REPORT
ON THIRD WAVE,
TORONTO BLESSING,
AND PROMISE KEEPERS ACTIVITIES
Complete copy of
an article published in the Contra Costa Times on Saturday, June 28, 1997. Set
for your information as it contains interesting information that I have not seen
before concerning a drop in attendance at Promise Keepers conferences. UPDATE:
May 2021:
The organization, founded by former University of Colorado coach
Bill McCartney — now diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and unable to participate
in the virtual event — has cut its staff from a high of 345 to 28. In spite of
their small staff, they are calling for a PK conference in July 2021 in Texas,
and they are featuring Greek Orthodox speaker Eric Mataxas. PK is staying right
on target..... totally ecumenical and cowardly about getting on the narrow way. The
Times * Saturday, June 28, 1997 Bay Area * California Promise Keepers try to fill
spiritual gap Christian men to ask forgiveness at fall event
By Adelle M. Banks Religion News Service Washington - Tears form
in the eyes of the Rev. Dale Schlafer When he thinks about the possibility of
hundreds of thousands of Christian men gathered on the National Mall. "My
heart has been for revival of the church," said Schlafer, a Presbyterian pastor-turned-event
organizer. "The church is sick. We need God to change us." Schlafer
is vice president of Promise Keepers' "Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of
Men," an event organized by the evangelical men's ministry for Oct. 4 in Washington.
The six-hour afternoon session will feature a profusion of prayers in which
the men gathered will seek forgiveness for the wrongs they've committed against
other people and God. Promise Keepers began a conference in Fresno
on Friday, which continues today. As many as 53,000 men were expected to attend
the event at Bulldog stadium on the Fresno State campus. Schlafer explained
the church's "sickness" to the tens of thousands of men gathered recently at Robert
F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington for one of the Promise Keepers' regional conferences.
"Four thousand churches close their doors and die every year," he said.
The United States - better known for sending Christian missionaries
abroad - today is the "number two missionary - receiving country in the world,"
said Schalafer. Promise Keepers founder Bill McCartney, addressing the stadium
crowd via a Stand in the Gap promotional video, said "The time has come to tell
the truth about our failures and once again offer ourselves to God."
The upcoming "sacred assembly" in Washington promises to draw a cross-section
of the evangelical men's movement - from members of the Christian Motorcyclists
Association to American Indians setting up tepees on the stretch of lawn between
the U.S. Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. Atheists have
vowed to protest from the sidelines. But Stand in the Gap also presents
some financial challenges for Promise Keepers at a time when the organization
is coping with a drop in attendance to some of its 19 regional conferences.
As Schlafer sees it, the Denver-based organization has close to a $30-million
shortfall, when the $10 million budget for Stand in the Gap is included. Promise
Keepers has raised about $3.7 million for the assembly. People think we're a money
machine," said Schlafer. "We really aren't. ... We live by revenue from the conferences."
Promise Keeps officials have consistently declined to estimate
the number of men they expect to attend Stand in the Gap. but a registration kit
for the event estimates between 500,000 and 1 million. Attendances at Stand
in the Gap will be free, but Promise Keepers charges $60 to attend one of its
regional conferences. The drop in conference attendance - down by more than a
third, as of a couple of weeks ago - has prompted some cost-cutting measures,
said Steve Chavis, Promise Keepers national spokesman. He expects the ministry's
spending projections of $117 million for this year will be reduced by about $30
million. Schlafer said a survey of Promise Keepers' constituents
indicates that 47 percent of those who chose not to attend a conference this year
plan to go to Stand in the Gap instead. At some of the regional conferences,
more than half of the participants have stood when asked if they plan to attend
the special assembly, said Schlafer. In addition, he has received
reports of chartered buses, trains, and planes reserved for the event from California,
Indiana, and New York. Many conference participants also have vowed to bring
a man of different color or denomination with them to the assembly, acting out
the ministry's commitment to racial and denominational reconciliation.
"There's no question we're more racially diverse than we ever have been before,"
Schlafer said of the conference. "We're making good headway, but relationships
take time." Mel Brown, project manager for Stand in the Gap, said
it is incorrect to think that white men are calling black men to the Mall or vice
versa. "It's God calling," he said. Brown, who is black, said that he feels
no pressure to meet Promise Keepers' goal of 300,000 people of color at the event.
However, he admitted he would be disappointed if blacks --- a great number of
whom live in the Washington region-do not show up in substantial numbers.
John Lansa, Promise Keepers' national reconciliation strategic manger
for American Indians, estimated that 3,000 American Indians will gather at the
Mall. "I see our Native American people as really leading the charge of
reconciliation," said Lansa, a Hopi Indian. But along with
supporters, detractors are also expected at the Mall. "The people who are
against Jesus are mobilizing their forces to come and disrupt this event," Schlafer
told the men at the Washington regional conference, which had 46,000 registrants.
American Atheists' national spokesman Ron Barrier said his organization
will "counter-demonstrate" during the Promise Keepers event. "We don't plan to
disrupt anything." Barrier said. "Everything we do is peaceful and lawful."
Schlafer predicted that opponents will be "the ones who are going to
come to know Jesus" at the event. Responded Barrier: "Ridiculous." Although
Promise Keepers has attracted mostly evangelical Christians, Schlafer said he
is "praying every day" that participants at Stand in the Gap will range from "liberal
and fundamental, to mainline and fighting independent." In addition
to their hopes for a wide array of U.S. Christians, Promise Keepers officials
have invited representatives from 187 foreign countries to attend Stand in the
Gap in keeping with their recent focus on expanding their movement internationally.
