“Watch out that no one deceives you!”

Confronting the pseudo-biblical beliefs of the NAR.

I feel I must speak further about the Prayer Day in the Wembley Arena last month. We have had a storm of emails and phone calls coming into the office. None of them have been abusive, but they have all expressed concern about the presence on the platform of speakers whose ministries are linked with certain pseudo-biblical beliefs and practices.

On the one hand I am very encouraged that so many Bible-believing Christians in the Arena, and those who watched online, are aware of the dangers facing the Church today. On the other hand, I am concerned that I was one of the speakers sharing the platform with the individuals in question, with whom I would not normally be associated.

Public Dissociation

Many of the emails have been critical of David Hathaway, whose ministry sponsored the event. For many years David’s ministry has been in Russia, Eastern Europe and in Israel, so our paths had not crossed until recently when he felt the Lord calling him to do evangelism in his home country. He has a passion for the gospel and he knows that our nation is in trouble, but having been absent from the church scene in Britain for so long, he trusted others to invite speakers to the Wembley Arena meeting. They brought in people of whom he had no knowledge and had never met.

I had accepted the invitation to lead the opening prayers of confession. I was expecting half an hour would be allocated for such an important part of a prayer day, but I was only allowed ten minutes. I left the Arena soon after the lunch break and I did not watch the afternoon’s footage until the following day. I was shocked to see some of the things that happened.

We have received many expressions of concern about the presence on the Wembley platform of speakers linked with certain pseudo-biblical beliefs and practices.

I want to take this opportunity of publicly dissociating Issachar Ministries and Prophecy Today UK from events in the second half of the Wembley Arena meeting. I was pleased to be involved in the act of repentance for the divisions between the black and white churches in Britain in the first half of the day. I have laboured for many years in inner-city areas of London longing to see such unity and believing that the day would come when God would use the vitality in the African and Caribbean churches to bring a fresh spiritual dynamic into the evangelisation of Britain. But I cannot endorse many of the other things that were spoken and prayed from the platform later during the prayer day.¹

Of course, I should have been aware that the enemy would do everything possible to spoil the day, but the amazing thing is that God can turn any situation around for good. When Joseph’s brothers sold him to the Egyptians, what they intended for harm, God used to work out his purposes for good. I believe God can do the same with the Wembley Arena meeting.

Its mixture of spirits reminded me of the ‘Toronto Blessing’ and the days when the magazine Prophecy Today was at the forefront of the battle for biblical truth. But because of this mixture at Wembley, the issue of error in charismatic churches has been brought right back to the fore and there now seems to be fresh opportunity to challenge and expose it.

Battle for Truth

Today, the battle for truth has never been sharper, nor has there been a greater need for Bible-believing Christians to stand together and to exercise godly discernment. The teachings of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) must be exposed or they will destroy the charismatic Church at the most critical period of history since the Second World War.

NAR Dominionist (‘Kingdom Now’) teaching is bringing ‘strange fire’ into the Church. In its crudest form states that we are in the last days and God has raised up a new group of ‘apostles’ with greater power and authority than the original apostles. Not only that, but individual believers are also granted unlimited power and blessing. Together, this ‘army’ are to found the Kingdom of God on earth, taking dominion over the nations and, in due time, when they have subdued all opposition to the gospel, Jesus will return and they will present the Kingdom to him. Dr Frances Rabbitts, our Managing Editor, has a long-standing interest in this subject and has written an excellent overview article which we are pleased to publish alongside this editorial. Please make it essential reading.

Because of this mixture at Wembley, the issue of error in charismatic churches has been brought to the fore and there now seems to be fresh opportunity to expose it.

Dominionism was the teaching of the ‘Kansas City Prophets’ whom John Wimber brought to Britain in July 1990. Bob Jones called them ‘Omega Apostles’ with more power than the ‘Alpha’ (i.e. first) Apostles and Paul Cain convinced John Wimber that he was the super-apostle with the task of presenting the Kingdom to Jesus. I spent a whole day trying to convince John that this was all based upon false prophecy. Sadly, he was deceived, but later repented and dismissed the Kansas City Fellowship and the Toronto Airport Fellowship from the Vineyard group of churches.

This is a sample of Paul Cain’s teaching:

If you have intimacy with God, they can’t kill you, they just can’t. There is something about you; you are connected to that vine: you’re just so close to Him. Oh, my friend, they can’t kill you…If you’re really in the vine and you’re the branch, then the life sap from the Son of the Living God keeps you from cancer, keeps you from dying, keeps you from death…Not only will they not have diseases, they will also not die. They will have the kind of imperishable bodies that are talked about in the 15^th chapter of Corinthians…This army is invincible. If you have intimacy with God, they can’t kill you.²

There is not a shred of biblical evidence to support this teaching but it had great appeal to people who had little knowledge of the Bible. It also appealed to church leaders with dwindling congregations who were longing for a revival and who grasped at anything that had popular appeal.

The harm that has been done since the 1990s to thousands of churches in Britain, America, Australia and throughout Europe is immeasurable. But the KCF teaching was not new; it had been around since the 1940s. It originated in 1948 in the so-called ‘Latter Rain Revival’ beginning in the Sharon Bible school, North Battlefield Saskatchewan, Canada. 

Latter Rain, or ‘Manifest Sons of God’ teaching (Rom 8:19) has never gone away since. It has a subtle appeal with its message of power to the powerless. Ever since the events in Toronto in the 1990s, Dominionist teachings and spiritual practices have been spread worldwide through books, music, the internet and through big Christian gatherings such as New Wine and Soul Survivor. Today it is almost impossible to find a charismatic church in this country that has not in some way bought into the influence of such as Bill Johnson and Bethel Church in Redding, California. It is also being promoted by a great many false prophets who use so-called words of knowledge and other spiritual devices to deceive the unwary.

The teachings of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) must be exposed or they will destroy the charismatic Church at the most critical period of history since the Second World War.

The Centrality of the Word

We are in a battle for the truth that has been raging in the Church throughout the Western nations for the past half-century or more. No doubt it is because we are in such a critical period of history that the enemy is doing everything possible to frustrate the purposes of God. The only way that this battle can be won is through re-discovering the centrality of the word of God in the life of the Church.

At Prophecy Today UK we recognise the seriousness of the battle and intend producing a new series studying the biblical word of God as given to the Old Testament Prophets, beginning next week with the ministry of Jeremiah. He faced a similar battle for truth when the nation was facing a threat to its very existence – a message that has great relevance for us today.

References

1 With the exception of the contributions of Barry Segal on Israel and anti-Semitism.

2 Quoted in Blessing the Church? (Hill et al, 1995), p90.

Searching for reality in a 'post-truth' age.

The famous words of Pilate at the fake trial of Jesus have echoed down the centuries – what is truth? These words have taken on new significance in the 21^st Century with the development of social media and the spread of ‘fake news’. Paul defines truth in very simple terms: as the good news of salvation (Eph 1:13). Jesus says that he himself is truth. He says “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). By this statement Jesus means that anyone who knows God, knows truth.

If truth is so central to the purposes of God, it is small wonder that it is under attack from the powers of darkness that are presently ruling the world. It is as though a huge blanket of cloud is covering humanity and preventing clear perception and rational thinking. The evidence of this can be seen in every part of the world.

In America, division over immigration has led to parts of Government being shut down because of President Trump’s dispute with Congress over the wall he wants to build between the USA and Mexico. Europe too is wracked by disagreement over immigration and the many other problems besetting the EU project: in Germany there is mounting fear over the failing economy and the future of the Euro. In France there are growing social problems, with millions taking to the streets before Christmas in populist demonstrations against the policies of President Macron.

