The following prayers are listed in the Prayer Guide for the 10 days leading up to Pentecost Sunday:
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“That once again, God would pour out from heaven that which can be seen and heard by everyone.”
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“For God to bring outbreaks of Christ’s peace all over the world…”
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“For God to raise up the coming generation to fulfill His promises by the power and Spirit of God.”
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“For Christians to live with expectancy for the promises of transformation to be fulfilled in their lifetimes.”
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“For the righteousness and justice of God to transform the ways of commerce and politics.”
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“For the peace of Christ’s kingdom to change the way cities and nations are governed.”
The following prayers are in the GDOP “A Prayer for the World,” a lengthy scripted prayer that is supposed to be recited in unison on the Global Day of Prayer:
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“Let Your Kingdom be established in every nation of this world so that governments will rule with righteousness and justice.”
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“May your blessing bring transformation amidst every people on earth. And may Your glory cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.”
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“Empower the Church to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.”
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“Give us wisdom and insight in every sphere of life.”
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“You will defeat all powers of evil.”
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“King of Glory, we invite You to come to the nations of the world… to restore all things. We welcome You to finish Your work in our cities, our peoples and our nations.”
What these words really mean
These are Latter Rain teachings. The doctrines are readily recognizable as such. If the reader is unfamiliar with the background on the Latter Rain cult, its teachings and how it mainstreamed itself over the past 60 years into the evangelical mainstream, please visit the Discernment Ministries website (http://www.discernment-ministries.org) and its links, and/or purchase the excellent resource materials listed in this newsletter. What follows is a brief explanation of the particular Latter Rain doctrines in evidence in the Global Day of Prayer.
One key Latter Rain doctrine is dominion. It is inextricably linked to a heresy that the Body of Christ can incarnate Christ and therefore wield His authority on earth. Because the term “dominion” reveals too much, the words “transformation” and “healing,” and “blessing” are now widely substituted. These doctrines are succinctly summarized by researcher Mike Oppenheimer in a series of website reports on the history and doctrines of Latter Rain:
"Some believe that the second coming of Jesus is to be 'in the Church,' before he comes for the Church. That the Church, his body will actually become Christ on earth, glorious and triumphant. They will go Conquer the land and then rule the nations with a rod of iron. Some believe that after the Church has taken dominion over the nations, she will hasten the day that will call Jesus back to earth and hand the nations over to Him." (http://www.letusreason.org/Latrain1.htm)
Another key Latter Rain doctrine has to do with “blessing.” This doctrine is explained well by researcher Ed Tarkowski:
1. [Biblical truth states that] Christ is the one who blesses the nations by giving the Holy Spirit to all who believe in Him and His finished work. This was fulfilled at Pentecost and is ongoing. The recipients of the blessing are those who receive the Spirit because of their faith in Christ: 'Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?' (Galatians 3:2). Those who do not believe in Him are excluded from the blessing.
Latter Rain teaches that every person on earth is to receive this blessing, called “the anointing,” through the Church, not from Christ personally and through faith in Him. In other words, the recipients replace Christ by themselves becoming "distributors" of the spirit based on their own intercession. This redefines the Abrahamic Blessing as… [ “blessing the nations”] making it man-delivered instead of God-sent.
2. Latter Rain teaching, the Church intercedes for the nations, and then God releases the blessings promised to Abraham through their efforts to TAKE “the Blessing” to the nations. Salvation is moved from a personal level to a territorial one, with emphasis on “taking the land” or nations. Then after all have received what is offered and the earth is cleansed of all who would not receive, God's Kingdom can be supposedly set up.
3. Latter Rain teaches that the blessing of Abraham will be released into the nations as the Church celebrates the Feast of Tabernacles or the Ingathering of the Harvest. But the promise was fulfilled when Christ sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Therefore, any spirit “released” through the “new” Israel celebrating [Pentecost or] Tabernacles now cannot be the Holy Spirit. The Feast of Tabernacles is not a vehicle to unite the world, but is the main feast to be celebrated in the millennium after Christ establishes His reign (Zech 14).
4. [Biblical truth states that the] Spirit seals all believers as God's guarantee that when Christ returns to judge the nations and establish His rule, we will receive all of God's promises.
