NAR New Apostolic Reformation

[shann0]

Some christians get fooled into thinking that this branch of the Dominionist movement are actually God fearing patriots. They use the familiar terminology that other christians use, but as with most cults they redefine those words to mean something different.

members.ozemail.com.au/~rseaborn/New_Apostolic_Reformation.html


The New Apostolic Reformation

by Orrel Steinkamp, D. Min



A Second Pentecost?

C. Peter Wagner is attempting to will into existence what he calls a "New Apostolic Reformation". He tells us in a book he has edited called "The New Apostolic Churches" of the struggle he had with naming his new reformation.

"I needed a name ... For a couple of years I experimented with 'Post denominationalism'. The name I have settled on for the movement is the New Apostolic Reformation." (1)

Donald Miller a colleague of Wagner calls this movement "The New Paradigm Churches". (2) This is advertised as a reformation greater in scale than the reformation of the 1500's.

It is suggested that this "new reformation" is something entirely new. Wagner outlines his article with sections such as "new name", "new authority structure", "new ministry focus", "new worship style", "new prayer forms" etc. The centrepiece of this new apostolic reformation is the launching of new apostles and prophets. The restoration of modern day apostles and prophets is promoted in the book "The Gift of Apostle" by David Cannistraci. This book was offered to those attending a conference organized by Wagner called "Churches in the New Apostolic Paradigm". Among the list of topics and presenters for the conference was Bill Hamon. (Can we really refer to the Bill Hamon's teaching as new?) Bishop Hamon has been promoting restoration and manifest sons of God teaching for decades. Can it be argued that this "New reformation" is something that God has just recently dropped new from heaven like the baby Superman from Krypton? I suggest that there is nothing new here at all and for anyone willing to do the study they will find it a mere cutting edge version of something at least 100 years old. G. Raymond Carlson, former General Superintendent of the AOG [USA], had this to say regarding the new apostles and prophets:

"I saw it in the New Order of the Latter Rain in the late 40's and early 50's. Before that, it made its presence felt in the early days of the century among early Pentecostals." (3)

The only thing new about this movement seems to be the new personalities who are promoting it and their creative marketing techniques. It is interesting that those promoting this end of the age global revival visualise and allegorise it as a "Mighty River". Do the "River Boat Captains" know the direction the current river is flowing and do the gleeful riverboat passengers know where "the river" originated? Do they know that this river has been flowing for many years? Do they know the original channel that still determines where the river will eventually flow? We all know that the source and the course of a river determines its direction no matter how many tributaries may enter into it along the way. So it is with what is currently called the "River of Revival". Provided people think logically, the underlying core paradigm will eventually play out according to the original vision much like the rules of chess determine what is a valid move and what is not.

G. Raymond Carlson was right. This much-publicised new paradigm can be traced to the Latter Rain movement of the 40's and early 50's. Even though the Latter Rain of the 50's faltered and fell into disrepute with the death of William Branham and the repudiation by the Assemblies of God it was kept alive by certain survivors and reintroduced in a veiled manner into the Charismatic Renewal of the 60's and 70's. Few people have realised just how influential the Latter Rain movement was and how effectively Latter Rain concepts were introduced into the Charismatic Renewal. Ern Baxter who was instrumental in the Shepherding Movement, worked with William Branham during the 50's Latter Rain. George Warnock, who wrote the only systematic teaching from the Latter Rain (The Feast of Tabernacles), was Ern Baxter's personal secretary. In the midst of the Charismatic Renewal I remember well the teaching of the fivefold ministry and at that time assumed it was a new revelation to the church not knowing it had been imported directly from the Latter Rain. But is the mid-century Latter-Rain the headwaters of the current River of revival? Not really. Rather than the headwaters it is a major tributary. We must travel further upstream to find the actual source. Dr Raymond Carlson again is correct in asserting that some of the early Pentecostal pioneers of the turn of the century also were involved. Before we stop with the early Pentecostals, we must go back just a little further and find the headwaters in the Holiness movement of the late 1800's.

The Holiness Movement

Holiness enthusiasts of the late nineteenth century searched the scriptures for reference to the revival they were experiencing. One popular scripture was Matthew 24:14, "And this gospel shall be preached in all the world... and then the end shall come". Holiness teaching served as a prelude to missions and missions a prelude to the second coming.

They identified their holiness experience as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the enablement to take the gospel to every nation and then Jesus could return. Holiness preachers searched the scriptures for this worldwide revival and interestingly enough the best they could find was a teaching they called the "Latter Rain". This Latter Rain allegory was pieced together from scripture references of the early and latter rains of the growing season. (Deuteronomy 11:10-21 and James 5:7-8). These rainfall patterns metaphorically became a sort of lens though which to view all of church history. The outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was seen as the early rain in which the church was planted and the end of age revival was the latter rain, a divine preparation of a last days harvest and the signal of the soon return of Jesus. Wesley Myland (1858-1943) who began his career as a holiness preacher was the first to put in writing the Latter Rain scheme, which he titled "The Latter Rain Covenant". (4) He is also credited with writing the first Pentecostal hymn "The Latter Rain". The Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements also refers to his book, "The Latter Rain Covenant" as the first definitive Pentecostal theology.

Latter Rain And The Early Pentecostals

It was Charles Parham, a Methodist holiness preacher who broke with traditional holiness teaching and linked the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with a latter-day Pentecost. His new discovery was that tongues was both a sign of this Spirit baptism and also the signal of the end of the age.

The early Pentecostal pioneers initially accepted this Latter Rain motif. Spirit baptism was an end time repeat of the first Pentecost. Tongues were seen as an eschatological sign signifying that a second and final Pentecost was taking place, bringing the church into a new and final dispensation. This second Pentecost would bring a final world revival in which the nations would have one last opportunity to hear the gospel and then the end would come. Tongues were at first perceived as actual missionary languages to enable the gospel to be quickly preached throughout the whole earth. Indeed many at that time went to China assuming they had been given a Chinese tongue to announce the gospel. Most returned disillusioned. The term "Latter Rain" was used freely by the early Pentecostal pioneers as well as the term "apostolic". The early Pentecostals were convinced that not only would there be a Latter Rain global revival but the last days' church would be restored to the apostolic pattern. Joined to the Latter Rain teaching was a complementary truth called restoration.

Restoring The Apostolic Church

The basic principle of restoration teaching is that there is a fundamental discontinuity, historical and spiritual, between the church today and the New Testament church. In the restoration agenda, God will end the church as He began it. Events, however, caused the early Pentecostals to dispense with restorationism and the Latter Rain motif. In 1914 and later the founding fathers of the AOG turned their back on Latter Rain Apostolic Restoration thinking and espoused the current premillennial eschatology. The Latter Rain motif then sat more or less dormant for decades until 1948. In Canada the Latter Rain paradigm erupted again. Impartation of spiritual gifts by the laying on of hands was instituted as well as travelling prophets giving personal prophecy.

This time there was added the restoration of the apostolic office gifts of apostles and prophets. Indeed to restore the apostolic church without restored apostles and prophets would be a limited restoration of the apostolic church.

Restored Apostles And Prophets

To Latter Rain teachers it seemed obvious that if there was to be a repeated apostolic Pentecost then apostles and prophets must be restored as well. These teachers then devised a historical scheme of restoration. Church history was understood as a succession of recoveries of lost or neglected truths. Luther recovered justification by faith, Baptists believers' baptism, Wesley holiness, A.B. Simpson healing and the early Pentecostal pioneers the gifts of the Spirit. The recovery process was now extended further. The end time body of Christ must go on to maturity and restore the apostles and prophets and these restored ministries must lead the church to a new and final dimension of power and authority not only bringing in the final harvest but establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth.

Kingdom Now Teaching

Now we are introduced to another major feature of the current move namely Kingdom Now Dominionism. Previously Latter Rain teachers saw a second and repeated Pentecost as a final harvest of souls before Christ could come back. Now there is a major addition to the Latter Rain/Restoration concept. The restored apostles and prophets will lead a new and reconstituted body of Christ in conquering the kingdoms of this world and establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth.

This dominion mentality is conceived as a gigantic end-time revival that will sweep the whole earth in its wake. Some even refer to a billion souls being swept in to the kingdom. An elite company of overcomers from out of the larger church will subdue all things and will be so endued with supernatural power that the first church apostles will be envious of the latter day apostles.

According to his view, summarised from the statements made by a number of its exponents, "the church isn't going sit and take it any more. The church isn't going to wait to be helicoptered out of the world in some rapture rescue plan. The church will stay right here and by its spiritual authority even defeat the principalities and powers in the heavenlies, dragging them to earth and putting them under their heel". Paul Cain, a survivor of the Latter Rain (1950) is currently marketing a vision of an elite company of overcoming spiritual warriors called "Joel's army". This end-time spiritual army unit will be an invincible band, which leads the church in dominion on the earth. A purging of the wider church of those who will not follow the new order is necessary to constitute a unified global church.

