Doctrines of Demons: The Coming of the Glory
This eleven-part series by Tricia Tillin is an urgent appeal to reject current teachings on the overshadowing and anointing of the supposed Glory of God in the endtimes. It looks at teachings from the old Latter Rain movement and shows how those teachings and many others have led to a belief that there will be a sealing or anointing for those who have prepared themselves for transformation.
The topics of the ten major sections, together with the appendix, and PDF version for download, are found on the CONTENTS page. Alternatively, each section is briefly linked below:
| Part One - The Sealing & Overshadowing Part Two - The Sealing & Overshadowing (2) Part TwoA - Resisting the Overshadowing Part Three - The Descent of the Glory Part Four - Transformation Part Five - The Sword of Judgement |
Part Six - New Church, New Apostles Part Seven - The Sound of Seduction Part Eight - The Global Network Part Nine - The Lighthouses Movement Part Ten - Appendix A Part Eleven - Appendix B |
|---|
CONTENTS
- The Worldwide Web
- New Knights of the Round Table
- Global Evangelization Roundtable
- The World Prayer Centre
- C. Peter Wagner
- The New Apostolic Paradigm
- Chuck Pierce and Networking
- (copyright information)
I begin this final portion of the Doctrine of Demons series with a burdened heart. I feel like a person who has spotted a small cobweb in a darkened room, switched on the light and discovered "The Thing from Hell" sitting in a spider's web the size of a building!
I have seen a HUGE web of organisations and ministries networking all over the world for the purpose of gathering all peoples into its net and tagging them like helpless fish in a bucket.
A document prepared in 1990 called the "Kaleidoscopic Global Action Plan" stated that there were over two thousand evangelistic schemes already in existence and mentioned "78 global megaplans, 33 global gigaplans and the rest of some 2,000 plans in total". This was in 1990. How many are there now?
Please read the above document. If you are not worried at the moment, you will be after seeing the Plan! Just as a small taster, I quote the third statement of that Plan:
3. Offer the hand of friendship, respect, cooperation, love, compassion, understanding, and dialogue to our fellow human beings and fellow religionists in the great world religions of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Sikhism, Baha'i, Shinto, and numerous others. (See Global Diagrams 11 and 23). While differing in our beliefs about God and Jesus Christ, we can all nevertheless struggle together against the monstrous evils that plague our planet, threaten its very survival, and so render world evangelization planning futile.
The Worldwide Web
Once you begin to peel back the layers of the Global Networking movements going on all around the world, you realise this thing is so HUGE and so ALL-PERVASIVE that nobody can adequately expose it, and certainly not in one small article.
In the above four-part study (World Christian Movement) you will be able to read about the HISTORY of the Movements, the PEOPLE involved (including Bill Bright and Billy Graham) and the ORGANISATIONS. There is also a very useful discussion on the differences between "evangelism" and "evangelization", something that confuses many Christians. Read this four-part study to increase your knowledge of the topics in this article.
The reason I'm discussing Global Evangelization and World Mission in this article (which has previously been about "sonship" and latter-rain type doctrines), is that the new apostles and prophets of that system are heavily involved with the more conservative, establishment leadership in "winning the world for Christ".
The various World Missions and Evangelization schemes, many of which are huge and extremely influential organisations, appear to present a bland and scriptural message about converting all the peoples of the world. They therefore do not at first glance appear to pose any threat, nor do they seem to belong in an article like this which exposes the Doctrine of Demons, and latter-rain heresies.
However, when you dig a little deeper and understand the aims more fully, you see that the edifice is built on sand, the sand of five shaky unbiblical premises:
- That Jesus commanded the Church to convert the world in His absence and that this task would be completed when He returned.
- That the missionary goal is persuading people to become a member of a church community, be baptised, and come under the discipline of church leadership.
- That "discipling all nations" means that 'people-groups' rather than individuals must respond to the message; that 'corporate salvation' is the aim.
- That visible church unity is essential, regardless of doctrine, or else the task cannot be completed.
- That conversions can be achieved by spiritual warfare, prayer-walking and remote intercession as much as preaching the gospel.
