compiled by Jason Guenther

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latter_Rain_Movement

Latter Rain Movement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Latter Rain Movement as currently constituted grew out of events in North Battleford, Saskatchewan between 1946 and 1948.

Religious observers marked the start of a new movement within the Pentecostal family of churches around the world because of new, some would say radical, ideas about certain Scriptures expressed at this point by those who were to become the movement's leaders. Believers in this theology think that this "new wave" of the Spirit was the "latter rain" referred to in such Bible passages as Jeremiah 3:3 and 5:2, Joel 2:23, Hosea 6:3, Zechariah 10:1, and James 5:7. To some of its followers, these events marked the most important developments in Pentecostal Christianity since the Azusa Street Revival.

Beliefs

* The latter rain. Central to the Latter Rain movement was an expectation of the imminent return of Jesus. Based on an allegorical interpretation of scriptures such as Joel 2:23, the movement held that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost had been the "former rain" that established the Church, and that the current "move" of the Spirit was the "latter rain" that would bring the Church's work to completion, and culminate in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

* The baptism of the holy spirit. Unlike mainstream Pentecostalism, which holds that the baptism of the Holy Spirit usually comes after prolonged "tarrying" or waiting for the Spirit, the Latter Rain movement taught that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit can be imparted on one believer by another through the laying on of hands.

* The fivefold ministry. The Latter Rain taught that of the five ministerial roles mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher), the foundational roles of apostle and prophet had been stolen from the Church by Satan, but that God was restoring these ministries in the present day.

* Christian ecumenism. The Latter Rain taught that God saw the church organized not into denominational camps, but along geographical lines. They expected that in the coming last days, the various Christian denominations would dissolve, and the true church would coalesce into citywide churches under the leadership of the newly-restored apostles and prophets.

* The Manifest(ed) Sons of God. Some leaders of the Latter Rain movement taught that as the end of the age approached, a select group of "overcomers" would arise within the Church. These Manifest Sons of God would receive the "spiritual bodies" mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15. They would become immortal, and receive a number of divine gifts, including the ability to change their physical appearance, to speak any language, to teleport from place to place, and to perform divine healings and other miracles. They would complete the Great Commission, spreading the gospel throughout the world, and at last usher in the millennial reign of Christ.

Influences

The Charismatic and Pentecostal movements in the US, and throughout the world, have been influenced by this movement. However, this belief is not held by a majority within either movement. In fact, some of the most ardent critics of the Manifest Sons of God and Later Rain movements come from within the Pentecostal movement itself, especially concerning the more "supernatural" aspects to the theology.

The Latter Rain Movement had its beginnings in the years following World War 2. When its proponents tried to mainline it into the Pentecostal Churches and in particular the Assemblies of God it nearly split the church. It was an extremely controversial issue at the time. Many felt that this was a false movement insinuating its way into the church which glorified men of charisma. They were also concerned that it espoused a post-millennial rather than pre-millennial scenario of the "End Times." In 1959 the Assemblies of God condemned the doctrine of the 'Latter Rain Movement' as heresy.

http://watch.pair.com/rain.htm

THE LATTER RAIN REVIVAL


Modern Prophets have received "new revelations" of the end-time which, until now, have not been understood by the Church. Truly, a "New Breed" of Apostles and Prophets is being raised up who will assume their end-time role of leading the Church to take dominion and to execute God’s judgments in the world. Vineyard Ministries Apostle, Jack Deere, believes that the two witnesses in Revelation 11 may very well be Kansas City Prophets, Paul Cain and Bob Jones.(1) Says Paul Cain:

"God is raising up a new standard, a new banner if you will, that’s going to radically change the expression, the understanding of Christianity in our generation…God has invited us to have a role in establishing this NEW ORDER of Christianity…God is offering to this generation something He has never offered to any other generation… Beware lest OLD ORDER brethren rob you and steal this hope from you!(2)

Bob Jones has received special revelation about this new hope:

"I have called the best of every blood line in earth unto this generation…I have elected to bring them forth in this generation…THE ELECT GENERATION…even the bloodline of Paul…of David…of Peter, James and John…They will even be superior to them in heart, stature and love for me’…Your children will possess the spirit without measure…They will move into things of the supernatural that no one has ever moved in before…coming into the DIVINE NATURE of Jesus Christ…a Church that has reached the full maturity of the GODMAN! This generation…is going to see the beginning of this WORLD WIDE NEW ORDER."(3) 

Are you having difficulty discerning or receiving this "new revelation"? Then perhaps you have been interpreting your Bible in the "old way" -- comparing Scripture with Scripture, studying diligently to account for every jot and tittle and being careful to rightly divide the Word of truth. If this describes you, then you belong to the "Old Generation" which will not enter in to "possess the land" in the Latter Rain Revival. You may even be a member of a denominational church with its dogmatic confession of faith and statement of doctrine. These legalistic forms will be relics of the past in the up and coming "Postdenominational Church." Paul Cain advises that you "dump all that carnal stuff" (doctrine) and listen to what the "spirit" is saying to the churches through the Latter Rain Prophets and Apostles, who are dispensing many "new, sacred truths." 

Now, back to your Bible study. In your Bible you will want to change the book of "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" to "The Manifestation of the Sons of God." That’s right, we are not to be looking for the "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering unto Him." Nope. That would be an "escapist mentality" to be repented of at once if we would be Overcomers. Instead, we should be looking forward to the glorification of the Corporate Church, which will become perfect and immortal here on earth before the Second Coming. In fact, as Jesus comes "spiritually and invisibly" to His Church, He will actually "incarnate" the Corporate Body and reveal Himself to the world through miraculous signs and wonders performed by the "Manifest Sons of God." 

This great end-time Company is really the "Manchild" of Revelation 12 which will rule the nations with a rod of iron. (You will need to replace Israel with the Church in this passage.) Yes, this end-time Church is also the prophetic fulfillment of the dreadful army in Joel 2, which is God’s agent of judgment to cleanse the earth of evil during the "times of restitution." (You will find this army also in Revelation 9!) Since the Manifest Sons of God are "the Christ," they will be putting all things under their (oops!) His feet, including the "old order" brethren.

Are you wondering by what authority the modern Prophets and Apostles presume to confer this Divine Right upon themselves and their followers? Not to worry! Paul Crouch, President of Trinity Broadcasting Network, has provided the following exegesis of Jesus’ parable: 

"Read the parable of the Wheat and the Tares in Matthew 13:24-30 and you will see that at the end of this age the "ANGELS" are sent forth to remove evil from the earth. That word "ANGELS" also means messengers. So God may use some of us to finish up the work of this age."(4) 

Those who would be chosen as the elect Manifest Sons of God by the modern Apostles and Prophets, must first repent of their old divisive attitude of separation from error. Christ cannot incarnate a divided church and for this reason we will need to be delivered from our narrow doctrinal point of view and join the ecumenical crowd on the Broad Way. It matters not that the blood of the martyrs was shed contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints. Those who persist in being contentious about doctrine may join them when the great "revival" arrives circa A.D. 2000. 

Over 50 years ago, William Branham, George Warnock, Paul Cain and others attempted to introduce Latter Rain/Manifest Sons of God teachings into the Pentecostal movement. In 1949, however, the Assemblies of God officially rejected the Latter Rain/ Manifest Sons of God doctrine as "heresy." The cult went underground but surfaced again in the 1960’s as the Manchild Company. Disregarding the Assemblies of God decision, Paul Cain, the Kansas City Prophets and Vineyard Ministries have subsequently reintroduced and successfully established this false doctrine in the Pentecostal churches.

The Latter Rain/Manifest Sons of God doctrine "involved a man-child elite group of Overcomers taking dominion over all nations and reigning in the heavenlies while overseeing drastic judgment on all who remained in the 'old generation' -- i.e., the denominational churches! The Latter-Rain teachings promised a Second Pentecost outpouring to empower this elite group, and to incarnate the Christ within them to the degree that they will become perfect and invincible, even to the overthrow of heavenly powers."(5)

Today, few recall the controversy surrounding Latter Rain/Manifest Sons of God doctrines fifty years ago and their repudiation by the Church. Of necessity, they are now camouflaged and Christians must have an accurate understanding of Scripture to discern these counterfeit winds of doctrine. Charismatic churches are well-established in Latter Rain doctrine and Evangelical churches are currently being indoctrinated via numerous parachurch organizations and movements. Latter Rain teachings include: Kingdom Now/Dominion Theology, Progressive Revelation, Revival/Harvest, Joel’s Army, Replacement Theology, Post-Millennial Eschatology, Signs and Wonders, Territorial Warfare, Ecumenism, Restoration of Apostles and Prophets, Jubilee/Feast of Tabernacles, and the Post-denominational Church.

GNOSTICISM

Latter Rain doctrine is a modern version of the classic heresy of Gnosticism, which taught that a spiritual elite possessed "hidden knowledge" of the divine realm which placed their personal revelations, spiritual experiences, and private interpretation of Scripture above the ordinary revelation of God’s Word. In Latter Rain doctrine, Pentecost was the "former rain" or outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the Church must yet receive a second Holy Spirit visitation. At this time, the Sons of God will be glorified and manifested to all as they establish the Kingdom on earth before Jesus Christ returns bodily. Latter Rain prophets are now preparing multitudes for this transformation. In a 1991 program entitled "Manifested Sons of God," Morris Cerullo flattered his audience with the following blasphemy, 

"You represent all that God is and all that God has...Jesus was the visible expression of God. Jesus was the Son of the Living God. Now, who are you? Sons of God…everyone say it. What is working inside of us is the manifestation. When you look at me, you are looking at Jesus…To see Jesus was to see God. To see me is to see Jesus. Jesus knew who He was. Don’t you think it is about time we know who we are?"(6)

Benny Hinn fills convention centers worldwide preaching a similar message, which exalts the creature rather than the Creator, and induces spiritual pride:

"This spirit-man within me is a God-man. Say after me, he’s born of heaven, he’s a super-being…Say I’m born of heaven - God-man. I’m a God-man. I’m a sample of Jesus. I’m a super being. Say it! Say it! Who’s a super being? I walk in the realm of the supernatural. Get the spirit-man renewed…when he’s strong, he’ll hold off sickness…you want to prosper? Money will be falling on you from left, right and center. God will begin to prosper you, for money always follows righteousness…Say after me, I hold my destiny."(7) 

Thus, whole congregations are bewitched with the prospect of unleashing their potential as ‘Godmen’ in the approaching "Latter Rain Revival." This predicted restoration is an outgrowth of Replacement Theology which appropriates to the Church the promises of restoration which God gave to Israel, specifically Joel 2:23 and Hosea 6:3. James 5:7 simply states that the Church must patiently wait for the coming of the Lord as the husbandman waits for the "latter rain" to receive the full harvest. The saints will then reign with Christ, as seen in Revelation 19. Neither Daniel, Matthew 24, Thessalonians nor Revelation mention a great Christian revival, but characterize the period before the Second Coming as a perilous time of great deception, paganism, apostasy from the faith and persecution of the saints. 

