"Mainstream"
Spring 1995 Edition - Part One
BIRTH
OF THE MANCHILD
"Now
the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils"
(1 Tim 4:1)
"Yes,
amen! Yes, Lord, amen, yes Lord! Ooohhhhh, yes, the Holy glory is on
you Matthew, the Holy glory. That's right! That's right!, and Father
we pray that you'd put an anointing of a preacher on Matthew, an anointing
of fire; let the coals come from the altar of the Lord, Matthew, and
touch your lips, and Lord I pray for faith and ignition, let fire come
out of his stomach, Lord, let the fire of God come on his back, And
Lord I pray that Matthew would stand up in faith, that's true faith
Matthew, believe it! IT'S THE TIME TO BIRTH THE BABY. It's the time
for the outpouring of the spirit. Believe it!"
This
was the prayer of Wes and Stacy Campbell, leaders of the Toronto renewal,
over a man called Matthew at the Seattle Fire And Reign Conference, on
February 14, 1995.
I
will let the person who attended this conference sum it up in her own
words:
"Last
night Wes Campbell had the people break into small groups of around seven
or so, (there were 650 at least in attendance, standing room only after
that). Each group was to be as it were, "a nest". They were to put one
in the middle and pray for the "fire". When they saw any evidence of the
fire beginning to "manifest", they were to "fan" the flames. They actually
make all kinds of bizarre movements to stir up a breeze or the "wind"
of the spirit. As you would fan a small fire, they jumped, and fanned
frenetically, and blew on the "spark" to get it going.
"It
came across to me as a bizarre and shamanistic display, and I was in pagan
Nepal for three months, where the idols Molech and Baal (forms of Shiva
and Vishnu) are still worshipped and the King is a deity. Yet I never
saw there anything as bizarre as what I observed last week.
"Some
would be suddenly knocked backwards as they started to receive "it", buckling
over eventually and falling backward. Some would lie in awkward positions
at this stage jerking periodically and staring in a gaze at what appeared
to be nothing. Later as they started to convulse, they would scream and
jerk and shriek. The 'midwives' kept blowing and 'fanning' - they hover
to "birth the baby" as it is born.
"Others
would progress to the "birthing" stage, where they grabbed their middles
and rolled around as if they were truly in labor or had a sudden case
of appendicitis, rocking back and forth, yelling at the tops of their
lungs periodically as they were gripped with spasmodic "labor pains".
"Wes
Campbell at one time indicated that those who had the belly pains were
being "imparted the spirit of intercession"
"Wes
Campbell stated on Tuesday night that the greatest prophetic voices in
the world today are Paul Cain, Bob Jones, Mike Bickle, and John Wimber!
In my opinion, they must be teaching Manifest Sons of God teachings at
the ministry level of the Vineyard. If challenged, they will probably
say, "Oh no we don't teach that or believe that!" But the evidence I saw
this week certainly suggests they both believe AND teach it!
TRIGGER
WORDS
There
are several words that seem to trigger the manifestations, reminding me
of post-hypnotic subliminal suggestions: More, Midwife, The Baby, Come
Lord, Battle. At the mention of these words, even casually in a sentence,
they will begin to clap and shout and "worship" rather profoundly, and
"mani-fest". I am shocked that they would use this word, but "manifest"
they do, with jerking, jolting, flexing, bending, sudden inexplicable
body movements, grimacing, twisting, shrieking, shouting, jumping, etc
- it is absolutely bizarre.
[Other
words known to trigger manifestations: Fill, Glory, Fire, Suddenly, and
Run with it!.]
"One
woman, [named in original transcript], testified (as her body did the
most outlandish things) that she believed the Lord had called her to be
a 'midwife' of the church.
"From
what I saw and heard, I believe they are being taught that the Church
is the woman in Rev. 12, and that the baby is the second coming of Christ
in His body, the Church. That is what I believe they are "birthing". [The
Manchild]. Many times I heard them praying for the "holy glory", where
I would have expected them to say Holy Spirit. In any case, you can see
they are definitely "birthing the baby" at the Vineyard!"
What
is this baby? Why do the Toronto leadership believe there is a birth process
going on? To what will this lead?