Where do the sonship doctrines and the revival fit in? Well, the revival is the means of persuading more and more people to join churches, and it provides a compelling force that some believe will eventually be irresistible (as we saw in the previous article, about music). It is the fuel in the engine if you will.
And the sonship doctrines provide the leadership and structure model. The new churches are to be based on the "cell-church" concept, and are all interlinked as city-wide and nation-wide structures governed by the same eldership.
Evangelism is changing. It's not as we think it to be. There is a "new paradigm" or a new model of evangelism that |I believe is a result of the revival and sonship doctrines. No longer do individual people come to Jesus Christ as the result of the preaching of the biblical gospel. Now, the aim is setting up churches and church structures (including government by the apostles and prophets) so that entire communities and nations come under their control.
This recent circulation, "A New Mission Role for a New Era" by Brian F. O'Connell begins by quoting the "new thing" bible verse and goes on to say that:
"As the landmark date of AD 2000 rapidly approaches, it continues to be valuable to consider how God would have us do new things in missions. ... But what are the new models for how we can work more effectively in missions? We in the West have often propagated the myth sometimes unknowingly of the missionary role as a kind of Horatio Alger: a "lone ranger," attempting to reach impossible dreams all by themselves. Even when non-Westerners come here for seminary or other training, they can take back this American individualistic attitude. However, over the last decade a new paradigm emerged, which is proving its value: the evangelism/church planting partnership movement. ... We know that relationships are at the heart of the Gospel, and that unity among believers was Christ's prayer for His church in John 17. Partnerships offer the best model for relational cultures and can more effectively equip indigenous leadership....What do these partnership facilitators do? As networkers, they become the communications hub among the different agencies. As prophets, they hold onto and make known the vision of reaching the people group or area to which they have been called. As servant leaders, they are the glue that hold things together in between annual partnership planning meetings, facilitating the process of collaboration. ... Explaining to mission-sending agencies the critical and essential nature of the facilitator role has not always been easy. This is a classical "paradigm shift," a new definition of a missionary role and function. It is time for us not just to deploy workers for the harvest, but to develop new structures so that these workers will truly partner together with more impact for the Kingdom. A new missionary task for the new millennium." [Brian F. O'Connell serves as director of International Partnership Services for Interdev. He was one of the co-founders of World Evangelical Fellowship's Religious Liberty Commission and worked ten years for the National Association of Evangelicals in their Washington, DC office].
The sonship aim is to set up One Global Church in a pyramid structure topped by Apostles and Prophets, with every pastor and elder being submitted to his superiors. Their chosen vessel for carrying the new thing is structured cell churches, discipled and covered by the worldwide church government of apostles and prophets, removing new converts from the influence of any remaining old-paradigm teachers.
To a large extent the Restoration fellowships of the UK have achieved this goal, existing as they do in loosely connected "tribes" as they call them, outside the established church network but interrelating amongst one another at leadership and pastor level. Doctrine is established through city "fraternals" where pastors are checked for suitability and processed into the new mindset.
Revivalists believe that, either by a process of disintegration or by a violent judgement "from God" the old style churches, ministers and doctrines will be removed, and replaced by the New Order as the Global Church. It is not envisaged that any fellowship or ministry should or could exist outside this "Church".
Reading the above report on the new style mission, it is not too difficult to see how evangelism is also being modelled after this "new paradigm". Church-planting ensures that all new converts are herded into the correct pen, acceptable leaders are chosen for them, and 'facilitators' keep an eye on their progress in doctrine and practice. As we shall see, the Lighthouses Movement has the same aim for America and ultimately the world - establishing a "new wineskin" to replace the old.
This "new wineskin" as they call it is seen as the only true Body of Christ on earth, and its leadership is the only Government, thus all outside it are rebels and disobedient to God.
