Mary Pinkney Parnell
Mary
Pinkney Parnell
|
Kingdom / Dominion Theologies When I first became a believer in Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit came upon me in a very vivid way saying:“All revelation takes you deeper into the Word of God, never outside of the Word of God ” I understood “the Word of God” to be Scripture. In subsequent years I received only one more carefully worded instruction from the Holy Ghost that I compare to a computer print-out. The message also lay well within the boundary of Scripture. I've had nudges, guidance, as well as the still small voice of the Holy Spirit saying go here, not there. I have been used in a small way in the gifts of the Spirit. But God's voice was always clearest while reading His Bible. Nothing can replace His word for just sheer richness. With His Word would come illumination, comfort, or warning. One
of the most striking features of Christianity
is that unlike all other religions, one experiences
it before full understanding comes. Christianity
is experience grounded in the
Word. The great men of the Bible had singular
and supernatural experiences. However, one
of the reasons for this essay is to question
the hyper-experiences of the new prophetic/apostolic
movements. In the last thirty or so years we have seen the emergence of Kingdom Now or Dominion Theology with its companion—the Apostolic/Prophetic. This movement says that God is restoring to the church the five fold ministries which have long been dormant. And that the apostle and the prophet are only now taking their rightful
In
my view, the prophets and apostles have always
functioned among us. True, traditional,
charismatic and evangelical churches have not
given titles to these men. They may not have
even acknowledged their existence, but they
were there just the same. A title
is not necessarily the same as a function.
For example, Richard Wurmbrand was surely an
apostle to the underground church of Romania
ministering to his Russian torturers and fellow
prisoners. He had no title but like the Apostle
Paul, fits the profile of the abased apostles:
"Even
unto this present hour we both hunger,
and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted,
and have no certain dwelling place;
And labor, working with our own hands:
being reviled, we bless; being persecuted,
we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat;
we are made as the filth of this world,
and are the off-scouring of all things
unto this day" (AV, 1 Cor. 4. 11-13).
We must consider the possibility that modern prophets and apostles wear titles that come from self-promotion. A book or a TV appearance easily opens the door of that office, but the genuine calling may be missing. Unlike their biblical examples, modern prophets and apostles enjoy enormous popularity. We want to bask in their glory. We hanker for a word for ourselves and for their the latest “thus saith the Lord” because they seem to enjoy greater light and greater intimacy with God . In short, they seem to have reached the stars. So, ordinary believers desire what these men appear to have—a more powerful relationship—a more thrilling connection to God. We don't seem to realize that the same Holy Spirit resides within us and that the Bible contains thousands of words for us—and for our future. Titles may seem to elevate these men above the flock, but the flock must always remember that the Lord is their shepherd.The word relationship has become the new buzz word. It needs redefining. Does having a relationship now imply something much greater than knowing Jesus as Lord and loving Him? The new prophets have hyper-supernatural experiences that we may envy. They may have regular visions, visitations by angels, or even by Jesus, himself. So far, so biblical. I question their experiences less than their moral responsibility to their followers. Modern prophets may have recognizable names or just be ordinary people who believe in the superiority of their own revelations. One man on You Tube, Final Call, says that Jesus comes into his room every night and talks to him. Now Final Call's Bible is in second position. Final Call's Jesus is harsh and punishing. If you don't have a relationship, if you have sin in your life, you are going to hell says his Jesus. Final Call says that Jesus is the Word, not Scripture, and so say the new revelators. I had several conversations with him on Skype and can assure you of his complete sincerity. I was so taken with his intimacy with Jesus that I almost fell for his legalistic doctrine. I hear that he now calls the Bible a Satanic deception. He is clearly spinning out of control. Books such as The God Chasers by Tommy Tenney and, more recently The Shack by Bill Young illustrate enviable relationships with God. These books and others like them may imply that relationship is more important than doctrine. Their message sounds very spiritual and enviable. So we don't see the little leaven in the mix. After all, didn't Jesus die on the cross to take down the wall of separation between sinful man and God so that we could come boldly to the throne of God to find grace to help in time of need? What could be wrong with a zeal to see God move in new and dynamic ways? I thought, nothing; I was mistaken. If the Prophetic/Apostolic/Kingdom movements replace the foundations of Scripture then something is wrong. If we rely on another's cloudy lens to view the Bible, then something is wrong. If we do not learn to rightly divide the Word for ourselves, something is wrong. If someone implies that revelation and relationship are superior to the Bible, something is wrong. So be careful. A dangerous leaven is cross-pollinating the entire body of Christ, and a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. The Dominionists urge us to cultivate experiencing God and to cultivate hearing his voice