Teachers of the new order tell us that all this has been prophesied. This is an end-time fulfilment of the Feast of Tabernacles. These teachers assert that Passover found fulfilment in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The Feast of Pentecost was fulfilled in the outpouring of Spirit, and now the only remaining feast is that of Tabernacles to be fulfilled in the last days' church. It is a second Pentecost with restored apostles and prophets. This end time spiritual army will put all God's enemies under its feet, yes even the last enemy, death itself. This introduces us to another added teaching of the Latter Rain (1950).

The Manifested Sons Of God

The body of Christ coming to spiritual maturity will be able to defeat death itself. This teaching became known as the "Manifest Sons of God". Taking childish cues from Paul's teaching in Romans eight and misunderstanding them, they suggested that a company of overcoming believers "the sons of God" will be manifested upon the earth with never dying spiritual bodies before the return of Christ. This would have to be the ultimate in dominion teaching.

Bishop Earl Paulk has stated the Manifest Sons teaching very clearly without ever using that unpopular term. Listen to his unmistakable teaching:

"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 ones to complete the task. Jesus said (Matthew 28:18), "all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth," and the church today has that same power. Death will not be conquered by Jesus returning to earth. It will be conquered when the church stands up boldly and says, "We have dominion over the earth". (5)

Obviously the church has not yet matured to the place of defeating death. Bishop Paulk counsels Christians not to accept death unless they get a specific revelation from God otherwise. There is a companion truth that often accompanies the Manifested Sons teaching namely the birth in the church of a corporate Christ. This corporate Christ is said to be a fusing together of the spiritual Christ within His many membered body upon the earth. The end-time glorious church is supposed to give birth to this corporate Christ. Though it is not always stated this view assumes and some teach (not all) that the literal physical resurrected Jesus will not need to return as such. Rather His second coming will happen when He is spiritually incarnated into his church, which will then be able to conquer death itself. This teaching has been expressed in various ways.

"Jesus was God in the flesh. We must be as He was in the world, even greater in volume and influence." (6)

"The completion of the incarnation of God in the world must be in His church... Jesus Christ is the firstfruits, but without the ongoing harvest, the incarnation will never be complete." (7)

"The living Word of God, Jesus Christ, was conceived in the womb of a virgin. The Word became flesh in the God-Man Jesus Christ (John 1:1). Likewise, the Word of God must be made flesh in the Church in order for us to bear witness to the Kingdom which God has called us to demonstrate." (8)

"We are on earth as extensions of God to finish the work He began. We are the essence of God, His on-going incarnation in the world." (9)

This is saying far more than the orthodox view that Christ indwells His church by the Holy Spirit. The question arises: how can Jesus, with his current resurrected body in heaven, be incarnated into the church that is still upon the earth? Some have seen this problem and solve it by adjusting their Christology.

"He [Jesus] entered a higher realm of restoration and love by becoming an indwelling Spirit." (10)

We must oppose this view. Jesus has not become the Holy Spirit. It is rather the Holy Spirit who indwells the believer. The resurrected Jesus is at the Father's right hand and in His glorified resurrected body He will return bodily to the earth. Obviously an indwelling spirit would not need to return from heaven. It is on this basis that some Dominion teachers assert that Jesus can be an ongoing incarnation of God in His body (church) upon the earth. Consequently scriptures pertaining to Christ's ruling on earth are often seen as referring to the church rather than to Jesus. The church is viewed as a kind of Virgin Mary who must give birth to Jesus the indwelling spirit.

Francis Frangipane teaches a similar message:

"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 the power and timing of God. The virgin church is in labour and in pain to give birth (Rev. 12:5) even now hell trembles and the heavens watch in awe for I say to you, once again, the virgin is with child." (11)

Latter-Rain teachers have long used Revelation 12, teaching that the woman in this passage is the church and the "Man child" to be born is a spiritual second coming of Christ into His corporate body. When Latter Rain Prophet Paul Cain describes, in passing, the church as the "Man Child Company" he has this teaching in mind.

Marc Dupont of the former Toronto Vineyard claims to have received a significant prophecy in which he states the following:

"This move of the Spirit in 1994 is not just a Charismatic and Pentecostal experience, concerning power and gifting. It is one thing to be clothed with power, it is another to be indwelt with the Person of God." (12)

Old Testament scriptures are spiritualised to see this birthing as the return of the ark to the temple, that is the coming of Christ invisibly into His living temple the church. This will occur when the Feast of Tabernacles is fulfilled which celebrates the Lord dwelling among His people. "When this happens, no longer will it be the Head (Jesus Christ) in heaven and the body (believers) on earth - but one Perfect Man filling both heaven and earth". (13)

This teaching of a spiritual second coming of Jesus into His body is rarely advertised. Rather the more palatable teaching of a final global revival and restored apostles and prophets is the public teaching most emphasised. How can the present Charismatic/Pentecostal church even entertain elements of this teaching that originated from such a small group that operated on the fringes of the Pentecostal movement in the early 50's?

When the Charismatic Renewal exploded in the 60's and 70's certain Latter Rain remnants found a new and undiscriminating audience. Charismatics had never heard of the Latter Rain and received the new teaching as part of their new wine experience. Consequently Latter-Rain/Restorationism received a greater hearing within the Charismatic renewal than it ever did in the Classic Pentecostal tradition. Through the Charismatic Renewal, Latter Rain teachings were renamed and finally homogenised sufficiently so that today Latter Rain ideas float freely on "the river" without anyone detecting their true identity. Furthermore the Charismatic Renewal has been mainstreamed into wider evangelical circles through John Wimber and Vineyard conferences, signs and wonders teachings, etc. Indeed some of the more extreme parts of the paradigm are not put out front, nevertheless, little by little the wider church is coalescing around what, when thoroughly analysed, are Latter Rain core beliefs. Without unwarranted employment of the Latter Rain allegory there is not even a hint in scripture of an end-time global revival and second Pentecost. Not everyone in the river uniformly accepts all the parts of the paradigm. But as time goes by more and more Latter Rain tenets exert a gravitational pull that draws participants to logically espouse more and more of the paradigm.

When Peter Wagner calls for and attempts to network a world wide apostolic reformation does he espouse the whole of the Latter Rain/Restoration paradigm? I don't really know. In fact I doubt that he does. I do know, however, that by bringing Bishop Bill Hamon to speak at his conferences, he is bringing the whole paradigm mentioned above. There must be at least openness on Wagner's part and many others because they without qualification recommend Bill Hamon's books with its full-blown Latter Rain and Manifested Sons' teaching. Wagner's "New Apostolic Reformation" is nothing more than warmedup Latter Rain teaching. G. Raymond Carlson from his vantage point of history knew that all this has its source in a second end-time Pentecost, first articulated at the turn of the century and restated and expanded in the New Order of the Latter Rain 1950 and now imported and marketed into the wider church by means of the Charismatic renewal.

When much is made of a sweeping revival that will overflow the earth in the last days with billions of converts, you should be aware that this popular idea comes not from scripture but from a view of church history that has been running now for over a century. Take away the fraudulent allegorical use of the "Latter Rain" scheme and there remains no other biblical support for this elaborate view of the end-times. Rather it was Jesus Himself who asked the question: "When the Son of Man comes will He find faith upon the earth?" (Luke 18:8).

The scripture leaves no doubt that Jesus will return bodily, first to the air then to earth and when He does, at the first stage, His "body" upon the earth (the full complement of his church) will be raptured to meet Him in the air (I Thessalonians 4:17). It is then and only then that He will change our corruptible bodies in a twinkling of an eye. It is then (at the second stage) that Jesus will rule earth in His glorified and resurrected body. It is then that the Sons of God will be manifest. Rather than sensationalising a false and unbiblical agenda, the church must occupy until He comes and His body is completed. Faithfully this gospel must be preached to every nation and then the end will come. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus.

The PLUMBLINE
74425 County Road 21 Renville, MN 56284
Published by Orrel Steinkamp D. Min.
Tel. [phone]

Email Address: [e-mail]





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NOTES


C. Peter Wagner, The New Apostolic Churches (Ventura CA; Regal, 1998), p. 18.
Donald E. Miller, New Paradigm Churches in the Twentieth Century (Pasadena CA: Ministry Advantage, Vol. 6, No. 4, July/Aug 1996).
G. Raymond Carlson, personal letter to Jewel Van de Mewre.
Wesley Myland, The Latter-Rain Covenant (1910).
Earl Paulk, The Proper Function of the Church (Atlanta: K Dimension Publishers, undated), p. 13
Earl Paulk, The Uitimate Kingdom (Atlanta: K Dimension Publishers, 1986), p.121.
Earl Paulk, The Wounded Body of Christ (Atlanta: K Dimension Publishers), p. 43.
Earl Paulk, Held In The Heavens (Atlanta: K Dimension Publishers, 1985), p.60.
ibid, p. 125.
Earl Paulk, Thrust In The Sickle And Reap (Atlanta: K Dimension Publishers, 1986), p. 132.
Fancis Frangipane, In The Presence Of God (New Wine Press 1994), pp. 153-157.
Marc Dupont, Mantle of Praise (Alpha Magazine, 1994).
Tricia Tillin, The Source and Goal of the Second Pentecost (UK: Banner Ministries, 1994).

