Keepers of The Keys (3)

The Gates and Gatekeepers of the New Order

(By Tricia Tillin of Banner Ministries)

Spiritual Warfare – Ritual & Superstition

An aspect of the Gatekeepers’ role that is especially worrying involves what is called “spiritual warfare”. Instead of simply resisting the devil on a personal level, spiritual warfare has become a whole industry of pulling down strongholds, cleansing the heavens of evil, establishing righteousness on the earth and identifying and challenging specific, named, spiritual powers - none of which is supported in the bible.

Now it has become the Gatekeepers’ task to open and shut the spiritual gates that supernatural powers use to influence mankind. At a Baltimore revival meeting, Tommy Tenney said:

"Take your turn to hold the heavens open over Baltimore. It's not a place geographically, it's a place spiritually. Join the fellow worshippers, gatekeepers, to hold open the heavens." Each waiter, upon the presence of the Lord, pushed hard upon a heavenly door. It's like somehow we caught God's attention. (Baltimore Rock Church: Detail and Entertain, Nov 98)

Compare this with the description of a Gatekeeper found on a pagan site:

"EGYPTIAN GATEKEEPERS: A Gatekeeper is one who guards portals or gates to other dimensions. Gatekeepers use keys or symbols to open or lock gates. The Hathors are supposedly Gatekeepers of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid."

A lot of spiritual warfare is now becoming similar to (or identical to?) witchcraft rituals and is descending into superstitions reminiscent of the Middle Ages. Yet the people who do such things believe they are genuinely effecting great changes in the heavens and on earth.

In the report that follows, the participants believed they had brought all the North American Indians – whether dead or alive - to a place of conversion!

“On August 19, the Lord gave me a word that it was time to tell the gatekeepers to “open up the gates.” On August 20 I went to the headwaters of the Wabash River…I felt that we were to prophesy the entire book of Joel. [We] felt we were to repent of the sins committed against the Native Americans in Indiana and as we did that I saw in my spirit the living waters begin to gush out over the state, washing away the blood from the unrighteous battles fought here….repentance for this land must go back even further than when the White man entered the land. For total healing to come it may take Native American representatives to stand in repentance for their ancient ancestor’s choice to separate from Israel.

“I poured out the Wabash firewater on the rock and around it and opened the gates for salvation, deliverance, healing and blessings. I felt this prophetic act in the area of Prophet’s Rock represented God opening the gateway through which the Native Americans can enter into the Kingdom of God and the restoration of the blessings to them.

“As I prophesied Deut. 29 and 30 I had the sense in my Spirit that the whole of the Native American people, past and present were gathered in the heavenlies to be given the choice in that place that is outside of time and space, as to whether they would choose blessing or cursing, life or death. I felt that they would choose life!

“I sent the fire down the rivers. I opened the ancient gates …Terry and I began to pour the water from the Mississippi into the Wabash headwaters together, asking God to send the fire, the purifying waters and to stir the healing waters….We felt that the “Water Gate” had been opened - living waters for healing, salvation, and deliverance. 

[She identifies Jezebel/The Queen of Heaven as the “religious churches”, and so prophesies judgement on them.] "Around the obelisk were 12 pillars and I poured fire water on each pillar to symbolize the fire of judgment coming to the religious spirits that have governed the church and to symbolize the fire that is coming to God’s true government - the sons of the Spirit of Elijah. Another thing that struck me as I was prophesying from this location was not only are we to open the gates of the Daughter of Zion, we are to open the enemies gates in the sense of breaking them down so that we can go in and PILLAGE!”  (Open Up the Gates, A Gatekeeper's Journey By Diane Bahler)

Notice the use of the term “water gate” and “fire-water”. In the next quote, notice a similar use of natural materials, in this case rocks, minerals:

“[The Lord said]: "Take from the river ten stones. At the point where the two rivers come together anoint one with salt, and the other with oil. Label the river-stones according to the way in which the living stones were drawn by my Spirit to the Rock for ministry."  [they give ten stones different names] We were then urged by the Spirit of the Living God to label a Rock as "JESUS." Around and on this Rock we placed the river-stones. We then sounded the shofar, waved the battle-ax of the Lord, and proclaimed that the Gate is open in this Mid-Ohio Valley, and all the lands that are drained by the Ohio river. That Satan and his demons were bound from this land which belongs to our Lord and King Jesus." (TEN STONES Oct 2000: Michael Watson, Harvest Ministry, Report Of A Gatekeeper)

