Readying the Bride of Christ

A couple of weeks ago, I had a dream. I want to share it with readers because I hope it will give insight into my reasons for starting this blog.

I’ve been told that some readers of this blog — members of apostolic-prophetic churches — have been really offended by things I’ve written. This has troubled me because my goal isn’t to offend my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I haven’t updated my blog in the past couple weeks because I wanted to take some time to pray and think about how I can more lovingly and clearly present my concerns about the apostolic-prophetic movement without turning people off. I thought the best way to do that might be to share my dream.

My Dream
I dreamt it was my wedding day. I was busy doing other things when, suddenly, I realized I hadn’t given myself enough time to get dressed for the ceremony.

The guests were gathered inside the church, and the groom was waiting for me at the front. Then, I could hear the piano music start to play. I panicked. I knew that after just a few songs, it would be my cue to walk down the aisle. But I wasn’t even in my wedding dress yet.

I looked down at the street clothes I had on and wondered if I could get by wearing them during the ceremony. But I knew I couldn’t do that: my groom was dressed in a tuxedo. So, I quickly put on my wedding dress. But, it was heavily wrinkled and looked shabby. I hadn’t bothered to have it steam cleaned beforehand.

Then, I looked down at my feet and realized I had forgotten to bring my fancy shoes. I would have to go barefoot. I hoped my long dress would cover my feet so no one would see them.

When I looked in the mirror, I saw my hair wasn’t fixed and my makeup wasn’t on. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew my groom would be hurt to find out that I didn’t value our relationship enough to make myself look beautiful for him on our important day. I had put other things before him.

When I woke from the dream, I was sweating and my heart was racing. My own wedding, two years ago, made the dream seem even more personal and relevant to me. As I lay there thinking about the dream, I realized it had biblical symbolism.

Biblical Symbols of Marriage
We, the church, are called the “bride of Christ.” God’s intimate relationship to His people is described — in both the Old and New Testaments — in terms of a marriage (examples: Isaiah 54:5-7; Hosea 2:19; Matthew 22:2-14; Ephesians 5:25-27, 32; Revelation 19:6-9). When Jesus returns for His bride, we will celebrate a great wedding feast with Him (Revelation 19:9).

The Groom expects that His bride will be spiritually ready for Him when He returns. Being ready includes:

• Being dressed in bright, clean, fine linen (which represents good deeds) Revelations 19:6-8

• Having no blemishes or wrinkles (being without sin) Ephesians 5:25-27

• Being a pure virgin (being doctrinally pure) who is devoted to Christ 2 Corinthians 11:2-4. The Bible compares the teachings of false prophets to spiritual adultery (Jeremiah 23:13-14).

• Having oil (representing the Holy Spirit) in our lamps, like the five wise virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom in Matthew 25:1-14

Even though this gets away from bridal imagery, all Christians are supposed to put on the full armor of God that is listed in Ephesians 6, which — as in my dream — includes shoes (shoes represent sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with others, according to this passage).

How The Dream Relates to My Blog
When Jesus returns for His bride, it’s going to be too late to get ready for Him — as it was for me in my dream. I can’t forget the panic I felt. Yet, that feeling will be much more intense if we Christians aren’t ready for our Divine Groom. We must get ready now.

This symbolism motivates my ministry. I have great love for the body of Christ and want all Christians to be ready when Christ returns for us. I have a special desire to see the church be spiritually pure when He returns for us, which, I believe, may be soon. (See fulfilledprophecy.com for more on this.)

But false teachings sneak into the church and, sadly, even good Christians can be seduced by them. Paul told the churches in Galatia that he was shocked to see that they were embracing false teachings (Galatians 1:6-7). And even the apostle Peter began promoting false teaching until he was confronted by the apostle Paul (Galatians 2:11-17). If Peter — Christ’s chosen leader of the early church — could be temporarily deceived by false teaching, then no Christian is immune from it — not you or me. So, all of us need to watch our doctrine closely, as Paul instructed his young disciple Timothy (1 Timothy 4:16). I frequently pray that God will keep me from believing wrong beliefs about Him and the world.

That’s the goal of my blog: to help Christians guard against serious doctrinal error that can hurt their relationships with Christ. Please don’t misunderstand me: I’m not saying that members of apostolic-prophetic churches aren’t Christians. Quite the opposite: many of them are sincere, committed, beautiful, loving Christians. I’m also not saying that apostolic-prophetic churches are the only ones with doctrinal error. Sadly, there are a lot of false teachings in the church.

The reasons I focus on this particular doctrinal error are because so few people are addressing it and because this movement is growing so quickly. It’s been embraced in many charismatic churches, which are the fastest-growing churches in the world, according to church growth researchers, like David Barrett.

Many of the Christians who attend apostolic-prophetic churches don’t know that some of the teachings are the same teachings of the Latter Rain Movement of the 1940s — a movement that the majority of Christians, back then, rejected as seriously errant. The “apostolic-prophetic movement” and “New Apostolic Reformation” are simply new names given to these old teachings. Don’t take my word for it: some of the most prominent leaders in the apostolic-prophetic movement, like C. Peter Wagner (pictured here), openly admit that their teachings are the same old Latter Rain teachings. (See Wagner’s 2004 book, Changing Church, published by Regal Books.)

One of these teachings is that all Christians must submit to modern apostles and prophets who have unquestioned authority and the ability to give new doctrine to the church that can’t be found in the Bible.

Of course, not all Christians who attend apostolic-prophetic churches accept this teaching. In fact, I believe that many members of apostolic-prophetic churches would strongly oppose it. But, some of the most prominent leaders in this movement, like Wagner, do promote this teaching. And Wagner’s teachings are entering many apostolic-prophetic churches — though the teachings aren’t always detected.

This is my concern. I hope my blog will raise awareness about such teachings so they won’t mislead people.