[shann0]

The vatican connections to the NAR/ Dominionist movement and the Knights of Malta.

???Please use discernment! This article has a quote form Sherry Shriner. I am in no way endorsing the views of Sherry Shriner by posting this article. ???

endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/todd-bentley-rick-joyner-bobby-conner-the-knights-of-malta-connection/

Todd Bentley, Rick Joyner, Bobby Conner – the Knights of Malta Connection

‘Truth Speaker’ writes an interesting article about why C Peter Wagner’s bunch of false prophets and apostles may have chosen to “align” Todd Bentley on June 23rd (apart from prophet Bob Jones prophesying that June 22 through to July 22 would have the most glory) here. She says the date has special occult significance and is a key date for the Knights of Malta!

“It is of great significance that Rick Joyner was one of the men presiding over [the Todd Bentley commissioning on June 23rd]. Several years ago Rick Joyner was initiated into the Knights of Malta, the Order of Saint John. This is a known fact and Rick has even spoken about it and made an audio tape explaining it and defended it in his 1998 Morning Star Journal.

[End times note: other prophets like Mahesh Chavda and Paul Cain and Bobby Conner are also known knights of Malta]

Rick Joyner and many of the other prophets and apostles from C. Peter Wagner’s New Apostolic Reformation are calling for unity with Rome.

What are the Knights of Malta

The Order of Malta is a lay, religious order of the Catholic Church. It is a Hospitaller order, founded in Jerusalem during the eleventh century. Members of the Order seek to glorify God through his or her work with the sick and the poor and witness of the Catholic faith.

Sherry Shriner writes in her article: “Rick Joyner, Knighted By The Knights Of Malta”


“The primary organization, called the Knights of Malta, has its headquarters in the Vatican of Rome and is clearly controlled and operated by the Catholic church. Their official website gives their name as the “Sovereign Military Order Of Malta.” They state of themselves that this “is a lay religious order of the Catholic church.” It was founded in Jerusalem in 1099 and it was approved formally as an order by the Pope in 1113. They also say of themselves, “The Order of Malta was admitted to the United Nations as a permanent observer on August 24, 1994.” They also claim “official diplomatic relations with over eighty states and international organizations.” The Order of Malta is clearly a Catholic order, controlled by the Pope and totally committed to the Pope, the Virgin Mary, and service to Roman Catholic ideas and causes. It is a powerful and massive organization.”

The History of the Knights of Malta

“Blessed Gerard originally founded “The Hospice of St. John of Jerusalem” prior to the 1st Crusade to care for sick and poor pilgrims in Jerusalem. In 1120, after Pope Urban II issued a Bulla recognizing the Hospice as a military religious order, the Order became “The Military Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem”. Its members became known as “Knights of St. John”, “Knights of the Hospital” or simply “Knights Hospitallers”. Later, after the capture of Rhodes, the Order’s name became “The Military Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem and of Rhodes”. The knights of that period were known as “The Knights of Rhodes”, as well as by their previous names. After the loss of Rhodes, the Order came into possession of the Island of Malta. The Order’s name then became “The Military Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta”. After the loss of Malta the name of the Order became “The Sovereign Military Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta”. Since that time, the members have since been referred to most commonly as “The Knights of Malta”, however, they may still be referred to as “Knights of St. John”, “Knights of the Hospital” or “Knights Hospitaller”. The Order is now typically referred to as “The Sovereign Military Order of Malta”, “The Order of Malta”, or the “SMOM”. . .

The following quote is from: An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences,” etc. by Albert G. Mackey, M.D., Thirty-Third Degree, Volume I, published by the Masonic History Company, Chicago, New York, & London, 1925, Volume One, pp. 392-95:

“This Order, which at various times in the progress of its history received the names of Knights Hospitalers, Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of Rhodes, and lastly, Knights of Malta, was one of the most important of the religious and military orders of knighthood which sprang into existence during the Crusades which were instituted for the recovery of the Holy Land. It owes its origin to the Hospitalers of Jerusalem, that wholly religious and charitable Order which was established at Jerusalem, in 1048, by pious merchants of Amalfi for the succor of poor and distressed Latin pilgrims….

“…There are now two bodies-one Catholic and the other Protestant, but each repudiates the other….

“The degree of Knight of Malta is conferred in the United States as “an appendant Order” in a Commandery of Knights Templar. There is a ritual attached to the degree, but very few are in possession of it, and it is generally communicated after the candidate has been created a Knights Templar….”

The Knights of Malta are the militia of the Pope, and are sworn to total obedience by a blood oath which is taken extremely seriously and to the death. The Pope as the head of the Vatican is also the head of a foreign national power.

As a member of the Knights of Malta, and by virtue of your blood oath of obedience to the Pope, you are required to support to the death the desires of the head of the Order of the Knights of Malta-in this case, Pope Benedict XVI -over and above any other allegiance you may feel or pretend to feel toward any other loyalty-such as a loyalty to the Constitution for the united States of America.

Those who are presently members of the Knights of Malta must on penalty of death support those policies advocated by the Vatican. It is not hard for them to do this. They BELIEVE in these policies and principles. The polices which are espoused and proclaimed by the office of the Pope are as follows:

1. End of sovereignty for the United States and other countries.
2. End of absolute property rights.
3. End of all gun rights.
4. The new international economic Order (world government).
5. The redistribution of wealth and jobs.
6. Calls for nations to trust the United Nations.
7. Total disarmament.
8. Promote the United Nations as the hope for peace.
9. Promote UNESCO, the deadly educational and cultural arm of the United Nations.
10. Promote interdependence.
11. Support sanctions honoring Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin-the New Age Humanist Priest.
12. Support the belief that the economic principle of traditional Christian or Catholic social doctrine is the economic principle of communism.
13. Promote the Pope as the acting go-between for the United States and the Soviet Union.

It doesn’t really matter what kind of religious or political affiliation a member professes, when they take an oath as a Knight they are obligated by that blood oath of obedience to follow the political lead of the Vatican and will do so to their dying breath-as all good Knights of Malta do. Their first loyalty is to the Vatican, anything else is secondary. Each and every member is under complete and total obedience to the Vatican’s political ambitions.

The Order of Malta has ambassadors or diplomatic representatives in more than eighty nations, and enjoys Permanent Observer status at the United Nations General Assembly.”

It is a known fact that Rick Joyner is very focused on warfare and the Knights of the Roundtable. Here is a quote from Joyner:


“Like the nation of Israel, the Order of St John the Baptist seems to have been uniquely preserved to play a part in the final battle between light and darkness. The church, and even Western civilization, is no less in jeopardy today than it was in the time of Suleiman. Conflicts within the church have weakened her to the point that she is more vulnerable to the enemy than ever. Even so, the Lord is not constrained to deliver by many or by few. He still has those who are true noblemen, who are establishing noble families throughout the earth. They are bound together by a common faith that transcends denominational differences. They, too, have vowed not to retreat before the enemies of the cross, nor yield a single acre of ground to the enemy of our faith.


The Lord is again calling together true knights of the Spirit. They will stand unified in spite of all the petty divisions and spiritual wars that go on around them. They know who the real enemy is, and they, too, will stand without wavering against the greatest darkness of their times, and they will push the darkness back. Some of these are in the modern Order of St John. Some of them may be in your church. One of them may even be you.” (pg 58, end of author’s text)

A picture of the present Grand Master with his various titles covers page 59 of the book.

The Significance of the Date of Todd Bentley’s commissioning:

What is significant about the date and Rick Joyner being one of the presiding “apostles” at Todd Bentley’s commissioning is that June 23 is the eve of the Feast Day of Saint John, the Knights of Malta’s feast day!

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta observes as its feast day Saint John’s Day, June 24th. It is not insignificant to note that Saint John’s Day is on the same date as Midsummer’s Day, the pagan holiday of Litha. It is a time when pagans worshipped the sun god through the summer solstice.

“Midsummer may simply refer to the period of time centered upon the summer solstice, but more often refers to specific European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice, or that take place on the 24th of June and the preceding evening. European midsummer-related holidays, traditions, and celebrations are pre-Christian in origin and have been superficially Christianised as celebrations of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist as “Saint John’s Eve” festivals.”

“Midsummer fires served as sun charms to keep up the heat. Midsummer Eve, however, afterwards nominated as John the Baptist’s Eve, was a great fire-day far and wide. Von Buch, the traveller, speaks of seeing custom observed within the Arctic Circle.An old writer about Ireland remarked–”A stranger would imagine the whole country was on fire.” Brand writes of the Vigil of St. John–”They make bonfires, run along the streets and fields with wisps of straw blazing on long poles, to purify the air which they think infectious by believing all the devils, spirits, ghosts, and hobgoblins abroad this night to hurt mankind.” One, writing in 1867 said–”The old pagan fire-worship still survives in Ireland though nominally in honour of St. John. On Sunday night bonfires were observed throughout nearly every county the province of Leinster.” As Easter Day was of old devoted to Astarte, the East goddess, so was St. John’s Day to Baal.”

