The Mike Bickle and IHOP Cornucopia of False Teaching, Bridal Weirdness and 24/7 Confusion

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Mike Bickle's multi-million dollar "International House of Prayer" is an outgrowth of the heretical "Latter Rain" movement that began in 1948,  even though IHOP has only been an official organization since 1999. Before IHOP, there was the "Kansas City Prophets" which basically turned into IHOP. Here's a brief overview of the Latter Rain Movement and how it leads to IHOP: Latter Rain: The Spawning of Apostasy

Mike Bickle is a passionate and convincing speaker who has built a world-wide ministry based on something that seems like a great idea: 24 hour a day prayer and worship. Underneath this simple idea of praying and worshipping are a number of unorthodox, strange and unbiblical teachings. His entire ministry is built upon convincing stories of miraculous prophetic words that God supposedly gave men like Bob Jones and Paul Cain (two very influential but discredited false prophets). Some are now claiming that IHOP has become a full-fledged cult that separates young people from their families and creates zombie-like adherents. If you Google "IHOP cult" you will find many blogs written by former IHOP students and staff that are now warning others about the troubling experiences they had. And experience is what IHOP is all about. The Bible takes a back seat to the exciting and ever-changing "prophetic words" that keep IHOP followers coming back for more, but ultimately leaves them confused, hurt and, many times, angry. Of course, like any gigantic organization there are a wide variety of opinions about IHOP and there are many Christians involved that sincerely believe they are serving God. Instead of focusing on individual opinions & experiences, the links below are largely addressing the flawed teaching that comes from Mike Bickle and IHOP; this is not intended as a personal attack on the many people involved. 

The following articles are written by a number of Christians from many different denominational and theological backgrounds. These various writers don't agree on every aspect of Christian doctrine, but they do all agree that Mike Bickle and IHOP's false teachings should not be ignored. 

The Dangers of the International House of Prayer by CARM

Mike Bickle and the International House of Prayer-The Latter Rain Redivivus by Critical Issues Commentary

What is the International House of Prayer (IHOP)? by Got Questions

Multiple Articles about Mike Bickle and IHOP by Berean Research

Multiple Articles about Mike Bickle and IHOP by Deception in the Church

The Hard Truth About Mike Bickle and IHOP on Fighting for the Faith

Bickle's Bible Botching by Spirit of Error

Is Mike Bickle Biblical? by Holy Bible Prophecy

The 2nd Coming of the "Presence" (5 Part Series) by Herescope

Kansas City Prophets Exposed-Ernie Gruen's Report "Aberrant Practices"

Mike Bickle and IHOP Resource Page (Many links/articles) by Beyond Grace

Bill Johnson, IHOP, & Ancient Heresy Reborn (Interview with Bob DeWaay) by Echo Zoe Radio

The Over-Sexualization of Christ and the Heretical Bridal Paradigm by 828 Ministries

The Perfect Storm of Apostasy – An Introduction to The Kansas City Prophets and Other Latter-Day Prognosticators by Lighthouse Trails Research

The Fatal Flaws of the Renewal (Part 1) by Watch Your Life and Doctrine Closely

IHOP "Explain" Their Concept of the House of Prayer from the Bible by Churchwatch Central

The Apostolic and Prophetic Movement by Keith Gibson

Mike Bickle Quotes from the Zedekiah List

Chris Rosebrough Reviews Mike Bickle's Sermon "Blow the Trumpet in Zion" by Churchwatch Central

Forerunner Eschatology: Mike Bickle’s End-Time Teaching and the International House of Prayer by CRI

Bill Johnson & Mike Bickle's Mutual Admiration Society by Spirit of Error

Why I Believe IHOP is a Cult by Gospel Masquerade

Bill Johnson, IHOP and the "Passion" Translation by Spirit of Error

 
“For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.”
— Ecclesiastes 5: 7

“And yet some people actually imagine that the revelation in God’s Word is not enough to meet our needs. They think that God from time to time carries on an actual conversation with them, chatting with them, satisfying their doubts, testifying to His love for them, promising them support and blessings. As a result, their emotions soar; they are full of bubbling joy that is mixed with self-confidence and a high opinion of themselves. The foundation for these feelings, however, does not lie within the Bible itself, but instead rests on the sudden creations of their imaginations. These people are clearly deluded. God’s Word is for all of us and each of us; He does not need to give particular messages to particular people.” -Jonathan Edwards

 

Here are some examples of the worst kind of manifestations that sometimes occur at IHOP:

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                   Watch Mike Bickle Refute Mike Bickle!

Want to watch a man sawing off the branch he's sitting on? Here's Mike Bickle's very own youTube video where he begins by saying "anything that's not in the written Word of God I reject" but then he goes on to promote and encourage things that aren't in the written word of God:

 

Here he is again trying to explain why it's okay to have lots of FALSE prophecies:

 

Here's Bickle spending 28 minutes confusing a room full of people; this is where he explains that 80% of the manifestations and prophecies are FALSE, but that's okay:

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
— 1 John 4: 1
“For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
— 1 Corinthians 14: 33
“An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?”
— Jeremiah 5: 30-31
“And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken.”
— Ezekiel 22: 28
“Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity
to restore your fortunes, but have seen for you oracles that are false and misleading.”
— Lamentations 2: 14
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”
— Matthew 24: 24
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Mike Bickle probably doesn't want you to know what his friends did at The Charismatic Day of Infamy

Mike Bickle is a key player in The New Apostolic Reformation

Here is some Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know! 

