False Prophets...Pseudo Apostles, & A New Gospel
Marion H.
Reynolds, Jr.
April 19, 1919 - Sept. 3, 1997
©Fundamental Evangelistic Association
WHAT IS THE FASTEST GROWING religious movement
in the world today? The Charismatic movement. What movement is attracting and deceiving
more Christians within evangelical and fundamental churches than any other? The
Charismatic movement.
What individual has exercised the greatest degree of influence in persuading
non-charismatic evangelicals to accept the false teachings and practices of the
Charismatic movement? John Wimber, founder of Vineyard Christian Fellowship and head of
Vineyard Ministries International.
What supposedly evangelical theological seminary (founded by a fundamentalist) has
become a springboard for the worldwide indoctrination of students, faculty members,
pastors, missionaries, and key national leaders from many countries? Fuller Theological
Seminary of Pasadena, California, founded by the late Dr. Charles E. Fuller. This dear
brother's fundamental messages on the Old Fashioned Gospel Hour Broadcasts endeared him to
thousands of faithful believers during his lifetime.
Who are the two most active and effective promoters of charismatic doctrines in
non-charismatic evangelical groups today? John Wimber (already identified above) and his
disciple, Dr. Peter Wagner who is professor of church growth at Fuller Theological
Seminary School of World Mission.
Why is this article necessary? Why do these men and the institutions they represent
pose such a grave danger to all non-charismatic believers? The correct answer to these
questions requires a careful consideration of the history of Pentecostalism which
originated in 1901; the Charismatic movement which began in the 1960's; and the current
infiltration of Pentecostal/charismatic errors and practices into evangelical and
fundamental churches and groups under a new, different label. As this article will clearly
reveal, this new, supposedly evangelical, non-charismatic approach is not only a dishonest
way of promoting Pentecostal/charismatic teachings, but it is actually promoting some
doctrines and practices which are so extreme that even some historic Pentecostal and
charismatic people are repudiating and protesting even though most of their leaders either
participate or remain passive and silent.
The preceding analysis is in no way the expression of a personal bias, but is fully
supported by the writings and recorded messages of both John Wimber and Peter Wagner as
well as others who have been; directly influenced by their teachings. Neither Wimber nor
Wagner try to hide the doctrines they teach. However, they completely disarm evangelicals
who are unfamiliar with their overall ministries by claiming that their only desire is to
become more Biblical in their doctrine and practices. The truth is .d that they have
become less Biblical. They have not only adopted many of the basic errors of the
Pentecostal/charismatic movement-they have added error upon error.
Both Wimber and Wagner do admit to being part of a movement now often referred to as
"The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit." What is this third wave? In Signs &
Wonders Today, one of the many books written by Dr. Peter Wagner, he gives his own
definition: "There is no question that a new and exciting era has come upon
Christianity in the twentieth century. It started with the Pentecostal movement at the
beginning of the century, a movement which continues to multiply under God's blessing. It
was joined by the Charismatic movement soon after mid-century. And now in these latter
decades the Spirit is moving in what some o f us like to call the third wave where we are
seeing the miraculous works of God operating as they have been in the other movements in
churches which have not been nor intend to be either Pentecostal or charismatic."
It is abundantly clear that all three of the so called waves of the Holy Spirit are
moving in the same direction-the wrong direction!
From what basic roots did this new third wave movement grow? A careful review of books
written by John Wimber and Peter Wagner reveal the amazing manner in which Wimber, an
evangelical pragmatist, and Wagner, an evangelical scholar, influenced each other in the
late 1970's and early 1980's On page XIX of the introduction in John Wimber' 1986 book, Power
Evangelism, he tells how Wagner'; book, Look Out! The Pentecostals are Coming changed
his own thinking. Wimber wrote:
"I had always avoided Pentecostal and
charismatic Christians, in part because it seemed that often controversy and division
surrounded their ministries. Also, my judgment of their ministries was colored by a
presupposition that charismatic gifts like tongues, prophecy, and healing were not for
today. (As a dispensationalist, I believed the charismatic gifts ceased at the end of the
first century.) But in Dr. Wagner, I encountered a credible witness, an accomplished
missionary and dean of Fuller Theological Seminary's School of World Mission, who wrote
that healing and deliverance from evil spirits were happening in South America today.
