EVENTS IN TIME (BIBLE PROPHECY LITERALLY FULFILLED)(BY GOD)

I WRITE NEWS ABOUT AND PUT NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM PERTAINING TO BIBLE PROPHESY HAPPENINGS.JOEL 3:20 But Judah (ISRAEL) shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.(THATS ISRAEL-JERUSALEM WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED AGAIN)-WE CHRISTIANS ARE ALL WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE TO OCCUR.SO WE CAN GO TO JESUS AND GET OUR NEVER DYING BODIES.SO WE CAN RULE OVER CITIES OURSELVES.WHILE JESUS RULES FROM DAVIDS THRONE FOREVER IN JERUSALEM.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

LUKEWARM CHURCHES COME AGAINST ISRAEL

EU CALLS FOR WORLD GOVERNMENT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7D21rPpBrk&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Feuro%2Dmed%2Edk%2F%3Fp%3D1277&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFs99zBTRO0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTfv6uOHgqQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVeMBNB0cII&feature=related
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4291770489472554607&ei=iaRTSrzHAoqUqQL1gMGqDw&q=EU&hl=en
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVeMBNB0cII&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVmtbLc4t6M&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Feuro%2Dmed%2Edk%2F%3Fp%3D1277&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv5cqh26CC0&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Feuro%2Dmed%2Edk%2F%3Fp%3D1277&feature=player_embedded
EXCELLENT EU REVIEW - WORLD REGIONS,GLOBAL CURRENCY
http://exposureroom.com/members/cybersilence.aspx/assets/d37a8ebc60694cc98173b8f32cfe898d/
EU-NEW SOVIET UNION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM2Ql3wOGcU&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6Cj1b-rp1E&feature=player_embedded
WORLD GOVERNMENT UNDER TREATYS-INTERNATIONAL LAW
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_government
TRANSATLANTIC POLICY
http://www.tpnonline.org/

JOAN VEON ON TAMAR YONAH 2008 (WORLD GOVERNMENT)
http://britanniaradio.blogspot.com/2009/07/we-are-already-under-global-government.html#links
GEORGE HUNT-WORLD BANK ,RELIGION&RULERS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OvpjRglW9U&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFnxNowaaIU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=584x0zkmHgw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsZvQcZ9Mu4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGl3DHrVMFY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg90X7OkEsU&feature=related
INSIDE VIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BANKERS
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=36666041
UNDERSTANDING WORLD GOVERNMENT
http://www.womensgroup.org/
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=504526035342184251
BANK OF INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENT PRESS
http://www.bis.org/events/agm2009/pcvideo.htm
HISTORY OF WAR AND THE FEDERAL RESERVE
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1874212534444628577&hl=en

NWO KILLER VACCINES
http://israndjer.blogspot.com/2009/08/nwo-death-control-swine-flu-vaccines.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBeKB7aKzOs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2gteHfCa_k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwFNMtx2-8g&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_OcxtakWEc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxROe3ESwes&feature=related
MILITARY TO WORK WITH FEMA WHEN PANDEMIC HITS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtGofsHaj3M&feature=player_embedded
SAY NO TO THE VACCINES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGyCeCiG9Kk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqMK_yu8APg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASibLqwVbsk&feature=related
LAB MADE FLU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYrlFMFoaDE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbritanniaradio%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj0gs1C83Ec&feature=channel

LISTEN TO THE SHOW HERE INFOWARS.COM
http://www.infowars.com/
OBAMA DECEPTION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw
ENDGAME GLOBAL ENSLAVEMENT
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1070329053600562261
BOHEMIAN GROVE NWO OCCULTISTS
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-82095917705734983
WITCHCRAFT IN THE WHITE HOUSE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmaiX86sUoc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF2eILED00s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZARWvlz_yKI&feature=channel_page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbh7KrUwawI&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IG0tmvCozU&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgP-SyrooKI&feature=channel
OBAMA SCAM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V1nmn2zRMc&feature=player_embedded

3RD JIHAD TRAILER
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJy9tpGHGXM&feature=player_embedded
3RD JIHAD MOVIE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gt9UGB1-tQ&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbnaWpSS8Dk&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1d0Lx8MPtI&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZdhKcFk5vg&feature=player_embedded
SHARIA LAW IN AMERICA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuEy0uiyvNw&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppTo-TTtJQo&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqV-CtEVUU&feature=player_embedded

3RD TEMPLE REBUILDING
TAMAR YONAH TALKS TO OKTAR ABOUT 3RD TEMPLE ON MOUNT
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1332
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/Author.aspx/1179
TAMAR INTERVIEWS RABBI ABOUT OKTAR ON 3RD TEMPLE
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1275
SECRET OF THE COPPER SCROLL
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1324
FUTURE OF THE 3RD TEMPLE
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1281
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1242
JOEL RICHARDSON INTERVIEW WITH OKTAR
http://tr.harunyahya.tv/videoDetail/Product/14800/AN_INTERVIEW_WITH_MR._ADNAN_OKTAR_BY_JOEL_RICHARDSON_(JUNE_22,_2009)
TRANSCRIPT OF OKTAR-RICHARDSON INTERVIEW
http://tr1.harunyahya.com/Detail/T/EDCRFV/productId/15166/ADNAN_OKTAR_S_MEETING_WITH_JOEL_RICHARDSON_(CONSERVATIVE_CHRISTIAN_WRITER_AND_SPEAKER)

ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST

1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

ISRAELS TROUBLE

JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.

DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)

ISRAELS INHERITED LAND IN THE FUTURE

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.

Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.

12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE

EZEKIEL 47:13-23,48:1-35
13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
15 And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;
16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazarhatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.
17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazarenan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.
18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.
19 And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.
20 The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.
21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
1 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.
2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.
7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.
10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.
11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
12 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
13 And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
15 And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
16 And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.
19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.
22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.
26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.
28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.
30 And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.
31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.

FALSE TEACHERS,PROPHETS,DECIEVERS

MATTHEW 24:4-5,11,24-25
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.

1 TIMOTHY 4:1-2
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

MARK 13:22-23
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

2 TIMOTHY 3:13
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

DEUTORONOMY 18:10-12
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

LUKEWARM CHURCHES

REVELATION 3:15-19
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue (VOMIT) thee out of my mouth.(LUKEWARM CHURCHES MAKE GOD SICK AND REVENGFUL FOR HATING ISRAEL AND HIM AND TRUSTING IN WEALTH INSTEAD).
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS TO GODLESS CHURCHES WHO CLAIM THEIR CHRISTIANS BUT HATE ISRAEL AND STICK UP FOR THE ARABS INSTEAD OF ISRAEL.WHEN YOU HATE ISRAEL YOUR HATING GOD (KING JESUS),YOUR A FALSE CHURCH.AS THE SCRIPTURE ABOVE SAYS.

Kingdom Now Or Apocalypse Next Commentary by Roger Oakland
www.understandthetimes.org

Some news headlines attract my attention. This one certainly did: Lutheran leader calls for ecumenical council to address growing biblical fundamentalism.[1] Now, to explain what this headline means, I will quote from the article: The leader of the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination has called for a global Christian council to address an identity crisis on how churches interpret and understand the Bible. Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Church in America called for Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches to come together to combat a fundamentalist-millenialist-apocalypticist reading of the Scripture.[2]
Perhaps you may be wondering: How significant is this statement? Who is Bishop Mark Hanson and what is he really advocating?

Bishop Mark Hanson

Here’s the answer. Hanson called for the formation of a global ecumenical council during the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s Assembly in Orlando, Florida in August of 2005. Hanson is also president of the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation. [3] His request for a group to monitor and expose anti-ecumenists who take the Bible literally carries some weight! Hanson’s message contained other statements that indicate his disdain for Bible believing Christians – particularly those who take Bible prophecy seriously and see Israel and the Middle East crisis as an end times sign post. For example he said: Mainline churches traditionally are uneasy with literal readings of Scripture, particularly in fundamentalist churches, regarding the end of the world and political unrest in the Middle East. [4] Now, let’s evaluate Bishop Hanson’s statement. He said that if you are a believer in a biblical end-times scenario that is based on taking the Bible literally, you are dangerous and counterproductive to the cause of Christ. He would like to form a council made up of Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and like-minded Lutherans to investigate and deal with this crisis.In other words, Bishop Hanson views those who reject Kingdom Now and believe in apocalypse next as fundamentalist-millenialist-apocalypticist crackpots.But there is more. Hanson seems to believe the Reformation was without cause and that the church must join with the Roman Catholic Church and embrace the Eucharistic Jesus in order to bring about an ecumenical unity and the Kingdom of God here on earth.

Quoting once more from the article:

Hanson also urged the Vatican to work with the Lutheran World Federation to develop a joint statement on the Eucharist to mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017.

What does this mean?

Eucharistic Unification
I have been following the Roman Catholic Church’s agenda to evangelize the world for about a decade. It is a fact that many evangelical Protestants are unaware that there is an agenda. It is also a fact that some are aware, but simply don’t care. They agree Christianity should no longer be burdened by doctrine and different beliefs that are divisive. Let’s all be one, they say.

Roman Catholic Eucharistic Jesus

However, there are those who study Bible prophecy who have grave concerns. They believe the Scriptures warn about a time of great spiritual deception that will occur before Jesus returns. They believe deception takes place in His name and many will be deceived. When they hear statements made by leaders saying unity at any cost without giving regard to the finished work of the cross,they are urged to sound a warning. Thus the reason for this commentary! Further, Bishop Hanson, not only called for a global committee to discuss dangerous Christians, he has also called upon the Vatican to facilitate unity of the brethren by making a Eucharistic Sharing Agreement. Here is what an article titled Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Assembly Hears Presiding Bishop’s Report stated about this agreement:Hanson reminded the assembly that the unity of the church as the Body of Christ is not a goal to be attained, but in fact to be recognized… In that regard, Hanson referenced the ecumenical work of the ELCA in establishing five full communion partnerships and the recommendation for an interim Eucharistic Sharing agreement with the United Methodist Church that will come about before the assembly August 11. He then suggested that the ELCA explore the possibility of a joint declaration of the Eucharist with Roman Catholics as one way of celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation in 2017.[5]

Eucharistic Ecumenism

Today the word Reformation is merely a word without meaning for most Christians. They have no idea what the Reformation was about or the fact that some of the reformers died as a result of standing up for biblical truth.For example, author J. C. Ryle made this point clear. In a book titled Light for Old Times, published in 1890, Ryle stated:The point I refer to is the special reason why our reformers were burned. Great indeed would be our mistake if we supposed that they suffered in the vague charge of refusing submission to the Pope, or desiring to maintain the independence of the Church of England. Nothing of the kind! The principal reason why they were burned was because they refused one of the peculiar doctrines of the Romish church. On that doctrine, in almost every case, hinged their life or death. If they admitted it, they might live, if they refused it, they must die. The doctrine in question was the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the consecrated elements of bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper…[6]Perhaps some who read this article will not understand what this previous statement means. Let me explain in simple words what Ryle documented. He said that Reformers were burned at the stake during the Reformation because they refused to believe that a priest could turn a wafer into the presence of Jesus during Mass.

Reformers Burned At The Stake
Now of course, that was then, and such barbaric practices are not happening now. But, it is important to mention that the Roman view of the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is still required to be a member of the Roman Catholic Church:If anyone denies that in the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist are contained truly, really and substantially the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ, but says that He is in it only as in a sign, or figure or force, let him be anathema. [7]This is why I am amazed when I hear about a Lutheran Bishop promoting ecumenical unity with the Vatican focused on a Eucharistic unification. It is very clear that the Vatican has no intentions of revising their view on the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. In order for Eucharistic ecumenism to be a reality - that would mean those who are not Roman Catholic will have to become Roman Catholic by accepting that Jesus Christ is present in the Communion wafer – if there is going to be Christian unity Rome’s way.
So, if Eucharistic ecumenism happens by the year 2017, look for a unification of the separated brethren with Rome – according to Rome’s rules. Second, there will be more and more pressure on those who resist this ecumenical agenda. Remember, while Hanson is promoting Eucharistic unification with Rome, he is also concerned about those who resist such unification.

Mother Of All Churches
I for one will be on a road headed in the opposite direction. I believe in unity, but at the foot of the cross – the empty cross, where Jesus said as He died,It is finished! – no more sacrifices required. Finally, with regard to human beings establishing the Kingdom of God here on planet earth - this will never happen. The Bible states that the Kingdom of God will be established by King Jesus alone, after there has been an apocalypse.

[1] http://news.ucc.org/index.php/option=cpm_content&task=view7id=2977Itemid=54, Religion News Service, August 11, 2005. Emphasis minne.
[2] Ibid. Emphasis not in original.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
[5] www.elca.org/ScriptLib/CO/ELCA_News/encArticleList.asp?article=3137, August 9, 2005.
[6] J. C. Ryle, Light from Old Times - Volume 1, Charles Nolan Publishers, Moscow, ID, 1890, pages 54-55.
[7] The Canons and Decrees of The Council of Trent, Rockford, IL, Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., 1978, page 79, Canon

ELCA NEWS SERVICE August 9, 2005 ELCA Assembly Hears Presiding Bishop's Report CWA-08-05-TW

ORLANDO, Fla. (ELCA) -- ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson engaged voting members and guests in reflecting on the church's identity and mission in his report Aug. 9 at the 2005 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 8-14 at the World Center Marriott and Convention Center.About 2,300 people are participating, including 1,018 ELCA voting members.The theme for the biennial assembly is Marked with the Cross of Christ Forever.Four times, the presiding bishop asked voting members and guests to discuss among themselves the aspects of the current state of the church.The state of the ELCA is really inseparable from how all 5 million baptized members would answer these questions,said Hanson.How is it with your soul? Your walk with Jesus? How do you live out your baptism? Suggesting that this church has a strong name that reveals a great deal about who we are,Hanson framed his report on the church's name.

Evangelical

He began by challenging members to claim boldly, humbly and clearly that we are evangelicals,proclaiming and believing the good news of Jesus Christ.Yet amidst all the competing gospels today, what good news do we announce? Hanson asked voting members.In our culture, everything presses us in a different direction than this good news of justification by faith through God's grace, Hanson said.In this culture we are valued for what we accomplish and for what we accumulate.Living in such a culture is living in a mission field,said the presiding bishop.As long as there is one unchurched or dechurched person who does not know the story of Jesus in our townships or workplaces, our classrooms or car pools or families, we are called to invite that person as the Samaritan woman left the well to invite her friends to come and see Jesus.

Lutheran

Hanson went on to describe being Lutheran as being always evangelical, ecumenical and reforming.He drew applause when he stated that the challenge is to build upon the strong foundational themes of the ongoing Lutheran Reformation and be sure that they, rather than the ethnic identities of European immigrant ancestors, become that which shapes our identity as a reforming movement in the church catholic, a church engaged in God's mission for the life of the world.

Church

Quoting German pastor and author Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Hanson reminded the assembly that the unity of the church as the Body of Christ is not a goal to be attained, but a fact to be recognized. According to this image, the church is not to achieve unity, but to act as the unified body that we already are … so that the world might believe.In that regard, Hanson referenced the ecumenical work of the ELCA in establishing five full communion partnerships and the recommendation for an interim Eucharistic Sharing agreement with the United Methodist Church that will come before the assembly Aug. 11.He then suggested that the ELCA explore the possibility of a joint declaration on the Eucharist with Roman Catholics as one way of celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation in 2017.Now is the time for Pope Benedict [XVI], the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul, and the Anglican and Lutheran Communions to convene a global, ecumenical council on the Christian interpretation of Scripture in order to address a global identity crisis ... due to the dominance today of a fundamentialist-millenialist-apacolypticist reading of Scripture,Hanson said.Speaking more specifically to the ELCA itself, the presiding bishop described the commitment to church unity expressed in the constituting documents of the ELCA that describes an interdependence of congregations, synods and the churchwide organization.But I suspect that there are many factors and forces -- cultural, ecclesial, financial, and relational -- that seek to undermine that commitment to interdependence in the ELCA.We struggle with that,he said.Yet the bishop also stated that his experience of the church in the past four years is that each segment wants to strengthen their relationship in and with this church and their identity as Lutherans engaged in God's mission for the life of the world.

In America

In addressing the final part of the church's name, Hanson acknowledged that we are a public church.He asked the assembly,Can we as a church convene and be participants in public conversations of moral deliberation? We must acknowledge the complexity of issues, and call for civility in our discourse.But we must also recognize that categories of morality apply not only to the behavior of individuals, but to the actions of nations or corporations, and, yes, churches as well.He further exhorted ordained ministers to be witnesses to and instruments of God's peace and reconciliation for the world and committed to justice in the life of the church and society and in the world.Hanson closed his report by asking voting members and guests to lay hands upon one another as he prayed that the Holy Spirit confirm their faith, guide their lives, empower them in their serving, give them patience in suffering, and bring them to everlasting life.Information about the ELCA Churchwide Assembly is at http://www.elca.org/assembly/05 on the Web.For more information contact:John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news

The Emerging Church and Bible Prophecy By Roger Oakland http://www.understandthetimes.org

Part One Introduction and Biblical FoundationThroughout recent church history, there have been numerous trends that have come and gone. Asa Christian for over twenty-five years I have seen a number of them. There was the name-it-and-claim-it positive-confession wave. This was followed by the Toronto Blessing and the PensacolaRiver. Then we were introduced to the Seeker Friendly movement followed by the Purpose Driven movement. Now it is the Emerging Church wave.What is the Emerging Church? How big of an impact will it have?It is very difficult to define the Emerging Church. In fact proponents say the Emerging Church itis not a church—it’s only a dialogue or conversation. Some say that the Emerging Church isabout reinventing Christianity for the 21st century. So what does that mean? Is it possible forChristianity to be reinvented and still be Christianity? This very idea or concept causes me concern. Christianity must be based upon who Jesus is andwhat He said. His words have been written down in the New Testament. To claim that we canreinvent Christianity implies we have the liberty to alter the meaning of what the Bible has stated.In my view this is not only spiritually dangerous, it opens the doors for apostasy and the demonicinfluence Paul foretold would be occurring in the Last Days. 1Furthermore, the Emerging Church is not just some passing fad. In fact the numbers jumping onthis bandwagon are staggering. Listen carefully as I quote from an article titled New FaithfulPractice Away from Churches that describes how popular the Emerging Church is becoming:Many theologians believe the Emerging Church Movement is the fastest growinggroup in Christianity. It has no national organization or coordination, so it’s almostimpossible to know just how big it is. Some estimates say there are 20 million ofthese new faithful in the U.S. alone—that’s more than Jews, Muslims, Buddhists andMormons put together. 2Or listen to the comments made by three different people interviewed for this article:It’s really not a rebellion so much as it’s just finding a new set of answers, adifferent way of being Christians,said Pastor Mike Clawson of the ChristusCommunity Church.I think it’s a new reformation. I think it’s a new way of looking at the Bible,said Pastor Julie Clawson.I don’t think it’s simply a fad,said McKnight. I don’t think it’s the future of all Christians. I think it is a movement that will have an impact on all churches inthe United States.3

In the near future, every pastor of every denomination will have to make a decision whether or not to support or reject the Emerging Church.Man’s Way or God’s WayThroughout biblical history there is a problem that continually resurfaces. Man’s way, rather thanGod’s way, may seem to be the right way, but ends up the wrong way. This is because God’sWord has been rejected and ignored. From my perspective, the current Emergent Churchmovement fits this pattern.The Bible is truly an amazing book. If we want to understand man’s spiritual journey throughouthistory, all we need to do is read what has been recorded in the Word of God. While God hasprovided a way for us to seek after Him and to know Him, God’s adversary has an agenda to getin the way. The last thing the devil wants is for man to be obedient to what God has said. Instead,his objective is to lead humanity astray. One of his greatest objectives is to delude people in thename of the Savior, Jesus Christ. In the last days this agenda intensifies.When man listens to ideas and philosophies of men rather than to the inspired Word of God, itdoes not take long to be led astray. For example, we read in the Book of Proverbs:There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways ofdeath. 4Following men and their methods can be a dangerous situation, if these men are not following Jesus and His Word. For those who still need more persuasion, listen to what Jesus said:This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with theirlips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain they do worship Me, teaching fordoctrines the commandments of men. 5So, it appears that it is very possible for humans to be misled even in their endeavor to get closerto Jesus. Jesus said it was possible for people to be deceived even though they may believe theyare heading down the right road by the things they are saying and doing. 6 We must alwaysevaluate our spiritual journey by staying true to the Word of God. Doctrine must always have abiblical basis. Dogma, tradition and experiences that contradict the Scriptures need to bereevaluated and abandoned.With this said, let us consider what Emergent Church proponents are saying with regard toreinventing or re-imaging Christianity for the 21st century. What does this mean? Perhapsintentions may be good but is it possible to alter God’s Word?As we are going to see many Emergent proponents are suggesting a new faith must be establishedthat is relevant for our generation. This faith becomes an all-embracing faith that includes acombination of ideas promoted by man in the name of Christianity but not found in Scriptures.Christianity no longer is based on what God has said, but upon what men are saying. Based on thehistorical pattern we find in the Bible, this is a perfect formula for spiritual disaster.Biblical faith never changes. Faith by definition is based on hearing God’s Word and actingaccordingly. According to Emergent promoters, our generation needs to be stimulated withsensual experiences in order to find Jesus.