While the event is designed for men, there are plans to broadcast the assembly
via satellite and cable hookups to interested churches across the country so women,
children, and men unable to attend can still see it. "This sacred
assembly could have not just an impact on the men, but could ... impact
the church of Jesus Christ," predicted Schlafer. --------------------------
'STAND IN THE GAP' MISSION Promise Keeper
officials say they hope to achieve the following mission and goals through their
stand in the Gap event from noon to 6 pm Oct. 4 on the National Mall in Washington:
Mission: To gather a diverse multitude of men
in the name of Jesus Christ to confess personal and collective sin so that we
may present to the Lord godly men on their knees in humility, then their feet
in unity, reconciled and poised for revival and spiritual awakening.
Objectives: 1. To humbly call the church to repent to God and
each other for our sin of corporate disunity and move toward biblically based
racial reconciliation 2. To exhort and assist the church to call
Christian men to personal repentance, revival, growth, and evangelism.
3. To present to the Lord before this nation a diverse and unified group of Christian
men to participate in a sacred assembly. 4. To motivate, educate,
and equip local churches to significantly influence their world.
5. To encourage and facilitate ongoing relationships among diverse groups of Christian
men within the context of the local church. End
Regarding the
Farrakhan invitation by Promise Keepers to appear at the coming Washington
DC rally...
Dear Mary Van Nattan,
This is the original article from the Washington Post -- unfortunately
without a date but it must have been close to the date I received it. Sarah Leslie,
who has researched the PK extensively, did a sidebar on the parallels to Hitler's
Third Reich for the April 1995 issue of the Christian Conscience Magazine. This
generated enough controversy that she knew she was onto something important. http://www.netins.net/showcase/conscience/pk/pk_unity.htm
Sarah believes that PK will follow the exact stages of Hitler's men's movement.
Reading The Pink Swastika, which is available on-line, was a real eye-opener for
me. http://home.earthlink.net/~lively I wondered how the PK movement could be
transformed into the dreadful Joel's Army of the Latter Rain, but reading The
Pink Swastika left little doubt. If the rabid homosexual movement infiltrates
PK (and they have threatened to seduce our sons "wherever men are with men together")
and PK merges with the secular men's movement and Louis Farrakan's movement, we
may indeed have a monster like Hitler's S.A. or S.S. Sarah has
also done some excellent research on the secular men's movement which you may
wish to read if you haven't already: http://www.netins.net/showcase/conscience/pk/pagan_1.htm
http://www.netins.net/showcase/conscience/pk/pagan_2.htm http://www.netins.net/showcase/conscience/pk/pagan_3.htm
You may already be aware of this information, but I thought I
would mention it in case you hadn't. May God bless you and your family in your
ministry. I have appreciated your father's information on Peter Ruckman with which
I have had to deal in my exposure of the modern Bible versions. I am not surprised
that Dr. Ruckman is moving into error concerning major doctrine. Does Steve have
more information on his departure from the "eternally begotten" doctrine of Jesus
Christ? Christian Men's organization plans million-man
revival BY LAURIE GOODSTEIN Washington Post
WASHINGTON - Promise Keepers, the Christian men's movement that's been
packing sports stadiums in rallies across the country, says it plans to bring
as many as 1 million men to Washington next October for a massive spiritual revival
on the Mall. Anticipating criticism from detractors who have cast
Promise Keepers as the men's auxiliary of the religious right, the movement's
leaders insisted the purpose of the Washington gathering will be evangelical,
not political. Promise Keepers, organizers said they hope that the image or a
million men on their knees on the Mall would catalyze "spiritual awakening" across
the country. "We realize there are going to be a lot of people
looking on," Promise Keepers communications director Steve Chavis said in an interview.
"Congress will wonder if we're aiming at them...The White House will wonder. And
we're just inviting men to come and appear before an audience of one - that is
'One' with a capital '0' - to appear before God." Chavis said
Promise Keepers plans to invite back to Washington the African American Christians
who attended the Million Man March led by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan
in October 1995. In a Washington Post survey of more than a thousand of those
marchers, 57 percent said they were Christian. Nearly 1.1 million
men attended Promise Keepers events at 22 stadiums around the country this year.
Promise Keepers has grown exponentially in the six years since it was founded
by Bill McCartney, then the head football coach at the University of Colorado.
It now has a full-time staff of 430 at its headquarters in Boulder, Colo., and
an annual budget of $97 million. The headquarters produces videos
and a radio show, runs a Web site, publishes books and several newsletters, and
keeps in contact with 38 state Promise Keepers offices and a handful of international
affiliates. Sixty percent of the budget comes from the men who pay $60 apiece
to attend the stadium events, and the rest comes from donations and sales of instructional
materials. The stadium events are part Bible study, part prayer,
part therapy - energized with an infusion of Christian rock and muscular preaching.
The message is personal piety, family responsibility, racial reconciliation and
Christian unity. The exact date of the Washington event is still
being finalized, Chavis said. Since Promise Keepers draws men of many races and
denominations, he said, the event cannot be overtly political without undermining
the goal of inclusion and the message of repentance. Some religion
scholars who have studied promise Keepers see it as a fundamentalist response
to the modern women's movement and the blurring of gender roles.
Promise Keepers anticipates that one million
men will travel to Washington, D.C. on October 4 for the "Stand in the Gap: A
Sacred Assembly of Men." The statements coming from the Promise Keepers' organization
concerning this Million Man March present a blend of incompatible objectives.
