THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENTS AND PENTECOST HAVE BEEN DEFILED PART I
Author: Loren Davis
January 02, 2007
Copyright 2007 Loren Davis
THE ISSUE IS OVER SOUND DOCTRINE
2 Timothy 4:3-4 "For the time will come when they will
NOT ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE."
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE DEFILING OF CHRISTIANITY
In 300 A.D., Constantine, a sun worshipper, made a deal with the leaders of the Roman Church. He told them that if they helped him become emperor of Rome, he would stop the persecution of Christians, give them wealth, and they could share in the power of the government. He also said he would become a Christian. The only stipulation was that Christians had to be tolerant of the other gods and soft on doctrine. The Roman church leaders agreed, the persecution stopped, and the faith was compromised. The Roman Church then became known as the Roman Catholic Church whose doctrines disagree with most of the major doctrines of the Bible. (See my book: The Paganization of Christianity, Chapter 7, "The Roman Church's Disputes with the Bible").
The Anglicans, the Church of England, split with the Roman Catholic Church over doctrine, but later developed unsound doctrines themselves. Now the Anglican church has defied basic Bible teaching and is even ordaining homosexuals into the clergy.
The Reformation came with Martin Luther who caused a split with the Catholic Church because it disagreed with Bible Doctrine. The split sector became known as Protestants and his followers started the Lutheran denomination.
The Baptists came preaching salvation and Jesus Christ as the Son of God but they developed the unsound doctrine of what they called Eternal Security or Once Saved Always saved. In other words, if one accepts Christ, he cannot lose his salvation no matter how he lives. This contradicts many scriptures. They also taught the doctrine of Predestination; that is, that God foreordains everything that happens in one's life. A person has no choice. This contradicts multitudes of scriptures. More and more Baptist churches are now having Yoga classes. (T.D. Jakes, a non-Baptist, is now also endorsing Yoga). This is incredible seeing that Yoga originated from Buddhism and is apart of their religious practice. Buddhism is an antichrist religion. It does not believing in the divinity of Christ nor the Bible. Now preachers are integrating this pagan practice into their brands of "Christianity".
Many mainline denominations were born in fire standing firmly on the Bible, but all slowly have bought into these doctrines of Eternal Security and Predestination, along with many other unscriptural doctrines. Many of these mainline denominations are open to, or have endorsed, that one can be a homosexual, which directly opposes what the Bible teaches.
Unitarians. In the early years of America, great revival swept the Eastern seaboard of the United States. Institutions like Harvard, Yale and Princeton arose to be great theological schools to train men to preach the Gospel and take it to the world. The Unitarians, who do not believe in the divinity of Christ, infiltrated these institutions and took over the universities and churches. Today they spend much of their educational time indoctrinating their students not to believe in Christ or the Bible. Unitarians believe that Jesus is not the only way to Heaven, He is just one of the ways. Unitarianism is very similar to Hinduism except it uses different terminology.
Seminaries and Bible schools constantly attack the authenticity and accuracy of the Bible. This textural criticism is supposed to make the student think but in fact brings doubt and destroys faith in the written Word of God.
The proliferation of Bible translations changed the very essence of Bible Doctrines. (Click here to read the article, Changing the Bible.)
THE MODERN HISTORY OF PENTECOST BEING DEFILED
The modern Pentecostal Movement began at Azusa Street in Los Angeles and in Kansas City in 1906. Azusa Street was one of the first places where the restoration of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:4), and the Gifts of the Spirit began to re-awaken in modern times.
Shortly after this, the Pentecostal Movement, as it was labeled, split. Those who believed in the Trinity went into one camp, and those who believed in the unscriptural doctrine of "Jesus Only", or "Oneness" went to another camp. The Assemblies of God was one of the main Pentecostal denominations that grew out of this on the side of the Trinity. The United Pentecostals was a denomination that grew out of this on the "Jesus Only" or "Oneness" side.
