Five Errors of the NAR

It’s perhaps the fastest growing movement in the church today, but it deviates greatly from what the Bible teaches about our mission, our future and the endtimes. The movement often referred to as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) relies more on experience and extra-biblical revelations than it does on the words of Scripture. The article below lays out five major errors of the NAR.

Original Article by Jonathan C. Brentner

• His website here: https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/
• His article as shared on Rapture Ready Blog.

Some identify the NAR movement as Dominionism, Third Wave, Latter Rain, Kingdom Now, and Charismatic Renewal.

MY NOTE: His statement here is accurate, since the basic ideas are all drawn from old-time Latter Rain, Dominion teachings. For research see the documents by Steve Montomery HERE, as well as numerous articles on my websites.

• Banner Website http://banner.org.uk/
• Birthpangs Website http://www.birthpangs.org/
• Banner Ministries Blog https://bannerministries.wordpress.com/
• Dominion, NAR, Latter Rain etc: http://banner.org.uk/summaries/sum_lr.html

PS. “NOT SECURE” Since I cannot afford to buy – and renew yearly – the exorbitant and unnecessary “security certificate” so that browsers will proclaim my website “safe” by simply adding the letter S to the title, I remain listed as http only except for this blog which is hosted by WordPress who are therefore responsible for its safety certificate. However, with my other websites some of you may encounter scary notices advising you to flee my site immediately as if it contains some kind of latter-day plague. Don’t be scared, there is nothing there to harm you (unless perhaps you are following the false teachings and thus will be offended by seeing them exposed.)

Introduction

The leaders of the NAR believe the church will gain control of the world, eventually bring in the millennium, and rule the earth during it. As for Jesus, He will return AFTER the millennial reign of the church.

According to researcher and author Holly Pivec [https://www.hollypivec.com/], the NAR is not limited to one denomination or group, but is “rather made up of hundreds of churches and organizations that are led by apostles and prophets who share a distinct theology.” The rapid growth of this end-times theology was primarily among Charismatic and Pentecostal churches, but has now spread into all denominations.

Here are 5 dangerous errors of its false teaching that place the movement far outside the realm of sound biblical interpretation.

1. Denies the Sufficiency of God’s Word

It’s not so much that NAR advocates deny the inerrancy of God’s Word, but that they deny its sufficiency. They do this by claiming to add new revelation to the pages of Scripture.

Of course, the Lord speaks to His people today in various ways, but He does not reveal entirely NEW truths for the entire church.

The leaders of the NAR repeat the error of many cults by adding new revelation to the Bible. The Mormons, Christian Scientists, and Muslims, to name a few, base their beliefs on additional illumination their leaders have supposedly received from God. The apostles and prophets of the NAR do the same thing. They fail to heed to the severe warning of Revelation 22:18 by adding new words to the Apostle John’s depiction of the End.

2. Creates New Prophets and Apostles

Many of the leaders of this rapidly growing movement present themselves as modern-day “apostles and prophets who govern the church, restore the earth, and give new divine revelation that is needed to set up God’s kingdom on earth.”

These claims contradict the words of the New Testament.

In Ephesians 2:19-20, Paul describes the church as “the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.” We have this foundation in the words that the original apostles and prophets left to us on the pages of the New Testament; this foundation remains totally sufficient for our day.

When John saw the New Jerusalem he wrote this, “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Rev. 22:14). The apostle saw twelve names of the apostles, no more. The names of these modern day “apostles” will not appear on the New Jerusalem. Jesus laid the foundation for His church with His twelve apostles and the prophets of the first century who revealed Jesus’ words to us, our New Testament. Those in the NAR who claim to be newly appointed apostles and prophets seek to lay another foundation about which the Apostle Paul warns us (1 Cor. 3:10-15).

MY NOTE: The twelve apostles, chosen and ordained by Jesus Himself, are indeed the foundation [along with Jesus the Head] on which the Church is built. This cannot be added to. Beyond that, in a general sense, an apostle is what we today would call an evangelist or missionary. The word “apostle” means one who is sent. See this excellent answer from Quora:

The word apostle means “one who is sent out.” In the New Testament, there are two primary usages of the word apostle. The first is in specifically referring to the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. The second is in generically referring to other individuals who are sent out to be messengers/ambassadors of Jesus Christ.

The twelve apostles held a unique position. In referring to the New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:14 states, “The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” The twelve apostles are also referred to in Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:14; 4:10; 6:7; 9:35; 14:10, 17, 20; Luke 6:13; 9:1; 22:14; John 6:71; Acts 6:2; and 1 Corinthians 15:5. It was these twelve apostles who were the first messengers of the gospel after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was these twelve apostles who were the foundation of the church—with Jesus being the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20).

This specific type of apostle is not present in the church today. The qualifications of this type of apostle were: (1) to have been a witness of the resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 9:1), (2) to have been explicitly chosen by the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:15), and (3) to have the ability to perform signs and wonders (Acts 2:43; 2 Corinthians 12:12). The responsibility of the twelve apostles, laying the foundation of the church, would also argue for their uniqueness. Two thousand years later, we are not still working on the foundation.

