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 Prophetic rhema words have superseded the logos, the written Word.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.

Apostles, Prophets and the Coming Moves of God, Bill Hamon © 1997 Destiny Image, Inc.

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).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

copyright © by David Samuel Parkins mmxviii all rights reserved.

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