Mike Hoggard Private Interpretations

 
Note from this blog´s author: You might be interested in more posts on the New Age deception, discernment and the way to resist being sucked in and seduced by the wisdom of Satan. His modus operandi is always the same, it worked with Adam and Eve who knew their Creator, were taught by him, had a father child relationship with him and still disobeyed and were banished from their pristine home and garden. What then makes us think that we are smarter than them ?  Below you will find a few essays and studies I have written on false teachings as it becomes increasingly difficult to find solid, biblically based, sound teaching among some popular online pastors and teachers whose doctrines and teachings deviate from the Word of God, adding their own interpretations and wild extrapolations that are leading people astray especially young believers who are not yet really established and grounded in the Scriptures.  

• To What, to Whom, and How do we listen?
• Beware - Who is writing on the book of your life?
• Of Sheep and Goats 
• Preach the Gospel and by all means use the Word
• The New Age movement - Beginning in the Garden of Eden
• Rightly dividing the word of truth  By Jack Kelley

 

Church of Tares: Purpose Driven, Seeker Sensitive, Church Growth & New World Order

They Claim to Speak for God (Part 1)

By T. A. McMahon 

 The Berean Call
 Reblogged from: www.bibleprophecyblog.com
   

A very large part of Christendom in the United States is enamored with those who claim to speak for God. If you think that’s an overstatement, simply tune into some of the programing on Trinity Broadcasting Network or some of the other cable religious networks. What you will see are churches filled with thousands of Christians hanging on to every word of a man or a woman who is declaring what God has just revealed to him or her. The content ranges from the mundane to the bizarre. To some observers who are fairly well versed in the Scriptures, what they are hearing and seeing is laughable. But that's a tragic reaction by some who are forgetting that many of those being led astray by the so-called new prophets and apostles are their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Agenda and Methodologies Contrary to the Word of God

Most North American believers are wonderfully and prayerfully sympathetic to the plight of fellow Christians who are undergoing terrible persecutions for their faith in foreign lands, yet too few have a real concern for fellow believers here in the West who are being spiritually seduced and whose biblical faith is being critically undermined. The tendency is to write off most false preachers and teachers as religious kooks and to think no more about their captive audience. All true believers, whether or not they have been led into false teaching, make up the body of Christ. When one part of the body is seduced and suffers, it affects the entire body (1 Corinthians 12:25-27).
Not only is such a cavalier attitude wrong biblically, but it is extremely shortsighted and therefore blinds a person to the seductions and ultimate deceptions that are involved. In this series of articles we want to present a wider view of what's involved with those who "claim to speak for God," demonstrating that it's far more than a few delusional zealots but rather a host of men and women, ministries, and movements that have an agenda and methodologies, all of which are contrary to the Word of God. In that endeavor, they have captured the hearts and minds of multitudes of Christians, mostly those among the Pentecostals and Charismatics, as well as staggering numbers of young adults, many from conservative evangelical backgrounds.

Wandering Stars

Dave Hunt and I have addressed this subject in bits and pieces in our books and in many articles in The Berean Call newsletters, but we haven’t communicated in a comprehensive way the extent of the spiritually destructive teachings and practices involved in this movement nor the scope of this development and its agenda. Now, however, there is a book available that covers the topic more extensively than anything yet in print. Wandering Stars: Contending for the Faith with the New Apostles and Prophets, authored by Keith Gibson, not only explains the methods of this movement from beginning to end, but it also exposes its satanically inspired contribution to the progressive development of the kingdom and religion of the Antichrist. Gibson's observations need to be heeded:

"The majority of the church has not taken seriously the claims of the modern apostles and prophets [that they are] introducing a new paradigm into the Body of Christ. These claims are far more than idle boasts. Indeed the paradigm shifts have already begun in many segments of Christianity. To say that the movement has grown rapidly would be a gross understatement" (p. 10).

Rhema and Logos

The root fallacy of the movement is the view of how one receives communication from God. Most if not all of the leaders subscribe to the teaching that the Greek terms rhema and logos found in the Bible describe different ways of hearing from God. This has been a fundamental teaching among historic religious movements such as The Latter Rain, Manifest Sons of God, and the prosperity-and-healing-promoting Word/Faith teachers. They conclude that logos refers to the written word and rhema refers to the spoken word. Although the Bible uses the terms interchangeably, making no distinction, in practice this false teaching elevates what (supposedly) God has spoken to them as equal to or above what is written in the Scriptures. It goes far beyond someone stating that he "believes" that the Lord has impressed something upon his heart. Gibson comments:

"It is far different to claim an impression than it is to loudly pronounce, 'Thus saith the Lord.' The former is the hesitant expression of a thought, something that may or may not be completely true. The latter is a claim to divine revelation that by definition cannot contain anything but truth and which carries divine authority and must be obeyed."

Whether implied or declared, Gibson adds,

"The words 'Thus saith the Lord' change everything. A higher level of authority is being claimed. One should be extremely careful before one puts words in the mouth of God" (p. 8).

Dire Consequences

Many do not realize the dire consequences of being seduced by the "hearing from God" teachings. First of all, they completely undermine the objective nature of the Scriptures. In other words, when the Word of God is mixed with what some believe they've heard from God, it is difficult to objectively determine what is truly from God. That fundamentally destroys the value of the Bible in the lives of those who buy into the so-called new prophets of God. God’s written word is no longer relied upon as a determiner of truth, especially regarding the new doctrines presented, which those who are "hearing from God" promote in abundance. Unfortunately, that's fine with such false teachers because their "new thing that God is doing" cannot then be challenged by the "old written words" found in Scripture.
Gibson notes with great concern:

"No doctrine is under more regular assault from within the prophetic community than the doctrines relating to the Scriptures" (pp. 67-68).

He adds,

"Today’s prophets, and consequently their followers as well, are consistently sloppy in their approach to Scripture, frequently ignoring context, history, and grammar. They can even be seen redefining words when necessary to force verses to fit their preconceived ideas. The intent of the author of the text is rarely considered. The Bible is left to mean whatever the prophets say it means today" (p. 71).

