Latter Rain - Thy Kingdom HAS
Come?
David Lipscomb Summer Celebration 2009 "Rivers of Living Waters."
John York on being born FROM ABOVE
Part Two waiting for the Kingdom to come
The Second Incarnation by Rubel Shelly and Randy Harris feeds the "me too" Jubilee movement with the "now but not yet kingdom" and the urge for unity in a global church. Jubilee 98 involved itself in the practices of performance singing, musical instruments, raising holy hands and laying on of hands. The imagery and even the words flow easily from Neo-Pentecostal groups and the Pope's preparation for Jubilee 2000 or, if you will, Y2K.
What is that old saying about trying to fellowship everyone?
It is impossible to fellowship diverse groups or "ministerial associations" without becoming "soft" and tolerant of error just to keep the joy-juice flowing. Without passing judgment upon the binding ties among ministers which often does not exist outside of that fellowship, many of them in "wider fellowship" represent and promote views of Christianity totally opposed to one another. It is not strange that clear views of the Words of Christ have to be softened to be enfolded into this fellowship "closer than the blood of Christ." God always knew that the message through sight and sound was more attractive to the human mind, and the methods more powerful than the simple truths of the Spiritual (rational) mind. Therefore, it is not a surprise that ecumenical meetings always cause the weak to bend toward the stronger mind. Jubilee 98 supports such associations.
John Chrysostom warned of seeking to ascend up to God through fellowship, rhetoric, song, instruments, dance and spectacle. This rejects the grace of God and His presence reached through His Word, one person at a time.
Click Here to see the Dogma of Jubilee 98 /Change Agentry that worship is the central purpose of the church. I will sure save a lot on sending "located missionaries" into all the world, eh? And Click Here to see that the proof-text of Lynn Anderson and Jubilee 99 is the harps in heaven. However, Christ the Spirit speaking through John demanded at the same time that the evangelists preach the the WORD to the lost of the nations or, in the name of common decency, get off the dole.
If, however, you have fallen for this direct revelation from "God" then it is extremely doubtful that you can comprehend what Revelation is saying as it refutes the pagan, "pseudo-virgins" singing in the pagan "gas vents" and demands literal male Jewish virgins if the harps are literal. Paul understood that stand-over women singers in paganism was always the harem of the gods.
At Jubilee 98: jAt McKendree United Methodist Church Auditorium Jubilee will bust some walls and rhetoric with:
Rick Atchley and Chris Seidman: "Praying for Reign: What Happens When Churches Ask for the Kingdom to Come"
Without wanting to be unfair, in light of the Change Agent's methodology, the perhaps-stolen language and giggling about secret code words, we have a right to ask: "Is this for latter rain, or what? Was Jesus mistaken again? He thought that the kingdom was brought near with His physical presence and His continuing Spiritual presence. Click Here to see the enabling of Christ's kingdom.
When the church is afflicted with sermonizing, versifying, clapping or lifting up unholy hands you know that people are trying to, like the serpent, fascinate or amaze you and afflict your body with music-induced drugs. However, the kingdom is not of this world and you should put up your weapons not contained in the Word because you can pray for latter rain (or reign) all you want and experience whatever you want but it will not be the kingdom of God:
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Luke 17:20
Neither shall they say, Lo here or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:21
Why should you pray for the "now but not yet kingdom" of Christ to finally come when historically people could not recognize it when it was sitting in their lap. Oh Yes. We all want to see the world at peace and everyone "worshiping" at everyones church so that we don't have to "go into all the world," but didn't Jesus say that He brought a sword. Kosovo should remind us that when we lose our minds, cry "peace, peace" when there is no peace we should understand that evil is about to hit us just when we have disarmed and dressed in our clerical and choir robes.
Paul agreed and insisted that we have been translated into a spiritual kingdom which has no need of the carnal methods and materials of the fragile earth:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: Colossians 1:13
Christ did not come to build a kingdom of this world so that we could worship with the works of our hands (acquired performance talent and work-created instruments and works-intensive dance). Therefore, we cannot confine Him to visible institutions any more than Israel could contain Him in a house or the Ark of the Covenant - a box. God did not come as a performer but Isaiah prophesied:
For unto us a child (seed) is born, j rain, jubilee 98, latter rain,
unto us a son is given:(Now, that is not two "people")
and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God (El), The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Isaiah 9:7
The Jewish "kingdom" was of this world. Israel had rejected the spiritual Book of the Covenant in their musical idolatry at Mount Sinai. God gave them The Book of the Law which was a curse because it could not be kept. However, it did preserve a remnant of the nation in a human sense.
There has been an explosion of activities such as speaking in tongues and it has been predicted that in a few years the practice will be almost universal. This is is seen as the visible proof that the "latter" rain is being poured out where "Spirit" is a literal indwelling of the Literal third part of the Godhead. Others see this "out of your mind" performance the mark of the beast.
In the Latter Rain movement, the New Age Spirits predicted that great meetings would be held in stadiums and that in New Wineskins language of using Musical Facilitators to move the audience into the presence of God:
The second major factor was the Kansas City conference in 1977. That was when the three streams of pentecostalism - the neo-pentecostals, the classical pentecostals and the Catholic pentecostals - united into a powerful force.
"This conference was held because of a directive to unite Christianity supposedly received from the Lord during a 1974 Catholic charismatic gathering. With these streams representing one charismatic movement within all the denominations,
and through the breakdown of doctrine,
the Church became more experience-based than Biblically-based.I believe this situation opened the door for the Latter Rain doctrine to enter again. I've found an unbelievable quote from New Age Theosophist and channeler Alice Bailey that perfectly describes our situation
of being more experience-based than Biblically-based. Because of her words, I want to make three definite statements which I believe are true.
The first statement is this: those taking part in this move are walking in the New Age agenda.
