“Religious leadership must end its intellectual and imaginative failure to think through what it is doing in the light of the new emerging cosmology, which is hospitable to spirit-matter theories and mindbody experiences.”
Sweet and Viola’s book, Jesus Manifesto, is subtitled “Restoring the Supremacy and Sovereignty of Jesus Christ,” and it pushes the envelope on redefining Jesus, including “You can be a Jesus Manifest.”[2] A quick glance at the lineup of key endorsers for this book includes a list of who’s who in Emergent, the Latter Rain cult, neoevangelicalism and the New Apostolic Reformation.
In recent posts on this blog we have noticed that emerging church leader Leonard Sweet has links to the NAR.[3] The co-author of his book, Frank Viola, also has roots in the NAR. He has been connected with the House2House group, a movement that is ostensibly about “house” churches, but in reality is concerned with building the networking apostolic cellular model of church for the purpose of building the kingdom of God on earth. This is the same Dominionist goal that is characteristic of the NAR: “This amazing network of churches is rapidly transitioning as a network to embrace the simple church models that the Lord is blessing all around the world,” leading to the “transforming work of God in bringing people to Christ. . . leading to dramatic advances of the Kingdom of God.”[4] John Arnott of the Toronto “Laughing Revival” has been a notable contributor to the House2House magazine.[5]
A key name associated with Frank Viola is Heidi Baker, whose frequently appears with her husband Rolland. They flourish in the New Apostolic Reformation and can often be found on the Elijah List (chief organ for the NAR)[6] and OpenHeaven.com (a radical Dominionist group).[7] The Bakers spoke at the Global Awakening “Voice of the Apostles” conference, October 28-31, 2009 along with other NAR apostles Randy Clark, Che Ann, Bill Johnson and John Arnott.[8] Heidi was featured along with Latter Rain cult leader Rick Joyner at his MorningStar Ministries “Harvest Fest” held September 24-30, 2009.[9] The list of interconnections and associations with the NAR could go on and on…
Neil Cole is another well-known name associated with Frank Viola and the House2House movement. He is also connected with Leadership Network.[10] Furthermore, Frank Viola’s book Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens is endorsed by such notables as Bob Buford (head of Leadership Network) and John Maxwell.[11]
Leonard Sweet endorsed one of Frank Viola’s earlier books, Reimagining Church: Pursuing the Dream of Organic Christianity, by connecting it to the idea of “God’s Dream,” an increasingly common metaphor.[12] Viola has also authored From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God, (This was one of the worst books I’ve ever read and almost threw it in the garbage!) described as “a whole new way of looking at the Scriptures, at Jesus, at the church, and at me,”[13] and endorsed by such Emergent leaders as Leonard Sweet, Brian McLaren, Dan Kimball, Shane Claiborne and many others.
I’ve been reading some of the articles on this but I wasn’t all that familiar with Leonard Sweet or Frank Viola. But this morning when Truthspeaker sent me an e-mail regarding the article on her blog, I took a little closer look and realized there was a small but notable connection in own life.
Todd Hunter was part of a Vineyard Pastor’s Conference at the Vineyard Church I attended a couple of years ago. I only caught a little bit of his “missiology” speech, but remember his house church movement. Much of what I heard sounded good in the beginning. But when we take a closer look the apostasy is amazing. Consider Todd’s past and influence from the interview – Greg Laurie, who was one of the original 10 Calvary Chapel pastors organized by Chuck Smith and whose church I also attended quite a few years ago. This Jesus movement was influential in the lives years before of the youth at the Baptist Church I attended and grew up in during the 60’s and 70’s. So Todd goes – Calvary Chapel, Vineyard, Alpha Course, “Missio”, THEN claims a call to Anglican Bishop. Not to mention the influence in his life from Richard Foster and Dallas Willard! Do they ever stop and take a look at this change in the path objectively? There is a definitive falling away going on here.
Again, I am amazed at the pats on the back they give each other, endorsement of their beliefs based on their own thoughts and ideas, just like crazy charismania, and those of their own books, yet NOTHING – NOTHING is said of the bible unless it is to twist the scriptures to say what they believe it should say in a tag line “there is more to Jesus than Savior”. Yes, for them because He has become something else out of their own creation! How far they have drifted from the truth.
Yes, we do see more and more a coming together of these “rivers” as they flow away farther and farther from the throne of our God.
Ken Silva at Apprising Ministries has brought together some very good points regarding the NAR and Rick Warren, aided by Sandy Simpson at Deception Ministries. Here is a bit, but be sure to go to Apprising and read Ken’s article and the links to make sure you get all the necessary info. Especially read the link entitled “heresy is not a mistake, it is a sin”. It blows the cover off those who would say false teachers are “off” or a little wrong, or we all make mistakes, blah, blah. I doubt our Lord sees it that way!
Latter Rain heresy is likened to pioneers making “mistakes”. Latter Rain heretics were only pioneers in the sense of pioneering age old heresies in the 20th century. Heresy is not a mistake, it is a sin, and one we are to reject … Wagner claims God began speaking these Latter Rain things again. Does God speak heresy?
