Greetings Saints of God!
Ephesians 5:11 teaches us to “have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darknes, but rather expose them”.
Every individual Christian has the task of searching the Scriptures to see if what is being taught from the pulpit of their particular fellowship agrees with God’s Word. If it does not then appropriate action should be taken to remedy the situation. Of paramount importance is that the sheep of God’s pasture, the sheep that Christ sacrificed His life for, be given every opportunity to recognize the wolves in sheep’s clothing that are seducing them and leading them to the slaughter.
It is plain from the Scriptures that if we should discover false teaching being preached among the brethren, teaching that is leading the people away from the “sound doctrine which is according to godliness, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ”, then we will be answerable to God if we knowingly withhold that information from His people, our brothers and sisters in Christ. God reveals these things to His watchmen and they are accountable to take that information and warn His people – regardless of how unpleasant that duty might be (for him or his hearers) and despite the consequences.
I am very concerned about a movement called the “Apostolic Reformation”, “The Great Transition”, ”Church Growth Movement”. Other names and similar theologies to look out for include Kingdom Now theology, the Latter Rain Movement, Manifest Sons of God, Joel’s Army, Dominion theology, Reconstructionism, The New Thing, The Third Wave… and there are other names of which we will provide the websites which exposes them.
Saints be alert and STUDY the Bible which is the ONLY FINAL Authority.
Their teachings and this movement may be coming to your church soon. There is a lot of deception and Scripture twisting to promote their cause. If you don’t know the Scriptures you will be easily fooled as I was (but only for a short time)! I am sending out this warning because I love the Body of Christ! You are my brothers and sisters in the faith and your very souls are at stake!
For years now, organizations have been gathering in Colorado Springs, Denver and Boulder, Colorado to create a Centre for World Christianity – a Vatican City of the new church if you will. There you will find the World Prayer Centre and many different Christian organizations, (such as AD2000, COR and Promise Keepers) all intent on reaching the world with their unifying vision for a structure and government of the World Church. You may not have realized that plans for this structure and government of the World Church are already in place!
Ministries, organizations and fellowships are networking together like never before, forming major new allegiances, and meeting to formulate the doctrines, structure and leadership of an entirely NEW global church. The denominations of today are seen as obsolete, and unity is the key – the unifying force being revival, spiritual manifestations, God setting up His “government” which these false apostles and prophets are “the head” rather than Biblical doctrines. Peter Wagner of the Church Growth Movement is totally dedicated to the idea, and heads up a great part of it along with Chuck Pierce is prophetic counsel, and members include: Ché Ahn, Bob Beckett, Rice Broocks, Harold Caballeros, Emmanuele Cannistraci, Paul Daniel, Greg Dickow, Naomi Dowdy, John Eckhardt, Michael Fletcher, Bill Hamon, Jim Hodges, John Kelly, Lawrence Kennedy, Lawrence Khong, David Kwang-Shin Kim, Larry Kreider, Alan Langstaff, Roberts Liardon, Dexter Low, Mel Mullen, Alistair Petrie and Eddie Villanueva.
There are others who are embracing their teachings and some have “Free doctrinal cleansing schools” such as:
“Apostle” Eric VonAnderseck- http://www.researchoncults.org/
“Apostle” JoAnne Cremer – http://www.apostles-center.com/
False apostle John Wetly – http://www.choose-c.org
Wage Taylor – http://www.wadetaylor.org/apresentword/Restoration%20of%20the%20Apostolic.htm
Jonas Clark – http://www.jonasclark.com/about/ and http://www.thevoicemagazine.com/apostolic_restructuring.htm
There are other Pastors and Leaders who are embracing this doctrine. To find out who they are please Google “Apostolic Reformation” and you will find a host of information. Again, CHRISTIAN BEWARE!
What they prey on:
These false apostle’s and prophets prey on your IGNORANCE of the Word – the Bible.
