The false prophecy above has been touted by New Apostolic Reformation leader Bill Hamon for years. In keeping with this timetable, the pitch and intensity of the military rhetoric of this branch of the global Dominionist movement has substantially increased since the beginning of 2008. Hyper-esoteric language enshrouds the calls for warriors and warfare with increasing fervor and zeal. One can only wonder how long before this transforms into real warfare with actual warriors. Below are a few notable examples:

Jill Austin was published several days ago (February 20) on the Elijah List in an article that proclaims that "The Lord is Raising Up End Time Global War Generals" and "moving with radical holy alliances." She wrote: "We want to mobilize the generations for global warfare with a radical passion and love for Jesus." This is mystically described: "We need to to legislate from Heaven and bring it down to earth." [link added]

Spiritual warfare prayer activities have become an essential prelude to literal spiritual warfare. There is a desensitization that occurs when people repeatedly hear these militant terminologies. Jacquie Tyre, describing a Kairos Transformation/GA-Apostolic Prayer Network "Land Warriors" training weekend (February 7 & 8), wrote:

 

Rick Joyner, one of the longtime Joel's Army cult leaders, proclaimed in a February 7th Elijah List post, "The Army of God Mobilizes--We Must Resolve that We Will Retreat No Further!" that the Church must begin "to take on more of its martial nature." He described changes in military strategies:

I have studied the military and military strategies for many years because I was shown that the Body of Christ at the end of this age would become the army that it is called to be. As we have discussed before, God uses the title "Lord of hosts," or "Lord of armies," more than ten times as much as all of His other titles combined. He is a martial God, and we must understand this aspect of His nature and how His people are going to begin to conform to it. How this practically relates is a very important issue for those who will be prepared for the times....

The Lord's Kingdom is going to come to the earth, and His will is going to be done on the earth, just as it is in Heaven. We are here now to help prepare the way for it. [link added]

Chuck Pierce described a timeline similar to Bill Hamon's (at top of post) when he wrote for C. Peter Wagner's Global Harvest newsletter in 2005. His mystical swords in the heavens appear to have earthly counterparts:

Future – Forward: “The clash of the swords begins”… Get sharpened! The swords of the earth, representing the spiritual realms of the heavens, begin to clash. This determines the future of the generations!

Pastor Sunday Adelaja's new book CHURCHSHIFT emphasizes the "7 spheres" of Dominion, and a promo piece emphasizes the "kings and priests" role of believers in imposing the Kingdom of God on earth:

In their correct sphere where God called them, they reign as “kings and priests,” according to Scripture. They don’t all become the most famous or noteworthy person in that sphere, but they all impose Kingdom values and principles upon their area of influence. [emphasis added]

The most alarming current example of this warrior teaching can be currently listened to and watched at the main page of http://abidingglory.com, the website of Ryan Wyatt's Abiding Glory Ministries. This teaching would be an example of the Manifest Sons of God heresy:

He [God] is looking for those who will pick up this higher calling, this higher mandate of raising up a generation, an army, an offensive warring army.

We are in a fullness of time juncture. This generation, this time is so incredibly important to fulfill the destiny of God in the earth.... The Lord will not have a beat-up, wiped out, wasted bride that He sucks up out of the earth.... and He's not coming back until there's a body on the earth that is doing what He did in His body on the earth. He is wanting a generation that is fully inhabited by Him. There's going to be a generation of ... overcomers that rise up.... In one generation God is going to pour all that out at one time....

God is raising up a supernatural army of everyday people in these days.... As the sons and daughters of God in this hour, we were created to be gateways where heaven touches earth....

I believe you are part of that Dread Champion Army for Jesus. [emphasis added]


The Truth:

Many centuries ago John Flavel wrote that "Blind zeal is a sword in a madman's hand." In his treatise on The Causes and Cure of Mental Errors, he warned of the various manners in which men could become seduced by heresies. One method is a "rash and ignorant zeal" that could cause one to "receive easily, erroneous doctrines and opinions."