These problems are not going away and there are similar tensions in other EU states. But, arguably, none have such potentially far-reaching consequences as the divisions over Brexit.

No Alternatives?

At the moment Brexit arguments in Britain have not spilled over into the streets, although there are plenty of noisy groups in Westminster demonstrating around Parliament day after day. The major upheavals are inside Parliament where confusion reigns supreme.

The Prime Minister insists that the deal she has negotiated with the EU is the only deal and there is no Plan B. But Parliament has voted to take back the initiative by insisting that if her deal is voted down by Parliament next week, she must come back to the House of Commons in three days with a further plan.

If truth is so central to the purposes of God, it is small wonder that it is under attack from the powers of darkness that are presently ruling the world.

Although there appears to be no valid alternative to Mrs May’s deal, there is probably a majority of MPs who want to ensure that Britain does not leave the EU with no deal at all. The EU fears a ‘No Deal’ more than Britain does, but our politicians appear blind to this. If the MPs make it impossible for ‘No Deal’ to happen, they strip the Prime Minister of the most powerful weapon in negotiations with Brussels.

The Netherlands alone say that they will lose more than £2 billion in trade if there is no deal between the EU and Britain. Germany is desperate to sell their cars in Britain, without which their economy would be in serious trouble; and the EU itself urgently needs the €39 billion promised in the divorce bill, without which the Euro currency is likely to fail. Many of our MPs seem completely unaware of the power they hold over the EU, which is part of the blindness afflicting leaders of our nation.

The Consequences of Rebellion

This blindness to truth is not simply a political, economic or social issue: it is fundamentally a spiritual problem resulting from Britain’s rejection of her biblical foundations. Though this rejection is not recognised, its consequences can be seen throughout the life of the nation.

One obvious example is that every week there are young people dying on the streets of London through a wave of knife crime, drugs, gangs and lawlessness that is spilling across to other cities. This is a national issue, but our politicians are too busy arguing over Brexit to notice what is happening on our streets.

But this wave of violence is directly linked to our rejection of God. We have rejected the biblical foundations of Britain’s value system, so we are no longer able to recognise truth. For 50 years we have allowed the nation to be driven by secular humanist activists who have deliberately undermined traditional family life, promoting divorce, cohabitation, sexual perversion, abortion-on-demand and more recently, transgenderism. These policies have all been based on a lie – the lie that all types of family are equal.

This blindness to truth is fundamentally a spiritual problem resulting from Britain’s rejection of her biblical foundations.

There have been scores of sociological research reports demonstrating that only faithful marriage as the Bible describes it produces happy, stable and successful family life for both adults and children. But this truth about families has been wilfully ignored or rejected by post-modernist agitators who have done untold harm to British children.

Every child who dies on the city streets of Britain is in some way a victim of the post-modern, secular humanist, pro-LGBTQ+ policies that have deliberately aimed at destroying family life in the nation in this ‘post-truth’ age.

Spiritual Blindness

The greatest crime in Britain today is the blindness of our leaders, in both Church and state, to recognise the sickness of the nation and the root of its problems.

I have been responsible for no less than eight sociological reports to Parliament on family life in Britain during the past 30 years. They have set out clearly the consequences of following policies based upon the false concept of ‘equality’. But successive Governments have been blind to TRUTH.

This blindness is a spiritual malady. It is not a lack of intellectual capacity. It is plain and simply a spiritual force of darkness, given a foothold through rebellion and rejection of God’s word, that makes it impossible to understand and accept TRUTH.

This is why our MPs are in such utter disarray over Brexit. There is no shared vision because they are blinded to TRUTH. The plain fact is: no political solutions to the nation’s problems can be found until there is repentance for what has been done to the nation; and new openness to the word of God. What will it take? Is it a matter of more prayer, or more truth-telling – or must more disaster be allowed to come upon Britain?

At this time, it is vital that the faithful remnant of God’s people seek to understand what he is doing and pray and act in line with his will. Elsewhere in this week’s issue of Prophecy Today UK is an article to this end, entitled ‘A Word for 2019’. Please do read this and bring it before the Lord in prayer, seeking how you might respond.

How the Kansas City Prophets impacted Britain.

This article is part of a series. Please see the base of the page for more details.

Church Leaders’ Support

Reference was made last week to the fact that a number of British church leaders rushed into print with a public statement issued in July 1990 supporting the Kansas City Fellowship ministry. The statement was issued from Holy Trinity, Brompton by Sandy Millar, probably in response to the articles in Prophecy Today which urged leaders to be on their guard and to test all these spiritual phenomena according to principles laid down in the New Testament. The statement gave unreserved support to the Kansas City Prophets.

We believe they are true servants of God, men of sound character, humility and evident integrity...We have no doubt about the validity of their ministry... and encourage as many as possible to attend the conferences to be held in Edinburgh, Harrogate and London in the autumn of this year, at which they will be ministering.¹

The signatories included Gerald Coates (Pioneer), Graham Cray (St Michael-le-Belfry), Roger Forster (Ichthus), Lynn Green (YWAM), David McInnes (St Aldate’s, Oxford), Sandy Millar (Holy Trinity, Brompton), John Mumford (South West London Vineyard), David Pytches, Brian Skinner, Teddy Saunders, Barry Kissel (St Andrew's, Chorleywood), Terry Virgo (New Frontiers International), Ann Watson (widow of David Watson), Rick Williams (Riverside Vineyard, Teddington).

All had been 'ministered' to by the Kansas City Fellowship team. This was acknowledged in the statement they issued. The fact that they stated that they believed a man such as Bob Jones to be a 'true servant of God' and a man of 'sound character' is evidence of the extent to which they were deceived.

It was the practice of the prophets led by Cain and Jones to give encouraging messages, supposedly from God, with promises of amazing power and greatly-expanded ministry. They were told they would be speaking to multitudes, seeing miracles, witnessing to kings and presidents and enjoying tremendous blessings. These prophecies resulted in bringing the recipients under the controlling spirit operated by/operating through the 'prophet'.

It was the practice of the prophets led by Cain and Jones to give encouraging messages, supposedly from God, with promises of amazing power and greatly-expanded ministry.

There are always serious consequences of believing false prophecy. It has a polluting effect upon the spiritual life of those who receive it. At best it is taking an alien influence into your life; at worst it is actually receiving an alien spirit. I have personal knowledge of several British church leaders who received false prophecies from Cain and Jones, believed them and then strove to fulfil them. The 'prophecy' thus exercised a controlling influence over the life of the recipient.

The 'use of prophetic gifting for controlling purposes' was tenth in the list of 15 errors acknowledged by Kansas City Fellowship in May 1990,² but there is no evidence that they had abandoned the practice two months later (July 1990). The support of senior British church leaders was essential if John Wimber was to see the fulfilment of those things which the 'prophets' had predicted. He fully expected a mighty revival to break out in London in October 1990. This had been prophesied by Cain whom he believed 'never got it wrong'.

They had foretold the great revival would be accompanied by an explosion of signs and wonders, leading to the submission of church leaders to Wimber's apostolic authority. He would also be given divine power over the enemies of the Gospel to deal summarily with them in the same way as Peter dealt with Ananias and Sapphira. As the revival spread across the UK into continental Europe, Wimber and his 'apostolic team' would assume governmental control of the nations.

All this had been prophesied by Cain and Jones and embraced by Wimber. It is doubtful if many of the British leaders knew of Wimber's expectations, but their willing compliance played an important part in preparing the way for the October meetings. The prophecies of a great revival were repeated from many pulpits and anticipation was high.