In both cases, natural materials are associated with “gates” and a spiritual effect is accomplished by the use of these materials. In the occult world, gates are likewise identified with natural objects, as the following demonstrates:

“The name “GateKeeper” was taken from the Shamanic culture of the Dagara Tribe located in the heart of West Central Africa. "Gatekeeper" is the title given by the Dagara to the Shamans who open and close the dimensional gates between alternate worlds and realities. According to Dagara cosmology there are five basic kinds of gates that a Shaman may travel through. In each dimension there are countless different worlds and realities, only some of which have been explored by man. The Gatekeepers know the five portals well, and know how to open and close the gates for their fellow shaman to enter and explore.

The first worlds are lower - the microcosm - representing contact with levels of consciousness that are part of our own. Traditionally these are called the underground worlds: (1) Fire, (2) Mineral, [rocks] (3) Water/Plants, (4) Nature/Animal, and (5) the Earth itself. Each gate also has an upward heavenly direction - the macrocosm. These are realities where consciousness which is more evolved and expanded than our own can be found. Traditionally these are called the heavenly worlds: (6) Ancestors, (7) Elementals, (8) Angels, (9) Muses, and (10) Being in the Universe. All ten worlds go together in a kind of evolutionary "ladder of creation," referred to for instance in the Bible as "Jacobs Ladder." (“Gate Keeper” CD from PrimaSounds® Music Composed and Performed by Ralph C. Losey )

Although the Christians who are acting as sharmanistic gatekeepers to alternate worlds do not perhaps realise their close affinity with their African counterparts, they have stumbled almost by accident on two of the “gates” (the water gate and the rock gate) known to these magicians.

They also frequently refer to the “upward heavenly” gates, although not in the exact terminology used by occultists, obviously. But there HAS been teaching on contacting those who now live in heaven. i.e.“ancestors”, and “elementals” are demons; “angels” are of course angels; “muses” are spiritual forces that influence people to receive new revelations, music or artistic creations; and “beings in the universe” are gods, that is, what the bible calls “powers and principalities” in the heavenlies.

The battle of light and darkness, good and evil, that spiritual warfare has become owes more to Gnostic dualism than biblical Christianity. It is a struggle in which two equally matched forces are in eternal combat (so clearly illustrated by the Star Wars films).

But God is not battling evil - HE HAS ALREADY WON! Satan is a defeated foe! In Christianity we do not see a war between two equal powers with the outcome in the balance and resting on how powerful or knowledgeable we are. We see only God Triumphant and victorious, the Creator, who made all things INCLUDING THE FALLEN ANGELS. Yet statements like the following edge us very close to spiritism even though they masquerade as Christianity:

"I AM CALLING FORTH MY GATEKEEPERS:...In addition to the following information, I'd like to add the fact that wiccans call forth their gatekeeper(s) through what they consider to be their major gate: Northeast, Salem, Mass. Please do not pray against/shut this particular gate unless you know that you have the authority to do so." (Joanne Gavlick)

Diane Bahler also cried off tackling one assignment because : "I can't really go on that land right now because the "gatekeeper" there was so offended at Christians praying there last November that I've been asked to stay away for awhile."

Personal Spirit-Guides and Guardians

An aspect of revival teaching that has been barely touched upon is the danger of people contacting spirits and believing they are angels or the Holy Spirit. In the occult world, people pride themselves on contacting their personal spirit-guide who becomes a companion to them, teaching and advising them, keeping them company and showing them deeper levels of spiritual "light".

Should we be at all concerned that such sprit-guides are known as "gatekeepers" outside the Church?

"Molly Rowland trans-channels Saint Germain and the Brotherhood of Light - Ascended Masters, Archangels and members of the Space Brotherhood. St. Germain has spoken, "She will be called The Voice of the Gatekeepers." Molly's ability to put you directly in touch with your personal Gatekeeper is unique.
With a background in astrological counseling, Molly has well over thirty years of professional experience in astrology and tarot. Molly's channeling is not affiliated with any church or organization."

