A summary of Latter Rain prophecies.

Dr Clifford Hill concludes his chapter of ‘Blessing the Church?’, first published in 1995. Read previous instalments of this series here.

Perhaps the charismatic stream that has been most influenced by Latter Rain and Manifest Sons of God teaching is 'Classical Restorationism', which picked up many of the elements of 'revelation' teaching, including the restoration of the offices of apostle and prophet, shepherding, discipleship, authoritarianism, the attainment of godhead and immortalisation.

These prophecies have been summarised below by Albert Dager. This shows the extent to which teachings which have no biblical foundation have become accepted in the charismatic movement through the influence of Restorationism.

Summary of Latter Rain Prophecies

1. In the latter days, the offices of apostle and prophet will be restored.
   
2. The prophets will call the Church to holiness and rejection of the world's influences found in the denominational churches. True sonship with God will come through stages of perfection: servant, friend, son, and ultimately, godhood itself;
   
3. The apostles will rule the Church through the establishment of independent churches, unaffiliated with the corrupt denominations. The exception would be denominational churches that leave their covering and join the movement;
   
4. Through signs and wonders wrought by the apostles and prophets, a worldwide revival will break out, and a majority of the world will be won to Christ. The signs and wonders will include blessings upon those whom the apostles and prophets bless, and curses upon those whom they curse;
   
5. The revival will come as the result of the Church defeating demonic spirits through prayer, fasting, and spiritual warfare conducted through intense worship and praise, and by rebuking demonic powers and territorial spirits. The restoration of worship and praise is known as the restoration of the Tabernacle of David, and includes dancing, singing, and exuberant praise in tongues;
   
6. Those who achieve a certain degree of holiness under the direction of the apostles and prophets will overcome all enemies, including death, and will become immortal. They will complete the conquest of the nations before Christ returns. The conquering will be done as Joel's Army, an army of immortal beings bringing judgment upon the ungodly and all who will not accept the authority of the apostles and prophets;
   
7. Some believe that the second coming of Jesus is in and through the Church: the Church will become Christ on earth and rule the nations with a rod of iron. Others believe that after the Church has taken dominion over the nations (or a significant portion of the nations), the Church, glorious and triumphant, will call Jesus back to earth and hand the nations over to him. Those who hold the latter view are willing to over-look the heresy of the former in the interest of unity with the purposes of realising their goal of conquest.¹

Dager’s summary shows the extent to which teachings which have no biblical foundation have become accepted in the charismatic movement.

Widespread Acceptance

The charismatic movement has witnessed an enormous number of prophecies over the last 25 or more years. These have been given in small house groups, church congregations, at celebration events and in many publications of all kinds.

They have come from believers exercising the gift of prophecy, or individuals giving prophetic messages to each other, or from well-known leaders and preachers at large gatherings.

Many of these prophecies have simply been received and forgotten, but others have had great influence. They have been passed from one to another, recorded on tape and published in magazines and books.

The prophecies which have exerted the most influence have not been warnings but have been the popular words promising 'revival' and great spiritual power. This influence can be measured objectively through the amount of publicity given and the number of leaders who quote them. Another objective measure is to note the concepts which come from contemporary prophetic 'revelation' and have become incorporated into doctrine - such as the 'Joel's Army', 'dread champions' or 'new breed' teachings.

The charismatic movement has absorbed all these and many more. They have been highly influential in giving direction to the development of the movement and especially in the formation of charismatic doctrine. The most popular belief to have come from this source is the expectation of a great spiritual revival and the emergence of a glorious, victorious, supernaturally empowered Church.

The prophecies which have exerted the most influence in the charismatic movement have not been warnings but have been the popular words promising 'revival' and great spiritual power.

So widespread is this belief that there can be few charismatics who know that it has absolutely no biblical foundation. It comes from Latter Rain prophecy and is actually contrary to Scripture. Yet it has been enthusiastically adopted by countless preachers and passed on to their people as though it were the word of God.

This is a measure of the deception in the charismatic movement, because even if the people do not know the Bible well enough to test doctrine and to recognise heresy, surely the preachers should be able to do so! Or is it a case of 'all we like sheep have gone astray'? If one well-known leader endorses it, all the other minor leaders accept it, and so the people are misled.

When the promises fail to be fulfilled some new, exciting and entertaining diversion is readily embraced with inadequate testing. It was the great expectations engendered by Latter Rain prophecies popularised by the Wimber team in 1990 which prepared the way in Britain for the ready acceptance given to the bizarre antics of the Toronto phenomenon.

Serious Implications

There is, however, something even more serious than engaging in strange behaviour and believing it to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. The most serious consequence of accepting false prophecy and believing false teaching is that it can cause blindness to the true word of God. It can also act as a major diversion from the purpose of God for his people at a particular time. If God is warning about an impending difficult time and the people are deceived into thinking good times are coming, they will be unprepared when the storm breaks.

The many prophecies of warning have been largely ignored in the charismatic movement, whereas the popular prophecies of good times have been received with joy. It is a sobering thought that in ancient Israel God never sent prophets to announce times of prosperity. It was the false prophets who came with these messages which were always popular with the people, while the true prophets were stoned.
Hundreds of generations later, we are prone to the same errors of judgment. The most popular sins are the sins of the fathers.

Next week: David Noakes begins our penultimate chapter, giving a personal and biblical perspective of renewal.

References

1 ‘Latter Day Prophets’. Special report by Albert Dager in Media Spotlight: A Biblical Analysis of Religious and Secular Media, Washington, USA, October 1990.