I am going to preface this article with a "prophecy" made by Jill Austin at the Toronto Airport Church in January 1996. In it she speaks of a new Government being brought forth to rule the world. She likens it to the new Round Table of Knights:
"You know, I feel the Lord is birthing a fresh thing. I feel like what's happening is the Lord's showing me, in the Spirit. It's like how the enemy would want to come against the renewal, and how he tries, even, to put a death blow to it, similar to how Jesus was put on the cross. But out of the deathblow the enemy was trying to do, is birthed resurrection life. It birthed the government of God. It's a fresh thing and it's a God-thing. And I feel like ...what the Lord is doing on government is He's taking His apostolic thumb, and He's placing it down as a governmental movement. He's crying out for you to be willing to be Knights of the Round Table. ... He says, 'I'm going to take different men and women of different denominations and tribes and put them together like in Knights of the Round Table, internationally.' He says, 'One reason I'm doing that is there's going to be a worldwide God internet ...I'm giving you fresh strategy.' He says, 'Just like the world, moving underground like with the Mafia or like Hitler.' What He's going to do is give you a Holy Spirit espionage. He's going to start just showing you the purposes of the living God for different nations and for different cities.
"......we will sit together as spiritual peers and those who have been brought together and connected by the Spirit. These boards will be international and interdenominational by nature, but the thumbprint of God will awaken the apostolic power within the church. ... Various church movements will be represented in their forms and they will present a unified front to those who are critical of the renewal and the coming revival of the Holy Spirit to the nations. .... when the critics come, we can say, 'Talk to the Board.' We have apostolic, prophetic pastors and teachers, and they will be able to stand as a front. For what the Lord is doing is releasing fresh government. .... In one vision I saw these priceless leaders as generals who were strategizing in a war room. All the nations were before them and there was a huge wall map of them. God was communicating His present and future purposes to them with divine blueprints. ...They will direct the troops with divine wisdom and strategies and send prophetic [?] behind the enemy lines to gather secret, spiritual intelligence or Holy Spirit espionage..."
Jill Austin [http://www.jillaustin.org] is the founder of Master Potter Ministries. She runs the "Passion and Fire" conferences to spread the Toronto manifestations, where "believers are taken into a progressive experience with the Holy Spirit as He reveals Himself through visible demonstrations in their midst."
There are now "Roundtables" appearing on the Internet as if in fulfillment of Jill Austin's prophecy, but more likely as a result of planning by the apostles and prophets of the new move. There exists a 'Prophetic Roundtable' -"dedicated to preserving the Prophetic Word of the Lord in forms of Prophecy, Visions & Dreams, Intercessory Prayers, Prophetic Poems, Parables, Songs, Works of Art and Prophetic Teachings". This Roundtable is mostly dedicated to sonship prophets like Paul Cain, Bob Jones and John Paul Jackson.
But more significantly, a new Global Evangelisation Roundtable was organised in March 1999 to coordinate World Evangelization. The report states:
"Representatives of the major international evangelical networks met in Hurdal, Norway, March 21st to 25th 1999 to discuss their relationships and develop a new framework for cooperation into the new millennium. The conference, hosted by the Norwegian Missionary Council, was called by the AD 2000 & Beyond Movement, the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and the World Evangelical Fellowship.
Historic differences were laid aside in an atmosphere of prayer and humility as the participants explored the core values, which they share in common. ...In a spirit of expectancy, the conference proposed the establishment of a Global Evangelization Forum to provide a new evangelical platform for cooperation in fulfilling the task of world evangelisation as we enter the 21st century. ...The major networks represented at the conference expressed a strong commitment to align their ministries with this development and to participate fully in the proposed Forum." [http://www.ad2000.org/re90329.htm]
Amongst the "Foundational values" listed by the Roundtable were:
- The need for a new relational "wineskin" within a context of continuity and not based on position nor structure.
- A manifestation of unity grounded in the partnership of equals around the globe.
- The need for a thorough re-examination of a theology of the church.
- The need for one cooperative vehicle that supports a plurality of ministries.
The conference issued a report which said:
We propose the establishment of the Global Evangelisation Roundtable/Forum (GER) as a new evangelical platform for cooperation in fulfilling the task of world evangelisation in the 21st Century.
(This revealing graphic of the earth caught in a net is from the AD2000 website)
The GER is a network of networks, such as a continuing component of the AD2000 and Beyond Movement, the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, the World Evangelical Fellowship (in particular its Mission Commission) and other Evangelical networks (geographic and functional) serving the cause of world evangelisation.