What was the reason these things were not taught in the Congregational Church and other places, though they had been taught at Fuller back in the 1970s on forward? Because the Church generally recognized the tenets of the Latter Rain to be heresy! The stark reality is that C. Peter Wagner knew about the Latter Rain at least as long ago as 1989 when Paul Cain came out to visit John Wimber, C. Peter Wagner’s employee at Fuller. (Online source)
I’ve been watching and writing about the heretical teachings of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) for a few months, not being sure why it seemed to be so important to do so. I don’t have a lot of experience with them because I never really “got” Chuck Pierce at all. However, there are some other prophets and apostles in this madhouse that I did follow (Cal Pierce, Cindy Jacobs, Dutch Sheets) and I guess that was enough for the Lord to impress on me the need for exposure.
Last night I began to come across some very good information offered by organizations who have researched the NAR much longer than I have. I am stunned to see the newly formed connection between political America and the demonic agenda of the NAR. No longer can it be confined only to a strange few. Follow the links I posted below – read and listen with great care. Yes, it will take some time as there is a lot of information. But, so important. You will see the connection between C Peter Wagner’s NAR and some of our government officials under the guise of patriotism and Godly values. It is time for great concern for those who will not join this movement, this building of a whole new “kingdom”. Suddenly I understand the comments I read by those who were greatly concerned about Wilderness Outcry. What will this lead to? Are we ready to stand?
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior Who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.Jude 24-25
In response to the May Day event held this past Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial, Ingrid (Schlueter) and Sarah (Leslie) brought to listener attention a movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation. This title was coined by C. Peter Wagner during the 1990’s.
Featuring teachers such as Dutch Sheets, Cindy Jacobs and false prophetess Stacy Campbell, the New Apostolic Reformation is centered around a theology of dominionism. It teaches that Christians can take down demonic spirits in order to take back territories and institutions for Christ. The movement is post-millennial believing that Jesus will not return until Christians take over the 7 Mountains.
These “mountains” are institutions like the media, entertainment, the economy, etc. In other words, their eschatology requires that instead of reaching people with the gospel one heart at a time, they believe they are to conquer the earth one demonic spirit at a time and make the earth perfect so that Jesus can return. (Online source)
You can download and/or listen to this Crosstalk program right here.
May Day 2010 has been organized around the “Seven Mountains” theology, which advocates the complete takeover of every aspect of contemporary culture by modern day “apostles” of Christ. The theology is rooted in the belief that Christians are meant to have dominion over literally everything and is focused on spiritually “invading” seven specific facets of modern life in order to wrest control away from Satan and his demonic spirits so that Christians can put them to use in bringing about God’s kingdom on Earth: (1) Business; (2) Government; (3) Media; (4) Arts and Entertainment; (5) Education; (6) Family; and (7) Religion.
The American political landscape has suddenly changed. A tumult is appearing in the land with the passage of health care reform. The Christian Right, with its years of courting political influence, is now poised to merge with the new Tea Party Movement. In times of crisis, natural or caused, things seem to happen faster and opportunities, that would take years, seem to happen in months. There is the scent of rebellion in the air.
Initially The Tea Party was populist, libertarian, limited government, anti-socialism and lower taxes, etc. But the first ever National Tea Party Conference in Nashville in February revealed that there has always been an overlap with Christian Right social issues. The Tea Party movement is in danger of being co-opted by the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and its radical agenda. Do the Tea Party folks realize what they are getting into?
I’ve recently found out that Against the Outcry (a group blog who spoke out against Dutch Sheets’ Wilderness Outcry and who posted some of my articles) will be closing their blog soon . Since the Wilderness Outcry has been canceled, the blog has served it’s purpose. If you have been planning on doing some reading but haven’t made it over there yet you may want to visit soon before it is gone.
update – Against the Outcry is no longer available and has been removed from my blogroll since the writing of this article.
It has been our hope and prayer that those following Dutch would have had the opportunity to view the material posted and have seen the truth. It has been said that there is a group of “intercessors” who have claimed a new purpose in going to “god” to find out who was behind that effort. This is nothing short of evil. And to raise up a group of intercessors for the purpose of what… I cannot say or imagine what they are thinking! Where could this lead?
And as a side note, good for them! As Americans they have the right to stand against this craziness coming to their own city, to stand and say this will not happen where I live and work and pay taxes, this will not happen where I raise my children!
Please pray for the safety of those involved and for the salvation of those who participated purely for domestic reasons and do not know Christ. What must it look like when groups like these come in the name of Christ and yet do not speak His gospel, yet speak of an effort to take over the country, forcing others to join..or…what…be imprisoned…die? This has been the concern of some who have spoken against this gathering of Dutch’s followers. They wonder what will become of them if they do not join forces and “convert”. How much does this resemble Islam? How about socialism?
My reasons for speaking against this movement and the NAR as a whole can be found throughout my blog, so I won’t restate them here. I can say the cancellation of this meeting was in fact an answer to prayer. What right does this group have to instill fear in the minds and hearts of those who believe differently than they? What right do they have to twist the meaning of the gospel – the very reason Christ died – for their own realized fulfillment of some dream or vision?