But Latter Rain teaches that the Church is the promised seed (corporate) which enters into its inheritance by 1) celebrating the Feast of Atonement, 2) experiencing Pentecost, and 3) entering the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. The expected outcome of this “journey” is that Christ becomes incarnate in His perfected members, bringing them immortality and enabling them to be His endtime army, Joel's Army. As they take “the blessing” of Abraham… to the nations, this Army ESTABLISHES that which Scripture says they are to INHERIT: the Kingdom of God (Matthew 25:34)….
In Latter Rain teaching, the Corporate Seed [the Church, ed.] will supposedly fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant because - hear this - ABRAHAM FAILED AT IT, JESUS FAILED AT IT AND THE DISCIPLES FAILED TO FULFILL IT…. Latter Rainist Alan Vincent, for instance, teaches that EVERY city and family on earth is to receive this blessing through the Church. (Part 3 of “A Brief History of the Redefined Abrahamic Covenant” at http://www.velocity.net/~edju/Abraham2.htm
The entire Tarkowski Internet report is particularly relevant to the Global Day of Prayer and readers are encouraged to read it. In his report, Tarkowski discusses how, in the late 1980s, Ralph Winter at the U.S. Center for World Missions wrote seminal articles for Mission Frontiers Magazine, in which he re-defined the Abrahamic Covenant. Winter claimed that the Church was given a “secret mission” to finish the work of Christ on earth, a Great Commission mandate, a command to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant by ‘blessing” the peoples of the earth with dominion. According to Tarkowski, “Winter has redefined the Abrahamic Covenant and placed a call to the Church to go forth with the Great Commission to extend the rule of God.”
Winter also taught that Christ has “unfinished work” on the cross, and therefore we, the church, are required to finish His work for Him. In the same article, “The Work of the Savior,” Winter states, “I believe we must face the fact that the Bible is not merely God’s primary instrument of revelation. The Bible clearly exposits the intended non-disclosure of God.” (Mission Frontiers, Feb. 1987)
These new doctrines caught on like wildfire. This was the spark that set off the modern global missions movement. This point is exceptionally well-documented by Al Dager in his recent book, The World Christian Movement (available from Discernment Ministries). Christians were told that “all of the peoples of the earth” would be “blessed” by the activity of “making disciples of all nations.” That, we are to “teach the nations to obey everything God has commanded us… [and] establish God’s kingdom. We are to help the nations see that they are already subject to His authority; they must now acknowledge and submit to it with all of their hearts…. we will bless the nations by making His name known, revealing His glories, and establishing His kingdom among them.” http://www.missionfrontiers.org/1996/1112/nd964.htm
Lest the reader suppose that these doctrines are obscure, there are relevant examples which pertain directly to the Global Day of Prayer. Marketplace Meditations, a “Daily Electronic Devotional published by Os Hillman at Marketplace Leaders” (a businessman involved in the Atlanta GDOP), published a talk by Landa Cope to YWAM: “’We need to preach a gospel of the kingdom that God is the God of law, development, science, technology, health care, and economics.’ God does not just want a big church, he wants a diverse church, a deep church. He does not want just to save individuals in nations but to redeem the nations themselves.” (http://www.scruples.org/web/archive/99octup.htm) Notice the subtle shift from individual salvation to the Kingdom dominion.
Latter Rain also teaches that Satan was not defeated at the cross when Jesus shed His blood for our sins. Part of the Latter Rain kingdom “mandate” is to defeat Satan, however that comes to be defined. Rebecca Greenwood, who serves as executive assistant to C. Peter and Doris Wagner at Global Harvest Ministries in Colorado Springs, has written a new book entitled Authority to Tread: An Intercessor’s Guide to Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare.
In a review of her book, C. Peter Wagner states the Latter Rain heresy that Jesus’ work was not finished on the cross. Jesus “has delegated His Church to continue the [war against Satan] by spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom to all the peoples of the earth.” According to this doctrine, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples (at Pentecost) Jesus “gave them a command to make disciples of all nations. He authorized them to use His name and to move against the enemy in His kingly authority. What does this mean?
