Apprising Ministries takes no pleasure in bringing you a story like this one. The reason it’s necessary is actually twofold.
First, unfortunately you’ll see that what was once thought of as an isolated incident by Nuckolls, apparently wasn’t at all.
Secondly, it’s my opinion, this is an example of the fruit of years of watered down preaching within mainstream evangelicalism.
Phil Johnson of Team Pyro offers his thoughts on The Purpose-Driven Church. He writes:
Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven® Church is now 18 years old. It is the best-selling book on church ministry philosophy ever.
Warren is sensitive about complaints that his overtly pragmatic strategy for church growth leads to doctrinal compromise, so he subtitled his book, “Growth Without Compromising your Message & Mission.” He insists throughout the book that you can follow his “seeker-sensitive” model of ministry without compromising or watering down your message. On page 244, he writes, “A worship service does not have to be shallow to be seeker sensitive. The message doesn’t have to be compromised, just understandable.”
Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, addresses the secularization of American higher education. He writes:
Like most of America’s historic private universities, Vanderbilt University was founded by Christian believers for the purpose of inculcating Christian beliefs in its students. Vanderbilt was founded in the 1870s by Methodists and later funded largely by New York’s Vanderbilt family. Within a remarkably short period of years, Vanderbilt had forfeited its conservative Methodist roots in order to identify with the emerging secular consensus in American higher education.
Evangelist Greg Stier, President and Founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries, wonders: If the Gospel of Jesus is so simple then why can’t the average Christian clearly articulate it? He writes:
Imagine waiting outside the doors of the sanctuary of any evangelical church in America with a video camera and a microphone at the end of the Sunday morning service. Your mission? To interview 10 random members of the congregation with a simple question, “If I were not a Christian and you were to explain the gospel to me what would you say?”
Life News reports:
Appearing on the radio talk show of conservative radio host Laura Ingraham today, former President Jimmy Carter said he believes the Democratic Party should moderate its position on abortion, which it currently supports without limits and funded at taxpayer expense.
Carter said toning down the stridently pro-abortion position would help win back Republicans who abandoned the Democrats because of abortion and other liberal social issue positions.
The L.A. Times reports:
Villagers in this small textile town thought Saeed Mehmood ul Hasan had a pipeline to God. They believed that his Koranic maxims — sometimes scrawled onto wadded scraps of paper, stuffed into a leather pouch and worn around the neck — could cure headaches, mend an ailing kidney or patch up a family rift.
The Christian Post reports:
T.D. Jakes recently released a new book on forgiveness that has at least one critic accusing the renowned preacher of denying the doctrine of original sin.
Chris Rosebrough, an apologist, rejected Jakes’ statement to CP that forgiveness is innate and unforgiveness is learned from one’s environment. There isn’t a “single passage (in Scripture) that says human beings are by nature forgiving,” he argued.
Rosebrough explored the premise of Jakes’ new book Let It Go: Forgive So You Can Be Forgiven on his radio program, “Fighting for the Faith.”
The Christian Post reports:
Evangelical pastor Matt Chandler has been disturbed by what he’s been hearing or sensing from pastors lately – and that is their search for “success” through the size of their churches and the growth of their platforms.
In a post featured on theresurgence.com this week, Chandler, who leads The Village Church in Texas, bluntly stated that such a goal is “hollow” and “dangerous.”
Apprising Ministries reminds you that the primary goal of Elephant Room 2 appeared to be the mainstreaming of Word Faith prosperity preacher T.D. Jakes.
Here in this new article, you’ll see why, as we examine the Word faith fruit of Jakes’ own disciple, Paula White. We shall see that a dangerous door into contemporary evangelicalism has been opened.
holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. Titus 1:9, NASB
In one of our discernment group discussions today the topic came up about Mark Driscoll’s replacement at Acts 29 actually being a promotion as per this article. From that it naturally followed that basically the same thing was going on with John Piper at Bethlehem Baptist. In each case, these men were moving on to positions of more influence and more power. Also, the man who is replacing John Piper taught “Spiritual Formation” at the College level. Who is replacing Mark Driscoll? Isn’t it Matt Chandler? Isn’t he the one who claims to hear commands directly and audibly from God just like Driscoll?