Further, he proved that these miraculous encounters resulted in large evangelistic
harvests and church growth. His book forced me to reconsider my position on the
charismatic gifts, though I was still skeptical of their validity today."
The following statements by Wimber in the same book on page xx are also very revealing
with regard to the faulty doctrinal foundation upon which he constructed his theory of
Power Evangelism and built the Vineyard Christian Fellowship. Now, these same unscriptural
doctrines which caused a revolution in Wimber's theology are being spread around the
world. Many are being deceived.
Wimber stated, "While my understanding and practice of evangelism, the Holy
Spirit, and church growth were undergoing a revolution, I still lacked a biblical theology
that integrated the three, a grid for understanding how they are supposed to work together
and fulfill God's purpose on earth." Wimber then amazingly admits that "a solid,
evangelical theology is the foundation on which all practice must stand," but sadly
he chose the false theological foundation taught by Dr. Ladd. Wimber wrote: "I was
already acquainted with Dr. George Eldon Ladd's writings (he was a Fuller Theological
Seminary professor), but it was not until I read his book, Jesus and the Kingdom, that
I realized how his work on the kingdom of God formed a theological basis for power
evangelism."
On page XXI, Dr. Wimber continues his most revealing explanation of the theological
revolution which was taking place in his own thinking: "So in 1978 I left the Charles
E. Fuller Institute of Evangelism and Church Growth to become pastor of what is now called
the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Anaheim, California. It was in this environment, a
small group of fifty people, that "I first tested my theories of power
evangelism." Note that John Wimber, the pragmatist, admits he was
testing his theories, not expounding the Scriptures. Wimber continues this dangerous
practice even to this day. He is continually trying to find out "what works" in
the realm of healing, prophetic messages, casting out demons, etc., so that he can then
teach it to others. Pragmatism is the exact opposite of faith. Pragmatism says, "If
it works, I'll accept and believe it." Faith says, "What I accept and believe is
based entirely upon God's written Word, the Bible."
In the concluding paragraph, John Wimber also reveals the unscriptural, ecumenical
goals he envisions for his power evangelism theories. "In the final chapters I
address the implications of power evangelism for conservative evangelicalism,
Pentecostalism and the charismatic renewal in mainline denominations and the Roman
Catholic Church. Though I write about power evangelism, the most powerful evangelism will
come only when Jesus' prayer for Christian unity is fulfilled." The eventual unity of
this incredible doctrinal diversity is a recurring theme found in the supposed prophecies
coming out of the Third Wave. Could God possibly be the Author of any form of ecumenism
where fidelity to the doctrinal Truth of the Word is abandoned? Absolutely not!
On the back cover of Peter Wagner's 1988 book, The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit, another
very significant statement is made which documents the theological revolution through
which he has come and the revolution he is continuing to fuel. We quote: "In The
Third Wave of the Holy Spirit Wagner candidly recounts how God change his mind and the
minds of others around the world who were unable to grasp the connection between the
kingdom of God and signs and wonders. Here Wagner describes the basic elements of the
Third Wave and offers profound theological and biblical insights into the Spirit's work
among us." Wimber wrote the forward to this book which closed with his full
endorsement: "I highly recommend The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit if you want to
learn how to fulfill the great commission in our generation."
Many of the leaders of all three supposed waves of the Holy Spirit have
expressed the belief that the task of world evangelization in these last days can not be
accomplished by the preaching of the Gospel unaccompanied by signs, wonders, miracles and
healings. Such a view not only is a direct contradiction of the truth of Romans 1:16 but
would also force the unthinkable, unscriptural conclusion that millions of people have
been deprived of the full power of the gospel for nearly 2000 years. This supposed new or
complete gospel is not the Gospel of the Bible!