What is being billed as a "worship event" and "spiritual revival" for Christian
men is also intended to achieve racial reconciliation and unification with and/or
evangelistic outreach to other religious faiths. On one hand, the official Promise
Keepers Homepage compares this event to the holy convocations of
Israel: <http://www.promisekeepers.org/manual/97pkconf/standgap2.htm>
"Twelve instances are recorded in the Old Testament of times when
Israel was called by God to gather for one or more days of prayer, fasting, confession
and repentance of sin because the nation had wandered away spiritually and morally.
Since the 1600's and through to this century in Europe and America, sacred assemblies
have been called by churches and denominations in time of spiritual crisis."
In keeping with this stated objective, local churches are announcing
this conference as a "worship event." One [July 13] Sunday bulletin stated: "Our
Men's Ministry ... invites you to join hundreds of thousands of men from across
the country who will be gathering to worship God on October 4th, at the Mall in
Washington, DC." However, the PK Homepage states that another
major objective of the Sacred Assembly is to bring men of all races and religions
together in unity. To accomplish this goal, black and white, Jewish and Gentile,
Protestant and Catholic men are encouraged to form bonds of unity based on "the
content of their character" rather than the color of their skin or the bond of
fellowship in Jesus Christ. Stand In The Gap Contents
Reach Across Racial Lines "It was in Washington, D.C. that Martin
Luther King, Jr. expressed the dream that Black and White, Jew and Gentile, Protestant
and Catholic would one day hold hands in a spirit of reconciliation and unity,
and see each other based on the content of their character rather than the color
of their skin. We're praying that October 4, 1997 will be that day. That's why
we're encouraging every man to invite his friends and brothers of all races to
attend the Sacred Assembly with him." Then, last December, a Washington
Post article, having stated the objectives of the march to be "spiritual revival"
and "worship," also referred to Promise Keepers' invitation to the Christian men
of Louis Farrakhan's Million Man march. For those having difficulty conceiving
of Christian men joining the Nation of Islam march, a survey by the Post assures
us that 57% were Christian men. WASHINGTON - Promise
Keepers, the Christian men's movement that's been packing sports stadiums
in rallies across the country, says it plans to bring as many as 1 million men
to Washington next October for a massive spiritual revival on the Mall.
Anticipating criticism from detractors who have cast Promise Keepers as the men's
auxiliary of the religious right, the movement's leaders insisted the purpose
of the Washington gathering will be evangelical, not political. Promise
Keepers, organizers said they hope that the image or a million men on their knees
on the Mall would catalyze "spiritual awakening" across the country.
"We realize there are going to be a lot of people looking on," Promise Keepers
communications director Steve Chavis said in an interview. "Congress will wonder
if we're aiming at them...The White House will wonder. And we're just inviting
men to come and appear before an audience of one - that is 'One' with a capital
'0' - to appear before God." Chavis said Promise Keepers plans
to invite back to Washington the African American Christians who attended the
Million Man March led by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in October 1995.
In a Washington Post survey of more than a thousand of those marchers, 57 percent
said they were Christian. When a rumor circulated that Louis Farrakhan
was also invited, Promise Keepers officially stated that only the men of the Nation
of Islam were welcome, indicating that the march would be not only a worship service,
spiritual revival, racial and religious unifier, but also an evangelistic outreach:"With
regard to the rumor that Promise Keepers has invited Louis Farrakhan to take part
in our upcoming Stand in the Gap, A Sacred Assembly of Men, as with many rumors,
this is simply not the case. The leadership of Promise Keepers has chosen as a
matter of policy not to issue special invitations to any public figures.
"Please be assured that we certainly do not endorse nor are in any
way affiliated with the Nation of Islam. The beliefs of the Muslim faith are inconsistent
with historic Christianity and the Promise Keepers Statement of Faith. Any and
all reports of Promise Keepers being affiliated with Louis Farrakhan or other
members of the Nation of Islam are completely unfounded. "As a
Christ-centered ministry, we desire to share what Jesus Christ can do in a person¹s
life with ALL men. Obviously we cannot share this with a person if that person
is shut out of our events due to his church affiliation. Because of this, we do
welcome Muslims to be in attendance at our conferences." To dispel
any semblance of agreement with Farrakhan, Promise Keepers stated:
There is no direct comparison with the 1995 gathering convened by Louis Farrakhan.
'Stand in the Gap'" is: * a religious worship event for the Church
of Jesus Christ; * a gathering of Christian men from all races
and ethnicities; * free of an admission fee; no offering at the
event will be received; * a demonstration of spiritual poverty
and profound sorrow for personal and corporate sin; * about personal
repentance and corporate confession to God through Jesus Christ, who alone can
atone for sin; * about direct reconciliation between races and
denominations; * a presentation from the Church to Almighty God,
in the presence of the world's media; * without a political agenda.
The original intent has now become confused with multiple
other seemingly contradictory objectives. However, there is a clue provided as
to the anomaly of men of various faiths worshipping together. Since ecumenicists
prefer to focus on those things which unite rather than narrow doctrines that
divide, PK communications director Steve Chavis has very subtly implied to the
Washington Post that no one would be excluded from worship in the Sacred Assembly:
"...we're just inviting men to come and appear before an audience
of one - that is 'One' with a capital '0' - to appear before God."
