BE AWARE

Truth Matters Newsletters – July 2012 – Vol. 16 Issue 7 – BE AWARE

 Discernment Ministries International

 BE AWARE

By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Here is a PARTIAL {we could not listed them all} listing of some SINisters who DMI has been warning the church about and can be seen daily on a global basis on television and whose books fill the shelves of virtually all ‘Christian’ bookstores and many local church libraries (I hope your pastor checks out all the books donated for public use, you’d be surprised what we have found on local church libraries).

Che Ahn — prophetic movement, signs and wonders devotee

John Avanzini — TBN’s ‘bagman’ a prosperity ‘pimp’ of the first rank.

Todd Bentley — convicted child molester, adulterer, remarried: The Reality of the Supernatural World: Exploring Heavenly Realms and Prophetic Experiences: Journey Into The Miraculous Kingdom; Kingdom Rising: Making the Kingdom Real in Your Life; Baptisms of Fire (DVD)

Reinhard Bonnke — Word of Faith heretic, decision theology, signs and wonders

William Branham (denied the Trinity) — considered the greatest prophet of our times, false teacher, false prophet, false sings and wonders. HUGE cult following today

Rodney Howard Browne — Word of Faith heretic, ‘God’s Bartender,’ helped popularize holy laughter excess and attending spurious manifestations, false prophet, pastor and teacher.

Paul Cain — exposed as a homosexual alcoholic, false prophet, Proponent of today’s New Apostolic Reformation.

Stacy & Wesley Campbell — false prophet & prophetess

Charles Capps — according to Copeland ‘the greatest living theologian,’ Word of Faith cult false teacher.

Morris Cerullo — false prophet, false teacher, prosperity pimp.

Paul Yongi Cho — Word of Faith heretic, pastor of the largest ‘church’ in world

Kim Clement — false prophet, teacher, TBN darling

Kenneth Copeland — current king of the WOF cult, false prophet, false teacher

Paul Crouch — responsible for the global export of heresy, paid off a homosexual to keep quiet, lair.

Jack Deere — charismaniac currently serving as a pastor, former DTS professor, false teacher.

Creflo Dollar — Kenneth Copeland’s son in the Gospel, WOF heretic, prosperity pimp, recently assaulted his younger daughter.

Jesse Duplantis —WOF heretic, false prophet, false teacher

Francis Frangipane — Latter Rain dominionist heretic

Kenneth Hagin — So called ‘father’ of today’s WOF cult, false prophet, false teacher.

Bill Hamon —false prophet, leader in the prophetic movement, false teacher.

Marilyn Hickey — WOF heretic, false teacher, prosperity pimp/gimmick queen.

Steve Hill — responsible for importing the Signs & wonders non-revival from England to America, signs and wonders devotee, false teacher/prophet

Benny Hinn — WOF heretic, false prophet/teacher/pastor, liar, fraud, adulterer, prosperity pimp.

Cindy Jacobs — false prophetess, started ‘Generals of Intercession’ based on an angelic visit

T.D. Jakes — Oneness heretic, prosperity pimp, false teacher

E.W. Kenyon — True father of the WOF cult

Joyce Meyer — WOF heretic, false teacher

Copyright ©2012 Robert S. Liichow

Sons of Thunder? (Part Two) “You Don’t Know What Spirit You are Of”

Truth Matters Newsletters – May 2012 – Vol. 16 Issue 6 – Sons of Thunder? (Part Two) “You don’t know What Spirit You are Of” By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

 Discernment Ministries International

Sons of Thunder? (Part Two)

“You Don’t Know What Spirit You are Of”

By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

E.W. Kenyon taught the concepts of (1) the creative power of words, (2) Jesus ministering as only a man anointed with/by the Holy Spirit, (3) Jesus defeating Satan as a born-again man, a man like you and I, (4) and Jesus was born again from sin (Jesus became an actual sinner according to Kenyon) into new divine life. These and several other bizarre, unbiblical and heretical concepts are rooted in Kenyon’s ideas of what transpires when we become “new creations” in Christ.

Crowder is not teaching people what it means to live life as a Christian as normally understood for the last two thousand years. He is presenting the Kenyon concepts, which like all error has grown (Matthew 16:12) and developed far beyond Kenyon’s nascent dreams of glory.

Crowder presents a theology of glory where the end time Christian mystic will simply walk in the manifest glory of God (the Shekinah of God), healing the sick, working miracles where needed, traveling back and forth between heaven and earth (more on this later), raising the dead, and ultimately defeating death itself in his own life, becoming immortal (1 Cor. 15:26). (14)

 Dear readers, I know the above paragraph sounds beyond belief, who would really think that this was how God always meant for the church to operate? I have news for you, there are hundreds of thousands of professing Christians who believe exactly these things and many have simply been waiting for someone to “show” them how to do what they believe God has appointed for the church, especially in the last days.

 Before the initial fervor of the last revival had died down people were already asking and even prophesying what God was going to do next. Tracy and I heard and have on video tape these prophetic words declared by no less than John Arnott’s wife at TACF regarding when the “laughing stops,” referring to the holy laughter revival which the soul-hucksters knew was warning. Crowder is on the move, gathering sign-seeking souls who are after their next “fix” of the divine.

 PLEASE do not just file this information away under “wacko.” Initially the orthodox Church ignored what was taking place on the wrong side of the tracks at a street called “Azusa.” Today Pentecostalism is the fastest and largest segment of the visible Church today. Back then it was ignored and not studied and it grew and is growing still! We cannot afford to (1) be ignorant of what is taking place in the Church and (2) if it is wrong then we MUST speak out about it in Christian love and warning.

 

Gain A Historical Grid of Miracles & Mystics

This is probably the most honest statement in the advertisement. Crowder’s grid is nothing more than an outline of the various accounts of Christian mystics and alleged miracle workers of the past. The point of providing this information is two-fold: (1) It demonstrates that God did this in the lives of past believers, He will do it for you; (2) these former mystics tapped into the divine, leaving us a roadmap to follow. They simply lived the “normal Christian life” according to their charismatic paradigm and we cn all enter into the glory realm. (15)

Church history is filed with wild accounts from various monks and nuns which form much of the basis for Crowder’s historical grid. Tales of levitating monks (16) and statues that bleed” do not inspire me anymore than accounts of various stigmatic’s wounds. No one in the Bible simply lifted 3 or 4 feet off the ground and hovered around a bit while in ecstatic prayer. The accounts he sites are from murky sources at best, written down during the Dark Ages and other times of great superstitions.

Yet for arguments sake let’s say these things occurred. OK, so what benefit accrued to the Church because of these events?  How was Jesus exalted?  Were people brought to faith by such events? [If so, I would doubt their conversions, salvation is by faith alone, not by seeing miracles]. No Crowder is simply trying to buttress his faulty belief system by presenting what happened in past enthusiasts lives and trying to make these individuals the pattern we are to follow.

Be Activated in the Seer Realm, Prophecy, Spirit Travel

Here we go again being “activated” by Crowder and his anointed crew!  But this time the activation is to be in three specific areas which require some explanation.

The Seer Realm:

Let us read directly from a modern “seer” and see how he explains this hitherto unknown “gift”.

My personal journey into the seer realm has been progressive. Some seem to be “born with a full blown gift’ – like Bob Jones, John Paul Jackson and a few others in our day and time. Others come forth step-by-step as I did over a period of months and years.

In the prophetic, I heard first in the Spirit before I ever saw. I was comfortable in this realm and the voice of the Lord spilled over into the fit of prophecy. Later on, I recognized that the feeling dimension had been active in my life all the time–I just seemed extra sensitive and emoted more than others—especially men. But there was no teaching on that realm so the “feeler” stayed at a certain level and found its primary expression as burdens from the Lord in the place of prayer. For me, the seer realm unfolded over time like a flower blossom–opening in the sunlight ever so slowly. Eventually, especially in the atmosphere of worship, I found the Lord giving me both internal and external visions. Dreams were multiplied and became a regular tool in which the Lord would speak to me. Being around the culture of the seer, hanging out with gifted people, enhanced my own hunger, gift and calling. Visitations were never daily with me, but I would come into seasons where encounters with a supernatural God were profuse and not rare at all. (17)

It is commonly taught that certain gifts of the Holy Spirit develop over time.  One might have the gift of prophecy, but stumble at first and then with growth accuracy comes (of course the Bible recognizes no such process of development regarding the gifts). Seers’ see’ things in the spirit that the rest of us do not se either in an open vision (while awake) or in dreams (while asleep). The biblical examples of dreams and visions were exceedingly important, something today’s so-called seers cannot claim. The Bible does speak about those who —

Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. (18) Col. 2:18-20

Crowder and his ilk fit the category of “intruding into those things which he hath not seen.” They are today’s Gnostics teaching that there is insight and power hidden from common view, yet available via the adepts who have already trodden the path to ecstasy, all that is required is that one pay for the course and check their mind at the door.

Prophecy

Like tongues, prophecy is a verbal gift (the third verbal gift is the interpretation of tongues) and it is something that usually is not instantly in manifestation i.e. people who believe they receive the gift of tongues speak immediately, no one begins to immediately prophesy as did the disciples of John in Acts 19 when they received the Spirit. Most active charismatics have pro-fa-lied at some point in their Christian experience; certainly all of them have heard others give forth the “word of the Lord.” (19) We have no recorded prophetic utterances over the last couple of hundred years which have increased the Church at all. We do have a vast repository of false and unfulfilled words given by Mr. Hinn, Copeland, Duplantis, Capps, Branham and a myriad of other liars and deceived deceivers. Those who can boldly stand up in a service and declare “thus saith the Lord” at the end of their spewing do not fear the Lord as they ought. It is the utmost of seriousness to stand and speak in the Lord’s name (see James 3:1) and to teach His people anything.

From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; 1 Tim. 1:6-9 (20)

Leaving the path of charity Paul speaks of those who have swerved aside to worthless talk, speculation and jangling (3467 (mataiologia), n. fem.: = Str 3150; TDNT 4,524-LN 33.377 idle discussions, meaningless talk, empty talk (1 Ti 1:6+). This is certainly the case with Crowder and the others. They have no formal education in the Scriptures and they are either self-taught or the product of sitting under other unsound and heretical teachers and adding their own unique twist on things along the way. If one believes someone can “activate” them into the miraculous, then to learn how to utter a prophetic word is no big stretch. After all, this gift can be developed one may start off being only 20% accurate but over time grow to be maybe 80% right. The problem with this view is simply this: How does one know when the prophet is right or not? Whether to act on the “prophetic word” or not. Good intentions fall into hell’s pit when one lies in the name of the Lord God Almighty.

Spirit Travel

Bilocation is the term our government used when testing people for the psychic ability of sitting in one location and seeing what is taking place somewhere else, often miles away. This is also called remote viewing among parapsychologists. The occult world is replete with accounts of so-called astral projection or soul travel. Paul Twitchell started a new age cult called Eckankar which is devoted to astral projection to other cosmic realms. What I find outrageous is that this darkest form of occultism is being openly taught and embraced by professing Christians! Like Paul I want to shout “who has bewitched you” (Gal. 3:1). Is there anything in the Bible that even tangentially brushes on the farthest twisting of any text to support astral travel? Oh sure, have you forgotten what Paul said to the Colossians—

For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. Col. 2:5 (22)

Paul said he was “beholding” their order and steadfastness in Christ in the spirit. He obviously was in one place physically BUT was literally watching them in another location via being in the spirit. (23) After all, The Apostle John was also in the spirit on the Lord’s Day (see Rev. 1:10) when he went to heaven in the spirit while his body remained on Patmos. Lastly, we do have the account of Paul about a man who was caught up into the third heaven, whether he was in his body or not he did not know (see 2 Cor. 12:2). According to Crowder’s crowd we have three “witnesses” and thus let a doctrine be established (a misread of 2 Cor. 13:1) promoting astral tripping.

Not only does Crowder have at least three potential texts to wrest he can also fall back on the charismatic belief that everything that Satan has and does is just a counterfeit of the genuine. Thus if New Age and occult people astral project to various realms and places by the devil’s power. . . . How much MORE should God’s children enjoy the benefits of such travel.

However what Crowder doe not reveal to us is what the benefit of such travel is for the church. KEEP THIS IN MIND: Whenever our Lord blesses us, it is never for only “us.” He blesses us in order to bless others. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are to profit the Church, not the individual used in the gift. Their blessing comes from simply being God’s chosen instrument of the moment. This is the principle of it is more blessed to give than to receive,  Why?  Because the implication is that the one giving has something to give to someone else who lacks that resource.

These people have no biblical authority or even Church tradition (much much lesser authority) to buttress this teaching on. Their primary sources are the alleged subjective accounts from people we would consider spiritual “flakes.” Secondarily, they can appeal to the occult for other directions and insights along with their own fantasies of what transpired “in the spirit.”

Receive Open Heavens & Revelatory Understanding

Unfamiliar with the term ‘open heavens’? don’t feel bad; enthusiasts have an entire coded language of esoteric phraseology that the uninitiated do not understand. An “open heaven” refers to the belief that there are times when God opens the gates of heaven and sort of layers heaven over the earthly. The heavens are often closed to us due to our own sins and we have no fellowship with God.