The "Prophetic Hermeneutic"

If conservative evangelicals think that this drift away from God’s Word is a problem unique to Charismatics, they need to consider their own churches. Is discipleship a significant part of your fellowship? How about apologetics? In your Bible studies, are you actually studying books of the Bible or books by contemporary authors? Is the term hermeneutics a foreign word to most members of your fellowship? If that's the case, you also have something to be very concerned about.
In Wandering Stars, Keith Gibson underscores the critical necessity of hermeneutics for every believer.

"Hermeneutics has been described as the art and science of biblical interpretation. In handling the Bible properly, one should consider such things as context, history, grammar, and the genre of the literature among other things. The goal of hermeneutics is to understand the passage according to the original intent of the author, as inspired by the Holy Spirit."

Simply stated,

"The Bible should be studied in its historical and grammatical context and with the normal understanding of the words used. The intent is to discover the meaning intended by the author of the particular passage…. It is essentially a belief that God meant the Bible to be understood by the normal believer within the community of faith. This is sometimes referred to as the 'plain sense' principle of interpretation" (p. 70).

Simplifying it further, it involves not much more than what happens when two people have a normal conversation. Both are aware of the context of what they are communicating, know enough grammar to converse in sentences, and understand the meaning of the words used. We all do this every day, so it's mystifying that most misunderstandings of Scripture stem from not following the simple rules of hermeneutics.
Following such "plain sense" rules would eliminate the "prophetic hermeneutic" (i.e., believing what a dynamic preacher says just because he claims to be a prophet) that has caught many believers in the web of blindly following those who claim to be speaking for God. Gibson has seen the damage this has done to many believers' trust in God’s Word. He writes,

"The impact of this 'prophetic hermeneutic' is serious indeed. In the first place, as has already been stated, this type of approach to Scripture causes the Bible to lose its ability to provide boundaries for doctrine and practice because the Bible simply has no objective meaning. The Scripture means whatever any particular prophetic teacher declares that the Spirit has told him it means today. This style of teaching also serves to remove any definite understanding of Scripture from the common man who realizes that he simply cannot see all the things in Scripture that these teachers are seeing. This makes the average church person dependent on these 'inspired teachers' in order to know what the Lord has said" (p. 78).

Once that happens, the individual is vulnerable to whatever such a teacher dishes out and whatever direction the teacher wants to lead him.
Gibson spells out the tragic consequences of which few of us are aware:

"Because these prophetic teachers do not approach God’s Word properly, they reach false conclusions. These false conclusions then support aberrant doctrines and unbiblical practices. These unbiblical practices and false doctrines undermine the historic truths of the church and distract Christians from the pure faith and the true work of the ministry" (p. 80).

Scripture is "Yesterday's Manna"

It isn't only ignorance of the Scriptures or mishandling them on the part of many of the leaders of the prophetic movement. Some seemingly distort them for their own purposes. Gibson quotes Wendy Alec, from her very popular book Journal of the Unknown Prophet. This is what she claims she has received from Jesus:

"For the Word alone is yesterday's manna and even they [prophetic teachers] have seen deep in their hearts that it is no longer enough to feed my people" (quoted in Wandering Stars, p. 86).

So the written Word of God is not only "no longer enough," but it's also "yesterday’s manna." Scripture tells us that leftover manna "bred worms and stank" (Exodus 16:20). Who would believe that Jesus, who is the living Word, the same yesterday, today, and forever, the One who said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33), would have anything to do with such a blasphemous statement? Yet thousands accept it unquestioningly. We can’t judge Alec’s heart in this, but it is obvious that she has relegated the written Word at least to an inferior position in comparison to what she and others are supposedly hearing from God today. Again, tragically, this is infecting our brothers and sisters who are part of the body of Christ.

Doctrine Is Downgraded

The Scriptures give us a sober warning that I believe is most applicable to the day in which we live:

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

Again, sound doctrine is simply the teachings of the Word of God, which every believer is to read, heed, and obey. Yet, according to these teachers, since biblical doctrine stands in the way of the "new things God is doing," it must be downgraded.
Gibson quotes prophetic movement leader Francis Frangipane:

"We have instructed the church in nearly everything but becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. We have filled the people with doctrines instead of Deity; we have given them manuals instead of Emmanuel" (p. 122).

Frangipane and his cohorts have in fact done none of that. Gibson notes:

"Frangipane seems oblivious to the fact that teaching people to become disciples of Jesus Christ would necessitate doctrinal instruction if for no other reason than because to teach them who Jesus is necessitates a doctrinal discussion. Additionally, how else is the church to follow the words of Christ given in the great commission and 'teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you' without instruction in doctrine?" (p. 114).

Gibson's response is stunning in its simplicity, yet what is even more amazing is that so many are not thinking through what they are accepting. He adds,

"It is simply neither possible nor profitable to attempt to bypass doctrinal instruction. Discipleship may certainly involve more than merely doctrinal instruction but it cannot involve less" (p. 114).

The leaders of the prophetic movement of necessity must make it "involve less." Rick Joyner, for example, declares:

"We must first understand that our unity is not based on doctrines. Such unity is superficial at best. Our unity can only be found in Jesus. To focus our attention on Him and learn to love and cover one another is far more important than agreeing on all doctrines. Having like doctrines is not a basis for unity...it is a basis for division!" (p. 115).

Although "doctrine divides" is the mantra of the new prophets and apostles, they are correct in a way with which they would not agree. Romans 16:17-18 sets the matter straight:

"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."

It is false doctrine, i.e., that which is "contrary to the doctrine" taught by the biblical apostles, that "cause[s] divisions."

Conclusion

Of necessity and hopefully for edification, this first article majored on the fundamental erroneous teachings of the New Apostles and Prophets movement, i.e., its own false doctrines. With that understanding, it should come as no surprise as to how bizarre their beliefs and practices could and have become. In the next part of this series, the Lord willing, we will glean (primarily from Wandering Stars) who the leaders are and what is involved in their global dominionist agenda.

The Old Cross and The New

28 Monday Jan 2013

By A. W. Tozer  (1897-1963)
Reblogged from awonderfulsavior.wordpress.com

Unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental.
 
From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique — a new type of meeting and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before.

The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam’s proud flesh it meant the end of the journey. It carried into effect the sentence imposed by the law of Sinai. The new cross is not opposed to the human race; rather, it is a friendly pal and, if understood aright, it is the source of oceans of good clean fun and innocent enjoyment. It lets Adam live without interference. His life motivation is unchanged; he still lives for his own pleasure….

The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist… preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into public interest by showing that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the world does, only on a higher level…

The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him. It gears him into a cleaner and jollier way of living and saves his self-respect…. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross.

The old cross is a symbol of death…. The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.

That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die.

God offers life, but not an improved old life. The life He offers is life out of death…. Let him not seek to make terms with God, but let him bow his head before the stroke of God’s stern displeasure and acknowledge himself worthy to die.  …the power that raised Christ from the dead now raises him to a new life along with Christ.

“…none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that
I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus,
to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:2

Summary of the Therapeutic Gospel: Trevin Wax's "Counterfeit Gospels"

Reblogged from Elizabeth Prata´s the-end-time.blogspot.com.br 

In listening to Todd Friel's Drive By Discernment, lecture 55 and 55 today, I was introduced to Pastor Trevin Wax. He has written two books, one is called Holy Subversion and the other is called The Counterfeit Gospels. The two lectures in Drive By Discernment are on one of the six kinds of false gospels Wax writes about. It is called The Therapeutic Gospel.

Here is Pr. Wax being interviewed by Christianity.com on his book. Its short explanation offers an overview of the 6 false Gospels Wax identifies in his book. The 6 are,
1. The Judgment-less Gospel
2. Therapeutic Gospel
3. Moralist Gospel
4. Quietist Gospel
5. Activist Gospel
6. Churchless Gospel

Here is a chart summarizing the 6 false Gospels Wax writes about-

Source, The Gospel Coalition

In a session of the discernment series Drive By Discernment, Trevin explained "The Therapeutic Gospel". We hear much of this Gospel today. It is all about us. It is about our self-esteem. our feelings. What God can do for us to make us happier.
I've included extended excerpts below, but understand that his 2 lectures totaling 30 minutes was tight, well-articulated, and built to a powerful point. It was hard to extract segments and have them make as much sense on their own than the entire lecture did. Even extended excerpts cannot do it justice. But here is a bit of what Pastor Wax said:

The Therapeutic Gospel at its root confuses spiritual symptoms with spiritual disease. Whatever it may be, a troubled marriage, maybe it's anxiety, maybe it's anger issues, perhaps an addiction, we take these symptoms and we confuse the symptoms with the disease - which is sin. Our own evil. Our rebellion. And because the diagnosis is superficial, the treatment is superficial as well.
So what are some of the superficial diagnoses we see in our world? Well here's a few we can spot. One is the Happy Meal Gospel. ... [He talks of his young son here] We realized fairly rapidly that it wasn't the soggy McNuggets and the French fries that our son liked so much but it was enjoying but the happy meal toy and the playground. That's what captures the heart of a child- promise the toy.

I'm concerned that we package the Gospel in a way that makes God out to be a Ronald McDonald type who wants to give kids a Happy Meal. ... When 'God wants me to be happy' becomes the measuring stick for making our decisions, we have fallen for a counterfeit.

Here is the irony in all this- God does want us to be happy. The Therapeutic Gospel takes the right words and puts it in the wrong context. God does want our joy and happiness, but to be found in Him- not in a way that's defined by 21st century American culture. God's desire for our joy goes beyond the Happy Meal.
[In the emphasis on our feelings and the craze for preaching on self-esteem] Notice what has taken place. Instead of understanding that sin may lead to a lack of self esteem, sin has been re-defined as a lack of self esteem. See the difference? It's subtle, but all counterfeits are subtle. It is a confusion of symptom as the real problem. ... Scripture is clear, our biggest problem is not that we feel guilty- it is that we are guilty. We don't have empty hearts in need of fill-up, we have deceitful hearts in need of replacement.
If low self esteem is the problem, then therapy is the solution. But the question for us as Christians is why does this version of Christianity need Jesus? Why is a bloody cross at the center of our faith? If our biggest need is for someone to tell us we're all right, he could have sent Oprah. If our biggest need is to have peace in our family, then God would have done fine sending Dr Phil. No, God sent His son to die a brutal, horrifying death as a payment for human sin. Surely that is the sign that our sin is much more heinous than just, "We feel empty inside." The Therapeutic Gospel can never deliver what it promises because it doesn't recognize the severity of the problem.

The Therapeutic Gospel does something else that's devastating. It leads us to believe that it is our worth that motivates God's action to save us. The thinking is, Jesus came to save us because we are so valuable to God. There is some truth in this. We have an inherent dignity, because we're created in His image. It is a true concept that has a gradual drift. It is more Gnostic than anything else. A good example comes from comparing two parables. [see below]
The true Gospel is Christ centered. The Therapeutic Gospel ultimately fails to satisfy because it switches out the great reward of knowing God for the lesser reward of receiving something from God.

Pastor Wax compares the subtle shift in a counterfeit Gospel from being Christ-centered to man-centered, by comparing the parable of the sheep as they are presented in Luke and in the false Gospel of Thomas. Here is the Gospel of Luke:
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:4-7)
The other is from the non-canonical, false Gospel of Thomas.
"Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them, the largest, went astray. He left the ninety-nine sheep and looked for that one until he found it. When he had gone to such trouble, he said to the sheep, 'I care for you more than the ninety-nine.'" (FALSE, NON-CANONICAL “Gospel of Thomas”)
What has happened here, said Pr. Wax, is that in the counterfeit Gnostic gospel the writer has shifted the emphasis. The point of the parable in the counterfeit is about the worth of the sheep, instead of the work of the Shepherd.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christ is the ultimate possession. Nothing that the Therapeutic Gospel offers can ever satisfy. Anyway, consider this blog entry a kind of whetting your appetite for being on the alert for false Gospels. I've written and written about staying in the Word. Knowing His word in the bible is the best defense for spotting a false Gospel. Make sure you know the real thing!

Trevin Wax's book is called Counterfeit Gospels.
Here is Tim Challies' review of The Counterfeit Gospels.
Todd Friel's Drive By Discernment is available on instant download, for $19.99. It contains 72 lectures that are under 15 minutes each.
Don't fall for a therapeutic Gospel. Resolve to keep Jesus as the center of everything this year. With Jesus as your glory and your hope, it is the best start for the New Year and every year thereafter. Thanks to God's grace, there will be an eternity of them for the believer.