The Feast of the Nativity of St. John is set down in the Papal calendar for the 24th of June, or Midsummer-day. The very same period was equally memorable in the Babylonian calendar as that of one of its most celebrated festivals. It was at Midsummer, or the summer solstice, that the month called in Chaldea, Syria, and Phoenicia by the name of “Tammuz” began; and on the first day–that is, on or about the 24th of June–one of the grand original festivals of Tammuz was celebrated.

For different reasons, in different countries, other periods had been devoted to commemorate the death and reviving of the Babylonian god; but this, as may be inferred from the name of the month, appears to have been the real time when his festival was primitively observed in the land where idolatry had its birth. And so strong was the hold that this festival, with its peculiar rites, had taken of the minds of men, that even when other days were devoted to the great events connected with the Babylonian Messiah, as was the case in some parts of our own land, this sacred season could not be allowed to pass without the due observance of some, at least, of its peculiar rites. When the Papacy sent its emissaries over Europe, towards the end of the sixth century, to gather in the Pagans into its fold, this festival was found in high favour in many countries. What was to be done with it? Were they to wage war with it? No. This would have been contrary to the famous advice of Pope Gregory I, that, by all means they should meet the Pagans half-way, and so bring them into the Roman Church. The Gregorian policy was carefully observed; and so Midsummer-day, that had been hallowed by Paganism to the worship of Tammuz, was incorporated as a sacred Christian festival in the Roman calendar.

But still a question was to be determined, What was to be the name of this Pagan festival, when it was baptised, and admitted into the ritual of Roman Christianity? To call it by its old name of Bel or Tammuz, at the early period when it seems to have been adopted, would have been too bold. To call it by the name of Christ was difficult, inasmuch as there was nothing special in His history at that period to commemorate. But the subtlety of the agents of the Mystery of Iniquity was not to be baffled. If the name of Christ could not be conveniently tacked to it, what should hinder its being called by the name of His forerunner, John the Baptist? John the Baptist was born six months before our Lord. When, therefore, the Pagan festival of the winter solstice had once been consecrated as the birthday of the Saviour, it followed, as a matter of course, that if His forerunner was to have a festival at all, his festival must be at this very season; for between the 24th of June and the 25th of December–that is, between the summer and the winter solstice–there are just six months. Now, for the purposes of the Papacy, nothing could be more opportune than this. One of the many sacred names by which Tammuz or Nimrod was called, when he reappeared in the Mysteries, after being slain, was Oannes.

In other words this particular day, June 23, the beginning of Saint John’s Day and Midsummer Day is an ancient pagan celebration to the god Baal or Tammuz and it is marked by FIRE. Is it a coincidence that Todd Bentley is always talking about the Fire, and that his ministry is called Fresh Fire?

Here’s an early 20th Century NY Times article on the pagan significance of St. John’s Day (June 24). Here are just some quotes that highlight fire worship.

“How many and varied have been the forms of what we may term degenerate fire worship, or, rather fire worship ceremonial and superstitious rites engrafted on Christianity?….It appears to me to be simply a survival of the worship of Baal which was the universal fatih of our fathers–a remnant of that great fire worship which prevailed over the whole world, as known to the ancients….”

Here is Todd Calling for a spirit of fire and a spirit of burning. Unfortunately for him he is calling for the judgment of God. Isa 4:4 – The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.

Mt 3:12 – His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Mt 13:40 – “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

1Co 3:13 – his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.

Heb 10:27 – but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

Another interesting occurrence happened on this same date in 1947:

“The modern UFO era and the birth of the extraterrestrial hypothesis began on June 24, 1947, when Kenneth Arnold, flying his private plane near Mount Rainier in Washington, reported nine disk-shaped objects flying in formation at speeds he estimated to be over 1,000 miles per hour”

Is this all a coincidence? If so then there seems to be unseen hands arranging these circumstances and causing these men to speak certain phrases on an occult holiday.”

[shann0]

www.deceptioninthechurch.com/boykin.html

General Jerry Boykin and his ties to The Knights of Malta and Rick Joyner
Compiled by Sandy Simpson, 7/21/11



This paper exposes what General Boykin has been doing in Calvary Chapels and his associations. He is Grand Chancellor of the Vatican's Jesuitical "Knights of Malta", an ecumenical society under the leadership of Rome where Catholics, Protestants and a plethora of others unite in what cannot be a unity of the Faith.

Today, there are some 11,000 knights and dames of the Order of Malta worldwide, 240 of them in Britain, presided over by the Grand Master and Sovereign Council based in Rome. In the New World the majority are knights and dames "of magistral grace," although not in Britain and European countries with a nobiliary tradition where a large number belong to ranks traditionally reserved to members of the aristocracy. Worldwide, about 50 are knights of justice who have taken the full religious vow of profession. Others, the knights of obedience, have taken a lesser promise of obedience to their religious superior, usually their Grand Prior. There are also many clergy who serve as chaplains of the Order. (http://www.holiday-malta.com/resort/malta/history/knightsofmalta3.htm)

Boykin is also involved with Rick Joyner in MorningStar, which is part of the New Apostolic Reformation. Joyner is a member of the International Coalition of Apostles under C. Peter Wagner, and soon to be under Chuck Pierce as Wagner is retiring. Joyner is a long time false prophet who was a member of the original Kansas City Prophets who brought the false anointing, false prophecy and false apostleship through the teachings of the Latter Rain into many churches.



Jerry Boykin And The Calvary Chapel Connection by Roger Oakland, 7/11, www.understandthetimes.org/commentary/c96.shtml



Here is a link to a video where Boykin and Joyner are promoting the Obamacare versus the OAK Initiative with Rick Joyner, Alan Keyes, Ret. Gen. Jerry Boykin, etc.



Here are videos where Boykin talks about Marxism, health care and the role of the “Church” in America on Rick Joyner’s MonringStar TV, featured on Joyner’s web site. www.morningstartv.com/general-boykin



Here is Boykin talking about Marxixm on MorningStar. www.morningstartv.com/oak-initiative/marxism-america



Here is the program detailed in “A Who's Who of Religious Right Activists Participated In Robison's Leadership Summits” by Kyle Mantyla, 7/11/11 www.rightwingwatch.org/category/individuals/jerry-boykin



Some Boykin quotes:



Boykin said that the U.S. military is recruiting a spiritual army that will draw strength from a greater power to defeat its enemy. (Washington Post, August 19, 2004. “General’s Speeches Broke Rules,” By R. Jeffrey Smith and Josh White. At www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?A14262-2004Aug19?language=printer)



(Boykin) told the First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow, Okla. on June 30, 2002, “What I’m here to do today is to recruit you to be warriors of God’s kingdom.” (http://www.homestead.com/prosites-prs/generalboykin.html)

Boykin not only went on a speaking tour to recruit “warriors,” but prior to the tour, he’d invited a select group of Southern Baptist pastors to meet him at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, NC on April 22-23 of 2003. According to the promotional materials sent out to the group of Southern Baptist pastors, they would be given unprecedented access to the military base while being recruited for the denomination’s “Super FAITH Force Multiplier” program. Boykin’s invitation was extended in a letter authored by the Rev. Bobby H. Welch, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla. The planned meeting was scaled back after attorneys for Americans United for Separation of Church and State complained that Boykin was “using his official position to advance the religious mission of the Southern Baptist Convention’s FAITH Force Multipliers program.” (Americans United, “U.S. Military Support For Baptist Evangelism Program Draws Protest From Americans United” April 7, 2003. Published at: www.au.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5114&abbr=pr&security=1002&ne)

In an excellent article, Deborah Caldwell, a senior editor of Belief Net, revealed that among Boykin’s “staunchest supporters were Focus on the Family’s James Dobson; religious broadcaster Pat Robertson; the Family Research Council; the Christian Coalition and the Rev. Bobby Welch.” (Belief Net, “The Same General Boykin? The Pentagon official, an evangelical, was nearly fired for insulting Islam. So far, conservative Christians stand by him.” By Deborah Caldwell. At: www.beliefnet.com/story/146/story_14608.html)

(WARNING: The following two quotes are from a liberal web site. I am only supplying the links for information on Boykin. I do not agree with all their conclusions. They are against Dominionism because they are against Christianity and Christians. They do not understand that the form of Christianity that Boykin represents is one that has it roots in the heretical New Apostolic movement and Catholicism)

(Boykin) was recruiting soldiers to fight a war to set up God’s Kingdom on earth! (See “The Despoiling Of America: How George W. Bush Became the Head of the new American Dominionist Church State” February 11, 2004, by Katherine Yurica at: www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/TheDespoilingOfAmerica.htm)

For further information on what Boykin has been trying to pull off in the churches, read this article: Infiltrating the U.S. Military Gen. Boykin’s “Kingdom Warriors” On the Road to Abu Ghraib and Beyond - A Review of Infiltrating the U.S. Military: Is the Religious Right Engaged in a Seditionist Bid to Takeover America? By Katherine Yurica, October 12, 2004, www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/InfiltratingTheUSMilitaryGenBoykinsWarriors.html

Since Boykin is promoting Dominionism in conjunction with the Knights of Malta, NAR leader Rick Joyner and others, then what NAR leadership have been promoting regarding taking over governments, businesses and the military all applies. Here are some of their quotes.



