Joe Beam, Jubilee 98, Forgiven Forever

Joe Beam, Jubilee 98, Forgiven Forever? Jubilee 97 disposed of baptism and now teach a direct operation of the Holy Spirit. Joe Beam will be reviewing his book: Forgiven Forever at Jubilee 98.

One of the grossest examples of this pop technique is the song "I get so excited, Lord (I'm forgiven)". Having the musical direction "with pace and swing", the lyrics say:

I get so excited, Lord, ev'ry time I realize

I'm forgiven, I'm forgiven. Jesus Lord, You've done it all,

You've paid the price,

I'm forgiven, I'm forgiven. Hallelujah, Lord,

My heart just fills with praise,

My feet start dancing, my hands rise up,

And my lips they bless Your name.

I'm forgiven, I'm forgiven, I'm forgiven, I'm forgiven, I'm forgiven, I'm forgiven.

Jesus said: "My Words are Spirit and Life" (John 6:63). Therefore, TRUTH is the Lamb sacrificed on the altar of "progressive" worship.

Joe Beam blames the Right Wing for the division created by Rubel Shelly and the Jubilee or New Wineskin movement. Those who oppose the introduction of clearly unscriptural activities are identified as Zealots. This speech was published by the Christian Chronicle.

The oldest dodge in the world is that "You cannot blame the spear. You have to blame the enemy whose shield did not prevent the spear from penetrating his heart."

> You cannot blame those, with no authority, who with a high hand decided to instroduce instrumental music knowing that it would "sow discord" and "offend at least half of these little ones." Furthermore, you could literally say: "You will remain without complaint or you will not participate: you will not be a 'happy camper.'"

> However, if you cannot worship with instruments and leave then you are Pharisee, hypocrite, legalistics and sectarians. See Olan Hicks and Ray Downen's version.

Understand the Narrative Theology promoted by Rubel Shelly and the Jubilee team and others who reject the Word. Rubel Shelly then explains the Exodus event as a pattern for Christian worship and community, and the people as "our spiritual fathers." This turns the "fall from Grace" of Israel at Mount Sinai and caused by musical idolatry into a spiritual pattern. Rubel Shelly confesses to having "taken liberties" with God's version and recommends the people as Woodmont Hills to do the same. In the first Exodus Retrospective you can see where the Jubilee band is going.

The result of this "Liberation Theology" from the came South American Catholics who gave you the Jubilee "for the atonement," is that the musical idolatry which caused God to take away His covenant of Grace and impose The Book of the Law is an approved pattern for worship with instrumental music.

I suspect that we all need a good dose of psychology at times but perhaps we need all of the self-help because, in the words of Amos 8, we are hungering and thirsting for the Word, wander from sea to sea (Los Angeles to Nashville) trying to find it but it has all dried up.

Families are always in trouble and perhaps any method which improves families is helpful. If Joe helps then who are we to complain? However, salvation cannot be packed into a song, sermon, book or a Jubilee festival because:

"Whatever form its social ramifications may have taken, the jubilee was, and remained, a religious affair, for the atonement of sin (see Lev. XXV, 9)."

Didn't Lord Jesus Christ die to set us free from the "doctors of the Law" lading us down with Feasts of Tabernacles as the ancient book-selling, sermon peddling, become a "man of note," get-on-the-lecture circuit being sold as a legal Jubilee 98 to set us free? The way to be set free from destructive teachers, liberal or conservative, is to become a true disciple of Christ and go directly to His source of Spirit or mind through the Word. Jubilee 99 will be for Lifting up the Name of the Lord. However, God said:

And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: Isaiah 5:15

But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. Isaiah 5:16

Holding a "let's be friendly" act of worship or "let's now lift up the Lord" ritual is a direct violation of Jesus' command that worship is in spirit or mind and in truth, devoted to His Word because He is totally competent to preach all of the sermons and compose all of the songs.

