Wandering Stars: An Examination of the New Apostles and Prophets

http://thereformedtraveler.wordpress.com/2012/03/06/wandering-stars-an-examination-of-the-new-apostles-and-prophets/ 

In recent years the Christian Church has seen an explosion of independent ministries led by men and women claiming to speak and act with apostolic and prophetic authority.
These new ‘apostles’ and ‘prophets’ preach that the Church must come under their authority and direction in order to fulfill her end-time purpose.

A number of ministers within the apostolic and prophetic movement have achieved superstar status with segments of the Body of Christ — even though many of their statements and teachings strike at the very heart of essential Christian doctrine and the nature of Christianity.
As a result new doctrines and practices are being introduced into the Body of believers at an alarming rate. Teachings and practices which the church has never held in all of her 2,000 year history are now commonplace.
That is the premise of Wandering Stars: Contending for the Faith with the New Apostles and Prophets, a book written by pastor and Christian apologist Keith Gibson.
Gibson says the purpose of his book is to examine this new movement and many of the associated teachings and phenomena in light of Biblical revelation. When this his done, he believes the readers will agree that the new apostolic and prophetic movement poses a serious threat to the doctrinal integrity of the church.

Not ‘Charismatic vs. Non-Charismatic’

From the outset Gibson makes clear that this is not a ‘Charismatic vs. Non-Charismatic’ issue, saying he believes that when the issues are carefully examined “all members of the Church, regardless of their stripe or particular view of spiritual gifts, will find cause for concern.”
Indeed the book shows that Gibson made sure he took a balanced approach, using sources from a variety of Christian backgrounds — including recognized Charismatic and Pentecostal leaders — to demonstrate that “the modern apostolic and prophetic movement must be considered heretical even by believers who believe in the continuation of the gifts.
Gibson also points out that he does not question the sincerity or Christianity of many of those involved in the movement, but rather their doctrines and practices.
Further evidence of his balanced approach is shown by the fact that the author resisted the temptation to pull out the most outlandish quotes in an attempt to make his point more forcefully.
That said, the book is well-documented with — by way of the End Notes — verifiable quotes.
A book like this could easily have turned into merely a catalog of unsound theology, outrageous claims and outlandish behavior. Instead, Gibson not only clearly identifies the problems with the teachings and practices of the new apostles and prophets, but provides a Biblical response at every turn.

New Doctrines

Gibson demonstrates that the teachings of these apostles and prophets establish new doctrines, while at the same time showing that the logical and practical ramifications of much of their teaching is that today the Bible is no longer a sufficient guide for faith and practice.
He charitably says that not all of these ministers appear to be aware that they are doing this. However, by demoting the Bible to ‘old love letters’ that are superseded by new revelations, these preachers assure that their followers lack the very tool Scripture says believers should use to evaluate all teachings.
After examining what these ministers preach, Gibson concludes:

The doctrine of the new apostolic and prophetic movement diminishes God rather than exalting Him. The theology of this movement is utterly man-centered. The portrait of God being painted by the modern apostles and prophets simply does not fit with the revelation of God given in the Bible.
The God of the modern prophets is weak and limited. The prophet’s view of sovereignty is totally lacking biblical substance. The God the modern prophets proclaim is waiting for man to act. It is man who is the true determiner. It is many who determines when and where the power is delivered.
God can’t even protect what He has in heaven sufficiently to keep both demons and unbelieving men from stealing it away. He can’s protect His promises sufficiently to keep them from being hijacker by the Devil. He is unable to answer prayer unless men have given Him the power to do so. He can’t save unless men clear the heavens of demonic being so the gospel can bear fruit.
Such a God is hardly worthy of worship.
- Source: Wandering Stars, p. 156

Polemics?

In his Introduction Gibson says that “while a book of this kind is by its very nature polemical, I will attempt to be even-handed and charitable in dealing with the matter, though it is doubtful that any of the ministries critiqued will believe that this objective has been accomplished.”
Indeed, many of today’s ‘prophets’ and ‘apostles’ — and, often, their followers as well — are quick to denounce those who examine and/or reject their prophecies, visions, teachings and practices as ‘Pharisees,’ or people burdened with a ‘religious spirit.’
Gibson — who has spent countless hours reading the writings and listening to the sermons of the prophets he writes about — notes this attitude, saying that the

effort to demonize and disparage followers of Jesus with whom they disagree is rampant within the prophetic community. In their writings and messages they rarely giver believers who will not join their ranks the benefit of the doubt that they are convicted by the desire to be faithful to the Word of God as they understand it. No, almost without exception, believers who will not follow the modern prophets are depicted as prideful, dead, demonized or some equally distasteful category.
Members of this movement like to claim a persecuted status whenever anyone dares to challenge them in regard to their false doctrines and extra-biblical practices. But the fact is that while they talk of unity, their writings and messages contain a great deal of venom and disdain toward the rest of the Body of Christ.
- Source: Wandering Stars, pp. 203,204

