TDQ - thediscernerquarterly

Friday, 13 February 2026

The Axe of

The Apostles

-5-

dominionism by deceit

we began this series of articles in 2018. parts 3 - 5 were not written. until now.

We have something extremely serious on our hands, brethren. It’s scandalous, but many of us are blissfully unaware of what is happening. When unorthodox movements represent themselves as The Church, masquerading shamelessly in her attire, using her name & claiming her persona, there is a massive problem. This is a case of identity theft. Unfortunately, it has gone unchecked. As I have said before; the great falling away is being accompanied by a great falling asleep. What’s even worse, is the fact that The Church has had its pockets picked & doesn’t even realise it. Voice after voice after voice has cried aloud & been ignored for the most part. When systematic attempts to wake a person continually fail, you can only conclude that the candidate must be dead. The leadership of the New Apostolic Reformation are pretending to govern & guide The Church in the end times, much in the same way that senior members of the word of faith were.

What do the nar promote? The Gospel? Nope. They boldly endorse themselves. Paul says, ‘For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.’ (2^nd Corinthians 4:5). They will claim that they are bringing in the most significant changes to Protestantism since Martyn Luther. That is their gospel. Is that strange noise I hear, Luther turning in his grave perchance? Scripture is clear about what our Gospel is. Paul declares at the beginning of his epistle to Rome, ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.’ (Romans 1:16).

At the end of his treatise he says, ‘Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.’ (Romans 16:17-18).

When fundamental doctrines aren’t preached or taught, how does The Church identify things contrary to them & protect itself against them? Instead, we have been given a poor substitute. Good words. Fair speeches. Prophetic rhema words have superseded the logos, the written Word. Remember Wagner’s words; ‘Teachers research and expound the logos, prophets bring the rhema, and apostles put it together and point the direction into the future.’. Said no Scripture, ever.

Those who are laying claim to apostolic & prophetic ministry ought to be protecting The Church. Instead, they are unleashing hell on it.

A significant part of the problem is the fact that this modern infestation desperately wants to be the first century Church. However, they have none of the early Church’s character. None of it. So they satisfy themselves by attempting to replicate its characteristics. It’s a very poor show indeed. The Church began in explosive power. There were signs. There were wonders. There were miracles. There were powerful conversions. There were visions. There were dreams & angelic activity. The Lord pulled out all the stops, just as He’d promised His disciples.

By comparison, the movements we’ve identified are clearly counterfeits.

Don’t misunderstand me. I certainly believe that God is well able to do whatever he has done in His Word. Of this I have no doubt. However, He never, ever produced snake oil. Neither did Jesus or the apostles swing their coats, blow on anyone, sprinkle gold dust, brandish angel feathers or drop jewels. Someone ought to tell that to Bethel Church, in Redding California. It is a sad indictment that so many have failed to notice that the only event The Church is explicitly told to look for, is Christ’s return.

Paul says, ‘Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?’ (2^nd Thessalonians 2:3-5). Did you get that? When Paul was with them, he told them these things!

Brethren, take some stock. What are those who are with you, telling you? Good words. Fair speeches.

The first century Church lived as if Christ’s return was imminent. The modern Church lives as if eschatology is an inconvenience. They want to circumnavigate His coming, downplaying it as a distractive mindset or escapism. Just ask Rick Warren. Those of you who have read The Purpose Driven Life will be well aware of this. Warren said, ‘The bottom line is that we intend to reinvent mission strategy in the 21^st century. As I stated, this will be a new Reformation. The First Reformation returned us to the message of the original church. It was a reformation of doctrine; what the church believes. This Second Reformation will return us to the mission of the original church. It will be a reformation of purpose; what the church does in the world.’. Good words. Fair speeches.

Rick Warren, speaking at Angel Stadium, Anaheim California, April 17 2005 (emphasis added).

We intend? We who? We me? We you? Given Mr. Warren’s timing, what he said fitted hand in glove with everything else in that moment. Bill Hamon conveniently lays it out for us. Cheers Bill!