One of the great losses to liberalism is the Word of God as it has been delivered to us. It was intended to be read and understood as a history of God's dealing with sinful people who are not prophets and are not therefore in touch with the Spirit of God except through the Mind of Christ (1 Cor 2). The real value of God's message is that it is free:

HO, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Is 55:1

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Is 55:2

For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: Is 55:10 (New wine {juice} for the stomach water for the soul)

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Is 55:11

Joe Beam defines sectarian Pharisees as making a law out of hand washing. The truth, however, is that Jesus responded to all of the Jew's insistence upon personal hygiene by asking

why they preferred to ignore the commandments of God

just to be able to enforce their own commandments.

He defines a true Pharisee as a professional who changes God's commandments to give themselves "ministries"

by which they extracted money and even stole the houses of widows. They were the original "Change Agents" because they saw the Scriptures as "living" and therefore could be changed to meet the needs of contemporary worship.

Those who change God's Will and make a new traditionalism out of music actually "steal the church houses of widows."

This charge of being sectarian Pharisees seems directed at churches of Christ who feel no need to become ecumenical and affirm everyone whatever view of Scripture they hold.

However, it is not true that churches of Christ hold their views of baptism or church organization or against instrumental music or "wow worship with women" based on rigid traditions.

There is no historical approval of instrumental music among ancient scholars, and Catholics admit to having added instruments for Seeker-Sucking purposes of attracting paying customers. The Catholic Encyclopedia still holds the view churches of Christ hold.

Joe Beam promotes another book and you may view the excerpts by Clicking Here. My emphasis and added notes are to help you really discern what is going on. We offer the following notes to show that we are too prone to believe that what comes into our mind is the Spirit of God speaking to us. For instance, the promo piece asks:

"Why Are You Reading This Book?

Joe Beam: "The spiritual war in your life may be the reason you're reading this book right now.

"You may think you bought this book because you are researching a sermon or Bible class. Maybe you think you're reading it because a friend recommended it. Perhaps you were browsing through the bookstore and the title appealed to you. Let me offer another possibility.

The forces of God led you to read this book.

"That sounds rather melodramatic, but it's not just an idle thought. Having spent years traveling across America speaking to millions of people, I have come to realize that I am often put in just the right place at just the right time to say just the right words to just the right audience containing just the right person, changing a life in a way too dramatic to explain. Sometimes the person walks up to me after one of those presentations and tells me right then. Other times the letter arrives weeks or months later...

This reviewer remembers God revealing something else through Isaiah:

When men tell you to consult mediums (knowing ones) and spiritists (using the familiar spirit or old wineskin), who whisper (coo and chatter) and mutter (stomp and complain), should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult (necromancer) the dead on behalf of the living (congregation)? Is 8:19

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word,

they have no light of dawn. Is.8:20

And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Is 19:10

The Pharisees are commended for being part of the "living Bible" with their changes keeping God's Word up to date. However, the "hand washing" episode shows that they were lost and beyond redemption because they could not grasp that Scripture was an expression of the Mind or Spirit. When they worshiped acording to the doctrines of men their worship was vain. You cannot write off the Epistles of the Apostles as divided interpretations among divided congregations and not go beyond redemption because that is blasphemy.

Joe Beam continues:

"How can you know if God's forces guided this book to you? To find out, ask yourself this question as you read: Is the message I'm reading directed at me and my circumstance?

Allow the words of this book to penetrate you,

searching out the unseen sin in your own heart and mind. Truth shines a powerful light on the lies we believe, making those lies appear as they really are--garbage wrapped in colorful tissue to make them attractive.

You may find the secrets of your heart laid bare and your rationalizations exposed. When you do, thank God for His loving confrontation, and embrace the truth that will free you.

Again, while it may be unloving, sectarian and Pharisaical to point it out, it seems that I have heard the Holy Spirit giving the same reasons for following the Word of Christ:

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing (penetrating) even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Heb.4:12

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account Heb.4:13

and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!" 1Co.14:25

Joe Beam continues: "If it's terrifying, thank God for guiding this book to you and let His truth set you free. He delivers His children from the evil, seducing beings, and He will rescue you."

Note what Jesus said: Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; Jn 8:31

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Jn 8:32

"It's time you learn to discern the invisible power of good and evil and to release the greatest power of all--the power of God--to work in you.