Flavel seems to write directly to this time period in church history when he exhorted his readers:

"Revolve church-histories and you shall find, that scarce any cruel persecution hath flamed in the world, which hath not been kindled by blind zeal. Turn over all the records, both of Pagan and Popish persecutions, and you shall still find these two observations confirmed and verified.

First, That ignorant zeal hath kindled the fires of persecution: and Secondly, That the more zealous any have been for the ways of error and falsehood, still the more implacably fierce and cruel they have been to the sincere servants of God. None like a superstitious devoto to manage the devil's work of persecution thoroughly, and to purpose. They will rush violently and head-long into the blood of their dearest relations, or most eminent saints, to whose sides the devil sets this sharp spur. Superstitious zeal draws all the strength and power of the soul into that one design; and wo to him that stands in the way of such a man, if God interpose not betwixt him and the stroke.

Now consider, reader, if thy judgment be weak, and thy affections warm, how much thou liest exposed, not only to errors which may ruin thyself, but also to tongue and hand-persecution, wherein Satan may manage thy zeal for injury or ruin of those that are better than thyself; And withal, consider how many dreadful threatenings are found in scripture against the instruments of persecution, so employed and managed by Satan.

Certainly, reader, it were better for thee to stand with thy naked breast before the mouth of the discharging cannon, than that thy should stand under this guilt, before such a scripture-threatening as that, Psal. vii. 13. "He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors." And none more likely to become such than those of thine own temper and complexion; especially if grace be wanting in the heart, whilst zeal for erroneous principles eats up the affections."

(John Flavel, Vol. 3 [Banner of Truth Trust, 1997], pp. 466-468) [spellings in original]


“The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." (2 Peter 2:9)
 

 

 

The false gospel of building the kingdom of God on earth incorporates the age-old occult teaching that man's efforts and activities will bring Heaven to Earth. This teaching has been lurking off stage in the evangelical world for several decades. It is now building steam as the hottest new teaching to make the New Apostolic Reformation circuit. And it has gone mainstream with N.T. Wright's new book Surprised by Hope. In the recent TIME article, N.T. Wright sums up the new/old doctrine as:

 

• "Jesus' resurrection marks the beginning of a restoration that he will complete upon his return."
• "the more important transformation will be when we are again embodied and administering Christ's kingdom."
• "the new creation has begun, and we have a job to do."
• "In Revelation and Paul's letters we are told that God's people will actually be running the new world on God's behalf. The idea of our participation in the new creation goes back to Genesis, when humans are supposed to be running the Garden and looking after the animals. If you transpose that all the way through, it's a picture like the one that you get at the end of Revelation."
• "What the New Testament really says is God wants you to be a renewed human being helping him to renew his creation, and his resurrection was the opening bell. And when he returns to fulfil the plan, you won't be going up there to him, he'll be coming down here."
• "the end of Revelation describes a marvelous human participation in God's plan."

This rosy scenario bypasses Armageddon and ignores Judgment Day. It elevates man to God-like status, ignoring the Fall in the Garden and man's utter depravity of sin. It eviscerates the Gospel of Salvation. Man does not need a Redeemer, he must redeem creation. Therefore he must shift his attentions to perfecting the Earth.

TheElijahList is pumping out this teaching at an accelerating pace. Just the other day (Feb. 8) it was linked to the concept of a generation of "transformers" -- an endtime Joel's Army:

Though it is true that a great army of young people will arise, they will not arise alone! This is a chosen generation, made up of all those who are living on planet earth in this day. We are a great army of light . . .

For months now, the Lord has been talking to me about the restoration of His original intent for His people. He would tell me over and over, "I'm taking back the original intent I had before the fall, before the creation of the world...back to the beginning." (Kathi Pelton, "This Generation Will Arise With--EARS to HEAR What the Spirit is Saying")

Another apostolic organization, which is even named Open Heaven, proclaims in a recent newsletter (2/8/08) that:

The fallen-world order will be dissolved.

It will be replaced with the redeemed world order of God’’s kingdom and His righteousness. . . .

A pure holy people are being prepared. True sons of God are being made ready as conduits to flow the love and power of God, imparting the way of God to earth as it is in heaven. [bold in original]

A corollary doctrinal heresy teaches that Heaven is already beginning to come down to Earth through "portals":

New, Heavenly portals are being opened by His ministers, allowing His people to walk through and discover new realms of the glory and majesty of our Lord never experienced before, and His Kingdom. (advertisement for "Glory Invasion" conference, TheElijahList, 9/23/07)

Another ad for this same conference (8/8/07), contains a good dose of Latter Rain/Manifest Sons of God teaching that we can all become little gods:

Released through the revelation of His finished works on Calvary, God is exerting the divine labor: Christ the hope of Glory be fully formed in you. In this hour, as all of creation cries out for the revealing of God's sons and daughters, the Glory of the indwelling Christ is beginning to shine through His people in tangible ways demonstrating the freedom of the new creation - freedom from the dominion of sin, and free to rule and reign with Christ.


None of this is new teaching, even though the false apostles and prophets and modern theologians would like everyone to think so. For example:

The stories of the Garden of Eden, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel, and the Temple of Solomon are among the best known in the Old Testament. They were alluded to frequently during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and were often used at that time to frame accounts of the progress of knowledge. The narrative history which could be found in the Bible presented a coherent story of the growth and decline of knowledge, in which moral and spiritual factors helped to determine natural and practical outcomes.

As metaphors of knowledge, the four stories gave information about both the acquisition and the ideal state of human understanding. But they also issued warnings about the necessary difference between human and divine knowledge and suggested ways by which knowledge might be married to piety and wisdom in order to achieve an improvement in the condition of mankind. . . .

The Garden of Eden provided the setting for the Fall, a transformation which brought about the loss of both spiritual and intellectual perfection, corrupting the nature of humans and of the surrounding environment. The Garden symbolized the ideal state, when the earth had been spontaneously fertile, labour was easy and fulfilling, and human activity had been grounded on a complete knowledge of both words and things. A return to this paradise was considered by some in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to be possible through the restoration of learning, and through striving to bring the earth and its inhabitants back to a pristine state of grace. It could also be achieved by practical measures, such as the establishment of botanical gardens, which reunited the plants of the world in a single space, or the planting of fruit trees, whose cultivation mimicked the dutiful dressing of the Garden of Eden by its first inhabitants, Adam and Eve. By the zealous investigation of nature and the searching out of new varieties of plants and techniques of husbandry, the world might be rescued from corruption and infertility. Hard labour could make the Garden grow again, and restore the knowledge which humans had once employed to govern nature in paradise. . . .

The ideas of the humanists and reformers of the sixteenth century encouraged early modern readers of the Bible to interpret the Old Testament as literal history, not as allegory. This led early modern writers about natural knowledge to turn to the stories of the Garden and of the Tower to explain the present state of mankind. It allowed them to see the project of overturning the Fall, and recreating the Ark or the Temple, as an essential part of humanity's return to grace and understanding. The stories of the Old Testament were not just convenient metaphors, let alone fictions, they were facts which taught by example how human beings ought and ought not to behave in order to attain knowledge.


Perhaps it is more obvious to the reader now, after reading this, that the emphasis on recreating Heaven on Earth is always placed on man -- his endeavors, activities, knowledge and abilities. The onus is always on man, and nowadays Christians claim to have a more sophisticated knowledge base from which to operate these devices to reclaim Creation.

This heresy effectually teaches that it is within man's power to reverse the deadly effects of the Fall on himself and God's creation. This brand of theological heresy sublimates God and His authority to man's own idolatries and contrivances. There is little need of a Redeemer who died on the Cross for our sins. And our blessed hope becomes earth-centered.

The TRUTH:

In the 1600s, while men were busy perfecting nature (as described above), John Flavell cautioned believers to:

"Beware of such persons as are factors and agents for antichrist, and keep off from such a ministry, the tendency and scope of which is to entice and draw you to idolatry, Matth. vii. 15. and x. 17. Phil. iii. 2. Col. ii. 8.

"There is a generation of men now abroad, skilful to destroy souls, who would make merchandise of you, and by good words and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple... such as mean well, but want prudence to discern such as mean ill. These are of two sorts; the generality of them are, by the righteous hand of God, given over to such dissoluteness and debauchery, that their folly and madness is made manifest to all men, 1 Tim. iii. 9. And others that have gifts and parts, how few are there of them, but employ them in defending abominable superstitions, and persuading their congregations to submit to them: So that you have your choice, whether you will drink poison, mixed with water, or infused into brisk and generous wine, which will give it a speedier access to the spirits. . . .

"Nothing must lie nearer thy heart, if thou be a Christian, than the glory of thy God; all ends, interests, and designs, must be subjected to that; and whatsoever cannot be subordinated, must be rejected. If this principle were but settled upon the heart, what brave spirits would it breed and raise in thy breast!" (The Works of John Flavell, Vol. 4, [The Banner of Truth Trust, 1968],"Antipharmacum Saluberrimum, &c." pp. 530, 546)


"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you." (1 Peter 1:3-4)

 

 

The "do good" gospel talked about by Rick Warren since his recent trip to Davos (see previous post) is another name for the "Kingdom Gospel" which is rapidly displacing the Gospel of Salvation. The quotation above comes from a promo piece advertising yet another "Mountain Mandate Conference," described in mystical terms as:

The Mountain Mandate Conference is about the Marketplace and the Secret Place. In this hour, the Lord is sending us "outward" to go beyond the confines of the church to impact society. He is also calling us "inward" to go beyond the programs of the church to find Him at the deepest levels of our beings.

As we become aware of the mystery of Christ in us, the hope of glory, we discover the treasures of darkness and the hidden riches of secret places. Encountering the Lord in the inward place gives us the grace and empowerment to live in love and to impact the Seven Mountains of Society (Family, the Church, Education, Arts, Media, Government and Business). [bold in original]

TheCauseUSA, sponsoring this conference, is yet another radical kingdom-building organization, associated with the New Apostolic Reformation and connected with the Kansas City Prophets.

As we watch the 7 Mountain Mandate unfolding, it is important to recognize that this is another gospel. Anton Bosch has written a brief synopsis and rebuttal to this rapidly spreading Kingdom Gospel for our readers' edification:


Recently, someone wrote in saying that we had a wrong understanding about the Gospel and implied that we are spiritually blind. The writer said: “the message of Jesus and the Apostles was the Gospel of the Kingdom, not the gospel of salvation. The gospel of salvation is only a part of the real and 'full' gospel.” [emphasis added]

This view is not that of this one writer only. He fairly represents the view of many churches and preachers today. To them salvation is only part of a bigger picture – and they are partially right. The bigger picture is the Kingdom of God. Again, they are partly right. But what do they mean by the Kingdom of God? To them it is a literal kingdom which the church is setting up here on earth so that once we have taken control and cleaned up this world and set up the “kingdom,” then Jesus will come back again.

Thus, to them, the bigger picture is transforming this world and its systems. This they try to do by gaining political and economic power. In order to achieve this goal, they believe that “Christians” need to be placed in positions of influence and authority and society needs to be transformed through social, political and economic programs.

While this all sounds very noble, it is a million miles away from the truth. The above-mentioned writer quotes the example of a church in a distant nation “that had a significant impact (on) the culture. Some of his members are in parliament, one is a leading DJ; one a beauty pageant winner; another wrote a curriculum used by the state to help alcoholics and children.” Let’s examine the “wonderful” fruit of this movement:

 

1. “Some of his members are in Parliament.” Jesus and the apostles never gave a single instruction that we should take over governments. In fact Jesus makes it clear that His Kingdom is not of this world and that His servants would not defend the Kingdom on a human level (John 18:36). Both Jesus and Paul taught obedience to the state, but both were very clear that the Kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of God were opposed. Paul is emphatic that we are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. The tools of the politicians trade are rooted in power, self, ego and deception. Is this the place for a believer? I do not think so. All political systems are about a human kingdom which is always in opposition to the true Kingdom of God.
2. “A leading DJ”: This poses a question: Is sensuality, bad music, drunkenness, drugs, sexual immorality and everything else that happens in places where DJs “perform” good, wholesome and sanctified?
3. “A beauty pageant winner”: Once again, is the parading of sex, immodesty, seduction and the glorification of the human body evidence of the power of the “gospel”? Maybe I misunderstand Proverbs 31, but I do not see winning cattle parades as a quality of a virtuous woman. God help us!
4. "A curriculum used by the state": has to be stripped of any reference to Jesus Christ, repentance, being born-again, etc. It is most likely a humanistic 12-step program that teaches children the psychological model rather than the spiritual truth about drunkenness.
    