They are very aware of the false teachings of televangelist and they use the deception of their teachings as a basis to support and promote their “New Doctrine” (which is not new, but was in the making for 100 years). They also use the traditions that some of our churches are practicing (but are NOW understanding that they are not supported by Scripture and are abandoning them) to lure saints away from their churches with a promise of a “better way”.
Here are some examples of how they lure frustrated and unfulfilled believers into their CULT:
“Believers today are hungering for the truth of Jesus Christ. They are tired of running here and there every time a minister is claiming the presence and power of Christ. They are weary of listening to all the claims of healing and deliverance, weary of trying to learn ‘how to tap into these for themselves’. They are tired of seeing their money used for extravagances, tired of serving time at an altar that leaves them in the same state of hunger, and thirst, and bondage.”
More of their point of view here: http://www.researchoncults.org/TheCleansingFromTheApostleEric.htm
Also if you Google Eric VonAnderseck you will be able to find more of his websites and his followers.
Who they prey on:
These false apostle’s and prophets prey saints who are IGNORANT of God’s Word
New converts receiving the milk of the word
Frustrated saints who are frustrated with their church and their practices. While it is true that ppeople have indeed become cynical to church, and are tired of the same old things that do not meet their needs. Some are so desperate in fact, that they are ready to fork over $200 or more just to be told that there are better things to come by charismatic leaders, not thinking about what it means to have to hand it over in the first place. This is very sad indeed as they are opening themselves up to the deception of the enemy who preach another Jesus!
Those who constantly sin and don’t keep the Lord’s commandments and who are always looking for new methods and strategies to be stable in their faith
Those who are bitter against the church possibly as a result of “church hurt”
*This is not an exhaustive list. Believers are drawn to them for many reasons.
One of the luring deceptions that they teach is that a Believer CANNOT understand and interpret the Bible on their own. They need “living apostles (them) to do it. They claim:
“There are those who separate themselves from the institutional church and falsely think that they will study the Bible at home and learn of the Spirit and thus cleanse themselves of those things that defiled their faith; after all, Jesus said that when the Comforter comes, “he shall teach you all things” (John 14:26), but by their neglect to finish that verse, they show their lack of understanding: “he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Here Jesus was not speaking about a one-on-one private tutorship between the believer and the Spirit, for Peter said. “ no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2Pet.1:20). No, Jesus was not speaking to individual Christians about private tutorship, but he was speaking to His apostles, beginning with John chapter 13, teaching and instructing them up to and including chapter 17. So, in speaking of the Holy Ghost there in John 14:26 , the Comforter, whom the Father would send, he was saying that the Holy Ghost would teach them (the apostles) all things, and bring to their remembrance also all things which he had personally taught them while with them on earth.”
They are in error stringing Scriptures together to validate their claim. 2 Peter 1:20 is taken totally out of context and inappropriately applied (this is what their doctrine is built on- twisting Scripture. BE ALERT, BE AWARE). There teachings and arguments are inconsistent. They are trying to persuade us not to interpret the Bible for ourselves by showing us a Bible verse that supposedly proves their point. But if we cannot interpret the Bible for ourselves, how can we understand the meaning of the verse they quoted? What they really are trying to say is “read the Bible as much as you like, as long as you don’t question any doctrine taught by the “living Apostles” and those who are apart of the “Apostolic Reformation” or “The Great Transition”. And if we find any variation between the teaching of the Bible and their teachings (WHICH THERE ARE MANY), then surely we must be misunderstanding the Bible. They refuse to be held accountable and to be examined in the light of God’s Word!
Examining 2 Peter 1:20:
Now let us see what the apostle Peter meant by saying that “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” To do so, we must OPEN our Bible and read that verse in its context and employ the familiar rules of language to discover its meaning. In other words, WE MUST INTERPRET THE BIBLE FOR OURSELVES! The apostle Peter writes:
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21).
