JACK VAN IMPE'S FRIGHTFUL CHANGE
[The following is from O Timothy magazine, Volume 12, Issue 1, 1994. David W. Cloud, Editor. The author holds all rights to this material. O Timothy is a monthly magazine. Annual subscription is US$20 FOR THE UNITED STATES. Send to Way of Life Literature, Bible Baptist Church, 1219 N. Harns Road, Oak Harbor, Washington 98277. FOR CANADA the subscription is $20 Canadian. Send to Bethel Baptist Church, P.O. Box 9075, London, Ontario N6E 1V0.]
The following is from a letter to this editor by Evangelist Paul Freeman. We print it with his permission:
"I see that Jack Van Impe is now praising the Pope and Billy Graham. Let me give you a personal word concerning Jack & Rexella. In 1962 I trained the personal workers and directed the inquiry room at a Jack Van Impe crusade in Bangor, Pennsylvania. I had Jack and his wife in my home for dinner. My daughter was born in the middle of the crusade. While my wife was in the hospital, I ate hamburgers with Jack after the meetings. Since I was also involved in Youth for Christ, the subject of Billy Graham was discussed thoroughly.
"I was concerned about the Modernists sitting on the platform at the 1957 Madison Square Garden meetings, which I had attended several times. Jack convinced me to leave Billy Graham and to subscribe to the Sword of the Lord by John R. Rice. Later that summer I walked down the lane with him from his cottage at Pinebrook Bible Conference in Stroudsburg, Penn. He took me to his car and from the trunk he pulled some old copies of the Sword of the Lord. He showed me full-page ads for Billy Graham crusades which were provided free by John Rice in support of Billy [Rice soon stopped supporting Graham]. This was to show me that Billy was once a Fundamentalists but had now become a Neo-evangelical and was guilty of compromise. At this same conference Jack stopped the people from applauding after he played his accordion. Years later I saw him receive applause at a crusade in Levittown, Penn., and he said nothing. It is hard to believe how far he has moved. The same man who told me not to follow Billy Graham is now saying that Billy showed us how to love.
"Now I hear he is setting the Lord's return in December 1998. That is probably his retirement date. He gave me good advice; sorry he did not follow his own advice. I believe he was led by the Spirit when he told me to part with Billy. I do not know what spirit is moving him now.
"I think the pattern for his compromise was beginning to emerge back there in the early 60's. About a year after our 1962 crusade in Bangor, Penn., I took my congregation to Scranton, Penn., to attend his crusade there in Watres Armory. He asked me to sit on the platform with the other ministers. I was introduced to the Salvation Army captain, pastors from various churches (including Holiness, Christian Missionary & Alliance, Nazarene, Bible, and Baptist). I thought it was strange that he would work with those who did not believe in the Bible doctrine of eternal security. I have since taken the position that I cannot work with or share a platform with a man who believes that you can lose your salvation.
\"When the desire for a greater outreach surpassed his base of support, he did what Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell did--water down the message and call everyone a Christian so that you can gather more money to pay for air time. Much air time is now being provided by `the prince of the power of the air' (Eph. 2:2)."
(O Timothy, Volume 12, Issue 1, 1995, Way of Life Literature, 1219 N. Harns Rd., Oak Harbor, WA 98277)
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