Doctrines of Demons: The Descent of the Glory (Part 3)

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines [taught by] demons... (1 Tim 4:1 NKJ)

In Part Two(a), I started to explore the various doctrines of the "overshadowing". The three aspects covered in that section were:

1. the birth of a divine manchild,
2. control by a spiritual force of some kind, and
3. the receiving of a new mind.

Now in Part Three we will move on to examine other aspects of this "overshadowing" - although all that we discuss is really part and parcel of the same experience.

• OVERSHADOWING as the Glory Cloud indwelling the Temple
• OVERSHADOWING as the GOLD covering of the Divine Nature
• OVERSHADOWING as the Transfiguration, or Rapture

The "overshadowing" doctrine can be understood in many ways. It may help to bear in mind throughout that the basic idea is of a SHADOW falling OVER, and COVERING a person. Thus a person comes under the influence of another. Or, it is a CLOUD covering over and enveloping a person or persons.

1. The first aspect, of conception, the planting of seed, and the birth of a child is to do with a man "covering" his wife - the divine overshadowing of the glory cloud is therefore a mystic marriage.

2. The second aspect, of control by an avatar, spirit-being or god (or in the case of the churches, supposedly the Holy Spirit) comes from the shadow of an insubstantial spirit falling upon a human being. A spirit is called a "shade" or a "shadow" in occult literature. The shadow/cloud that is or contains the supernatural influence comes over and mingles with the person.

3. The third aspect, of the new mind, is produced by the co-mingling (overshadowing) of the spirit's mind and that of the human being, producing a new way of thinking that is directly influenced by the spirit realm.

Now we move on to other aspects of this overshadowing that are being taught, each one supposedly "proven" by allegorical scriptures as follows:

4.The glory cloud or shekinah covering the Christian "temple" both individually and corporately, as the very Presence of God indwelling man on the earth. (Exod 40:35/ IKing 8:10-11)

5. The gold "covering" of the mercy-seat, vessels of Temple service and everything to do with the Temple. This is supposed to typify the divine nature of God literally overshadowing and transforming his earthly vessels. (Exod 25:11)

6.The cloud that covered over and transfigured Jesus Christ on the mountain and affirmed Him as a divine Son of God. This in allegory speaks of the glory cloud that is supposed to overshadow believers in the latter days and transfigure (or "rapture") them, on earth, changing their mortal nature into that of the spiritual resurrection body. (Luke 9:34-35) See also Moses on the Mount - Exod 24:16-18

And of course, we must not leave out the ultimate descent of the Glory Cloud - that of the Return of Christ. (Mark 14:62 /Rev 1:7) This is increasingly proposed as being IN HIS SAINTS and not a visible, actual, literal return.

Overshadowing and Atonement

It is important at this point to grasp the doctrinal importance of a covering over, or overshadowing.

The doctrine of the "covering" of man is central to our salvation. There is a genuine and biblical divine "covering" that atones for man's sins, and indeed the Hebrew verb TO COVER [kapar] is exactly the same as TO ATONE for sins. In the Bible we see this typified:

• in the skins with which God covered Adam and Eve after their Fall. (Gen 3:21)
• in the covering of Noah's ark. (Gen 6:14 KJV = pitch)
• in the covering of Ruth by the cloak of Boaz (Ruth 3:9)
• in the garments of the priests (2 Chr 6:41)
• in God's parable of the covering of his Bride (Ezek 16:10-14)
• in the peril of spiritual nakedness, ie. no covering (Rev 16:15/Rev 3:18)

There's also a strong connection between the presence of God, and the covering. As we all know, the Temple contained the Ark of God, which was the Seat of his Presence. This Ark was covered over with a slab of gold that rested on top of the ark of the covenant, supporting the images of two cherubims with outstretched wings.

This gold slab is variously translated as "mercy seat" (KJV, RSV); "cover" (NEB); "lid" (TEV); "throne of mercy" (JB); and "throne" (Knox). The Hebrew word used is KAPPORET, the noun form of KAPAR, to cover/atone. It was the focal point of God's Presence and the most holy place of the entire Tabernacle, in effect, it was the earthly Throne of God.

(This allows the revivalists to teach that certain "headship believers" will be transformed into the "throne" of God upon the earth, thus becoming God's seat of Government and Judgement.)

False Covering

In the New Testament of course, we see the ultimate covering for sin, the Blood of Jesus. Who could be so foolish as to denigrate or seek to replace this precious blood covering of atonement? Who could be so rash as to propose ANOTHER COVERING? Yet God says that some will try to outdo Him:

Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: (Isa 30:1)

To propose "another covering" is to offer to bring mankind under the wings of another saviour, or under the covering of another redemptive system that supplies protection and safety.

As you will see, that is PRECISELY what the sonship/latter-rain/revival doctrines do! They urge the "covering" of apostles and prophets and Church Government as a purer form of relationship with God, rather than our direct one-to-one personal relationship with Jesus Christ! They look for the pillar of cloud and fire, the Holy Spirit of God, in the leadership of the CHURCH! This is man's arrogant scheme, man's glory, not the Glory of God!

OVERSHADOWING AS THE GLORY CLOUD INDWELLING THE 'TEMPLE'

Tabernacles is come, for I desire to fill My temple with My glory... I desire to manifest My fullness in My chosen who ARE My temple. Many look to a temple built with hands that I may establish My reign, but I tell you I am building MY temple even NOW! Were not the children of Israel instructed to dwell in booths during the Feast?... and is this not a reminder of the temporary nature of your bodily tabernacle and the natural realm? I am calling for those who will enter into the Feast, earnestly desiring to be clothed with the tabernacle prepared in the heavens, which is My manifest tabernacled presence, My glory rising upon My chosen... from THIS temple shall I reign!
Know ye not that the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands, for heaven is My throne and I am building MY temple with `living stones', a spiritual house of which CHRIST is the cornerstone. THIS is the house that I shall fill with My glorious presence for ALL to see!...and the glory of THIS latter house shall be greater than the glory of the former house. Have I not said that `...nations shall come to THY light and kings to the brightness of THY rising...'? Do not be satisfied with the `BOOTHS' of the in-part (we know in part and we prophesy in part) gifts of My Spirit, rather seek towards the `building up' of My TEMPLE of `living stones' that I may dwell in My FULLNESS. Enter into the Feast!... for THIS is the appointed time! [Doug Fortune, Trumpet Call Apostolic/Prophetic Bulletin]

This first aspect of Part Three is central to the sonship/LR doctrines, and is now becoming a major part of the revival, too. Longing for "The Glory" has overtaken almost every other aspect of the revival. Prophecies of the coming glory are rife throughout the Internet.

