"THE NEW THING" by Tricia Tillin
(Global Revival as the Key Element
In Deception in Twentieth Century Pentecostalism)
Part Two: THE LATTER RAIN ROOTS
OF THE CURRENT RENEWAL
CONTENTS
(Click on heading to go direct to that subject)
INTRODUCTION
Let me begin with these two statements
referring to the present renewal:
"This move of the Spirit in 1994 is not just
a charismatic and pentecostal experience, concerning power
or gifting. It is one thing to be clothed with power; it
is another to be indwelt with the Person of God."(1)
The First Pentecost caused individual believers
to be "clothed with power from on high". The Second Pentecost,
as this present renewal is called, seems to be all about the
incarnation of Christ into His Body as a whole. The evidence
for this can be found in many documents, letters, articles
and books coming from the renewal leadership. The important
thing in understanding what is happening in the Church today,
is to grasp at a deeper level the theological background, and
historical roots of this movement. Once that is done, the rest
is easy - everything falls into place. Here is the second quote:
"Restoration is the work of the Spirit to bring
us personally, the Church corporately, and finally the world
universally back to itsoriginal purity (Eden); Revival is
the derelict Temple quickly swept clean, speedily built up
and dramatically filled with glory - from the revived church
will come displays of glory, works of power, fruit for the
world and salvation for the nations."(2)
These are claims being made for the present outpouring.
Clearly there is an agenda. This is not just a "refreshing",
but the events now taking place have a goal, a purpose.Why
do the leaders talk about the Temple being filled, and Christ
returning to the Church as the glory-cloud to indwell his
Body corporately? These concepts are not biblical, and have
never been part of traditional Church doctrine. The teachings
have come into the charismatic Church - especially the Restoration
Movement - from the Latter Rain Revival of the 1940’s. They
can also be traced back earlier to awakenings in the 19th
century.
THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT - AN EXPANSION OF THE LATTER RAIN
MOVEMENT
Firstly, how has the Latter Rain revival come to influence
Pentecostals and Charismatics today? Most Christians think
that particular movement died out in the 1950's when it was
banished from the Pentecostal denominations. However, the
Latter Rain doctrines did not die - they just went underground,
as this quote from Bill Hamon's book, "The Eternal Church"
illustrates. Bill Hamon traces spiritual movements that he
believes restored the Church progressively from its dark
ages. He comes to the "Fourth Doctrine" restored, that of
the "laying-on-of-hands", not for healing but for the transference
of the anointing and gifts:
"The Laying on of Hands produced another major
movement. This movement started in the late 1940’s and infiltrated
into EVERY PENTECOSTAL GROUP in the 1950’s. During this time,
it was known as the Latter Rain and Revival Movement. In
the early 1960’s, very few Christians were knowledgeable
of the movement except Pentecostal churches which had been
affected by it. However, in the mid 1960’s, the Holy Spirit
had spread the truths and spiritual experiences of the restoration
doctrine into every church groups within Christendom. The
move of the Spirit which took the four restoration doctrines
of Hebrews 6:1-2 and made them known to all Church denominations
and independent groups became known as the Charismatic Movement".
Notice how Bill Hamon names the Latter Rain revelations,
such as the transference of the Spirit and gifts, as a part
of the "restoration" doctrines and he says these continued
to operate within the Charismatic Movement right up to present
times.It was the Charismatic Movement that provided a home
for Latter Rain teachings, according to its own proponents.What
we are dealing with in the Vineyard movement, in the Toronto
blessing, in the Kansas City Prophets and to a very large
extent in the Kingdom-Dominion or Restoration movement is
a resurgence of the old Latter-Rain heresies.
Although it appears to some that the Charismatic Movement
spawned a teaching called "restoration", in fact this doctrine
was alive and well long before - and simply transplanted
itself into the fertile soil of the Charismatic Renewal of
the 60's. Later we shall see precisely how that happened
and what effect it had.
LATTER RAIN BELIEFS
The Latter Rain teachings cover a very wide spectrum of
doctrines, and different ministers teach different aspects-
some are more extreme than others. Also, leaders are not
open about holding to these teachings because they are afraid
of losing support; and they believe these new revelations
are only for the elite. So it is difficult to find out who
believes what.Paul Van Der Elst, in an e-mail to Richard’s
Riss, (who had circulated a robust defense of the LR revival)
made this revealing statement:
"I consider it one of the most important events
in the history of God's restorative plan. It is the least
understood but has had a profound effect on many of the present
ministry involved in what God is doing today. The word of
the Lord that came out of that revival continues to reverberate
and influence Christians worldwide. It seems like the streams
that flowed out from that divine encounter i.e.- Restoration,
Sonship, Kingdom Life and Immortality messages, etc, have
remained on the fringes of the mainstream Church. However,
many leaders have been profoundly influenced by this revival
but have not endorsed it, nor have they made explicit references
to it because of the controversies and misunderstanding of
what God actually did during those times." (3)
After the Latter Rain became somewhat of a scandal within
Pentecostal churches in the 50's, ministers were wary of
admitting to their beliefs. They hunkered down and got on
with their lives, while secretly holding to the new revelations
and passing them on to others. Many of those involved in
the original LR revival ended up as leading figures in the
Charismatic world, and remain there to this day. Thus the
teachings survived - and now have re-emerged with fresh vigour.We
can sum up the Latter Rain or Dominion teaching this way:
-
the Church must be restored and equipped
to rule by the five-fold ministries.
-
it must come to perfection and complete
visible UNITY.
-
out of the purified church will come a
spiritual elite corps, a Corporate Christ who possess the
Spirit without measure
-
they will purge the earth of all wickedness
and rebellion
-
they will judge the apostate Church
-
they will redeem all creation, and restore
the earth
-
they will eventually overcome death itself
in a counterfeit of the Rapture
-
the Church will thus inherit the earth,
and rule over it from the Throne of Christ.
Looking at these teachings, it is obvious that what we call
"dominionism" or "restoration" doctrine is actually the Latter-Rain
doctrines warmed over. Let's look now at the route these teachings
took to enter the mainline churches.
"NEW THINGOLOGY"
In part one of this study we looked at the Gnostic heresy
that produced certain results in Church doctrines over the
ages, notably the search for new revelations to reveal hidden
spiritual meaning that would unlock a deeper life for Christians.The
Gnostic doctrine is ever seeking for a new thing - a new revelation
that will give power and release from the fallen material world.
Bear this in mind, as it provides a key to understanding the
Toronto and Brownsville teachings.When the Apostle Paul was
in Athens he came up against certain philosophers:
Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers
encountered him. And some said, "What does this babbler want
to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign
gods," because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.
And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying,
"May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?
"For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore
we want to know what these things mean." For all the Athenians
and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing
else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. Acts 17:18-21
It was the desire of pagan (and later, Christian)
philosophers and mystics to seek out a "new thing". The revelation
given once-for-all in Jesus Christ was somehow not enough for
these seekers and they ever looked for "more, more". However,
scripture tells us very plainly that there is no hidden new
thing to come to light:
That which has been is what will be, that which
is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under
the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, "See,
this is new"? It has already been in ancient times before
us. Eccl 1:9-10
God has provided the revelation of the Truth
to mankind in and through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus IS the
Truth, God incarnate. Searching for some additional key to
understanding the universe is fruitless. In any case, God does
not deal in secret wisdom but all that He does is open and
available to all. Seek and ye shall find. NEW THING SCRIPTURES MISQUOTED
Here is the new thing as defined by Clayt Sonmore
(Thy Kingdom Come Ministries) in his book "Beyond Pentecost":
"This new thing God is bringing forth is the
MERGING OF GOD AND MAN, not seen in fulness since the separation
of man from God in the Garden of Eden, with the possible
exception of Enoch and Elijah." (5)
For many years, scriptures referring to a "new
thing" have undergirded the belief in an endtimes global revival,
a latter-rain outpouring, that will bring the corporate Church
to fulness, glory and rulership.However, when we examine these
scriptures it becomes apparent that the "new-thing" spoken
of in scripture is actually the astounding birth of Jesus Christ,
the Son of God become human:
"How long will you gad about, O you backsliding
daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth--
a woman shall encompass a man".Jer 31:22
The totally unprecedented and new event that
only God could create, was the birth by a Virgin of the Son
of God. A human woman encompassed in her womb the divinity.