C. Peter Wagner


“…the only way to overthrow a government is with a government. It won’t happen otherwise. So therefore the government of the church has to get into place in the extended church just like we do have it very well in place, we haven’t reached our goal yet, but it’s very well established in the nuclear church.” (C. Peter Wagner, Arise Prophetic Conference, Gateway Church, San Jose, CA, 10-10-2004)

These apostles in the workplace are the ones that are going to come into the picture and with them we’ll be open these gates, without them we can have all the prayer meetings we want, all the marches for Jesus we want, all the prayer walking we want, the gates aren’t going to be opened. Because it takes a government to overthrow a government. … Gate number one, letter A, the gate of social transformation, the gate of social transformation. … Ok, the second gate that will be opened only when the workplace apostles get on board is the gate of the transference of wealth. … This gate will be opened when we understand about the church in the workplace, that the church has a government, that it takes a government to overthrow a government, and when we understand this, if we renew our minds, if we embrace this paradigm shift, if we see, if we hear what the spirit is saying to the churches, if we recognize ministry in the extended church and government in the extended church, the revival we’ve been praying for is just around the corner. We will see it. (C. Peter Wagner, Arise Prophetic Conference, Gateway Church, San Jose, CA, 10-10-2004) NOTE: C. Peter Wagner, when he talks about the church having a government, he means himself and the false apostles and false prophets associated with him. He believes they are foundational to the Church.

Apostles and prophets the foundation of the Church and, um, I identify as James an apostle as my function as a horizontal apostle to bring together the people of the body of Christ not only can I do it, I love to do it. Yesterday I was the apostle with a group of about 15-20 prophets we met all day long, and these prophets many of whom are going to be speakers in this conference come under my guidance, coordination and leadership as an apostle. They each have apostles in their own networks but I mean they are under spiritually. But I’m the one that brings them together and when I bring them together things happen. (C. Peter Wagner, National School of the Prophets - Mobilizing the Prophetic Office, Colorado Springs, CO, May 11, 2002, Tape #1)



"The cultural mandate, which some refer to as Christian social responsibility goes as far back as the Garden of Eden. After God created Adam and Eve, He said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing... Both the cultural mandate and the evangelistic mandate are essential parts of biblical mission, in my opinion. Neither is optional. There is a growing consensus on this point in Evangelical circles. This was not true as early as twenty-two years ago when the Berlin World Congress on Evangelism was held in 1966. One of the first Evangelicals to stress the cultural mandate in a public forum was Horace Fenton of the Latin America Mission at the Wheaton Congress on the Church's Worldwide Mission, also held in 1966. Following that, the social consciousness generated by the social upheavals of the 1960's brought the cultural mandate to prominence until it was given a relatively high profile on the platform of the International Congress on World Evangelization at Lausanne in 1974." (C. Peter Wagner, "On the Cutting Edge of Mission Strategy," Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, A Reader, Revised Edition (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1981,1992), pp. D-45-46.)



Rick Joyner


Rick Joyner on the subject of the latter-day apostles and prophets who will be greater than the apostles and prophets of Biblical times: "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." (Rick Joyner, The Harvest (Pineville, NC, MorningStar, 1990, 9)



Francis Frangipane


"All spiritual warfare is waged over one essential question: who will control reality on earth - heaven or hell? We must see that our prayers, attitudes and agreement with God as an integral part of establishing the reality of the kingdom of God on earth!" (Francis Frangipane, Mainstream. Spring 1994, p.10.)



Jim Laffoon


I'm utterly convinced, as I stand here tonight, that God has raised up this family in the earth to reach "every nation in our generation." But the ultimate purpose of God is not for us to reach every nation, it is to raise up a generation long after my generation is gone who because they have reached nations can begin to rule nations! ... As I look at this nation, as I look at the nations of the world, I'm here to tell you, that before we're done, we'll not merely plant a church in every one of the world's nations, we will study, analyze, and penetrate the cultures that control her. ... Before I die, I expect to see an incredible apostolic center in every nation in the earth. Before my children die, I expect they'll begin to see every culture in those nations begin to change.... We're raising up a generation of children who I believe if my generation is faithful to reach nations, the next generation can begin to rule nations. It is my passion. (Jim Laffoon (with Rice Broocks), "To Reach and To Rule", Morning Star Jnternational, Every Nation Churches and Ministries, 2004 World Conference: Every Leader - Every Church - Every Nation, July 15, 2004)

[shann0]

herescope.blogspot.com/2011/08/c-peter-wagner-spins-nar.html

C. Peter Wagner Spins the NAR,





Issues A Public Statement


Post-denominational churches. The next church. New paradigm churches. They are all names that have been used to describe a new kind of church that is emerging at the close of the twentieth century and the dawn of the third millennium. The current reformation underway is not so much a reformation of faith as it is one of practice, not so much against apostasy as it is against irrelevance in a warp speed culture. Missiologist/researcher/author C. Peter Wagner has adopted the term, New Apostolic Reformation, to characterize this movement of God that is reshaping Protestant Christianity in the US and around the world. His new book, Churchquake!, to be released in March, seeks to identify the dynamics of this movement and chronicle the distinguishing characteristics of this new wineskin. We thank Wagner and his publisher, Regal Press, for their permission to print excerpts in this issue of NEXT.


--Leadership Network, NEXT, Vol 5, No 1, Jan-Mar 1999



C. Peter Wagner issued a letter late last week that discusses the recent controversy about the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and International House of Prayer (IHOP) in the media and the American political scene.

Wagner's letter, titled "THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION: An Update" was issued for the apparent purpose of doing damage control over the recent characterization of the NAR as a Dominionist cult, especially in the mainstream press. Recent public attention in the media has shed light on his entire NAR empire, and his letter indicates that he is very concerned about their image. He begins his letter with the sentence, "Surprisingly, the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) has recently become a topic of discussion in the political media."

Surprisingly? But what else could he expect? His group of self-appointed, self-anointed apostles and prophets, which has grown and thrived under the radar for over a decade in charismatic circles, has within the past year and a half come out as a key player in American Religious Right politics, beginning with the extraordinary May Day prayer event at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on May 1, 2010. We wrote about it in a series of articles at the time, here, here, here and here at the time.

Since that time many of the leaders of the IHOP and NAR movements have deftly moved out of the closet and into direct political action. And these apostles and prophets are now fully supported by a second tier of leading media moguls in the evangelical world, including the influential Family Research Council and the American Family Association. Everything changed when Texas Governor Rick Perry, now a presidential candidate, began associating himself with the NAR at his public prayer rally, "The Response" held on August 6th. We published many articles voicing concern about this situation. Why were we concerned? It wasn't about the politics of the situation. It was about the strange and aberrant doctrines and practices of this formerly obscure cult, which has now suddenly propelled itself onto a front and center national stage, and which has religious and political goals that are totally antithetical to biblical Christianity. We wrote:
•IHOP Enters Dominion/Christian Right Politics: IHOP is starting to feel its Dominion oats
•IHOP: International House of Political Action: IHOP Enters Dominion/Christian Right Politics, Part 2
•IHOP & the NAR: The Formation of a Revolution
•IHOP's New Breed Leaders
•Prayer Warfare Evangelism: The New Order Prayer Cover
•Divorcing Baal: Part 1: Divorce and Remarriage, Political Dominion Style
•Divorcing Baal for Dominion: Part 2: Divorcing Baal
•The Baal Covenant: Part 3: Divorcing Baal

In his letter, Wagner denies that the NAR is a cult, and claims that the NAR represents no doctrinal change. However, this statement is preposterous in light of his extensive public record of working on a new apostolic "paradigm" for both church structure and theology. He goes so far as to claim, "The NAR is not an organization," even though he has headed up the crucial networking elements that form its power base from the very beginning. Much of the factual details are documented very well at Sandy Simpson's Deception In The Church website, which has chronicled Wagner's activities for the past several decades, e.g. here, here, here and here. The truth is that Wagner's apostolic structure, which positions apostles and prophets in a hierarchical downline network over individuals, groups and organizations, represents both a major doctrinal change and a structural change.