In I John 4:1-3, Christians are enjoined to "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." However, there is a common theme in many of the new revelations that those who resist the "new move of God" as unscriptural are lukewarm, immature or even divisive members of the Body. The following prophecy by Gwen Shaw, President of End-Time Handmaidens, is typical of this attitude: 

"If you can’t think in a new way, if you can’t accept what I am going to do, you will burst. You will not be able to accept the expansion of this new wine. This new wine shall cause many to expand in their understanding of the ways of God. Because some are not equipped, and some are not prepared, and because of their indifference and their critical spirit, their wineskins shall burst."(8) 

Those in authority who indiscriminately censure believers for questioning new revelations are interfering with an important step in the biblical process of testing prophecy. Yet throughout the Latter Rain move, leaders have scarcely, if at all, encouraged the church to be like the noble Bereans in Acts 17 who "searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Rather, they commonly protest that any objection to the new revelations is of a judgmental spirit or a personal attack on the prophets. These rash assumptions prevent all honest discussion concerning the doctrinal bases for assumed "new" revelations. Paul Cain even advised his audience to wait until they get to heaven to examine his exposition of the ‘Manchild Company,’ which would never stand the test of Scripture: 

"…I know some of you are going to disagree with this. Don’t you even stop to disagree. Revelation 12:5. If you disagree, just file it in ‘miscellaneous’ and check it out. And don’t bother with it; when we get to heaven we’ll check it out and you’ll find out I’m right…"(9)

NEW AGE PARALLELS

However inconsistent it may be with the Word of God, Latter Rain/Manifest Sons of God eschatology agrees on every point with the New Age Movement’s anticipation of the exaltation of mankind to godhood and the establishment of a New World Order. The following appraisal of Latter Rain theology by New Age Unity pastor, Rev. Earnest Ramsey was cited in Constance Cumbey’s book, A Planned Deception, The Staging of a New Age Messiah,

"Rev. Ernest Ramsey, an associate pastor at Unity's Kansas City's Founder's Church, Unity on the Plaza, is an enthusiastic follower of the Alice Bailey and Benjamin Creme teachings. In his Research Report #2, he tells of something he was led to by a spirit guide - what he terms 'Neo-Pentecostalism.' An aberrant branch of Pentecostalism, this is more commonly known as the 'Manifest Sons of God.' That movement is also referred to as 'Sonship' or 'Overcomers.' Ramsey concludes based on even less evidence than I have personally collected that this is part of the New Age Movement.

"Ramsey's work for his organization, 'Synthesis Fellowship,' first came to my attention in early 1983. His major report, entitled "An Evolutionary Basis For The Reappearance of the Christ and his Executives, the Masters of Wisdom" was inspired by Benjamin Creme's appearance and speech at Unity on the Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. . . The most interesting section of Ramsey's report dealt with 'Neo-Pentecostalism.' Ramsey spent a semester at one of the Neo-Pentecostal or Manifest Sons of God seminaries (in upstate New York). . . Already familiar with the Alice Bailey writings, he was amazed to see that there was a branch of Pentecostalism that embraced the same teachings -- albeit using sometimes different terminology.

"Like those seeking the 'Age of Aquarius' these people too were seeking a 'New Age.' Like the other New Agers, these people taught that 'The Christ' was an anointing - not necessarily one man. They taught that Jesus was a pattern son who was to be a sign of something even greater to come - the 'Manifestation of the Sons of God.' They too believed the earth was to be cleansed of evil. And chillingly like the other New Agers, they believed they were to be 'God's' instruments to do such cleansing. The New Agers believed they were gods. The Manifest Sons of God likewise taught that if one accepted their 'new revelation' that they themselves would actually become Christ at the time of the unveiling or manifestation of the Sons of God."(10)

Other prominent New Age leaders have openly expressed the intention of their movement to infiltrate the Christian Church in order to introduce their esoteric teachings and to "draw away disciples after themselves." In The Unfinished Animal: The Aquarian Frontier and the Evolution of Consciousness, Theodore Rosak revealed that, "Charismatic congregations in main-line churches are entry points into the Aquarian frontier."(11) Alice Bailey, Theosophist and mother of the modern New Age Movement, revealed an ingenious plan in her 1957 volume, The Externalisation of the Hierarchy. Cabalist agents would infiltrate the Christian Church to modify its message, while adapting it as a vehicle for the Universal Religion of the 21st Century. 

"…The church movement, like all else, is but a temporary expedient and serves but a transient resting place for the evolving life. Eventually, there will appear the Church Universal, and its definite outlines will appear towards the close of this century… This Church will be nurtured into activity by the Christ and His disciples when the outpouring of the Christ principle, the TRUE second Coming has been accomplished… the Christian church in its many branches can serve as a nucleus through which world illumination may be accomplished… the church as a teaching factor should take the great basic doctrines and (shattering the old forms in which they are expressed and held) show their true and inner spiritual significance. The prime work of the church is to teach, and teach ceaselessly, preserving the outer appearance in order to reach the many who are accustomed to church usages. Teachers must be trained; Bible knowledge must be spread; the sacraments must be mystically interpreted, and the power of the church to heal must be demonstrated."(12) (Italics added)

ANOTHER PENTECOST?

In Latter Rain doctrine, paramount emphasis is placed on the proposed Year of Jubilee A.D. 2000, when all nations and a "united" Church will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. The prophetic fulfillment of this Feast is said to occur prior to the return of Christ. Latter Rain prophets claim that this will also be a "Second Pentecost," since the first was ‘incomplete.’ Christ will then appear in the midst of His people and be incarnated in his Body, filling the Corporate "Christ" with His glory, which will then be poured out on all flesh.

"There is another realm of spiritual experience typified in scripture by the Feast of Tabernacles. Until we understand and partake of this feast, as we have both Passover and Pentecost, we will never fulfill our destiny and calling. We must discover the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles and ‘celebrate’ it along with Passover and Pentecost…What God did among Jews in Jerusalem, He is going to do among humanity and worldwide. Pentecost will come to maturity in the feast of Tabernacles."(13) 

This Latter Rain "Second Pentecost" during Tabernacles is suggestive of the "Planetary Pentecost" preached by Barbara Marx Hubbard as the peaceful "alternative to Armageddon." At this time, a "quantum leap" in the evolution of mankind will occur as revealed to her by "the Christ": "At the moment of cosmic contact, I will appear to you both through inner experience and through external communication on your mass media." Says Ms. Hubbard, it will be a time when "the divisions of the religions would be over…We would each know that God is within us…If all who feel we are connected to each other, to nature and to God join in a planetary Pentecost, we shall be transformed in this lifetime. I believe in the peaceful second Coming."(14) Earnest Ramsey perceived virtually no difference at all between the New Age Tabernacles/Year of Jubilee and the Latter Rain interpretation of these celebrations. 

"Ernest Ramsey excitedly pointed out in his report that [the Manifest Sons] had a teaching which indeed did parallel the Aquarian teaching of the Age of Aquarius -- the Old Testament 'Year of Jubilee' as well as the 'Feast of Tabernacles.' The Year of Jubilee paralleled the redistribution of the world's wealth. The Feast of Tabernacles was the equivalent of the coming together of the World's peoples and varied religions under one tent or tabernacle -- the equivalent of the New Agers' long-awaited 'New World Religion.'"(15) 

Coincidental with the Latter Rain/New Age agenda to celebrate Tabernacles in the proposed Year of Jubilee, the Vatican Central Committee is coordinating with other Catholic Rites and church conferences, such as Episcopal, Anglican Communion, World Lutheran Federation, World Reformed Alliance, Methodist World Council, the World Council of Churches for a celebration of the Great Jubilee "which will take place simultaneously in the Holy Land, in Rome and in the local Churches throughout the world."(16) In ancient Israel, the 50 year Jubilee celebration freed all slaves, canceled all debts, and restored properties to the original owners. Pope John Paul II, New Age/New World Order planners and Pat Robertson (17) of the Christian Broadcasting Network have all called for the worldwide redistribution of wealth and cancellation of debt in 2000 A.D.--severe measures that would precipitate the collapse of secular economies which have not planned for this adjustment. 

Concurrent with Rome’s initiative, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem is promoting "Taste of Tabernacles" celebrations in Christian churches and parachurch ministries worldwide. Johann Luckhoff, Director of ICEJ, was invited by New Age advocate, Jay Gary, to speak at the ecumenical A.D. 2000 Global Conference on World Evangelism in Seoul, South Korea in 1989. Says Luckoff, "One of the reasons I was invited to Korea was because the organizers of the GCOWE hope to have the next gathering in Jerusalem at the end of the millennium. That should be quite an event." George Warnock would agree. In 1951, Warnock forged a definitive doctrine for the Latter Rain Movement in his book, The Feast of Tabernacles, and specifically noted that the "Christ should visit the saints…and minister his life ‘in secret’ before He is openly manifest."(18) 

Zechariah 14:16 states that the nations will go to Jerusalem annually to worship the King and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, after the return of Jesus Christ. Which "Christ" will the Latter Rain prophets worship?

"We must not miss this point: the replacement theology of the Manifest Sons of the Latter Rain, which New Ager Ramsey called ‘Neo-Pentecostalism,’ has brought the Age of Aquarius into the Church under the guise of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Year of Jubilee."(19)

NEW REVELATION

To defend their unbiblical exposition of many doctrines, Latter Rain prophets and apostles claim that "new" teachings, prophecies and interpretations of Scripture are progressively being unveiled which have heretofore not been revealed to the Church. Even though such visions, prophecies and revelations are unsupported by the Word of God, they are nonetheless canonized as doctrine because they were accompanied by spiritual experiences. However, Hebrews 1:1,2 states, "God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son." Since Jesus Christ is the Word of God, I Corinthians 14:29 contains the provision that all prophecy in the church be tested and judged by its conformity to Scripture. Isaiah 8:20 declares, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." 

In 1993, Charismatic Pastor John Hinkle prophesied nationally that on Thursday, June 9, God would remove the evil from the earth. That this was a false prophecy should have been apparent to believers from the beginning, for Scripture is clear that evil will not only remain in the world, but will increase before Jesus Christ returns. Deuteronomy 18:22 states, "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously." False prophets in Israel were to be stoned. Mercifully, the church is to judge prophets and reject those who do not speak according to sound doctrine or whose word is not specifically fulfilled. However, Christian leaders did not reject Hinkle’s prophecy as false but dissembled, claiming that an earthquake in South America or unknown event in the invisible realm fulfilled its conditions. Could not the latter rationalization be made for all prophecies that default? 

"New" revelations extend beyond the parameters of God’s Word and give opportunity for false teachings to be introduced to the Church. The mischief that ensues from the acceptance of false prophecy is considerable. The transition from John Hinkle’s prophecy to Paul Crouch’s outrageous statement that Christians will soon remove the tares from the wheat was subtle. We have yet to see the damage that will result from Pat Robertson’s astonishing claim in a 1984 televised sermon that, "God spoke through a word of prophecy in May 1968, and said, ‘I have chosen you to usher in the coming of My Son.’"(20) Robertson also announced then that the Christian Broadcasting Network will provide worldwide coverage of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. 

Which "coming" is precarious, for it seems that more than one "Christ" is presently expected to return. One researcher has pondered Pat Robertson’s prophecy: 

"I can’t see any way out of his cameras melting if he attempted such a thing with the true coming. II Thessalonians 1:7,8 describes that extraordinary day, ‘…when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire.’ II Peter 3:10 states, ‘But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.’"(21) 

It is unlikely that Pat Robertson will televise the Lord Jesus Christ in His glorious return from heaven. Perchance it may be "that Wicked One, even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders."

ANOTHER CHRIST

New Agers have studied Bible prophecy carefully, especially Matthew 24, and have documented plans to technically stage a "Second Coming," which would be acceptable to Christians, New Agers, et al. David Bay, Director of Old Paths Ministries, says that these plans have been published in a book entitled, The Armageddon Script, by New Age leader Peter LeMesurier. However, before that event, there will be another supernatural, psychic occurrence: 

"Pope John Paul II is anxiously awaiting a potent world-wide Marian Vision. (World) chaos is to precede this vision. This vision will validate the global reign of Pope John Paul II and will establish him as the ultimate spiritual Judge of the Planet… the purpose of this super-natural vision is to validate the Roman Catholic church as the only true church and this Pope as God's ordained leader.’…According to Vatican official, Malachi Martin, author of The Keys of This Blood, this event will be most powerfully psychic. The force accompanying this vision will be so powerful it will literally bring the normal activity of the world to a standstill. Men will be so moved that their ‘consciences will cry out with fear.’ This vision will produce an ‘engulfing chaos, along with misdirection, and disequilibruim in human affairs. In other words, the entire population of the world will experience a simultaneous changing of their minds…The vision will be preceded by either a loud sound, a bright light...