The verb “is” in verse 20 is the translation of the word ‘ginomai’ which according to Strong’s Lexicon means, “to cause to be, to become, come into being.” Hence the sense of this verse is this: “no prophecy of Scripture ‘came into being’ by any private interpretation.” The apostle Peter is here speaking about the process by which the Scriptures came into being, namely, their origin, and not about the understanding of Scripture already given.
Peter says that no scripture came into being by ‘private interpretation’ – that is by one’s own explanation. Whom does he have in mind? Is it the reader, or the men who penned the Scriptures? Since Peter is speaking about the origin of Scripture, it seems likely that he is talking about the prophets themselves. In other words, Peter is saying that the Scriptures did not originate in the prophets’ own understanding. This could be confirmed if we read the following verse since the apostle Peter gives the reason why scripture did not come into being of the prophets’ own understanding, “for” he continues, “prophecy never came by the will of man.” The prophets did not invent the scriptures. Rather, they were God’s instruments to write his Word: “…holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
So, rather than discourage us from reading and understanding the Bible for ourselves, this verse give us full confidence why we SHOULD trust the Scriptures. Though written by men, the Scriptures do not have their origin in the human mind, but in the mind of God the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the Word of God!
Saints the elementary truth that the Bible was written in such a way that it can be understood, but we must continually remind ourselves of the equally basic fact that the Bible can be misunderstood! The apostle Peter later on in his epistle warns us that in the Scriptures “are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16) –Which these so called teachers and “living apostles and prophets” are doing. Therefore we must be diligent in our studies, and make use of all the God-given means, especially listening to the Holy Ghost and godly teachers (which they are not).
Below are some of the teachings and beliefs of these self styled apostles.
· They believe that God is restoring the office of prophet and apostles to the church
· Claim that they alone have the power and authority to execute the plans and purposes of God
· Believe they are building a new foundation for a global church.
· Believe they will literally establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth
· Believe in a coming “civil war” in the church where they will overcome all (true Christian) opposition.
· Place an inordinate emphasis on angels and the supernatural
· Claim extra biblical revelations that can not be scripturally proven ( progressive revelation)
· Claim that God is doing a “new thing”
· Frequently say that those not accepting their heretical teaching are “Putting God in a box”
· Teach that we should never question their authority.
· They use the term “Touch not God’s anointed” frequently when questions are raised.
· They peg those that question their authority as bound by religion, legalistic, divisive, narrow minded, rebellious, and demonic
· Place a greater emphasis on dreams, visions and extra-biblical revelation than they do on the word of God
· They believe they will be the corporate incarnation of Christ
· They believe they will execute judgment upon those who oppose them (up to and including death).
· They believe in a one world religion operating in sync with a one world government.
· They believe in complete unity and believe that there is nothing they can not accomplish through this unity.
· They believe they can bring Heaven down to earth (Yoism- see link below for more information) (http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/05/yoism-creating-heaven-on-earth.html)
· They believe that we will be perfected here on earth
· They believe in aggressively organizing small group networks
· They believe in the organization of apostles under pre-eminent apostles
· They believe that ALL local churches must be under the authority of a regional or trans-local apostle
· They believe each city must have an apostle- men given extraordinary authority in spiritual matters over the other Christian leaders in the same city
· They consider themselves divine, little gods and equal to Christ ( although they loosely veil this)
· They believe they will attain perfection on earth
· They consider themselves the “Defenders of the Faith”
· Place a great deal of emphasis on mysticism and hidden knowledge ( Gnosis)
· Do not believe in the rapture (or believe the wicked are the ones that will be ruptured)
· Stress unity over doctrine and reject the literal interpretation of the Bible
2 Thessalonians 2:8-11 (Amplified Bible)
8 And then the lawless one (the antichrist) will be revealed and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of His mouth and bring him to an end by His appearing at His coming.
9 The coming [of the lawless one, the antichrist] is through the activity and working of Satan and will be attended by great power and with all sorts of [pretended] miracles and signs and delusive marvels-[all of them] lying wonders—
10 And by unlimited seduction to evil and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing (going to perdition) because they did not welcome the Truth but refused to love it that they might be saved.