The second statement is this: the only working of God within this move is to get people out of it.
The third statement is this: Alice Bailey knew EXACTLY what was going to happen in the Church because her New Age spirits are in charge of this thing. She said this, and I believe every word is true:"What the orthodox theologian and the narrow doctrinaire have to offer no longer satisfies the intelligent seeker or suffices to answer his questions.
He is shifting his allegiances into wider and more spiritual areas. He is moving OUT FROM UNDER doctrinal authority AND TO direct personal, spiritual experience AND COMING UNDER the direct authority which contact with Christ and His disciples, the masters, gives" (Externalization Of The Hierarchy).
There is an oxymoron lurking somewhere in that theology. Spiritual is by its definition inward and usually, if we follow the leads of Jesus, in private places. One major presention at Jubilee 99 will be:
Rubel Shelly: Y2K (A.D. 2000): What's All the Fuss?
Isn't there something mystical here when people will leave their sheepfold and travel across the country to understand the importance or non-importance of Y2K? Others undoubtedly are traveling to and fro around the planet to hear someone else tell you something which isn't tellable -- yet. However, Y2K, like the term Jubilee, conjures up enough anxiety to disturb the peace Jesus came to give us so that we can leave the computer programming to better heads.
What earthly connection is there between the Gospel and Y2K? None. But the Word will be silenced in the interest of instilling A.D. 2000 consciousness and listening to philosophy and short changing the Word of the Infinite, Holy God. Last year we heard the little joke about how Father and Spirit aced out the Son who had to come and do the hard lifting to redeem human kind. Praying for reign and Thy Kingdom come is undoubtedly based upon the urge to incarnate the church in ways, according to some, more fully than in Christ. For instance,
Borrowing Kung's words again: 'Even though it is not the kingdom of God which is to come, it is already under the reign of God which has begun'; the church anticipates the kingdom by being 'its voice, its announcer, its herald.'" (Shelly/Harris, Second Incarnation, p. 75)
Buddy Bell: INTENSIVE1: Developing a Successful Small Group Ministry
Now, small groups can do good or evil. Circles are often attempts to extend control in an outreach fashion. This, too sounds like many of the groups including Promise Keepers. Jesus didn't command "circling the wagons" but putting on the offensive and defensive armor and going into all the world to preach the gospel. Sure, collecting the sheep into little pens is less labor intensive and helps justify a hireling shepherd. But when we "enter into our closet to pray there isn't much room for anyone but us and God. And individuals should be encouraged to invite their neighbors in.)
The Zoe Worship Group can teach you how to worship in music, dance and drama and will perform the worship for you. The Musical Worship Facilitator theme believes that self-composed music and amazing, eye-catching presentations can "lead you into the presence of God." Paul warned the Athenians of their methods and said of God: "He is not far from us." Can't we see Him in the face of the less-attractive, less-charismatic, less-appealing to both men and women evangelist who doesn't demand a trip into God's presence but goes into all the world and points Him out already in the heart and minds of the poor and who will never publish a book so profound that "God directed you to the book store to buy this here book!" Please Read This.
In the classical literature men like Plato or Aristophanes recognized that people didn't put their musical or rhetorical talent on display until they had fallen into a mild or severe state of frenzy or a charismatic fit. As the music continued, what Paul called madness grew more intense until the self-composed songs were sold as "prophecy" or speaking for the gods. At the same time, we understand the urge of musical talent to go commercial. These same writers recognized music as useful for idolatry, drinking (from wineskins) or for profit:
Aristotle on Politics wrote: "whether for amusement and relaxation, as one indulges in sleep and deep drinking (for these in themselves are not serious pursuits but merely pleasant, and 'relax our care,' as Euripides says;
owing to which people actually class music with them and employ all of these things, sleep, deep drinking and music, in the same way,
and they also place dancing in the same class);If we are not for Christ we are against Him; if we are not speaking His Words and singing His "songs" then we are on the wrong side -- unless we are just being musical for fun or profit, a perfectly legitimate use for music. However, in a religious sense, to show, sound or to light up was always a sign of Lucifer who got his name from halal -- to show or boast of self and talent:
In Greek, the serpent means: "to gaze with wide-open eyes, as at something remarkable or fascinating. To look emphatically." Any sound or sight which replaces the Words of Christ in song or sermon (Ephesians 5:18; Colossians 3:16) may be sincere but it is the mixture of commercial promotion symptomatic of the end-time Babylonian worship with music and "the things they lusted after." Willow Creek makes it clear that the work of the Musical Worship Team is done by putting spiritual models on display!
Describing the "idolatry of talent"--
"Ulrich Eggers, a leading German evangelical who served as press spokesman at the Hamburg sessions, stresses that Willow Creek's "central message has nothing to do with drama or music,
but rather with the living portrayal of dedicated Christians."
Yet Eggers is worried that liberals may only accept the methodology and forms of this program. He says nothing can change "unless content is changed; the gospel must become a matter of the heart." Christianity Today For the rest of the article Click Here
The theme of Jubilee 99 will be: "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High." ,
However, God said that He would be exalted in righteousness and justice and not in the meet-your-eye-or-ear "Lord, Lords." Lynn Anderson who promotes methods which sound commercial or even neo-pagan and helps you Navigate the Winds of Change "the many" of clergy are themselves blowing like "hot air from an east wind" (Job) will set the keynote.
We fear that Lynn will be exalted on high solely because he can attract the masses which got lost during Jubilee 98. However,
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. Isaiah 2:11
You cannot, repeat, cannot, put your in-motion-body and voice between the "audience" and its God without exalting yourself and you know that people are attracted just to see you because they have been "charmed" by music and expectations that they "will meet the gods ascending and descending" as at the towers of Babel. No. This is not unfair. It is advertised that the Musical Worship Facilitators can "lead you into the presence of God."