which is most Christians' deepest desire. They tell us that we may access all the fullness of heaven now without having to wait for Jesus' return. When we press in to get similar supernatural adventures, we just end up counting dust motes in our prayer closets. The question has always been how? How is He reached, and so formulas abound. Also meetings. Just keep going to the conferences; get a hold of it, they urge! Try try try! So the Bride of Christ becomes the maid of all work. I remember reading Myles Munroe's book on prayer. Every chapter outlined detailed formulas of how to pray correctly to get our prayers answered. I took copious notes believing I had tapped into the secret of the universe. But the time I reached the end, I was defeated. Truly the devil was in the details. I just couldn't remember all of the steps. We have an earnest on our inheritance now, true. But our complete inheritance will only come with the restoration of all things. Paul says “That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him” (Eph, 1.10-14). Jesus' first coming was the earnest—the down payment on glory, and Jesus' second coming—the fullness of our inheritance. Here is what I see happening. The prophetic movement with its streams of revelation:
has
trumped the plain sense of Scripture;
Going
by various names: Kingdom Now or Dominion Theology,
with its emphasis on the five-fold ministry and the
restoration of prophets and apostles may be a dangerous
infection in the body of Christ: a movement where
the zeal for God, the zeal for intimacy replaces the
Truth.has replaced event driven prophecy with symbols or allegory interpreted at whim; has subtly done away with the judgments promised in the Word; has become the statue of Daniel 2 with man as the head instead of Christ. Some prophetic ministries have many fine qualities, many inspiring messages, many powerful worshipers. But could the combination of these good qualities blind the ordinary believer? Will he know if he is being seduced by the light? Are the prophets becoming Lords over us rather than Servants of all? Are they doing away with the plain sense of Scripture? Kingdom prophets claim to have messages that are updates from God. Perhaps even the prophets don't realize how far they have strayed from Scripture. Familiar names are: Bishop Paulk, Rick Joyner, Mike Bickle, Paul Cain, Chuck Pierce, John Paul Jackson, Todd Bentley, Ryan Wyatt, Myles Munroe, Lynn Hiles etc. There are scores of unfamiliar names of similar persuasion. They are dream weavers; I can feel myself being carried on the wave of their messages. I understand how many believers can fall into lock step. Does submitting to these prophets, then, open our doors for potential domination or even Spiritual abuse? At what cost comes unity? We must ask this question: If the prophetic utterances from this new wave of the apostolic does not line up with Scripture, what is it? Wouldn't we have to call it heresy or even the apostasy that Paul tells Timothy will come in the last days? Are we in the apostasy now? Paul says: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; And they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables”(NKJB, 2 Tim.4.3-4).
What
is Kingdom Now and Dominion theology?
Essentially,
Kingdom Now says that it is the job of the church
to establish the Kingdom of God on earth and until
this is done, Jesus cannot return to earth to rule
and reign. And, there has to be a restoration of
the law and rule of God globally. The new wave
of manifest
sons of God will
accomplish this task. God is dependent on the church
to make the earth ready to receive Jesus. Therefore,
all end time events are put on hold until the church
reigns supreme.The encyclopedia definition of Kingdom Now says:
“When Christians have caused the earth to reach
a certain state of perfection,
the return of Christ will then occur . . .
. the doctrine rejects the doctrine of the
Rapture, which states that Christ
will return to remove the church from the earth.
Rather thanbeing "rescued" by Christ, the role
of the Church is to usher in Christ”(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_theology;
February 2010).
Earl Paulk, one of its original proponents says:
“The
Church has been foreordained of God to become
that people who will become so
glorified that we can bring Christ back to the earth. This glorified church must make the earth God's footstool before Jesus can come again” (From The Wounded Body of Christ qtd. by Sandy Simpson in Dominion-ism Exposed. 2/02/2006. Simpson quotes from Van derMerwe's Joel's Army). Rick Joyner from Kansas City Prophets/Latter Rain/NAR writes:"What is about to come upon the earth is not just a revival, or another awakening, it is a veritable revolution. The vision was given in order to begin to awaken those who are destined to radically change the course, and even the very definition of Christianity" ( The Harvest. Morning Star Publications: 1989). Ryan Wyatt says that “Jesus is retained in the heavens until there is a restoration of things on the earth. Jesus will put the church in the center of the world stage” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq4sX0RQN4M) Feb. 2010). He has extrapolated a thread from Acts 3.19 which has a very different sense to me: the urgency of Peter's message to the Jews to receive Jesus as Messiah prior to his return. There is nothing in the verses of Acts three that would indicate the church being center stage. So, do the above quotes reflect Scripture? And, why does the very definition of Christianity need changing?
What
does the Jesus say?
Jesus
refutes the theology that says His kingdom will be
“ushered in.” A close reading of the
phrase The Kingdom of God indicates that Jesus spoke of
it in one of two ways.
One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will
the Kingdom of God begin?”
Jesus replied, “The
Kingdom
of God isn't ushered in with
visible signs. You won't be able
to say, 'It has begun here in
this place or there in that part
of the country.' For the kingdom
of God is within you”
(The Book, Tyndale 1971, Luke 17.20-21).
The kingdom of God is the spiritual presence
of the power of God carried
into situations to meet the needs of
hurting people.
“The
kingdom of God comes unto you.” This
power invades evil and changes circumstances.
The Kingdom of
God, in its second most frequent use,
is a reference to the end of the age when Jesus
establishes his own material reign on earth
that will only
begin when he plants his feet on the Mount
of Olives establishing his millennial kingdom.
Definition
one is illustrated in Matthew 12.28. Here Jesus,
under the power of the Holy Spirit, casts a demon
out of a man who was both blind and mute enabling
him to see and speak. When the religious leaders accuse
Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebub, Jesus answered:
“If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then surely
the Kingdom of God has come unto you” (AV).
Jesus'
use of the term Kingdom
of God in
this instance refers to carrying the healing and deliverance
of the Holy Spirit into a situation where it is needed.
The authority of the Believer In Luke 10.19 Jesus says, “Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the works of the enemy, and Behold, nothing shall by any means hurt you.” He gives this authority to the twelve and later to the seventy. The Centurion of Matthew chapter eight had one of the best understandings of this transfer of authority. Jesus commended him on his great faith. And, finally, in Matthew 28.17, Jesus tells his disciples that “all authority has been given unto him” and to make disciples of all nations “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Implied here is a transfer of His authority. New disciples may exercise authority like the original twelve under the empowering leading of the Holy Spirit. See Mark 16. “these signs shall follow those who believe . . . .” Jesus' final command to his disciples was to tarry in Jerusalem until they be endued with power from on high to be His witnesses throughout the earth. These witnesses must go where Jesus himself would go and do what He would do (Matt. 10.1). However, this delegated authority is only over the works of evil and not over the will of men, or over nations, or over political regimes. We must remember that Jesus says His Kingdom is not of this world. That we render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's. The Kingdom folks have it backward. They want to render unto Caesar the things that are God's.
Global
Dominion
A
Kingdom Now objective is not only to win the world
for Christ but to achieve global unity. Globalization
is also a goal of One World Government. It is also
the goal of Islam that wishes to usher in the Mahdi.
And is also the goal of the New Age movement that
wishes to usher in Maitreya who will bring universal
peace. I seem to remember Jesus saying that he came
to bring division, not unity.If everything is getting better and better until the entire globe is one in unity enabled by the manifest sons of God, then apostasy and tribulation and final judgment can be done away with and replaced by a mealy sort of universalism (I've heard that hiss in the garden before). Its global thrust does away with the boundaries of Nations so important to the work of God and merges curiously with other New Age movements. Dominionists stake their rights to the globe from Genesis. The cross has won back Adam's dominion from Satan, they say. Where he failed, they will succeed. A closer look at Genesis says that God's injunction to Adam was to keep Eden and to have dominion over creeping things, beasts of the field and birds of the air. Any time man tries to exert his will over our free will, he is practicing control and domination, a kind of witchcraft. The new prophets and apostles are fond of exercising their authority over others. Jesus says: The
kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over
them, and those who exercise authority over
them are called 'benefactors'. But not so among
you [disciples]; on the contrary, he who is
greatest among you, let him be as the younger,
and he who governs as he who serves. . . .I
am among you as One who serves (Luke 22.25-27).
Beware
of these experts in religion, for they love
to parade in dignified robes and to be bowed
to
One
finds similar issues within the new prophetic ministries.
They are God's oracle. Now comes the love of power,
the love of money, the love of public admiration,
the love of having a TV audience, the love of having
the name of prophet or apostle. And
soon, they no longer need to line up with the Word
of God because they have become a law unto themselves.
Situations become rife with the possibility of abusing
and fleecing the flock. by the people as they walk along the street. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and at religious festivals! But even while they are praying long prayers with great outward piety, they are planning schemes to cheat widows out of their property. Therefore God's heaviest sentence awaits these men. (The Book, Luke 20.45-47). The central question is: Will the the new kingdom church be needed to usher in the Kingdom of God? The Bible says No! God is sovereign and his end will not come with a global taking of the world's institutions but when God's cup of wrath is full and spills over. And, the church will never be able to so control the nations and so sweep the law (theonomy) of the Bible into the world to make a world fit for Jesus. That thinking is delusional. For the world will not get better and better. Jesus didn't say that a big revival will occur before he returns, but rather a big apostasy. There will be so much evil in the world that the angels will come to reap out the tares and throw them into a burning furnace (Matt. 13.36-43). Jesus is wondering if He will even “find faith on earth” when He returns (Luke 18.8).
