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Discernment-Ministries Inc. |
Joel's Army
Jewel Grewe
(Continued from page 1)
Below are a few quotes from other ministries in which the same teaching is emerging loud and clear.
MORRIS CERULLO
Morris Cerullo is also a self-proclaimed “prophet.” He had a program in early 1991 entitled “Manifested Sons of God.” He couldn't have been more blatant! However, the teachings were indeed more blatant than even the title could have possibly suggested. Yet, the listeners looked very sincere as they chanted out blasphemy on his command.
Stretch out your hands and say, “God is going to have a people. I’m a part of god’s Endtime Plan.”
“…The disciples were able to see the literal glory radiating… change taking place. They saw Jesus as He really is… Jesus was the visible expression of God. Jesus was the Son of the Living God. Now, who are you? Sons of God! …Everyone say it. What is working inside of us is the manifestation. When you look at me, you are looking at Jesus.
To see Jesus was to see God. To see me is to see Jesus.
Jesus knew who He was. Don't you think it is about time we know who we are? [emphases added]
At this juncture Morris Cerullo questioned three ministers about what God is doing on the Earth. Their replies were exuberant and followed the same trend.
1. God is duplicating Himself in the earth;
2. God is releasing His life through the Body; and
3. the whole of creation is waiting for the Manifestation of the Sons of God.
The excitement of the people indicated that they believed it was indeed Joel’s Army that had finally arrived. Morris Cerullo continued:
BENNY HINN
Have we become so used to cartoon characters that do such unusual things that we don't even notice the same type of deception abounding in the Church? Children wake up on Saturday morning to see turtles that have had a “magic potion” or “ooze” thrown over them that transforms them into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Benny Hinn blows on his audience and supposedly it is the breath of God that transforms them into “Super Beings.” Benny Hinn, on October 20, 1990, aired a sermon on TBN entitled “God's Super Being.” Below is an excerpt:
JELLO THEOLOGY
So many of the false prophets and teachers today get very upset when told they are teaching “Manifest Sons of God” doctrine. They deny it vehemently. Yet, they go on teaching it! If you hear someone teaching that God is raising up “Joel's Army” or “Super Beings,” you are hearing Manifest Sons of God teaching in its purest form.
The theology behind Manifest Sons of God is rather like jello. It just changes its shape depending on the mold you put it into. Yet it is still jello. It comes as “Dominion Theology” or “Kingdom Now” teaching. It even can be called “The Bride.” Next time you hear it, it may not be called Joel's Army, but the “Phineas Priesthood” (those who executed judgment in the name of the Lord in Numbers 25).
JOEL'S ARMY CALL-UP
The visitation of the “Joel’s Army” false prophets in England (mentioned earlier) was initiated with the following prophecy purported to be of God: “Revival will break out, and then spread through the whole of England and into Europe.” This prophecy was also used to advertise the importance of the prophetic conference, thereby raising the level of expectancy to a high pitch. However, Barry Killick, in Prophecy Today (1990), with reference to the prophets in England, reported:
John Wimber had brought his four children to the conference, believing that something very significant was going to happen and he didn't want them to miss it. If outpouring had equaled expectation, the promised revival would have swept over us, but I think it fair to say that nothing outwardly remarkable happened during the four days of the Docklands meetings.
Many would view revival as meaning thousands of conversions with the Spirit of conviction sweeping among the people in meeting-places, streets and houses. We didn't see that. There were healings, deliverances, words of knowledge, prophetic predictions, but no apparent sign of revival. One of the organizers observed that “revival” is a very subjective thing. In other words, everyone can interpret it according to their own feelings – rather than objective truth.
Following Wimber's last sermon, there was silence, almost as if he had allocated time for a significant outpouring. Instead, there were a few utterances from the congregation which no one could hear, and the meeting was closed half an hour earlier than expected. Whether anything more happened than at an average Spring Harvest gathering, only time will tell. (Barry Killick, “John Wimber at Docklands,” Prophecy Today, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1990))
PARADIGM SHIFT
That the Church is experiencing a paradigm shift, there is no doubt. The “gospel” we are hearing coming from the lips of the new popular ministries certainly is not the pure Gospel of Christ nor does it even closely resemble the old-time orthodox Gospel. The unchanging Gospel of Christ was clearly distinguished and defined by the Apostles of Christ. By their definition, the current prophetic “gospel” of Joel’s Army with its admixture of error and truth is not only unholy and deceptive, but is accursed. It is what the Scriptures call “another gospel.”