Who could have invented such a thing? This was so new that
those who were told it - the Old Testament people of God -
did not understand it!
Behold, the former things are come to pass,
and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell
you of them. Is 42:9
"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider
the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall
spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way
in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Is 43:18-19
This is the passage often quoted by those who
believe in the new thingology. They read this allegorically
to mean that God will send an unprecedented global outpouring
of His Spirit in the endtimes, to bring the Church to glory
and the world to salvation.But if you look at the passage as
a whole, you’ll find it’s not about the Church - it’s about
the Jews and the Messiah! Reading verse 19 in context we can
see that the subject is the former deliverance of the Jews
from Egypt, overshadowed by the latter deliverance from the
exile in Babylon.One Commentator says of this passage:
"God reminds them of the great things he did
for their fathers when he brought them out of the land of
Egypt… He that did this can, if he please, make a way in
the sea when they return out of Babylon. The best exposition
of this is from Jer. 16:14-15; 23:7-8. It shall no more be
said, The Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel
out of the land of Egypt; that is an old thing, the remembrance
of which will be in a manner lost in the new thing, in the
new proof that the Lord liveth, for he brought up the children
of Israel out of the land of the north." (4)
The passage looks forward prophetically to
an even greater restoration of Israel in the 20 th
Century. And, spiritually, it refers to the deliverance of
mankind from captivity to sin and the devil, by the birth and
death of Jesus Christ, where the "new thing" is the New Covenant
in His Blood. Nothing in the passage is prophetic of a latter-rain
revival!New-thing-ology is the bedrock of revival teaching
- yet it falls at the first fence. LATTER RAIN DEFINITION
OF NEW THING:
Here’s another quote, from a book entitled
"Doing A New Thing"by Brian Hewitt. This book contains articles
by seven leaders of the charismatic church reflecting on the
past, present and future of the house church movement:Speaking
of the origins of the house-church or shepherding movement,
he says:
"The leaders of the new churches all shared
the same goal: the rebuilding or restoring of the present-day
church to its New Testament splendour. And they shared the
same conviction that God was actively at work in the last
days to bring this to pass. Those Christians who had come
to believe that a period of lukewarmness and backsliding
in the church would be a sign of the nearness of Christ’s
return WERE WRONG - the era of the apostle, not the era of
apostasy was at hand."
Here we see new-thing-ology at its worst. Because
of a false triumphalist interpretation of scripture, those
who correctly foresee the great last-days Apostasy and Tribulation
are pronounced WRONG (deluded) and a new idea is introduced
- that a new breed of master apostles and prophets are to reappear
in order to bring the revelations that will lead us on to purity,
perfection and dominion. PENTECOSTAL HOLINESS NEW THING:
The new-thing-ology began in the Pentecostal holiness camp
meetings of the 19th century. Pentecostal preachers like
Maria Woodworth-Etter taught that God would send the Latter
Rain of Joel 2 to restore the church with signs and wonders
before Jesus came. They expected a mighty revival before
the Rapture.But at that time, Pentecostalists still believed
in conventional doctrine - the Rapture, the Antichrist, the
Tribulation and the pre-millennial coming of Jesus Christ.
The new thing was that, as the above quote says, they now
expected God to send an spiritual outpouring, a new Pentecost,
a revival that would rock the world. This idea has been floating
around for centuries, and periodically rears its head, usually
when Christians become so desperate for spiritual renewal
that they end up accepting a deceiving spirit instead of
the Holy Spirit. I recently read evidence of all the false
doctrine and Toronto-style manifestations taking place as
early as 1886.
This astounded me! But what was interesting was the chain
of events leading up to this particular diversion from scripture.
It was almost identical to today. Firstly the desire for
revival. Then the disappointment when God could not be forced
to convert the world according to their understanding. Next
the descent into occultism in seeking an alternative power-source
for the "revival".This passage will illustrate my point.
It is taken from a booklet written
by G. H. Lang about the Azuza Street Pentecostal Renewal.
Though sympathetic to Pentecostalism, Lang points out errors
and abuses that arose at that time, many of them identical
to today.He writes of the Church of God community in Tennessee
that arose in 1886 from poor farming folk:
"A Baptist pastor became distressed in soul
about the spiritual deadness prevailing. He devoted himself
to prayer and study of the Bible. A few joined him. In 1886
these saw that no general awakening of the churches was to
be expected, so nine persons formed themselves into a Christian
Union, with the laudable but in part scripturally unwarranted
objective "to restore primitive Christianity and bring about
the Union of all denominations". (5)
Having noted that the group was biblically
illiterate, and that they did not abide by the biblical prophecies
of endtimes apostasy that mitigated against worldwide revival,
Lang goes on to say that their influence and numbers grew,
and they began to have manifestations at their meetings. He
lists:
"leaping, shouting, dancing, talking in tongues,
and dancing in a spiritual trance or ecstasy. While the meetings
were in progress, one after the other fell under the power
of God…"(5)
Next, Lang writes deploring the carrying-on
at the Indian version of Azuza Street , at Coonoor on the Nilgir
Hills. He records damaging false prophecies that misled the
entire group, and also a "terrific noise" during the meetings
of animal and bird noises, wild animal sounds, roaring, people
grovelling and rolling on the ground with the ladies having
to be covered by shawls to keep decent as they lay prostrate
on the floor.Let me at once bring this totally up to date.
Part of the Toronto scene, well-documented and much-recorded,
is the roaring manifestation, and the travailing as in birth-throes.
Have you ever wondered where this fits into the revival? Well,
we need look no further than the "new-thing" passage of Isaiah
that we have just been examining! Yes, new-thing-ology strikes
again, giving credence to bizarre manifestations that actually
have no place in the Church. Read for yourself Is 42:1-16,
especially verses 13-14:
"The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he
shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea,
roar; he shall prevail against his enemies. I have long time
holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself:
now will I cry like a travailing woman; I will destroy and
devour at once."
1906 AZUZA STREET
The Pentecostal pioneers involved in the Azuza Street revivals
also believed and taught this new thing. They believed another
Pentecost had to come to empower believers to go out and
win the world for God.
Because they believed the time had come for the latter-rain
outpouring (the new thing) they were caught up in missionary
zeal to bring the nations to God, and fulfill the prophecies.The
place of tongues was central to their missionary efforts
because it was believed that foreign languages were necessary
to reach the pagan nations for God. If God would provide
supernatural languages for preaching to the nations, then
the gospel would be heard and understood by all. This was
their belief, and the impetus for seeking after the gift
of tongues. (The fact that they succeeded in restoring the
spiritual gift of tongues to the Church is pretty much beside
the point, nowadays.)
