FEATURE ARTICLE: Open Letter To Evangelical and Protestant Pastors Worldwide – Now is the Day to Turn Back to God’s Word
From: Roger Oakland, Understand The Times
The following letter is to all Bible-believing pastors throughout the world who have been or are being influenced by current trends that are attacking the Word of God through the postmodern humanistic mystical belief system. I have witnessed this deception firsthand on a worldwide basis but am most familiar with what has been happening in the two fellowships I have been part of for the past thirty years – one in Canada and one based in southern California.
It is with a heavy heart I write this open letter to those who consider themselves evangelical or Protestant pastors. While my desire is to do this respectfully and with the love of the Lord, I am compelled with a strong sense of responsibility to write this warning.
The fact is we are living in a time in history where there is great spiritual apostasy (a falling away), and sadly, many pastors don’t even realize it is happening. Others realize it but don’t know what to do about it, while still others see it but promote it anyway. The purpose of this letter is to shine light on the darkness that has crept into so many churches today.
For many years, I have documented my concerns about this apostasy and presented the evidence to the body of Christ. An article I wrote a few years ago called “Ichabod” described the departing of God’s Spirit from many churches. That article was later followed by the commentary “Is Your Denomination a Sinking Titanic?.” I believe we are witnessing the sinking of the Titanic at the present time. While most are still dancing around in the ballroom, a few have chosen to get off the boat. How many get off in time is the question that remains to be answered.
While I recognize that I am “marked” by some as someone who has caused division within the church, please understand I do not fear any man. I look to Jesus Christ and am committed to tell the truth whatever the cost. I know I have enemies among the “brethren” who insist that I remain silent. I have also been falsely accused and slandered by gossip as a means of discrediting me.
The Bible teaches that we should never fear man or follow man’s ways. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12). We should fear God and His Word alone. Based upon what God revealed to Ezekiel (Chapter 3: 17-20), there is a biblical principal that cannot be overlooked. When God reveals deception and darkness, a watchman must speak out and tell the truth regardless of the circumstances and the consequences.
What I find very alarming is that many pastors who gave warnings in the past about End Times deception seem to have now ceased and become silent. Taking the place of the warnings are teachings or promotion on everything from church-growth, seeker-friendly, contemplative spirituality, Purpose Driven, postmodern/emerging spirituality to even a Catholic/Jesuit agenda.
These various teachings are not biblical Christianity, and for many pastors who once taught the Bible faithfully, these seductive teachings have pulled these pastors in a direction that negates so much of what they once stood for. It is not uncommon now to hear these pastors espousing those such as Mark Driscoll, Rob Bell, Richard Foster, and Rick Warren, all of whom de-emphasize Bible prophecy of the last days and emphasize the “Kingdom of God on earth” now.
Some pastors recognize that their own denominations or fellowships have turned or are turning away from the teachings of the Bible, yet so many have remained active participants of these denominations. As the years go by, these pastors do not speak up – they are silent. Is this silence an indication that they have bought into a sensual, carnal, three-legged stool plan that links hands with those such as Rick Warren and Tony Blair and is on the road to Rome for a One World Religion? I fear that for many that is the case. What may have begun as “looking the other way” has become outright rebellion in many cases. This is the way deception often happens.
We are living in the time of strong delusion that Paul wrote about (2 Thessalonians 2:11). If you are a Bible-believing pastor, shouldn’t you be helping to lead the way in warning about deception, not promoting the apostate agenda in any fashion?
Ecumenism within the church has been allowed to develop for years.
When a pastor does not warn his flock about ecumenical apostasy, it sends the message that exposing apostasy is just not that important. When a church, organization, or denomination starts down the Road to Rome, there is very little chance of turning back – the pull is just too great. Nowhere in the Bible is it acceptable to join hands with those who promote another Jesus and another gospel like that of the Roman Catholic Church.
This is why John warned: come out of her (the harlot) and be set free (Revelation 18:4).
Some Personal Ministry History:
In June 1981, Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel movement, invited me to fly down from my farm in Saskatchewan, Canada to speak at Costa Mesa at a four-night conference called “The Bible: Key to Understanding Science, History and the Future.” Seven years later, in the fall of 1988, Chuck Smith asked me to join the staff at Costa Mesa. My family moved to Orange County, California from Saskatchewan, Canada.
My position at Costa Mesa involved being an outreach from CCCM as an apologist in the area of creation and evolution. I also showed the association of the New Age Movement and its relationship to Bible Prophecy.
In 1991, after being on staff for three years, Understand The Times was founded as an independent ministry, separate from CCCM. However, UTT was still closely associated with CCCM and was given missionary support. The UTT association with Calvary Chapel pastors and missionaries encompassed the world for about twenty years.