Let's
first look at the secular understanding of these things. There is a way
that seems good and acceptable to man, yet the end of it is death. It
is the humanistic endeavour to establish a New Order of perfection on
this earth, in effect, to return to Eden. In the world and in false religions,
it has always been believed that a critical time of tribulation, or a
birthing process, will lead to a utopian new age for all mankind.
BIRTH
OF A NEW AGE
This
Autumn, the State of The World Forum will be convened by Michail Gorbachev
in San Francisco in order to "consider what principles should govern the
next phase of human development". The Mission Statement from the Executive
Summary for the World Forum states that it will: "focus on the fundamental
challenges and opportunities confronting humanity as we enter the next
century and a new millennium. It is being held in the belief that at this
momentous juncture in history, we are giving birth to the first global
civilisation."
It
quotes Vaclav Havel, President of the Czech Republic, as saying, "There
are good reasons for suggesting that the modern age has ended. Many things
indicate that we are going through a transitional period, when it seems
that something is on the way out and something else is painfully being
born. It is as if something were crumbling, decaying and exhausting itself,
while something else, still indistinct, were arising from the rubble".
All
false religions and ideologies work towards the restoration of mankind
and creation, but they look to human wisdom and supernatural empowerment
to achieve it. Their labour is futile:
"We
have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought
forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither
have the inhabitants of the world fallen". Isa 26:16-21
M.
Scott-Peck, a well-known and respected new-age author, calls the coming
of the new age a birthing process:
"When
I think of what is required to bring an end to the arms race... it seems
to me that a virtual second coming is required. In fact, that's what its
all about. With all due respect to the traditional millennialists, I think
what is meant by the second coming is not the bodily return of that one
solitary man, but the coming of the mystical body of His true church,
the coming of the Spirit of Christ to everyone, sweeping through the nations,
sweeping through the world. Father, make us like Mary, to give birth to
your Son, to give Him to everyone." (1)
THE
GROWING CHILD WITHIN
Some
see the birth as the development of an inner spiritual christ-child. Matthew
Fox says this: "Indeed, the birthing of the Cosmic Christ is the purpose
of the incarnation...Divinity wants to birth the Cosmic Christ in each
and every individual" (2)
Wallace
Hickey, the husband of the popular teacher Marylin Hickey is proud of
the fact that he can "prophesy at the drop of a hat" and he does it in
rhyme, too. At one Rodney Howard Browne meeting that I watched on video,
he put some startling words into the mouth of God. Hickey also spoke of
a growing god, like a child within us. Did his inspiration for this prophecy
come from the same source as that of Matthew Fox?
"The
Spirit in this very hour says, Don't think you've seen it all as you go
in the Holy Ghost way; God is new and He's a growing person as anything
that is alive. So you don't have to work it up or try in your flesh to
strive. Just let God be God in you as a child, as a child be. God would
will that the whole of everyone in eternity would be like He is, never
old, ever young, growing, a growing thing." (3)
How
can the eternal, everlasting God be "a growing thing" unless we now have
a theology of God who must once more become "as a child" and grow to fullness
"within you" - the Church. However, the inward growing "christ-child"
and the outward birth of a global spirituality, are apparently part of
the same event.
A
leading new-ager, Barbara Marx-Hubbard, has written several books showing
the way to "Planetary Pentecost" - her term for the world instant of co-operation
that will lead to a higher consciousness for all. One of them is called
"The Book of Co-Creation, The Revelation: Our Crisis is a Birth". In it
she offers: "a positive alternative to the Armeggedon scenario in the
Biblical Book of Revelation". Her "inner christ" tells her:
"In
each person on Earth there is an inner being in a chrysalis, ready to
be born. Turn to it for guidance. Let it speak to you. It is growing rapidly
now. The signal for its birth en masse is the gathering of the attracted
people by the sound of the voice of God - the 'trumpet' that shall surely
sound. Then we shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye...At the Quantum
Instant, Christ-consciousness will emerge at once in many who are prepared"
(4)
This
new-ager uses biblical terms, like the trumpet-blast that will lead to
our being changed in the twinkling of an eye. But she clearly applies
them in a totally different way. Watch out for this! Today many are using
Bible terms, but what do they mean by them?