What is Christianity coming to?
For anyone reading with this same concern, please know that it is not the way of Jesus Christ to force His teachings on anyone. We have all been given a free will to decide whether or not to follow Christ. In His own words He told His disciples that His kingdom is not of this world. And so anyone supporting a dominion – take over the country or world for the sake of holiness /righteousness/purity – viewpoint has not come in the name of Christ, no matter what else they say.
But Christ did die, for all of us. And one day their will be a judgment of how we lived our lives and who for. So I beg you, on that day find yourselves counted among those who stood for Christ!
John 18:36 My Kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world my servants would fight so that I would not be delivered unto the Jews. But now My kingdom is not from here.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 14:6 I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.
Revelation 22:12 And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
I’ve just received word that the “Wilderness Outcry” hosted by Dutch Sheets has been canceled, claiming lack of funding. I have been writing about/against this since I first heard about it. See articles under “Dutch Sheets” for more info.
Praise God!
Here is the link to the article written by a local paper in Missouri which was sent to me by Against the Outcry, a local blogger group who took a great stand against it. Read on: Lack of Funding…
This morning I’m considering the upcoming National Day of Prayer-what is slowly becoming America as Christianity slowly becomes something else. They seem to both be in parallel state of change as neither has the appearance of what it once was or should still be.
America, heralded for so long as a country planted on Christian principles, established for the purpose of not only “religious” freedom, but one in which its people could freely worship God in the name of Jesus Christ. One in which its people would be free from religious prosecution, free to live the words of the bible, free to pray, free to worship in spirit and in truth. Without getting too far off here, I have to say I believe that to a degree as history proves that a group came from England for this very reason. But I also believe there were other groups establishing this country, who used the guise of Christianity, or at least the name of “God” and had a completely different plan, one not of freedom, but of secrets. America having Christian roots is only partly true, but that is another topic for another time.
The National Day of Prayer was created by Congress in 1952. Since that time each of our presidents have honored and acknowledged that day as one for prayer. This should be a good thing, right? All Christians coming together in various locations or in spirit to pray against the moral decay of our country and to pray for it’s leaders. It sounds like a good thing. Unfortunately, I have learned the hard way what seems to be Christian prayer isn’t necessarily.
With all that we have seen, and attributed to the great falling away, or the great apostasy, we know Christianity is under siege. I don’t know how else to say it. With the continued rising of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), the influence of Bethel (Bill Johnson), Morningstar (Rick Joyner and Todd Bentley), the International House of Prayer (Mike Bickle), The Call (Lou Engle), and the influences of the Emergent Church (Brian McLaren, Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Rob Bell, etc.), Saddleback (Rick Warren), the Word of Faith, Charismanina, Christianity as taught in the word of God is not up to par in this land. We have also seen, as I have warned about, many modes of “prayer” that we have been exposed to and taught are not modes of biblical prayer.
How many of us have watched in horror as we have realized our churches are part of these supporters and even participants and teachers of false doctrines and methods? How many of us who once believed we knew the truth came to realize how far off we really were? How many of us have watched our churches which at one time did not support these ways become taken in by them? I know there have been many. I’ve had quite a few commentors here say just that very thing. If you are one of them, know that my heart went out to you at that news and I have prayed for you and your church. I don’t take my readers lightly or for granted. You are dear to me as I know many of you are searching for the truth in the information I put up on my blog, as I once was too!
Some would say I am too focused on the negative. And to that I would say look at where we are at now. Look at the shipwreck of our faith, the very thing we were given to uphold and protect. Where is Christianity? It is being morphed into something else. So, while I am found to “find fault in everything”, I say where is the truth? If the Apostle Paul was to walk into any of these meeting places and hear the heresy, I dare to say some tables would overturn, in fact, if there would ever be a spiritual cause for an earthquake there it would be. This is why I will not stand side by side with these false apostles and prophets under a guise of Christian prayer. And this is what we are seeing today in the upcoming National Day of Prayer.
Here is the link to their “ministry partners“. Who are they? The International House of Prayer!!! The Call!!! How about a little feel good wisdom from the wife of Normal Vincent Peale, Ruth Stafford Peale? I’m just wondering – where’s the yoga? Think that’s an outrageous question? It’s not far off, in light of the truth behind contemplative prayer’s roots in eastern mysticism found at IHOP, and the Emergent Church, taught innocently on the “Be Still” DVD.
We’ve already seen as I’ve written about the truth in the upcoming MayDay 2010 in which James Dobson joined forces with the NAR. So, am I surprised the National Day of Prayer has gone as far south? No. We’ve seen the push from Lou Engle and Dutch Sheets in the upcoming “Wilderness Outcry”, and Cindy Jacobs’ “Awakening”.
Listen, no one needs to grant us a day to pray. We pray because Jesus told us to pray, and He taught us how. Prayer should never be handled so lightly or so carelessly that is it a one day event, or as we have been seeing, a show. What is one day out of 365 anyway? What does that accomplish if the very next day all those who participated drift back into spiritual semi-consciousness without another thought of prayer?