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Hereges são pessoas legais que ganham o ouvido e enganam o coração

 Hereges são pessoas legais que ganham o ouvido e enganam o coração

 Fonte: Site do autor

Por Josemar Bessa

Por que foi tão difícil para Paulo e os outros apóstolos combaterem os falsos mestres em seus dias?

Muitas pessoas esperam que aqueles que deturpam e torcem as verdades bíblicas sejam pessoas não amáveis, sem simpatia, sem carisma… Paulo disse aos coríntios: “E não é maravilha, porque o próprio Satanás se transfigura em anjo de luz.” – 2 Coríntios 11:14 – “Mas temo que, assim como a serpente enganou Eva com a sua astúcia, assim também sejam de alguma sorte corrompidos os vossos sentidos, e se apartem da simplicidade que há em Cristo”. 2 Coríntios 11:3

Em toda a história da igreja homens que propagaram heresias destruidoras eram amáveis, simpáticos, falavam em amor ao próximo, se empenhavam em caridade… hoje é assim como sempre foi. Podemos ensinar doutrinas antibíblicas enquanto falamos em ajuda aos pobres, missão integral, igreja relevante… Na verdade, todas as religiões podem falar sobre temas simpáticos, agradáveis, caridosos… sendo mesmo assim o oposto da revelação bíblica. Podemos passar horas lendo Confúcio, Budismo… Mas nossa questão aqui são heresias que saem da igreja, de líderes na igreja, simpáticos, caridosos… Paulo quando fala sobre líderes que ensinam doutrinas heréticas e desviam homens da verdade, diz: “e com suaves palavras e lisonjas (bajulações) enganam os corações dos simples.” – Romanos 16:18

Falsos mestres são simpáticos, amáveis e adoram falar sobre amor. Mas o amor que é proposto é um tipo de amor completamente diferente do que a Bíblia ensina. É um sentimentalismo que põe a verdade de lado em nome do que chamam amor. Qualquer amor que é destrutivo para a verdade total do evangelho (com todo seu lado ofensivo ao homem natural), qualquer amor que ignora a verdade e a vê como um obstáculo, chamando-a de dogmatismo… qualquer amor que é tolerante com o erro ou propaga o erro… tem que ser completamente evitado e combatido… porque isso não está nem próximo da essência daquilo que a Bíblia chama de amor. Toda conversa sobre amor, caridade, missão, união… que põe a verdade de lado é exatamente o trabalho dos falsos mestres, falsos profetas… Como é doce ouvir “paz, paz…” – “E curam superficialmente a ferida da filha do meu povo, dizendo: Paz, paz; quando não há paz.” – Jeremias 6:14 – É isso que Paulo enfatiza: “e com suaves palavras e lisonjas (bajulações) enganam os corações dos simples.” – Romanos 16:18

Na história da igreja homens que ensinaram doutrinas terríveis eram homens simpáticos e amáveis. Ário (Arius 256-336) negava a divindade de Cristo. Ele defendia que o Logos e o Pai não eram da mesma essência, que o Filho era uma criação do Pai, que houve um tempo em que o Filho ainda não existia… Era um líder cristão em Alexandria. Mas é dito sobre ele que era um homem simpático, amável… Era descrito como – brilhante, companheiro, atraente… um tipo de cidadão que todos gostariam de ter ao seu lado em causas nobres. Um tipo de homem que todos gostavam de ver ensinando a Bíblia… ele foi imensamente popular nos seus dias… Exatamente o que Paulo disse: “e com suaves palavras e lisonjas (bajulações) enganam os corações dos simples.” – Romanos 16:18

Outro homem que ensinou as mesmas heresias foi Socino (Fausto Socinus 1539-1604) – Seu ensino rejeitou os pontos de vista ortodoxos teologia cristã no conhecimento de Deus, sobre a doutrina da Trindade, divindade de Cristo , e na soteriologia… Mas ele em si era um cara legal e simpático, amável… Ele é descrito como um verdadeiro cavaleiro. Sua moral estava acima de qualquer suspeita e era conhecido por sua cortesia infalível. É descrito como muito mais cortês do que os Reformadores que viveram na mesma época, Calvino, Lutero… Enfim, Socino é descrito como homem exemplar.

Eis o motivo porque raramente é ou será popular combater e resistir os falsos mestres. Eis o motivo porque Paulo teve grandes problemas para combatê-los em Corinto, na igreja dos Gálatas, e em todas as outras igrejas. Falsos mestres, hereges… são amáveis, falam muito sobre o amor, em ajuda aos necessitados… são simpáticos, falam sobre “paz paz..” – então eles quase sempre são vistos como uma benção para a igreja. Eles sempre tem palavras cativantes. Eles são atenciosos. Eles falam o que muitos querem ouvir. Eles estão prontos a adaptar a verdade. Eles são cavaleiros… Então Paulo diz: “e com suaves palavras e lisonjas (bajulações) enganam os corações dos simples.” – Romanos 16:18

“Suaves palavras” – A frase significa discurso suave. Eles sabem falar de forma inteligente. O diabo coloca os erros mais devastadores não na boca de hereges óbvios… ele não coloca esses erros na boca de homens que são um desastre para o objetivo dele. Palavra suaves e lisonjas. A palavra é eulogia, como elogio. É a ideia de uma eloquência falsa, mentiras bem escolhidas e que tem um som atraente e enganam o coração dos ingênuos, é o que Paulo diz. Inteligente, eloquente, polido, de fala suave, elogiando, lisonjeiro, abraçando causas nobres… Ele ganha o ouvido e engana o coração.

Nunca, nunca será popular resistir falsos mestres na igreja, eles são vistos como benção e não tragédia!

LEARNING TO BEWARE OF FALLEN ANGELS IN FEMALE DISGUISE

 Reblogged from: St.Lloyd: servehiminthewaiting.wordpress.com

Posted on December 2, 2012

 

By Pastor Joseph Chambers

I. THERE ARE SOME INCREDIBLE FACTS WE WILL DISCOVER ABOUT FEMALE ANGELS.
They are not really female but disguised as females to better represent their hatred for the masculinity of the Heavenly Father. We must learn that fallen angels still possess the great powers they possessed before they rebelled against God. Angels that have fallen from their pure state in which they were created can manifest in many ways. They can manifest as or in animals, male persons, female persons, inanimate objects, books, storms in weather patterns, houses dedicated to their activities, and even over nations like Haiti.

