The New Apostolic Reformation

A Strong Delusion - The New Apostolic Reformation

Everyone hates a mosquito. There is just something infuriating about these little insects thinking they can suck our blood. In the natural, not one of us would stand and watch a mosquito draw our blood without swatting it away. However, in the spiritual, we the church are doing just that. There is a growing force sucking the life Blood out of us and we are welcoming them in and making them at home. However, far from harmless mosquitoes, these parasites are lethal. They are the reformers of the church, the new crusaders if you will, the gathers of the global church. They are the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), and they are coming for your church.

The new Apostolic Reformation (NAR) sprang from the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement. They claim that they have been given authority to lay the foundation for the “new” global church. They believe they are restored apostles called and ordained by God to be the government for the emerging “New Order” church. In order to maintain this governance they stress strict obedience and submission to them in all matters. They claim they hear directly from God, and many claim that Jesus visits them in person. Like the true biblical apostles who established the early church, these so called restored apostles believe they are called to lay the foundation and government for the new Kingdom (one world church). Their goal is complete and utter control of the church and subjugation of its current governance to them. They want power, dominion and total control. They truly believe that the world is awaiting fulfillment of a take over by a militant church (Joel’s Army) that will arise, govern and dominate the world politically and spiritually. This is a highly organized group with a global agenda. It has been well thought out, well strategized, and will be implemented with military precision. The grid is in place - our future is planned.

Alarmingly, these apostolic churches represent one of the fastest growing segments in the church today. In an article entitled New Apostolic Reformation and the Faith and Work Movement, John Rowell states the following “David Barrett, editor of the World Christian Encyclopedia reports 1,000 apostolic networks on record in his global database. These networks are found on six continents and account, by his estimate, for some 100 million believers worldwide. Dr. Wagner estimates that in the US alone there are as many NAR churches as there are Southern Baptist congregations – something approaching 40,000. Growth in the Third World among these churches far surpasses the more mundane statistics found in the West. Europe’s largest church is Manna Church in Lisbon, Portugal with 25,000 members. The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Brazil claims over 3 million congregants. The world’s largest congregations are now in Nigeria where the Church of Jesus Christ in Logos assembled 10-12 million people for its Holy Spirit service in December, 2000. The world has never seen this kind of church expansion!”

According to Wikipedia, Kingdom Now theology (which the NAR ascribes to) believe that God lost control over the world to Satan when Adam and Eve sinned. Since then, the theology goes; God has been trying to reestablish control over the world by seeking a “special” group of believers. Through these people — known as "covenant people," "overcomers" or "Joel's army," depending on the source — social institutions (including governments and laws) would be brought under God's authority. These "covenant people" or "overcomers" are "little gods" — God's "extension" in the world to regain authority from the devil. The church, under the leadership of "restored" apostles and prophets, therefore must take over the world and put down all opposition to it before Christ can return. Anyone who rebels against the church, along with other "evildoers," must convert or be punished.

No one is more central to this global takeover of the church than C. Peter Wagner. It might frighten you to know that through Wagner’s World Prayer Center (WPC) he is tracking thousands of ministries and churches. "We see our task as getting people in touch with one another to form interactive, human web networks that are properly equipped to wage effective spiritual warfare. The WPC is a fully equipped nerve center with data and information about prayer needs throughout the world [which] ... networks prayer ministries, denominations, churches and cell groups. World Prayer Center website. Why is this groundwork being laid for a global network? To pave the way for the Apostolic Reformation in which apostles take control of the church and usher in the New Order church they call the kingdom of God.”

I don’t think anyone has put it more succinctly than Sandy Simpson in his forward to his article, The Agenda & Teaching of the New Apostolic Reformation. (http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/arise.html) Simpson states that, “This agenda (the apostolic and prophetic reformation) runs through thousands of agencies and web sites. It is what is driving the Transformations movement, the global prayer movement, and thousands of other churches and organizations. What Christians need to realize is that they need to make a choice now. A majority of Christian churches have already succumbed to this Dominionist agenda foisted on the churches by false apostles driven by false prophecies from false prophets. Wagner is talking about the government of the church, under the leadership of the new foundational restored "apostles", OVERTHROWING the governments of the world. “

Recently someone sent me a DVD of one of these apostolic conferences called, 2008, Starting the Year off Right. Dutch Sheets spoke shamelessly about their (NAR) groups plans to take over. He showed a doted map of the United States with hundreds of large and smaller dots spaced evenly across the country. He explained that the larger dots showed the apostolic hubs: the teaching and training centers they had already implemented. The smaller dots showed the individual apostles that had been put in place. Underneath the apostles, he explained, would be the individual churches that would be, a local expression of the global church. He stressed that we were no longer to think in terms of our local church but in terms of the Kingdom (buzz word for the coming one world church). It might alarm you that they have deemed 2008 as the year of the “great shift”