It means that the war to continue pushing Satan and his wicked forces back by the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is now in the hands of the Church, the people of God. In other words, we as the Church are at war!” (http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word_pf.html?ID=3027)
The men behind the GDOP
C. Peter Wagner is the Presiding Apostle over the International Coalition of Apostles, a group he formed for the purpose of speeding the completion of the Great Commission. “The accelerated advance of the Kingdom of God is our highest priority,” he states. Apostles are necessary to “establish the foundational government of the church within an assigned sphere of ministry by hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches and by setting things in order accordingly for the growth and maturity of the church.” (http://www.apostlesnet.net/index.asp?action=introduction) Elsewhere Wagner has reiterated, “Apostles are anointed by God to set the things of the body of Christ and the kingdom of God in order. For them to accomplish that, and for the rest of the church to accept their work, they need an incredible amount of authority.” (http://www.generals.org/articles_reports_words/Global Church/Articles/Wagner Interview.html)
This emphasis on city-wide church transformation represents a structural change in governance, not only of the church but potentially governments. This is because Wagner and others are putting in place a “Kingdom” apostolic structure that governs cell churches by “apostles” placed over cities, regions, nations and the whole earth. (See the cell church tapes available from Discernment Ministries for more information.) At http://www.transform-world.net one can read that “Christian governmental leaders… [are being used] as agents of his transformational will.” Other information on this website sheds considerable light on the 90 days of “blessing” that takes place after May 15th, the dominionist mandate, and the city and global transformations that are in progress. This website is a veritable list of who’s who in evangelical “Kingdom” doctrine leadership.
Ed Silvoso is another key change agent in the move to “transform” the earth. He has also been focusing on the “marketplace” for “transformation.” The “marketplace” is defined as “business, education and government.” Silvoso teaches that “Christians must gain authority over cities by applying kingdom principles…” (http://www.transformationafrica.com/transfrm busness.htm). Also see http://www.harvestevan.org/atn and http://www.africanenterprise.org.za/data/11resources/daywatch/daywatch_02-03-03.htm.
Ed Silvoso sits on the Advisory Board of Prayer Transformation Ministries along with Francis Frangipane, Vonette Bright, David Bryant, Paul Cedar and others in the transformative prayer movement. A brochure for this organization claims that “through prayer we unleash God’s power” and “A transformed city will witness miraculous decreases in crime, economic depression, and political corruption. Spiritual darkness will be pushed back….”
George Otis: This emphasis on miracles is not isolated. The popular Transformation video series produced by George Otis of The Sentinel Group has probably influenced the global prayer movement more than any other single factor. In these videos Otis makes amazing claims that these new styles and methods of prayer can restore and regenerate the earth itself. Everything from renewed coral reefs, to swarms of fish, to huge carrots and beets are attributed to “transformational” prayer.
The Transformation videos were widely shown in Africa. In fact, Transformation Africa claims that they have “collected numerous testimonies of how the prayer days have changed lives and communities.” A refutation of some of the more bizarre claims on these videos can be found at http://www.geocities.com/smithtj.geo/transformations.html.
The Transformation videos focus on “inviting God’s presence as a catalyst for revival and transformational changes in lives and communities,” according to the GDOP website. The Atlanta GDOP website (http://www.atlantaglobaldayofprayer.com) reveals the extensive influence of Otis’ doctrines when it claims: “What would transformation look like in Atlanta? When God impacts a city the crime rate and unemployment goes down, ethics in government increases, and churches unify to bless the city.”
Luis Bush: In an article entitled “A Call to Transformation: Transformational Streams are Becoming one Fast-flowing River for the Healing of the nations,” Luis Bush of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization has re-defined “transformation:”
"Transformation is the progressive and ongoing measurable supernatural impact of the presence and power of God working in, through and apart from the Church on human society and structures. In the church, this is characterized by increased holiness of life, reconciliation in relationships, and appetite for prayer and worship. Through the Church this is characterized by accelerated conversion growth, mobilization of gifts and callings, and an increased relevance to and participation in greater society.
