderful fiery experience, I found myself standing in front of Jesus. He turned and grabbed a big white pillow and …..Full Story

Posted from: Just to make you Think

This blog is designed to make you think. Also to encourage, exhort, edify and warn the saints of God as we see the day of  The Lord on the horizon.

 

Another Lie Via God-less TV

 

bickle

When Mike Bickle of IHOP speaks saints-don’t listen.

Just happened to catch a snippet from an e-mail I got from “God TV” (that’s a joke-it should be called God-less TV). These same people were the ones who broadcast Todd Bentley world wide to deceive thousands. http://www.god.tv/node/519

Photo shows Rory& Wendy Alec of God-less TV, with Mike Bickle at IHOP (International House of Prayer.)

He was telling all his large audience “Jesus will not come back until the church has shaken off the spirit of slumber, operates in the anointing of prayer and has a bridal identity”…now just where in scripture does he find that? While these things sound good, they are not truth, and we know a little leavens the whole lump. These teachings are so subtle, that the young and unlearned cannot distinguish truth from a lie.

Full Article here:

http://justtomakeyouthink.blogspot.com/2008/12/another-lie-via-god-less-tv.html

This is a nice article from Discernment 4 Truth

 

Sheep among wolves


This morning I read Matthew 10 and a particular verse that stayed with me is verse 15
“I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town. I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

Now in the past I always thought this verse applied to people that don’t believe in God and those outside of the church. I read this verse and it struck me who the wolves are. Those within the church that portray a form of godliness, those that claim to know the way but instead they show deception. There are wolves within churches. Could Jesus have been talking about those that actually claim to know God? This verse is not just for those that don’t know God, it is for those who are out there that are influencing the church negatively leading them to another doctrine other than the true gospel.

The verse where we need to be shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves is towards those who claim to know it all, those in leadership that are blinding the sheep and leading them to another Jesus. Honestly, when I look at the verse the way I now see it, it makes so much sense.

People that have never heard about Jesus or new born christians will embrace truth more than the ‘christian’ who has been in the church for more than 20 years who has the feeling in their heart that they know it all. A person who is devoted to Todd Bently and the lakeland revival is so blinded to the truth that they are harder to rebuke, teach, encourage than the unsaved. The wolves are not those outside the church as their influence is not to steer someone away from true doctrine and a christian will not follow the outsider who drinks and lives in sin, the christian is more likely to be deceived by a self acclaimed apostle or prophet.. They are the wolves. Mind boggling.. and I hope I have made sense here.

It is funny because the one time before walking into the church I had a picture in my mind of the majority of them being wolves and I shut my mind up thinking that I was being silly but looking back, it makes a lot more sense.

The point that I am trying to make is that we really ought to discern more and never be afraid to question what is going on. We have a duty to look out for oneanother in all things. We are sheep among wolves and we need to be focused on the Good shepherd and follow His leading in everything.

“Savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.”
Acts 20:29-30

“There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them – bringing swift destruction on themselves.”
2 Peter 2:1

“Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”
1 John 4:1-3

2 Cor. 11:3-4 “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted– you may well put up with it. (you will have to endure it, or you wear it beautifully, and some do).”

Gal 1:6-9: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

This is the lastest email coming out of Global Harvest Ministries  – The names mentioned should be used as a warning list.
*****************************************************************************************************************
A Lakeland Update
From C. Peter Wagner
October 29, 2008

This is an update on the aftermath of the Lakeland Outpouring.

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

Let’s move on to new horizons for the kingdom of God!
Blessings,
Peter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear friends,

 

 

by Bud Press, Director

Christian Research Service

www.christianresearchservice.com

October 24, 2008

____________________________________________________________________

 

And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with

the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not

strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.

And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called

the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to

the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him (Revelation 12:7-9). 

____________________________________________________________________

 

In the opening stages of his 2003 article, “Angelic Hosts Part 1,” Todd Bentley focuses the reader’s attention on “teaching on the angelic realm and how you can release angels to fulfill God’s word” 

( http://www.etpv.org/2003/angho.html ).

 

Next, Bentley reveals that he had “several daily visitations of angels which lasted for weeks,” and that,

Since the beginning of this year I’ve also sensed an increase in the presence of angels in our meetings. Many others have reported to me of increase of spiritual activity in their lives too.