For further reading and research: 

Confirmation Bias: Why You Are Protecting Your False Beliefs

Assertions and Assumptions are NOT the Foundation of the Church

The Hyper-Charismatic House of Cards-Let It Fall and Be Free

Here's a great article to help you be more discerning and less gullible:

Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs

 

-This article by Steven Kozar

The Word of Faith Cornucopia of False Doctrine

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Kenneth Hagin ("DAD" Hagin)

Kenneth Hagin ("DAD" Hagin)

The Word of Faith movement is the predecessor to the New Apostolic Reformation and the two movements share a lot of overlapping beliefs. The Word of Faith (WOF) movement developed in the 1940's & 50's under the teachings of E.W. Kenyon, Kenneth Hagin (who plagiarized Kenyon), Oral Roberts, A.A. Allen, T.L. Osborn, William Branham and others. Like the NAR, the WOF never had an official leader or official statement of beliefs, so it is difficult to determine exactly when it started or exactly what it taught. And like today's New Apostolic Reformation it has been a "moving target" that could morph and rearrange itself in order to avoid critical analysis. The WOF emphasis on guaranteed physical healing & prosperity and the "power of our words/positive confession" teachings are largely being continued by many NAR teachers. Perhaps the most prominent WOF teacher still active today is Kenneth Copeland, who learned directly from Oral Roberts and studied at (the then newly formed) Oral Roberts University in the 1960's. It could also be argued that Joel Osteen is the most prominent WOF teacher active today, since the core of most of his teaching is WOF doctrine. Joyce Meyer is another extremely popular WOF teacher (See article: Is Joyce Meyer Word of Faith?), as well as Benny Hinn. 

In a nutshell, there is little practical difference between the older heretical teachings of Kenneth Hagin and Oral Roberts and the newer "Super Pastors" like Bill Johnson and Brian Houston; it's more a difference in style, approach & emphasis. In fact, Benny Hinn recently made a special appearance at Bill Johnson's church:

Benny Hinn with Bill and benni Johnson in 2017

Benny Hinn with Bill and benni Johnson in 2017

Here's a brief video showing Bill Johnson, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland and Todd White all teaching the WOF idea that Jesus needed to be "born again:"

 

False teachers are always dressing up their bad doctrine with new catch-phrases and new "direct revelations from God," but the resulting beliefs end up directing our attention away from the finished work of Christ and focusing on ourselves and the teachings of men.

Here's a really great summary of the Word of Faith movement in seven minutes:

 

If you want to understand all the false doctrine in today's "Pop Evangelical" churches (especially the New Apostolic Reformation), you really need to research the Word of Faith movement that brought us to where we are today. Here are a number of articles that will shed light on this important topic:  

What's Wrong with the Word of Faith Movement (Part One)

What's Wrong with the Word of Faith Movement (Part Two)

Word of Faith Movement (with many links) from Berean Research

Three Errors of the "Word of Faith" Preaching by Josh Buice

Prosperity Gospel Born in the USA

Word-Faith Movement Profile by Watchman Fellowship

WOF Sacred Cow #1: Jesus Was Very Wealthy by Discernment Ministries International

WOF Sacred Cow #2: Jesus Ministered Only As a Man by Discernment Ministries International

WOF Sacred Cow #3: Jesus Died Spiritually by Discernment Ministries International

WOF Sacred Cow #4: The Laws of Faith & Confession by Discernment Ministries International

WOF Sacred Cow #5: It Is God's Will To Always Heal by Discernment Ministries International

Physical Healing and the Atonement-Is it Always God's Will to Heal Now?

That Time God Destroyed Oral Roberts' Healing Tent, And He Made a Point by Pulpit and Pen

4 Ways the Prosperity Gospel Twists Christianity by Jeff Sanders

10 Ways the Word of Faith Movement Went Wrong (Written by a Charismatic pastor who still somehow loves the WOF teachers he studied)

Compilation of Word Faith articles from Deception in the Church

The Demotion of Christ & Exaltation of Man by Discernment Ministries International

Justin Peters has some of the best lectures on the history & teachings of the Word of Faith movement; here is one of his many YouTube videos:

 

This video (3 hours long), produced by Keith Thompson of Reformed Apologetics Ministries, documents the errors and origins of Word of Faith teachings:

Interview With Bart McCurdy: What's REALLY Happening in Redding

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Todd White Flips the Gospel Upside Down

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A recent YouTube clip from Todd White on TBN has become popular. In this clip, he makes some staggeringly bad statements about the very core of Christian doctrine: the meaning and purpose of the cross of Christ (he made the exact same comments earlier in the year). Like many of the New Apostolic Reformation teachers, Todd White tells stories and invents analogies to replace the true teachings of the Bible. For instance, White tells people that you wouldn't spend $150,00 for a $3,000 car. So if someone pays $150,00 for a car it must really be worth that much. He then says that since God paid a very high price on the cross we must be very valuable, as opposed to being guilty as sinners. It could just as easily be said that Jesus had to die on the cross because of how bad our sin is; the "high price" of the cross shows us how terrible our situation was before Jesus paid our debt. (Here's a shorter edited version of the video, that focuses on the worst comments in his talk).

It only takes a little skepticism and a quick look at God's Word to see how backwards this teaching actually is. If we are so valuable, as White tells us, why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Why was Jesus punished in our place? Todd White's teaching is very confusing, but it really appeals to our selfish nature. It makes no sense to die on the cross just to show people how valuable they are. There has to be a reason why Jesus was punished in our place. Otherwise, why didn't Jesus simply tell us how valuable we are and encourage us to continue doing all the wonderful things we were doing? He could've just sent us a fruit basket or given us a pat on the back, instead of dying a horrible death on the cross. John the Baptist said (about Jesus): "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" According to Todd White, John the Baptist should've said something like: "Behold, the Lamb of God who comes to tell you how valuable you are! You're doing great, now just remember your true identity!!"

  • The Bible says we are sinners who deserve God's wrath, but our sin is removed because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross in our place.