The
Second Coming
When
I return the world will be [as indifferent
to the things of God] as the people were in
Noah's day. They ate and drank and married—everything
just as usual right up to the day when Noah
went into the ark and the flood came and destroyed
them all. And
the world will be as it was in the days of
Lot: people went about their daily business
—eating
and drinking, buying and selling, farming and
building—until the morning that Lot left
Sodom.
Then fire and brimstone rained down from heaven
and destroyed them all.
The
end times will resemble the days of Lot and Noah.
Judgment will occur! There will be some who have managed
to survive the tribulation who still don't get it,
who still ignore the strong warnings of wars, earthquakes,
and terrors in the heavens; who will still refuse
to recognize Him as Lord. He will come at last to
his brothers, the Jews, who are in natural Israel,
calling out for their Messiah. (Luke 17.26-28) He will descend upon the Mount of Olives with ten thousands of his Saints, Jude says. Anybody see a world wide revival here or a earth won for the Lord? Only the kingdom prophets who must rip away many parts of the Bible to allow for their the dominion of their glorious church. Even in the parables Jesus is saying: be ready, watch and pray, judgment is coming upon the whole earth. Most books of the Bible speak of the terrible day of the Lord when Jesus actually steps back into history with his supernatural armies to fight boldly against the enemies of God. This will be a day of the separation of the wheat and the tares. The bodies will pile up and where the bodies are, there will be the vultures (Matt.24.28; Luke 17.37). For Jesus says, “For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled” ( AV, Luke 21.22). Jesus prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem and then goes on to prophesy the End. He doesn't view his prophecies as symbols. Days mean days. The destruction of the temple happened exactly as he said in 70AD. So will the rest of his prophecy. He says “this will be a “snare upon all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth” (Luke 21.35). Would Jesus give such a warning for the sake of symbols? He is not underhanded! I personally think the believer won't be dwelling on the earth for Jesus says: “ . . . pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21.36). How the Kingdom Now preachers scoff at the word “escape.” Why should the believer “escape?” There is no rapture, they say, and we are cowards for wanting to “escape.” Well, Jesus said we could. There is always that ark of safety for the believer, the Bride of Christ. We are hid until the great day of the Lord. I personally think that chamber is in heaven because he says we stand before him.
Isaiah
26.20-21 tells us of this time: "Come
my people, enter our chambers and shut the
door behind you, hide yourself as it were,
for a little moment until the indignation is
past. For behold the Lord comes out of His
place to punish the inhabitants of the earth
for their iniquity."
(See also my Bible study on the Jewish wedding
as a type of the rapture:
http://www.friendlyarts.net/IsraelPerspective/jewishwedding.htm
In the Olivet discourse Jesus explains just what events must occur just prior to and during the tribulation. He validates the prophet Daniel who also speaks of this period. John goes into exquisite detail of what awaits those who are caught in the outpouring of God's wrath. Where is this beautiful global world restored to the theonomy of God? It is not in the Bible. Revelation has trumped Scripture. Zeal has replaced truth. And new visions refute the words of Matthew 24. Paul says that we
“wait for His Son from heaven, whom He
raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers
us from the wrath to come” (1 Th.1.10).
Paul says that we will be “caught up
together in the clouds to meet the Lord in
the air. And thus we shall always be with he
Lord”(1 Th.4.17). These are words of
comfort, “For God did not appoint us
to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our
Lord Jesus Christ” (1Th.5.9). What's
coming? Apostasy and Wrath and that great and
terrible day of the Lord.
Is God waiting for the church to do something
special before He can enter history? No, only
to be ready to escape the wrath to come! Are
the last days to be interpreted as something
OTHER than events? Listen to these words of Jesus:
“. . . Notice the fig tree or any other tree. When
the leaves come out, you know without being
told that summer is near. In the same way,
when you see the events taking place
that I've
described you can be just as sure that the
King of God is near” (The Book, Luke 21-25).
More
radical prophets have eliminated natural Israel
for a lie called replacement theology.
The Kingdom theologies may remove Israel, the rapture
of the church and, in some cases, even the Second
Coming of Jesus. I have treated one such replacement
writer, Lynn Hiles, in a separte document. He says
that the events Jesus outlines have already transpired.
He also claims that natural Israel was eliminated
at Pentecost.
“The apocalyptic language of Acts
2 is not meant to be taken literally but as
a prophetic proclamation to all those hearing it. Peter's message
at the Feast of Pentecost is that it is lightsout
for natural Israel as a nation, a people who
have crucified the King of Glory” (Lynn
Hiles).
Still
analyzing Peter's sermon at Pentecost, Hiles says
the“Day of the Lord” is the finished
work of Jesus Christ,” If the Day of the
Lord is the finished work of Jesus on the cross
then there is no judgment for sin and for those who
have rejected Jesus. It is Universalism, a heresy
that says all mankind will be saved. There is no “narrow
way” in universalism.