During a fifteen year time period, UTT had an office on church property at CCCM from time to time. Understand The Times had a five-minute radio program that aired on KWAVE and CSN for over ten years. I also had close relationships with members of the Smith family including Chuck’s brother Paul and his son Jeff.
While many of my experiences and associations with those in Calvary Chapel had been good over the years, I observed many serious problems in the Calvary Chapel movement, especially in the last five years. Many Calvary Chapel pastors I know have admitted they also see these same warning signs, but most have not felt they could speak out.
The reason I am writing this letter as an open letter to all pastors is because I believe that many of the problems I witnessed while part of the Calvary Chapel movement are the same problems that many other Christian organizations and denominations are experiencing today. And many of these kinds of problems lead to deception and apostasy.
Common Problems in the Churches:
Today many evangelical and Protestant pastors are operating on the principal or idea that if their churches are small, there is something wrong with them. The “doctrine of big” has replaced the doctrine of being faithful to the Word of God. Along with this doctrine of big comes the subtle attitude that any “offensiveness” must be removed from the church. Thus, a watered-down gospel takes effect; and thus, people in the churches are not hearing the true Gospel. Crosses are removed, Bibles are left at home, hymns are stopped, and talk about the blood of Jesus and His atonement for our sin ceases.
As Bible-believing Christians, we should be able to discern that there is a flaw in this doctrine of big. As churches get bigger, more funds are required to accommodate bigger budgets. The bigger the budget the bigger the offering is needed to meet the budget, and big donors become more and more important. Now you have a situation where the pastor preaches carefully so as not to create controversy. Controversy can cause powerful donors to leave. Pastors who once feared God now become man-fearing where doctrine is determined by men and their motives, and not by God’s Spirit and His Word.
Over the past two decades, I believe the Lord led me to author or co-author six books warning about the ecumenical one world religion movement and how it is impacting Evangelical Protestant Christianity. These were: (1) New Wine or Old Deception (2) When New Wine Makes a Man Divine (3) New Wine and the Babylonian Vine (4) How Marian Apparitions Plan to Unite the World’s Religions (5) Another Jesus: The Eucharistic Christ and the New Evangelization (6) Faith Undone: The Emerging Church – a New Reformation or an End Time Deception. God has put in my heart all these years a passion to warn of impending spiritual danger.
On March 6, 2011, I attended the Peace in a Globalized Society Forum that was held at Saddleback. Rick Warren and Tony Blair both explained what they are doing to set up a one-world religious program for peace. Yet even though it has become most apparent to many discerning Christians what is taking place with Rick Warren and his “new” reformation, very few pastors are publically denouncing the Purpose Driven Peace Plan. In fact, prominent pastors like John Piper are embracing Rick Warren and his teachings.
The Jesuit Connection
As I have written in some of my books, Ignatius Loyola was the founder of the Order of the Jesuits in the Catholic Church. The Jesuit goal is to turn the inerrant Word of God into the word of man while at the same time promoting the word of the pope as the word of God. In addition, the Jesuit ambition is to bring the “lost brethren” back to the “Mother” church (read Another Jesus). This is no minor thing. I have been to the city of Rome. I have seen the multitudes worship and adore a man (the Pope) who carries a wafer and a vial of juice that is supposed to be Jesus. Martyrs in earlier centuries were murdered for rejecting the papacy and the Eucharist. And yet today, I am horrified to watch once Bible-believing pastors turn their hearts and their congregations toward Rome, often through a Jesuit influence. Instances of this are occurring more every day.
Now that Rick Warren and Tony Blair (who converted to Catholicism) have announced they will be working together to set up a One World Religion as they did on March 6, 2011 in southern California, how will Christian pastors respond to this? Or will they at all? History shows, most probably won’t.
What is known as fact is this: the emerging/postmodern, Purpose Driven ecumenical, contemplative mindset in the Evangelical or Protestant Christian church has not gone away. And it is not popular to speak against this growing apostasy. It is a lot easier to go down stream than upstream. The Bible foretells we are in the Last Days. What do you as Christian pastors want to be: dead salmon washed out to sea or true fishers of men?
Check out the Bible! There will be a One World Religion. Do you want to be part of the problem, or do you want to be standing up for truth? The latter is not easy and carries with it a high price.
A Wake Up Call to Pastors
Teaching and preaching the Word of God is a high calling. You should always be true to your calling and remain true to the Word. And yet, many know that something is seriously wrong, but they say nothing.
Saying nothing can be as detrimental as outrightly supporting the lie. It is time to wake up! We are in the last days, and many sheep are being deceived, and pastors have a huge role in that deception taking place. When the sheep have the wool pulled over their eyes, they cannot see. This is not acceptable. What about the wolves who are among the flock? Good shepherds should never allow that to happen.
