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[Ednote: this is a partial article see link on the bottom to the whole article:] 'Reconciliation' and 'renewal' are certainly widespread. Keen
YWAM teams launch themselves all over the Middle East, confessing
the 'corporate sin' of our 'Christian forebears, the Crusaders'
to Muslims. Everywhere Reconciliation Marches are striding forth,
with Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims all holding hands
and declaring their common faith in the monotheism. This is the
Pope's dear wish, as he has been visiting Muslim leaders to try
and arrange a trip up the Mount of Olives with them at the dawn
of the New Millennium, to proclaim the essential unity of Judaism,
Islam and 'Christianity' (read Catholicism). the reconciliation is with men and not with God, because it is not on his terms (truth); a lot of the renewal and growth in the 'Christian' church is taking place within the Catholic Charismatic movement, the fastest growing in the world. This is a bogus, ecumenical, experience-based, Cross-denying, Mass-exalting movement which is trying to destroy the work of the Reformation by joining Catholics and Protestants in ecstatic rituals, not belief in the same truths. Joyner is glad that denominational barriers are broken down. So should we be, because the Holy Spirit calls us "with one mind and one mouth to glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 16:6). Paul rejects denominationalism per se (1 Corinthians 1:12,13). But the point that is so blithely skipped over is this: we must be one mind as well as one mouth. It's wonderful when previously conflicting Christian groups can lay aside their differences and merge in the common cause, "with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel" (Philippians 1:27). But if they just sweep their differences under the carpet for fear of offence, and put visible, organisational, man-based unity at the top of their agenda, both groups cease to be Christian. Of course the Reformation was regrettable in a sense. But is it better to be united with lies, or separated from them? All true Christian Protestants the world over would be so glad to hear that Rome had changed her teachings, repented of her Christ-denying ways, and turned back to the true Gospel of Jesus, and the Word of God. But until that change of mind has taken place, true believers cannot be one mind with those who reject the mind of Christ. "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed" (2 John 10); "Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers ... for what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? ... Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord" (2 Corinthians 6:14-17). If Joyner insists on joining with the Roman Catholic church (despite its refusal to acknowledge the Jesus of the Bible), he is contracting himself to idols, and will indeed find himself at war with true believers as they continue to preach the historic faith of Christ alone, and that, as "little children, [we] keep ourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21). The visible church's new unity will be based on neo-humanism (that is, humanism with a spiritual side). There are undoubtedly many of us who are genuinely confused by all the talk of unity and renewal, and don't know where to stand. We don't want to oppose a real move of God, but we don't like the sound of a lot we hear. It sounds weird, unBiblical, compromised. We are right to be cautious. The confusion largely centres on this anomaly: there are many true Christians within the false revival movement. They have not yet understood the dark powers that be, or the hidden agendas, behind the revivals that they are so enthusiastic about. It's very very important not to crush such people (and I say this to myself!). Their enthusiasm is laudable, and I praise God for it. It is, however, misguided. I believe it is our calling - as discerning believers who by God's grace have been enlightened as to the truth of these matters by His Word and by the evidence at our disposal - to warn such, and warmly encourage them to continue with their Christ-like zeal in preaching the true Gospel, whilst avoiding the false revivalism particularly found at hyped-up, 'big-top' or stadium-style meetings. We have to do this. It's not an option. These dear brothers and sisters are our flesh and blood in Christ, and we are surely most unloving and callous towards them if we do not interest ourselves in the object of their excitement (false revivalism) and seek to redirect them back to the Cross (Galatians 6:14, 1 Corinthians 2:2), back to looking at Jesus as found in Scripture (Hebrews 12:2), back to adorning the Gospel with our lives of gratitude and humble service alone (Titus 2:10), and leaving it unadorned doctrinally (Galatians 1:6,7; Revelation 22:18,19), as it is already perfect and powerful to save any man who believes (Romans 1:16). Let Aquila and Priscilla be our models - let us not shy away from expounding the way of God more perfectly to all the bold Apolloses we meet. The new unity of the false visible church will be tested by these confused true believers within it. There will be many who can't accept the humanist, pagan, panentheistic agenda, and will little by little realise they have to "come out and be separate". But ultimately the false church will have its unity, because true believers, as Joyner points out, will be pushed if they do not see in time to jump. I only hope they see sooner rather than later. Time is running out. The true church will have its unity, too, as it always has been unified throughout the ages in the glorious blood of Christ, our blessed Lord and Saviour, to whom be all glory forever. And there will most certainly be a war between the two, but it will not be civil, it will be spiritual and total (Revelation 19). Again, it is not a civil war as such, because 'civil' suggests there is already a unity of sorts. There is not - we either love Christ and trust Him as Lord and Saviour and long to be with Him in heaven, or we love our Gnostic god-within and our visions and our power and long to live as super-evolved gods forever on this earth. There is no traffic between the two sides, but a great gulf (Luke 16:26). The 'accuser' here is not the Accuser mentioned in the Bible (Satan: see Revelation 12:10). The 'accuser' driven out of the visible, false, global, 'pan-everything' church will be the true Christian, as we've already discussed. Vanguard's call is that the Holy Spirit, the consciences and Bibles of these brethren will drive them before they are extirpated by men like Joyner. How do we know if we are being like Satan, the Accuser of the Brethren, or like the Holy Spirit, the discerner of all things? It is at the bar of Scripture that we decide. If we raise ourselves up as judges and gods over all men and all teachings, and accuse them if they do not submit to us, then perhaps we are more in line with the Evil One. But if we seek to try to submit humbly to the Word of God, and apply its holy wisdom to our situations, then we imitate our Master, Christ (see Matthew 4). It will be the end of Christendom as we know it; that is, the connection between the visible, RC-led church and real Christianity will be severed once and for all. Ecumenism, Revivalism and Catholicism will not resemble Christianity at all, as they seek after other gods to satisfy their will to power and global conquest. Mere Christianity, on the other hand, will never end. The word of God endures forever ever (1 Peter 1:25). Nothing will change about Christ's teachings, because they are perfect from the beginning (Psalm 119:160). Joyner believes that the "very definition of Christianity will be changed, for the better" because it appears he has never really taken hold of Christ, the author of authentic and primitive Christianity. There is no need to change the Gospel, and to say it needs to be changed is to accuse Christ of inadequacy, which is what the Roman Church have being doing for hundreds of years (Cross + Mass, Mediator-Redeemer [Jesus] + Mediatrix-Redeemer [Mary], Gospel + Pope + Magisterium + Tradition). Joyner will be quite happy to join with his Catholic brethren as they have one thing in common: they hate the simple Gospel and want to bolt their own religion on to it until it is unrecognisable. There will always be men who think they can make Christianity better than Jesus made it. The emerging global church will be unprecedented. But it will be so because it will be further removed from Christianity then any of its heretic forebears. It is interesting that Joyner claims that it will be "full of unprecedented ... truth". This is because its 'new truths' will supplant the 'old truths' of the Bible, and fill up the minds of its enslaved followers. There is no room for Jesus Christ in the heart of the New Age Christian, because that room has already been taken up by everything else which denies Him. The conflict will be costly, sadly. Even now the unbelieving world is so confused as to the true message of Christianity. Some bright-eyed people are talking of a new future of church-engineered world peace; others are calling all men everywhere to repent of past and present evils, and to hope for a Christ-established future. Who should they listen to? Those 'glorious overcomers' or those 'ghetto, remnant theologians'? Let us carefully avoid such a caricature - we do not believe that the Christian church is a effete loser. We believe, praise God, that the Body of Christ, is triumphant with Him! But our triumph, says the Bible, will be through our suffering for His sake, not through our global dominion and conquest. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). Our triumph, like our Lord's, will be when we take up our cross and follow Him, out into the world, loving all men, telling out the good news, and being rejected by those who call themselves our brothers (John 15:20, 16:2). Our great privilege and earnest is that "unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" (Philippians 1:29), not that we will commandeer the wealth of the wicked, or overcome the governments of the world. The cost may be our lives, and we may find that those baying most awfully for our blood will be the most 'spiritual' men of all, who see our 'negative vibes' (doctrines of sin and repentance) as a danger to the harmony of the New World Order. Joyner thinks the church is under slavery because it is chained to the former revelations of the Book, and will not receive the latter rain of the Spirit. Only when we chuck out the Bible (even if we pay it lip-service in the interim to get the more cautious on board) will we be truly free, it is thought. Jesus says that only the truth will make us free (John 8:32) and God's Word is truth (Psalm 33:4). I agree with Joyner's assessment of empire-building and self-aggrandisement. I just do not see how he is any different (don't buy The Final Quest, it's too expensive, and it's not very good. If you want to verify what I'm saying, I'll post it to you). By 'control spirit' Joyner means those who seek to "cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). By 'political spirit' Joyner means those who fight for their 'denomination' as he would see it. Actually he will try to classify those who fight for the Scriptures and their supreme authority as those who are politically and denominationally minded. It seems we all, like Randy Clark (the self-styled 'firestarter' at Toronto, may God have mercy on him), must lose our denominational spirit (the bathwater) and the Bible with it (the baby). By 'religious spirit' Joyner means those who believe in the truth of the law of God, and that loving Christ involves keeping His commandments and not running amok, sinning willy-nilly that "grace may abound" (Romans 6:1). These three spirits (self-control, Bible-belief and law-abidance) will be obliterated so that the new wave of the spirit can come in and take all with it. Then the Apostate Church will come into her ultimate shame and delusion (2 Thessalonians 2). When Hank Hanegraaff spoke out against the Pensacola Outpouring, they cursed him and threatened his family. I cannot think of one Counterfeit Revival leader (Joyner, Hinn, Clark, Arnott, Howard-Browne, Copeland, etc.) who does not exert enormous amounts of pressure on his congregations to comply with him in giving him money, taking of the new spirit, rejecting the use of the mind, the Bible and prayer Certainly there will be strife over money - they will always want more! "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity" (Ecclesiastes 5:10). The Revival leaders have worked out that they can milk people down to their last penny if they tell them what their itching ears want to hear (you will get rich, be happy, be healthy, get anointed, be powerful, work miracles, take over the world, be popular). What is particularly sick about it is that they prey on poor Africans (even in Britain, most of the people who go to the false revivalist crusades are Afro-Caribbean) and queer the pitch for genuine Gospel preachers (I believe Morris Cerullo is almost single-handedly responsible for the restriction of religious freedoms in Israel. Since his money-grabbing leaflet drop, the Knesset has passed laws in reaction, limiting indigenous Christian's rights to preach the Gospel to their lost Jewish brothers). I guess I am one of those vehement traditionalists. If there's anything of sentimental, non-Biblical tradition in me, then may the Lord strike it out, as it too (however benign-seeming) adds to the perfect Gospel of Christ. We need to examine and judge ourselves in these things. Are we clingy to old, man-made patterns of behaviour and meetings? Do we really derive our Christian experience and lives from the teachings of Scripture and from the prompting of the Holy Ghost? Are we counting on past experiences to save us? Are our prayer lives fresh and urgent? Are we reading the Scripture with burning eyes and hearts, and teachable spirits, day and night seeking the Lord's will for us? Or are we falling back on shallow and staid evangelical rituals as a substitute for true worship and our reasonable service? Joyner, however, wishes that we jettison not only our church habits, but also the very traditions of Scripture. "Therfore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Our Christian faith is nothing without those traditions. This is to pre-empt criticism from non-denominationalists
(like us). It is Vanguard's dear wish not to enslave, but to
"furnish God's people with sound Bible teaching". We
are fully open to Biblical criticism, and would grieve profoundly
if it was shown that we had brought fear and bondage to any man.
Indeed, our motive we hope always to be love of God's people,
and "perfect love casteth out fear" Joyner recognises there is such a thing as false unity, which is encouraging. How he can say in another place that unity and love are more important than truth, is difficult to fathom. We trust that as Bible-believers, we seek to be as heavenly-minded as possible, so as to be of great earthly-use! " Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33) "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:1,2). What does the Bible say is the route to unity? It is hearing
the voice of Jesus, and coming into His one fold (John 10:16).