Promises of Supernatural Power

The commendation of senior church leaders, plus considerable publicity promising an exciting message and signs and wonders, brought large crowds to the public meetings in Harrogate, Edinburgh and London in October 1990. Prominent British church leaders had endorsed this ministry, so the people lapped it up. Not being trained theologians, they looked to their pastors, ministers and priests to say whether or not the ministry was biblically respectable and should be heeded. Their ministers themselves were enthusiastically endorsing this new ministry and the message, so the people followed their leaders.

The amazing promises given at the Wimber meetings filled the people with excitement and anticipation. The teaching was a heady mixture drawn from bits of all the strange teachings that had run through the charismatic movement since the middle of the 20^th Century: Latter Rain, Manifest Sons, Positive Confession, Signs and Wonders, Power Healing, Power Evangelism, Spiritual Warfare, New Breed and Joel's Army - to mention just a few. Elements of all these teachings came together in 1990 and were injected into the British Church with great hype and all the charisma of American glamour ministries.

The amazing promises given at the Wimber meetings filled the people with excitement and anticipation.

These strange teachings had been steadfastly resisted by most faithful preachers and Bible teachers in Britain for many years. But this latest onslaught was led by a man who was an excellent communicator, who appeared friendly, laidback and trustworthy. He was a man who had been recommended by David Watson and a number of prominent Anglicans as well as denominational and house-church leaders. He came with a popular message attractively presented. This heady cocktail was drunk by leaders, pastors and elders in many of the British evangelical churches, especially those in the charismatic sector.

The mainline churches in Britain were particularly vulnerable due to the years of decline. In fact, the whole nation was labouring under a cloud of status deprivation from loss of empire and world prestige. Here was a message of hope. Here was a message of power to the powerless. Here was a message of light and life to scatter the darkness of moribund inactivity.

But the promises were false. This was partially acknowledged by John Wimber at Holy Trinity, Brompton in June 1991 and again at the New Wine conference in August 1995. What has never been recognised, however, is the extent to which these promises were rooted in false teaching.

Expectations of the End Times

The foundation of this teaching lay in the belief that in the last days there would be a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit empowering the saints to perform great signs and wonders.

Some of this teaching was based upon prophetic revelation which Bob Jones claimed to have been given by the Holy Spirit. He said that the 'last generation' would be those born since 1973 and that they would be an elect company of believers of the seed of the apostles. They would be 'omega children'. Jesus was the 'Alpha' and they are the 'Omega'. Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom, and the elect company of omega believers would complete the work and establish a glorious Church on earth reigning over the nations.³

This teaching, which was given by both Jones and Cain, became the basis of the Vineyard/Kansas City Fellowship revivalist preaching. But it has no biblical foundation. The Bible declares Jesus to be both 'Alpha and Omega' (Rev 21:6). New Testament eschatology says that Jesus will come again to complete the work of the Kingdom. The Father will not take this away from his Son and entrust it to human hands.

There is a great need today to study what the Bible actually says about the Kingdom of God and the Second Coming of Christ. This may, in fact, provide the key to bringing the charismatic movement back onto a firm biblical basis. In Matthew 24 Jesus gave a series of signs of the end of the age - none of which promised supernatural power to believers.

Jesus warned those who are his followers to be alert to resist deception; to expect false christs, apostasy and false prophets.

He warned those who are his followers to be alert to resist deception; to expect false christs, wars and rumours of wars, famines and earthquakes, persecution, apostasy, betrayal, false prophets, the increase of wickedness and a lack of love within the Church. He nevertheless promised that the “Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world” (v14).

The only prediction of supernatural power was in an additional warning about deception!

For false christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect if that were possible. (v24)

This is not the only warning in the New Testament concerning deception in the last days. Paul spoke of a time of great lawlessness which, he said, “will be in accordance with the work of satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders” (2 Thess 2:9); and writing to Timothy he warned, “the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Tim 4:3-4).

These warnings, and a number of others, are in the New Testament for our own protection so that we will be alert to the intentions of the enemy to deceive, and to the strategy which may be employed. This is where a knowledge of the Bible is essential. When we move away from Scripture and invent doctrine, however attractive, we are in grave danger of deception. Once we are loosed from the word of God we are adrift on the high seas like a rudderless ship in a storm.

Non-Biblical Teaching

The injection into the British church in 1990 of a package of non-biblical teaching promising supernatural power, signs and wonders and imminent revival, marked a milestone in the apostatising of the charismatic movement in Britain.

The way had been prepared for this by a gradual and almost imperceptible down-grading of the Bible from its place of centrality within the Protestant tradition. This could be seen in the increasing separation between the reading and exposition of the word of God, and the exercise of spiritual gifts. Jesus was perfectly clear in stating that signs and wonders would follow the preaching of the word. This is what happens in the poorer non-industrial nations, where multitudes have been coming to Christ throughout the second half of the 20^th Century.

At large gatherings where the word of God is proclaimed, while the preacher is still speaking miraculous healings occur, many are born again and the signs and wonders of the presence of God through the work of the Holy Spirit are evident.⁴

In charismatic churches in the western nations, by contrast, we have developed the practice of separating word and Spirit. When we reach the end of our act of worship, or service, where there has been singing, prayer and the exposition of the word, then we clear away the chairs or invite people forward saying 'Now we'll have a time of ministry!' Over the years these so called 'ministry times' have gone from the simple praying for the sick to the performance of all kinds of bizarre manifestations as we have moved farther and farther away from a biblical centre.

In charismatic churches in the western nations, by contrast, we have developed the practice of separating word and Spirit.

Peter Fenwick, earlier in this series, has shown how the path to the Kansas City Fellowship 1990 package had been well prepared by Restorationist teaching, at least in the house-church streams. The new factor was the open door into the mainline churches which enabled their teaching to sweep right through the denominations. This was very largely due to John Wimber's acceptability, which in turn, had been due to David Watson's influence and subsequently to the support of several influential Anglican clergy.

A number of prominent charismatic leaders also embraced the false teachings presented in 1990. They were on an escalator from which there was no turning back and which it was not easy to jump off without risking personal injury. Their reputations were at stake and they had taken false promises into their spiritual lives. Many of them also took into their teaching and preaching the false expectations of a great revival. Churches such as St Andrew's, Chorleywood gave great prominence to preparing the congregation for revival and for the expected inflow of large numbers of new believers. But the revival did not happen.

On to the Toronto Blessing

By 1994 it was becoming difficult to sustain the enthusiasm of the people and to stave off massive disillusionment. The credibility of leaders was on the line. The Toronto Blessing arrived just in time to provide a new wave of excitement. With its coming, many leaders cut down or even abandoned the preaching of the word in order to get into the 'ministry time' as quickly as possible.

Thus the move of many charismatic churches into experience-centred phenomena took another leap forward. But the way had been prepared by 25 years of neglect of the Bible and a lack of biblical scholarship among charismatic leaders, which left an open door for the Toronto Blessing.

The eagerness with which Toronto was embraced is an indication of a deep spiritual hunger and a longing for God to 'rend the heavens and come down' and bring a mighty revival to transform the decaying life of the Western nations. But even this longing for revival is a reflection of the values of the world where the whole of our society is looking for 'quick fix' solutions to all our problems.

In the Church we are not prepared for the cost of obeying the 'Great Commission' and “making disciples, teaching them to obey” everything the Lord has taught us (Matt 28:19-20). Instead, we look for supernatural power to create an instant, ready-made reproduction model.

