International House of Prayer

http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage_print.asp?number=316756&language=en

EWTN Catholic Q&A

Prophets--Rick Joyner Question from Nathan Tucker on 04-06-2002:

Dr. Carroll, There was a recent question regarding modern day 'prophet' Rick Joyner. He is one of many, many so called prophetic leaders in what has been termed the "third wave" of the holy spirit. You may have heard of the infamous "Kansas City Prophets." This is connected in some measure to the Vineyard Churches, and more prominantly to the so-called "toronto blessing," phenomena. These new "prophetic" leaders are very powerful, indeed, because they seem to have very dramatic powers of knowing the seemingly impossible in a similar way to psychics. It is sort of a "christianized" psychic hotline of sorts. They also appear to have a "power" which they call the Holy Spirit, which apparantly is used to knock people down on the ground and make them act uncontrollably, sometimes even barking or growling. Actually, these hyper-charismatic leaders have a few prominant theologians among their ranks including Jack Deere, a former professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and Dr. C. Peter Wagner of Fuller Seminary. Their claim is that God is raising up a 'new breed' of leadership for His Church, which, of course has themselves set up as the new apostolic authority. The mission of the prophets is to put into place a new "Apostles" into Church leadership... Dr. C. Peter Wagner who promotes the new "apostolic" leadership, has written some very anti-Catholic books, one of which, called "Operation Queen's Palace," which aims at destroying the Catholic Church (and Marian devotion in particular) through an intense regemin of 'spiritual warfare.' There is actually a column on the "frequently asked questions" forum regarding this movement, under the heading Mary--Campaign against. We need to pray very dilligently about this movement that is drawing so many protestants and Catholics into it's new pseudo-apostolic structure. The real draw, it seems, is the unbelievable amount of miraculous and astonishing feats of "prophetic" power, which can draw in almost anyone who has a taste for the para-normal. I have seen this movement first hand, and the it was so bizarre that it actually became the catylist for my joining the Catholic Church. I hate to label anyone a false prophet, but I think it's safe to say that Rick Joyner, Paul Cain, and other modern day 'prophets' associated with the third wave movement are not true prophets! Dr. Carroll, you may not have heard of Rick Joyner yet, but the Church will be dealing with his influence for years to come. Millions are flocking to these meetings! May God help us all... Blessings, Nathan Tucker

Answer by Dr. William Carroll on 04-10-2002: