_5. The Latter Rain And Manifested Sons Of God
WEIGHED AND FOUND WANTING by Pastor Bill Randies The Latter Rain and Manifested Sons of God A New Thing The visibility and popularity of the healing revivalists, especially William Branham, had seemingly renewed the Pentecostal Movement. What was God doing? What would He do next? You know how at certain times a particular passage of scripture will grip the church as a whole? (2ChJ7:14 seemed to be on everyone’s mind during the mid to late 1980’s). In the late 1940’s for Pentecostals the verse was found inIsaiah 43:18-19.An incredible expectation was developing that God was going to do a "new thing."
Isaiah 43:18-19Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. In 1947, a Pentecostal pastor and director of an orphanage and Bible school, attended a William Branham meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia. His name was George Hawtin, and the ministry he headed was called the Sharon Work, in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. He and several students and faculty had attended the Branham meeting and even received an impartation from Branham, through laying on of hands. Hawtin wrote a glowing report on the meeting in the January 1, 1948 edition of the Sharon Star,...In Vancouver...the deaf received their hearing. I heard the dumb speak...! saw a goiter vanish. I saw sick people get up from their beds...to my best knowledge, I did not see one person who was not healed when Brother Branham took time to pray specially for him. I came home from these meetings realizing as never before that the real gifts of the Holy Spirit are far mightier than anything we have imagined in our wildest dreams...All great outpourings of the past have had their outstanding truths. Luther’s truth was justification by faith; Wesley’s was sanctification; the Baptists taught the pre-millennial coming of Christ; the missionary alliance taught divine healing; the Pentecostal outpouring has restored the baptism of the Holy Spirit to its rightful place. But, the next great outpouring is going to be marked by all these other truths, plus such a demonstration of the nine gifts of the Spirit as the world, not even the apostolic world, has ever witnessed before. [1]
People like Branham had whetted the appetite of the church for signs, wonders, and New Testament Christianity. A book came out at the same time (1946) that enjoyed widespread popularity among Pentecostals and contributed to the general expectation of a "new day." It was called, Atomic Power with God, Through Fasting and Prayer, [2] by Franklin Hall. This peculiar book taught that those who would learn to control their appetites could come into a supernatural, miracle lifestyle. Hawtin commented that this book had an effect on the Sharon Brethren. To those "who could receive it," answered prayer, signs, wonders, immortality, and even release from gravity awaited those who would fast and pray. This is indeed a strange book, but as Al Dager points out in Vengeance Is Ours, this book was publicly acknowledged as having a major influence on many of the Faith Healers. The New Thing Springs Forth
It was into this time and atmosphere of expectation that a visitation occurred, at the Sharon Work in North Battleford. As Al Dager tells us in his above mentioned book, On February 11, 1948, a young woman at the Bible school prophesied that a great revival was about to break out. The next day, according to George Hawtin, the Holy Spirit fell with great power. [Quoting Hawtin] "Day after day the glory and power of God came among us. Great repentance, humbling, fasting, and prayer prevailed in everyone." News of the events at North Battleford spread and soon people were coming from everywhere in hope of receiving spiritual power. [3] By July, 1948, the Sharon Brethren put on a huge camp meeting which attracted several thousand from the United States, Canada, and all over the world, all wanting to be part of the "New Thing!" In a short time, the Latter Rain Movement was a worldwide phenomena.
What Do You Mean, Latter Rain?
James 5:7Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waitethfor the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Hosea 6:3Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
Joel 2:23Be glad then, ye children ofZion and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. In both the Old and the New Testament, there is an allegory used for God’s blessing, based on the cycle of rains in the Holy Land. The "former rain" is crucial for planting, it is a type of the giving of the Law on Sinai, on the day of Pentecost. The "latter rain" is a reference to the outpouring of the Spirit inActs 2:1-47,also on Pentecost. Peter interpreted it thusly when he said, "This is that spoken of by Joel the prophet." The former rain, the law, is for softening the ground for planting. In other words, the Law of Moses, and the Ten Commandments can be used to bring conviction to the hard hearted. The "latter rain" is essential for the actual harvest, in other words, the baptism of the Holy Spirit which God poured out on Pentecost, is vital to make us witnesses and the New Testament time is harvest time, "now is the day of salvation." All of this is quite simple and obvious. In the Holy Land, the harvest rains are more intense then the early rains, as they are essential in maturing the crop for harvest, and as we know the New Testament is greater than the Old, we have a superior covenant based on a better promise.