Then in the '40's and '50's came the Latter Rain Movement and the Healing revivals. One of the main groups was The Voice of Healing which was a coalition of "Healing" evangelists under the leadership of Gordon Lindsay. One of the main ministries that came up under this was that of William Branham who was Oneness, and did not believe in the Trinity. Although most of the other healing evangelists believed in the Trinity, this doctrinal difference was overlooked because Branham was considered a prophet.
The most prominent and enduring of the Pentecostal healing evangelists is Oral Roberts. Around the time he was building his university, ORU, he joined the Methodist denomination. This was disturbing to Pentecostals at the time, because the Methodists were not a Pentecostal denomination and they were theologically liberal. After a short time, his change of denomination was overlooked or forgotten among most Pentecostals. About the time he made his denominational switch, his TV program began to change. He would bring in unsaved celebrities on his program and also started having choreographed dancing that copied secular programs. This mixing of the secular with Christianity slowly became accepted and emulated throughout Christianity.
Billy Graham is a Baptist evangelist who does not believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in other tongues and the gifts of the Spirit and believes in the doctrines of Eternal Security and Predestination. Billy Graham and the Baptists reached out to Pentecostals to join him in great salvation crusades. Being eager to win the lost, the Pentecostals ignored the basic doctrinal differences between them and joined with the Baptists.
Then, the Charismatic Movement arose. This evolved out of Pentecostal preachers reaching out to mainline denominational preachers so they would receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Most of these Baptist and other denominational pastors who received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost were kicked out of their churches, and began to start their own independent Spirit-filled churches. What they had in common was speaking in tongues and believing in the gifts of the Spirit. What was not noticed by the mainline Pentecostals was that they brought with them their old denominational doctrines, such as Eternal Security and Predestination. They veiled these doctrines in their teachings on Righteousness. These preachers just added speaking in tongues to their old denominational doctrinal positions.
These independent Spirit-filled churches formed a loose coalition and became known as the Charismatic Movement. What they had in common was speaking in other tongues but doctrinally they were as diverse as the denominations they came from. The rallying slogan became, "Forget Doctrine", just rally around Jesus. But another thing arose out of the Charismatic Movement, the Holy Ghost began to be preached and taught about more than Jesus. Little by little, the issue of salvation and eternal life was almost squeezed out, definitely to a secondary position, and was replaced with the gifts of the Spirit, the prophetical and prosperity. Doctrinally, the Charismatic Movement became a smorgasbord. Choose the church that fits what you believe.
Kathryn Kulhman's miracle ministry rose up in the midst of the Charismatic Movement. She began to reach out to the Catholics and all denominations, which in itself would have been a good thing, but she went too far. Kathryn Kuhlman had two audiences with Pope Paul. After one of these meetings, she said, "When I met Pope Paul there was a Oneness." This was amazing since the Catholic church and the Pope disagree with many of the main fundamental doctrines of the Bible. Because she was so prominent, this sent the message to the Charismatic world that these doctrinal differences were not important." (Part One, Foundations For Apostasy: 1950-1985, Ed Tarkowski)
The PTL Club with Jim and Tammy Faye Baker then rose to become a powerful international Charismatic TV network. Jim and Tammy Faye came from an Assembly of God background. To understand them, one has to take a look at what preceded them. The old holiness movement, which had greatly affected the early Assemblies of God and other Pentecostal denominations, strongly took a "clothesline" stand regarding how women should dress, their hair styles, and was against women wearing jewelry or makeup.
Tammy Faye rebelled overtly against this and, using the PTL network as her platform, went to extremes wearing even much more makeup and jewelry than what "worldly" women would wear. The feminist movement was then rising up strong in America. That movement along with Tammy Faye's example led many Pentecostal women to follow her, but not to her extremes. (One has to say that the "clothesline" preachers who preached so hard about how women dressed were way out of line with little or no scriptural authority). Tammy Faye's rebellion was a byproduct of a wrong definition of holiness from many pulpits. When PTL fell over financial scams and Jim Baker's moral problems, it gave the Charismatic Movement and Pentecost a black eye. Jim Baker repented and seemed to turn around for awhile, but now he is back on TV once again hustling the saints in the name of the Lord. It's nothing but business. It is disgusting, revolting and an embarrassment to Christianity.