1517 Salvation by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9).

1600 Water Baptism. Separation of Church & State.

1700 Sanctification. The Church set apart from the world.

1800 Divine Healing for the physical body. Healing in The Atonement.

1900 Holy Spirit baptism with speaking in tongues.

1950 Prophetic presbytery. Singing praises & melodious worship.

1950 Evangelistic ministry. Mass evangelism. Evangelism reactivated.

1960 Renewal of all restored truths to all past ministry churches.

1970 Faith confessions. Prosperity & victorious attitude & life. Teaching ministry re-established as a major fivefold ministry.

1980 Prophetic. Activating gifts. Warfare praise. Prophets to nations. Prophet ministry restored & a company of prophets brought forth.

1990 Miraculous signs & wonders. Apostolic ministry & unity. Great harvest of souls. Apostolic ministry being restored to bring divine order & structure. Finalize restoration of fivefold ministers.

Needless to say I have issues with Mr. Hamon’s historical accuracy, as well as with the validity of his claims. However, this is as plain a view of the new apostolic agenda as we could hope for. Anchoring themselves using Luther’s actions in 1517, consecutive movements have followed the same typical timeline & summary. Apparently, God has been systematically restoring lost things to The Church through successive waves, which are now culminating in one last end-time push, before the return of The Lord.

In theory, the dominionist directive will see The Church triumphant, having conquered the world. With denominations scrapped, apostles & prophets leading & Church members doing as they’re told, Jesus can come & claim his shiny prize.

In reality, the dominion directive & its call for Kingdom Now is nothing more than a post millennial power grab, on crack. So desperate are they to have a move of God, that they will manufacture it. They will fake it, ‘til they make it.

The only reliable statistic in nar history, is Luther’s protest. Try as the new apostolic reformation might, their reforms are nowhere near the same.

To the uninitiated, Wagner & Hamon et al are on the cutting edge of what God is doing. We know this, because they are constantly telling us they are.

They’re the apostles.

They’re the prophets.

God has shown them.

They seem to have forgotten Bill Bright, Loren Cunningham & Francis Schaeffer, whether or not he was an actual dominionist. It was their revelation that was incorporated into Wagner’s, seven mountain mandate, which is dominion of the spheres of influence in the world: religion; family; education; government; media; arts & entertainment; business. Why seven? Why not six? Why not eight? Bright, Cunningham & Schaeffer claim to have received their revelations separately in 1975. Apparently.

Interestingly, in 1973 calvinist reconstructionist Rousas John Rushdoony published his infamous Institutes of Biblical Law, laying out his beliefs on theonomy. Note this; Rushdoony was not a Charismatic. It’s possible that Cunningham Schaeffer & Bright had been influenced by Rushdoony’s work & developed their new apostolic doctrine from there. Not from revelations.

While we’re having so much fun, let’s look a little further. Rushdoony advocated a dominionist mandate well before the new apostolic reformation claimed the crown it now clamours for. However, before Rushdoony, there was the Dutch neo-calvinist preacher Abraham Kuyper, who theorised sphere sovereignty, mentioning the areas of family, business, science & art. He in turn influenced Dutch-American Cornelius Van Til, who asserted that society should be reconstructed by believers, beginning with the family & eventually incorporating philosophy, politics, economics, business, education systems & sciences. Van Til influenced Greg Bahnsen, Gary North & the aforementioned Rushdoony.

Why didn’t Bill Hamon mention the fact that the idea for the new apostolic reformation was simply stolen by the evangelicals from the calvinists? All of the prophecies, dreams, visions & revelations are a comprehensive lie. The Church has been seduced & duped. Again.

Peter Wagner claimed to be the president of an international coalition of five hundred recognised apostles. Sounds like a big job doesn’t it? It was indeed. He conducted the apostolic alignment of Todd Bentley, a Canadian evangelist & self-proclaimed revivalist, during the notorious Lakeland Outpouring.

Wagner declared, as all good apostles do, ‘Your power will increase. Your authority will increase. Your favour will increase. Your influence will increase. Your revelation will increase. New supernatural strength will flow through your ministry. New life force will penetrate the movement and government will be established to set things in proper order. God will pour out a higher level of discernment to distinguish truth from error. New relationships will surface to open the gates for the future.’.