It is this human longing for revival that opened the way for many of the strange things which have become associated with the charismatic churches over the years. This eagerness to see the reign of God on earth and to promote the work of the Kingdom is surely good. But in the Western nations, generally, the Bible has been abandoned. Humanistic and New Age teachings have been widely embraced in an increasingly secularised, post-Christian society and the churches, especially charismatic, have been influenced more then we realise.

The eagerness with which Toronto was embraced is an indication of a deep spiritual hunger for God to 'rend the heavens and come down' and bring mighty revival.

Many evangelicals, especially those who have embraced the charismata, have tended to follow the world in neglecting the systematic study of the Bible and whole-hearted commitment to its teaching and living according to its moral and spiritual precepts. We have elevated spiritual excitement to new heights leaving the door open for non-biblical teaching and lax standards of personal and corporate morality.

Of course this is a generalisation and we would not wish to imply that there are no faithful evangelicals who love the word of God and live godly lives. Neither would we wish to imply that none of those in churches affected by the Toronto Blessing have been blessed by God. As others have clearly stated earlier in this series, God will always honour those who come to him with clean hands and a pure heart, or with humility and repentance. God longs to bless his children and those who come in sincerity will not go away empty-handed.

I personally know many believers who have been blessed by attending 'Toronto' meetings. But this is evidence of the faithfulness of our God, who loves to bless his children. It is certainly not an endorsement of the Toronto Blessing. God does not initiate things which are contrary to his own word in Scripture.

There was, nevertheless, cause for concern regarding this wave of excitement which swept through the charismatic churches in 1994 and 1995. It did not bring revival; neither would it even prepare the way for revival. It proved to be yet another blind alley that actually led the Church away from fulfilling the purposes of God.

There is also cause for concern that, as the charismatic movement has increasingly embraced the experiential, the way has been opened for even more bizarre behavioural phenomena and the embracing of heretical New Age-type teachings and practices. As the years have passed since the Toronto Blessing, what other waves have been introduced – and what does the future hold?

Next week: Our penultimate instalment in this series.

References

1 Published in Renewal, October 1990.

2 Published in Prophecy Today, Vol 6 No 5, September 1990.

3 Vineyard School of Prophecy, Bob Jones, op cit. p 1.

4 See Prophecy Today Vol 1 No 3 July 1985.

Series Information

This article is part of a series, re-publishing the 1995 book ‘Blessing the Church?’, an analysis of the ‘Toronto Blessing’ and a wider critique of the charismatic movement in the late 20^th Century. Click here for previous instalments and to read the editorial background to the series. 

An overview of the Kansas City Prophets.

We draw near the end of David Forbes’ assessment of the forerunners of the Toronto outpouring, turning this week to the Kansas City Prophets. This article is part of a series, re-publishing the 1995 book ‘Blessing the Church?’. Read previous instalments here.

The Kansas City Prophets

By the end of the 1980s, the charismatic renewal movement had become used to so much extra-biblical experience and had become focused on the fulfilment of so many eschatological promises, that it was possible for thousands of British charismatic Christians and their leaders to be affected and influenced by the 'prophetic movement' as epitomised by Paul Cain and the 'prophets' from the Kansas City Fellowship in the United States.

This movement came to prominence in America as the result of first a sermon and then a published report by Ernest Gruen, a Kansas City pastor, criticising the way in which the leadership of the Fellowship were seeking to take control of the spiritual life of the city.

The situation was further promoted by the fact that John Wimber and the Vineyard churches decided to take the Kansas City prophetic movement under their wing and assume responsibility for its future behaviour.

The basic complaints being made against the Kansas City Fellowship were the use of directive prophecy to control the lives of believers and take over other fellowships, the use of 'new prophetic revelation' to determine doctrine and practice, and the promotion of an elite group of apostles and prophets centred on themselves. Part of the accusation regarding their 'new' doctrines was that it was simply a return to the old Latter Rain/Manifest Sons of God tenets.¹

By the end of the 1980s, the charismatic renewal movement was used to extra-biblical experience and had become focused on the fulfilment of many eschatological promises.

A feature of John Wimber's strategy, with regard to taking on responsibility for the Kansas City prophets and their senior pastor Mike Bickle, was to send in a team of his senior leaders including Dr Jack Deere, a former Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and now the Vineyard's chief theologian. They examined all the complaints of biblical malpractice being made by Ernest Gruen and published a report acknowledging certain errors which in retrospect to a large degree simply papered over the cracks and allowed the Kansas City Fellowship to continue virtually undisturbed under the Vineyard aegis.

The errors which were acknowledged and by implication would not recur included “the attempt by some prophetic ministers to establish doctrine or practice by revelation alone, apart from biblical support”, “the use of prophetic gifting for controlling purposes”, “using types and allegories to establish doctrine”, and “using jargon that reflects the teaching of groups that we do not wish to be identified with”.

This last confession referred specifically to the accusation of promoting the Latter Rain and Manifest Sons of God doctrines. However, it must be said that irrespective of how sincerely these errors were acknowledged initially, subsequent events showed that little attempt was made to learn the necessary lessons, especially with regard to the use of establishing doctrine by revelation and the continued teaching of Latter Rain and Manifest Sons teachings.

Paul Cain

The decision by John Wimber and the Vineyard churches to support the ministry of the Kansas City prophets was undoubtedly the result of the link-up which they had made with Paul Cain.

Cain had an early history not unlike that of William Branham. Born in 1929, he had been aware of supernatural power guiding his life from its earliest days and had experienced what he believed to be direct communications with the Lord through audible messages whilst still a small boy. He became part of the Pentecostal healing movement which arose in North America in the 1940s and 1950s, led by William Branham, Oral Roberts and others, and began an itinerant ministry as a healing evangelist in his early teens.

The Vineyard movement took responsibility for the Kansas City prophets and initially acknowledged certain errors in their conduct, but in retrospect this simply papered over the cracks.

According to Paul Cain's own testimony he was much encouraged in his ministry by Branham who allegedly saw in him a similar kind of 'anointing' to his own. It is said that there was a particular bond between William Branham and the young Paul Cain, that they frequently ministered together and that Cain would often stand in for Branham at meetings which he was unable to take, although for some unknown reason Cain's association in ministry with Branham has been vehemently denied by the Branham family.

However, Cain's healing and evangelism ministry was undoubtedly marked by the same kind of ‘revelation knowledge' of people and their personal circumstances that had characterised Branham's, but by the early 1960s, disillusioned by the 'stardom' status accorded to him and his contemporaries and the general lack of integrity in the ministry, he withdrew from public life and lived as a virtual recluse until he went and met the Kansas City prophets in early 1987.

He believed that the Lord was re-commissioning him for ministry with the special purpose of restoring the prophetic ministry to the Church worldwide and that to that end he needed a public platform. His strategy was to be that of taking a prophetic message to every significant evangelical leader in the United States. The leader who responded by accepting him and his message would be the one whom God had chosen to give a platform for his ministry.

In 1988, Paul Cain felt he should contact John Wimber and following a visit from Cain, Wimber decided that the Lord was calling him to be the leader who should give Cain his platform.

Joel’s Army Teaching

Paul Cain consistently denied that he ever subscribed to the Manifest Sons of God movement. However, although there is no reason to believe that he was ever a card-carrying member of the movement, his 'prophetic' preaching clearly promoted the ideas of immortality for overcoming believers here on earth in these end times and he used the same spiritual jargon as the Manifest Sons of God exponents.

This came over in a very specific way in, for example, his teaching on 'Joel's Army'.² This teaching, based on the destructive army mentioned in Joel chapter 2, was claimed to be the result of revelation which he had received at the age of 19 when he had a visitation from the “Angel of the Lord, and he was standing in his majesty like a warrior and he had a bright shining sword and he pointed up to a billboard like that, and on the sign it said, ‘Joel's Army in training’".

Cain had not understood and had asked, “Lord, what does this mean?”. He had from then on received divine revelation as to the meaning of the book of Joel for today and on this he based his prophetic message.

According to Paul Cain's own testimony he was much encouraged in his ministry by William Branham, who allegedly saw in him a similar kind of 'anointing' to his own.

The basic theme of the teaching was that God was about to raise up out of the Church a Joel's Army. The purpose of this army was to bring in the restoration of the Church and a great end-times revival accompanied by signs and wonders the like of which had never been seen before, not even in the life of the early Church. These signs and wonders would be accomplished by the 'new breed', the 'dread champions' whom the Lord would raise up to form this mighty army.

The purpose of this army was in fact twofold, for not only would it be the vanguard of the great signs and wonders revival, but it would be responsible for the purging of the Church and the destruction of all those who are unworthy to be part of the Bride. Cain taught, in true Manifest Sons style, that:

If you have intimacy with God, they can't kill you, they just can't. There is something about you; you're connected to that vine; you're just so close to Him. Oh, my friends, they can't kill you...If you're really in the vine and you're the branch, then the life sap from the Son of the living God keeps you from cancer, keeps you from dying, keeps you from death...Not only will they not have diseases, they will also not die. They will have the kind of imperishable bodies that are talked about in the 15th chapter of Corinthians...This army is invincible. If you have intimacy with God they can't kill you.³

Paul Cain was, of course, giving this teaching to the Vineyard churches before the Kansas City Fellowship report acknowledging errors, so it could be assumed that following the publishing of that report no further mention would be made of this kind of teaching.

It may be of interest to note that at a meeting between John Wimber, Paul Cain and Mike Bickle with Clifford Hill, I asked John Wimber and Mike Bickle if they could specify which teachings were being referred to in the errors acknowledged by the Kansas City Fellowship. Neither was prepared to answer my questions clearly on this subject. It was therefore perhaps not surprising to find that after the Kansas City report both Jack Deere, the Vineyard theologian who had been given the job of checking and verifying the biblical soundness of their teaching, and John Wimber, took up the Joel's Army teaching. Wimber propounded it at the London Docklands Conference in October 1990.

In Deere's version of the Joel's Army teaching he underwrote the divine revelation foundation of the teaching and extended Cain's tenets by an extravagant use of hyperbole. He made the point over and over again that this Joel's Army would be composed of believers who would outshine in their service anything that God ever accomplished through any of his servants in the past.

Deere taught that, “This army is unique...When this army comes, it's large and it's mighty. It's so mighty that there has never been anything like it before. Not even Moses, not even David, not even Paul. What's going to happen now will transcend what Paul did, what David did, what Moses did, even though Moses parted the Red Sea.”

Paul Cain clearly promoted the idea of immortality for overcoming believers here on earth and used the Manifest Sons of God jargon.

Deere went on to equate this army with the 144,000 in Revelation 7 who, he said, “follow the Lamb wherever he goes, and no one can harm that 144,000”. Most extraordinarily, he taught that 144,000 is a multiple of 12 and that since 12 stands for 'apostolic government' then 144,000 is the 'ultimate in apostolic government'.

In his version of the Joel's Army teaching, as given at the London Docklands Conference, John Wimber was much more cautious in his use of language, although he undoubtedly underwrote in principle most of both Cain’s and Deere's teaching. With regard to the great signs and wonders which this army would perform, Wimber simply said: “This army is large, powerful, unique, unlike any army that's ever existed before or will again. Even as the Lord started this thing with a bang, (Acts 2) he is going to end it with something so incredible that we'll talk about it throughout eternity. It will be the buzz for ever”.

However, on the subject of immortality Wimber did not fully support Cain and Deere, saying of the army: “anyone who wants to harm them must die”.

Bob Jones

The leading prophet in the Kansas City Fellowship in 1990 was Bob Jones and it was his prophetic utterances and revelation-based doctrine and practice that were behind most of the controversy that surrounded them and had occasioned Gruen's outbursts.

Jones came from Arkansas and in his young days had been a member of the Baptist Church. His spiritual life had, however, been fairly non-existent and he had engaged in petty crime. Nevertheless, his testimony, like Branham and Cain, was of boyhood and early teen 'angelic visitations' including an out-of-body experience at the age of 15 when he says he was taken before the throne of God.

With the advent of the Korean War, Jones joined the US Marine Corps where he became heavily involved in drunken brawls and gambling. With his life in an obviously downward moral and physical spiral he left the Marine Corps and moved to Oklahoma State where he opened an illegal liquor store - Oklahoma being 'dry' - with considerable financial success.

However, his life of debauchery brought him to the point of a complete breakdown which not even drugs appeared to alleviate, and he ended up in hospital in Topeka near Kansas City, where it appears that following a combination of good psychiatric treatment by a Christian doctor and a number of visitations, both divine and demonic, he was discharged.

Bob Jones then started to attend church and read the Bible again and after a number of further 'visitations' he was converted and baptised in the autumn of 1975. Because of the visions and prophecies which he brought to church leadership he found himself often becoming unpopular and ended up being rejected and unable to fit into normal church life. Eventually in the early 1980s Jones found himself accepted by the Kansas City Fellowship, even though Mike Bickle had originally believed him to be a false prophet, where he began to be valued for his prophetic utterances.

It was the utterances and practice of Kansas City prophet Bob Jones that lay behind most of the controversy which surrounded the group.

These were often bizarre and spiritually extravagant. Jones was very much 'into' seeing both demons and angels on a regular basis and having strange nightly visions and out-of-body experiences. According to both Jones himself and Mike Bickle, “Bob normally gets five to ten visions a night, maybe sees angels ten to fifteen times a week”.⁴ Apparently he had been doing this since 1974 and it does not take much mathematical skill to conclude that these supernatural experiences far outweigh all of those recorded as being given to people in the scriptures!

Jones was also very much the initiator of spiritual elitism for the Kansas City Fellowship based on 'prophetic revelation' and it seems that the more bizarre his 'prophetic utterances' the more they were promoted by the leadership. For example, he introduced the concept of an 'elected seed generation'. In this he taught that the children born since 1973 to members of the Kansas City Fellowship were the “elected seed” who had been especially chosen by Jesus and the angels from “billions of little round yellow things” floating around in heaven to be the “end time Omega generation”.⁵ These 'little yellow things' were the seed from actual blood lines and they were from the “best of every blood line there has ever been Paul, David, Peter, James and John the best of their seed unto this generation”.

This elite group were described as “the chosen generation of all history” who would “possess the Spirit without measure”. They were also described as 'the Bride of Christ'; the man child of Revelation 12; the ministry of perfection; the Melchizedek priesthood; the manifested sons of God; Joel's Army; and many other biblical epithets.

Jones taught and Bickle underwrote (as senior pastor of the Kansas City Fellowship) that this "end time, Omega generation super church” would do “10,000 times the miracles in the book of Acts”. They would also conduct meetings of “a million or more” where they would “move their hands and the power of God will go like flashes of lightning, and as they go like this over a million people, if a person is missing an arm…it will instantly be created”. Jones claimed that 300,000 of Mike Bickle's generation and their super-children would be last days' apostles, and that 35 apostles from the Kansas City Fellowship would be “like unto Paul”.