Another prophecy in February 1997 by Jill Austin, titled "Tidal Waves of Wine, Fire and Wind", predicted that "Apostolic government will begin to emerge with the healing and acceptance of the prophetic. Global strategies will be revealed as the government of God is established on earth. Divine networking among denominations will bring unity, and spiritual guerrilla warfare will be Spirit-designed for God's eternal purposes."
Again Jill Austin writes on her web site, in her "Glorious Intruder" series::
"Where are My generals? Where are My apostolic fathers? Who will open up the gates for the King of Glory to come into your church, city, or nation? Behind closed doors, the war room of God is networking and strategizing with global purposes to activate the troops for the Lamb's war. A roar from the Lion of Judah is being trumpeted in the heavens. Are you a freedom fighter? God wants radical world movers and shakers. ... Healing and acceptance of the prophetic and the emerging of the apostolic will cause both to work in tandem with governmental unction. Unique networking of the Holy Spirit will cross denominational lines, races and genders. ... The international house of prayer for all nations is coming into place. Jesus was seen wearing the flags of all nations, like the coat of Joseph. The flag of Israel was over His heart, the keyhole which unlocks the world. A powerful release of divine healings and miraculous signs and wonders is coming where no disease known to man can stand. The miraculous will fill stadiums and bring the prodigals and the lost back to Jesus."
From all this we see that an apostolic government is being set up under our very noses. This is not just prophetic ramblings, but a WAR PLAN to defeat conventional churches and biblical doctrine, right across the earth.
While Jesus said "I say nothing in secret" this war plan is conducted "behind closed doors" and, "underground like the Mafia and Hitler" - two groups with which the genuine Church would surely not identify?
I want to draw your attention to one statement in Jill Austin's prophecy: an "international house of prayer for all nations". She refers to it as something that is already being established. This phrase comes from Isa 56:1-8 and is a prophecy of the Lord's return and his setting up his Millennial TEMPLE in Israel.
"Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.... Also the sons of the stranger... Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him. (KJV)
Jesus also referred to the TEMPLE as the House of Prayer in Matt 21:13 "And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."
As we know from earlier quotes in this series, the sonship doctrines teach that a New Temple is being built on earth consisting of all those who are submitted to the new doctrines and the new apostles and prophets. This is the Temple that Jill Austin sees being built, and it is governed by those she refers to as "My Apostolic Fathers".
House of Prayer in Colorado
However, at the same time a real "International House of Prayer" is being erected in Colorado and is becoming one of the key "gateways" into the new paradigm. This is the World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs which houses "the latest telecommunications system" in an effort to "link believers throughout the world."
The ministry's $5.5 building is situated on the property of Ted Haggard's New Life Church. Haggard envisioned the Center in 1984, and co-founded it together with church-growth specialist C. Peter Wagner, whose Global Harvest Ministries is headquartered in the building. The Center includes the latest computer technology and communications equipment, a bookstore, a "spiritual mapping" office, and private suites that can be rented for extended prayer sessions and retreats. (See this News Archive, September 1998, "Holy War: World Prayer Center arms itself with technology" ).
From the blurb on the World Prayer Centre website:
The World Prayer Center is a trans-demoninational effort spearheaded by two key Christian leaders. They are: Dr. C. Peter Wagner, President of Global Harvest Ministries, and Pastor Ted Haggard of New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. [Note: "Apostle" Chuck Pierce is now Director of the WPC.]
The World Prayer Center is a communications center, serving the Church throughout the world by linking prayer requests, practical needs, and reporting evangelistic breakthroughs. It will collect and compile requests from every continent as national prayer centers report what God is doing and how His people ought to pray. Dr. Peter Wagner says, "We see our task as getting people in touch with one another to form interactive, human web networks that are properly equipped to wage effective spiritual warfare."