As we saw above, various scriptures are wrenched out of context and applied as prophetic parables, as allegories, as symbols, instead of literal truths. In this way, the Shekinah Presence of God that filled the Temple of the Old Testament is expected to descend in some mystical way to indwell - permanently and literally - the New Testament "temple" of the CHURCH.

I am not denying that the Spirit of God inhabits the "temple" of the Body of Christ. This is a present reality. However, the current belief is that this Presence must increase in power and might until God moves His Throne out of Heaven and comes to earth to set up the Mercy Seat once more in the Church.

"The church today can sit and around and smile and say that we know what revival is, but the truth is that we don't have a clue. What God wants to do is so big until it is beyond our ability to conceptually think about it. He said that He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or even think. I thank God for what He has done. I bless Pensacola. I bless Toronto. I thank God for all of these moves of God, but I am going to tell you something, we have not yet seen what happens when the glory of God falls in a city.
---I want to tell you the truth. I have had enough anointed preaching. I have had enough anointed singing. I have had enough to last me a life time. It is good and it makes you feel good, but I want to tell you something, the anointing in and of and by itself is not going to get the job done. What we have got to have in the church today, we must have the manifest presence of God on display for the world.
We have all been in services where we have had visitations of God. I have had enough visitations. Something has to change so that we can have habitations. We must shift from momentary visitations to places of habitation where there is an indwelling glory of God in our midst and on our people.--- I want to prophesy something, the church that gains the ability to build a mercy seat, when He comes, He will stay. And you have never seen the likes of revival, we don't have a word for it, as when the glory of God shows up in a place like that. But we have got to learn to build a mercy seat. If we build it, then He will come."
--- and when the beaten wings of worshippers touch over the pure gold seat, God says, the next time He visits, He says, now I can stay. If we build a mercy seat, the bible says that He is enthroned in our worship, and in our praise. What happens is that God literally moves His throne from heaven. When this happens the church is building a chair, a seat, a place for God to come. We can stand and beg for Him to come all that we want, but until there is a place for Him to come to, He will visit, but He can't stay.--- No wonder that He said that foxes have holes and birds have their nests, but the Son of Man does not have a place to lay His head. When is the church going to arise and build a mercy seat according to the pattern of heaven? And He will literally set up His throne, and you will have a throne zone in the midst of the church. ---
They will tell you in Toronto and Pensacola, that is not revival yet, we have yet to see it. But some church somewhere, if the glory of God is going to cover the earth like the waters cover the sea. It has got to start somewhere, someplace, some group somewhere is going to build a seat for the glory of God, and the water that flows from that place will eventually cover the earth. The fountains of the deep are going to be open, and the glory of God will cover the earth. And when the glory of God comes, man doesn't get any glory from it, only God. The next wave of revival is not going to be like anything that you have ever seen. There will be nothing of man on it or God won't come sit. He is tired of breaking chairs that we have built for Him. He is demanding now that we build a mercy seat."
[Rivermail Archives: March-April 1999 -The Glory Of God - a Tommy Tenny message transcribed by Constance L Sharlow Thu, 28 Jan 1999: Tommy Tenny has been instrumental in the move of God that has been going on in Baltimore at Rock Church for the last 16 months.]

This not only makes the Church the dwelling place of God on earth, but by the inhabiting of God endows it with divine power and authority!

• The Church that claims to possess the Glory/Shekinah of God becomes the kingdom and no salvation is possible outside of that Church.
• The "throne" or mercy-seat of God is relocated on the earth IN the Church, and that throne represents the law, authority, power and presence of God.
• The Government structure of that Church suddenly becomes the only means by which God's wisdom is imparted or God's presence is made known to mankind. Disobey their priests and you are disobeying God!
• Most terrifyingly, that Church becomes the INSTRUMENT OF GOD'S JUDGEMENT ON EARTH.

All these aspects will be covered in due course as (God willing) I continue to explore all of the sonship/revival agenda.

God's Presence in the Clouds of Glory

From scripture it is easy to show that the presence of God resides in or upon the CLOUDS, and that the Shekinah Glory of God seen entering or leaving the literal Temple was perceived as a cloud. This much we know. (Exod 40:34 / Ezek 10:4)

Now, however, Christians claim that the clouds seen in revival meetings are this very same Shekinah Presence of God, and that God Himself is visiting his people. Furthermore, this cloud is coming with greater and greater frequency and power, until one day it is going to remain on earth!

(Here's a practical way to help out. There's a bible study here that somebody should do. Can it be shown from scripture that the cloud and fire appearances of God in the Old Testament were the insubstantial form of the Son of God, before His incarnation? Does the genuine glory of God appear as a cloud after the incarnation? If Jesus is now in a body, and will remain that way for the rest of eternity, should we consider any appearance of the "glory cloud" as demonic. Or can it be proven that the Holy Spirit appears in this form? Please, somebody, report back to me on that as it has a bearing on this subject, and I have no time to pursue it.)

Major Global Apparition?

A major, permanent visitation is on the way, so they claim. Will this be a visible event that will deceive millions? It is difficult to be precise, but it's certain that great signs and wonders WILL appear to deceive even the very elect, if that were possible.

