The rally, called The Response, has created a lot of controversy. Read about it here. The liberal media claims it is inappropriate for Perry—who is expected to announce a bid for the U.S. presidency—to participate in an event that promotes Christianity and excludes other faiths. “Civil rights” organizations have also objected to the so-called “parade of anti-gay figures” who are set to take part in the event. Read about it here.

But, until recently, most of the media has missed the real story—the connection between Perry’s prayer event and a growing movement of modern-day apostles and prophets called the “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR).

All that’s starting to change. Yesterday, the Texas Observer blew the lid off the movement with the enlightening article, “Rick Perry’s Army of God.”

And earlier this month, Rachel Maddow of MSNBC exposed NAR apostles and prophets on her show. See the video clip here.

Also, check out this recent article about the NAR movement from the Business Insider, “Meet the Radical Evangelical Army Behind Rick Perry.”

An example of a vaguely worded prediction is the following from the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders’ “Word for the Lord” for 2011:

Expect the unexpected in this coming year.

This prediction is so vague that it is rendered meaningless—much like the words of a fortune cookie. Anything unexpected that occurred in 2011 could be seen as its fulfillment. Such “fortune cookie prophecies” are common from NAR prophets.

An example of a prediction that is left open-ended as to the time of its fulfillment is the following—-also from the ACPE’s “Word of the Lord” for 2011:

Dreams and visions will increase, even among very young children.

But how could anyone ever know if dreams and visions had increased in 2011? They couldn’t. And even if it could somehow be shown that dreams and visions did not increase in 2011, it wouldn’t matter because the ACPE prefaced their 2011 predictions with the following disclaimer:

While we are calling this a prophecy for 2011, it is to be understood that the time frames for the fulfillment of prophecies cannot only be confined to a calendar year period, thus this constitutes more of a seasonal prophetic word.

So, if this prophecy doesn’t have to be fulfilled in 2011, then when does it have to be fulfilled? In 2012? In a decade? In a century? By calling their revelation a “Word of the Lord” for 2011, the ACPE is implying that the predictions will be fulfilled in 2011. Yet, by not specifying a time period, they have given themselves a convenient out.

By resorting to such tactics, the NAR prophets have put a large distance between themselves and the biblical prophets, who made detailed predictions and gave precise times for their fulfillment.

An example is the prediction made by an unnamed biblical prophet who foretold the rise of a king named Josiah (1 Kings 13:2). The prophet not only revealed the rise of this future king—including even the king’s name—but he also predicted that King Josiah would sacrifice idolatrous priests on an altar and burn human bones on that altar. Though the fulfillment of the prophet’s prediction took nearly 300 years, every detail of the prophecy was fulfilled to the letter (2 Kings 23:15-20).

“Pray and A.C.T.” is one of latest faith-based events — in a growing list — featuring this unlikely alliance between traditional evangelicals and leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation. This 40-day effort — which started on September 20, leading up to the November midterm elections — seeks to encourage Christians to pray, fast, and take political action to restore Judeo-Christian values to America. Read more about it here.

It’s part of a new movement in America that is uniting people across ethnic, generational and religious lines in common cause to fight gay marriage and abortion and defend religious rights. This common cause explains why mainstream leaders of the stature of Jim Garlow and Chuck Colson—the organizers of Pray and A.C.T.—would give a platform to controversial apostles, prophets and other New Apostolic Reformation leaders including Lou Engle, Che Ahn, Mike Bickle, Cindy Jacobs, Rick Joyner and Bill Johnson. See the full line up here. Some of the many other evangelicals and leaders of the Religious Right who are sharing a platform with the apostles and prophets for this event include:

• Maggie Gallagher (National Organization for Marriage)
• Richard Land (Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission)
• Jim Daly (Focus on the Family)
• Mike Huckabee (former governor of Arkansas and host of “The Mike Huckabee Show”)
• Tony Perkins (Family Research Council)

True, sharing a platform with apostles to fight abortion or gay marriage does not entail agreement with — or even knowledge of — their radical beliefs. But, sadly, it results in raising the profiles of the apostles and prophets and lending credibility to their unbiblical teachings.

The above statement — quoted from Psalm 50:10 — has become a favorite in apostolic-prophetic churches where “prosperity theology” is a key teaching.

If God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and everything else besides, then He will certainly give His people anything they desire — money, mansions, muscle cars.

Or so the teaching goes.

Click here to see how “prophet” Kim Clement used this verse to teach that God will give Americans land, property and miracles.

But is this actually what Psalm 50:10 teaches? Does it promote the idea that God wants His people to amass land, houses and money? I will show that it doesn’t.

A Closer Look

Let’s look at Psalm 50:10. God is the person speaking:

for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills. (Psalm 50:10, New International Version)

It’s clear: God owns all the forest animals and cattle. The next two verse are also clear: He owns all the birds and field creatures and, in fact, He owns everything: “for the world is mine, and all that is in it” (verses 10-12).

So the statement — “God owns the cattle on a thousands hills” — is just a poetic way of saying that God owns everything. That’s certainly a biblical teaching. So far so good.

But what about the implication that, because God owns all things, He will give His people all things?

That’s not what this psalm teaches. In fact, it’s not even an announcement of blessing on God’s people. It’s an announcement of blame.

Look at the rest of the verses in the psalm. God states His anger at the Israelites for just “going through the motions” in their worship of Him. They bring him animal sacrifices, but don’t honor Him with thankful hearts and obedience to His law.

More specifically, God accuses them of quoting His Words and then turning around and promoting theft, adultery, lying and slander (verses 16-21). Psalm 50 is His response to their insincerity. He basically says:

I don’t need your sacrifices! I own all the animals that exist, so you’re not doing me any favors when you present your piddly offerings of cattle and birds to me. What I want from you is heartfelt gratitude and obedience.

So Psalm 50:10 does not teach a self-serving, get-rich theology. It’s a rebuke of hypocrisy.

True Promises

It’s true that God promises to provide for the needs of His children, such as food and clothing. Other places in the Bible teach this comforting truth, such as Matthew 6:33:

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

We know that, one day in the future, we will enjoy all spiritual — and material — riches in our eternal home. But keep in mind that none other than Jesus, himself, eeked out a meager living. He and his disciples relied on the generous financial support of His followers (Luke 8:3).

Jesus didn’t even own a house (Luke 9:58). We shouldn’t expect more for ourselves.

Empty Stalls

In fact, true faith in God shows itself by continuing to trust His goodness — even when our external circumstances are bleak. This is the main lesson in the book of Habakkuk — which also has something to say about cattle.

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior. (Habakkuk 3:17-18, emphasis mine)

Yes, God does own the cattle on a thousands hills. But that doesn’t guarantee that you’ll find any cows in your stalls. Will you still trust Him?

]]> http://www.SpiritOfError.org/2010/08/holy-cows/1136/feed 11 http://www.SpiritOfError.org/2010/08/how-to-do-gods-work-and-get-filthy-rich/1104 http://www.SpiritOfError.org/2010/08/how-to-do-gods-work-and-get-filthy-rich/1104#comments Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:20:12 +0000 admin http://www.SpiritOfError.org/?p=1104 “It’s Your Time for Wealth.”

Those enticing words are featured in an advertisement for the “Transference of Wealth 2010 Conference,” to be held in Oklahoma City, Okla., on Sept. 9-12. See the ad here.

The conference promises to teach attendees how to “position” themselves to receive billions of dollars that God is, supposedly, transferring from Satan’s kingdom to God’s kingdom. The purpose for the transfer is to fund the building of God’s kingdom on earth, under the direction of so-called apostles and prophets — including those featured at the conference.

“Kingdom Wealth is vital to establishing God’s covenant!” the ad declares. Yet, God certainly doesn’t mind if the followers of these so-called apostles and prophets benefit personally from the transfer and enlarge their own bank accounts.

People are urged to send in their $50 registration fee so they can “Receive the spoils of war!”

With such pocket-lining promises, it’s no wonder the “transference of wealth” teaching has gained a large following in the apostolic-prophetic movement. I wrote an article showing how the entire teaching is based on just a few Scripture verses that are misquoted and ripped out of context. It must have hit a sore spot because it’s the most viewed article on my blog. See it here.

Unfortunately, the teaching is still going strong — as evidenced by the upcoming conference in Oklahoma. The advertisement misuses yet another Bible verse to support its agenda, Genesis 2:10:

A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.

In context, this verse is referring to an actual river and streams that flowed from the Garden of Eden. But the author of the advertisement applies it to the conference’s teaching on wealth, saying:

The Lord showed me that in 2010, He would release several different income streams, and that it would be likened unto Genesis 2:10.

It should go without saying that one cannot take a Bible verse, like this one, and make it refer to anything he wants it to — like “income streams.” Unfortunately, the practice of “spiritualizing” Bible verses — that is, giving a meaning to them other than their plain meaning — is a common and misleading practice in the apostolic-prophetic movement.

Featured speakers at the conference include Pat Francis (Kingdom Covenant Ministries in Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Hank Kunneman (Lord of Hosts Church in Omaha, Nebraska), Lidia Zapico (Jesus Vive Hoy), Judy Jacobs (host of the television program, “Judy Jacobs Now!“), Rabbi Curt Landry (House of David Ministries in Grove, Oklahoma), John Benefiel (Oklahoma Apostolic Prayer Network), Bishop Tony Miller (Destiny World Outreach in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) and Trent Cory (singer and songwriter).

In 2007, I reported on an alarming trend that continues today — the growing use of magic charms and other occult practices in the apostolic-prophetic movement. Read the article, published by the Christian Research Journal, here.

The implication is that no one should listen to me if I haven’t followed the proper order — going to the teacher first, then going public. False teachers, themselves, often promote this idea to shield themselves from criticism.

But this is a misuse of the teaching on church discipline found in Matthew 18:15-17. Here’s an article I wrote about this subject three years ago.

Naming Names

There’s a common view among Christians that it’s wrong to publicly criticize the teachings of other professing Christians.

People who hold this view cite Matthew 18:15-17. They believe this Bible passage teaches that anyone who has concerns about someone else’s teachings should go to that person privately.

In fact, some people have recently warned me that my blog is a violation of this command because it identifies people who are bringing false teaching into the church.

But they don’t realize that this passage is being used out of context. It doesn’t refer to addressing false teaching. It refers to addressing someone’s private sin. This can be seen in the larger context, which includes a discussion — immediately following this passage — of forgiving those who sin against us. Also, this passages deals, specifically, with church discipline — the manner of dealing with those who sin in a local church.

Public vs. Private Rebukes

Here’s what the Bible teaches about confronting sin and false teaching in the church:

• A private rebuke is given for private sin. Matthew 18:15-17

• A public rebuke is given for public sin. (See the apostle Paul’s public rebuke of the apostle Peter’s false teaching in Galatians 2:11-14. Also, see the apostle Paul’s public rebuke of a man who was flagrantly sleeping with his stepmother with his church’s knowledge in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. Paul didn’t confront this man privately. In fact, he had never even met this man, as shown in 1 Corinthians 5:1, when he refers to a report he heard about the man’s sin. Yet, Paul confronted this public sin publicly because the sin effected the whole Corinthian church.)

Teachers who bring false doctrines into the church must be confronted publicly because their teachings are public. They write books, speak at conferences and appear on television programs promoting their teachings to thousands of people. Because they have public influence, they must be held to public scrutiny. If people go to them privately, then — in the meantime — thousands of people can be misled by their harmful teachings.

Teachers should expect — and even welcome — criticism of their teachings. The Bible warns them in James 3:1 that they are held to high standards because of their influence and will face stricter judgment from God than other Christians. They should be open to correction.

But many times the false teachers, themselves, are the ones who teach their followers the misapplication of Matthew 18:15-17. They use this as a technique to silence criticism.

What the Bible Teaches About Dealing With False Teaching in the Church

Here are some more things the Bible teaches, specifically, about dealing with false teaching. (My professor, Kevin Lewis at Biola University, provided the list below.)

• Name Names: In 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul identifies false teachers in the church, by name, four times. 2 Tim. 1:15, 2:17, 3:8, 4:14

• Warn the church publicly what the false teachers are teaching. 2 Timothy 2:16-18

• Silence the false teachers. (This means that church leaders shouldn’t allow people to teach false teaching in their churches.) Titus 1:10-11

• Refute the false teachers. Titus 1:9

• Do not give false teachers a platform or otherwise support them in their ministries. 2 John 1:10-11

What do I mean by saying they’re “unfalsifiable”?

There’s no way that you would ever be able to prove that they’re false or true. The predictions contained in them are highly vague — like the jibberish words found in fortune cookies. They’re the polar opposite of the Bible’s prophecies, which are highly specific.

To show you what I’m talking about I’ll compare one of the prophecies given by “prophetess” Erica Greve — of Bethel Church, in Redding, California — to another prophecy given by the prophet Elisha of Scripture.

Erica Greve’s Unfalsifiable Prophecy

On  January 22, Greve released a list of prophecies for the year 2010. All the prophecies are vague, but let’s look at just the first one.

Greve says 2010 will be the year that the body of Christ will “win together.” The victory will be achieved, in part, by more churches partnering together, according to her. She said:

I believe the new revelation coming forth from the Father’s heart will result in [denominational] streams coming closer together, churches partnering more frequently, and significant outpourings of His presence touching multiple places at the same time.  (See her full prophecy here.)

But how could it possibly ever be determined if more churches partnered together in 2010 than in 2009? The answer is — it couldn’t be determined. There would be no way of knowing whether or not more churches worked together this year.

This prophecy is unfalsifiable. It would be akin to saying that this year children will experience more joy. Or that this year God will smile upon school teachers. These prophecies sound nice and inspiring, but how would you ever know if they were fulfilled or not? You wouldn’t know. You couldn’t know.

