WHAT IS ITS NATURE?
The Roman Emperor and stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, has in some ways helped us understand many cults and false teachers. While we don’t embrace his philosophies, when it comes to discernment work we remind ourselves of this quote:
“Of each particular thing ask: what is it in itself? What is its nature?” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Those questions lead us, as Christians, to ask these questions: Do they operate from a fallen, sinful, fleshly nature or from a new nature Spirit-frilled believers nature? (Galatians 5)
When spiritually profiling heretical movements and their leaders, it’s very important to ask these questions. That’s because as you educate yourself on the nature of dangerous cult movements and their leaders, they are easier to recognise before they infiltrate your local churches.
At the moment, we are examining the nature of a Christian cult known as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR).
You can read our first article explaining how the New Apostolic Reformation cult is pragmatic and lawless.
What is the nature of the New Apostolic Reformation? (Part 1) Lawless & Pragmatic.
Due to the nature of it being lawless and pragmatic in nature, it should come to no surprise that this movement exhibits a brutal and violent nature as well. Thankfully, the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) makes it easy for us to identify with their teachings and practices, that its nature is not even remotely Christian.
In this article we will be looking at the brutal nature of the New Apostolic Reformation by analyzing what it says and does AND look at how it theologically promotes itself as a violent and hostile movement. To be clear, the major characteristic of the NAR cult is its Dominionist theology. Therefore most people are familiar with its authoritarian and totalitarian regime. So we won’t be focusing on the dominonist aspect of the movement since this has been extensively covered.
IT IS VICIOUS
This statement may sound unbelievable at first.
This is because one of the most dangerous aspects of the New Apostolic Reformation is how they give the impression that their warfare is spiritual. They will often quote scriptures such as this:
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
However, this is simply not true. We will first look at the teachings of the NAR’s top Apostolic Leader C. Peter Wagner and then provide many examples of these so-called ‘Apostles’ claiming to kill people who dare oppose them or claiming God has already killed people who opposed them. These are frightening examples as to what lengths an NAR Apostle will go in destroying someone who dares question their ministry.
WAGNER TEACHES NAR IS PHYSICALLY PRO-WAR
Since its inception in 1948, the NAR often call themselves Joel’s Army. So you could say that they literally live by the idea of fighting against anyone that opposes them. C Peter Wagner likens NAR Apostles as Generals in this great end-times army. So it shouldn’t surprise Christianity and the world in general that this movement promotes physical death and destruction to people who dare question its NARpostles or its worldwide agenda.
Wagner was the Leader of the New Apostolic Reformation. Che Ahn is now its recognised leader.
While Dominion theology does appear to be a hostile belief system, C. Peter Wagner further manifests this ‘hostile’ theology with not just a theological aspect but also with an almost frightening physical aspect. In fact, he himself seems to think that the devil is behind anti-war movements. His solution? NAR Apostle Wagner believed the church should not tolerate anti-war movements. In fact, the leader of the NAR goes so far as to linking spiritual warfare to actual physical warfare:
“I remember Vietnam, don’t you? I mean, you know who helped, cuz, it was the first war that we ever lost. You know what helped us lose that war? Jane Fanda. And now she’s been changed back, she’s been converted and everything since but I’m telling you- I mean, but some of the influence she had in the anti-war movement, she didn’t help America she helped the enemy. See? And, we can’t put up with this in spiritual warfare. We can’t put up with it with anti-war movements. And um, it’s, there are some, I hate to report it. There are some people who are against war. And um, I think that should stop…” (Emphasis added)
Although Wagner tries to hide behind the “principalities and powers” scripture, it is undeniable that in Wagner’s mind, spiritual warfare and physical warfare are inseparable. So much for wrestling against spiritual principalities and powers. Listen to him here or read the transcript below.
TRANSCRIPT
“Let me give you one more point. We must reject anti-war movements. We must reject anti-war movements. And I hate to report it, well, I hate to report that one of the things that’s slowing us down in the war of Iraq is anti-war movements. I remember Vietnam, don’t you? I mean, you know who helped, cuz, it was the first war that we ever lost. You know what helped us lose that war? Jane Fanda. And now she’s been changed back, she’s been converted and everything since but I’m telling you- I mean, but some of the influence she had in the anti-war movement, she didn’t help America she helped the enemy. See? And, we can’t put up with this in spiritual warfare. We can’t put up with it with anti-war movements. And um, it’s, there are some, I hate to report it. There are some people who are against war. And um, I think that should stop…
I think the whole body of Christ needs to get on the page that we are in war. There are some people who are against strategic level spiritual warfare. Remember what I said that is? Principalities and power. And there are some people who are against ground level spiritual warfare. Casting out demons. I mean, they won’t admit that, but they will not allow any church in their whole denomination to have a deliverance ministry, well I’ll get to that later let me take you one by one. Let me just explain the strategic level and then the ground level and what the anti-war movements had. And the reason I’m saying this and putting it on the DVD is because I think it needs to be exposed. We can’t just go along and pretend that everything in the body of Christ is okay because it’s not okay in this particular area. We’re not- there are people who don’t- I can’t but help in thinking the enemy is encouraging them.”
Source: Peter Wagner, NAR “Apostle C. Peter Wagner teaching its key doctrine of Dominionism, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WboWrp-Cwo, Published 27/05/2014. (Accessed 22/04/2017.) (Emphasis Added.)
We saw this frightening zeal manifest in Austrlia’s biggest NAR cults – Hillsong and C3 (both cults acknowledge the influence of Wagner). In fact, we have heard reports of Christians being threatened and bullied by these NAR organisations because Christians either disagreed with the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq or were actively involved in theses demonstrations. Christians were literally told to shut up and submit to their leaders. These organizations were openly hostile to Christians who were anti-war.
This is a far cry from what Jesus calls His church to be like:
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5
And this spirit is not the nature, or fruit, of the Holy Spirit in the redeemed believer:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:19-23 (Emphasis added.)
Here a range of examples of NAR Apostles claiming God will KILL people if they dared question His NAR Apostles/Prophets:
EXAMPLE 1 – NAR APOSTLE FRANK HOUSTON
We look at NAR Apostle Frank Houston (founder of CLC/Hillsong) and notice that while in the past he has said the church’s enemy is the devil, he takes it on himself to use God to threaten pastors to death.
Frank Houston was responsible in restructuring the leadership system within the New Zealand AOG to the NAR template. This meant that in his church, his eldership board and his entire church were accountable to his Apostolic ministry. In these Apostolic ministries, everyone is accountable to the Apostle, the Apostle is not accountable to anyone, not even his eldership board.
Note how his wife wrote about this:
“This system of hiring and firing pastors which hurt so many men of God was, to Frank, was unscriptural as any system could be.
‘We are not here to fight each other. Our enemy is the devil.‘ Frank declared. Only one felt that he could not accept the change. Frank regretted his resignation for he was a good man, but he was determined the new way was for the best.
‘The pastor will become a dictator in this situation.’ The accusation was leveled at Frank.”
Source: Hazel Houston, Being Frank, pg. 125-6.
What Frank Houston said about how the church’s enemy “is the devil” is true. However, under his Apostolic/Propehtic authority, Frank is not exactly being honest. The claim by Christians that Frank Houston was now a ‘dictator’ is absolutely true. At this time, Frank Houston was sexually abusing underage males. A decade or so later, Australian AOG Pastor Philip Powell decided to investigate:
“… During our sojourn in New Zealand, shortly after I had resigned as General Secretary of AoG in Australia (1992), I received a telephone call from Frank Houston who had been one of my former colleagues on the AoG National Executive. … Frank told me that God was going to cut me off. He claimed that he had some revelation from the Lord and that when he received these “words” he was never wrong and that whatever being cut off by God signified it was going to happen very soon, if not immediately. I let him talk for quite some time then I interrupted, “Frank I want you to know that my Bible tells me not to fear you and I don’t fear you or what you have to say for I have proved you to be a false prophet. You may cut me off, BUT I don’t think God will cut me off.” He was obviously taken aback by my direct response and went on to accuse me of muckraking whatever that meant. I certainly was not engaged in anything that could equate to what he accused me of but there shouldn’t be any muck to rake in any event. In the light of recent occurrences it is quite clear what Houston was up to when he telephoned me. He was trying to bully me into silence and non-action. I guess that’s the natural extension of the activity of opportunists who try to create a mystique about them. It’s the sort of disposition that resorts to the “don’t touch the Lord’s anointed” line, when they are challenged or come under scrutiny.“
Source: Philip Powell, HOUSTONS UNMASKED, Christian Witness Ministries, http://www.christian-witness.org/archives/van2002/houston2_15.html, Revised 16/11/2005. Accessed 03/07/2016. (Emphasis added.)
In other words, NAR Apostle/Prophet Frank Houston was ‘invoking’ the power of God to KILL Philip Powell if he dared investigate his past. According to Apostle Frank Houston, fighting the devil and fighting pastors who were investigating his perverse history were inseparable.
EXAMPLE 2 – NAR APOSTLE BENNY HINN
We’ve seen Apostle Benny Hinn threaten people to blow people’s heads off with his Holy Ghost Machine Gun:
“People of God, quit attacking men of God. By name! Someone is attacking me because of something I am teaching. Let me tell you something, brother! You watch it!
Dear God in heaven I wish I could just- they call to minister my foot! You know, I’ve looked for just one verse in the Bible. I just can’t seem to find it. One verse that said if you don’t like them, kill them. I really wish I could find it.
But don’t mention people’s names on your radio program and your TV program thinking you’re doing God’s service! You’re not!
You stink frankly! That’s the way I think about it! Sometimes I wish God would give me a Holy Ghost machine gun. I’d blow your head off!” [Source] [Source] (Emphasis added.)
EXAMPLE 3 – NAR APOSTLE RICK JOYNER & NAR PROPHET MARK TAYLOR
Charisma News (a publication for the New Apostolic Reformation), promoted a radio broadcast of their prophet ‘Mark Taylor’. Click on the link in the ‘source’ to listen to the ‘prophetic word’ of Mark Taylor in the article.
Charisma News writes,
Prophecy from 2011 Claims Trump Was Chosen By God to Save America
Lots of people have received prophetic words about Trump—but Mark Taylor received his back in 2011. Retired firefighter Taylor says he believes Trump was chosen by God to save America from destruction.
Rick Joyner even shared the prophecy on social media, adding: “This widely distributed word is very interesting. The most is in the first ten minutes.”
Is Trump the answer for America’s problems? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Source: Charisma News, Prophecy from 2011 Claims Trump Was Chosen By God to Save America, http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/57774-prophecy-from-2011-claims-trump-was-chosen-by-god-to-save-america, Published 14/06/2016. (Accessed 20/06/2016.)
In the radio show in the above article, Mark Taylor stated,
“… The end-time battle has begun and the end-time harvest has begun… But God told me this. He said, ‘Even if it means that they stand in the way of my agenda in America, I will remove you them from the face of the earth.‘ Now after He told me that, after forty-eight hours, two people died to confirm what I heard. One was a young man from the Obama administration who got killed in a weird bicycle accident on a bicycle race. He went head on with a car. And the other one was a young Saudi Prince.” [34:00]
Remember, Charisma News reported that Apostle Rick Joyner even,
“… shared the prophecy on social media, adding: “This widely distributed word is very interesting. The most is in the first ten minutes.””
So it is disturbing that not only did this ‘prophecy’ come from a NAR prophet, Rick Joyner saw no issue in distributing this ‘prophetic’ Word which claimed God killed two people who got in his way.
EXAMPLE 4 – APOSTLE PHIL PRINGLE
Even NAR Apostle Phil Pringle intimidates people by claiming when two women opposed him, God killed them (“They shall soon be cut down like grass”):
Oppose A Pastor And God Will Kill You?
EXAMPLE 5 – APOSTLE BRIAN HOUSTON
This example definitely falls into the “Touch Not God’s Anointed” category. Whether it’s better or worse than the examples above and below are debatable, however, the words of Jesus come to mind in regards to how NAR Apostle Brian Houston has deliberately tried to ‘destroy’ the life of Tanya Levin at all cost, to preserve the so-called ‘integrity’ of his ministry.
Media respond to arrest/removal of critic & Mark Driscoll speaking at Hillsong Conference 2015
Hillsong’s “trespasser” releases information on charges
Brian Houston deceitfully changes media statement without notifications
The LiveLoveLead Society versus the bible-wielding Tanya Levin over the mole’s Hillsong
Brian Houston’s Inclusive Jesus rejects Tanya Levin
Hillsong cult bullies Tanya Levin & again slanders her for causing “significant disruption”
The Hillsong empire strikes back against the Tanya Levin rebel home
Summaries of Tanya Levin, Hillsong and the Law
Hillsong fails in legal campaign against Tanya Levin.
According to the judge that examined Tanya Levin’s case, she was a woman of ‘impeccable’ character. To personally pursue the destruction of a person’s life by manipulating police to lie about Tanya says more about the the way Brian Houston and his NAR Hillsong cult run.
IT IS VIOLENT
So how does the NAR promote violence in their movement? By demonstrating they are ‘violent’ in their theology. After all, they are the end-times “Joel’s Army.” They need to take over and change the nations to usher in Christ’s return. They believe they are the violent ones.
“THE VIOLENT TAKE IT BY FORCE”
NAR Apostles take the passage from Matthew 11:12 or Luke 16:16 and think that this passage is about believers and how they are to expand the “Kingdom of God.”
LOOKING AT IT IN THE CONTEXT OF MATTHEW 11
However, Jesus was talking about false and illegitimate leaders and teachers who are literally violent enough to take the Kingdom of Heaven by force. In fact, in the chapter before, Jesus warned his disciples he was “sending [them] out as sheep among wolves” (10:16). He also stated,
“It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!” Matthew 10:24
And also,
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28
John the Baptist was in jail because he dared to call out the sins of “King” Herod. This landed him in jail and this caused John’s disciples to report this to Jesus. This was Jesus’ response:
“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” Matthew 11:11-12
After that, Jesus continued to expose these people who hated John the Baptist and himself:
“To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
‘We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” Matthew 11:16-19
Interestingly enough, after this discourse between the Pharisees in Matthew 10 and this discourse in Matthew 11, the narrative in Matthew’s gospel highlights from here on in the intensity between Jesus and his accusers, the religious leaders; opposition and unbelief. In Matthew 12, the Pharisees who opposed Jesus in Galilee have determined to destroy him. So Jesus was not only alluding just to King Herod’s treatment of John the Baptist, Matthew constructed his gospel to portray the rivalry between Jesus and the violent leaders of his days.
LOOKING AT IT IN THE CONTEXT OF LUKE 16
As we mentioned above, this quote of Christ is also found in Luke 16:16. The context itself says it all (emphasis added):
“The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.” Luke 16:14-17
This discourse happened after Jesus’ parable of the dishonest manager. The Pharisees ridiculed Jesus in light of that parable. What were they reacting too? Jesus’ conclusion of his parable. As Luke points out, they were lovers of money, and right after the Luke 16:14-17, Jesus told the parable of Lazarus and the rich man – both parables seemed to be rebuking the worldly and spiritual dealings of the Pharisees. The tension Jesus had been the Pharisees seems to clearly indicate that Jesus was speaking against the Pharisees in Luke 16:16.
Furthermore in his parable in Luke 16, Jesus was challenged by the chief priests, scribes and elders. In response to their challenge, he portrayed them as violent men who were unashamed to kill prophets to inherit the Kingdom of God (the vineyard) by force. And in this very parable, Jesus alluded to the fact these ‘tenants’ would murder ‘the son’. Their reaction said everything to which Christ refered to himself again using the scriptures. These false teachers and leaders were “the builders [who] rejected […] the cornerstone.”