John Eckhardt , one of Wagner’s leaders, had this to say in his book, Moving in the Apostolic “The war between the Pastor and the Prophet will cease with the full emergence of the Apostle…. Are we going to be willing to submit our ministry to a specific Apostolic visionary? This is a critical question that will determine our influence on hastening the coming of the Lord, in our effective contribution to the restoring of all things spoken by the prophets”

Let me state emphatically that God does not need us to hasten his coming. That the God of the universe would somehow be impotent and unable to return to earth until WE overthrow the kingdoms of this world is not only heretical but utterly ludicrous. Rick Joyner in his book The Harvest had this to say about the emerging government of the Apostles. “It was said of the Apostle Paul that he was turning the world upside down; it will be said of the apostles soon to be anointed that they have turned an upside down world right side up” . Nations will tremble at the mention of their name. According to Joyner these reigning apostles will actually make all things right; they will bring order out of Chaos. Interestingly enough, this is the same mantra as the New Agers and those pushing for a New World Order. Joyner goes further in saying that the nations will tremble at their name? If these apostles are going to make all things right and bring order, healing, salvation, and the love of Christ to the whole earth, then why would the nations tremble? They will tremble because they plan to kill those who do not go along with their governance.

You may be experiencing confusion right now; you may be saying to yourself, no this couldn’t be! How could a deception this big exist? Well, let’s think about that for a moment. We know from the Word of God that there will be a one world church and a one world government. This one world government and church is not God’s. We know that the end of days will be marked by deep deception and lying signs and wonders. In fact, the Bible says that the Antichrist will call fire down from Heaven. The Bible also says that God will send a powerful delusion to those that did not love the Truth so that they will believe a lie. If your only basis by which to judge whether a person or ministry is from God are signs and wonders then sadly enough you are already deceived.

Below are some of the teachings and beliefs of these self styled apostles.

· They believe that God is restoring the office of prophet and apostles to the church
· Claim that they alone have the power and authority to execute the plans and purposes of God
· Believe they are building a new foundation for a global church.
· Believe they will literally establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth
· Believe in a coming “civil war” in the church where they will overcome all (true Christian) opposition.
· Place an inordinate emphasis on angels and the supernatural
· Claim extra biblical revelations that can not be scripturally proven ( progressive revelation)
· Claim that God is doing a “new thing”
· Frequently say that those not accepting their heretical teaching are “Putting God in a box”
· Teach that we should never question their authority.
· They use the term “Touch not God’s anointed” frequently when questions are raised.
· They peg those that question their authority as bound by religion, legalistic, divisive, narrow minded, rebellious, and demonic
· Place a greater emphasis on dreams, visions and extra-biblical revelation than they do on the word of God
· They believe they will be the corporate incarnation of Christ
· They believe they will execute judgment upon those who oppose them (up to and including death).
· They believe in a one world religion operating in sync with a one world government.
· They believe in complete unity and believe that there is nothing they can not accomplish through this unity.
· They believe they can bring Heaven down to earth (Yoism- see link below for more information) (http://herescope.blogspot.com/2006/05/yoism-creating-heaven-on-earth.html)
· They believe that we will be perfected here on earth
· They believe in aggressively organizing small group networks
· They believe in the organization of apostles under pre-eminent apostles
· They believe that ALL local churches must be under the authority of a regional or trans-local apostle
· They believe each city must have an apostle- men given extraordinary authority in spiritual matters over the other Christian leaders in the same city
· They consider themselves divine, little gods and equal to Christ ( although they loosely veil this)
· They believe they will attain perfection on earth
· They consider themselves the “Defenders of the Faith”
· Place a great deal of emphasis on mysticism and hidden knowledge ( Gnosis)
· Do not believe in the rapture (or believe the wicked are the ones that will be raptured)
· Stress unity over doctrine and reject the literal interpretation of the Bible

2 Thessalonians 2:8-11 (Amplified Bible)
8 And then the lawless one (the antichrist) will be revealed and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of His mouth and bring him to an end by His appearing at His coming.
9 The coming [of the lawless one, the antichrist] is through the activity and working of Satan and will be attended by great power and with all sorts of [pretended] miracles and signs and delusive marvels-[all of them] lying wonders—
10 And by unlimited seduction to evil and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing (going to perdition) because they did not welcome the Truth but refused to love it that they might be saved.
11 Therefore God sends upon them a misleading influence, a working of error and a strong delusion to make them believe what is false.