But, there is a different, recent interpretation to this allegory. "Latter Rain" people believe that the lesser, former rains, are represented byActs 2:1-47), Pentecost. Therefore, we still have the great "latter rain" outpouring to look forward to. The Spirit will supposedly be poured out so strong, in these last days, that whole nations will turn to God in one day. And it will not happen after Jesus returns bodily, it will happen before. The latter rain, therefore, is a radically different expectation of what the church can look forward to. In this view, things only get better here on earth, till the second coming.
Restoration A major tenet of the "Latter Rain" teaching is the restoration concept. According to this erroneous view, down through the centuries the church "lost" different concepts and experiences in the Lord, like justification by faith, sanctification, divine healing, speaking in tongues, and apostolic ministry. But, gradually, God has restored these things. Martin Luther was used to restore justification by faith, supposedly, Wesley, sanctification, people like Dowie, divine healing, the Azuza Street Revival restored the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and so on. But, the work of restoration is not over yet, according to Latter Rain thinking. Davidic worship, teaching, ministry, evangelists, and prophets and even apostles in all of their authority are currently being restored. According to a commonly held misperception ofActs 3:21, Jesus can’t come back even though He wants to because WE haven’t fully "restored all things."
Thus, the "Latter Rain" Revival centered around the following themes. Restoration of fivefold ministry ofEphesians 4:1-32(Ephesians 4:1-32;Ephesians 4:12-22;Ephesians 4:23-32),and especially apostles and prophets. (They are crucial because it is their ministry that is supposedly going to unite the church, and perfect the Body of Christ).
It also majored much on the restoration of personal prophecy, the impartation of spiritual gifts through laying on of hands, deliverance, healing and baptism of the Spirit through laying on of hands, and the complete unity of the Body of Christ. 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. I think an important point to make is that this "revival" which started in Canada, was primarily about Christians "coming into their own fullness," and not necessarily the conversion of sinners.
Obviously, you can tell I don’t believe in the restoration model of the church. How could the church lose justification? Justification by faith is the whole basis for the church, the church has always had it as well as sanctification, healing and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There has always been a remnant, a true church which has been equipped by Jesus Himself, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. What Luther, Wesley, and the others did is what all true Christians have done down through time, they took what God gave them and introduced others to it.
But, they couldn’t have "restored" it to the church, she’s always been complete in Christ! If you buy the restoration concept, it inevitably sets you up for the evolutionary church concept, a deluding, intoxicating idea that makes the current expression of the church feel that she is the ultimate center of God’s purposes, over and above all previous expressions of the church. Let’s not flatter ourselves. The Evolutionary Church Model
Think about it. If restoration and Latter Rain is true, that means we are more anointed and better equipped and more powerful than any other church in history. As Earl Paulk has said, The last enemy to be conquered is death. Who will conquer it? A mature church will come forth, with the kind of authority and power that will be able to stand in the very face of Satan. When the church reaches that level of maturity, God will be able to say, "This generation of the church does not need to die. She has reached a place of maturity. I will translate her because her maturity pleases me." [4]
Here is a classic example of what I call the Evolution Church Model. As if to say, "at last, after 2000 years, the church has matured enough to please God." The church is the family of God, which is in heaven and on earth at the same time. She is not, nor has ever had to "progress in maturity." She has always been "complete in Christ" and yet on an individual basis, the members of the body have always been at various stages of personal maturity. If you hear a statement like, "In the Book of Acts, we have the church in her infancy," you are hearing a form of evolution. Paulk would have us believe that no other church has arrived at the level we have attained to. According to Galatians, the Old Testament of Law was infancy and childhood. But, the New Testament faith is mature manhood. The true church has always been complete! The evolution