My Heart
Please — if I’ve offended you with my blog — I hope you’ll see that this isn’t my intention. Let’s discuss these issues together, and show me if I’m off base somewhere or if I’m ungracious. As Paul warns, I can have all knowledge in the world — including all doctrinal knowledge (which I certainly don’t have) — but, without love, I’m just making a lot noise. I don’t want to be a noisemaker.

I think my post called “Holly’s Top 7 Prophecies for 2007” was especially offensive to some readers. I meant to use humor to highlight some of the movement’s errors. Perhaps my poking fun was unkind and, if it was, I’m sorry.

Some of the comments posted by readers of my blog, sadly, have resorted to unkind personal attacks and judgments against people in apostolic-prophetic churches. I don’t support such comments and I’ve even deleted some that, I felt, crossed a line.

Yet, as long as the comments are civil, I rarely delete them — whether they’re made by people who oppose or support the apostolic-prophetic movement. That’s because I want this blog to be a place where people from all sides can come together and discuss these important issues.

I know that some people will perceive all criticism as unloving, no matter how gently it is given. But my prayer is that — in sharing my concerns about this movement — my love for Christ’s body will be apparent.

(* Photo of bride was taken by David Ball)

Why God’s People Are Being Destroyed

“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6)

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard modern “apostles” and “prophets” quote this verse in reference to their own teachings.

They claim Christians are being destroyed because they don’t embrace the “apostles’” and “prophets’” teachings. See an example here (from Jill Austin, founder of “Master Potter Ministries” in Laguna Hills, Calif.).

I also heard this verse used the other night on Kenneth Copeland’s (pictured here) television program, “Believer’s Voice of Victory,” that aired on Daystar network. Don Colbert, a guest on Copeland’s show, was explaining the importance of eating all-natural foods. Colbert said that Christians are being destroyed (having health problems) because they don’t know the health risks of processed foods. Watch the Feb. 1 program here.

Using this verse to refer to healthy foods is ridiculous. And so is using it to refer to modern-day “apostles” and “prophets.” Yet, when a verse is ripped out of its context, it can be used to support any teaching.

Hosea 4:6 In Context
When we look at this verse in context, we see what specific “lack of knowledge” is being referred to. It wasn’t knowledge about modern-day “apostles” and “prophets” or about unhealthy foods. It was knowledge of God’s law (i.e., His Word). This is made clear in the latter part of the same verse.

The reason God’s people didn’t know His Word — according to the surrounding verses — is because the religious leaders (the priests and “prophets”) weren’t teaching it to them. See Hosea 4:4-9.

Today’s ‘Bible’ Teachers
Sound familiar? It should. Many of today’s religious leaders are busy teaching anything besides God’s Word. Of course, they claim their teachings are based on Scripture, and they hold and wave their Bibles — like Copeland does in his photo above — but that doesn’t mean they’re teaching the Bible. The verses they cite are often used out of context and, thus, have nothing to do with their teachings.

The real reason God’s people are destroyed today — as in Hosea’s time — is because they don’t know God’s Word. Thus, they are seduced into false and idolatrous beliefs. This breaks God’s heart, which is the point of the book of Hosea — to show how much God loves His wayward people and wants them to be faithful to Him.

On my blog, I try to show that the teachings of the apostolic-prophetic movement are based on Scriptures used out of context, like the teaching about Joel’s Army, which I wrote about in an earlier post. Read it here.

In fact, all false, heretical and cultic teachings are based on Scriptures that are misinterpreted and used out of context. That’s why it’s important for every Christian to know how to correctly interpret the Bible, especially those who teach the Bible. 2 Timothy 2:15 says that someone who teaches the Bible must know how to correctly handle it.

Correctly Interpreting the Bible
Bible scholars use a big, fancy word to refer to the study of biblical interpretation: “hermeneutics” (pronounced, in English, like “her men new ticks”). Don’t let that word scare you away: the principles aren’t too hard to learn. It’s a shame that they are usually taught only in seminaries or Bible colleges. They should be taught in all churches, Bible studies and Sunday school classes — even to children.

But, sadly, they’re not. As a result, many Christians don’t know God’s Word and are being led into the erroneous teachings of the apostolic-prophetic movement and other unbiblical movements.

Recommended Resources
Here are some resources to help you learn basic principles of Bible interpretation.

Book
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart: This classic book is used in many seminaries, but it’s written for laypeople to understand. See it at Amazon.com.

Web Site
Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry: This Web page offers a brief overview of the principles.

Holly’s Top 7 Prophecies for 2007

Since the “prophets” in the apostolic-prophetic movement have been releasing their predictions for the new year, I thought I’d share mine before January’s over.

But, first, remember that none of these predictions has to happen this year, or next year, or the year after — or ever — to qualify as true prophecies. Many factors that could hinder their occurrence include — but are not limited to — the following: prayer, fasting, maybe I misheard what God said, maybe you misheard what I said, maybe you misheard what I misheard God said, maybe God wasn’t clear with what He said, maybe God changed his mind, maybe enough seed offerings didn’t come in, maybe you didn’t really believe the prophecies, maybe I didn’t really believe them, maybe demonic spirits intercepted them mid-air, and maybe the prophecies really did happen but you didn’t see them — and, for that matter, nobody did — because their fulfillments had to be seen with “spiritual” eyes.

Keeping those in mind, here are my top seven prophecies for 2007 (Note, seven is a prophetically significant number. That’s because 2007 is the year of sevens … the year of the seven-fold portion. Everything you send me — in cash or Starbucks coffee cards — will be returned to you seven-fold.*)

The Top 7

1. Many “prophets” will arise and give vague, abstract, nebulous prophecies that could mean anything and be interpreted anyway.

2. Many of these “prophets” will explain away their failed prophecies with ludicrous explanations that will be accepted by many of their followers.

3. “Prophets” will “predict” the past with retroactive prophecies.

4. “Prophets” will prophesy a “transference of wealth” — to themselves.