What about Natural Israel? If
I forget thee O Jerusalem, let my right hand
forget her cunning.
Israel's
contribution to the world is unique. Without Israel
there would be no Prophets, Apostles, Messiah, Salvation,
and no Bible . Furthermore, another unique fact is
that their entire history as a nation was foretold
in advance through prophetic utterance, plainly and
specifically and exactly fulfilled, not metaphorically.
Here is a partial list of sixteen prophecies. Thirteen
are fulfilled and three remain to be fulfilled. These
prophecies are repeated more than once and may be
found in as many as sixty or more places in the Bible.
I am deeply indebted to Derek Prince who compiled
this list in an address that he gave on “Israel
in Prophecy” in his discussion on the book of
Romans.If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; If I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. (AV, Psalm 137.5-6).
Gen.15.13
Abraham was told that Israel would be slaves
in Egypt.
Gen.15.14 They would be led out with great wealth. Gen.15.18-20 They would posses the land of Canaan. Due.32.15-21—To Moses: They would turn to idolatry in the land. Due.12.5-6 (and in many other places) They would establish a center of worship in Jerusalem. Amos.5.27; 6.14; 7.17 The Northern Kingdom would be captured. Jer. 21.10; Jer. 16.13; Jer. 32.3-5 (also in other places). Jeremiah correctly predicts the Southern Kingdom's captivity by Babylon. 2 Ch.7.19-22 to Solomon regarding the destruction of the first temple. Zec. 4.6-10 regarding the rebuilding of the second temple. Is. 6.11-13; Is. 48.20 (perhaps not as plain as the rest). Plainer: Zec.2.6-7. Jer. 2.15 a remnant of the Jews would return from Babylon. Matt. 4.2; Luke 19.43-44 The destruction of the 2nd Temple which happened exactly in 70ad. Lev. 6. 33-34; Eze.12.15 and in many other places. The Jews would be scattered among many nations (known as the great diaspora). Yet, they would not lose their national identity.
Lev.16.36-39
They would be subjected to persecution among
the Gentiles.
Zec.10.9-10;
Zec.8.7-8; Jer. 1.10 and in many other places:
The regathering of all of Israel from all nations
back to their land (continues to happen to
this day from as many far off places as Brazil
and Ethiopia).
Jer. 31.23 The amazing resurrection of the Hebrew
language after their re-gathering.
Jer.
32.44; Jer. 1.27; . Jer.35.1-2 (and in other
places) the replanting and rebuilding of cities
even in waste places like Samaria and Judea
(now called the West Bank) and the flowering
of the deserts.
Now, I think enough proof has been presented that natural Israel is alive and well and still very much a factor in the ongoing plan of God.
Contending for the Faith Jude
1.3 tells us to contend earnestly
for he faith “which was
once and for all passed
onto God's people” (CJB).
“Every word of God is tested . . . . Do not add to His words, Lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar” (AV, Pro. 30. 5-6). Jesus says that whoever hears these “words of mine” may be compared to the wise man who built his church upon the rock (Matt. 7.24-27). Jesus is the Word made flesh and He is the rock that all must be built upon. Everything else is shifting sand.
"You
shall not add to the word which I am commanding
you, nor diminish ought from
it . . . . .” ( Deu. 4:2).
Are the doctrines of Restoration, Kingdom /Dominion and Replacement theologies adding to the Word of God? Are they diminishing the impact of judgment? That is what each reader must decide. One of the most difficult tasks regarding these new movements is to decide: so they believe such and such; so what! How much leniency should ministers have to peel the onion of the rich text of God? Each man must weigh whether or not there is error and, if so, what is its significance? You have to keep asking: Is it biblical; Is it biblical? Paul warned against receiving another Jesus, Gospel or Spirit.
“. . . . be warned of false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into into
the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; or Satan
himself is transformed into an angel of light
(2 Cor. 11.4; 11.13).
And
finally, watch for red flags that may indicate
another Gospel, Jesus, or Spirit.
Red
Flag #1: a redefinition of familiar terms
For
example “sons of God”
is an important description of the believer.
John says “But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name: (St. John 1.12) To be a
son of God means that you have believed
in Jesus as savior. You are no longer
a son of Adam in a state of condemnation.
However when we get to manifest sons of God, we have something quite different. That glorified body we look forward to may be “manifested” now before His return. Powers may be accessed now that are on hold till the resurrection. Abilities of the resurrected body may be accessed now. Mike Bickle says:
“God intends us to be like gods, he intends us to
be like the Son of God. ... God has conceived
in His heart of a plan to make a race of men
that would live like gods on the Earth. He
has conceived
in His heart to have Sons that would live like
His Son, the Lord Jesus lived... That weere
to be on earth the extension and manifestation
of God's life in heaven” (“Dominion
and Sonship.” Cassette Tape. qtd. in“The
Way of Cain.”
http://www.apologeticsindex.org/r06a02.html.
p8).