Again, we have never been able to find out whether all of these bizarre prophetic teachings of Bob Jones were included amongst the list of errors. When John Wimber brought the Kansas City prophets to Holy Trinity Church, Brompton in July 1990, there was an embargo put on Bob Jones regarding public teaching and prophecy but he was allowed to minister to leaders behind the scenes.

References

1 Gruen, EA, 1990. Documentation of the Aberrant Practices and Teachings of Kansas City Fellowship. Full Faith Church of Love, Kansas City.

2 Deere, J. Joel's Army. Audio tape message, 1990.

3 Gruen, EA, Documentation (see note 1), p218.

4 Ibid, p10.

5 Ibid, p12.

Knowledge and wisdom in an age of deception and unreality.

The Roman Governor of Jerusalem’s iconic question, “What is truth?” has probably never been more apt than it is today in the 21^st Century AD. Whether Pilate was being sarcastic or he was genuinely seeking for truth has been debated by scholars for 2,000 years. In light of the spat between the leaders of Britain and the USA over the tweeting of video clips, it would be good if all those involved paused to ponder his question.

We live in an age when technology has delivered the tools to create deception, whether by airbrushing photos or by deliberately producing deceptive videos, distorting the truth and creating fake news.

It is certainly unfortunate that the President of the United States should have retweeted video clips that had come from a doubtful source. It shows a lack of wisdom and a willingness to use material from a campaigning group to vilify millions of people who belong to a particular religion.

But it is equally foolish for the British Prime Minister to use the same medium of communication to point out the unreliability of the clips. Surely the more sensible approach would have been to make a quiet phone call. At least that way would have maintained personal relationships and not caused a rift between two friendly nations.

Knowledge AND Wisdom

The trouble with our generation is that we have enormous knowledge but we lack the wisdom in how to use it. There is good reason why Paul, writing to the church in Corinth where there was a lot of squabbling and disunity, referred to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The first two of these he linked together as ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ (1 Cor 12:8).

Celestial truth cannot be understood by the normal processes of human reason – it requires divine revelation.

There is surely a very good reason for linking these two. We can acquire an enormous fund of knowledge in our media-saturated world, where we have the whole internet at our disposal. But without the wisdom of how to use this knowledge, we can create chaos and confusion rather than promote enlightenment.

Jesus is the Light of Truth

As we enter the season of Advent it would be good to ponder on the prologue of John’s Gospel where he focuses upon the theme of light and darkness - also the theme of Hanukkah and Diwali at this time of the year. The unique feature of Advent, according to John’s teaching, is that although the light of truth came into the world at the birth of Jesus, the world did not recognise him.

John says that through the coming of Jesus, God actually came and “made his dwelling among us” – literally – “he pitched his tent among us”, as foretold by the Prophet Zechariah (2:10). But our human reason cannot cope with this. Despite all the accumulated knowledge of centuries of human development, this celestial truth cannot be understood by the normal processes of the human brain. This kind of knowledge requires wisdom that is actually a spiritual gift which can only be received through divine revelation.

God actually has to do something to our human nature to enable us to receive this wisdom, which enables us to perceive truth that goes way beyond the realm of human reason. This is what Jesus had to explain to Rabbi Nicodemus who was a devout scholar, a highly educated man and a senior academic. But his whole mindset was limited to learning on the level of human reason. Only a spiritual revelation would enable him to perceive ‘Kingdom truth’.

It was like opening the curtains in a darkened room, bringing a flood of light that shows all the things that were in the room but previously hidden by the darkness – things that you could stumble over in the dark.

The trouble with our generation is that we have enormous knowledge but we lack the wisdom in how to use it.

Deceit is Easy

In our world today, millions of people are going about stumbling over fake news, half-truths and blatant lies. They are easily deceived because they don’t know the truth that sets them free from all the duplicity, deviousness and unscrupulous machinations of the crooked generation in which we live. They are trying to see in the dark; trying to discern falsehood without having ever known truth.

It should be a salutary wake-up call to us when the leaders of the nations are found peddling fake news. How can we expect our children to discern right from wrong and to be protected from the multiple dangers of the internet and social media, if our leaders shows so little discernment?

It is small wonder that our children peddle nonsense and vilify one another over their mobile phones, sometimes with devastating effects upon their mental health.

Season of Opportunity

During this season of Advent, we have the opportunity in very practical ways to spread the true message of Christmas – the true light that has come into our dark world.

But so much depends upon our relationships with others, and how we use the tools of communication society has given us. If Donald Trump and Theresa May had only spoken to each other instead of tweeting, an embarrassing international incident could have been avoided. Surely this is a lesson to us all.

Postscript

Last week there were comments left on the editorial, speaking of the need for greater interaction between authors and readers. I warmly respond to this - we want to make this site much more open to constructive and thoughtful correspondence. Our Editorial Board are grappling with this subject and we are open to suggestions from any of our readers as to how we can improve such interaction so that we can all learn from one another in our search for the truth.

As part of this, don’t forget that we have established a secure site for such discussion, in partnership with the team at Issachar Ministries. If you would like to use this (there is a fee for joining) please contact Jacqueline at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The story of Micaiah.

In the fourth part of a series which examines the relevance of the message and ministry of the non-writing prophets for today, Campbell McAlpine looks at Micaiah.

The writer to the Hebrews begins his letter with the memorable words – “God who at various times and in different ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets” (AV). How wonderful of God to leave a record of what he said for our learning and encouragement!

Micaiah’s ministry was during the reigns of Ahab, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. The setting was the meeting of the two kings with much pomp and ceremony. Their characters were completely different. It is written of Ahab, “There was never a man like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel and his wife” (1 Kings 21:25). In contrast, it is said of Jehoshaphat that “he sought the God of his father, and followed his commands” (2 Chron 17:4). The two kings were linked through marriage, Jehoshaphat’s son having married Ahab’s daughter.

During this reunion, Ahab asked Jehoshaphat if he would join with him in war with the king of Syria to recover a city, Ramoth Gilead, which rightly belonged to Israel. He agreed, putting his army at Ahab’s disposal. Then he asked Ahab if they could enquire if there was any word from the Lord. It would have been better if he had asked that before he made his decision!

Jehoshaphat made an agreement with Ahab before seeking God’s approval.

Searching for True Prophecy

Ahab immediately sent for his prophets - four hundred of them. They all brought the same message: “Go…for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand”. To reinforce this message, one of them, Zedekiah, confirmed it with a sign. He had made horns of iron and declared: “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans [Syrians] until they are destroyed.’”

This probably brought great applause, with many shouts of ‘praise the Lord’. However, Jehoshaphat had a lack of peace in his heart (which should never be ignored) and asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can enquire of?" Ahab said there was another one, but he hated him for he never prophesied anything good about him!

It is generally believed that Micaiah was the unnamed prophet who met Ahab returning from a victory over Ben-Hadad, king of Damascus. After the battle, Ahab spared the life of the king of Syria in exchange for certain cities. The prophet said to Ahab, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.’” This was not good news! (1 Kings 20:42).

The king sent for Micaiah, and asked him if he should go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or refrain. Sarcastically Micaiah replied, “Attack and be victorious…” In other words, isn't that what you want to hear? The king turned on him, and said, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

Then Micaiah said: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.'” Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, “Didn't I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me”.

Jehoshaphat had a lack of peace in his heart, which should never be ignored.

“I Saw the Lord”

What made one prophet stand alone, against four hundred? What drained from him the fear of man, in preference for the fear of God? “I saw the Lord.” What were two earthly kings to Micaiah when he had seen the King? Who were four hundred prophets when he had seen the mighty hosts of Heaven standing on the right-hand and the left, around the throne of God?