While there still remain faithful Christian pastors who look to Jesus Christ as their Good Shepherd and still believe in the inerrant Word of God, the fact that so many pastors have moved away from the basics of biblical Christianity toward a man-made apostate church will result in much of the flock drifting with them.
And may I say this to any believer who now realizes his or her own pastor is compromising the Word of God and embracing apostate teachings: If you have done what you can to warn and exhort your pastor(s) to turn back to the truth, and if your warnings and exhortations are rejected, perhaps it is time to get out of that church. Paul addressed this when he said: “A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject” Titus 3:10.
Deception has crept in, unnoticed to many, and even at times been purposely covered up. Jude warned this was happening in his day (Jude 4). The same is true in the perilous days in which we live (2 Timothy 3: 1-5).
As of last fall, I am no longer affiliated with the Calvary Chapel movement, although I am still friends with and associate with some of the pastors, ones who have sought to remain faithful to the Lord and His Word.
As do many leaders in the body of Christ, Calvary Chapel pastors who have veered need to get right, and they need to do it quickly. According to the Word, our redemption draweth nigh, and He could return for those who are ready at any moment.
If you are a pastor who has succumbed to the present-day spiritual apostasy, get back to the Word of God, and preach it, and teach it! If your congregation shrinks, so what! Better to have a few who are solid and can go out and be fruitful for the Lord than have a mega church full of participants of a social gospel that is being prepared for the coming One World Religion.
While the large-scale move toward apostasy has been taking place for some time, and postmodern/emerging, Purpose-Driven ideas are widely accepted, there still may be time if pastors will repent and return to the purity of the Gospel and God’s Word.
Many pastors reading this open letter who belong to an organization or denomination may feel fearful about leaving the security of such a “covering.” Perhaps you have never been out from under that umbrella. But at some point, you are going to have to ask yourself the question, Am I really “counting all things but loss” in order to gain Christ (Philippians 3:8)? Am I taking up my cross and following Him, no matter the cost (Matthew 16:24)? I have heard stories now of pastors (both in the Calvary Chapel movement and in other groups and denominations) who finally did make that decision to separate themselves from any apostate associations. If you are one of those, continue on with the ministry God has given you and follow Jesus Christ alone. You can never go wrong by being obedient to Jesus and His Word.
The Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon. May we be found ready and waiting.
Sincerely in Christ,
Roger Oakland
Understand The Times
P.S.
Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion. . . . Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD. Isaiah 52:8, 11
But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Matthew 15:13-14
Showing posts with label Roger Oakland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roger Oakland. Show all posts
May 31, 2011
March 9, 2011
A SPECIAL REPORT BY LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS RESEARCH AND ROGER OAKLAND
Important update...
On March 7, 2011, Roger Oakland, founder of Understand the Times, International, and two other members from his ministry attended the Peace in a Globalized Society forum at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, which featured Rick Warren and special guest, former UK prime minister Tony Blair. Roger Oakland and his co-workers obtained eye-witness seats at the event that included well over 2000 people in attendance. Although cameras and recorders were not allowed in the main sanctuary where the interview took place, the UTT team took notes.
What Oakland and his team heard caused them much concern – thus the reason for this special report. Warren and Blair spoke about Warren’s PEACE Plan and his “Three Legged Stool Plan.” Tony Blair spoke about his inter-faith Faith Foundation. Both speakers were noticeably excited about what they were doing for the world. According to a 2010 UK Observer report, “Tony Blair is preparing to launch a “faith offensive” across the United States over the next year, after building up relationships with a network of influential religious leaders and faith organisations.” Blair’s foundation is “develop[ing] a US arm that will pursue a host of faith-based projects.” Given the fact that Warren joined the advisory board of Blair’s foundation, it is safe to assume Saddleback will be part of Blair’s US interfaith arm.
At the forum, both Warren and Blair stated that the only way a global peace could happen on planet earth in the future would be for all faiths to work together and do good together. The audience at the forum appeared to be mesmerized and awe-struck as they were wooed with discussion on faith, good works, democracy, and coming together. Beneath the vernacular, however, was another story.
Blair and Warren also mentioned they have been partnering with the President of Rwanda in an effort to develop a Purpose Driven country as an initial step to establishing a Purpose Driven world. In 2005, Rick Warren announced his global P.E.A.C.E. Plan to his congregation and then in 2008 announced that Rwanda would be the first Purpose Driven country. In 2003, he said of New Age sympathizer Ken Blanchard that he had “signed on to help with the Peace Plan, and he’s going to be helping train us in leadership and in how to train others to be leaders all around the world”. Blanchard is just one of many “new” spirituality leaders whom Warren has turned to for assistance in building his Peace Plan globally. While Blanchard’s name is not mentioned much publicly by Rick Warren these days, Warren still sits on Blanchard’s Board of Advisors with a number of New Agers at Blanchard’s Lead Like Jesus organization. Blanchard has been promoting New Age mystical teachers for many years and even today sits on the Board of the New Age Hoffman Institute. In 2007, Blanchard wrote the foreword to a book that was “inspired by Hindu swami Paramahansa Yogananada. Will this Warren/Blair Peace Plan be one that is driven by mysticism?
