Thursday, 15 November 2018

The Axe of The 'APOSTLES' Part2: Dominion as Divinisation

Related image


The Axe of The ‘Apostles’ Part2:
Dominionism as Divinisation

Now faith is the substrate of things hyped for, the edifice of things obscene


Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood. Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire (Isaiah10:15-16).

When I was a teenager within Pentecostalism, one of my dear, old pastors told me [that] ‘..whenever the things of God become more important & worthy of pursuit than The Lord Himself, we are in trouble.’ Well, I was in trouble then & he knew it. During that early period of my Christian life, I very stupidly set out to find my anointing & walk in it. Develop my God-kind-of-faith & exercise it. Access the key to God’s power & wield it. Although I didn’t know it at the time, Dominionism was the bit that I had clenched firmly between my teeth.

I had been convinced that it was God’s will & God’s way forward for all believers to be moving in supernatural, miracle working power, constantly. That had become my goal. I had swapped reading God’s Word for reading books by authors who had laid claim to the principles, keys & steps necessary to release the    …..blah blah blah. You know what I’m saying to you. Despite all of my reading, no matter how many tape series I bought & listened to & regardless of the countless services I attended, there was no talk of submission to Christ or biblical discipleship. Dominion was THE thing.

I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that there is something oh so appealing about Dominion theology. I use the term theology loosely here because when viewed in the light of Scripture, the tenets of Dominionism are thoroughly man centred. This is nothing new & if you’ll bear with me, you’ll soon see this.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day (Genesis1:26-31).

Here we have the first recorded instance in which The Lord speaks of mankind having any dominion. This concerned the natural world. However, for most Dominionists, who believe in a restorative rhetoric, these verses from Genesis is where they’ll begin. By the way, I don’t know any believers in Dominionism’s systems that are vegetarian. Just sayin’.

This dominion of the natural world was not to be the wielding of Divine power, control & influence, but rather, it was to facilitate man’s role as representative custodian. If Dominionism’s first premise is wrong [at best] & blatantly false [at worst], what does that say about its progression? This is a rhetorical question.

*If your doctrine is off, then YOU are off & if you have NO formal & fundamental doctrine, you’re in freefall. This is where Dominionism & its many manifestations dwell. Enter the wild Charismatic Geese of circa 1948-1952. The chase was afoot.

At least during my heady days as a Pentecostal there were lines NOT to be crossed. I’d heard of The New Order of The Latter Rain & William Branham as of the many anecdotes Kenneth Hagin had shared about this man’s apparent prophetic ministry, but had never really gotten into Branham’s teachings because his newsletter comprised of his sermons set out in verses as if they were Scripture. Ding-a-ling-a-ling, alarm bells ring. Pentecostals were having none of that. No matter how anointed a man was, he was just a man. Furthermore, because of Branham’s subsequent unbiblical doctrines & revelations, he was held at arm’s length.

*This New Order of the Latter Rain is not to be confused with The Latter Rain movement of North Carolina & Tennessee during the 1880s, under the ministry of R. G. Spurling. This movement is well worth some study, but sadly, Spurling’s significance to Pentecostalism’s history has long since been forgotten or ignored. Latterly (no pun intended), the work of George Warnock -a close friend of Branham’s- on The Feast of Tabernacles, went some way in cementing the movement’s leanings towards biblical typology as a means of interpreting their role in the coming revival & Kingdom restoration to & through them. Theologically however, this will very well be the undoing of the movement, simply because Jesus has not fulfilled several Messianic prophecies concerning Himself & won’t do so until His 2nd coming, including typology within The Feast of Tabernacles which speaks to The Millennium. Consequently, the core Doctrine of The Rapture has been both decried & denied by modern Latter Rainers. More of this in Part 3.

Aspects of The Holiness movement [which preceded The Latter Rain] had made inroads into Pentecostalism though, because Pentecostals LURVE holiness. Dominion, for Pentecostals, went as far as demons, disease & of course the flesh, but not world domination. This idea came later.

For Latter Rainers, their view of Pentecostals & Holiness adherents was that they were representative of the former rain, which had [to all intents & purposes] dried up. The Latter Rain was where it was at now. Similarly, during this period of time, Charismatics were soaking up Latter Rain’s experiential offerings & had cultivated a clutch of leaders who would absorb its teachings & practises seamlessly into the Charismatic wave. Branham’s shadow straddled both spheres of influence.