He had not only seen the Lord; he had heard him discuss Ahab. The Lord had asked the question from his throne: “Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?” Suggestions were made, but the one accepted was from an evil spirit who offered to be a lying spirit in the mouths of Ahab’s four hundred prophets. He could not do that without Sovereign God’s permission, which was given: “You will succeed in enticing him. Go and do it.”

There was no applause for Micaiah when he gave this revelation, rather the reverse. Then, as now, if you don’t like the message, attack the messenger. Zedekiah, who had taken such trouble to make the horns of iron, rushed up to Micaiah, struck him on the face, and said, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord go when he went from me to speak to you?”

Micaiah told Zedekiah that he would find out which had been the true message, when he was running for his life, and trying desperately to find somewhere to hide.

Into the Valley of Death Rode the Four Hundred

Ahab’s response was not only rejection of the message, but also the messenger. He gave orders to put Micaiah in prison, and put him on bread and water rations until his return. “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me” responded Micaiah. Then, turning to the people, he shouted “Mark my words, all you people!”

In spite of his bravado, Ahab decided to go into battle disguised, but asked Jehoshaphat to go dressed in his kingly robes. The Syrian king had given orders to his army to concentrate on killing Ahab. During the battle Jehoshaphat became the target, but he shouted out, and they realised that he was not the king of Israel, so left him alone. Ahab could disguise himself from men, but not from God. During the battle “someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armour. The king told his chariot driver, ‘Wheel round and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.’”

What made one prophet stand alone, against four hundred? What drained from him the fear of man, in preference for the fear of God? “I saw the Lord”.

The battle went on and increased. Ahab was propped up in his chariot mortally wounded, and that night he died. His army returned to their homes like ‘sheep without a shepherd’, all according to the word of the Lord.

The Relevance of this Message for Today

The inspired scriptures are useful for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (1 Tim 3:16). What can we learn from Micaiah’s witness? I would suggest: the importance of judging prophecies.

Today there seems to be a proliferation of prophecies. Unfortunately, many are not ‘judged’ or weighed, sometimes resulting in confusion, disillusionment, frustration and a questioning of the real. What happened to the prophesied revival which was going to take place in May of 1997? As we saw in this story, the oft repetition of the same prophecy doesn’t necessarily make it true. Remember the question Jesus asked Pilate: “Is that your own idea or did others talk to you about me?” (John 18:34).

Many optimistic statements are made which can bring applause from the congregation. I haven’t heard too many cheers when you quote Isaiah 26:9: “When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.” We are not called upon to make people happy, but to help them to be holy, then the two go together.

I remember in the early days of what was called ’renewal', when a prophecy was given, the people were called to silence. The prophecy was considered by the leadership, who encouraged the application of the word - or to correct, if it was not a true word, but just something out of a person's own spirit. That was never for condemnation but for learning.

The oft repetition of the same prophecy does not make it true.

Revelation of and from the Lord

“I saw the Lord.” When Micaiah had revelation of the Lord, then he had revelation from the Lord. One of our greatest needs today is the knowledge of God which is supplied to us mainly through the Bible.

There is the danger of seeking quick guidance, instant revelation, rather than being like Jehoshaphat who ‘sought the Lord’. The danger is following the signs, rather than letting the signs follow. When Micaiah ’saw the Lord’ his desire was to obey God, rather than please men.

When Isaiah ’saw the Lord’ his desire was to be holy, and call others to holiness (Isa 6). When Ezekiel ’saw the Lord’ he was enabled to fulfil his ministry in the most difficult of circumstances (Ezek 1 and 2). When Paul saw the Lord, he was homesick, for Heaven “is far better”. When John ’saw the Lord’ he fell at his feet as though dead and was faithful in receiving and delivering the messages given to him — whether of judgment or of blessing.

Getting Things in the Right Order

As we saw in this story, Jehoshaphat agreed to ally himself with Ahab before enquiring of the Lord. How many times have we sought confirmation from the Lord on what we had already decided to do?

When Jehoshaphat returned to Jerusalem from the battle he was met by a prophet who brought him this question from God: “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is upon you” (2 Chron 19:2). Scary isn't it? Multi-faith, beware!

There is danger in following the signs, rather than letting the signs follow.

Conclusion

Let's thank God for all true prophecy, and all true prophets. Let's pray for people of courage, free from the fear of men. Let's pray for discernment, to know the false from the true. Let's pray for leadership to rightly judge prophecy. Let's pray for hunger and thirst to know God through his word, so that we might ‘see the Lord’.

The full story of Micaiah can be found in 1 Kings 22, and 2 Chronicles 18.

Originally published in Prophecy Today, Vol 14(1), 1998. Revised July 2017.

Paul Luckraft reviews 'Signs: The Significance of Biblical Prophecy' by Neil Mackereth (2015).

This is an accessible introduction to what the Bible has to say about the climax of history and the end of the age. The author explains that, having been asked to run an 'end times' course in his local church, he then felt called to turn the material into a book.

As a retired Brigadier with a background in communications and administration, he admits he is no academic and that at the start he realised just how little he knew. But as his research grew and he gained a new awareness of what the Bible says about the amazing signs God has given, he became more and more absorbed and determined to enthuse others too.

He explains his aim in writing the book (his first) is "to examine a number of signs of our times as well as biblical prophecies...[and] let you – the reader - conclude whether or not prophecy is being fulfilled in our day" (p9).

Structure and Approach

The book is in five parts. The introductory section provides guidelines and ground rules to help establish a level of objectivity, and includes consideration of the pitfalls and challenges to an impartial approach to the topic. There follows an overview of the histories of Israel and Babylon, and an assessment of where we are on the timeline of biblical prophecy.

The final sections focus on more specific aspects of end times prophecy and the significance of current events in relation to these prophecies, together with a consideration of what is yet to happen.

Neil's research into the end times gave him a new awareness of what the Bible says and a determination to enthuse others about the topic.

Overall the book is well-written with an easy style that encourages you to read on. The structure of the book is clear and well-organised. The 22 relatively short chapters each begin in a way that draws you in, either via an interesting fact, a challenging question or a humorous observation. The author's background in communication perhaps helps here!

A key feature of the earlier parts of the book is 'the miracle that is Israel' - regarding both its history and its re-birth. There is a clear rejection of Replacement Theology and a sense of Israel's destiny – which accounts for its miraculous survival. He provides a measured consideration of the blossoming fig tree, both in terms of the birth of the state in 1948 and the increasing growth in Messianic Jewish believers in Israel and Judaism worldwide. His handling of this 'sign' gives confidence in his ability to tackle these topics generally.

As in the Days of Noah...

In the third section, the author is aware of the need to handle Old Testament prophecies as a mix of forth-telling and foretelling, which he generally does well. It is rather surprising, therefore, that his view of Satan is unconventional. He rejects the common view that Satan is a fallen senior angel whose pride caused him to rebel against God, commenting that "As far as I am aware there is no Scriptural foundation for this theory." What he does believe about the person and origins of the enemy remains unclear. Instead the chapter diverts to a discussion of the Temple Mount.

Much better is the following chapter on 'The Days of Noah', which contains an excellent critique of modern society and its obsession with political correctness. His phrase "the pervasion of perversion" (p121) is both telling and memorable.

In the fourth section we move from a wider reflection to a narrower focus on what he calls the "centre line for examining End Times prophetic scriptures" (p125), namely Matthew 24. He promises us a narrative summary of this chapter but this is too brief to be called a summary. Rather, it is merely an outline before we move on to sample a few more prophecies and relate them to current affairs. In other words, what are the signs of our times?