Portals of Eternity, Afterlife Passwords and Gatekeepers (From Spirit Web astrological site): "The central focus of all religions is the afterlife and its mysteries. The Christian version we are familiar with offers an image of St. Peter at the Pearly Gates of Heaven. The Gnostics and Christians of early Common Era Gnosticism and Christianity who expounded on these afterlife ideas based many of their extensive accounts of afterlife passwords and gatekeepers on their own subjective experiences involving inner world journeys. ... Passwords and gatekeepers are part of classical astrology, the laws of physics of the ancient world. The Gnostics and Christians of the early Common Era circulated lists of passwords that the many afterlife gatekeepers would accept. These passwords were said to have been part of the teachings of Jesus." (Claire Watson, excerpted from her book Tarot and the Universe)

Baltimore Demon-Binding

I now want to look at a major exercise in both spiritual warfare and "bringing in the kingdom", that has to do with gates and rituals. But before I do, let me ask this: how have we come to such a place in the Church that not only such things are taught, but hundreds of pastors and others Christians obediently follow, sensing no contradiction of the scriptures and no aberrant doctrine in what they do?

Pastors are encouraged to see themselves as Gatekeepers with the power to stake a claim on their physical localities, to drive all demons out, and to claim the land for God. They then make a declaration, or proclamation, to close the door to evil and open it to righteousness, thus converting their cities. The teaching comes from spiritual warfare proponent Frank Damazio, and Tommy Tenney of Baltimore, author of the book "God Chasers".

Baltimore Stake-out (Feb 98)

"At recent February meetings, at the Rock Church of Baltimore, Tommy Tenney and Pastor Bart Pierce explained how to secure the borders of Baltimore and to reclaim the city to the glory of God. Late in 1997, Rev. Frank Damazio coordinated a city wide stake out in Portland, Oregan. Baltimore is planning to stake out the city in April of 1998.  Tommy explained that before you take possession of a property a survey is taken and stakes are driven at the borders of the property. The pastors being the gatekeepers of a city should choose the locations for the stakes and should be the ones to swing the sledge hammer to drive the stakes deep into the earth...The enemy will be held outside your gates, but also trapped within your city so that he can be destroyed. "

The ritual is extensively outlined in Baltimore Rock Church literature, with instructions on preparing, inscribing and anointing the stake, and placing inside it a piece of paper containing the proclamation.

(The Stake Out document, along with a commentary and the Pastor's Covenant bringing together all the Pastor/Gatekeepers in city-wide denominational UNITY can be seen by clicking HERE).

Musical Gatekeeping

Gatekeepers use intercession, worship, song and music to open spiritual doors.

"It's the time of full release of God's prepared minstrels, who are apostles and prophets, and have been prepared to do musical gatekeeping in the heavenlies by paying the price of death to self in the desert. There are VERY FEW of these people. [compare the new-age statements about the FEW people who attain to their transformation!] I'm not talking about a normal worship leader, but a minstrel who knows how to target principalities and powers and has a mantle to overcome them that comes from authority given by Yeshua Himself.

"Along with this huge move of God, there is finally the sovereign season for His apostolic and prophetic minstrels to be released. Look at Is. 30:31-32. There is a scriptural basis for disarming a principality, world ruler spirit called the Assyrian. It is done with tabrets (percussion) and strings (stringed instruments). A piano is both. It is SPECIFIC in this scripture what is called for. But it takes the mantle of the prophet or apostle in music to get it done. THESE minstrels are very few - like a SWAT team. If you want a gate open, get one of these. They could play chopsticks and the gate would open." (capitals in original)

So, spiritual warfare of minstrels will defeat the spirit of Assyria? Hmmm. Let's see if the bible actually says that! Are there really SPECIFIC instructions in scripture?

Isa 30:30-33
The LORD will cause His glorious voice to be heard, and show the descent of His arm, with the indignation of His anger and the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of the LORD Assyria will be beaten down, as He strikes with the rod. And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, which the LORD lays on him, it will be with tambourines and harps; and in battles of brandishing He will fight with it. (NKJ)

A quick look at the scripture shows us some things right away: the "Assyrian" of these verses is NOT a spiritual stronghold or ruler-spirit at all, but a real live enemy of Israel, the name of a country and the mighty empire that dominated the ancient biblical world from the ninth to the seventh century B.C. The Assyrian empire in fact attacked and defeated Israel and carried away most of its inhabitants as captives. The only real defeat of the Assyrian was during a later attack against Judah, the Southern kingdom, in which the "Angel of the Lord" himself dealt the death blow, as follows:

Isa 37:36-38
"Then the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses-- all dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place."