It seems apparent that neither Rick Warren nor Tony Blair understand that their Peace Plan goals are fulfilling Bible prophecy, which speaks of a peace that is not from God but will deceive many. By appearances, the majority of the people who were attending the forum last week appeared mesmerized and awe-struck by what was being said. Do they not realize that a three legged stool (the joining together of government, business (or economy), and religion) plan will be a plan by man and not by God (see Faith Undone)?
Rick Warren has also partnered with Chuck Colson, the Christian leader who authored the Evangelicals & Catholics Together document in 1994 and the Manhattan Declaration in 2009. Former Catholic priest Richard Bennett documents the embedded Catholic agenda in the Manhattan Declaration as does Chris Pinto of Adullam Films.
At the Global forum last week, two standing ovations were given to Tony Blair for his support of the USA in the war against terrorism. Mention was made that Blair is now involved in trying to broker a peace plan with the nation of Israel with his faith-based program. He thinks he can do this in time. But what will an inter-faith peace plan look like in Israel? What will it look like in the world?
While Rick Warren is a Baptist and Tony Blair is an ex-Anglican, now-Roman Catholic, neither showed any concern about the major doctrinal differences between Evangelicals/Protestants and Catholics. “It’s all about working together to do good,” Warren stated. In a 2005 interview with broadcast host Charlie Rose, Warren stated that there are over 2 billion Christians in the world, and said that this number includes hundreds of millions of Catholics. He said that “minor doctrinal differences” should not keep the two groups separated. “What I am interested in is bringing the church together … we are never going to agree on a lot of things, but I found we do agree on purpose. Of course, there was no mention at the forum last week about the papacy’s plan for a world-wide Eucharistic (Catholic) “Christ”who will come on the scene to be worshiped by the world. Will this inter-faith Purpose Driven peace plan include that eucharistic false christ?
In the Charlie Rose interview in 2005, Warren said that we don’t have to have the same religion or moral beliefs to work with people on poverty, disease, etc. As an example he said he had met with the President of the gay-activist group ACT UP, and asked him, “Eric [Sawyer], how can I help you get your message out?” Sawyer answered, “Use your moral authority” (29-31 min mark). Warren then said to Rose, “I’m working with these guys … I’m looking for a coalition of civility, which means let’s get back to the original meaning of tolerance. Will this Purpose Driven peace plan and new reformation include practicing homosexuals? Warren seems to believe his new Purpose Driven world will be all inclusive. But how can this be called a reformation from God?
Both Blair and Warren have a vision to see churches with like-minded vision planted all over the world. These churches will be ones of any faith and all faith as long as they have some kind of faith in some god. “These churches will be like lights shining in a dark place and bring light to the world,” Warren stated. Warren said the more lights, the brighter the world will be. His view that a “second reformation” is needed and that people of various faiths can be part of it has been documented time and again. Listen to Warren’s description of this new reformation:
Who’s the man of peace in any village – or it might be a woman of peace – who has the most respect, they’re open and they’re influential? They don’t have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they’re open and they’re influential and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that’s going to bring the second Reformation. Rick Warren, May 23, 2005, Pew Forum on Religion
When Warren says “second reformation,” he is contrasting with the first reformation when Christians broke away from the Catholic church 500 years ago. How can he say that a reformation from God could include Muslims and those of other religions? And practicing homosexuals? What kind of reformation would that be? Will it be like the one the Bible warns about that will come in the last days when mankind will bow down to one leader – the Antichrist. Many, many centuries ago, man attempted to reach God ( because he considered himself equal to God) through the tower of Babel (Genesis 11). God dispersed man and confounded his plans because they were not plans that gave glory to the Creator of the Universe. Is not an inter-faith plan to unite all faiths together in order to “reach God” and heal planet earth, equally displeasing to God? These tower of Babel plans do not bring glory to God – they attempt to deify man. And in this newest effort by man, has not Jesus Christ been left out? Only through the acceptance and faith in His blood atonement can any man or woman be united with God. All other attempts are attempts to enter in through another door: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1).
During the time that Roger Oakland and his co-researchers were at the Blair/Warren forum at Saddleback this past week, the team only heard one Bible verse mentioned. It was quoted so quickly it was hard to recognize if it was a verse or a paraphrase of a biblical verse. Clearly the Word of God was not included as a crucial element in this inter-faith plan to save the world.