NEW
JERUSALEM - HEAVEN ON EARTH
"These
words: Virgin Mary, Jesus, the elect, Israel, the New Jerusalem, must
be REINTERPRETED now. They do not relate to doctrines, ideologies, institutions,
powers or principalities. They relate to human potentials in every person
on Earth...The New Jerusalem is our potential, collectively, to transcend
all creature/human limitations through the harmonious use of our capacities,
achieving a society of Universal Humans whose minds and bodies are total
reflections of the mind of God" (5)
So
says Marx Hubbard. We can expect this sort of thing from a new-ager; but
what is the excuse for Christians redefining the New Jerusalem? Whereas
we know from Rev 21 that only God can create a new heavens and earth,
in the new teaching the Church creates a new environment on earth by progressively
applying the redemptive power of Jesus.
Restorationist,
Chris Seaton writes:
"If
the spiritual change which happens to a Christian believer can result
in a physical change, why can the same not be true of the whole creation?
If this were so, then the "new heavens and the new earth" could well signify
a transformation rather than a replacement. Perhaps the power of God touching
the physical elements is just what would have happened if Adam had brought
eternity into Eden through the tree of life...further, the environmental
disasters of Matthew 24 are described in a very interesting way: "all
these are the beginning of the birthpangs"... birth-pangs hurt, but there
is new life at their end...(Christ) has restored the harmony of the Creator
and his image. In turn, this restored harmony enables the whole order
of creation to be fulfilled. This brings us back to Romans 8 and creation
waiting in eager expectation for "the sons of God to be revealed". Again,
we understand that these groanings represent "the pains of childbirth..."
But what about heaven? Heaven simply describes the place where God is...in
the prophetic vision of Revelation 21, John "saw the Holy City the New
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God". John apparently saw that
heaven was to be firmly located in the transformed physical universe,
which God had originally designed." (emphasis in original) (6)
The
Toronto outpouring is seen as part of this process by some. Rick Joyner,
once deeply involved with Vineyard and the Kansas City Prophets, commented
on the current renewal:
"I
don't think that the New Jerusalem has come yet, but everywhere there
is such expectation in the air, and so many good things are breaking out
everywhere, I see many reasons to be very encouraged... Canada is on the
verge of a great spiritual advance. There is evidence that a great spiritual
army is being mobilised and prepared to go forward. I expect many other
movements to gain attention in the near future. This is all the beginning
of something very big" (7).
Of
course, the Bible shows plainly that Jesus Christ is our only Saviour,
and that world redemption and restoration comes only through his return
as King, Judge and eternal Ruler of this planet. We deviate from this
hope at our peril.
However,
scripture tells us that there will come a time, in the latter days, when
Christians "will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts
shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they
shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables".
(2 Tim 4:3-4)
That
word "fables" [MUTHOS, myths] denotes a mysterious, secret doctrine that
is preached only to the initiated. Its root is MUEO, a word which means
"to initiate into the mysteries". It was used of the old Gnostic heresies
and cult mysteries.
NEW
REVELATIONS
Now
we have a new revelation that cannot be understood by the mind but must
be received by the heart, by spiritual initiation. It comes with mighty
power to deceive. I refer of course to what is known as the Toronto Blessing.
This power requires the surrender of the rational mind. A recent advertisement
for meetings in Israel said this:
"Theology
alone cannot keep us on target. When Yeshua was born in a manger in Bethlehem,
it was not what the foremost theologians of the day were looking for.
That knowledge only came by way of revelation". (8)
It
is true that "theology" of the biblical kind cannot explain the Toronto
teachings. That is because they are unbiblical! The laughter now present
in meetings is believed by the leaders to be evidence that the Church
has entered the feast of Jubilee (Joy) - Tabernacles - wherein God comes
to dwell spiritually with his people, and consenting believers receive
the anointing of fullness, the third anointing of the inner sanctum that
brings full sonship and incorporation into the manchild company of Rev.
12.
Jill
Austin, a prophetess attested and used by the Vineyard, stated that:
"Prophetically,
the child Isaac, which means 'Laughter' is being released in nation after
nation as the new wine is being passed" (9)
Some
of you will recall that Paul Cain and R.T. Kendall of Westminster Chapel
launched an initiative in London in October 1992 at the "Word And The
Spirit" conference. They called it the "Post-Charismatic Era", [reported
in Mainstream in Spring 1993 issue under the title "Somebody
Moved The Goalposts."] According to Cain and other leaders, the
present charismatic movement is only an "Ishmael" and the true child of
promise is "Isaac", a trans-denominational super-church that will bring
about global revival. In that issue as in many others, I warned of a false
revival to come, "with a drawing power and persuasion almost impossible
to resist". Now it is here, and it is called "Toronto"!