As one Commentator says, the tabrets and harps were used as a "demonstration of joy and thanksgiving for the destruction of the enemy in so wonderful a manner: with hymns of praise, accompanied with musical instruments". It is so plain in scripture that it cannot be misinterpreted! There is ABSOLUTELY NO SPIRITUAL WARFARE TO BE SEEN HERE!

"Several years ago in a dream, as I was waking, the Lord spoke to me and said "Make ready the gatekeepers". Over the last 3 or 4 years, my ears have been attentive to the Lord  concerning the gates. He has taken me to the Old Testament to the books of Ezekiel, Daniel and the minor prophets and showed me the rebuilding of the temple, the returning of his glory and the day of destruction. We are to enter His Gates with thanksgiving in our hearts, and to enter his courts with praise. Praise and worship are the key to open the gates for the multitudes to enter in. And the Glory of the Lord will Fill the Temple! We are the temple of the Holy Sprit. Worship Him! And His Train Will Fill The Temple! Praise be to God!" (Margaret J. LaCoille)

Where does this idea come from? In the OT books mentioned there is no mention of music, praise, worship or even intercession "opening the gates" of heaven, allowing righteousness to flood a nation, or destroying spiritual strongholds.

Praise is offered to God, and exalts his name. For that reason the enemies of God resent and loathe praise (when genuine, and in the Holy Spirit that is) and demons can therefore be made to flee from a situation in which they are oppressing or influencing people or places by a straightforward use of worship.

BUT (and this is a very big but) that simple truth does not take us on to the belief that music contains some kind of mystical power in and of itself so that (as mentioned above) a piano that contains percussion and stringed instrumentation can act as a weapon in a supernatural battle against rulers in the heavenlies. Such a thing is never once mentioned nor recommended in the bible. It has been developed out of new revelations heavily influences by an occult view of music as a spiritual force. (See my articles on music THE SOUND OF MUSIC and THE NEW SONG).

Where can we find the concept of the Gatekeeper utilising the power of music to open and shut spiritual gates? In the bible? NO. But here is an advertisement for a CD of new music, music to affect the mind and spirit. It is called "The Gatekeeper". The CD is from PrimaSounds Music, composed and performed by Ralph C. Losey:

"In this CD the music serves as a kind of gatekeeper, sonically opening and closing the gates into other dimensions.  'Gate Keeper' was taken from the Shamanic culture of the Dagara Tribe located in the heart of West Central Africa. "Gatekeeper" is the title given by the Dagara to the Shamans who open and close the dimensional gates between alternate worlds and realities. ... The Gatekeepers know the five portals well, and know how to open and close the gates for their fellow shaman to enter and explore.

"This is music in the tradition of Orpheus, and listening to the CD is like participating in a sacred ritual. ... You intuit and perceive entities from other dimensions and worlds in entirely new and unusual ways that can not be described in terms of the five senses. These kind of visions are tied into ritual and community, and naturally involve a sense of awe, a sense of the miraculous and the sacred. ...if the anxieties are overcome, and the relaxed state is maintained, overwhelming love and joy usually come. [where have we heard THAT before?!]

An allied activity, often seen as synonymous with music, worship and praise is "intercession".

Intercessory Praise as Gatekeeping

When traditional Christians use the term "intercession" they mean praying for somebody; the word itself means standing in the gap, to be a go-between, to stand up on behalf of a person in need and the Lord, to ask favours, mercy and grace for that person. To intercede is to become a mediator for somebody who needs prayer. It is to INTER (between) CEDE (from Latin cedere=go) to go between them and God, for their benefit.

So then, intercession is ALWAYS directed to the Father through Jesus and by the Holy Spirit. Prayer in the bible is never directed AT anyone or anything! The kind of activity Dutch Sheets speaks of in saying " let our prayers go forth like missiles, guided missiles and smart bombs." indicates a terrible misunderstanding of what prayer is intended to be and do.

The English word "pray" simple means "request, or ask". This word was in common use in normal conversation until fairly recently in our history. People would say "pass the salt, I pray thee (or, prithee)" and there is nothing mysterious about the word itself. Therefore to PRAY to God is to ASK God the Father for something.

Knowing this, it's difficult to imagine the concept of a prayer being a weapon, a guided missile or smart bomb, or an arrow or laser that goes out to affect, influence (or afflict?) a person or place or situation. To think of prayer as such is to misunderstand the whole concept and to descend into witchcraft, where spells are spoken for the purpose of sending forth (as missiles) demons that affect a situation or person.