However, the promised revival never happened. Just as with
the present outpouring, the great revival never comes. When
people are desperate for revival, power, signs and wonders,
they’ll do or believe almost anything. They’ll even justify
the bizarre manifestations caused by the spirit of Toronto
as the fulfillment of the new thing teachings:
LATTER RAIN REVIVAL AT NORTH BATTLEFORD
The Latter Rain revival (at the time called the New Order
of the Latter Rain) did not just spring fully formed out
of Canada without any previous teaching. No, it was the product
of long years of muddled thinking and false revelations given
to various individuals. To save going into the history of
the movement at this point, I have appended it in a separate
document - See the Appendix.
In brief, the three greatest influences that led up to the
1940's LR outpouring were:
(a) Franklin Hall - fasting
and prayer for power and glory, immortality
(b) William Branham - laying
on of hands and words of knowledge
(c) New Thing teaching - the
Latter Rain revival of Joel 2 and the restoration of the
Church through the apostles and prophets (compare Zion City
and Apostolic Church of the UK, in Appendix).
A) FRANKLIN HALL
After Azuza Street, the gifts had died out again, and people
were feeling dry. Two world wars had passed without sight
of revival or the nations turning to Christ. Denominational
Pentecostalism had settled into a routine and had lost its
original spark of excitement. Then in 1946, a man by the
name of Franklin Hall (b.1907) started a series of fasting
and prayer sessions for revival.Hall had involved himself
in the healing revival of the 1940’s in which ministers like
Oral Roberts, T.L.Osborn, Gordon Lindsay and A.A. Allen rose
to prominence.
At the same time, a new evangelical awakening was bringing
people like Bill Bright and Billy Graham into the circles
of power and influence. William Branham was also holding
revival meetings, which in 1947 in Vancouver stirred the
Canadian renewal movement that was to bring the Latter Rain
to birth.Franklin Hall, therefore, existed at a time when
many were looking for a route to renewed power and spiritual
anointing.
However, Hall's teaching, while offering a supposed easy
route to power through prolonged fasting, had within in the
seeds of heresy, and those seeds took root in many a young
evangelist's heart.Hall's book on obtaining"Atomic Power
With God Through Fasting & Prayer" influenced many in the
late 40's.
Al Dager points out in "Vengeance Is Ours", that
Hall's book was publicly acknowledged as having a major influence
on many of the Faith Healers.I have a copy of this book,
and reading it makes one wonder about the scripture knowledge
of Christians of that day. It is full of the most strange
and heretical statements and reads more like an occult tract
than a Christian book. Hall believed that by fasting for
long periods, Christians received a powerful anointing that
led them to sinless perfection and immortalityby stages of
spiritual transformation.
Some more of his teachings were:
-
that perfected believers would experience
power over the forces of gravity
-
that they could teleport to wherever they
wished
-
their clothes would not wear out, they
would have no body odour, never need to wash
-
they would never be sick
-
that an immortal substance from Christ
would come upon their bodies, a golden substance visible
to all, that would glorify them and people would see and
feel the fire of the Holy Spirit.
-
that all must pray with open eyes
-
that BODY-FELT salvation - the fire of
God, the glory, had to be applied to the body for thirty
days and would purge out all sickness, tiredness and weakness
of the flesh
-
the doctrine of the corporate Manchild
was also in the first edition of the book
All the healing evangelists, amongst them William Branham
and Kathryn Kuhlman, were influenced by Franklin Hall, and
set out to look for "atomic power with God through prayer
and fasting". In fact, Ernest Hawtin, George’s brother later
said that "the [LR] revival would never have been possible
but for Brother Hall’s teaching on prolonged fasting."Amongst
those seeking for the new thing, accompanied by the power
through prolonged fasting, was a group of missionaries at
the Sharon Orphanage, North Battleford, Saskatchewan.
They had also been fired into a search for revival by William
Branham whom they witnessed ministering in Vancouver in 1947.
Rev Herrick Holt at North Battleford was one of those desperately
seeking and preaching a "new-thing" according to Is 43.
B) WILLIAM BRANHAM
Branham was part of the healing revival of the 1940's and
from the beginning had an unusual style, depending on revelations
from his guardian angel to instruct him in healing. He taught
on the Latter Rain of Joel 2, and believed it meant the Pentecostal
and healing revival of his day. Thus he, too, expected an
endtimes revival.Branham was right in the line of descent
from the old Apostolic groups, for he believed firmly that
denominations were not of God, in fact he labelled them "Babylon"
and he taught that the Church must be restored to its original
unity and purity before the Lord returned.
Later Branham developed a non-trinitarian doctrine, saying
that the doctrine of the Trinity was the babylonian hallmark
of the denominations.As for his influence and connections,
there were many. Ern Baxter, later to become one of the founders
of the Shepherding Movement, was Branham's Secretary - from
1947 to 53. We have already seen how Branham's meetings sparked
off the Latter Rain revival in Canada; after it had begun
both he and Baxter attendedthe Latter Rain meetings at North
Battleford.Paul Cain - later to re-emerge as head of the
Kansas City prophets in 1989 and to become one of the guiding
lights of the present renewal-alsotravelled with William
Branham and called him "the greatest prophet that ever lived".
NORTH BATTLEFORD MEETINGS
It was because of the teachings of Franklin Hall and the
healing meetings of William Branham that three men gathered
for revival meetings at North Battleford in Canada. They
were GEORGE HAWTIN, PERCY HUNT and HERRICK HOLT.
George Hawtin set up the Bethel Bible Institute of Saskatchewan
in 1935 but was asked to resign in 1947; Percy Hunt resigned
from Bethel at the same time in sympathy with George Hawtin.In
1947, George and his brother Ernie, and Percy Hunt joined
Herrick Holt who owned a plot of land and had set up the
Sharon School and Orphanage in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.
Here is a fascinating fact. The first Latter Rain meetings
for revival were held in a little building on the Airport
at North Battleford, in Canada. The renewed revival has also,
in public at least, gained a reputation for starting in the
Toronto Airport Vineyard, a little building by the airport.
Perhaps it is pure coincidence, or perhaps not.
Herrick Holt was already praying for the "new thing" and
was expecting revival. The year before, he had read Franklin
Hall's book and was fasting, as recommended, for the "atomic
power". Joined by the Hawtins and Percy Hunt, and by the
Bible School students, they fasted and prayed (some for over
a month) for revival to break out.Then, in February 1948,
the power fell.
Prophecies were given that a great unstoppable new move
of revival was about to begin, and would lead to God's endtime
harvest.One unique factor in the LR move was the impartation
of the Holy Spirit, and gifts, through the laying on of hands.
Previously, Pentecostals had taught (in line with the Holiness
groups) that soul-searching, repentance and a time of preparation
("tarrying") was necessary before anyone received the Holy
Spirit. Now however, at Battleford, (as at Toronto) the power
was being passed from one to another without a pause. People
from all over the country started travelling to Canada to
get the power, which was passed on through laying on of hands.Rather
than healing, prophecy became the most prominent feature,
and prophecy laid down the new revelations governing the
revival.
For instance, it was promised that "If my people reverence
my name, my presence and my house, I will begin to restore
that which has been lost to the Church..."The group came
to believe (as others before them had done) that the restoration
of the Church would be accomplished through latter-day apostles
and prophets, through laying on of hands for the gift of
the Spirit, and through the revelations given in prophecy.J.
Preston Eby later summed up the teachings of the Latter Rain
as:
"the outpouring of the Holy Spirit ....which
shall bring the FULNESS, a company of overcoming - Sons of
God who have come to the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ, to actually dethrone satan, casting him out of
the heavenlies, and finally binding him in the earthlies,
bringing hope of deliverance and life to all the families
of the earth."
This great work of the Spirit shall usher a people into
full redemption - free from the curse, sin sickness, death
and carnality.These new revelations that became the doctrines
of the new order were established BY PROPHECIES. And the
choice of apostles and other ministers was made THROUGH PROPHECIES.