  • Todd White says we are really valuable, but the problem is, we just don't understand our value; we don't "know our true identity." So Jesus paid a really high price to convince us of our value.

Instead of focusing on God's gracious free gift of salvation, which was given in spite of our sin, Todd White flips the Gospel upside down and says that Jesus had to pay a high price to get us back, because we are so valuable. Although White mentions our sin, it starts to sound as if we deserve God's salvation because we're so valuable. It almost seems as if White thinks we shouldn't be in awe of the amazing grace that God bestowed upon us, instead, we should puff ourselves up with the fact that God paid such a high price for us. This is a completely false gospel.

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”
— Galatians 1: 6-9


Here's a very brief video that contrasts the false Gospel message of Todd White compared to a Biblical Gospel message (in these clips, explained by Paul Washer):

Here’s a more detailed video from Pastor Chris Rosebrough:

 

Here's a very helpful little When We Understand The Text video on this topic:

For a little more detail on this topic, listen to Chris Rosebrough on this episode of Fighting for the Faith (at 53 minutes into the show): Benny Hinn Partners with Chuck Pierce?

 

Here's Todd White with his spiritual mentor, Prosperity Preacher Kenneth Copeland:

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
— 2 Timothy 4: 3-4
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we now have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”
— Romans 5: 8-9
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
— Isaiah 53: 5
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
— 1 John 2: 2
“But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
— Ephesians 2: 13
“And you, who once were hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him...”
— Colossians 1: 21-22
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast”
— Ephesians 2: 1-9

Here's another article about the same Todd White video:

NARcissist Todd White: Jesus Saved Us Because We Are "So Valuable" 

Here's a LOT more info concerning the false teachings of Todd White:

The Todd White Cornucopia of False Teaching

-This article by Steven Kozar; check out the new and improved Messed Up Church website!

The Dr. Michael Brown Checklist of Manipulation

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The New Apostolic Reformation

The New Apostolic Reformation

Dr. Michael Brown is an enigma.  Sometimes he says some really good things that all Bible-believing Christians can agree with (and we gladly recognize that), but other times he goes out on a limb in support of the most extreme New Apostolic Reformation teachers, pastors and leaders. For some reason, he has become a very convincing apologist and "front man" for obvious false teachers like Bill Johnson, Heidi Baker, Rick Joyner, Lance Wallnau and even Benny Hinn.

Here's a list of things that Dr. Brown often says and does in order to garner support for his New Apostolic Reformation friends (the "NARpostles"): 

  • Always use a moderate and reassuring tone while making extreme assertions and contradictory statements. Make it sound like you're the most reasonable & intelligent person in any discussion.
  • When confronted with clear and obvious false teaching, end the discussion. "I'm going to cut you off, to be fair to the other callers" or "we're almost out of time" or "if you continue asking these questions I will have to block you" are all good examples of how to end the discussion.
  • Enable & promote NAR false teachers who claim to "love the Lord," especially if their ministries are very large. False and un-Biblical teachings are acceptable when being taught by those who claim to "love the Lord" and are hyper-charismatics like Dr. Brown.
  • Pretend to consider opposing views while actually misrepresenting and/or ignoring them.
  • Put all serious bloggers who challenge you on the same level as teenagers eating Doritos in their parents basement. (Btw, the vast majority of "discernment bloggers" are not anonymous.)

 

  • Do not use primary source documents that would quickly and decisively display the heretical beliefs of your fellow NAR friends; instead, pretend that you're too busy to do any research. For example, instead of admitting that you refuse to review just one or two sermons from Bill Johnson, say that you just can't take the time to listen to hundreds of hours of sermons. Continually reinforce the notion that you're a world-class expert on a topic that you cannot possibly do any research on. This is where your moderate and reassuring tone will really pay off.  
  • Pretend to be holding NARpostles accountable, while not actually curbing any NAR false teaching.
  • Uphold C. Peter Wagner as a great man of God who should be respected and trusted, while simultaneously overlooking all of his published writings; writings that clearly portray his bizarre and heretical beliefs. Ignore the fact that this "great man of God" is the very person who named the New Apostolic Reformation and defined its characteristics; meanwhile, you can imply that the NAR isn't even a real thing. 
  • Claim to believe in Sola Scriptura ("Scripture Alone") while you vigorously defend the never-ending (and non-sensical) extra-Biblical revelations from your NARpostle friends. Don't try to explain how these two things can co-exist, because they can't. Instead, tell lots of convincing stories about what God told you or someone you know. Refer to the good old days at the Brownsville Revival, where all sorts of weird and disturbing manifestations took place, but tell everyone how wonderful it was. You must constantly assert this belief anyway you can since you can't defend it from the Bible. Again, a moderate and reassuring tone will help you retain listeners, as you continually make contradictory assertions. 

 

Dr. Michael Brown claims that he is not a part of the New Apostolic Reformation, but the clear, obvious and overwhelming evidence says otherwise. (Read: Michael Brown: More Proof He's Part of the (So-Called) New Apostolic Reformation) He is The Apostle of Obfuscation in the NAR. Listen to this clip of Fighting for the Faith where Brown pretends he knows nothing about the NAR in 2017 but is very knowledgeable in 2010: 

For those who think it's mean, judgmental and un-loving to criticize Dr. Michael Brown (or any other teacher, pastor or leader) here's something just for you: Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know.

If you're having a knee-jerk reaction to try and defend Dr. Michael Brown, check out: Confirmation Bias: Why You Are Protecting Your False Beliefs.

Finally, here's an article that will help you be more discerning and a lot less gullible: Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs.