If we are truly going to turn this nation, if that can even be done, or if it is the will of our Lord, we must change it through the hearts of it’s citizen’s through individual repentance. And that must start with Christians taking a stand against these who have come to steal away the true Faith! America is indeed in meltdown, and Christianity along with it. And after all of these “days of prayer” I see just the opposite of what they’ve proposed. I see a steadfast decline in the leadership of our country and in the leadership of our churches and certainly a moral decline in both.
I see America drifting further and further away from its so called Christian roots and its established freedoms, and Christianity away from biblical truth. I have to wonder if the two don’t go hand in hand. As I mentioned in the beginning, some organizations and agendas in America were established long ago in secret. The same is to be said of the so called Christian organizations I spoke of here. They come in the name of the Lord, but after that are secrets. And, it is in what is not being said, or that which is not recognized as false that is the most dangerous.
So to steal their National Day of Prayer tag line, “For such a time as this”, let me say yes, for such a time has come to take a stand for all that is true, for Christ and our faith. It is time to expose these liars for what they are and to demand our churches and faith remains pure. For if Americans can see the erosion of their rights and freedoms, surely true Christians can see the same in regard to their faith. America is slipping away, as is Christianity, right before our very eyes. The truth for America is written in the pages of our constitution, just as the truth of Christianity is written in the pages of our bibles! Have we bothered to read or understand either of them? Or have we been taken in by lies forged in dark places?
I say “Father, Your will be done in this land, for You are sovereign”. I will pray on this day as I do on others. It will be a struggle, a discipline as it always is. However, I will not stand and approach my Father with these liars. I will stand against them in His courts for such a time as this, and if one day I perish, then so be it the will of my Father. Because I would much rather die with His words on my lips and His truth in my heart, than to be seen in “unity” with a well disguised wolf.
RE: Lou Engle, The Call, and the upcoming Wilderness Outcry and his obsession with the Nazirite, just for kicks here’s a quick look at “Nazirite from Wikpedia
Avoid corpses and graves, even those of family members, and any structure which contains such
After following these requirements for a designated period of time (which would be specified in the individual’s vow, and not to be less than 30 days), the person would immerse in a Mikvah and make three offerings, a lamb as a burnt offering (olah), a ewe as a sin-offering (hatat), and a ram as a peace offering (shelamim), in addition to a basket of unleavened bread, grain offerings and drink offerings, which accompanied the peace offering.
The nazirite is described as being “holy unto the LORD” (Numbers 6:8), yet at the same time must bring a sin offering. This contradiction has led to divergent approaches to the nazirite in the Talmud, and later authorities.
A nazirite can groom his hair with his hand or scratch his head and needn’t be concerned if some hair falls out. However a nazirite cannot comb his hair since it is a near certainty to pull out some hair. A nazirite is not allowed to use a chemical depilatory that will remove hair.[16] A nazirite that recovers from Tzaraath, a skin disease described in Leviticus 14
A nazirite can groom his hair with his hand or scratch his head and needn’t be concerned if some hair falls out. However a nazirite cannot comb his hair since it is a near certainty to pull out some hair. A nazirite is not allowed to use a chemical depilatory that will remove hair.[16] A nazirite that recovers from Tzaraath, a skin disease described in Leviticus 14
A nazirite can groom his hair with his hand or scratch his head and needn’t be concerned if some hair falls out. However a nazirite cannot comb his hair since it is a near certainty to pull out some hair. A nazirite is not allowed to use a chemical depilatory that will remove hair.[16] A nazirite that recovers from Tzaraath, a skin disease described in Leviticus 14, is obligated to cut his hair despite being a nazirite.
The nazirite (except for a Samson-like nazirite as stated above) may not become ritually impure by proximity to a dead body. Causes include being under the same roof as a corpse. However a nazirite can contract other kinds of ritual impurity. A nazirite that finds an unburied corpse is obligated to bury it, even though he will become defiled in the process.[
The tradition of the nazirite vow has had a significant influence on the modern Rastafari Movement, and elements of the vow have been adopted as part of this religion. In describing the obligations of their religion, Rastafari make reference to the nazirite vow taken by Samson. Part of this vow, as adopted by the Rastafari, is to avoid the cutting of one’s hair. This is inspired by the text of Leviticus 21:5 “They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard nor make any cuttings in their flesh.” The visible sign of this vow is the Rastafarian’s dreadlocks.[34][35] Some Rastafari have concluded that Samson had dreadlocks, as suggested by the description stating that he had seven locks upon his head. Others interpret Samson’s “locks” to have been simple braids.
Additionally, the Rastafari are taught to abstain from alcohol in accordance with the nazirite vow. They have also adopted dietary laws derived from Leviticus, which accounts for some similarity to the prohibitions of the Jewish dietary law of Kashrut.