The Nation of Islam will recognize "The One" as Allah, for the Koran, the holy
book of Islam, states: "There is no deity save Allah. He is the
One, the only One; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten, and there is no deity
save Him." Muslims offer praise to Allah by saying, "Praise be
to Allah, The One and Only." The concept of deity as "The One"
also appears in the pantheon of other religions. Theosophist Annie Besant explained
in her occult work, Esoteric Christianity the theory on which the Mystery Religions
of Egypt, Babylon, Greece, etc. were based: "There is One, prior
to all beings, immovable, abiding in the solitude of his own unity. From that
arises the Supreme God. the Self-begotten, the Good, the Source of all things,
the Root, the God of Gods, the First Cause, unfolding Himself into Light." (Theosophical
Pub. House, 1901, p. 15) In her occult work, The Secret Doctrine,
founder of Theosophy Madame Blavatsky, expounded the evolution of mankind toward
ultimate union with "the One." "No ancient philosopher, not even
the Jewish Kabbalists, ever dissociated Spirit from matter or vice versa. Everything
originated in the ONE, and, proceeding from the one, must finally return to the
One." Alice Bailey succeeded Mme. Blavatsky and Besant as leaders
of the Theosophical Society, the principal organization to lay a solid foundation
for the modern New Age Movement. Bailey wrote The Externalisation of the Hierarchy,
as it was channeled through her spirit guide, Djwhal Khul. Of great importance
was a prayer which would invite the appearance of the Spiritual Masters and specifically,
"The One." The closing portion of this prayer, called The Great Invocation, reads:
"Come forth, O Mighty One. The hour
of service of the Saving Force has now arrived. Let it be spread
abroad, O Mighty One. Let Light and Love and Power and Death
Fulfill the purpose of the Coming One."
Avowed lesbian and feminist New Ager leader, Virginia Mollenkott, who also served
as an editor on the NIV translation committee, wrote in her book, Sensuous Spirituality:
"The One must move from the avant-garde fringe to the very heart
and mind of society. The whole society must be brought into harmony with the One
as the New Consciousness produces the New Age." To facilitate
this transition within the church, modern bible translations frequently change
masculine words referring to God to the neuter "One." The new "Politically Correct"
bible calls God, "Father-Mother", and Christ, "the human one". The NIV, which
is the official version of Promise Keepers, has changed many references to God
and Jesus Christ to "the One." John 7:18 -- his glory (KJV) --
the honor of the one (NIV) John 6:69 -- Christ, the Son of God
(KJV) -- the Holy One (NIV) Revelation 1:18 -- he that liveth
(KJV) -- the Living One (NIV) John 12:45 -- him that sent me (KJV)
-- the One who sent me (NIV) Matthew 13:37 -- He that soweth (KJV)
-- The one who sowed (NIV) It remains to be seen if the Gospel
of Jesus Christ will be clearly presented to the mixed multitude which gathers
on the Washington Mall in October. Scripture records that God required His people
to leave Egypt, the House of Bondage, if they would begin their journey to the
Promised Land. Will the Jewish, Mormon, Catholic, Islamic and men of other faiths
be also advised to leave their various houses of idolatry? Although II Corinthians
6 calls for separation from non-believers, such separation has hitherto been excluded
from and even disparaged in the Promise Keepers' message. It is
even within the realm of possibility that Nation of Islam Million Man March and
Promise Keepers' Million Man March will have more elements in common than distinguish
the two men's movements. The following are excerpts from Louis Farrakhan's speech
to the Nation of Islam Million Man March, in which the radical Muslim leader expresses
the identical objectives which are found in the mission of the Promise Keepers
organization: racial reconciliation, spiritual awakening, religious unity and
the moral transformation of America.
Excerpts from Louis Farrakhan's speech Monday on the
steps of the U.S. Capitol -- "There's still two
Americas, one black, one white, separate and unequal." "We're
not here to tear down America; America is tearing itself down. We are here to
rebuild the wasted cities." "We, as a people who have been fractured,
divided and destroyed because of our division, now must move toward a perfect
union. We got them all here today. And why did we come? We came because we want
to move toward a more perfect union." "We're talking about moving
toward a perfect union. Well, pointing out fault, pointing out our wrongs is the
first step. The second step is to acknowledge. "Oh, thank you.
Oh, man, I'm wrong."' "In the last 10 years America has experienced
more calamities than at any other time period in American history. Why, America?
God is angry." "Here's the carcass, the remains of a once-mighty
people, dry bones in the valley, a people slain from the foundation of the world.
But God hath sent the winds to blow on the bones. One of those winds is named
Gingrich, and the companion wind is named Dole. And the other is called Supreme
Court decisions. The other is fratricidal conflict, drugs and dope and violence
and crime. But we've had enough now. This is why you're in Washington today..."
"Now the president spoke today, and he wanted to heal the Great
Divide. But I respectfully suggest to the president: You did not dig deep enough
at the malady that divides black and white, in order to effect a solution to the
problem." "Well, some of us are here because it's history-making.
Some of us are here because it's a march through which we can express anger and
rage with America for what she has and is doing to us. So we're here for many
reasons. But the basic reason that this was called was for atonement and reconciliation."
"We cannot continue the destruction of our lives and the destruction
of our community. But that change can't come until we feel sorry."
"But, President Clinton, America is also wounded, and there's hostility now
in the great divide between the people. Socially, the fabric of America is being
torn apart, and it's black against black, black against white, white against white,
white against black, yellow against brown, brown against yellow."
"America. America the beautiful. There's no country like this on the Earth.