He had been the darling of The Voice of Healing movement during the 1950s & because of the similarities between Latter Rain & Charismatic expression, belief & practise, it wasn’t difficult to introduce & assimilate Branham into the mainstream of Charismania. In the eyes of BOTH movements, God was restoring, renewing & advancing His agenda in a tangible way. This is one of the ultimate goals of Dominionism. This is DIVINISATION.

The Latter Rain didn’t stand still & even today it remains in a state of flux. This movement wasn’t directly defined by its titles, by its leaders or indeed by its woeful failures. This movement was defined by its mandate. Whether it’s known as Joel’s Army, Post Millennialism, The Manifest Sons of God, Restorationism, Kingdom Now, Reconstructionism or New Apostolic Reformation, the mandate remains the same. Not only Dominion as Divine Design, but also as Divinisation.

As I write this, I also consider many, MANY of the folk who are on my back. The most common question I’m asked is ‘David, why do you have to attack & attack people who are doing nothing more than preaching The Gospel, healing, delivering, training and building et cetera?’ My answer is [that] I’m not doing that because it isn’t the case with the NAR. This movement is dangerous & poisonous. Selah’. I suggest a regular reading & study of Scripture, because I can guarantee that a low [or no] estimation of Scripture will lead individuals into the airy-fairy realm of experience.

There are any number of beliefs & practices that can be pointed to in order to identify this movement as a train wreck. However, by far the greatest indicator of the movement’s destination is its supreme lack of adherence to fundamental Doctrine. Within this movement, experience is prized more highly than anything else & certainly more highly than the blessed canon of Scripture that we have. Divinisation occurs when man decides that whatever HE has to say takes precedence over whatever God has ALREADY said & sadly this is the case in point.

It takes a certain amount of daring or stupidity to make some of the bold claims that the leadership of this movement have, with nothing to show for their audacity. They write their own narrative. They make their own rules. They twist whatever they can & discard whatever they can’t. They are by far THE most dangerous threat to The Gospel right now because they are operating within The Church.

But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works (2ndCorinthians11:12-15). Their boasting is not good.

This hasn’t happened overnight & what’s more, we have allowed it to happen. These men & women have cosied up to us as NEW Apostles & Prophets, often with more [assumed] apostolic umph than those who have gone before. They are Super-Apostles, careering through The Body of Christ like pied pipers, sweeping young & old along with their sweet tunes, glossy presentations & ‘thus saith The Lords’. Some of us ought to know better & some of us DO.

You can be sure that all of the bells & whistles apportioned to this ‘new’ movement are nothing more than window dressing that covers a supreme lack of substance throughout. Look at its pedigree!! This movement is nothing more or less than a Frankenstein’s Monster comprised of different cherry-picked parts, all thrown together & animated by a false spirit. The whole thing even has bolts in its head!!

As we will see, the speed with which this movement has gathered momentum is indicative of the apathy within The Church. I’m not suggesting that we put on a show. I’m suggesting that we feed the hungry souls in our fellowships with the truth we have come to know from the Apostolic Doctrine we’ve received. I was once there. I was once seduced by the bright lights & candy floss. However, the glass is always half full.

For Latter Rainers, God is always ‘about to do’ something brethren & after they’ve been hypnotised, mesmerised, anaesthetised, desensitised & pacified, they will be discarded. I say again, The Latter Rain didn’t stand still & even today it remains in a state of flux. This movement isn’t directly defined by its titles, by its leaders or indeed by its woeful failures. This movement is defined by its MANDATE. It is the extent to which the movement’s theology is emphasised in any particular church or fellowship, vision or doctrine, statement of faith or core values that will tell you how far this wasting theodemic disease has spread.

Let’s take a good look at the who’s who within the current New Order of these folk, as well as the doctrine they espouse & their progress towards world domination for Christ. This is going to be interesting.

And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among
you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves (1stThessalonians5:12-13).

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken
unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation…...Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. (Hebrews13:7&17).


https://youtu.be/7WboWrp-Cwo Look out for the yawning lady around 12 & a half minutes in.


No comments:

Post a Comment