C. Peter Wagner, Todd Bentley commissioning service, June 23^rd 2008 (emphasis & laughter mine).

Only one aspect of Wagner’s declaration was true. Bentley had a new relationship with one of his assistants, Jessica Hasbrook, which surfaced. He left his wife two months after his ordination & divorced her in 2009. This is to say nothing of the other accusations that came to the fore later. He is one of many to bear the immoral fruit of this movement.

The unusual suspects were also present. Steven Strader. John Arnott. Che Ahn. Rick Joyner. Stacey Campbell. Bill Johnson. Cindy Jacobs. Satan. Wow. It was so powerful. You know I’m kidding, right? Oh, Chuck Pierce sent the be revived anointing oil.

I’m sure that we will revisit aspects of this movement again in the future. However, if you are a part of this insidious cult, let me warn you; the ungodly edifice that these men have erected will soon crumble under its own weight & all those who are holding it up may very well be crushed in its downfall. I’ll leave you with some wise, old words.

‘It is almost as difficult to make a man unlearn his errors, as his knowledge. Mal-information is more hopeless than non-information; for error is always more busy than ignorance. Ignorance is a blank sheet, on which we may write; but error is a scribbled one, from which we must first erase. Ignorance is contented to stand still with her back to the truth; but error is more presumptuous, and proceeds in the same direction. Ignorance has no light, but error follows a false one. The consequence is, that error, when she retraces her footsteps, has farther to go, before she can arrive at the truth, than ignorance.’.

Lacon: Many Things in Few Words, Rev. Charles Caleb Colton A. M. c1820 (emphasis added).

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Monday, 2 February 2026

The Axe of

The Apostles

-4-

dominionism by decree

we began this series of articles in 2018. parts 3 - 5 were not written. until now.

For decades after The Latter Rain’s star had seemingly waned, word of faith teaching within charismania gained & held a dominant position throughout The Church at large. At the tip of this mythological iceberg was Rhema & in its hot seat was self-proclaimed prophet & teacher, Kenneth E. Hagin. Mr. Hagin had been an associate of William Branham’s Voice of Healing organisation & had preached during the healing revival of 1947 to 1958. He had also been an Assemblies of God Pastor from 1937 to 1949, but surrendered his credentials to concentrate on itinerant ministry. The rest, as they say, is history. We covered some of these elements in our article ‘Betrayal: A Clarion Call to Defending The Faith Once Delivered to The Saints.’. Hagin built up unrivalled influence within the word of faith movement & was once hailed by Kenneth Copeland as the most accurate minister in the United States. Norvel Hayes dubbed him the apostle of faith. High praise indeed, eh?

I am convinced that Hagin et al believed they would usher in a revival for the last days. They believed this. They taught this. They prophesied this. As such, no one of note within their camp challenged Hagin’s teaching or leadership, especially because he claimed Jesus had appeared to him & instructed him personally. Who in their right mind would argue with The Head of The Church? Not me. Unless Kenneth was lying. He recounted a vision he had in September of 1950, in which, among other things, an angelic rider gave him a scroll & commanded him to read it in The Name of Jesus Christ. Hagin wrote:

‘The scroll was written in the first person, and seemed as if Jesus Himself were speaking. I read, "America is receiving her last call. Some nations already have received their last call and never will receive another." Then, in larger print it said, "THE TIME OF THE END OF ALL THINGS IS AT HAND This statement was repeated four or five times. Jesus also said this was the last great revival. He went on to say, "All the gifts of the Spirit will be in operation in the Church in these last days, and the Church will do greater things than even the Early Church did. It will have greater power, signs, and wonders than were recorded in the Acts of the Apostles." He said that we have seen and experienced many healings, but we will now behold amazing miracles that have not been seen before. Jesus continued, "More and more miracles will be performed in the last days which are just ahead, for it is time for the gift of the working of miracles to be more in prominence. We now have entered into the era of the miraculous."…"This is the last revival. I am preparing my people for my coming. Judgment is coming, but I will call my people away, even unto Myself, before the worst shall come. But be thou faithful; watch and pray, for the time of the end of all things is at hand."’.