Follow Wikpedia link above for more info
So, where’s Jesus in this? I would think this is part of the Old Covenant and old ways having nothing to do with Jesus Christ and the New Covenant, the fulfillment of the old! So if we are going to call people to the nazirite vow, then let’s teach them to obey and fulfull all these requirements. We can’t just pick and choose. God takes our vows quite seriously! Like I mentioned in my previous post, if Lou is a Christian he will do well to turn from this practice and teach repentance and the true gospel, making disciples, not Nazirites!
The following is a comment I put up at the blog linked above. This is a group of people – Christians and Atheists who are against the upcoming Wilderness Outcry coming to their hometown in Missouri this June. The blog has linked some of my related articles to help get the word out. Please pray that the deceitful teachings of Dutch Sheets and Lou Engle be revealed to the people. Their false doctrines and silly ideas are damaging to the true faith!
_________
We need to put this in its proper perspective. Dutch Sheets and Lou Engle are part of what is known as the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) under the leadership of C Peter Wagner. They subscribe to the latter rain doctrine (Dominionism/Kingdom Now/Manifest Sons of God) which teaches that in the final days God will pour out His Spirit in a way that He never did in the past. They believe there will be an end time army of believers, taken from Joel 2 that will have supernatural ability never before experienced. Some of them will achieve a sinless state, embodying Christ Himself. It is complete heresy!! This is the driving force behind what is called Joel’s Army or Engle’s The Call, the Nazirites. They also believe God has called them to take dominion over the earth, in all 7 areas of influence, aka the 7 mountains – religion, entertainment, media, education, government, etc. They believe this can be achieved through these prayer/worship/fasting gatherings.
What their teachings and beliefs come down to is their own personal interpretations of scripture. They take the words of the bible out of context to support whatever dreams or visions or prophetic words they claim to have had. They throw out any regard to what the scriptures truly mean or who is being addressed, but use them for their own purposes. Much regard and importance is given to their own subjective supernatural experiences which is known as experienced-based theology, having no basis in the truth of the word of God. Their followers who trust and support them do so at their own detriment, but believe they are fulfilling the call of God and that they have been called to this service being forerunners or having special purpose or ability above that of a normal Christian. These movements are very dangerous, very deceptive. Once people become wrapped up it is very difficult to show them the truth.
I am a Christian. I believe in the word of God as it is written. These people, even tho they use the name of God and throw scripture around do not speak for true Christianity. It is very important for us to make that as clear as possible. They are liars and have their own plans and purposes aside from anything God has done, outside His will or purpose. All anyone has to do is to read the bible to find this out. It is not hard to see the lies.
Numbers do not have special purpose, nor are they ever used by God to communicate messages to His people. This is numerology and is used in the occult, a practice of divination forbidden to us by God. (Leviticus 19:26) To confirm this, scan the bible and see if God ever used numbers or a grouping of numbers to speak to people. You will find He did not. There are some who call themselves Christians yet teach numbers have meaning. (I know because I took their courses, only to find out the truth later.) And to multiply that number gives that meaning more emphasis. This is why the number 7 is expressed as 777, or 4 as 444, etc. A little research into numerology will confirm this as true. The bible was written without the numbering system as divided into chapters and verses. Man did that to make it easier to read, study and refer to. So the little scenario of 444 acres being Isaiah 44:4 is questionable since God didn’t use the numbering system anyway!!
This connection with Nazirites is part of the Old Covenant, having nothing to do with Christianity. It is old and should be put aside, not practiced or encouraged. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and is the New Covenant. We call ourselves Christians because we follow Christ and His teachings and His ways. If we are to take on a vow of the Nazirite we need to be aware there is more to it than just the vow in itself. So, these followers may want to ask themselves if they are ready to follow ALL of the rules and requirements of a Nazirite because there’s more there than just getting caught up in the emotional moment and making a vow. (God takes vows seriously!) Again, this is like a buzz word, making Lou Engle look as tho he knows what he is talking about. He does not – otherwise he would teach all the requirements of a Nazirite. If he is truly a Christian he should take a closer look at what he is telling people because he is teaching them to do something other than what Christ does. In effect, he is causing a separation between Christ and His followers!
Being a Christian I must point out that upon salvation we are given the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who is Jesus Christ living with us, guiding, directing. The Holy Spirit is not a separate entity, but what is known as the third person – Father, Son, Holy Spirit. He reveals Jesus Christ. He has nothing of Himself for He is God. The Lord does not visit His people in special places. There are no longer places on earth set aside for worship or visitation. This was symbolized when Jesus was crucified and the curtain in the temple Holy of Holies was torn in two. It signified man now has access directly to God, not longer needing a priest or sacrifice to go before Him.
God treats all people as individuals and while we are called to pray we cannot repent on behalf of our nation and expect that will change things. It will not. Change will only happen when people recognize their need for a Savior, when they recognize Jesus Christ is the mediator, the one who came to reunite a sinful person with a Holy God. A God who loves us so much that He (Jesus) died for us. When we recognize this need and turn from our own selfish needs. we look to the needs of others, esteeming them more than ourselves, we can only truly love or care for another through the love of God Himself. The key aspect to anything we do is to preach the gospel. This other stuff is something other than true Christianity and I feel it of the utmost importance to show the difference as best I can. This world will continue it is sin and destruction until the return of Jesus Christ. Mankind will not change this nor will he ever be granted dominion in the way the NAR intends. They are far from the truth and must be exposed.
