We know of the “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” in Proverbs 9:1 but now it seems the Church is intent on leading its followers, as well as the rest of the world, into an entirely different way of thinking. Here I will try to quickly summarise the main problems, being aware that there is so much more excellent material online for you to access in addition to this.
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There are many excellent blogs and youtubes and articles these days exposing error, and they all have their place. They usually examine in depth one of the many false teachers, pastors, “apostles” or prophets that proliferate all over the TV and Internet, not to speak of megachurches (especially in America.)
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I remember a moment, as clear as if it happened yesterday, although it was about 40 years ago (!) and it prepared me for what is happening today. Indeed, it was crucial, even though I did not know it at the time. Thank you Lord.
Fast-forward to today. I watched a short video [thanks to OnesimusFiles] that examined today’s political and religious events in America (America principally, but also affecting the rest of the world). That too recalled the truths I refer to above. Both roots sprang up together – because everything in our lives is ordered by God. Continue reading
No doubt you are as troubled about world events as I am, especially as there seems no relief in sight.
And these days, praying isn’t so straightforward either, since we have less and less clarity on exactly what is the Lord’s intention (except for the obvious biblical prophecies.)
(Personally, I pray Lord, let YOUR will be done, and YOUR will prevail.)
Today on Twitter, Ron Perlman addressed the current situation from his own patriotic American perspective, and it sparked off some thoughts for me. What he said was this: Continue reading
I was recently led to start reading the book of Samuel. Unexpectedly I stumbled on scriptures that informed my thoughts about Friday’s Presidential Inauguration.
I should explain that this was part of my regular reading plan, not a deliberate policy. It happened, as they say, by chance.
I had come to the end of the book of Acts and intended to start Luke’s Gospel again, but in the meanwhile I came upon a verse in Samuel and then thought “why don’t I start Samuel instead?”
That was a week or so ago. All of this is to say, I believe I was led to read Samuel because the Presidential Inauguration was coming up on Friday this week (20th January). Continue reading
C. Peter Wagner, founder of the New Apostolic Reformation, sent out an email yesterday announcing that he had recently been in Delaware for the commissioning of several new apostles. Wagner wrote that, when he arrived, he was surprised to learn that “a good bit of field work had been done to assure the approval of the State of Delaware.”
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Posted by Christine Pack
A movement inside of Christian evangelicalism called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) has gathered lethal momentum very unexpectedly. This movement had up until recently only been taught and believed inside the hyper-charismatic movement (think IHOP, Kansas City Prophets, Mike Bickle, etc.). But now, having somehow “jumped” from its normal carrier, rather than being “contained” as a strange belief system that would only impact a limited number of people, it suddenly began to go viral when in the United States big names on the political right began to align themselves with the big names from the charismatic Christian side.
Why exactly has the NAR, which makes alarming use of militant “warfare” language and talks of “taking dominion” over the world “one mountain at a time,” [PLEASE visit this page to see worrying evidence] gotten so big, so fast, and with so many big political names attached?
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(A Report From Herescope/Discernment Research Ministry)
The very strange teachings about Bloodlines, New Breed, Elect Seed, New Order and Abortion in the history of the IHOP movement
The IHOP (International House of Prayer) movement is now front and center stage as a national controversy continues to swirl around Texas Governor Rick Perry and his upcoming prayer rally The Response featuring prominent IHOP and NAR leaders as “endorsers.” The national media is scrambling to catch up with the significance of this event, and a few reporters are bungling it badly.[2]
In the meantime, The Response showed no signs of faltering, as James and Shirley Dobson, Max Lucado and Maine Governor Paul LePage added their weight to a new promo webpage for the event, “What Others are Saying.” This quasi-political prayer event continues to be controversial because of the potential political ambitions of Gov. Perry who, according to one reporter, “may be counting on apostles and prophets to help propel him to the White House.”[3] This same article recounts the attempts by the NAR and IHOP movements to bridge racial divides:
[Alice] Patterson’s aim, as she makes clear in her book [Bridging the Racial and Political Divide: How Godly Politics Can Transform a Nation], is getting black and brown evangelicals to vote Republican and support conservative causes. A major emphasis among the New Apostles is racial reconciliation and recruitment of minorities and women. The apostolic prayer networks often perform elaborate ceremonies in which participants dress up in historical garb and repent for racial sins.
The formula—overcoming racism to achieve multiracial fundamentalism—has caught on in the apostolic movement. Some term the approach the “Rainbow Right,” and in fact The Response has a high quotient of African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans in leadership positions.