While the UTT team was in attendance at the forum (they did leave a little early), there was nothing mentioned about Jesus Christ in this global peace plan, although Blair did say the phrase “Our Lord,” on one occasion. The shed blood of Jesus and the finished work of the cross were never mentioned, and there was NO gospel message given.
Although Saddleback is considered to be a “Christian” Church and its pastor considered by many to be America’s foremost and most influential pastor, it was hard to tell if this was really the case at the forum. “It seemed like we were in Babylon,” one member of the UTT team stated as he listened to the inter-faith discussion and looked at the flowing fountain that forms a downhill river provided as a special attraction for those who were lining up to enter the sanctuary. Strict security measures during the forum gave an even more foreboding atmosphere. Roger Oakland was reminded of the heavy security that the pope is protected by with his own secret service in Rome. By the way, many who read this article may not be aware that Tony Blair has special entrance to see the pope of Rome now that he has become a Roman Catholic converted away from the Anglican Church.
Indeed, Tony Blair and Rick Warren are very important players in the coming One World Religion.
As an aside, Rick Warren seems to be getting thinner by the day. People entering the sanctuary were handed an advertisement for the Daniel Diet Plan that has been inspired and created with Rick Warren’s own New Age gurus: Dr. Oz, Dr. Amen, and Dr. Hyman. All three Saddleback health experts are advocates of eastern meditation. According to New Age leaders, meditation is the vehicle through which the masses of people will enter into an Aquarian world where man realizes his divinity and that God dwells in all things (see A Time of Departing). Roger Oakland believes that this one world government and one world religion that Rick Warren and Tony Blair are pushing will come about through such means (read Faith Undone). Warren himself has been promoting contemplative mystical teachers for many years. Will this contemplative mysticism he advocates help to bring about his Purpose Driven world?
As to Warren’s Daniel health plan, this brings up another question: can a Baptist become a Roman Catholic while he or she is on the Daniel weight reduction plan if it is based on New Age methodology? How many Christians really understand what is taking place here? Is mainstream Christianity becoming corrupted for the sake of a PEACE Plan and the formation of the system preparing the way for an antichrist? Is this “new” Christianity an apostate church that will lead the way to deceiving millions? The woman who coined the term New Age, occultist Alice Bailey, (believing that we were on the threshold of a new spiritual awakening) said that this new enlightened age would come, not around the Christian church, but rather through it. She said the outer layers would be initially kept intact (i.e., Christian terminology would still be used) but the changes would take place obscurely from the inside.1 Is this not what we are witnessing happening today through the Purpose Driven, contemplative, emerging, interfaith church?
Rick Warren and Tony Blair share much in common when it comes to plans for the world. One thing they share is their views on the problem with what they term fundamentalism or extremism. Blair states that “religion must be rescued from extremism and irrelevance and used as a force for good at a time of global turmoil.” Rick Warren “predicts that fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be ‘one of the big enemies of the 21st century.’ ‘Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism – they’re all motivated by fear. Fear of each other.’” Blair and Warren discussed their views on extremism and fundamentalism at the forum last week. Will Bible-believing Christians be included in their definitions of fundamentalism and extremism in the near days to come? The answer to that is becoming more clear every day.
In a 2008 video statement, Tony Blair described his ambition to help bring about the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG). In view of Saddleback’s recent day-long health seminar promoting the Daniel Plan where U.N. Agenda 21 ideas such as “sustainable living” “going green,” and “smart growth” were used, how interesting to note Blair’s appearance just a few weeks later at Saddleback. Is Rick Warren allowing the influence of the United Nations into his church and possibly into tens of thousands of other churches around the world? At the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2008, Rick Warren claimed that he “lead[s] a very small network of about 500,000 churches.” (40 min mark - That’s a potential of well over 200 million people!).
Roger Oakland and his team found the Peace in a Globalized Society Forum utterly troubling, to say the least. “We will have to warn that a judgment is ahead for a “Christianity” that is not Christianity at all,” Oakland stated after the forum. “Judgment is coming and few seem to be ready. Titus 2: 13 tells us that “we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” and we should have an expectancy of Christ’s return, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” It will be glorious for those who are ready; for the others it will be terrifying.
What is becoming more obvious everyday to some seems amazingly hidden to mainstream Christian leaders. Not one well-known leader has called out Rick Warren and publicly challenged him. On the contrary, there is either silence from these leaders or worse yet a public display of embracing and resonance (e.g.: popular teacher John Piper invited Rick Warren to speak at his Desiring God conference. Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith stood in front of thousands at Greg Laurie’s Harvest crusade and introduced Rick Warren as his friend, allowing him to pray with the crowd). Has there been any outcry by Christian pastors or leaders to these occurrences? No, and the silence is deafening.