These sensual experiences are not found in the Bible but were popular during the Dark Ages and still embraced by the Roman Catholic Church andOrthodox belief systems.So my question is this: Is a new faith that is not based on the Bible still the Christian faith or is itanother faith? Should we be concerned when we see Christianity headed in this direction?Faith UndoneBiblical faith is based on trusting and believing in what God has revealed in His Word. The Biblestates that it is impossible to please God without faith. 7 Is it not reasonable to suggest God’sadversary would want to deceive followers into believing they had faith when instead they hadbeen deceived? The Scriptures also tell us it is even possible to believe in another Jesus andanother gospel because there is another spirit. 8In order to understand Satan’s plan to deceive man, we need to understand his agenda to confusethe issue of faith. If faith is trusting and believing in what God has said, then we would expect theadversary would do all he could do to cause man to doubt God or reject the authority of God’sWord.Recall Satan’s line of questioning when he confronted Eve. Notice how the deceiver laid out hisplan of attack:Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD Godhad made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat ofevery tree of the garden? 9Satan asked this question because he knew exactly what he was doing. Satan’s plan is simple. Youdon’t have to accept what God has said. In fact there is much more for you to know. You arehumanly capable of achieving all that you desire. Rejecting what God has said can cause one toreject God’s plan of redemption and open the door for Satan’s plan of deception.Throughout the ages this plan has been effective. Further, the Bible states that in the last days thisplan will become an even greater factor. There are numerous warnings about an apostasy that willprevail. This falling away from the faith will be inspired by doctrines of demons that will leadthose who had once embraced the faith into another faith that is not biblical faith. 10Besides the warnings Jesus gave regarding the spiritual deception that would characterize the lastdays, a question Jesus asked that is recorded in the Book of Luke, chapter 18 provides additionalinsight into Satan’s plan to attack the foundation of Scripture in the last days. In Jesus’ ownwords:When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth? 11With these warnings in mind, it seems to me that it would be wise to pay attention to currenttrends underway in the name of Christianity that emphasize a gospel that is far more experience-based than Bible-based.The trend we will attempt to document that is sweeping the world is called the Emerging Church.Proponents claim that in order to reach the postmodern world, old methods must change if we aregoing to be effective in reaching the present generation.

Rather than a gospel based on what God has said and done, the new gospel is based on a stimulation of the senses that provides mysticalexperiences in the name of Christ.Based on my understanding of the Scriptures, we are headed for a spiritual disaster.Beware of DeceptionSomething has become apparent to me since the turn of the millennium. While many believerswere anticipating the return of Jesus before the year 2000, 21st century Christians seem to havefallen asleep. No longer is Bible prophecy considered important. Warnings that would encouragebelievers to be alert and ready for the return of Jesus are seldom mentioned from the pulpit.Instead the trend is to be purpose driven and willing to establish the kingdom of God here onearth.The fact that this very thing is occurring should be a reminder to us that this is what we shouldexpect if the return of Jesus Christ is at hand. Not everyone who professes the name of Christ isgoing to be ready. Many will have fallen asleep. 12 Others will have left the faith because theyhave been seduced by doctrines of demons. 13Do you remember what Jesus told the disciples when He was asked what would be occurring atthe end of the age before His return? He did not indicate that the whole world would beexperiencing a spiritual revival turning to the gospel according to the Scriptures. He said thatmany would be deceived by many in His name. 14In fact the majority of the signs Jesus said to expect dealt with the topic of spiritual deception. Heeven forewarned there would be false appearances or manifestations of false Jesuses that wouldbe associated with lying signs and wonders. 15Paul also warned about a time of deception that would dupe the world and the church:For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let,until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whomthe Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with thebrightness of his coming: Even him whose coming is after the working of Satanwith all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness ofunrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of thetruth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strongdelusion, that they should believe a lie. 16Notice how Satan’s deceptive plan operates. First, the one being deceived must willfully rejectthe truth of God’s Word. Second, the delusion is accompanied by experiential factors such assigns and wonders that play a major role in drawing the one being deceived away from the truthfor the lie.Now, recall what Jesus said in Matthew 24, warning about lying signs and wonders. It wouldseem that experience will play a powerful role in the seduction of the world. This delusion willoccur in His name.

Part Two The Evangelization of Eucharistic Adoration

I vividly remember the first time that I was confronted with the term the Emerging Church. Ihad just returned from South Africa where I had been speaking in several places on the topic ofthe New Evangelization program—the Roman Catholic program to win the world to the RomanCatholic Eucharistic Christ. A lady who had heard me speak sent me an e-mail with an attachedarticle about the Emerging Church. She asked me a question:Do you think this could be thebridge to the Roman Catholic new evangelization program you were telling us about? For those who are not aware of the New Evangelization program, let me provide a brief overview.The Roman Catholic Church has a plan to establish the Kingdom of God here on earth and winthe world to the Roman Catholic Jesus—the Eucharistic Christ. It is believed the triumph of theEucharist will be accomplished when the world (including the separated brethren) come underthe rule and reign of Rome and the Eucharistic Jesus.Many Protestant evangelicals are not aware of the difference between the Roman Catholic Jesusand the Jesus of the Bible. The Eucharistic Jesus requires a Roman Catholic priest to conjure uphis presence through the power of transubstantiation, the focal point of Mass. This Jesus then is offered as an unbloody sacrifice—the sacrament of the Eucharist.According to the Bible, the sacrifice has been made and no further sacrifices are required todispense salvation. When Jesus died, He said It is finished.For a detailed overview of this topicsee Another Jesus? The Eucharistic Christ and the New Evangelization. 17 Eucharistic EvangelizationIn October of 2004, John Paul II called for The Year of the Eucharist as part of his evangelisticplan to bring the world to the Eucharistic Christ. In April of 2005, he died. Pope Benedict XVIpicked up Pope John Paul’s mission immediately. He called the faithful to intensify devotion tothe Eucharistic Jesus.On April 20, 2005, in his first pontifical homily, Pope Benedict XVI made a clear statement. Henoted to the world the significance of his pontificate in that he had been crowned pope as theChurch is living in the special year dedicated to the Eucharist.18 Quoting from this article titled Pope Benedict called on the faithful to intensify devotion to theEucharistic Jesus,we read:(The Pope) called it a providential coincidence, and an element that must markthe ministry to which [he has] been called.The Eucharist,he said,the heart ofChristian life and the source of the evangelizing mission of the Church, cannot butbe the permanent center and the source of the petrine service entrusted to me.19Pope John Paul II initiated his missionary vision focused on a rekindling of amazement of theEucharistic Jesus at a Eucharistic Congress, in June of 2000. Further, in an encyclical he wrote inApril of 2003, he called for Eucharistic adoration to be reemphasized to draw the faithful to adoring the Eucharistic Jesus—the Jesus that can be placed in a monstrance and put on display.

In October of 2004, Pope John Paul initiated the Year of the Eucharist.Therefore, Benedict wasbeginning his pontificate where the previous pope left off. Quoting again from the article:Pope Benedict asked the faithful to intensify in coming months love and devotionto the Eucharistic Jesus and to express in a courageous and clear way the realpresence of the Lord, above all through the solemnity and the correctness of thecelebrations.The devout daily celebration of Holy Mass,he said, the center ofthe life and mission of every priest, contributes to this end.Nourished andsustained by the Eucharist,he added,Catholics cannot but feel stimulated to tendtowards that full unity for which Christ hoped in the Cenacle.20 Notice the statement that Benedict made: Catholics cannot but feel stimulated to tend towardsthat full unity for which Christ hoped. You see this is the heart and core of the NewEvangelization that Pope John Paul initiated. The goal is to bring the separated brethren back tothe Mother of All Churches and the Eucharistic Jesus.Second Coming Roman Catholic StyleI am amazed so few people who are students of the Bible do not understand the current RomanCatholic New Evangelization program that is presently underway. What is worse, there are manywell-known teachers of the Bible who are moving into the Emerging Church movement and arenow advocating the Roman Catholic view of the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.Pope John Paul declared the Year of the Eucharist in October of 2004. Before the pope died in April of 2005, news from Rome about the importance of the Eucharist came out daily. Since PopeBenedict replaced Pope John Paul II as pope, the New Evangelization program has furtherintensified.On June 12, 2005, Zenit News Agency reported on the pope’s message to thousands gathered inSt. Peter’s Square. He said: Dear Brothers and Sisters! The Year of the Eucharist continues,called by our beloved Pope John Paul II, to reawaken ever more, in the consciences of believers,wonder toward this great Sacrament.21 Then referring to a youth gathering that would end the Year of the Eucharist in Rome, October,2005 he said:I entrust this meeting to the Virgin Mary, that she may teach us to love Jesus evermore, in constant meditation of his Word and adoration of his Eucharistic presence, and help us tomake young generations discover the precious pearl of the Eucharist, which gives true and fullmeaning to life.22While this article was of interest to me, another Zenit article posted the same day on the Eucharistwas even more significant. In the article titled Eucharist in the Pontificate of Benedict XVI:Scott Hahn on the New Pope's Potential Revival,the following statement was made:Benedict XVI's pontificate is not about restoration of the liturgy so much as re-appropriation -- of the mystery of the Eucharist. So says Scott Hahn, professor oftheology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville, director of the St. PaulCenter for Biblical Theology and author of The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven onEarth (Doubleday). He shared with ZENIT how he thinks Benedict XVI's teachingswill enhance the faithful’s understanding and experience of the Eucharist. 23

Then in response to a question asked by Zenit about the pope’s view on the Eucharist, Hahnreplied:The Eucharist is our encounter and our communion with the Blessed Trinity. That is theheart of life. It's the source of life. It's the summit of life. Communion with the Blessed Trinity is the very definition of heaven, so it doesn't get any better than that. Theamazing thing is that we have heaven in every Mass. This is a theme Cardinal Ratzingerreturned to repeatedly in many of his books. The coming of Jesus Christ – what theGreek New Testament calls parousia – is not simply some far-off event. It is hispresence in the Eucharist. Fundamentalists reduce the meaning of parousia to Christ’scoming at the end of time; but for the first century Greek speakers the word meant presence.Catholic theology holds on to that original meaning.The presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Second Coming Roman Catholic style.Unfortunately, many evangelical Protestants are not aware.The theme of this paper will be to provide the documentation to show that the Emerging Churchis one of the many bridges that is being established to bring the separated brethren back to the Mother of All churches. The prophetic significance of this trend is of paramount importance.

Part Three A New Faith for the 21st Century

For many, the term Emerging Church is still not clearly understood. Before we examine the basicbeliefs being promoted by the Emerging Church movement in detail, I want to look at some of theideas and teachings promoted by Pastor Doug Pagitt, founder of Solomon’s Porch, an Emergentchurch located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This will give us a general and brief overview of whatthe Emergent Church is and where it seems to be headed.As we examine some of Pastor Pagitt’s ideas, we will see the pattern emerging. I will be using anumber of statements made by Pagitt taken from his book Church Re-Imagined: The SpiritualFormation of People in Communities of Faith, published by Zondervan 24 to document thispattern.Pastor Pagitt’s Solomon’s Porch would be considered a typical Emergent church and certainlyone that many other pastors are following as they also become emergent. Thus by the end of thissection we should be able to provide a fairly clear overview of the pattern emerging in theEmerging Church.So, with this preface, let’s begin by examining Doug Pagitt’s view that Christianity must changefor our generation. Here is what he states in his book:It seems to me that our post-industrial times require us to ask new questions—questions that people 100 years ago would have never thought of asking. Could it bethat our answers will move us to re-imagine the way of Christianity in our world?Perhaps we as Christians today are not only to consider what it means to be a 21stcentury church, but also and perhaps more importantly—what it means to have a21st century faith. 25This statement made by Pagitt typifies one of the basic beliefs of the Emergent Churchmovement. In a zeal to reach this present generation, Christianity must change, he states. Thischange that requires Christianity be re-imagined for 21st century Christians, would require theWord of God, the very foundation of the Christian faith, to be altered to meet today’s standardsand beliefs.There is simply no other way of interpreting Pagitt’s statement. He and other Emergent promotersare suggesting we must not only change what it means to be a Christian, we must change thefoundation of Christianity by coming up with a new faith for the 21st century.However, anyone grounded with biblical faith should be able to detect that Pagitt’s proposalcreates a problem. If faith is based on the Word of God, a new faith that is not based on theWord, is not biblical faith and therefore cannot be the Christian faith. This direction would clearlyseem to be dangerous. Especially in light of the fact there are plenty of warnings from the Bibleregarding being spiritually seduced in the last days.It is a noble cause to reach the postmodern generation for the cause of Christ. But we must alsoremember, Jesus Christ challenged us to follow Him and to be obedient to His Word. Re-imagining Christianity for the sake of establishing a new faith for the 21st century may well bepart of the apostasy that the Bible warns about. 26

The Process of Re-imaginingThe Emergent Church claims that Christianity needs to be re-imagined for the 21st century. Butwhat is meant by re-imagining? What will this reinvented Christianity look like?Emergent Church leaders and promoters often provide testimonies explaining how they becameinvolved in their journey to reinvent Christianity. In his book Church Re-Imagined: The SpiritualFormation of People in Communities of Faith 27 Doug Pagitt tells how and why his churchoriginated:Our attempt at being a church began in January 2000 in a small second-floor loftspace in a hip little neighborhood of Minneapolis called Linden Hills. The churchwas actually birthed much earlier from conversations between a few friends whoshared a desire to be part of a community of faith that not only had a new way offunctioning but also generated a different outcome. At that point I had said, onmore than one occasion, that I didn’t think that I would ever be able to stay Christian in any useful sense over the next 50 years if I continued the expression ofChristianity I was currently living–pretty disconcerting stuff for a pastor. 28 Pastor Pagitt then explains why he felt he needed to find a new expression of Christianity thatwas a different expression from what he had been accustomed to previously. In his own words:This was not a crisis of faith in the typical sense; I never doubted God, Jesus or theChristian faith. And yet I had a deep sense, which has actually grown much deepersince, that I needed to move into a Christianity that somehow fit better with theworld I lived in, not an expression that reconstituted another time. 29This statement by Pagitt is interesting in light of what he wrote just a few pages later in his bookin regard to how his church plans to reinvent Christianity:We also understand ourselves as part of a global community. We are required to liveour local expressions of Christianity in harmony with those around the world. Thebeliefs and practices of our Western church must never override or negate theequally valid and righteous expressions of faith by Christians around the world. It is essential that we recognize our own cultural version of Christianity and makeourselves open to the work of God’s hand in the global community of faith. 30 Notice the emphasis on a global community of Christian faith that permits all expressions offaith by anyone and everyone who claims to be Christian. As we are going to see, Pagitt’s ideaof reinventing Christianity is based on an ecumenical view that permits ideas, beliefs andexperiences that are not found in the Bible.According to the Emergent Church agenda, in order to find a new expression of faith acceptablefor the 21st century, Christianity needs to be open to anything and everything that has ever beencalled Christian. Brian McLaren, a prominent leader of the Emergent Church calls this new faitha generous orthodoxy. 31 While this generous orthodoxy is very generous in allowing a smorgasbord of ideas to beproclaimed in the name of Christ, many of these ideas are foreign to the Scriptures and even anti-Christian.

What Ever Happened to the Bible?If faith comes by hearing the Word, and the Word is not heard, what kind of faith will emerge inthe Emerging Church? Instead of faith, the Emerging Church is creating a famine in the landwhere the Bible was once taught.Many people I meet at conferences who come from a wide variety of church backgrounds tell methat their church they had attended for years has radically changed. Their pastor no longer teachesthe Bible. Instead the Sunday morning service is a skit or a series of stories. The Bible seems tohave become the forbidden book. While there are pastors who do still teach the Bible, they arebecoming the exception rather than the rule.So why is this happening? Is this part of the Emerging Church agenda to reinvent Christianity? Emergent leaders are often quoted as saying the message remains the same but our methods mustchange if we are going to be relevant to our generation. However, what happens if the messagepromoted in the name of Christ is no longer based on a chapter and verse? Sound doctrine seemsto be taking a back seat to a teaching that no longer offends those who are listening. The measureof success for many pastors today is how many are coming, rather than how many are listeningand obeying what God has said in His Word.Once again, let’s consider how Pastor Doug Pagitt uses the Bible at Solomon’s Porch. Quotingfrom his book Church Re-Imagined: The Spiritual Formation of People in Communities of Faith:At Solomon’s Porch, sermons are not primarily about extracting truth from theBible to apply to people’s lives. In many ways the sermon is less a lecture ormotivational speech than it is an act of poetry—of putting words around people’sexperiences to allow them to find deeper connection in their lives… So oursermons are not lessons that precisely define belief so much as they are storiesthat welcome our hopes and ideas and participation.32According to Pagitt, the Bible is not about truth and doctrine but about hopes and ideas andparticipation. Besides, rather than a pastor teaching the Bible, there should be equal opportunity to dialogue in order to come to a consensus of what the Bible might be saying. Pagitt writes:To move beyond the passive approach to faith, we’ve tried to create a communitythat’s more like a potluck: people eat and they also bring something for others.Our belief is built when all of us engage our hopes, dreams, ideas andunderstandings with the story of God as it unfolds through history and throughus. 33This potluck brand of Christianity that tends to take the Bible lightly has some serious flaws froma biblical perspective. While certain parts of the Bible may be read as poetry, it is much morethan putting words around people’s experiences. The Bible tells us that God is always right andman is almost always wrong. When we rely upon human consensus we will end up with man’sperspective and not God’s revelation. This is a dangerous situation that has the potential to leadpeople astray.When the Word is Not HeardWhen I first heard about the Emerging Church and the various experiences that are characteristicof this trend, I was suspicious.