5. Surprising changes will occur: people will move, switch jobs, politics will shift — oops, Patricia King already covered this one (see last post).

6. Many “prophets” will claim to be attacked by demonically motivated Christians who — for some unknown, but diabolical reason — oppose the “prophets’” heresies, scams in the name of God, and false prophecies. The “prophets” will accuse these Christians of being “Pharisees,” “Jezebels” and having a “religious spirit” (a tactic to silence criticism).

7. As a sign that all these things shall come to pass, there will be clouds in the sky, birds in the air, Wal-Marts in more cities — and many other extremely rare and unusual occurrences.

Footnote 1: The seven-fold blessing is a joke, although cash and Starbucks cards are nice! Just kidding again.

Footnote 2: Please don’t misunderstand the intent of this satire. I’m not mocking prophecy, but the misuses of it. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 warns us not to mock prophecy (which is stifling the Holy Spirit), but to test all prophecies — holding onto the good ones and staying away from the bad ones, which are described as “evil.”

King’s ‘Extremely Prophetic’ Directives for 2007

Patricia King — host of the television program “Extreme Prophetic with Patricia King” — just released her “Seven Prophetic Directives for 2007″ through the Elijah List. Read the directives here. I want to point out that not one “prophecy” in the entire list predicts anything that doesn’t happen every year. So, how can King be considered a prophet?

Directive No. 1, for example, states that in 2007 God is looking for Christians who will invest their talents wisely and bear fruit for the kingdom. My response is: when isn’t God looking for this? He wants this from all Christians, in every year of church history.

Directive No. 2 predicts that there will be a lot of changes in 2007 — including political changes, people moving to new locations, getting new jobs, and switching their college majors. Again, these predictions are laughable. When don’t these things happen?

The funniest of her predictions for 2007 is that people will start finding change (coins) in unique places, like on the ground in front of them and in drawers. She says these finds will confirm her prediction of coming changes. So, now every time people find change, should they see it as a prophetic sign? King also predicts the appearances of butterflies and unusual weather patterns. Again, when don’t we see butterflies and unusual weather patterns?

Directive No. 4 predicts catastrophes and, in response to these catastrophes, Christians reaching out to the victims with compassion ministry and prayer. Again, which year hasn’t the world had catastrophes, and when haven’t Christians responded in compassion and prayer?

Directive No. 6 predicts that biblical teachings will be challenged. But some Christians will rise up to defend those teachings — facing persecution. I know I’m sounding like a broken record, but when hasn’t this happened? (Not to mention that King and her fellow “prophets” are challenging many biblical teachings with their teachings about apostles and prophets.)

These directives aren’t “extremely prophetic” — in fact, they’re not even slightly prophetic — despite the name of King’s ministry. Visit King’s Extreme Prophetic Web site here.

Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare

Have you heard of “strategic-level spiritual warfare?”

This practice — which is popular in the apostolic-prophetic movement — often involves going to the highest place in a city or nation, like a mountain top, and trying to bind “territorial spirits,” the high-ranking demons that rule over specific geographical regions. The idea is that — if their demonic grip is broken — then the people who live in that region will respond en masse to the gospel, and they will be freed of sinful strongholds, like witchcraft, lust and greed.

Many churches and missions agencies have eagerly adopted strategic-level warfare, believing it’s the key to fulfilling the Great Commission (especially in regions that are hostile to the gospel). These Christians take part in showy ceremonies, where they seek to directly confront territorial spirits by name.

Operation Queen’s Palace
In October 1999, for example, C. Peter Wagner (pictured here) — the main advocate of this practice — led a group to Ephesus, Turkey, for “Operation Queen’s Palace” — to confront a spirit he identified as the “Queen of Heaven” (supposedly a strong spirit that was blocking the gospel in that region). They engaged in what is called “aggressive prayer warfare,” commanding the spirit’s power to be broken. This trip has now become a prototype for other ministries.

The reason this type of spiritual warfare is called “strategic” is because it doesn’t attempt to cast demons out of just individual people — which Wagner calls “ground-level warfare” — but entire nations.

Spiritual Warfare is Biblical
Don’t be mistaken: I believe spiritual warfare is biblical, and all Christians must engage in it with seriousness. According to Ephesians 6:10-18, we are in battle against “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We must never forget this because Satan is like a “roaring lion” that is seeking to catch us off guard and devour us. See 1 Peter 5:8. We must be aware of his schemes against us. See 2 Corinthians 2:11.

The Bible also teaches that there are angels (both good and bad) with varying degrees of authority. For example, Michael is called an “archangel” who has command over other angels (Rev. 12:7) and is one of the “chief princes” and a prince of Israel (Dan. 10:13, 21). Other Scripture passages hint at the existence of a hierarchy within the angelic world. See Romans 8:38-39, Ephesians 6:12 and Colossians 1:16.

In 1 Corinthians 2:6, 8, there is reference to the “rulers of this age” who caused Christ’s crucifixion (perhaps high-ranking demonic forces).

All these passages seem to teach that there are angels who have greater authority than other angels. These angels would seemingly include territorial spirits, whose existence, I believe, is also supported by the Bible. In Daniel 10, for example, we learn that there are a “Prince of Persia” and a “Prince of Greece” — apparently, territorial spirits who were opposing God’s work in those empires.

So, the question isn’t: should we engage in spiritual warfare? As Christians, we all must. The real question is: how should we engage in it? Should we seek to combat territorial spirits, as leaders in the apostolic-prophetic movement urge us to do? Or have we been given other strategies? (More on this below.)

Strategic-Level Warfare is Unbiblical
The problems with strategic-level warfare are that Scripture does not support it, and it may actually be dangerous. At the very least, Christians may be involved in a practice that diverts their focus from fruitful, Spirit-empowered ministry to powerless ritual. At the worst, they may be opening themselves up to harmful spiritual attack. I will explain why.