“And [Jesus] began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said
What then is this that is written: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?” Luke 20:9-17
And the kingdom indeed suffered violence when these false teachers put Jesus through a kangaroo court, pulled political strings and maliciously crucified the King of Heaven on a cross so they can rule by their own self-appointed authority.
The Lutheran Study Bible has this to say about this passage,
“Jesus seems to complain about the violent reaction people have to God’s Word. The Pharisees abuse the proclamation of the Gospel (v 14), just as they abused the Law and the Prophets. They even rejected John, who prepared the way for God’s rule in Christ.”
So when Jesus stated “the violent take it by force,” he was actually talking about the illegal, the lawless and the false authorities who demanded God’s people submit to their violent rule. He was talking about false teachers and leaders. So Apostles, Prophets, teachers and leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation have done Christianity a favor by relying on this verse to describe the nature of not only the movement but it’s leadersas the fraudulent (and violent) men and women that they are.
A collection of these NAR leaders using this verse:
FALSE LEADER 1 – NAR APOSTLE C. PETER WAGNER
Peter Wagner writes,
“Jesus said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matt. 11:12). We will only take dominion if the Body of Christ becomes violent and declares war on the enemy!””
Source: C Peter Wagner, On Earth As It Is in Heaven: Answer God’s Call to Transform the World, Publisher: Chosen Books, 2012. [Source]
FALSE LEADER 2 – NAR APOSTLE CHUCK PIERCE
Chuck Pierce writes,
“Violence means “vehement, forcible, or destructive action, often involving infringement, outrage, or assault.”
“Matthew 11:12-13 says, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” (NKJV)
In the phrase, “the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence,“ a share in the heavenly Kingdom is sought for with the most ardent zeal and the most intense exertion. The NIV reads, “The kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” There is a sound and expression that will help you attain God’s best and wrest all of what God has for you from the enemy’s hands.”
Source: Chuck Pierce, Chuck Pierce: “IT’S TIME NOW TO WAR WITH VIOLENT PRAISE – BUT WHAT ‘IS’ VIOLENT PRAISE??”, Elijah List, http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/3276, Published 27/07/2005. (Accessed 22/04/2016.) [Cached]
FALSE LEADER 3 – NAR APOSTLE CHE AHN
Che Ahn writes,
“I put my hand to the plow and don’t look back. I run to win. Zeal for your house consumes me. The kingdom of heaven come by violence, and those who take it, take it by force.”
Source: Che Ahn, How to Pray for Healing: Understanding and Releasing the Healing Power Available to Every Christian, Publisher: Gospel Light Publications, 08/12/2003. [Source]
FALSE LEADER 4 & 5 – NAR APOSTLE LOU ENGLE & MICHAEL BROWN
Interstate Q reported the following:
“There’s an Elijah generation that’s going to be the forerunners for the coming of Jesus, a generation marked not by their niceness but by the intensity of their passion,” Engle continued. “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Such force demands an equal response, and Jesus is going to make war on everything that hinders love, with his eyes blazing fire.”
Source: Matt Comer, On the edge: Religious militancy in the Queen City, Interstate Q, http://interstateq.com/archives/3708/, Published 17/07/2009. [Cached]
This is what Michael Brown allowed to be published on his ‘Voice of Revolution’ blog:
“Jesus Himself used .. the rhetoric of violence. He said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.” He’s not talking about human weapons, but a spiritual intensity and violence against ideologies and unseen forces and powers of darkness. Jesus said, “if I by the finger of God drive out demons, the Kingdom of God has come upon you,” and he talks about attacking the spiritual strongman, which is a spirit being, attacking and overcoming them, and taking the spoil. That means that you break through the ideology, and the demonic spirit that rules that ideology, you actually see people liberated out of that ideology, homosexuals can come to Christ, be freed from their issues, be liberated, and it is a spiritual battle for the souls of the people. But never have we ever said “take up [physical] violence” and used rhetoric that Jesus uses, “I’ve not come to bring peace but a sword”. And so, that would be my answer.