And certainly if I lived in another country, I might never have had the opportunity
to speak as I speak today." "And if God were to answer us today,
He would say to black people, "Yes, I allowed this to happen, and I know you suffered.'
But Martin King, my servant, said undeserved suffering is redemptive."
"Demonstrate your gift, not your breast. Demonstrate your gift, not what is
between your legs. Clean up, black man, and the world will respect and honor you.
But you have fallen down like the prodigal son and you're husking corn and feeding
swine." "We're not putting you down, brothers. We want to pick
you up, so with your rap you can pick up the world, with your song you can pick
up the world, with your dance, with your music you can pick up the world."
"Black man, you don't have to bash white people. All we've got to do
is go back home and turn our communities into productive places."
"Every time we drive-by shooting, every time we car-jack, every time we use
foul, filthy language, every time we produce culturally degenerate films and tapes,
putting a string in our women's backside and parading them before the world, every
time we do things like this we are feeding the degenerate mind of white supremacy."
"We must become a totally organized people, and the only way we
can do that is to become a part of some organization that is working for the uplift
of our people. Now, brothers, moral and spiritual renewal is a necessity. Every
one of you must go back home and join some church, synagogue, temple, or mosque
that is teaching spiritual and moral uplift."
[Morris
Cerulo Rides the Beast] Subject: Knesset Legislation
A reader has informed me of an error in the July 11 report on
the status of the Knesset Legislation in Israel. I mistakenly identified
Baruch Maoz as: "a Messianic Jewish pastor who is trying to import the Toronto
Blessing / Latter Rain Revival to Israel: http://rampages.onramp.net/~maoz/dec.htm#target7."
This is the Home Page of Ari Sorko-Ram's Maoz newsletter which I thought to be
the ministry of Baruch Maoz. I was very glad to receive the following message
which I hope will set the record straight. I was intrigued to
read that you consider Baruch Maoz a Messianic Jewish pastor who is trying to
import the Toronto Blessing / Latter Rain revival to Israel. If so he must have
had a very radical change of heart since I last met him. Baruch is in fact anti-charismatic
and leads a fellowship which is very much in the tradition of 'Reformed theology.'
You may be confusing him with Arie Sorko Ram who is trying to import TB and allied
plagues into Israel and produces a newsletter entitled Maoz (Hebrew word meaning
'strength'). -- End of Quote -- It is interesting
that the catalyst for this drastic legislation in Israel was the distribution
of a book by Manifest Sons of God prophet, Morris Cerullo, to every Jewish home
in Israel. I am including the "Global Satellite Network" report of 6/24/97 which
provides information on the databanking enterprise of an immense global network
commanded by Cerullo, Peter Wagner, Benny Hinn and others. It seems that, among
other ventures, the Latter Rain / MSOG / Toronto Blessing proponents are attempting
to transport the occult revival to Israel in the name of Yeshua. The orthodox
Jews in Israel may discerning that the Latter Rain "Christ" is not the genuine
Messiah and, in the process of rejecting a counterfeit gospel, prohibit the preaching
of the true Gospel. Whether or not the anti-missionary legislation is passed,
it is unfortunate that our Lord Jesus Christ is brought into reproach by the prophets
of a false Messiah. Recently we attended a Jewish Bar Mitzvah
and were impressed with the dignity of the ceremony and knowledge of the Hebrew
Torah required for the Jewish youth's "rite of passage" to manhood. During this
time, I was researching the initiation rites proposed in the Promise Keepers'
/ Robert Hicks publication, Masculine Journey which was based on Robert Bly's
New Age book, Iron John. I could not help note the contrast between the solemnity
and reverence of the Jewish tradition and the irrational and profane nature of
the pseudo-Christian "initiation rites" I had been reading about in the PK and
New Age literature. It was difficult to resist the suspicion that the unsaved
Jews have more spiritual discernment than Latter Rain believers.
The Maoz web site mentioned that Ari Sorko-Ram's ministry was being investigated
by the police for bringing Jewish youth into their revival meetings. In researching
the Toronto and Latter Rain movements, one notices that there is a concerted attempt
within this "revival" to impart "The Anointing" to children and teenagers. Recall
that one of the blessings of the Pensacola Outpouring is that believers' children
are being sent home from public schools with uncontrollable jerking conditions.
Perhaps the Jewish Knesset has valid reasons to prohibit such "evangelism." From
Ari Sorko-Ram's Maoz March newsletter we read: http://rampages.onramp.net/~maoz/mar97.htm
"We ourselves are still under police investigation because of
the Israeli Messianic Youth Conference we held a year ago this March. As most
of you know, an Israeli newspaper reported the Conference in a vicious four-page
spread, accusing us of bringing children to this conference without their parents'
knowledge. It described us as a cultish group, offering bribes and even hinted
that the organizers tolerated drugs. At the end of the article was an interview
with a Children's Welfare authority. Having only the information written in the
newspaper article, he declared that he was going after us, because, he said, Israel
cannot allow charlatans to operate in the country among Israel's youth. Thus the
police investigation." Revival Is No Longer Coming
- It Is Here! By Ed Tarkowski Part 1: Mission
To All The World 2000 . . . THE "ANOINTING" preached by Benny
Hinn, Toronto leaders, Brownsville headship - you know them all - IS ABOUT TO
BE TAKEN TO THE WORLD AND THE MEANS TO DO THAT IS THROUGH A VAST GLOBAL HOOKUP
OF SATELLITES FROM MAJOR MINISTRIES THAT ARE NOW LINKING UP IN THOUGHT AND PURPOSE
AND ACTION. The flood of the end time apostasy is about to hit the entire world
to such a degree that it really is unfathomable. The revival will now moving from
the "local setting" to the Global setting. This, I believe, is the next wave:
global inundation with "the Anointing." What this does to the expectation of revival
is that it changes the view of what is happening from "Revival is coming" to "Revival
is here," and it is now truly global in nature. On his TV program last Sunday,
D. James Kennedy said that revival HAS NOW COME to America, and on Trinity Music
City, Dwight Thompson he said he is sick of hearing revival IS COMING, and that
it ISN'T COMING anymore - IT IS HERE! What is now happening wars
totally against the true second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How
will that affect us, the ones who are opposing the distortion of the word of God
through what is happening? It is the equivalent of what happened to the children
in the movie, "Honey! I Shrunk The Kids!" This move, in effect, will seem to shrink
us. Thus the title of this series: "Honey, I Shrunk The Church!" We will feel
smaller and more scattered than ever before. Billy Graham's Global telecasts will
be nothing compared to what is about to happen. He, at least, preached the gospel,
but this new effort is to SPREAD "THE ANOINTING" THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WORLD QUICKLY!