A key feature of the book is 'the miracle that is Israel' - regarding both its history and its re-birth.

Within this section the author provides a useful recap of certain key themes, such as the anti-Christ, the one world order, the centrality of Jerusalem and the possibility of a re-built Temple. There are, as would be expected, several pages devoted to the Book of Revelation, where he stresses that the objective of the book is an unveiling of Jesus rather than of events or a timetable. This is a useful reminder that the most important prophecy of all is that Jesus will return. The Lamb has won, and will reign on earth as King!

Where Next?

Part five asks the question 'What next?' What do recent trends suggest about our immediate future? These are thoughtfully examined without trying to confirm any particular theory or theology. Rather it is a case of 'let's look and see what we can see.'

The Middle East is a key focus of attention, as is the theme of false teachers and prophets. In one chapter we are led to consider "the rise and spread of radical and very militant versions of Islamic ideology" (p186) and ask to what extent this is apocalyptic. This topic is handled very well and is up-to-date enough to include ISIS and its prophetic significance. Is ISIS a sign of our times - and where might it lead? The gentle conclusion is "Only time will tell" (p192).

The author is aware of the need to handle Old Testament prophecies as a mix of forth-telling and foretelling.

The book closes with two useful appendices. The first is a glossary of end time terminology; the second provides some background notes on Islam (mainly on the difference between Sunni and Shi'a).

Overall this is a book well worth investing in, and reading again and again as a refresher on this important topic.

Signs (208 pages) is self-published and available from CFI for £9, or from Amazon.

Clifford Hill looks at the letter in Revelation 2 addressed to the Ephesian Church.

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favour: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." (Rev 2:1-7)

Ephesus was one of the three great cities of the eastern Mediterranean in the Greco-Roman period – the other two being Antioch of Syria and Alexandria of Egypt. Paul spent three years of his ministry there and John is thought to have settled there sometime after Paul – probably taking with him Mary the Mother of Jesus. John was evidently banished to the island of Patmos during the reign of Domitian (81-96 AD), who was the first Emperor to initiate serious and widespread persecution against Christians.

John was 'in the Spirit' on 1 August (the day named after the Emperor who was the first to be deified) known as 'Lord's day' when many Christians would be refusing to do homage to Caesar at the local shrine by saying "Caesar is Lord!".

As was said in the introductory article last week, the personal messages sent to the Seven Churches were intended to be read aloud in each of them together with the following chapters. The whole message was intended:

...to embolden the timid, to strengthen the weak, to warn the complacent, to give reassurance to the faithful and to give understanding of the purposes of God during this period of hardship and persecution before the second coming of our Lord.¹

Ephesus Then and Now

Ephesus was a busy seaport as well as a centre of commerce and communications. At the time of Paul's ministry its population was somewhere between 300,000 and 400,000. It was also a centre of culture with large numbers of visitors coming to its famous library, much of which Mark Anthony gave to Cleopatra - although many of the scrolls and tablets would probably have been replaced by the time Paul arrived some 20 years later.

Today, Ephesus is the best preserved ancient city in the Mediterranean world because, although it suffered some earthquake damage, it was never conquered and never destroyed by hostile armies. It was simply abandoned when the river silted up making the port unusable and mosquitoes and other insects made it uninhabitable.

Visitors today can walk down the well-preserved main street called Marble Way, with restored buildings on either side. It is usually crowded with visitors which gives the feel of a busy city as it was in Paul's and John's day. A great attraction is the beautiful architecture of the library with its infamous tunnel under the street to the brothel. The library itself was adjacent to the Hall of Tyrannus which Paul rented for his daily teaching.

John was 'in the Spirit' on 1 August, or 'Lord's day', when many Christians would be refusing to do homage to Caesar at the local shrine by saying "Caesar is Lord!".

Rules for VisitorsTheatre in Ephesus.

Visitors to Ephesus would normally enter the main gates at the upper level and would no doubt have been impressed by the efficient organisation of the city with its strict immigration procedures. All caravans and chariots had to be left outside the city gates just as coaches and taxis are today.

The first building inside the gates was the baths and all visitors were required to wash their bodies on entering the city. Next, they had to go into the City Hall where the rules of the city were displayed. Visitors then went into a small theatre where they were addressed by the city elders who elaborated the regulations ensuring that everyone was familiar with the rules and norms of behaviour required.

Christian visitors can see the spiritual significance of this in terms of entering the Kingdom of Heaven. New converts first have to leave behind the baggage of the world. They are then washed of the sins of the world through baptism after which they receive the word of God which is expounded by the elders. Finally, they are free to enjoy living in the city of God.

Success of the Gospel

In addition to the well-preserved Main Street with its numerous buildings, Ephesus also has a magnificent theatre with 24,000 seats. It was this theatre that was filled by the riotous mob led by Demetrius (Acts 19), the leader of the silversmiths' trade union, shouting "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!". They were protesting that Paul's ministry was threatening their trade in making images of the fertility goddess Artemis.

Ephesus was renowned as a city of vice and idolatry attracting sailors and traders from around the world, but Paul had enormous success in converting large numbers with the Gospel, resulting in many of them publicly burning their scrolls and images (Acts 19:19).

Turkish guides are often not aware of the most significant part of Ephesus for Christians. After leaving the great theatre, the guides usually lead their parties to the exit gate where the coaches wait. But Christians should look for a small track on the left-hand side that leads to the ruins of the church of St Mary the Virgin with its well-preserved chancel – a beautiful place to sit and pray.

The building was originally built by the Romans as the Financial Exchange, before becoming a church. At the end of the nave on the right-hand side there is a transept with the oldest remaining baptistery in the world. This church is where the Council of Ephesus took place in 431 AD, which fixed the Canon of the Bible and settled many questions of doctrine.

Like those entering the Kingdom of Heaven, visitors to Ephesus would have had to leave behind their baggage, go through a cleansing process and then receive new instruction on how to live.

Paul's Message

In the personal message to the Christians in Ephesus sent by John there was praise for their "deeds, hard work and perseverance". The message continued "I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary" (Rev 2:3).

This was followed by the rebuke: "But you have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen!" They had been diligent in upholding the true faith of the Gospel. They themselves had discovered the true God of the universe and they wanted everyone to know him and to share their faith. They had overflowed with love for each other in the fellowship of believers and their love was so great that it overflowed to their pagan neighbours – but that was the early days, probably back in the heady days when Paul was around and everything was new and exciting.

Having to sort out false teachers who had come among them made them suspicious. Testing false doctrine had put a strain on personal relationships and even made them critical of each other in the fellowship, resulting in false accusations. They were however perfectly right in opposing the Nicolaitans for their false teaching. It was right to expel false teachers; but there was a cost – the cost was their love.

Believers in Ephesus had diligently upheld the true faith – but in doing so had lost their initial love for God.

The fellowship of believers in Ephesus could be summed up in a few words: they were 'vigilant but loveless'. The message of Jesus to his beloved ones in Ephesus was to return to their first love.

This is such a relevant message for us today. The Church has been assailed by many false teachings in recent decades that have brought division and conflict within fellowships and between one church and another. The struggle to hold fast to the faith has been costly for many believers and has often resulted in the loss of personal relationships of love. We all need to hear this call to return to our first love for the Lord Jesus and for his Gospel.

References

1 Hill, C & M, 2005. Ephesus to Laodicea, Handsel Press, Edinburgh, p106.

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