A. Fallen angels appear to almost always demonstrate an effeminate nature. “And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Romans 1:23-25) (Corruptible: To deprave, defile and destroy)

B. The female masquerade of fallen angels delight in showing their hatred of the Fatherhood of God. They repulse the Father’s authority and masculine character. They are clearly deceptive, occultic and depraved.

C. The female nature of these demons is to corrupt everything and change or twist every form that God has created.
* Homosexuality is a twisted form of manhood.
* Lesbianism is a twisted form of womanhood.

“And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers…” (Romans 1:27-29)

D. These fallen angels twist the created nature of themselves and do so to change our view of angels from a masculine view of great authority. They want men to see the world of angels as wimpy creatures, giddy and silly.

2. The Word of God provides a perfect example of evil angels in feminine disguise.
 Here are three such distortions preparing for the powers behind the coming “New World Order.”
“Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.”
(Zechariah 5:5-9)

The city that is their destination is ancient Babylon or the Land of Shinar. The Economic System (fallen angel in the ephah) is carried by the first fallen angel controlling the “One World Religion,” and a second fallen angel controlling the “One World Political Order.”

3. Goddesses are unquestionably fallen angels. Here is a description of Sophia and Gaia:
A. Sophia: Worshipped By Many Americans and Churches:

A Leader in the Deception By Fallen Angels: Who is Sophia? Literally she is Wisdom, because the Greek word Sophia means “wisdom” in English. More than that, Sophia is the Wisdom of Deity. She has been revered as the Wise Bride of Solomon by Jews, as the Queen of Wisdom and War (Athena) by Greeks, and as the Holy Spirit of Wisdom by Christians. She is known as Chomah (pronounced HOK-man with the H being said like-ch in the name Bach) in Hebrew, and Sapientia in Latin.
Sophia is found throughout the wisdom books of the Bible. There are many references to her in the book of Proverbs, and in the apocryphal books of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon (accepted by Catholics and Orthodox, found in the Greek Septuagint of the early Church.) She is Wisdom Incarnate, the Goddess of all those who are wise.

B. Gaia: Called the mother of the Gods

Loved By the Deceived New Agers: Great Mother of the Gods, in ancient Middle Eastern religion (and later Greece, Rome, and W. Asia), mother goddess, the great symbol of the earth’s fertility. As the creative force in nature she was worshipped under many names, including Astarte (Syria), Ceres (Rome), Cybele (Phrygia), Demeter (Greece), Ishtar (Babylon), and Isis (Egypt). The later forms of her cult involved the worship of a male deity (her son or lover, e.g., Adonis, Osiris), whose death and resurrection symbolized the regenerative power of the earth.

Gaea, in Greek mythology, the earth; daughter of Chaos, mother and wife of both Uranus (the sky) and Pontus (the sea.) She was mother, by Uranus, of the Cyclopes, the Titans, and others, and, by Pontus, of five sea deities. She helped cause the overthrow of Uranus by the Titans and was worshipped as the primal goddess, the mother of all things.

4. New contemporary music has a dominant femininity in both the lyrics and the beat. To the strong and Godly men and women it sounds like sissified music. The dominant theme of past musical sound and theology was masculine and authoritative.

5. The facial and body makeup, and the jewelry of this last generation has gone far beyond beauty and natural appearance and has taken on a goddess like character.

Peter's prophecy fulfilled: False teachers who make merchandise of you

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Rebbloged from http://the-end-time.blogspot.com.br

Peter's prophecy fulfilled: False teachers who make merchandise of you

Here is a prophecy in 2 Peter 2:3 that has recently come to my attention. Read it in different translations:

"In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." (NIV)

"And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." (ESV)

And my favorite translation of the verse;

"And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." (KJV)

Looking at the verse in context, Peter is warning about false teachers to come. The ESV's heading for the entire chapter is called "False Prophets and Teachers" and the chapter goes on to describe all the qualities of false teachers and prophets who are prophesied to come. Peter opens with chapter 1 in reminding the brethren that our salvation is sure, and that Christ's word in the prophetic is glorious. He tells us in chapter 2 about those prophecies, namely focusing on the false teachers and prophets, and then continues the thought in chapter 3, reminding the brethren to think on these things and be duly warned. He then reassures the church that the Day of the Lord will come, and all the false teachers and prophets will be dealt with in due time.

We are told in His word that what will happen is that false teachers will make the Word a merchandise and they will exploit the believers. They do this because they are greedy. When it happens it will not be because they made a mistake, or briefly had a period of a wayward interpretations, or due to Christian immaturity. The bible says they do it on purpose and they do because they want money.

So back to the verse. Are the brethren exploited? Is the word being merchandised? Yes.

The consumerism in current Christianity bothered me when I attended the Beth Moore live weekend "bible study" at the Time Warner Arena. The slickness of the extravaganza was shocking, and the prices of food the vendors were charging really made me think of the moneylenders in the temple.

When the Fireproof movie came out I was struck by the push to buy the DVD, the books, the "Love Dare" diary. I mentioned that in another blog post, that fads in Christianity seem to come with their own cottage industry or marketing and merchandising of trinkets.

Same with the Courageous merchandise. You can buy a pack, complete with The Resolution For Men Book, the Resolution Certificate print (as seen in the movie) and the FREE Bonus I Resolve/I Will wristband. Hurry while supplies last.

Then I read of all these mega-church pastors who quit their post at a church to go on book tours.

There is nothing wrong with a pastor writing a book. Nothing. What the prophecy says is that they will be false, they will write false things, and make merchandise out of the false words and they will exploit the people who support them. And that, my brethren, is exactly what is happening today.

Rob Bell, founder of Mars Hill Bible Church in MI, recently released the heretical book, Love Wins. Love Wins impugns the character of God by saying that hell is not real.

After the book was a runaway success, Bell resigned the ministry and went on a tour. An article in Crosswalk noted, "Bell's resignation makes him the latest in a string a celebrity pastors who have said goodbye to weekly sermons, potluck dinners and other staples of church life. "A New Kind of Christianity" author Brian McLaren, "Crazy Love" author Francis Chan, "Deep Church" author Jim Belcher and the popular British Bible scholar N.T. Wright have all left their church leadership positions in recent years."