But, first, Christians should know that even Wagner admits that much of this practice comes from sources outside of Scripture. For example, in his book — ironically titled What the Bible Says About Spiritual Warfare (pictured here) — Wagner argues that it’s important to know the name of a territorial spirit to cast it out. He believes that, when we know the name of a spirit, then we have more authority over it.

Of course, the Bible doesn’t teach this — something Wagner readily admits. But he doesn’t care. Why? Because people who have experience dealing with demons have found that it’s important to know their names, according to Wagner. So, he has developed his doctrine from experience (and human wisdom), instead of God’s Word. And, of course, strategic-level warfare includes identifying the names of territorial spirits.

Wagner also struggles to come up with an example of strategic-level warfare in the Bible. In fact, he has to rely on a story that doesn’t come from the Bible — a story about when the apostle John reportedly went to the temple in Ephesus and prayed against the goddess Diana. John reportedly said:

“Oh God … at whose name every idol takes flight and every demon and every unclean power: now let the demon that is here take flight at thy name.”

According to the story, Diana’s altar then split into pieces.

Yet, even Wagner’s non-biblical example has problems. For starters, John’s prayer was directed to God — John didn’t directly speak to, or confront, Diana. So, this doesn’t even qualify as strategic-level warfare. Also, of course, this story doesn’t come from Scripture, so we shouldn’t build our doctrine or practice around it, as Wagner has done.

Spiritual Warfare Is Ignored
Unfortunately, biblical teachings on spiritual warfare are neglected in many evangelical churches — especially non-charismatic churches. Because of this, a vacuum has been created that has been filled by unbiblical teachings. Many Christians who see the reality of spiritual warfare in the Bible — and who may have even experienced it in their own lives — are hungry for teaching on it. Because they can’t find this teaching in other churches, they are drawn to churches that promote strategic-level warfare.

United States Global Apostolic Prayer Network

Wagner created the United States Global Apostolic Prayer Network to promote strategic-level warfare on behalf of the United States. Under the leadership of Chuck Pierce and Cindy Jacobs, this network has appointed “state apostolic coordinators” who direct strategic-level warfare in each state. Through this network, many churches have been brought into strategic-level warfare. Read more about the network here, and find out the names of the apostolic coordinators for each state.

Spiritual Mapping
Many ministries also use “spiritual mapping” to aid their strategic-level warfare. This practice involves mapping out the demonic activities in geographical regions, including the names of the ruling territorial spirits and types of strongholds. (Note: not all people who practice spiritual mapping support strategic-level warfare. Some Christians just find it helpful to identify the religious and spiritual influences in a region to aid their evangelism efforts, but they don’t seek to identify or bind territorial spirits.)

Links to the Apostolic-Prophetic Movement
Although many churches and ministries have embraced strategic-level warfare, they may not know how these practices relate to the apostolic-prophetic movement. According to the movement’s leaders, strategic-level warfare will work only if it is practiced under the direction of modern “apostles” (like Wagner) and “prophets” (like Cindy Jacobs). Why? Because only “prophets” are able to receive the divine revelation needed to defeat the territorial spirits (including their names). And only “apostles” have the God-given authority to bind the territorial spirits.

The average, everyday Christian doesn’t have this authority, according to these leaders. This is why they teach that all Christians must submit to the modern “apostles” and “prophets.” They believe that once the entire church is under their rule, then they will lead it — like an army — in defeating demonic principalities and establishing God’s kingdom on earth.

Strategic-level warfare also relates to the apostolic-prophetic movement in its emphasis on national revivals. According to the movement’s leaders, binding territorial spirits will result in the Christianization of the world and the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth — before Christ returns.

This contradicts the “premillennial” view of the end-times, which argues that nations will grow more evil and hostile toward God — even accepting the rule of the antichrist — until Christ returns and establishes His kingdom Himself. Yet, interestingly, many people who are part of the apostolic-prophetic movement still hold a premillennial view of the end times, without realizing that these views are contradictory. (More on this in a future post.)

Perhaps if more Christians realized the agenda of this movement’s leaders — an agenda to bring all Christians under their rule — then they wouldn’t so readily embrace this practice. They also may reject it if they realized that it requires a very different view of the end times than they hold to.

No Biblical Support
Of course, advocates of strategic-level warfare claim that the Bible supports the practice. But a careful reading of the passages they cite — in context — shows they don’t.

The Bible does support the concept of territorial spirits, as I mentioned above. But it never encourages God’s people to directly confront territorial spirits or interact with them in any way. In fact, we have no biblical record of God’s people — be they apostles, prophets or ordinary Christians — ever confronting a territorial spirit or seeking to bind one. Jesus, himself, never sought to bind a territorial spirit in his earthly ministry.

Let’s look at Daniel 10, the passage most often used to support strategic-level warfare. In this passage, we learn of a heavenly struggle that was going on behind the scenes, involving the archangel Michael and the Princes of Persia and Greece. Notice, however, that Daniel never directly challenged the Prince of Persia or Prince of Greece. In fact, he seemingly never even knew the Prince of Persia had hindered his prayers until after his divine visitor told him this information. So, Daniel certainly wasn’t engaging in strategic-level warfare against the Prince of Persia, as advocates of the practice claim.

Other passages used to support the practice also fail. Just because the Bible teaches the existence of territorial spirits doesn’t mean that we, Christians, have the mandate or authority to directly confront them.

Our biblical authority seems to be limited to casting out demons from individuals — what Jesus gave the Seventy the authority to do in Luke 10. Note: the Seventy weren’t attempting to bind territorial spirits in the cities they visited, but were focusing on delivering individual people from demons.

Biblical Evangelism
Rather than binding territorial spirits, the early Christians’ method of evangelism was proclaiming the gospel — along with prayer and reliance on the Holy Spirit. This method may not seem as glamorous as spiritual warfare ceremonies (it’s certainly harder work!). But it’s the model we are given in the Bible.