Prayer directed AT a person or place is ALWAYS wrong! And, there are plenty of Christians who can tell you that such guided missiles and darts are in fact - in their own experience - the "darts of the enemy" and do indeed affect them! As the bible says, we need to actively lift up the "shield of faith" to protect ourselves against such aimed prayers.

Have you ever felt yourself going in a certain direction, not knowing why, or felt drawn towards a person or church that in the natural you had decided to avoid? Have you ever felt a mental pressure to adopt a certain belief, or to receive manifestations or revivalist doctrines? Do you know that revival churches unceasingly and actively send out 'smart-bomb prayers' AT people like you and me in order to affect our minds and hearts and make us soften up to the new revelations?

But, in the New Order churches, intercession has been notched up several slots to become (like music) a weapon of warfare. Now, Gatekeepers open and shut gates with intercession.

"The Lord showed me by His Spirit that His gatekeepers are the intercessors, so let us take a look at how the gatekeeper's came about....THE DUTIES OF THE GATEKEEPER/INTERCESSOR: The gatekeepers were appointed and put in their place and certain tasks were given them. And so we know that the prophetic intercessors have each received a specific task from the Lord. The gatekeepers were placed at every gate, the entrances to the tent of meeting, on the four sides, east, west, north and south (v.24). These represent the nations and the ministry of praying for the nations, which certain intercessors have."

So, from an allegorical interpretation of actual guards at the doors of the real Temple in Israel, we come to this understanding of prophetic gatekeepers as intercessors who now have jurisdiction over spiritual gates on the north, south, east and west of the world! They have the task of keeping evil out of the nations and letting good in. How they do this is demonstrated, once again, by the prayers at the Prophetic Conference:

"Now, we just say, let our prayers go forth like missiles, guided missiles and smart bombs. Lord, You know where they need to go. And You just take them and direct them by Your Spirit. We say, in Jesus' name, they will hit the mark! Every Gate on the East Coast, the Eastern Gate, we say, Open Up, in Jesus' name, to the Spirit of the Lord! Open Up! Open Up! Gates of Righteousness, Psalm 118, the Gates of Righteousness, we command you to open on the Eastern Seaboard, the Eastern Coast. Open Up! Let the glory of the Lord come, in Jesus' name. We send forth the arrow of the Lord's deliverance to the Eastern Coast of the United States of America. We say, as a laser of the Spirit, that the lightning of God will go forth and penetrate, penetrate, penetrate! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! The breaker anointing! We call on the breaker anointing, to break through for us. We ask You Lord right now, we ask You for angelic hosts to be released to the Eastern Coast. We ask You for legions of angels, hosts, myriads of angels! Lord of Hosts, send a host of angels, warring angels, to the Eastern Coast, to unlock the Gates of Righteousness! OPEN! OPEN! OPEN! Yes!"

This of course is a parody of intercession - not intercession at all in fact, since it involves shouting commands into the air that achieve nothing (but look so impressive) and are all to do with opening gates to let righteousness in without anybody hearing the words of the gospel message - even without setting foot in the areas that are supposed to be affected so drastically. (Anyone who believes the Eastern Seaboard has dramatically changed its allegiance and is now full of righteousness as a result of these proclamations, please do tell us!)

These Gatekeepers of the New Order are not only Intercessors according to the following article, but also PROPHETS:

The Intercessor's Prophetic Ministry: I call those with this ministry of the gatekeeper intercessor, "prophetic intercessor" because I believe they are part of the ministry of the prophet in Eph. 4:11. That is to say, this ministry is one of the types of prophetic ministries."

A prophetic role is given to these men and women according to the names of the literal porters/gatekeepers of the OT Temple. But those names reveal a certain tendency in Gatekeepers - to dole out judgement on those they believe are holding back the kingdom!

"SHALLUM (1 Chron 9) was the chief over the porters and his name means: TO RESTORE, TO PAY RETRIBUTION, TO HAND OUT DESERVED PUNISHMENT FOR EVIL DONE.
Psalm 149 asks the sons of Zion to rejoice in the Lord in song, instruments and dance. Verses 5-9 says the godly one will sing for joy on their beds. With the high praises of God in their mouth and a two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12) in their hand, they will execute vengeance on nations, peoples and kings. I believe that the nations and kings in Psalm 149 :7-9 are demonic principalities and powers that are binding the people.
In the book of Jude, we see a description of the wicked in our midst during the End Time church, and we are told that Enoch prophesied that judgment and conviction will come upon these wicked by the active host of the Lord. Jesus said that He had not come to judge the people, but He also said that the very Word He spoke would judge (Heb. 4:12) .
THE INTERCESSOR MUST BE FREE FROM A RELIGIOUS SPIRIT!"
(Froukje Eibrink Jansen, Airlift Ministries. January 1998.)