Others
confirm that Sarah's child "Isaac" (laughter) is emerging from the womb
of the worldwide Church. The following quote shows that it is perceived
as a corporate endtimes army that will bring in the Kingdom:
"Sarah
is a type of the Church. The Church is 'withered' and its womb is dried
up in many places, but God is sending a revival of joy to awaken and renew
the Church so that she can bring forth the 'man-child' of joy, even the
army of overcomers who will go forth in the likeness and image of the
Lord in these last days" (10)
The
Army which is to take the nations for God in a mighty display of signs
and wonders has to be "birthed". During a Toronto pastors' meeting, Byron
Mode of Dallas testified:
"What's
happening right now is a romantic thing. God is romancing his Church,
and through that romance he says I'm going to then IMPREGNATE and through
the IMPREGNATION will then come NEW BIRTH, and we're in the romancing
and IMPREG-NATION stage right now but we've got to pray in and cry out
for the harvest. The harvest isn't just gonna' happen. This is the pre-stage
of it, of God's romancing of his Church....." (11)
This
is no new teaching, sprung up overnight from Toronto! No, it has been
in the inner chambers of the Church for centuries, only emerging at brief
intervals for an airing before being recognised as heresy and banned by
Church leaders. Sadly, the Church is too gullible, too gutless and too
bound by compromise to take the same measures today.
Instead
of opposing these heretical teachings, today the UK Church is almost completely
ensnared by them. One supporter of the "sonship" doctrine, Bill Britton,
says this: "sonship is the very heart of all Kingdom messages being preached
in these last days". I believe he is right. (12)
Another
supporter writes:'
"This
movement [Restoration] started in the late 1940's and infiltrated into
every Pentecostal group in the 1950's. During this time it was known as
the "Latter Rain" and "Revival" movement. By the early 1960's very few
Christians were knowledgeable of the movement, except the Pentecostal
churches which had been affected by it. However, in the mid 1960's, the
Holy Spirit had spread the truths and spiritual experiences of the restoration
doctrine into every church group within Christendom. This move of the
Holy Spirit...became known as the charismatic movement" [my emphasis]
(13)
CHARISMATIC
PIONEERS
A
recent book interviewing the leaders of the Restoration movement makes
reference to the early days of the movement when pioneers like Arthur
Wallis were inspired by the zeal of the latter-rain teachers to re-establish
the apostolic and prophetic ministry of the Church.
In
the introduction to his book, Brian Hewitt, once Editor of "Redemption"
magazine, comments that in 1970 Arthur Wallis returned from New Zealand
convinced that a "cosmic upheaval" involving the Church would usher in
the Lord's Return, and had set up meetings to accomplish this. The American
Fort Lauderdale group, he says, had embarked on the same agenda and "the
leaders of the new churches all shared the same goal: the rebuilding,
or "restoring" of the present-day Church to its New Testament splendour.
And they shared the same convictions: that God was actively at work in
the last days to bring this rebuilding to pass. Those Christians who
had come to believe that a period of lukewarmness and backsliding in the
Church would be a sign of the nearness of Christ's return were wrong -
the era of the apostle, not the day of apostasy was at hand." (14)
I
could not have said it better myself. The roots of the Restoration movement
both here and in the States are fixed firmly in the soil of the 1940's
Latter-Rain heresy. Roger Forster, interviewed for the above book, tells
of the great influence that men like T. Austin-Sparks and George H. Lang
had upon his formative years in the restoration movement. (P. 112) Yet,
T. Austin-Sparks taught that by a process of attaining "sonship" and eventual
"adoption" into the "manchild company" a small group of overcomers would
be raised up to take the throne of government over this earth. (15)
You
see, at the very heart of the restoration doctrine is the belief that
biblical teachings on social decline, religious apostasy, the tribulation,
the antichrist reign and the rapture of the Church ARE WRONG.
For
centuries, Christians have believed that Jesus our Saviour came as the
FINAL Word of God; His work is all-sufficient to destroy the power of
sin and to win redemption for those who trust in Him. Not only is our
present hope fixed in Him, but our future salvation also. But now some
teachers suggest that a corporate christ, a perfected Manchild arising
from the womb of the world-wide Church, must come to complete the deliverance
of mankind!