 

-This article by Steven Kozar

Mishel McCumber: Delivered from the Luciferian Gospel of Rick Joyner

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In part one of this fascinating & eye-opening series, Steve Kozar interviews Mishel McCumber about her deliverance from the "Luciferian Gospel" of Rick Joyner & Morningstar Ministries:

For Further research:

Jennifer LeClaire Gets Discernment 100% WRONG!

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The following is Jennifer LeClaire's recent blog post called "When Believers Crucify Each Other in the Name of Discernment," which she posted the morning after our Fighting for the Faith episode called Discerning Discernment aired. That's probably just a coincidence, but in any event, LeClaire gives a textbook example of how to take discernment that's based on the Bible and turn it into a mystical exercise that only finds truth within oneself. Oh, and she has lots of stuff to promote and sell, too.

 

I have reprinted her article exactly as she published it (advertising links and all), and I will make comments in bold/parenthesis. Here we go...

 

"Discernment is ever so vital in this hour, but discernment can turn into a critical spirit if it's not bound by love on both sides of the river banks (notice what's missing? The Bible. Of course we should speak the truth in love, but we also need truth that's bigger than us). Indeed, whether you have a discerning heart or the gift of discerning of spirits, there's always the danger of tapping into a faultfinding flow when you should be making intercession (So, instead of "tapping into a faultfinding flow" you should "make intercession..." Hmmm, how about: you should make sense??).

At Awakening House of Prayer—or when I travel as a conference speaker—I discern many things out of order in people's lives. I recognize the spirit of rejection from a mile away and fear from even farther. I can see pride, poor attitudes and people imprisoned to any number of fleshly appetites or demon powers. I've discovered it's easier to grumble and complain about people who behave wrongly than it is to hit my knees with a prayer burden and cry out to God for their freedom. But it's not righteous, so I guard my heart from a critical spirit. (Jennifer "sees things" like a psychic, but she guards her own heart from having a critical spirit when she peers deep into your soul from over a mile away... Wow!) 

Listen to Jennifer's podcast on criticism versus a prophetic spirit.

My spiritual father, Ken Malone, once told me, "People who walk in a high level of discernment need to walk in a higher level of humility. We all have issues and we don't need people to point them out. Those who feel compelled to point out other peoples' flaws constantly are elevating themselves and walking in pride. We need to strengthen people, not criticize and rebuke them as they struggle to gain freedom. There is a fine line between discernment and fault-finding. With discernment, we must walk in a high level of integrity so we don't abuse the gift by always pointing out faults. We must temper our discernment with grace." (Here she makes it clear that discernment has NOTHING to do with upholding God's written Word-it's all about having a mystical gift that requires one to have great humility and integrity. We know that Jennifer has this great humility and integrity... because she tells us about it. Also, she defines discernment as having the ability to see people's flaws-NOT the ability to compare doctrine to God's Word.)

What Discernment Is

Discernment is "the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure," also "an act of perceiving or discerning something," according to Merriam-Webster. Discerning means "able to see and understand people, things or situations clearly and intelligently." 

JOIN JENNIFER ON FACEBOOK FOR SPIRITUAL COMMENTARY AND ENCOURAGEMENT. CLICK HERE.

The Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words reveals that the Greek words for "discern," "discerner" and "discernment" come from several words. Anakrino means "to distinguish, or separate out so as to investigate by looking throughout objects or particulars," hence it signifies "to examine, scrutinize, question, to hold a preliminary judicial examination preceding the trial proper." Diakrino signifies "to separate, discriminate;" then, "to learn by discriminating, to determine, decide." Dokiamazo signifies "to test, prove, scrutinize;" so as "to decide."

Hebrews 4:12 tells us the Word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. We need to let the Lord deal with the hearts of people. He will bring people into your life, at times, so you can discern the spirits and help them break free—not so you can judge their hearts and avoid them like the plague because you have convinced yourself they can't be helped. I've seen too many prophetic people with critical spirits who seek to crucify the very ones God has sent them to help deliver. (So the potential problem with LeClaire's psychic version of discernment is that you'll be tempted to avoid and/or judge people once you see into their hearts like she does. Again, she never mentions the idea that discernment actually involves comparing someone's beliefs to Scripture.)

What Discernment Is Not

John tells us to test the spirits to see if they are from God (1 John 4:1). But some with discernment test hearts to see if they are from God, which is not godly. Nobody knows what's really in someone else's heart except God Himself. Judging someone's heart is dangerous. 

Presuming someone has a bad spirit based on a checklist and not direct revelation from God grieves the Lord. (But discernment isn't about whether or not someone has a "bad spirit;" and we should trust God's Word instead of direct revelations.) And even if they do have a bad spirit, we need to separate the principality from the personality, as it were. We need to love the people and hate the demons that hold them in bondage. We need to wage prophetic warfare against the devils! (This is so incoherent that I'm just going move on to the next point-don't judge me!)

CHECK OUT JENNIFER'S PROPHETIC TRAINING SCHOOL.

Remember what I said previously: Discernment is not a feeling. Discernment is a knowing. If you have a feeling, don't act until the feeling is a knowing. (This is, perhaps, the most horribly subjective thing anyone has ever said in the name of Christ. Can anyone tell the exact difference between a "feeling" and a "knowing?" Nope. Again, NO mention of the Bible as the Truth that we can confidently hold to.) Your emotions will betray your discernment. Likewise, a haughty heart will betray your discernment. A bitter and critical spirit will betray your discernment. You need to see people by the spirit, not by your soul. (No Jennifer, we need to see people through Scripture: we are ALL sinners in need of salvation, we ALL need to have our sins forgiven. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. He does not want us to go around peering into each others hearts to determine what particular demon has them in some particular bondage at the moment. This is a bizarre and confusing doctrine that has nothing to do with discernment.)