Bell left his church "to pursue a growing number of strategic opportunities."

The article states, "For pastors with ambitions to reach huge audiences, there's often no better platform than the megachurch, which has given rise to powerhouse media empires from T.D. Jakes to Max Lucado to Joel Osteen and many others. But some high-profile pastors are opting to leave congregational ministry altogether to pursue publishing and other media ventures full time."

Media empires is right. And the article correctly noted that the mega-church has become a 'platform' from which to launch that media empire, make a lot of money, and go on tour, leaving the picked-over flock behind.

Speaking of cottage industry, never mind the packets, kits, trinkets, and books, there are new businesses springing up to support the business of Christianity. For example, Alive Communications is a Colorado Springs, Colo., literary agency that represents megachurch pastors. Now pastors need agents? Apparently so.

Even the woman are getting in on it. Priscilla Shirer, daughter of popular preacher Tony Evans, is also her own cottage industry. "Conservative Bible teachers like Shirer have built a new paradigm for feminine preaching, an ingenious blend of traditional revivalism, modern therapeutic culture and the gabby intimacy of Oprah. ... This theology has spawned a subculture of Bible studies, conferences, ministries, religious retreats and literature ranging from Christian fitness books to Christian romance novels, all produced by and for evangelical women." (source)

Above, Priscilla Shirer, source

For the women who go on tour, this cottage industry is at the expense of biblical womanhood. The article notes that Mr Shirer spends much of the day negotiating Priscilla's speaking invitations and her book contracts. In the afternoon it’s often Mr Shirer who collects the boys from school. Back home, Priscilla and Jerry divide chores and child care equally. "Jerry quit his job to run his wife’s ministry. Priscilla now accepts about 20 out of some 300 speaking invitations each year, and she publishes a stream of Bible studies, workbooks and corresponding DVDs intended for women to read and watch with their girlfriends from church. Jerry does his share of housework and child care so that Priscilla can study and write. He travels with his wife everywhere. Whenever possible, they take their sons along on her speaking trips, but they often deposit the boys with Jerry’s mother."

And don't forget to pick up your Shirer "I Am Resolved" tee shirt on your way out.

After Rob Bell left in a cloud of dust for his book and speaking tour, the remaining pastor at Mars Hill shortly decided to leave also. Shane Hipps said he enjoys "serving the broader church" by speaking and writing. The 'broader church' is code for, well, the world. Hipps worried that if he accepted the new role as main teacher after Rob Bell's departure to serve the world, (they don't call them preachers at Mars Hill), "I would have to dramatically reduce my service to the broader church which is an integral part of my sense of call." Translation: I will have to be accountable to the elders and I'd have to curtail my book tours. Ix-nay on the teaching-ay. Who wants to be stuck at a podium preaching week after week when you can be a media darling and start an empire? Good bye Mars Hill, hello new book, "Selling Water by the River: A book about the Life Jesus Promised and the Religion that Gets in the Way."

This writer below in the next article asks a good question, many good questions as a matter of fact. Who decided that these particular teachers speak for the local church?

None dare Call It Marketing: Lifeway, Beth Moore and the conspiracy to take over your church

"The idea of a celebrity Bible teacher, a teacher who teaches thousands and thousands of people through media, isn’t antithetical to the Bible’s presentation of discipleship, but it certainly isn’t normative. It’s not what the Bible has in mind. And one of the reasons is this: The ministry of the “celebrity” Bible teacher tends to undermine the ministry of the local church pastor." ... "What I will ask, however, is whether my fellow Christians have the courage to admit that Beth Moore and Rick Warren and the next publishing superstars are, in large part, promoted by Lifeway for profits? Not chosen by God, but chosen by Lifeway and other publishers for potential book sales? Lifeway would say chosen and promoted for the good of my church. Well, if it’s profitable. If you can’t see that, you’re naive." ... I’m distressed that Christian media’s capitalistic agenda has become the source of an unquestioned spiritual authority in so many churches."

Me too.

John MacArthur exposits the Peter verse, "The operating motive, the underlying cause. Verse 3, "And in greed they will exploit you with false words." Here's another component that you need to know about. What drives them on the inside to do what they do? Listen very carefully. They're not driven by immorality. They're not driven by aselgeia, sexual immorality. You can do that by yourself. That's not going to make you a false teacher. You can be immoral all alone in your own little world with just the people you choose to be immoral with, you don't need to be a false teacher to be immoral. And if all they wanted to do was fulfill their sensual desire, they wouldn't need to be a false teacher. But there's another component. What is it? Greed...greed."

"The driving force of their enterprise to be teachers is not the love of the truth, it's not submission to the Lord, it's not even sexual immorality, they can do that in the pew. The driving force is money. The word pleonexiameans uncontrolled greed. They're expert at it. They're in it to accumulate money. And watch them, they do. Verse 14 of the same chapter, "Their eyes are full of adultery...obviously...they never cease from sin, they never submit to lordship, they entice unstable souls...why do they do that?...because their hearts...boy, this is really graphic..are trained in...what?...greed." They're experts at it. They can con money out of anybody. They want money. They want money. They want your money. They want anybody's money.' ... "They exploit you, they get rich off you with false words."

Now you might deduce that I am offended at Christian merchandising of God's word. That I am concerned with women who have their own cottage industries of tours of 'bible studies" and products at the expense of their children, their husbands and their husbands' jobs. But this next bit really gets me.

"Bell's 2009 project, Drops Like Stars, explores the links between creativity and suffering. Drops Like Stars was an international tour and a book, initially handwritten by Bell, with photographs. The title of the project comes from a young child's view of raindrops on a window at night. Rather than focusing on the conundrum of why an all-powerful God would allow suffering, Bell instead looks at the creativity, empathy, new connections, and growth that can spring from suffering. When asked in an interview how he had become interested in suffering, Bell replied that as a pastor he had been given a front row seat in the most poignant moment's of people's lives. At the same time he was doing lectures on creativity and realized, "There was a connection between these two halves of my life – all these connections between suffering and art-making." (source)

He had a 'front row seat' to people's spiritual and emotional pain, and decided to make money off it. This right there is a fulfillment of the worst kind of the prophecy Peter warned us about.