Well there you have it. The last great revival would see more miracles, all of the gifts & a greater outpouring. Bits were chomped. Breath was bated. The edges of seats were worn out. The Charismatic movement would usher in the coming of The Lord. Or so they believed. There were stirrings in other places though. What a pity that The Lord had neglected to inform Hagin about one or two other end-time details.

Perhaps Jesus forgot. Perhaps Jesus was nervous because He didn’t know whether The Cold War would erupt. Afterall, relations between The Soviets & The USA had entered tensions in 1945, solidifying with The Truman Doctrine & The Marshall Plan in 1947. Coincidence? Again, I am convinced that Hagin et al believed they would usher in a revival for the last days. They believed this. They taught this. They prophesied this.

Viewed subjectively, we could all sit around our respective camp-fire, toasting marsh mallows & say that Hagin wasn’t wrong in what he prophesied. He wasn’t told that he would see the last revival. At best, he was heralded as a forerunner. However, the other voices coming to the fore had been told something completely different by The Lord. Remember, dominionism is identified by its mandate & the seeds of that movement had been sown way before Jesus allegedly spoke to Hagin. Let’s look.

Charles Fuller had become an associate of William Branham after their meeting in 1947; the same year that Fuller had established the Seminary named after him. Initially, Fuller held the healing movement somewhat at arm’s length, but eventually he acquiesced in recognition of Branham’s healing movement. The two were certainly ministering together in Long Beach, California at one point & Branham supported Fuller’s Old Fashioned Revival Hour radio broadcast. That said, it would seem that Fuller maintained an intellectual & theological distance from Branham’s more extreme beliefs. These would include The Manifest Sons, Serpent Seed & of course Branham’s Message doctrine. Despite all of this, Fuller Theological Seminary was to play a pivotal role in the launch of the New Apostolic Reformation.

Branhamism, as I call it, had unfinished business. The restrictive collar of word of faith dogma & Hagin’s dominance within the same, forced the Charismatic movement to adhere to his biblical interpretations. They cast a long shadow. Yes, apostles would be back. Yes, prophets would re-appear. Yes, there would be signs, wonder & the gifts. But all of that frilly 1950s window dressing had to go. Like every drive before it, the nar would take the functioning components of the word of faith movement & reconstitute them as something fresh. Almost overnight, high level spiritual warfare was resurrected, the believer’s authority was on rabies & the prosperity message was on steroids; Why? Because the new kids on the block said so. They declared it. They decreed it. This was the second apostolic age. This was the third wave. This was biggest attempt to unscramble eggs, ever!

The Manifest Sons turned out John Wimber’s Vineyard. The Vineyard movement produced Mike Bickle’s Kansas City Prophets. After some wriggling & jiggling, out popped the New Apostolic Reformation & the dominionist Seven Mountain Mandate, which had as its chief architect, Charles Peter Wagner. Google him. He looks just like Colonel Sanders! Fitting, because of the Kentucky Fried Christianity the movement has created. For the most part, traditional Pentecostals stayed out of the nar. They were too busy struggling to climb one more mountain, never mind seven. Mind you, they liked the wealth transfer message. I wonder why. In a preamble to a 2011 interview, NPR host Terry Gross summed Wagner et al up thus:

‘In August, Texas Governor Rick Perry held a prayer rally called The Response. Several of that rally's organizers and speakers are part of an emerging movement of charismatic Christians called the New Apostolic Reformation, or the NAR. After the rally, Rachel Tabachnick joined us on FRESH AIR to discuss the NAR, which she has reported on for the website Talk2Action. She said that as part of the NAR's belief in dominionism, they want to take control of the institutions of society and government. She also talked about their belief in demons and their practice of spiritual warfare against demons. After our interview with Tabachnick, we got in touch with C. Peter Wagner. He's one of the leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation. He named the movement and has written books about it. Leaders in this movement are considered apostles and prophets, gifted by God for the role. Wagner is the former presiding apostle of the International Coalition of Apostles. He recently retired as president of Global Harvest Ministries. For 30 years he was a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Missions…C. Peter Wagner is a leading apostle in the New Apostolic Reformation.’.