For many years, Roman Catholic visionaries have been prophesying, as from the Virgin Mary, that a series of world-shaking events will precede the Great Judgement in earth. The same sequence of events has been given by different apparitions of 'Mary' around the world. We consider these revelations to be demonic in origin. From Ron W. on a Catholic site, http://www.yellowstoneinfo.com/endtimes.htm they are listed as:

1. the Warning: causing a profound change in the conscience of man. (the overshadowing of the spirit of love??) shortly afterwards will follow...
2. the Miracle: "some form of manifestation of God on earth, something like the Shekinah Glory of the Old Testament. This manifestation will present itself to mankind at numerous authentic Marian Apparition sites. You will be able to see it, film it but not touch it." Then...
3. the Chastisement: with the New World Order and the Anti-Christ persecuting mankind. Followed by...
4. the Three Days of Darkness: when all the Demons of Hell will be permitted to come directly upon the earth. God will send his Angels to battle Satan and his cohorts will be ultimately defeated. Similar to Passover, it would be better to close and lock all doors and cover all windows. Those that remain outside will perish instantly.

Now, from this we can see how carefully satan is preparing people to accept the appearance of The Glory Cloud over the earth in a major manifestation.

Overshadowing of "love"

The mental preparation heralding the above so-called "Miracle" is said to be some kind of awakening in men's hearts which makes them regret their behaviour. Receptive people will be softened up and readied to desire a new path for themselves and the earth.

Lest we suppose that this is implausible, here is a short passage from the book "Cosmic Consciousness". After a discussion with his friends, Wordsworth, Shelly, Keats, Browning, and Whitman, author Richard M. Bucke was returning home in deep contemplation when he had this experience: “All at once without warning of any kind, he found himself wrapped around, as it were, by a flame colored cloud. For an instant he thought of fire - some sudden conflagration in the great city. The next (instant) he knew that the light was within himself. Directly after, there came upon him a sense of exultation, of immense joyousness, accompanied or immediately followed by an intellectual illumination quite impossible to describe.”

Mr. Bucke interpreted his spiritual experience in terms of the Hindu God Braham being revealed unto him. He said: “Into his brain streamed one momentary lightning flash of the Brahmic Splendor [glory] which ever since lightened his life.”

On a global scale, could this be the very same event spoken of in the Protestant churches as the "revival" and in the New Age world as the "overshadowing" when mankind changes overnight to receive the spirit of goodwill? People of all religions, as you see, are able to accept this experience and to be profoundly altered in their thinking by it. And in one day "the nations will be changed":

"I will bring forth a prophetic enactment of the river of life that the anointing should go forth without limit, without limit, without limit, without limit saith God. --- Know this, the anointing of the golden oil is My love. It is My love, it is a river of life that flows forth in My love saith God. --- and it shall come forth in the power and unction of My Spirit. Yea, you shall see the nations change. You shall see the heavenlies change. My love shall reach out and touch one another's feet. Yea, in a day, saith the Lord, My love shall come. " [James Garrison prophesying at the "Where Eagles Gather" Prophetic Conf. August 1999 hosted by Faith Tabernacle.]

Glory Clouds

It cannot be denied that clouds have been seen in many revival meetings. One man even claims that the Glory Cloud follows him around:

"in Jakarta, Indonesia in January of this year (1999) the Glory cloud came into the car and followed me.... In Orlando I was shocked again with the appearance of the Glory Cloud. But when I left Orlando on the airplane I was even more shocked as a bolt of purple lightening with gold in it streaked across the aisle about 20 ft in front of me. Then it continued to flash as it moved toward me and popped over my head. This continued for almost 40 minutes. Then all the lightening went into a 4 ft. round spinning fire wheel of Gold and right next to me. I could watch it for only 3-5 seconds at a time because of the brightness of the Glory and the presence of Jesus. Upon returning home I continued to see the glory of God with it resulting in me spending 5 days in bed recuperating just feeling weak from being in the Glory. Then again the Glory cloud appeared three times in one day. When I asked John Arnott what was happening to me his response really helped me get a good perspective. He said, Darrel I think it is all about the closeness of the return of the Lord. Now the Glory has led us all into the miracles of healing, gold dust, oil and gold fillings. And they are all pointing to Jesus and His soon return. [From "Revive-All Ministry" - NB: link to this site now misdirected.]

Whatever these clouds are, they are being claimed as the literal presence of God, returning to possess and overshadow the Church. This parallels the entrance of the glory cloud of the Shekinah into the newly-built Temple of Solomon. (1 King 8:10-13)

Second Pentecost

Obviously, we have already had the event we know as Pentecost when the Spirit came to indwell his people, but this is not enough for the sonship/revivalists. They teach a "Second Pentecost" which is another endtimes descent of the Spirit (supposedly) this time in fulness, unlimited and on a global scale. (They would use the prophecies of Joel about the endtimes outpouring of the Spirit to support this teaching.)

This entire revival was launched on the idea of a Second Pentecost. It has no real meaning outside of the sonship doctrines, and I defy anyone to explain the manifestations and doctrines and prophecies apart from the Restoration/Sonship scenario.

The doctrine of a SECOND Pentecost can only mean one thing: that there is to be a SECOND descent of the Holy Spirit (as the cloud of Glory) into and upon the Body of Christ and that this will result in the completion and fulness of the work begun in the first century of the Church. Even some within the revival objected to this, notably John Wimber of the Association of Vineyard Churches.

The Vineyard churches warmly embraced the revival manifestations at the beginning, only later pulling back as criticism reached John Wimber (now deceased.) [NB: I know that Vineyard still supports the Revival.] In 1995 the Vineyard organisation removed the Toronto Airport church from its roll of membership and amongst other things questioned this very belief in a sonship-style Second Pentecost. Thus we have testimony from within the very revival itself that the Toronto revival has a sonship foundational doctrine:

"We are concerned that among some of the TAV leadership there is an emerging "prophetic theology" centered on the rise of a new kind of ecstatic prophecy which would herald the advent of a second Pentecost, a second book of Acts and the last days revival." (AVC notice to Vineyard Pastors dated December 13, 1995: Todd Hunter for John Wimber and the AVC Board)

The Christian Temple has been, according to the Restoration doctrines (which are, in essence, sonship doctrines), undergoing rebuilding and restoration for centuries, and now in the latter days has reached the verge of fulness. Therefore the glory of God is coming to be the capstone of the temple. God supposedly tells the Church...