I have links to resources where much more information on these topics have been compiled in greater detail. I will be happy to supply them if you wish.
We are warned repeatedly in scripture of false teachers, prophets and doctrine, and that others will come in the name of Christ. This deception is very old. Please know there is a coming world leader who will take over control for a time. He will be political and religious and is known in the word as the antichrist. He will seem to be a man of peace, but only for a time. This is why it is of the utmost importance to know the difference between the true Christ and the imposter(s) and to be prepared.
The disasters on the earth happen because the earth itself is fallen. I do not believe this is God judging anyone yet. But that will come. These people who claim the storms and earthquakes, etc are judgments of God have no real way of knowing that with any certainty. To claim that we can come together and pray to avoid further devastation is an outright lie. Sheets is using fear to motivate others to follow him, manipulation is considered a form of witchcraft! It is enough to know that God allows the storms and disasters and there is no way of knowing if we will be included in the next one or not. Please be ready for what is to come on the earth.
Jesus said My Kingdom is not of this world – John 18:36
The promise and work of the Holy Spirit – John 14:26, 16:7-14
The purpose of Christ – John 3:16-17
I have to say that I have been doing more research and uncovering of the NAR than I thought I would do when I first started my blog. I see great danger for anyone following their directives, and the more I read or listen to them, the worse they get– even the roots are bad.
It is past time to pay attention to who and what they stand for and endorse. It is time to lay aside the emotional wave of wasted enthusiasm and get down to the true business of exposing their dark ways sold off to the ignorant as anything remotely related to the work of Christ or the great commission.
We continue to see the NAR growing more and more and its influence spreading and affecting many organizations. (I hesitate to use the word ministries.) It seems each time I read one of their “prophecies” or “mandates” less and less emphasis is on Christ and the New Covenant brought by His death and resurrection. There is a reason why Christ stated on the cross “It is finished”. But these crazy word of faith-ers would have you and me battle every moment of our lives for some war that is not ours to fight. (Where’s the faith in that?)
We are not called to effect the atmosphere with our words or to change the world through societal transformation. But we are called to preach the gospel – Jesus Christ died for our sins so that through faith in Him as the Son of God we could have forgiveness and eternal life with the Father God. That is the good news preached. It is found in the New Testament of every bible. It is found on the lips of the faithful few and still in some stubborn churches throughout the world. (God bless ’em!) Adam and Eve had dominion over the earth but they lost that dominion when they disobeyed God. Dominion has not been given back to mankind but we were afforded a savior!
I found the following on Truthspeaker’s Weblog last night. I highly recommend reading the article regarding the upcoming prayer for the state of New York. There is some good stuff at links she provided. The information is quite eye opening!
NYC Intercessors and the USSPN join with Skull and Bones Pastor to Pray for NYS
By truthspeaker
I am grieved as I write this post. Some of the people involved in this upcoming event are known by me personally. I am writing this as a warning to those sincere Christians who are unknowingly linking themselves up with occult practices!
It has recently come to my attention through an email invitation that NYC Intercessors is joining up with Peter Wagner’s USSPN to pray for all 50 states. The prayer time for NYS is this week. They are culminating this prayer initiative with a meeting at Faith Exchange Fellowship in lower Manhattan.
Unfortunately, there are several things wrong with this. Firstly it’s total dominionsim, which is unbiblical. Secondly it is being promoted by Cindy Jacobs, calling for the nation to repent. The first thought that ran through my mind was “maybe if those who call themselves prophets repented for all the things they said in the name of God that never happened then something might happen”!
Cindy Jacobs in her letter to the intercessors never mentions the name of Jesus. She also plagiarized president Lincoln with this statement used with out quotes, writing as if these are her own words:
“Therefore, it behooves us to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. We, as believers in the Body of Christ in the United States of America, do call for a year of humiliation, fasting and prayer to turn the nation back to God.”
Ok, so maybe that was an oversight…. but plagiarism is illegal.
Next we have Chuck Pierce’s involvement in this. It has been proven that he makes prophetic predictions based on the writings of the Kabbalah:
“According to Chuck Pierce, all months have some sort of spiritual (mystical, actually) significance. This, he claims, is because God created each month that way. Like much of what Mr. Pierce claims, however, that’s not in the Bible. So where did he come up with that idea? Quite simply, he got it from Kabbalah.”
But the BIGGEST problem with this whole thing is that the pastor whose church they are meeting at on Wednesday is a MEMBER OF THE SKULL AND BONES SOCIETY!
According to Rich Vermillion:
“So in short, Dan Stratton was certainly NEVER a Christian (much less a Christian minister, as he professes himself to be). I have known Dan Stratton personally, and have also researched the S&B fairly extensively. Stratton’s initiation rites into that satanic cult required him to swear total allegiance to the enemy of our souls, satan himself. Thus, unless he repents and renounces that black cult publicly and exposes their hidden secrets, he is to be shunned as a false-brother and false apostle—as I will elaborate concerning even further below”
Pat Robertson asks Dan Stratton to confirm that he is a member of “Skull & Bones”, to which Dan replies that, “yes, it is true”.