No one can deny that the entire evangelical movement has been undergoing rapid and
serious changes in recent years. This ever-weakening position is mainly due to three
factors: (1) Compromise with ecumenical apostasy and Roman Catholicism (2) Acceptance and
zealous promotion of the many modern Bible versions. (3) A changed attitude toward the
false teachings of the Pentecostal/charismatic movement. The last two factors have
also adversely affected many fundamentalists.
Note carefully John Wimber's comments as to the changes he observes in both evangelical
and fundamental movements:
"The face of evangelicalism is changing and it
is changing quickly. Fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals who are noncharismatic
no longer can afford to ignore the first two waves of the Holy Spirit in this century.
They are surrounded.... The fundamentalists, have insulated themselves from Pentecostals
and charismatics. Most fundamentalists (though not all) stand outside of the first two
great waves of the Holy Spirit, holding on to fifty-year old criticisms of Pentecostal
excesses. As the move of the Holy Spirit grows around them, I believe many of them could
become more vocal in their opposition to Pentecostals and charismatics, while some will be
anointed and transformed.
The second group, the conservative evangelicals, is
already beginning to show signs of being the object of a new wave, the Third Wave, of the
Holy Spirit's work in this century. By conservative evangelicals I mean a subgrouping
within evangelicalism that is noncharismatic but not necessarily anticharismatic. This is
a group of which I was a part for many years." (From pages XXX and XXXI of the
introduction written by John Wimber for the book, Power Encounters published in
1988 and edited by Kevin Springer, one of Wimber's closest associates).
One fact stands out very clearly. All three of the so-called waves of the Holy Spirit
have done more than any other movement during this century to break down Biblical
distinctions between truth and error, thus paving the way for the coming of the one-world
harlot church of the Antichrist.
Before taking a closer look at some of the major heresies now being propagated by
Wimber, Wagner and other third wave leaders, quotations from the book edited by Dr. Peter
Wagner in 1987 titled Signs & Wonders Today with the subtitle, "The Story
of Fuller Theological Seminary's Remarkable Course on Spiritual Power," are most
enlightening:
"An accumulating body of missiological research
is indicating that, worldwide, where the gospel is spreading most rapidly it is doing so
with signs and wonders following. At the beginning of the decade of the '80's, I felt that
God wanted me to concentrate on the relationship of supernatural signs and wonders to
church growth during the decade. I am now amazed by what has been going on that I knew
little about.
Evangelicals are changing. One thing that is
surprising me is how open fellow evangelicals are to rethinking their position and opening
themselves to new dimensions of God's power. Whenever I say this I need to avoid
misunderstanding by making my position clear. I am not advocating that we all become
Pentecostals or charismatics. I am a Congregationalist and do not intend to change. My
belief is that God desires to work through all His people in powerful ways, leaving our
denominational commitments intact.
It is now generally conceded that we are living in
the time of the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever seen. Whether this indicates
that the second coming of Christ is near, I do not know for sure, but it does seem like
it. If it is true that the harvest is here and that signs and wonders constitute one of
the dynamics which God is using for reaping that harvest, then God's people, no matter
what their theological tradition should pay attention. And they are.
Many Pentecostals who have become somewhat nominal
in their Pentecostal practices are now getting a new lease on life. Many non-Pentecostals
are tuning into the 'third wave' and seeing God begin to use them in healings and
deliverances. Traditional evangelical pastors are attending signs and wonders seminars led
by John Wimber and others. Seminaries across the nation are taking seriously the
supernatural power of the Holy Spirit and introducing courses into their curricula which
they would not have considered five or ten years ago. This book is the story of one of
them, Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California (pp. 23,24). "
Although many other examples which could be given to reveal the manner in which
evangelical churches and groups have been infiltrated by Pentecostal and charismatic
teachings, a statement made last year by another professor at Fuller Theological Seminary,
Dr. Charles Kraft, is especially significant:
"But I am an evangelical and have been for
nearly 50 years, and am real happy to report that the things that started happening in
the-oh, the 60's or so in the charismatic movement are starting to happen now among
evangelicals-and, among evangelicals who don't call ourselves anything else. I don't call
myself a charismatic (some other people do), but I just like to call myself an evangelical
who's a little more Biblical than I have been before. As Gary said, I teach at Fuller
Seminary and so a lot of things I'll be talking about are things you wouldn't expect from
a professor at Fuller Seminary."