Naming Names

In the book’s introductory chapter — titled, for good reason, ‘Do Not Skip This Section’ — Gibson explains that all the ministries he refers to are national in scale. ['National' refers to the USA, but Christians around the world are familiar with most, if not all of the ministers mentioned.]
He says,

I have attempted to reference a large variety of the teachers within the apostolic/prophetic community in order to demonstrate that the issues of concern do not center around one or two errant ministries but rather span the gamut of the movement. However, having said that, certain ministries are definitely more prominent that others and therefore warrant fuller inspection.
- Source: Wandering Stars, p. 12

Hence the teachings of such leading figures as Rick Joyner, Mike Bickle, and Bob Jones are closely examined.

Much-Needed Corrective

Wandering Stars is a much-needed corrective. It is an important book that clearly identifies the huge theological problems introduced by the new apostles and prophets — ranging from aberrant teachings to heretical doctrines.
Gibson knows his stuff, having thoroughly studied the source material. Familiar with much of it myself I came away with a clearer understanding of the issues involved — as well as a better overall picture of where this movement came from, and where it is headed.
The book is well-written and easy to read. It includes two appendices: Patron Saints of the Prophetic, and The Occultic Mindset of Spiritual Warfare.
The book’s title came from Scripture:

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerening our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and Our Lord Jesus Christ… These are WANDERING STARS for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
- Source: Jude, 3-4, 12 — emphasis added.

Keith Gibson is the founding pastor of Word of Life Community Church in in Grandview, MO., and he is one of the Directors of the Apologetics Resource Center (ARC).
In his foreword Craig Branch, the Director of ARC, says that Gibson’s dual calling provide him with a healthy blend of sound doctrine (and correcting heresy, 1 Tim. 1:3-7), and its application in shepherding the flock:

Our ministry works closely, arm in arm, cross denominationally so we have a working knowledge of flexibility within the symphonic theology of the Church. As the expression goes, “we major on the majors and minor on the minors.”
But there are lines of heresy and the closer one gets to those line, more damage occurs. This book addresses a growing movement that brings serious error inside the church.

Wandering Stars is a book that should be read by pastors, Christian apologists, other leaders and every one else interested in the subject. It will provide a good understanding of the issues surrounding the apostolic and prophetic movement, and equip the reader with an appropriate Biblical response to its teachings and practices.
For those who are already caught up in this movement it may well be a difficult book to read. Nevertheless we highly recommend doing so. The Bible says, “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22.

Table of Contents

• Foreword by Craig Branch
• Introduction: Don’t Skip this Section
• Chapter One: Are These the Days of Elijah?
  Cessassionism vs Continualism
• Chapter Two: Did Jesus Fail?
  The Five-fold Ministry and Christian Restorationism
• Chapter Three: Catch Me if You Can
  The Need to Test Prophets
• Chapter Four: We’re Not Listening and You Can’t Make Us
  Answering the Objections of Modern Apostles, Prophets and Their Defenders
• Chapter Five: What if it Means What it Says?
  Modern Apostles and the Bible
• Chapter Six: The Dumbing-Down of the Church
  Modern Prophets and the Decline of Doctrine
• Chapter Seven: Poor God and Other Heresies
  Modern Apostles and the Nature of God
• Chapter Eight: Jesus: Your Personal Boyfriend?
  Modern Prophets and Jesus
• Chapter Nine: What Did the Cross Accomplish?
  Modern Prophets and the Atonement
• Chapter Ten: Onward Christian Monarch?
  Modern Prophets and Dominion Theology
• Chapter Eleven: A New Doctrine a Day Keeps the Truth Away
  Modern Apostles and New Revelation
• Chapter Twelve: Oops! They Did it Again
  Modern Apostles and False Prophecy
• Chapter Thirteen: Must We Follow Modern Apostles and Prophets?
  The Authority of Modern Apostles and Prophets
• Appendix A: Patron Saints of the Prophetic
• Appendix B: The Occultic Mindset of Spiritual Warfare
• End Notes

Wandering Stars can be ordered directly from the Apologetics Resource Center.

"Your Pastors are Lying" says Mike Bickle (IHOP)

http://feelingthefiction.blogspot.com/2012/01/your-pastors-are-lying-says-mike-bickle.html 

In July of 1993 Mike Bickle said this to Charisma Magazine:

“We had an elite spirit. That's become more and more real to
me - it's so repulsive"

I wish I could tell you that the repulsive elitism to which he admitted was then banished from him and his IHOP movement, but sadly that is not the case.  Mike Bickle still believes he is the only one who possesses a true revelation of the end times, and has even gone so far as to criticize, condemn and call other men of God, liars.