"I send you forth to rebuild My temple. I ask you a question. Is it not written that the glory of the latter temple shall be greater even than Solomon's temple? If it is written, you can have it. You can be that temple of glory that walks forth in righteousness. You can be that temple of fire that comes forth under the anointing of the Holy One. You can be the temple where the Shekinah glory dwells. You can be where I am in manifestation, where I dwell over the mercy seat of your heart, and extend salvation to those that come your way." [Prophetic Utterance through Bill Burns July 24, 1999]

Preston Eby, a key sonship teacher, has much to say on the subject of the Glory Cloud. He explains (correctly) that the cloud in scripture is the Presence of God. He then says that in the latter day that Glory is now to be shared by and imparted to a vast company of sons of God. Thus the endtimes cloud will consist of God and man UNITED:

"The glory is shared, so the CLOUD which represents that glory IS SHARED. Each elect son becomes a manifestation of the glory - of the CLOUD - of the shekinah! Each son becomes the expression and revelation of the Person of Deity. There is still only one Person of God, but He shall eternally indwell a many-membered body of like ones unto Himself, the extension and projection of His own Being. --- He says, "I will dwell IN THEM, and walk IN THEM... and ye shall be My sons and daughters.." (II Cor. 6:16-18). What, then, are those clouds with which, and in which, the Christ comes again? Why, bless your heart, WE ARE!" (his emphasis in capitals) [Preston Eby "Coming With Clouds"]

Randy Gingrich reports on the preaching of Pastor Dutch Sheets (Jay Gary's pastor) at his church, City Church, Colorado Springs where Sheets made this statement about the Corporate Christ:

"no single church can influence or change a city. It must be done by a corporate expression of the Body of Christ. No single person or church can fully express Jesus Christ - only when the Body comes together do we possess the potential of expressing the Fulness of Jesus Christ to our city."

And as we see, that corporate expression in fulness is expected to manifest when the Shekinah Glory comes upon the global Body of Christ.

Since the Church is worldwide and not a physical building in one location, it suggests that the descent of the glory cloud is to be a global event. Although some would perhaps propose an invisible "spiritual" glorification for the Church, I think the present visible manifestations of clouds say otherwise. This "prophecy" also suggests the same thing:

"The glory of the King will so rest upon His latter days' temple that a visible presence of the shekinah glory of Almighty God will be upon His Sons of Glory, and the world itself will witness the Kingdom of God in manifestation. Come now, let us return to the Lord; let us be found under His cloud, for it is indeed moving. Arise, you Sons of Glory, for the light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you! Now is the time of the restoration of all things. Now is the hour of His visitation. Even so, come Lord Jesus!" [Faith Tabernacle Trumpet Prophecies, Nov 98]

God-Man on the Earth

I can't figure out how a global manifestation could work in terms of individual believers and churches. The literal and personal return of Jesus Christ is to a location - Israel - but the return of a global christ as a glory cloud, uniting with his worldwide Church in many different locations at one and the same time, seems unworkable to me - unless it is an inward and spiritual overshadowing of the New-Age kind.

Clearly the leadership have this figured out, because certain locations have already been mentioned as representing the limbs or organs of the God-man on earth. Bob Jones and Rick Joyner gave a "prophetic word" during a New Year's Eve service on December 31, 1997. In the later transcripts of this message there was a missing portion. This missing portion speaks of the God-man stretched out over parts of America:

"I see Charlotte as the head of a great man--a god man. I see Moravian Falls as the heart. The heart and the head. And I believe you're gonna see much to come to the head here. I've seen that god-man lay down in many places and I believe that Atlanta and other places are like the chest so you're gonna see greater things happenin' there. --- One of the hands I saw is going to go all the way into Fla. to Orlando. The other one's going to Canada. One of the feet specially are going to go to Nashville very shortly. The right feet and you're going to hear praise that will bring forth awesome faith---and bring forth an awesome evangelistic army. And I believe this is only the beginning of you stretching out -- to where you begin to stretch out to all the world.". ["Words For The Coming Times by Bob Jones & Rick Joyner" prepared and transcribed from the "Prophetic tape of the month" by Josiah Friberg, and then shortened by Robert I. Holmes.]

Another exchange, posted to an Apostolic Bulletin Board, gives the supposed interpretation of a dream of a baby doll's head being found. This baby is seen by the interpreter as prophetic of the Corporate Christ being born on the earth:

From: Tommy Thompson
Date: Wednesday 7 July, 1999
Subject: The Dream (Apostolic Center and other revelations)
Hi Bob, I don't know if you found the dream that I sent to you at all interesting but I thought I would share with you a part of my reply. I believe that we have been having birth pains since 1987 and then we moved into labor pains in 1997 and we will begin to see the unveiling of Christ as the Head of the Corporate Child begins to to be seen on 9-9-1999. Those nines will roll over staring a New Day and a New Year on 9-11-1999 which is the Jewish New Year and the Feast of Rosh haShanah.
Tommy
(My comments following)
Hi Joan, ...
Most of the conferences and large gatherings will be in Portland and Seattle but Castle Rock will be another insignificant Bethlehem who will be one of several places that will be used to begin the birthing of the Corporate Christ Child. The Apostles and Prophets will not begin to gather in Castle Rock until the Summer of 2000 but in 9-9-1999 there will be some Apostles and Prophets who will begin operating from an open heaven. This will begin the shaking of the second heaven and the earth and the head of the child will begin to be seen."

OVERSHADOWING AS THE GOLD COVERING OF THE DIVINE NATURE

A sign that we are surely nearing the greatest deception known to man is the undeniable appearance of gold (as well as clouds, and bright lights) in revival meetings.

It is one thing to speak metaphorically of gold as the divine nature given to man, (as did the latter-rain teachers of old) but quite another to SEE gold appearing in the mouths and on the bodies of those in meetings. The very fact that satan is allowed to confirm the deluded doctrines of man is a sign that the "restrainer" had begun to withdraw!

Should we not be concerned when the teachers at the very heart of the satanic conspiracy have doctrines that are near, or identical, to the doctrines of the revival churches? Years before Toronto and Brownsville, Alice Bailey was teaching that divinity is represented by showers of GOLD;

"Purification: Let the fires of divinity burn out all dross. Let the pure gold emerge. Give me the gold of living love to shower upon the sons of men." [From Alice Bailey's "Discipleship in the New Age; Vol I - Instructions to Disciples"]

Notice how the revival themes are linked here - purification, the divine nature, love poured out and gold.

I will now give ample demonstration that the gold miracles are not just a mysterious happening that is outside the understanding of the revival leadership, as they would have you believe. It is an INTEGRAL PART of the sonship deception!

In these articles I have drawn quotes from many sources, and not all are by well-known revival leaders. Many are from "apostolic/prophetic" sonship sites. Some may object that such quotes are unrepresentative of the revival movement. However, the only real difference at the moment is in emphasis. Sonship sites preach openly what revival leaders teach in secret. But eventually the two will become one.

What many fail to realise is the extensive networking happening between the revival churches and the sonship churches. In any case, because of the infiltration of latter-rain sonship (restoration) believers into conventional charismatic churches over the past 50 years, the doctrines had already been seeded into those churches well before the revival broke out. Now it is only a matter of time before full convergence between the two takes place .

As I stated before, the revival manifestations and prophecies cannot be explained outside of the sonship agenda. Thus the connections are proven by the facts.

One major manifestation that illustrates my point is the GOLD now appearing at meetings. This has thrown some into confusion. They can find few supporting scriptures and are at a loss to explain what is happening. David Pytches, for one, openly states that he "does not understand" why it is happening.

All is revealed when we examine the sonship literature! The gold is a visible sign of the divine nature that they believe is right now being showered upon his people, in preparation for the transfiguration into the latter-day God-man/Corporate Christ. Far from being an unexpected, inexplicable sign, the gold has long been explained as symbolic of the overshadowing of human nature by the divinity of God. Bill Britton, a classic sonship writer says this:

"We find the description of the Golden Altar in chapter 30 of Exodus. ... Notice in verse one that the altar is made of wood, overlaid with pure gold. In the Bible, wood is symbolic of the human nature, while gold is a type of the purity of God. So here in the Golden Altar we find a meeting of God and man, with God so overshadowing man, that the nature of man is nowhere to be seen. [Bill Britton "Light From The Shadows"]

This is plain enough for anyone to follow! Can we believe the revivalists do not know these things? Or are they well aware of the true meaning of the gold, and knowing what a storm of controversy this would cause, they are being economical with the truth?

Faith Tabernacle (Bill Burns) at least seems to have no reticence in explaining the true meaning of the gold. On their website we read:

"The Lord is bringing forth a spiritual body, of covenant bread anointed with the golden oil of His Spirit. In the Holy Place everything is made of gold. Signs of gold and oil have been given--gold fillings in teeth, gold dust falling in meetings, and oil appearing in the hands of His people. These are the signs in the natural of that which the Lord is doing spiritually. ... He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire, and the veil has been rent, and open is the way into the Holy of Holies.
Those who enter into the Holy of Holies will be brought into the resurrection power of third-day ministry. ... It is during the third-day ministry that the manifest presence of the sons of glory, those who have entered into the Holy of Holies, will be in evidence upon this earth. The Father's glory will be visible on His sons and daughters, the fire and cloud of His glory will be found upon those who have been brought to the ark of the covenant.
...The golden pot of manna--fresh manna, revelation knowledge, will be given to those who feast daily at His table....Aaron's Rod--priestly authority will be given and great power will be demonstrated by the sons of His glory. The princes of darkness will fall before them, the captives will be set free, and the final harvest will be brought into the Master's barn." [Faith Tabernacle]

Although many of the rank and file are content to accept the gold teeth and gold dust as inexplicable blessings from God, others do examine the real meaning of this supernatural sign. Richard Riss made a collection of explanations and posted them to his mailing list. Here are just a few:

"There is a realm in the Spirit that is beginning to be unveiled... a realm filled with the 'RICHES' of My glory. I am sending a sign in the natural to point to the spiritual reality... in the natural, what is the symbol of riches?... GOLD. ... And what are the RICHES I speak of but My manifest presence as I TABERNACLE among you! ... according to the feast, ATONEMENT is manifesting as I cleanse My bride making her spotless and holy... and according to the feast, TABERNACLES is soon to manifest as My glory arises upon My chosen! ... I shall come and FILL My temple with My indwelt, tabernacled manifest presence!... are YOU not My temple?... are you not the place I long to inhabit?... have I said '...lo, here is the kingdom or there is the kingdom...'? NO, I have said the kingdom is WITHIN you... and what is a kingdom without a King indwelling? ...This sign I am sending in the form of gold is to point you to the greater reality of the RICHES of My glory, My tabernacled manifest presence... (his emphasis in capitals) [Trumpet Call Bulletin. Doug Fortune, Prophetic Webring]

"As I was sitting here this afternoon and meditating on the Lord, I feel like the Lord showed me, possibly, a couple of things that this sign (and wonder!) points to. First, gold represents God's holiness, glory, and deity. Only those pieces of furniture, implements, and places the Lord could use and rest (coming into direct contact with His manifest presence) had to be made of pure gold. Gold is symbolic of those things that are prepared as a place for His manifest presence to rest and abide." [Apr 1999 Mike McClung. Lionheart Fellowship in Maryville, TN ]

"It seems to me to mean that something is about to happen and/or is already happening that is of tremendous importance to the church. I do know that gold is representative of the divine nature. I also know that, according to Scripture, we will be partakers of the divine nature. So this phenomenon could be a physical representation of the spiritual truth that we are becoming partakers of His divine nature." Richard M Riss, Awakening Mailing List

Is not the golden ark the picture of My people and the mercy seat the picture of My Son? Is it not My intent that My glory and My nature be manifested and reflected upon My chosen in this final hour? Why then do you think it strange that I should manifest natural gold as I prepare to manifest spiritual gold, which is the reflection of My glory?
Did I not say that My glory would '...arise upon thee, and My glory be seen upon thee...' ? And where better to manifest natural gold than in thy MOUTH, HEAD, and HANDS as a sign of that which I am beginning to release in the spiritual, My divine nature and reflected glory... as with thy MOUTH the proclamation of My purposes and plans go forth!... thy HEAD as I restore apostolic authority!... and thy HANDS to reach forth in signs and wonders! First the natural, then the spiritual... did I not say there would be 'signs' in the heaven and the earth below? ... for some, these 'signs' will be an offense which the natural mind will not reconcile... for others, these signs will point the way to the outpouring of My glory and authority upon My chosen. [Doug Fortune- Prophetic WebRing]

"I personally have felt from the Lord that it [gold] is a representation of His glory coming on the face of the earth" [Christine Tracey]

"The Lord is calling for something different now...NOW the call is to a life and ministry originating from the Holy of Holies where every bit of 'self' (as symbolised by the contents of the Ark) is covered over with GOLD (the divine nature of God) and ONE with the Mercyseat (Christ) manifesting the tabernacled Presence of the Fulness of God..." ["The Journey Upward" Apostolic/Prophetic Bulletin]

To finalise this section, here is a report of the teaching of Mahesh Chavda ("Watch of the Lord" headquartered in Charlotte, NC.) It was given in April 1999.

"Pastors Mahesh & Bonnie Chavda Pastor Mahesh shared that once you’ve tasted the glory, you become addicted to it. If you want to experience the glory, don’t be sophisticated--be like a child. He will fill this temple with His glory. Haggai 2:7-9, 'And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.'
We are seeing amazing things. I don’t understand it, I don’t have an explanation--He is doing it. I saw green gold, red gold, and silver, and its origin was not of this earth. We saw gold teeth and gold fillings. The answer doesn’t lie in the intellect, the answer lies in "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Welcome, Holy Spirit; come in your waves of glory. I bow to the Alpha and the Omega; I bow to the Father, the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
A watchman shared the following: "As you were reading Haggai 2:9, ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ I had a flash vision of everything in this room covered with a layer of gold--even the walls and the floors. The Lord reminded me of Solomon’s temple--the former temple. I Kings 6:21, ‘So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary; and he overlaid it with gold. The whole temple he overlaid with gold until he finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold the entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary.’ The Lord is overlaying us with gold--inside and out!" "I will fill My temple with glory." The glory transforms us; the glory heals us; the glory brings us peace. You will feel love that is hard to describe. Innermost sobs will come out of you." [April 23, 1999 "God Will Wipe Away Our Tears" ]

OVERSHADOWING AS THE RAPTURE OR TRANSFIGURATION INTO THE DIVINE NATURE

When the Glory cloud entered the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple, man knew his place, and fell down in the fear of God, in awe and wonder. Not so, today.

This time, the men and women of the latter-day Second Pentecost expect to be incorporated INTO the Glory cloud, and become ONE with God to the extent that they BECOME DIVINE.

This event has been identified as THE RAPTURE by some within the prophetic movement!

The word "caught up" means, in the carnal understanding, just a lifting up in the air, and many teachers teach that we will be taken away from this earth to another planet. There is no scriptural basis for this. Paul was caught up, but he was still here in body. Truly, there were men who were caught up and lived no more among men, although they have been seen here on occasions. The Manchild, however, when he is caught up, will be immediately given a place of rulership on earth. The word "caught up," therefore, must be a lifting up from the human realm to a higher realm, where he will be living in immortality, and yet in humanity, even as Jesus Christ after His resurrection. Whether "caught up to meet Him in the air" means a physical catching away or a spiritual one, IT IS AN OCCURRENCE WHICH WILL TAKE PLACE IN THIS ATMOSPHERE. It definitely will not be taking men away to another planet. The scripture speaks of "the air." The Greek word is "aera," meaning atmosphere. 1st Thessalonians 4:17". (capitals in original) [From "The Pattern", A Sonship book written by J. du Cille.]

And thus the Coming of Christ is not at first a physical, literal event:

"His coming is in two stages. ...First of all, he said 'looking for the blessed hope'. Let us see what the blessed hope is. Turn to Colossians 1:27. "... which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:" Where is this hope? It is in us!! ... IT IS CHRIST IN US! ..."Looking for that blessed hope..." That is the inward coming. That is Christ coming in us. Phase 2, His literal coming, cannot happen until phase 1, His inward coming, takes place. .... He is coming in us. ... He will not only come out there, in the air, but He will also come within us. There will be a people, who will conform to His image and to His likeness. Once that happens, Jesus will appear." ["The Glory that makes us One" Internet article]

Some point to the prophesies that Jesus will be "coming in the clouds", to support their beliefs. This "coming" or revelation of Jesus to mankind will be THROUGH and IN his church, they say. The cloud of the (spiritual) Coming of Jesus consists of individual believers transfigured and glorified or, "raptured"

"He is coming in clouds -- we are those clouds, and He is coming with the clouds...A cloud took Him out of their sight, and a cloud will bring Him back. ...He is first of all coming in clouds.
Revelation 1:7, "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him (how this is going to happen, only God knows)" He is coming with clouds. What kind of clouds are they? ... He is coming in heavenly clouds, not rain clouds. Clouds represent His glory. They represent angelic hosts. They represent the saints of God. They represent His witnesses. We are compassed about by a great cloud of witnesses, the Bible says. Those who have died cannot be made perfect without us. He is perfecting a people in heaven, as well as here on this earth. ......
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first." The dead in Christ can be those that have actually died, but Colossians 3:3 talks about those who are dead, and who are walking around on their feet. We are dead to sin, self, the world and flesh." [Tommy Cook "Behold, He Cometh With Clouds"]

When the overshadowing cloud comes to inhabit his people, the two entities, human and divine, will merge into one. It will be a spiritual marriage. What will be created by this union, they say, is a God-man, a corporate Christ, a many-membered Christ walking the earth.