concept of the church fosters pride and arrogance. Both Rick Joyner and Mike Bickle come right out and say, in effect, that the apostles of the Book of Acts will want to wait in line to interview the superapostles of our day. An interesting example of the evolutionary model of the church is a little book written in 1951 by George Warnock called The Feast of Tabernacles. This book is a virtual primer of Latter Rain, Manifested Sons of God teaching, which still enjoys a wide circulation today. According to Wamock, the feasts of Israel described inLeviticus 23:1-44, are a pattern for the progress of the church through time. Starting at Passover, which is Calvary, the church has been passing through the different feasts, over the years, to Pentecost. Warnock writes that we, the church, still have to got through the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Trumpets, and come into the Feast of Tabernacles, which to him represents God’s consummate purposes for us, the Last Days Church. When we come into Tabernacles, which was a tremendous time of celebration for Israel, God will finally dwell within His people. I have heard many people take Warnock’s ideas and interpret the present, mystical revival as the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Manifested Sons of God
Early on, the Assemblies of God confronted and denounced the extremes of the Latter Rain Movement, and it fell into disrepute. Not many would want to openly admit to being of the Latter Rain or it’s offshoot, the Manifested Sons. In fact, people balk at those labels to this day. Even so, the doctrines and concepts of this heresy have continued to be promoted, frequently recurring under different names, but using the same premises. When that Charismatic Bible teacher, or media personality prophesies of that "great end time army," that will "take nations for God," and "usher in the kingdom of God!" or give birth to the "next revival," call him a Manifested Sons teacher and see what he does. Usually they balk, because of the scandal and some of the extremes associated with those titles, but in effect, that is what they are espousing!
What do we mean, Manifested Sons of God? We mean people who took the Latter Rain doctrine a little further in its logical progression. The label comes fromRomans 8:19.
Romans 8:19For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Manifested Sons of God teaching, in a nutshell, is "since all creation is waiting for the Manifested Sons of God to appear, so it (creation) can be delivered from corruption, what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry up and realize that we, corporately, are the Christ and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we can mature into our full stature and be all that God intended us to be. We can crush God’s enemies, even death, and usher in the kingdom of God and take the world for Jesus through the miracle working power that is within us. Boy, have we been dense! We have been waiting for God to save us from this world in that "helicopter escape," the rapture, when all of this time, He has been waiting for us to get it together, realize who we really are in Christ, and the power within us and rise up and do what the church down through time has either been too carnal or too immature to ever do; put all of God’s enemies under our feet. We’ve been foolishly waiting for Christ to come "for us" and all the while, He’s been wanting to "come within us." That, in a nutshell, is the philosophy of the Manifested Sons of God. You have all heard it in some form or another. If not called Latter Rain, it’s come to you in the shepherding movement. There are many different Charismatic strains of it including Word Faith, Kingdom Now, Dominion, The Prophetic Move, and of course, this laughing thing. As Bill Hammon says, 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...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 it’s full sonship, it’s bodily redemption will cause a redemptive chain reaction throughout all creation. [5] The error is in the focus, which has been shifted from Christ as the ultimate consummation of God’s purposes, unto us, the church. We won’t ever come into enough perfection or spiritual maturity, in and of ourselves, to become immortal. Christ is the one who will change us at His appearing, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at His coming.
Only then will this "corruptible put on incorruption" and death will be swallowed up in victory. Christ does it, not us!Romans 8:19refers to the time after the second coming of Christ, the resurrection, when our salvation will be completed, our bodies changed. Creation waits for that day, because on that day, the curse of futility will be removed from the earth and all creation will be free! The difference between orthodox theology and Manifested Sons of God thought is in the focus.