This recalls the Gnostic teachings discussed in Part One.
Once again, prophecies, visions and words were accepted as
foundational for this move. Eventually the prophecies were
exalted above the word of God. Also, personal prophecies
were given over people’s lives, and ministries were destroyed
as a result of accepting these. All of this, and more, led
to the Latter Rain Movement falling into disrepute and ultimately
being rejected by the Pentecostal denominations.
The Heresy Rejected
Not surprisingly, the classic Pentecostal denominations
recognised the Latter Rain teachings as heresy and eventually
in 1949 they officially banned Latter Rain teachers from their
pulpits.The reasons they gave were:
- these teachings were causing division and confusion in
the Body.
- there is an over emphasis on laying on of hands for impartation
of the gifts and power of the spirit.
- the erroneous teaching that the Church is restored by present-day
apostles and prophets.
- New Order teaching about confession of sin to man, deliverance
of demons, claiming to have powers and rights that belong
only to Christ.
- erroneous teaching concerning the impartation of a gift
of languages as special equipment for missionary work.
- extreme and unbiblical practice of imparting personal leadings
by means of personal prophecy.
- other heretical doctrines and distortions of scripture.
However, despite this setback the Latter Rain teachings
continued to be popular amongst certain groups and several
breakaway movements began from the 50's, including "the Walk"
in California, led by John Robert Stevens. Others affected
by Latter-Rain teachings were Bill Britton, James Beall,
David Ebaugh, J. Preston Eby, Ralph Mahoney, Gerald Derstine,
Carlton Spencer, and also John Poole (once part of the Fort
Lauderdale Shepherding group).But apart from Sonship groups
(offshoots of the LR revival) there were many more individuals
who simply moved on into the Charismatic movement and became
bit players there.
This is really how the heresies became legitimised within
the Restoration groups of the UK, at least. Restoration churches
are now the most numerically strong, and the most influential
of any Christian group in the UK.
George Warnock
One man who was hugely impressed by the Latter Rain teachings
went on to provide a book that stands alongside Franklin
Hall's "Atomic Power" as seminal to the Movement. The man
was George Warnock and the book was "The Feast of Tabernacles".
It was written in the late 1940’s and reprinted in 1951 by
Bill Britton.The book proposes that the three major feasts
of Israel are the stages of development of the Church.
-
Passover - was deliverance from sin
-
Pentecost - was the former rain, or individual
empowering
-
Feast of Tabernacles - will be when God
indwells his people spiritually and causes them to rule.
This book lays out all the major doctrines
of the Corporate Christ, the glorified Body, Unity, the Second
Pentecost, Restoration - everything. It is sobering, therefore,
to read this book and discover than many of the doctrines have
been adopted by the Charismatic Movement, by the Restoration
churches, and by the current Renewal leadership.Just before
the LR revival broke out, George Warnock was acting as Ern
Baxter’s Personal Secretary and right-hand man. So Ern Baxter
was doubly involved.Ern Baxter said in 1975:
We are talking of man coming into the fullness
of his self realization, into his ultimate destiny as the image
of God. This beloved One came to become the Pattern Son to
become the Ideal Man after which he would pattern a whole community
of redeemed ones. What he was in his incarnate power and life,
they become in their corporate power and life.
God’s purpose is not to redeem a bunch of people
to sit at a bus stop and wait for the bus to come along and
get them out of the world’s mess. He came as King so that
under their authority the redeemed community might become
the means whereby he would establish God’s sovereign right
in his own redeemed earth. We have individual salvation -
but in the nation we have corporate salvation...God’s people
are going to start to exercise rule and they’re going to
take dominion over the power of Satan. As the rod of his
strength goes out of Zion, he will change legislation, he
will chase the devil off the face of God’s earth and God’s
people will bring about God’s purposes and God’s reign. (8)
Ern Baxter and John Poole (the son of Fred Poole, an early
LR believer) joined the Fort Lauderdale group who introduced
shepherding to the UK. Their magazine "New Wine" was THE
charismatic magazine of the 1970’s.Charles Simpson was another
of that group. He said of himself:
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he denied the Rapture of the Church in
1972
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he affirms the dominion mandate
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he quotes Psalm 110 about Christ not returning
until the Church has put all enemies under his feet, including
death
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and says: in 1972 I received a revelation
of the Lordship of Christ and the Kingdom of God as a current
reality. I saw Christ reigning now and teaching us to do
so as well. I have thoroughly embraced this truth.
UK RESTORATION
In the UK, the Latter Rain teachings were being encouraged
by such as David Lillie, Arthur Wallis and Cecil Cousen.
They taught the Restoration of the Church, the restoration
of apostles and prophets for perfecting of the saints, growth
into full maturity of the One New Man in Christ, and many
other LR doctrines. This triumphalism was alien to the classic
Pentecostal denominations, most of whom were pre-millennial.
The Latter Rain, however, saw the Millennium as the reign
of the perfected church.The input of Ern Baxter and others
led to a rejection of pre-millennialism, and Restoration
adopted discipling as the means to perfect the church. They
set up the five-fold ministries to rule the church, appointed
apostles over towns and areas, and elected prophets to teach
the new revelation.Since the Latter Rain teachings so successfully
infiltrated the Restoration churches, let us now examine
their foundational beliefs and see how they match up.
THE FOUNDATIONAL
TEACHINGS OF THE LATTER RAIN &
MANIFESTED SONS MOVEMENTS
AND THEIR INFILTRATION INTO MODERN-DAY RESTORATIONISM
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1. THE DOMINION MANDATE:
The most basic building brick of the movement is that
Adam lost his dominion over the earth in the Garden of
Eden, and the Great Commission and task and destiny of
the Church is therefore to recover dominion, over sin,
over disease, over demons, over the whole created order,
and even over death.
"God had intended to rule all creation through
man - that was Plan A. Now that man was in rebellion what
was God’s Plan B? He HAD no plan B. God’s original and only
intention was in Psalm 8 - you made man ruler over the works
of your hands, you put everything under his feet." (9)
(He then goes on to speak of God calling
to himself a covenant people in order to re-establish his
rule through man.) Personal salvation is seen as only one
step in the task to redeem the earth and bring back the dominion
of man - just to be saved is not enough.
1. Brothers and sisters, we give ourselves
to the perfecting of this Zion. Personal salvation, yes!
But with it is the gospel of a new kingdom. Leaders like
Ern Baxter and Arthur Wallis are now proclaiming this. (1975)
You see the church is to inherit the promises. She is to
herald the ultimate kingdom. We are prophesying a new order
- Zion is the foretaste of the new earth." (10)
2. We Christians have been brought up on
personal salvation, personal baptism in the Spirit and an
individual walk with God. But that’s only half the story...the
kingdom in its fulness will be given only to a nation bringing
forth the fruits of it. Individual salvation may well be
the start, but CORPORATE SALVATION is the end (11)
Leaders believe this present outpouring is a work of Restoration,
or Renewal, preparing those believers who are willing to
accept it, to go on to the final stage of development,
which is the Birth of the Manchild.
2. EARTHLY INHERITANCE:
Going to Heaven is not the goal of Latter Rain teachers!
They sneer at people who have a heavenly hope. Their realm
of dominion is the earth - the earth is to be restored,
renewed, cleansed and purged, and they will bring heaven
down to earth. Heaven is on this earth! Heaven is the kingdom
within our hearts.
Many who thank God today for their deliverance from spiritual
Egypt have no concept of God’s purpose to bring them into
Canaan. Unfortuntely, many people today think of Canaan
in terms of "going to heaven when they die". In Moses understanding,
what lay beyond Jordan was the land, the city and the temple
- a land to be possessed, Zion to be populated, and a temple
where God’s presence could be enjoyed and his praise expressed!