Of course, if we are concerned about territorial spirits in a region, then we can always ask God to hinder their influence. But we haven’t been given the authority to command a demon to leave a city or region. As long as sin is present in a region, Satan has legal claim there.

Dangers of Strategic-Level Warfare
Not only don’t we have examples of strategic-level warfare in Scripture — we actually may be warned against it. In 2 Peter 2:10-12 and Jude 1:8-10, we learn of people who speak abusively against angelic forces — something even powerful good angels (including the archangel Michael) don’t dare do. People who directly rebuke high-ranking spirits are messing with dangerous things that are outside their realm of knowledge. These passages should serve as a sobering warning against confronting territorial spirits.

Could it be that Christians who practice strategic-level warfare, unknowingly, may be opening themselves up to powerful demonic attack as they venture outside their God-given sphere of authority?

Biblical Spiritual Warfare
So, how should Christians wage spiritual warfare? In Ephesians 6:10-18, we are told how: by putting on all the spiritual armor God has given us, including living in truth, righteousness, sharing the gospel, having faith in God, receiving salvation, knowing the Word of God (the Bible) and constant prayer. In the Lord’s Prayer, we are told to pray that God will deliver us from Satan. See Matthew 6:13.

We must draw near to God because, when we do, Satan will flee (James 4:7). If we are filled with the Holy Spirit (meaning that we are submitting to His control in all areas of our lives), then there won’t be room for Satan to operate in our lives.

We must stay alert to Satan’s schemes. One of his most powerful and common tactics is deception. Satan is called the “father of lies” (John 8:44). He attempts to blind unbelievers to the truth of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4) and to get Christians to accept demonically inspired false teachings (1 Timothy 4:1). So, our main offensive strategy is to expose Satan’s lies by presenting the truth of God’s Word to believers and unbelievers, alike.

Recommended Reading
For a great overview of what the Bible teaches about spiritual warfare, I recommend Clinton Arnold’s book, 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare (published by Baker). It has an in-depth critique of strategic-level spiritual warfare. See it at Amazon.com.

Why People Join This Movement

When I tell Christians about the teachings of the apostolic-prophetic movement, they often ask me, “Why do people join this movement?”

Good question. When you bring the movement’s teachings together, you get a bizarre worldview that has no basis in Scripture. Yet, the thing is: Very few people in the apostolic-prophetic movement have brought all the teachings together. They’ve embraced a teaching here and another one there, but they don’t realize that all the teachings — like puzzle pieces — fit together. And the picture that emerges would, I believe, rightly concern many of them.

Many true, sincere Christians are caught up in this movement, but don’t know what they’re caught up in. That’s because many apostolic-prophetic churches don’t provide full disclosure of their teachings. In fact, they often have standard evangelical statements of faith. See, for example, the statement of beliefs for Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, Calif.

From this statement, it appears that Harvest Rock Church is a typical charismatic church. What you’re not told is that the church is enmeshed in the apostolic-prophetic movement — teaching that all Christians must submit to new apostles and prophets, who have unquestioned authority and the ability to give new teachings that aren’t found in Scripture. The pastor/“apostle,” Che´Ahn (pictured here), is a key player in the movement. Ahn is a member of C. Peter Wagner’s “International Coalition of Apostles,” (see the membership list here), and he gives sermons that promote the movement’s troublesome teachings. Ahn also brings in the movement’s “prophets,” like Todd Bentley and Kim Clement, to speak to his congregation. See the lineup of “prophets” at the church’s next conference. In fact, Harvest Rock Church even has its own in-house “prophet,” Lou Engle, who is another key player in the movement.

Yet, I’d venture to guess that many people attending Harvest Rock Church don’t even know — really know — what the apostolic-prophetic movement is. They don’t know that when they joined this church, they joined a movement that many cult researchers consider one of the most erroneous sects in the church today. They don’t know that the movement’s teachings are the same as the Latter Rain Movement of the late 1940s that was condemned as heretical by most Christians — something the movement’s leaders freely admit. Learn about the Latter Rain Movement here.

What they do know is they like the church’s focus on teachings that are often neglected by other evangelical churches, like spiritual warfare. A vacuum has been created in the Church that apostolic-prophetic churches fill. But sadly, the way spiritual warfare is taught in this movement is unbiblical. (More on this in my next post.) In brief, in this movement spiritual warfare must be conducted under the direction of the “apostles” and “prophets,” who alone have the authority and divine strategies needed to defeat demonic principalities. Yet, many people in the movement don’t make the connection between the teachings about spiritual warfare and the teachings about “apostles” and “prophets.”

Many people have been immersed in this movement — perhaps they were even raised in it. So, they can’t see how drastically its teachings depart from historic, orthodox Christianity. In their minds, the teachings are Christian.

Other Christians are so weak in their knowledge of the Bible and Christian doctrine that they can’t spot deviations from orthodox Christianity. That makes them susceptible to aberrational movements, like this one. Sadly, the evangelical church, as a whole, has so downplayed the importance of doctrine that many Christians fall into this camp.

The ACPE’s ‘Fortune Cookie Prophecies’ for 2007

On Nov. 1, the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders (ACPE) released their “Word of the Lord for 2007” through the Elijah List. Each year, this group of 33 “prophets” meets to determine what God is saying to the Church for the new year. I want to point out some observations about this latest “Word.”

1. Note that the list of “prophets” in this council includes Steve Shultz, Chuck Pierce and Kim Clement — three people I’ve recently written about. Clement has a long list of false prophecies, and all three of them teach the unbiblical doctrines of the apostolic-prophetic movement (read past posts for more information). I plan to discuss the council’s other “prophets” in future posts.

2. The council is headed by C. Peter Wagner (pictured here), perhaps the leading proponent of the apostolic-prophetic movement (he calls it the “New Apostolic Reformation”). Wagner teaches that all Christians must submit to the new apostles and prophets. Those who resist are motivated by a high-ranking demonic principality, according to Wagner. He also admits that this movement has the same teachings as the Latter Rain movement of the late 1940s that was deemed heretical by most Christians. (See his books Churchquake! and Changing Church.)