Beware the critical spirit that masks as discernment. There's a difference between a prophetic spirit and a critical spirit. A critical spirit is not looking for a solution. It just wants to criticize. This comes many times from spiritual pride. A critical spirit finds faults.

A prophetic spirit is filled with hope and redemption because this is the true heart of the Father. A critical spirit shows no hope, or little hope, of redemption. A critical spirit harps on people and creates a gang mentality, looking for agreement from others.

Determine in your heart today to ask God to give you more discernment—and to root any critical spirits out of your heart so He can use you to help set the captives free!" (This is pure bondage, folks. If the only way to know truth is by "determining something in our hearts," than there will always be a million different and conflicting versions of truth. God has given us His Word as Truth. It is outside of us and unchanging; it does not depend on our subjective feelings. God's Truth does not require the magic beans and psychic insights of false prophets who sell conference tickets, books and "prophetic schools" to make lots of money. We can know God's truth by reading God's Word. This is so much better than trying the 900 different techniques that false teachers like Jennifer LeClaire are constantly promoting and selling.)

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”
— Galatians 1: 6-9
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”
— Galatians 5: 1
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
— John 8: 36
“Currently, anyone who insists that pure doctrine is a very important matter is immediately suspected of not having the right Christian spirit. The very term ‘pure doctrine’ is considered taboo and is outlawed. If anyone holds fast to pure teaching and attempts to fight against any false doctrine, he is put down as a heartless and unloving fanatic. The era in which we live is what the apostle refers to when he says of false teachers that they are ‘always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.’ The spirit of our time is the same as in the era of Pilate, to whom the Lord had testified that He was the King of Truth in a kingdom of truth and who sneered, ‘What is truth?’

To hate pure doctrine is to hate the truth, for pure doctrine is nothing but the pure Word of God-plain and simple. When people hate pure doctrine, that is proof that we are living in a terribly miserable era. ”

— C. F. W. Walther "Law & Gospel-How to Read and Apply the Bible" Written in 1878

“And yet some people actually imagine that the revelation in God’s Word is not enough to meet our needs. They think that God from time to time carries on an actual conversation with them, chatting with them, satisfying their doubts, testifying to His love for them, promising them support and blessings. As a result, their emotions soar; they are full of bubbling joy that is mixed with self-confidence and a high opinion of themselves. The foundation for these feelings, however, does not lie within the Bible itself, but instead rests on the sudden creations of their imaginations. These people are clearly deluded. God’s Word is for all of us and each of us; He does not need to give particular messages to particular people.”
— Jonathan Edwards written in the 1700's

Are There New Apostles on Earth Today? WWUTT Video

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One of the "New Apostolic Reformation" beliefs that should be completely rejected is the ridiculous claim that there are apostles living today that are equivalent to the original (real) Apostles from the New Testament. Here's a quick little WWUTT video on this topic:

Charismatic Bullying From the Pulpit

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 The following is a real devotional email sent by the pastor of a large charismatic church to his congregation. This pastor had recently been confronted by a few of his church members who didn't like his "Signs and Wonders/Rick Joyner/Bill Johnson/IHOP" teachings and asked that he only use the Bible and stop referencing those other teachers and teachings. He was never asked to adopt a cessationist position; just to hold more closely to Scripture alone. Several weeks after he had the meeting with those people, he wrote this devotional message/email and then preached a sermon based on it. I think this is a good example of what happens when a pastor wants to divert attention away from a valid theological discussion and continue teaching his version of "Signs and Wonders" Christianity. His original article is in bold; I will make comments (in parenthesis) throughout the article. This article originally appeared in October of 2014.

 

 

                       A Personal Relationship

          "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life." John 5: 39 
(This verse is the "set-up" for the rest of the article; it's supposed to make Christians who demand adherence to the Bible look like Pharisees, but it's taken completely out of context. These Pharisees were unwilling to recognize that the Messiah had come-it was Jesus! The Scriptures pointed directly to Jesus and they were guilty of not going to Him. Jesus was not saying that you should come to Him instead of the Scriptures, He was saying that they should have found him in the Scriptures.)

       I believe many things about my wife, Jane (not real name). Some are just facts, like her birthday, her place of birth, her parents' names, and her general history which anyone who is interested could easily learn.  Other things require more personal involvement like knowing her character and her heart's desires.  My current beliefs about her are numerous, but my relationship isn't with my beliefs about Jane, it's with her.  She's a person.  Because of this reality, my beliefs are always growing and deepening as we walk together. (This line of thinking utilizes the common method of telling stories instead of teaching from the Bible; this way you can make any point about anything. The implication here seems to be that the Bible is not enough-it's just a bunch of facts and figures about God. We can't really know God through the Bible-we need a "relationship" with Him; which appears to be shorthand for "a subjective experience of God.")

          But what if I no longer lived with my wife?  Wouldn't my belief system become static?  I would still believe things, but they wouldn't deepen or grow because of a lack of present experience with her.  In the text above, Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees because their relationship isn't with God Himself; it's only with their beliefs about Him. (God was rebuking the Pharisees because their relationship was only with their beliefs about God? What the?? No, that's totally wrong!! Their beliefs were just plain wrong-they didn't believe in Jesus! This is not hard to understand. This is a total mishandling God's Word. This is such a gigantic error that I really want to end the critique right here... but let's keep going.)

          There is a great danger in evangelical Christianity today of making our beliefs about God an idol that takes the place of an actual relationship with Christ. (Where do we read about this "belief in God" idol in the Bible?) How can I tell if I'm in danger of this idol? Here are five symptoms:

1.     We become unteachable. We no longer believe what we read in the Bible; we only read what we already believe. (Yes, we should want people to accurately and faithfully understand God's word-not read into it whatever they want, this is very true. But how does this pastor define "unteachable?" He could be referring to anyone that disagrees with him; hmmm...)