But, then Stratton defends his membership, largely by attempting to make the organization appear harmless.
“Don’t hold that against me, a lot of Christians don’t like the idea. But, I have had the chance to preach the Gospel, in that group. Many of my friends in that club have come to know the Lord. People put a lot of Masonic connotations to it, but they never made me make any oaths or do anything which have compromised my Christianity.” http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n2241.cfm
This was also admitted in an article published by the NY Times and at one time was posted on Faith Exchange’s web site:
“Stratton is not a bed-of-roses kind of guy. He vividly recalls how, as a poor jock from the sticks, he was mocked for his clothes and called Big Bird by the rich kids at Yale. Still, by his senior year, he was a major figure on campus, second team all-Ivy, starring in school productions of “West Side Story” and “Man of La Mancha” and even playing Larry in “Boys in the Band.” During his junior year, he became a member of Skull and Bones. This affiliation isn’t mentioned in Stratton’s book; a lot of evangelical Christians, he says, are put off by what they regard as the Satanic symbolism of the club, whose members include both George W. Bush and John F. Kerry.”
This is a video by Cindy Jacobs, Generals of Intercession. I’m not sure when it was recorded or where, exactly. I am not a teacher and I know that Cindy Jacobs has been at her game much longer than I’ve been at mine. Let’s see what she’s made of as we go to the bible and compare her teaching mix of covenant, economic structure and something she refers to as the Genesis Mandate. Cindy is a member of the New Apostolic Reformation under C Peter Wagner and considered to be “a prophet to the nations” and a supporter and teacher of the seven mountains of influence. Her tag line is Achieving Societal Transformation Through Intercession and the Prophetic. So we have to ask ourselves – “is this Christ or antichrist?”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Transcribed with my notes, and you know I’m the one in blue. 🙂
Matthew 6:9 is something we know as the Lords prayer, but actually we could call this the disciple’s prayer. And God showed me that this is a prayer and every part of the prayer is an element on how to reform and transform a nation. And this is the reformer’s prayer.
This is the prayer of intercession that will help bring into manifestation the original Genesis mandate, to fill, subdue, multiply and have dominion in the earth, Genesis 1:28. This was our commission in the garden and it never changed, never changed.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray, saying nothing of transformation or the fulfillment of a Genesis mandate.She says nothing more of this scripture and she never even read it out loud, so it’s just kind of left hanging out there.Of course the push is –“God showed her”. This is the Lord’s prayer, twisted for her own devices.
And because we did not understand our commission sin came into the world and it began to deteriorate the ability that we had to steward the earth.
She is saying that we did not understand our commission and sin resulted. But this is what the bible says:
Genesis 3:13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” This refers to the command that God gave to Adam in Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”.
So, they did not obey God. We call that disobedience, not a lack of understanding.
Now, I want you to listen to me it is very important that you understand this. In the garden there were certain systems that were corrupted.
Genesis 3:23 Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. The garden wasn’t corrupted. Sin entered through the act of disobedience and Adam and Eve were taken from the garden.
One was the economic system. No longer did the earth produce, the curse came and so we have to reverse this curse. And so in the earth we see that there were corrupted systems that were full of greed and mammon. So we have authority to reverse that Genesis curse of poverty and death.
Adam and Eve, being the only two people in the garden, free to do as they please, eat whatever, whenever (except from that one tree). I don’t see any economy going on here. Free is the order or the system the Lord set up for them. Free.
When they were taken from the Garden, they were given means to provide for themselves and we call that means “work”. If we read the first few verses of chapter 4 we see a good beginning, children born, a yield from the land and animals, far from what we could call poverty.
This is the life that would now be lived, one of work and of reward. Even after Cain murdered his brother and was sent away, he found the means to live, even building a city named after his son Enoch! (Genesis 4:16-17) Yes, there is sin, and with it comes consequences. And there is the curse of death from the disobedience, but hardly the curse of poverty. Even if she is speaking in a future tense, it was Jesus Christ who broke the curse of death, taking our sin on the cross. We cannot do what He has done. And we are still appointed to die a physical death – Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. Jesus Christ is the only one who has the power of life and death. He is the only one who has the power to break a curse.
Not only do we have the power to do so, we have the mandate. You have to understand this. Matthew 28:19-20 we are commanded to go and make disciples of nations and to teach them to observe everything in this book.
This is why it is so important to know what the book says in context!
And I want to tell you that after Genesis societies began to deteriorate until finally they went into slavery for 400 years. During those 400 years they lost all ability to govern themselves.
It is the way of man to control another. The heart of man is dark and evil in need of the Messiah! But her statement is quite vague. At the bottom of the matter is sin, the fallen nature, outright disobedience to God. And the only way is to turn back to Him. This is the message of the Old Testament, not societal or government fall out.