Out of this Zion would go light to the world!
The idea of going to heaven is unhelpful
and unbiblical. Seeking the kingdom means bringing heaven
to earth. (13)
3. RAPTURE DENIED: (Wicked Raptured)
Obviously then, if earth is your focus, and you are not
going to heaven, there is no need for a Rapture. The Church
is destined to be triumphant and victorious and to rule
over the earth, so the Rapture teaching they believe is
false - a doom and gloom, defeatist attitude.Restorationists
believe it is the WICKED who will be taken out, in judgement
- that God will cleanse the earth by removing all those
who rebel against this great plan of redemption.Only those
who submit to the rule of God will be allowed to remain.
"The Rapture idea is ridiculous...One has
to conclude that the secret rapture theory may be evangelical,
but is nonetheless unbiblical. It is a grotesque idea - the
rapture may be a most agreeable doctrine for cowards, but
it is nothing better than wishful thinking and must be relegated
to the area of myth and fantasy." (14)
The rapture spoken of in scripture is allegorised
into either a rapturous feeling of joy when seeing Jesus
appear, or else a spiritual transformation whilst still on
earth. In this case, the Rapture would represent the saints
being caught up into a spiritual third dimension.Bill Britton
explains this using types like John of Revelation and Paul
caught up to the third heaven; he says their bodies remained
on earth, but they had a spiritual experience. Heaven therefore
is not somewhere you go, but a transformation into a spiritual
realm, on earth.Richard Riss - author of book on Latter Rain
and avid Toronto supporter - answering questions on the Vineyard
New Wine Bulletin Board, say this:
"For those who are prepared for His coming,
it will be a time of unmitigated joy. He has given us a foretaste
of this heavenly bliss in those moments when He has visited
us with His presence during times of "revival" or spiritual
awakening. If you have ever experienced the presence of God,
or an infilling of His Spirit, then you have been given a
hint, or intimation, of the ecstasy awaiting those who eagerly
await His appearing.
"As far as the rapture is concerned, throughout
the history of the church, there has been a wide spectrum
of views concerning the events at the end of the age, but
as far as I know, few, if any of them taught a bodily removal
of the saints until 1830, when John Nelson Darby started
promulgating views of this kind.
"To be caught up in the clouds of glory to
meet the Lord in this atmosphere of spiritual authority does
not necessarily entail a literal bodily removal from the
earth. In fact, if it did entail our removal from the earth,
it would be a permanent removal: "and thus we shall always
be with the Lord" (I Thess. 4:17). But the entire thrust
of Scripture is that we will have a resurrected body on earth,
and that the heavens and the earth will both be regenerated,
or renewed (Acts 3:21, Matt. 19:28). If there is to be a
bodily removal of the saints at all, it can only be temporary.
"The statement "and thus we shall always
be with the Lord" tends to suggest, at least to me, that
we will always be in the "caught up" state, i.e., we will
be in heavenly places with Him from this point onward, and
forever more. To my way of thinking, we can be in heavenly
places while we're still on the earth." (15)
But some people are removed - the wicked
are taken in judgement.
"It will be as in the days of Noah. How was
it in Noah’s day? The flood of judgement came and took all
the wicked away, and the righteous were left to inherit the
earth. The wicked had been taken away - yet man has devised
a theology in which it is just the opposite; they claim the
righteous will be taken away. The Bible, my friend does not
teach any such thing. Proverbs 3:26 - for the Lord shall
be they confidence and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
- it is plain here that the righteous are not taken. Well,
if someone is to be taken, who is it? Proverbs 11;6 says
- the transgressors shall be taken. Think of it - the transgressors
shall be taken. That is not what man has taught us, is it?"
(16)
This idea, of the removal of the wicked in
a rapture taking them to judgement, is one that is spreading
amongst TB supporters. Richard Riss again:
"Often, the rapture is thought to involve
a bodily removal of the saints. However, the Bible refers
to a removal, not of the saints from among the wicked, but
of the wicked from among the saints at the time of Christ's
coming...
"In Matthew 24:39 it says that "they did
not understand until the flood came and took them all away."
Who was taken away, the wicked or the righteous? If it was
the wicked who were removed in the flood, then it is the
wicked and the disobedient who will be removed at Christ's
coming."
4. THE CHURCH IS ISRAEL
Following on from the above points, it is obvious - since
the church is to inherit the earth and reign with Christ
- there is no role for Israel as a nation. Restoration
believers generally claim that the Church is spiritual
Israel, who will inherit the promises.This again comes
from the Latter Rain teachings:
"The saints of God are the true Israel -
unless we understand that the Bible was written for US (gentile
christians) we are bound to deny ourselves the glory which
God intended we should derive from the Word...Therefore,
we have no hesitancy whatever in quoting profusely from the
Old Testament and the New by way of establishing these glorious
Church truths." (17)
In order to exclude Israel from prophecy,
the prophetic scriptures are spiritualised in order to apply
them to the Church. For example, the valley of dry bones
scripture in Ezekiel is used to describe the present restoration
and revival of the Church! (It is Israel that is dead, dry,
and in need of revival, not the Church.)Similarly, the Latter
Rain of Joel 2 is applied to the Church, not to the spiritual
restoration of Israel. Indeed, I should say that several
scriptures give the lie to the entire "latter-rain" revival.
What the Bible means by the Latter Rain is the coming of
the Messiah in power and glory!
"Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for
he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he
will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the
third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his
going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come
unto us as the rain,as the latter and former rain unto the
earth." Hosea 6:1-3
This is speaking of the two comings of the
Lord - Jesus as the Messiah who comes to us as the Suffering
Servant to sow the seed and the Glorious King to reap the
harvest.James 5:7-8 says the same thing: It is the coming
of the Lord that brings refreshment, relief, blessing and
the Harvest.
"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming
of the Lord.Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious
fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until
he receive the early and Latter Rain.Be ye also patient;
stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth
nigh."James 5:7-8
A Minor Diversion - This is where allegorising
the scriptures will lead you:
I want you to read all of this next passage
and then I can show you how Restoration leaders deal with
it, and where they go dangerously wrong: Zech 10:1-5
Ask rain from the LORD at the time of the
spring rain (Latter Rain) -- the LORD who makes the storm
clouds; and He will give them showers of rain, vegetation
in the field to {each} man. For the teraphim speak iniquity,
and the diviners see lying visions, and tell false dreams;
they comfort in vain. Therefore {the people} wander like
sheep, they are afflicted, because there is no shepherd."
My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish
the male goats; for the LORD of hosts has visited His flock,
the house of Judah, and will make them like His majestic
horse in battle." From them will come the cornerstone, from
them the tent peg, from them the bow of battle, from them
every ruler, {all} of them together." And they will be as
mighty men, treading down {the enemy} in the mire of the
streets in battle; and they will fight, for the LORD {will
be} with them; and the riders on horses will be put to shame.(NAS)
THE WRONG INTERPRETATION OF THIS PASSAGE:
Terry Virgo, in "Restoration in the Church"
says this is about God visiting the Church! It is treated
asthe coming of the GLORY of Christ, in the Latter Rain visitation,
not the physical coming.
And "the result of that visitation is that
the poor misguided flock is UNITED and transformed into a
majestic war-horse - a great vehicle of power and energy,
a fearsome, awe-inspiring, effective tool of WAR. The sheep
become "mighty men treading down the enemy in battle" …and
the flock is TRANSFORMED CORPORATELY (ie. they become the
Corporate Christ).