So we see that intercession today, especially that of the Gatekeepers, is a far cry from a simple ministry of standing before God to ask help for one another. It has become an active warfare exercise aiming proclamations and commands at people, places and spiritual powers, bringing about judgement on offenders and releasing forces of good to affect mankind, making their minds more susceptible to receive the new revelations and teachings of the apostate church.

I have no doubt that a good number of those involved have no idea of what they are doing! But does their ignorance and good intention mean that God overlooks their activities, or that satan will be kind enough to ignore them and not use them for his own ends?

A Personal Testimony

While in America I was asked to attend a church meeting along with people I hardly knew, and out of politeness I agreed to accompany them. What happened was an education for me.

After some softening up by the leaders, with instructions on what to do, we were told to stand up and face the four cardinal directions one after the other and command the blessing of God to come. I felt embarrassed but rather pleased when I and my husband and two others in our party sat during the whole show, looking a bit conspicuous by our refusal to take part.

But during the "prayers" and proclamations that took place during that time I felt (literally felt) an increasing, chilling, hair-on-end sort of demonic power flowing around that building. It was disturbing to say the least, but not really surprising. Satan doesn't care who chants his spells or summons his help; even if Christians, in a church building (which is no different to any other building in fact!) carry out the exact same process needed to summon demonic forces, then that is exactly what will happen. Satan cares not one whit whether the people involved claim to be Christians!

God expects us to exercise wisdom, discernment, knowledge and above all obedience to HIS WILL when we worship or pray. He doesn't expect us to get into occult rituals in the name of Christ; nor does he promise to protect us from the consequences if we do.

(In the car on the way home, one lady in the group - who was already partly cautious - asked for my opinion. "what did you think? What should I do?". I replied "run like the wind". She was not amused.)

FINALLY...

To sum up, we have seen that "gatekeepers" are:

• Pastors and Elders, who proclaim freedom and righteousness in their cities by the power of the tongue, opening the door to the "kingdom principles".
• Prophets who make proclamation, announcing God's purposes in much the same way as above, and who also make prophetic pronouncement of new strategies for bringing in the kingdom and defeating the rebellious.
• Apostolic leaders, who "bring forth divine doctrine and government" and thus open the gates to the new paradigm.
• Prophetic/Apostolic gatekeepers of the New Temple (David's Tabernacle) who open the gates for the "chosen" and bar them to the "rebels".
• Intercessors and musicians who open spiritual portals, seek to overpower principalities and powers and hold the heavens open for revival and glory to flood the earth.
• Spiritual Warfare practitioners who open and shut spiritual doors to drive out demons from localities and the heavens.
• 'Josephs' and Daniels', political and social activists who influence, make contact with, and work alongside government and business leaders, funneling wealth and favour to the new churches.

What can we say about these matters? All Christians want to see evil driven out and righteousness come. All Christians long for the Kingdom of God on earth. So why oppose the gatekeepers theory? Because it is not in the will of God; it is not the way God will accomplish his divine rule over the earth.

Although I have no sympathy whatsoever for leaders who are knowingly teaching false doctrines in direct opposition to all that is scriptural, I do feel sorry for those who have been deceived. They are often well-meaning.

Where prophecies and teachings have emerged from individuals within the revival churches I think that, manytimes, they come from people who are on the side of right and goodness, and believe they are doing a good work. They seem to be good-hearted and genuine in what they say and do; many are full of zeal. It is unfortunate for them (and I say this in love) that they are terribly misguided in what they believe, so much so that they are crossing the borders, in some cases, into the occult.

It is possible to be a good-hearted but wrong-headed. Many have zeal but “not according to knowledge”  (Rom 10:2) – like the Jews of old who in some cases served the Lord with many personal sacrifices and attempts to be holy and law-abiding, yet missed the mark when it came to following the true will of God, in Jesus Christ.