3. The introduction to this “Word of the Lord” has lots of caveats — more than I’ve seen in previous years. Perhaps critics of the movement are having an effect. However, keep in mind a couple of things. First, many of these “prophets” teach that they have the office of prophet and, thus, have the same authority as prophets like Elijah and Jeremiah. So, although they seem to be downplaying their role here, they are elevating it in many of their books and other teaching materials. Also, notice that when you add up all the caveats, you’ll find that not one of the prophecies actually has to come to pass for the prophecies to be accurate, according to these “prophets.” (Read the introduction to see what I mean.) Furthermore, when you read all the prophecies, you’ll see that not one is specific enough to actually be proven true of false. They are so vague and nebulous that many things could be pointed to as their fulfillments. That’s why I call them “fortune cookie prophecies.” Consider prophecy No. 1, for example: “Finishing of a building cycle. Time for new building strategies to be released.” What does this mean? What would it look like if fulfilled? Anything could be made to fit this.

4. Notice prophecy No. 2: “Finishing of the five-fold ministry restored. Apostolic and Prophetic moving together.” The doctrine of “fivefold ministry” is the crux of the apostolic-prophetic movement. It’s based on Ephesians 4:11-13, which — according to the movement’s leaders — teaches that there are five ongoing, governmental offices in the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. They teach that apostles and prophets (the highest offices) have been missing since the first century, making the church ineffective. According to the ACPE, these two offices will finish being restored this year. Once all Christians submit to the new apostles and prophets, the church will have power like never before, according to the movement. (Note: Some Christians who believe in the doctrine of “fivefold ministry” don’t view apostles and prophets the same way as leaders in this movement do. They sometimes call missionaries and effective church leaders “apostles,” and they call people with the New Testament gift of prophecy “prophets.” I will talk about this more in future posts.)

5. Prophecy No. 6 has to do with the “transference of wealth.” According to leaders in the movement, God is going to transfer the world’s wealth from the wicked to the righteous (specifically, the apostles). The wealth will be redistributed under the guidance of the apostles. This will give the Church the resources it needs to establish God’s kingdom on earth. The problem is, this teaching has no basis in Scripture. It’s based on new revelation given by new “prophets,” like members of the ACPE. It’s also based on Scripture verses yanked out of context, like Isaiah 60:5 and 11, which speak of the time after Christ’s return.

6. Note, also, that the “prophets” tells us that 2007 is “The Year of the Clash of the Swords.” “Prophet” Chuck Pierce (pictured here) has prophesied that the Church is currently in a “seven-year war cycle” and that 2007 is the year of the sword. (I wrote about this two posts back.) Where did Pierce get this from? Certainly, not from the Bible. But the fact that the ACPE makes this a major portion of their “Word of the Lord for 2007″ shows the weight they give to Pierce’s prophecies that have no biblical basis.

7. I think this warning is humorous: “Watch for the trap of fornication and adultery, and beware of seducing spirits.” Since when did we need a special word to warn us of the lure of sexual immorality? There’s a reason prostitution is called the world’s oldest profession. Of course, we should always beware of seducing spirits.

8. Whatever happened to all the prophecies made in the “Word of the Lord for 2006?” Read it here. I haven’t seen any follow up but, then again, those predictions also were vague, so almost anything could be made to fit them. There are lots of similarities with the “Word of the Lord for 2007,” like predictions of moves of God on university campuses.

These are just quick thoughts about the “Word.” Let me know yours.

Psychics, Prophets and Scripture Twisting

I am continually distressed by “prophets” in the apostolic-prophetic movement who twist Scripture to support their teachings. Well, I thought I’d seen it all when it comes to Scripture twisting — until last Saturday, Nov. 18.

On this day, “Prophet” Steve Shultz — the publisher of the Elijah List (an e-mail newsletter) — sent out an advertisement for his new Voice of the Prophetic magazine (pictured above). Read the ad here. This ad contained a sample of the teachings you’ll receive if you subscribe to the magazine. The sample teaching, written by Shultz, is titled, “What’s the Difference Between a Prophet and a Psychic?”

Shultz’ 3 Tests for Prophets
Shultz’ answer is that there are three criteria for distinguishing a psychic from a true prophet of God.

1. A prophet claims the source for his or her prophecies is God, not some other power.
2. A prophet’s prophecies are “correct more times than they are incorrect.”
3. A prophet will seek to obey the Word of God at all times, while a psychic will not.

Criterion No. 1 is hardly helpful since many people — even non-Christians — claim the source of their prophecies is God. That doesn’t mean their prophecies really are from God. That’s why the Bible commands us to “test the spirits” to see whether a prophet is really speaking for God. 1 John 4:1

Criterion No. 3 also isn’t too helpful. What does it mean that a prophet seeks to obey the Word of God at all times? This seems rather vague and subjective. Certainly, this criterion should include the expectation that his or her teachings are faithful to the Word of God. Yet, Shultz never mentions the importance of comparing a “prophet’s” doctrines to the Bible — the most important test to apply to anyone who claims to represent God. In fact, 1 John 4:1, cited above, shows that the way we “test the spirits” that are speaking through a prophet is by evaluating the prophet’s teachings.

Blatant Scripture Twisting
Now, onto Criterion No. 2: The prophet’s prophecies are “most often accurate.” Amazingly, this criterion — which allows for failed prophecies — directly contradicts the Bible. The Bible tells us that if a prophet gives a false prophecy, then he or she is a false prophet. Yet, Shultz claims that a prophet will makes mistakes, but that doesn’t disqualify that person as a true prophet. To support this teaching, Shultz twists Scripture, quoting Deuteronomy 18:22:

“If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”

The standard interpretation of this verse throughout church history is that someone who gives a false prophecy is a false prophet. So, there is no need to fear this person’s prophecies because God did not send him or her. But here is Shultz’ interpretation of this passage:

“However, even if a true prophet misses it once in awhile, the Bible tells you not to be afraid of that person. Just because a person makes a mistake doesn’t mean he or she is a false prophet or a psychic. It only means they are still learning to hear accurately.”