This was a stark departure from classic word of faith rhetoric. The apostles & prophets of the nar were not the super-powered missionaries or demoted diviners that The Church at large was expecting. Oh no. These lions had teeth. These bears had claws. These wolves had sheep. Remember, this dominionist movement is defined by its mandate. What is it:

The Governance of Apostles & Prophets over The Church.

Conquering the Seven Spheres of Influence.

Strategic High Level Spiritual Warfare to Establish Dominion.

Ushering in The Kingdom.

End-time Wealth Transfer.

Specific Prophetic Guidance by Revelation.

Whatever They Think of Next.

This brings us to the meat in the sandwich; what is the trade off between harm & good? This is always the case & more specifically whenever the enemy is attempting to finish what he started. Deer! Headlights! Oops! We are so easily dazzled & distracted by talk of revival, by numbers of souls, by stories about miracles, by promises of wealth & any number of other equally cheap parlour tricks. These too can be traced back to William Branham & beyond. This is also true of the stinking anti-intellectualism that those claiming to be Spirit led, wear so casually on their sleeves.

‘What are we talking about? What is theology anyway? Here is my attempt at a definition: Theology is a human attempt to explain God’s word and God’s works in a reasonable and systematic way. This is not a traditional definition. For one thing it considers God’s works as one valid source of theological information. For another it sees God’s word as both what is written in the Bible (logos) as well as what God is currently revealing (rhema). Admittedly, a downside of seeing theology in this way is possible subjectivity, but the upside is more relevance to what the Spirit is currently saying to the churches on a practical level. Teachers research and expound the logos, prophets bring the rhema, and apostles put it together and point the direction into the future. The practical theology which best builds a foundation under social transformation is dominion theology, sometimes called “kingdom now.”.’.

C. Peter Wagner, Dominion! Kingdom Action Can Change the World (emphasis added).

That’s an interesting definition by Wagner, but it’s only a snippet of the broader work in question. It interests me that although he decries theology proper, he has the unmitigated gall to label his diabolical diatribe with the same word. ‘Theologians are not mentioned, for example, in Ephesians 4:11 alongside of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.’, he writes. Well, neither are pulpits or pens & yet they are utilised. Theologians may not be listed in Ephesians 4, but something else is; every wind of doctrine; the sleight of men; cunning craftiness & deceit. As usual, it is the flock who are caught up in this systematic meat grinder. With every layer of false teaching that is peeled back in this churchified game of pass the parcel, believers are moved steadily from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Well, I too have a working definition. Dominion theology is a structure within which its members can be fooled, manipulated, used, abused, lied to, exploited & robbed blind. Where else would you find congregations doing the hokey cokey, or reenacting scenes from Lord of The Rings? I kid you not. We’ll look at these things in our final meeting on this subject. Although it is a departure from mainstream Charismatic belief, many believers happily occupy both camps. This is a problem if they cannot tell the difference between them. If this is you, please get out of both; dominion theology is nothing more or less than demon theology.

Saturday, 31 January 2026

The Axe of

The Apostles

-3-

dominionism by directive

we began this series of articles in 2018. parts 3 - 5 were not written. until now.

In the good old biblical days, one was born into The Levitical Priesthood & into The Royal Household. Not so with The Prophets though. The Lord’s ways of calling His chosen vessels was as diverse as the vessels themselves. No man takes this honour to himself, or at least, they’re not meant to. Paul says, ‘Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Ephesians 4:8-13). In my brief time within The Church, I don’t know that I’ve ever met a genuine, bonafide Apostle or Prophet. I’ve only known a handful of real Pastors, four Evangelists & a small number of actual Bible Teachers. Beyond that, there have been any number of individuals who have swung these titles about their shoulders like a cape, based on the popularised teachings of the day. As a Pentecostal, I know that there was rarely any teaching concerning what actually constituted the roles of the ministries listed in Ephesians 4. Perhaps the blind, sycophantic striving of Pentecostalism to be recognised by Rome caused them to casually miss the gathering waters of restorationism that were swelling around their ankles. But whatever they missed was swiftly picked up by others. More than a little pride dripped from the brows of its preachers though, with Penties swift to recount their own particular history of revivals. With isolation & insulation like that, who needed to keep up with anyone else? Pentecostals were still busy basking in the glories & stories of Azusa Street. There wasn’t room for anything else.