In a Roman Catholic Renewal newsletter, way back in 1978 Gerry Rauch was already preaching the Corporate Christ, the many-membered god-man. Here is what he said:

The revelation of Jesus - his words, his actions - is not just a bunch of separate fragments cast out for the winds to carry wherever chance leads them. There is a plan to this revelation; it builds up to something. God is not manifesting himself in a random or chaotic way with no ultimate purpose. ... St. Paul gives the most direct statement of God's ultimate goal: "He has made known to us ... the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth... that he might create in himself one new man". (Eph. 1: 10,2: 15, RSV). ...God's purpose in manifesting Himself to mankind is to create a Corporate reality made up of Christians in union with Christ. The Word of Life made manifest is ultimately, then, this single corporate reality, the One New Man.
... Corporate ways of thinking are unfamiliar to us, and we tend to overlook them. We perhaps think that this unity is reserved for heaven. But the Lord himself prayed that we would experience unity now: That they may all be one ... so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" (John 17: 21). God wants to manifest Himself in the world, and the ultimate focus of His Revelation is the One, United New Man.
... Even in the charismatic renewal, the heritage of individual Christianity that we have received can make us stop at the level of the Presence and power of God in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts. We can fail to see the necessity of their focussing on the FULL MANIFESTATION of the Body of Christ.
... To put it another way: Without the end product in mind, the manifestation of the spiritual gifts will be misguided. A Museum or a Temple? One of the New Testament images for God's people is the New Temple. "You are fellow citizens with the saints ... joined together ... into a temple in the Lord" (Eph. 2: 19, 21). This is a strong corporate image, but we have a hard time understanding it.... we see individual Christians more than the new corporate reality that God wants to make of them .... From its inception, the Charismatic Renewal has been about the manifestation of the Lord and his life, about a God who makes a difference in the world. For the renewal to mature, it has to advance towards that ultimate plan of God, the unity of everything in the One New Man, Jesus Christ."

["The Good News newsletter" No.15 Jan/Feb 1995 - "The New Temple". This article appeared in the Newsletter for Catholic Renewal, published by the National Service Committee in England. The newsletter is called "Good News", and the issue in which the article appeared was Number 115, for January, February 1995. Bold text indicates my emphasis throughout. This article originally appeared in the March April 1978 edition of the ICO newsletter, and New Covenant. 200 No. I Plaza, Huntington, Indiana 46750.]

The Divine God-Man on Earth

What is expected is not just a Corporate Christ, (also called the God-Man, the One New Man, and the Many-Membered Body) but a DIVINE God-man on the earth. By the union of God and Man in the glory-cloud, they teach that we will see...

• the divinity of believers,
• the glorification of earthly saints,
• the "resurrection bodies" being received right here on earth.
• the "rapture" as a TRANSFIGURATION on earth of living believers,
• the immunity and invincibility of such transformed believers, and
• some even teach that these believers will become IMMORTAL.

As you know, the teaching in Restoration and Revival churches has increasingly focused on earthly victory rather than a heavenly hope, a "possessing the land" rather than the "upward call". So the biblical teaching on the Rapture has to be perverted or lost.

As "prophet" Kim Clement so astutely comments: Jesus told us to pray "Thy Kingdom COME". Why would he tell us to pray for it to "come" to us if in fact we are going to it?

Paul Cain has also preached at length about the subject of the Rapture and our heavenly hope. In an audio tape message he relocated Heaven to earth, in our present experience and said we were not GOING to be with God, but that God was COMING IN the Body.

Revival Leadership Affirms Loss of the Rapture

Those who reported on a major gathering of the revival leadership in Colorado Springs the last weekend of January 1999 noted the themes of the Conference. One major theme was this:

"Quit looking for the rapture, start looking for the Kingdom, 'on earth as it is in heaven'. Then Christ will come. Our Eschatology is certain victory. We shall inherit the earth."

The report was posted on the MorningStar Newsgroup. Conference speakers included: C. Peter Wagner, Paul Cain, Chuck Pierce, Cindy Jacobs, Bill Hamon, Dutch Sheets, Rick Joyner, Kingsley Fletcher, Mike Bickle, Jim Laffoon, Barbara Wentroble and Ted Haggard.

Kelly Varner has been a major sonship leader for many years. His web site displays the statement of belief of his ministry, "Praise Tabernacle Ministries" . Amongst other interesting statements we read this:

"The meek shall inherit the earth. As kings and priests, we shall reign on the earth. Heaven is the realm of God, and God is omnipresent Spirit; heaven is nearer than we think. Therefore, we believe in the coming of the Lord, not the going of the saints; in the appearing of the Lord, not the disappearing of the saints. Throughout scripture, God comes to dwell with man. Jesus is coming now, in Spirit, to be glorified "in" the saints. He will come, literally, "with" the saints once his enemies are made his footstool..."

This concise statement sums up much of the present teaching on the Rapture. Charismatic churches have not been very eager to ditch the doctrine of the Rapture, yet at the same time they are taking on board the doctrines of the transfiguration. Sooner or later something has to give! There is no biblical way to teach the two doctrines simultaneously. (Richard Riss gets around this problem by saying that the biblical Rapture refers to "the removal of the wicked" from the earth, not believers!)