In an effort to reach this present generation for Jesus, it seems that many are looking to experiences in His name that will appeal to the postmodern generation whoare accustomed to having their senses stimulated.There is something to be learned from history that will help us to understand what is going on inthe Emerging Church. Before the Reformation and during the period known as the Dark Ages, theBible was known as the forbidden book. Thanks to the Reformers and the sacrifices they made,the Bible was translated into the language of the common people.The light of God’s Word began to shine into the darkness and people were delivered from thecontrol and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church and the power of the pope and the priests.God’s grace was revealed and people were saved and released from bondage. People began tounderstand that salvation is a gift of God and that the sacrifice was made once and for all by Jesuswhen He died upon the cross.The point I am making is simple: When God’s Word is purposely hidden by people professing tobe Christian, the darkness created because of the lack of God’s Word leads to a need for spiritualencounters in the flesh. In order to convince the faithful they are being spiritually fed, leadersreplace the Word with experiences. Thus, the reason that icons, candles, incense, liturgy, prayingto the dead (including Mary) and the sacraments are deemed necessary for salvation.Now, let’s examine something that has happened at Doug Pagitt’s Solomon’s Porch EmergentChurch as the Word becomes less and less important. In his own words:During a recent Life Development Forum we offered a session on Christianpractices. In one of the four weeks we introduced the act of making the sign ofthe cross on ourselves. This gesture has become a very powerful experience forme. It is rich with meaning and history and is such a simple way to proclaim myfaith with my body. I hold the fingers on my right hand in the shape of a cross,my index finger lying over the top of my outstretched thumb. I use the EasternOrthodox pattern of touching first head, then heart, then right lung followed byleft. Others in the group follow the Roman Catholic practice with left beforeright. 34So what is the significance? Why are powerful experiences replacing God’s Word? As wecontinue this paper on the Emergent Church it will become more and more apparent. Powerfulexperiences similar to what occurred during the Dark Ages are taking the place of expositoryBible teaching. This makes sense in light of what happens when the Bible becomes the forbidden book. Home to RomeWhen the Evangelical Christians begin to imitate Roman Catholicism in order to providepowerful experiences that supposedly bring people closer to Christ, we are headed down aslippery slope. The Emerging Church pattern seems to be headed this way.When I do a series of radio programs or write commentaries posted at our website warning peopleabout the dangers of ecumenism, I know what the response will be ahead of time. It is not popularto stand up for biblical truth these days. The message we often here is one of unity at any cost. Ata recent pastors’ and church leaders’ conference, I was told by an organizer that I was not tospeak on the topic of the Emerging Church. This person considered the topic unnecessary anddivisive.

The Emerging Church, in my view, is experiential, ecumenical and a dangerous diversion to thegospel of Jesus Christ—that is the gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures. As we havebeen documenting, the Emerging Church leads away from the scriptural to the mystical. Thispathway that reintroduces Roman Catholic mystical ideas, practices and beliefs is a step backtowards the Dark Ages.While the signs of the times indicate the return of Jesus and the end of the age and theestablishment of His kingdom, the Emerging Church and other church trends like the PurposeDriven movement, are promoting the idea that the kingdom of God can and will be establishedbefore Jesus returns through and by human effort.This plan that is being established sounds strangely familiar. As I continue this paper I willdocument how the Emerging Church and the practices that are promoted, fit perfectly into theNew Evangelization program to establish the Eucharistic Reign of Jesus here on earth withheadquarters in Rome.For now, as we conclude our overview of Doug Pagitt and Solomon’s Porch, I am going toprovide one final piece of documentation that helps confirm that the Emerging Church is anotherroad to Rome. Listen as I read from Pagitt’s book:The first day of Lent this year brought the first Ash Wednesday gathering in ourchurch’s history and in mine... Until this point, Ash Wednesday had not been part of my Christian faith experience. Not only had I never applied ashes to anyone’sforehead, but I had also never had them applied to mine. After this experience Iwondered how I could have celebrated 19 Easters as a Christian without thistremendous experience. 35Now, let’s review what we have learned about the Emerging Church as demonstrated by what isbeing taught and presented by Pastor Doug Pagitt at Solomon’s Porch. First, Christianity must bereinvented and a new faith established for the 21st century. Second, Christianity must be open toall expressions of Christianity, even those expressions that are not biblical. Third, the Bible needsto be augmented by experience. Fourth, these powerful experiences have been reintroduced from Roman Catholicism.

Part Four What is Emerging in the Emerging Church?

Attempting to come up with a definitive explanation to describe all that is happening in theEmerging Church movement is an impossible task. Probably, the best way to do this would be toexamine a number of books and articles that have been written on this topic and come up withsome general trends that seem to be consistent. In this section I will attempt to do this.I will be quoting various promoters of the Emergent movement. Sometimes authors are offendedand upset when they are quoted, but the quotes are statements that they have made and not wordsthat I have invented.Further, it is not my objective to examine the personal motives of the individuals who are thepromoters of these ideas. I have had dialogue and discussion with several leading EmergingChurch authors about our differences. In every case, they indicate to me their sincere desire toreach this generation and provide a relevant form of Christianity.My greatest concern about the Emerging Church is the overall direction that I discern it is headedand the role it will play in light of Bible prophecy. This direction, in my opinion is away from afaith in Jesus that is based on His Word, to a faith driven by experience headed towards RomanCatholicism. Second, it will be apparent that Bible prophecy is often discredited in an attempt toemphasize a social gospel that promotes the establishment of the kingdom of God here on earthnow by human effort.When I have pointed this out to Emergent leaders, they insist they are not departing from theScriptures, only making the Scriptures relevant for today. While I find such an explanationdifficult to understand based upon what they are doing and saying, I am willing to say that manyare being deceived and are not aware what is happening in the overall scheme of Last Daysdeception.My main purpose in documenting facts for this presentation will be to show that the EmergingChurch is providing a bridge to Roman Catholicism and particularly to the Roman Catholic Eucharistic Christ. My method of doing this will be based on Paul’s instruction to Timothyregarding how we are to confront those who have been sidetracked by Satan’s devices and don’tknow it:And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach,patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventurewill give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they mayrecover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at hiswill. 36 Paul’s words, inspired by the Holy Spirit, provide the strategy we are to take in order to pointthose who have been misled back to the truth. Satan’s plan is to convince sincere Bible-believingChristians that the Bible is no longer our foundation for faith. Obviously, deception occurs whenone has been misled without realizing it. In order to salvage those who have been caught inSatan’s trap, we are to reach out with humility, gentleness and patience praying that minds will beopened to the truth and the pathway to deception will be hindered.

Beware of the WaveI have been a Christian for over twenty-five years. I have seen a number of Christian trends comeand go. The present wave, the Emerging Church, is different from the past waves. It seems to begathering momentum as more and more get on board.About twenty-five years ago, not long after I had become a Christian, I was visiting with anelderly gentleman who had been a Christian for most of his life. We were discussing the currentwave sweeping Christianity at that time. A portion of the fellowship we belonged to was beingswept into the Toronto Blessing wave. This wave was the reintroduction of the Latter Rain wavethat took place in the late 1940s.I will never forget the words this man used to describe what was happening to the body of Christ.Satan’s plan to deceive the world impacts the church just like waves crashing against the shore,he said.As we get closer and closer to the return of Christ these waves of deception will be morefrequent and influence more and more people,he continued.Then he shared this statement still etched into my mind: There is a wave coming before Jesusreturns that will sweep the world,he said.But before this final wave of apostasy hits there willbe other significant waves preparing the way for the final wave. Twenty-five years have passed and this man’s words have proven to be prophetic and true. The waves currently breaking are preparing the church for the Last Days apostasy that Jesus and Paulforetold. The Emerging Church, I believe is one of the preparatory waves.Leonard Sweet, author of Soul Tsunami strongly supports the idea that a major spiritualawakening is just ahead and that we are currently experiencing a wave that will change the world.On page 39 of his book he wrote:God is birthing the greatest spiritual awakening in the history of the church. Godis calling you to midwife the birth. Are you going to show up? 37According to Sweet, the spiritual awakening is a wave that is impacting the post-moderngeneration and is characterized by a hunger for experience. He wrote:A spiritual tsunami has hit postmodern culture. This wave will build withoutbreaking for decades to come. The wave is this: People want to know God. They want less to know about religion than to know God. People want to experiencethe Beyond in the Within.Post-moderns want something more than newproducts; they want new experiences, especially new experiences of the divine. 38Numerous books published in the Emergent category have been endorsed by Sweet. He is lookedupon as a major leader in the promotion of the Emergent Church. In 1991, he wrote a book titled Quantum Spirituality: A Postmodern Apologetic. A statement he made on page 69 of this book isa good summation of his view of what direction the Christian faith will be heading in the future:Faith is not simply intellectual understanding, or an act of human intention, orfollowing some how-to salvation manual, or ascent to creedal formulations. Faithis not a matter of doing or even being, but an experience of becoming. Experiencingis faith’s most fundamental activity. 39

As we will see, an experience-based Christianity is becoming the foundation for the EmergingChurch.Experience Driven Christianity Dan Kimball is the author of The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations.Kimball has founded a church called Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California. Kimballmakes the following statement in the introduction of his book about the need for Christianity tochange and for the Emerging Church to provide the leadership for this change:I believe with all my heart that this discussion about the fast-changing culture and theemerging church must take place. While many of us have been preparing sermons andkeeping busy with the internal affairs of our churches, something alarming has beenhappening on the outside. What once was a Christian nation with a Judeo-Christianworldview is quickly becoming a post Christian, un-churched, un-reached nation. Newgenerations are arising all around us without any Christian influence. So we mustrethink virtually everything we are doing in our ministries. 40It is a fact that the spiritual climate in North America has changed radically over the past numberof years just as Dan Kimball has stated. Kimball uses the term post-Christian era to describe thedays in which we are living. He sincerely believes that the Emerging Church and the experiencesthat it provides will be the best way to reach our present generation.One of the arguments for promoting the Emerging Church in the post-modern era goes somethinglike this: While the seeker-friendly era was successful in bringing a generation of baby-boomers to Jesus, that time is past. Now we need to find new innovative methods that will reachthe present generation for Jesus. Post-moderns are seeking after experiences that stimulate theirsenses. The Emerging Church can provide these kinds of experiences.Michael Slaughter, in his book Unlearning Church: Just When You Thought You Had LeadershipAll Figured Out, describes the move away from the seeker-friendly, non-offensive style ofChristianity towards a mystical-experiential brand the following way:In the seeker age, the church tried to make its teachings and its services more user-friendly, practical, and accessible, and to market them to the un-churched. In thepost-seeker age Future Churches are not as concerned with marketing services forunbelievers or entertaining believers as they are in ushering people, believers andunbelievers alike, into the presence of God. Intentionally, they do not water downtheir teachings or ratchet down the intensity of the service to make it more appealingto unbelievers. 41 In order to appeal to believers and unbelievers and usher them into the presence of God, anumber of innovative ideas are being promoted by Emerging Church leaders. Kimball devotes amajor portion of his book to these ideas, some of which include the following:Overcoming the Fear of Multi-sensory Worship and Teaching 42 Creating a Sacred Space for Vintage Worship 43 Expecting the Spiritual 44 Creating Experiential Multi-sensory Worship Gatherings 45

Note the emphasis on multi-sensory, sacred space, and vintage worship. What is this allabout and where is this headed? Ancient Future TalentDr. Robert Bob Webber is recognized by pastors, denominational leaders, scholars and laypeople as one of the foremost authorities on worship renewal. He regularly conducts workshopsfor almost every major denomination in North America through the Institute of Worship Studieswhich he founded in 1995.Prior to his appointment to his present position at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr.Webber taught at Wheaton College for 32 years as Professor of Theology. He has authored over40 books and is also a regular contributor to numerous magazines and newspapers includingWorship Leader. 46I was first introduced to Dr. Webber and his views when I read an article he had written forWorship Leader titled Wanted: Ancient Future Talent. Under a subheading labeled The Call for Ancient-Future Worship Talent Webber wrote:I am personally most gratified to see the shift toward a recovery of the ancient. Whilemany good choruses have been produced over the past forty years, the rejection of thesources of hymnody and worship by the contemporary church has resulted in a faith thatis an inch deep. 47In this article, Dr. Webber stated that the Spirit is working a new thing in the church and an ancient-future worship is being born.He listed a number of things that he believed werenecessary for talented workers to become a successful part of this new movement. Some ofthese are:Rediscovering how God acts through the sacred signs of water, bread and wine, oil andlaying on of hands.Rediscovering the central nature of the table of the Lord in the Lord’s Supper, breakingof bread, communion and Eucharist.• Rediscovering how congregational spirituality is formed through the Christiancelebration of time in Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter andPentecost.While I agree with Dr. Webber it would be beneficial to reintroduce the great hymns written inthe past by anointed men and women of God that expound sound biblical doctrine, it appears thatis not all that he meant by returning to the ancient.In fact his list of things to do in his call for ancient-future worship talent mentions a number of terms and ideas that cannot be found in the Bible.For example, when I hear the expression sacred signs of bread and wine or Lent as a meansof rediscovering congregational spirituality,while these ideas may be ancient, I wonder wherethe ideas originate.Further, when I hear about rediscovering the central nature of the table of the Lord in the Lord’s supper, breaking of bread, communion and Eucharist I am reminded about the new evangelization program presently underway initiated by Pope John Paul II when he called for a missionary vision centered on a rekindling of amazement focused on the Eucharist.

Ancient Future Faith

One of the common beliefs circulating amongst the supporters of the Emergent Church is aconcept called Vintage Christianity. According to this view, experiences effective in attracting Christians to come to church in the past should be reintroduced today in order to attract thepostmodern generation who are hungry for experience.Dan Kimball, author of The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generation, is oneof the key proponents of this idea. He firmly believes that worship must play an important role toattract post-moderns into Christianity. In a section of his book subtitled Truly worshipping in aworship gathering,he writes:We should be returning to a no-holds-barred approach to worship and teaching so thatwhen we gather, there is no doubt we are in the presence of God. I believe that bothbelievers and unbelievers in our emerging culture are hungry for this. It isn’t aboutclever apologetics or careful exegetical and expository preaching or great worshipbands. … Emerging generations are hungry to experience God in worship. 48Rob Redman, author of The Great Worship Awakening: Singing a New Song in the PostmodernChurch agrees with Kimball. He has noted that churches that provide a liturgical vintage form ofworship are attracting the postmodern generation. He writes:Liturgical churches, particularly Episcopalian, Roman Catholic, and EasternOrthodox, report increasing interest in traditional liturgical worship among youngadults. 49Redman notes that as the result of this renewed interest in liturgical worship, a worshipawakening is now underway and Protestant worship services are beginning to incorporateliturgical worship practices. He states:A common approach to the worship awakening among Protestant churches is tocreate a blended service combining older and newer liturgical elements and musicalstyles. 50Julie Sevig, author of an article titled Ancient New explains how worship and other activitiesthat stimulate the senses are attracting the postmodern generation:Post-moderns prefer to encounter Christ by using all their senses. That's part of theappeal of classical liturgical or contemplative worship: the incense and candles,making the sign of the cross, the taste and smell of the bread and wine, touchingicons and being anointed with oil. In Soul Tsunami: Sink or Swim in NewMillennium Culture (Zondervan, 1999), Leonard Sweet says: Post-moderns want a God they can feel, taste, touch, hear and smell—a full sensory immersion in the divine. 51In the same article, an interview with Karen Ward further describes the style of worship that isemerging in the Emerging Church:Evangelicals are using traditions from all liturgical churches from Orthodox toLutheran to Catholic.

Though they have limited experience using their new-found symbols, rituals and traditions, they’re infusing them with vitality and spirit and life,which is reaching people. 52 U2-charist Based on the documentation from the three previous sources, it is apparent that experientialworship is an important means of attracting people who are looking for experience.As Julie Sevig stated, people are being reached by sensual stimulation. However, a legitimatequestion needs to be asked: if they are being reached, what are they being reached for? Do they have a clear understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures? Or have theybeen introduced to a form of Christianity that is more experience-based than Bible-based?Further, it is apparent that a no-holds-barred approach is definitely a real part of this reaching process.The following article describes a no-holds-barred approach that is presently underwayin emergent meetings as a means of reaching people:It may not qualify as a mini-Reformation, but a Communion service driven by themusic of singer Bono and his U2 bandmates is catching on at Episcopal churchesacross the country. The U2 Eucharist is not some kind of youth service held in thechurch basement but is a traditional Episcopal liturgy that uses U2's best-sellingsongs as hymns.It makes you, like, warm inside,says Bridgette Roberts, 15, who is a Roman Catholic and attended a recent U2 Eucharist at All Saints' Episcopal Church inBriarcliff Manor, N.Y. Usually at church, you love Jesus and everything. But thisway you can express how you feel.Says her friend, Natalie Williams, 17: I loveBono, and you can rock out to the music. But in church, you hear it in a differentway. It's like new.53 According to the article, the Rev. Paige Blair, an Episcopal priest in York Harbor, Maine, cameup with the idea for the U2-charist.She held the first service at her church on July 31, 2005,displaying U2's lyrics on a screen by the altar. Since then she informally has consulted with about150 churches that have had U2 Eucharists (or are planning to) in fifteen states and sevencountries. 54 Eucharistic EvangelizationInterest in Rev. Blair’s innovation to celebrate communion is catching on. Blair's church isstarting what it calls a U2-charist team to take U2-charist evangelism on the road. 55I find this example of Vintage Christianity very interesting in light of the New EvangelizationProgram. I am fascinated to find out that the Emerging Church vintage worship campaign is nowsending out evangelists who are introducing post-moderns that are hungry for experience to theEucharistic experience.I would expect there will soon be many non-Catholics who will be introduced to this encounterthrough U2-charist evangelism. Many will believe this experience is new, when actually it isquite old. It is what the Roman Catholic Church has always taught that one must believe in orderto be a Christian.

The Impact of Imagery

The Bible teaches that faith comes by hearing the Word of God.56 Not so in the Emerging Church.Faith comes by seeing images, touching icons, smelling incense and hearing liturgical sounds.Post-moderns require such stimulation to experience God. Images of Jesus hanging on the crossare very common. So are icons of Mary and baby Jesus.The January-February issue of Worship Leader Magazine provides interesting backgroundinformation with regard to the significance of imagery to our present generation. In an articlewritten by editor Chuck Fromm titled The Impact of Image the following is stated:We are now living in a post Passion of the Christ world.The extraordinarysuccess of Mel Gibson’s landmark film, and the controversy that surrounded it,underscores in no uncertain terms how imagery shapes our culturalconsciousness. The implications for the church and its service of worship havebeen both profound and ambiguous. 57Fromm’s assessment about Mel Gibson’s portrayal of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by aHollywood producer capable of using vivid imagery is very true. While this imagery may havebeen effective, there is an important question that needs to be asked: is it biblical? What chapterand verse can we find to support the use of imagery as an evangelistic tool? When I think of imagery and the Bible, I am reminded of what the Bible says about avoiding it.For example:Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitudeform or image on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of themidst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, thesimilitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female… And lest thou …shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them. 58However, the present trend that seems to be on the upswing as part of the Emerging Churchmovement, promotes the view that seeing Jesus hanging on the cross is an effective tool forevangelism. While not supported by Scripture, this and other ideas can be found in churchtradition. As Chuck Fromm commented in his article:In many ways, the Church is seeking a way back to its oldest and most sacredtraditions: those in which all the senses are fully engaged in the act of worshipfrom incense and bells to icons and vestments. 59Apparently justification for the return of these ancient traditional practices is based on the ideathat our present generation is looking for such experiences. As Fromm states:The power of the preached word is being augmented, and occasionally outpaced,by the impact of the visual. The primacy of music as an essential expression of worship is being challenged by congregations hungry for more direct means ofengagement. 60 Multi-Sensory Worship Stimulating images that provide spiritual experiences are becoming more and more popular aspart of the Emerging Church promotion.