If you have been appalled at watching a video of one church service where "the
Anointing" is manifesting, multiply that by 10,000 or more to get a feel of what
I am speaking of. I cannot warn you strongly enough. The Lord
has never been afraid to lay me low for His purposes. Being in bed, I have had
time to watch TBN constantly, and as I watched, I sensed something very antigod,
very spiritual, very evil and captivating, and very, very powerful coming over
the airwaves. As you know, I have sent out a few quick reports concerning TBN
and Pat Robertson. I want to summarize those reports, add to them, and bring in
some other aspects of global communications. I have watched TBN and kept asking
the Lord Jesus, "Where is it all going? What are they aiming at?" The answer came
back: The World. I have tried to warn that TBN's Trinity Music City is on fire
and is emanating a heat that, in other terms, would melt a car in an instant.
It is a blazing, flaming, furnace of revival that has such an evil, spiritual
power behind it, it is breaking at the seams to explode. This is crucial because
TBN is now the largest television network in the world. The Reason
I Am Doing This Report It all started a few days ago with the
following e-mail I received from another independent researcher:
(Begin...) For your information... I recently
received a mailing from Harvest Ministries (C. Peter Wagner), advising that the
AD2000 and Beyond United Prayer Track was excited to announce that "Brother Morris
Cerullo" had a vision from the Lord, AD 2000 and Beyond leadership was in agreement,
and I would soon be receiving a packet in the mail outlining their next "thrust"....
Soon the Morris Cerullo "MISSION TO ALL THE WORLD 2000" prayer
initiative information came. What is important to note first of all is that this
tie between the AD2000 and Beyond Prayer Track is the first major prayer "thrust"
that has been overtly linked to the "healing revivalists" [Ed Note: Benny Hinn
as well]....they have all been networked in the past, but flamboyant personalities
such as Cerullo have been kept minimized in the US at least. Secondly
the nature of the initiative is startling! In a nutshell it is: They have divided
the globe into ten regions. Each region has a link-up city under that city is
a network of gateway cities. Each of the regions will be linking by satellite
for the purpose of global prayer that will "cover" the entire earth with "strategic
warfare prayer" that is the "call" for Jesus to return".
The satellite network is the first of it's kind in that they will be conducting
GLOBAL SATELLITE TRAINING SESSIONS to "impart" the end-times anointing and each
of the centers is a "hub" where the teaching will be specifically networked, the
entire globe as one. The network called Global Prayer Strike Force will
have over 1 million "Global Strike Force Command Centers" in homes, businesses,
schools, and more....read this sentence again <G> - this cannot be ignored.I
do not have time right now to give a thorough report, suffice it to say, in the
past I would have completely ignored anything coming from Morris Cerullo's ministry,
but this networked, TRAINING, prayer strike force is highly financed, technically
cutting-edge, and extremely well advanced in it's "leadership" from regional to
national to county- city and even down to the block you live in. It is directly
tied to the global databasing network I have been warning about, and for that
reason, cannot be ignored. I know I send a lot of documents your way, but
the global satellite networking, down to each home authority structure is extremely
sophisticated, (despite the fact they are "hiding" behind Cerullo, whom they certainly
know many of us would completely disregard), and while I can't explain it all
now, the local "strike force command center" in a home near yours is where your
"resistance" to this movement is being recorded, and databanked through "strategic"
warfare "prayer-walking" and "spiritual mapping". Our "hostility" to their agenda,
is being duly noted, and will soon, according to their theology and eschatology,
"unfortunately" need to be "dealt" with. I strongly suspect that
this initiative is a push to finalize and "test-run the integrated" network that
we all dread, and they are publicly ascribing it to Cerullo, so that if there
is any "backlash" Cerullo, and his organization can be sacrificed without jeopardizing
the entire AD2000 and beyond Movement.... There's a whole lot more going on here
than Morris Cerullo having a vision... Wish I were exaggerating, am not.
For your very own information packet on the "Global Prayer Strike Force"
write: Mission To The Whole World 2000 P.O. Box
85277 San Diego, CA 92186-5277 [End of
the e-mail] Morris Cerullo is a Manifest Son and I quickly quote
here from my report on the Laughing Phenomena: [Begin excerpt]
We now want to look at some like-references that show a definite
progression, similar to the progressive conception and birth of a child. The first
is a PROPHECY PROMISING IMPREGNATION, delivered by Morris Cerullo in a promotional
letter for his 1994 London School of Ministry: ". . . . God has
revealed to me revelations . . . of His Spirit, of His endtime, so sacred . .