Individual ministries emerge - the CORNERSTONE he says
is the Apostle, the TENT PEG is the Prophet, the BOW OF
BATTLE is the Evangelist, and the RULERS are the shepherds.
Terry Virgo then claims, from this passage, that these
ministries are given to the Church in order to build them
up into the full stature of Christ - One Mature Man. He
is speaking of the Corporate Christ.
5. APOSTLES AND PROPHETS RESTORED
The Five-fold Priesthood is supposed to emerge in the
endtimes to restore the Church to perfection; Apostles,
Prophets and Teachers must prepare the way, like John the
Baptist, for a new appearance of the Christ. The restoration
of the gifts and ministries to the Church is designed to
bring it to "fullness". These authoritarian leaders will
judge and purge the Church until it is one undivided Body
in the earth.Thus the Restoration churches have adopted
a teaching more familiar to us as the Ascended Masters
of the New Age, who come to lead us to spiritual transformation.
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the New Age teaches that it is the Ascended
Masters who have higher consciousness and inner light who
need to teach us to evolve beyond our present experience.
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The Gnostics taught we have to have new
revelation, and we need special Spiritual Adepts to open
up to us the inner wisdom that would release us from this
earthly bondage.
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LR and Restoration teach much the same
thing - we need Apostles, and Prophets to open our inner
eyes.
"God has established a sure and certain means
by which this inexpressible UNITY is going to be brought
into being, even the ministries of apostles, prophets, teachers,
pastors and teachers. These are given, we are told,for the
perfecting of the saints... Will they bring this unity of
the Body to pass? To doubt it is to doubt God’s Word. To
reject the God-ordained ministry is to reject God who gave
them... to refuse the ministries is to say to Christ, I prefer
to be perfected some other way." (18)
"Christ will raise up apostles and prophets
who will prepare and equip the church for service. This will
demand a maturity beyond anything we have seen in recent
years, and will result in a greater unity of faith and "the
whole measure of the fullness of Christ" being visible in
the Church. Only such a Church with the whole Christ released
within her, is properly equipped to give opportunity for
the whole world to believe." (19)
SUBMISSION NEEDED:
In order for this system to work, we are required to submit
to the rule of the eldership and humbly accept the new revelations.
"How does one get saved? By submitting to the rule of God
- through the elders." says one Restoration leader. (20)Discussion
is not allowed - THEY are the Anointed Ones! They are on
a higher spiritual plane!Colin Urquart is one in the UK who
believes himself to be an Apostle - and not just the ordinary
Restoration kind, which is simply a church planter with authority
over a certain area of the country.
Colin Urquart sees a much more important role for the Apostle:
"Apostles make decisions that affect the whole Church (worldwide)".One
of his team members then comments that"For example his (Urquart's)
willingness to accept a new impartation of the Spirit is
beginning to and was intended to affect the whole church."This
is as much as to say that, because the apostle gets the Toronto
Blessing, it impacts the whole Church in Britain if not throughout
the world.However, this leads to a major problem for the
Church. If a heretical apostle is in charge, and he insists
on his teaching being accepted (as Colin Urquart does) then
that teaching infects the whole body from top to bottom.
6. UNITY
Perfect unity of the Body is seen as absolutely essential.
The Prayer of John 17, that they might be One, has not yet
been fulfilled according to many today. For the world will
not truly "see" Christ until the Body is united around the
world, and manifesting Christ corporately.
What is proposed, therefore, is not just a spiritual unity
with eachother and with Jesus, but a perfection, all thinking
and believing alike, one organic whole.But is this prayer
of Jesus unanswered? We DO have unity with eachother in the
Spirit. The union of Jesus with his father was spiritual,
based on love and submission. Jesus, at the time that he
prayed for unity amongst His followers, also prayed that
the Father would keep us, sanctify us and protect us from
the evil of this world - is that still unfulfilled? If the
Father answered the prayers of Jesus, then He answered them
all - in full!
7. THE RELIGIOUS ARE BABYLON
Those who question the Toronto experience are being called
"religious". This also comes straight out of the Latter Rain
teachings!Denominations and anti-restoration believers are
"part of the old order"; they are the Harlot Babylon, religious
legalists, and new order believers must leave if they want
to be part of the Latter Rain revival.The Old Order is also
those who are still clinging to the old revelation and haven’t
moved on into the higher light. They have not passed beyond
the veil.Those of the Old Order are compared to the religious
hypocrites of Jesus’ day - they resist the new move of God.
They cannot let go of the old doctrines, such as the personal
Antichrist and the Rapture, and the literal Millennium for
Israel, etc. These people are seen as the "antichrist" that
opposes the new anointing. They must be removed from the
Church and the world before perfection can come.The old generation
will "die out in the wilderness" and they do not enter into
"fullness" or the Promised Land.
"The old generation who disbelieved God perished
in the wilderness - they did not want to go in and possess
the land.... they did not want to hear any talk about Christ
appearing in the saints and Christ being formed in you; and
as for the manifestation of the sons of God, that is definitely
not for this day and age, they say.... (21)
"Do you not see then how subtly the enemy will
work and how easy it is going to be for Christians to become
entangled in an idolatrous religious system ...The day of
reckoning is at hand, and judgement must begin at the House
of God - this idolatrous ecclesiastical system is doomed!"
(22)
"We are the ones who will choose if the next
move of God will be a day of salvation or a day of judgement
- for those who reject it...will have a more severe judgement
- This next wave (of the Spirit) will not be stopped, and
the opposition will soon be forgotten...the past no longer
exists and those who try to live in it cease to be a part
of what God is doing today." (23)
8. JESUS THE PATTERN SON
In many ministries today, Jesus Christ has been demoted.
He has become simply a signpost, a pattern, and a prototype
of the perfected believer, a Way-Shower.
It is taught that the Church must grow as he did to full
maturity, until it can take dominion and have all power and
authority as he has. The Church must follow the pattern of
his life and ministry. Believers must learn to use the anointing,
for it is said that Jesus was (like us) just a man with an
anointing! So, rather than know salvation because of Jesus,
by being incorporated into His obedience and righteousness;
we have to learn to grow up into corporate salvation by following
the lead that he gave.This teaching is prominent in the Word
of Faith Movement. Kenneth Copeland often speaks of Jesus
as the Pattern Son. We model our lives on Him, and receive
the same anointing of power to do miracles; use the same
creative power in our words, etc.
"Because of his sinless life, Jesus walked
in perfect dominion. God did whatever he asked, NOT because
he was God’s son, but because he held the position of a righteous
man. But that was Jesus, you say. But the Bible says that
through our believing on Him, we have been given the same
position of righteousness with God that Jesus has." (24)
9. THE ELIJAH COMPANY
In Latter Rain thinking, there are not one, but two bodies
we have to deal with - the Bride of Christ, and the Body
of Christ. The Body must grow to perfection within the womb
of the global church (The Bride), be brought to birth, and
only then be manifested to the world as its rulers.
The type often used is that of the Virgin and Christ-Child.
Just as Mary brought forth Jesus into the world, so the woman,
the Bride of Christ has to bring the Corporate Christ into
the world through her travail. (Here's the reason for all
that "travailing" going on at Toronto meetings.) Before the
manifestation of the Manchild Company, however, a special
number of perfected saints will receive the Christ anointing
- just as Christ was anointed by the Spirit in His Baptism,
BEFORE his ministry. They are like John the Baptist heralding
the emergence of Christ, and like Elijah before him, a prophetic
ministry to prepare the way. The Elijah ministry is to cause
The Woman to travail to bring forth the Son.