"These effects are identical to those which New Age writers have predicted during the appearance of Anti-Christ… (1) A loud sound will be heard world-wide which will herald the coming of Maitreya, the Christ. Prompted by this sound, people will be aware of his coming on three distinct levels: Spiritual, physical, and emotional. (Alice Bailey's The Externalisation Of The Hierarchy, p. 173.) (2) ‘...When Lord Maitreya appears, he will appear as different beings to different people… Thus, he will show that he is all things to all people.’ (Bill Lambert, speaking at Seminar, ‘Possible and Probable Events In The Future,’ Theosophical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, August 8, 1991). (3) His three-dimensional image will appear over all nations of the earth simultaneously. He will speak to each ethnic group in their own language. We know this is technologically possible with computer images via telecommunication satellite. (Constance Cumbey, Hidden Dangers Of The Rainbow, p. 24-25).

"We also know that Satan could produce this phenomenon by his Super-Natural power alone. New Age writers clearly state, however, there will be a mixing of super-natural phenomena and advanced technology when the staging of the Anti-Christ occurs… New Age Leaders boldly state in their Plan to use the special effects of modern TV and movies to persuade the people of the world that Maitreya is who he claims to be. ‘...the use of such special effects should not be ruled out on this occasion. The world's news-media can be counted upon to do the rest.’ (The Armageddon Script, Peter Lemesurier, St. Martin's Press, 1981, p. 236) The New Age book, The Messianic Legacy, states that the only way the Messiah could be super-naturally staged in all aspects that Christians are expecting would be through the use of "Hollywood."(22) 

True believers will meet the Lord "in the air" (not on earth) and He will return with them to earth, not as a "peacemaker," but to destroy the nations gathered at Armageddon. The unthinkable will become "religiously correct" when Evangelical and Charismatic shepherds lead an apostate Church in the worship of a false Christ. Revelation 13:15 further states that, "as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed."

JOEL'S ARMY

In view of this prospect, an alarming "new revelation" taught by the modern prophets is that the end-time Church is God’s army in Joel 2, which will judge the Old Order and bring in the Kingdom. In Prophecy Today, Clifford Hill explained, "This teaching is part of what is known as ‘dominion theology’ which teaches that an elite army of ‘overcomers’ will either destroy or subdue all the enemies of Christ until they eventually gain power and authority throughout the world. The government of the nations will be upon their shoulders and when all the secular authorities, governments, princes and kings have finally submitted to them, Christ will return and they will present the kingdom to him."(23) According to Rick Joyner, Christianity must be destabilized and redefined by modern apostles, prophets, etc. to finalize Alice Bailey’s plan to "take the great basic doctrines and shatter the old forms in which they are expressed and held."(24) 

"What is about to come upon the earth is not just a revival, or another awakening; it is a veritable revolution. The vision was given in order to begin to awaken those who are destined to radically change the course, and even the very definition of Christianity. The dismantling of organizations and disbanding of some works will be a positive and exhilarating experience for the Lord’s faithful servants. A great company of prophets, teachers, pastors and apostles will be raised up with the spirit of Phineas…"(25) 

To sanctify this Machiavellian plot, Jack Deere recasts Joel 2 in the context of Ezekiel 9: "When this army comes, He says it’s large and it’s mighty. It’s so mighty that there’s never been anything like it before…‘begin the slaughter and begin it in the temple and begin it with the elders, the leaders of my people.’ And they walk through the land and they start and they begin to slaughter and you know it’s already started with the biggest names in His household? He has already started the slaughter…and it is coming now among the Church."(26) Vineyard pastors James Ryle (Promise Keepers), John Arnott and Wes Campbell (Toronto Blessing) and prophets Bob Jones and Rick Joyner all report visions of "a bloody civil war" in the Church: 

"James Ryle has had a similar vision. The Lord even showed him how the blue coats stand for the revelatory, the revelation, and the grey for grey matter, man's wisdom. And in this context the north fought the south and the south fought the north, and the south wanted to keep the people enslaved. They wanted their money. They wanted their keep the system going. And the north said ‘No! Freedom! Freedom!’ And they went into a terrible fight, and it was father against son, brother against brother, and a man's enemies were in his own house. And the angel said this: ‘There won't be a house that escapes weeping.’" (27)

Such prophecies do not edify the Church, but are inflammatory and undermine the true unity of believers for which Jesus prayed in John 17. Nevertheless, they give increased momentum to the program of New Age leaders such as Alice Bailey, who wrote, "The reorganization of the world’s religions…is for the new world religion."(28) Barbara Marx Hubbard divulged the real reason for the New Age mission, "There is an anti-evolutionary cadre of orthodox believers who focus on the limits of this life and the unworthiness of human nature. Now they would destroy our capacity to transcend…"(29)

She and other New Age leaders have estimated "that for planetary transformation to take place, up to one quarter of the inhabitants of the earth will have to be excised like a cancer." Given the animosity that has been generated by Latter Rain prophets toward Biblical Christianity and the affinity of this movement for warfare terminology, it is hard to resist the suspicion that the New Age/Latter Rain regime will be using a militant Church to accomplish this. Prophet Rick Joyner has even identified "Antichrist" as the traditional Church (30) and Jack Deere claims that modern prophets will execute the Tribulation judgments. 

"You see why we're excited about someone like Paul Cain or Bob Jones coming on the scene? Or others that we've met…you know those two powerful witnesses in Revelation 11:3? You know what - they are first and foremost? They are prophets. He said they will prophesy for 1,260 days. He's going to end the last days just before His Son returns with a prophetic movement that will sweep the entire face of the earth and will eclipse anything we have ever seen before…the significance of these signs and wonders…But they don't just happen on the earth. They come because they are prayed for and they are predicted by God's people."(31) 

It would be unwise to nonchalantly dismiss these claims as idle braggadocio. Paul Cain, Bob Jones, Rick Joyner and other Latter Rain/Manifest Sons of God proponents have paranormal experiences on a regular basis and have demonstrated occult powers.

"Bob Jones (KFC’s resident seer) is a man who claims to have five to six visions and revelations per day. We are talking about a man who thought he was a backslider when two days went by without a visitation from Jesus…Paul Cain…is called the ‘Terror of the Lord’…and has exhibited the ability to tell people the details of their lives, hidden sins and even things they have said in confidence to others. There have been reports of earthquakes and other natural disasters predicted by him…(and) power surges of electricity at places where he ministers." (32)

ANOTHER GOSPEL

False prophets preach "another gospel," which is not the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Vineyard scholar Jack Deere has even admitted that he is not sure of the true gospel. In an interview, Deere told Robert Dean of Biblical Perspectives, "I used to be like you…thinking the gospel was simply justification by faith."(33) This spiritual advisor to John Wimber, late Director of Vineyard Ministries, added that the gospel would have to include works, such as healing and deliverance. This false gospel of works is leading a vast religious system into spiritual deception. Enchanted by signs and lying wonders and riding the ecumenical bandwagon, the Latter Rain/ Manifest Sons of God will be easily assimilated into the Mystery Religion revival foretold in Revelation 17. II Thessalonians 2:10-11 describes God’s judgment, which has already begun in this movement: "…because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie."

Gnostic doctrines are not a new revelations, as modern prophets tell us. Although they come in various expressions, they always contain the same lie the Serpent used to beguile Eve --"…then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods." Neither are Gnostic doctrines the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, but rather the false gospel of the "King over all the children of pride." This corrupt tree always bears evil fruit in the Church. "Gone is the understanding that we must be cross-bearers. The church now seeks adulation and quickly becomes a seed bed for pride, greed and power all under the guise of spiritual growth."(34)

There are few today who are willing to take the low seat at the Wedding Feast. Often we must look to the message of older generations (of whom the world was not worthy) for inspiration to seek a better resurrection and an heavenly country. Amy Carmichael, missionary to India in the early 1900s, scorned the vain imaginations of a worldly Church and would not glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. She wrote –

HAST THOU NO SCAR? 

Hast thou no scar?
No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand?
I hear thee sung as mighty in the land,
I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star,
Hast thou no scar? 

Hast thou no wound?
Yet, I was wounded by the archers, spent.
Leaned me against the tree to die, and rent
By ravening beasts that compassed me, I swooned:
Hast thou no wound? 

No wound? No scar?
Yet, as the Master shall the servant be,
And pierced are the feet that follow Me;
But thine are whole. Can he have followed far
Who has no wound nor scar?

http://www.dtl.org/shield/latter-rain-1.htm

The Latter Rain Movement: Its Continuing Influence

By R. K. McGregor Wright, Th.M., Ph.D.

Note: Words in bold are defined in the Glossary at the end of Part Two.

In North Battleford, Saskatchewan in 1946-48, there was an eruption of charismatic manifestations which proved to be the start of a remarkable departure in the history of the Pentecostal type of churches around the world. Many came to think that this "new wave" of the Spirit was in fact the "latter rain" referred to in such passages as Jeremiah 3:3 and 5:2, Joel 2:23, Hosea 6:3, Zechariah 10:1, and James 5:7.

The "early" rain was said to be the outpouring of Pentecost itself (or perhaps the Azusa St. revival), and the current "move" of the Spirit was the "latter rain." Many movements and seminal doctrines already existing on the fringes of Pentecostalism came together in a key group of healers, evangelists and teachers in the years 1948-52, and the combination came to be called the Latter Rain Revival.

Crossing Denominational Barriers

Within less than two years, however, the mainline Pentecostal churches (such as the Assemblies of God) had completely rejected the Latter Rain Movement as dangerous and heretical, calling it "wild-fire." This was their own term for out-of-control manifestations, and captures the flavor of the movement rather well.

The Latter Rain teachers, healers and evangelists were forced out of their many former associations into what they felt was a "wilderness church" experience, where they regrouped, and strengthened their own ministries. Then in the late sixties and seventies they began the self-conscious re-infiltration of other denominations under the "charismatic" label.

An important bridge-builder during this stage was the Full Gospel Businessmen's International of the duPlessis brothers. This has since resulted in the heavy permeation of the whole charismatic movement by Latter Rain doctrines in their many permutations and idiosyncratic developments, down to the mass evangelism TV ministries of today.

I say "self-conscious" infiltration because central to the Latter Rain's view of itself is the idea that they represent God's New Order, which is to unify the body of Christ as a whole, preparing it by overstepping the artificial boundaries of "doctrine" and "tradition" to bring believers together into a perfected Church by new patterns of worship and Spiritual experience (see sources below, 1e.g. Bill Hamon 1; pp.365, 387).

Jesus is said to be "imprisoned in heaven" (Acts 3:21 actually says "receive," but this is taken to mean he is held there) until the Church is united and ready to meet him (Hamon 2; pp. 84f., 122, 224). This was the whole point of promoting "pentecostal experiences" across denominational barriers in the sixties.

Peculiar Doctrines

The peculiar doctrines of the Latter-Rain prophets can be easily listed, but can only be traced with some difficulty in the hundreds of charismatic groups today, because of their multiform mutations.

They include:
1. The Latter Rain theory itself.
2. Restoration of the "fivefold ministries" of Ephesians 4.
3. Manifested Sons of God.
4. Kingdom Now eschatology (lately influenced also by Reconstructionism).
5. Shepherding discipleship methods.
6. Positive Confession, the "creative spoken word."
7. "Impartation of gifts" by laying on of hands.
8. Use of traveling Presbytery Teams to get other churches involved.
9. Anti-doctrinalism, in the interests of promoting unity.
10. Seed-faith techniques.
11. Directive prophecy to control and influence both individuals and churches.

Attention will be given here mainly to the false doctrines associated with the "restoration of prophecy" in the Neo-Prophetic Movement. The Neo-Prophetic Movement is animated by the claim that God is restoring the gift of prophecy, both the "predictive," and the "directive" for individual guidance.