The Bible makes it clear there is coming a false peace plan that will be headed up by the antichrist sometime in the future. “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” I Thessalonians 5:3
Some readers may be asking, “Why did Roger Oakland and his co-workers attend this forum?” or “Why did Lighthouse Trails and Roger Oakland write this report?” The answer is simple: Because we love the Gospel and know its message is the only hope for any person. In connecting the dots as this report attempts to do, we believe it is a biblical mandate for believers to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 1:3) and warn those who are in spiritual danger. For the Bible-believing Christian, there is no alternative, though the cost for taking a stand can be high, resulting in the loss of friends and associates. But is it not a small price to pay in comparison to what our Lord has done for us on the Cross?
But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. Ezekiel 33:6
There is a peace plan coming on the earth; but it is not the Lord’s peace plan. There is a false peace, and it will deceive many.
Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; Ezekiel 13:10
Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. Ezekiel 7:25
And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. II Chronicles 15:5
* For a detailed account of Rick Warren, Ken Blanchard, and Lighthouse Trails, read A “Wonderful” Deception.
Notes:
1. Alice Bailey, The Externalization of the Hierarchy(New York, NY: Lucis Publishing, 1976), p. 510; from page 123 of A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen, 2nd edition.
On March 7, 2011, Roger Oakland, founder of Understand the Times, International, and two other members from his ministry attended the Peace in a Globalized Society forum at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, which featured Rick Warren and special guest, former UK prime minister Tony Blair. Roger Oakland and his co-workers obtained eye-witness seats at the event that included well over 2000 people in attendance. Although cameras and recorders were not allowed in the main sanctuary where the interview took place, the UTT team took notes.
What Oakland and his team heard caused them much concern – thus the reason for this special report. Warren and Blair spoke about Warren’s PEACE Plan and his “Three Legged Stool Plan.” Tony Blair spoke about his inter-faith Faith Foundation. Both speakers were noticeably excited about what they were doing for the world. According to a 2010 UK Observer report, “Tony Blair is preparing to launch a “faith offensive” across the United States over the next year, after building up relationships with a network of influential religious leaders and faith organisations.” Blair’s foundation is “develop[ing] a US arm that will pursue a host of faith-based projects.” Given the fact that Warren joined the advisory board of Blair’s foundation, it is safe to assume Saddleback will be part of Blair’s US interfaith arm.
At the forum, both Warren and Blair stated that the only way a global peace could happen on planet earth in the future would be for all faiths to work together and do good together. The audience at the forum appeared to be mesmerized and awe-struck as they were wooed with discussion on faith, good works, democracy, and coming together. Beneath the vernacular, however, was another story.
Blair and Warren also mentioned they have been partnering with the President of Rwanda in an effort to develop a Purpose Driven country as an initial step to establishing a Purpose Driven world. In 2005, Rick Warren announced his global P.E.A.C.E. Plan to his congregation and then in 2008 announced that Rwanda would be the first Purpose Driven country. In 2003, he said of New Age sympathizer Ken Blanchard that he had “signed on to help with the Peace Plan, and he’s going to be helping train us in leadership and in how to train others to be leaders all around the world”. Blanchard is just one of many “new” spirituality leaders whom Warren has turned to for assistance in building his Peace Plan globally. While Blanchard’s name is not mentioned much publicly by Rick Warren these days, Warren still sits on Blanchard’s Board of Advisors with a number of New Agers at Blanchard’s Lead Like Jesus organization. Blanchard has been promoting New Age mystical teachers for many years and even today sits on the Board of the New Age Hoffman Institute. In 2007, Blanchard wrote the foreword to a book that was “inspired by Hindu swami Paramahansa Yogananada. Will this Warren/Blair Peace Plan be one that is driven by mysticism?
It seems apparent that neither Rick Warren nor Tony Blair understand that their Peace Plan goals are fulfilling Bible prophecy, which speaks of a peace that is not from God but will deceive many. By appearances, the majority of the people who were attending the forum last week appeared mesmerized and awe-struck by what was being said. Do they not realize that a three legged stool (the joining together of government, business (or economy), and religion) plan will be a plan by man and not by God (see Faith Undone)?
Rick Warren has also partnered with Chuck Colson, the Christian leader who authored the Evangelicals & Catholics Together document in 1994 and the Manhattan Declaration in 2009. Former Catholic priest Richard Bennett documents the embedded Catholic agenda in the Manhattan Declaration as does Chris Pinto of Adullam Films.
At the Global forum last week, two standing ovations were given to Tony Blair for his support of the USA in the war against terrorism. Mention was made that Blair is now involved in trying to broker a peace plan with the nation of Israel with his faith-based program. He thinks he can do this in time. But what will an inter-faith peace plan look like in Israel? What will it look like in the world?