The WPC is "a fully equipped nerve center with data and information about prayer needs throughout the world [which]... networks prayer ministries, denominations, churches and cell groups. This creates a united prayer front that will end Satan's attempt to divide and isolate believers, and to blind so many to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
One networking organisation linked to it is Global Resource Ministries, Inc (GRMI)" who say their mission is "to serve and support the emerging Global Church involved in the current move/work of the Spirit of God. Our strategy is to develop a resource base through the networking of churches and church leaders ... [in 1997] GRMI has two servers directly connected to the Internet and accessible to more than 20 Million people - our WWW site transfers an average of 22 MB per day, and over 1.3 gigabytes to 44 countries in the first six months."
On the Global Resource Ministries website today the "emerging Global Church" is being organised and assisted by the "emergence of a strategic and active network of churches, church leaders and participants" and their "web pages, mail lists and other projects are geared to support specific areas of ministry which we see as vital to the emergence of a unified (not suggesting we will all agree all the time) global church."
The GRMI projects include "a database of churches experiencing renewal, a web-based news-reader similar to UseNet, an online bookstore, a missions resource center, web-based conferencing centers, online ministry training materials and several additional mail lists."
According to Jill Austin, God is supposed to have promised a "worldwide God-INTERNET with the purposes of a fresh strategy". GRMI seems to be part of that internet. And in the World Prayer Centre people can also connect to one another using the latest computer technology. Not only that, but data about churches, ministries and individuals is constantly pouring into the Prayer Centre and other similar organisations through projects such as the Lighthouses Movement.
"...we are establishing networks of intercessors to link together for powerful and anointed corporate prayer. Globally, we are partnering with international leaders to establish National Prayer Networks which will serve as a communications bridge between that nation's intercessors and ministries, and the World Prayer Center. The Prayer Center will, in turn, serve as a communications nerve-center, communicating prayer needs to millions."
The World Church is being databased and logged by a sophisticated network that does indeed, as Jill Austin promised, 'gather secret, spiritual intelligence' and 'is networking and strategizing with global purposes.'
Quietly, without fuss, the World Church is being established and it is databasing all churches and Christians until it knows who is FOR and who is AGAINST the concept. It is a "stealth movement" as testified by Rick Warren, a member of Mission America's Facilitation Committee [http://www.missionamerica.org/leaders.html]. In a closing prayer at one seminar he said "Thank you that there is a movement, a stealth movement that is flying beneath the radar, that's changing literally hundreds, even thousands of churches around the world".
The spiritual and the physical are marching hand-in-hand towards this glorious New Dawn! Back in 1996 this report gave details of the War Room:
"The World Prayer Centre: Why Choose Colorado Springs? A networking agency like the World Prayer Centre will stand or fall on two essential things: (1) personal relationships and (2) communications. It has now become apparent that Colorado Springs has been assigned a redemptive purpose for the 1990's and beyond, unlike any other city.... Colorado Springs has a divine anointing for the evangelical Christian movement as we move into the 21st century... apart from the international office of AD2000, no fewer than 80 other Christian ministries large and small have moved their home base to C. Springs...a restricted access War Room will be staffed with credentialed intercessors 24-hours a day... the Prayer Centre will be surrounded by 200 flagpoles flying the largest known display of flags in the world... " [Prayer Track Newsletter, Jan-March 1996]
If 80 major ministries had relocated to Colorado Springs in 1996, how many are there today?
And is it significant that not only the Church but new-agers point to Colorado as being a "spiritual power centre" of the earth? UN workers Maurice Strong and his new-age wife Hanne Strong have set up a community in the area (Baca Grande) for a host of occultic and weird new-age organisations. They, like the World Prayer Centre, say they are homing in on something spiritually powerful in the Colorado area.
The World Prayer Centre, and many other similar networking and resource organisations are linked to, or have directly stemmed from, AD2000 And Beyond, which leads us to C. Peter Wagner and his role in the Global Church.
C. Peter Wagner
C.
Peter Wagner is a kingpin in both the Apostolic movement and
the Global Church and Evangelization Movement. Born in 1930,
he attended Fuller Theological Seminary which has been the
cradle of the Global Church. Wagner then started his ministry
as a conservative Christian, and his interest in Church Growth
began in the 1970's. He joined the staff of Fuller Seminary
in 1971 and became Professor of World Mission.