2.     We become divisive with Christians that don't believe exactly what we believe about God and Christ.  We're experts and everyone else needs to listen to us to get it right. (This point is very important for what it doesn't say; it fails to mention that some people want a teaching to line up with Scripture. These people aren't commended for being good Bereans, they're condemned for being "experts" who want everyone to listen to them. What if they really just want everyone to listen to the Bible?)

3.    We become suspicious of any fresh moving of the Holy Spirit that doesn't fit into our box of who we think God is and how He should act. (Just as in the previous point, this fails to mention that people might be suspicious of a so-called "fresh move of the Holy Spirit" not because it doesn't "fit into our box," but because it is false and/or doesn't line up with Scripture. This pastor believes that subjective experiences are good and acceptable, but an objective evaluation of an experience compared against Scripture is to be avoided. No wonder so many people leave Charismatic churches confused and hurt.)

4.     We find ourselves bored with worship because our hearts actually love what we believe about God more than we love God Himself. (This point is just too weird to analyse very much. Somehow, this pastor can see into the hearts and minds of people and discover that they love their beliefs so much that they become bored with worship... insert creepy 50's Sci-fi music here.)

 

5.     We realize we're no longer growing. We're no longer amazed by God or ever surprised by anything He does. We're sure we're doctrinally "right", but if we're dead, we can't be right because Jesus came to give life. (Let me see if I understand this; I need to be surprised or amazed by something God does in the present tense to prove that I'm growing? And if I'm sure I'm doctrinally "right" that proves that I'm dead. I would think that Jesus coming to earth as a virgin-born baby, living an amazing life full of teachings and miracles, giving His life on the cross as a penalty for our sins, rising from the dead on the third day, etc. etc. are all good enough things to embrace, celebrate and remember for all of our days, aren't they? Is it not enough to be surprised and amazed by what He's already done? Do we really need something "new" to validate our faith?  Does "growing" mean that we should adopt new and different beliefs every time the latest "prophet" has a "word for us?" The clear implication here is that just studying God's Word isn't enough to get "God's Word;"  we need extra-biblical revelation through some kind of subjective experience. Is it any wonder that Christians are biblically and theologically ignorant? If you put Post-Modern Subjectivity and Hyper-Charismatic Anti-Theology into a blender this is the kind of nonsense that comes out...)

The Scriptures are not an end in themselves, they direct us into a personal relationship with the God who loves us and died for us.  We all know "in part" and the even the part we think we know is only a seed of all that is true about the transcendent, majestic, unchanging, and uncreated God of the universe.  I think we would all do well to examine our hearts and humble ourselves before Him every day acknowledging that the mystery of who He is in Himself goes far beyond our present beliefs about Him. (But does it go beyond God's Word??)  Getting to knowHim is the greatest adventure of our lives and will last for all eternity! 
(After His resurrection, Jesus met two of His followers on the road to Emmaus and didn't reveal himself; He first asked them a series of questions to see what they knew and believed about Himself. When they said that they basically didn't know what was going on even though the empty tomb had been discovered and angels had said He was risen, Jesus said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself." Luke 24: 25-26.

Why did Jesus do this? Didn't He know that "the Scriptures are not an end in themselves, they direct us into a personal relationship with God..." like this pastor claims? Jesus wasted all that time explaining the Scriptures when He should have been developing His personal relationship with them. They could have, I don't know, exchanged recipes or sung show tunes together-that would have been more personal.) 

     Here's what God's Word says: "Now He said to them, 'These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them 'Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sin would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." Luke 24:44-48  "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

Btw, here's a follow-up article I wrote about this same pastor: Hey Pastors-Wanna Protect False Teachers? Here's Your Template! 

This is not intended to be a personal attack on this particular pastor; I'm using this to explain vital differences in theology, and to explain how bad theology (un-Biblical teachings) can be promoted and protected.

The Kenneth Hagin Festival of Demonic Idiocy

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Kenneth Hagin is the "father" of the Word of Faith movement; the movement that brought us Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Creflo Dollar and a million other false teachers spreading heresy. Although he died in 2003, he's as influential and important as any man could possibly be, in the charismatic world. Hagin plagiarized many of his ideas and writings directly from E. W. Kenyon, who lived a generation earlier.

This video shows him casting a spell (or something) to this audience. He never actually preaches; in fact he rarely even talks. Most of the time he just laughs and hisses at people. Here's a longer, unedited version of this same event, which happened in 1997. Here are some quotes from Hagin on the Zedekiah List.

For those who think it's mean, judgmental and un-loving to criticize Kenneth Hagin (or any other popular teacher) here's something just for you: Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know.

If you're having a knee-jerk reaction to try and defend Kenneth Hagin, check out: Confirmation Bias: Why You Are Protecting Your False Beliefs.

Finally, here's an article that will help you be more discerning and a lot less gullible: Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs.

The Hillsong Day of Infamy

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Hillsong Church has very serious doctrinal and theological problems, such as its corporate take-over strategy for church growth, its use of worldly entertainment to draw gigantic crowds (and then avoid proclaiming the Gospel in order to keep those crowds), and its clearly un-biblical Word of Faith/prosperity/New Apostolic Reformation teachings. But there is an event that you are not supposed to know about-a very disturbing and sickening event. And if you do know about it, you're only supposed to know the Hillsong version of it.

This day occurred in late October of 1999. This is the day Frank Houston told his son, Brian Houston, that he had sexually abused a child in the church-he admitted to being a pedophile. Brian Houston kept this a secret and eventually became the new pastor as he protected his father; but today he claims that he was open and transparent about his father's sin. Brian Houston has since become an Evangelical Superstar (and millionaire). He has become one of the most influential pastors in the world. He has become a best-selling author. The one thing he hasn't become is honest about what really happened. 