Though Bell's book is a sad instance of the merchandising of God's word and exploitation of His people, this one is just plain silly and ridiculous:

Pastors, at a loss for how to lead your church? Call Will Mancini, Clarity Evangelist. He will help you discover a unique vision for your church, and sell you a Unique Vision Kit, to boot.

Your church's Unique Vision Kit
CHURCH UNIQUE BOOK: (1) Written to help you find your Church Unique and live a vision that creates a stunningly unique, movement-oriented church. (The Church Unique Vision Kit includes one copy of the book.)
LEADERS GUIDE: (1) Step by step instructions for the leader of the Church Unique Vision Pathway process. Everything you need to lead 8 vision clarifying team sessions.
DVD: (1) Video teaching from Will Mancini provides insight, encouragement, and inspiration.
PARTICIPANT GUIDE: (9) Map, journal, and sketch book to help each team member participate effectively in the vision clarification process. (Pick up your own 3 ring binders at your favorite office supply retailer.)
VISION DECK: (1) 52 optional exercises to inspire visionary teams.
JOE GROW: (9) Bendable figure empowers teams to explore the impact of vision on real people.
COMPASS KEY CHAIN: (9) Take home object lesson for team members.
COLLABORATION CUBES: (9) Table top team interaction style reminders for team members.
VISION FRAMES: (9) Customizable frame for team participants to record the vision outcomes.
ALIGNMENT RING: (1) Illustrates the power of a unified vision and momentum.
ROLE CARDS: (9) One laminated role card with key responsibilities for each team member.
MISSION CARDS: (9) One wallet sized card for each person to record your unique mission.
WALL CHARTS: (18) Posters that illustrate key concepts in the Vision Pathway Process as well as charts to capture your unique vision. (Pick up additional flip charts or blank sheets of newsprint to record ideas at your favorite office supply retailer.)

The 2 Peter 2:3 verse says "they will exploit you" or "they will make merchandise of you" and the Greek word for exploit is emporeusontai, from which we get the English word emporium. Emporium is a term used for a store selling a wide variety of goods, and for marketplaces or trading centers.

Making money is no problem. Writing a book is no problem. Having money is no problem. Being a megachurch pastor is not a problem (usually). But false teachers will come in, and not sparing the flock, they will exploit the Word and the people for their greedy purposes. I believe it is clear that it is happening to a high degree today. All I can say is,

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

What is all this "favor of God" talk really about?

What is all this "favor of God" talk really about?

http://the-end-time.blogspot.com

Do we really have as much favor from God as some preachers say we do? What is all this "favor" anyway?

Interview with Joel Osteen:
Q. You talk about God’s favor a lot. What is God's favor?

A. "There are so many people who don’t expect anything good in life. They don’t expect to get breaks, they don’t expect to get promoted, they don’t expect anything positive. So I just try to get people to say, I believe if we expect God’s favor, if we declare it, if we thank him when we do see good things happening, then we’re going to see more of that." ~Joel Osteen

No it's not. Favor of God is His grace upon us, unmerited. "Grace is free sovereign favor to the ill-deserving.” -Benjamin B. Warfield

It all depends on what one means by "good things." I certainly don't expect good things in life from God on the basis of my sparkling personality or because of the supposed favor I did Him by becoming a believer. Not this life...compared to the next. And yet, I DO expect good things. The Holy Spirit has already deposited Himself in me as a guarantee of my inheritance. That's a good thing! Then He dispensed spiritual gifts as He willed. That's a good thing! He has been growing me in sanctification in ever more Christ-likeness. That's a good thing!

Mr Osteen makes the implication, both overtly and covertly, that your Christianity isn't doing you any good unless you are receiving earthly, material things, and getting "breaks".

In this painful but uplifting story out of Egypt, we learn the hopes and fears of the Christians there in the face of increasing violence and hatred toward them. "The service ends with the Lord's Prayer and instructions for members to exit through the church's back entrance--tear gas is in the air in front. A short time later, a wailing ambulance arrives, delivering six young men. One clutches his wrist; another reveals a back peppered with birdshot. Another will probably lose his eye. The following night, the violence touches the church family. A KDEC teenager is shot near Tahrir. News spreads that someone kidnapped the daughter of a church member. Another member is found dead, murdered on his way home from the airport."

Where are their breaks?? Yet they already know they have their "good things." And they act accordingly. The article continues: "We [converts] could be the first people to be killed," said the activist, who asked for anonymity. "We are the rust in Islam that is corroding the walls. We are the threat." But rather than seeking the first opportunity to leave Egypt, he and others like him choose to stay and exert influence behind the scenes. "Doctors stay in medicine; politicians stay in politics; advocates stay in advocacy," he said. "The salt put in warehouses will just go stale. The salt needs to be in the food."

It all depends on what a person expects is a "good thing." The Egyptian Christians are hoping that if it is appointed for them to die, that they die for His name being uplifted and that hope enter the hearts of the killers. In Mr Osteen's theology, Christians should hope to get a good parking space at the mall. Is the 'good thing' Christ oriented, or me-oriented? The way 'favor' is being used by the prosperity Gospelites are that the things we receive are an identifying confirmation that we who possess many earthly riches have more favor with God than the next person, who doesn't possess as many.

For Mr Jentezen, his definition is: "Favor means God has called u to the front of the line! It's your turn. Your [sic] next!" ~ Jentezen Franklin- Twitter

Favor means that I cut ahead of other, sanctified, holy saints to the front of the line? Why would I want to do that? And what line? There's a line? What happens when I get there? Anyway, didn't God say, "So the last will be first, and the first last" ? (Matthew 20:16a). Maybe the head of the line is not good, ha ha. Also, doesn't He love us equally, without favor? As He said to the man in the parable who complained of the ones coming into the vineyard at the last hour, who received the same pay, "I wish to give to this last man the same as to you."

Sort of along the same lines at the man in the parable complaining he'd worked all day and the last guy got the same pay, is this question asked and answered at Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry:

"Why does God hear and answer prayers for some and not others even though they live for Him?" At the end of the good essay (I recommend reading it at their site)

"What is the point of doing good then, if not to gain God’s favor? There is every reason in the world to do good! We do get God’s favor, not because He owes it to us, but because when we do good, we are operating according to God’s design for us, and we benefit from this in more lasting ways. We actually get more of God Himself when we follow Him. He is the source of all good."