11 Therefore God sends upon them a misleading influence, a working of error and a strong delusion to make them believe what is false.
They claim to have a “better way” and that they know the reason why Christains are frustrated with their faith – it is because (according to them) that they have the whole “mystery of God”. The whole truth accoridng to them is not in the Bible, but it is revealed to them “living Apostles” to reveal it to us (the saints) in order for us to have perfect fath and for Christ to transform us into His image. They also reference other sources to confirm/validate their position like the “lost books of the Bible”. These so called lost books were never lost. They were known by the Jews in Old Testament times and the Christians of the New Testament times and were never considered scripture. They weren’t lost nor were they removed. They were never in the Bible in the first place. The additional books were not included in the Bible for several reasons. They lacked apostolic or prophetic authorship, they did not claim to be the Word of God; they contain unbiblical concepts such as prayer for the dead in 2 Macc. 12:45-46; or have some serious historical inaccuracies. They fail to understand that as believers, we don’t need anything outside of the Bible because it truly is THE FINAL AUTHORITY for the obedience of our faith. Scripture teaches us that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproos, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Tim 3:16-17)
Because the Scriptures are inspired, they are authoritavtive and without error in thier original words, and constitute the infallible revelation of God to man.
David said,
‘The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times” (Ps. 12:6).
Jesus Christ gave ample testimony to the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures. He referred to them as being the very Word of God:
“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he [Christ] expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).
“And he said unto them. These are the words which I spake unto you … that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures” (verses 44-45).
The apostle Paul, writing in the middle of the first century, said:
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (II Tim. 3:16-17).
Humans visit museums and other repositories of historic documents such as Britain’s Magna Carta and America’s Declaration of Independence and stand in awe at the sight of those documents. How much more should we stand in awe of the very Word of the living God?
Saints I urge you to do your research and consult your leaders to warn them and to see if they are embracing this false doctrine.
Some sites that WARN believers of their teachings are:
Last Days Alert http://www.lastdaysalert.com/
A Strong Delusion – http://www.deceptionbytes.com/StrongDelusion-theNAR
Deception in the Church – http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/newapostolic.html
Cross + Word – http://www.intotruth.org/globalism/apostles-coming.html and http://intotruth.org/apostasy/mind-control1.htm
Todd Tyszka – http://www.toddtyszka.com/newaposrest.html
Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet – http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rseaborn/New_Apostolic_Reformation.html
Moriel Ministries -
http://www.moriel.org/articles/discernment/church_issues/new_apostolic_reformation.htm
Endtimes prophetic Christian Blog – http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/eric-vonanderseck-joanne-cremer-of-second8thweek-ministries/
Apologetics-New Religion –
http://www.4truth.net/site/c.hiKXLbPNLrF/b.2950575/k.9879/LDS_Apostles_and_Prophets_What_
Did_the_New_Testament_Apostles_Say.htm
The Bereans – http://thebereans.net/fb-shawn.shtml
Standing Firmly in Truth (a myspace page) -http://forum.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewThread&entryID=43713437&groupID=100046863&adTopicID=21&Mytoken=3DB98397-87EB-4AED-8195981924271CA458721281
Gene Keys (a myspace page) -http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=163501235
CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS & RESEARCH MINISTRY - http://www.carm.org/list/howtoresponse.htm
Conquering Love – http://www.conqueringlove.com/
Arwen4CJ (a journal) http://www.lastfm.es/user/Arwen4CJ/journal/2008/07/05/220d5b_second_8th_week_ministries_:(_-_part_8_-__the_final_part
Eastern Regional Watch – http://www.erwm.com/New%20Apostolic%20Reformation.htm
There are many more, but these are a good start for your investigation, preparation, information, and warning. Please do check out these websites and if you have been indoctrinated by these teachings or are suspecting that you are in a Christian cult please log onto Cross + Word – http://intotruth.org/apostasy/mind-control1.htm for help and information.