You cannot exalt the Name of the Lord by crying, "Lord, Lord" in song and sermon. This just insults the Incarnate God Who said:
But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. Isaiah 5:16
The way to "praise" God and "exalt" Him was clearly prescribed in the Great Commission and predicted by Christ the Spirit in the prophets (1 Peter 1:11):
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10
Only then can we clap our hands in celebration of God's victory -- not ours. The Christian demand is to preach to and convert the heathen and not try to triumph over with song and instrument.
God: Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself. Isaiah 33:10
Us: Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you. Isaiah 33:11
Joe VanDyke: Will evaluate the SPIRIT in the work of Barton W. Stone and the effect of Cane Ridge on today's church. We should remind people that almost no one viewed the Godhead as three independant "people" until the last century. Certainly, Barton W. Stone did not believe that the Holy Spirit was the "god of this, His dispensation."
The first issue of Wineskins set the keynote for the new movement to take the name Jesus Christ (Jehovah-Saved) out and replace it with the generic name of God (which ain't a name):
"Wineskins is committed to the stimulation of bold but responsible change in the Church of God." But their commitment is
"not to the church of Christ which started on Pentecost A.D. 33. They say instead, "Our background and commitment is to the Church of Christ that was born of the American Restoration Movement."
One writer warns:
"They are "pious scavengers" who work and sleep neither day nor night as they infiltrate and take over the churches one by one. The church where you meet may already be targeted."
In business they call that a hostile takeover but it is really one of the grandest thefts of church history!
We should remind everyone that Barton W. Stone was a Presbyterian holding a joint meeting with his Baptist and Methodist friends and "went to school" to learn how to stimulate exercises recognized in history as mental delusions or even witchcraft. Ecumenical meetings brings forth strange fires. In the end, it turned out that the Methodists and Baptists were there to gain some sheep from the others and the Presbyterians denounced the whole lot. We should also be reminded that Stone was not the "Father" and Cane Ridge was not the "manger" of the Restoration Movement which had its theological beginnings out side the area of people lost in the wilderness owning land Daniel Boone as land agent sold using "over meets" and "over bounds."
It is also true that new wineskins and a bubbling, fermenting environment fed by men "drunk on ignorance" provided the fuel for the mental and emotional breakdown. Did the method spread "churches"? Not really. The ancient "Jubilees" had to be abandoned by the enlightened because they became the focus of wine merchants, secular music and prostitution. Churches really developed because pioneers (my ancestors) were just arriving there with a rich religious Methodist heritage and churches had not yet been established. Many would follow the Stone method until Alexander Campbell came preaching what the people already believed. That is, in the experience of Stonites in Alabama and Tennessee, the charismatic experiences did not work because the people were looking for church leaders who taught baptism as they already understood it. We quote Pendelton simply to show that there was never universal agreement about the "great awakenings."
In 1853 W. K. Pendelton wrote of the camp-meetings to show that success was not based upon hearing the Word but of inducing a "nervous disease" which all history proves can easily be induced by the unscrupulous--
"Simply that it was a peculiar form of nervous disease, that was both epidemic and contagious. It came suddenly, as the destruction and the pestilence, both at noonday and in darkness--seized upon all classes and conditions, good and bad, old and young, male and female, bond and free, saint and sinner; affected them all with the same characteristic symptoms of bodily derangement--tarried for a season and then disappeared. Its effect on the mind, so far as it was peculiar, was simply excitement.
"No new truths were communicated,--no old errors corrected--nor miraculous utterances given; but simply an excitement, despondent or hopeful, gloomy or joyful, clear or confused, according to the convictions of the mind at the time of the attack and influence of circumstances during its continuance." (quoted by Randall, p. 373). Randall, Max Ward, The Great Awakenings and the Restoration Movement, College Press
"That there were many eccentricities, and much fanaticism in this excitement, was acknowledge by its warmest advocates; indeed it would have been a wonder, if such things had not appeared, in the circumstances of that time. Yet the good effects were that... 'it silenced contention and promoted unity for a while; and these blessed effects (unity--not exercises) would have continued--but, but, but." (Stone in Biography, p. 42).
"I admit that some enthusiasm and even fanaticism did prevail. But as respects that, brother Stone was clear. He was faithful, zealous, and spiritual; yet sober and temperate, holding fast the faithful word. Some talked of extraordinary views and spiritual illuminations. I mentioned that matter to Stone--
"He replied--'I cannot rely on any teaching from God, otherwise than through his word.'" (Biography, p. 122).
It is more than interesting that:
About the time Jubilee 98 was birthed as a corporate child about ten years ago, the Nashville scene was host to a revival of the Laughing Exercises (latter rain) and trying to insinuate the Cane Ridge Breakdown into the church. This writer attended a church attempting to revive the Cane Ridge revival totally ignorant of the ancient paganism used to try to force the kingdom to come. Cane Ridge fed no charismatic roots into the modern Restoration Movement. See the parallel experiences identified as witchcraft before they were seen as proofs of the Spirits direct action.
And as for the Tyranny of the Tiny, Tertullian had an antidote: Those who burden the payroll as preachers will not be honored: they will suffer for Christ or they are false apostles. It seems fair from the Bible and all of church history that you cannot be applauded all over the country and be imitating Christ! See:
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Tertullian Scorpiace - Antidote for the Tyranny of the Tiny -- Just A Scorpion's Bite
I have added the following notes from Ed. Tarkowski who isn't fooled by Jubilee movements as part of the Global Church - the end-time Babylon religion (see Revelation 18). Except where noted the remarks are Ed's to which I have added emphasis:
PART V: The Consummation: Where Are We Headed?