This Group variously called:
"From within the womb of the church, there
is being birthed a prophetic generation." (25)
Since it is believed that this group is the
Lord’s Anointed (for they have the Spirit without measure)
their task is to judge and purify the Church; to oppose them
is to die like Ananias and Saphira. When the leaders say, touch
not the Lord’s anointed, they mean that those who have the
Christ anointing to do this work are literally standing in
the place of Christ, and to oppose them is to oppose Christ.Paul
Cain and Rick Joyner recently discussed this topic in Rick
Joyner’s Morning Star Journal. There they called the Elijah
Ministry the "Spiritual Fathers". The idea of having a Spiritual
Director, by the way, is coming back into fashion and is helpful
in leading the Church into unity with Rome, for it is more
a Catholic idea than a Protestant one. It sets up again mediators
between man and God.
"The best is yet to come. What we are about
to see can be credited to no man--no amount of money or promotions
could make it happen. The Lord is going to anoint the people
in these last days with the spirit of Elijah. We will see
the kind of power that Elijah walked in revealed again.
"When the full apostolic power comes it will
either heal or kill, build or destroy. The power that brought
such glory to the first century church brought death to Ananias
and Sapphira.... What we may get away with during times of
a lower level anointing will carry a most terrible penalty
during the time of the Lord's visitation.
"The foolishness on Ananias and Sapphira was
that they failed to recognise what authority was working
in Peter. Peter was no longer just a fisherman--he was a
vessel for the Holy Spirit and by lying to Peter they lied
to the Holy Spirit.
"In Malachi 4:5-6 we read: "Behold, I am going
to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and terrible day of the LORD. And he will restore the hearts
of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children
to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse."
"Apostolic power and life will be restored
to the church, but it first requires a restoration of the
spiritual fathers to the children and the children to the
spiritual fathers--in God's continuum. There is a spiritual
principle that we are changed into that which we behold (see
II Corinthians 3:18). As we start esteeming our spiritual
fathers we will start to become spiritual fathers, and our
sons will want to become spiritual fathers."
This proposes a priesthood to lead us into the new order.
Elijah was the last of the old order, for he passed his message
on to prepare for the new order. The Elijah ministry is thus
the means by which the Body steps into the new order.In true
Gnostic fashion, Rick Joyner is saying we can’t make it,
we can’t develop into this Corporate Christ, the spiritual
House of God, if we don’t get the teaching of the apostles
and the new revelations of the prophets. He says we need
mediators to lead us in. We need spiritual fathers!
But Jesus said, "call no man father - you have one Father
in Heaven". It is the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth,
not Priests and Apostles.This Elijah Ministry is supposedly
a miracle ministry. It will lead to the greatest revival
mankind has ever seen, and it lasts the same length of time
as the ministry of Jesus - three and a half years! The Elijah
Company possesses human bodies, but they are invincible;
nobody can kill them until their work is done.
"Jesus was the Christ, which means the Anointed
of God...The SAME anointing with the same power and authority
(is given) to the Two Witnesses of Revelation (the Moses
and Elijah ministry). There must needs be judgement upon
the earth to cleanse the earth of its corrupt and rotten
sin - who is to judge the earth? Do ye not know that the
saints shall judge the world - and hear me, beloved, this
judgement must begin at the house of God,...for the Holy
City, the Woman, the Virgin Bride of Christ must be trodden
under foot for forty-two months...until she travails in birth
and brings forth the Deliverer, the many-menbered Body of
Christ." (26)
"The anointing of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost
is a glorious experience, it is the firstfruits of what comes
upon the Body. But it is only the firstfruits - (the twelve
spies) brought back "a sample" (from the promised land) but
it was only a sample, a firstfruits. God never intended for
them to subsist for the rest of their lives on these samples...they
were to go in and possess the land. Jesus our High Priest
was anointed of the Spirit without measure - this same divine
anointing of the fulness of the Spirit that came upon Jesus
shall come upon the entire Body, until every enemy shall
become his footstool. This anointing does not come upon babes
in Christ as does the Baptism of the Spirit. This anointing
comes at the time of the Adoption." (27)
"But you say that we have already received
that anointing when we received the glorious infilling or
Baptism of the Holy Ghost. No, my friend, we only get the
earnest of our inheritance. The anointing of the Two Witnesses
is when the glory of God (Jesus) fills the entire Temple
of God (Body of Christ, the Overcomer) ...suddenly he appears"!
Not to everyone but to those who are looking for him. And
he appears unto full salvation...to anoint us and fill us
with His glory and power and the fulness of his spirit. And
by the act of his appearance this group of people are made
into one body". (28)
NB: At the time that the two prophets Paul Cain and Bob
Jones appeared, I believe they were seen as the physical
representation of the Two Witnesses referred to above.
10. THE RAPTURE = THE BIRTH OF THE MANCHILD
Since Jesus is the Pattern, it is believed that the Manchild,
the Corporate Christ, follows the pattern of the ministry
of Jesus.
This group thus receives a baptism of fire, then has a signs
and wonder ministry for for three and a half years in increasing
persecution from the religious "old order", for the perfect
New Order has not yet come.Finally, they are "raptured" to
become spiritually transformed - while still on earth! This
follows the pattern of the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ whereby He received His resurrection body. It is taught
that prepared believers will also share this experience,
not necessarily through death but in a parody of the biblical
"rapture". Afterwards they will be immortal, invincible,
all-knowing and able to perform such miracles that the whole
world will be converted. Those who do not bow to their rule
will be destroyed.
The whole world sees that these "Overcomers" have been "raised
up to the heavenlies" though they remain on earth. They have
become perfected spiritual beings in human bodies. They take
the place of the evil principalities and powers, and begin
to rule and reign over the earth as The Christ - the One
Perfect Man, with ALL his power and authority.
"Pentecost opened the fifth day of history...At
last we are coming to the final working [prophetic] day of
God’s week and he makes man - this is a full-grown man established
in every respect. God’s creation which appears during this
sixth day will be fashioned in the image of The Man, Christ
Jesus. This new man, whose destiny is to occupy the New Jerusalem,
God’s city coming down from heaven to earth, is a CORPORATE
MAN. He is the whole body of Christ who will wield the iron
rod of God’s judgement over Babylon, the present world system.
He will usher in the seventh day, a thousand years of rest
and peace. This final period will establish his rule and
reign with Jesus prior to the last great judgement of all
flesh before the throne of God." (29)
"It is important that we do not stop at the
"harvest" aspect of revival, but look beyond to God’s ultimate
purpose. This involves more than saving souls from hell,
more even than bringing individuals into a renewal experience;
it involves a work amongst God’s people that is corporate
- the Body of Christ has to come to full maturity, and so
become the Bride for her husband...Before this age closes
the world is again to see a man (like Jesus) striding the
earth, having come to the fulness of his manhood. Not the
individual Christ, but the corporate Christ, the spiritual
body in union with the unseen head, having come to the mature
man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness
of Christ, and displaying throughout the earth the power
and glory of God, just as Jesus did at the beginning. This
is God's supreme purpose for this age." (30)
11. SPIRITUAL WARFARE
This Corporate Christ has power over all demons and will
wage war in the heavenlies and pull down the satanic strongholds.
They will take their place as the world's spiritual rulers.