While Rick Warren is a Baptist and Tony Blair is an ex-Anglican, now-Roman Catholic, neither showed any concern about the major doctrinal differences between Evangelicals/Protestants and Catholics. “It’s all about working together to do good,” Warren stated. In a 2005 interview with broadcast host Charlie Rose, Warren stated that there are over 2 billion Christians in the world, and said that this number includes hundreds of millions of Catholics. He said that “minor doctrinal differences” should not keep the two groups separated. “What I am interested in is bringing the church together … we are never going to agree on a lot of things, but I found we do agree on purpose. Of course, there was no mention at the forum last week about the papacy’s plan for a world-wide Eucharistic (Catholic) “Christ”who will come on the scene to be worshiped by the world. Will this inter-faith Purpose Driven peace plan include that eucharistic false christ?
In the Charlie Rose interview in 2005, Warren said that we don’t have to have the same religion or moral beliefs to work with people on poverty, disease, etc. As an example he said he had met with the President of the gay-activist group ACT UP, and asked him, “Eric [Sawyer], how can I help you get your message out?” Sawyer answered, “Use your moral authority” (29-31 min mark). Warren then said to Rose, “I’m working with these guys … I’m looking for a coalition of civility, which means let’s get back to the original meaning of tolerance. Will this Purpose Driven peace plan and new reformation include practicing homosexuals? Warren seems to believe his new Purpose Driven world will be all inclusive. But how can this be called a reformation from God?
Both Blair and Warren have a vision to see churches with like-minded vision planted all over the world. These churches will be ones of any faith and all faith as long as they have some kind of faith in some god. “These churches will be like lights shining in a dark place and bring light to the world,” Warren stated. Warren said the more lights, the brighter the world will be. His view that a “second reformation” is needed and that people of various faiths can be part of it has been documented time and again. Listen to Warren’s description of this new reformation:
Who’s the man of peace in any village – or it might be a woman of peace – who has the most respect, they’re open and they’re influential? They don’t have to be a Christian. In fact, they could be a Muslim, but they’re open and they’re influential and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that’s going to bring the second Reformation. Rick Warren, May 23, 2005, Pew Forum on Religion
When Warren says “second reformation,” he is contrasting with the first reformation when Christians broke away from the Catholic church 500 years ago. How can he say that a reformation from God could include Muslims and those of other religions? And practicing homosexuals? What kind of reformation would that be? Will it be like the one the Bible warns about that will come in the last days when mankind will bow down to one leader – the Antichrist. Many, many centuries ago, man attempted to reach God ( because he considered himself equal to God) through the tower of Babel (Genesis 11). God dispersed man and confounded his plans because they were not plans that gave glory to the Creator of the Universe. Is not an inter-faith plan to unite all faiths together in order to “reach God” and heal planet earth, equally displeasing to God? These tower of Babel plans do not bring glory to God – they attempt to deify man. And in this newest effort by man, has not Jesus Christ been left out? Only through the acceptance and faith in His blood atonement can any man or woman be united with God. All other attempts are attempts to enter in through another door: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1).
During the time that Roger Oakland and his co-researchers were at the Blair/Warren forum at Saddleback this past week, the team only heard one Bible verse mentioned. It was quoted so quickly it was hard to recognize if it was a verse or a paraphrase of a biblical verse. Clearly the Word of God was not included as a crucial element in this inter-faith plan to save the world.
While the UTT team was in attendance at the forum (they did leave a little early), there was nothing mentioned about Jesus Christ in this global peace plan, although Blair did say the phrase “Our Lord,” on one occasion. The shed blood of Jesus and the finished work of the cross were never mentioned, and there was NO gospel message given.
Although Saddleback is considered to be a “Christian” Church and its pastor considered by many to be America’s foremost and most influential pastor, it was hard to tell if this was really the case at the forum. “It seemed like we were in Babylon,” one member of the UTT team stated as he listened to the inter-faith discussion and looked at the flowing fountain that forms a downhill river provided as a special attraction for those who were lining up to enter the sanctuary. Strict security measures during the forum gave an even more foreboding atmosphere. Roger Oakland was reminded of the heavy security that the pope is protected by with his own secret service in Rome. By the way, many who read this article may not be aware that Tony Blair has special entrance to see the pope of Rome now that he has become a Roman Catholic converted away from the Anglican Church.
Indeed, Tony Blair and Rick Warren are very important players in the coming One World Religion.