. . You ever heard this word preached anywhere. It is Hot, it is sacred, it is
Deep! . . .Come away to this place where I poured out My Holy Spirit . . . . I
will make you pregnant with My reality. . . The Holy Spirit is the part of God
that will manifest the pregnancy in your being. Something great is about to happen
to you." Cerullo said God instructed him to teach that He "will
MAKE YOU PREGNANT with [HIS] REALITY. . . ." through "sacred . . . revelations
. . . never heard preached anywhere."(4) But the Church already has the Spirit
indwelling it forever. We don't need God to impregnate us with His reality. And
the simple gospel was once delivered to the saints; we don't need any new revelations
that are Hot, Sacred and Deep, revelations that we never heard before.
[End of excerpt] I did a search on the Internet, and here is the
information from Morris Cerullo's Home Page concerning his Mission To The Whole
World 2000 at http://iago.inetworld.net/~mcweis/textonly/mtaw.html which is being
called "the most important announcement in the 2000-year history of the Church
of Jesus Christ": [Begin Cerullo text] Morris
Cerullo makes the most important announcement in the history of his ministry!
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the
gospel to every creature.(Mark 16:15) For two thousand years,
the Church has been trying to fulfill the command of Jesus to take the Gospel
to the entire world. For two thousand years, the Church consistently has used
the latest technology, the latest methods of transportation, the most efficient
methods known to man to preach the Gospel to as many people as possible.But not
until now-the final years of the 20th century since Christ- has the goal of reaching
the world for Christ been attainable. Not until now has the technology existed
along with an all-consuming desire to sacrifice all to reach the world.
Morris Cerullo now is making the most important announcement in the 2000-year
history of the Church of Jesus Christ. In the midst of the greatest move of God
in the history of the 45-year ministry of Morris Cerullo, God spoke to His servant
and revealed a plan to reach the world before the close of this century. With
nearly six billion people inhabiting this world, this is the most ambitious plan
ever announced in the history of the world-a plan to take the Gospel of Jesus
Christ to the most remote places on earth...a plan to literally blanket the world
with prayer and with the Gospel...a plan to commission millions of prayer command
centers all over the world. Truly, the launching of this end time outreach signals
another prophetic event leading to the return of Jesus. First, in 1984, God called
Morris Cerullo to reach one million souls. It was called the Million Soul Crusade.
Then, in 1989, God called Morris Cerullo to reach one billion souls before the
end of the year 2,000. Current statistics indicate that goal will be met...praise
the Lord. "His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over
many things..." (Matthew 25:21) Now God has given Morris Cerullo
a Mission to Reach All the World before the close of the century.
When God gave Brother Cerullo the mission to reach one million souls, only by
faith could anyone believe it would be accomplished, but it was achieved. When
God gave Brother Cerullo the mission to reach one billion souls, it seemed impossible
to doubters, but partner, because of your faithfulness God's servant's faithfulness
that goal also is being accomplished by the grace of God. Now God has given Brother
Cerullo the most incredible mission yet: Reach all the world!
Brother Cerullo has rolled up his sleeves and prayerfully begun planning this
unbelievable outreach of end time destiny. The plan is this: God
has inspired Brother Cerullo to target the ten largest population
centers on earth to hold major crusades. During these ten crusades, powerful
satellites will broadcast to a huge area surrounding the location of the crusade
for thousands of miles. Using these ten strategically-placed crusades with
the accompanying satellite coverage, Brother Cerullo can encompass the globe with
the Gospel in three years. As Oral Roberts has said, "No man on
earth has personally told more people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ than Morris
Cerullo." Now Brother Cerullo is intensifying the incredible evangelistic
drive God called him to 50 years ago. The man who already has told more people
about Jesus and built God an incredible army of Nationals now is treading even
more boldly into the devil's territory and bringing the power of the resurrected
Christ with him. God already has begun unleashing the incredible
wave of His power it will take to reach the world. Just this year, Brother
Cerullo has felt a stronger anointing than ever before. An enormous revival already
has started. In meetings from Chicago to Holland, from Brazil to West Africa,
God has been moving in power-healing the sick, delivering the oppressed, strengthening
the weak and saving the lost as Brother Cerullo obeys the incredible call of God
on his life. This wave of Holy Ghost power will crescendo and
build in intensity over the next three years as wave after wave of God's power
is unleashed on the world in the fulfillment of the awesome command of Jesus to
preach the Gospel to all the world. This is much more than a campaign or an outreach.
This is greater in vision...greater in challenge...greater in impact than anything
undertaken by the Church in history. This is not the ministry of a man, it is
the ministry of the Holy Ghost. Even now, teams of Holy Ghost-inspired
Christians are meeting together to analyze the ten most populous areas of the
world. They are looking at populations, satellite locations, ministry venues
(such as stadiums) and ascertaining in prayer the specific needs of the people
in the area so they can define the ten areas of spiritual war.