Here's an amazing article with more details from our friends at Churchwatch Central: Brian Houston Leverages Off Father's Reputation & Hides Paedophilia to Promote Himself & Hillsong

And another HUGE article, full of detailed research: Timeline & Source Material: Related to Frank Houston’s Pedophilia Coverup

Here's another article from Churchwatch Central about the number of children who may have been involved in this paedophile scandal: Brian Checked Granddad Hadn't Touched Own Kids Over "One-Off Incident"

 

Read more about Brian Houston and Hillsong Church: The Brian Houston and Hillsong Cornucopia of False Doctrine, Abuse, Obfuscation & Money Generation

For those who think it's mean, judgmental and un-loving to criticize Frank or Brian Houston (or any other popular teacher) here's something just for you: Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know.

If you're having a knee-jerk reaction to try and defend Hillsong, check out: Confirmation Bias: Why You Are Protecting Your False Beliefs.

Finally, here's an article that will help you be more discerning and a lot less gullible: Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs.

Were Tongues Real Languages?

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Here's a great article from Nathan Busenitz at The Cripplegate:

Were Tongues Real Languages?

John MacArthur's book "Strange Fire" is a fantastic resource on this topic. The true history of the charismatic movement has been whitewashed and glossed over until it's become almost complete fiction. Perhaps most interesting is the story of Charles F. Parham-the founder of the entire Pentecostal/charismatic movement-whom Busenitz details in his article. Parham initially believed he and his students were all speaking real languages and so they could go overseas and preach immediately without needing to learn languages the "old-fashioned" way. Until some people actually went to other countries and spoke gibberish and turned around and came home, having communicated (and converted) no one. Here's newspaper from May 31, 1901 where Parham is boasting of their newfound ability:

After it became painfully clear that none of his followers were speaking real words, Parham changed his beliefs to fit the situation-he invented the idea that tongues were a private prayer language in order to fit his predicament! But his bad ideas were just beginning; he still had racism, murder and more bad teaching to come.

Charles Fox Parham-The Founder of Pentecostal & Charismatic Christianity

Charles Fox Parham-The Founder of Pentecostal & Charismatic Christianity

 

More on this vital topic in the future...

 

Which of These Crazy Quotes Did Jennifer LeClaire NOT Actually Say?

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The following quotes from Charisma Magazine editor Jennifer LeClaire are all real, except for one that is totally fabricated. Remember, Dr. Michael Brown fully endorses Jennifer LeClaire, and has gone to great lengths to protect her from criticism. Have fun guessing, and we hope you don't get nightmares from reading this: 

 

 1. "I believe people can release witchcraft word curses against you. I more than believe it, I know it because my inbox is full of them every week. People curse me, my family, my ministry and more with the wicked words of their mouth—most of the times these are Christians. A witchcraft word curse from a Christian, I believe, is more powerful than any curse from a witch because a believer's words carry an anointing."

2. "New Testament prophets consumed with the spirit of Jezebel continue to release fearful death threats in the form of judgments and curses that are not from God. Ashtoreth and Baal were married. So these spirits often share one another's characteristics. We must discern what we are dealing with. The prophets of Jezebel were puppets, probably among her messengers of doom."

3. "The Holy Spirit showed me that we are entering a season of shifting atmospheres, because the witchcraft spirit of Jezebel is merging with the spirit of religion. It's time to get prepared for the prophetic battle that will enable us to secure God's victory, but we cannot grow weary and become complacent. Jezebel is more patient, most of the time, than we are. We can curse our victory before it is secured-by our negative words."

4. "There was a prophet-killing spirit on the loose that had successfully muted the voice of true prophets and turned them into spiritual eunuchs. Without any true power or authority of their own, eunuchs live vicariously through Jezebel and draw their strength from the approval of Jezebel-or more specifically those flowing in a Jezebel spirit-rather than the approval of God."

5. "After this squid spirit attacked my friend, I went to her home to help her battle it. The attack was severe, but when I laid hands on her and commanded the squid to be bound, the most violent symptoms would cease. Of course, when you stand in the gap, you often take a hit. That squid spirit started stalking me. I ended up with a migraine during the battle—a manifestation of that mind control spirit—and was attacked in my mind for days afterwards."

6. "The Holy Spirit showed me that many times witchcraft against your mind can cause you to focus so much on the symptoms attacking your body that you can't extend your faith to receive God's healing power. In other words, if you aren't careful, when witchcraft attacks your mind you will wind up speaking and thinking about the infirmity rather than speaking and thinking about your healing, allowing the enemy to maintain the stronghold." 

 

Learn more about Jennifer Leclaire, Dr. Michael Brown and the "Sneaky Squid Spirit" on this fascinating episode of Fighting for the Faith: The Calamari Discord

Dr. Michael Brown Ruins His Credibility on His Own Facebook Wall, Then Deletes All the Evidence

Dr. Michael Brown (Sort of) Approves of These "Fine Christians..." Watch at your Own Risk!

"Beware of the Sneaky Squid Spirit" Says Jennifer LeClaire!

Jennifer LeClaire's Hypocritical Goofy Prophetic Pimping

For those of you who think it's mean and un-loving to criticize Jennifer LeClaire (or any other popular teacher) here's a list of Bible verses to consider: Shocking Stuff You're Not Supposed to Know.

Finally, here's an important article that will help you be more discerning and a lot less gullible: Defusing Demonic Dirty Bombs.

"When Did the Church Turn Into Amway?"

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Photo by Jazmin Quaynor

Photo by Jazmin Quaynor

True Story

      In the 1990's my wife and I had three young children and we were in financial trouble; my income as an artist was very inconsistent. We were invited to become Amway distributors by a family member who knew we were the kind of "go-getters" who could really "make things happen." 