While many are bewildered why their churches are darkening their sanctuaries and setting up prayer stations with candles, incense and icons, thepromoters of the Emerging Church movement, say they know exactly what they are doing.Often, Christians who have been attending church all their lives find the changes their pastors areimplementing disconcerting. They see the trend away from Bible teaching to multi-sensorystimulation. Pastor Dan Kimball describes a conversation he had with an older gentleman whohad expressed his concerns about the implementation of an emerging style of mystical worship:Dan, why did you use incense? I am not sure I like walking over to those prayerstations with all those props; can’t we just pray from our seats? Why aren’t youpreaching the Bible? I wasn’t too comfortable when you had those times ofsilence, and it’s a little to dark in here for me.61 The comment by this older gentleman (in his seventies) is typical of the comments I am hearing from many as I travel and speak at conferences around North America. Comments like this notonly come from the elderly. I hear people saying the same things throughout the whole agespectrum. Those who have been attending churches where pastors taught God’s Word arebecoming very concerned when they see multi-sensory mystical worship replace what they hadbeen used to.Nevertheless, Dan Kimball and many others are convinced they are on the right path based ontheir view that emerging generations desire a multi-sensory worship experience. For example,in a chapter of Kimball’s book titled Creating a Sacred Space for Vintage Worship Kimballstates:So aesthetics is not an end in itself. But in our culture, which is becoming moremulti-sensory and respectful of God, we have a responsibility to pay attention tothe design of space where we assemble regularly. In the emerging culture,darkness represents spirituality. We see this in Buddhist temples, as well asCatholic and Orthodox churches. Darkness communicates that something seriousis happening. 62A few pages later in his book Kimball endorses the practice of the lectio divina that wasinstituted by the desert monks and supported and promoted by Pope Benedict XVI and the Roman Catholic Church. 63 Further Kimball explains how he implemented a prayer labyrinth,an idea borrowed from the Middle Ages. As he states: Christians of that time would slowly walkthe labyrinth as an aid to contemplative prayer and reflection.64 (In another section of this paperwe will deal with contemplative prayer.)Following these statements, Dan Kimball writes: How ironic that returning to a raw and ancientform of worship is now seen as new and even cutting edge. We are simply going back to avintage form of worship which has been around for as long as the church has been in existence.65

Part Five Church Fathers and the Pathway to Rome

We know from the Scriptures that Satan’s plan is to deceive the whole world. His objective is toblind the minds of the unbelieving and to recruit those who have believed to assist him in hisagenda to deceive the world in the name of the Savior.Do you recall what Paul prophesied would happen to the early Christian church? This is what hesaid:Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the HolyGhost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hathpurchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shallgrievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your ownselves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples afterthem. 66 A brief overview of church history reveals Paul’s prophetic warning was accurate. He said itwould happen and then it happened. Numerous church leaders emerged during the first to the third centuries. The foundational principles of the Scriptures were ignored and many followed theexperiential teachings of men who claimed they had discovered new and innovative methods toget in touch with God.The reason why this happened is simple. We know that God’s Word is light. When we begin toreplace the Word of God by the words of man which are considered to bring enlightenment, wehave a perfect formula for returning to darkness. The mystics added ideas to Christianity thatcannot be found in the Bible—a recipe for spiritual disaster.Jude also warned about the coming apostasy in the early church. He said certain men had alreadycrept in unawares because error was not being corrected. 67Now, let’s bring this up to date. The latest church growth wave today is the Emerging Church. Aswe are going to see, many of the leaders of the Emerging Church are suggesting it is important tostudy the ideas and beliefs of the church leaders that emerged in the first to third centuries afterChrist. They say that if pastors and church leaders reintroduce these teachings from the past wewill have spiritual transformation and successful churches in the 21st century.But, just a minute! If the church that emerged from the New Testament Church was based onideas and beliefs that were foreign to the Scriptures, there is reason to be concerned. Doctrinemust be based on what God has said in His Word. When dogma takes the place of doctrine, Scripture has been ignored and many will be led astray.Rather than reviving the teachings of the desert monks and early church fathers whoreinterpreted the Bible and came up with their own mystical views, I believe we should be awareof such practices and avoid them. While proponents of the Emerging Church believe they aregetting closer to God by following the mystics, they are not paying attention to the Word of God.The last days will be characterized by doctrines of demons. There will be many ways to leadsincere Bible-believing Christians astray.68 The present day Emerging Church movement has thatpotential.

Rethinking Evangelicalism

Robert Webber is calling for a New Evangelicalism which is based on what he calls Ancient-Future Faith.He and others are convinced that Christianity needs to revised or remodeled for the21st century. But in order to go ahead, we must go back to the mystics and learn from them, theysay.What does it actually mean to be an evangelical? When I was a new believer twenty-five years ago it meant to be a promoter of the gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures. Not so today. The term evangelical encompasses a wide variety of beliefs promoted by people who callthemselves Christians.A good way to provide an example of what I am saying is to quote Dr. Robert Webber from hisbook Ancient Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World. While Webberclaims the Bible is an important book for the Christian faith, he suggests that the Bible needs tobe supplemented by various other books written by spiritual mystics from the past. He writes:The primary source of spiritual reading is the Bible. But we now recognize thatin our love of Scripture we dare not avoid the mystics and the activists. Devotionto the great devotional literature of the church is essential. More and more peopleare turning to the great work of the mystics. Richard Foster has called us torecover Augustine’s Confessions, Bernard of Clairvaux’s The Steps of Humility…69 Webber’s list of books that provide food for the soul authored by mystics goes on and on:Thomas a Kempis, Meister Eckkart, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Thomas Aquinas,Thomas Merton and numerous others. Then Webber makes this following statement:Toimmerse ourselves in these great works is to allow our vision to be expanded by a great treasureof spirituality.70 Why would Webber, a Baptist, be so enamored by the writings of Roman Catholic mystics? While reading the books written by Catholic mystics may allow one’s vision to be expanded,what is meant by the phrase a great treasure of spirituality? I think I know the answer to this question. This great treasure of spirituality will not be basedon biblical Christianity. Instead the reader will be introduced to ideas and beliefs that haveprovided the seeds for Roman Catholic dogmas that have no scriptural basis.Webber actually admonishes his readers to embrace the Catholic mystics. He writes:The value of all these books as well as many not mentioned are dispensable tospirituality. Those who neglect these works do so to their harm, and those who readthem do so for their inspiration and spiritual growth. 71However, the real reason Webber would like evangelicals to read Catholic mystics and becomepart of the “new evangelicalism” is for the sake of unity. He writes:A goal for evangelicals in the postmodern world is to accept diversity as historicalreality, but to seek unity in the midst of it.

This perspective will allow us to seeCatholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches as various forms of the one true church—all based on apostolic teachings and authority, finding common ground inthe faith expressed by classical Christianity. 72 Old is New AgainDr. Dale Dirksen is Associate Professor of Worship and Church Ministry at Briercrest Seminarylocated at Caronport, Saskatchewan. In the Fall 2005 issue of the Briercrest Passport Magazine,Dr. Dirksen wrote an article titled Old is New Again: The Emergent Church.Under the subheading The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same Dr. Dirksen wrote:Many church leaders are talking about some significant changes in culture. Somecall this postmodern(that is after the modern era). Others call it emergent.Emergent people are questioning many of the things the modern world thought to becertain, like the power of human reason as a way to find truth and the infallibility oftechnology. They have a lot of interest in ancient ideas. They are hungry for mysteryand searching for God. 73Dr. Dirksen, like Dr. Webber, agrees that the Bible should be our foundation for truth. However,Dr. Dirksen points out that in order to be relevant to our present generation we need to be open tochange if we are going to be effective evangelists in the postmodern age:Cultural change requires careful and thoughtful response. The Church has changed alot in almost 2,000 years, but it has also tried to live and serve in light of the unchanging truth of Scripture. It is often in change that we refine, or even rediscoverthe major things and set aside the ones that do not matter so much. We have achance to do that now. 74According to Dirksen, refining sometimes requires rediscovering if we are going to berelevant in reaching this present generation. As he states:If we are going to get serious about following the command of Christ to makedisciples, it will mean adopting a new kind of attitude, a new sense of mission. How can we learn about this new culture in which we find ourselves? What is itslanguage? What are its practices? What are its gods? As we find these things out, wewill be more likely to act like many missionaries before us, setting aside our ownlanguage, practice and cultures so that we can reach out. 75 In order to reach out Dr. Dirksen provides his readers with insights that can be used forevangelizing the postmodern generation. He offers a suggestion with regard to understanding theemergent language and culture:(The emergent language) is more than a verbal language. It involves pictures,symbols, actions, even smells. To speak emergent the church will need to usemore than words. The good news is that we can find this emergent language in ourown faith. But we will have to look back a long way. 76 What does Dr. Dirksen mean by the phrase looking back a long way? His article clarifiesexactly what is meant so there is no need to speculate. He wrote:To connect with emergent people, however, we will need to look back much furtherthan the twentieth century or even the Reformation.

Ancient practices that seem to have spiritual significance for emergent people are often found in the third century,the turn of the first millennium, or the drama of worship in the Middle Ages.Learning about the depth of practice in the church year of the mystery of an ancientEucharistic prayer is learning about the work of the Holy Spirit in His Church. 77 How Safe Is It?As we have been able to document, going back to the past to find experiences that will beattractive to the postmodern generation is one of the goals of the Emerging Church movement.However, a serious question should to be asked at this point. Why would one only go back to theMiddle Ages, the turn of the first millennium or the third century? Wouldn’t this open the doorfor some devious doctrines that may have crept into the church? Why wouldn’t one just stay withthe Scriptures in order to be safe?Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote to Timothy and said:All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, forreproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. 78 However, it seems that such definitive advice that comes from these words written by Paul isoften overlooked, especially by those who are convinced that great spiritual insight can begleaned from church fathers and mystics.Proponents of vintage Christianity and ancient-future faith such as Dr. Webber have an apologeticfor those who express their concerns about leaving the confines of scriptural doctrine for post New Testament extra-biblical revelation. In a chapter of Ancient Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World that is titled Recovering Our Historical Connection,he wrote:For example, I once believed that the church became apostate at the close of the firstcentury and hadn’t emerged again until the Reformation. I jokingly say to mystudents,We Protestants act as though Pentecost occurred October 31, 1517, whenMartin Luther tacked his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenburg church.This attitude results in a negative view of early church fathers and Christianity prior tothe Reformation. The fact is that God’s church has existed from the Pentecostdescribed in Acts. We belong to the whole church and need, for our own spiritualhealth, to affirm every part of it. 79Dr. Webber recognizes there are those who would fit into the category of Protestant (other thanhimself of course) who are suspicious about taking instruction from the church fathers, especiallywhen the church fathers are the fathers of the Roman Catholic Church. In order to answer thisconcern, Dr. Webber writes:Because evangelicals fear that a respect for early church fathers will turn them intoRoman Catholics, a distinction needs to be made between catholic and Roman Catholic. The early church fathers are catholic in the sense that they defined theclassical Christian tradition for the whole church. This is a tradition, as I have beenpresenting, common to every branch of church. Roman Catholicism, as such, is atradition that has added to a common tradition. I believe in the common tradition andshare that tradition with my Catholic brothers and sisters.

But I do not believe in some of the added traditions of the Romanization of the church in the medieval era.80This statement may convince some there is no danger in studying the Roman Catholic churchfathers from the first to third centuries who promoted many ideas without a biblical basis.However, before you are convinced, consider the next statement that Dr. Webber makes to justifyhis position:The early Fathers can bring us back to what is common and help us get behind ourvarious traditions, not in a sense that we deny our own tradition, but that we givepriority to the common teaching of the church. Here is where our unity lies. Tosummarize, the words One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic point to the oneness of thechurch, as a matter of faith. Christians do not believe something about oneness ofthe church; they believe in the oneness of the church. Consequently, evangelicalsneed to go beyond talk about the unity of the church to experience it through anattitude of acceptance of the whole church and an entrance into dialogue with theOrthodox, Catholic and other Protestant bodies. This is already happening in the Evangelicals and Catholics Together consultation, in the evangelical-Orthodoxdialogue, in scholarly societies as the Society of Biblical Literature, and in localecumenical settings in which evangelicals are involved. 81A Catholic Perspective of the Importance of the Church FathersDr. Webber promotes the view that studying the Roman Catholic Church fathers is as safe asdrinking mother’s milk. He and the Emerging Church proponents who insist there are so manyspiritual insights to gain seem to argue convincingly that every Christian would benefit byexpanding their spiritual horizons and adding the knowledge expounded by the church fathers.This of course would be true if the church fathers point us to God’s Word. But what if there areinsights that are not scriptural? The unsuspecting could actually be led away from the Scripturesand biblical doctrine towards the doctrines made up by man and even inspired by demons. If itcan be shown that some of the ideas of the Church Fathers lead away from biblical Christianity toredefined Christianity that gives more authority to man than God’s Word, shouldn’t we besuspicious?With this in mind, it would be helpful to check out what Roman Catholics say about the RomanCatholic Church fathers. In order to do so, I am going to quote from a lecture posted on theInternet by the International Catholic University titled Importance of Studying the ChurchFathers.82 In a statement explaining who the church fathers are, we read:Who are the Fathers of the Church? Traditionally there have been four criteriaoffered as necessary qualifications to be considered a Father of the Church. First ischronology or antiquity. The Apostolic era is usually considered to begin withwriters after the compilation of the Canon of the New Testament. The Apostolic Fathers include Saint Clement of Rome, who lived in the first century, died perhapsin the 80s or 90s; Saint Polycarp, the great Bishop of Smyrna martyred in his 80thyear; and Saint Ignatius of Antioch, martyred in Rome in 110. The Apostolic Fatherswould have personally known the Apostles and the Evangelists, the Disciples of ourLord.

The era of the Church Fathers normally is considered to end in the East withSaint John of Damascene, who died in 749; and in the West with St. Isidore of Seville who died in 636. The first criteria, then, for being a Church Father is to havelived in antiquity, from the first to the seventh or eighth century. 83 With this as a background for understanding the Roman Catholic view regarding who can be achurch father, let’s see what the Roman Catholics teach regarding the authority these churchfathers supposedly have:But why do we study them? The Holy Father has given us the basic reasons. Theyare the framers of the structure of the Church built upon Christ Jesus as thecornerstone and the Apostles as the foundation. Specifically, they are the privilegedwitnesses to traditions. Founders, whether they be founders of institutions orfounders of religious societies, always have a privileged position. They are the oneswho bring together a sense of mission, a sense of direction. Analogously in thegrowth and in the development of the Church, the teachings of the Fathers have avery special place. They were the closest to the sources; the early Fathers, referred toas Apostolic Fathers, personally knew the Apostles and the Disciples. They hadaccess to the purity of the sources of the living tradition, the very teachings of thoseclosest to Christ, and they were the ones that developed the first structures of theChurch. 84Finally, one more statement from this lecture, that should reveal why embracing the teachings ofthe Roman Catholic Church fathers almost always leads to conversion to the Roman Catholic Church:The Church Fathers are the guarantors of an authentic Catholic Tradition. Theteaching of the Church Fathers was central to the documents coming forth from theSecond Vatican Council, and there are many references in the new Catechism of theCatholic Church to the Church Fathers. Many great Christian men and women havefound their way either back to, or into, the Catholic Church through meditating andreflecting upon the writings of the Church Fathers. John Henry Cardinal Newman, agreat nineteenth century English Cardinal who in his younger years was a memberof the Church of England, fell in love with the writings and thought and spirit of theChurch Fathers. And in his Apologia pro vita sua, he points out that he saw in themthe true Church, the universal Church, the Catholic Church, and they became veryinstrumental in his acceptance and embrace of the Roman Catholic Church. 85Journeys HomeJohn Henry Cardinal Newman converted to the Roman Catholic Church in the 19th century afterreflecting on the writings of the Roman Catholic Church fathers. This same story can be repeatedthousands and thousands of times now that we are in the 21st century.Journeys Home: The Journeys of Protestant Clergy and Laity Coming Home to the CatholicChurch and the Coming Home Network International, A Lay Ministry Committed to HelpingThem, edited by Marcus C. Grodi is a book that documents many of these conversions. In theintroduction of the book we read the following:Many of these men and women came from Protestant faiths that viewed the Catholic Church as the Whore of Babylon,and the pope as the antichrist.

From an earlyage they had been taught all kinds of things about Catholics and their beliefs,sometimes horrifying, repulsive things, that made then wonder whether Catholics could be saved. Yet in each case, and in uniquely different ways, the Holy Spiritopened their hearts to realize that much of what they had been taught about theCatholic Church was never true. 86 Sharon M. Mann, in a section of Journeys Home titled Still on the Journey provides personal testimony as one of the many who have made the journey home to Rome. She testified that thechurch fathers played and important role to start her on her journey to Roman Catholicism. In herown words:I started reading the early Church Fathers and realized that whatever they believed,they surely were not Protestant. Catholic themes peppered the landscape of Church history. I couldn’t deny it—nor could I accept it. Surely they were misguided! TheChurch was floundering in the first centuries and tons of crazy ideas were floatingaround—so I thought! When I began reading St. Augustine, however, I was stunnedhow Catholic he was. 87Like many others who have read the writings of Augustine and other Roman Catholic churchfathers, something happened to cause Sharon to want to know more about the Sacrament of the Eucharist. She went to a chapel where Eucharistic adoration was underway, and like many othersshe had an experience that changed her life. This is how Sharon described her encounter:Finally, Saturday night, at the Eucharistic adoration, I saw a thousand people (plus)kneeling on a hard, concrete floor giving adoration to the Sacrament. I found tearsstreaming down my face. I knelt, too, not knowing if this was real or whether thepeople were just crazy! But every time the Sacrament came near me, my throattightened and I couldn’t swallow. I was being torn apart by my convictions. If theLord was truly passing by, then I wanted to adore and worship Him, but if Hewasn’t, I was afraid to be idolatrous. The weekend left a very powerful imprint onmy heart, and I found myself running out of good arguments to stay Protestant. Myheart was longing to be Catholic and be restored to unity with all Christendom. 88 Sharon’s testimony shows there is a path leading to Roman Catholic conversion when one beginsto consider the writings of the Roman Catholic church fathers. The Emerging Church, based upona foundation that ancient-future faith is the answer to reaching the postmodern generation, has the potential to open this door.

Part Six When the West Returns to the East:Christianity and New Age Practices Time has a way of bringing about change. With regard to major shifts in worldviews, a gradualindoctrination that takes place over time seems to be an effective way to bring about majorchange in the long run.For those of us who have lived on this planet for a half a century or more,the changes we’ve experienced are phenomenal. When we think back we wonder how our worldcould have changed so much without many noticing.I became a Christian in the late 70s. For me, it was like a light coming on in a dark room. I couldsee reality for the first time. As an unbeliever, I had been locked into a world of materialism,evolutionism and secularism. When the grace of God drew me to the Word of God, I experiencedan awakening. From the moment I was converted I was able to see God’s plan to save mankind incontrast with Satan’s plan to deceive the world.In the early 80s, I became aware of a major shift in thinking that was sweeping the Westernworld. Religious pagan practices of the past, once relegated to a world of darkness, were nowbeing embraced as the ways and means of ushering in an age of enlightenment. Instead ofphysics, it was metaphysics.Rather than believing in God, people were following men who said they were gods. Instead of worshipping the one true God who created everything, they wereworshipping everything that the Creator had made. All was God, and even man could becomegod.Every method and therapy imaginable imported from Hinduism, Buddhism and every formof Eastern mysticism suddenly was in vogue.The age of enlightenment had arrived, we were told.So, now that we are well into the third millennium it is interesting to look back. What happened,how did this happen and what might lie ahead? These are questions that I believe can beanswered in light of the Scriptures. Reading through the Old Testament, we become aware of apattern that emerges. In short, when human beings turn away from God, they will worshipanything and everything as God, even themselves. Satan has a master plan to lead man away from God.There are many verses that could be used to help us understand from a biblical perspective whyEastern mysticism is gaining a stronghold worldwide.Pay attention to God’s warning to Israelthrough the prophet Isaiah:Come house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. For Thou hast abandonedThy people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east.And they are soothsayers like the Philistines. And they strike bargains with the childrenof foreigners. 89The Bible explains how God’s chosen people were seduced into darkness by embracing doctrinesof demons from the east in the past. Is it possible history is in the process of repeating? A New Age Christianity?The Scriptures reveal that Satan has many clever plans to seduce mankind. Enticing man to turnaway from God and embrace the gods is one of his favorites. While it is expected that unbelieverscan easily fall into this trap, what about those who claim to follow Jesus?