Note: But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. Lk 11:20

Joe again: "Read on if you are ready to see the unseen."

If you want to know why all of the yous are in blue Click Here.

Now Joe Beam proved to you at Jubilee 96 that he is personally inspired so you must buy his book and attend Jubilee 98. Joe has the gift of the Holy Spirit called "discerning the spirits":

Joe Beam: "For example, I was dealing with this couple one time, ... and she just discovered they had thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dollars charged to credit cards she didn't know they had.... As I'm driving over to meet them, not knowing how to handle that, knowing that I just had one shot, I just said, 'God, would you give me the wisdom to know when either of them lies?' I sat in front of them talking to them. The guy says something, I said, 'Pardon me sir, but that's a lie.' He said, 'What makes you think so?' I said, 'Gut feel.' Then I thought, 'No, that's a lie.'

I said, 'I may have finally sailed over the edge, but I believe God just told me that you lied.'

He said, 'You heard a voice?' I said, 'No, it's just this. I prayed to God to give me wisdom to tell me when you lied and I had this overwhelming sensation that you lied, so I'm believing God answered the prayer and you just lied to me.' He talked for a few more minutes. I said, 'You lied again.' A few more minutes and I said, 'You ...' This went on for an hour. Finally, after an hour, he said, 'Okay. I'll tell you what I did.' He said, 'I've been gambling. I've been getting money against cash ... you know, cash withdrawals, go into these bars and drinking and gambling.' And his wife, of course, it was all news to her. Her jaw fell open. She turned and looked at him. She said, 'If you were in those bars drinking and gambling where there were women. You were with women.' He said, 'No, I swear, no women.' She looked at me and she said, 'Is he lying?' I said, 'No, my sense of it is he's telling you the truth about that' (Speech, The Holy Spirit, Tape 2, Nashville Jubilee, 1996).

Not even the Jerusalem council had more power. They just had this here impulse, checked their "bible" and sure enough, nothing to contradict their impulse:

Joe Beam: "Now James says, 'Let's compare what's happening to the Bible. Let's see if this that's happening is in contradiction to the word or in harmony to the word.' Now, when they look at it they find that what is happening is not in contradiction to the word but is in harmony to the word and they're now trying to make a decision what they should do....

'It is my judgment therefore that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.... Then the apostles and elders with the whole church decided to choose some of their own men and send them back to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. Now, they write a letter ... and in verse 28 they say this in the letter: 'It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements ... This is our judgment.' And when they came together in that judgment, they say it is good to the Holy Spirit.

Now, if you read that, they just ascribed their decision to the Holy Spirit. They gave him the credit for what they decided. (Joe Beam, The Holy Spirit, Nashville Jubilee, 1996, Tape 2).

There you have it: you get an impulse to write a book. You check and find that there is no legalistic command which says, "Thou shalt not claim that your book is inspired." Therefore, "it seems good to me, the publisher and to the Holy Spirit that I can claim direct inspiration to write this here book and claim the power of discernment."

Joe Beam: I think that the Holy Spirit spoke to them (since they were literate) through Leviticus 17 and 18 for Gentiles living among the Israelites. Remember that the prophets were guided by God:

Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 1 Pet 1:10

Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 1 Pet 1:11

Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. Acts 15:14

And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, Acts 15: 15

After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: Acts 15: 16

That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Acts 15: 17

Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Acts 15: 18

Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: Acts 15: 19

But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. Acts 15:20

But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. Acts 15: 20

For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. Acts 15: 21

Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: Acts 15: 22

And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Acts 15: 23

For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; Acts 15: 28

That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. Acts 15: 29

By learning the INSPIRED TEXT every Sabbath in synagogues, they were GUIDED by the Holy Spirit. This was in contrast to the Pharisees:

"They interpreted the Law according to its spirit;

when in the course of time a law had been outgrown or superseded by changing conditions,

they gave it a new and more acceptable meaning,
seeking scriptural support for their actions through a ramified system of hermeneutics.

It was due to this progressive tendency of the Pharisees that their interpretation of the Torah continued to develop and has remained a living force in Judaism.