Source: M French, Lou Engle: GBW and a House of Prayer in Charlotte, Voice of Revolution, http://voiceofrevolution.askdrbrown.org/2009/07/16/lou-engle-gbw-and-a-house-of-prayer-in-charlotte/, 08/12/2003. (Accessed 25/05/2017.) [Cached]
FALSE LEADER 6 – NAR APOSTLE BRIAN HOUSTON
Brian Houston actually turned this verse into a CLC/Hillsong worship song.
Brian Houston promoting New Apostolic Reformation theology in Hillsong music.
FALSE LEADER 7 – NAR APOSTLE CINDY JACOBS
This quote from Cindy Jacobs is a good example on how they tie the church as an end-times army to this twisted scripture passage. Notice how she needs to warn her readers that she is not trying to promote physical terrorist-like violence. In contrast to what we’ve already exposed, the outworking of this theology from C. Peter Wagner above in section 1, results in different expressions of violence nevertheless.
Jacobs writes,
“This whole book focuses on training for militant intercession. There are other excellent books that focus on other areas such as contemplative prayer, and they are good. God is calling a new generation of generals of intercession, however, who will change nations with an understanding that sometimes prayer is from Matthew 11:12: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
Lest I scare you by using that strong Bible verse, let me tell you I am speaking of spiritual violence and not the kind that terrorist organizations are using. Militant intercession breaks down strongholds in heaven that release heaven to earth. It is also done onsite and makes a statement on earth. This type of prayer sees that God’s Kingdom does indeed come, and His will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven (see Matthew 6:10).
Another way to describe this militant kind of praying might be “dominion intercession” because it establishes God’s rule into an area, taking it back from the illegal usurper, Satan. In fact, another word for kingdom is “dominion.””
Source: Cindy Jacobs, Possessing the Gates of the Enemy: A Training Manual for Militant Intercession, Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2009. pg. 244.
FALSE LEADER 8 – NAR APOSTLE MIKE BICKLE
Mike Bickle did a sermon series in 1998 title ‘Forerunners with Holy Violent Love – Imitating John the Baptist’s Extreme Devotion to Jesus’. He too promotes that his movement needs to express a ‘violent’ characteristic.
From MikeBickle.Org:
Forerunners with Holy Violent Love
Imitating John the Baptist’s Extreme Devotion to Jesus
In these teachings Mike Bickle describes four spiritual dynamics that are embodied in John the Baptist’s life and forerunner ministry. In Matthew 11 Jesus makes the surprising declaration that the kingdom of God can be taken, or experienced, by the holy forcefulness of spiritual violence. The Lord uses the example of John the Baptist and his fasted lifestyle to communicate the spiritual dynamics that are vital in a prophetic generation. This “spiritual violence” focuses on our internal life, rather than involving military or political activities. Spiritual violence is an expression of extravagant bridal love that confronts all the inner hindrances and barriers to the grace of God being fully experienced in our hearts.
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Forerunners with Holy Violent Love, Part 1 | November 08, 1998Part 1 of the series Forerunners with Holy Violent Love
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Forerunners with Holy Violent Love, Part 2 | November 22, 1998Part 2 of the series Forerunners with Holy Violent Love
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Forerunners with Holy Violent Love, Part 3 | November 29, 1998
Part 3 of the series Forerunners with Holy Violent Love
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Forerunners with Holy Violent Love, Part 4 | November 30, 1998
Part 4 of the series Forerunners with Holy Violent Love
Source: Mike Bickle, Forerunners with Holy Violent Love, MikeBickle.Org, https://mikebickle.org/resources/series/forerunners-with-holy-violent-love, Accessed 14/06/2017.
Bickle’s twisting is hard to even closely resemble what Jesus is saying in Matthew 11.
CONCLUSION
We are asking our readers to contribute to these articles by researching further as to how other NAR Apostles advertise their church and the NAR with the misused scripture verses above. NAR Apostles we are looking to quote on Matthew 11:12 are Bill Johnson, Bill Hamon, Mike Bickle, Rick Joyner, Patricia King and any other major NAR Apostle/Prophet. Your contribution would be greatly appreciated.
Email all comments and questions to c3churchwatch@hotmail.com.
Categories: New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)