The Faith Movement then rose with Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland at the forefront. The Faith Movement began to take the leadership in the Charismatic Movement and eventually among the mainline Pentecostal denominations. The Faith Movement's main emphasis was on reviving the Gifts of the Spirit; prophets; the importance of Faith; revelation or rhema word; healing; right speaking; and prosperity. The Faith Movement was a rebellion against denominationalism, rules and doctrine. Hagin said God called him to teach Faith. Because many Pentecostals and denominational people were living defeated lives, the "faith" teachings caught fire and consumed nearly all of Pentecost worldwide. Yet, there were many exotic interpretations of the scriptures given in the name of revelation that crossed sound Bible doctrine. These were largely ignored or overlooked because of the positives the Faith Movement brought to the Charismatic Movement.
At the time the Faith Movement came in, the philosophy of humanism was really catching fire in America. The gospel of success, "man is a god", and the "This Life" gospel that the Faith Movement preached, were very compatible with the humanist leanings going on in society. Little was said in their messages about salvation, eternity or morality. The idea was, let's leave the elementary things and go into the deep things of God and mature spiritually. Massive wealth flowed into the coffers of the leaders of the Faith Movement because they preached what people wanted to hear. Many denominational people crossed over into the Charismatic movement. Kenneth Hagin through his Rhema schools, and being accepted as a prophet, became the final word of the belief system in the Charismatic Movement at large and Pentecost worldwide. Ironically, Rhema eventually became a denomination itself.
Probably tens of thousands of preachers now teach Kenneth Hagin's teachings and interpretations of the scriptures in their churches. The preachers emulating him now dominate virtually every Christian TV network in the world. Upon Kenneth Hagin's death, Kenneth Copeland, Hagin's disciple, assumed by default, this unofficial position of leadership of the Charismatic Movement. This translates that Copeland's word now has been accepted as final by most Charismatics regarding how to interpret the Bible.
The Ecumenical Movement then rose. This was the coming together of Christians from different denominations. Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition was greatly behind this. This was the bringing together of Catholics with the Protestants of all persuasions, for the purpose of creating a massive political bloc so Christians could have great political influence in America. Pat Robertson's main theme of the Christian Coalition was that Christians should forget their doctrinal differences and come together with a common political agenda. This sent the message to Pentecostals as well as non-Pentecostals, that doctrine is not important. In other words, one does not have to believe the doctrines of the Bible to be labeled a believer. This is incredible in light of the following scriptures.
The Bible says, 2 Cor 6:14-16 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" (KJV)
What was unseen when Pentecostal preachers reached out to Baptist and other denominational preachers to receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, was that the Baptists themselves were reaching out to take over the leadership of the Charismatic Movement.
Particularly, there was a pattern of Baptist preachers who had received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost who had risen to leadership within the movement. E.W. Kenyon, the man who had the most influence on Kenneth Hagin's theology, was, at one time, a Baptist evangelist. Kenneth Hagin had himself in the past been a Baptist pastor. John Osteen had also been a Baptist pastor. His son, Joel Osteen, has Baptist roots from his father. John Avanzini had been a Baptist pastor in California. After Jim Baker fell, Jerry Falwell, a Baptist pastor, unsuccessfully attempted to takeover the Pentecostal PTL network. Peter Wagner, who was a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, an anti-Pentecostal seminary. He came from an evangelical, non-Pentecostal, Presbyterian background. Wagner's history shows he had totally been against speaking in other tongues. Despite this, he suddenly emerged in the early '90's proclaiming himself to be the HEAD APOSTLE of the Apostolic Movement, and the Prayer Movement. He began assuming domineering leadership among Charismatics. Peter Wagner teaches that you can have signs, wonders and miracles, without being Pentecostal, which translates YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEAK IN OTHER TONGUES. . That is not what the Bible says. Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:" (KJV) Wagner takes the position that when one gets saved he has the Holy Ghost, so there is no necessity of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in other tongues. This is the traditional Baptist and non-Pentecostal sound bite regarding the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. This totally ignores many scriptures about speaking in other tongues. He says that within ten years there will be a complete paradigm shift in Pentecost. What he is saying is that speaking in tongues will be done away with in Pentecost in ten years. He calls this the NEO-PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT. This translates that the new Pentecost will be without speaking in other tongues. Rev 2:2 "and thou hast tried them which SAY THEY ARE APOSTLES, AND ARE NOT, and hast found them liars:" (KJV)
Question? HOW COULD THIS PRESBYTERIAN, NON-PENTECOSTAL, WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE IN SPEAKING IN TONGUES COME OUT OF NOWHERE AND OVER NIGHT ASSUME LEADERSHIP AMONG THE CHARISMATICS? Why is this being tolerated? IF ONE DOES NOT BELIEVE IN SPEAKING IN OTHER TONGUES HE IS NOT CHARISMATIC OR PENTECOSTAL. This is REDEFINING Pentecost and the Charismatic Movement using semantics.