Catholic Encyclopedia Pharisees

John Locke defines sectarianism and heresy this:

Nor does it signify anything for them to say that their confessions and symbols

are agreeable to Scripture and to the analogy of faith;
for if they be conceived in the express words of Scripture,
there can be no question about them, because those things are acknowledged by all Christians to be of divine inspiration and therefore fundamental.

Well, perhaps the Holy Spirit gave them credit for what He decided. There wasn't a "wee, little person" sitting on their shoulders. Rather, they had the mind of Christ in their mind which Jesus promised to them as His Spiritual presence (Jn 14:18 which you will not find quoted on any book on the Holy Spirit person.)

I think what really happened is recorded in Acts 15:16f. They checked on the Spirit by checking on the Words of the Spirit which was the Spirit of Christ (1 Pe 1:11). Jesus said that His Words were "Spirit and life" (Jn 6:63).

Once again, the people had a direct command revealed to an apostle to whom the promise of supernatural guidance was bestowed. However, being Filled with the Spirit meant that He pointed to the Word:

Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. Ac 15:14

And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, Ac15:15

When James (an inspired person) said, "Therefore I judge" it was not his decision but the decision of God's Mind or Spirit through his revelation to the prophet and to SIMEON. James concluded exactly what the Spirit of Christ in the prophets concluded. This was not 1 + 1 adds up to truth, but 1 = 1 is truth. The appeal to the Mind of God or the Spirit of Christ through the prophets was to convince the church.

Now, the idea is that what we decide without contradicting a legal command of the Word of God is equivalent to the Holy Spirit deciding. But didn't the apostles have a special dispensation of Christ's Spirit or Mind guiding them directly? And didn't they consult the revealed Scriptures?

Joe Beam: "God didn't leave the earth in the first century. God came to the earth in the first century in the form of the Holy Spirit. So that Jesus, when he was here incarnate in the flesh, when he was leaving us, said, "I'm not gonna leave you alone, I'm gonna give you a comforter, a buddy, a pal." And I don't use those words sacrilegiously at all. He meant somebody who would stand with you through it all, to be your friend, to be there to strengthen you in the inner person when you need strengthening and that would be the Holy Spirit of God and he is here for us. (Joe Beam, The Holy Spirit, Tape 3, Nashville Jubilee, 1996).

But, Bible 101aaa proves that this was not a little man (third man) inside your literal body. Jesus said to the Apostles:

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Jn 14:16

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Jn 14:18

When He appeared to Paul He said: "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting."

So, the Holy Spirit is not part of the "living Scriptures" process who will ammend Christ's words, suitable in Blackaby's words to His dispensation, by fitting the fallible Scriptures to meet the needs of contemporary worship or the budget. If the Spirit, Who is named "Jesus," said something contradictory to what Jesus in the Flesh said, this would have Jesus as full Deity (Col. 2:9) having to change His Mind.

How does this happen? Does God bypass Jesus Christ, Full Deity, Spirit and the Word Christ died for teaching, and directly inspire you to go searching the book store or Howard Publishing to buy the only book capable of changing your life written by Joe claiming what Christ claims for the Bible?

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. Jn 14:23

He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Fathers which sent me. Jn 14:24

Oh, Yes, I know that Christ died to set us free of the burden laded by doctors of the law which is "spiritual anxiety from religious ritual." But, you see, spiritual anxiety from religious ritual (conservative or liberal or wine-induced) is what creates the anxiety. The more anxiety we create the more seminars you need and the more books you need and the more Jubilees you need and the more anxiety we can create in you and the more books we can sell and...

If the words of the one and only God of the universe cannot get the job done (in your dependant mind) then you may be beyond redemption and it really does not matter. In fact, the Bible clearly shows that musical worship which tokenizes His words is more a supernatural sign than a cause of lostness beyond redemption.

Doesn't this sound familiar? Never any verse 18. Never!

"Did you ever stop to think or to consider that Jesus said the Holy Spirit would come to take his place? Have you not read where Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever?" (John 14:14-17) ...

"What I am affirming is that the Holy Spirit is personally present, is really present, in the conviction and conversion of the sinner as Jesus was present when he dealt with men and women while he was here in body, during his personal ministry. (Ben M. Bogard, First Affirmative Speech, "The Work of The Holy Spirit," Hardeman-Bogard Debate, Gospel Advocate Co., 1938, p. 9).