One must not lose sight of the fact that although Wimber, Wagner, Kraft and other
leaders of the third wave refuse the Pentecostal or charismatic label, their close
participation with Pentecostal charismatic leaders in major rallies and conferences refute
their non-charismatic claims and document their duplicity.
Although there are minor differences in doctrine and practice, it is important to
recognize that Pentecostals, charismatics, and third wave evangelicals all believe that
all the spiritual gifts bestowed upon the early church are valid and should be operational
today. There is no recognition on the part of any of them that the revelatory gifts ceased
with the completion of the canon of Scripture. As a result, all three so-called waves of
the Holy Spirit leave themselves vulnerable to deception on the part of those today who
claim direct word from God through professed "spiritual gifts" such as dreams,
visions, tongues, interpretation of tongues, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, etc.
Early Pentecostals insisted that speaking in tongues always accompanied the baptism of
the Holy Spirit. Emphasis upon that teaching lessened when the charismatic movement came
on the scene and Roman Catholic influences increased. Today, Wimber, Wagner and other
third wave leaders do speak in tongues but do not make it an evidence that a Christian has
been filled with the Holy Spirit. Other differences in emphasis also exist, but the same
dangerous doctrinal errors are common to all three waves.
We are glad to report that many who were originally attracted to the Charismatic
movement have now separated from it. As they studied the Scriptures, they came to see just
how cleverly they had been deceived. Many who were in bondage to the false teachings of
the Roman Catholic Church, went into the Charismatic movement, not realizing that they
were in a movement which is leading unsuspecting evangelicals back to Rome. Now they see
that they have been twice deceived-first by Romanism and then by the charismatic heresies.
We are greatly concerned about what is happening in the Pentecostal/charismatic
movement and especially now in the Power Evangelism/Signs and Wonders third wave movement.
The teachings of all these movements strike at the very heart of the Bible and the Gospel.
Wimber, Wagner and those who follow their false teachings repeatedly claim that they have
discovered that God can speak as well as write. As a result, although claiming the Bible
as their authority, they place greater emphasis upon and spend much time in their meetings
in the exercise of their supposed gifts of prophecy or word of knowledge. Their deceived
followers hang upon every word as they listen to the messages supposedly received directly
from God. Wimber, who claims to have the gifts of both prophecy and word of knowledge has
been experimenting with these "gifts" for the past two years.
At the Indianapolis conference in 1990, Wimber told them, "It was amazing and
astounding to me when I found out that God also could communicate outside of the Scripture
and directly to His children-astounding to me-and I have been exploring that paradigm
(model) now for a number of years trying to work out the ramifications of that and trying
to gain, not only a theological understanding of God's ability to communicate, but a
practical understanding so that it can be taught and trained in other people's
lives."
John Wimber, the evangelical pragmatist, is always looking for things that work, rather
than things which are taught in the written Word of God-the only rule for faith and
practice. This is a very dangerous, unscriptural approach. In the providence of God, we
have been able to closely follow the words and works of both Wimber and Wagner since their
third wave movement was launched. In behalf of Foundation, I covered and wrote a full
report on the Academic Symposium on Power Evangelism which was held at Fuller Seminary in
December, 1988. It was at that meeting that Wimber recounted his search to find a model
for a healing ministry in the church. Where did he look? He said, "We visited 'high'
church models, liturgical models, sacramental models. We went to tent meetings and brush
arbor meetings. We watched Pentecostals do it . . . We are still thinking, we are still
looking at models and trying new things; and we are still training people."
Thinking, looking, searching, trying-does this sound like the gift of healing given to
some in the early church? Incidentally, it was at this same meeting that Wagner introduced
his theory of "territorial spirits," a new classification of evil spirits not
found in the Bible nor in church history. When challenged by one of the scholars on his
presentation, Wagner said the intention of his essay was "not to arrive at
conclusions but rather to suggest hypotheses." "And," he said, "I
trust that the tentativeness of my research will be evident throughout."