And your heaven that is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth that is under you shall be iron Deut. 28:13

And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: Lev. 26:19

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. Isa. 59:2

However, there are times, when the spiritual condition have been met, when God can come down and fellowship with His children. There is often a lot of build-up in a service before the leaders declare the heavens to “be open” and an Acts 3:19 event can occur:

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Acts 3:19-21

It is during one of these services when there seems to be a great deal of paranormal manifestations that they declare an “open heaven.” Naturally after holding a successful meeting a score of meetings/conferences pop-up declaring things like “Open Heavens Prophetic Conference.” (24)

The concept of an “open heaven” comes into the church via the Vineyard false prophets especially Bob Jones, Paul Cain and Todd Bentley.  Here is Todd (former child molester) Bentley’s reasoning on an open heaven:

Bentley’s main argument of an open heaven goes like this “If He’s the same today, then why can’t He visit me like He visited Abraham? If he’s the same today, why can’t He visit me like He visited Daniel? Why can’t He visit me like He visited John? Why can’t He visit me like He visited Isaiah? How about Ezekiel? Yes, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that makes what’s available in “Bible days” available today. It’s not just about healing and laying hands on the sick and seeing miracles, as great as these are, but it’s also about supernatural encounters with God. Do you believe that? Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead and over five hundred people saw Him for forty days in His resurrected body (1 Cor. 15:6)? Do you believe supernatural things can take place today? I’m asking this because we’re okay with angels showing up and speaking to Mary and Joseph, but we’re not okay with angels showing up and speaking to us. We’re okay with Paul being taken into heaven, or what he called the third heaven – caught up into a place called paradise. We’re okay with that. It’s good for Paul, or it’s good for Elijah. Yet both Paul and Elijah were men just like we are, and as you know, they’re both in heaven today.  So are Abraham and Isaiah. They aren’t on earth anymore for God to interact with. But God, by His very nature, wants to interact with somebody supernaturally. My question is: Why not you? Why should anyone’s experience in Christianity today be any different from what people experienced in Bible days?” (A Face to Face Encounter, Monday, November 19, 2007) http://acloserwalkwithgod.blogspot.com/2007/11/face-to-face-encounter.html  ) (25)

An ‘open heaven’ is declared due to the mass number of enthusiasts in the thrall of various manifestations, all of which are attributed to the Holy Spirit. Those which have no biblical foundation are referred to as “new wine,” and people are constantly reminded that the apostle John said that the bible does not contain everything Jesus said and did. Thus the things occurring now are ascribed to God. At no time are people warned to beware that Satan counterfeit’s the genuine via his “angels of light” (2 Cor. 11:`14)

The sad thing is that these people, often sincere, are stripped of the only tool that can help them discern what is from the Lord and what is not. They are not encouraged to go and study the scriptures as the Bereans did (Acts 17:11) and to allow the bible alone to be their guide. On the contrary they are told just the opposite. I have personally heard John Arnott the “father” of the so-called holy laughter revival say that he has more confidence in God’s ability to bless than in Satan’s ability to deceive!

Sounds pious, but it is as deadly a lie as can be told to the Christian. Certainly God is more powerful than Satan, but then tell me why is the New Testament FILLED with warnings regarding being deceived and mislead? Those admonitions are not in the bible to fill up space, they are meant to make us aware of the reality of Satan and the deceptive nature of our fallen flesh which is against God (Rom 8:7) and is prone to accept anything that is in defiance of Him. Arnott, Crowder and all of the enthusiast SINisters are the arbiters of the genuine and counterfeit due to their own proclamations of having already paved the way, they are now guides to the seeking souls.

Revelatory insights! This has nothing to do with transmitting faithfully the doctrine of the Apostles already received by the church. Crowder is referring to ‘new’ insights versus the old tried-n-true religion. For them truth is progressive, what the scriptures may have meant to others in the past, today they can take on an entirely new meaning.

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know ( them ), and be established in the present truth. 2 Peter 1:12

Benny Hinn made the following statement, “Man, I feel revelation knowledge already coming on me here. Lift your hands. Something new is going to happen here today. I felt it just as I walked down here. Holy Spirit, take over in the name of Jesus….God the Father, ladies and gentlemen, is a person; and He is a triune being by Himself separate from the son and the Holy Ghost. Say, what did you say? Hear it, hear it, hear it. See, God the Father is a person, God the Son is a person, God the Holy Ghost is a person. But each one of them is a triune being by Himself. If I can shock you–and maybe I should-there’s nine of them. Huh, what did you say? Let me explain: God the Father, ladies and gentlemen, is a person with his own personal spirit, with his own personal soul, and his own personal spirit-body. You say, Huh, I never heard that. Well you think you’re in this church to hear things you’ve heard for the last 50 yrs? (Benny Hinn, Benny Hinn program on TBN (October 3, 1991). (26)

Tommy Tenney in his bestselling book, “The God chasers” says: “God chasers have a lot in common. Primarily, they are not interested in camping out on some dusty truth known to everyone. They are after the fresh presence of the Almighty. . . If you’re a God chaser, you won’t be happy to simply follow God’s tracks. You will follow them until you apprehend His presence. (27)  DMI has already extensively covered the foul deception of the heretic Tenney who follows the error of Sabellius. The Bible is passé, yes it contains dusty truths, but what is being fostered is a false desire for something else, something new and fresh that can only be found outside of the Holy text. This is a very disturbing trend which my wife and I saw occurring within the sign-gift movement years ago.

We noted that many of our former teachers were beginning to reinterpret texts which had always meant something altogether different. When we questioned we were told that what they were teaching was “new” revelation and that we needed to be established in this present truth being revealed for these last days. Any questioning of these new teachings was met with hostility and suspicion.

Beliefs and practices which were totally outside the bible were passed off as ‘John 21:25’ events (things done by Jesus but not recorded) and we knew this how? Because a restored prophet or apostle told us so! They had become the source of correct understanding and as such they expected to be obeyed without question. At this point Tracy and I had our eyes opened by our Lord Jesus christ (thanks be to Him, who still seeks straying sheep!) and we left the madness.

Since the Lord delivered us from this madness I have dedicated my life to “Teaching Truth & Exposing Error.” things have gone from being merely ‘silly’ to becoming overtly demonic and dark in many cases and few within the movement have ever risen up to shout out a warning.

I thought for awhile that I should become a Lutheran pastor and operate DMI in the background. I went back to seminary, this time in Fort Wayne and I benefited greatly by the experience. However, it seems as though this is not the path for me.

Instead, I am working towards creating a Recognized Service Organization (RSO) within the LCMS and thus hopefully be given invitations to come and teach their congregations about the dangers facing the church. As a mere LCMS “member” I have the freedom to speak from any pulpit (something as an LCMS pastor I could not do) that invites me to speak.

The point is this:

FULL SPEED AHEAD WITH DISCERNMENT MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL!

Until Christ Jesus calls me home, I will contine as the Lord provides to continue to stand on the “wall” and shout out a warning to God’s people according to my meager abilities. To all those who support DMI —you have my heartfelt thanks!

Copyright © 2012 Robert S. Liichow

End Notes

14 The DMI scriptorium has a copy of an extremely rare book entitled “How to Raise the Dead” by Franklin Hall, written during the early days of the post WWII healing revival. His writings have impacted this generation of sigh seekers.

15. If you doubt this, simply go to Google and type in ‘Christian Mystics’ and over 4 million sites will pop up, this is a popular delusion which is gaining momentum.

16. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Saints and levitation  has a decent section on flying monks.

17. Obtained from http://www.enlijahlist.comwords/ display word/8462  Underline and bold type added for emphasis.

18. The Holy Bible King James Version, Electronic Editiion of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA; Logos Research Systems, Inc, 2009), Col 2:18-

19. In years past when I would speak forth a ‘prophetic word’ when I was finished I would often ask my wife Tracy if what I said was “alright” because when the few times I did speak publically I HAD LITTLE CONSCIOUS KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT I WAS SAYING, it was spewing forth from some other part of my brain. Naturally, I have shamefacedly repented of this foolishness long ago, begging the Lord’s forgiveness for lying in His name and misleading His people.

20. The Holy Bible King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorize version (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc, 2009), 1 Tim 1:6-8

21. James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament), electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc, 1997).

22. The Holy Bible King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorize version (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc, 2009), Col 2:5

23. I always find it amazing when folks suddenly become literalists in biblical interpretation. Then when asked what about Jesus statement “this is My body,” well that is not what He meant there. Their position demonstrates their unstable and shifting hermeneutic.

24. These folks will try to make a movement out of anything. See

25. Obtained from our good friends and fellow truth-tellers at Let us Reason, http://www.letusreason.org . Note his line of argumentation, which we have already considered (see folks, I do not have to make anything “up”).

26. Obtained from http://defendchrist.org/false_teachers.html#hinn

27. Obtained from http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/GodChasers.htm

Sons of Thunder? (Part One) “You Don’t Know What Spirit You are Of”

Truth Matters Newsletters – May 2012 – Vol. 16 Issue 5 – Sons of Thunder? (Part One) “You don’t know What Spirit You are Of” By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

 Discernment Ministries International

 

Sons of Thunder? (Part One)

“You Don’t Know What Spirit You are Of”

 By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

 

A disturbing ‘new’ trend has arisen promising its adherents tremendous mystical insight. These hitherto unknown insights will be gained through two avenues, learning through teachers and also through direct impartation and activation from the mystic to the enthusiast sign-seeker.

Nothing occurs within a vacuum and John Crowder and his gang did not spring up ex nihilo either. Crowder is simply part of the ‘fruit’ of the latest global out-pouring of spiritual excess. DMI has covered in great detail the origins of these revivals and the myriad of mystical experiences which attended (and still attends) each service to some degree or another. (1) These experiences include: spiritual drunkenness, uncontrollable ‘holy’ laughter, being slain in the spirit, bizarre uncontrollable bodily movements, apparitions, visions, prophetic utterances, unknown tongues, angelic feathers, green stones magically appearing in worship, gold dust on the participants, ‘new’ revelatory perceptions, seeing angels, trips to the throne room, etc.

All of these paranormal experiences are part-n-parcel of today’s revivalism and apart from prophesy and tongues which are valid biblical gifts when exercised biblically; the other manifestations are not biblical and are directly related to the occult realm. What Mr. Crowder has done is to take these experiences and codify them into some system which can then be taught to the seekers and he naturally includes the belief in impartation of spiritual power from the greater to the lesser vessel.

Due to the ‘Holy Laughter’ revival tens of thousands of people willingly opened themselves up to receive ‘whatever’ the Lord had for them at these services. They eagerly embraced all of the bizarre manifestations as what they were touted to be “the new wine” of the Holy Spirit. The widespread impact of the revival of the 90’s (2)  caused these occult manifestations to become widely accepted as legitimate expressions of the Spirit of our God.

This widespread acceptance gave Mr. Crowder a platform to come up with a “Mystical School,” which he and some others are exporting around the US and world. In his school Crowder makes the following assertions:

Operate in Trances, Raptures & Ecstatic Prayer

Experiences Physical Phenomena of Mysticism

Get Activated in Creative Miracles, Signs & Wonders

Understand & Access New Creation Realities

Gain A Historical Grid of Miracle Workers & Mystics

Be Activated in the Seer Realm, Prophecy, Spirit Travel

Receive Open Heavens & Revelatory Understanding

Access and Manifest the Glory Realm (3)

 

Before considering the above claims, let us remind ourselves what the bible has to say on these matters:

A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. Matthew 16:4

The Lord has provided miraculously for the people and they came seeking more supernatural provision. And the Lord’s response?  They were wicked (morally corrupt) and adulterous (feminine form (4))  Why?  They were seeking a sign and not the God of the sign. Theses sign seekers may have been in doubt, challenging the Lord God to perform for them and so validate His ministry. This much is certain, our Lord did not think much of the sign-seekers then and since He does not change (Mal. 3:6) His attitude is still the same towards today’s sign-seekers.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold but climbed up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. And shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:1-10

It seems that Crowder is attempting to climb into the heavenly realm using the wrong door(s) of mystical experience. Jesus likens those who engage in such futile attempts to “thieves and robbers.” Christ alone is the Door, He alone is the Shepherd. To come to Christ by faith alone is to enter into the green pastures He provides for His sheep.

 

What is Mysticism?

Crowder is claiming to run a school of and for the “new mystics,” so it behooves us to define some terms before going further. According to Webster’s Dictionary mysticism is:

1: the experience of mystical union or direct communion with ultimate reality reported by mystics

2: the belief that direct KNOWLEDGE of God, spiritual truth, or ultimate reality can be attained through subjective experience (as intuition or insight)

3: vague speculation: a belief without sound basis: a theory postulating the possibility of direct and intuitive acquistion of ineffable knowledge or power. (5)

This is the goal of Crowder’s school — direct communion and fellowship with God and angels through various disciplines and practices (and a lot of innate imagination). “Direct knowledge” of God is another way of saying “revelation knowledge” which is another goal of these new mystics. Again this knowledge comes directly from God apart from any mental effort on our part, one simply “knows.”