Marsha West takes up where she left off in Part 1. Among other things she reveals Rick Warren’s plan for interdenominational cooperation. She writes:
In part 1 I brought you up to speed on what some “watchbloggers” refer to as “Kingsway-gate.” I’m guessing we haven’t heard the end of this mess. However, this matter and many others commented on in part 1 have helped to earn Rick Warren the title: Teflon Pastor. So we shall see what happens with Kingsway-gate.
Common ground in the love of God…or god?
Most likely Saddleback Church congregants are unaware that their pastor signed a controversial document produced by the Yale Center for Faith and Culture titled Loving God and Neighbor Together: A Christian Response to a Common Word Between Us and You. In July 2008 Christian and Muslim leaders gathered at Yale University for a conference to promote understanding and peace between Christians and Muslims. The letter urged the two faiths to find “common ground” in the love of God. Since Christians and Muslims do not believe in the same God, one wonders which God we’re to find common ground with.
The Christian Post reports:
While GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney is not known for a willingness to discuss his Mormon faith in detail, at least during his political speeches, a family member and former Mormon has come out to accuse The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of being a cult and a fraud.
Authors Vince and Lori Williams viewed Monumental. They express their concern over seeing Glenn Beck in a live feed from the set of the GBTV studio and the conversation Kirk, an evangelical Christian, and Glenn, A New Age Mormon, had about God. They write:
“My premise as I start out this film is to approach this subject not as an actor or as a politician or not even as a Christian but to approach it as a father.” (emphasis ours) This is how Kirk Cameron defined his documentary in a recent interview to a secular radio host and this is exactly what the film delivered having just watched it at the live screening.
Before we even get into the review, it needs to be noted one of the most shocking parts of the live event was a very welcomed live feed from Glenn Beck on the set of GBTV studio. On the pre-show before Monumental starts, Kirk talks to the audience of viewers and introduces Beck as “one of our biggest supporters of the film and a friend.” Beck then comes on the screen very excited to be partaking in this live event and says, “I am honored to be called your friend”, and then goes on to say, “You were in Left Behind while I was reading it.” He goes on to address the audience with statements on the topic of how God is giving us an alarm, and if you don’t have freedom you can’t be who you are.
Beck states “He (talking about God) is telling us to do these things.” Beck also says, “There’s no way out”, then goes on to say that God has really confirmed to him “why would I be telling you to gather if I’m a God that wants to torture you. He is a loving God. We have to return to Him.” Kirk then says, “We are ready to answer the call” and graciously thanks Glenn and pleasantries are exchanged.
Kirk then introduces some others involved with the film, in particular of note was his conversation with his current pastor Rex Holt of Conejo Church, http://www.conejochurch.com/
They have a conversation together talking about this being a spiritual journey and Holt speaks about John Robinson the pastor to the Puritans that were on this voyage.
The film opens up with the trailer many of us have seen with Cameron blasting away at how the world is supposedly going to hell in a hand basket and we have to somehow stop it from spiraling downward before we hand it off to the next generation.
The film is portrayed with Kirk’s narration back and forth of what he is learning along the way as he goes from point to point along the pilgrim’s escape route from England.
CRN has compiled a list of false teachers and several other professing Christians we’ve warned you about over the years. The list also contains those we must keep an eye on plus movements, organizations and “frauds, phonies and money-grubbing religious quacks” to mark and avoid as per Romans 16:17-18 such as Glenn Beck.
By Marsha West
Angels fascinate people. For years we’ve been inundated with books, calendars, stationery, folklore, jewelry, knickknacks, lunch boxes, tattoos, even cherubic trash containers. People can’t get enough of angels! Stories of angelic encounters abound on the Internet. You ask, “Do you have a problem with angels?” Well, yes. And herein lies the problem. The messengers are not necessarily “angels of light” as people have been led to believe. Many angel enthusiasts have actually met heavenly visitors from the dark side. Even self-professed Christians are deceived. How can this be? Shouldn’t Christians be able to discern what’s real and what’s counterfeit? Not necessarily. Biblically illiterate Christians are easily fooled.
ANGELS OF LIGHT, ANGELS OF DARKNESS
Two elect holy angels are mentioned by name in the Bible: Michael and Gabriel. Also mentioned are the Angel of the Lord, the archangel (Michael), the Captain of the Host, messengers (Gabriel appeared to Mary), and guardians. The fallen angels mentioned are the angel of the Abyss (Destroyer), and of course the most notorious angel of all: Lucifer. Scripture tells us very little about angels, except that they are sent to do God’s bidding. Most people know the story of the angel of the Lord who appeared to Mary and announced that she would conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Savior. “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” — which means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23).
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ANGELS?
Angels are personal spiritual beings, having aspects of intelligence, emotions, and will. This is true of both the good and evil angels. Angels possess intelligence (Matthew 8:29; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Peter 1:12), show emotions (Luke 2:13; James 2:19; Revelation 12:17), and demonstrate that they have wills (Luke 8:28-31: 2 Timothy 2:26; Jude 6). Angels are spirit beings (Hebrews 1:14), with no true physical body. The fact that they do not have bodies does not affect their being personalities (any more than it does with God). [1]
Because angels are personal spiritual beings they cannot be in two places at once. That includes Satan. He’s powerful, but his powers are limited. It’s impossible for him to be in Washington D.C. and Iran at the same moment in time. Give this some serious thought the next time you take it upon yourself to command “Satan” to leave.
Scripture tells us that angels are created beings, thus they have not existed for all eternity. “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Col 1:16-17).
According to Hebrews 13:2 angels can take on the appearance of humans. “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” They always appear as men. Daniel sees an angel with very strange features. “I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude” (Dan. 10:5-6). It’s surprising that Daniel didn’t keel over from heart failure.
God sends His angels to care for believers upon death. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side” (Luke 16:22).
Does God need angels? In his best-selling book, Angels Among Us, Ron Rhodes gives this response, “God does not need angels! In saying this, my intention is not to minimize the importance of what the Bible teaches about angels. I, personally, am very thankful that God created angels. My point is simply that God is fully capable of accomplishing His ends without their assistance.”
This will not go over well with radical feminists, however angels are always of the male gender.
And, yes, angels have wings. The order of angel called Seraphs has as many as 6 wings. “Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:1). However, most angels are not described with wings on their backs. Would angels really need wings to move through the cosmos? I mean, c’mon!
There is nothing in Scripture that tells us to pray to angels. Just the opposite is true. In Luke 11:1 Jesus tells us to pray directly to the Father. In Matthew 6:6 He said, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Jesus Christ bridged the gap between God and humans. Hence there’s no need to approach God through angels or through any other means. We can come to God directly because of Christ.
Are there angels among us today? You bet there are!
It’s very cool that God sends His angels to minister to our every need, right? Wrong! Most of today’s angels are not from God. The way to determine whether an angel is holy (from God) or unholy (demonic) is to look at what they support. First of all you must ask yourself this: does my angel point me to Jesus Christ, or away from Him?
Secondly, does your angel support in any way the world of the occult? If the answer is yes, it’s an “angel” from the dark side.
Well-known New Age angel guru Terry Lynn Taylor encourages the use of occult tools such as Angelic Messenger Cards that are said to guide people to accept contacting the dead (necromancy). In her book, “Creating With the Angels: An Angel-Guided Journey into Creativity,” we’re told about “dream work.” Taylor invites readers to play with the angels. “Dream time is spirit time and offers a great opportunity to play with the angels. . . .Allow the angels to help you interpret your dreams.” Now then, because necromancy falls into the category of sorcery, she’s promoting angels from the dark side.
Today’s angels also push other occult practices on naive individuals. (See below.) God’s holy angels would not, could not, promote something that He expressly forbids! Holy angels are incapable of going against God. Fallen angels continually go against God.
How do you contact an angel? John Randolph Price’s book “The Angels Within Us” takes readers into altered states of consciousness to establish contact with them. In the Bible there’s a name for an angel that possesses the unbeliever: demon. Angels, either holy or unholy, do not indwell believers. The Holy Spirit resides in Christians from the moment they give their lives to Christ and be assured that the Spirit will never leave. In John 14:16-17, Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you…” Those are powerful words.
TOOLS OF THE OCCULT ON EBAY
Search eBay and you’ll find Angel Oracle Cards that “provide messages and reminders of your ‘Guardian Angels’ steady and loving presence. Each day your Angels will give you the answers to your questions, set positive intentions, help you heal, and manifest what you desire.”
eBay also offers Earth Stones. “Have the names of the ARCH ANGELS on each one, in gold. There is much to learn about our Watchers of the Heavens & Earth. … Place the ARCH ANGEL stones on your Altar, Meditation area or bedside.”
Gullible people actually do this sort of thing.