Little did they know that a mere forty or so years after its inception, Azusa would be viewed by proponents of The Latter Rain & its theology in the same light that Pentecostals viewed nominal Christianity. Dry. As The Latter Rain grew, stark doctrinal differences became apparent between the two movements & in late 1949 the Assemblies of God denomination in The United States disavowed them completely. Ouch.

In 1981, when I first came to Christ, the Restoration Movement was already in full swing & had been since some point during the multiplied branching out of Charismatic fellowships in the 1960s. Believers that I came to know beyond the embers of Pentecostalism, were meeting in small groups in homes for prayer & Bible study. This group had come to be known as The House Church Movement for this very reason, but their mandate was Restorationism, as a means to attain Dominion. In the United States however, the pattern was slightly different, broadly speaking. Although fellowships were started in homes, once these groups outgrew house settings, they abandoned the home model & went to what they thought of as the next level.

The home model granted a tentative biblical lineage to the movement, because it could be claimed that they were following a scriptural pattern from Acts 2. Of course, this was a convenient set up for the introduction of a fundamental facet of the movement’s mandate; apostolic leadership & prophetic guidance.

In 1985, a small book came into my hands, on loan from a friend. This book was called The Coming Restoration, by Kenneth. E. Hagin. It’s a small but significant book within the context of our discussion, especially given the movement & activity during the 1980s & the state of the restoration movement within The Church at large. I suggest that you read it for yourself. Don’t buy it! Download it for free in PDF. Hagin, who was consolidated within the Charismatic movement as a New Testament Prophet, wrote the following:

‘..In Ephesians 4:11, you’ll find that when Christ ascended on High, He gave gifts to men: some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting—or maturing—of the Body of Christ. Our mistake has been that we’ve only recognized three of these ministry gifts: the pastor, the evangelist, and the teacher. For the Church to ever be what She ought to be, and for us to have the ministry and do the work God intended, we must have the manifestation of the fivefold ministry. We must recognize the ministry gifts, honour them, and permit them to function in the way God wants them to function..’.

Conveniently, dear old brother Hagin tells us that we can have an in depth look at these things in his publication The Ministry Gifts. Aww, shucks. Cheers Ken. We’re left to come to our own conclusion here & fill in the blanks. Without stating anything explicitly, Hagin says that it’s the fault of The Church for neglecting Apostles & Prophets, but good old God has prepared the way for their dramatic return to the scene. Hagin wasn’t the first to plant these prophetic seeds though & as a matter of fact, he had been present during the high points of the ministry of the aforementioned William Marrion Branham, even predicting his death. Apparently. Nevertheless, Branham’s tenure oversaw the laying of false foundations by & for false apostles. The World Religions & Spirituality Project made the following keen observations:

‘Much Latter Rain teaching is central in numerous contemporary movements, such as the Vineyard Churches, The Kansas City Prophets, and the Toronto and Lakeland Revivals, as well as hundreds of independent neo-Pentecostal churches. Of particular contemporary interest are two teachings of the movement that can be traced back to William Branham, teachings that are still widely held, despite not being prominent in the early life of the movement. The first is a powerful sense of a restoration of the attributes of the early church in preparation for the end times, including the ‘Five-fold gifts of the Spirit’: prophets, apostles, elders, preachers, and teachers (as outlined in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians). Prophets and apostles, it is understood, hold authority directly from God. The second is also an end-times prophecy, that the most devoted members will become ‘The Manifest Sons of God,’ forming an undefeatable and immortal army that is able to overcome all obstacles to bring all people into geographically organized single churches in preparation for the reign of the Lord. This prophecy is the basis for the Joel’s Army (or Overcomers), a phenomenon that has become prominent in recent years.’.

John C. Petersen, The New Latter Rain Movement, 2014 (emphasis added).

Restoration of gifts. Restoration of apostles. Restoration of prophets. Restoration of truths. I’m surprised that no one took it upon themselves to predict that there would be a restoration of restoration itself. The whole thing became even more ridiculous than ever, with multiplied & often conflicting prophecies concerning what The Lord was going to do in the coming move of The Spirit. It was confusing, to say the least. Ultimately, the goal was to lead The Church to revival before the return of Christ. Deer. Headlights. Oops. The question has to be asked; how had we survived for centuries without apostolic & prophetic ministry & what difference will their reconstitution make?

Well, I’m sorry to shatter any illusions that you may have, but the truth is that apostles & prophets don’t need to be restored to The Church; they never left. If only Kenneth Hagin had read his own books. If he had, he would know this.

If we take up his invitation to read The Ministry Gifts, we will see what he claims The Lord Jesus Christ told him personally. Hagin taught, The Lord Jesus is Apostle & High Priest (Hebrews 3:1). No one will ever take His place. Agreed. There were the original Apostles of The Lamb (Revelation 12:14). That group of men were exclusive. Agreed. There were Apostles who laid foundation, Paul being one of them (1^st Corinthians 3:10-11; Ephesians 2:20). The foundation cannot be laid again. Agreed.

‘The Lord said to me in a visitation which took place in July 1987 that there were four classes of apostles and that each class of apostle had a different anointing…There are no apostles today in the three classes listed...There are no foundation laying apostles today…A missionary who is really called of God and sent by the Holy Ghost is an apostle…The New Testament never mentions missionaries, yet it is an important office. It is here in the office of an apostle…The missionary will have the ability of all the ministry gifts.’.

So then if we cut to the chase, the apostolic ministry that is going to be restored to The Church at large, will be that of a super powered missionary? Well, either Hagin’s Jesus is confused, or dear old Ken is lying. Of course, there is a fifth class of Apostle; the false one.

But what about the restoration of the ministry of the Prophet? Afterall, we can’t have The Church limping along as if it were missing a foot, can we? According to Kenneth Hagin, ‘The prophet's ministry is inspirational. He speaks by direct, divine inspiration and revelation…The prophet is to inspire the teacher.’ (Kenneth Hagin, The Ministry Gifts, Copyright © 1992 RHEMA Bible Church aka Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc. emphasis added). Excuse me while I scratch my head & rub my chin. Ken doesn’t supply any biblical evidence for his statements. Probably because there isn’t any. I thought we had direct, Divine revelation in Scripture. I also thought that God’s Word inspired the teacher. Silly me. Hagin continues:

‘In February 1959, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me and spoke to me one and a half hours about the ministry of a prophet. That vision is told in some detail in my book, I Believe in Visions…A prophet is one who has visions and revelations…What constitutes the office of a prophet? Commenting on what the New Testament Greek says concerning the prophet, an outstanding Greek scholar said, "He speaks from the impulse of a sudden inspiration, from the light of a sudden revelation at the moment. The idea Of speaking from sudden revelation seems here to be fundamental, as relating either to future events, or the mind of the Spirit in general."…There is a similarity between the prophet's ministry of the Old Testament and the New Testament. However, the prophet under the New Testament does not have the same status as the prophet under the Old Testament…’. (Kenneth Hagin, The Ministry Gifts, Copyright © 1992 RHEMA Bible Church aka Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc. emphasis added).

If this is all true, why do modern dominionists ignore what Jesus is supposed to have said to Kenneth Hagin & insist that the new wave will be led by ruling apostles & prophets? Well, I’ll give you one reason; people became bored. Were we really going to wait for super powered missionaries & demoted diviners? That isn’t very appealing. Taking the working components of word of faith mythology, charismania went back to the drawing board & drafted something else. Maybe Jesus had changed His mind after speaking to Kenneth. Maybe Kenneth wasn’t telling the truth. Either way, dominionism was struggling within its chrysalis, waiting to emerge, spread its wings & fly. The Church at large was soon to see the advent of the New Apostolic Reformation.