Some might say “well, what is wrong with seeking direct communion and communication with The Ancient of Days?” I would respond by saying absolutely nothing is wrong with seeking communion & communication with our Lord, in fact, I would be very troubled if a Christian was not actively engaged in such pursuits to some degree or another. We are enjoined both positively and negatively:

But if from thence thou shall seek the Lord thy God thou shall find him, if thou seek him with all thy hearth and with all thy soul. Deut. 4:29

Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, Call ye upon him while he is near: Isa. 55:6

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. Psl 27:4

Evil men understand not judgment: But they that seek the Lord understand all things. Prov. 28:5

And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD. 2 Chron. 12:14

That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 2 Chron. 15:13,14

Every Christian has the desire and longing to be with their Lord and probably each one of us has had times where we have experienced the awesome presence of Jesus. These unique times are to be treasured in our hearts, but not taught as doctrine or as a ‘goal’ to attain. What is more the Bible speaks plainly on what is involved in seeking the Lord, which is where Mr. Crowder and others sadly depart.

How Do You ‘Teach’ Mysticism?

In order to deceive Christians and keep them from being effective in this life for God’s kingdom the devil has to twist our Bible. He does this most effectively through his five-fold SINistry ‘gifts’: 1] false apostles (2 Cor. 11:5); 2] false teachers (2 Peter2:1); 3] false prophets (Jer. 14:14, Mark 13:22); 4] false Christ’s {falsely anointed ones} (Mark 13:22); false brethren (2 Cor. 11:26). 

Crowder and the other revivalists have always done is to appeal to certain miraculous and unrepeatable events and declare them to be available to all. (6) for example the event with Paul in Acts 19:12 “so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.” This happened one time in the ministry of Paul and it is something he never mentions in his letters. Yet the enthusiasts have made a money-making machine out of so-called prayer cloths and other points-of-contact. (7) The logic behind making the unique commonplace is simply the belief that God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11 misapplied),  if He did it for one, He will do it for you if you meet His requirements.

What God did for Daniel in seeing visions, He will do for us, since Joseph dreamed prophetic dreams so can we. After all, Joel has promised our sons and daughters will prophesy and there will be visions and dreams given to both the old and young! Yes, Joel does say this, but the apostle Peter said “this is that which was prophesied by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:17) — folks Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled on that Day, never to be repeated as the enthusiasts have claimed from Montanus to this day.

Crowder must twist the scriptures violently to be able to teach that these sovereign events in the salvific economy of God are actually available to all of God’s people. Let’s consider the topics Crowder teaches:

Operate in Trances, Raptures & Ecstatic Prayer

Are trances biblical? Yes there are examples of a few people being in a trance state in the Bible.

And the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God,

Which saw the vision of the Almighty, Falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: (Numbers 24: 3-4).

And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. Now while Peter doubted in himself which this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, (Acts 10:10-17)

“Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I as in a trance and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ So I said, ‘Lord they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him. ‘ Then He said to me, ‘Depart for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.” (Acts 22:17-21)

That is it for the biblical record of three events. The first example is with the false prophet Balaam. The second is of the Apostle Peter being supernaturally informed that the Gentiles were to be included in the Kingdom as well. Peter still was learning and had not gotten the understanding that the Jews were to be a light to the Gentiles and God had to get his attention in a dramatic fashion. So dramatic that Peter initially doubted what he had experienced (as opposed to immediately starting up a trance ministry)! Lastly we have the Apostle Paul, who is warned by His Lord to depart and go to the Gentiles, thanks to his obedience the Gospel was spread around the world.

In both N.T. examples we see God dealing with His Apostles directly. Both trances were instructional for these men, who in turn informed the church. The result was no less than the ongoing conversion of the Gentile world. It is important to note that neither men sought these experiences. These trances were initiated by God for very important reasons (the spread of the Gospel, e.g. the salvation of the world).

So far we know that trances did occur three times in the bible. We also know that during these trances Peter and Paul both heard the voice of Jesus. Peter seeing the table cloth & critters and Paul seeing our Lord Himself. Yet what exactly is a trance?

TRANCE The Gk. Word ekstasis (lit ‘standing outside’ or ‘being put outside’. i.e. of one’s normal state of mind) is rendered ‘trance’ in Acts 10:10; 11:5; 22:17, where it forms the condition of a vision. The trance state has never been fully explained, but it involves an overriding of normal consciousness and perception. In the only two occurrences of the strange Heb. Word sanwerim, translated ‘blindness’ in Gn. 19:11 and 2 Ki 6:18, it is clear that a trancelike state of hypnotic suggestibility is indicated. (8)

A Charismatic definition: The Greek word for ‘trance” is “ekstasis.” It means “the displacement of the mind.” This is an experience where your physical senses are suspended and you are unaware of your physical surroundings. You do not know, for the moment, exactly where you are or sometimes even who you are. A Scriptural trance is unrelated to a hypnotic trance. You cannot come out of a hypnotic trance if the hypnotist will not allow you to come out. You can come out of a Scriptural trance if you choose to do so. (9)

The definitions need no further explanation. What I would like explained to us is how Crowder can possibly offer to teach people how to operate in trances. Can I or anyone teach someone what a strawberry tastes like, or adequately describe the color orange to a blind man? No, the best we can do is describe what we have personally experienced and in sharing that with others is the extent to which they can “enter into” our subjective experience. Crowder can give no biblical directions to induce a trance state which means he has to rely on other sources for his information. Crowder will point to someone like Maria Woodworth Etter, aka the “Trance Evangelist” [1844-1924]. Etter was famous for going into a standing catatonic state for days and while in a ‘trance state” large numbers of people were supposed to have been brought to faith in Christ just by observing her standing frozen. (10)

Next he promises to teach ecstatic prayer which is no “biggie” in that sign-gift folks have been teaching people to speak in ecstatic speech for over a hundred years in America. Some charismatic groups have this instruction down to a science. The former Word of God Community in Ann Arbor, MI taught “life in the Spirit” seminars at the end of which we would speak in other tongues, I know I did. The Way International, charismatic cult, has long taught its devotees how to speak in tongues using tape recordings.

Speaking in other tongues today is what I call the “gateway drug” into enthusiasm.  Virtually every sign-gifter begins by speaking in tongues, from there some wander off into prophesying, interpreting tongues, etc. In fact such speaking is the glue that unites all sign-gift people, it certainly is not doctrine!

The novelty of the post Apostolic tongues movement is the emphasis on this expression being given as a supernatural power to pray. Tongues is universally taught as a private prayer language between the speaker and God and only God knows what is being said thus the devil cannot interfere. In my days as a single charisManiac I used to pray in other tongues between 2 ½ to 3 hours per day without pause. I did this for years. I know from experience that praying for protracted lengths of time in other tongues does place one in an altered state of consciousness by stilling the conscious mind and allowing some otherwise suppressed or unconscious portion to take charge. Speaking for myself, I did not have the biblical gift of other tongues (speaking an unknown language) so the feelings and experiences I had could not have had their source in God, regardless of my nascent devotional sincerity. At best my own imaginings or at worst something far darker. (11)

In order to create the right conditions to enter into a manmade trance all that one needs to do is to pray in other tongues for several hours, combine it with a few days of total fasting and a strong desire to ‘experience’ something will usually result in some sort of break with our commonly shared reality.

Experience Physical Phenomena of Mysticism

This promise is even more of a stretch biblically. Fasting could be about the only biblical practice that is common to the Christian mystics of the past, but I believe Crowder is referring to the usual crop of revival manifestations with a heavy emphasis on being slain in the spirit since many people claim to see visions or receive revelations while doing “carpet time.” (12) DMI and others have proven how easily transferable these manifestations are from one person to another (willing/open) vessel. Crowder and those attending his classes expect these manifestations, they embrace them and more have already seen or experienced them in the past.

What benefit is these to experiencing mystical phenomena? The attending phenomena is not the content of the mystical encounter anyway. For example, I have been slain in the spirit probably around 80 times over the years. Many mystics claim the same experience, yet I never saw any visions, trips to heaven or hell while slain. So same “phenomena” yet not the same experience, ergo, what’s the point Mr. Crowder?

Get Activated in Creative Miracles, Signs & Wonders

The belief that certain people can both impart and activate spiritual gifts was true only for the Apostles of the Lamb. In the book of Acts we see the Apostles being called upon to bestow (impart) the Holy Spirit. We have no biblical example of non-apostles bestowing any spiritual gifts. THIS IS HUGE Folks because with their death all such spiritual gifting/apostolic impartation passed away.

Crowder is simply one of many voices claiming to now be able to activate spiritual gifts including signs and wonders which are not typically included as part of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit cited in 1 Cor. 11-12. Here are a few examples of how this dangerous delusion is spreading:

Activating the Angelic: Keys to Releasing the Holy Spirit and Unlocking the Miraculous

There’s an invisible barrier between the natural and the supernatural that’s penetrated only by people daring enough to risk everything on an encounter with the miraculous. In Disc 1, Larry reveals “seldom heard” concepts about how to release the working of miracles. Also insightful, are 5 laws of faith revealed in Disc 2 that will cause your heart to dance on the edge of the miraculous Revelatory teaching, with practical application. (http://larry randolph.com/store/mp3-download/activating-the-miraculous.htm)

 

Sword of the Spirit’s School of the Prophets “Activate the Miraculous thru the Seer Anointing” in Buffalo, April 1” (“www.swordofthespiritministries.com )

Kevin conducts Supernatural Lifestyle Conferences in which people are equipped, empowered, and activated in miracles, healing, prophetic, and evangelism as a normal lifestyle of the believer. Kevin also oversees the Firestarter Class, which equips and empowers newcomers and new believers to live as revivalists -healing the sick, prophesying, and supernatural evangelism.(http://www.global celebration.com/news/240/61/Miracles-Signs-Wonders—Kalamazoo-MI )

All of these people claim to be the dispensers of God’s power, they claim to equ9ip, empower, and activate miracles and yet NONE of them can provide any proof of the miraculous in their own SINistries. The only miracles in their meetings are people falling down in some form of a fugue state, people speaking in gibberish, others prophesying in the name of Jesus this that and the other. . .nothing from God is being imparted. The Bible plainly states:

For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues; But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he wills. (13) 1 Cor. 12:8-11

All of the genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit are given as He wills not according to the will of fallen man. It is the sovereign good pleasure of God alone regarding which gifts He gives to the Church. No man has the authority or ability to dispense supernatural gifts as he wills, nor can anyone declare in advance which gift (if any) the Holy Spirit will bestow. For Mr. Crowder or anyone to assert that they can activate spiritual gifts is simply a LIE and Mr. Crowder is a liar.

Understand & Access New Creation Realities

If words mean anything then at this point Crowder seems to promise that participants will understand and access new creation realities which seem straightforward enough. All Christians need to grow in their understanding of who they are in Christ Jesus as new creatures ‘in Christ’ (2 Cor. 5:17). New Creation Realities is a term coined by E.W. Kenyon, the faith of today’s Word of Faith cult. Kenyon, although not a Pentecostal, was convinced that god’s children were to walk and operate in the supernatural realm as part of their redemption in Christ.

 

Continued Next Month

In the next issue all of the foot notes will be included there was simply no space for them in this issue.

Copyright © 2012 Rev. Robert S. Liichow

The Birth of God the Son – According to Charles Capps & Word of Faith Heretics

Truth Matters Newsletters – December 2008 – Vol. 13 Issue 12 – The Birth of God the Son – According to Charles Capps & Word of Faith Heretics – By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

The Birth of God the Son

According to Charles Capps & Word of Faith Heretics

Ah Christmas where we lower wattage Christians (i.e. non “Spirit-filled”) lower our heads in humility while contemplating the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God the Son and Redeemer of the lost from sin, death and the grave.

Meanwhile, millions of other professing Christians see no mystery at all regarding the incarnation. Quite the opposite, the birth of Jesus was simply a result of enacting the spiritual law that control the spiritual realm. After all, the birth of Jesus was merely the end product of over a thousand years of positive confession.

The Word of Faith cult teaches that the prophets began to form Christ through their words over a thousand years ago. They spoke about where He would be born (Micah 5:1-2); that He would be the Son of God (Psl. 2:7, Pro. 30:4); He would be anointed with the Holy Spirit (Isa. 11:2, 61:1, Psl. 45:7-8); He would serve as a Prophet (Deut. 18:15,18), a Priest (Psl. 110:4) and a King (Psl. 2:6). In fact, there are a little over 300 Old Testament prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in His earthly ministry. All of these “faith-filled” words culminated in God being allowed to manifest what they said in the form of Jesus Christ, God the Son. Let me go on to allow Mr. Charles Capps explain it for us in the following article:

The exact process by which God the Son became flesh is not spelled out for us in the scriptures in any great detail. The most familiar passage of text regarding the incarnation is cited below:

Luke 1:35-38

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee: and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord;

(KJV, bold type & underlining added for emphasis).

All that we know from the Bible is that the conception and birth of Jesus Christ were miraculous from start to finish. We know that Mary was a virgin at this time (read Isa. 7:14) and that the Person of the Holy Spirit was the divine “agent” in bringing this miraculous conception about.

After almost 2,000 years of theological silence on the actual mechanics on how this miracle occurred has been finally answered once and for all. Even though the Bible itself is silent, God, through His chosen vessel, Mr. Charles Capps, has chosen to reveal to the Church exactly how this miraculous event transpired. As we shall see, it really was not so miraculous at all!