By Ed Tarkowski
A QUICK LOOK BACK jubilee 98, latter rain,
In Part II of this series, Alan Vincent said that God is "moving the Church from the Day of Atonement to Tabernacles." (1) And according to Robin McMillan and Steve Thompson,
"we will never fulfill our destiny and calling" until "we understand and partake of this feast [Tabernacles] as we have both Passover and Pentecost, . . We must discover the meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles and 'celebrate' it along with Passover and Pentecost. . . . What God did among Jews in Jerusalem, He is going to do among humanity and worldwide. Pentecost will come to maturity in the Feast of Tabernacles."(2)
And We Add: Robertson and other leaders of major ministries across America have said yes to the impregnation, yes to the laughing, and therefore yes to the corporate child of joy. Do these leaders realize that they are supporting the doctrines of the Latter Rain? We believe Tricia Tillin more than adequately answers this question:
"Almost without exception, these Latter Rain heresies are also now the teachings of the Restoration Movement! Slowly, carefully, and without ruffling too many feathers, Latter Rain teachings have been introduced to the Church until (in the UK at least) almost the entire Charismatic Church is under their spell.
"In later segments, we saw that the foundation of this "move of God" is Latter Rain replacement theology, in which the Church replaces Israel and carries the blessings of Abraham to the nations. Scrutinizing this teaching, we pointed out that the agenda itself is evolutionary; the Church cannot fulfill its destiny until it celebrates the Feast of Tabernacles. This celebration will result in the manifestation of men as Sons of God filled with joy. According to Pastor Bill Randles, the move to celebrate an endtime Tabernacles can be traced to the Latter Rain prophet/teacher George Warnock:
"An interesting example of the evolutionary model of the church is a little book written in 1951 by George Warnock called 'The Feast of Tabernacles.' This book is a virtual primer of Latter Rain, Manifested Sons of God teaching, . . . a pattern for the progress of the church through time. Starting at Passover, which is Calvary, the church has [to] come into the Feast of Tabernacles, which to him represents God's consummate purposes for us, the Last Days Church. When we come into Tabernacles, which was a tremendous time of celebration for Israel, God will finally dwell within His people."(3)
(See our notes on the Feast of Tabernacles which tried to murder Jesus)
TABERNACLES: Jubilee To A Lesser Power
"(see Leviticus 25 and Sidebar). Interestingly, although the Year of Jubilee hasn't been kept by the Jews for millennia, the idea is being spontaneously resurrected by various groups as the ultimate celebration of the upcoming year 2000 (Y2K).
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"Though it may have seemed that celebrating Tabernacles would complete the Latter Rain evolutionary scale, the new revelations now coming forth tell us thatTabernacles will evolve into Jubilee.
In his book, "The Star of 2000," Jay Gary links together the three great Jewish feasts with a call to the Church to "experience Jesus' Jubilee":
"The annual calendar of Israel was built around three major festivals: Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. These celebrations in Jerusalem were anything but boring.
There was dancing, singing and exuberant celebration before the living God.
"The Year of Jubilee encompassed these three festivals, only raised to a higher power. The clear call of God across the millennia is that we are invited to come into His presence and feast on Him.
"On the last and greatest day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus "stood and said in a loud voice, 'If anyone is thirsty, let him come and drink' (John 7:37). Then as well as today, Jesus calls us to experience His jubilee."(4)
Rubel Shelly sees the Drinking and Eating as the literal drinking and eating of Christ. However, Jesus to the woman as the well spoke of living waters. Waters always symbolize the WORD of God (Isaiah 55).
"Because Tabernacles is encompassed by every Jubilee year, the celebrations of the two become one. In fact, Gary says the three feasts, including Tabernacles, are "raised to a higher power" by Jubilee.
In his praise of "The Star of 2000," Eagle's Nest Pastor Clarice Fluitt declares,
"This is an incredibly prophetic book. Jay Gary has peered into the spirit realm and drawn from God's secret place. He declares that the church must prepare a celebration, a festival for, about and with Jesus, our honored guest and royal Bridegroom. The Star of 2000 is infused with a biblical revelation of fullness, sonship, maturity, and perfection of the glorious triumphant church - the Feast of Tabernacles. Read the book."(5)
See Re-Visioning the church along with Re-visioning the Lord's Supper.
"According to Fluitt, Gary's revelation is 1) spiritual, 2) biblical, and 3) a revealed secret "drawn from God." But in reality, it is the spiritual, unbiblical doctrine of the Latter Rain: "fullness, sonship, maturity, and perfection of the glorious triumphant church."
This is a description of the Manifestation of the Sons of God as we described in earlier articles, a manifestation to be brought about through the Feast of Tabernacles.
"In his book, Gary mentions four previous "images" for the year 2000, and then shares the "mega-image" which will "help us live out a new vision":
"When shared, a new A.D. 2000 mega-image, like a stone thrown into a pond, would send imaginative possibilities that ripple to the shores of our social boundaries.
". . . . it would provoke cracks in our preconceptions, shift our misconceptions and help us live out a new vision together in a new world. (Note: Click to see some interesting connections between force Change agents and the Jubilee 99 religious festival)
"I consider the fifth mega-image, Jubilee 2000, to have the greatest potential to define and develop the bimillennial era."
"It appears the stone has been cast. Our "preconceptions" are already being cracked - wide open. The scriptural endtime scenario is being changed from the promised blood of martyrs to a Church evolving through Tabernacles to Jubilee to bring the Church to maturity. And what Gary calls our "misconceptions" have already shifted;
many segments of the Church have experienced what's called a paradigm shift, in which one's beliefs and vision are totally changed. (By professional change agents)
"Sadly, New Ager Jeremy Rifkin's vision for society and the Church foreseen in 1978 is now upon us - and it's a vision which lacks one vital element: GOD'S plan for the end of the age. Look at how Jay Gary's dream for the new millennium does not point to the coming of Christ as related in Scripture, but to a new age of peace and prosperity. He writes,
"I remember when I was in sixth grade I was asked to write a poem. At first I didn't think I had anything in my heart. After a while it came forth - I called it, 'Looking Optimistic.' After all these years, I still can recite it by heart:
"One day in the future
In the heart of man,
Peace will reign
Instead of evil command.