Beloved, when any one goes beyond the written Word of God, they are left with no
certainties-only theories and tentative answers. All three supposed waves of the Holy
Spirit cannot be other than manifestations of a false spirit.
When the Pentecostal movement came on the scene, the emphasis was upon the fact that
the special power manifested in the lives of certain believers came as a result of the
baptism of the Holy Spirit. Tongues, prophecies, healings, etc., were gifts-not something
to be learned. But, with the coming of the Charismatic movement and even more so in the
Power Evangelism movement, the claim is made that the full use and exercise of these
spiritual gifts can and must be taught and/or caught. In the Vineyard Christian
Fellowship, Wimber is trying to teach many others how to heal, how to hear God's voice,
how to prophesy, how to receive and communicate words of knowledge, etc. Wimber's false
thesis is that the disciples not only heard Jesus' words but they learned how to do
His works by being with Him, etc. From that false foundation, Wimber leaps to the false
conclusions he teaches concerning the impartation and use of spiritual gifts today.
From January 28-31, 1991, John Wimber and his Vineyard Christian Fellowship held a big
conference at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California with the theme
"Revival Fire." We covered this meeting with FOUNDATION
press credentials, and more information concerning the same will be forthcoming in future
issues. So many significant things were said and done there that a more complete report
will have to await a review of my notes and tapes of the messages. I can assure you,
however, that I came away from that meeting, convinced that this third wave movement is
even more deceptive than the previous two. I cannot recall ever having attended another
conference through all these years which more deceptively mixed truth and error. Nor can I
recall any previous meeting where it appeared that more people were blindly following
unscriptural leadership. The Third Wave is captivated by the idea that in these end times,
God is supposedly re-establishing the offices of prophet and apostle with the power and
authority beyond anything experienced by even the Old Testament prophets and the New
Testament apostles.
God's people need to know how several pastors who claimed the special gift of prophecy
and became known as the Kansas City Fellowship convinced John Wimber of their supernatural
prophetic gifts and, subsequently, how they placed themselves under Wimber's tutelage when
so many inconsistencies came to light as to their abuse of prophetic gifts The result is
that these false prophets can continue their unscriptural ministries under the Wimber
mantle which gives them "evangelical" status and supposed theological
legitimacy. Now they can, together, spread their false teachings around the world
Wimber's Revival Fire conference in Anaheim revealed the manner in which false
spirits are operating in the name of the Holy Spirit. All the main meetings began with the
use of what is often mislabeled as "Christian Rock." Sometimes the music was
deafening and produced all kinds of body gyrations on the part of many of those present.
At other times, the beat would slow and the sound was reduced almost to a whisper. It
obviously was possible to move in a matter of seconds from fleshly demonstration to
supposed piety.
At various points in the service, usually near the end when the supposed gifts of the
spirit were in operation, several people would begin sobbing loud and uncontrollably. At
others times, some would break out in hysterical laughter. On several occasions, people
would make animal noises and jump around on the floor. On such occasions, the leader
usually John Wimber himself, would quietly say "That's all right-the Holy Spirit is
at work." Finally he would shout out - "Come, Holy Spirit-Come," and he
would command the Holy Spirit to help or heal and would command Satan to leave. One of the
speakers said the Lord had revealed to him that there were a large number of those present
who were practicing witchcraft and/or were drug users He invited those who wanted prayer
for deliverance to stand up. A young woman who was seated directly in front of me and who
had been participating in an apparent reverent manner in all the worship segments, stood
up as a public acknowledgment of her sin. She began weeping as did many others in the
audience as the speaker "bound Satan" and proclaimed deliverance. Yet, all or
most of those present were supposedly already Christians and members of Vineyard
Fellowship Churches.
Many contradictions are repeatedly found in the statements of leaders who claim the
leading of the Holy Spirit. For instance, John Wimber spoke of the possibility of Christ's
return at any moment. But, later he gave an invitation for childless couples to come
forward for prayer, saying God had used him in the past to help many such couples have
children. Many rushed forward; he prayed for them; then told them the children which would
be born as a result of this special gift from the Lord would need special parental
attention and care since God had told him that these children would see the coming of the
Lord.