Here
is a quote from a well-known Christian leader:
"Secure
this thought in your mind: when the Spirit of Christ comes into the physical
world, He must enter through a physical body...When Christ first entered
our world as a child, it was Mary whom God chose to give Christ birth.
Mary's life symbolised the qualities the Church must possess to walk in
the fullness of Christ...[God is preparing us] as He did Mary to give
birth to the ministry of His Son. Even now, in the spiritual womb of the
virgin Church, the holy purpose of Christ is growing, awaiting maturity;
ready to be born in power in the timing of God...the virgin Church is
"in labour and in pain to give birth" (Rev 12:1-2)...even now, hell trembles
and the heavens watch in awe, for I say to you, once again, the virgin
is with child. Before Jesus Himself returns, the last virgin Church shall
become pregnant with the promise of God. Out of her travail, the Body
of Christ shall come forth, raised to the full statute of its Head, the
Lord Jesus. Corporately manifested i! n holiness, power and love, the
Bride of Christ shall arise" (16)
Now
the Toronto Experience is being presented as the fulfilment of all these
allegories. This is no touch of God for salvation or sanctification. No,
the former anointing of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was only a foretaste,
according to these new teachings. Now Christians must receive an anointing
"without measure", a corporate anointing which will achieve "the birthing
forth of My glorious Church". (17)
HERESY
MUST BE REJECTED
Church
leaders will insist that they do not believe nor teach the heretical aspects
of the latter-rain doctrines; yet I believe the system is one coherent
whole and adopting some parts of the teaching will inevitably lead to
adopting the whole. Many leaders simply use the terminology without understanding
it - but ignorance is no excuse, since the concepts are unbiblical and
ought to be rejected outright.
When
comparisons are made, suddenly it becomes apparent that a central core
of doctrine is feeding into the revival. The same phrases, words and scriptures
keep cropping up; the same inexplicable ideas which mean little by themselves
but trigger off alarm bells when put together.
There
is an overall cohesive structure to these events that will elude any who
have a parochial viewpoint on their own small world and their own small
experiences. Only by taking a long view of global events can the foundational
heresies be perceived.
I
would liken some objectors to the well-known blind men who stumbled into
an elephant. The one at the front grasped the trunk and cried "it's a
snake!" and the one at the side felt the body and said "it's a wall!"
and the one at the back felt the hind leg and said "It's a tree!". None
of them was right.
Don't
be like the blind man who only "sees" the small piece that belongs to
your own experience. Be wise, and look around you; read ALL the data;
get hold of ALL the quotes; listen to ALL the tapes; read ALL the books
- even then without spiritual discernment it is difficult to grasp a movement
as insubstantial as a spider's web whose links and knots are spread out
throughout the worldwide Church.
THE
CHURCH IN CHILDBIRTH?
During
his visit to the UK earlier this year, John Wimber was asked about the
animal noises being made by Toronto participants. His reply was revealing:
"There's
nothing in scripture that supports this kind of phenomenon that I can
see and I can't think of anything throughout the church age that would.
So I feel no obligation to explain it. It's just phenomena. It's just
people responding to God....I think we ought to ignore it... I think we're
all delighted with babies but I don't think very many of us want to attend
the birthing process. And I believe what we have in the church is a birthing
process. " (18)
Wimber
seems to believe that the strange grunting, shrieking and howling noises
are like the labour pains of a woman in birth, just as we saw at the Fire
& Reign Conference hosted by the Campbells.
What
we are dealing with here is no ordinary revival. It is about the bringing
forth of a perfected Church! It is about the Glory of the Manifested Presence
of God returning to the Body of Christ in order to overshadow her and
bring forth the Manchild of Joy! It is about that glory of God, the River
of Life, flowing from the Living Temple, filling the earth and bringing
about universal obedience to God, sweeping away all evil and establishing
the Kingdom upon earth. It is the birthpangs of the New Age!
Keri
Jones, writing in "Covenant News" the newsletter of the Bradford Restoration
group says this:
"Before
the coming of the Lord Jesus, the world will see a world-wide visitation
of the Holy Spirit. God said he would pour out his Spirit on all flesh.