Do you see what Shultz has done? He’s made the verse say the exact opposite of what it really says. He says not to be afraid that someone is a false prophet if he or she gets some prophecies wrong. That prophet simply needs to develop his or her prophetic abilities, according to Shultz.

What a bizarre interpretation of this verse! Read it in its larger context: Deuteronomy 18:20-22. Notice that, just two verses above the verse Shultz quotes in the very same passage, the Bible says that a person who gets prophecies wrong should be put to death. Shultz conveniently leaves out that part of the passage.

Part of me thinks that such blatant twisting Scripture has to be intentional, but perhaps Shultz is actually that deceived. Either way, God’s people should not be looking to him for teachings on the prophetic. But, sadly, some Christians are. Shultz will be a featured “prophet” at an Elijah List conference in Albany, Ore., Nov. 30-Dec. 2, titled “What is God Saying for 2007?” (Ad shown here)

I know some of my readers will think I’m attacking Shultz, but that’s not true. Keep in mind that he has attacked the teachings of historic, orthodox Christianity. I am simply defending the faith from his attacks.

Crucial Distinction
There’s an important point I need to make. A lot of confusion arises when it comes to issues of prophets and prophecy because many people don’t make a distinction between the office of prophet and the New Testament gift of prophecy. Some people claim that the Bible makes no such distinction. Yet, when we examine Scripture, this distinction emerges.

Office of Prophet
When it comes to Old Testament prophets — like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Elijah — we see that they had great authority to speak God’s exact, infallible words. To disobey them was to disobey God. For example, Old Testament prophets gave new teachings and moral commands that were authoritatively binding on all God’s people. Many of their prophecies were recorded in Scripture and, as such, are still binding on Christians today. They also gave commands to kings that, if disobeyed, brought disastrous judgments on nations. They were sought for divine guidance.

New Testament Gift of Prophecy
In contrast, Christians with the New Testament gift of prophecy are never seen giving prophecies that are authoritatively binding on all Christians. They never give new commands or doctrines that become Scripture. Far from this, their prophecies must be tested by Scripture. They don’t have the absolute, divine authority we see attached to the office of prophet. In fact, their prophecies can be questioned, challenged and, when false, rejected by other believers.

Also, notably, nowhere in the New Testament do we see a prophet being sought out for guidance. That’s because, in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon only specially chosen people. But, after Christ’s resurrection, the Holy Spirit now dwells within every believer — making the mediation of a special prophet unnecessary. The New Testament gift of prophecy doesn’t function to mediate or legislate, but to strengthen, comfort and encourage believers and to expose the sinful hearts of unbelievers so they will be convicted and receive salvation. 1 Corinthians 14:3, 14:24-25

Testing New Testament Prophecy
The difference between the office of prophet and the gift of prophecy also becomes apparent when we look at the tests for each. Those with the office of prophet must never give a failed prophecy. If they do, they are false prophets.

Those with the New Testament gift of prophecy, however, may make mistakes. This seems evident from 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, which teaches a church to test all prophetic words — holding onto the good ones and throwing out the bad ones. Note: This passage doesn’t say to throw out the Christian who gives a false prophecy (like the Old Testament says to kill a false prophet). It says to throw out the bad prophecy. The reason for this difference is simple: someone with the gift of prophecy doesn’t have great authority like someone who fills the office of prophet. This person isn’t claiming to be speaking God’s infallible words (or else his or her words would be equal to Scripture). Since the authority isn’t as great, the consequences of such mistakes aren’t as grave.

Theologian Wayne Grudem defines the gift of prophecy as: “speaking merely human words to report something God brings to mind.” Since these prophecies are filtered through human words and human interpretation, they are subject to error. This is a much-diminished role from those who fill the office of prophet and speak God’s very words. The gift of prophecy, however, is still a valuable gift that we should desire, according to Paul. 1 Corinthians 14:1

The Doublespeak of Shultz’ ‘Prophets’
Yet, Shultz (and many other leaders in the apostolic-prophetic movement) teach that the movement’s “prophets” have the office of prophet, the same as Elijah or Jeremiah. They claim that nations must obey their prophecies or face judgment. They claim they can give new doctrinal revelation and that all Christians must submit to them. These teachings can be found throughout their teachings and books. (See, for example, Bill Hamon’s book Apostles, Prophets and the Coming Moves of God.)

Even though they claim all this for themselves, ironically — when it comes to the guidelines for testing those who hold this office — they turn around and claim those tests don’t apply to them. For instance, they claim that it’s OK if they get prophecies wrong — even though Deuteronomy 18:20-22 says they are false prophets and should be put to death. This is inconsistent. Shultz and his “prophets” can’t have it both ways. They can’t have the authority of the office without accepting the responsibility of the office.

I can’t address all the issues in depth here, as I would like to. These are complex issues, and we Christians need to think carefully about them. The apostle Paul warns us not to be “unaware” when it comes to spiritual gifts like prophecy because, if we are, then we can be misled into idolatry. 1 Corinthians 12:1-2 He also tells us to have maturity when thinking about these issues. 1 Corinthians 14:20 The nature of these gifts is supernatural and, because of that, they need to be practiced with much wisdom and discernment.

Yet, unfortunately many Christians haven’t thought carefully about these issues. And some leaders in the apostolic-prophetic movement are taking advantage of their lack of knowledge. I am afraid the result is that many Christians are being led into unbiblical teachings that, at the least, will stunt their walks with the Lord. At the worst, they might even be opening themselves up to demonic teachings and oppression — something I plan to discuss in future posts.

For more understanding about prophecy and the role of prophets, I recommend Wayne Grudem’s book The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today (pictured here).