I have been following the New Age movement even before the phrase New Age movement wascoined. In the early 80s it became apparent to me that Eastern religion was being widely promoted in the West as something new. While New Agers were enthusiastically advocatingyoga, meditation, crystals, spirit guides and humming mantras as the ways and means to achieveglobal consciousness and enlightenment,professing Christians that I knew could see Satan sstrategy. No Bible-believing Christian would ever fall for such deception! At least that was the way it was twenty-five years ago.Time has a way of changing things. Todayit is not uncommon to hear about churches promoting Christian yoga for exercise or Christian leaders suggesting that the best way to enhance one’s prayer life by getting in tune with Godthrough chanting a mantra. What was once described as New Age and occultic is spiritually acceptable now. What has happened? Has God changed His Word or has yoga become Christian?Is it possible that Christians have been duped by Satan and lulled to sleep? Anyone who cares to do the research will find that yoga and its connection to Eastern religionremains the same. Linking oneself with the universal energy is still the goal. A Christian canbelieve that yoga is for health and well being if he or she wants, but the facts have not changed.The amazing thing to me is how quickly Christianity has been changed in such a short period oftime. Why has this happened? Does it have something to do with the Word of God beingundermined? It seems to me that Christians have joined hands with the New Age and we nowhave a New Age Christianity that the Bible has always warned us about.I am reminded of the heavy statements we find in the Old Testament when the children of Israelrebelled against God. For example, this is what we read in Deuteronomy:When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among youany one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that usethdivination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or aconsulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do thesethings are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations theLORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with theLORD thy God. 90 Straying away for God and being led by the gods is an abomination unto God and it will be judged. There is not one verse in the Bible that supports a New Age Christianity.Christian Yoga? Yes to Yoga: Can a Christian breathe air that has been offered to idols?This title caught myattention. The source of the article was Christianitytoday.com. The author begins this way:It's 7:45 p.m. on a weekday and for the first time today,I consciously slow down mybreathing. I send the air deep down into my belly, letting it rise and fall like a wave.In … Out … Along with a group of 30 people in a darkened exercise studio at aLifetime Fitness gym near Chicago, I use the unhurried cadences of the air fillingand leaving my lungs to lull my muscles and joints into daring postures. My bodybecomes a mountain. An eagle. A warrior. A pigeon. A downward dog. A cobra.

Finally—my favorite pose that comes at the end of each workout—a corpse, duringwhich I lay down and relax every muscle. 91 Now, you may be asking the question, why would Christianity Today publish an articlepromoting Eastern religion? Yet, the author of the article claims to be an evangelical born-again Christian. She says yoga draws her closer to Jesus. In her own words:… let me witness that yoga has never had any negative influence on me, and itdoesn't trigger any harmful religious impulses. Just the opposite is true. The threehours a week I spend doing yoga not only make me more flexible, tone my muscles,and relax me. They also draw me closer to Christ. 92This article promoting yoga from a Christian perspective published by Christianity Today givesinsight into the direction Christianity seems to be headed. This enlightened Christian tells usmore:Give me five minutes of yoga, and my mind immediately goes to the metaphor ofGod's spirit being as omnipresent and as necessary as the air. In the same way thatmeasured breathing is essential to yoga, the Spirit—which in both biblical Greek andHebrew also means breath—is indispensable to my soul. Breathe in. Breathe out.Holy Spirit in.Anything that's not from God out. Come Holy Spirit. Renew mymind. In. Out. 93In addition to this, there is more a important thing to point out. Christian yoga practitioners oftenclaim they cannot be deceived, even though they know what yoga is and where it comes from.Again, quoting from the article:Now, my enthusiasm for yoga doesn’t mean I’m in denial about its Hindu roots. Iknow that hard-core yogis believe that yoga is more than exercise or a relaxation technique. To them, it’s a religious ritual. But the Hindu gods don’t make it onto mymat. Yoga purists don’t lead classes at mainstream American gyms. 94So what would Jesus say? Can a Christian incorporate Hindu spiritual practices in order to getcloser to the Jesus of the Bible? I have a strong suspicion the Hindu gods have an agenda tointroduce unsuspecting yoga practitioners to another Jesus.From the New Age to ChristBrian Flynn is a Christian author and speaker who is very concerned about how Christianity isbeing infiltrated by New Age methods and practices. Brian and I participated in a conference inMinneapolis not long ago. Brian has authored a book I highly recommend titled Running Against the Wind: The Transformation of a New Age Medium and His Warning to the Church. 95Brian’s story is amazing. As the subtitle of his book reflects, he was a former New Agepractitioner and promoter. In a search for spiritual enlightenment he embraced many New Ageideas and therapies. By God’s grace, he was delivered from the New Age and became a Bible-believing Christian.

However to Brian’s amazement, he soon discovered the same doctrines of demons he hadescaped were being embraced by many professing Christians. When he tried to warn about whatwas happening to the body of Christ, he was met with opposition.Let’s look at a portion of Brian’s testimony from his book explaining what he encountered as anew believer:One day I received an e-mail from a West Coast publisher asking if I would bewilling to review a book. I accepted the offer and when the book arrived, I startedreading A Time of Departing by Ray Yungen.The book described a style of prayingI had never heard before called contemplative prayer. As I continued to read I wasstruck by similarities between Eastern style of meditation like Transcendental Meditation and this contemplative prayer. The author wrote the book because hebelieved this style of prayer was infiltrating the church. I initially found that hard tobelieve and figured it must a West Coast problem and certainly not a nationwidepractice with which to be concerned. 96So, let’s review this scenario. Bryan Flynn, a former New Age proponent, became a born-again Christian. As a born-again Christian, he encountered a warning by another Christian that the NewAge techniques he had been delivered from were infiltrating the church. At first he thought thatthis must be just some fringe group and not all that significant. Later he discovered the reality that contemplative prayer was being promoted by Christians using the exact New Age methodshe had escaped. Quoting again from Flynn’s book:What a shock it was to learn how this style of prayer (contemplative prayer) hadbecome a standard practice in many churches across the nation. But it was evenmore disturbing that pastoral leadership was welcoming it. Many were actuallydefending it. I soon began to realize that many pastors had little knowledge ofEastern thought or its practices. 97 Brian Flynn’s comments are accurate. Hindu practices are being embraced in the Christian churchas part of what is called the Emerging Church. When concerned watchmen and watchwomenpoint this out, they are often scoffed at and ridiculed and put down as divisive. Contemplative Prayer The Bible warns us about false teachers that promote doctrines of demons in the last days. 98 It would seem reasonable then for Christians to be aware.However, we are living at a time when many believe that Christians cannot be deceived. As weare going to see in a later section, many Christians have abandoned the belief that the return ofJesus Christ is at hand. They are too busy playing a role to build the kingdom of God here onearth through human effort.Further, it can be shown that many are searching for methods to become more efficient in hearingfrom God and doing His work without studying His Word. Contemplative prayer is one of thesemethods.In order to understand what contemplative prayer is we will look at explanations from those whopromote it. This is what Father Thomas Keeting wrote:

The root of prayer is interior silence. We may think of prayer as thoughts or feelings expressed in words, but this is only one of its forms… Contemplative prayer is not so much the absence of thoughts as detachment from them. It is the opening of mindand heart, body and emotions—our whole being—to God, the Ultimate Mystery,beyond words, thoughts and emotions—beyond, in other words, the psychological content of the present moment. We do not deny or repress what is in our consciousness. We simply accept the fact of whatever is there and go beyond it, notby effort, but by letting go of whatever is there. 99 Here is a statement taken from a Roman Catholic source that will help clarify what contemplativeprayer is based on:Today’s revival of practical interest in contemplative prayer is witnessed by a floodof books and articles, lectures, conferences and retreats, and its causes can be tracedto factors both within and outside the Church. The Second Vatican Council, forexample, gave both religious and lay people a new sense of freedom and a desire forspiritual renewal. Groups like the Cursillo and the Charismatic Movement, and later Centering Prayer and meditation groups following the teaching of John Main havehelped introduce large numbers of Christians to a deeper life of prayer. When weadd to this the spiritual hunger so characteristic of our modern Western civilizationand its deeper acquaintance of Eastern forms of meditation and various depthpsychologies, we end up with a setting in which practical questions about Christian mysticism naturally arise. 100 These two previous statements should be alarming. Ideas being promoted by Roman Catholicmystics, and now widely embraced by non-Roman Catholics, sound strangely familiar. Blankingout one’s mind to arrive at a meditative state has long been practiced as a means of contacting thedivine. While it is common to Eastern religion, it is foreign to the Scriptures. Such practices, aswe are going to see, are widely embraced by Emerging Church leaders.Understanding Contemplative PrayerWhat is contemplative prayer? Here is how one promoter defined it: Contemplative prayer in its simplest form is prayer in which you still yourthoughts… This puts you in a better state to be aware of God’s presence, and itmakes you better able to hear God’s voice correcting, guiding and directing you. 101If that definition sounds beneficial to one’s spiritual well-being consider another explanation thatprovides an even clearer understanding:Its practitioners are trained to focus on an inner symbol that quiets the mind… Whenpractitioners become skilled at this method of meditation, they undergo a deeptrance state similar to auto-hypnosis. 102 Contemplative prayer is making a big comeback. First discovered by monks in the third centurywho isolated themselves in desert monasteries, you can now find many who are promoting contemplative prayer in a wide spectrum of evangelical churches.Brian Flynn, in his book Running With the Wind, provides interesting background to where the technique came from and how widely it is being accepted today. Quoting from his book:

Perhaps the Desert Fathers either came into contact with someone from the East whoshared these practices with them, or maybe they stumbled across it themselves. Whatever its origin, this heretical practice has entered our churches virtually unopposed.The first form of monasticism was practiced by the hermit. (In Greek the wordmeans desert). The first hermit was St. Anthony, a revered Egyptian monk whomoved away from society and into the desert around 270 AD (3rd century). Manyfollowed St. Anthony’s lifestyle and also became hermits. Nearly 80 years later thefirst monastery was built. This brought the hermits together under one roof ratherthan each of them living alone in the desert. 103 Finding out what occurred in the past helps me to understand the present.The Bible tells us thereis nothing new under the sun. Furthermore, this idea that we need to go back to the past and findwhat Christian experiences were effective and then reintroduce them into the present, is thecentral theme of the Emerging Church.Thomas Merton ,Thomas Merton was a world-renowned Trappist monk and author who lived at the Abbey ofGethsemani near Bradstown, Kentucky from 1941 until he died in 1968. While a Catholic, he wasmore influenced by other religions than he was by the Bible and Christianity.Ray Yungen, in his book Time of Departing, documents Merton’s interest in the wisdom of allreligions.Yungen cites William Shannon’s The Silent Lamp: The Thomas Merton Story inwhich Merton was once quoted as stating:I believe that by openness to Buddhism, to Hinduism and to these great Asianmystical traditions, we stand a wonderful chance of learning more about thepotentiality of our own Christian traditions. 104You do not have to be a Bible scholar to see the error in Merton’s theology. Buddhists believethat evolution is god. Hindus believe that anything and everything is god and that even man canbe god. What benefit would Christianity gain by embracing Hinduism and Buddhism? Jesus said there is a narrow way that leads to eternal life, and He was that narrow way. What would give aCatholic monk the right to say that Christianity can be revised to embrace pagan heretical teachings that send people to hell?Further, Merton once said,I see no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity… I intendto become as good a Buddhist as I can.105 Thomas Merton has been credited with rediscovering contemplative prayer. If he wanted tobecome a good Buddhist and he saw no contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity,shouldn’t that be a clue for those who believe contemplative prayer is a modern-day hotline toGod? What was Merton’s definition of Christianity? It certainly was not a biblical one.Emerging Church leaders who are promoting contemplative prayer in the church are headeddown this road. When the blind lead the blind there is no other choice. If Christians are willing tofollow the teachings of Thomas Merton, then they will be further led away from the Scriptures.

In the future you can expect many will fall for methods that introduce experiences in the name of Jesus that initiate the unsuspecting to another Jesus. Centering oneself to become more in tune,repeating single words over and over, breathing exercises in order to become more spirituallyaware, will be more and more popular. Those who attempt to warn the church of the dangers ofcontemplative prayer are singled out as divisive and negative.Richard FosterRichard Foster is a disciple of Thomas Merton. Foster is probably the most influential and well-known of those considered to be evangelical Christians in support of contemplative prayer. Fosterregards Merton as his mentor. 106 Now consider this question: Why would someone who claims to be a Christian, after reading andunderstanding Merton’s position on Eastern religion, promote his ideas? Worse yet, why is it that when other Christians who have embraced contemplative prayer are informed about thisconnection, they refuse to listen?The following statement reveals what Richard Foster believes about his mentor, Thomas Merton:Thomas Merton has perhaps done more than any other twentieth-century figure tomake the life of prayer widely known and understood… His interest incontemplation led him to investigate prayer forms in Eastern religion. Zen mastersfrom Asia regarded him as the preeminent authority on their kind of prayer in theUnited States. 107 The evidence is overwhelming. The promoters of contemplative prayer enthusiastically connectthemselves with Zen masters and Eastern religion.In the past, when the Israelites turned their backs on the God of the Bible and embraced the gods,the Old Testament prophets pleaded with them to repent and get right with God. Has anythingchanged? Has God changed His mind? Contemplative prayer, based on the statements of itsfounders comes from the East and is pagan in origin.Contemplative Prayer or Terror? The purpose of contemplative prayer is to become more in tune with God. While not found in theBible, it is found in the sacred writings of Eastern religions. Men like Merton and Foster haveadapted the idea for modern-day Christianity and it is becoming very popular as the ways andmeans of getting closer to God as part of the Emerging Church.However, Richard Foster, one of the most well-known promoters of contemplative prayer, claims there is reason to be cautious. Quoting from his book Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home:I also want to give a word of precaution. In the silent contemplation of God we areentering deeply into the spiritual realm, and there is such a thing as supernaturalguidance that is not divine guidance. While the Bible does not give us a lot ofinformation on the nature of the spiritual world, we do know… there are variousorders of spiritual beings, and some of them are definitely not in cooperation withGod and his way! But for now I want to encourage you to learn and practiceprayers of protection…All dark and evil spirits must now leave.108

I have searched the Scriptures. You can do the same. I cannot find where we are required to praya prayer of protection before we pray. The fact that Foster recognizes contemplative prayer canopen the door to the fallen spirit world is very revealing. What is this—praying to the God of the Bible but instead contacting demons? Maybe contemplative prayer should be renamed contemplative terror.Even more suspect is the idea that contemplative prayer is only for a select group. Again, readwhat Richard Foster has to say about this:At the onset I need to give a word of warning, a little like the warning labels onmedicine bottles. Contemplative prayer is not for the novice. I do not say this aboutother forms of prayer. All are welcome, regardless of proficiency or expertise,toenter freely into adoration and meditation and intercession and a host of other approaches to prayer. But contemplation is different. While we are all precious inthe eyes of God, we are all not equally ready to listen to God’s speech in hiswondrous, terrible, gentle, loving, all embracing silence.109 Foster promotes a form of prayer that is only for the mature, select, proficient, experts who are ready to listen to God. But where is this found in Scripture? It seems to me that Foster andthose who follow his teachings should be assigned warning labels.What is amazing to me is that many today would rather listen to men and the methods theypromote rather than Jesus and His Word, which exposes them.In the next section, we will examine the topic of spiritual transformation and how the EmergingChurch leaders are introducing the postmodern generation to the pagan religious practices of thepast in the name of Christianity.

Part Seven Monks, Mystics and the New Reformation:The Emergence of the Roman Catholic EucharistIn the previous section, we looked at a current trend underway that is drawing Christians into areas of mysticism based on Eastern religion. While those who are promoting these ideas areconvinced they are doing no harm, the dangers of opening the door to this brand of spirituality isparamount. When one traces the origin of these ideas to their roots, one thing becomes apparent:the Bible is not the source.In this section, in order to provide a broader perspective of how and why a spiritualtransformation is happening, we will discuss a few authors and the statements they have made. Itwill become obvious there is a pattern unfolding.This emerging transformation is having a huge impact on churches and church leaders. As moreand more people are being drawn to contemplative prayer, ancient-future worship, and othermystical practices, many others are asking questions. Why is this happening? Where is thisheaded? Is it possible we are seeing a return to spiritual practices of the past that eventually leadto a Roman Catholic-Orthodox form of Christianity? In this section, I will attempt to come upwith some answers to these questions.As an introduction I want to quote from an article posted in the Maryland News on March 2, 2006titled Returning to the rituals: Some evangelicals are exploring high liturgy.The article beginsthe following way:New Hope, a nondenominational church of about 60 members, is one of a small butgrowing number of evangelical congregations that are beginning to experiment withworship elements more commonly associated with such highly liturgical traditionsas Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Anglicanism. 110Matthew Hay Brown, the author of the article notes that this movement is headed in a particulardirection. He wrote:Observers inside and outside the movement have noted a greater evangelical interestin the Eucharist, the liturgical seasons of Advent and Lent, and monastic life. Manyof the practices can be traced to the early church. 111Later in this same article, Brown provides an explanation for why this movement is happeningbased on insights obtained from Dr. Robert Webber, the author of Ancient Future Faith andAncient Future Evangelism. (Webber was quoted from these books previously in this paper.)Brown writes:Robert. E. Webber saw this coming. He is the president of the Institute for WorshipStudies and author of the eight-volume Complete Library of Christian Worship, andhe surveyed evangelicals about their faith practices in the late 1990’s.They didn’t like contemporary worship anymore,said Webber, a professor ofMinistry at Northern Seminary, at Lombard, Illinois.They were looking for anencounter with God, they were looking for mystery, they were looking for moreEucharist.

Webber has written several books promoting what he calls ancient-future worship,which draws on early church practices for contemporary Christians. 112The phrase they were looking for more Eucharist stands out to me, especially in light of theRoman Catholic New Evangelization program that has an objective to win the world to theEucharistic Christ.The Sacred Way The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life 113 is a book authored by Tony Jones andpublished by Zondervan. In the foreword written by Phyllis Tickle we are given the following background information about Tony Jones and what he represents:Tony Jones is a leader of, and major force within, what is being called the Emerging Church, or emergent Church or, more simply, the new or re-forming Christianity.For several years as a Protestant youth minister, Jones learned to read carefully and pastor well the hearts and souls of a rising generation of American Protestants whoincreasingly yearned for the church of the proto-fathers and mothers of the faith;who yearned for the passion and clarity that were the church of the first century;who wanted to go, not home, but to what Robert Webber called the ancient-future.Now as a doctoral candidate at Princeton Theological Seminary, Jones spendshimself by sifting through the intervening and obfuscating centuries to ferret outthose treasures of the early church practices... 114At the beginning of the book Jones describes his spiritual journey that led him into the Emerging Church that is tied together with those treasures of the early church practices. Brought up in the Midwestern United States in a church-going family and educated at a conservative evangelical college which was followed up by a seminary education, Jones admits that his Christian world view left him disillusioned, empty and searching to find a way to connect with God.A three-month sabbatical from his job allowed Jones to travel to Europe. His journey first tookhim to England and a prayer center for young people known as the Reading Boiler Room (alocation that hosted a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week prayer vigil). He also went to Dublin,Ireland where he met with Fr. Alan McGuckian and the staff at the Jesuit Communication Center,as well as Taize’, a community of peace, brotherhood, and prayer in southern France.Jones explains how this physical journey set him on a spiritual journey that revolutionized histhinking and spiritual beliefs:I voraciously read authors and books that they didn’t assign in seminary: St. John ofthe Cross, St Theresa of Avila, and Pilgrim’s Way. I met with other Protestants, withRoman Catholics, and with Eastern Orthodox Christians. I took a long hike in theRed Mountains of Utah with a shaman. I corresponded by e-mail with people aroundthe world, and I talked with others about prayer over the phone. 115According to Jones, this journey led him out of the darkness into the light. He is more thanwilling to be an evangelist for his new found spirituality. He writes:For years I had been told that to be a Christian meant I had to do three things: (1)read the Bible (2) pray, and (3) go to church. But I had come to the realization that there is something more.