Orthodoxy is Christ centered, Manifested Sons of God is church centered. Do They Believe That the Entire Church Will Be Immortal? As Manifested Sons of God theology developed, it became obvious that not all of the church would "buy into" the immortalization of the believer, a la pre-second coming. In fact, the vast majority of the church will be too carnal and insensitive to receive "the revelation." As Bill Britton, an early Manifested Sons of God teacher says,
Although there will be unnumbered multitudes of people saved by the Grace of God, through the precious blood of Jesus...The real purposes of God are tied up in that group of saints who press their way into the mark of the high calling of God...They are the 100 fold fruit of the earth, brought forth by the Latter Rain...They are the ones who put Satan under their feet and gain back the inheritance lost by Adam and much more beyond that. [6] This elite concept of a special company of super spiritual saints, in whom "the real purposes of God are tied up in," is very appealing to people. Who would just want to be in the general number of the redeemed, when you could be "the principal wheat?" Jude says that these are they who separate themselves, talking about being either 30-60-100 fold Christians, or outer court, inner court, and of course, Holy of Holies believers. We all know that Jesus had the three, the twelve and the seventy. A spiritual elitism has developed. The same kind of thinking carries over today in the "New Breed Concept" of Mike Bickle, Paul Cain, and John Wimber.
There’s apostles, there’s imminent apostles and there’s most imminent apostles...There’s various levels of apostles and the Lord was showing us that...out of this movement would be 35 apostles...That will be the highest level of apostolic ministry...the government rests on apostles and prophets... [7] John Wimber could see a day when,
There will be a time where even as inActs 2:1-47, suddenly, as they were gathered, in the midst of them, the Lord came and with an anointing beyond anything that has ever been given to man before. Something astounding, so marvelous that God has kept it as a mystery as it were, behind his back, and He is about to reveal it to the ages. He is about to reveal it. With the judgement of all mankind will come this incredible incarnational enduement of God’s spirit and we will see the Elijah’s...This end time army will be made of the Elijah’s of the Lord God... [8]
These "Elijah’s," "Imminent Apostles," "Joel’s Army," or whatever other name you call them, are said to have come into the revelation that they are the "corporate Christ," or the "ongoing incarnation of Christ," these are the ones who supposedly will put death under their feet, demonstrate incredible signs and wonders, bring the church in to the fullness of the stature of Christ, and submit the kingdoms of this world to become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ. Though this idea was officially rejected when it was first promoted in the late 1940’s, it went underground, and has steadily been promoted, using different "catch phrases," until it now has become almost the dominant view. Let’s look at a few of it’s troubling particulars, and proponents.
Manifested Sons of God Promotes Distorted Christology The whole premise for a book written by Bill Britton called Jesus, the Pattern Son, can be summed up in this sentence from its preface. The life of Jesus in His humanity here on earth was a divine pattern for the perfect, end time body of Christ. [9] In short, Jesus is the pattern, for the ultimate expression of God, of course, us! The end time body of Christ. There is a blurring of distinction between the roles of Christ and His church, and even the person of Christ and we, the church. It almost amounts to an exalting of the "new man." The very life of Jesus Christ is reproduced in fragile earthen vessels of this human clay...it is the perfecting into maturity of the Christ who came into our hearts as the seed when we received Him as Saviour. [10] Is he telling us that Christ comes into us as a seed and needs to be perfected in us? This is a totally inverted concept. Christ, Himself, is complete in and of Himself, and in Him we partake of His completeness! (You may accuse me of splitting hairs, but this is a telling point!) The same man who said the last quote, in his teaching on the day of Atonement, tells us that the two goats typify Christ as the head and Christ in the fullness of His people, His body. He then makes this statement, "Christ the head, therefore, is not complete without Christ, the body...Christ is the body, the whole body and not just the head." [11] As I said, through allegory, he has managed to invert a valid biblical concept! I can understand well the statement, "You are not complete, except in Christ." But, Warnock and the Manifested Sons teachers reverse that statement, teaching that Christ is not complete without us! This confusion of Christ and His body is what underscores the whole Manifested Sons Movement right up to these times! The Ongoing Incarnation Do people still teach the concept of a developing and therefore incomplete Christ? Absolutely. James Robinson, internationally known Bible teacher, has been quoted as saying,
God wants us to see Jesus as merely a big brother in a huge family of brothers and sisters. You have the divine nature, the eternal life of God. God reveals that Christ had to be formed, even in Jesus.