"In the culture, this may be characterized by pervasive awareness of the reality of God, a radical correction of social ills, a commensurate decrease in crime rates, supernatural blessing on local commerce, healing of the brokenhearted (the alienated and disenfranchised), regenerative acts of restoring the productivity of the land, and an exporting of kingdom righteousness."
C. Peter Wagner was willing to head up the AD2000 United Prayer Track because of Bush’s willingness “to let me experiment” with the new spiritual warfare doctrines and practices. (http://www.AD2000.org/re00623.htm) Bush reiterates the Latter Rain belief that we can “incarnate” Christ in this statement: “The whole Gospel requires methods that are holistic in nature requiring a balanced integration of proclamation and incarnation.” (http://www.transform-world.net/)
Alistair Petrie: It is no accident that the promoters of the Global Day of Prayer use the Lord’s Prayer phrase “on earth as it is in heaven” in a reverse sense to mean “as in heaven, so on earth.” They literally believe the Church can bring the Kingdom of God upon earth. In fact, Alistair Petrie, a prayer “transformation” expert who works with George Otis on Transformation and C. Peter Wagner at Wagner Leadership, has written a book entitled Releasing Heaven on Earth. Some Latter Rainists believe that the earth will regenerate like the Garden of Eden.
Rick Warren: An examination of the GDOP would not be complete without mentioning Rick Warren and his substantial role in this event and its future. Rick Warren is scheduled to speak at the Dallas event, along with Rev. Tony Evans. In October, Rick Warren is going global. He is scheduled to release his Global P.E.A.C.E. plan, launching “short-term small groups to the ‘uttermost parts’ as catalysts for long-term, cross-cultural mission.” The stated mission for Warren’s 90 Days of Peace is “transformation:”
- Transforming the Church through God’s purposes
- Transforming individual lives with the Gospel
- Blessing the nations as representatives of Christ
One can easily see the resemblance between Warren’s plan and the Global Day of Prayer plan for “transformation.”
On the occasion of Saddleback’s 25th anniversary celebration, Warren stated that his “P.E.A.C.E. plan will be a ‘revolution’ for global Christianity” and “I’m looking at a stadium full of people who are telling God they will do whatever it takes to establish God’s Kingdom ‘on earth as it is in heaven.’” (http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20603) Warren has already set up a new website, www.acts-of-mercy.com for this initiative.
Warren openly acknowledges the influence of Ralph Winter (see www.missionfrontiers.org, May/June 2005). Furthermore, his advisor while working on his doctorate at Fuller was C. Peter Wagner. It is therefore no surprise that Warren wrote in Ministry Toolbox on March 2, 2005, “A plan for blessing the whole world.” In this he uses Winter’s redefinition of the Abrahamic Covenant to justify a new “global blessing.” In name-it-and-claim-it fashion Warren promises that “Our blessings to others will come back on us” and “When we bless others, God takes care of our needs.”
Why the GDOP should concern us
The Global Day of Prayer did not come up on the radar screen until recently, but it was many years in the planning. Sue Conway and I spent several months researching this on the Internet as it developed. The more we delved into it, the more apparent it was to us that this was an event that the organizers truly believe will officially launch the “Kingdom” on earth. The organizers and organizations backing this event are tightly interlocked.
This plan for Kingdom transformation is intended to affect every living person on the face of the earth. There are many disturbing references to dominion as an activity that the church has the right to engage in by whatever means – whether it be psycho-social marketing techniques, collaboration or force. The Word of God (the Gospel) is de-emphasized in favor of spiritual warfare type activities and social action. Marketplace “transformation” is particularly concerning because of the obvious opportunities for exploitation of the poor. Kingdom-building activities will be costly to families, women, children, elderly and infirm.
This article presents a short overview before the event occurs. Internet addresses are provided for those who wish to do more research on this topic in the days and months to come. Some of the links cited are cached. We will make every attempt to make the more obscure material available through the http://www.discernment-ministries.org website.
Above all, please stay in the Word of God. Read the old Godly ministers. When somebody comes to you and says, “God is doing a ‘new’ thing,” run back to your Bible as fast as you can.
"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another, but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:6-9
© 2005 by Sarah Leslie.
See also A Blinding Darkness|
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