God will rule
and the world united
Bad will be banished,
And good will be sighted.
Every man will be equal,
Democratic government will be
the one to follow,
Food at every table,
And plenty to swallow.
So let's work toward these hopes,
And try to follow them too,
So that this world will become,
better than New!
"Although I didn't call this "My Dream" for the new millennium, that is exactly what it was! What about you? What is your dream for the Third Millennium?"(7)
"Is Gary, like Latter Rain, looking to the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth before Jesus' return? He says that Jubilee can affect the whole world, that "the year 2000 [has] the potential to be a great jubilee and a global celebration for everyone on this planet" (8). Later, he writes, "[Israel's] 50th year was the Jubilee - or the culmination of joy. The entire year was consecrated to making right whatever had gone wrong. I am convinced that the year 2000 can truly be a Jubilee year for the entire human family." (9)
"Gary describes Jubilee as "the culmination of joy." If you've wondered where the people of the "laughing God of Tabernacles" will end up, it will be in the Year of Jubilee, expecting their "joy" to be brought to fullness.
JUBILEE: Neo-Pentecostals, Manifest Sons of God
"We have said that the Toronto Blessing is Latter Rain, and that the New Age doctrine of Barbara Marx Hubbard is the same. Now let's look at the similarities between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Year of Jubilee and the New Age's Age of Aquarius. In her book, "A Planned Deception: The Staging of a New Age 'Messiah'" (1985), Christian writer Constance Cumbey writes,
"Rev. Ernest Ramsey, an associate pastor at Unity's Kansas City's Founder's Church, Unity on the Plaza, is an enthusiastic follower of the Alice Bailey and Benjamin Creme teachings. In his Research Report #2, he tells of something he was led to by a spirit guide - what he terms 'Neo-Pentecostalism.' An aberrant branch of Pentecostalism, this is more commonly known as the 'Manifest Sons of God.' That movement is also referred to as 'Sonship' or 'Overcomers.' Ramsey concludes based on even less evidence than I have personally collected that this is part of the New Age Movement.
"Ramsey's work for his organization, 'Synthesis Fellowship,' first came to my attention in early 1983. His major report, entitled "An Evolutionary Basis For The Reappearance of the Christ and his Executives, the Masters of Wisdom" was inspired by Benjamin Creme's appearance and speech at Unity on the Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. . . . The most interesting section of Ramsey's report dealt with 'Neopentecostalism.' Ramsey spent a semester at one of the Neo-Pentecostal or Manifest Sons of God seminaries . . . . Already familiar with the Alice Bailey writings, he was amazed to see that there was a branch of Pentecostalism that embraced the same teachings - albeit using sometimes different terminology.
"Like those seeking the 'Age of Aquarius' these people too were seeking a 'New Age.' Like the other New Agers, these people taught that 'The Christ' was an anointing - not necessarily one man. They taught that Jesus was a pattern son who was to be a sign of something even greater to come - the 'Manifestation of the Sons of God.' They too believed the earth was to be cleansed of evil. And chillingly like the other New Agers, they believed they were to be 'God's' instruments to do such cleansing. The New Agers believed they were gods. The Manifest Sons of God likewise taught that if one accepted their 'new revelation' that
they themselves would actually become Christ at the time of the unveiling or manifestation of the Sons of God."(10) See Blackaby and the Southern Baptists. Experiencing God. And see York and Shelly on the exodus. And see Narrative Theology for the use of the Bible by non-believers.
"Although these similarities are frightening in themselves, Cumbey continues her eye-opener with this revelation:
"Ernest Ramsey excitedly pointed out in his report that [the Manifest Sons] had a teaching which indeed did parallel the Aquarian teaching of the Age of Aquarius - the Old Testament 'Year of Jubilee' as well as the 'Feast of Tabernacles.' The Year of Jubilee paralleled the redistribution of the world's wealth. The Feast of Tabernacles was the equivalent of the coming together of the World's peoples and varied religions under one tent or tabernacle - the equivalent of the New Agers' long-awaited 'New World Religion.' . . . ."(11) (Shelly's New Wineskin)
"We must not miss this point: the replacement theology of the Manifest Sons of the Latter Rain, which New Ager Ramsey called "Neo-Pentecostalism" has brought the Age of Aquarius into the Church
under the guise of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Year of Jubilee.
JUBILEE: Pope John Paul II
"The call for the Church to celebrate the Year of Jubilee has slowly increased since the resurgence of the Latter Rain doctrine in the mid-80s. And now we find another religious leader, Pope John Paul II, making the same call through the release of a 72-page papal letter. The letter, entitled "The Coming of the Third Millennium (Y2K):
Preparation for the Jubilee of the Year 2000," was released on November 10, 1994. David Crumm, Religion writer for the Detroit Free Press, reports the the document "recommends that every 50 years a special year of social justice be proclaimed, debts be canceled and the oppressed be freed."(12)
"In Section 51 of the letter, the pope leaves us in no doubt that he is actively pursuing a Year of Jubilee for the year 2000:
"From this point of view, if we recall that Jesus came to "preach the good news to the poor" (Mt. 11:5; Lk. 7:22), how can we fail to lay greater emphasis on the church's preferential option for the poor and the outcast? Indeed, it has to be said that a commitment to justice and peace in a world like ours, marked by so many conflicts and intolerable social and economic inequalities, is a necessary condition for the preparation and celebration of the jubilee. Thus, in the spirit of the Book of Leviticus (25:8-12), Christians will have to raise their voice on behalf of all the poor of the world, proposing the jubilee as an appropriate time to give thought, among other things, to reducing substantially, if not canceling outright, the international debt which seriously threatens the future of many nations. . . ."(13)
"But the idea of a Great Jubilee is no new thing to John Paul. In Article 23 of the new document, he writes,
"Since the publication of the very first document of my pontificate I have spoken explicitly of the Great Jubilee, suggesting that the time leading up to it be lived as "a new Advent." This theme has since reappeared many times, and was dwelt upon at length in the encyclical Dominum et Vivificantem. In fact, preparing for the year 2000 has become as it were a hermeneutical key of my pontificate. It is certainly not a matter of indulging in a new millenarianism, as occurred in some quarters at the end of the first millennium; rather,
it is aimed at an increased sensitivity to all that the Spirit is saying to the church and to the churches (cf. Rv. 2:7 f), as well as to individuals through charisms meant to serve the whole community. The purpose is to emphasize what the Spirit is suggesting to the different communities, from the smallest ones, such as the family, to the largest ones, such as nations and international organizations, taking into account cultures, societies and sound traditions.