Purchase “The Little Book of Angel Wisdom” and you will be “filled with wonderful verse and insiteful (sic) messages from our Angels.”
BOOKS ON ANGELS
The books of spiritist Geoffrey Hodson are popular with the angel set. Hodson claims an angel calling itself Bethelda gave him material for several books, including the popular “The Brotherhood of Angels and Men and The Kingdom of the Gods.” In his book “Clairvoyant Investigations” Hodson writes, “I have myself confirmed that these super-physical domains contain innumerable nonphysical beings, such as angels and nature spirits. . .” What kind of angels are they? Examine what they teach and you’ll discover that they encourage occult practices such as automatic writing, dictation, or speaking, in order to get their messages published and in the hands of the public.
Meredith L. Young-Sowers admits, “For well over a decade, I’ve been taught by an angelic presence that describes himself/herself simply as Mentor, meaning ‘teacher.’” According to Sowers, Mentor’s verbatim teachings are given in her books.
Rosemary Ellen Guiley, “has written more than 20 books on spirituality, visionary experience, personal growth and also the paranormal, including Dreamwork for the Soul, The Encyclopedia of Dreams and Breakthrough Intuition.” Here’s how Guiley describes encounter dreams with spirit beings:
Guiley believes that angels facilitate her work in numerous ways:
The name of Guiley’s speaking angel is Plato. By her own admission the spirit being uses her voice to give his message while she’s in a semi-conscious state.
Most of the popular angel literature is from the angels themselves. Fallen angels literally overrun every occult practice known to man. Angelic forces are invoked in magic rituals and various magical systems and witchcraft. Those involved in angelology hold that angels are benevolent beings and are different from demons.
Benevolent angels do not entice people into sorcery.
Speaking of demons. Read the Bible and you’ll discover the principle goal of demonic spirits that imitate angels is to confuse people as to their modus operandi. If people can be convinced that the realm of the occult is “safe” they’ll be much more willing to experiment. But they’re not safe! A person who channels an angel (or a spirit guide) is possessed by a control spirit every bit as much as if they were a medium or a trans-channeler. The messages and phenomena found in angel channeling and in mediumism are essentially the same.
The Bible speaks very clearly of this deception in Second Thessalonians 2:9-12: “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”
Satan’s a fighter. His goal is to take you down with him. There’s still time to abandon ship! The price you’ll pay for trusting an angel is your very soul.
AVENGING ANGELS
Judgment Day’s approaching my brethren. God’s angels will announce His impending judgments as well as execute them. “New Age angel enthusiasts who say that the typical message from an angels is, ‘Don’t be afraid, everything is fine. There is nothing but love’ are in gross error. Though angels are loving and do bring comfort to the people of God, they also bring messages of death, destruction, and judgment to those who reject Christ.” [2] Satan will go down in flames.
A final word of warning: Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
NOTES:
[1] What Does the Bible Say About Angels?
[2] Angels Among Us, page 181, by Ron Rhodes
RESEARCH
© Marsha West 2007
Philip, however, one of those who had been ordained with Stephen to the diaconate, was among those dispersed. He went to Samaria and, filled with divine power, was the first to preach the word there. So great was the divine grace at work with him that even Simon Magus and many others were captivated by his words. Simon had gained such fame by the wizardry with which he controlled his victims that he was believed to be the Great Power of God. But even he was so overwhelmed by the wonders Philip performed through divine power that he insinuated himself [into the faith], hypocritically feigning belief in Christ even to the point of baptism. (This is still done by those who continue his foul heresy to the present day: following the practice of their progenitor, they fasten onto the church like a noxious and scabby disease, destroying all whom they succeed in smearing with the dreadful, deadly poison hidden in them.
Eusebius, The Church History, Book 2: The Apostles
My friend Chris Rosebrough informed our discernment group this morning of a tweet:
Your n good company if it bothers u that some Christians are quick to argue theology. Jesus didn’t die for correct theology…
Chris then asked the following question, “I wonder if this statement is theologically correct?”
Here is my response:
Jesus commanded us to teach them to observe all that I have commanded you – Correct Theology – Matt 28:20
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them. Afterward all the people of Israel came near, and he commanded them all that the LORD had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.
Whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Exodus 34:29–35, ESV
What is hypocrisy? Most dictionaries define it this way, “The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform; pretense.” In the New Testament, one of best known examples of the Greek word translated as “hypocrites” is found in our Lord Jesus’ quotation of Isaiah 29:13 in Matthew 15:7-9, “ὑποκριταί, καλῶς ἐπροφήτευσεν περὶ ὑμῶν Ἠσαΐας λέγων· ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τοῖς χείλεσίν με τιμᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ· μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων.” Or, “Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you saying, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts is far from me and in vain do they worship me teaching as commandments the teachings of men.’” Remember, this was our Lord talking here.
Dr. Peter Jones of TruthXchange tackles the growing controversy over whether or not Christians and Muslims worship the same God. He writes:
We live in a period of theological confusion that the book, Allah: A Christian Response by Miroslav Volf, does little to alleviate. Formerly a professor at Fuller Seminary, and currently Professor of Theology at Yale, Volf asks: “Can it be said of Muslims and Christians…that they too worship the same God?” He answers, “Yes, it can”, and it must!
This thesis has major problems in three areas: theology, missiology and eschatology.
Pastor Kevin DeYoung of the Gospel Coalition believes the time has come for the Reformed Church in America to make up its mind on homosexuality. He writes:
The middle path can be the way of wisdom. Sometimes issues get polarized, positions get hardened, and straddling the fence is the better part of valor. Sometimes it’s best to look at both sides of a controversy and conclude that there is a third way in between them. Sometimes the middle of the road is where you want to be.
And sometimes the middle of the road is where you get flattened by a semi.
For several years the Reformed Church in America has approached the issue of homosexuality as an opportunity to have our cake and eat it too. On the one hand, we have numerous official statements which condemn homosexual behavior and affirm the normativity of heterosexual marriage between a man and a woman. And on the other hand, we can easily compile a growing number of incidents where our official statements are being disregarded with apparent immunity. We have a position that says one thing and a practice that allows for another.
Pastor Michael Youssef reveals how apostates today take over the church through means that seem innocent at first. He writes:
In my previous column…I explained how apostates used the cause of equality to gain a destructive foothold within the church.
Some of my readers have missed the point of this two-part column altogether, thinking it is about women’s ordination. People will see what they want to see. The deeper point is that those who deny the core of the Gospel used an innocent issue, such the role of women in the church, to flood the church with non Bible-believing men, women, and homosexuals.
Marsha West weighs in on Rick Warren and the “King’s Way” controversy. She writes:
In January 2011 mega church pastor Rick Warren enlisted the help of three doctors to come up with a health plan for Saddleback Church (SBC). The doctors he chose were Daniel Amen, a professing Christian, Mark Hyman, a Jew, and Mehmet Oz, a Muslim (and Oprah’s “favorite doctor”). The foursome put their heads together and came up with The Daniel Plan. In a piece I wrote titled Rick Warren Introduces “The Devil Plan” I demonstrated that doctors Amen, Hyman and Oz are steeped in Eastern mysticism and the occult. So — why did Rick Warren knowingly choose occultists? Why not play it safe and choose doctors who are “in the faith”? It seems “America’s Pastor” is always stirring up controversy, even when it’s unnecessary.
Apprising Ministries continues to document the falling away of the mainstream of evangelicalism. It’s not a pleasant task, but it needs to be done.
Here in this piece you’ll see that J. John, who’s essentially the Joel Osteen of Great Britain, has actually re-written the Ten Commandments and this blasphemy is being readily accepted.
Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh speculates on how the Catholic Church became liberal. Thaddeus Baklinski of Lifesite News writes:
In the aftermath of the controversy stirred up by Rush Limbaugh’s comments on Georgetown University law student and pro-abortion activist Sandra Fluke, the talk show host speculated last week about how, in his view, the Catholic Church “got roped into the liberal socialist agenda.”
An upcoming event is being heavily promoted by New Apostolic Reformation/Dominionists. The Kingdom Economic Yearly Summit will be held on March 22-25 in Los Angeles. According to a promotional email sent on 16 March 2012 to The Elijah List:
It will be a global gathering of marketplace and ministry leaders who share an alignment with each other, the Kingdom of God, and the Order of Melchizedek (Heb. 7). Come join me and over 100 other leaders (king-priests) who are coming together in honor, humility and unity to help facilitate a “Kingdom Culture Quake” in the City of Angels, by ushering in God’s glory at the global gateway for arts, entertainment and media. This will be a powerful summit and God has some surprises in store.
As I read the email, three things jumped out: Continue reading