Kenneth Hagin, a leading Faith Movement proponent has said that "The believer is just as much an incarnation as Jesus was." In this distorted view, Jesus is merely the pattern of what any "born again, spirit filled believer can be." It’s ironic that Bill Britton was considered a heretic for promoting these ideas before his death, not that long ago. And yet, Earl Paulk openly talks about the incarnation in these terms, Jesus was God in the flesh. We must be as He was in the world in volume and influence. and The completion of the incarnation of God in the world must be in His church...Jesus Christ is the firstfruits, but without the ongoing harvest, the incarnation will never be complete. and amazingly,
We are on earth as extensions of God to finish the work He began. We are the essence of God, His ongoing incarnation in the world. Now this is a gauge of the conditioning effected by this kind of doctrine. We are not talking about Bill Britton and George Warnock here, whose ideas were denounced by the Pentecostal denominations, and considered heretical. We are talking about men who have worldwide ministries and are regularly accepted on Christian television as spiritual leaders. If Paulk’s star has diminished at all, the tragic thing is, it’s not because of false doctrines, but rather because of allegations of moral breaches! Morris Cerullo, internationally renowned evangelist, in a 1991 teaching video program entitled Manifested Sons of God, made the following statements,
Jesus being the brightness of all that God has and is. He was the reflection, image, and manifestation visibly of all that God has and is. What is God’s purpose and plan and objective? Sons and Daughters who will manifest all that God has and is. Can you imagine the power in your being when you face the devil? You represent all that God is and all that God has! As if that didn’t go far enough, Cerullo goes on in the video, to lead the congregation in the following blasphemous "confession,"
Everyone repeat after me...God is duplicating Himself in the earth...At last, the time has arrived, God is releasing His life through the Body [2 times]...Today, I am a Son of the all powerful Almighty God...The fullness of the Godhead dwells in me...God has planned for me to be Christ’s image on earth. [12]
Few are as blatant as Morris Cerullo and Earl Paulk, but this is what the essence of Manifested Sons of God doctrine is, the deification of man. Corporate Christ, Corporate Antichrist To give you an idea of the extent of this kind of teaching, answer these questions for yourself. To whom does the scripture address, when God says, Ask of me, and I will give you the heathen for thine inheritance? Who is the one spoken of inRevelation 12:1-17,as "the manchild?" Whose responsibility is it to put the Enemies of God under Jesus’ feet, subduing all things to Himself? The steady inroads the Manifested Sons of God teachers have made would lead many of us to answer the above doctrinal questions with "Why us, of course! The victorious church, the End Time Army." The correct answer of course is Jesus Christ, for He alone is the one worthy, and in HimPsalms 2:1-12,Psalms 110:1-7, andRevelation 12:1-17, are fulfilled. He is the ultimate focus of all of the purposes of God! The problem is, the whole concept of Christ has been changed. The orthodox concept is that Jesus of Nazareth, one person, is the Christ, the Lord’s anointed. The revised gnostical concept is that because we are the Body of Christ, we are Christ! The corporate Christ. Therefore, the things that scripture teach us Jesus Christ is going to accomplish, people are presumptuously taking upon themselves. Who is the church’s one foundation? According to some Manifested Sons people, the answer is obvious, the apostles and prophets! Who’s going to rule all the nations with a rod of iron? And who will execute judgement? And who is it that shall rule from the heavenlies administering protection, comfort and deliverance? The answer is obvious to anyone nourished on orthodox doctrine, but the Manifested Sons of God people have a different idea. The greatest decision that the church is going to have to make in these days ahead...is to face that there are apostles of God, that they must submit to that authority and to that office. They must submit to that foundation as though it was Jesus Christ, and whosoever will not submit to that authority shall be destroyed from among the people." (Royal Cronquist). [13] And this shaking is going to cast Satan and his principalities from their heavenly throne, while the Sons of God ascend into "the heavenlies," first of all in the Spirit to take upon themselves the authority which belongeth to those who are overcomers. And entering this place of power and authority, the Sons of God shall be able to administer protection and comfort and help and deliverance to such as are in need. [14] Can you see the subtle shift here? It is now The Sonsof God who administer deliverance, throw Satan out of heaven, and enter a place of power and authority. Where is Jesus? I thought administering protection, deliverance, and help was His exclusive domain. Any authority we have, we didn’t "take upon ourselves," it is delegated to us by He who alone is Sovereign!