One highly respected teacher in the Revival, Bobby Conner, says that the New Agers have got it right when they teach that we will become "as God". He continues:

I am asking the New Age people to let us speak at their conferences now. I’m very serious. They are looking for God and I know where he's at! Do you know where He is? He’s in Christ. The fullness of God dwells in Him. ... I want to say something to us again. Jesus has another body to make an invisible God known to the world. Guess who that is? US. (You and I.) That’s exactly who we are. ...'It doth not yet appear what we shall be like, but we know this, that when He shall appear we shall see Him as He is and we shall be like Him'. When Hebrews says, "like Him," it means exactly like Him. We’ll be like Him, act like Him and have authority like Him. Isn’t that amazing? And listen, I feel so sorry for these guys waiting on the bus for the rapture. Listen, I know there will be one, but not nearly like you think. He’s coming to us before He comes for us. I know that! Ohhh, this old escape mentality. That’s not going to happen folks - we’re going to rise up in power." ["Revolution In The Church" by Bobby Conner - from a video tape made during a meeting near Cincinnati, OH 5/29/99 http://www.BobbyConner.Org/revolution_church.htm]

Instead of the classic Rapture, we have a spiritual transformation, a transition from the earthly to the "heavenly" walk, a transfiguration into the glorious resurrection body, and thus a move into the literal authority, power and judgement of God on earth.

Richard Riss, in "Preparing For the Coming of the Lord" (New Wine Archive, Aug 1994) says:

It is stated that the Son of Man will be seen "coming in clouds with great power and glory" (Mark 13:26). These clouds are almost certainly a reference to the clouds of the glory of God to which we have already alluded in our discussion of the ark of the covenant. Several of the above quotations intimate that we, also, will be partakers in the glory that is to be revealed at Christ's coming... In Ephesians 2:2, Satan, or the "spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience," is called "the prince of the power of the air." The "air" in this context is a place, or atmosphere, of spiritual authority. At the time of Christ's coming, we will be caught up into this place of spiritual authority...
To be "caught up" in the "air" [raptured] in the clouds of glory to meet the Lord in this atmosphere of spiritual authority does not necessarily entail a literal bodily removal from the earth. ... But the entire thrust of Scripture is that we will have a resurrected body on earth, and that the heavens and the earth will both be regenerated, or renewed (Acts 3:21, Matt. 19:28).

There are many aspects of this Transformation that I could cover, but it would take too long to explain it ALL. Instead I will pick out one or two aspects that may strike us as particularly heretical.

Firstly, that believers thus transformed will be immune to harm, invincible and even (some teach) immortal.

Secondly, that the transfigured believers will have the task of "spiritual warfare" in their new realm of the "heavenlies" in order to cast out all corrupt spiritual powers and take their place as earth's new spiritual Government.

Thirdly, that God's own authority and power will be upon this glorified New Man, so that he becomes not only the Government of the worldwide Church, but also ultimately of the entire earth, and is empowered to JUDGE and EXPEL all that opposes God until the earth is purged of all evil, conformed to the Laws of God, and made into a "footstool" for God. This MUST be done, they say, or else Jesus Christ CANNOT return bodily in Person.

These aspects will be covered in the next portion of this ongoing series. (I am having to curtail each file at a point where it is still a reasonably small download.)

STILL TO COME:

• The "Kingdom of God" brought in and manifested by the New Order global Church
  • The Kingdom is the reign of the King. Consider how today's revival leaders will rule "with a rod of iron" when they believe they have established the Kingdom and that THEY, indwelt by God, are the corporate "king"!
• The new-breed Apostles and Prophets who will be "God's Government"
• Apostolic authority is the new buzz word, for the New Church is "builded upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets" - but NOT the Lord's Apostles, nor the Old Testament Prophets...the new endtimes Temple has as its priesthood the leadership of the Revival! These guys will be ruling over you soon, so you'd better find out what they are planning.
• Revelation knowledge
  • The written commands of God are for the old order, they say. Now we need the law given direct by divine inspiration, and new revelations by the mouth of the "prophets" to establish this Third Day Church.
• The judgement - the sword wielded by the Revival Leadership
  • "We must becomes more militant" says Bobby Conner... and seemingly all the others agree, for they want to purge the rebels who won't submit to their Plan. Start worrying now (to save time later....)!
• An irresistible new sound that causes all mankind to worship
  • The role of music and "praise and worship" sessions in birthing the Glorified New Man. A new sound has been discovered that, they say, has unique powers.

TIME IS GETTING SHORT! The revival is moving into "transition" so they believe. The new wave is coming. Leaders are growing aggressive and aching to begin cleansing the earth in preparation for the New Order Church. Keep reading and learning as the information in this series gives you the hands-on knowledge and expertise to spot the heresies before they happen, and to avoid falling into the snare of the "doctrtine of demons".

CONTINUE TO THE NEXT PART OF THE SERIES (Part Four) HERE

IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:

(c) Tricia Tillin 1999

It is not my intention to hinder anyone who has a LEGITIMATE use for this material. Indeed, this material is so important that I want it to reach everyone who needs it.

However, this article and all it contains is my intellectual property and copyrighted material and therefore you are NOT to assume that you may freely use it on your web site or reprint it in your magazine, or whatever, in disregard of my provisos written here. This is to protect me from the abuse/distortion of the material and to prevent my name and article becoming linked to sites of which I would not approve. Therefore, please abide by these conditions:

• You are permitted to download a copy or two of this material for your own research use or to show to interested friends.
• You are NOT permitted to reproduce this material without my written permission on websites, in newsletters or by any other medium. If you want to tell others about this information, please LINK to the articles from your site. Make sure you get the link correct. It is http://www.banner.org.uk/res/theglory.html
• Alternatively, if you have a legitimate use for reproducing this material (as described below) please e-mail me describing your intended use and I will consider your request.
• This article and those that follow it are produced for the specific purpose of informing and supporting genuine believers in their fight against the current apostasy. This information is therefore not aimed at those already committed to the Revival, whether leaders or ordinary members of the churches involved.

© 2003 Tricia Tillin of Banner Ministries. All rights reserved. Cross+Word Website: http://www.banner.org.uk/  This document is the property of its author and is not to be displayed on other websites, redistributed, sold, reprinted, or reproduced in printed in any other format without permission. Websites may link to this article, if they provide proper title and author information.   One copy may be downloaded, stored and/or printed for personal research. All spelling and phraseology is UK English.