John
says: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be
like him; for we shall see him as he is”
(1 John.3.2). The emphasis is on “when he shall
appear.” The biblical application is that when
Jesus comes back we will see him glorified and we
also will be glorified. But, in Kingdom theology,
when he shall appear may have a slight twist
of meaning such as a spiritual appearing in the
heart, a not so kosher redefinition of a phrase.
The upshot? Resurrection abilities may be accessed
sooner rather than later. Bishop Paulk implies that the manifest sons of God may achieve immortality prior to death:
Jesus Christ as the first fruit of the kingdom
began the work of conquering death on an individual
basis,
but we, as His church will be the one to complete
the task... Death will not be conquered by
Jesus returning to the earth. It will be conquered
when the church stands up boldly and says,
'We
have dominion over the earth!'' . . . . 'We
will NOT die. We will stay here and be changed,
and we will call Jesus Christ to return to
this earth as King of Kings and Lords of Lords'?
Yes, that is what I believe the church must
do!'' (Earl Paulk. The Proper Function of
the Church. qtd. in“The Way
of Cain”).
'There
will be a manifestation of the sons of God.
And it won't be this baloney that we've heard
I
find it interesting that even Jesus didn't walk through
a wall until in his resurrected body, but the Manifest
Sons of God expect us to have such ability now well
before our glorified bodies.of in the past. . . . I'm talking about a true manifested son of God; if anyone walks through this wall, over here, they're not going to tell you about it, I mean, they're just going to do it. And sons of God don't tell you they're sons of God, they'll just show you! Amen!'' (“The New Breed.” qtd. in“The Way of Cain”). Red
Flag # 2: Look for greater mystical experiences
These experiences may include an emphasis on the senses and increased sensual experiences defined as spiritual. Of course the Bible says that we may hear God's audible voice, have dreams, visions, tongues, prophecies, words of wisdom, words of knowledge, healings and miracles. However, the new prophets want something that may be more in keeping with the New Age. William Branham received his messages from an angel while in a trance like state. Joseph Smith received the Book of Mormon with the assistance of a Peep Stone. Todd Bentley received a prophetic Spirit from an angel named Emma. (Buhdism has a being called Amma, a transliteration from Sanskrit, very popular with New Agers. The Satanic Bible lists Emma-0 as the Japanese ruler of hell (Satanic Bible 32 ). Jesus, dripping with oil came into Ryan Wyatt's room with a message for the manifest sons of God.
Are
these experiences counterfeit? A counterfeit
is no less real. Anymore than a counterfeit
bill is less material than a real one! I am
not pretending to judge these matters. I just
see red flags waving.
The Toronto Blessing and Rodney Howard Brown introduced Holy laughter. There is significant biblical evidence for the experience (Job 8.21; Ps 126.2). But when someone barks like a dog, I begin to wonder. Can he not control this or does he just prefer to bark when he gets happy? Other ministries are experiencing gold dust and the manifestation of jewels. I have seen the gold dust manifest on Joshua Mills hair and shoulders until it sprinkled the floor, but I did not hear him say anything about Jesus. The meeting seemed to be more about Joshua Mills and what happened to him. What happened was real and material. The question is what does it mean? Are these men tapping into dimensions of glory or something else? I have not seen the jewels. The jewels are reported to be taken to a jeweler, always, and they are found to be more perfect than anything that can be mined, always. But I have never heard of a jeweler buying one and a poor man helped out of his poverty. All the interesting things seem to be reported rather than observed. It always happens at another meeting or in another conference. Here are reports of it raining inside but not outside (supposedly proof of the outpouring of the latter rain); there are reports of resurrections from the dead (biblical)! But the most interesting manifestations do not occur in my presence. I truly have no explanation for these things. One must carefully weigh all experience and not be carried about by every wind of doctrine. I recall a former student I had from Nigeria in the 70's. He shared with me some of his beliefs which I now recognize to be witchcraft and told a curious story. One evening back in Africa he performed a ceremony to win the love of a particular girl. Then he wished and wished while holding out his fists. He felt something in his hand; when he opened his fist he saw a large uncut diamond. I had forgotten that story until now. I believe the Lord has brought it to my remembrance for a reason. I have heard about Pipestone, Minnesota where a house has been dedicated to these great outpourings of God. People go there who want greater spiritual experiences. Different rooms feature differing special effects. One room might have a cloud; in another room people drink nectar from the angel who walked in with vials; in another people may be fighting principalities with play swords. Either they are having experiences that are truly supernatural or everyone is admiring the emperor's new clothes. What I find most striking is that today's revivals are all so incestuous. During the Great Awakening or during Finney's revivals, entire barrooms would be emptied out. People weeping and repenting would run from the saloon to the churches, crying out to be saved.