"The very unseen powers of the heavenlies must
be toppled from their thrones; yea, even now they are beginning
to feel the impact of heaven-tremors as the sons of God begin
to mount up with wings of an eagle to take to themselves
their God-given authority in the Spirit. It is this wrestling
with the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenlies
that shall cause the very heavens to shake and satan and
his hosts to relinquish their kingdom into the hands of the
Sons of God. Everything that can be shaken is going to quake
and fall before the sons of God. And then into the very heavenlies
they shall ascend, first of all in the Spirit, to take possession
of the kingdom left vacant by the casting out of Satan and
his evil hosts. Then they shall be in a position to administer
peace and life and blessing to a Church and a world that
are in bondage and under oppression." (31)
"Hebrews 2:5 reveals to us that the world to
come will no longer be under subjection to angels but will
be under subjection to redeemed men and women who will reign
with Christ. We are at present in training for reigning.
The structures (of the satanic strongholds in the heavenlies)
will be refurbished with a whole new personnel.... I believe
with all my heart, that the rediscovery of territorial spirits
is part of God’s desire and design to get his people into
the full knowledge of the Son of God so that we can grow
to the full stature, geographically and territorially as
well as powerfully and inwardly, and that this will enable
us to fulfil the world mission of the Church." (32)
12. ALL ENEMIES DESTROYED: Church and World Judged by Manchild
The final phase, following the manifestation to the world
of the Sons of God, the Manchild Company, are that they rule
and reign in the heavenlies (ie by virtue of their spiritual
transformation).
"Could Jesus come today? No - certain things
have to be fulfilled before Jesus can return..." He quotes
Psalm 110"The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. This
is the most quoted OT verse in the NT. Not until that is
true will Jesus leave his Father’s right hand to return to
earth. He must reign (through the church) until he has put
all his enemies under his feet; the last enemy to be destroyed
is death." (33)
[Commenting on the same verse] "The Church
is the feet of Jesus. God promised Jesus 'I will train your
feet, and use them to tread down and crush your enemies.'"(34)
This glorified, christ-empowered company that have come
to spiritual transformation see themselves as powerful enough
to cast satan and his hosts out of the heavenlies. However,
as Revelation tells us, what follows is a terrible Tribulation.Because
satan and his hosts are cast out of the heavenlies, they
make war against the Woman. There is a terrible persecution
against the Woman, and she is driven into the wilderness.
But in Latter Rain doctrine the Woman is the worldwide Church,
the denominations and traditional Christians (some genuine,
some not). It is therefore not ISRAEL but the CHURCH that
is persecuted by satan during the endtimes, according to
this view.It is the perfected, ruling, glorified Manchild
Company who cares for the woman in her hour of need. It is
the glorified Manchild, who woes her and reveals truth to
her. So it is that, in Latter Rain thinking, the Manchild
is the Head of the Woman.
Where in all this doctrine (you may be thinking) is the
Lord Jesus? It seems as if the Church does all the revealing,
the warfare, the teaching, the judging. No doubt, for the
Church is seen as God's Body on earth. So it is that when
three and a half years of persecution are completed, the
Woman emerges purified in order to join her spouse, the Manchild
company, to inherit the restored earth. Has Jesus Christ
come back physically by this time? No, not even now is Christ
the Lord expected to return, for "he" (in his Body) "must
reign" until ALL his enemies, including death itself, are
put under "his feet" - the CHURCH!
" When the Government is clearly seen to be
on his shoulders in the Church, we shall become a light and
testimony to a totally new order which finds its source and
strength coming from the Throne of God. The river of life
will support trees whose fruit will be for the healing of
the nations." (35)
The Woman emerges as the purified Bride of Christ without
spot or wrinkle; andjoins in a marriage union with the Corporate
Christ. A spiritual wedding of the Manchild and the Woman
takes place.Thus the LR teachers are proposing that the Church
represents the New Eve of the New Age, while the Overcomers
who precede her purification are the New Adam of the New
Age.
Events following the victory over satan, and the purification
of the world and global Church are:
-
The wicked are taken out, and all sin and
rebellion is removed from earth.
-
creation is restored and the earth is cleansed.
-
The kingdom is set up - but the kingdom
is the rule of God expressed and exercised through his
people
-
There will be a long period of rulership
over the earth, possibly the 1,000 years.
During this time, all God’s enemies must be destroyed, including
the last enemy of death. Although the Manchild company have
already demonstrated their power over death, and have received
eternal life and immortality in resurrection bodies, this
power over death must be extended to all the earth before
the Kingdom can be offered to Jesus Christ.
All of this work is supposed to be accomplished by the Manchild
Company on earth, before the physical return of Jesus. (That
is, if He returns physically at ALL! Some are now teaching
that the glorification of the Manchild is actually the "return"
of Jesus into His Body.)
WHERE IS THIS TEACHING LEADING US?
The concepts of the new revelations, the inner light, spiritual
evolution, and especially the setting up of a powerful ruling
elite in a kingdom on earth, are opening us up for the reign
of Antichrist.There is little in the above teaching that
could not be mistaken for the doctrine of the New Age. Indeed,
I believe it comes from the same spirit, and is producing
not release but delusion for the many thousands who adopt
it.Will the Antichrist, when he is revealed, be seen by some
as the "christ-spirit" who is to glorify the Body? Will he
come with a powerful "anointing" that appears to fulfil the
twisted prophecies of the Latter Rain movement?
What will happen to true believers in this scenario? To
look into your possible future, go on to
Part Three, "The Ezekiel 47 Model: Onwards to Glory".
-
Marc Dupont, of the Toronto Vineyard in
"Mantle of Praise" article.
-
David Mansell, in "Times of Refreshing"
supplement to Covenant News
-
P. Van Der Elst, Internet, Thurs 23rd Feb
1995.
-
Matthew Henry's Commentary.
-
"The Earlier Years of the Modern Tongues
Movement" G.H.Lang.
-
R. Riss "Latter Rain" 1987 P.55
-
-
MacPherson "Can The Elect Be Deceived"
1986. P.52
-
Restoration Magazine Jan/Feb 1986 - probably
Bryn Jones
-
Noel Stanton "Fire In Our Hearts" P.110
- speech delivered at Ashburnham 1975
-
John Noble, "House Churches - Will They
Survive?" Page 121-122.
-
Terry Virgo, "Restoration In The Church"
-
Chris Seaton in "Your Mind Matters" (Chris
Seaton is an elder in Revelation Pioneer fellowship.
and head of the Restoration environment program, Whose
Earth)
-
Gerald Coates "What On Earth Is This
Kingdom" page 36
-
Summary of two separate messages, "The
Divine Unveiling of the Church" by Rob Wheeler of Aukland,
New Zealand, and "Old Testament Promises" by Bill Britton
-
Bill Britton, "A Closer Look At the Rapture",
1986
-
George Warnock, "Feast of Tabernacles"
1951
-
George Warnock, Feast of Tabernacles.
-
John Noble, "Apostles & Prophets" in
"Breaking The Mould" compilation, pub Pioneer Trust 1993.
-
Bryn Jones? Restoration Mag 1986
-
Warnock, Feast of Tabernacles Pp 70-71
-
-
Paul Cain speaking at the Word and the
Spirit conference in London October 1992
-
Voice of Victory magazine, September
1995, Terri Pearsons
-
Bryn Jones, interviewed in the Jesus
Army newsletter. 1993.
-
Bill Britton, "The Pattern Son" P.43
-
-
-
John Noble, "House Churches - Will They
Survive?" P.118 f. The chapter, 'Our New Day', follows
Bill Britton's outline of the Days of Creation in Genesis
linked with the Feasts of Israel.)
-
Arthur Wallis, "Rain From Heaven" 1979.
-
Warnock, "Feast of Tabernacles" page
97.
-
Roger Forster, introduction to "Territorial
Spirits", pages x and xiii
-
Stephen Matthew in Restoration magazine,
Jan 1992
-
Francis Frangipane, in Charisma magazine
July 1993
-
John Noble, "House Churches - Will They
Survive?" P.96
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