There was a great deal of talk at Anaheim about anointed preaching, teaching,
praying, witnessing, etc., and special emphasis was given to anointed music. The
obvious implication was that the Vineyard musicians were under God's anointing and that
everyone must realize what an important part music would play in world evangelization. A
well-known country singer sang and gave his testimony. He explained that through his
anointed music he could bring the gospel into the bars and other places of worldly
amusement where the gospel would not otherwise be tolerated or heard. He received high
praise from Wimber, himself a jazz musician before his supposed conversion. Several times
statements were made from the platform which I didn't fully understand until several days
later. These statements were to the effect that 'we missed God's anointed music the first
time He gave it and we must not make the same mistake when he restores that
anointing." It wasn't until later that I discovered that this supposed original
anointing of music and musicians involved the infamous Beatles.
Was the Beatles' music "anointed of God"? No discerning believer would have
any hesitancy about answering such a question with a resounding, "No'!
But, believe it or not, one of the many new false prophets of our day recently claimed
that both the Beatles and their new music were the result of; special anointing of the
Holy Spirit; and, that although God had to withdraw that anointing from them when they
later misused it, God is now looking for others upon whom He can place that anointing
supposedly to bring about a worldwide revival through music.
The false prophet who made this astounding claim is James Ryle, one of the growing
number of supposed modern prophets associated with John Wimber and his Vineyard Christian
Fellowship. Ryle claims that he was instructed by God to give these new
"revelations" to the church. The following in formation and excerpts are from a
tape recording of Ryle's self-proclaimed revelations given publicly last November at the
Harvest Conference in Denver Colorado:
"The Lord has appointed me as a lookout and
shown me some things that I want to show you and tell you . . . The Lord spoke to me and
said What you saw in the Beatles-the gifting and the sound that they had-was from Me. It
did not belong to them. It was my purpose to bring forth through music a worldwide revival
that would usher in the move of my Spirit in bringing men and women to Christ ... Now, I'm
looking for those who I can place that anointing back upon. And, as surely as I place it
upon them, they will come forth with a sound that is distinctive that will turn the hearts
of men and women and capture their hearts."
Then, referring to a notable telecast of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show years ago,
Ryle said "Do you remember when the camera went off the Beatles into that balcony? .
. . Do you remember the people pulling their hair and screaming? Do you remember what they
were screaming?-John, Paul George & Ringo! Do you know I saw in a vision this same
balcony scene again. I saw the same emotion, the same devotion. I saw the same earnestness
on the faces of the people sitting there; but, this time they weren't screaming-John,
Paul, George and Ringo-this time they were screaming one name, Jesus,-that's what they
were doing. There's a sound coming forth-an anointing upon music that, when those in our
midst who are musically gifted begin to employ their talents in the anointing of
the Lord, an awesome move of the Spirit of God is going to happen and countless multitudes
are going to be thrust into the loving embrace of the Lord Jesus...."
Ryle's statements clearly reveal the Satanic delusions under which he and other
so-called modern prophets are ministering. John Wimber and others associated with him in
the Vineyard Christian Fellowship are deceiving themselves as well as others. 2 Timothy
3:13-17. The Beatles and their music were clearly of the devil and so is Ryle's false
prophecy that millions will be saved through a re-introduction of the "anointed
music" originally given through the Beatles. Such a prophecy could not possibly have
been from the Holy Spirit!
One of the main teachers at the Revival Fire Conference was Dr. Jack Deere who has
become a key figure in the Vineyard ministry. He formerly was a faculty member for 12
years at Dallas Theological Seminary and, along with Dr. Peter Wagner, is one of the top
theological leaders of the Power Evangelism movement. However, when you read the following
report of what Deere had to say concerning his understanding of the Gospel, you will be
shocked as we were.