God is a God of experience but what often accompanies unusual manifestations is a respect of persons. Look what happened to so and so? He must be more spiritually evolved, have a deeper progression into the things of God, the hallmark of the New Age. I am also hearing of the manifest sons of God claiming to be able to access the mysteries of Quantum Physics. Certainly Franklin Hall thought it possible. Franklin
Hall, one of the earliest proponents of the
Kingdom Now doctrines, advocated not only fasting
but said that without fasting, one's prayers
will not be answered. He also wrote a book
on how to become immortal through stages of
spiritual growth where one would also learn
from UFO's how to exercise control over gravity.
Clearly his teachings were New Age and occult
and many of the foundations of the Latter Rain
Movements were based on his books (Franklin
Hall. “The Return of Immortality.”
Phoenix Hall Deliverance Foundation, 1976 pp
2-3. Cited by Apologetics Index). Red Flag # 3. The emphasis on dialogue with God. Rick Joyner writes: ''In
the near future we will not be looking back
at the early church with envy because of the
great exploits of those days, but all will
be saying that He certainly did save His best
wine for last. The most glorious times in all
of history have not come upon us. You, who
have dreamed of one day being able to talk
with Peter, John and Paul, are going to be
surprised to find that they have all been waiting
to talk to you'' (The Harvest. Morning Star. 1989).
Jesus said that his sheep hear his voice (John 10). God does talk to us in many ways. But will our supernatural dialogue become so developed that we will be chatting back and forth with the great cloud of witnesses? I know the disciples heard specific direction from the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit would say You will be imprisoned if you return to Jerusalem or Don't go to Troas, go to Macedonia, etc. But life, death and the gospel were at stake! What I have begun to observe is an increase of what I call “the chat.” I am speaking of people who seem to dialogue with God at will but without significance. I was caught in the crossfire of such dialogue. One day visiting a friend, two Christians were at the table sharing Scriptures. When I was about to add my thoughts to the discussion, one man said, “Not yet. God said, “Not yet!” Later, when I dared share a couple of comments. He said to me: “God told me you would do it anyway.” The brother was using his running dialogue as a means to control. There was no real purpose for this nonsense other than one up-man-ship. They were also able to see angels that I couldn't see. I was clearly a spiritual inferior. Another situation found me traveling with a Christian who also seemed to develop this dialogue to a high degree. After consulting the voice, he would then say, “No” or “Yes” we can or can't do this or that. I said, “How do you do that?” I was told that all of my dedication had to be to God and when he could finally trust me, I would also be able to dialogue with Him. What was interesting was when we were lost for a couple of hours, the voice was mute! Red Flag # 4 Abuse and Control: When the sheep are under a prophet who claims to
have superior revelation and light; who claims
to hear from God, then the potential for abuse
is present. Leaders may use tactics of fear
and guilt to get their followers to conform
to their message. We must remember that Scripture
is of no private interpretation. Watch for
the following characteristics: claims to superior knowledge, attempts to control or
manipulate, picking on people, humiliating
people,
bossiness,
respect of persons, domination instead of servant-hood,
any other exercise of entitlement. In a way, I was once again blessed to be on the outside with my nose pressed against the window. This apostle gave me the creeps with his long, pointed, polished nails. My hackles went up. It turns out that he and the pastor tried to lead the local body into Kingdom Now doctrines. The church split as the result with the pastor leaving for greener pastures to trample and clearer waters to muddy. The following is all a part of the public record. Some big ministers of the kingdom movement have fallen: Bishop Paulk—many allegations child abuse, adultery, fathering an illegitimate child with his brother's wife; Paul Cain--homosexuality; Ted Haggart--homosexuality; William Branham--misogyny and abuse of women; Todd Bentley--adultery (prior incarcerations for child abuse and battery before becoming famous). After achieving fame, Bentley discarded his wife for another. Within months he was called restored by Rick Joyner. And, the FOTM, Fellowship of the Martyrs, an off shoot of Bentley, received revelations that they could have serial spiritual marriages, so the self-appointed leaders went into serial adultery.
Peter warns:
“But among the people there were also false prophets,
just as there will be false teachers among
you. Under false pretenses they will introduce
destructive
heresies . . . and thus bring on themselves
swift destruction. Many will follow their debaucheries;
and because of them the true Way will be maligned.
In their greed they will exploit you with fabricated
stories” (CJB, 2 Peter 2.1-3).
Presumptuous
and self-willed, these false teachers . . .
