Posted on 04/21/2016 4:33:42 PM PDT by pastorbillrandles
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.(Matthew 24:23-27)
In December 1995, my wife and I travelled to Toronto Canada, to observe services at the Toronto Airport Vineyard fellowship, because we had heard reports of revival breaking out, attracting people from around the world. We stood in the cold, in a line which numbered hundreds of people eager to get into the service and willing to wait for hours in the freezing Canadian wind, till the doors opened.
We interviewed quite a few pastors, from Canada, America, Africa, Europe, and almost to a man they testified that they had quit preaching the Word, now that the “Spirit” had come! The Word “didn’t work” , for their services were “dead and religious”, and sermons would not touch this post modern generation.
I asked them “Do you believe what the Bible says about a ‘last days’ deception?”. Most of them did. But when I asked if they thought it possible that they were being deceived via the “Toronto Blessing”, almost all of them scoffed at the notion.
It turns out that they had long been conditioned to think in terms of spiritual elitism; that they were the “Joseph company” of believers, the “man child”, the final greatest generation of the church,(Remember, God saved his best for last), and that as Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians, they had more “revelation Knowledge” than the vast majority of “old fashioned, religious, conventional Christians. Normal Christians could be deceived but not the new generation!
So they traveled , looking to receive from the “new Anointing”. In the scripture above, notice Jesus warned that they would be saying “Here is Christ”, not “Here is Jesus”. What does ‘Christ ‘ mean? Christ means “anointed one”. A “New Anointing” is a new Christ, or an anti-Christ.
What was it that they waited out in the freezing cold to enter into? They wanted to “Soak” in the presence of the LORD, to be “Slain in the Spirit” and to drink in the “new Wine” until they were “Drunk in the Spirit” of the LORD. Many of them had initial feelings of resistance to entering into ‘the river’, but they had been encouraged to keep on receiving ‘impartation prayer’, until the inner resistance was overcome.
The “Toronto Blessing”, as this mystical movement came to be called, did not come out of heaven by a “Rushing mighty Wind” but is rather the logical outworking of the steady influence of decades of false prophecy, heretical doctrine (The Manifested Sons of God/Latter Rain), anti-rational bias (“God is offending the mind to reach the heart”), and the desire for ‘experienced based” Christianity.
Charismatics had been conditioned by these influences and their false Shepherds to expect a revival of pure power and unmediated experiences in the “Presence of the Lord”. They had been taught that doctrine is divisibve, and those concerned about doctrine are “religious” and furthermore they had been taught that “The man with an experience is ever at the mercy of the man with a teaching”.
The linkage of influence is roughly as follows-
The false Prophet William Branham- Oral Roberts Kenneth Hagin and Copeland and the WORD of Faith movement- Mystical Spiritual warfare- The Kansas City Prophets and the other false prophets- Rodney Howard Browne’s mystical “laughing revival”- John Wimber’s “Power Evangelism” and the Vineyard movement which came out of it.
That is from where the Toronto Blessing, and the Pensacola movement which came out of it, descended .
Rodney Howard Brown is a South African evangelist who came from the Word of Faith Movement. He began to have meetings in America in which the preaching of the Word of God had to be halted due to outbursts of uncontrollable laughter, as ‘the spirit’ descended upon the people.He reports that at one service, He was preaching on Hell, but had to stop because the congregation was laughing so uproariously!
Howard Browne was ministering what he called “New Wine”. People were becoming drunk, spiritually. They couldn’t walk, they couldn’t pray or sit or listen, they staggered about and said ridiculous things as the rest of the congregation rejoiced and praised God for this ‘spirit’. Howard Browne called his meetings “Joel’s place” and himself “the Holy Ghost Bartender” and spoke as if the congregation were in a nightclub getting intoxicated, only they insisted that it was the new wine.
Howard Browne affected the Vineyard movement, they wanted that “Anointing” that he seemed to have, and sought it. When “it” hit the church in Toronto Canada in 1994, “It” brought those who had succumbed to “it” or had received the “Impartation of it” through the laying on of hands , into full blown mysticism, reminiscent of the Kundalini fits imparted by Hindu gurus.
At Toronto we saw people do things which would be physically impossible, as they came under the power of this ‘spirit’ which they called Revival. Stacy Campbell, one of the leaders of the movement shook so hard that her long hair would crack like a whip, all the while she breathlessly prophesied! An older lady , perhaps in her 70’s was involuntarily laying supine on her back in the sanctuary, doing crunches for more than forty five minutes! It seemed like bedlam in that sanctuary.
The defining manifestation was Spiritual drunkenness. Through distortion of scripture like the book of Acts chapter 2,
And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;(Acts 2:12-17)
Notice it was the mockers who accused the apostles of drunkenness on the day of Pentecost, and the apostle Peter was quick to deny any drunkenness whatsoever.
Modern mockers have entered into our sanctuaries and have enticed a self absorbed generation, which in many cases had barely escaped the ravages of drug and alcohol abuse, into thinking that the Spirit of God wants to bring you into some sort of Holy intoxication and abandonment.
The scriptures of course say the opposite, for Peter himself warned us “Be sober and vigilant….” (I Peter 5) and all of the apostles call for the church to be clear thinking and alert. But Rodney Howard Browne, John Arnott, John Scotland, and John Wimber, among others, initiated a false revival of “spiritual drunkenness” and have brought dissolution and reproach upon a good many of God’s dear people.
But there is another way to interpret Spiritual drunkenness. Spiritual drunkenness is from God , alright, but not a blessing, it is a judgment upon an unbelieving and faithless people;
Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.( Isaiah 29:9-14)
Read this and consider its implications! I weep and tremble because I have seen the outworking of this prophecy on the Charismatic movement. God isn’t speaking to the Seers. The leaders don’t understand the Bible , what little they did understand was wiped out in the “Signs and wonders” revival. The people think they are nearer to God than any other “Dead” Christians, but they couldn’t get any farther away. The wisdom perished in the bouts of drunkenness and irreverence.
Ping
Frankly, they, the crowd, had all heard the disciples speak in their native tongue. They did not hear gibberish as charismatics and Pentecostals want one to believe. They, the crowd, heard the disciples speaking in their own native language and the crowd was comprised of Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia ——.
PFL
I have friends who also traveled to Toronto to witness this cause of what they heard. they said they were skeptical until they got there and when they witnessed it, they felt in their spirits that God told them this was of Him.
They follow this stuff religiously and I am very seriously praying for them to find deliverance from it.
But it’s very difficult. They know what they know and what they experienced and aside from the spiritual elitism, there is a lot of pride involved in admitting that you were wrong all these years.
More on the Kundalini Spirit which has infested the church....
The Kundalini Spirit has Invaded The Church Masquerading as The Holy Spirit !!! BE VIGILANT!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfXmDkQiE2o
Everything you have said in this article exactly describes the people I know who are involved in Pentecostalism these days.
I’ve heard from the pulpit of some churches on the point about acting silly and drunk that in Acts 2 when the mockers were accusing them of being drunk, that it was how the disciples were acting, laughing, staggering, etc.
What is missed is that SOME accused them of being drunk. If they were acting like that, then ALL the people would have thought they were drunk.
I’ve also heard of their fire tunnels and know some who went through them. It didn’t affect most people but one woman got knocked off her feet and attributes it to God.
“Frankly, they, the crowd, had all heard the disciples speak in their native tongue. “
The operative word is “Heard”
There were more people groups than there were speakers. If you don’t believe that count them. The miracle was in the hearing not the speaking. The disciples were probably speaking Aramaic. Understanding this places a whole different light on the gift. The disciples were not aware a miracle was happening until after it had finished.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Actually, the miracle was speaking in different languages. Verse four confirms that.
I just watched that video. I had no idea that was taking place in America. Scary...
I’ve seen a lot of this over the years but did not realize the connection with the supernatural and demonic.
And yet somehow most charismatics excuse this kind of aberrant or irrational behavior as the effect the Holy Spirit has on a person when that person is under the influence of Him.
Like screaming and wailing in church? Like jumping up and down while spinning in circles? Like laying on the floor and shaking like they are having seizures?
There’s NO Scriptural precedent for that kind of reaction to the filling or indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The fruit of the Spirit manifest in a person’s life will produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The gifts are not the fruit. Numbers of people acting out are not fruit. Claims of numbers of people saved are not fruit and I’ve seen people say, *Well, they have the fruit. Look how many people got saved.*
There seems to be a denial of the fact that one can profess Christ and not be saved. IOW, if they say they are saved and repeat a sinner’s prayer, they are saved, no matter what they live like.
But Scripture tells us *confess with your mouth and believe in your heart*, and yes, people can confess with their mouths and not believe in their heart, especially if they are doing it to get money or health from God.
There’s a lot of weird “spiritual” happenings in America these days.
Demoniac False Preacher Todd Bentley Says Angel Feathers Manifesting At Revival Meetings
Gay Pastor Says The Bible ‘Is Evolving’ And Must Change To Accommodate Our Lifestyle Choices
False Teacher Paula White Wants You To Sow Your ‘Lazarus Seed’ Of $1,144, She’ll Send Handkerchief Back
The Bible Believers Guide To The False Revival Of The Last Days
http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/the-bible-believers-guide-to-the-false-revival-of-the-last-days/
Rodney Howard-Browne And The Mockery Of The Holy Laughter Heresy
http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/rodney-howard-browne-holy-laughter-heresy/
Read the Bible. Acts 2:12 And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity saying to one another, “What does this mean? But others were mocking and saying ,”They are full of sweet wine.”
Exactly.
You are correct as the Pentecostals and the likes of the ones praying in gibberish is like the worship of pagan deities. The Bible records no incident of any believer ever speaking to God in any other then normal human language.
Like myself, you understand the powerful magnetic pull this movement exerts on humans whose yearning for the supernatural has been awakened. We, who (like Eve) have been seduced by the promise of instant spirituality know the damage that it causes. The attractive force is a greed, a lust for spiritual power that suspends or eliminates the true path of maturity of discernment through being personally discipled into the culture of servanthood.
Please keep on with this ministry of winning souls to new birth and growth in Jesus by warning them of the street-hawkers of the carnal Aszusa crystal meth.
With humility and appreciation of your diligence of a Bunyanesque clinging to the pilgrim's path.
not exactly- I Cor 14 :1-4 I believe that the gift is badly abused but there really is a gift of “diversities of tongues”.
Wow, thanks so much for the encouragement-
Begging your patience, I'm a Methodist PK who, despite my parents' effort and anguish, was not saved until at the age of 34. My life was wrecked because of carnal behaviours from a child, which need no further titillating explanation. But as a newborn babe in Christ, it was not clear to me just how much of a spiritual infant I was. But I did have an overwhelming longing to be as close to the Lord as I could get, but I think there was a lot of infantile selfishness in having Him clean up my life principally by influencing my separated and wandering wife to get saved and clean up her act, thus making everything easy through a Cinderella-type plan for the future.
So I wanted to have power with God and power with men, which is of course the fake promises of going down the (misnamed) "charismatic" path. That meant in the early 1970s Dave Wilkerson, Larry Christenson, Demos Shakarian, FGBMFI, participating in the Methodist Lay Witness Mission offshoot,seeking others who believed in daily miracles, speaking and praying in tongues, listening to Pat Robertson's 700 Club, etc. What I foud, Pastor, that all this didn't really help mr that much excep help keep my mind off the world to some degree. It didn't make me a spiritual adult. It just prolonged the state of treading the water rather than walking on it.
Actually, the Kathryn Kuhlman thing, though, was a bit farther off the Biblical line than I could intellectually let myself go. One of the members of Dad's choir was a professional musician who had been for some time in Kathryn's employ, but finally couldn't stomach the hypocrisy. His testimony helped warn me of some of the later fools like Benny Hinn and the like. So there was a limit. No "laughing" about this, for sure.
But on the other hand, God placed some excellent, very sincere, spiritually mature, and powerful-in-the-Scripture men and women who constituted a local Assembly of Christians, whose faith both genuine and secure. Some call these folks "Plymouth Brethrem" or "Darbyites" (they themselves did not denominate themselves as such), at the college in which I was finishing my PhD physical chemistry studies. They really helped me see the way to salvation through truly understanding God's requirements through enough Biblical familiarity with and acceptance of The Faith of Jesus The Christ, and His Blood Atonement. Their wisdom and knowledge of God's Will, Ways, Walk, and Work helped me to stay close to the Lord, and totally yield my allegiance to Him.
That approach has inexorably drawn me far away from the false "manifestations" characteristic of the "charismatics" (whom I also see as generally very poor exegetes). The great blessings and spiritual insights given, not by "speaking in the Spirit," but being spoken to by the Holy Spirit through His ineffable Holy Written Word, and meditating on studied and memorized counsels from it--those are the signs of spiritual power and favor with the God of my waking and sleeping hours.
Pastor Bill, you probably know this, but while memorizing ther verses and passages one of the tasks that seemed to me to be worthwhile, and impressed on me by the Spirit, was memorizing the whole book of Hebrews, word for word. I did, and that took nine years.
Now, that's not something you will find the "laughing revival" people undertake. They would probably just laugh at that concept, also. But, Bill, the rehearsal of those verses, over and over, and understanding what they say in the context of the book, then seeing and meditating its concepts and phrases scattered throughout the Bible--for sure, there was no time for wasting on mouthing unintelligible and illogical sounds as a supposed way to the mind of The God and Father of our Lord, Jesus the Anointed One, was there?
But you know, what I found out was that, though memorizing volumes of Scripture is essential and beneficial for true spiritual maturity, the experience brings a great awe of how little we know about it, and of God's merciful, gracious heart. But it does give us the mind of Christ by which we can decide "What Jesus Would Do" in some tough applications.
But you know this, and just speaking of these things is to demonstrate that someone else can get a glimpse of your task as a pastor and herald of the Word, of one's need for hearing from you about repentance from dead works (like "laughing in the spirit," or delerium tremens under Satanic control), of faith toward God, and the sure hope of Christs' return for His Own.
Eh?
"Work, for the night is coming, when man works no more."
(John 9:4)
However, I felt throughout that God was in charge, and I cannot tell you how many miraculous opportuities and "coincidences" have happened, so many Providential instances have attended out lives as Christians, keeping close to our Savior, through affiliation with excellent faithful fundamental Bible-preaching independent assemblies throughout our travels.
And even in the end, my wife finally has turned to the Lord, and we get along pretty good now, and keep in touch. Knowing God's hatred of divorce, I never got into remarriage adultery, but have remained single.
But Scripture doesn’t tell us that it was because of the way they were acting. That is only a presumption with no basis.
It does tell us that they were speaking in tongues and preaching the gospel and how many times have you heard the response of *You’re crazy* to the message of the gospel?
And that without acting like a lunatic but rather because ow ath was being said.
No, there’s no basis for that conclusion that they were reeling and staggering and falling over. that’s just an excuse or justification to support their unscriptural behavior.
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