Technically, the NAR may not be an organization, but it is a network. And as such, this network has, by stealth and cunning, superimposed itself on top of nearly every existing denominational structure in the country. This aggressive networking has set up entirely new avenues of authority and accountability, until existing structures and theologies have been compromised and eroded, or completely taken over by the NAR and/or one of its related networks. And through its Dominionist goals, the NAR hopes that its network can superimpose itself over existing community, cultural and governmental structures across the land, which is referred to as the Seven Mountains.

Several years ago we ran a series of Herescope posts about Wagner's NAR networking structure -- a series which explains how his networking empire was built, and the theology behind it:
•The Networking Church: Part 1: NETWORKING FOR TRANSFORMATION
•The Networking Church: Part 2: Restoration Through Transformation
•Networking for an Army: Networking the Church: Part 3
•The Return of the Warrior-Prophets: Networking the Church: Part 4
•Militant Apostles: Networking the Church: Part 5
•Apostolic Spheres of Authority: Networking the Church: Part 6
•Post-Apostolic: Networking the Church: Part 7
•The Synergy River: Networking the Church: Part 8

At the time of this series we wrote explanations like these:

This new church structure is based on a revolutionary interpretation of the “five-fold ministries” (Ephesians 2:20-21; 4:11-13) based upon the esoteric doctrines of the Latter Rain/Manifest Sons of God cult. In this evolutionary twist, the Church (as an organic whole) needs to come into full "maturity" by restructuring itself into networking cells that are governed by apostles and prophets. It is claimed that this will "activate" the Church to become fully operational as a body on Earth, unified to fulfill its manifest destiny (fulfill the Great Commission) -- a global army that heralds the return of “Christ.”

A core heresy of the New Apostolic Reformation is that the Church must “incarnate” Christ; i.e., become deified through this restructuring process. A corollary to this doctrine creates the dominionism mandate whereby the church is empowered to act as agents of Christ on earth, crushing His enemies and building His Kingdom.

C. Peter Wagner has served as a one-man public relations firm for the widespread propagation of the new doctrines associated with the apostolic networks. In the latter half of the 1990s, key conferences were held in which he laid the groundwork for the creation of these apostolic networks. He constantly refined and re-defined the doctrines as he went along (sometimes very publicly); and has written numerous books on the topic, and introductions for books by other authors.

Another curious facet of C. Peter Wagner's recent letter, is that he re-wrote some of his own history. In this letter he said:

If I was going to write about this phenomenal move of the Holy Spirit, I knew I had to give it a name. I tried "Postdenominational" but soon dropped it because of the objections of many of my friends who were denominational executives. Then, in 1994, I tested "New Apostolic Reformation."

However, he gives a different history in his 1999 book Churchquake! which launched his New Apostolic Reformation. On page 35 he explains:

The first time I saw the term "apostolic" used in this context was in an issue of NetFax published by the Leadership Network of Tyler, Texas, on September 4, 1995. It spoke of "The New Apostolic Paradigm." I filed it only because I was experimenting with another name at the time.

We have included at the top of this post a copy of this issue of NetFax by Leadership Network as Exhibit 1. This one-pager provides evidence that there was experimentation with the whole concept of a downline networking apostolic structure. But it is a year later than Wagner asserts he did his own testing of the term. So how could Wagner be testing the term "apostolic" if he didn't hear about it until he read this issue of NetFax? There is probably some very interesting history behind the scenes here. Regardless of what really happened, the Leadership Network organization was already working on the same concepts that would become part and parcel of the New Apostolic Reformation, and it has now become one of the biggest purveyors of Dominionism's social gospel ("missional," "cultural renewal," "kingdom gospel," etc.) through its Emergent empire, its megachurch empire, and its connection with the NAR.

In fact, Leadership Network helped to launch the New Apostolic Reformation: it published a lead article by C. Peter Wagner in its January March 1999 issue of NEXT (Vol. 6, No. 1) titled "Another New Wineskin... the New Apostolic Reformation." This high-profile endorsement gave Wagner a prominent platform to explain his NAR and tout his book Churchquake! which is not-so-subtly subtitled: How the New Apostolic Reformation is Shaking Up the Church As We Know It (Regal Books, 1999).

Finally, Wagner's letter denies his more extreme views on Dominionism, especially those views that have come to be associated with the Seven Mountains. Yet, as our blog has reported here, it was C. Peter Wagner and Os Hillman (who, incidentally, also issued a letter downplaying Dominionism this week -- ironically posted at his www.reclaim7mountains.com website!) who launched Lance Wallnau on the dog-and-pony-show for Dominionism around the country. Notably, C. Peter Wagner, while citing his mainstream credentials in his letter, neglects to mention that he is also the author of a key book on the topic, aptly titled Dominion! How Kingdom Action Can Change the World, which he published in 2008.

There is much more that could be said and written about this letter by Wagner. Much documentation on Wagner and his NAR Dominionism has been published on this blog since 2005 and the Discernment Ministries website, which has newsletters dating back several decades on this topic.


The Truth:

We are continually grieved over C. Peter Wagner - what he has written and what he has said, how he has changed the landscape of Christianity with his marketing tools, warfare rituals, networks and leaders. When and how did he fall prey to a doctrine that teaches that Jesus did not defeat Satan at the cross? When was he beguiled through subtilty so that his mind became corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ? (2 Cor. 11:3) When did he leave the humble simple Gospel of Jesus Christ and His grace? How is it that anyone could believe that it is a good thing for a church to sit upon seven mountains?! (Rev. 17:9) We urge our readers to pray for this man. And with all sincerity and earnestness we plead with Dr. Wagner to repent and turn again to the truth of the Gospel.

"The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." (Psalm 145:18)

[shann0]

herescope.blogspot.com/2011/08/denying-dominionism.html

"Dominionism? What Dominionism? I don't see any Dominionism!"



The Dominionism Cover-Up

There is a considerable amount of backpeddling going on now that Dominionism has made the national news. A chorus of establishment media have stuck their heads into the sand are are blindly crying, "Dominionism? What dominionism? I don't see any Dominionism!" Most of these reporters who have never heard of it didn't bother to take the time to research it, and therefore say it doesn't exist. Joining the liberal media in this chorus is a host of evangelical leaders, some of them longtime Dominionists, who are spouting the same denials. What strange bedfellows indeed!

The most prominent denial, of course is C. Peter Wagner's public letter, covered in our previous post, in which he asserts that his Dominionist NAR is neither Dominionist, nor a cult. Also issuing a denial was prominent Dominionist Os Hillman who helped launch the 7 Mountains movement and runs the reclaim7mountains website. Hillman is retrenching. He issued a syrupy brief statement[1] emphasizing that "Dominion, or perhaps a better word to use is influence, is a result of our love and obedience to God, not a goal to be achieved." However, the rest of his statement confirms the basic Dominionism platform of Genesis 1:28, adding in the neo-Kuyperian spheres and the idea of restoring heaven to earth:

This is why Jesus prayed that whatever was in heaven would be manifested on the earth. He was wanting to restore all that had been lost. His desire for His people has always been for them to be at the top of every sphere of society.... [emphasis added]

Spheres, of course, are another name for the 7 mountains. The 1980s Coalition on Revival (COR) documents laid out a plan for the Church to take over seventeen spheres of Society, which have now been boiled down to seven. COR was an unlikely conglomeration of Charismatic Dominionists and Reconstructionists who set aside major doctrinal differences in order to accomplish their objectives for Dominion.

Os Hillman cites a quote from Gabe Lyons, who has close ties with the Leadership Network empire, from Lyons' book The Next Christians, page 53.

Gabe Lyons explains: "Christ's death and Resurrection were not only meant to save people from something. He wanted to save Christians to something. God longs to restore his image in them, and let them loose, freeing them to pursue his original dreams for the entire world. Here, now, today, tomorrow. They no longer feel bound to wait for heaven or spend all of their time telling people what they should believe. Instead, they are participating with God in his restoration project for the whole world. They recognize that Christ's redemptive work is not the end or even the goal of our stories; redemption is the beginning of our participation in God's work of restoration in our lives and in the world. Understanding that one idea literally changes everything." [emphasis added]

It is interesting that Hillman invokes Gabe Lyons in his downplaying of Dominionism, because this quote is precisely about Dominionism. Gabe Lyons has been marketing his own version of the 7 mountains, which he calls "seven channels of cultural influence: business, government, media, church, arts & entertainment, education and the social sector."[2] This is based on the esoteric idea of "restoration" of "God's original intention for his creation."[3] This is a goal that all Dominionists have in common in one form or another. Oh yes, they do argue and posture amongst themselves in a dialectic dance about whether their particular brand of theology is neo-Kuyperian, neocalvinist, neopuritan, Rushdoonyite, Colsonesque, Sojourneristic, theocratic or theonomic, cultural or missional, and any other newfangled term.

The NAR isn't the only group promoting the 7 mountains. Wagner and his NAR crowd are the ones getting all of the media attention because of their zany antics. But there is a whole backup crew of organizations that have been around for decades, pumping out the doctrines of restoring or redeeming the fallen culture by integrating the Church into the various hubs of Society. This isn't about the narrow group of Reconstructionists that the mainstream press has caricatured for years. Rather, generic Dominionism has now reached out into the mainstream evangelical milieu via conferences, books, technology, and media. There is even sophisticated image marketing for branding certain forms of Dominionism.