The Church is both the heir and guardian of God's precious Word – the Defender of the Faith. Therefore it is not ashamed to say, “Thus saith the Word of the Lord.” The true Church believes the Word of God is “Yea and Amen,” absolute, pre-eminent and final! Any beliefs to the contrary cannot represent the true Church. Be careful! Biblical truth is the staple diet the Church subsists on; anything else will cause death! The fundamental doctrines of the Bible are in the foundation of the Church and are the basis on which the orthodox faith rests. Whatever therefore threatens Bible doctrine, the faithful will resist, resent and expose. At least several basic orthodox doctrines determine whether or not a movement or an individual is a true witness to the Gospel of Christ. These doctrines are: 1) The Deity of Christ; 2) Redemption through the Cross of Christ; 3) Salvation by faith according to grace; 4) The resurrection and ascension of Christ; 5) The Rapture (the catching away of the saints out of the earth); and 6) The Second Advent of Christ with His saints.
Over and against these orthodox beliefs, a new gospel with definite “New Age” overtones is emerging within the Church. It is in direct conflict with Scripture and orthodox views Hence the vociferous outcry within the Church. Some of the erroneous teachings of the “new gospel” are as follows: 1) the deification of man - denying the exclusive Deity of the Son of Man (Christ); 2) the perfection, immortality and glorification of the elect (Joel’s Army, Manifest Sons of God, etc.) in the absence of the literal presence of Christ; i.e., denying the Rapture of the saints; 3) Scripture is not the only source of redemptive truth, thereby denying the Written Word; 4) doctrine does not really matter as to the true unity of the Church; i.e., denying the foundation of the Apostles' doctrine; 5) the new ministries, that of the so-called prophets and apostles are not to be judged according to the Scriptures, but rather subjectively according to the fruit of their lives, to the extent of totally denying the criterion of the Word of God. Here we have a seed-bed for a hybrid mixture of truth and error.
DOMINION/KINGDOM NOW TIES
If you do not believe in a literal “catching away” or “rapture,” a literal anti-Christ, a literal tribulation, a literal Armageddon, etc., then you will get caught up in the words of today's “prophets” who are telling you a very different gospel that has come from allegorizing and spiritualizing the Word of God. Their agenda is political, with a view to take over the Earth. Naturally, they claim to take it over for Jesus. Those recently attending the Docklands conference in England were promised by John Wimber, “There is something higher than being Baptist and that is to be in this Endtime Army and involved in this greater prize of bringing everything on the Earth and above the Earth and below the Earth to the feet of Jesus.” Clifford Hill in his publication Prophecy Today summed it up:
EARL PAULK
Earl Paulk has been teaching along these lines for some time. In The Wounded Body of Christ he says:
The glorified Church will be a mature Church. She will be a Church that is no longer splintered… a Church unified in faith -not in doctrine, mode, practice or organization. She will represent the Spirit of unity in Christ… the Holy Spirit will gather people from around the earth whom the Spirit of God will unite to become the Bride of Christ. They will be mature and able to transcend all doctrinal or organizational differences.
…In the light of that, we must understand that the Church must gain such unity of faith that it will have a profound impact on the world. The Church must speak so that the whole world will listen... When the Pope speaks, Catholics listen in the parts of the world where Catholics are predominant. Before Christ can come again, the Church must take such a strong stand that the whole world will say, “That is the voice of God speaking to us.”
…The last enemy to be conquered is death. Who will conquer it? A mature Church will come forth with the kind of authority and power that will be able to stand in the very face of Satan [“Joel’s Army,” ed.]. When the Church reaches that state of maturity, God will be able to say, “This generation of the Church does not need to die. She has reached a place of maturity. I will translate her because her maturity pleases me.” What was the testimony about Enoch? He pleased God. When the Church becomes so mature that as a Body we achieve the unity of faith, God will find her pleasing and say, “She is mature enough now. She doesn't have to die…” [“Manifest Sons of God,” ed.]