John Wimber was a former member of the secular Righteous Brothers Band. After he became a Christian he went on staff of a Quaker Church, which is non-Pentecostal. He later left to go on staff at Fuller Theological Seminary. He became the founder of The the Vineyard Church in Toronto, Canada and The Vineyard denomination This church impacted all Pentecost and the Charismatic Movement through the phenomena called THE TORONTO BLESSING, which became known as "Laughing in the Spirit". Wimber had a licensed psychologist on staff as an assistant pastor. He combined psychology with what he said was the work of the Holy Spirit. The Toronto Blessing impacted the Charismatic Movement worldwide. Wimber believed in speaking in tongues and miracles.
Before founding The Vineyard, John Wimber and Peter Wagner joined together and co-hosted a Signs and Wonders class at Fuller, where Wimber became the founding director of Church Growth. WIMBER HELPED PETER WAGNER START THE THIRD WAVE which taught that you could have miracles in your ministry without being Pentecostal. In other words, you did not have to have the Baptism of the Holy Spirit to operate with this power. Speaking in other tongues, they believed ,could happen, but it wasn't for everybody. Defending the strange behavior of the Toronto Blessing, Wimber said that "GOD IS ABOVE HIS WORD." "GOD IS NOT LIMITED BY HIS WORD." So this teaching moved the Charismatics more and more away from the Bible as the final authority of the Faith. JOHN WIMBER AND PETER WAGNER JOINED HANDS and were allies in taking the Charismatic Movement in a new direction. (google: John Wimber/Wikipedia)
Then Rick Warren, a Baptist pastor from California, came in like a storm and started taking over Charismatic and Pentecostal churches. Rick Warren got his Doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary under the tutelage of Peter Wagner and became allies with him. Rick Warren started assuming leadership among Charismatic and Pentecostals, even retraining their pastors with his "Baptist" doctrines, through his "Purpose Driven Life" book and calling these churches "Purpose Driven Churches". He was endorsed by Billy Graham. It appears that hardly any Pentecostals look at or even care about his Baptist credentials and doctrines. Where has the Charismatic Movement and Pentecost gone to? Now, the Charismatic Movement and Pentecost are allowing a Baptist pastor who does not even believe in speaking in other tongues or the Gifts of the Spirit, lead and teach them in the name of church growth. Church growth at what price? Stopping the move of the Holy Spirit, speaking in other tongues, and replacing Pentecostal Bible doctrine with Baptist doctrine. That is exactly what has happened! (See the article on our website, The Purpose Driven Life is Unscriptural!)
Because of this overall pattern that I have shown, it appears that there has definitely been a Baptist takeover of the Charismatic Movement and Pentecost at large. These preachers, most who have little or no Pentecostal roots in their background belief systems, are now asserting themselves as the new leaders in the Charismatic Movement. Some like Rick Warren, have been willing to overlook speaking in other tongues, which he doesn't even believe in, in order to assume leadership of the movement and to accomplish his objectives which are a doctrinal and leadership takeover.