They didn’t have economic structure; they didn’t have government structures and so when they came out of bondage in Exodus 19:5 and 6 God gave them a promise. (Read in Spanish by translator). You shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation and a special treasure.
Now after this time in the book of Deuteronomy God began to give his plan for government. Deuteronomy one He told them to have representative government; choose one from each tribe. And I don’t have time to teach on this but I wrote a whole book about it. And so what happened is God took a people who were not a people, who were under slavery to Egypt’s system, we could say like the worlds system today.
I don’t see our economic structure the same as one of slavery. There are those in the world who suffer greatly under the control of other governments, but not all are slaves.
Notice she keeps making the point of the economic structure. Not one for the good of the people, but one what will bring wealth to the teacher, to the NAR through their control of the people. An economic structure much like the system of Egypt that she just spoke against! After all, listen. It’s do as I say as I have heard from God and this is what He wants from the church today, this is the future. I tell you it is not. Watch out, the antichrist is going to bring in a whole new monetary and economic structure called the One World Order.
And He made them the head and not the tail. He gave them the power to get wealth that His covenant could be established Deut 8:18. If we don’t have the power to get wealth, the covenant cannot be established.
I know of no covenant made by God that demanded wealth for it to be established! This is dangerous teaching and far from the meaning of Deuteronomy 8:18 which reads:
And you shall remember the Lord you God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
God is reminding them that it was He who has given them the power to get wealth by covenant that He made long ago. (Just a quick run down, as I am not a bible teacher, but I am thinking this goes back to the covenant God made with Abram in Genesis 12, then renamed Abraham, blessed as the father of many nations, then passed to Issac and Jacob, etc.)
The covenant He made with them was not dependant on their ability to get wealth! He is reminding them that He covenanted with their fathers to bless them, and so that all they have has come from His power and in their abundance they should not forget that. God is very big on reminding us what He has done for us.
We have the same covenant. We have the same mandate – the mandate given in the garden.
NO. It is not the same mandate or covenant made in the Garden of Eden! God said that the Messiah was to be born through a woman in Genesis 3, the words he spoke directly to Satan!
Jesus Christ is the new covenant, and in becoming new the old was done away with – no longer to exist! Jeremiah 31:31-34, “A new covenant I will make with them…” fulfilled through Christ and the scripture repeated in Hebrews 8:8-12. Verse 13 states, In that He says, “A new covenant, He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Luke 22:20 “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” Communion is done as a remembrance to what Christ did for us, a reminder that He is the new covenant! Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant – Hebrews 9:15.
And then Jesus said I want you to disciple nations. Reverse the Genesis curse, He said I’m gonna give you the power of the Holy Sprit to be able to do that.
I’m not sure if she is loosely quoting from the words of Jesus in the great commission, or if this is her personal message. Jesus Christ never told His disciples they would reverse the Genesis curse. She did partially quote Matthew earlier, so let’s go with that.
Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heave and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Not quite the same as what she saying it is. Again, no curse reversal, not even a mention of it!
And what happened? Everything became fruitful and began to multiply in the book of Acts. Acts 4 He gave an economic system and no one lacked anything. It is an incredible shift of world view.
She must be referring to Acts 2, again loosely. The book of Acts tells us of many who heard the word and believed and the church grew in great numbers. Praise God. Interesting statement from Peter in Acts 3:6 – Then Peter said “silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have is give you; In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Not the same as what Cindy is suggesting regarding no lack of anything. They lacked silver and gold, which blows her “economic theory” out of the water. The blessed thing is that these true apostles believed they had everything because they new Jesus Christ! Read through the book and you will see instead how they suffered much lack of many different things. How different from these modern day self appointed apostles and prophets of the NAR! The only shift going on is not in the world view as she would have us believe but in her view! We call that false teaching.
Now listen to me. Historically, even in there’s a massive revival it doesn’t change a city, because the government is still ruled by corruption.
How very sad a comment. There is no interest in true salvation here; have you heard it? True revival comes from true repentance of sin and a turning from the old life to the new life in Christ. A massive revival may or may not change a city. But that is not the point. Jesus Christ did not die to save cities or nations. He is not interested in historical statistics! He came to save sinners like you and me. And yes, the government of the world will still be ruled by corruption because the world is fallen in its sin nature. And until Jesus comes back to set up His kingdom on earth, the corruption of man and government will continue.
This is where the video ends. I don’t know if there is more but I am not able to find a part two. I can tell you from this statement of Cindy’s and all the teachings of the NAR they have an agenda to change and rule the world according to their own plans by taking dominion of the earth. They will do this through their apostolic structure, convincing others to come under their leadership. Their kingdom is that of the seven mountains of influence in society. They use the name of God, but not in the true sense as they do not come in His name, they do not teach His ways. This is the point she is making here at the end and is almost to say that Christ died in vain, we need more, we need dominion of the earth. Christ said His kingdom is not of the world. We are not to receive those who do not bring the true gospel of Jesus Christ. So be careful who you follow and what you work at.
Jesus said, Behold, I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me to give everyone according to his work. Revelation 22:12
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