No, the idea of the spirit "person" taking the place of the "son" person who took the place of the "Father" person is the heresy of the trinity of separate persons. No "Bible" or "church Fathers" formed that view. The Holy Spirit is Lord Jesus Christ as Spirit Who guided the apostles, not us, into all truth directly.

Well, this writer may also be inspired. I have noticed that those who claim a direct operation from a literal indwelling of a literal Third Person of God, the African "little man (Holy Spirit) in the big man (me), cannot--I repeat, cannot--quote the keynote verse. Again, Jesus concluded by saying:

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Jn 14:18

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God is the Mind of Christ. Jesus Christ returned in Spirit form to guide men like Paul into all truth both what he had heard and what Christ would appear to him as he needed aid.

Total God lives in our spirit or mind as His Mind. He does not cut Himself up to literally live in your literal flesh body.

What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? Jn 6:62

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. Jn 6:63

If John took liberties just to get us to "experience Jesus" and create faith while using "old narratives" or Jewish Legends then he was not faithfully reporting the Jesus Experience:

Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. John 8:28

For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. John 12:49

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. John 14:10

Jesus commanded the Apostles to speak what they had heard and would be revealed to them. Then Paul obeyed that command and then commanded the churches to speak to one another with the 'word of Christ' (Col 3) which was the Spirit (Ephesiahs 5)

This failure is why Jesus condemned the "sectarian" Pharisees and not for washing hands. They changed the laws to meet the needs of society rather than change society to meet the demands of Scripture. This was evil because the words of Old Testament Scripture was breathed by the Spirit of Christ. And to make them limited to the first century is to blaspheme.

Well, yes I know that the Word is not the "person" Holy Spirit. But I also know that Holy Spirit is not "person." He is Holy Mind, the Mind of Christ (2 Cor 2) Click for more. When the Holy Spirit lives within and walks with us it is Lord Jesus Christ. If we could literally see Full Deity in our presence would we claim that He has sent you to the book store to buy my book?

Click Here to find out that the Restoration leaders, consistent with most Ante-Nicene Fathers believed that you cannot cut God into three literal persons, standing side by side and face to face. Rather, the One God is explained by Adam made in His own image containing body, soul and spirit. Terms like Word, Spirit, Lamb, Door etc. are personification so that we can understand spiritual truth.

Perhaps the majority of people will believe it when someone tells them that they should trust them rather than Jesus and His Word. We believe that the loving thing is to tell you that we believe that this is not the kind of rational (spiritual) thinking Jesus came to deliver.

One, almost unforgivable sin and therefore not forgiven forever, happened to Simon after he believed and was baptized:

But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery (a Magian, a wise man) , and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: Acts 8:9

To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. Acts 8:10

And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries (magic). Acts 8:11

To be bewitched:

Ecistemi (g1839) ex-is'-tay-mee; from 1537 and 2476; to put (stand) out of wits, i.e. astound, or (reflex.) become astounded, insane: - amaze, be (make) astonished, be beside self (selves), bewitch, wonder.

When Simon, the Magi, tried to buy the power Peter had, Peter demanded:

Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. Acts 8:22

Those singing or speaking their own songs in Corinth would be branded just like Simon the sorcerer:

If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? 1 Cor 14:23

Mainomai (g3105) mah'ee-nom-ahee; (to long for; through the idea of insensate craving); to rave as a "maniac": - be beside self (mad)

The magi claimed to have power which belonged only to God:

> "Finally the Magi made offerings and cast spells upon the wind, sacrificing also to Thetis and the Nereids. In this way they made the wind stop on the fourth day--or perhaps it died down on its own. They sacrificed to Thetis after hearing from the Ionians the story that it was from this place that Peleus had carried her off and that all the headland of Sepia belonged to her and to the other Nereids. Herodotus

> "With these words he was gone, leaving a guide behind. And then the Medes came in, after they had delivered to the magi what the magi had directed them to set apart for the gods.