Despite appearances, humanity continues to await the revelation of the children of God and lives by this hope, like a mother in labor, to use the image employed so powerfully by St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans (cf. 8:19-22)." [See Sidebar on these verses.](14)
"The pope is no longer suggesting, but is himself acting upon plans for the Year of Jubilee in the Holy Land. In his Detroit Free Press article, David Crumm reported on some of the details:
"In weekend ceremonies at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II called on his new cardinals to work with him on an ambitious plan for world peace that includes meetings of Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious leaders in Bethlehem, Jerusalem and on Mt. Sinai in 1999. "Newly elevated Detroit Cardinal Adam Maida said Sunday that he expects to be heavily involved in the elaborate plan. . . ."(15)
Referring to the Papal Letter, Maida said,
"'This is a very important document. The Holy Father wants to bring all faiths together to try to find the common denominators in all of our faiths that will allow us to work together. He sees this as the only way we can hope to overcome all the evil, the injustice and the materialism that we face in the world.' . . .
"'The whole idea of interfaith communication between religious scholars is an excellent idea,' said Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi of Detroit's Islamic Center of America.
"'We need to talk about how Islam, Christianity and Judaism can contribute to society and help with the healing process in the world,' said Elahi, who already has worked with Maida on interfaith discussions in the Detroit area. . . .
"Bishop J. Philip Wahl, the southeast Michigan leader of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said, 'Personally, I think it's wonderful, the idea of Muslims, Christians and Jews meeting together in the Holy Land.'
"Wahl said he is particularly interested in the pontiff's proposal to speed up dialogue among Christian churches. 'I can see us, as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, working very, very hard on the dialogue the pope has suggested,' he said.
"Evangelical Lutheran leaders are making a similar proposal to be considered at their 1997 nationwide conference, Wahl said.
"'In our proposed statement, we would declare that the conditions existing within the church at the time of the Reformation no longer exist. So, instead of pointing fingers backward and trying to figure out who was wrong back then, we would say, "Let's not let the past be a blockage between us."'
"'But Advent this year takes on a very particular importance,' he said. 'With it, in fact, begins the preparation of the whole church for the historic rendezvous with the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, which we are already approaching.' . . .
"Crumm reports that the pope's plan "calls for many phases of preparation for the jubilee, including:
"* After years of slow dialogue with many Christian denominations, the pontiff wants to move rapidly to break down barriers (as in Promise Keepers) between the churches.
He wants temporary agreements
to allow members to worship together in special jubilee programs. Beyond that,
the pope hopes to move quickly toward full communion, in which members of the churches would share worship services.
"* By 1996, the pope wants to publish a humble confession for the sins of his own church over the past 2000 years. Chief among these sins, the pope said, was the church's use of violence to promote the faith in periods such as the Inquisition in the Middle Ages. . . ."* In 1999, the pope wants leaders of the three faiths that look back to the ancient patriarch Abraham as their founder to join in three meetings. The pope proposes gathering on Mt. Sinai in Egypt, where the Bible says Moses received the ten commandments; in Bethlehem in the West Bank, where the Bible says Jesus was born; and in Jerusalem, now controlled by Israel, one of the holiest cities of all three faiths."(16)
JUBILEE: Pat Robertson
"Pope John Paul II is only one of many religious leaders pursuing a Year of Jubilee. In a 1987 report on Pat Robertson, Constance Cumbey wrote,
"Whether there is direct networking or not, it is a fact that the 'Year of Jubilee' teachings do show up in Robertson's work in amazingly similar format to those used both by [Manifest Son teacher] Bill Britton and [the New Age] Synthesis Fellowship. On page 133 of his book in a discussion of what he calls 'The Law of Use' Robertson says: 'Notwithstanding the sneers of many in the banking community, it may be that God's way will be the only one open to us - a year of jubilee to straighten out the mess.'"(17)
"Cumbey also cited Pat Robertson's Perspective newsletter from January/ February 1981:
". . . . In a section called 'A Radical Proposal to Halt Inflation' Robertson called for an International Year of Jubilee. This was modeled, said Robertson, after the Biblical Year of Jubilee. . . . [which] canceled debts, freed slaves, 'and the means of production would be redistributed. . . . If inflation is to be broken, there must be a cancellation of debt - on a worldwide basis.' He said, 'every type of debt, secured or unsecured, should be totally released.' . . ."(18)
(If your retirement is based upon the capitalist system of notes and bonds perhaps you should get out, if the Jubilee really works.)
"Pat Robertson's influence in the American and worldwide Church is enormous. Though his teachings and beliefs are often (and often justly) criticized by traditional Evangelicals, he retains a following of millions who tune in daily to his 700 Club television program, who buy and read his multiple books, and who supported his candidacy for president in 1987. A call from Robertson for a Year of Jubilee in the year 2000 would give powerful impetus to the move.