. [act] without thinking, like animals without
reason. When they are destroyed, their destruction
will be total--they will be paid back
<>harm
as wages for the harm they are doing. Their
idea of pleasure is carousing in broad daylight;
they are spots and defects reveling in their
deceptions as they share meals with you—for
they have eyes always on the lookout for a
woman who will commit adultery, eyes that never
stop sinning; and they have a heart that has
exercised itself in greed; so that they seduce
unstable people. What a cursed brood”
(2 Peter 2.11-14).
Another
situation that I was involved in was with a
pastor of a Morning Star group who had a church
in a small town near me. It all began rather
innocently but it wasn't long before he had
a special group of the prophets
who met with him at his house. I was excluded.
Another underling was allowed at the meetings
but could only take notes. He couldn't prophesy.
It wasn't long before the pastor said that
I could come to church but I must never pray
for anyone (he heard that from the Lord). So,
I elected to not come at all anymore. In only
a few months, the pastor, a former alcoholic,
went back to alcohol abuse. It took awhile
before the other members were extricated. A couple with an apostolic calling sought to set up new churches in our region. The lady pastor stayed at my home and I was basically ordered to wait on her. It was irrelevant that I had a full time job and children in the house. I must have the foods she wanted prepared, have certain things on hand for her, and, even though busy in the kitchen, I had to have my face in her direction. “When I'm talking to you, you look at me,” she would order! Never mind that I might be putting her chicken in the oven. I enjoyed her as a person, but she felt entitled to boss me around because of her elite status. When I heard her say “If people come against (she named herself and her husband), God will kill them,” I had had quite enough. You can imagine the fear and resulting control statements like that can generate. Finally, I wish to expose a very rigid Kingdom Now group that is gaining momentum. Dear friends were members of a church under a very decent, insightful pastor. But soon the church came under a different “covering.” (See Who is Your Covering by Frank Viola). Their new master was Steve Schultz of Preparing the Way Network an extension of Noel Woodruff from World Breakthrough Network (WBN), Trinidad.
Soon began the extensive indoctrination (Kingdom Now). They had pages and pages of overhead notes to take. Only to have to hear it all again. Members began to be ranked. Some who dared to question the teachings were accused of not being submissive and later dis-fellowshiped. The ministry goal was to prepare a church that was pure and uncontaminated and as such they had to bring the membership in line with their ideas of kingdom community in which all members were to be in unity and to walk in the same revelation. They were required to listen to those who had the “greater light.” One person heard the preacher say: “Your safety and security lies 1st in WBN/ 2nd in Preparing the Way/and 3rd in this church.” Where was Jesus mentioned in all of this safety and security? Many left the church. The absence of those who left was explained away. Those rascals had “unteachable spirits; they were “unwilling to go further in God.” Soon the church acquired a new name, the epitome of pride, (deliberately omitted here to protect some members). Later reports came back of remaining members having to stand up and confess sins that were already under the blood. Rumors circulated that an elder had been given the role to police the group to make sure they were lining up. Humiliation and control are typical of cult leaders. WBN has become the passion of many bloggers. T. Brown, one blogger, said the following: “Yeah, I'm
in a church that's recently connected with
WBN or Congress WBN as they're changing their
name to... i'm in the process of challenging
them (via my church leader) as I've been finding
various things that don't seem quite right.
I have pasted the blog just as I have found it. It is important that those who are under the dominion heresy or under the domination of self-serving prophets understand the subtleties of spiritual abuse as well as the subtleties of false doctrine. All that I have questioned is not just about theology but about the very plain matter of human morals and moral responsibility. Jesus is the head of his church. Kingdom/Dominion Theology with all its attendant beliefs and practices is simply another picture of the statue in Daniel chapter two. Man is the self declared head of the body, not God. Look at the statue; the head is gold indicating absolute rule and majesty. The head is a man who has elevated himself over all the people in the kingdom. His rule is absolute. His terror is felt. Is this the picture that we want for the church? In an attempt to get a “bride without spot or wrinkle” some bad things are happening. We need to remember that Jesus is the head. We are to call no man Master; we are to humble ourselves, and if we lead, we are to be servant of all. Our righteousness is because of what he has done, because of His passion on the cross, not our passion to evolve into spiritual giants. Beware the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. ********************************
Afterward
It was with some reluctance that I attempted to discuss the Kingdom Now/Prophetic-Apostolic movements. I am not an apologist. But, a culmination of recent experiences, including reading Lynn Hiles E-book on Revelation, spurred me to write. I have friends that are or have been involved in some way with the Kingdom movement. I know they want nothing more than to be used by God and to live as fully in his will as possible. I know they love God! This paper is not to offend them but to search for truth as did the Bereans. I want to say once more that I believe God speaks to us today in the same way that he spoke to men of old. I do believe that there are prophets and apostles in the body of Christ. I believe that the gifts of the Spirit are for today as taught by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12. I believe that God reveals himself in several ways. But revelation never should overwrite Scripture. We must be Sola Scriptura!
Mary Pinkney Parnell
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