All flesh indicates both the just and the unjust. God's purpose is to
see the earth filled with his glory... restoration speaks of the ultimate
goal God is directing all history toward. As we experience the flow of
blessing coming down from above, we can expect the river of life to bring
about the culmina-tion of his purpose in this generation. We will see
the church filled with glory in a greater way than anything seen previously.
How can this be?. Malachi prophesied "see, I will send my messenger who
will prepare the way before me, Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking
will come to his temple, the messenger of the covenant whom you desire,
will come". The implications are clear...the church as it lives out the
word, will arise to conquer all its opposing forces: the world, the flesh
and the devil."
SUDDENLY
Here
is another common thread running through the renewal literature and tapes:
"SUDDENLY" the Lord will return to His Temple (the Church!)" The meaning
(as above) is often ambiguous, for while some interpret this verse to
mean the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus, others imply a "coming" of the
Spirit, a return of the Shekinah Glory of God to the Living Temple.
Paul
Cain, (held up by the Toronto leadership as a great pro-phet and leader
in the Church), is unclear on the subject of the return of Jesus. He says:
"I don't know what the Second Coming means to you, there's so many different
returns of the Lord, or comings of the Lord, I don't know, we have a cardinal
doctrine like that, but let me tell you he's coming to YOU, he's coming
to his Church, he's coming to abide in you, to take up his abode in you."
(19)
Yet
in my understanding, the Lord never left the Church, nor are we waiting
for a spiritual return of Jesus, nor a "glory" to des-cend from heaven
to perfect the church and renew the earth. This is a pagan dream, a replacement
for the true gospel of Jesus Christ as Messiah and Only Lord!
Paul
Cain describes the coming this way:
"We
are the Sanctuary, we are the House of God...and I tell you God is going
to suddenly appear in his House and the whole world is going to say 'don't
try to lead me to your God, don't try to tell me where he is, I SEE him,
he's living in you, he's living in His House, he's living in His Sanctuary'
- for you're going to be the Sanctuary of God..." (20)
THE
SHEKINAH GLORY
This
experience, of the Lord coming in glory and power to indwell his people,
is seen in allegory as the return of the Ark to the Temple, or the return
of the Shekinah Glory. Many believe this "glory cloud" must be seen visibly,
as it was in the dedication of Solomon's Temple, when "the priests could
not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD
had filled the house of God". (2 Chr 5:14)
Rodney
Howard Browne, in his meetings around the world, often relates the story
of the glory cloud which became visible in the early part of his ministry.
He says it all began to happen in April 1989. During a series of meetings
in Albany, New York, RHB and his wife began to desire to see the glory
of God manifested. He says that on the Tuesday morning, "as I was preaching,
the glory of the Lord came into the building. I felt it just like someone
put a heavy blanket upon me and the presence of the Lord filled the house.
A lady was sitting about three rows back and I noticed she was blinking
and looking at the ceiling... she said she saw a thick fog or mist, like
a cloud, come down and fill the room. The lights and the ceiling disappeared."
(21)
This
represented to Howard Browne the launch of his ministry and divine favour
upon it. I wonder if it also meant to him that the Shekinah was beginning
to return to the Church? Now, six years later, the Glory is predicted
to return in fullness. The following "prophecy" was sent to the Vineyard's
New Wine Bulletin Board, an electronic messaging system frequented by
supporters of the Toronto Experience. It was shared because, in the author's
estimation "it is a reflection of the hearts of so many here on this list."
"
....For the Glory of God, my Glory, says the Lord, the Heavy Presence
that shook the very foundations of the earth as I proclaimed Goodness
and Mercy, has come once again to dwell in a tabernacle of flesh.... You
are temples, you are vessels, you are receptacles, you are containers
of the very Fires of Heaven, measured into you as you will receive it.
Some taking much, moving from Glory to Glory, changed by the nearness
of my Glory, ever growing, ever changing, ever allowing Me more of you.
... Allow my Fire to purge you, to try you, to refine you, to cleanse
you and then allow my Glory to radiate from you as you become life and
the Light of a dark world. For the Glory of God, my Glory says the Lord,
is soon to come in His fullness, and where once men were shielded as I
proclaimed Mercy and Grace, finally I will proclaim righteous judgement...
yes, even all that is not of Faith will burn in the very presence of my
Glory in you, in you, in you, in you, IN YOU! (22)
MODERN
TRANSLATIONS
Unfortunately,
modern translations of the Bible make it easier to accept this heresy.