Beyond the unique twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, there were also apostles in a generic sense. Barnabas is referred to as an “apostle” in Acts 13:2 and 14:14. Andronicus and Junias are possibly identified as apostles in Romans 16:7. The same Greek word usually translated “apostle” is used to refer to Titus in 2 Corinthians 8:23 and Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:25. So, there definitely seems to be room for the term apostle being used to refer to someone besides the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Anyone who was “sent” could be called an apostle.

What exactly would be the role of an apostle outside that of the twelve apostles? That is not entirely clear. From the definition of the word, the closest thing today to an apostle, in the general sense, is a missionary. A missionary is a follower of Christ who is sent out with the specific mission of proclaiming the gospel.

3. Robs Jesus of His Future Glory

As with all false teaching regarding biblical prophecy, the NAR teaching diminishes Jesus’ future glory and exalts the church over Him during the Millennium.

Jesus will return to earth with great power and brilliant glory as He destroys Satan’s kingdom and establishes His rule over the earth. This is His moment of great exultation when His praise will ring through the heavens as we celebrate His triumph.

+ However, the NAR robs Jesus of this glory by transferring it to the church.

In stark contrast with the book of Revelation, they make the CHURCH (principally themselves) triumphant during the tribulation. They insist that “the Church will go through the Great Tribulation with great power and victory and will only be raptured at the end of the Great Tribulation.” 

Added to this, many NAR apostles no longer believe in the rapture, teaching instead that it is the wicked who will be taken from the earth at the End – nonetheless the above quote displays the NAR mindset that exalts the church over the Saviour.

The NAR teachers steal glory from Jesus by making the end of human history all about the church rather than Jesus’ spectacular return.

Such heretical teachings contradict the words of Scripture. The Apostle Paul instructed the church to submit to government authorities, not become rulers (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Tim. 2:1-4). The Great Commission consists of proclaiming the Gospel and teaching people in the ways of the Lord (Matt. 28:19-20).

Scripture proclaims the Lord as the Judge of nations during the tribulation and Conqueror of the nations of the world. This glory belongs to Jesus alone, not to endtime apostles nor to the Church.

4. Contradicts the Biblical Assessment of the Last Days

Teachers associated with NAR movement proclaim a view of the last days that varies widely from the words of Scripture, especially those of the Old Testament prophets and the book of Revelation.

The Day of Wrath is a period of the Lord cleansing the world of evil and destroying Satan’s kingdom. The Old Testament included this time of God’s wrath within the “day of the Lord.”

Mike Bickle, on the other hand, believes “that the end-time church will cleanse the earth of evil” stating that “this feat will be accomplished by end-time Christians — under the leadership of apostles and prophets — who will say ‘prophetic’ prayers that will release the Great Tribulation judgments on the kingdom of the Antichrist.”

This belief contradicts both words of the Old Testament prophets and the Apostle John concerning this future time of wrath.

Revelation 6 tells us that it’s the Lord who releases judgment on the evil of the world. Some believe the Church will be in Heaven at that time, to witness the Lamb’s unsealing of the scroll and opening of the seals that unleash the judgments on the world (Rev. 5:1-6:1).

But even if one believes that the church will be present during the first part [at least] of the time of wrath, the book of Revelation portrays the saints as victims of the Beast kingdom, not victors and conquerors, much less rulers on earth.

It’s the Lord who will purify the earth of evil and triumph over the kingdom of Satan, not the church. NAR teaching flagrantly contradicts the words of the Apostle John in the book of Revelation.

5. Misrepresents the Role and Destiny of the Church

Like so many other false teachings regarding the last days, the teachings of the NAR misrepresent the church.

 In a previous section, we saw how they exalt the church over Jesus and give it a purpose that’s totally foreign to the pages of God’s Word.

The Lord never intended for His church to be triumphant rulers in this current age. He warns repeatedly that we must expect suffering and tribulation. He promises us rewards for our faithfulness that point to His authority in the coming kingdom. In the Parable of Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, it’s Jesus that assigns roles in His kingdom, not the church.

The coming kingdom is all about Jesus. Yes, we will ultimately reign with Jesus, but the millennium is all about Christ and His rule over the nations of the world, which the Father promised Him (Psalm 2).

The church SHARES in Jesus’ triumph; it never triumphs over the world on its own or apart from Him. The prophet Daniel tells us that it’s Jesus who will receive the kingdom from the Father and He is the One who rides victoriously back to earth to decimate Satan’s kingdom and establish His rule over the nations (Dan. 7:13-14; Matt. 26:64; Rev. 19:11-20:4).

The NAR doctrines of the Church’s victory over satan and the restoration of this earth before the arrival of Christ are therefore false; they contradict the teaching of Scripture.

• Original Article
• https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/