The giant Pentecostal international television network, TBN, with Paul and Jan Crouch, filled the gap after PTL collapsed. Many Pentecostals were hoping TBN would not go the same direction as PTL, but to the dismay of many, they compromised much more. It appeared that TBN started off pure and well, but in time went ecumenical airing every brand of preacher, even non-Pentecostals and Catholic priests. Jan would say, "Doctrine is not important! We just need Jesus!" Jan Crouch, who came from an Assembly of God background, soon rebelled from her conservative roots and started wearing excessive makeup like Tammy Faye.
Now, on some TBN programs, in the name of being relevant to the youth, many of their guests copy the dress, singing and dance style of the most worldly punk rock singers. Instead of changing the world, the world changed TBN, and in turn TBN has at large changed Christianity, particularly the Charismatic Movement and Pentecost. Outside of speaking in tongues, Pentecost no longer resembles what it used to be, that is, being separated from the world and holding to sound Bible doctrine.
Through TBN, Benny Hinn became famous. Despite Hinn's amorous affection with the Catholic church and his bizarre interpretations of the Bible, Paul Crouch has promoted him to be his main spokesman to the world . Benny Hinn is TBN's main front man and is Paul Crouch's primary agent articulating the direction he wants the church to go.
Charisma Magazine, August 2002 p. 20, reported that "Leaders of America's major Pentecostal and charismatic movements met privately in April in a historic meeting intended to build bridges between different groups that have been at odds for years. Almost 30 senior figures representing Word of Faith, charismatic, traditional Pentecostal and Oneness Pentecostals met... Among the participants were TV preachers Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, International Foursquare President Paul Risser, Assemblies of God General Superintendent Thomas Trask, International Pentecostal Holiness Church General Superintendent James Leggett, and United Pentecostal Church (UPC) International General Superintendent Kenneth Haney."
"They came together in a spirit of unity, NOT TO DISCUSS DOCTRINAL DIFFERENCES, but to rejoice in their common spiritual heritage." So once again, this meeting emphasized the point that BIBLE DOCTRINE AND THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST MEAN LITTLE. THE ONLY IMPORTANT THING IS JUST SPEAKING IN OTHER TONGUES.
In 2006 THE AZUSA CENTENNIAL was held in Los Angeles. Some of the speakers were from the Assemblies of God, Kenneth Copeland, T.D. Jakes (a Oneness bishop), and Rick Warren, a Baptist who does not even believe in speaking in tongues. It was evident that this Azusa Centennial had nothing really to do with what happened on Azusa Street in 1906. In reality, it was just a religious political coalition. Bible doctrine, and even the basics of Pentecostalism was totally irrelevant. My grandparents on my mother's side, grandpa and grandma McGowen, received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at Azusa Street. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is what Azusa Street was all about. If my grandparents would have seen the charade that went on in the name of celebrating what happened there, they would have rolled over in their graves.
Bible doctrine virtually means nothing among most Charismatics and Pentecostals today. They are just looking to certain men they consider prophets; looking for new spiritual highs; and are looking for prosperity.
WHY IS SOUND DOCTRINE IMPORTANT?
WHAT IS THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST?
It is the totality of the teachings of Jesus Christ. 2 John 9
WHAT IS BIBLE DOCTRINE?
It is the totality of the teachings of the Bible.
WHAT IS CHURCH DOCTRINE?
Each denomination has its own doctrines. They pick and choose which scriptures of the Bible they will believe, and which ones they won't. They then mix it with their church traditions.
WHAT ARE DOCTRINES OF DEVILS?
Anything that disagrees with the Bible is a doctrine of devils.
1 Tim 4:1-2 "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and DOCTRINES OF DEVILS; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;" (KJV)
UNSOUND DOCTRINE is anything that disagrees with the doctrine of Christ, and the overall doctrine of the Bible.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts and shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (KJV)
II John 1:9-11 "Whosoever transgresseth, and ABIDETH NOT IN THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST, HATH NOT GOD." (KJV)
NOTE: Watch for the continuation of this series on this website called, The Charismatic Movement Defiled II.
*For an in-depth study on these and many other issues, order my book, The Paganization of Christianity. This book is a true Bible School.
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