Elisha’s Falsifiable Prophecy

Now let’s look at a falsifiable prophecy given by Elisha in  2 Kings chapter 7. His prophecy is so specific — unlike Greve’s prophecy — that no one is left scratching their head and wondering whether or not it was accurate.

The background to Elisha’s prophecy is given in 6:24-31 where we learn that the Israelites living in Samaria were under siege by the Arameans. Severe famine  resulted. The people were so hungry they resorted to cannibalism.

The terrible state of affairs was God’s punishment for the Israelites’ sin. Yet instead of repenting of the sin, the king of Israel became angry at God and sent someone to kill the prophet Elisha.

In response, Elisha told the king that the horrific situation in the city would improve the very next day, with food becoming affordable. Elisha’s prophecy was so specific that it not only included the exact day of its fulfillment, but also the exact price that wheat and barley would be sold for on that specific day:

Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.” (2 Kings 7:1)

Yet Elisha’s specific predictions didn’t stop there. When the king’s royal officer mocked Elisha’s prophecy — saying it was impossible for the famine to be ended in a single day — Elisha gave another prophecy directed at the officer. Elisha said the officer would live to see the reversal of the famine the next day, but he would not live long enough to enjoy any of the newly acquired food. (2 Kings 7:2)

Elisha’s prophecies came true exactly as he gave them (see the rest of 2 Kings chapter 7). God miraculously provided enough food for the entire city, so that wheat and barley were sold for the prices Elisha had predicted. And the official who mocked Elisha was trampled to death at the city gate by a stampede of people buying food — before he could partake of any of the food himself.

Elisha’s specific prophecy passed one of the key tests for a prophet given in the Bible in Deuteronomy 18:21-22 — the accuracy test. According to this passage, if a a prophecy does not come true, then the so-called prophet is a false prophet.

Ironically, the accuracy test can’t even be applied to the unfalsifiable prophecies given by Greve and many other so-called prophets today.

If you doubt this, do a Google search using the terms “modern apostles” and “modern prophets.” You’ll see what I mean.

It’s not just Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses or other cult groups who claim that their leaders speak directly for God. A growing number of charismatic Christians are following so-called apostles and prophets. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a town in America that doesn’t have at least one “apostolic-prophetic” church (though they might not identify themselves with that label).

Yet with all their talk about “apostles” and “prophets,” the churches generally place very little emphasis — if any –  on testing the claims of these individuals to see if they’re true. On the contrary, they often teach that questioning an “apostle” or “prophet” is sin.

This teaching is in stark contrast to the teachings of Jesus, which stressed the importance of testing so-called apostles and prophets. In His message to the first-century church of Ephesus — delivered by an angel to the prophet John — Jesus praised the church members for ferreting out false apostles. He said:

I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false. (Revelation 2:2)

But He rebuked another first-century church — the church in Thyatira — for tolerating a false prophetess (Revelation 2:20-23). By her teachings, this woman was leading the church members into sin. He gave them a stern warning: those people who continued to follow this so-called prophetess would face His judgment.

Jesus’ messages of praise and rebuke to these two churches would be well heeded by today’s churches. Don’t simply embrace the new “apostles” and “prophets.” Put them to the test.

What is Satan’s best weapon?

Apostolic-prophetic churches talk a lot about “spiritual warfare” — the spiritual weapons Satan and his demons use to attack Christians.

They tend to focus on sensational things like curses, illnesses and demon possession. Regrettably, they often ignore his most effective weapon — false teachings in churches.

This weapon isn’t a secret. Jesus said false prophets and false apostles would increase in the last days (Matt. 24:24, Mark 13:22). The apostle Paul said these end-time false teachings would be inspired by demons (1 Tim. 4:1). Jude, a half-brother of Jesus, said false teachers would slip secretly into church settings (Jude 1:4).

Nearly every book in the New Testament warns about this weapon. Yet, despite, the amount of press it receives in the Bible, it gets very little airtime in apostolic-prophetic pulpits.

So, while many Christians are busy blasting Oprah’s New Age teachings, Harry Potter books or the Church of Satan, they’re being blindsided by the false teachings coming from the mouths of their own trusted “Christian” leaders. It never occurs to them that someone who holds a Bible in their hand as they preach may be leading them astray.

But that’s what makes false teachings so dangerous — they’re subtle. If Satan had a portfolio where he displayed his best work, they’d be right at the front.

False apostles and false prophets don’t wear a Pentagram or carry a wizard’s wand,  but they pose a great threat to Christians. And their presence in Christian churches shouldn’t surprise Christians, according to the apostle Paul. Speaking about this issue, he said:

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)

So don’t overlook Satan’s best weapon.