Wager is the mentor of Dr. Ralph D. Winter, founder of the US Center for World Mission in Pasadena, CA. This enormous Campus is home to an inconceivable number of ministries and organisations, all networking together for World Mission. It could be called the Vatican City of the World Evangelization Movement. (For further details on the USCWM, see the study by Al Dager as above.)
Wagner joined the Lausanne Committee in 1974 and worked for world evangelization, but during the 1980's he met John Wimber, and was won over to signs and wonders and the charismatic revival. He coined the phrase "third wave" to describe the entrance of the signs and wonders phenomenon into the conservative, evangelical churches.
Since that time he has moved steadily towards latter-rain/ sonship doctrines, frequently conferencing with the hardcore prophets of that movement like Paul Cain, Bill Hamon and Rick Joyner, as well as key leaders in the Toronto/Brownsville revival.
Now Peter Wagner is hailed as an "Apostle" of the first water within the apostolic/prophetic movement.
The admiration is mutual. Wagner strongly endorsed Bill Hamon's book on 'Apostles, Prophets and the Coming Moves of God: God’s End-Time Plans for His Church and Planet Earth.' He even wrote the foreword. There he says that Bill Hamon was influential in nurturing him through what he calls a "paradigm shift from traditional Christianity to an openness to the full ministry of the Holy Spirit." He also believes that Bill Hamon is at the "cutting edge" of what he calls "The New Apostolic Reformation."
The reference to the New Apostolic Reformation brings us to Wagner's pet scheme for restructuring the entire Church. This began life as the "Post-Denominational Church" and A National Symposium on the Post-Denominational Church was convened by Wagner at Fuller Seminary, May 21-23, 1996. Bill Hamon said that "this was a historical occasion in God's annals of Church history. It was prophetically orchestrated by the Holy Spirit to fulfill God's progressive purposes of bringing His church to its ultimate destiny. . . the consensus of the panelists was that there are still apostles and prophets in the Church, and there is an emerging Apostolic Movement that will revolutionize the 21st Century Church".
Shortly after, however, Wagner struggled with the precise form for the Post-Denominational Church after being awakened to the vision of the Apostolic Church of the "sonship" doctrines. He therefore re-badged his flagship world church movement as "The New Apostolic Reformation". (For a further discussion of this, please see Orrell Steinkamp's article HERE)
Donald Miller, a colleague of Wagner, calls this movement "The New Paradigm Churches." It is advertised as a reformation greater in scale than the reformation of the 1500's, and it is suggested that this "new reformation" is something entirely new. Wagner outlines his article with sections such as "new name", "new authority structure", "new ministry focus", "new worship style", "new prayer forms" etc. The centerpiece of this New Apostolic Reformation is the launching of new apostles and prophets for governing and covering the Church.
This is how it is to work: the Prophets receive, by "divine illumination" the doctrines of the Church and convey them to the Apostles who establish them, by means of their authority, as the word of God and pass them on to those under their covering - the pastors, teachers and evangelists - who in turn teach them to the submitted disciples sitting in the pews. Since this Governmental order is headed up by "God's Representatives on earth" no rebellion against the divine institutes will be tolerated. (Does this sound like Rome, or what?)
However, as I have pointed out throughout these articles, the teaching behind the "new thing" is as old as the hills. You need only browse through the Appendix for historical data on the Apostolic foundation of the churches and there you will discover that the heresy has been around, living in various cults and organisations, for century upon century, only today finding a home in the Evangelical, Protestant and Charismatic churches as a whole.
The Dispensation of Dominion
Today, however, we are moving into a more sinister aspect of the Apostolic church in which the current theology, structure and leadership is replaced by the new "paradigm" or model based upon revelation knowledge and spiritual experiences.
This report from the recent "International Gathering of Apostles and Prophets" in October 1999 says it all. I need to quote it at length for you to grasp the whole picture.
The Third Apostolic Reformation: Dr. Bill Hamon ... began by proposing that we are in the throws [sic] of not just "renewal"; not just "revival"; not just a "new awakening"; but a "third apostolic reformation".