Therefore, why do I need 'breaks,' when I already possess the universe's greatest break of all? Why isn't that good enough for the positive confession, name it claim it, blab it and grab it people?

An acrostic!

The grace of God IS the favor (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). "That is to say those of us who know God through faith in Jesus Christ are the recipients of the out-pouring of God's continual blessing and favor." MacArthur

But what of passages like this in the bible, you say:

"And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with men." (1 Samuel 2:26). Barnes notes explains, "The child Samuel advanced and grew and was good (or acceptable), both with the Lord, and also with men." The word 'favor' translated means 'good, acceptable'. Not that you receive extra special things according to your works.

What of Naphtali's favor? "Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the LORD and is full of his blessing; he will inherit southward to the lake." (Deuteronomy 33:23).
Though it is a different Hebrew word than used in the Samuel verse it means the same thing, "acceptable to the Lord, pleasing, good."

What about Mary? Wasn't she 'highly favored'? "And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. (Luke 1:26-28). J. Vernon McGee wrote, "There is a tendency among Protestants to play down the role of Mary, but this tells us that she was highly favored. In the same breath, however, let me say that she was blessed among women, not above women. She is not lifted above women; she lifted up womanhood."

"One thing is clear: while Americans universally want God’s favor, as a whole, they do not want God." (source, John MacArthur above)

What are really asking when we say we "want God's favor"? Is it that we crave His blessings upon us spiritually, as we continually repent of our sins and seek His face, walking in His statutes? No. It is favor upon us personally, as Osteen said, to get breaks, a good parking space at the mall, and a promotion. These kinds of favors are man-sized favors, temporal and earthly, desired by people who live in the flesh. (Mt 6:19)

We should desire the God-sized favor, which means grace on earth and, stored up in heaven. (Mt. 6:20). "Do not exhaust your strength and spend your days in providing for the life here, but let your chief anxiety be to be prepared for eternity...To regulate the heart, it is therefore important that the treasure, or object of attachment, should be right." (Barnes Notes). [Illustration, "On hoarding treasures." Artist unknown. 1593.]

"Freedom, as expressed in Galatians, refers to freedom from the frustrating struggle to keep the law to gain God's favor. It is the freedom of knowing you are accepted by God because of what Christ has done. Such freedom is a tremendous kind of freedom, but it is more than just a deliverance from the oppression of legalism; it is also a positive endowment. When a Christian lives in the flesh, he forfeits the blessing he would receive if he were living in the Spirit. A Christian can live in the flesh, hoping to earn God's favor, but that only cuts him off from the flow of daily blessing." (source)

Maybe the positive confession, favor-seeking pastors and teachers should just read Colossians!

"Positionally, you cannot increase or decrease in the favor of God. As a genuine Christian, nothing you do, or fail to do, can change to the slightest degree your perfect standing before God--for "in Him you have been made complete" (Colossians 2:10). (source)

Dominionism and the 7 Mountain Movement

Dominionism and the 7 Mountain Movement

Posted by pjmiller on April 1, 2011 in Being Equipped

Bruce Wilson at Talk2Action has put together a very interesting post, The Social Transformation Conference & the 7M Movement
The article includes a number of links plus a 5 minute video. Below are a few quotes…

On April 1-2, 2011, the Harvard Extension Service and Learning Society will host, at the Harvard Northwest Science Building, the “Social Transformation Conference”. The upcoming event has already generated considerable controversy, and Truth Wins Out, a “Non-profit organization that defends the GLBT community against anti-gay misinformation campaigns”, plans to run a full page ad in the Harvard Crimson, on Thursday March 31st, protesting the event–which is being billed as advancing the “Seven Mountains” program. One of the scheduled speakers is linked (intimately) with a professed co-author of Uganda’s so-called “kill the gays bill”, and the 7 Mountains movement is already impacting US national politics.

Prominently featured on the Social Transformation Conference website is a professionally-produced video on the “Seven Mountains mandate”, which instructs “Bible believing” Christians to seek control of seven key sectors of society: education, government, media, business, arts & entertainment, religion, and the family. According to the video, the “church” must regain control of those sectors, which are now occupied by “darkness”.

The Seven Mountains concept is a vision for the total eradication of secular society and church-state separation. Os Hillman and Lance Wallnau, two of the scheduled Social Transformation Conference speakers, are in the vanguard of promoting the 7M idea, which Wallnau calls “a template for warfare.” The ‘Seven Mountains movement’ is a newly formed global Protestant mega-denomination that has coalesced out of independent charismatic Christianity; Four of the speakers, Hillman, Wallnau, Pat Francis, and Bill Hamon, are all apostles within the biggest organizational body in this movement, the International Coalition of Apostles (ICA), launched in 2001 [see footnote #1], and three are on the ICA’s elite “Apostolic Council”.

One apostle, Bill Hamon, serves, along with The Call founder Lou Engle, on the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders (ACPE), the top prophetic body of the Seven Mountains movement, whose prophets profess to communicate directly with, and receive prophetic insight, from God. ACPE prophet Mary Glazier has suggested that believers will drive the unrighteous from “the land” ….
Leaders of the NAR/Seven Mountains movement are aggressively working to move from the fringes into the mainstream. While their underlying ideology is extreme compared to traditional fundamentalism, they have managed to re-brand as pseudo-progressive by emphasizing ethnic and racial inclusivity (towards the creation of a new ‘rainbow right’)...

The Seven Mountains/NAR leadership is being aggressively courted by top-level Republican Party politicians including several who may run for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination (including Newt Gingrich and Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and Michele Bachmann (see footnote #2)), and its leaders over the past two years have shared stages with many Republican senators and Congress members, including Senator Jim DeMint and former Senator Sam Brownback, now governor of Kansas, who was Lou Engle’s roommate for seven months, in a rented Washington DC condominium, as Brownback confirmed in September 2010.

The movement has developed its own Biblical scripture-based lingo, through which its apostles and prophets can communicate political ideas in a manner that outsiders almost wholly miss…

If interested in the entire article + video, click here
Brannon Howse (worldviewweekend) has also posted a new 16 minute video exposing dominion theology and it’s leaders, the New Apostolic crowd (Cindy Jacobs, Joyner, Peter Wagner, etc.)
RELIGIOUS TROJAN HORSE: THE DANGERS OF DOMINION THEOLOGY: PART ONE