Deere's remarks were made during a visit of Wimber and his team to Sydney, Australia as
reported in the April, 1990 issue of The Briefing. a publication of St. Matthias
Press in London, England. During a question and answer session following one of the
seminars taught by Deere, he was asked, "What is the Gospel?" Since his answer
seemed vague and evasive, a man by the name of Graham Banister questioned Deere further on
this matter in a personal interview afterward. We quote his report:
"Let me briefly explain the background to this
interview. The Thursday workshop provided a time for questions and during this time I
challenged some of Dr. Deere's teaching. In the ensuing dialogue, he asked me what I
thought the gospel was. I replied that it was about Jesus Christ who died for our sins and
was buried and raised on the third day and that it is this gospel by which we are saved (1
Cor.15). His reply was that this was not the gospel. Somewhat confused, I decided to take
up the matter at a future time, hence the following revealing interview.
After introducing myself, I said to Dr. Jack Deere,
'I wonder if you might tell me why you felt my explanation of the gospel was defective
yesterday?' To which he replied, 'I'm not really very prepared to talk about that.'
I must admit that I was a little surprised at this
initial response, considering he had just finished speaking to five and a half thousand
people on false teachers. Added to this was the fact that two days earlier he had informed
us of the many ancient languages in which he had become proficient in order to fully
understand the Bible. I wouldn't have thought some one with such impressive credentials
would need to do all that much preparation for a friendly discussion on the content of the
gospel.
Given his lack of preparation, I then asked, 'Well,
just off the top of your head, what do you think the gospel is?' Jack Deere replied, 'I'm
not prepared to make a formal statement about that.' . . . My next question was, 'Could
you perhaps tell me informally what you believe to be the gospel?' Jack Deere answered,
'I'm not sure.' Somewhat stunned, I said, 'I find that quite surprising-that you are not
sure what the gospel is.'
Jack Deere then commented, 'I used to be just like
you . . . thinking the gospel was simply justification by faith.' I responded, 'Are you
saying that the gospel is more than justification by faith?' 'Yes,' he said. 'What would
you add to it?' I asked. 'Deliverance,' he said. Then I asked, 'What do you mean by
Deliverance?' He explained, 'Things like demons and healing and ....'
Pausing for a deep breath, I said, 'So, let me get
this straight. You would add as an essential part of the gospel things like the exorcising
of demons and healing?' He nodded. 'Sort of like what John Wimber was saying last night at
the evangelistic rally that it's the complete package-the word and the works of Jesus?'
'Yes,' he said. 'But you're not sure exactly what should be included?' I asked. 'No,' he
said, 'not yet.'
Not sure of what to say next, I asked, 'Would it be
fair to say that you're in a state of flux since you joined the Wimber thing?' He quickly
responded, 'We're always in a state of flux-you are too ....' 'But on the gospel message?'
I said. 'Surely that's one thing we should have worked out ... Don't you think we can
reduce the gospel to some sort of summary statement like Paul does in say 1 Corinthians 1
and 2 or 1 Corinthians 15 or 1 Thessalonians 4 or Romans 5 or...' There was no response
except a shrug of the shoulders.
Continuing to be amazed, I said, 'Are you saying
that you couldn't go back into that pavilion and tell those people the gospel?' He
replied, 'No not yet.' I responded, 'When do you think you could do it?' And he said,
'maybe five years, maybe ten....'
After this we chattered on about a few other things
but I remained stunned that one of the leading minds, if not the leading theological mind
in the Signs and Wonders Movement, did not know what was the gospel."
How could any true believer not be stunned by such statements? But, John Wimber and
other power evangelism leaders apparently were not stunned nor even concerned. Why? It
appears that this power evangelism third wave movement has spent so much time trying to
hear God speak (prophetic messages) that they are ignoring what God has written (the
Bible).
When Pentecostalism (the first wave of the Spirit) declined in influence, it was
rejuvenated by the Charismatic movement (the second wave.) When it was rocked by the Jim
Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart scandals and appeared to be on the down grade, along came Wimber
and Wagner with the so-called third wave of the Spirit. With their seemingly more evangelical
approach (but with the same false teachings of the Pentecostals and
charismatics) multitudes are being taken-in who would have had nothing to do with the
first two "waves"; even fundamental churches are noticing a sinister pull on
their people-Believers, beware!
M.H. Reynolds
Sr. Editor, FOUNDATION MAGAZINE