It was an act of the God-kind of faith that caused the miraculous conception. It was the Word of God in her heart; then she went to Elisabeth’s house and told her, “He hath done great things.” (Luke 1:49). How did she know? Because the angel of the Lord had told her, and she receive that Word….She had conceived the Word of God in her spirit. Here is what the Spirit of God said to me about that situation: “Mary conceived the Word sent to her by the angel (God’s Word) and conceived it in the womb of her spirit, it manifested itself in her physical body. She received and conceived the Word of Go in her spirit.” (Authority, Charles Capps, Harrison House, 1984, pp. 76-80, bold & italicized type added)

All that took place was simply this: Mary used the “God-kind of faith” and through her use of this spiritual law, the law of faith, the miraculous conception took place. According to Faith teachers, there really was nothing so miraculous about the whole event. Mary merely put into action certain cosmic principles and received the desired results, in this case, God being born as a man.

Please do not skip over the importance of the claim Mr. Capps is setting forth in his statement. Note that it was the Holy Spirit Himself who revealed what happened to Mr. Charles. Capps even places His words in italics so the reader knows when God is addressing him. Immediately we all should clip out this statement and add it to the back of our Bibles. If God actually made these statements then they must be accepted as God-breathed by all the true Church. The Holy Spirit’s revelation can be broken down into 3 simple steps:

• Mary conceived (or received) the Word brought to her by the angel.
• She conceived the Word in the womb of her spirit;
• 9 months later it manifested in her physical body.

As anyone can see, there is no big mystery as to how a virgin gave birth to God the Son….all that transpired was a simple application of the God-kind-of-faith or to state it another way—Mary used faith in the same way God uses it. Capps states “If she had said, ‘Forget it, it won’t work,’ God would have had to find another woman”  (pg. 82).  Mary was in control not God.

Never forget that the version of God the Faith movement presents is not the same God revealed in the Bible. God does not use or need “faith.” Only contingent beings need faith. God by definition knows everything, has all power and all wisdom to bring about whatsoever He has decreed. What does God need to believe in or for? Absolutely nothing! (See our books on page 12 to learn more about the Word of Faith Movement’s leaders). Capps continues to serve as a conduit for divine revelation:

The Lord said to me, “My Word will get people healed and filled with the Holy Ghost the same way that the miraculous conception took place! Any believer can conceive My Word concerning healing in their spirits, and healing will manifest in their physical bodies! They can conceive My Word concerning prosperity of finances, and prosperity will manifest itself in their business affairs. If they will conceive My Word concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it will manifest itself in their spirits  (ibid. p. 83, italics added).

In this astounding statement we learn that “any believer can conceive My Word.” So we like Mary, need only to apply the steps divinely revealed to Mr. Capps (similar concepts have also been revealed to E.W. Kenyon, Ken Hagin, Copeland, Price, Cho, and others) and we too can have our own miraculous conceptions.

I must only wonder if what Capps says is true (remember to add this portion of text also to the back of your Bible, probably below the other portion, entitle it “First Capps”) then why isn’t it working in the lives of those who subscribe to such beliefs?

E.W. Kenyon died of a tumor. Buddy Harrison, the son-in-law of Ken Hagin and the Publisher of Charles’s book died of cancer in December of 1998. T.L. Osborn’s wife, Daisy, died of cancer. Capps own wife, Peggy, had cancer and received medical treatment for it. Betty Price, Fred Price’s wife also had cancer and was medically treated. Joyce Meyer admitted she had breast cancer and only received medical treatment because her family urged her to! How come Tammy-Faye Bakker Mesner didn’t conceive/receive her divine healing from the cancer that untimely killed her? Why on earth did Jan Crouch even get cancer in the first place? Why didn’t these people simply conceive the promises of divine health & healing in the “womb” of their spirits and receive the miraculous fruit of divine health in their bodies? (Consider buying our message “The Sick Healers”).

The answer is simple —- Mr. Capps received no such revelation from God. It is a false teaching which does not produce the results Capps and others promise. Their doctrine does not even work in their own lives. What is miraculous is that so many people willingly follow these cunningly devised fables and doctrines of demons. Please pray for Mr. Capps and those who follow him.

 

Hey, Kenny, Where’s the Glory Fire?

Truth Matters Newsletters – December 2006 Vol. 11 Issue 12 – Hey Kenny, Where’s the Glory Fire? – by Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

Hey Kenny, Where’s the Glory Fire ?

By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Anyone’s who has been around the charismatic circus for any length of time knows that in the center ring is no less than Mr. Kenneth Copeland along with his capable assistant Mrs. Gloria Copeland.

I suppose it is only fair to those of our readers who are unfamiliar with the origins of Mr. Copeland and the Word of Faith Movement (WOF) (1) which he has become heir to due to the untimely (2) death of Mr. Kenneth E. Hagin Sr. to give a little background before we launch off into the deep.

In a nutshell the WOF movement believes that God created the universe by using a force called “faith.” He did not create the universe out of nothing (Ex Nihilo) because according to WOF dogma faith is something, an actual substance (Heb. 11:1). According to their teaching faith is a spiritual force that is released by words, hence the pejorative appellation “the Positive Confession movement.” God created man in His exact image and likeness in the Garden of Eden:

God’s reason for creating Adam was His desire to reproduce Himself. I mean a reproduction of Himself and in the Garden of Eden He did just that. (Adam) was not a little like God. He was not almost like God. He was not subordinate to God even…Adam is as much like God as you could get just the same as Jesus…Adam, in the Garden of Eden, was God manifested in the flesh. (3)

“This eternal life He came to give us is the nature of God.” He then adds, “It is, in reality, God imparting His very nature, substance, and being to one human spirit…Zoe, then, means eternal life, or God’s life. This new kind of life is God’s nature,…Even many in the great body of Full Gospel people do not know that the new birth is a real incarnation…Jesus was first divine, and then He was human. So He was in the flesh a divine-human being. I was first human, and so were you, but I was born of God, and so I became a human-divine being!” (4)

Man was created as a god, and like God Adam could create reality by releasing faith filled words. According to WOF doctrine and Mr. Copeland Adam committed high treason by sinning. He lost his divine nature and partook of Satan’s nature thus in the fall of Adam, Satan became the “god” of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). Mr. Copeland teaches that redemption did not take place on the cross, as the Church has taught for 2,000 years. Redemption took place in hell, after Jesus was tormented by Satan and demons for three days. God looked down and said it was enough and the Holy Spirit came back into the formerly sinful spirit of Jesus (you see WOF people believe Jesus did not bear our sins, but literally became a sinner on the cross) and then Jesus, as the first born-again MAN defeated Satan and demons and secured redemption for all who would make a decision to receive Him as their Lord. All of this can be read in the following book: What Happened From the Cross to the Throne, by E.W. Kenyon {the true Father of this apostate group}. Mr. Copeland’s blasphemous and damnable doctrine is still available from his web site on audio cassette for $5.00, “What Happened From the Cross to the Throne.” (5)

Kenyon, Hagin, Copeland, Duplantis, Savelle, Meyer, Hickey, Tilton, Capps, Price, Crouch, and a host of others seen on Television regularly teach that the redeemed person is basically in the same situation as Jesus was when He was in human flesh, we are in essence little gods. Their logic behind such beliefs is based upon a hodgepodge of biblical texts ripped from their contexts. Passages such as John 14:12 state that the believer shall do the works of Jesus and ever greater works. Copeland and others all stress that Jesus did nothing as Almighty God in flesh, He operated only as a man “anointed” with the Holy Spirit.

Now the charismatic Christian has also received the indwelling of the Spirit, just like Jesus, so it is only natural that we are expected and empowered to do His same works and greater works…assuming we know who we really are in Christ and whom it is that indwells us and how to release the Spirit to flow through us.  In order to gain access to such knowledge we need to listen to and follow men such as Mr. Copeland! This brings us to his most current revelation as set down in his monthly magazine The Believers Voice of Victory entitled “Ready to Reveal His Glory.”

Copeland begins to spin his twisted tail of “the glory” by citing a couple of Old Testament Theophanous Ezekiel 1:27-28 and Habakkuk 3:4. In these examples the Lord God appears as a glorious rainbow (Eze. 1:27-28) and then as One with lightening like power flowing out of His hand (Hab. 3:4). From there Kenny jumps into the revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:14-16) which describes our risen Lord’s countenance like the shining sun. Maybe out of context, but Copeland has biblically-described our Lord as seen by a couple of the Old Testament Prophets and a New Testament Apostle.

Like Superman ®  Copeland leaps from one skyscraper to the next, exegetically speaking. He posits that since Jesus in His true nature (6) is a glowing power emitting spirit and He now indwells us that means we too can or should be working on manifesting the same type of glory as our risen Lord possesses. The goal of the overcoming Christian is to become literally glowing Holy Ghost empowered lords of this world, after all, Jesus is “Lord of lords,” and according to WOF dogma we are the lords Jesus is Lord over.

What is more, the charismatic aka “Spirit-filled” Christian is actually just like Jesus and then some! I quote Copeland’s article:

That image in itself is stunning enough. But what’s more astonishing is this: That blazing, all glorious King of Kings and Lord of lords with lightening-like power shooting out from His hands and the life of God Himself roaring in Him with such white-hot force that His very body glows with it, that Jesus is the One who is living inside us, our spirits have been recreated in His image. (7)

He anticipates his readers question of how can this glory be made manifest in our bodies as it was in Jesus. So he adds a rhetorical question:

But, Brother Copeland, how could that be? We’re still just flesh and blood. We live in earthy bodies. That kind of glory can’t shine through us! Yes it can. (8)

Before I allow Copeland to dig his exegetical grave deeper let me report that I have been hearing him teach this garbage since 1979. One would imagine that after almost thirty years of no manifestations of such confessions would make one stop proclaiming it. I believe Mr. Copeland is emphasizing this specific aspect of the Manifest Sons of God teaching (9) now because he is growing older, he turns 70 in January and he and Gloria among others have been faithfully confessing this to make it reality. They are so deceived in their minds that they really believe what they are saying must come to pass in order for Jesus Christ to return. You must understand that Jesus Christ CANNOT return to the earth UNTIL the restoration of ALL THINGS (Acts 3:20) which would have to include this manifestation of the shekinah or manifest glory of God shining literally from our spirits through our bodies.

Kenny begins by citing Moses as his initial example of what we are to experience as end-time believers:

In Exodus, when Moses went up on the mountain to receive the commandments for Israel from God, he spent so much time in God’s glory that his face shone with it. He had so much fire coming out of his face that he had to wear a veil over it to keep from killing people when they got close to him. (10)

His relating of this account is false in several areas. Yes Moses did go up and meet with the Lord God and received the commandments. Moses was even allowed to see a glimpse of the back of God who hid him in the cleft of the rock and covered Moses with His had as He passed by (Ex. 32:22). Moses was not up on the mountain with God just basking in His glory per se. The Bible plainly tells us that when he returned back wit the commandments he did not even know his face shone at all.

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. Ex.34:29-33

Naturally when Moses returned and his face shone brightly it was frightening to Aaron, the leaders and the people. But READ what the text says (1) Moses was unaware of it, he did not seek to become a glory transmitter. (2) Moses called the leaders to come to him and “all the rulers returned unto him.” Nobody was killed by the reflected glory on Moses, nobody even got the sniffles from it. (3) Lastly, “all the children of Israel came nigh.” None of them were killed either and then Moses according to his own volition placed a veil over his face until he spoke with the Lord again (v.34). When he spoke to God he removed the veil and he left it off until he was done sharing the directives from the Lord to the people (v.35) so they could see his shining face Copeland’s statement regarding Moses is simply a fabrication and he embellished God’s Word (which is a sin) by making the text say more than it does.

But as we were fond of saying “let everything be established by two witnesses” Mr. Copeland brings forth his next witness concerning the glory we are supposed to be manifesting by appealing to the account of the transfiguration of Jesus:

…His earthly body was so transfigured by the fire of God’s glory that ‘His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them (Mark 9:3, NKJV).’ At that time Jesus’ body was just as natural, just as much flesh and blood as ours, yet it was totally lit up with the fire of God! (11)

The WOF cult has a long well documented history of demoting Jesus to a mere man and lifting sinful man up to the level of God. What Mr. Copeland seems to forget, if he ever knew it, was that Jesus’ body was not exactly like our bodies. Yes, His body was a real flesh and blood body with one significant difference; Jesus was without sin both body and soul. His was and is a sinless body. However we live in bodies that are sinful and subject to the ravages of this fallen world, sadly it decays daily (2 Cor. 4:16) just take a look in the mirror!