As an aside, Rick Warren seems to be getting thinner by the day. People entering the sanctuary were handed an advertisement for the Daniel Diet Plan that has been inspired and created with Rick Warren’s own New Age gurus: Dr. Oz, Dr. Amen, and Dr. Hyman. All three Saddleback health experts are advocates of eastern meditation. According to New Age leaders, meditation is the vehicle through which the masses of people will enter into an Aquarian world where man realizes his divinity and that God dwells in all things (see A Time of Departing). Roger Oakland believes that this one world government and one world religion that Rick Warren and Tony Blair are pushing will come about through such means (read Faith Undone). Warren himself has been promoting contemplative mystical teachers for many years. Will this contemplative mysticism he advocates help to bring about his Purpose Driven world?
As to Warren’s Daniel health plan, this brings up another question: can a Baptist become a Roman Catholic while he or she is on the Daniel weight reduction plan if it is based on New Age methodology? How many Christians really understand what is taking place here? Is mainstream Christianity becoming corrupted for the sake of a PEACE Plan and the formation of the system preparing the way for an antichrist? Is this “new” Christianity an apostate church that will lead the way to deceiving millions? The woman who coined the term New Age, occultist Alice Bailey, (believing that we were on the threshold of a new spiritual awakening) said that this new enlightened age would come, not around the Christian church, but rather through it. She said the outer layers would be initially kept intact (i.e., Christian terminology would still be used) but the changes would take place obscurely from the inside.1 Is this not what we are witnessing happening today through the Purpose Driven, contemplative, emerging, interfaith church?
Rick Warren and Tony Blair share much in common when it comes to plans for the world. One thing they share is their views on the problem with what they term fundamentalism or extremism. Blair states that “religion must be rescued from extremism and irrelevance and used as a force for good at a time of global turmoil.” Rick Warren “predicts that fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be ‘one of the big enemies of the 21st century.’ ‘Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism – they’re all motivated by fear. Fear of each other.’” Blair and Warren discussed their views on extremism and fundamentalism at the forum last week. Will Bible-believing Christians be included in their definitions of fundamentalism and extremism in the near days to come? The answer to that is becoming more clear every day.
In a 2008 video statement, Tony Blair described his ambition to help bring about the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG). In view of Saddleback’s recent day-long health seminar promoting the Daniel Plan where U.N. Agenda 21 ideas such as “sustainable living” “going green,” and “smart growth” were used, how interesting to note Blair’s appearance just a few weeks later at Saddleback. Is Rick Warren allowing the influence of the United Nations into his church and possibly into tens of thousands of other churches around the world? At the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2008, Rick Warren claimed that he “lead[s] a very small network of about 500,000 churches.” (40 min mark - That’s a potential of well over 200 million people!).
Roger Oakland and his team found the Peace in a Globalized Society Forum utterly troubling, to say the least. “We will have to warn that a judgment is ahead for a “Christianity” that is not Christianity at all,” Oakland stated after the forum. “Judgment is coming and few seem to be ready. Titus 2: 13 tells us that “we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” and we should have an expectancy of Christ’s return, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” It will be glorious for those who are ready; for the others it will be terrifying.
What is becoming more obvious everyday to some seems amazingly hidden to mainstream Christian leaders. Not one well-known leader has called out Rick Warren and publicly challenged him. On the contrary, there is either silence from these leaders or worse yet a public display of embracing and resonance (e.g.: popular teacher John Piper invited Rick Warren to speak at his Desiring God conference. Calvary Chapel founder Chuck Smith stood in front of thousands at Greg Laurie’s Harvest crusade and introduced Rick Warren as his friend, allowing him to pray with the crowd). Has there been any outcry by Christian pastors or leaders to these occurrences? No, and the silence is deafening.
The Bible makes it clear there is coming a false peace plan that will be headed up by the antichrist sometime in the future. “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” I Thessalonians 5:3
Some readers may be asking, “Why did Roger Oakland and his co-workers attend this forum?” or “Why did Lighthouse Trails and Roger Oakland write this report?” The answer is simple: Because we love the Gospel and know its message is the only hope for any person. In connecting the dots as this report attempts to do, we believe it is a biblical mandate for believers to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 1:3) and warn those who are in spiritual danger. For the Bible-believing Christian, there is no alternative, though the cost for taking a stand can be high, resulting in the loss of friends and associates. But is it not a small price to pay in comparison to what our Lord has done for us on the Cross?
But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. Ezekiel 33:6
There is a peace plan coming on the earth; but it is not the Lord’s peace plan. There is a false peace, and it will deceive many.
Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; Ezekiel 13:10
Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none. Ezekiel 7:25
And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. II Chronicles 15:5
* For a detailed account of Rick Warren, Ken Blanchard, and Lighthouse Trails, read A “Wonderful” Deception.
Notes:
1. Alice Bailey, The Externalization of the Hierarchy(New York, NY: Lucis Publishing, 1976), p. 510; from page 123 of A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen, 2nd edition.
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