And indeed there is… For me, there is incredible richnessin the spiritual practices of ancient and modern Christian communities from aroundthe world. Incorporating new ways of praying, meditating, reading the Bible etc.have fueled my faith and passion for spirituality in ways I never thought possible,and have without question brought me into a closer relationship with God. 116 So what are some of the new ways of praying Jones suggests have brought him into a closerrelationship with God? While his book is filled with many examples, I will choose only two. Thefirst is The Jesus Prayer: So, seated comfortably in a dimly lit room with the head bowed, attend to yourbreathing, and then begin the prayer with your breathing. Breathe in: Lord JesusChrist, Son of God, breathe out: have mercy on me a sinner.Guarding the mindagainst all distractions, the pray-er focuses during every repetition on the meaning ofthe words, praying them from the heart and in the heart… In order to keep track ofmy repetitions, I use a prayer rope. Most are made in monasteries on Mt. Athos inGreece with 100 knots, each knot tied with nine crosses. Every 25 knots is a beadwhich the Lord’s Prayer can be recited, and at the end I say the Apostles’ Creed.117Second, Jones describes the process of centering prayer to get closer to God. He introducescentering prayer this way:Like the Jesus Prayer, Centering Prayer grew out of the reflections and writings ofthe Desert Fathers… Unlike the Jesus Prayer, a repetitive prayer is not used. Thepray-er is encouraged to choose a simple, monosyllabic word, like love or God.When the mind is distracted, this word is used to bring back the mind into focus onGod.118 Tony Jones’ spiritual journey is typical of many others who are headed down the same road.Once grounded in a biblical faith, this faith is left behind for a faith that is rooted in mysticismand then heads towards Roman Catholicism.It appears that when one starts down this road, discernment with regard to God’s Word is totallyignored. Not only is Tony Jones convinced that the Emerging Church practices based onmysticism provide a way for him to get closer to God, he is convinced these practices are theanswer for others as well. In his own words:I’ve seen lots of people try to convince other people about Jesus and it is rarely successful. Instead, I suggest you try some of these spiritual practices with an openmind. Honestly, what have you got to lose? Even if you count yourself among thoseconvinced of the whole Christian thing, you may remain skeptical about the partwhere Jesus talks to you…So if you’re unconvinced, or convinced but still skeptical, or even if you’re astalwart Christian who has a stale prayer life, the exercises in this book may provehelpful. The funny thing is, I can’t really tell you why they’re helpful. I know theywork for me, but I am still confounded by their effectiveness… Maybe it’s thatthere’s something mystical and mysterious about these ancient rites, like we’retapping into some pre-technological, pre-industrial treasury of the Spirit. 119

Youth Specialties There is no doubt the sacred way that is emerging in the Emerging Church is being led bysomething and is headed somewhere. As I read more and more articles and books that arepromoting ancient-future faith, the pattern becomes more and more apparent.In the previous section, we looked at the testimony of author Tony Jones and saw how he wasdrawn into ancient-future faith. Now I want to look at an article written by Mike Perschon titled Disciplines, Mystics and the Contemplative Life that was posted at youthspecialities.com.Mike Perschon lives in Edmonton, Alberta and works as part-time associate pastor of HolyroodMennonite Church and part-time freelance writer and speaker at camps, schools, and conventions.His article provides another example of how Emerging leaders get introduced to mystical ideasand then pass them on to others.Here is how Mike Perschon explains how he became an ancient-future supporter and promoter:I bumped into the classic spiritual disciplines while taking a course called Dynamics of Christian Life in my second year of Bible school. One of ourtextbooks was The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. The course andtextbook only touched on the actual disciplines, but the concept captivated me. Thefollowing spring, I found a copy of Richard Foster’s spiritual classic Celebration ofDiscipline in a used bookstore. Opening it and discovering each discipline detailed chapter by chapter, I felt a profound sense of joy and excitement. I’d found a realtreasure. 120After reading these two Emergent books, one by Dallas Willard and the other by Richard Foster,Perschon continued on with his spiritual journey. Then he was led to other mystical sources that revolutionized his thinking. He wrote:My church history class introduced me to the word mystic in the Christiantradition, and after looking further into the history of Christian mysticism, I foundoverlap between the disciplines I so wanted to practice and the teachings of these Christian fathers and mothers. I read the writings of Meister Eckhart, St. John of theCross, and Teresa of Avila. Their words were poetic rather than prosaic—which, formy spirit that had been fed entirely on the modernist apologetics of the evidencethat demands a verdict late 80s, was like eating a gourmet meal after years ofprotein shakes. These were people of the faith unlike any I'd encountered—thosewho had rejected the pleasures of wealth and comfort to live in solitude or monasticcommunities in deserts, mountains, and forests. 121 Mike Perschon has been active in transferring his newfound spirituality which he gained frommonks and Roman Catholic mystics to the young people he teaches at youth retreats and summercamp settings. Describing some of these activities that he promotes, he wrote:We held thin place services in reference to a belief that in prayer, the veil betweenus and God becomes thinner. Entire nights were devoted to guided meditations,drum circles, and soul labs.At soul labs we used the rave culture’s approach ofmultiple rooms for different music to create a number of prayer stations, where

people could try various approaches to contemplative prayer. During Lent, we allfasted—be it from food, caffeine, coarse language, or video games. 122 Many more examples could be presented showing that the pathway from mysticism to Roman Catholicism is becoming more and more evident within the Emerging Church movement. Whilethe Bible is cited as the foundation of the Christian faith, the New Reformation proposes that faithis not complete without the spiritual insights from the desert monks and the mystics. As Robert Webber stated in Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World:The primary source of spiritual reading is the Bible. But we now recognize that inour love of Scripture we dare not avoid the mystics and the activists. Exposure to thegreat devotional literature of the church is essential. More and more people areturning to the great work of the mystics. 123More and More EucharistThe New Reformation presently underway based on spiritual insights gleaned from the mystics issupposed to bring enlightenment. This of course would be true if the participants were beingdrawn into the light of God’s Word. However, based on the evidence that has been presented it seems that the New Reformers are being drawn away form the authority of God’s Word towardsthe authority and practices that have been incorporated by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches.In the introduction of this section, Robert Webber was quoted as saying that post-moderns are looking for an encounter with God—for mystery—they were looking for more Eucharist.124 Based on the current trend where mysticism paves the road to Roman Catholicism, I would suggest that we can expect Webber’s prediction to come true and more and more of thepostmodern generation seeking after experience will be drawn to the Eucharist.Webber’s insights and prediction may well be based on his own personal experience. There isreason to believe this is the case. For example, I found an interview with Dr. Webber posted on aweb site called TheOoze.com where he answered the question What do you think the NorthAmerican evangelical church is going to look like twenty-five years from now? Dr. Webber responded: Biblical symbols such as baptismal identity and Eucharistic thanksgiving will takeon new meaning. The church will be less concerned about having an eschatologyand more committed to being an eschatological community. 125 Over the past several years, I have observed that Dr. Webber’s prediction of the future of thechurch is quite accurate. Many who were once anticipating the soon and imminent return of Jesus are now asleep. Some are saying it appears the Lord has delayed His coming.Others aresaying,We have been misled by pastors and teachers who have taught us the Second Coming isa literal return of Jesus to set up His kingdom.These same people are claiming the kingdom of God will be established here on earth through Christians during the Eucharistic Reign of Jesus.(We will deal with this topic in the next section).After reading Dr. Webber’s comment that biblical symbols such as baptismal identity andEucharistic thanksgiving will take on new meaning,I ordered his book Ancient-FutureEvangelism. This is what I read on page on page 114:

A brief glance at the teaching of the Eucharist from the pre-Nicene period providesinsight into the early church’s understanding. The Fathers taught that continualspiritual nourishment was provided to believers at this great feast. First it is clearfrom the writings of Justin Martyr in the middle of the second century that this is noempty symbol. Christ is really present in the bread and wine. He feeds us in theremembrance of His salvation. He feeds us through His presence which isaccomplished through prayer. 126 Experiencing the Eucharist One might ask the following legitimate question: How do evangelical Protestants like RobertWebber become supporters of Roman Catholic views? In order to find out more about Robert Webber’s background and his conversion experience, I discovered Webber’s testimony in a booktitled Signs of Wonder: The Phenomenon of Convergence in Modern Liturgical and CharismaticChurches, published in 1992 by Star Song Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee.Although the following quote is lengthy, it is important and necessary in order to reveal Webber’schange of views that are now such an essential part of the Emerging Church movement. In hisown words:My most memorable encounter with a style of worship different from my ownoccurred at a weekend retreat more than twenty years ago. I had joined a praise andprayer group while doing graduate work at Concordia Theological Seminary in St.Louis. The group consisted of Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians and evangelicalswho met monthly to read and discuss Scripture, to pray together, to talk, and to justhave fun. When the time came for many of us to graduate and move on to newplaces, we decided to bring our two-year fellowship to an end with a weekend retreat at a local Catholic conference center. It was there we faced an issue we had nevereven discussed. Could we take Communion together? Could a Catholic priest givethe bread and wine to an evangelical? Could an evangelical receive the bread andwine from a Catholic priest?We were all sitting on the lawn of the monastery near the chapel. The monasterystood on a hill overlooking the rich Missouri farmland, and the smell of the freshspring grass was in the air. I heard the priest say,We are going to conclude ourretreat with a liturgy in the chapel. You are all of course welcome to come, but Idon’t know what to say to you about the bread and the wine. As a rule we Catholicsonly allow other Catholics to receive the body and blood of the Lord. But I haveagonized over this separation of our churches, as I know you have.He paused and continued,I have decided to break with Catholic tradition and offeryou the bread and wine. Why? Because it is my experience that all of you are trueChristians devoted to our Lord. But I cannot tell you what to do. You may not feelcomfortable receiving the bread and the wine. You must make that decision foryourself. If you don’t come to receive, your decision will be respected, and if you docome, you will be welcomed. Then I lifted my face toward the sun and felt its warmth. Closing my eyes, I allowedmy life in the church to pass before me. My prejudices rose up within me: What areyou doing here? You never worshiped in a Catholic setting, let alone received thebread and the wine from a Catholic priest!

Then I considered the spiritually rich times I’d shared with these people for two years. I heard again my Catholic friendsspeak of their love for Christ, pray with fervency, and express a real desire to knowthe Scriptures and live by its authority. Those memories said,Go ahead. After all,there is only one Lord, one church, one faith, one baptism, one Holy Communion.In that moment, God broke through the walls I had allowed to separate me from mybrothers and sisters of different denominations. I am convinced the prejudices wehold and the walls we build between ourselves and other communities of Christians actually block our experience of God’s presence in our lives. Our biases cut us offfrom the spiritual communion of the fullness of the body of Christ. God dwells in hischurch, and to reject a part of God’s church is to reject him. Furthermore, rejecting apart of God’s church keeps us from experiencing what the creed calls thecommunion of the Saints. When God broke down my walls, he brought me intoricher fellowship with the body of Christ throughout the world. 127Apparently, Robert Webber’s experience was life changing. He goes on to describe how he feltand how his beliefs changed. Once again in his own words:You might say I was surprised by joy! I found myself ministering to God in praise,and God in turn was ministering to me. I had never had an experience like that in mylife. In that Catholic chapel, a new worship experience had bumped up against that old prejudice of mine, and a new attitude was born.I had taken into myself theexperience of another tradition, I had been in dialogue with another worshiptradition, and I was surely the richer for it. 128Dr. Robert Webber’s experience obviously revolutionized his thinking. His books and articles area very important part of changing the minds of others who are also playing an influential role inthe New Reformation that seems to be leading in a direction towards Rome.In our next section, we will discuss another area of common ground between Emerging Churchleaders and Roman Catholics with regard to what is meant by the kingdom of God here on earthand how it will be established.

Part Eight The Kingdom of God on Earth:An Emergent View on the Future of Planet EarthNot long ago I was challenged by a supporter of the Emerging Church movement to read BrianMcLaren’s books. Brian McLaren is considered to be one of the most influential and popular ofall Emergent authors. Following is a portion of his bio that is posted at his website:Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, pastor, and networker among innovativeChristian leaders, thinkers, and activists. He is a frequent guest on television, radio,and news media programs. He has appeared on many broadcasts including Larry King Live, Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, and Nightline. His work has also beencovered in Time (where he was listed as one of American's twenty-five mostinfluential evangelicals), Christianity Today, Christian Century, the WashingtonPost, and many other print media.Born in 1956, he graduated from University of Maryland with degrees in English(BA, summa cum laude, 1978, and MA, in 1981). In 2004, he was awarded a Doctorof Divinity Degree from Carey Theological Seminary in Vancouver, BC, Canada.From 1978 to 1986, McLaren taught college English, and in 1982, he helped formCedar Ridge Community Church, an innovative, nondenominational church in theBaltimore-Washington region (crcc.org). He left higher education in 1986 to serveas the church's founding pastor and served in that capacity until 2006. During thattime, Cedar Ridge earned a reputation as a leader among emerging missionalcongregations.His books have been or are being translated into many languages, including Korean,Chinese, French, Swedish, Norwegian, and Spanish. He has written for orcontributed interviews to many periodicals, including Leadership, Sojourners,Worship Leader, and Conversations. Many of his articles are available atwww.brianmclaren.net. He is also a musician and songwriter. 129I had read two of McLaren’s books, but not all of his books. I accepted the challenge andpurchased several more of his books. After reading them I stacked them in a pile in the order ofdate of publication. Here is the list:-2000 - The Church on the Other Side: Doing Ministry in the Postmodern Matrix-2001 - A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey-2002 - More Ready Than You Realize: Evangelism as Dance in the Postmodern Matrix-2004 - A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I am a missional + evangelical + post/protestant +liberal/conservative + mystical/poetic + biblical + charismatic/contemplative +fundamentalist/calvanist + Anabaptist/Anglican + Methodist + catholic + green +incarnational + depressed-yet-hopeful + emergent + unfinished CHRISTIAN• 2005 - The Last Word and the Word After That: A Tale of Faith, Doubt, and a New Kindof Christianity• 2006 - The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth That Could Change Everything According to McLaren, if a person only has time to read one book, then they should read The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth That Could Change Everything. McLaren hasstated:Everything I’ve written to this point has been a preparation for this book.130 In presenting this paper, I thought the best way to summarize McLaren’s views would be toexamine two of Brian McLaren’s books. The first will be A Generous Orthodoxy and the second The Secret Message of Jesus. As we look at several statements from these two books, it will notonly provide a review of what we have learned about the Emerging Church movement, it willprovide clear clues regarding where the movement may be headed in the near future.What is a Generous Orthodoxy?McLaren’s views as displayed in Generous Orthodoxy are consistent with the previous trends Ihave documented taking place in the Emerging Church. The best way I know to give an overview without doing an entire book report, is to simply present some quotes under various headings. Iwill choose a few:One: How to read the BibleMy grandmother had good advice for reading the Bible… Reading the Bible is likeeating fish. Enjoy the meat that’s easy to eat first; come back and work on the boneslater if you’re still hungry. 131Two: Being ecumenical and non-criticalThe approach that you will find here, which might be called postcritical, seeks tofind a way to embrace the good in many traditions and historic streams of Christianfaith, and to integrate them, yielding a new generous, emergent approach that isgreater than the sum of the parts. This approach is both ancient/historical and avant-garde innovative. 132 Three: A broad perspective of Christianity My own upbringing was way out on the end of one of the most conservative branches of one of the most conservative twigs of one of the most conservativebranches of one of the most conservative limbs of Christianity, and I am far harderon conservative Protestant Christians who share that heritage than I am on anyoneelse. I’m sorry. I am consistently over sympathetic to Roman Catholics, EasternOrthodox, even dreaded liberals, while I keep elbowing my conservative brethren inthe ribs in a most annoying – some would say ungenerous – way. 133 Four: Introduction to the Roman Catholic Jesus McLaren describes his spiritual journey in his book by explaining that he progressed from a conservative Protestant Jesus,134 to a Pentecostal Charismatic Jesus,135 then to the RomanCatholic Jesus. 136 In the following section he explains the transition from the PentecostalCharismatic Jesus to the Roman Catholic Jesus:The Pentecostal Jesus didn’t have much to say about God’s concern for the whole world, for history, and for creation. It was focused on the sweet here and now aswell as the sweet by and by.

But only for individuals who believed—really believed. Was that all there was? What about justice for non-Christians? Could the Good News of Jesus be even fuller than the full gospel? Where were social andhistorical dimensions to the gospel that went beyond personal health, prosperity, andhappiness for believers now in eternity? So, for all I gained from meeting thePentecostal Jesus, I was still unsettled. At about that time, quite by accident, I met athird Jesus.In graduate school I ended up writing a master’s thesis on novelist Walker Percy.Raised in an intellectual and agnostic home, Percy became a theist, a Christian, anda Roman Catholic, as a young adult, which is a short, bland summary of a long,fascinating story. I loved his novels and essays, and his story and literary work reduced my ignorance and prejudice about Roman Catholicism. Through him Idiscovered other Roman Catholic writers – twentieth-century writers such asFlannery O’Connor, Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, Romano Guardini, andGabriel Marcel, as well as the medieval mystics and others. 137 Five: Embracing the Roman Catholic JesusIn this view, Christians are especially aware of how the risen Jesus continues toencounter his followers through public worship, and especially through the Eucharistwhich is one reason (among many) why the Eucharist is so important to Roman Catholic Christians and their close cousins, Anglican Christians. The Eucharist is aconstant celebration of good news, a continual rendezvous with the risen Christ, andthrough him, with God. That such a rendezvous is possible is amazingly good newsfor everyone in the church. 138 Six: The Eastern Orthodox JesusSo by my mid-20s, I had met the conservative Protestant Jesus, the Pentecostal Jesus, and the Roman Catholic Jesus. And by the grace of God, I didn’t think ofthem as separate saviors, requiring a lateral conversion to a new denomination eachtime. Rather, I believed each was a new facet, a new dimension, of that Jesus I hadmet as a child and rediscovered as a teenager, and that each could enrich myongoing conversion in my spiritual journey. But I was still unsatisfied, especiallybecause I sensed that if Jesus were truly the Savior, he wasn’t just my personalSavior, but was the Savior of the whole cosmos. The Eastern Orthodox Jesus wouldlead me into this new territory. 139Seven: Spirit led by contemplative methodsI think it’s safe to say that many charismatics believe that the Spirit of Jesus can beexperienced one step beyond the normal. In other words, Jesus is always present, butone must take a step of faith to experience him…But it can also become a kind of treadmill where one has to work harder and harderto work up an experience of the Spirit. What was once exciting can becomefatiguing…Along the way I read and met Catholic contemplatives who helped me learn a lessonfrom this fatigue.