By now you have probably guessed where Copeland is leading the blind who follow him into this new revelation of glory. (12)

If that is not enough to convince you that God’s glory can shine through you, consider what happened in the book of Acts when the fire of God’s fell again…this time not just on a few special saints but on all 120 ordinary believers who had gathered in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. (13)

Any careful exegete who examines the account of Pentecost originally set forth in Acts will easily determine that the 120 people cited by virtually all Pentecostal and CRM people falls apart, leaving only the 12 Apostles who initially received the endowment of Holy Ghost power. As in the above cited statements Mr. Copeland’s fevered mind continues to spin out of control:

The sound the 120 believers heard wasn’t an earthly wind at all. It was a sound from heaven. It was the sound of heaven pouring itself into earth, filling the atmosphere with God Himself. God left the throne and came to Jerusalem that day, and the roar that accompanied Him was so loud that everyone in the world heard it. (14)

God is omnipresent, how could God “fill” anything pre se in a philosophical sense? What texts state that God left his heavenly throne to pour Himself into the upper room? I guess Jesus was left sitting alone at the momentarily vacant throne to His immediate left. We know that the Holy Spirit’s “throne” (if He ever has one) was vacant because as Jesse Duplantis learned in his visit to heaven that the Holy Spirit is on earth and not in heaven! (15) The Bible never says that “everyone in the world heard it”? According to our research no ancient historians mention such a global sonic effect. Again we see Mr. Copeland off into la-la land. Sadly, he goes from bad to worse in this article alone:

Along with that heavenly sonic blast came the very fire of God’s glory…He sat on each of them, entering them in full power and glory and they absorbed it. They took into their reborn human spirit’s the blazing glory of the Holy Spirit Himself. (16)

The original twelve Apostles appear to have been able to absorb the full power and glory of God within their reborn human spirits. Does not the Bible teach us that the fullness of the godhead dwells bodily (Col. 2:9). Oh sure, the text is referring to Christ, but are we not “in Christ now? The text in Acts says no such thing, this is fantasy on Copeland’s part. He asks another rhetorical question “what does all that have to do with you? Here comes the astounding answer, I hope you are sitting down because when you read this you’ll become shout’ in happy and probably do the Pentecostal two-step unless you restrain yourself!

If you’re born again and baptized in the Holy Spirit, that same fiery glory is in you right now. That’s right! The same glory that lit up Adam and Eve, the same glory that made Moses’ face to shine, the same glory that transfigured Jesus’ flesh-and-blood body on the Mount of transfiguration, the same fire that filled the upper room and launched the first disciples into a ministry of power, signs and wonders the likes of which the world had never seen…the same glory now resides in the spirit of every born-again, Holy Ghost-baptized believer. (17)

Pay close attention to whom it is that has this power, it is not every Christian. Charismatic believers have a two-tiered level of Christians. First, there are those who have received a second experience called being baptized in or filled with the Holy Spirit which is evidenced by them speaking in ecstatic speech (what they call other tongues). Then you have the less blessed, lower wattage Christians who have not received this second work. Copeland is referring specifically to “Spirit-filled” people not the Church universal. The charismatic Christian according to Copeland’s glory doctrine have within them the exact same glory that “lit up” Adam and Eve (I wonder what version of the Bible he uses to find these hitherto unknown facts, it must be the notes in the Finis Dake paraphrase), that was seen on Moses’ face and was unveiled in Christ before Peter, John and James.

What is appalling, beyond the fact that Copeland is deluding people on several levels simultaneously is that he has not got one shred of proof to back up his claims. I cannot find any examples in the N.T. or even in the writings of the ante-Nicene and post-Nicene fathers of where believers went around exuding effulgent glory as id Moses’ face for a period of time. Nor can I find any examples of disciples looking like our transfigured Lord. One would have to imagine that if what Mr. Copeland is teaching is true then it would be plainly set forth in the New Testament and probably alluded to by the Old Testament Prophets. Yet none of the sixty-six books of the Bible give such glory to believers.

The next glaring error in his comment is regarding the first “disciples” being launched into a ministry of power and signs and wonders. The common misconception of most charismatic people is that virtually all Christians were running around working miracles, healing the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead. That simply is not the testimony of the Book of Acts. The Apostles did work genuine signs, wonders and miracles. Paul stated to those who were being misled regarding his status as an Apostle wrote “The things that mark an apostle-signs, wonders and miracles–were done among you with great perseverance” (2 Cor. 12:11). There are only a very few examples of non-Apostolic disciples being used to work any signs or wonders and those few who were used had been sent out specifically by the Apostles. According to Copeland that same glory resides within each Spirit-filled believer today, implying we ought to be doing these powerful signs and wonders too. Ok Mr. Copeland , “Where’s the Glory?”

Naturally he has an answer for this obvious power failure in the lives of the highly charged charismatic. The answer is that they have to learn how to operate in that kind of glory. He’ll give us the wisdom we need to do what Proverbs 4 says and guard our spirit above all so that nothing hinders the release of the glory that resides there. We’ll rid ourselves of devilish stuff like strife, envy and hatred because we know that trash will cause us to walk in darkness. It will keep the glory from shining through We’ll resist and rid ourselves of every trace of fear because that fear will pollute our spirits…We’ll walk in love–love for God and love for each other—not because we want to be religiously right but because we want to be gloriously bright. (18)

All the highly empowered ones need to do is open their hearts by faith (how does one do that?) and God will give them Gnostic insight that will cause them to learn how to release this inner glory and “shine” with His power. Again, I ask, if the Apostles and disciples of the early Church walked around like glowing lights why isn’t it recorded anywhere biblically or even by secular historians of the day who did write about the church? Peter, Paul, John James and all the Apostles at least should have walked in so much power visibly emanating from their spirits through their sanctified bodies that it boggles the mind as to how they could die as martyrs. After all, if just the glance Moses got of God’s back could have “killed” the Israelites, how much more so the FULLNESS of God’s glory and power that Copeland says flooded into them on Pentecost? How could any mere sinner get close enough to these walking powerhouses in order ot capture them, let alone kill them? Obviously, these initial Apostles and disciple failed. They must have gotten “religious” and turned out their glory lights. Thank goodness that God has once again restored prophets (profits?) and apostles (opossums?) back to the Church in these last days {I am joking here folks, ok?}.

Note the stress placed upon us in the former quote. Copeland is preaching sinless perfectionism through self-effort. We are the ones who will rid ourselves of various sins. We are the ones who will resist and rid ourselves of every trace of fear. We’ll be the ones to walk in love and not because it is the religiously correct thing to do, no, we’ll walk in love because we want to be gloriously “bright.” Jesus is never mentioned at all. There is no need to cry out to Him as the Savior from the weights and sins which so easily beset all of us. No, the super-saint can rid themselves of all these pesky devilish problems.

Even though the Church has failed and failed miserably to walk in this realm of supernatural glory and power for almost two thousand years, don’t despair my brothers and sisters. Copeland closes out with a great note of hope & victory:

That’s what true prosperity is all about! And we’re right in the middle of it now. We are grasping the revelation of this and becoming beacons of light— all of us shining together with the glory of Jesus Christ in the darkest times this earth has ever known. We are reaching out to others with hands filled with the lightning-like splendor of God’s power and finishing the job Jesus left us here to do. (19)

See my friends we are right in the middle of this new revealing of God’s glory and power. I’ve seen Mr. Copeland’s hands on television along with Benny Hinn’s, Joyce Meyer, Marilyn Hickey, Jesse Duplantis and others and I have yet to detect lightning-like splendor emanating from them.

Maybe this is the charismatic extremist version of what others call the “emerging church.” Maybe like God, we are in process of becoming what we truly are meant to be, little gods and as such finish the “unfinished” work Jesus has left us to do. All I can say to this utter nonsense is that it is far more akin to Luke Skywalker fighting the evil Emperor who has bolts of lightning-like splendor coming out of his hands than anything ever remotely resembling biblical Christianity.

DMI is very concerned about what is being taught by Copeland and others. We know that literally hundreds of thousands of people look to Mr. Copeland as a genuine prophet of God which means untold numbers of his followers are working hard (and failing) trying to reach this exalted level he declares is theirs for the taking, if they follow his directions exactly. There is no room for any margin of error within charismatic extremism. Any and all failure rests solely on the sagging shoulders of the one trying to grow closer to Jesus and be a vessel of honor for Him. Unless you’ve been on that pseudo-spiritual treadmill as I have you have no idea of the damage it does to people who try their hardest to work all the principles, to follow all the steps, to learn every formerly hidden key to Present Day Truth (2 Pet. 1:12) and to watch their every word so they can receive what has been promised to them by their blind guides. When people fail, and they always do fail at some point because their initial goal was not from God to begin with and no system of works righteousness has ever “worked.” They will not receive any compassion from their fellow drones, you see failure is simply not tolerated. When a leader fails there are multitudes of explanations and systems for restoration. Yet when a mere sheep fails, they get mercilessly kicked to the curb.  Our hearts grieve for our brothers and sisters on the treadmill today trying to become these glorious Christians Copeland has promised is just within their grasp.

It is because of what we have seen, taught and experienced that DMI keeps forging ahead. As I write this I am suddenly reminded of the words and image of Marlon Brando in the movie Apocalypse Now at the end when he says “the horror, the horror.” If by God’s grace I can spare one person the horror my wife and I experienced, then it is well worth all the sacrifice, pain, heartache and loss we’ve undergone in this small portion of His ministry.

I realize that possibly some of you reading this article may think that DMI is making a mountain out of a molehill regarding what Copeland has written. If he were the only squirrel in the pecan tree I might agree with you, but he is not.

Let me cite just ten of the newer books in print now and available in most Christian bookstores. All of these titles deal with the subject of tapping into God’s glory.

The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind 40-Day Devotional and Personal Journal by Bill Johnson:  “healing, deliverance, signs and wonders are the inheritance for all the followers of Jesus Christ…of a Transformed Mind teaches you how to remove the hinders of religious limitation to redeem the lost and transform communities.”

Miracle Workers, Reformers, and the New Mystics by John Crowder.

Secrets of the Ascended Life by Kelly Varner: “You are about to be infused with a fresh dose of resurrection life—His life—you are about to learn The Secrets of the Ascended Life.

Secrets of the Prophetic by Kim Clement.

The Fire of God by Joy Dawson: “The Fire of God unlocks the mysteries that surround the Fire of God, unveiling its significance in the life of the believer.”

Show Me the Glory by Bill Hart: …explores the current experiences associated with the presence of God.”

Dancing Into the Anointing by Aimee Kovacs: Miracles are happening as the Bride of Christ worships God in the dance.”

The Costly Anointing by Lori Wilke:“….boldly reveals God’s requirements for being entrusted with an awesome power and authority.”

How to Live the Supernatural Life in the Here and Now by Joe Ibojie

Return to Glory by Joel A. Freeman.

All of these books are published by Destiny Image which is located in Shippenburg, PA. The more bizarre the alleged revelation is or profound the mystical experience the more likely they are to publish them. It is important that you understand that Destiny Image does not just publish “flakes” per se, they also publish internationally know and respected (in their ever growing community) charismatic leaders such as T.D. Jakes, Myles Monroe, Tommy “God-Chaser” Tenney among a host of other heretics you can see on a regular basis on your local cable stations.

Every one of these books provide often conflicting keys, steps and principles that are supposed to enable the believer to enter into the promised land of the ascended Christian life. The poor charismatic runs from movement to movement seeking to put into action these keys to “open their hearts up to God.” Make no mistake about it these are dangerous, damaging and deceptive books that will only lead the readers further from Christ Jesus and not closer to Him. The “horror” is that the presence they may have “opened their hearts to” and coming to embrace will be that of a demonic entity masquerading as Jesus. Why do you think the Apostle John commands us to “test the spirits?”  (1 John 4:1)?   Is it really any wonder why all those smiling, seemingly healthy and very wealthy televangelists prove themselves by their very doctrines to be ministers of Satan (2 Cor. 11:14) disguising themselves as servants of righteousness? There are some of the people Paul warned the Ephesian elders against in Acts 20:29-31 when he said:

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you not sparing the flock. Also from your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.

Brothers and sisters if that text does not fit us today than which one does? I see Paul, like a Jeremiah warning these pastors about the danger to the Church from without and within for three years day and night and doing so weeping!

I cannot tell you how many pastors I and others, have warned about the dangers many of these men and woman present to the Church globally and their own congregations locally. Frankly, the usual response is rather blasé or one of  “well the Church has had these problems from the beginning.”   Yes, that is true but does that make the spiritual damage and shipwreck any less a disaster in the lives of their parishioners today? No ! Paul warned the elders so that they would in turn go back to their congregations and warn and educate their people concerning the false teachers, false prophets, false apostles, fake healers, liars and genuine pastors to recognize the dangers facing their people and boldly address it biblically in love but unapologetically too.  ♦

Copyright © 2006 Robert S. Liichow

End Notes:

1. I never cease to be amazed by pastors and other church leaders who simply “lump” all tongue-talking people as either Pentecostal believers or charismatic Christians. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only are there massive doctrinal distinctions between classic Pentecostal denominations and the charismatic renewal movement (CRM) but there are great distinctions within the CRM itself. My wife and I were part of no less then five clearly defined aspects within the CRM. These five included: (1) The Word of Faith movement, aka “name it and claim,” fake it till you make it, or the health and wealth movement.” (2) The Discipleship movement aka the Shepherding Movement more or less started and run by the Florida Five [Derek Prince, Bob Mumford, Don Basham, Charles Simpson, and Ern Baxter]. My exposure here was through the Word of God Community in Ann Arbor, and later a nationwide campus group know as “Maranatha” stated Bob and Rose Weiner (3) The Prophetic movement then the (4) the Apostolic movement and lastly (5) the Signs and Wonders movement aka The Toronto Blessing/Holy Laughter, etc. There is some overlapping in belief and practice within these five I’ve mentioned (there are a few others, but my wife and I had no personal intimate experience with them, I guess you could cal them, “classic charismatic” congregations) but there are also major distinctions especially concerning the end times, the exact role of the restored prophet/apostle, global quasi-Calvinistic theocracy (Dominionism/ Kingdom Now) concepts among other issues. Few if any seminaries I am aware of teach their forthcoming pastors about not only the distinctions within the sign-gift community but the danger that these groups, especially the so-called Prophetic & Apostolic moves, pose to not only their local congregation but their denomination (s) as well.

2. I say untimely because the Word of Faith (WOF) movement Hagin helped propel to global status teaches that we are to live to be at least 120 years old, and then possibly longer. Hagin missed that mark by a good thirty years having passed away (due to illness of all things!) on September 23,2003.

3. Copeland, Kenneth Following the Faith of Abraham I, Side A, Fort Worth, Texas, K. Copeland Ministries, 1989, audiotape #01-3001. Underlining added for emphasis

4. Copeland Kenneth The Force of Righteousness, Fort Worth, Texas, K. Copeland Ministries, 1984, p. 12. Underlining added.

5. http://kem.org/usstore/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=cross+to+the+throne.

6. All WOF teachers make a false dichotomy between the physical body, the soul, and spirit of man. They teach man as a tripartite being yet they do not view man as a complete unit, in fact, the spirit of man is often referred to as the “real” person and the human body is merely our earth-suit which gives us authority on this planet (which is why God has to become a man in order to gain back our lost authority).

7. Copeland, Kenneth. The Believer’s Voice of Victory, Ready to Receive the Glory. Kenneth Copeland Ministries, Fort Worth, TX, 76192-0001, October 2006m p, 14

8. ibid. p. 14

9. The Manifest Sons of God were an extreme offshoot of a very extreme brand of the CRM known as “The New Order of the Latter Rain.” The Manifest Sons of God, which find their expression today in much of the teachings of the restored prophets and apostles teach that Christians can achieve sinless perfection but because of his or her sinless perfection they will even overcome physical death itself which is the last great enemy (1 Cor 15:26). Christianize the world and hand a perfected world back to the returning Lord Jesus Christ. These concepts are found throughout the writings of Franklin Hall (many of his books are out-of-print, but DMI has reproduced his major works in PDF format on CD), Earl Paulk, Rick Joyner, Mahesh Chavda and other authors can be purchased at your local Kristian bookstore.

10. BVOV, Oct 2006, p. 4

11. ibid p. 4 Underlining added.

12. Please understand that this man is no “lightweight” when it comes to proclaiming his heretical doctrines and blasphemous thoughts. His ministry is so vast that someone can hear Mr. Copeland anywhere in the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That is a huge broadcasting footprint. He is a force to be reckoned with openly rebuked and God’s people warned about this tare sown among the pure wheat of God.

13. BVOV , October 2006, p. 4

14. Ibid p. 5 Underlining added

15. Lest you think I am making this up, simply buy a used copy of Heaven, Close Encounters of the God Kind written by Jesse Duplantis. While in the throne room, he sees Jesus, whom Jesse tells us is a great preacher he sees the feet of got the Father but does not see the Holy Spirit and asks the angel who has escorted him into the throne room “where is the Holy Spirit?” The angel tells Jesse that He is on earth and then Jesse says he felt so “stupid” for asking such an obvious question. Obviously, such a concept of the Godhead is heretical and sadly demonstrates the overall biblical ignorance of multitudes of charismatic believers who not only purchased Duplantis’ book, but actually ALL the tall tales, lies, heresy and even blasphemy contained in it. I highly suggest any budding apologist to buy the book and have a field day tearing it apart doctrinally.

16. BVOV, October, 2006, p5

17. Ibid p. 5 Bold type added for emphasis.

18. Ibid p. 5 Bold type and underlining added for emphasis.

19. Ibid p. 5 Underlining added.

The Dreaded Curse of the charismaniac

Truth Matters Newsletters – December 2005 – Vol. 10 Issue 12 – The Dreaded Curse of the Charismaniac – By Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International 

The Dreaded Curse of the charismaniac

The content of several recent e-mails to our ministry expose an untaught but often practiced doctrine within the charismatic extremist movement from which I was delivered, the dire practice of “cursing” those who oppose charismania for one reason or another.

Cursing someone is basically invoking the name of a deity or using supernatural power to cause destruction, harm or calamity to another person. Normally one associates cursing with voodoo, Santeria (1) or some other form of witchcraft and not with Christianity, especially not with folks who claim to have a higher “dose” of the Holy Ghost whose love is alleged to be shed abroad in their hearts. (see Romans 5:5) !

What is sad is that some professing Christians couch their curses in the name of our Lord Jesus. The usual manner for curses to be unleashed by charismaniacs (2) occurs in two basic ways. First, curses are proclaimed as an alleged prophetic directive from the Lord. The example I will shortly site from Mr. Hinn is a manifestation of this type of curse. Secondly, curses are uttered in the name of the Lord against those who disagree with someone, usually over doctrinal issues or against those who call into question not only the biblical teachings of someone but also their lifestyle. This second form is often simply unmasked anger or hatred for someone, but done in the name of Jesus to sanctify it. This variety is seen by the Charismaniac as a legitimate form of righteous anger as typified by Jesus overturning the tables in the temple (see Matthew 21:12) or His verbal excoriation of the Scribes and Pharisees (see Matthew 23:27). My first example is of the second type and was uttered by Mr. Paul Crouch, the Founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) against all the Christian Apologists who dared question Mr. Crouch and his cronies about doctrinal issues being transmitted globally via TBN.

That old rotten Sanhedrin crowd, twice dead, plucked up by the roots…they’re damned and on their way to hell and I don’t think there’s any redemption for them…the hypocrites, the heresy hunters, that want to find a little mote of illegal doctrine in some Christian’s eyes…when they’ve got a whole forest in their own lives…” I say, to hell with you! Get out of my life! Get out of the way! Quit blockin’ God’s bridges! I’m tired of this!…This is my spirit. Oh, hallelujah!” …There’s a spiritual application here….I want to say to all you scribes, Pharisees, heresy-hunters, all of you that are around pickin’ little bits of doctrinal error out of everybody’s eyes and dividin’ the Body of Christ…get out of God’s way, stop blockin’ God’s bridges, or God’s goin’ to shoot you if I don’t… let Him sort out all this doctrinal doodoo!….I refuse to argue any longer with any of you out there! Don’t even call me if you want to argue doctrine, if you want to straighten somebody out…criticize Ken Copeland…or Dad Hagin. Get out of my life! I don’t ever want to talk to you…I don’t want to see your ugly face! (3)

See a Video here :

According to my research Mr. Crouch has never recanted or repented for such hatred and anger. Crouch says that those of us who question him regarding doctrinal issues are “damned and on their way to hell.” Obviously, Crouch has become the one who holds the eternal life and knows who is damned and on their way to hell (and he is not even a Calvinist!!). “There is no redemption for them,” my Bible says that God so loved the world that He sent His Son to die for sinners (read John 3:16) and in another place the Holy Writ says that our Father desires that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (read 1 timothy 2:4). So how can there be “no redemption” for us po’ heresy-hunters? “To hell with you…” when was the last time you pointed your finger at Christian brothers and sisters (or even outright sinners) and said “go to hell”? Hopefully never, but Mr. Crouch is on a higher spiritual plane than the rest of us and so the following dictum does not pertain to him:

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. But that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Eph. 4:29

Crouch brings God into his tirade by declaring that those of us with legitimate doctrinal concerns regarding orthodox Christian dogma are blocking God’s bridges (aka TBN) and says we are guilty of dividing the Body of Christ. What is more if we do not stop challenging Crouch, Copeland, Hagin and others then “God’s gonin’ shoot” us if Crouch does not first.

See Video here – Paul Crouch: God’s gonna shot you if I don’t:

It seems various Christian Apologists were contacting TBN and contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints (read Jude 3) and Crouch was fed up with our calls, letters and e-mails. I say this because he mentions doctrine four times in his curse along with Copeland, Hagin, two unabashed heretics.

To the charismatic extremist the battle cry is “doctrine divides.” As long as one calls Jesus his Lord and believes He ascended back to heaven is all the doctrine one needs to inspect. Crouch is not upset by a little illegal doctrine in a Christian’s life, but he is upset by anyone who would dare to try to lovingly correct those who are in error. Crouch has obviously lost sight of what Jesus warned when He said —

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees…How is it that ye do not understand that I spake [it] not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade [them] not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matthew 16:6,11-12

No one has perfect doctrine and no one in the Apologetic arena of ministry I know has ever made such a claim. Speaking for myself, the more I study God’s Word the more I learn how little I do know. However, there are cardinal doctrines which must be universally agreed upon in order to be considered a genuine Christian. These are the issues we are chiefly concerned about.

Jesus warns His disciples about the danger of false doctrine and we echo His warnings today to our brothers and sisters. There is no such thing as harmless false (illegal) doctrine. True, none of us is 100% doctrinally pure, but it is one thing to lack understanding concerning some facet of biblical truth and quite another to embrace something that is erroneous. The Apostle Paul rebukes the Galatians who were being bewitched by legalism. He reminds them—

Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion [cometh] not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Galatians 5:7-9

Crouch is very willing to “wink” at a little leaven (illegal doctrine), DMI is not. Truth Matters to God and His truth is worth fighting for. When you know God’s truth in a certain area and keep silent knowing your brethren believes a lie how are you walking in love towards them? Paul understood that everything produces after its own kind and thus he knew the danger of allowing the Galatians to cling to anything, no matter how small that was unsound biblically.

The following is another example of this type of curse directed at me personally in a recent missive of “love” from an alleged brother in Christ. Note the tone and language. Not only does this misguided soul violate the Holy Scriptures, he does not even take time to use his spell and grammar checker! Nor does he cite any specific examples of where our ministry has misrepresented Mr. Hagin. We stand by the well documented fact that he stole intellectually from E.W. Kenyon Finis Dake and other authors. We also do not recant that he was a false teacher and false prophet, all of which is well documented on our website and other websites and books if anyone cares to take the time to research. So enjoy the following e-mail and I believe it speaks for itself and helps answer why I am glad to consider myself an “X-charismaniac.” (Bold type and underlining are added for emphasis on my part- spelling corrected).

“Dear Robert, I just read your article on the web. It’s great that you are investigating religion, but you got the Kenneth Hagin situation wrong. I’m a born again Christian and realize that some people do not understand Kenneth’s ministry. I have an organization speaking against you since you don’t seem to know what you’re talking about.  He is not a false prophet at all. These things were revealed to him. No I will not argue with you, there are plenty of people on the forum who already think you have this all wrong. He was not a part of TV or TBN after the 80 since he was told not to go on TV by the LORD JESUS CHRIST. Your judgment is coming as well and you who don’t really know what you’re talking about. You have started a war—- but not with sweet innocent children but ones that can go into the spirit realm and destroy you. Think about it Jesus Christ won’t help you once the curse is upon you. PS we are born again Christians too.

This e-mail would be funny if this guy was not trying to be serious. It appears this man has an entire organization “speaking against me” (keep in mind curses are generally verbalized in order to be effective). It seems my judgment is coming due to the powerful curses released by these unsweetened negative nabobs of doom, despair and agony. Gee whatever happened to being harmless as doves (read Matthew 10:16) ?

Due to our exposure of Mr. Hagin we have started a “war” with bitter (as opposed to sweet), guilty (as opposed to innocent) Christians who can ascend into the spirit realm and destroy me.

Let me address his first accusation regarding my not understanding Mr. Hagin’s SINistry. Oh really?  We have almost every one of his books, untold numbers of his cassettes, videos and I have seen him in person, up close and personal, even been in prayer lines where he was imparting his special ‘anointing” so special it is not even mentioned in the Bible! No, quite the contrary, as a former Word of Faith Pastor/teacher I am extremely familiar with his doctrine and it is unsound biblically. His so-called visions and out-of-body experiences with Jesus are farcical.

What kind of a dolt is this guy?  Doesn’t he realize that after Crouch, and as you will shortly read ‘Benny the healer Hinn’ have cursed you…you’ve been cursed?  All I can say is, “hey take your best shot pal.”

I wish I had a dime for every time somebody was going to go up to the spirit realm (he must have been reading too much Mary K. Baxter or Howard Pittman) and destroy me, my family and marriage. Sounds more like witchcraft versus the character of Christ Jesus, who commanded us to turn the other check when struck (read Matthew 5:39). Golly, even Jesus Christ, God the Son Himself won’t help me (and by inference others) who dare to speak out against what we know to be false doctrine. I guess since “dad” Hagin assumed room temperature, speaking out against him has been elevated to the status of blaspheming the Holy Spirit (I think not).

I on the other hand must and do bless these misguided souls. We pray for all of them as well as the remaining Hagin family that our gracious Lord Jesus Christ will open their eyes to the truth of the Gospel and they will recant their false doctrines and pull the books that contain them from the shelves.