Towards the end of his article, Bentley claimed that one of the angels he encountered was a female named “Emma”:

Now let me talk about an angelic experience with Emma. Twice Bob Jones asked me about this angel that was in Kansas City in 1980: “Todd, have you ever seen the angel by the name of Emma?” He asked me as if he expected that this angel was appearing to me. Surprised, I said, “Bob, who is Emma?” He told me that Emma was the angel that helped birth and start the whole prophetic movement in Kansas City in the 1980s. She was a mothering-type angel that helped nurture the prophetic as it broke out. Within a few weeks of Bob asking me about Emma, I was in a service in Beulah, North Dakota. In the middle of the service I was in conversation with Ivan and another person when in walks Emma. As I stared at the angel with open eyes, the Lord said, “Here’s Emma.” I’m not kidding. She floated a couple of inches off the floor. It was almost like Kathryn Khulman in those old videos when she wore a white dress and looked like she was gliding across the platform. Emma appeared beautiful and young-about 22 years old-but she was old at the same time. She seemed to carry the wisdom, virtue and grace of Proverbs 31 on her life.

 

She glided into the room, emitting brilliant light and colors. Emma carried these bags and began pulling gold out of them. Then, as she walked up and down the aisles of the church, she began putting gold dust on people. “God, what is happening?” I asked. The Lord answered: “She is releasing the gold, which is both the revelation and the financial breakthrough that I am bringing into this church. I want you to prophecy that Emma showed up in this service-the same angel that appeared in Kansas city-as a sign that I am endorsing and releasing a prophetic spirit in the church.” See, when angels come, they always come for a reason; we need to actually ask God what the purpose is. Within three weeks of that visitation, the church had given me the biggest offering I had ever received to that point in my ministry. Thousands of dollars! Thousands! Even though the entire community consisted of only three thousand people, weeks after I left the church the pastor testified that the church offerings had either doubled or tripled.

But “Emma” isn’t the only female angel that Todd Bentley has endorsed. There is another, and her name is “Mary.”

 

Mary, Mary, quite contrary… 

 

In his June 1, 2008 book, The Reality of the Supernatural World, Todd Bentley included a chapter titled, “SUPERNATURAL ENCOUNTERS.” In it, Bentley introduces the reader to “some inspiring testimonies of ordinary people who have experienced powerful spiritual encounters” (p. 339).

 

On page 340, Todd Bentley gives his stamp of approval to the inspiring testimonies, stating that,

I’m so thankful for those who have shared their stories here, and I rejoice for what God has done in their lives and through our ministry. We thank them for “saying so,” for declaring His works, and making known to our readers that the Kingdom of Heaven is now.

One of the stories Todd Bentley is so thankful for is the testimony of a 15 year old girl named “Alyssa” and her “Supernatural Encounter With Angels”  (dated April 5, 2007). Here is an excerpt from page 344:

Then, I went to sleep and I saw in a dream our whole house being taken over by angels, and even the Lord came into our house, walked around our beds, and blessed us and secured the whole place. Then the next night, a whole room full of angels came in and spoke with me and said, “We are so happy to have you back, ALYSSA!” Then a beautiful angel, named Mary, came and said, “We are here to believe in you.”

Alyssa concluded her testimony on page 344, stating that, “This has changed my whole life!” She hoped to attend the Supernatural Training Centre, sponsored by Fresh Fire Ministries ( http://www.freshfire.ca/index.php?Id=4 ). 

 

In his article, “Confronting the Superstitious Church of the 21st Century,” Richard Fisher reminds Christians that their focus is to be on Jesus Christ, not angels:

The pursuit of angels should be off-limits for a Bible-believing Christian for a number of reasons. Paramount is a warning in Colossians 2:18 regarding intruding into the unseen realm of angels. The pursuit of angelic beings is a subtle diversion from the only Mediator who is superior by comparison and from the study of Scripture. [Personal Freedom Outreach, http://www.pfo.org/confront.htm ]

But the pursuit of angels is precisely what Todd Bentley, Alyssa, and many of his followers have done. And while Alyssa’s testimony will sound credible to the innocent, unwary, and those whose minds are blinded to the truth of God’s written word, it wasn’t heavenly angels and the Jesus of the Bible that appeared to her in her dream. What Alyssa encountered were counterfeit angels the Apostle Paul warned about in his letters to the churches of Galatia and Corinth. 

 

In his letters, Paul warned about the false “Jesus” and demonic angels roaming the spiritual landscape. Galatians 1:6-9 and 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 serve as a chilling reminder that there are real counterfeit angels–all of whom make it their business to confuse, oppress, deceive, and lead the believer away from the real Jesus Christ and the real gospel and the real Holy Spirit.

 

And marching in-step with the counterfeit angels and “Jesus” are men and women who claim to be servants of Jesus Christ, but are, in reality, those who are well-trained in the dark art of deception and manipulation: 

 

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember this: Where there be false apostles and deceitful workers, there be doctrines of demons and interactive fellowship with demonic angels. 

 

Again, from Todd Bentley’s article, “ANGELIC HOSTS Part 1,” here is a chilling reminder of what happens when the counterfeits’ show up:

During this visitation the pastor’s wife (it was an AOG church) got totally whacked by the Holy Ghost–she began running around barking like a dog or squawking like a chicken as a powerful prophetic spirit came on her. [ http://tinyurl.com/BarkingClucking ]  

For decades, the Charismatic movement has spawned and spewed a multitude of false prophets, false teachers, and false healers; all of whom have mocked, plundered, and twisted God’s written word; all of whom have taken advantage of the weak and conditioned the innocent; all of whom have caused tremendous damage to the cause of Christ worldwide.

 

While deception is seeker-friendly to both adults and children, Alyssa’s testimony demonstrates just how easy it is for a young teenager to be influenced and manipulated by the false teachers of our day.

 

After all, is there a better way to ensure the future of demonically-inspired teachings than to condition and deceive impressionable children, and lead them down the path to unrighteousness? 

 

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren

who are in the world (1 Peter 5:8-9). 

 

Recommended reading:

Todd Bentley’s Angels

Bob Jones: A Tail of a Prophet 

Does the Bible teach that angels visit us?

The “Heavenly Hash” of Mary K. Baxter

When the Angel came: The William Branham Connection

 

 

Volume 19  Number 5                              September/October 2008

The Kingdom.   The last 20 years has witnessed the teaching on building a Kingdom here on the earth rising to fever-pitch proportions.   The Apostles and Prophets have been making kingdom decrees as they are doing far more than just “aligning” Todd Bentley.   They are aligning heaven and earth, angels, governments and powers.  At the beginning of 2008, Dutch Sheets held a conference entitled “Starting the Year off Right”.    Exact quotes from Dutch Sheets:  “So when we begin to emphasize the king and the Kingdom rule of the Lord -guess what happens? The church goes to a whole new level of Kingdom authority and that is what is about to happen.  If your emphasis is a local church emphasis first it can be selfish- it can be mine- I can build walls. I can emphasize what is best or what is going to benefit me at the expense even of others but if I am emphasizing a Kingdom- you can’t build walls  because you can’t build walls around the kingdom- it’s too big.  SO God is going to have to shift our emphasis.”

 

Then he said some amazing things in regard to the Gospel:  “EVEN OUR GOSPEL HAS BEEN DEFICIENT.  We are always told in scripture to preach the gospel of the what?  Do you know we are not told to preach the Gospel of the cross?  The word Gospel means what? Good News- s The Gospel of the Kingdom- oh we are told to preach the good news of something.  When we preach the Good News of the cross and leave it there- and that’s important- we have to preach the cross but the Good News goes beyond the cross. The cross is the entry point into the Kingdom.   He didn’t say preach the Good News just of salvation but preach the Good News that I have come and reestablished the dominion of God in the earth and restored to you the dominion that you lost in Genesis.  My Kingdom is now functioning in earth in a people. The cross is the entrance – The Kingdom is the realm.  The cross gives us life- The Kingdom gives us something to live for.  The cross is about redemption- the Kingdom is about restoration.  I want you to think about that- we are not just to emphasize redemption- that gets us in but He’s about restoring everything that has been lost. 

 

We are going to move from a mindset of saving souls and growing churches to producing disciples of the Kingdom.  Kingdom disciples have eternity in their hearts and weapons in their hands.  They are Kingdom thinkers- difference makers- culture shapers.”

 

The “Kingdom” teaching has a long history and bodes for a fearsome future.   It is this teaching that has undermined the Gospel of Jesus Christ for this generation.   The upcoming conference will deal with the roots of the Kingdom teaching and its influences.    We are privileged to have special guests at this conference.

 

       Featured Speakers

 

Dr. Martin Erdmann is one of the foremost experts in the world on the doctrine and practice of “building the kingdom of God on earth.” This phrase sums up what we commonly refer to as “Dominionism.”