And we know from the much-repeated scriptures in Matthew 7:22 that many who think they do a good work for God, in Jesus’ Name, will find themselves wrong-footed and excluded from blessing in the last days simply because they choose to follow whims, novelties, sensations, experiences and leadership instructions rather than the plain and simple will of God.

No matter how useful it might seem nor how effective it might appear on a certain level, the ONLY really effective, godly and spiritual approach is to do all things according to the will of God; and new revelations that contradict large portions of the written word of God are simply NOT the way God wants to get the job done.

And even more importantly, nothing good can come of ignoring the prophetic scriptures about these days, the Endtimes, and trying to establish the kingdom by sheer weight of numbers, or by proclamations.

When the Kingdom comes it will not be by cleansing the heavens through spiritual warfare. It will not be by proclaiming righteousness over your city. And it will certainly not be by drawing some kind of glory cloud down into your meeting!

The Kingdom - which is now a spiritual rule of the Lord Jesus as Saviour in our hearts - will come to earth with the physical, literal, visible Person of Jesus Christ as the KING; and not before the period of judgement and wrath on mankind that the bible decrees. Until that time an increasing number of supposed Christians will fall away, and a totally apostate religious system will be set up, persecuting the true Church.

The Church will not expand its influence and power and enjoy a Golden Age, but will be crushed almost out of existence if it were not for the grace and mercy of God. These things cannot be changed, avoided, or prayed away. They are prophesied in the word of God and they WILL happen whether we like it or not!

While the revivalists do talk of judgement and wrath they focus on the wrong targets. They slam Christians that they see as rebelling against their new revelations. And they see their own place of safety as a spiritual "Ark" of the Divine Presence upon them. However, the bible teaches that true Christians will be taken out of the wrath of God, not left on earth to rule during that time!

For those reading this article from the standpoint of biblical Christianity, I say grasp hold of the HOPE of your redemption and the JOY of His soon coming, and believe that all things work together for good. Resist the evil, "prove all things; hold fast that which is good" and fight the good fight of the faith. Look to Jesus the Authur and Finisher of your spiritual race.

To those reading from an antagonistic viewpoint who are questioning the facts above, I urge you "brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us" (II Th 3:6)

and "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (Heb 3:12)

for "because of unbelief they (the Jews) were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." (Rom 11:20-22)

NOTES:

Gatekeepers Teaching: I believe a tape by Tommy Tenney (whom I consider to be one of the prime movers behind this whole sonship/latter-rain/apostolic-prophetic New Order mess) has been the source of much of the present gatekeeper teaching; however, I have been unable to get a transcript of that tape to check out what it says. If anyone has it, please forward it to my e-mail address. In the absence of that, I can only judge the current teaching by what I have found on the Internet, at revival sites. If in anything I am mistaken, please write to me and show me (with facts and information) how this article may be corrected.

Tabernacle of David in Jewish thought: The Jews understood the verses about the Tabernacle of David to refer to their Messiah! The Adam Clarke Commentary states: “After this I will return, and will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: These two verses, 16th and 17th, are quoted from Amos 9:11-12, nearly as they now stand in the best editions of the Septuagint, and evidently taken from that version, which differs considerably from the Hebrew text. As James quoted them as a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles into the church of God, it is evident the Jews must have understood them in that sense, otherwise they would have immediately disputed his application of them to the subject in question, and have rejected his conclusion by denying the premises. But that the words were thus understood by the ancient Jews, we have their own testimony. In Sanhedr. fol. 69, we have these remarkable words: "Rabbi Nachman said to Rabbi Isaac, `Whence art thou taught when Bar Naphli will come? He saith unto him, `Who is this Bar Naphli? ' The other replied, `He is the Messiah. ' `Dost thou then call the Messiah Bar Naphli? ' `Yes, ' said he, `for it is written, In that day I will build again the tabernacle of David, HA-NOPHELETH  (heb 5307) which is falling down.'" This is evidently a quotation from Amos 9:11, and a proof that the Jews understood it to be a prophecy concerning the Messiah.”.

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(c) Tricia Tillin 2001

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© 2003 Tricia Tillin of Banner Ministries. All rights reserved. Cross+Word Website: http://www.banner.org.uk/  This document is the property of its author and is not to be displayed on other websites, redistributed, sold, reprinted, or reproduced in printed in any other format without permission. Websites may link to this article, if they provide proper title and author information.   One copy may be downloaded, stored and/or printed for personal research. All spelling and phraseology is UK English.