They believed no less fervently than charismatics that the risenJesus is present in Spirit and can be experienced. But rather than locating that experience one step beyond the normal, they located it in the very center ofnormalcy. Instead of jumping and shouting, they typically recommended sitting insilence, walking calmly, or in some other way relaxing and quieting one’s soul…One Catholic named Brother Lawrence called this realization practicing God’spresence. I began to experiment with this practice early in my spiritual journey. 140 While the previous seven quotes taken from Generous Orthodoxy, only represent a small fractionof the ideas promoted by McLaren, these quotes provide us with an overview of where he iscoming from and the direction he is headed. As a spokesperson and a leader of the Emerging Church, his emergent theology demonstrates how generous his generous orthodoxy really is.When God’s Word is reduced to a place of minimal importance and man’s word elevated to thehighest authority, there are certain things that can be predicted. No longer will Christianity bebased on God’s Word. Faith will have been hijacked and the biblical Jesus will have beenabandoned for another Jesus. This brand of Christianity is becoming more and more acceptable.In addition to this overview of McLaren’s views of an emergent Christianity, there is another areathat needs to be discussed. This deals with his view on where Christianity is headed in the future.A Generous Orthodoxy and the Kingdom of God Before leaving McLaren’s Generous Orthodoxy and looking at The Secret Message of Jesus,there is one more area we must cover. This deals with the Emerging Church’s view oneschatology—the consideration of the facts pertaining to last things including the return ofChrist, the Great Tribulation, the Millennial Kingdom as well as future judgments of both the justand the unjust.In a chapter titled Why I am Green,McLaren lays the foundation for his view of the future, anda view that many other emergent leaders support. Under the subheading The eschatology ofabandonment is being succeeded by an engaging gospel of the kingdom, he writes:Evangelical-dispensational left-behind eschatology (the doctrine of last things orend times that expects the world to be destroyed in just over seven years or onethousand and seven years, depending on the fine print) makes perfect sense in themodern world.141Ridiculing the teaching of the Rapture and the one thousand year millennial rule of Jesus Christ,McLaren continues:Understandably, Christians in the power centers of modernity (England in the1800’s, the United States in the 1900’s) saw nothing ahead in the secular story ofindustrial modernity… nothing but spiritual decline and global destruction. Theironly hope? A skyhook Second Coming, wrapping up the whole of creation like anempty candy wrapper and throwing it in a cosmic dumpster so God can finally bringour souls to heaven. There is virtually no continuity between this creation and thenew heavenly creation in this model; this creation is erased like a mistake, discardedlike a non-recyclable milk carton. Why care for creation? Why get sentimental abouta container that’s served its purpose and is about to be discarded into the cosmictrash compactor of nothingness?142

It should be apparent by reading this previous statement by McLaren that he does not read theScriptures with an apocalyptic view in mind. In fact, he claims that those who would support sucha view hold on to pop-Evangelical eschatology and that they have made a serious mistake.This pop-Evangelical eschatology made an understandable but serious mistake: itwrongly assumed that modernity was all there was or ever would be, while it rightlyassessed how hopeless the future would be if modernity-without-end was indeedupon us. Just as early Christians could not imagine the gospel outlasting the RomanEmpire, nineteenth and twentieth century Evangelicals couldn’t imagine the gospeloutlasting modernity, the empire of Scientism, consumerism and individualism. 143 Then redefining the meaning of many verses found in the Old Testament in order to support hisview that the kingdom of God will be established here on earth sometime in the future by humaneffort, McLaren writes:For pop-Evangelical eschatology to proliferate, it had to ignore or, better reinterpret much written by the Old Testament prophets. Prophetic visions of reconciliation andshalom within history (metaphorically conveyed via lions and lambs, children andserpents, swords and plowshares, spears and pruning hooks) had to be pushedbeyond history, either into a spiritual heaven or a millennial middle ground—a post-historic time zone between history and eternity, so to speak. They also had tomarginalize Jesus with all his talk of the kingdom of God coming on earth among usnow, and being accessible today. 144This last sentence is the heart and core of McLaren’s book The Secret Message of Jesus:Uncovering the Truth That Could Change Everything which we will examine later in this section.For now, in case you were not aware, this concept that the kingdom of God can and will beestablished here on earth, is the very foundation of Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven church growthmodel.Purpose Driven EcumenismI trust by now that you are seeing a number of paths that facilitate ecumenical unity with Rome.At this point I want to look at another potential ecumenical bridge. What if Protestantevangelicals who have believed in the gospel according to the Scriptures, became sidetracked intopromoting a humanistic social gospel that has the potential of leading them astray? Could thisbe another possible path to Rome?This is the reason why I am concerned about Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driven PEACE plandesigned to win the world to Christ. Based on facts I have read, Rick Warren’s ambitiousprogram to reach the world may sound good and appear to be biblically-based, but there are someconcerns. In fact there are warning signs that indicate the Purpose-Driven PEACE plan may bejust another path that leads to a much bigger plan that is already in place.First, to get some background on Warren’s program to help build the kingdom of God here onearth, I want to quote an article written by Mark Kelly from the Biblical Recorder titled Rick Warren launches global initiative.Thousands of churches around the world will be setting out to eradicate five giant problems that oppress billions of people, Rick Warren told a crowd of 30,000celebrating Saddleback Community Church’s 25th anniversary April 17 at Angel
Stadium in Anaheim, California.

Billions of people suffer each day from problemsso big no government can solve them, said Warren, Saddleback’s pastor.The onlything big enough to solve the problems of spiritual emptiness, selfish leadership,poverty, disease and ignorance is the network of millions of churches around theworld.145 Or for an additional perspective, we can quote from Dan Wooding’s article titled Rick WarrenHits Home Run with Announcement of Global Peace Plan to Battle Giants of Our World.Wooding stated:Rick Warren, author of the best-selling book, The Purpose Driven Life and foundingpastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, hit a home run with adramatic announcement on Sunday, April 17th, before 30,000 members andattendees at the church 25th anniversary celebration in Angel Stadium, home of theAngels baseball team. Warren unveiled the church’s commitment to a newreformation in Christianity and vision for a worldwide spiritual awakening in the 21st Century through the PEACE Plan that he believes will mobilize one billion footsoldiers from the Christian church in missions by the year 2020.146 According to Wooding, Rick Warren laid out his plan for a new reformation and a world wide spiritual awakening at the Anaheim anniversary meeting. Further, Pastor Warren announced hewas joining hands with Chuck Colson to assist him in his goal to establish the kingdom of God here on earth. According to Mark Kelly, reporting for the Baptist Press News:Warren also introduced Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, who announced a new partnership that will introduce Warren’s Celebrate Recoveryprograms into prison ministries in 108 countries. The new agreement, signed April16, also will mobilize congregations for Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree ministry tothe children of prisoners and promote Colson’s Worldview Studies Program, whichhelps believers apply Christian values to a wide range of issues in daily life. 147 It can be documented that Chuck Colson previously agreed to join hands with the RomanCatholic Church when he signed a document called Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium.148 So,if Rick Warren joins hands with ChuckColson who has already joined hands with Roman Catholicism, what does that mean?Supporters of Evangelicals and Catholics Together maintain it is not a theological agreement,but instead a statement of unity for the cause of moral and social reform. However, this samedocument states,Evangelicals and Catholics are brothers and sisters in Christ. Further, existingdivisions that obscure the one Christ and hinder the one mission of the church are confessed as sins against the unity that Christ intends for all his disciples.149 It can be pointed out that Rick Warren’s speech made at the Anaheim meeting encouraged hispurpose-driven supporters to partner with him to usher in the kingdom of God here on earth byhuman effort. Quoting from his speech:I stand before you confidently right now and say to you that God is going to use youto change the world. Some will say,That’s impossible, but I heard that line 25 years ago, and God took seven people and started Saddleback Church. Now we havea new vision and a whole lot more people to start with. The great evangelist DwightL.

Moody said, The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him.I'm looking at a stadium full of people who are telling God theywill do whatever it takes to establish God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. What will happen if the followers of Jesus say to Him,We are yours? What kindof spiritual awakening will occur? 150What does Rick Warren mean by whatever it takes? Is it possible that joining together withRoman Catholics for advancing the kingdom of God may be in Rick Warren’s playbook? In anarticle titled Man of Faith is Changing Religion - and Politics? Jane Eisner quoted Warren assaying: I’m not a politician, I’m a pastor,and then noted that if evangelical Protestantsteamed up with American Catholics,that's called a majority.151 Further, let’s look at another piece of factual information—this time a statement written by David Brooks in an article titled A Natural Alliance.Brooks makes some interesting observationsabout Rick Warren and the current trend he sees being promoted towards the social gospel andthe gospel of Rome:And when I look at the evangelical community,I see a community in the midst of atransformation—branching out beyond the traditional issues of abortion and gaymarriage, and getting more involved in programs to help the needy. I see RickWarren, who through his new PEACE initiative is sending thousands of people toRwanda and other African nations to fight poverty and disease. I see Chuck Colson deeply involved in Sudan. I see Richard Cizik of the National Association ofEvangelicals drawing up a service agenda that goes way beyond the normal turf ofChristian conservatives. I see evangelicals who are more and more influenced by Catholic social teaching, with its emphasis on good works. I see the historical rifthealing between those who emphasized personal and social morality. Most of all, Isee a new sort of evangelical leader emerging. 152The article quoted was written by David Brooks and published May 26, 2005. On July 2, AssistNews Agency published an article further clarifying Rick Warren’s PEACE Plan.In a phone interview with ANS while he was backstage at the massive Live 8 rock concert in Philadelphia,PA, Warren said,I personally believe that these problems are not solvable by governments. I believe that only the church can solve them, because only the church has the most distributionchannels in the world.153 The article also quoted Warren as stating:Our goal will be to enlist one billion foot soldiers for the Kingdom of God,who will permanently change the face of international missions to take on these five global giants” for which the church can become the ultimate distribution andchange agent to overcome Spiritual Emptiness, Self-serving Leadership, Poverty,Disease and Ignorance. 154 Warren further explained that through the PEACE plan, small groups from hundreds of thousands of churches will attack these giants, armed with five smooth stones of (P) - Planting Churches;(E) - Equipping Leaders; (A) - Assisting the Poor; (C) - Caring for the Sick; and (E) - Educatingthe Next Generation. 155According to Warren, (with the help of Chuck Colson) one billion foot soldiers who have thepromise of the power of God and have the biblical mandate and the command of God and themoral authority to do it—are being called on to establish the PEACE Plan. It looks to me as ifthe PEACE plan will have to be ecumenical in nature.

Remember the phrase Rick Warren coined: if evangelical Protestants teamed up with AmericanCatholics, that’s called a majority.156 Time will tell whether or not Warren and his team will beable to mobilize one billion purpose-driven foot soldiers for the cause of PEACE. However, onething is certain—in order to recruit that many committed participants, the Roman Catholic Church will definitely have to participate.Kingdom Now versus Bible ProphecySince the year 2000 Christianity has undergone some major changes. Many who were oncelooking for the return of Jesus have fallen asleep. We now live in a period of time where numerous prominent Christian leaders are telling the Christian masses that paying attention to thesigns of our times in light of the Bible is a waste of time.It should be apparent that Rick Warren and Brian McLaren both believe the kingdom of God is athand. Warren, as we are about to document, has a low regard for Bible prophecy. McLaren’sEmergent philosophy, as has been documented, ridicules and discredits Bible prophecy. Perhaps this helps explain why so many, who once were anticipating the soon return of the Lord, seem tohave become occupied with other things.The following statement by Pastor Rick Warren is taken from his popular book The PurposeDriven Life. Regarding the value of paying attention to the signs Jesus said would characterize thedays before His return and the importance of Bible prophecy, Warren wrote:When the disciples wanted to talk about prophecy, Jesus quickly switched theconversation to evangelism. He wanted them to concentrate on their mission to theworld. He said in essence,The details of my return are none of your business. Whatis your business is the mission I have given you. Focus on that!157 It is amazing to me that a statement of this importance would be found in a number one best sellerin the present-day Christian book market. While of course, witnessing the gospel according to the Scriptures is what Christians are to be about, Jesus also said to be alert and ready when Hereturns. Knowing the signs that He said would be happening at this time are of paramountimportance. However, to this Warren further states:Speculating on the exact timing of Christ’s return is futile, because Jesus said, Noone knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, butonly the Father. Since Jesus said he didn’t know the day or hour, why should you try to figure it out? … If you want Jesus to come back sooner, focus on fulfilling your mission, not figuring out prophecy. 158 The gospel according to Rick Warren rejects the importance of Bible prophecy. However the Bible does not support Warren’s view. Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was emphatic about the importance of Bible prophecy. He wrote:We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye takeheed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day stararise in your hearts. 159

Christians are called to witness and be watchmen. There are no Scriptures that tell us to ignore theevents that have been pointed out to us as signposts indicating the imminent return of Jesus. If wedo, we might be like the virgins who fell asleep waiting for the bridegroom. 160Purpose Driven in Support of the Emerging Kingdom Rick Warren has expressed his support for the Emerging Church movement. This is what hewrote in a foreword for Dan Kimball’s book, The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity forNew Generations:This book is a wonderful, detailed example of what a purpose-driven church canlook like in a postmodern world. My friend Dan Kimball writes passionately, with adeep desire to reach the emerging generation and culture. You need to pay attentionto him because times are changing. 161Further, Warren endorses Dan Kimball’s Emergent style that is designed to reach the post modern generation. Quoting from the foreword from Kimball’s book:As a pastor, I’ve watched churches adopt many contemporary styles in worship,programming, architecture, music, and other elements. That’s okay, as long as thebiblical message is unchanged. But whatever is in style now will inevitably be out of style soon, and the cycles of change are getting shorter and shorter, aided bytechnology and the media. New styles and preferences, like fashions, are always changing.162 It is true over the past decades many trends have come and gone. Not all these trends have beenbased on sound biblical doctrine. In fact the reason many of these trends occurred was becauseChristians were vulnerable to winds of doctrine that had no biblical basis. According to theBible, in the last days these winds of doctrine will influence Christians to fall away from the truthand accept ideas that tickle their ears.163Rick Warren is enthusiastic about the Emerging Church because he believes it is the church ofthe future. In fact he believes this is what the Purpose-Driven movement he founded is about tobecome. He notes:In the past twenty years, spiritual seekers have changed a lot. In the first place, thereare a whole lot more of them. There are seekers everywhere. I’ve never seen morepeople so hungry to discover and develop the spiritual dimension of their lives. Thatis why there is such a big interest in Eastern thought, New Age practices, mysticismand the transcendent.164 Further, he explains what the Emerging Church must do in order to emerge:Today seekers are hungry for symbols and metaphors and experiences and stories that reveal the greatness of God. Because seekers are constantly changing, we mustbe sensitive to them like Jesus was; we must be willing to meet them on their ownturf and speak to them in ways they understand. 165I have read dozens of books written by Emergent authors and Warren’s words are echoed overand over again. While it is claimed that the message must remain the same, that it is only the method that changes, it is apparent that the message is changing.

All effort and promotion seems to be headed in the direction of establishing the kingdom here on earth. The return of JesusChrist to set up His Kingdom is no longer acceptable. Those who support such a message havebeen relegated to a group of narrow-minded apocalyptic crackpots who are negative forces thatmust be considered dangerous.Apocalyptic MillennialistsIf you are not aware there is a growing movement to ridicule those who refuse to conform to theemerging view that the kingdom of God will be established here on earth by the church, thefollowing headline should catch your attention: Lutheran leader calls for ecumenical council toaddress growing biblical fundamentalism.166 This is how the article begins:The leader of the nation’s largest Lutheran denomination has called for a global Christian council to address an identity crisis on how churches interpret andunderstand the Bible. Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson of the Evangelical Church inAmerica called for Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches tocome together to combat a fundamentalist-millenialist-apocalypticist reading of the Scripture.167Bishop Hanson called for the formation of a global ecumenical council during the EvangelicalLutheran Church of America’s assembly in Orlando, Florida in August of 2005. Hanson is alsopresident of the Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation. 168 His request for a group to monitorand expose anti-ecumenists who take the Bible literally carries some weight!Hanson’s message contained other statements that indicate his disdain for Bible-believing Christians—particularly those who take Bible prophecy seriously and see Israel and the Middle East crisis as an end times sign post. For example, he said:Mainline churches traditionally are uneasy with literal readings of Scripture,particularly in fundamentalist churches, regarding the end of the world and politicalunrest in the Middle East. 169Now, let’s evaluate Bishop Hanson’s statement. He said that if you are a believer in a biblicalend-times scenario that is based on taking the Bible literally, you are dangerous and counter productive to the cause of Christ. He would like to form a council made up of RomanCatholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and like-minded Lutherans to investigate and deal with this crisis.In other words, Bishop Hanson views those who reject Kingdom Now and believe in apocalypse next as fundamentalist-millennialist-apocalypticist crackpots.But there is more. Hanson seems to believe the Reformation was without cause and that thechurch must join with the Roman Catholic Church and embrace the Eucharistic Jesus in order tobring about an ecumenical unity and the kingdom of God here on earth. Quoting again from thearticle:Hanson also urged the Vatican to work with the Lutheran World Federation todevelop a joint statement on the Eucharist to mark the 500th anniversary of theProtestant Reformation in 2017. 170

The Secret Message of Jesus Before concluding this section, it is important to look at a few statements taken from McLaren’sbook The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth That Could Change Everything.Remember, McLaren has been quoted as saying: Everything I've written to this point has been apreparation for this book. 171 First, it is no secret that McLaren rejects the view that the Book of Revelation makes reference toa coming apocalyptic judgment in the future. In a chapter titled The Future of the Kingdom he wrote:The book of Revelation is an example of popular literary genre of ancient Judaism,known today as Jewish apocalyptic. Trying to read it without understanding itsgenre would be like watching Star Trek or some other science fiction show thinkingit was an historical documentary, or watching a sitcom as if were a religious parable,or reading a satire as if it were a biography—or like thinking you knew all aboutlions because you watched one pacing on a concrete slab one afternoon… instead ofbeing a book about the future, it becomes a way of talking about the challenges ofthe immediate present.It becomes a book of warnings and promises. 172 Further, discrediting the validity of the Book of Revelation as a book that provides propheticinsight, McLaren states:If Revelation were a blueprint of the distant future, it would have been unintelligiblefor its original readers, as well as the readers of all succeeding generations, andwould only become truly and fully relevant for one generation—the one whohappened to live in the period of time it is prognosticating about. But if Revelation isinstead an example of the literature of the oppressed, full of ever-relevant warnings and promises, it presents each generation with needed inspiration and wisdom andencouragement. In this light, Revelation becomes a powerful book about thekingdom of God here and now, available to all. 173 Second, not only does McLaren believe the Book of Revelation is about the kingdom of Godhere and now, he claims that Jesus had nothing to say about a period of catastrophic judgment either. In order to convince readers of his view, McLaren states:Other readers will be thinking of long passage in the Gospels that seem to be full ofprognostication from the lips of Jesus himself—prognostications that seem to relate to the end of the world. What are we to make of these passages, such as Matthew 24:25? This is a subject no less deep, complex, and contentious than interpretingRevelation, and in light of the thousands of books that have been written on thesubject, it seems impossible to offer an alternative view in just a few paragraphs.Even so let me sketch out this alternative approach briefly in hopes that you willexplore it more deeply on your own.Since Jewish apocalyptic was a popular genre in Jesus’ day, we would expect him tobe influenced by it and use its language and metaphors. If that is the case, we wouldneed to approach Jesus’ language about the future as we would the language of Revelation. So against the backdrop of apocalyptic, we discover that phrases that sound like they’re about the destruction of the world- like the moon will turn to blood or the stars will fall from the sky—are actually rather typical stock phrasesin Jewish apocalyptic.