After these analyzes are complete, prayer teams around the world will begin crying
out to the Lord for these areas and the people there who will be hearing the Gospel
for the first time. "This is an awesome thing God has asked us to do," Brother
Cerullo said. "In the next three years to reach the world through ten major population
centers...it's incredible." Brother Cerullo already is feverishly working
to accomplish this incredible goal. He is assembling a team of ministers, meeting
with key pastors and preachers and gathering a prayer army who all will agree
together with him to achieve the goal of reaching the world for Jesus before the
close of the century. This plan will be a major theme at the First-Ever Morris
Cerullo Voice of the Prophets 26th Annual World Conference in Anaheim, California
January 2-6, 1997. This plan is what God is prophetically speaking
to His prophets in these last days. Morris Cerullo's plan is to seize the
moment...He is not looking over past accomplishments. Many who had accomplished
half of what this humble servant has accomplish might be tempted to rest and relive
past glories, but Morris Cerullo is a man driven by divine call-a man who has
abandoned all for the sake of the call of God... "For if thou
altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance
arise...from another place...and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom
for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14) Morris Cerullo firmly
believes he has been redeemed by the Messiah and brought into the Kingdom of God
for such a time as this. Jesus said, "And there shall be signs
in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of
nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing
them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:
for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come
to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
(Luke 21:25-28) Many signs of the Savior's return are happening
now! Great wars, tribulations, trials, ecological catastrophes are all happening.
But there is one more prophecy to be fulfilled before Jesus will return:
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matthew 24:14)
"God has shown me that many are neglecting one thing in prayer,"
Brother Cerullo said. "They are neglecting to pray for Jesus to return. Now it's
time for us to begin praying this end time prayer until ...the Spirit and the
bride say, Come.'" (Revelation 22:17) John the Apostle's last
words in the Bible before the final end were a prayer for the return of Jesus:
"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so,
come, Lord Jesus." (Revelation 22:20) Now the Church of Jesus Christ is faced
with not only the opportunity to pray for the return of Jesus, but also an opportunity
to take an active part in the fulfillment of the prophetic events He predicted
would happen before He would return. Never before has the Church
had an opportunity to actually preach the Gospel in all nations as Jesus predicted.
Never before has a Gospel sweep of this magnitude been attempted. God has revealed
clearly to Brother Cerullo that the actual structure of the Church will dynamically
change in the last days. "God has been teaching us that when He gave birth to
this Church 2,000 years ago, He never intended for His Church to know one limit,"
he explained. "He gave us that unique characteristic-that genuine divine capability
to see that the Church did not know any limits." God has commissioned
Brother Cerullo to very quickly write a book on the Church moving into its end
time destiny as a part of this incredible head-on offensive into the devil's territory.
Brother Cerullo said: "The structure of the Church is going to change. What shape
it will take I don't know...God has not revealed that to me, but it won't be the
same. It won't be going to church, getting fed, listening to the choir-I don't
have a problem with all that, but the structure as we know it now is going to
change. "God never intended the Church to know limits,
and He never intended to use our natural abilities. When He gave birth to the
Church, he depended upon supplying us with an incredible characteristic...
"Paul said, And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words
of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith
should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.' (1 Corinthians
2:4-5) "God intended us to experience the power and demonstrate the power of the
Spirit. This Church is unique among all the world's religions because it was born
by the demonstration of the power of God, not the wisdom of man.
"When Jesus snatched the keys of hell and death away from the enemy He came
up from the grave to teach His disciples. And right before He ascended into heaven
to be with His Father, He gave a promise: But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.' (Acts
1:8) "Ye shall receive POWER! That power was intended to be UNLIMITED!
Too often we stop at the point of blessing, but God intended for us to press on
past the point of blessing into the place of the Unlimited Power of the Pentecostal
Experience! "That power was given so we could reach the world!"
Morris Cerullo believes that power is being unleashed upon the Church even now,
just as the day of Pentecost, to enable the Church to "turn the world upside down"
(Acts 17:6). In 1962, God stopped Brother Cerullo on a platform
in front of 50,000 people and drove him to his knees in his hotel room. At that
time God commissioned him: "Son, build me an army." It was here that God showed
Brother Cerullo that the only way this world could be reached was by building
Him a massive army of Nationals...Africans to reach Africa, Asians to reach Asia,
South Americans to reach South America. Now this vision has matured for 34 years.
At least 850,000 Nationals have been trained for one week face
to face with Dr. Cerullo. This is the Billion Soul Crusade! Partner, this is your
ministry of destiny! Those Nationals have gone from those week-long
meetings and reached literally hundreds of millions of people in their own countries.
From this incredible foundation, Dr. Cerullo is moving to the
forefront of cutting-edge ministry at the end of the twentieth century-he is harnessing
the latest technology and moving in the Unlimited Power of Pentecost to literally
snatch billions of souls worldwide from the grip of the devil to "...open their
eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which
are sanctified by faith that is in me." (Acts 26:18) This is by
far the largest and most ambitious outreach ever attempted by this ministry. But
partner, this is also the largest and most ambitious outreach attempted by ANY
ministry...EVER! Brother Cerullo has committed his ministry, every financial resource
of the ministry-indeed, his life to the fulfillment of this incredible appointment
with end time destiny, not only for the church but for the entire world.
Partner, you are a major part of this incredible prophetic fulfillment.
This outreach will require a nearly unbelievable amount of finances. It is simply
the largest ministry outreach EVER attempted anywhere. Stadiums must be rented,
television equipment must be purchased and transported. Satellite time must be
purchased. Locations for mass viewing of satellite broadcasts must be secured.
Prayer command centers must be set up. A massive worldwide effort must be planned
and coordinated. This incredible outreach is much like a war-the
logistics of getting it accomplished are overwhelming. But partner, the effort
will be worth it when we see the souls we have reached together in glory.
[End Cerullo Text] BACK
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