Exhibit 1 above is a composite graphic image of the original newsletter where Leadership Network helped to launch C. Peter Wagner's New Apostolic Reformation. For over a generation, Dominionism theology has been an essential component of this intensive managerial (pastoral) training outfit. Leadership Network operates as a marketing network that has its tentacles into nearly every evangelical group in the country. Their doctrine is what we have termed Dominionism Lite -- a cultural renewal, social gospel, eclectic cocktail that appeals to the the type of evangelical elite who aren't off doing the wacky signs and wonders. And this is where Gabe Lyons and an entire army of social engineers appear on the scene. They are actually working alongside Os Hillman and C. Peter Wagner's scheme to take over the seven mountains of the planet. But they market themselves in a different niche.

Gabe Lyons is a good example of how this works. He is the co-founder of Catalyst, which was originally set up in 1999 for the purpose of "change agent" training for the younger generation, which purpose was billed[4] as:

"We are the kingdom ambassadors, change agents, and cultural architects who have the influence to change our communities, churches, and cultures for good. But this change happens in the very place where many leaders flinch and fail because the perceived cost is too high. We must push through this fear for kingdom change to define the future." [emphasis added]

Lyons is the co-author of UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters. On the jacket of his other book, The Next Christians: The Good News About the End of Christian America, it says that Gabe "was embarrassed to be called 'Christian'" so he "set out on a personal journey" to "mobilize Christians to advance the common good." Interestingly, Lyons, while working on this "common ground for the common good" sort of Dominionism with a diverse array of political and religious groups, appeared on a list of those participating in a James Robison political gathering to support Texas Governor Rick Perry's bid for president.[5] Lyons is also founder of a "re-education" group of "young, innovative and influential leaders" called Q, which "was birthed out of Gabe Lyons’ vision to see Christians, especially leaders, recover a vision for their historic responsibility to renew and restore cultures" and "inspired by Chuck Colson’s statement, 'Christians are called to redeem entire cultures, not just individuals.'”[6] This statement by Colson is an example of Dominion Lite - it is the theological premise that secular culture itself can be "redeemed." This is not the Gospel of Salvation. This is the Gospel of the "Kingdom," in which Society itself is seen as an extension of the Church, and views the Church's primary role is to fulfill a "cultural commission" for "social renewal."

Gabe Lyons has been endorsed by Bob Buford of Leadership Network,[7] and acknowledged Buford on page 208 of his book The Next Christians. An eclectic mixture of leaders, including Chuck Colson, Os Guinness, Phyllis Tickle, Lou Giglio, Rob Bell, and Sam Rodriguez endorse this book on the back cover. A full-page graphic image appears on page 116 depicting the "Seven Channels of Cultural Influence," which are identical to the Seven Mountains. How does Lyons suggest the Church change Culture? It hinges on a sophisticated next generation social gospel, complete with state-of-the-art marketing tactics:

“As a natural by-product of God’s plan for his Kingdom, the next Christians are being dispersed as restorers throughout all channels of culture. They are carrying the message of Jesus—bringing restoration, renewal, and healing; fighting injustice; telling the truth; affirming goodness; and celebrating beauty—in their places of service. They play a key role in overcoming the evil that otherwise overwhelms everything.”(p. 116-117)[emphasis added]

Characteristic of all Dominionist revisionism, the first few chapters of Genesis are corrupted. Lyon's particular truncated message of the Fall asserts that there "was goodness in the beginning" and that the "separation of humanity from God" in "the opening scene" of Genesis, with "everyone as corrupted sinners" just "isn't connecting with the next generation."(p. 52) Therefore the message of Original Sin needs to be changed. And furthermore man now has to right what was wrong and restore paradise (often referred to as building the kingdom of God on earth), another key tenet of Dominonism.


Dominionism Conspiracy Theories

So who is doing the "spin" and denying Dominionism? An interesting mixture media and evangelical leaders. For example:

•Pat Robertson: "What In Heaven's Name Is A Dominionist?"[8]
•Joe Carter in First Things claims that the term was invented by "Berkeley-educated sociologist Sara Diamond, the author of several critiques of Christian civic engagement, including Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right" and asserts that the term is “never used outside liberal blogs and websites. No reputable scholars use the term for it is a meaningless neologism that Diamond concocted for her dissertation.”[9]
•Lisa Miller writing for The Washington Post: “Dominionism” is the paranoid mot du jour. In its broadest sense, the term describes a Christian’s obligation to be active in the world, including in politics and government. More narrowly, some view it as Christian nationalism.... Extremist dominionists do exist, as theocrats who hope to transform our democracy into something that looks like ancient Israel, complete with stoning as punishment. But “it’s a pretty small world,” says Worthen, who studies these groups.... Certain journalists use “dominionist” the way some folks on Fox News use the word “sharia.” Its strangeness scares people. Without history or context, the word creates a siege mentality in which“we” need to guard against “them.”[10]
•A. Larry Ross, who has been the chief P.R. guy for evangelical leaders like Rick Warren, commenting on Michelle Goldberg's August 14th post "A Christian Plot for Domination?": "Goldberg misapplies a broad label that few, if any, evangelicals use or with which they identify. It reveals more about the author’s personal perspective and lack of nuanced understanding of the topic than it provides useful information about the subjects themselves...."[11]
•Michael Gerson, in another Washington Post article: "Dominionism, though possessing cosmic ambitions, is a movement that could fit in a phone booth.... In the case of Dominionism, paranoia is fed by a certain view of church-state relations — a deep discomfort with any religious influence in politics.... Thin charges of Dominionism are just another attempt to discredit opponents rather than answer them...."[12]
•Ralph Reed: "The notion that Bachmann, Perry or other candidates secretly harbor "dominionist" theology is a conspiracy theory largely confined to university faculty lounges and MSNBC studios."[13]
•Nancy Pearcey, associate of Chuck Colson: “Dominionist” is the new “fundamentalist” -- the preferred term of abuse, intended to arouse fear and contempt, and downgrade the status of targeted groups of people.... I had to Google the term to discover whether there really is such a group. Yes, there is a little-known group of Christians who claim the term, though they are typically called Reconstructionists. Apparently it was sociologist Sara Diamond who expanded Dominionism into a general term of abuse....Reductio ad absurdum.... Journalist Stanley Kurtz calls this usage of the term “conspiratorial nonsense,” “political paranoia,” and “guilt by association.”... The term is worldview.... For Kuyper and Dooyeweerd, this holistic concept of worldview did a nice job of capturing the creative impact that Christianity has had on Western culture through history, inspiring much of its art, literature, music, architecture, philosophy, and political thought.[14]
•Jack Cafferty of CNN: The Daily Beast reports that two of the Republican candidates for president - Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry - are "deeply associated" with a theocratic strain of Christian fundamentalism that's called Dominionism. For those of you who haven't heard of it before, and I was one who hadn't - stand by cause this is "out there."[15]

All of this "spin" on Dominionism is interesting in light of the preponderance of solid documentation. There are 40 years of articles, books, tapes, and eye-witness accounts, and firsthand experiences of many Christian Right activists about this phenomenon called Dominionism. Most of it has come in via the Patriotic Dominionism activities, but the mission movements and the prayer movements were also purveyors of these doctrines. (See "Dominionism and the Rise of Christian Imperialism" for background.)

This strange denial by Pat Robertson, cited above, that he doesn't know anything about Dominionism is ludicrous! Robertson is one of the chief purveyors of this doctrine. In Al Dager's book Vengeance Is Ours: The Church In Dominion (Sword, 1990), he describes Pat Robertson's Dominionist views and transcribed a speech in Dallas in 1984 where Robertson said:

Now what do you do? What do all of us do? We get ready to take dominion! We get ready to take dominion! It is all going to be ours--I'm talking about all of it. Everything that you would say is a good part of the secular world. Every means of communication, the news, the television, the radio, the cinema, the arts, the government, the finance--it's going to be ours! God's going to give it to His people. We should prepare to reign and rule with Jesus Christ. (Dager, p. 95)[emphasis added]

One of the more intriguing side effects to all of this Dominionism conspiracy spin is following the counter-reaction. Sandy Simpson of the Apologetics Coordination Team published an extensive rebuttal of C. Peter Wagner's letter on his huge website www.deceptioninthechurch.com which has been exhaustively documenting the rise of the New Apostolic Reformation since its inception.[16] Several non-Christian websites who are watching the rise of the NAR and its Dominionism with concern, have effectually rebutted the Dominionist denials.[17] Rachel Tabachnick, who has written prolificly about the rise of the NAR and Dominionism and was interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air on August 24, cut to the chase and explained that "dominionism is simply that Christians of this belief system must take control over all the various institutions of society and government."[18] One of the most interesting and passionate articles addressing the Dominionist spin was authored by Peter Montgomery. A few selected excerpts are below:

If It Quacks Like a Duck

It may be the “word of the day,” as journalists continue to educate themselves and their readers on this particular strand of thinking, but that doesn’t mean an investigation of the role of “dominionism” in religious right rhetoric and strategy is a paranoid project....