If Christ is now corporate, so is Antichrist, in the new scheme of things. And where is Antichrist, or who is this spirit of Antichrist? Rick Joyner thinks it sits presently in the church! That’s why he calls for a redefinition of Christianity! The change that is coming to the body of Christ is so profound that the world will have a new definition of Christianity...Those who submit to Him in truth...will be the most dangerous and powerful people on earth, and will be the greatest threat to the Antichrist spirit that now sits in the church as a substitute for Him. (Morningstar Journal, Vol 2, No. 1). This may be why John Wimber thinks that Jesus is trying to get the church back (He lost it). According to the magazine, Prophecy Today: Vineyard Ministries International came to Britain. People were blessed, but the promised October revival did not take place...He (Wimber) testified to God having spoken to him concerning "the church." The word came, "tell them I have need of it." The issue, he said, is proprietorship or ownership. We don’t own the church, Jesus does, and He wants it back. [When did He lose it?] As Jesus went into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, so He will return on the back of a victorious church. [15] Wimber echoes this allegorical "word" in a statement in "Zip to 3000 in 5 Years." The Lord spoke to me and said to me, "Just as I had need of the colt and the donkey for my entry into Jerusalem, I need my church back for my re-entry. Go to the church"...He gave me the impression that this was the message from now on. "The Lord hath need of it, the Lord wants His church back." [16]
Much of this error is brought in accompanied by a discontented, "not good enough yet" view of the church. We are told that the church has either a Jezebel spirit, or isn’t united enough, and is whipped, defeated, waiting for the helicopter escape instead of getting down to the business of ruling and reigning (I can almost hear the Amens!). Marc DuPont, one of the leading "prophets" at Toronto Airport Vineyard, even went so far as to say, "God is bored with the church." Christians are being conditioned to hold to a very negative, critical, cynical view of the church, so they will be opened up to a radical redefinition of Christianity.
...The greatest test of the spirit of Antichrist is its attitude toward the church. The attitude isn’t directed toward Jesus. Jesus is not personally a threat to any community unless there is a living thriving church functioning in that community. Therefore, the spirit of Antichrist refuses to recognize that God is here in the flesh. [17] Jewel Van Der Merwe, in response says, Does that hit you? Now the true church is being called the spirit of Antichrist! The ones who do not have their eyes open now to see that the church is God here in the flesh now! Manifested Sons of God! Are you willing to accept that "we are to look for another?" Do you accept that the church now coming forth and being manifest is the coming of Christ we have been looking forward to since He ascended into heaven and Two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven. [18] Three Attributes of Manifested Sons of God
These three attributes seem to accompany this kind of teaching: relentless attacks on the orthodox church; a ridiculing of the blessed hope, the rapture; and a reliance on allegory. I believe that I have already established how the almost sarcastic presentation of the doctrinally orthodox church, as being "religious," dead, hypocritical, and escapist, is reconditioning people to accept false doctrine.
Obviously, the church always stands in need of loving correction, but to say that the spirit of Antichrist abides in her now, or that God is bored with her, goes way beyond reproof, into cynical attack. [19] The trick is to look at the church spiritually. Jesus loves the church, washes her constantly, and gives His life everyday for her. The true church doesn’t need to manufacture unity, she has it. We aren’t defeated at all, we’ve overcome! Of course, looking at the institutional church would frustrate anybody, remember, "Not all Israel is Israel." You can’t even see the true church at all, unless God opens your eyes to her. Everywhere I go, I hook up with the Christians, we have the blessed Koinonea of the Spirit already. While false teachers whine about the lack of it, hoping to carnally manufacture it, we live in it.