Some claim this gift can only be imparted by laying-on of hands by a Latter Rain prophet, and gives the impartee special powers to speak the "rhema word" of God in power and judgement (Hamon 1; pp. 250f, and Hamon 2; pp. 170-173).

4. EPHESIANS 4:11-14 is used as the basis of the idea that God is progressively restoring the five gifts of verse 11, in the reverse order to how they were "lost." This is supposed to mean that God has already restored all but the last gift, that of Apostleship. Since prophets were restored in the 1980’s, Apostles are expected to be restored in the 1990’s (Hamon 2; pp. 45-49, 112, 169f., 182-183).

This curious historical gloss is not even hinted at either in the context of the verse, or in any other passage of Scripture. Bishop Bill Hamon all but insists that somehow Apostles will appear in the nineties, to bring the Church to the perfection necessary for Christ to return.

The actual method for deciding who counts as an Apostle is a bit mysterious; but it seems as if it might work much the same way as the latter-Rain old-boy’s network sets up a prophet. They simply praise him into prominence by promotionally pointing to each other.

For example, Bob Jones, a key prophet at the former Kansas City Fellowship, said in 1989 that, "Paul Cain is the most anointed prophet that’s in the world today" (Bob Jones, V and R, p.1). And Bill Hamon describes the process in some detail in The Eternal Church, using himself as a case in point.

Christians should compare this method with the rather stringent qualifications for church leadership given by Paul in the Pastoral Epistles.

The quality of Cain’s prophetic insight may be gauged by the fact that he prophesized that every minister living in secret sin would be exposed by the end of the eighties, and a New Breed of supernatural miracle Workers would replace them (Paul Cain in the tape The New Breed referred to in Dager).

When I saw in a newsnote in Christianity Today some weeks ago, that Cain was joining the staff of (formerly) Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones' Westminster Chapel in London, I about croaked, to put it colloquially. This is in the same weirdness category as a public announcement that the Pope has just appointed Billy Graham as the new Archbishop of New York. Except that the CT note is actually true.

Can we imagine what ML-J would have thought of this? The good Doctor spent forty years of faithful ministry trying to convince the British evangelical world to face the encroachment of syncretism with false doctrine in their denominations, and basically, he was not successful (see the biography by lain Murray, Vol. II). Now that he is dead, a charismatic "prophet" who claims to get literally hundreds of direct verbal revelations from angels (Bob Jones, V and R tape), is coming onto the staff of the church ML-J served so long.

Kansas City Fellowship

Kansas City Fellowship (now Metro Vineyard Fellowship), was severely challenged from within the charismatic fraternity itself, by a group of concerned pastors in 1989-90, led by Pastor Ernie Gruen. The resulting expose (Documentation of Aberrant Practices and Teachings of KCF/GM, Gruen et al.) was so frightening that it led the KCF leadership to reorganize and place themselves under the authority of the Vineyard's John Wimber, who was called in to do damage control.

After Gruen apologized for a handful of less than accurate charges, most of his criticism still remained intact. Nevertheless, trusting Wimber to sort it all out, Gruen promised to stop circulating the tapes and printed criticisms of problems at KCF, summarized in about 240 pages of material. But the evangelical public at large had now been warned what the Neo-Prophetic Movement could be like close-up, and KCF, now part of the Vineyard, was widely recognized as a prime example of it.

In the meantime, the mighty prophet Bob Jones has been put on the back burner, and Paul Cain, the main prophet associated with Wimber, is now distancing himself for a while in England.

Real Character of the Neo-Prophetic Movement

The real character of the Neo-Prophetic Movement was unwittingly exposed by the KCF in a taped interview between Bob Jones and Mike Bickle, the principal leader of KCF, with the written transcripts widely circulated (Referenced below in "Sources").

In this tape, Mike and Bob banter about the prophetic practices of the Neo-Prophetic Movement. The following is but a sample.

We are told that:
1. People who watch pornography will experience nasal fluids "sliming" up their arms (BJ: "I mean literally.).
2. The presence of the Lord smells like a woman wearing too much perfume.
3. Bob Jones and others will speak "rhema" revelations in 1990.
4. These revelations will have the same power and effectiveness as Isaiah spoke of in Isa. 55:11.
5. When BJ is filled with the Spirit, he can see and taste spiritual states and sins in others with all his five senses.
6. KCF will be attacked by witchcraft.
7. People (like the present writer) who complain that many of the practices and claims of the Neo-Prophetic Movement are basically occultism, are "hirelings and gigilos" (sic).
8. The claims people make for revelations should not be criticized.
9. That unlike Old Testament prophets, New Testament prophets are often wrong. They may be 90% wrong; 60% accuracy is about the best they can expect.
10. BJ himself expects to be only about two-thirds accurate.
11. The Neo-Prophetic Movement prophecies have never been more than 60% accurate.
12. Francis Frangipane (they sell his tapes at KCF) claims that the level of demonism rises with the level of prophecy.
13. What the Lord will do for KCF is already in Psalm 50.
14. God's "logos" is merely the "dry word" compared with their "rhema."
15. Even when God "loads the gun" of the rhema revelations, some of his bullets are blanks.
16. We can only know a prophet is telling the truth when "three or four of us bring the same word."
17. God told him a year-and-a-half before Jimmy Carter became President who it would be.
18. The children of the KCF leaders will become Melchisedekian priests.
19. This new generation will "put death under their feet and they'll bring forth the glorious church and reveal the malechild of Revelation 12.
20. Ezekiel 9:4 speaks about an uncreated Angel.
21. BJ has seen God "face to face."
22. The Reorganized Mormon Church will join the Neo-Prophetic Movement.
23. 1000 religious leaders will die in 1990 for misusing "the anointing."
24. Jesus still doesn't know the time of the Second Coming.
25. The Logos has to be "anointed" to produce Rhema.
26. The KCF will eventually become twelve city churches each with its own personal prophet.
27. BJ is the "Keeper of the Threshold-the Holy Place."
28. He feels a tingling in his fingers to tell who is a prophet, an evangelist, or pastor.
29. The Manifested Sons of God will appear within 30 years to glorify the Church on earth, and raise the dead and heal people.
30. BJ's hands turn purple when he gets his best revelations.

And all this is from two friendly interviews! We could go on; this is a mere selection of the more intelligible of this man's prophetic revelations. Is it any wonder that the KCF has put him on the back burner for a while? How can the KCF leadership, including John Wimber, claim superior spiritual discernment to Ernie Gruen and his worried colleagues, when they indulge this sort of thing throughout the Neo-Prophetic Movement for years? As an illustration of the Neo-Prophetic Movement's odd theories, we will now consider the Manifested Sons doctrine.

Manifested Sons Heresy

The Manifested Sons heresy appears in many forms, and under many names, including: the Manchild Company, the Sonship, the Melchisedek Priesthood, the Shulamites, Joel Company, Elijah Company, the Many-membered Christ, the New Order, Overcomers, God's Army, the Corporate Body, Feast of Tabernacles, Tabernacle of David, etc., etc.

The terms are endless, and merely reflect whatever idiosyncratic use is being made of allegorical Scriptural illustrations at any instant. Bill Hamon's books for example, are saturated with this arbitrary use of passages out of context. But the central idea is the same; God will raise up a supergroup of anointed and empowered believers in the last days to bring the Church to unity and perfection, to produce the Spotless Bride in readiness for Jesus at his return. This theory passed into serious practice under John Robert Stevens (JRS) in the dangerously aberrant sect called The Walk (ref. Nichols).

Meanwhile, Paul Cain's version of the Manifested Sons doctrine goes under the label "Joel's Army" and the "New Breed." These are his own terms (Cain, pp. 10-12). This super-naturally-endowed future body will be manifested to unite and perfect the Church, judge the world, and conquer the earth for Christ. These prophetic paragons will lead millions to Christ, heal people and raise the dead, etc.

Yet in the Wake of the Gruen controversy, Paul Cain has claimed (both through John Wimber, and in printed articles) that "He does not hold to the doctrine of the Manifested Sons, but totally denies ever having believed in that teaching" (Cain p. 10). In his own statements he has said that "There are several significant errors in this doctrine." He then repudiates the notion that "some Christians will have fully glorified bodies this side of heaven, or attain physical immortality this side of heaven.

But he himself teaches the Manifested Sons doctrine in another form, which is usually called the "Perfected Church." Instead of using the word perfected, Cain substitutes the word "matured," or "victorious" and speaks of "overcomers." Then, he is also careful to add that any sense of elitism is sinful and to be avoided, and that "the canon of Scripture is finished, closed."

The problem with claiming authoritative additional verbal revelation however, was underscored by the early Church in its rejection of Montanism because their prophetic revelations implied the reopening of the canon of the New Testament. This issue will not be analyzed here, but it still dogs the Neo-Prophetic Movement today.

The Walk

The Walk was organized by Stevens in 1951. He had been defrocked by the Foursquare Gospel Churches, had joined the Assemblies of God, and was defrocked again, this time for his involvement in the Latter Rain teachings (Nichols). As Stevens got further into the Latter Rain, he developed his own extensions of it.

He came to teach that all the regular denominations were of the Old Order, were Babylonish, and worldly, and largely apostate. God was using The Walk to establish a New Order, and eventually they would "birth" the Manifested Sons, of whom Stevens would be the first. He claimed to be an Apostle and Prophet, and gave out endless taped revelations, many of them transcribed into dozens of booklets. Documentation on this Latter Rain variant is therefore easily obtainable, and has been available to interested researchers for thirty years.

Stevens' most serious (and aberrantly fruitful) blunder was his decision that the spiritual practices and forces of Occultism are really "neutral" and that therefore the methods of the occult should also be used by Christians to help them achieve a similar or even better "spirituality." In fact, he said that Satan originally stole these methods from the righteous. Believers should therefore study the occult and appropriate their techniques, reclaiming their use for God.

JRS taught that God will bless this syncretism, and the Latter Rain fire will fall at last, birthing the perfected Church. The Walk will be (literally) glorified into the Manifested Sons, thereby becoming themselves the Parousia (the Second Coming) of Christ, itself the Manchild Company (Nichols' SCP report).

Stevens even said that communication with Angels and deceased believers had already become possible. Paul Cain and Bob Jones have been talking with Angels regularly for decades, of course. Stevens claimed communication himself with the "great cloud of witnesses."

We need to note in passing that Francis Frangipane, Royal Cronquist, and Mel Bailey, former Apostles of The Walk, are now prominent figures in the Neo-Prophetic Movement. Frangipane has joined forces with KCF/ MVF and is now publishing books and traveling the country encouraging people to conquer demonic "principalities" in order to usher in the Kingdom Now.

No Spiritual Neutrality

But spiritual neutrality does not exist, primarily because the God of the Bible does exist. In the first place, everything that exists is either God himself, or it is part of the creation. There are no intermediate "grades of Being." Then, if an existing entity is part of the creation, it is already interpreted by God as being part of his saving purposes for his people, or it is already interpreted by God as being contrary to those purposes. There is no intermediate state between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Darkness, as if there were some areas of reality that neither God nor Satan took an interest in.

This means that everything, including the tricks and techniques of occultism, are already interpreted by God. Nothing is "neutral" as if standing neither for nor against God's own eternal holiness and uncomprehended by his own paradigm of spirituality. Because God's interpretation of all being is exhaustive, everything is meaningful only insofar as it is part of his Plan.

This means in particular, that occultic techniques have been developed by the apostate consciousness in its perpetual war against God's Meaning for reality. Paul calls this activity "suppressing the Truth" in Romans 1. Part of its motivation is in order to achieve an alternative or mystical spirituality to the one defined in the Bible.

These techniques all gain their meaning, efficacy, and significance, from the purposes or ends they were designed to achieve. They "mean" as tools, exactly what their designers meant them to accomplish.