In a 2008 podcast interview (of which you can still view on youtube ) Mike Bickle said "I feel like many of God's shepherds are lying, they're just telling lies about the Bible."  In fact, if you listen to all three podcasts you will hear Mike Bickle telling the youth of America (several times) … “Your pastors are lying.”

Before we touch on the sheer irony of these statements, let’s look at the type of lies and deception of which he is speaking.

Beloved, we're not waiting, 'Oh, rapture me out of here,' a lot of people are waiting to be taken up. They want to go up so they can escape the tribulation and the Lord's waiting for us to grow up to loose the tribulation, through the prayers of faith, I mean the global, united eschatological prayers of faith. Now I know that's a lot of big terms there, or whatever, but we're going to be talking about some of these areas.

-Mike Bickle, OneThing 2008 Podcast 3

I suppose the only way to have a global, united eschatological prayer of faith is to dismiss the prayers of those Christians who disagree with Mike Bickle’s theory on the end-times.  Or,as Bickle has chosen to do, not even consider them a part of the body of believers at all.  Need I point out the obvious that this man tries with intent and purpose to cause division in the body of Christ?   

Some have stated that the "pastors are lying" comments that Bickle repeatedly made before the 2008 One Thing conference were in reference to the "emerging church."  The videos of him speaking strongly suggest that, among other things, Bickle is speaking of Pre-tribbers such as the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world, who hold to what he calls a "dangerous deception."

Granted, he does use the term "emerging generation" and also speaks of the "false justice movement" which may lead some to think he is speaking of the emergent church; and he also makes mention of the "prophetic" church…which is a movement he, himself, began.

But, as seen from the session titles and as confirmed from people who attended the One Thing 2008 sessions, Mike Bickle’s focus with eschatology- and his promise in the videos was that he would deal with the lies that pastors were telling.

Who will deal with the lies that Mike Bickle is telling?

Here are some more quotes from the podcast series:

"There's a third mandate at IHOP that we haven't talked that much about - this year we're going to focus on it and that's the - what - God's end time plan. What He's going to do particularly, specifically with the body of Christ, in the generation that He returns. I believe we're in those days...."

Keep in mind that when he speaks of the “body of Christ” he is only referencing the followers of Mike Bickle, not the worldwide followers of Jesus Christ.  He has already made it clear that anyone who doesn’t adhere to his eschatology and questions his belief system… well, they are liars and are excluded from the body of Christ.

“Right now the Lord is wanting to get forerunners locked in –really with clarity- about the end-time plan....”

I have to stop right here because the use of the term “forerunners” indicates to me that Mike Bickle still adheres to his theory of Joel’s Army and the term “locked in” could not describe better the concrete prison of his deceptions. 

"I feel like the shepherds in the body of Christ are lying on so many levels - they're lies- and I don't mean that there insidious lies where they're in the backroom thinking it through and coming out saying "I'm going to lie to people." I mean there's lies at so many levels, there's lies about how to get saved, there's lies about what the mandate of the kingdom is, there's lies about how the church is supposed to be built, there's lies about what God wants to do with the generation, the young generation that's emerging."
What are these so-called lies?  In the videos Bickle promised to expose these falsehoods in his upcoming conference in 2008, but he never did.  The only “lie” addressed was his frustration that other pastors and denominations had a Pre-tribulation view of the end-times.

The weakness of this view (Pre-Trib) is its error that Jesus will rapture the Church before the Tribulation. It is a dangerous deception that hinders the effectiveness of the gospel in several ways.
-Mike Bickle, Apostolic Pre-Millennialism

What are those ways in which a Pre-Trib view hinders the effectiveness of the gospel?  Bickle doesn’t say because Bickle doesn’t know.  The truth is no one knows whether the Lord takes His people home first, in the middle of it or in the end.  It doesn’t matter and it certainly doesn’t affect the power of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Mike Bickle makes statements that imply Godly pastors in other denominations belong in the Revelations 21:8 roll call of hell, simply because they do not have his “revelation.”  This is a direct act of division and it is repulsive.

His condemnation for other churches doesn’t stop at the Assembly of God or other installments of the Pentecostal movement, as seen in podcast 2 when he suggests that some of the lies being told are in the emergent and seeker-sensitive churches as well.  In podcast 3 (around 08:16 or so) he says, “We want to confront things, the deception in the emergent church and groups like this…”

The so-called “deception” is that Mike Bickle believes no one else has his revelation.  This is from where and from whom the “we get it and you don’t” elitist attitude at IHOP is birthed… in the ego of a man named Mike Bickle.

Don’t take my word for it, study for yourself.  To understand the movement called IHOP you must first look at the man named Mike Bickle.  The links to the podcasts are listed below.