The Authorised Version has the blessed hope as the appearing of our great
God in glory. Most of the other translations have the appearing of the
glory! The AV says:
Looking
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ; Titus 2:13
One
example of the move away from the personal, visible return of our Lord
God and Saviour Jesus Christ, to the appearance of a "glory" is
this from the Good News Bible, though many other new translations also
change this verse: "as we wait for the blessed day we hope for, when
the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ will appear...."
The
Glory, in the new understanding, is the visible manifestation of the Spirit.
How long is it before Christians look for the return of the "spirit" of
Christ, before (or perhaps even instead of) the physical return of Jesus.
In
the adopted jargon of the charismatic church, "the Lord is coming TO his
church before he comes FOR his church." as Paul Cain confirms:
"...we
haven't even touched on this thing about when he comes UPON us, like the
Holy Ghost came upon Mary and she brought forth the Son of the living
God - aren't you looking for the Holy Ghost to come upon us? "I want you
to know he's coming TO the church before he comes FOR the church. He's
gonna perfect the church, so the church can be the Image, and be him,
and be his representation. In my father's house are many mansions, many
abodes, many dwelling places, and he promises now, it's not a trip to
heaven, but it's really him coming to make his abode IN US, so I guess,
look out planet earth, the Lord is coming back again, he's coming to his
people! (23)
ANTICHRIST
Since
significant portions of the Church accept these new teachings while at
the same time denying the personal antichrist to come, we may see a sinister
new interpretation of the following verse:
"Hereby
know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit
of antichrist, (I Jn 4:2-3)
If
you are standing outside this heresy, and you refuse to accept that the
Spirit of Christ has come in the flesh of His Body, the Church - then
what does that make you? Yes, an antichrist!
Certainly,
we live in "perilous times". But God stands ready to protect, guide and
shepherd all those who are His own. We commit ourselves wholly unto Him,
for our future is in His hands!
FOOTNOTES:
- M
Scott Peck "What Return Can I Make" p.152.
- Matthew
Fox, "The Coming Of The Cosmic Christ", p. 122.
- Prophecy
of Wallace Hickey, given during a Rodney Howard-Browne meeting, TBN
May 1994:
- Barabra
Marx Hubbard - "The Book of Co-Creation, The Revelation: Our Crisis
is a Birth" pp.123-124.
- Ibid.
Comments on Rev. 14:4-5, p. 182.
- Chris
Seaton, (Pioneer network) "Whose Earth"? pp 90-93
- Rick
Joyner, November 1994, Bulletin Board message
- Promotional
literature, Ari & Shira Sorko-Ram, Dallas, Texas.
- Prophetic
Insights For The '90's, Jill Austin, "The Great Intruder" Passion &
Fire Conferences, Master Potter Ministries, Summer 94.
- Discernment
newsletter, Jewel van Der Merwe, "Latter Rain and The Rise of Joel's
Army", p. 5 citing End-Time Handmaidens, Angel Letter #2, September/October
1994.
- Byron
Mode, taped at Pastors' Meeting, October 12, 1994
- Bill
Britton, introduction to "The Doctrine of Sonship" D. Graham
- Bill
Hamon "The Eternal Church" 1981 p 238
- "Doing
A New Thing?" 1995 Brian Hewitt, Introduction
- T.
Austin Sparks "God's Spiritual House" Chapter 7
- Francis
Frangipane,"In the Presence of God" New Wine Press 1994. Chapter: "The
Virgin Shall Be With Child" pages 153-157,
- Debra
Jordan, Zoe Ministries "Written Judgements Vol 2" Foreword
- "HTB
In Focus" newsletter interviewing John Wimber, Oct 9th 1994
- Paul
Cain: Nov 88, Tape: "My Father's House"
- Cain:
November 1988. Tape: "Given As A Token"
- Rodney
Howard Browne "The Touch of God" 1992 p 99
- Carl
Killingsworth, sent to New Wine Bulletin Board 7th Feb 95.
- Paul
Cain: Nov 88, Tape: "My Father's House"
CONTINUE
TO PART TWO OF THIS NEWSLETTER
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