God made carbon atoms to secure organic life on earth. No carbon atom is "neutral" in God's world, for its "meaning" is God's intention for it at any instant. Removed from its context of combination with hydrogen and oxygen in the food chain, it loses its "meaning" as food, and actually passes through us unaltered. In combination with another nearly inert element (nitrogen), it can form the dangerous substance called cyanide. It is not "neutral" precisely because of its design to achieve certain ends. Unless it is interrupted chemically, it will always tend to produce those results, because that is its nature.

Likewise, the Zen masters designed the koan, (a proverb or short poem of a humorous or paradoxical nature) to achieve the obliteration of the last vestiges of rationality from the human consciousness on the path to satori, or Zen "enlightenment."

When a carbon atom loses its God-given meaning for fruit-eaters by being placed in isolation from its spot in the fructose molecule, it does not cease to be part of God's plan; it still retains its designed properties. Likewise, the Zen koan may lose much of its meaning as a tool of the occult when divorced from its context in Buddhist meditation. But it does not thereby become "neutral." It still has the same properties as poetry or proverb that it was originally designed to have.

I have several books of koans in my library, and have read them with much enjoyment, purely as poetry. The Christian appreciates humor and beauty wherever he or she finds them. But it would never do for me to try to use them as helps to spirituality or for Christian meditation, since they were designed for a different end; it would be like trying to use a telescope as a microscope or a hammer as a trowel.

None of these things is "neutral" because its nature carries its design with it. Its "meaning" is what its designer meant by it The koan is "good" in a Zen context, only if you agree in the first place that it is "good" to attempt to derail human rationality. In a Christian context it is only good as poetry, as a pointer to beauty, or perhaps as humor.

Looked at by a naive westerner and apart from its original function, the koan is reduced to being just an amusing, mystifying joke, or perhaps a beautiful poem. It does not follow however, that it is spiritually neutral," for at any instant it is either being interpreted and used in a Zen or in a Christian context. And ultimately for the Christian, "meaning" is what God intends for anything.

Knowing what the Bible says about holiness and about growth in grace, I also know that the Zen koan cannot assist me in Christian meditation, precisely because of its irrationalist properties, and the same goes for any other anti-rational meditation technique not approved by the Bible, whether famous Christians have approved of it or not.

It simply will not do to try to smuggle these occult techniques into Christianity via the path of general revelation. Nothing in general revelation is "neutral" either. While all created things "declare the glory of God" in the long run, much of creation is affected now by the results of the Fall.

The errors of occultism only tell God's glory in the fact that they are under his condemnation (Deut 18:9-14, Isa 47:12-15, Mark 13:22, Acts 13:6-12; 19:19, Gal 5:20, Eph 6:11-17, 2Thes 1:9-10, 1Tim 4:1, etc.).

That is, they are "meaningful" to us because God has already interpreted them in the Bible. The general principle that occult practices are spiritually suspect because of their original purpose and religious use is so clear in the Bible, that one wonders what the motivation could be for trying to get Christians to use them on the grounds that they are somehow "neutral."

The notion of spiritual neutrality is incompatible with the Creator-creature distinction, with God's omniscience, and also with the principle of faith Paul enunciates in Romans 14:23, that whatsoever does not originate in saving faith is by default, sin. It also stands in dubious relation with the Reformation principle of sola Scriptura or the Sufficiency of Scripture for faith and life.

No human interpretational act is neutral, for our interpretational consciousness is either regenerate or unregenerate. Accordingly, the Bible says that even the heathen's ploughing is sin (Prov 21:2), and so are his sacrifices (Prov 21:27), and his prayers (Isa 1:13), because there is no neutrality in his thoughts (Gen. 6:5, Titus 1:5). "This is an hard saying; who can bear it?" (John 6:60, KJV).

The natural heart craves a realm of neutrality to play with, for this is required by the fallen presupposition of the autonomy of theoretical thought. With a realm of neutrality before it, the fallen mind can concretize its assumed freedom, because neutral entities can be safely interpreted any way the observer wants to, with himself as the reference-point, and as if God has not already interpreted it.

But as Eric Pement points out in the case of the "Christian" use of occult meditation techniques in the Writings of Richard Poster and Morton Kelsey (among the most popular writers syncretizing Eastern and Western spirituality), they "valiantly [try] to divide Eastern/ occultic methods from their religious foundation, but to no avail" (Pement 1). We should not be surprised that they failed to do the philosophically impossible.

Prophecy in the Bible

Prophecy in the Bible is in the most general sense, simply speaking on behalf of God. It includes "edification, exhortation, and consolation" (1Cor 14:3), as well as predicting the future and transmitting canonical Scripture (14:36-37). Everyone should seek it (14:1 and 39).

From the original paradigm case in Exodus 4:10-16, 7:1, we note that the prophet is to interpret reality solely in terms of God's prior interpretation. In the most general terms, he relays God's interpretation of reality to the people of God. Sometimes the prophet gets the word directly from God; but mostly he is simply applying revelation already given.

There are only two "grades" of prophecy, true and false. Two tests are given in the Bible for distinguishing true from false cases: the prophet must always speak consistently with existing canonical revelation (Isa 8:20) and he must be 100% accurate in any predictions he might make (Deut 18).

Neo-Prophetic Movement Prophets

Neo-Prophetic Movement Prophets claim that New Testament prophets can he inaccurate, unlike Old Testament prophets (Bob Jones, The Shepherd's Rod). This effectively shields them from having to meet the Bible's standards, which they have no hope of doing, granting their appalling record so far.

It's worth noting that most occult foretellers can regularly achieve 80% accuracy (Jean Dixon, for example), and that 50% accuracy would be fairly easy to achieve on an "intelligent guess" basis. This level of accuracy is about as reliable as a handful of Chinese fortune cookies. Most of us have noticed that the trite advice and observations found in fortune cookies are often applicable to those who get them. It would seem by their own testimony, that people like Bob Jones are even less reliable than fortune cookies.

There are compelling reasons why God insists on 100% accuracy in his prophets; and we note in passing that Elijah thought the death penalty was an appropriate response to anything less (1Kings 18:40). In the meantime, neither Bob Jones nor Paul Cain have managed to call down fire from heaven, or outrun a horse-drawn chariot (1Kings 18:45-46). As someone said in another context, "When I see I will believe."

First Generation Latter-Rainers

First Generation Latter-Rainers are few and far between these days. Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborn and Paul Cain are among them. Cain was associated in ministry with one of the most influential of the original Latter Rain prophets, William Branham.

One of them, A.A. Allen, died of whiskey poisoning in the seventies; he was often so drunk that he had to be supported on each side by aides in order to continue his healing meetings. Winston Nunes was the Latter Rain prophet who passed on the "impartation" to John Robert Stevens.

Latter Rainers Robert Tilton, Larry Lea and W.V. Grant were recently exposed as fakes by TV investigative reporter Dianne Sawyer. None of the three have challenged the expose in the courts, as the evidence against them is so heavy.

Apart from the handful of older survivors, much Latter Rain influence is today filtered down through four or five "generations" of prophetic impartation, being modified as it flows.

The continuing influence of occultism from such early figures as Franklin Hall, William Branham, and others equally interesting and bizarre, is getting more attention from researchers now that it is realized that the real unifying factor among the plethora of false teachings in the Neo-Prophetic Movement, the Faith Movement, and such curiosities as the Manifested Sons doctrines, is the continuing influence of the Latter Rain revivals of 1948.

Albert Dager, Dave Hunt, and D.R. McConnell, are representative critics who have published recently, all documenting the occult influences on various important individuals. McConnell demonstrates that the views of Kenneth Hagin and his disciple Kenneth Copeland borrowed their ideas from earlier New Thought promoters. But some of these claimed to get them from the spirit world (McConnell, Ch. 2 and Larson on Swedenborg's influence).

Conclusions

The widespread appearance among evangelicals in recent years of new types of "spirituality" which have long been known to have their genesis in occultism is an important and disturbing phenomenon. It requires research and explanation, for it exemplifies yet another stage in the long battle between the Biblical worldview and the heathen tendency towards syncretism.

The Bible's testimony against the spirit of syncretism is consistent and unrelenting. It starts with the Creator-creature distinction in Gen. 1:1, and develops into Isaiah's repudiation of occult idolatry in his own day. It rests with the antithesis between revealed Truth and human error in Revelation 22:18-19.

The New Testament apostles are no less harsh against heretical error than Moses and Elijah were, except that they merely threaten hellfire instead of the death penalty. Passages by Peter, Paul, John and Jude spring to mind, of which Jude's short letter is representative.

We live in an age of fearful confusion and ignorance among the godly, largely brought on by our refusal to take Paul's admonition about sound doctrines seriously. This is manifested in the general unwillingness to confront (or even admit the existence of) syncretism in evangelical writers, and impatience with the explicitness of the historic creeds and of Reformation doctrine, coupled with refusal to take notice of the close unity of apologetics and evangelism in the Bible.

The absence of sound doctrine is just as significant for the building of Christian culture as is the presence of false doctrine. "a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." As it says on the floor of St. Paul's Cathedral, Wren's masterpiece in London, "If You Seek A Monument, Look Around You."

Glossary

Shepherding: Teaching that the believer can only grow in grace under the authoritative "covering" or spiritual "protection" of an older believer. Leads to heavily hierarchical patterns in churches.

Rhema: Synonym in Greek for Logos, but with the narrower meaning of "saying" - the expressed verbal form of an idea, whether written or spoken.

Syncretism: The practice of combining elements of various religious systems into one pragmatic framework, especially of non-Christian practices with Christian aims, "baptizing" them in Christian terms.

Logos: Synonym in Greek for rhema. Very broadly used term meaning idea, wisdom, word, account, logic, the concept or content of a saying rather than its verbal form.

Heresy: An opinion or doctrinal preference tenaciously held and taught, but not compatible with the Bible.

Canon: The list of books in the Bible recognized by the Apostles as Scripture, and approved by the early Church as such.

Creator-creature distinction: The primary axiom or presupposition of all Biblical revelation, enunciated in Genesis 1:1, that the divine-worldview assumes two levels of existence, and that therefore, Being-as-such does not exist for us to interpret.

http://www.agetwoage.org/JustFacts3.htm

The Churches Response To The Manifest Sons of God/Latter Rain Teaching?
What is “Latter Rain” Teaching?
What is ”Manifest Sons of God” Teaching?
Who Are The People Responsible For This Teaching?
Where Is The Current Latter Rain Teaching Found Today and Who Is Teaching It?

Compiled by Renee Rodriguez

In 2 Peter 2:1–2, we read, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”

This was an accurate narrative of the spread of heresy in the first–century church, and Peter’s warning that false teachers would continue to arise can easily be seen today in the growth of cults and pseudo–Christian religions. What is most interesting is, the heresies that are popular today are simply variations of the same heresies that have arisen throughout the history of the Church.

In this paper, we will be looking at the Manifested Sons Of God/Latter Rain teachings. The Church has already condemned the Manifested sons of God (MSOG)/Latter Rain teaching as heresy. On April 20, 1949, the Assemblies of God took a stand against the doctrines being promoted by the Latter Rain Movement. Their stance cost them many congregations and members but they stood their ground. In their letter from the Executive Office of the General Council they stated: “The true test of any movement is whether or not it will stand up under the light of the Word of God.”

Established Pentecostal churches did not embrace much of what was being taught by the Latter Rain prophets and apostles, yet many in their congregations did and thousands left. Many independent Pentecostal ministries were birthedand released by the North Battleford brethren and Myrtle Beall in Detroit Michigan. The Assemblies in 1949 were not the first to be faced with or to condemn this teaching and neither will they be the last as the apostasy approaches ever quicker.

These are facts, which are a critique and commentary in and of themselves. The purpose for this paper is to alert the reader to the fact that this heretical teaching has surfaced once again today under the guise of a “New Thing” using the same old names and a few new names such as “The New Apostolic Reformation”, “The Prophetic”, “Kingdom Now”, “Joel’s Army”, “Dominionism”, “Triumphalism”, “The Overcomers”, “First Fruits”, New Breed”, “Sonship” and “Elijah Company”. The facts are the teachings are being presented today by familiar teachers and are nothing new, “same heresies; different day” We are bringing forth “Just the Facts” so that when hearing these teachings you will not be caught unawares of exactly what it is that you are hearing. In Hosea 4:6 the Word of God says; “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”. Jesus, Himself said "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect “Behold I tell you in advance” (Matt.24: 24-25)

1) What is the Latter Rain Teaching?