The first was when Jesus appeared on the earth. Major foundational changes occurred at that time; changes in the religious structure, changes in how we relate to God, changes in the rise and fall of nations, changes in the social, economic and political climate, changes in virtually every area of significance. (This radical transition actually occurred in a span of approximately 40 to 50 years, or one generation) The apostolic and prophetic ministries were there to lay a new foundation, with Christ Jesus, of course, as the Cornerstone.
Then, approximately 1,500 years later, once again there came a foundational reformation, referred to by historians as the Protestant reformation, restoring truths of Scripture that were lost during the great "falling away", and in one generation, with Martin Luther, began a period of approximately 500 years of doctrinal restoration.
... Dr. Hamon also stated that, with the birthing of the prophetic movement in 1988, he believes we began the third apostolic reformation - MUCH MORE than just another "movement", a "fresh revival" or even a "major awakening". We are seeing prophets and apostles coming forth for a strategic reason. The question was posed, however, that if apostles and prophets are foundation layers, why are they coming back last, as if they were to add the finishing touches to an already existing restored church? The picture is of an existing building, being jacked up while foundational repairs are being done. While that is happening to an extent, could there be much more to this emergence of the foundational ministries at this time of church history than we are seeing right now? The answer is YES! We are being positioned to lay new foundations for a new era all together, foundations for the dawning of a new kingdom age.
WE ARE IN THE THROW’S [sic] OF THE BIRTHING OF A WHOLE NEW ORDER - A WHOLE NEW DISPENSATION! (Capitals in original) ... We are preparing to move into the age of Kingdom rule and dominion where Christ Himself, and we His saints, with Him, will rule and reign IN THE EARTH. The implications of this are staggering. It means a major paradigm shift. A change again in the religious structure, changes in how we relate to God, changes in the social and economic arenas, changes of nations and the political climate, changes in virtually every area of significance, just as radically as when He came the first time. A third apostolic reformation! So God is raising up apostles and prophets who are speaking some new and radical things; are setting the stage; are laying new foundations for a new era. Not just patching up what is already existing, but preparing the church for a new dispensation! WOWW!!
We are about to move from the dispensation of grace to the dispensation of dominion. We are about to see Jesus, not as the suffering lamb that was slain, but the roaring Lion who is King! The implications are awesome! I believe God is about to bring insight, for instance, into the difference between the "sin" of judgment and the "ministry" of judgment. (A very tiny window into this was seen when Peter dealt with Ananias and Sapphira
, or Paul with Elymas the magician ) We are also about to enter into, not an age of yielding and passive surrender to our enemies, such as "turn the other cheek", and "go the second mile"; but rather, into a position of authority, dominion and power. Ruling in Zion! Jesus was the yielding suffering servant once, but he sill not show up like that the next time! [From "Jim Wies" of Cornerstone Ministries on the "Revival-Fire" mailing list.]
The renewal and all that it means, as we see here, is much more than a simple evangelical revival, much more than a reformation within the Church. It is propelling Christians into an entirely different and new age, a new dispensation. This is a simply staggering claim!
Since C. Peter Wagner says about the man who made the above statements, that "Bill Hamon is at the cutting edge of The New Apostolic Reformation." and "You will not find a better navigator for this exhilarating trip than Bill Hamon," and since Wagner himself was present at the conference we can only assume he was in agreement with what was said.
To the commonly understood biblical dispensations of ignorance, law, grace we must now append a "dispensation of dominion" for the Church at the end of time when it stops offering forgiveness and mercy and instead wields the sword of judgement
I have mentioned Wagner as one of the initiators of the World Prayer Centre. C. Peter Wagner is also the founding president of Global Harvest Ministries, which is responsible for the "United Prayer Track" of AD2000 as well as other related missions activities outside the AD 2000 organization. (The AD2000 & Beyond Movement is a "global, informal network of Christian missionary agencies, denominations, churches and individuals committed to world evangelism.". Some current projects include the Joshua Project, Celebrate Messiah 2000 and Praying Through The Window.)