So, as background: dominionism refers to a theological tenet at the core of the religious right movement—that Christians are meant to exercise dominion over the earth. As RD readers know, dominionist thought is not a new phenomenon. It may be true, as evangelical leader Mark DeMoss says in Miller’s story, that “you would be hard-pressed to find one in 1,000 Christians in America would could even wager a guess at what dominionism is.” But it’s certainly not true of the leaders of the religious right political movement. Their followers are hearing dominionist teaching whether they know it or not.

In recent years, there has been a very visible embrace by traditional religious right leaders of the rhetoric of “Seven Mountains,” a framework attributed to former Campus Crusade for Christ director Bill Bright. It puts dominionist thinking in clear, user-friendly lay language. The “Seven Mountains” of culture over which the right kind of Christians are meant to have dominion are business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, the family, and religion. (Some folks rearrange the categories a bit to explicitly include the military.)

The language has been used by Pentecostal leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation, a group that sees itself creating a new church and an army of spiritual warriors who will hasten the return of Christ by taking dominion over the earth. But the Seven Mountains framework has also become a sort of lingua franca among the religious right, forming the basis for Janet Porter’s May Day rally on the mall last year as well as the National Day of Prayer and Jim Garlow’s Pray and Act campaign. The Family Research Council and prominent religious right figures like Harry Jackson and David Barton all use the language.

In other words, this is not a movement dreamed up by people with no understanding of Christianity who simply want to stir up fear of conservative evangelicals. The increasingly widespread use of “Seven Mountains” rhetoric reflects an effort by a broad swath of conservative evangelical leadership to adopt a shared set of talking points, if you will, to unite theologically disparate elements in common political cause to defeat the Satanic/demonic enemies of faith and freedom: secularists, gays, liberals, and the Obama administration.

C. Peter Wagner is the founder of the New Apostolic Reformation and author of Dominion!: How Kingdom Action Can Change the World. His official bio says “In the 2000s, he began to move strongly in promoting the Dominion Mandate for social transformation, adopting the template of the Seven Mountains or the 7-M Mandate for practical implementation.” Wagner was an endorser of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s prayer-rally-cum-presidential launch and dozens of members of the New Apostolic Reformation were involved in organizing and speaking at the event.[19] [links in original]

The establishment media reporters who have their heads buried in the sand, might take a look at the preponderance of evidence. It has been on the shelves of Christian bookshelves for over a decade. And those who listen and watch Christian media have been saturated with a steady diet of "America is a Christian nation and we must take back our land," which is the patriotic vision that engages people in the Kingdom worldview. In the 1980s, the Coalition on Revival's position paper on the kingdom of God issued a series of Affirmations and Denials, which stated:

•"We deny that the Church must await the second coming of Christ for the Kingdom of God to be inaugurated on earth in time-space reality and in power." [page 3]
•"We deny that the restoration of man's God-ordained dominion (a) lies outside the scope of Christ's redeeming work as mediator on the Cross, or (b) awaits the physical presence of the returned Christ for its inauguration and expansion." [p. 5][20][emphasis added]


The Truth:

Dominionism is an intoxicating worldview for those with aspirations for power, wealth and control. It is also alluring for those idealists who want to solve the problems of the planet, help the poor, fix the ills of society, change everyone's worldview, and make everyone happy Christians. The problem with all Dominionism is the mechanics. Just how does one create utopia on earth?

The problem for Christians is that Dominionism is off task. It creates a second "commission" beyond the simple "Great Commission" to spread the Gospel of Salvation message. It invokes a second task, which is to create a godly culture and redeem the planet. This task deludes Christians with a promise of a carnal victory in emerging history. But Scripture says:

"And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (2 Timothy 4:18)


Endnotes:
1. Os Hillman, "Reclaiming the 7 Mountains - is it dominionism?" www.reclaim7mountains.com/articles_view.asp?columnid=4347&articleid=76021
2. "Shaping a Good News Culture," record.americanbible.org/es/node/522
See also: Gabe Lyons, "Influencing Culture, www.qideas.org/essays/influencing-culture.aspx?page=4
3. Ed Stetzer, "Gabe Lyons and the Next Christians,"10/4/10, www.edstetzer.com/2010/10/gabe-lyons-and-the-next-christ.html
4. www.catalystwestcoast.com/information?showgallery=1#
5. Reported on by Kyle Mantyla, 7/11/11, "A Who's Who of Religious Right Activists Participated In Robison's Leadership Summits," www.rightwingwatch.org/content/whos-who-religious-right-activists-participated-robisons-leadership-summits
6. "About Q," qideas.org/about/history-mission.aspx
7. Bob Buford, on 5/5/09 in his newsletter, "My Next Book...Year 5, Chapter 8...The Best of Times / the Worst of Times," reported attending the Q Conference in Austin, and cited Gabe Lyons and his Fermi Project.
8. Kyle Mantyla, 8/25/11, "Robertson: What In Heaven's Name Is A Dominionist?" www.rightwingwatch.org/print/7996
9. Kyle Mantyla, 8/23/11, "If Dominionism Doesn't Exist, Someone Forgot To Tell The Dominionists," citing "John Aman, Director of Communications at Truth in Action Ministries... writing a piece for the Christian Post." www.rightwingwatch.org/content/if-dominionism-doesnt-exist-someone-forgot-tell-dominionists citing the article by Aman titled "'Dominionism': Sham Charge Reserved for Christian Social Conservatives," 8/23/11, www.christianpost.com/news/dominionism-sham-charge-reserved-for-christian-social-conservatives-54363/
10. Lisa Miller, "Be not afraid of evangelicals," 8/18/11, The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/dominionism-beliefs-among-conservative-christians-overblown/2011/08/17/gIQAb5eaNJ_story.html
11. A. Larry Ross of A. Larry Ross Communications, "Christian Dominionism Is a Myth," 8/21/11, www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/21/christian-dominionism-bachmann-and-perry-aren-t-out-for-world-domination.html Interestingly, Ross gives quotes from two well-known Dominionists, Jim Wallis and Os Guinness, in explaining how Dominionism is a myth!
12. Michael Gerson, "An unholy war on the Tea Party," 8/22/11, The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-holy-war-on-the-tea-party/2011/08/22/gIQAYRcOXJ_story.html
13. Ralph Reed, The Inconvenient Truth of the Evangelical Vote," 8/25/11, www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Inconvenient-Truth-of-the-Evangelical-Vote-Ralph-Reed-08-25-2011.html?print=1
14. Nancy Pearcey, "Dangerous Influences: The New Yorker, Michele Bachmann, and Me," August 13, 2011, The Pearcey Report, www.pearceyreport.com/archives/2011/08/dangerous_influences_bachmann_pearcey_new-yorker.php, link in original. It is very odd that Sara Diamond, a critic of Dominionism, is being blamed for concocting the term! There seems to be an orchestrated "spin" going on about this. Those who are doing the spinning are forgetting that there are those who were in the trenches of Christian Right activism long before Diamond wrote her book, and have firsthand experience with all of this. Note that Pearcey invokes Abraham Kuyper, who is the harbinger of Dominionism, while denying that she knows what this means. And note that the term "worldview" is what she would prefer to to use in describing Kuyper's transformation. See also: www.rivendellsanctuary.com/academics/faculty/faculty.html, and www.rivendellsanctuary.com/academics/academics_main.html
15. Jack Cafferty, "How much does it worry you if both Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry have ties to Dominionism?" 8/17/11, Cafferty File, caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2011/08/17/17612/?iref=obnetwork
16. See: A Response To "An Urgent Message From Peter" by Sandy Simpson, 8/20/11, www.deceptioninthechurch.com/wagnerletter.html
17. See articles such as: Frederick Clarkson, "Another Senior Journalist Confesses to Ignorance," 8/21/11, www.talk2action.org/story/2011/8/21/201517/933 and Rob Boston, "Fringe Festival: Why We Must Take 'Dominionists' Seriously, 8/23/11, blog.au.org/2011/08/23/fringe-festival-why-we-must-take-‘dominionists’-seriously/
18. Terry Gross interviewing Rachel Tabachnick, " The Evangelicals Engaged In Spiritual Warfare," 8/24/11, NPR Fresh Air, www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=139781021. See also: www.npr.org/2011/08/19/139781021/the-evangelicals-engaged-in-spiritual-warfare?live=1
19. Peter Montgomery, "Paranoia and the Progressive Press: A Response to WaPo's Religion Columnist," 8/22/11, www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/5008/paranoia_and_the_progressive_press:_a_response_to_wapo's_religion_columnist/
20. Cited in Al Dager's book Vengeance Is Ours: The Church In Dominion (Sword, 1990), p. 256.