Before the founding of the Assemblies of God, David Wesley Myland, in 1910, wrote a book entitled “The Latter Rain Covenant” where he advanced three levels of interpretation: literal, typical, and spiritual and that one should look for the “deeper” meaning of a particular Scripture. This “deeper” meaning is the source for an allegorical hermeneutic, which drives the engine of Latter Rain doctrine and fuels the fire of Latter Rain Revival. As E.S. Williams and A/G leadership in 1949 rightly pointed out, the New Order of the Latter Rain was nothing really new.

During the mid-40s, a great expectation was being promoted that God was going to do a “new Thing.” In 1946, a book came out that enjoyed widespread popularity among Pentecostals. It contributed to the general expectation of a “new day.” It was called Atomic Power with God, Through Fasting and Prayer, by Franklin Hall. To those “who could receive it,” answered prayer, signs, wonders, immortality, and even release from gravity awaited those who would fast and pray. In 1947, George Hawtin, a Pentecostal pastor and director of an orphanage and Bible school, attended a William Branham meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia. He, his brother Ernest, and Percy Hunt had left the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. He along with several students and faculty members received an “impartation” from Branham, through laying on of hands.2

By July, 1948, Hawtin’s group put on a huge camp meeting which attracted several thousand from the U.S., Canada, and all over the world, wanting to be a part of the “New Thing!” Very shortly, the New Order of the Latter Rain was a worldwide phenomenon.3

In the spring of 1949, after attending public and private meetings, talking and corresponding with Latter Rain leaders, devouring many articles and booklets on the subject, and listening to hours of wire recordings, the Executive Presbytery of the Assemblies of God authorized General Secretary, J. Roswell Flower to prepare a special 6-page letter to deal with the growing problem.

General Superintendent E.S. Williams cited unfortunate precedents he had observed in the Azusa Street Mission as early as 1906. In his words, “It did not take some of us brethren any time to know where this new teaching was going to lead, for we have seen it repeated at different times during the past 40 years, each time with disaster.”4

The 1949 General Council in Seattle adopted a resolution disapproving the doctrines of the New Order of the Latter Rain. The minutes of that Council record that after brief debate it was adopted with an overwhelming majority. The Resolution dealt with the following issues, evidently those most affecting them at that time:

1. “The overemphasis relative to imparting, identifying, bestowing or confirming of gifts by the laying on of hands and prophecy.
2. The erroneous teaching that the Church is built on the foundation of present-day apostles and prophets.
3. The extreme teaching as advocated by the ‘New Order’ regarding the confession of sin to man and deliverance as practiced, which claims prerogatives to human agency which belong only to Christ.
4. The erroneous teaching concerning the impartation of the gift of languages as special equipment for missionary service.
5. The extreme and unscriptural practice of imparting or imposing personal leadings by means of gifts of utterance.
6. Such other wresting and distortions of Scripture interpretations which are in opposition to teachings and practices generally accepted among us.”

All of these but number 4 are present in the current Latter Rain revival.

The Latter Rain Revival centered around several themes:

(1) Restoration of fivefold ministry (Eph. 4), (especially apostles and prophets).5. These people gave what is called “present truth,” or, “What is the Spirit saying today?” These utterances had authority equal to the Bible.
(2) The complete unity of the body of Christ was an important emphasis. By this thinking, the New Order of Apostles and Prophets would unite the church, and perfect the Body of Christ, of course, around the instructions of these apostles and prophets; the New Order would replace present church structure and elected leadership. So, of necessity, these and their followers were all very anti-denomination and anti-organization. Denominationalism was seen as “Babylonian Captivity” and subsequently a host of churches affected by the “Latter Rain” broke away from their denominations and became independent churches, many being “set into the body” by the newly discovered apostles. In practical terms, even Assemblies of God ordination by local presbyteries were discounted because such laying on of hands involved no prophetic designation of the particular ministry and gifts the ordained should exercise. These apostles and prophets assumed a powerful and arrogant higher order even within local congregations.
(3) The restoration of personal prophecy.
(4) The impartation or transference of spiritual gifts through laying on of hands; deliverance, healing and baptism of the Spirit through laying on of hands.

The General Council action did not halt the continuation of the Latter Rain movement. Strong centers of New Order teaching formed in Detroit, St. Louis, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Beaumont TX, Tacoma WA, Portland OR; as well as pockets in Duluth and Hibbing (MN), Hornell NY, etc.

The Latter Rain survived and influenced the course of other movements with in the past forty years.6 One of the most notable was the salvation/healing revival. Various of the Healing Ministries took up this doctrine, including A.A. Allen, William Branham, Jack Coe and others. Many of the issues covered in the past in A/G “White papers” have their roots in Latter Rain Doctrine. This river flowed through the Charismatic movement, the Word/Faith movement, the Shepherding movement, into the Vineyard, was active among the “Kansas City Prophets” and found open expression in the Toronto Revival. Time will not allow dealing with all the bizarre growths that have come with this river. However, we do know with certainty that this very same river has re-contaminated the Assemblies of God through Brownsville.

PRESENT DAY LEADERSHIP

Let’s review. Ern Baxter, (commonly known as one of the Fort Lauderdale Five Shepherding leaders of the 1970s) was a personal secretary of William Branham, and ministered extensively with him from 1949 to 1953; he became widely known in the Charismatic Renewal. In 1975, he became closely associated with the Christian Growth Ministries in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.7

Bill Britton of Springfield, Missouri is one of the most prominent ministries that has brought Latter Rain beliefs and practices into the Charismatic Movement. Bill Britton came into the Latter Rain in May 1950 through meetings at Faith Temple in Memphis, Tennessee, pastored by Paul Grubb. The guest speaker was Fred C. Poole, who laid hands upon him and prophesied that he would be an evangelist, a “publisher of good news.”8 Bill Britton died in the mid-80s and through his life contributed many writings to the movement.

Joseph Mattson-Boze and Gerald Derstine: Logos Journal, which, was one of the most widely circulated magazines of the Charismatic Renewal, grew out of the publication, Herald of Faith/Harvest Time, edited by Joseph Mattson-Boze and Gerald Derstine. Mattson-Boze played a part in the 1948 Latter Rain Revival, and Gerald Derstine was associated for several years with J.Preston Eby, who had had some contact with the 1948 Latter Rain.9

One of the most prominent leaders of the Charismatic Renewal in the ‘60s and ‘70s was John Poole, who was a major Latter Rain teacher. In the early 1970s John Poole was a frequent contributor to “New Wine,” just about the most important magazine of the Charismatic Renewal. John Poole was the son of Fred Poole, who had close associations with the Latter Rain movement in the 40s.10

George Warnock picked up the concepts for Tabernacle of David worship in 1948. He was the author of The Feast of Tabernacles, one of the most influential books arising from within the Latter Rain Movement, and acted as Ern Baxter’s personal secretary for two or three years, immediately prior to the 1948 revival. Eric Simila, Ern Baxter’s secretary in 1975, referred to George Warnock as an associate, a “‘Timothy’ if you please,” to Ern Baxter, who became widely known in the Charismatic Renewal.11 Warnock is still living and resides in western Canada today.

Bill Hamon, though not traceable to the ‘48 “Revival,” founded a school of Prophets in Florida that maintains the original doctrines and spirit of “Latter Rain.” In his book, The Eternal Church, Bill Hamon entitled a chapter “The Charismatic Movement--An Expansion of the Latter Rain Movement.” Also in “THE ETERNAL CHURCH” we see MSOG teaching where he states:

"Each restorational advancement of the Army of the Lord has established denominational forts that are given responsibility to maintain the purity and power of that truth. . . New recruits are now being drafted and trained and older soldiers and generals are being put through intensified training for the next advancement of the Church Army. They are being purified by the Baptism of Fire. . . Are you Ready? Where do you start? What will you do? A new government must be established, a new way of life for those millions of people. You are now ready to rule and reign on your overcomer's throne!"


So, what is ahead? The MANIFESTED SONS OF GOD. Bill Hamon on page 385 of the same book lays it out.

"The Earth and all of creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God, the time when they will come into their maturity and immortalization.... When the Church receives its full inheritance and redemption then creation will be redeemed from its cursed condition of decay, change and death....the Church has a responsibility and ministry to the rest of creation. Earth and its natural creation is anxiously waiting for the Church to reach full maturity and come to full sonship. When the Church realizes its full sonship, its bodily redemption will cause a redemptive chain reaction throughout all of creation." [Paradigm Shift.]

Paul Cain, a leader in the Kansas City Prophets and a senior prophetic authority is a former associate of William Branham. Paul Cain has exhibited the ability to tell people the details of their lives, hidden sins and even things they have said in confidence to others. Cain is highly regarded as a “Terror of the Lord.” It is reported that power surges of electricity occur at places where he ministers.12 The Kansas City Prophets were for a time taken into the Vineyard Movement and have asserted a heavy influence both on the Vineyard and the present revival movement.

Two people who have been strongly influential in exporting Latter Rain beliefs into the Assemblies of God are John Wimber and C. Peter Wagner. they have been welcomed into our churches across the country as church growth consultants. “Wimber, former Quaker and rock guitarist, founder of the . . .Vineyard Ministries . . . openly advocates a ‘paradigm shift’ away from thinking with Western logic into the exclusively experiential way of oriental thinking... He also claims “first century Semites did not argue from a premise to a conclusion; they were not controlled by rationalism.

“This is a highly erroneous and mischievous statement. Not only is it historically inaccurate but it . . . denigrates logic . . . [and] epitomizes the considerable confusion in the Charismatic Movement in its failure to identify the difference between (unhealthy) rationalism, whereby the miraculous is denied and the supernatural work of the Spirit is blasphemed, and (wholesome) rationality, whereby the Christian exercises necessary discernment . . . .

“The ultimate first century Semite was surely the Lord Jesus Christ: yet He continually used the most devastating logic to demolish His opponents... Never before [today] has a “sound mind” been so necessary in the life of the Church.”13

John Wimber, until his recent death, taught how to do signs and wonders and how to prophesy, and charged a stiff fee for attendance at such seminars. And some of the techniques the Vineyards still use, such as moving one’s hands slowly back and forth a few inches from a subject’s body to feel for hot spots to see where God is at work, or letting one’s mind go blank and speaking forth whatever thought comes, open the door to the occult. Biblical prophets never learned techniques.14

In one of his meetings, C. Peter Wagner said, “One fundamental thesis will control this discussion...the thesis that ministry [experience] precedes and produces theology, not the reverse.”15 We in the Assemblies of God have never believed this. We have always believed that all theology must have its roots in the Word and must be measured by the Word!

Wagner calls Wimber “my mentor.” Wimber said, “We are cataloguing all of our experiences so we can develop a theology.”16

Recently, C. Peter Wagner convened the “National Symposium on the “Post Denominational Church.” The goal is to inaugurate and establish an organization to replace denominations and provide “structure” for the church of the 21st century.17 Of course, the New Order of Apostles and Prophets will be the new leaders of this charismatic amalgamation. This kind of activity is straight from the pages of the Latter Rain teaching of the 1940s. E. S. Williams, J.R. Flower and R.E. McAlister addressed these issues. Documentation can be found in the A/G archives.

ONE RIVER

Latter Rain is not easy to address. It is a complex system and consists of a variety of errors. It serves up a smorgasbord of false doctrines. Various groups emphasize different portions of the error. However, allegorical interpretation of Scripture, the circulation of apostles and prophets and their anti-establishment spirit tends to bring them together with some commonality.

The belief system coming down this river remains virtually intact from the 1940s. Though the tag “Latter Rain” is seldom used, and many would not even recognize the term, the doctrine is virtually the same. It has simply been repackaged. The term “River” is an apt figure of this “revival.” Whatever is upstream in this river will inevitably make its way downstream. The term “Revival” is opening the doors of receptivity. Once the camel gets its head through the flap of the tent, it eventually moves in.
The peculiar doctrines of the Latter-Rain prophets can be easily listed, but can only be traced with some difficulty in the hundreds of charismatic groups today, because of their multiform mutations.17

They include:
1. The Latter Rain theory itself.
2. Restoration of the "fivefold ministries" of Ephesians 4.
3. Manifested Sons of God.
4. Kingdom Now eschatology (lately influenced also by Reconstructionism).
5. Shepherding discipleship methods.
6. Positive Confession, the "creative spoken word."
7. "Impartation of gifts" by laying on of hands.
8. Use of traveling Presbytery Teams to get other churches involved.
9. Anti-doctrinalism, in the interests of promoting unity.
10. Seed-faith techniques.
11. Directive prophecy to control and influence both individuals and churches.

Notes:
2. Bill Randles, Weighed and Found Wanting, p. 41.
3.Ibid., p. 42.
4. Letter to Mrs. Myrtle D. Beal, April 28, 1949.
5. Bill Randles, Weighed and Found Wanting, p. 43.
6. Edith L. Blumhofer, The Assemblies of God (2 Vol.; Springfield, Mo.:Gospel Publishing House), Vol. II, p. 67.
7. Richard Riss, “The New Order of the Latter Rain,” Assemblies of God Heritage, Fall 1987, p. 18.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid., p. 17.
11. Ibid.,p. 18.
12 Bill Randles, Weighed and Found Wanting, p. 80.
13. David Hunt, Occult Invasion, (Eugene Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 1998), p. 301-302.
14. Ibid. , p. 492.
15. Ibid., p. 513.
16. Ibid., p. 514
17. By R. K. McGregor Wright, Th.M., Ph.D.

The following is a brief outline of what constitutes Latter Rain Doctrine:


REPLACEMENT - the Church replaces Israel. For instance, Latter Rain sees the dead dry bones of Ezekiel 37 as the Church, the New Israel, who will live because God is putting His Spirit into them. Consequently, Israel no longer has a major role to play in the endtime scenario.
FORMER RAIN - Latter Rain doctrine: teaches that the NT Pentecost was the "former rain," leaving the "latter rain" yet to come.
LATTER RAIN - Latter Rain doctrine: since Pentecost is considered the "former rain," it is only fulfilled in the Church's later celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, which replaces Pentecost as the "latter rain" of Joel 2:23.
TABERNACLES - the celebration of this feast, says Latter Rain, fulfills these phases: unity, the "latter rain" revival, harvest, defeat of the Church's adversaries, establishment of the Kingdom. Tabernacles is understood spiritually as the Harvest Festival of joy and gladness; thus it is likened to the current laughing phenomena. Also considered to be the invisible and spiritual coming of Christ to indwell His corporate body, as opposed to Pentecost, when he indwelt individuals. This coming of Christ to indwell His corporate body is now being expressed through "new truths": God is impregnating His Church to "raise up" Joel's Army, and thus the means to bring in the Kingdom of God.
RESTORATION - Latter Rain bases its concept of restoration on Acts 3:21: Jesus can't return until all things are restored. The primary need is restoration of the 5-fold ministry (Eph. 4:11-12), especially the offices of Apostles and Prophets. These would bring about the perfection of the saints.
REVELATIONS - the new, progressive revelations of the Latter Rain Apostles and Prophets by which the saints will reach a state of sinless perfection. The Scriptures are allegorized or spiritualized. Church direction is also delivered through these "new, sacred truths."
IMMORTALITY - Latter Rain teaches that as the saints reach a state of sinless perfection, death is overcome. These are the Manifest Sons (Romans 8:19), who attain immortality by incarnating Christ before Christ returns. Signs and wonders will be wrought by the Manifest Sons of God, leading to a glorious worldwide endtime harvest.
UNIFICATION - corporately, the Manifest Sons of God are known as Joel's Army. The Church's unity on a global basis is absolutely essential to Latter Rain doctrine, because Christ cannot incarnate in a divided body.
ESCHATOLOGY - in Latter Rain doctrine, Jesus cannot physically return until the Church has torn down, and taken the place of, demonic powers in the heavenlies. The warfare is territorial in nature. Having overcome death, the members of Joel's Army will then reign until all God's enemies, including the last enemy of death, are destroyed and the earth is made a footstool for His feet. The Tribulation is replaced by a period during which the Manifest Sons execute God's judgment and cleanse the earth of evil in order to establish the Kingdom of God. Latter Rain discounts the classic understanding of the Second Coming, the Millennium, and the Premillennial Rapture doctrines.
RELIGIOSITY - the religious "Old Generation," the denominational Christians who reject the new teachings by holding to the "old way," will not enter in to "possess the land" nor achieve "fullness." According to Latter Rain, these will be destroyed during the "Tribulation," while Joel's Army reigns from the heavenlies. As the ongoing incarnation of Christ, the Manifest Sons will have the power to judge God's enemies and cleanse His Church by destroying all who refuse to "repent".
EVOLUTION - the Latter Rain doctrine presupposes that the Church must progress in maturity to reach a point where Christ can incarnate His body in order to establish His Kingdom on earth before His physical return. But Scripture says Christians "have come to fullness of life in Him," which means that we are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10). We need only to learn to walk in our new life.

(Compiled By Ed Tarkowski http://www.ncinter.net/~ejt/LatterRain1.htm)

2) What is” Manifest Sons of God”, AKA: —Joel’s Army—Man-child Company—New Breed— Sonship— Overcomers—Dominionism —Kingdom Now— Kingdom Message— Triumphalism—Elijah Company— The Walk---Restoration— Reconstructionism— Charismatic Renewal— Shepherding/Discipleship—Positive Confession (Word-Faith) — Gideon’s Army (possibly more?)

~ “ For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. Romans 8:19” ~

Dominion theology is the belief that in the end times (which, of course, we are in or on the brink of), God will create special leaders who will overcome the world, destroy the enemies of Christ and attain power throughout the world, ushering in the Kingdom of God. Some of the leading Pentecostal preachers have elements of it in their preaching.

One version of this vision speaks of the “manifest sons of God” (sometimes known as ‘Joel’s Army’), who will be armed with supernatural power, for the purpose of wresting control of the world from the hands of Satan’s slaves. These people will (now having attained full sonship) already have their perfected new Kingdom-bodies and thus they will be able to stride across the earth like gods. They will usher in the Kingdom, they will complete the Church and some of them hold, thus even complete Jesus himself who up until their success is a head without a Body. Their mantra is “As you have seen Him go (spiritual ascension not bodily) so shall He return (spiritually through His corporate Body of believers “The Corporate Manchild” ) The main organized bodies of Christianity, so this theory goes, are controlled by the spirit of the Anti-Christ and thus will be among the first to be vanquished by the new order.

MSOG

Latter Rain gives all the above names and possibly more for the same elite group within the Church. They will be Christ incarnated on earth and are considered equal to Christ as his body on earth, Jesus being the head. Their teaching is that Christ must first come within the church before he can come for the church. This teaching envisions a civil war within the church in which there will be a dismantling of denominations and traditional organizations and judgment on those who will not buy into this revival, even to the point of bloodshed (Phineas Priesthood). They will take over the world for Christ and most of the world will come under the domination of the church.

J. Preston Eby, who had some contact with the 1948 Latter Rain, has lived to be a contemporary Latter Rain teacher. He sums up their mission by characterizing their movement as “a people being prepared for the coming third outpouring . . . this third great work of the Spirit shall usher a people into full redemption—free from the curse, sin, sickness, death and carnality.”

In Joel chapter 2, by an allegorical interpretation, the locusts are figured to be the church militant (Joel’s Army); in Revelation 12, the woman is the church who gives birth to the elite “Man-child” company who rules the nations with a rod of iron. The Church and Jesus are equal as parts of the “Christ.” All the Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel are applied to the church. Many of the Messianic prophecies concerning the reign of Christ are applied to the church.

Rick Joyner a “prophet” disseminating these views spoke in Brownsville, A/G, he had written a seven-page article entitled “The Hordes of Hell are Marching”

Choruses bearing this doctrine are popular in many “revival churches.” Among them are, Blow the Trumpet in Zion; and Will You Ride with Me. The first pictures the church as Joel’s Army. The second pictures Jesus riding across this country with his church as they conquer (dominion). Where in Scripture does Jesus ride a white horse across America?

Consistent with adherence to theManifest Sons of God teaching, there is also told a somewhat Gnostic belief in three separate levels of Christianity; that is, that there are thirty-fold Christians (justification), sixty-fold Christians (sanctification), and hundred-fold Christians (glorification). Alternatively, as one long time member explained it, the thirty-fold Christians are those who are "merely" saved, sixty-fold Christians are those who speak in tongues and have the Baptism on the Holy Spirit, while hundred-fold Christians are the Overcomers, the Manifest Sons of God. only those in this elite group are considered Sons of God and the Bride of Christ.

It is claimed that these people will be perfected into their "glorified bodies" prior to Christ's return. That perfection will allow them to subdue the earth for Jesus. Proponents of this doctrine also claim Christians, having a "divine nature," become "gods." They say Christ came into us as a "seed" and grows into a "prophet." Thus, Christ does not physically return, but returns within us. The rapture, according to this doctrine, will be of the wicked - not of believers.

The doctrine also includes the idea that Jesus was sent as a "pattern" for the corporate church (Corporate church in this context means that the church becomes Christ. Christ is considered not complete without us because he is the head and we are the body).
The current church, according this view, has the "spirit of the anti-Christ."
This teaching is akin to Gnosticism This teaching is promoted in some of today's controversial Renewal and Revival Movements (e.g. by Paul Cain). (Apologetics Index)

The earliest MSOG teaching I was able to find can bee seen in the following:

...according to Basilides, the Archon of the Hebdomas spoke in Exodus, saying: "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and I have not revealed the name of God unto them." In his Epistle to the Romans, Paul had written: "For creation itself groaneth and travailleth awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God." These sons of God manifest when they become Gnostics, beings aware of Truth, true pneumatics filled with divine breath, able to bring ignorant souls into the divine order and set them on the road to perfection.

The life of Basilides left no discernible track in history or legend, though the line of spiritual teachers from which he descended is known. Simon Magus, a Samaritan was singled out by the early church as its chief enemy. His foremost disciple and fellow Samaritan, Menander, "also attained the pinnacle of the magical art", according to Irenaeus. His authentic magic or soul-wisdom promised self-conscious immortality to those who could pass through the spiritual baptism, which washes away attachment to every angel and principality below the unknowable First Power. Menander in turn had two chief disciples, Satornilos of Antioch and Basilides of Alexandria. Tradition holds that Basilides was Alexandrian by birth, and though for a time he was said to have "preached amongst the Persians", he consecrated the whole of his life to teaching in his home city, most probably around AD. 130. Unlike his near contemporary and fellow Alexandrian, Valentinos, Basilides did not found a school of disciples, preferring to teach and advise those who came to him from every quarter. His only identifiable disciple was his son Isidoros, whose Ethika contained the ethical elaboration of his father's metaphysics. The teachings of Basilides survive today in Theosophy and New Age teachings.

In Their Own Words- Next, we will look at this teaching in the words of the teachers themselves. I have chosen just a few of the terms as they pretty much repeat themselves and well; you get the idea…

The word “transformed” in Romans 12:2 is the same Greek word translated “transfigured” in Matthew 17:2 which referred to the change that came in Jesus’ body on the holy mount or the mount of transfiguration. Therefore, it is reasonable to think that our bodies are to be “transfigured” or “transformed” too. In fact, this is the very heart of the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles and why we enter the Most Holy Place. Hebrews 10:19, 20.