He freely networks with the hardcore sonship apostles and prophets while at the same time co-ordinating world evangelism that ultimately involves Rome, the UN and the New World Order. The aim is to log all churches, ministries and religious organisations into a computerised database and thus (with the supposed intention of reaching people for Christ) keep track of the allegiances, beliefs, intentions and affiliations of all Christians - which of course means any dissenters are tagged and targeted. This means YOU, if you choose to drop out of the proposed system! (Your church may already have signed on - you need to check this out.).
Networking
As an example of leadership networking, take the January 1999 conference held in the World Prayer Centre where Peter Wagner, the moderator of the conference, spoke on the necessity of Apostles and Prophets to "change the world" and proposed centralised, all-inclusive Church Government with Apostles as the covering network and Prophets as the doctrinal input. Amongst those present at the meeting were: Paul Cain, Chuck Pierce, John and Paula Sandford, Cindy Jacobs, Bill Hamon, Dutch Sheets, Rick Joyner, Kingsley Fletcher, Mike Bickle, Jim Laffoon, Barbara Wentroble, Bobby Byerly and Ted Haggard.
Some, if not all, of these names should give you a chill down your spine when you realise that these very "apostles and prophets" will be entrusted with the task of establishing the doctrine and government of the New Apostolic Church.
One link further on, we find the following ministries advertised on the web site of John & Paula Sandford: Bob Jones, Chuck Pierce, Jill Austin, Kim Clement, Jim Golls, Rick Joyner, Rodney Howard-Browne and - of course C. Peter Wagner. Visiting the web sites and following the links and reports of conferences, we go round in endless circles encountering the same people and ministries, demonstrating without a doubt the networking of World Evangelization, the River Revival, and the Sonship Apostles and Prophets.
Chuck Pierce, reporting on this meeting said:
"The National School of the Prophets had around 3,000 people in attendance. This gathering brought together many of the major prophetic streams to the World Prayer Center in Colorado Springs. ...Also, I invited 13 prophetic presbytery teams to the conference so that every attendee could be ministered to before leaving. This was new for many."
Imagine! Three thousand people, all of whom were "ministered to" and presumably received the "new paradigm" before leaving!
The January Conference mentioned above is described in the newsletters of Chuck Pierce. I urge you to read his newsletters, as they are a real education in what is going on! Director of the World Prayer Centre and Vice-President of Global Harvest Ministries, "Apostle" Chuck Pierce, claims his "Glory of Zion Outreach International Ministries" website is "... a source of information on the New Apostolic Reformation, a term coined by Dr. C. Peter Wagner to describe the extraordinary work of God that is, to a significant extent, changing the shape of Protestant Christianity around the world."
Here's a selection of Pierce's teachings:
"I want to share with you a word the Lord began to put in my heart at the end of last year. This word seems very significant and interpretive regarding what is happening in the Body right now. He began to say: "I am beginning a time of reorganization of My People. I will realign within their minds, their ministries and their relationships. I must create My authority in the earth." [The Third Day Church Preparing for the Future]
"I see the call to separate as the next step in our Lord's process to evangelize the earth. After God has divided us from the old mindsets and methods, He will then "mark off by bounds" the new position and sphere of authority for each of us to demonstrate His power. ... By developing new authority and boundaries, this allows us to stop the enemy from advancing on the earth." [The Third Day Church: Preparing for the Future]
"In our churches and cities, we must open the Gate of Heaven so angelic forces have free access to assist in our territorial warfare." [Shine in 1999]
"The word of the Lord says in II Samuel 3: 1: "The war between the house of Saul and the house of David lasted a long time. David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker ". We are in a transition time where governments are changing. The Lord is transforming and developing the wineskin for the next Century. New revelation is about to pour forth to the Body. The old structure always wars with the new. The confusion of the past season is about to let go. There is a transforming in our minds that is causing us to become one with His mind." [Letter of August 1998]
These are just a few examples of the way the revival and sonship doctrines are influencing world evangelism and reaching more conventional, conservative denominations and organisation.
Now networking is set to reach new heights through the Lighthouses scheme, formerly Lighthouses of Prayer. This project was recently launched with an international advertising campaign and TV coverage.
Continue to the next section of "The Global Network"
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