"Besides his personal followers, Pat Robertson is in a position to influence many more through his Family Channel, the tenth largest cable channel in the country. Add to this the 1.4 million members of the politically active Christian Coalition, (which he heads), those affected by the journalism, law and government graduates of his Regent University, and the many touched by the legal civil rights group he founded, the American Center For Law And Justice.
"Because these organizations take a socio-political stance
rather than a theological one, their promotion of a Year of Jubilee
wouldn't be much affected by divisive doctrinal differences.
"Robertson has already endeared himself to conservative Catholic groups by signing the 1994 agreement, "Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission In The Third Millennium." And two years before this agreement, in November of 1992, he exhorted his 700 Club audience, "It's high time the 50 million evangelicals and the 40 million Roman Catholics GET TOGETHER and say,
'Look. Christian bashing is over. We're not going to put up with it in America.'" (19; emphasis ours).
Clearly, Pat Robertson's sphere of influence is wider and encompasses members of more denominations than just about any other church leader in the nation. Furthermore, as founder of the global relief agency Operation Blessing, chief executive officer of CBN (which owns a television station in Lebanon), head of Broadcast Equities (religious radio and television stations), and major shareholder (through CBN) of Asia Pacific Media Corp., a new venture to buy media and cable properties in Asia, his geographical sphere of influence is widening also.
"Robertson's been calling for an International Year of Jubilee including "a cancellation of debt - on a worldwide basis," for fifteen years. Today, he is also offering conferences on Tabernacles, the joyous festival of ingathering. In the April 1995 Charisma magazine, CBN ran the following ad:
"Get the Word on Worship, Wisdom and Wonders.
"With God's Word as the foundation of every CBN conference, you'll be challenged to grow spiritually and receive all that God has for you."Worship. Renowned speakers Judson Cornwall and Steven Fry will show you why it's important to be more than a Sunday Christian. 'Pursuing A Life of Worship,' June 1-4, 1995.
"Wisdom. Gain a deeper understanding of Israel, the Church and the end times as the annual Jerusalem celebration 'Feast of Tabernacles' comes to CBN Conferences. Featured speakers are Jan Willem van der Hoeven and Johann Luckhoff. July 13-16, 1995. "Wonders. . . ."(20)
"In Part II of this series, we described Robertson's interview with the same Judson Cornwall in which Cornwall testified that he had been impregnated by God with truth not now being taught. In response, Robertson said that this could mean major revival. We also pointed out how this prophetic word was an important addition to the bringing forth of the Manifest Sons of God and Barbara Marx Hubbard's Homo Universalis. In the same issue, we saw that Robertson also applauds the laughing phenomena brought into the Church by the same group which is now promoting the celebration of Tabernacles.
So Pat Robertson, already a supporter of the Year of Jubilee, has jumped into the new movement and is now also promoting celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.
JUBILEE: Jay Gary, AD2000
"You may have never heard of Jay Gary, but he is another very influential person heavily promoting a Jubilee celebration in the year 2000. One of his books, "The Countdown Has Begun," tells how various denominations are uniting to take the gospel to the world by the year 2000. The biographical notes in this book tell us that Gary "serves as coordinator of the . . . AD2000 Global Service Office. In addition, he serves as a research consultant to the Worldwide Student NetWork, Campus Crusade for Christ's year 2000 program to reach college students worldwide. For the past three years [1986-1989] he has worked with the Lausanne movement as the program director of Leadership '88, a national conference for younger leaders and, more recently, as assistant to Lausanne's International Director. Jay served as the consultation director for the Global Consultation on World Evangelization by AD 2000 and Beyond [GCOWE 2000], held in Singapore in 1989."(21)
"The Singapore GCOWE 2000 "gathered an international Christian representation. . . . [and] was deliberately inclusive. Great Commission leaders came from Anglican, Ecumenical, Evangelical, Catholic, Charismatic, Third World indigenous, and Pentecostal networks."(22) Following the Global Consultation, Gary became coordinator of the newly founded Global Service Office which promised to "serve any group that had AD 2000 plans."(23) It's impossible to name here all of the Church movers and shakers with whom Gary has connections, but when he started his own Celebration 2000 Project, his Advisory Board read like a who's who in Global Evangelization: AD2000 Global Monitor, David Barrett; New Life 2000, Paul Eshleman (Bill Bright's Campus Crusade For Christ); Evangelization 2000, Fr. Tom Forrest; AD2000 Together, Vinson Synan; and Vision 2000, Dr. Joe A. Harding; Global Center, Dr. Bill O'Brien (Samford University). Gary also networks with the March for Jesus organization, which yearly attracts millions of Christians into the streets, and in 1994 was the Colorado coordinator for the March. With Jay Gary sitting in such powerful places,
his influence among global evangelization leaders toward the celebration of Jubilee is disconcerting, to say the least.
"The question is, "Is Gary's understanding of Jubilee the same as the others who are promoting a Bimillennial Jubilee?" In The Star Of 2000, Gary writes,
"In ancient times, the law of Moses called for a year of liberty every 50 years. You can read about it in Leviticus 25. . . . the Year of Jubilee was inaugurated by the blowing of the great ram's horn trumpet [of jubal] throughout the land. Thus began a year-long festival, marked by canceling outstanding debts, returning land to original owners (the tribes!) and freeing indentured servants. . . .
"I believe the year 2000 will be experienced as a once-in-a- lifetime Year of Jubilee. Jubilee 2000 is the most powerful image we could use to talk about the bimellennial of Jesus."(24)
"So Jay Gary joins with the Latter Rain/Manifest Sons of God, Pope John Paul II and Pat Robertson in anticipating that the bimillennial year 2000 will be, in fact, a Year of Jubilee. What does this mean? Considering the influence of these three men and one movement, we can see that
"there isn't an important segment of the universal Church that would be left untouched by an appeal for Jubilee.