 

Dominionism is a pervasive heresy with many manifestations. In a nutshell, it teaches that what Christ did at the Cross was insufficient; that man must somehow finish and complete the work of Christ. It arises from a false view of man’s Fall in the Garden of Eden as a “mistake,” something which needs to be worked out in the unfolding of history, and that God’s redemptive plan for humanity involves progressively new stages of revelation until man finally “gets it right.” It teaches that man must DO something to defeat Satan –spiritually, politically, socially, etc. In the end, it corrupts eschatology by focusing on man’s efforts here on earth, teaching that we can bring heaven to earth and restore paradise, become gods, or bring Jesus back.

 

Dr. Erdmann is an expert on this doctrine historically as well as theologically. He has spent the past several years researching the archives of European church history to uncover the roots of this heresy. He is also an expert on how the medical scientific community and occultists are working to create a “New Breed” genetically. Several years ago Dr. Erdmann wrote a book about the early history of this doctrine’s rise to prominence in the liberal Protestant denominations the first half of the last century. We reviewed his book, Building the Kingdom of God on Earth: The Churches’ Contribution to Marshal public Support for World Order and Peace, 1919-1945 (Wipf & Stock, 2005) for Herescope on April 17-18, 2006. Below we have reproduced those two columns. You will note the many parallels to today’s efforts by New Apostolic Reformation leaders and Rick Warren to accomplish this same agenda.

 

The New Order of the Kingdom

We believe that we see the goal and we believe that men can get hold of that power to move on to that goal. That goal is the Kingdom of God on earth. The Kingdom of God is a new order standing at the door of the lower order. The higher order, founded on love, justice, goodwill, brotherhood and redemption, stands confronting this lower order founded on selfishness, exploitation, unbrotherliness, with its resultant clash and conclusions. . . it [the higher order] will finally replace this lower order, for it is God’s order. We shall present Christ as the open door to that era. We shall unfold the possibilities of that era both within the individual and the collective will

.(E. Stanley Jones, Federal Council of Churches, Federal Council Bulletin 19, no. 8 (Oct. 1936), New York 5)

 

There truly is “no new thing under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9). The quotation above is from the year 1936. It is cited in Dr. Martin Erdmann’s groundbreaking book, Building the Kingdom of God on Earth: The Churches’ Contribution to Marshal Public Support for World Order and Peace, 1919-1945.

 

       The history behind this quotation is a fascinating look into the rise of liberal denominations 50-100 years ago. They embraced a dominionist doctrine of building the kingdom of God on earth long before it became a New Apostolic Reformation or Reconstructionist “mandate.”

 

       The thesis of Dr. Erdmann’s book is that the rising popularity of this doctrine was substantially influenced and perpetuated by the same academic, political and religious intelligentsia who were busily forming the beginnings of a New World Order on earth. These elites seized upon certain doctrines of the Gospel as a mechanism to forge an international consensus on “moral” ideology.

 

     Dr. Erdmann writes that in 1934 the Federal Council of Churches began a grassroots public relations campaign to further its social gospel. The end goal was to create enough groundswell that another international organization could be formed to replace the faulty League of Nations. Erdmann explained:

 

“A new commitment to the concept of the kingdom of God on earth needed to be generated among the people at large and from the constituencies of the member churches, a commitment that had been notably absent for some time. Unless the Council succeeded in mobilizing a grassroots movement of socially conscious Christians it would never realize the goals set out in the Social Creed. Thus the new emphasis on propagating the principles of the Social Creed was again designed to attain the kingdom of God on earth rather than to reach lost souls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (p. 154)

 

     The modus operendi to accomplish such a mass motivation is strikingly similar to the methods utilized with today’s evangelicals:

 

“Without adhering to basic Scriptural concepts. . . the Council’s social appeals were couched in biblical terminology. Although mentioning the sin problem frequently, it was usually in the context of sins against society rather than sin against God. Regeneration was masterfully redefined as a new social awareness. The substitutionary atonement of Christ upon the cross was deemed insignificant and was rarely if ever mentioned. The Reformation dictum, that humankind can find peace with God only by being justified by faith, was simply ignored as without relevance. The residue of evangelical concepts which could be found in their gospel messages were mostly based on Arminian theology. . . .” (p. 155)

 

In order to achieve this organic unity, the reformers of that era proposed that a “sense of urgency” or “crisis” be created. E. Stanley Jones, who is quoted at the top of this post, proposed in 1935 that the various branches of Protestantism “come together on the simple doctrinal basis found in Matthew 16:16-19. He defended his proposal on the grounds of the urgent necessity to unite, in view of the task confronting the church.” (p. 147)

 

     Dr. Erdmann notes that “Jones was less than candid in his statements.” It was not unlike the call for a Second Reformation that we see today:

 

The whole plan rested upon an indifference to the development of Christian theology from the Council of Nicea onwards, and it actually called upon the creedal churches, the Presbyterian and the Lutheran, for example, to surrender the heritage of the Reformation.” P.148

http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/04/new-order-of-kingdom.html

 

The “New Deal” Kingdom Upon the men of this time is breaking the light of a new social order. The outstanding fact of today is the rediscovery of the kingdom of God. To the world this comes almost as a new revelation from heaven. For eighteen hundred years men have believed in this kingdom and have prayed for its coming; but now at last conception of its meaning becomes larger and more true. We are coming to see that the kingdom of God in Christ’s conception never means anything less than a righteous human society on earth. Christ has come, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. He has come to reveal a kingdom in heaven and to realize a kingdom on earth. He has come not alone to save people out of the world and fill them for a far-away heaven; but to make a heaven here. He has come not to patch up human society and make the world a little less intolerable for men; but to make all things new and to create a new social order.”

(Samuel Z. Batten, The New World Order, 1919, p. 4-5) [emphasis added]

 

This quotation above is cited on page 151 in Dr. Martin Erdmann’s excellent book, Building the Kingdom of God on Earth, which Herescope began to review in yesterday’s post.  Dr. Erdmann explains how, in 1932, the Federal Council of Churches began to revise its outdated Social Creed. This revision bears striking resemblance to current “marketplace transformation” efforts, described last week and in previous Herescope posts:

 

Toyohiko Kagawa, a Japanese churchman, asserted in the January issue [of the Federal Council Bulletin] that the propagation of the Christian gospel must include a total reconstruction of society. The Church should aspire to nothing less than the constitution of Christian collectivism. It is evident,’ he wrote, ‘that we must Christianise industry and get rid of the acquisitive motive in economic life. It seems to me that we cannot solve our problems on the basis of individualism.’ His idea was to replace the supposedly defunct capitalist system with a number of Christian co-operatives modeled after the pattern of the medieval guild system. The FCC was enthused about Kagawa’s proposal and incorporated it (in a modified form) in its revised version of the Social Creed.” (p. 151-2) [emphasis added]

 

This resultant Social Creed adopted by the FCC in 1932 was part and parcel of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. So much so that eventually the FCC was able to move on to other projects. Many of the tenets of this Social Creed called for a radical restructuring of economic, social, cultural, family, and political order.

 

This “new social order” was being implemented in a supposed “new age of faith”:

 

“The Commission on the Church and Social Service spearheaded the campaign for a Christian collectivism among the American public by preparing a message which was delivered on Labour Day 1932. This message directly advocated a redistribution of wealth in the United States and also among the nations of the world. It asserted that only by the intelligent regulation and management of finance, credit, and industry could the kingdom of God be advanced for the common good. It pleaded for the extension of minimum-wage laws, and the payment of the highest wages possible in order to achieve the redistribution of wealth and to realize the kingdom of God.

 

It became clear that the thinking of a large segment of the leadership of the Council was dominated by political and economic idealism.” (p. 153)

 

By 1933 the “FCC initiated an amalgamation process which in time blurred the distinction between its new social order and the New Deal.” (p. 159)

 

The Truth:  Some of the rhetoric has changed. Some of the doctrinal focus has shifted so that it now incorporates the “Great Commission” and Stewardship of the Earth “mandates.” Some of the political lessons learned over the past 75 years have changed the initial game plan, the dynamics, and even some of the implementation. And the methods have been updated to use state-of-the-art psycho-social techniques. But the basic “plan” to institute a global “kingdom” in the name of Christ is still the same.75 years ago this plan was a fraud and a sham. It had nothing to do with true Christianity. Today, this same plan — slightly revised and updated — is still a fraud and a sham. It is an antichrist kingdom which is being built upon Earth. 

http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/04/new-deal-kingdom.html

 

Read entire newsletter here:

 

http://www.discernment-ministries.org/NLSeptOct_2008.htm

 

Their next conference is

 

Discernment Ministries

Cordially invites you to attend

the

TRANSFORMATION of  THE CHURCH

CONFERENCE

October 10 & 11, 2008

 

The conference is being held at:

 

The Michiana Christian Embassy

1922 E. Main Street

Niles, MI  49120

269-683-3518

 

 

There is no registration fee for the conference.  Free-will offerings will be taken.

Inquiries:  765-583-4799/ 765-583-4177

 

 

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