They are no more to be taken literally than phrases we mightread in the paper today.174The entire message from beginning to end found in McLaren’s The Secret Message of Jesus, isthe message that the kingdom of God will be established here on earth by Christians without KingJesus being present. The theme of his book is best described by the following words he wrote:Sadly, for centuries at a time in too many places to count, the Christian religion hasdownplayed, misconstrued, or forgotten the secret message of Jesus entirely. Insteadof being about the kingdom of God coming to earth, the Christian religion has too often been preoccupied with abandoning or escaping the earth and going toheaven… We have betrayed the message that the kingdom of God is available forall, beginning with the least and last and the lost—and have instead believed andtaught that the kingdom of God is available for the elite, beginning with the correctand the clean and the powerful.175 In this section, we provided an overview of the Emerging Church view that the kingdom of Godis to be established here on earth through the efforts of the church. In our final section, we will see how this view along with other beliefs is building a bridge that seems to be headed towards aunification of Christianity with headquarters in Rome.

Section Nine The Emerging Church and Bible Prophecy:How the Emerging Church is Merging with Rome There is no doubt that the Emerging Church is a movement that cannot be ignored. It is becomingapparent as time passes that the Emerging Church has the potential to reshape or redefine Christianity as many of the leaders claim it will.While some have claimed the changes being implemented by the Emerging Church arecomparable to the changes that took place during the Reformation, there are some distinctdifferences. The Emerging Church reformation is actually a reversal of what occurred in the past.Rather than pointing the lost to the Word of God and away from the Roman Catholic Church,those who were once rooted in the truth are being led away from God’s Word to Roman Catholicdogmas, traditions and extra-biblical experiences. Throughout this paper, I have attempted to present some of the major ideas and trends that areconsistent with the Emergent Church views and beliefs. In this section we will attempt to evaluate the direction the Emerging Church is headed in light of Bible prophecy.Beware of Spiritual DeceptionWhile the Scriptures warn the Last Days will be characterized by a time of great spiritual deception and a falling away from the faith, the Emerging Church movement is silent about thesewarnings. The fact that many supporters claim Christianity must be reinvented, should besufficient evidence that this new reformation is a perquisite for apostasy, not revival.While the thrust of the movement seems to be concentrated on the establishment of the gospel ofthe kingdom of God here on earth, how realistic is this in light of the warnings issued from God’s Word? How is it feasible to suggest that the church will establish the kingdom of God here onearth when Jesus said the time before He returned would be as it was in the days of Noah? 176 While it is a noble goal for the church to win the world to Jesus Christ, is this really what theBible states will happen? What about Paul’s warning that God will allow a strong delusion toovercome those who have departed from the truth of God’s Word? Is it possible this is the verything that is underway? Notice what Paul states:For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth, until he betaken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shallconsume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power andsigns and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in themthat perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe alie: 177 Paul’s words to Timothy indicate clearly that spiritual deception will characterize the Last Days:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their ownlusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turnaway their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 178Certainly the words of warning Paul wrote to the church at Corinth regarding Satan’s seductiveplans should be very relevant to the church-at-large today:But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, soyour minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he thatcometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receiveanother spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have notaccepted, ye might well bear with him. 179 It would appear that many have forgotten these basic warnings found in Scripture regarding a Last Days deceptive scenario that would lead many astray. Do emergent teachings lead awayfrom the simple gospel for another gospel? Is it possible the world and the church are being set upby another spirit for another Christ? These are important questions that need to be answeredin light of the new doctrines that are being promoted by Emerging Church proponents.One World Church While the Emergent Church promotes the establishment of the kingdom of God here on earthbefore the King returns, this is not consistent with the scenario found in the Bible. The Bible warns about a Last Days counterfeit bride that will someday be established in the name of Christ.180 This religious system will promote a peace plan that appears to be successful. 181 Instead it is aplan that is inspired by Satan, a plan which is Babylonian in nature that will incur God’s wrathand judgment. 182Most in the Emergent Church are promoting the idea that the kingdom of God can be establishedhere on earth, and this is exactly what the Roman Catholic Church has been promoting throughthe centuries. It is only a matter of time when we will see the two plans merge. The Roman Catholic Church’s agenda to establish the Triumph of the Eucharist (Eucharistic Reign of Jesus)will be accomplished and is not far away. The New Evangelization Program is in full swing andwill continue to rekindle amazement focused on the presence of Christ in the Eucharist throughthe promotion of Eucharistic adoration. The leaders of the Emerging Church, perhaps without knowing it, are being seduced by deceptive forces to join hands with Rome to help establish thiskingdom.Therefore, for the first time since the Reformation, we have a scenario in place that has thepotential to seduce the separated brethren back to the Mother of All Churches on a global basis.While this ecumenical plan is in the name of the Savior, the Bible warns that spiritual deceptionwill be one of the major signs that the Savior will soon return.Such a powerful delusion will require two major trends, both of which we see are presentlyunderway. First, the light of God’s Word will be further diminished and replaced with a faith thatis experienced-based. Second, this experience-based faith will be driven by lying signs andwonders that will become more and more apparent and seductive. 183 Not only will we see aunification of Christianity, eventually all religions will be drawn together for the common causeof peace, centered around the appearances of a counterfeit Jesus that appears on Roman Catholicaltars all over the world. 184

The Many Roads to Rome This paper has provided documentation showing the Emerging Church has definitely emerged.The question remains: what can we expect to happen in the future? If evangelical Bible-believing Christians continue to be led away from the light of God’s Word, will we see a return to the spiritual darkness that existed before the Reformation occurred or will there be a great revival and the establishment of the kingdom of God here on earth?In my opinion the Emerging Church fits the Last Days biblical scenario that indicates a departurefrom the faith before the return of Christ during a time of great apostasy and delusion. Whilethere will be a remnant that will hold true to the Scriptures, Bible-believing Christians will be aminority, not the majority. In the future there will be persecution and ridicule for those whorefuse to accept that the kingdom of God can be established here on earth with its headquarters inRome.The return to Rome has many roads arriving from many different places traveled by those whohave encountered a variety of experiences. Based on the documentation we have been able toprovide, it is reasonable to suggest that the Emerging Church is one of the major ways that unsuspecting pilgrims are being led on their journey home.Scripture will no longer be the ultimate authority as the basis for the Christian faith. Thecentrality of the gospel of Jesus Christ will be replaced by humanistic methods that promote asocial gospel and the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth. The millennial view thatJesus Christ will physically return to rule and reign in a literal thousand year period of time hereon planet earth will be considered heretical. Those who support this idea will be labeleddangerous fanatics who are resisting the new thing God is doing.The trend towards replacement theology will continue—the view that the church takes theplace of Israel and Israel has no prophetic significance. Those who believe the Book ofRevelation points to an apocalyptic future when God’s wrath will be poured out on earth will be considered crackpots who are a danger to society and the well being of the kingdom of God.The ecumenical nature of the Emerging Church shows that the process to reunite with Rome hasalready begun. As Christianity becomes more and more experience-based through the promotion of sensual stimulation of the senses, it will be transformed from a faith that is based upon God’sWord, to a faith that is based on subjective experiences. Images, statues, icons, candles andincense will become avenues to mystical encounters that convince the spiritual seeker that they have found the truth.Contemplative practices based on Eastern religious metaphysical techniques will continue toabound, convincing seekers they have drawn closer to God. Sound doctrine based on theScriptures will be replaced by stories and fables because Christians desire to have their earstickled.185 Manifestations of the spiritual dimension will appear and signs and wonders of the deceptivevariety will abound. There will be more and more attention paid to Mary the Mother of theEucharist and her son the Eucharistic Jesus. Appearances of this Jesus will manifest in RomanCatholic churches around the world and there will be healings and miraculous phenomenonoccurring.

Finally, these lying signs and wonders will be so effective the religions of the world will bedrawn together for the cause of peace. The Triumph of the Eucharist (Eucharistic Reign of Jesus)will have been accomplished and it will appear as if all is well. Christian Babylonianism will have been established in the name of Jesus.Satan’s attempt to thwart God will have reached its climax.

Conclusion

The purpose of this paper has been to examine the Emerging Church in the light of God’s Word.Facts have been presented and we have looked at the Scriptures as a means of discerning andunderstanding. Scriptures with regard to a prophetic view of the future have also been considered.The scenario of the probable unfolding of future events that has been presented is consistent withwhat the Bible teaches and not merely some imaginative fabrication. In concluding, the words ofPaul written to Timothy regarding how to minister to a last days church that has side tracked intodeception, seem appropriate:I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant inseason, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their ownlusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turnaway their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thyministry.

1-861 1 Timothy 4:12 Online posting: http://cbs
2-chicago.com/topstories/local_story_191215254.html, cited July 10, 2006.
3 Ibid.
4 Proverbs 16:3
5 Matthew 15:8-9
6 Matthew 7:21-24
7 Hebrews 11:6
8 2 Corinthians 11:4
9 Genesis 3:1
10 1 Timothy 4:1
11 Luke 18:8
12 Matthew 25:1-13
13 1 Timothy 4:1
14 Matthew 24:3-4
15 Matthew 24:23-25
16 2 Thessalonians 2:7-11
17 Oakland and Tetlow, Another Jesus? The Eucharistic Christ and the New Evangelization, UnderstandThe Times: Santa Ana, CA, 2005.
18 Online posting: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=3686
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
21 Ibid.
22 Online posting: http://zenit.org/english/show_14.php
23 Online posting: http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=72473
24 Doug Pagitt, Church Re-Imagined: The Spiritual Formation of People in Communities of Faith,Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, 2005.
25 Ibid., pp. 18-19.59
26 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9
27 Doug Pagitt.
28 Ibid., p. 41.
29 Ibid., p. 41.
30 Ibid., p. 28-29.
31 Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, 2004.
32Doug Pagitt, p.166.
33 Ibid., p. 167.
34 Doug Pagitt, p. 102.
35 Doug Pagitt, p. 103.
36 2 Timothy 2:24-26
37 Leonard Sweet, Soul Tsunami, Zondervan Publishing House: Grand Rapids, MI, p. 34.
38 Ibid., p. 420.
39 Leonard Sweet, p. 69.
40 Dan Kimball, The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generation, pp. 13-14.
41 Michael Slaughter, Unlearning Church: Just When You Thought You Had Leadership All Figured Out, p.38-39.
42 Dan Kimball p. 127.
43 Ibid., p. 133.
44 Ibid., p. 143.
45 Ibid., p. 155.
46 www.seminary.edu/aboutnorthern/index.html
47 Robert Webber,Wanted Ancient-Future Talent,Worship Leader, May/June 2005, p. 10.
48 Dan Kimball, p. 185.
49 Rob Redman, The Great Worship Awakening: Singing a New Song in the Postmodern Church, p.129.
50 Ibid., p. 197.
51 Julie B. Sevig, The Lutheran, Ancient New,Online posting: http://www.thelutheran.org/0109/page36.html, cited September 2001.
52 Ibid.
53 Gary Stern, Episcopal U2-charist uses songs in service, Online posting: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2006-10-25-u2-churches_x.htm, cited October 25, 2006.
54 Ibid.
55 Ibid.
56 Romans 10:17
57 Chuck Fromm, The Impact of the Image, Worship Leader Magazine, January-February 2005.
58 Deuteronomy 4: 15-16, 19
59 Chuck Fromm.
60 Ibid.
61 Dan Kimball, p. 127.
62 Ibid., p.136.
63 Ibid., p. 164.
64 Ibid., p. 169.
65 Ibid.
66 Acts 20:28-30
67 Jude 4
68 1 Timothy 4:1
69 Webber, p. 135.
70 Ibid.
71 Ibid.
72 Webber, p. 85.
73 Dr. Dale Dirksen, Passport Magazine, Fall 2005, Vol. 64. No. 2, p. 6.
74 Ibid.
75 Ibid., pp. 6-7.
76 Ibid., p. 7.
77 Ibid.60
78 2 Timothy 3:16
79 Webber, pp. 88-89 (italics in original).
80 Ibid., p. 89.
81 Ibid. (italics in original).
82 Importance of Studying the Church Fathers, Online posting:http://home.comcast.net/~icuweb/c01701.htm, cited November 1, 2006.
83 Ibid.
84 Ibid.
85 Ibid.
86 Marcus Grodi, Journeys Home: The Journeys of Protestant Clergy and Laity Coming Home to the Catholic Church and the Coming Home Network International, A Lay Ministry Committed to HelpingThem, p. xvi.
87 Ibid., p. 88.
88 Ibid. p. 89
89 Isaiah 2:5-6 (NASB)
90 Deuteronomy 18:9-13
91 Agnieszka Tennant, Online posting: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/120/42.0.html, cited May19, 2005.
92 Ibid.
93 Ibid.
94 Ibid.
95 Brian Flynn, Running Against The Wind: The Transformation of a New Age Medium and His Warning tothe Church, Lighthouse Trails Publishing: Silverton, OR .
96 Ibid., p. 132.
97 Ibid., p. 132-133.
98 1 Timothy 4:1
99 Thomas Keeting, Dimensions of Contemplative Prayer,Online posting: http://www.centeringprayer.com/OpenHeart/open02.htm
100 St. John The Cross, Christian Contemplation Today,Online posting:http://www.innerexplorations.com/catchspmys/fromp1.htm
101 Jan Johnson, When the Soul Listens, Harrisburg, PA: NavPres, 1999, p. 16; quoted by Brian Flynn,Running Against The Wind, p. 133.
102 Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing, op cit., p. 48, citing Jacquelyn Small, Awakening in Time, NewYork: Bantam Books, 1991, p.261.
103 Brian Flynn, pp. 137-138.
104 Ray Yungen, op. cit., p. 62, Citing William Shannon, The Silent Lamp: The Thomas Merton Story, NewYork: Crossroads Publishers Company, 1992, p. 276.
105 Ray Yungen, op. cit., p. 75, citing David Steindl-Rast, Recollections of Thomas Merton’s Last Days inthe West, (Monastic Studies), 7:10, 1969.
106 Brian Flynn, p. 142.
107 Richard Foster and Emilie Griffin, Spiritual Classics, Harper: San Francisco, 2000, First Edition, p. 17.
108 Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Harper: San Francisco, 1992, First Edition, p.157.
109 Ibid., p. 156.
110 Matthew Hay Brown, Maryland News, Returning to the rituals: Some evangelicals are exploring highliturgy, March 2, 2006, p. 1-2.
111 Ibid., p. 2.
112 Ibid., p. 3.
113 Tony Jones, The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices For Everyday Life, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI,2005.
114 Ibid., pp. 7-8.
115 Ibid., p. 16.
116 Ibid., pp. 16-17.
117 Ibid., p. 65.
118 Ibid., p. 71.61
119 Ibid., pp. 17-18.
120 Mike Perschon, Disciplines, Mystics and the Contemplative Life, Online posting:http://www.youthspecialties.com/articles/topics/spirituality/desert.php, cited November 2, 2006.
121 Ibid.
122 Ibid.
123 Robert Webber, p. 135.
124 Matthew Hay Brown, p. 4.
125 Ibid.
126 Robert Webber, Ancient-Future Evangelism, Baker Books: Grand Rapids, MI, 2004, p. 114.
127 Robert Webber, Signs of Wonder: The Phenomenon of Convergence in Modern Liturgical andCharismatic Churches, Star Song Publishing Group: Nashville, 1992, pp. 3-4. [Emphasis mine.]
128 Ibid. p. 5, [emphasis mine.]
129 Online posting: http://www.brianmclaren.net/biography.html, cited November 3, 2006.
130 Ibid.
131 Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy, Youth Specialties Books: El Cajon, CA, 2004, p. 18.
132 Ibid., (italics in original).
133 Ibid., p. 35 (italics in original).
134 Ibid., p. 45.
135 Ibid., p. 50.
136 Ibid., p. 52.
137 Ibid., p. 52-53.
138 Ibid., p. 54.
139 Ibid., p. 55.
140 Ibid., pp. 175-176.
141 Ibid., p. 237.
142 Ibid.
143 Ibid., pp. 237-238.
144 Ibid., p. 238.
145 Mark Kelly, Online posting:www.biblicalrecorder.org/content/news/2005/4_19_2005/ne1900505rick.shtml, April 19, 2005.
146 Online posting: http://assistnews.net/stories/s05040087.htm (emphasis not in original).
147 Online posting: http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=20603
148 Online posting: http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft9405/articles/mission.html
149 Online posting: http://watch.pair.com/ect.html
150 Online posting: http://www.biblicalrecorder.org/content/news/2005/4_19_2005/ne190405rick.shtml(emphasis added).
151 Jane Eisner, Online posting:http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/May/29/op/op15p.html/?print=on, May 29, 2005.
152 Online posting:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/26/opinion/26brooks.html?ex=1120276800&en=86c1a54de5878583&ei=5070&hp&oref=login, (emphasis not in the original).153 Dan Wooding, Assist, Online posting: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05070005.htm, July 2, 2005.
154 Ibid.
155 Ibid.
156 Jane Eisner, (statement by Rick Warren taken from this article).
157 Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life, Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI, pp. 285-286.
158 Ibid., pp. 285-286, (emphasis not in original).
159 2 Peter 1:19
160 Matthew 25:1-13
161 Ibid.
162 Dan Kimball, p. 7.
163 1 Timothy 4:1 and 2 Timothy 4:3
164 Dan Kimball, p. 6.
165 Ibid., pp. 8-9.62
166 Online posting: http://news.ucc.org/index.php/option=cpm_content&task=view7id=2977Itemid=54,Religion News Service, August 11, 2005, (emphasis mine).
167 Ibid., (emphasis not in original).
168 Ibid.
169 Ibid.
170 Ibid.
171 Ibid.
172 Brian McLaren, The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth That Could Change Everything, W.Publishing Group, A Division of Thomas Nelson, 2006, pp. 175-176
173 Ibid., pp. 176-177.
174 Ibid., pp. 177-178.
175 Ibid.
176 Matthew 24:37
177 2 Thessalonians 2:7-11
178 2 Timothy 4:3-4
179 2 Corinthians 11:3-4
180 Revelation 17:1-5
181 I Thessalonians 5:1-5
182 Revelation 19:2
183 Matthew 24:24
184 Matthew 24:23
185 2 Timothy 4:1-5
186 Ibid.

BABYLON (FALSE CHURCH DESTROYED) VATICAN IN ROME

REVELATION 17:1-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

SATAN BOOTED OUT OF HEAVEN

ISAIAH 14:12-23
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, (SATAN) son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.
23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.
24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.

REVELATION 12:3-4
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon,(SATAN) having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven,( 1/3 OF ANGELS FELL WITH SATAN AT THE FALL) and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman (MARY JESUS MOTHER) which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.(JESUS WAS JEWISH,THIS IS PERSECUSSION AGAINST ISRAEL).

REVELATION 20:2
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

REVELATION 9:14-16
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARY) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

GENESIS 6:1-7
1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God (DEMONIC FALLIN ANGELS) came in unto the daughters of men,(INTERCOURSE WITH HUMAN WOMEN) and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

JUDE 6-16
6 And the (DEMONIC FALLIN) angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,(HAD SEX WITH HUMANS) he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.(THATS OUR DAY NOW)(THESE GET LOOSED AT THE EUPHRATES TO KILL A THIRD PART OF MEN IN WW3).US - IRAQ WAR IS THE UNLOOSING OF THESE DEMONIC DEMONS I BELIEVE.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.(JESUS)
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.

SATAN COMES AGAINST ISRAEL

1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

SCOFFERS MOCKING CHRISTS LITERAL 2ND COMING TO EARTH BODILY.

2 PETER 3:3-7
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

SEX SINS

1 CORINTHIANS 6:9,14-18
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

GALATIONS 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

SINS OF PEOPLE

2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

DECIEVERS WAXING WORSE AND WORSE.

2 TIMOTHY 3:13
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

MORE SIN SIGNS

EPHESIANS 5:5-8
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

EVENTS IN TIME (BIBLE PROPHECY LITERALLY FULFILLED)(BY GOD)

IMPORTANT LINKS

Sunday, September 27, 2009

LUKEWARM CHURCHES COME AGAINST ISRAEL

ALLTIME