Lou Engle, for example, is making a big push to recruit black activists into the anti-abortion ranks. “We’re looking for the new breed of black prophets to arise and forgive us our baggage,” he said at Trinity Assemblies of God, “and then lead us out of victimization and into the healing of a nation, to stop the shedding of innocent blood.”[4]
What do these self-proclaimed apostles and prophets of IHOP and NAR mean when they talk about race and abortion? Do they mean what YOU think they mean? They have a long history of double-speak. You might think they are against abortion, for Israel, and against racism. But are they really? This group is noted for their clever use of language and unique terminology, especially the concoction of new doctrines. Note the terminology in the quotation above: “new breed.” And note the reference to “ceremonies” which supposedly repent of “racial sins.” These ceremonies are based on a Dominionist teaching called “Identificational Repentance” which puts more focus on ethnicity than language, a strange practice if one is concerned about spreading the Gospel.
From their inception these self-proclaimed prophets have articulated what they mean by these terminologies. They claim that they got their teachings from “God.” And what they actually believe should give any American truly concerned about race relations, the right to life, pro-Israel and freedom of religion pause for sober concern. Their agenda may be totally different than what appears on the surface. Like any cult, they may seem sincere. But they also have scary ambitions, which are both political and religious, and they fall far outside the American mainstream. And they intend to use the current young generation, what they call the “New Breed,” to achieve their political aims.
What follows are a series of quotations and excerpts from old Discernment Ministries newsletters. Discernment Ministries began publishing newsletters in May of 1990, chronicling the rise of the Kansas City group in particular.[5] The most important pieces of documentation are the graphic image exhibits that were common during the era when the Kansas City group merged with the Vineyard.
Exhibit A above this post is a poster that was for sale from Kansas City Fellowship two decades ago which depicts the “manchild” — a fair-skinned baby who represents the “New Breed” becoming “god-man.”
Exhibit B, alongside, the military knight in armor holding a blonde-haired, blue-eyed baby, represents the “New Breed” that is to become “Joel’s Army.”[6]
“The children are the best of all the generations that have ever been upon the face of the earth. . . those ELECTED SEEDS that will glorify Christ in the last days. .. they will move into things of the supernatural that no one has ever been in the Bible – They’ll move in it consistently. . . they themselves will be that generation that’s raised up to put death itself underneath their feet. . . . a church that has reached the full maturity of the god-man!” (Transcripts, Kansas City Fellowship, 1988 Interview Bob Jones with Mike Bickle).[7]
ABORTION and the NEW BREED:
“…every time God ever planned to do anything, the devil would get wind of it and he’d go out there and try to head if off. . . when he knew how Moses was coming, what did he do to stop him. . .. he killed all the babies. What did he do when he figured that Jesus was going to be born at a certain time? He released a decree through the wicked ruler to kill all the babies. Don’t you see? And what’s he doing now? There’s mass mutilation and murder of thousands and millions of unborn babies. Abortions on every hand. So, you must know something’s coming up greater than Moses, greater than. . . even in Jesus’ day, because the Devil is trying to kill off the NEW BREED, he’s trying to kill off the Bride of Christ and he’s trying to kill the whole thing off, but the Lord has well planted this seed of the New Bride and the New Breed. . . . He’s about to open the womb and He’s about to give birth to this NEW THING. . . . when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us we beheld the glories of the only begotten of the Father and when YOU begin to become that Word I want you to know the world will behold the glory of the Father and that’s what we’re waiting to see. . . I want you to know that we’re going to have some channeling one of these days, but it’s going to be channeled right out of the throne room of heaven.” (Paul Cain, speaking at the Vineyard Prophetic Conference in 1989)[8]
A NEW SUPER RACE:
“Praise God, our Creator has a plan to restore order to His creation. Two thousand years ago He raised up a “fourth race” of man, descended from the Second Adam, Jesus Christ. This fourth race is a true super race which will fulfill God’s divine purpose to bring righteousness to earth. That super race was created to rule over every nation, every tongue, and every people on this planet. This fourth race… transcends the human body and time itself! God ordained that this earth be conquered and ruled by a super race of spiritual beings who are united by a single scarlet thread – the blood of Christ! God’s super race of man in our generation!” (Turnel Nelson, Destiny Image Digest)[9]
ABORTING the RIGHTEOUS SEED:
“God’s expressed intention of using the Seed of the woman to crush the head of satan (Gen. 3:15) clarifies His divine hope of generations… Satan’s purpose is to steal, to kill and to destroy our children. He is especially targeting the righteous seed. He is afraid that a godly generation will rise up to crush his head.”(Dr. Patricia Morgan, Destiny Image Digest)[10]
NEW ORDER TRANSFORMATION:
“….the Gospel of the Kingdom is not just the Word, it is the Word and power… until we get millions of Christians to have that incarnate Word come to them and them be the Incarnate Word… that’s the only way we’re going to see a nation turn to the Lord in a day…. God’s strange act is going to bring a New Order of things and bring a NEW BREED in and bring a transformation…. The nations will come to your light… you’re going to be the LIGHT OF DAY and the LIGHT OF LIFE. Capital L-I-G-H- T, Capital L-I-F-E. You’re going to be the Light of LIFE, just as Jesus stood on the Mount of Transfiguration and went through that Chrysalis Metamorphosis Stage and they saw Him shine – His raiment did shine – His whole being did shine brighter than the noon day sun and God’s going to have a whole company – a whole group of people that are going to be like that… Things are about to change… and when God begins to move in these last days, He’s going to shake the chains loose and there’s going to be a chain-reaction and people will die…. I tell you, God is going to have His army and they’re going to be a fearful bunch and they’re going to go into everyplace on the face of the earth….” (Paul Cain, KC “prophet” speaking at the Anaheim Vineyard “School For Prophecy)[11]
JOEL’S ARMY:
“There will be a special anointing released for mobilizing the army of the Lord…. There will be an impartation of strategic vision… to boldly march against the greatest strongholds of our time… This army of which Joel speaks is about to be revealed…. They will take cities. They will burst through the enemy’s strongholds and take houses (families). The very heavens and the earth are about to shake because of this great army… the time has come.”(Rick Joyner, advertising a conference)[12]
MIKE BICKLE’S NEW BREED:
“It now appears that God is raising up a New Breed of leadership to do the ‘new thing’. This NEW BREED will be young and fresh, with a pioneering spirit – whether chronologically young or old in age. Last year I had the opportunity to meet several young men whom I believe represents this NEW BREED of leadership…We invite you to learn more about Mike Bickle, a part of God’s NEW BREED for the 90’s.”[13]
(For additional quotations see the Herescope post “The NEW BREED defined,” 2/03/06.)
Teachings about a New Order,[14] a New Breed, and a superior Race, are not new. They are actually very old. Combined they are very potent, and very disturbing. Discernment Ministries warned back in 1990, as the Kansas City movement began to rise in prominence with its association with Vineyard which spread these teachings throughout the evangelical world, that
This NEW BREED mentality is one of the most dangerous and divisive doctrines facing the Church. It threatens existing denominations and churches across the nation. Pastors, brace yourselves to face growing confusion as a result!
Again, it needs to be emphasized that this NEW BREED doctrine is the kernel thought that undergirds most of the known cults. Hitler, in the name of God was religiously obsessed with the idea of a NEW BREED of people, a PURE RACE, a NEW GENERATION and A NEW ORDER. Books and publications have attributed the rise of the Third Reich to the spirit of occultism. Many of the great theologians in Germany at that time gave Hitler’s “pure race” ideology theological cohesiveness. Amazingly we are now seeing history repeat itself. However the modern “prophets” interpret their NEW BREED of religion, the fact remains it is the same seed thought (elitism) that gave rise to Hitler’s THIRD REICH that plagued Germany and the world. It was this spirit of “elitism” that led to anti-Semitism. Nazism, the New Age Movement and the NEW BREED are one and the same: they are merely different manifestations of the same evil seed – “elitism”.
The NEW BREED spirit in Hitler’s day permeated the churches in Germany. One of the first things the NEW BREEDERS sought to do in support of their “elitist” race was to unite all the churches in Germany. With this NEW WAVE of “elitism” once again flooding the Church, it comes as no surprise to hear the apostate Church speaking of UNITING all the churches at the expense of SOUND DOCTRINE.[15]
Furthermore, Discernment Ministries warned back in 1990 about the rise of this “New Order” and explained in the November 1990 Discernment Newsletter that “THE NEW ORDER that is arising is, among other things, a REPLACEMENT for the Nation of Israel.”[16]
So what is the NAR/IHOP political action alliance agenda? Do we really know? We see the public facade, the Tea Party political rhetoric. But do Americans really understand the depths of bizarre occult ideas that lie barely beneath the surface — the fervent military heresies that are so powerful and seductive, engaging youth and political activists with the cause to fulfill their calling as a New Breed race, becoming a Joel’s Army marching in lockstep, to build a New Order Kingdom on earth?
The Truth:
These prophecies in the quotes above were said to come from God. But it should be noted that they expressly contradict God’s Word, the Bible. So which “God” is driving this movement? In June 1990, warning about the rise of this “New Breed” heresy, Travers and Jewel van der Merwe, writing for the Discernment Newsletter explained the biblical truth:
The whole NEW BREED concept is totally unscriptural. The only way they can attempt to prove their false doctrine is to twist, misquote or allegorize the Scriptures. According to the “prophets” all believers are not a part of the NEW BREED because it is reserved for a special quality of Christian in the last days. But Praise God, the Bible refutes this fallacy. On the contrary, it gives all believers the following assurance:
1. All believers are equal in Christ. Galatians 3:28.
2. All believers are new creatures. II Corinthians 5:17.
3. All believers are made righteous by faith, that is of grace. Romans 4:16.
4. All believers are of the seed of Abraham. Romans 4:16.
5. All believers were baptized into one body. I Corinthians 12:13.
6. All believers are members of the body of Christ. I Corinthians 12:14.
7. All believers are part of the ELECT. I Peter 1:2.
8. All believers are a CHOSEN GENERATION. I Peter 2:1, 2.
9. All believers are “born again.” John 3:3, 15.
10. All believers are lively stones and a holy priesthood. I Peter 2:5.
The word BREED is not found once in Scripture, much less the term A NEW BREED.[17]
Endnotes:
1. Background documentation for understanding these teachings of the Kansas City group is the taped excerpts of a discussion between Mike Bickle and Bob Jones, which is transcribed at this Herescope post, 2/3/06, “The NEW BREED Defined,” http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/02/new-breed-defined.html Note the focus on the New Breed generation.
2. For example, Cathy Lynn Grossman in USA Today, 7/10/11, referred to C. Peter Wagner as C. PORTER Wagner in her brief article, “Critics hit Texas Gov. Perry for prayer day ‘endorsers.” http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2011/07/prayer-rick-perry-christian-/1
3. Forrest Wilder, “Rick Perry’s Army of God: A little-known movement of radical Christians and self-proclaimed prophets wants to infiltrate government, and Rick Perry might be their man,” 7/13/11, The Texas Observer, https://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/rick-perrys-army-of-god. (This is an example of a highly-researched and credible article by the press.)
4. Ibid.
5. Discernment Ministries has original sources, including eyewitness experience, for most of this documentation. The newsletter archive is posted here: http://www.discernment-ministries.org/newsletters.html
6. Jewel (van der Merwe) Grewe has spoken extensively on this topic, using these two graphic images of the New Breed babies as exhibits in her speeches at Discernment Ministries conferences over the years. Discernment Ministries has on file the original documentation on this matter.
7. Excerpted from the June 1990 Discernment Newsletter http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL1990Jun.pdf and also posted in its complete context on Herescope http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/02/new-breed-defined.html
8. Transcribed and published in the September 1990 Discernment Newsletter http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL1990Sep.pdf
9. Turnel Nelson, “The Emerging Super Race,” Destiny Image Digest, Volume 1, Number 1. This is cited in the March/April 1993 Discernment Newsletter, http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL1993MarApr.pdf, which remarked that this was a “new prophetic magazine.” It was published by Destiny Image Publishers, which continues to be the chief publisher for the New Apostolic Reformation and the Kansas City group. See the current list of authors: http://www.destinyimage.com/index.php?main_page=diauthors
10. Ibid, quote attributed to Dr. Patricia Morgan, “professor at ORU” (Oral Roberts University). This quotation and the one by Nelson above are included as examples of how these teachings were spreading as early as 1993.
11. Paul Cain, KC “prophet” speaking at the Anaheim Vineyard “School For Prophecy,” Session 7, quoted as an example of Manifest Sons of God teaching in the Discernment Newsletter, May/June 1994, http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL1994MayJun.pdf Cain, Bickle, Bob Jones and others at KCF were said to be the “FIRST FRUITS” of the “NEW BREED” leaders to come (June 1990 Discernment Newsletter).
12. Rick Joyner, The Morning Star Prophetic Bulletin, August 1994, footnote 20 in the Oct/Nov/Dec 1994 Discernment Ministries Newsletter, http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL1994OctNovDec.pdf
13. Oct/Nov/Dec 1994 Discernment Ministries Newsletter, http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL1994OctNovDec.pdf quoting from the Fullness Fellowship Communique, Vol. 3, No. 4, April 1990.
14. The Latter Rain cult was actually called “The New Order of the Latter Rain,” which is explained in “The New Order,” Discernment Newsletter, November 1990, http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL1990Nov.pdf
15. “The New Breed,” Discernment Newsletter, June 1990, http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL1990Jun.pdf For detailed documentation on these points, see the book published online STRANGE FIRE: The Rise of Gnosticism in the Church, http://www.discernment-ministries.org/StrangeFire.pdf
16. “The New Order,” Discernment Newsletter, November 1990, http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL1990Nov.pdf
17. “The New Breed,” Discernment Newsletter, June 1990, http://www.discernment-ministries.org/Newsletters/NL1990Jun.pdf
Ed. Note: Many of the quotation from this post can also be found in the document by Pastor Ernie Gruen, “Documentation of The Aberrant Practices and Teachings of Kansas City Fellowship (Grace Ministries),” http://www.deceptionbytes.com/AberrentPractices.pdf and many are also transcribed in the book Vengeance Is Ours: The Church In Dominion by Al Dager (Sword 1990). These and many other of the original recordings and pieces of documentation are in the possession of Discernment Ministries.
posted by Discernment Research Group @ 7/16/2011 06:44:00 PM
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