I’m sure you can see by now the heavy reliance on allegorical preaching. Through allegory, you can make any point at all. I won’t go so far as to say that allegory is never applicable, but any doctrine whose only basis is allegory should be rejected. God speaks plainly and literally, and the obvious meaning of a scripture is the one you should go by. The Bible wasn’t written by mystics, nor is it for mystics. Only the childlike can receive His mysteries. Allegory has almost cast us into a mythological posture these days. We have people going to war against "Jezebel spirits," "Ahab spirits," there are even people going forward to receive the "Jehu Anointing," and we are assured that Jezebel is still trying to kill the "prophets." What does this have to do with New Testament Christianity? At a time when we need more sobriety than ever, we are being misled into myths, legends, and vain imaginations! A major allegorization, that is commonly accepted in these circles is that all the feasts of Israel are "phases" that the church goes through, culminating in the Feast of Tabernacles, when God actually "comes to live among His people." Many believe that what is spontaneously happening the world over, is the Feast of Tabernacles.
Finally, Manifested Sons of God is relentless in its attacks on the eschatology which believes in "the rapture." It is ironic that the Manifested Sons of God, who believe that they can become immortal, and perfectly brought into the image of Christ, reject the action in which God actually does immortalize us. We shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye...for this corruption must put on incorruption. I guess they don’t like the fact that God does it for us, not we ourselves through maturing, or gnosis (revelation). As Warnock tells us, The church may proclaim an imminent rapture as much as they will and teach that any moment the saints will be snatched away from earth to escape the gathering clouds of the tribulation. But, this is not the teaching of God’s Word. True, we must be always waiting and watching for His appearing, but this is not the appearing of evangelical theology. This glorious appearing must first of all be manifest in the saints. [20]
There you have it, Jesus must come "within us," not necessarily for us, a spiritualized "Second Coming." Rick Joyner goes even further when he says in his "The Harvest" prophecy,The doctrine of the rapture was a great and effective ruse of the enemy to implant in the church a retreat mentality, but it will not succeed. Already this yoke has been cast off by the majority in the advancing church and it will soon be cast off by all...
What’s the matter with the rapture? Nothing at all, when you have a heavenly agenda, a pilgrim mind set. But, when you begin to say, My Lord delays His coming and develop an earthly agenda, (ruling, reigning, taking the world for Jesus, the government on the shoulders of super apostles), there remains nothing more than eating and drinking with the drunken and beating the menservants and maidservants. I look for the shepherding error to come back with a vengeance. Come quickly Lord Jesus. In Conclusion
There is no Manifested Sons of God organization that I know of. What we are talking about is a philosophy, a redefined eschatology even, that centers around the church as being Christ in a corporate sense, and taking the prerogatives and responsibilities that are reserved for Jesus Christ, the person. Not everyone goes to the same extremes, as Earl Paulk, Royal Cronquist, or Morris Cerullo, but the presuppositions that led to those extremes are common. Those presuppositions; the corporate Christ concept, the ongoing incarnation, the rejection of God’s rescue (the rapture), the spiritualized "coming of Christ within," all of these and others are partly contributing to the atmosphere in which the Toronto Blessing can occur! This is the context, coming from a foundation of Latter Rain, Manifested Sons of God, Charismatic excesses, "Word of Faith" teaching, shepherding, Kingdom Now, Dominion theology. Layer by layer the foundation has been laid, bringing us to the late 1980’s and a church in the heartland of America, which after the next chapter we shall discuss. But first, let’s look at the general prophetic anticipation developed over the years by these influences.