The gospel of the kingdom replaces the Gospel of Salvation by teaching men that they can improve the human condition through psychology, positive thinking, group dynamics and spiritual-looking antics. Thus it is teaching that the solutions to sin are to be found outside of the cross. This is at the heart of the false gospel of the kingdom. It is transforming the world on a human level without the true Gospel.

But what is the Gospel of Salvation? Paul defines it thus: “I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand... that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1Corinthians 15:1-4).

The truth is that the church has no calling to change the world other than through the preaching of the Gospel. Yes, we are salt and light and we have an influence. But we do not change society by changing laws or governments. We change society, one life at a time, as people are born again and begin to be changed into the image of the Son. Anything else is superficial and does not deal with the real problem which is the sinfulness of the human heart. The true Gospel alone can do that.

If the writer had testified that former politicians, DJ’s, prostitutes and social engineers were now in the church and that they were now pursuing honest careers, then that would have been a powerful testimony! Paul testified of the Corinthians: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1Corinthians 6:11). Now that’s a testimony to the power of the Gospel of Salvation!

Furthermore, governments cannot be changed by “Christians” infiltrating positions of power. The kingdoms of this world are irredeemable and will be destroyed when Jesus comes. “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed... it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever” (Daniel 2:44). What could be plainer than that? It is important to note that He will destroy all the other kingdoms and He will then set up His kingdom in which the faithful will rule with Him. Earthly kingdoms cannot be transformed, changed or sanctified by us. They are part of a system which has to be destroyed and replaced -- by God.

The writer says further that God “wants to redeem the entire earth in all its dimensions.” The kingdom gospel teaches that nations can be redeemed. But this is not biblical. Redemption can only be used in the context of the price that was paid on the cross. “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1Peter 1:18-19). Only the saints are redeemed. The precious blood does not redeem the political, economic, social and ecological things of the earth. But rather, they will be destroyed:

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2Peter 3:10-13).

That is the truth. Anything else is another gospel!


Sandy Simpson of Deception in the Church summarized the errors inherent in the false gospel of the kingdom his December 2007 newsletter:

Dominionism is taking over the churches worldwide, yet is is an extremely damaging, deceptive false teaching. Jesus Christ is establishing His Kingdom in the hearts of men now. He will establish his physical Kingdom on earth during the Millennium. Our job now is to preach the Gospel and disciple all those who believe till He comes. This does not mean we are to take over the world, save the planet, get control of the business world, Christianize everything, solve the problems of poverty, disease, education, etc. That is not our mandate. The poor we will always have with us (John 12:8). We are to help those we can but, unlike what Rick Warren and other Dominionists claim, we cannot SOLVE those problems, nor should we. That is what Jesus Christ will do when He returns and swords are beaten into plowshares (Mic. 4:3) and the leopard will lie down with the goat (Isa. 11:6). Right now the prince of the power of the air is Satan (Eph. 2:2, 2 Cor. 4:4) and we must stand (Eph. 6:13-14) and resist him (James 4:7) by proclaiming and teaching the Word of God (Phl. 1:17, 2 John 1:9). Those churches and organizations like YWAM that have bought into the Dominionist platform are living in disobedience to the Great Commission. The Gospel is not "in addition" to some other global mandate, IT IS THE CENTRAL MANDATE of every believer! Paul did not spend his time trying to take over the world. He spent his time proclaiming the Gospel. We must do the same to stay away from the sins of Globalism and Dominionism.


The Truth:

"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ." (Galatians 1:6-7)