      I was very skeptical at first, but I eventually gave in to the promise of "multiple streams of residual income." In the late 1990's we heard (and fell for) "The Dream Destiny Thingy." This is years before it crept into (and devoured) much of the church. It's a bunch of assumptions that go something like this: 

"God brought you here today for a reason; it's not an accident that you're in this meeting today. The reason you're struggling financially is because you don't have a dream-it's not because you don't have money! Once you have a big enough dream, the money will follow. Amway is just the business vehicle; this is really about changing people's lives by getting them to pursue their dreams." 

They would pray in the meetings like this: 

"Thank you God that you've given each of us the ability to dream. Help us to chase our dreams, discover our destiny and make a real difference in people's lives. In Jesus name, Amen."

 We were taught about the power of using the right words to speak things into existence. We had to be positive-all the time-because being negative would attract negative results.

       Large Amway conventions are the ultimate gig for motivational speakers and other performers, and most of the really big guns were there, helping to prop up the illusion that Amway was a great opportunity for anyone willing to work hard and stick to it. Zig Ziglar, Robert Kiyosaki, John Maxwell and other big name speakers have all done the Amway gig; people would even write books praising the Amway opportunity because they knew thousands of distributors would buy them; it was a built-in audience of niche consumers. I tried not to notice how none of these people making money by praising Amway actually joined up and became Amway distributors themselves.

     But the best speakers in the Amway business weren't the "professional" speakers, they were the "regular folks" who worked hard and had made it to the level of Diamond (or higher). These "regular folks" would convince the socks off of anyone that you could make it happen! "You just need to really buy into the system and do everything your leaders tell you to do-your success is guaranteed!" "If your dream is big enough, the facts don't count!" The most convincing Diamond speakers would come from another organization and speak at your meeting to help you grow your business. "Wow, these people are so nice and giving of their time" you would think. Plus, they would always start by praising your leaders and telling you how lucky you were to have the leadership that you had in your own organization. 

     Eventually, I learned that all of these diamond (and above) speakers were getting giant speaking fees. They weren't giving their time, they were selling their time. If you were getting $10,000 for an hour and a half speech, do you think you could praise whoever was writing your check? On top of the very convincing speakers, they had amazing videos with powerful music and emotionally charged stories to tear at your heartstrings. The use of multimedia was incredibly effective-especially in a stadium full of like-minded people who all believed. 

We were even told that if you went to the next big meeting it "would really build up your belief." A more honest way of saying it would be "if you go to this big meeting you'll be convinced to stick around long enough for us to make money off of you for a little while longer, because you'll be emotionally convinced that this business is great!"

This Isn't a Dream, It's a Nightmare!

     In short, we spent 4 years trying to build an Amway business and lost about $40,000 in the process. We did everything we were supposed to do-everything!

I know all about mind control techniques because I experienced them first hand. I know what it's like to be emotionally manipulated because I experienced it first hand. I know about turning the Christian faith into a vehicle that promises to make your dreams come true because I experienced it first hand. On top of all that, we started going to a large "positive confession" charismatic church as a result of this new outlook on our faith. We prayed and prayed and prayed... and prayed: "God please help us build this great business so we can be financially free and help others..." 

     But God didn't answer. We had to figure out the hard way that we were being scammed. 

You see, in most Amway businesses, all of the emphasis is on "the system," which had 3 components (called "tools"): Books, CDs and Functions. We would buy and read the positive self-help type books (a new one every month); we would buy and listen to a motivational CD every week (or more if you were really committed like us), and we would buy a ticket to a different function every single month. 

No matter what. 

This is how they could build such large and compliant organizations. This is simply a type of thought-control. Some of the teaching was actually decent business/success type material, but overall, the system kept people in the business and in the dark. Sure there were always people quitting, but there were always new people to replace the quitters. And there was tremendous profit to be made on each and every book, CD and ticket; that's where the upline distributors were making most of their money. It was all in secret and a lot of it was cash under the table, so these hucksters weren't even paying tax on all their income. After the internet became popular, Amway's seedy underbelly couldn't hide so easily, and it has never gotten back to its original multi-billion dollar American heyday (much of Amway's growth has been in foreign countries in the past 15 years).

 

The Evangelical Industrial Complex has copied many of the very things that have "worked" so well in Amway:

 

  • Tell people that Christianity is all about getting your Dreams and realizing your Destiny. Check.

  • Tell people that having lots of money is a good thing that God wants for you (so you can help others, of course). Check.

  • Tell people to only listen to positive messages about success and prosperity. Check.

  • Tell people that they can speak things into existence because words have power. Check.

  • People continually quitting and leaving, but they get replaced by new and different people just as fast. Check.

  • Get people to "experience life change" by learning self-help and relationship-building techniques. Check.

  • The guy on the stage is making money off the people in the seats. Check.

  • The guy on the stage is promising you things you'll never actually get (in the name of God). Check.

  • After you don't get what you were promised you're told to have more faith and try harder (and buy the latest book). Check.

  • The visiting speaker (pastor) praises the local leader (pastor) and gets a fat speaking fee (plus sells his books in the lobby). Check. (handy tip: It's not a speaker fee if it comes from a "free-will offering")

  • Use music, lights and multimedia/video to emotionally manipulate like-minded people who desperately want to believe. Check.

 

Wait a minute, is this Amway or a Mega-Church we're talking about?? 

It's the SAME DAMNED (literally) THING!

 

FYI, Here is an excellent website with details about the Amway tool scam:

Stop The Amway Tool Scam

Also, just to be clear, I have no ill feelings towards those in my upline who were taken in by this "business" -and who probably lost more money than I did. God help us all. -Steven Kozar

Check out the new and improved: The Messed Up Church website!