I wrote this man back and here is the less than godly response from our so-called brother. His language and hatred betray him. Read with sadness the following:

“We are human Christians not sweet get your –ass –kicked –by —religion–and the — Gov’t don’t care what you write about us. GET IT? And we still gave our lives to Jesus Christ. Even the devil was mad for the day of vengence, write more and get destroyed more. We do not accept your fake ass apology as PS ask the Lord Jesus Christ if we are not of HIM? You’ll be more than surprised and ‘17 million of us know you will not reveal when He truly answers you.’ Some people need to keep their mouth shut and their websites. The demonic attacks are ones you and your church can’t fight off,  judgment starts in the house of the LORD “

Uh, what planet is this guy from? I guess we counter-cult apologists, myself in particular, are sweet non-human Christians [sic] who get our “ass kicked by religion.” I readily admit that I am sweet, which beats being sour and bitter. I also confess that I am an alien and pilgrim on this planet (read Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11). I guess he did not read about the Apostle Paul getting his “ass kicked” by religion—

I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly) I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? So [am] I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I [am] more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty [stripes] save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods. Once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; [in] journeying often, [in] perils of waters, [in] perils of robbers, in perils by [mine own] countrymen, [in] perils by the heathen, [in] perils in the city, [in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 2 Corinthians 11:21-28

Paul must have been too sweet, innocent and passive when faced with such opposition. Why didn’t he go into the spirit realm and hurl down curses on those who withstood him? Maybe Paul was emulating the faith of those we read about in the following text:

Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of [cruel] mockings and scourging, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy;) they wandered in deserts, and [in] mountains, and [in] dens and caves of the earth. Hebrews 11:35-38

Could it be that Paul had heard James or John recount their experience with the Samaritan villages who rejected Jesus?

And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw [this], they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save [them]. And they went to another village. Luke 9:53-56

Mr. Crouch and others who proclaim curses desiring the destruction of their enemies do not know what spirit they are of. These folks have lost sight of the mission of Jesus which is salvation and not destruction.

Back to the e-mailed curse! In our response DMI did not apologize for anything we have written regarding the false prophet Kenneth Hagin Sr. What we did say was that we would “bless” him, and we did in our prayer time, I guess those coals get pretty hot when they get heaped on his head, ergo the vitriolic response. I need not ask our Lord if he is “of Him,” his fruit speaks loudly enough so we have no need to bother the Ancient of Days with such a question. If he wants to reject our prayers and blessings that is his right, but the bible says that “love believes the best” and obviously he is not walking in love because he doubts our sincerity. Again, pray for this misguided soul and may God have mercy upon him and those caught up in calling darkness light and light darkness. I pray God has mercy on the individual who sent the above email to us. Feel free to express your love to him; it seems he really needs a hug or something! His email address is atiragepro@gmail.com.

Let’s consider the type of curse that is given in the quasi-prophetic form. This one is very popular among the so-called restored prophets for obvious reasons. I will cite an example given by Mr. Hinn since he is one of the most widely known and accepted false prophets plaguing the church today. The following curse was literally growled by Mr. Hinn at a miracle crusade held in Denver, Co.

“Yes Lord I’ll do it! I place a curse on every man and woman that will stretch his hand against this anointing I curse that man who dares to speak a word against this ministry.”   (4)

See Video Here: Benny Hinn puts a curse on people:

Hinn would want us to believe that our Lord (the One who came to not destroy but save, the One who on the cross said :Father forgive them”) told him to curse every man and woman who comes against Benny’s alleged anointing and ministry! It is sad to think that people actually believe that Hinn has been sanctioned to curse people and since God is no respecter of persons other lesser “lights” in the extremist movement have taken to placing curses on those who disagree with them. This is a perfect example of the “little leaven“, (cursing in this case,) spreads to others in the Body if it is not dealt with biblically.

The Biblical Attitude Regarding Cursing

The Bible does have quite a bit to say regarding the matter of cursing our enemies. We read the following comment from the lips of Job:

If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: Neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. Job 31:29-30

We all know what happened when Balak tried to pay Balaam to curse God’s people:

…Balak the King of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel, How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? Num. 23:7-8

Furthermore, we are commanded by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:14 to “Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.” Mr. Crouch, Hinn, the e-mailer and others are in direct violation of God’s Word when they attempt to proclaim and place curses on others. In Luke 5:44  Jesus commands us to “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you,”

What a shame that many in the sign-gift movement have spiraled down to this level of unbiblical diatribe and unwillingness to admit that many of their leaders have feet of clay and sinful hearts, like the rest of us. They too are in continual need of God’s forgiveness and mercy.  ♦

Copyright © 2005 Robert S. Liichow

End Notes

1. Santeria is one of the many syncretic religions created in the New World. It is based on the West African religions brought to the new world by slaves imported to the Caribbean to work the sugar plantations. These slaves carried their own religious traditions, including a tradition of possession trance for communications with the ancestors and deities, the use of animal sacrifice and the practice of sacred drumming and dance. Obtained from http://sparta.rice.edu/~maryc/Santeria.

2. Charismaniac, a term I believe I coined but I could be wrong is meant to refer only to those people who embrace the latest pseudo-spiritual beliefs and practices such as holy laughter, strategic level spiritual warfare, being druck in the spirit, the heresies of the Word of Faith cult, aberrant faith healing practices and the like. DMI is not lumping all Pentecostals and charismatic/sign-gift believers into this category. DMI works with both Pentecostal and biblically sound sign/gift people who have not been carried away by the prevailing winds of false doctrine swirling around in their circles.

3. This is only a portion of a rather long rant by Mr. Crouch one can view him in action on various websites and videos. Transcripts of all he said zre also widely distributed on the internet. This portion was obtained from http://cnview.com/on_line_resources/paul_crouch_curses_those_who_contend_for_sound_doctrine.htm.

4. Obtained from http://www.christian-witness.org/archives/cetf1999/bhinnlower.html. There are many websites which show the actual video clips in which Mr. Hinn’s demeanor changes, his voice changes and he hurls his “Spirit-led” curse at those who oppose him and his ministry. The underlining has been added for emphasis.

Sacred Cow Number Three – Jesus Died Spiritually

Truth Matters Newsletter – Vol. 10 Issue 4 – April 2005 – Sacred Cow Number Three – Jesus Died Spiritually – by Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Discernment Ministries International

Sacred Cow Number Three – Jesus Died Spiritually

(see also special note at the end of article)

 The problem with doctrinal error is that when it is left unchecked, like leaven in bread, it spreads and expands into further deeper errors; which is why our Lord warned us:

Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees….Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Matthew 16:6,12

This is especially true of the Word of Faith (WOF) cult and their heretical stance regarding the Person of Jesus Christ. From their error concerning His humanity and deity the gyre of error widens and now must include the atonement for our sins by Jesus.

Last month Truth Matters examined the WOF belief that Jesus ministered only as a man while on earth, albeit a man anointed with the Holy Spirit. The Word of Faith (WOF) cult so divided His divine from human nature that, according to their belief, Jesus never operated as God from His divinity. This is an ancient heretical view taught chiefly by Nestorians, and is condemned as a damnable doctrine by various Church Councils, especially that of Chalcedon.

Since God had given Adam complete dominion over the earth and he in turn gave it over to Satan, Satan became the “god” of this world. In order to exercise any legal authority here one must have a physical body and be a human being, which is why Christ came in the flesh. So, according to the cultists, He could battle Satan as a man, just as the first Adam had done (and lost). This second Adam hopefully would be victorious where the first Adam failed. This time the battle ground was not in the Garden of Eden, but at the cross and beyond it into the bowels of hell itself. Let me allow E.W. Kenyon to explain his view:

Jesus the Sinner Man

“The Revelation that Paul received in II Corinthians 5:21 is that God actually made Him to become sins for us. he not only bore our sins, but the sin-nature itself was laid upon Him, until He became all that spiritual death had made man…1Timothy 3:16 reveals that Christ was justified in Spirit. He in identification, had become so utterly one with us that He Himself needed justification when man’s penalty was paid. The next step in Redemption was that He who had been made sin be begotten of God…Jesus Christ, when man’s penalty has been paid, had to be born of God and pass from death into life just as man, because He had become identified with our Spiritual Death. After Christ has been justified in spirit and born of God, He conquered Satan as a man. It is evident that Satan tried to hold Christ within his authority. Satan did hold Christ until God could declare man righteous.” (1)

He is the first born out of spiritual death, the first person who was ever born again…His spirit absolutely became impregnated with the sin nature of the world…Christ did not have sin reckoned to Him. He was made to be sin….This is a remarkable fact, that Jesus was born again before He was raised from the dead…Jesus, after He had been justified and made alive in the spirit, became Satan’s master. And ‘having despoiled the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it’ (Col. 2:15). It is more graphic in a marginal rendering. ‘Having put off from himself the principalities and the powers (It would seem as though the whole hosts of hell were upon him he was going through agonies beyond words, and suddenly is justified, made alive) ‘He hurls back the hosts of darkness’….He had conquered Satan. He had stripped him of his authority. Keys represent authority. Jesus was master of all hell. He did not conquer Satan for Himself. Jesus conquered Satan for us, for you and for me. (2)

Every WOF teacher proclaims this message regarding the atonement and it is nothing less than damnable blasphemy. According to Kenyon’s doctrine (which is parroted by Copeland, Meyer, Price, Capps, Butler, Tilton, Savelle, Duplantis, Dollar, et al.) Jesus did not bear our sins on the cross. He became an actual sinner. As any sinner, He needed to be regenerated spiritually (born-again) by God, which according to Kenyon this is what happened in hell.

Kenneth Copeland has popularized Kenyon’s heresy to such a degree he did a tape series entitled “What Happened From the Cross to the Throne” which is the exact title of one of Kenyon’s more “popular” books. The book and tape series are available in may non-discerning Christian bookstores.

Now here’s the part I want you to get When He said, “It is finished,” on that cross he was not speaking of the plan of redemption — the plan of redemption had just begun. There were still three days and three nights to be gone through before He went to the throne…See, you have to realize that He (Jesus) died; you have to realize that He went into the pit of hell as a mortal man made sin. But He didn’t stay there, thank God. He was reborn in the pit of hell and resurrected…The righteousness of God was made to be sin.

He (Jesus) accepted the sin nature of Satan in His own spirit and at the moment that He did that He cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? You don’t know what happened at the cross. Why do you think Moses, obeying the instruction of God, hung the serpent up on the pole instead of a lamb? That used to bug me. I said, “Why in the world would you want to put a snake up there the sign of Satan? Why didn’t you put a lamb on that pole.” And the Lord said, “Because it was the sign of Satan that was hanging on the cross.” He said, “I accepted in my own spirit spiritual death and the light was turned off.”    (3)

“It wasn’t a physical death on the cross that paid the price for sin…anybody can do that.    (4)

“It is finished” obviously does not mean that, now we have “greater light” on the true meaning of Jesus’ words. Christ did not win redemption for sinful humanity on the cross. NO! The human sinful man Jesus in hell won it for us after being tormented by Satan and his demons for 3 days! Lest no one thinks Joel Osteen, pastor of the largest congregation in America, is not a WOF heretic, at least regarding this most central tenant of our faith simply read the statement below from one of his sermons:

“The Bible indicates that for three days, Jesus went into the very depths of hell. Right into the enemy’s own territory. And He did battle with Satan face to face. Can you imagine what a show down that was?    (5)

Joel Osteen is on record stating in Charisma magazine that “people aren’t interested in theology.” Which unfortunately is true and sets them up to believe such utter nonsense as Osteen is cited spewing.

Kenneth Hagin’s (6) “son in the Gospel,“ Fred Price (raised a Jehovah Witness), pastor of the mega-church, Crenshaw Christian Center in California, teaches the same heresy:

Price explains  “Do you think that the punishment for our sin was to die on a cross? If that were the case, the two thieves could have paid your price. No, the punishment was to go into hell itself and to serve time in hell separated from God…Satan and all the demons of hell thought that they had Him bound. And they threw a net over Jesus and they dragged Him down to the very pit of hell itself to serve our sentence.     (7)

I do not want to be remiss and leave out one of America’s most popular female Bible “teachers” Joyce Meyer, on this subject since she is equally dogmatic in her assertions:

“Jesus said ‘It is finished.’ And He meant the Old Covenant. The job He had to do was just getting started. He really did the job the three days and nights that He was in hell. That’s where the job was done. He was pronounced guilty on the cross but He paid the price in hell. (8)

“There is no hope of anyone going to heaven unless they believe this truth I am presenting. You cannot go to heaven unless you believe with all your heart that Jesus took your place in hell. (9)

I could cite five or ten other televised WOF preachers, but they would all be saying the same thing. Sadly, to our knowledge none of these media stars has ever recanted their heretical views concerning Christ Jesus and His atoning death on the cross. Nor have any of them repented of their biblical inaccuracies regarding His nature as both God and man.

Did Jesus Atone For Our Sins, As a Sinner in Hell?

To begin with, the WOF cult faith has resurrected a concept of the atonement that was deemed heretical by the Church. The “ransom theory” of the atonement taught that Jesus died to buy mankind back from Satan. 

Remember that in the March issue of Truth Matters, I discussed the WOF view on how Adam gave Satan his authority in the fall, thus making Satan the “god” of this world. In their belief system, God had to buy back mankind, who, due to Adam’s sin were the property of Satan. Charles Hodge, the Reformed theologian gives us a good understanding of this concept:

The [theory] appeals to the old principle of the rights of war, according to which the conquered became the slaves of the conqueror. Satan conquered Adam, and thus became the rightful owner of him and his posterity. Hence he is called the god and prince of this world. To deliver men from this dreadful bondage, Christ offered Himself as a ransom to Satan. Satan accepted the offer, and renounced his right to retain mankind as his slaves. In answer to the question, How Satan could accept Christ as the ransom for men, if he knew Him to be a divine person? It was said that he did not know Him to be divine, because His divinity was veiled by His humanity. (10)

There are at least four reasons why the ransom theory was later rejected by the Church. First, Satan has no claim on the lost per se, they are not his property which have to be purchased by Christ’s death. Secondly, Satan is not the one who must be satisfied by the sacrifice before sinners can be redeemed.