End Notes
1. Richard Riss. Latter Rain. Honeycomb Visual. 2. Franklin Hall. Atomic Power With God Through Fasting and Prayer. Hall Deliverance Foundation. Among other things, Hall holds up as examples for Christians, American Indians praying to the Great Spirit, (they fast and it works!). He also advocates a Christian astrology, giving Christian interpretations of zodiacal signs and tells us that it was in " 1848 AD, that the Aquarian Age was introduced to the world." He also taught that Jesus gave the secret teaching to some of the disciples, of being "gravity free " "Jesus taught a small, but precious group of His followers, those who were able to bear it, that gravity would be completely loosed from them, in the last days. When they learned how to train their appetites into a different channel. We must learn to labor for the meat that endures unto everlasting (immortal) life. The meat that draws us away from gravity holding things." Page 20. Hall also held an interesting view of Joel’s army (Joel 2:3 -ll). From Page 55, "Gravity freed, great people will run up walls, not break rank, and if they fall on a sword, the immortality power from Jesus’ body on them will protect them. It appears they also can walk or run upside down."
3. Al Dager. Vengeance Is Ours. Page 60.
4. Earl Paulk. Excerpt from Joel’s Army by Jewel Van Der Merwe.
5. Ibid. Bill Hammon. The Eternal Church.
6. Bill Britton. Jesus, the Pattern Son. Page 16.
7. Mike Bickle. Audio Tape. Visions and Revelations.
8. John Wimber. Speaking, Docklands, England. October, 1990.
9. Bill Britton.
10. George Warnock. Feast of Tabernacles. Page 46.
11. Ibid. Page 48. 12. Morris Cerullo Video. 1991. Manifested Sons of God. I acknowledge Jewel’s book Joel’s Army for bringing this to my attention.
13. Royal Cronquist. Advertisement for speaking engagements.
14. Warnock. Feast of Tabernacles. Page 35. According to Warnock, "The church is literally filled with carnal, earthly minded Christians who sit back in self complacency and await a rapture that will translate them out of earth’s great tribulation at the beginning of the day of the Lord." Page 35.
15. Barry Killick. Prophecy Today. Referring to October, 1990 meetings in England.
16. Wimber. "Zip to 3000 in 5 Years." Part I. Signs and Wonders Today. (Wheaton, IL, Christian Life Missions, 1983) Page 15.
17. Earl Paulk. The Wounded Boy of Christ.
18. Jewel Van Der Merwe. Joel’s Army. Page 23.
19. Warnock is particularly caustic at this point. Feast of Tabernacles. Pages 36-
37. a. "As a whole, the church of Christ has suffered defeat from the powers of darkness for century upon century. Deceived on every hand, afflicted with all manner of sickness and disease, demon oppressed and demon possessed, filled with carnality, sin, bitterness, bewilderment, and sorrow, fear and torments. The surging masses of humanity, including many of the real saints of God, have been taken captive by the "god of this world," and instead of a glorious church, one needs only to visit a great healing meeting to behold a veritable museum of the devil, displaying his exhibits: children of God, twisted in the most gruesome forms, hobbling on crutches, dragging themselves, crawling on the ground, men with tortured minds, oppressed by demons and cast into Satan’s mold of deception; fear, torment, filth...And yet, the saints really think they are telling the truth when they stand religiously on Sunday morning and sing to the charming peal of the organ. "Like a mighty army moves the church of God. Brothers we are treading where the saints have trod, One in hope and doctrine, one in charity, Onward Christian soldiers, Marching as to war...With the cross of Jesus going to war." The exact opposite is just about the truth of the situation, a defeated band of slaves, divided into 1000 sects, all having different hopes and different doctrines and knowing nothing of charity." b. What bitterness! But, in a similar way, Manifested Sons of God teachers today continuously point to the discrepancies and short falls of the institutional church and say, "See. Look how divided we are..." Of course, I’ve been divided! But, that’s not even the point. All true Christians are united, by the Spirit! It takes the Spirit to see the bride of Christ, those who truly love Jesus and await His return. Do you think the apostles trashed the church the way these do? They offered much correction, but not in this disgusted spirit.
20. Warnock. Feast of Tabernacles.