Chuck Pierce’s ‘War Season’ and the ‘Year of the Sword’

In my posts, I keep trying to show how much of the apostolic-prophetic movement is not based on the Bible. Instead, many of its teachings are based on prophecies that have no biblical basis and that even contradict the Bible.

Here’s another example of a current prophecy that is distracting Christians from the Bible.

“Apostle” Chuck Pierce (pictured here) has prophesied that, in 2001 — when the terrorists attacked America — the Church entered a “Seven-Year War Season.” Using a Hebraic calendar, Pierce believes we are now in the sixth year of this war season (Hebraic year 5767) — the “Year That Swords Will Clash.” This will be a year when the Church will engage in spiritual warfare and exercise its authority, according to Pierce. For more information, see his Oct. 25 prophecy sent out by the Elijah List.

Other ‘War’ Years
Here is what Pierce has prophesied about the other years of the “war season”:

• Year 1 (starting Sept. 2001) was the “The Beginning of War — 7 Years of Breaking Old Cycles”
• Year 2 (starting Sept. 2002) was a “Sabbath Day Rest Year” (a year for increasing our faith)
• Year 3 (starting Sept. 2003) was “A Year of Secrets, Mysteries and Surprises”
• Year 4 (starting Sept. 2004) was “A Year to Circle, Surround and Plunder the Enemies Camp”
• Year 5 (starting Sept. 2005) was a “Year of Staking Your Claim for the Future”
• Year 6 (starting Oct. 2006) is the “Year That Swords Will Clash”
• Year 7 (yet to be announced by Pierce)

Read his explanations of each year here.

Not Biblical
The whole concept of a “seven-year war season” will sound odd to many Christians. Nowhere do we see Jesus or the original apostles teaching people that that the Church will continually go through different cycles. Yet — according to the apostolic-prophetic movement — the Church needs new “apostles” and “prophets” like Pierce to give supernatural insight into these cycles. Why? If the church knows the current cycles, then it can use the necessary strategies to defeat demonic forces and establish God’s kingdom on earth.

Embraced by Prominent Leaders
Pierce’s prophecy has been embraced by leaders in the apostolic-prophetic movement, who consider Pierce to be a very accurate prophet when it comes to revealing the times and seasons the Church is in. In fact, many of the movement’s leaders are actually scheduling their ministries around Pierce’s timetable. The Elijah List, for example, regularly features updates on the “war season,” and entire conferences have been held to teach Christians how to live during each year of the war season. See this conference held to prepare Christians for the fourth year, which featured speakers Cindy Jacobs, Dutch Sheets, John Eckhardt and Peter Wagner.

‘War Season’ Products

Pierce has even sold products geared around the “war season,” including this $20-lapel pin, this $20-tent peg, and this $12 anointing oil, all designed to help Christians wage battle in the fifth year.

This $20-necklace pendant represents the current year of the sword.

He also has written a book about this war season titled The Future War of the Church (pictured here). In this book, he argues that it’s crucial for all Christians to submit themselves to modern apostles.

Pierce’s “war season” is another example of how he, and other leaders in this movement, are causing Christians to turn their eyes away from the sure teachings of Scripture and, instead, pay attention to their vague, unbiblical and speculative prophecies.

Dream Cards and Psychic Healing

Back to magic charms. A few posts back, I wrote about the growing popularity of magic charms and spells in the apostolic-prophetic movement, like a property cleansing kit that’s supposed to rid your property of curses (still listed as a “top-selling product” on the Elijah List). Well, yesterday, the Elijah List sent another e-mail advertising another product that has more in common with the occult than biblical Christianity.

Dream Cards. That’s right. For $10 a piece, you can buy cards that list the meanings of common dream symbols, like different types of animals, people and places (pictured above). If you buy all 12 cards, you can even get a discount: $96. Brought to you by Barbie Breathitt, of Breath of the Spirit Ministries, Inc. (pictured here). Dream interpretation has never been easier.

If the dream cards aren’t bad enough, it gets worse. One of the cards has a chart that lists areas of the body along with colors and musical notes that are supposed to bring healing to those areas.

What? Where is the biblical basis for this practice?

There isn’t a biblical basis. The Elijah List doesn’t even try to give one in its ad. But there is an occult and New Age basis. See, for example, this New York psychic’s Web site (pictured here), where she lists colors and the areas of the body they heal. Or see the Psychic Healing Room, which also talks about the healing power of colors and music.

Of course, we see throughout the Bible that God does give people dreams, and He gives His people the ability to interpret the meanings of those dreams. But where in the Bible do we see anything like dream cards? The people who interpret dreams in Scripture, like Daniel and Joseph, are given supernatural insight from God. They certainly don’t consult cards to find generic symbolic meanings. Can you imagine Daniel saying, “Just one second, King Nebuchadnezzar. You said a statue? Well, according to this chart here, a statue represents …”?

And we certainly don’t see Daniel or Joseph creating cards with dream interpretations and selling them. This reminds me of Tarot cards.

What we do see is that both Daniel and Joseph make it clear that the source of their interpretations is God. See Genesis 40:8, 41:16; Daniel 2:17-23, 27-28.

As far as healing colors and sounds: well, of course, music and colors can affect people’s moods. For example, music can be soothing, and a pastel-painted room (like a soft blue) might be a more relaxing environment than a brightly painted room (like red). But this is far different than claiming that a certain color or musical note can bring healing to a specific organ or body part.

It’s not my goal to pick on professing Christians, but people like Steve Shultz (pictured here) — the founder and publisher of the Elijah List — need to be called to account for their shameful promotion of such products. I believe true prophets of God (which Shultz claims to be) would be appalled by these dream cards.

The Elijah List e-mails are so full of unbiblical (and often harmful) teachings that I’ve decided to add a separate category on my blog that will focus just on this ministry. See the bar on the right side of my blog for the new category called “Elijah List.”