The kind of unity achieved by the false global church will be
the unity of Pilate and Herod - unified against Christ This 'truth', however, may be a little different from He whom we follow (John 14:6). We need to avoid this error - fighting out of loyalty for our denomination, if we have one. Fidelity to one's local church is surely a noble thing, especially through arid times. But to back one's movement indiscriminately when it's getting derailed is folly. Joyner is happy ascending up his gnostic mountain of ever-greater secret knowledge and power. Rodney Howard-Browne is a big pusher for the 'higher realms of the spirit', but the kind of realms they are talking about are mystic raptures and altered states of consciousness where people's defences against marauding spirits are drastically lowered. Let's remember that the Apostle Paul was extremely loath to show off about his vision (2 Corinthians 12:1ff), where these men pride themselves in 'how high they've climbed'. Firstly I want to ask, Should there be such a thing as "the black church", when the Bible says "there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all" (Colossians 3:11, cf. Galatians 3:28)? Secondly, it is certainly the case in Britain that the so-called black church is almost entirely sold out to these deceivers. Any Morris Cerullo or Benny Hinn concert in Earl's Court has a 95% black crowd (even though most of the speakers are white). Kensington Temple, the largest church in the UK, has the same kind of stats. Let me make it perfectly clear that I believe there are some wonderful Christian black believers in England. It is just that, from my experience, the Counterfeit Revivalists delight particularly in misleading Afro-Caribbeans by their promises of untold wealth, health and revival in Africa. I've seen Hinn and Colin Dye whip black crowds into a frenzy through his 'visions' of revival in various African countries. My conviction is that those in the 'black church' should start joining multicultural, multinational churches where all are one in Christ Jesus, and distinctions are not made on the basis of skin colour. Think how offensive and divisive it would be if someone said, "The white church ... will be the primary force to bring about the ultimate victory." And if there are any 'white churches' that view themselves as such, and do not immediately extend the hand of fellowship to blacks, Asians and everybody else in Christ, they should surely start reading their Bibles again. It is through exalting our skin colours and national and cultural identities that we endanger ourselves to deception. The Lord Jesus has already written the definition of Christianity. It's called the Bible. He doesn't need Rick Joyner to make up some more. It's a perfect revelation already, for which we are to be profoundly grateful. Who are we, that deprecate the Bible by thinking it's sub-standard? Muslims? Mormons? Christian Scientists? No, indeed, we are called by His Name! "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue" (2 Peter 1:3). The New Breed of Spiritual Leaders are people like Paul Cain, Bob Jones, Jim Bakker and Earl Paulk who are false prophets and have all been involved with sex scandals (as has been mentioned). It is by God's grace if we discern their words as lying imaginations of their own hearts. "I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal" (Jeremiah 23:25-27). They will not initially be appreciated, not because they are great prophets, but because they are liars and cheats and money-grabbers. They will however persuade many through their lying signs and wonders (see 2 Thessalonians 2:9; R.T. Kendall rejected Toronto/Pensacola initially until Paul Cain started speaking telepathically [I believe he has demonic power to do this] and Rodney Howard-Browne 'healed' R.T's wife; R.T. was never persuaded by the truth of their prophecies, but wowed by the power at their disposal. It is not a power from the God whom they deny). It is to Joyner's credit that he speaks in this way. We could say the same about him - that we battle against the spiritual forces that bind him, and seek to save the man. "And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh" (Jude 23). I guess 'discernment' is to be restyled as 'spying out the liberty of the church'. Again, we seek to present the truth of the Scriptures, which alone can liberate man. The visions and imaginations of man will only bring him into bondage, alone and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). Joyner wants to strengthen every relationship. He supports all drives for unity (even though he says unity must be based on truth). This means he supports the work of Churches Together, The World Council of Churches and the Parliament of World Religions, three important instruments of Satan in bringing about the One World Religion. Clue: it won't be Biblical Christianity. When Joyner talks about "strengthening the essential truths of our faith, within ourselves" he is using gnostic/humanist language. His faith is a self-generated power, focusing on his own enlightenment and experiences. It is not a faith focused on Christ and His atoning work. It's similar to the kind of Christ-consciousness doctrines Mother Teresa peddled. We do indeed need to judge ourselves, "for the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17). But the spirit we need to fling out is that of Babylon, of Mystery Religion, of flirting with the antediluvian foe of that old whispered life, "you shall be as gods!" (Genesis 3:5). It's Satan's most seductive lie, and he hasn't given up on it yet. It's brought more people into hell than anything else. Either God is God, or we are. I know which I choose! "Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). Conclusion for Part 1 - Civil War There is a war coming. But "though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh" (2 Corinthians 10:3). We are to "love our enemies" and pray for them (Matthew 5:44). We are to take up spiritual weapons- the shield of faith and "the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). And when the great Falling Away and the Man of Sin do come, and the visible church crumbles into Babylon (2 Thessalonians 2, Revelation 13-19), let us (like the two prophets) "finish our testimony" (Revelation 11:7) knowing that a crown of glory awaits those who persevere to the end, by the mercies of Christ and His saving strength. And those crowns we shall gladly cast at His feet. And meanwhile, I urge to you win as many true believers over to the truth of these matters, so that we can all get on with our proper calling which is to go into the world and warn every man to flee from the wrath to come (Matthew 3:7), and bring the Good News to every nation. Soli deo gloria. Part 2 - Gnosticism, Mysticism and the 2nd Coming This article, by Neil Richardson, first appeared in Vanguard Magazine. It is used here by permission. Vanguard Magazine is a quarterly teaching magazine associated with Christian Witness Ministries http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/j09.html |