First, as the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:2, “...be not conformed to this world:’ We have to leave behind the beliefs of the world (especially the religious world) that every single person must die a physical death or the rapture theory that Jesus will return and instantly change our bodies. The religious world teaches that we all must die and they quote Hebrews 9:27, “…it is appointed unto men once to die…” This is true but our old man did die. He was crucified with Christ. That was the death of the “old man” or the “carnal man.” Praise God, he is dead! (Bennie Skinner New Creations Pt. 2 Gospel Grace Ministries)

Sonship
What is Sonship?...
A divine breakthrough into the unlimited. A manifestation of God's Sons.
Sonship is:


· Power to transcend gravity
· Without limitations
· Unlimited vision
· Unlimited knowledge
· Unlimited anointing
· Unlimited glory
· Unlimited transportation
· Unlimited authority
· All nature obeying
· Christ glorified in the saints.


Finally, the Bible speaks of a woman [the Church] with child, travailing in birth, "and pained to be delivered" (Rev. 12:2).

"And she brought forth a manchild, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron." (Rev.12:5).

The woman gives birth to a mighty warrior, a full-grown child, a "manchild." Not a babe. Then she "fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared of God." (verse 6).

God will not "rapture" the Church, but will protect His Church, during the tribulation. There was war in the heavenlies. "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ." (verse 10).

Good news: the "manchild" are the Sons of God who come forth in the endtime to cast down Satan and his demons one final time in the battle of the ages. The Sons of God win the battle. The accuser of the brethren is cast down, and the blood of the Lamb, with the word of the Sons' testimony, brings great victory to the woman, the Church in the wilderness. And great defeat to our enemy.

It's what the whole creation is waiting for, says Paul.

"For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the manifestation of the Sons of God." --Romans 8:19

It's the final step to glory.

Message of Sonship:

God, the Father, adopts his own children. The spirit of adoption is promised to the saints, and expected to be released by the end of this present age.

"For the Spirit which you have received is, the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit producing sonship." --Romans 8:15

Here's something to think about; in this world, we only adopt those outside our immediate family. God, however, only adopts those inside his immediate family, his own children. Adoption, to the Hebrew, means, "placing as sons."

Jewish Ceremony:

The Jews had a beautiful ceremony for males reaching thirty years of age. Accompanied with fanfare, festivity, music, dancing, and ceremony, the priest in his garb stood before the young Jewish male. The father in his best robe stood behind his son. Neighbors, relatives, and townsmen watched. The young man knelt before the priest. Prayers were offered. Songs were sung. And young Jewish girls danced in circles, their banners flying in the wind. Yahweh was near by.

Then the pronouncement, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." The father placed his hands upon his son's shoulders and kissed him. The child had become a son, thirty years of age, adopted by the father-now with the same privileges and responsibilities. The son had taken on his father's name, could wear and use his ring. He no longer had to get permission to use the family name for transactions, purchases, or major decisions.

The father trusted him. His child had entered sonship. He had just been adopted and "placed as a son." After the ceremony had broken up, there was music in the air. Even into the night.

Jesus too was adopted.

Jesus is standing in river Jordan, one of the most popular scenes in all of scripture. He's about to be baptized by John:

"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo, a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." --Mt.3:16,17

God, the Father, had just adopted Jesus.

At thirty years of age, Jesus enters Jewish maturity, and enters his ministry with an unlimited anointing. John says he saw the Spirit descend from heaven and remain on Jesus (1:33). He also said that God gave the Spirit to Jesus "...without measure" (3:34).

That's Sonship: ministering with an unlimited anointing, without measure, and having the Spirit remain on you. Saints, the day is coming.

After that day in Jordan, Jesus began a three-year ministry among his people, a ministry unparalleled in history. He was the firstborn among many sons-adopted by the Father. He is the Pattern Son, entering behind the veil as our forerunner (Heb.6: 20). And we're to follow.
And follow we shall. Into Sonship.
(Dr. Lynn Ridenhour Steps to Glory – An Essay on Sonship Pt.2- Dr. Lynn Ridenhour WinePress Ministries grew up in the heart of Missouri near the Ozarks. A licensed Baptist minister for over 36 years, Lynn read the Book of Mormon and had a marvelous conversion experience to the restoration gospel as proclaimed by Joseph Smith)

The Man-Child

Now, who is the man-child? Hermeneutical methods of Biblical exegesis would naturally look for the most obvious and literal of interpretations before we would go to spiritual or figurative ones. So to start with, we may have to accept that this is one child, one person instead of children or group of people, but not necessarily. It has been suggested that the second coming of Christ would be a "corporate Jesus" or all of us as His body being the second coming. It has also been suggested that the man-child is Elijah or the prophet to come but we will see that this is not the case. The man-child is set to rule. Remember that Jesus came as a ruler but humbled Himself and became as our servant, that rule will come in the last days.

Now who is "he that overcomes?" Who is him given power over the nations? Is it just one person that keeps His works unto the end or it is anyone that keeps His works? If it is not just one person, it is many and then we must see it as a fulfillment of the Manifest Sons and a many-membered man-child.

…Since we are talking about the man child here, we must come to the conclusion that he is a corporate Jesus in that the manifest sons as His body will be part of the second coming. Others in the restoration are already teaching this. Now we are not the high priest but all priests after the order. Hebrews 8: 4, if the high priest were on earth, he should not be a priest. So, Jesus is in heaven as high priest. We are on the earth as priests after the order of Melchizedek. So if Jesus is high priest and cannot be such on earth because it is forever, if the man child is Jesus, the child cannot be Jesus the high priest and cannot be another Jesus, therefore must be the corporate Jesus of us being priests unto Him and representative of His body.

We are the man-child, we are the fulfillment of the prophecy that have just been birthed. Who are we? The true prophets of the last days bear witness to the truth that the five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists will march in rank (Joel’s Army) bringing the last days message to the world and that we are clothed with the sun and Jesus has placed the crown of apostolic order upon the woman's head with us as her jewels. This many membered man-child in the beauty of holiness with the fullness of the spirit will rule the nations according to His promise and joined with Jesus as our Lord. The proclamation of this truth will bring forth the restoration of all things and the latter rain outpouring unto all the earth, reconciling man and God in preparation of the harvest before the great and terrible Day of the Lord. This royal priesthood will come forth with the anointing and power to bring the church into the holy of holies and fulfill the prayer of Jesus that we should all be one. The enemy seeks to devour the child, take courage. (Jay Atkinson The Latter Rain Page)

Kingdom Now

The basic premise of Kingdom Theology is that man lost dominion over the earth when Adam and Eve succumbed to Satan's temptation in the Garden of Eden.

God "lost control" of the earth to Satan at that time, and has since been looking for a "covenant people" who will be His "extension," or "expression," in the earth and take dominion back from Satan. This is to be accomplished through certain "overcomers" who, by yielding themselves to the authority of God's apostles and prophets for the Kingdom Age, will take control of the kingdoms of this world.

These kingdoms are defined as all social institutions, such as the "kingdom" of education, the "kingdom" of science, the "kingdom" of the arts, and so on. Most especially, there is the "kingdom" of politics or government.

This naturally implies the concentration of military and police power in the hands of those in control during the Kingdom Age. They are referred to as the "many-membered man child," whom Kingdom Theology adherents believe will be the fulfillment of Revelation 12:1-5: "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.... And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron."

Those who hold to Kingdom Theology assume that the Church (some believe only a small group within the Church, called "overcomers"), under submission to the latter day apostles and prophets, is that man child, and that it has the responsibility to put down all rebellion and establish righteousness. This necessitates the utilization of supernatural power and the full implementation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

This theory is based upon the idea that all authority in heaven and on the earth has been given to Jesus. Since believers are indwelt by the same Holy Spirit that indwelt Jesus, we have all authority in heaven and on the earth; we have the power to believe for and speak into existence things that are not, and thus we can bring about the Kingdom Age.

The many-membered man child must take control of the earth before Jesus can return. Necessary to the Kingdom Age is "the Restoration of the Tabernacle of David,” defined as the completion of perfection of the Bride of Christ - a Church without spot or wrinkle.

During the Kingdom Age (or after all else is subdued during that time) Satan and all enemies of God will be put under the feet of the many-membered man-child. This will be the fulfillment of I Corinthians 15:25-26: "For he (Christ) must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."

The rationale that the many-membered man-child will put God's enemies under 'its' feet is that Jesus is the head of Christ and the Church is the body of Christ. And where are the feet but in the body? Many in the Kingdom Theology movements insist that when this Scripture refers to Christ it is really referring to the Church who is the Body of Christ. Therefore, it is necessary for them to establish within the minds of Christians the idea that, as the Body of Christ, we are Christ.

In other words, we have His divine nature. Notice that this idea, similar to that of mind science and other false religions, separates the anointing of "Christ" from Jesus and bestows it upon all who come into a place of certain knowledge and spiritual attainment. This is a heresy that is as old as the Church. It is rooted in the Greek school of philosophy known as Gnosticism.
Essentially, then, Kingdom Theology sees the Second Coming of Jesus in two stages:


· First through the flesh of the believers (and in particular the flesh of today's apostles and prophets), and then
· In person to take over the Kingdom handed to Him by those who have been victorious (the "overcomers").


In some circles, it is believed that the overcomers will have become immortal - they will have attained what is called "resurrection life."

Whether immortal or not, it is generally agreed in Kingdom Theology that the overcomers must purge the earth of all evil influences. "Evildoers" must be converted or they will be punished and/or "destroyed from off the face of the earth."

"Evildoers" have been variously described as drug pushers, murderers, child molesters, thieves, prostitutes, and other such "scum" that Jesus died for. It will interest the reader to learn, however, that for many who teach Kingdom Theology, the term "evildoer" applies to anyone who refuses to submit to God's authority (the latter day apostles and prophets).

Those who do submit will be sealed with the "mark of God" in their foreheads, and will escape the coming judgment.

not everyone within each movement is necessarily in agreement with each other, let alone with those in the other movements. Still, each movement has teachings that are sufficiently aberrant as to warrant careful testing by the Word of God. Each in its own way has its part in propagating some or all of the elements of Kingdom Theology.

Other teachings not detailed here are quite bizarre, and add to the overall occult flavor of Kingdom Theology. We'll be dealing with them as we progress.

It's important to understand that not everyone in the various movements mentioned believe all Kingdom Theology teachings. Many are innocently fraternizing with those whose doctrines would horrify them if they were aware of them.

Yet while the adage "guilt by association" does not always hold true, a consistent pattern of fraternization and support are sufficient grounds to at least question whether one holds the views of those he supports and with whom he seeks unity.

As in all fraternities, there is certain terminology peculiar to Kingdom Theology. Knowledge of that terminology can alert us to the possibility that we are hearing from an adherent to those teachings.

A few occasions of word usage prove nothing, of course. But a pattern of usage and dependence upon terminology peculiar to Kingdom Theology is reason for concern and further investigation of a teacher's doctrines. Many will hide their true beliefs to all but those within their inner circle lest they be prematurely exposed to the Body of Christ at large.

Once you become familiar with their terminology I urge you not to judge arbitrarily, but to seek further knowledge of the teacher's true beliefs (Acts 17:11).

Meanwhile, be cautious until you do know what he or she believes. The following Kingdom terminology should be cause for concern even though much will be defended as "scriptural" by those who use them:

Some Terminology


 Dominion
 Overcomer(s)
 Word-Faith
 Spoken Word
 Five-fold ministry
 Latter Rain
 Tabernacle of David
 Feast of Tabernacles
 Many-membered man child
 Manifestation of the Kingdom
 Manifestation of the Sons of God
 Ongoing Incarnation
 Birthing in the Spirit
 Get this into your spirit
 Unity (of the Body)
 Serpent’s Seed or Seed of the Serpent
 Faith in faith
 God’s faith
 God-like faith