Thirdly, in the Bible the Greek work for ransom simply means “redemption-price”, it does not necessarily imply a price paid to Satan. Fourthly, The Bible plainly teaches that Christ’s atonement was a sacrifice to God (read Eph. 5:2 and Isaiah. 53:10). So their initial premise is wrong and thus everything that springs from it equally wrong.

This WOF teaches that when Jesus said “it is finished” He was not referring to His atoning death (read John 19:20). They teach that what He meant was that the Abrahamic covenant was finished, redemption was yet to be completed. Jesus at this point, a sinner, had to be dragged into hell by demonic forces and suffer being tormented by Satan and demons for three days.

To begin with, Jesus was not a sinner. How can God ever sin? If He did then He would cease to be God and Jesus never ceased being God as we examined in last month’s issue. WOF heretics misinterpret 2 Cor. 5:21. Here is what A.T. Robertson, Greek scholar has to say regarding that text:

2 Cor 5:21 – Him who knew no sin. Definite claim by Paul that Jesus did not commit sin, had no personal acquaintance with it. Jesus made this claim for himself (John 8:46). This statement occurs also in 1 Peter 2:22; Heb 4:15; 7:26; 1 John 3:5. Christ was and is “a moral miracle” (Bernard) and so more than mere man. He made to be sin  The words “to be” are not in the Greek. “Sin” here is the substantive, not the verb. God “treated as sin” the one “who knew no sin.” But he knew the contradiction of sinners (Heb 12:3). We may not dare to probe too far into the mystery of Christ’s suffering on the Cross, but this fact throws some light on the tragic cry of Jesus just before he died: “My God, My God, why didst thou forsake me?” (Mt. 27:46). That we might become Note “become.” This is God’s purpose in what he did and in what Christ did. Thus alone can we obtain God’s righteousness (Ro 1:17). (11)

Jesus bore our sins, God the Father poured out His wrath on the Lamb of God who took our place on the cross. When Jesus said “it is finished” He was directly referring to His atoning death for the sins of the world.

Next, we have no evidence of Satan or demons dragging this “man” whose nature was now united with Satan’s into hell to be tormented. Satan is not currently in hell, he does not rule hell nor do his demon hosts. There is not one text which shows Satan as a ruler in hell. His followers will be cast into the lake of fire (read Rev. 19:20) and he himself will be cast into the bottomless pit (Rev. 19:2) but that has not yet happened. The only fallen angels/demons who are in “hell” are those who were locked up, imprisoned by God—

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. {first estate: or, principality}. Jude 1:6

The Bible teaches us that our sins were atoned for by Jesus on the cross, not in hell. There is not one scintilla of biblical evidence to support what the WOF teaching, in fact, quite the opposite is true:

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly,  triumphing  over them in it. {in it: or, in himself}. Col. 2:13-15

When Kenyon cites this text he teaches that these events took place in hell by conveniently leaving out the rest of verse 15 “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” A better translation of this text would be triumphing over them on it. Either way “in it” or “on it” directly refers to the work done by Jesus on the cross. Kenyon and his followers simply ignore verse 14 where it states that all our sins against God’s holy law ere taken away by Jesus on the cross. A.T. Robertson says the following about verse 14:

And he hath taken it out of the way (perfect active indicative of airw, old and common verb, to lift up, to bear, to take away. The word used by the Baptist of Jesus as “the Lamb of God that bears away (airwn) the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The perfect tense emphasizes the permanence of the removal of the bond which has been paid and cancelled and cannot be presented again. “When Christ was crucified, God nailed the Law to His cross” (Peake). Hence the “bond” is cancelled for us. (13)

The Apostle Paul further states to the Church at Galatia that it was on the cross where Jesus became a curse for us:

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Gal. 3:13.

If the work of redemption took place in hell then why don’t any of the biblical authors state this? For that matter why don’t any of their followers (the early church fathers) write about this? It really is not until E.W. Kenyon comes along with his blasphemous theory which has never been supported by the Christian Church since inception.

We do confess in the Apostles Creed that “He descended into hell,” but that does not refer to His atoning work not being finished. Let me quote Crenshaw on this matter:

There are good exegetical reasons to reject the idea that He literally went to hell. First, in Luke 22:42, 43 we read “Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you today you will be with Me in Paradise.’ “ The Lord said that the thief would be with Him that very day in heaven, not in hell. That Paradise means heaven is seen from Paul’s statement when he speaks of the “third heaven” and “Paradise” as synonymous (2 Cor. 12:2-4)….Furthermore in Luke 223:46 the Lord said: “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father into Your hands I commend My spirit.’ And having said this, He breathed His last.” He did not commit His spirit to Hades or to the devil…A correct understanding of Peter’s use of David’s words, “You will not leave my soul in Hades…(Acts 2:27), is necessary. Hades here does not mean the fire but the grave. The early church understood it to be the grave. Also, “Hades” sometimes mean the grave (1 Cor. 15:56). Peter used the word to speak of the bodily resurrection of Christ, proving from the Old Testament tht Messiah would rise from the dead (see v. 30), the dead being those who are in graves, not in hell. (14)

There is an in-house debate among genuine Christians regarding what the Apostles Creed means in this statement. Another view is that Jesus did descend into hell victorious and proclaim His victory to those “spirits in prison” (read I Peter 3:18). In this view Jesus is in Abraham’s bosom and in this upper portion proclaims that redemption is complete and at His ascension He took the waiting believers with Him to heaven. This is the position I believe, but I cite Crenshaw to give you a better understanding of what Christians believe regarding this matter.

Jesus the First “Born-Again” Man?

As I quoted from Copeland’s tape series earlier in this article it is the standard belief among the teachers of WOF that Jesus, as a born-again man defeated Satan in his own domain. Their favorite proof text they cite is found in Hebrews:

For to which of the angels did God even say, “You are my Son today I have become your Father”?  {5 Or have begotten you}  (5 Psalm 2:7) Or again, “I will be his Father and he will be my Son”? (5 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chron. 17:13} And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” {6 Deut. 32:43 (see Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint} Hebrews 1:5,6

They interpret this text to mean that at some point God the Son ceased to be God, His human nature being completely torn away from His divine nature, leaving Jesus as only a man in hell and that once Jesus was spiritually re-born (in hell) then “again” the heavenly Father say “and He will be my Son.”

Furthermore they teach that when Jesus was reborn and took the keys of death, hell and the grave from Satan (in hell) and ascends back to the earth and is physically resurrected that is when God “brings his firstborn into the world.” That is the teaching of the WOF cult regarding this text in Hebrews.

Is this the correct interpretation? The WOF preachers miss the point of this text altogether, most likely because their house of cards needs to be shored up by some biblical citation, even if it is taken out of context.

In Hebrews 1:5 His deity comes to the forefront as He is presented as the exalted Son whom the angels are to worship. He is exalted in that He came into the world as the “firstborn,” the preeminent one. Jesus is “begotten” to this relationship with the Father, that is, recognized. The Father is not making Him God or giving Him something new regarding His deity but is not making Him God or giving Him something new regarding His deity but only recognizing what He is: son, begotten firstborn, and God…The today’ has no particular reference and the “begotten” is simply recognition that Jesus is the “Son, the Begotten, the Firstborn, and God” (Heb. 1:5-8). Again the context militates against the idea that He was morally born again. (15)

Crenshaw’s statement is very clear and A.T. Robertson’s comments on these verses also shed light on their true meaning and context:

Heb 1:5 – Unto which , “To which individual angel.” As a class angels are called sons of God (Elohim) (Ps. 29:1), but no single angel is called God’s Son like the Messiah in Ps. 2:7. Dods takes “have I begotten thee”, perfect active indicative of , to refer to the resurrection and ascension while others refer it to the incarnation. And again. This quotation is from 2 Sa. 7:14. Note the use of the predicate with the sense of “as” like the Hebrew (LXX idiom), not preserved in the English. See Mt. 19:5; Lu 2:34. Like Old English “to” or “For” See 2 Co 6:18; Re 21:7 for the same passage applied to relation between God and Christians while here it is treated as Messianic.

Heb 1:6 – And when he again bringeth in. Indefinite temporal clause with , the reference is to the Second Coming as in 9:28. It merely introduces another quotation (Ps. 97:7) parallel to; in verse 5, the reference is to the incarnation when the angels did worship the Child Jesus (Lu 2:13f.). There is no way to decide certainly about it. The first-born See Ps. 89:28. For this compound adjective applied to Christ in relation to the universe see Col. 1:15, to other men, Ro 8:29; Col 1:18 to the other children of Mary, Lu 2:7; here it is used absolutely. The world  “The inhabited earth.  See Ac 17:6 Let worship Imperative first aorist active third plural of here in the full sense of worship, not mere reverence or courtesy. This quotation is from the LXX MSS. (except F) have , but the substance does occur also in Ps. 97:7

The grammar is very clear as is the obvious meaning, the author of Hebrews was not referring to God the Father giving birth or reestablishing Jesus as God the Son. The WOF stresses the two words “again” in the verse in a vain attempt to prove their blasphemous doctrine regarding the atonement.

In putting a very sharp fork into this sacred cow, because it is finished, let’s be very clear that our Lord Jesus paid for the penalty of our sins by bearing them (not becoming a sinner) on the cross and certainly not in hell as a born-again man. This is one of the most damnable of the WOF sacred cows which demands cremation and then a scattering of its ashes over the grave of E.W. Kenyon.   ♦

Copyright ©  2005  Robert S. Liichow

 ** A SPECIAL NOTE CONCERNING THIS ARTICLE:

In writing about this “sacred cow” I used strong language such as “damnable heresy,” and “blasphemy.” It is important for you, the reader, to understand that when it comes to the nature of Christ and His atoning work on the cross it is essential that we have the correct biblical understanding. The WOF cult is wrong to such a degree that those believing what they teach concerning Jesus and His work on the cross cannot be considered Christians. This is no small issue. It is the center of the Gospel. You get this wrong then all that flows from that error leads one only into further darkness.

I am not saying that everyone who attends a WOF “church” is unsaved, only the Lord knows those who are truly His. Yet I do tremble with godly fear fro those who persistently teach such blasphemy even after being warned of their errors on several occasions by various ministers, including DMI.

Please pray for these teachers. They hold sway over millions of professing believers. Ask our Lord in His mercy to open their eyes and grant them repentance and the humility to publicly admit and recant their former doctrines.

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End Notes

1. Kenyon, E.W. The Bible in the Light of Our Redemption Old Tappen, NJ 1969, pp. 165, 166,167. Bold type and underlining added for emphasis.

2. Kenyon, E.W. what Happened from the Cross to the Throne, Old Tappen, NJ, 1969, pp. 63,64,65. The reason for all of the ellipses is for the sake of space. You can find Kenyon’s book in almost any ‘Christian’ bookstore and read it for yourself, but what I have cited carries his main thought regarding the atonement of Christ. Bold type and underlining added.

3. Copeland, Kenneth. What Happened from the Cross to the Throne, side two of cassette one. Underlining added.

4. Copeland, Kenneth. What Satan Saw on the Day of Pentecost, audiotape #BCC-19, side 1.

5. Osteen, Joel. Sermon, CS-002 – April 23, 2000, “The Truth of The Resurrection.”

6. Kenneth Hagin senior, considered by many to be the “father” of the Word of Faith died recently. Sadly his legacy of error continues through his son and grandson, not to mention the several thousand graduates of his legacy of error continues through his son and grandson, not to mention the several thousand graduates of Hagin’s “Bible” school, Rhema Bible Training Center.

7. Ever Increasing Faith Messenger [June 1980] 7; quoted in D.R. McConnell, A different Gospel, 1988 120.

8. Meyer, Joyce. From the Cross to the Throne. Quote obtained from http://www.myfortress.org/DidJesusPayForOurSinsInHell.html Underlining and bold type added for emphasis.

9. Meyer, Joyce. The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make. Pg. 37, 1991 edition. To DMI’s knowledge Joyce has not redacted her booklet which is given away to people who want to get “born-again.” In her mind if they do not accept the sinful man Jesus redeeming us then there can be no hope of them going to heaven! Pretty amazing when you consider that the Orthodox Christian Church has never taught such a doctrine nor accepted any aspects of what the WOF presents as the atonement.

10. Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theolgy vol. 2 pg. 564.

11. Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures, BibleWorks software ver. 4.0, 1999

12. Mary K. Baxter wrote a bestselling book which alleges she visited hell on 40 occasions with Jesus. In her book “The Divine Revelation of Hell” she shows Satan and demons ruling and reigning in hell tormented the damned. It is pure nonsense and contradicts the Bible on almost every page, yet has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and now is in something like 30 different languages!

13. Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures, BibleWorks software, ver. 4.0 1999

14. Crenshaw, Curtis. Man as God Foot Stool Publication, pp. 431,442, 1994.

15. Ibid. pp. 333-323. Underlining added.

16. Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures, BibleWorks software, vr. 4.0, 199.