CELEBRATING TABERNACLES IN JERUSALEM
"Johann Luckhoff, the Director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem [ICEJ] (scheduled to speak at the CBN conference on Tabernacles in July), recently wrote the following in the ICEJ newsletter concerning the Church gathering in Jerusalem to celebrate Tabernacles:
"Springtime in Israel is always spectacular. This year it was more beautiful than ever because of the excellent rains during the winter rainy season. In this land one becomes aware of how much of the Bible and the revelations of God's purposes revolve around the seasons, the harvest time, the desert and the lush parts of the country. Seasonal elements, like the early and latter rain, the times of planting and the harvest have a special symbolism in the Bible. They are often used to illustrate spiritual truth; in fact, the annual religious cycle is built around it.
". . . . "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" John 12:24.
"In the verse just preceding this scripture, Jesus said "the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." Springtime in Israel . . . is a small reminder of the glory of the Lord. It is also a sign of His faithfulness, for as surely as the beauty of springtime follows the drabness of winter, He will fulfill His promises to His children and to His people. . . .
". . . . it can also be exciting to see how, day by day, the prophetic word is being fulfilled before our very eyes.
". . . . We hope in the future however that, through videos and other forms of communication, we can help those unable to come to taste a little of what is happening here. The video of last year's Feast of Tabernacles is already taking the highlights of those celebrations to the ends of the earth.
"And surely we can all rejoice that we will meet and all be present in the New Jerusalem."(25)
"Luckhoff's usage of Latter Rain imagery is a likely indication of the message contained in the Tabernacles celebration video which he's taking "to the ends of the earth." The April 1995 Charisma magazine report on the events, however, is more straightforward:
"FEAST TO ATTRACT PILGRIMS (Seeker Service?)
"In celebration of the 3,000th anniversary of Jerusalem, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem is sponsoring a series of events . . . .
"The first event [is] a Christian celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. . . . More than 4,000 Christians from nearly 100 countries are expected to join in the weeklong biblical feast.
". . . . The theme, "For Jerusalem's Sake," is taken from Isaiah 62:1. . .
"The final event [of three] is the 1996 Christian celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, . . . The theme for the 1996 feast . . . is "The Holy City: The New Jerusalem," a reference to Revelation 21:2.
"The Christian celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of the Ingathering, has been sponsored annually by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem since the organization was founded in 1980. The feast, which marks the end of the harvest season, is the only feast for which God instructed both the Jew and the Gentile to come together in Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
"The purpose of the events, according to embassy director Johann Luckhoff, is to bring attention to the importance of Jerusalem in light of biblical history and prophecy. . . .
"'It's also an opportunity for Christians to learn about the biblical roots of their faith and meet and encourage the people of Israel' he said.
". . . . [ICEJ's] purpose is to represent Christians who recognize the scriptural significance of Israel's restoration and who "share the Lord's concern for the Jewish people," its organizers say. . . ."(26)
"There is certainly nothing wrong with the ICEJ's creating "an opportunity for Christians to learn about the biblical roots of their faith and meet and encourage the people of Israel," unless such opportunity is appropriated by the Latter Rain adherents. The odds favor such a distortion. Look at the facts:
"Latter Rain's promotion of Tabernacles is being taken to the world through the Laughing phenomena. Pat Robertson has shown support for the impregnation of the Church with "new truth,""applauded "Holy Laughter," and is now promoting the Christian celebration of Tabernacles and
an international Year of Jubilee.
Jay Gary has written a book that calls the Church to celebrate Tabernacles, which Gary says is raised to "a higher power"
in a global Jubilee.
Pope John Paul II is going to Jerusalem on a very serious mission to reconcile Jews, Muslims and Christians with a goal of "full communion" among Christians for the celebration of a
Year of Jubilee in the year 2000.
"National and international leaders are starting to bring the celebration of Tabernacles to the Church, and, through conferences, videos and other media, call the Church into that celebration. And as we draw near to the year 2000 (Y2K),
- the final shift in the direction of a united global Church will
- move it as one unit into Jubilee - its culmination of joy.
Sidebar I Part V
JUBILEE AND THE MANIFEST SONS OF THE LATTER RAIN
"Below are three definitions of the word "Jubilee" which together give us a good understanding of the biblical command to celebrate the Year of Jubilee. Note that Jubilee is seen as a type of "the restoration of all things" promised in Acts 3:21: ("He [the Christ - even Jesus] must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as He promised long ago through His holy prophets"). And in the Universal Subject Guide to the Bible found in Strong's Concordance, Jubilee is noted as "figurative of Christ's mission . . . Isaiah 61:1-3" which of course refers to Jesus' first and second comings. The traditional understanding of these passages is that Christ Himself will personally come and restore all things at the time of His visible, bodily return.
"But Latter Rain adherents, chief promoters of a Year of Jubilee, nonetheless cite Acts 3:21 to bolster their claim that the CHURCH must first restore all things, and THEN Christ can return.
"Also intriguing is the Universal Subject Guide's use of Jubilee as a figure of Romans 8:19-24 (the manifestation of the Sons of God when all creation will be released from its subjection to decay). In Latter Rain doctrine, this places the newly revealed Manifest Sons of God within the celebration of the Year of Jubilee. This is exactly what we have said is planned to occur in or around the year 2000, making even more important our documentation that
"the Church has moved from Pentecost into Tabernacles, and is heading into Jubilee. We see ever more reason to believe that the end of the age is indeed upon us.
However, we remind ourselves that:
Comments and review but not all endorsed by:
Kenneth Sublett
See Part Two: Our Prayer Has Been Answered
Counter added 6.23.07 3.05.10 2000