And they had selected for Cyrus the most splendid tent and the lady of Susa, who was said to be the most beautiful woman in Asia, and two of the most accomplished music-girls; and afterward they had selected for Cyaxares the next best. They had also supplied themselves with such other things as they needed, so that they might continue the campaign in want of nothing; for there was an abundance of everything. Xenophon Cyropaedia 4.6.11

> "Summoning, mediating, and expelling devices In the form of magic or sacred words, singing, and music, sound plays or has played an important role in the worship of most religions. The same is true of light and of aromatic substances, such as oils, perfumes, and incense. The importance of these elements has brought about the creation or adoption of specific objects with functions that often serve converging purposes in worship. In most cases they are used

to draw the attention of the deity,
to establish a connection with it,
and to exorcise forces that are evil or harmful to the god and to men.

Because of the need to attract the deity's attention, the sound-producing instruments are usually

percussive or shrill, rather than melodic, and drums, gongs, cymbals, bells, conchs, and sistrums (timbrels, or rattles) are the most common forms. "ceremonial object" Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Or Click Here.

Is it still a sin to claim that God leads you to a certain book to deliver His message in a new "direct" but not quite direct operation of the Holy Spirit. You decide.

So many of the New Style of Worship songs trivialise the high truths of salvation. Many are in a style which is simply not suited to the holy spirituality which is due to our God. Moreover, due to their pietistic, subjectivist roots, many of today's songs are highly self-centred in their expression, and they pursue an almost obsessive musical celebration of "Me and My Wonderful Feelings" rather than the Lord and His amazing works. Moreover, many of the New Style of Worship songs appear to have been designed to put a congregation into a state of blissful ecstasy -- especially if sung repetitively, as they most often are. This induces a pre-hypnotic 'Alpha-wave' brain-state condition, in which people are more easily susceptible to the expectations and the powerful suggestions of influential leaders. These are ideas which we will be developing. In fact, many of the songs of today are pursuing an agenda which is not immediately apparent to the casual observer -- that is, until you know the 'buzz' words and phrases. Dynamic triggers such as "I'm building a people of power" --   a reference to the triumphalist, pseudo-miracle-working, 'Kingdom-Now' Dominionism which is so prevalent among the New Style of Worship songwriters --   are like rallying-calls to those suggestible enough to receive them.   Or what about the line "My feet start dancing, my hands rise up"? The agenda is clear enough here.   When repeated often enough over a period of time, these ideas begin to exert a real sway over the singer. None of this has happened in a vacuum but is surely part of a major downgrade or even part of a much wider apostasy of mind-blowing proportions. Yet, because of the stealth-like manner in which this is being executed, comparatively few professing Christians are aware of the seriousness of the issue... This blowing out of the mind is precisely what the Charismatic phenomenon is all about. These also are the facts which account for the huge success of the Charismatic Movement in the so-called Third World countries, where magic, witchcraft, occultism and superstition hold sway. The energy being manipulated in Pentecostal/Charismatic circles today -- which causes the unusual manifestations -- is what is known in Eastern mysticism as Kundalini energy, or Serpent-Power. These people are playing with fire -- occult fire. But they have no conception of the dance in which they are involved, and the outcome which is in store for them Alan Morrison The "Serpent Power" in the Bible is related to musical instruments which looked like the copper, poison-spitting Cobra of Egypt. The word for speaking in tongues was almost identical.

Here is how the "team" is trying to lead the world astray:

Rubel Shelly: From Wineskins To Jubilee To Narrative Theology--The Next Paradigm. 7/2/01

Using Narrative Theology to Agree With Rubel Shelly to Attack non-instrumental: Olan Hicks: Guilt Clause and The Law of Silence--Pharisees and Hypocrites--The Passing The Guilt Clause-- Joe Beam--Al Maxey--Robert Beasley--Edward Fudge--Paul Woodhouse--Grace Centered Magazine--Bill Swetmon--Jeff Walling Sister Singers--Jeff Walling Index Plus on Dancing

Kenneth Sublett

Musical Worship index

Rubel Shelly Sermon Reviews

Home Page

5.30.05 7p 3000

 

personal injury