What does the Bible say about Apostles: (copied from Moriel Ministries of which I could not agree more!)
“NT Qualifications of Foundational Apostles:
NT apostles were required to be eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus. This is indicated in Acts 1:22 when Peter insisted that the replacement of Judas “must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” Paul (1 Cor. 9:1) defended his apostleship by saying, “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen the Lord?” In recounting those to whom Jesus appeared, Paul says: “After He was seen by James and then by all the apostles, then “last of all” he was seen by me also as one “born out of due time” (I Cor. 15:8). Paul was “untimely born” in the sense that Jesus had appeared to the other apostles before his ascension. Paul, converted by a miraculous post-ascension appearance of the resurrected Jesus, also saw the risen Lord, albeit later in time than the other apostles. The phrase “last of all seals the case that Paul was the last apostle.”Last of all” grammatically can only be an adverb describing something that is last in a series. This is even more certain when there is a group of adverbs (then…then…and last of all). In Paul’s mind he was the last of all the apostles. Surely he would be surprised to hear that he wasn’t really ‘last of all.’
Who were these foundational apostles? First there were the initial twelve with Matthias replacing Judas. Second, apparently there were a very few more who had seen Jesus and been commissioned by Him Acts 14:14 calls both Barnabus and Paul apostles. James, the brother of Jesus, is called an apostles in Galatians 1:19. Androicus and Judas were called apostles in Romans 16:7. Most commentators see them as apostles in a functional and broad meaning. I found no commentators who referred to them as foundational apostles. If, indeed they were foundational Apostles, they could have been among the 500 people who saw the risen Jesus on one occasion (I Cor. 15).
The generation that followed the last biblical apostles never ever considered the continuation of the office of apostle. Apparently the word of Paul, the last apostle convinced them. The so-called endtime restoration of apostles has no biblical authority. The only possible authority is “further revelation” given to the prophets of the Latter Rain and those who have taken up “further revelation: beyond the scriptures. The choice is simple, do we believe Paul was right when he said he was the last apostle or do we believe latter day prophets who have pronounced on their own authority, a restoration of apostles at the end of the age. For me, Paul settles the question once and for all.
Wayne Grudem, a sometimes promoter of current prophetic utterances, however, is absolutely convinced that there are no NT apostles today. He states: “Since no one today can meet the qualifications of having seen the risen Jesus with his own eyes, there are no apostles today. In the place of living apostles present in the church to teach and govern it, we have instead the writings of the apostles in the books of the NT. Those NT scriptures fulfill, for the church today, the absolutely authoritative teaching and governing functions which were fulfilled by the apostles themselves during the early years of the church.” (Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy in the NT today, p. 276).”
“I do believe that Apostles have a place and purpose, but not the place and purpose that the 12 had which is to set the foundation. Jude speaks of “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). The expression “once for all” clearly indicates that the “delivery” of the faith is complete, so that we should not look for a new revelation. Indeed, the new teachings of certain persons (Jude 4) are condemned for this very reason. The way to avoid the trap of heresy, says Jude, is to “remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 17). Yes Paul speaks of the church as “having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). But just as we do not lay new cornerstones from time to time to replace the old one, so too, we do not lay a new foundation of apostles and prophets over and over. The foundation of the apostolic witness to Christ and the prophetic revelations which pointed to and interpreted the saving acts of Christ has been laid; it does not need to be laid again. Whenever teachers come along with “new revelations from
God,” they are attempting to lay a foundation which has already been laid (I Corinthians 3:11). We should therefore reject the claims of any religious organizations or teachers who claims that the office of apostle as it was in the 1st century has been restored to the church today.”
Again, I can’t agree with this more! Taken from a post by Dimples on http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/eric-vonanderseck-joanne-cremer-of-second8thweek-ministries/
Be Blessed,
PDCM
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Interesting topic! I will post more when I have a moment tomorrow or later.