BILL HAMON
Bill Hamon has been teaching along these lines for an even longer time. In The Eternal Church (Christian International Publishers, 1981) he states:
So, what is ahead? The Manifested Sons of God! Bill Hamon, on page 385 of the same book, lays it out.
Again, who is glorified? The Church, the Manifested Sons of God! The cry of our hearts should be “THAT I MIGHT KNOW HIM IN THE FELLOWSHIP OF HIS SUFFERINGS, BEING MADE CONFORMABLE UNTO HIS DEATH.”
Many of the terms that are being twisted sound so Scriptural. Hence, the deception. This teaching is also heavily promoted in the video called The Bride. On viewing this video my seventeen-year-old son was distressed at the distortion of Scripture. The video is full of inaccuracies and completely based on the Kingdom Now/Dominion viewpoint. Pastors must be warned to not allow this video to be shown to their congregation unless they are showing it with disclaimers to teach their congregants how to discern false doctrine. The line-up of commentary in their advertising tells the story:
“For too long the Church has been crippled by an escapist mentality. [The Rapture, ed.]. The Bride confronts us with the fact that, through His people, Christ is presently overthrowing the powers of darkness and establishing His kingdom on earth.” – Malcolm Smith
The Church of Jesus Christ is not feeble! By saying this, the Cross of Christ is made of none effect! God does have a people. He has those who will not bow their knee to Baal! The Church is alive and well. The blood of Christ has never lost its power!
THE GOSPEL BEING CHANGED
Have we been hearing a distortion of Scripture for so long that we do not recognize error any more? Is the church going to sit complacently by and allow the written Word of God to be corrupted? The “Christ” that is being preached today is a “bloodless” Christ. In fact the basic Gospel is continually and subtly being changed. Jack Deere's theology has also become jello, for he says, “The Scripture never encourages us to warn the unbeliever of the wrath that is to come. When the prophets speak to God's people, they warn God's people about what's to come.” (Jack Deere, ibid.)
Sadly enough, those who are duped by this heresy say doctrine doesn't matter. When faced with the evidence, they will shrug their shoulders and say, “Well, that isn't what they meant.” Another excuse will be, “You took the quotations out of context.” The truth is that the quotations in their full context offer an even more frightening glimpse of what is awaiting these souls who refuse to allow their sound mind to discern according to the Word to God. They will brush aside the realities with, “Oh, you know God does weird things. He did weird things in the Bible and people just don't understand when He does weird things today.” Honestly, how weird do you have to get before you wake up? Will it take jello diluted into koolaid in a steaming jungle to bring the church to her senses (e.g., Jim Jones)?
Both the Biblical writers and the early Church Fathers felt it vital to contend for the faith. They did not think it unspiritual or a form of pharisaical religion to stand up for fundamental Biblical truths found in scripture. (Viola Larsen, “The Manifest Sons of God,” Apologetics Resource Center)
And I'm certain they would not maintain the attitude that “immediate and heavy discipline will fall on those who take it upon themselves to publicly criticize and attack others' ministries. The world will know God has sent Jesus when they see us acting in love towards one another…” (Paula Sanford, Elijah House NEWS, Jan, 1991)
It is love that is the motivating force to warn the Church of the errors. I know that many of the teachers are dear men of God. My own father loved the Lord with all of his heart, mind and being! Yet, I remember even he enjoying the idea of “entering immortality” when he heard it taught. It can be exciting to hear a message like Kansas City Fellowship’s Mike Bickle proclaiming, “We'll have the power to raise people from the dead, that even death won't stand before the power of the Church. We'll see those four days Lazarus kind of deals. The Lord's going to begin to give those in the days to come.” (School of Prophecy, Session 7, Vineyard Ministries, 1989)
© Copyright 1991 by Discernment Ministries, Inc.
Second edition, 2006.
No part of this booklet may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the Discernment Ministries, Inc., except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews or articles.
All Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Published 2006
Printed in the United States of America
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