Rick Perry and The New Apostolic Reformation

By Justin Edwards

There have been many warnings over the last few weeks with regards to Rick Perry's The Response prayer event in Houston, Texas on August 6, 2011.  I shared Brannon Howse's warning on the blog a couple of weeks ago, and other warnings can be seen at Sola Sisters, an extensively detailed piece from Apprising Ministries entitled IHOP Enters Dominion/Christian Rights Politics, another piece from Howse titled The Emergence of The New Religious Right And Its Threat To The Church, Chrystal Witt's piece Divorcing America from Baal?, and Marsha West's response post-prayer event that offers great insight to the good, the bad, and the ugly that took place at The Response.

What, or who, exactly has Rick Perry aligned himself with?  The links above clearly show what is taking place behind the scenes unbeknownst to many conservative Christians.  Many participated or supported Perry's prayer event  last week, including best-selling author and watchman on the wall, Joel Rosenberg.  In fact, Rosenberg said in this article the day after the prayer event,

Some evangelicals were critical of ”The Response.” They urged people not to attend because they have serious and fundamental theological differences with some of those involved in the event. A few emailed me and urged me not to participate. I heard those concerns and I have strong disagreements with some of the participants, too. But the truth is the vast majority of organizers and participants of this prayer meeting were theologically, morally and ethically solid evangelical, Bible believing followers of Jesus Christ.

It is unfortunate that Rosenberg has not done his research and cannot see the undercurrent of deception that is taking place.  What's more, despite the "serious and fundamental theological differences" and having "strong disagreements with some of the participants", he chose to endorse the event anyway.  Those whom we have serious and fundamental theological differences with happen to believe that before Christ will return to this earth, it is the church's mandate to pave the way for the Kingdom, that Christ won't return until the Kingdom has been established by Christian world domination.  This domination, according to dominionists, will occur by taking over the government and cultural landscape.  Lighthouse Trails has a recent piece titled, Will the Evangelical Church Sell Out the Gospel for a Dominionist Political Agenda? that offers the following definition:

The Gospel of Salvation [according to dominionism] is achieved by setting up the “Kingdom of God” as a literal and physical kingdom to be “advanced” on Earth in the present age. Some dominionists liken the New Testament Kingdom to the Old Testament Israel in ways that justify taking up the sword, or other methods of punitive judgment, to war against enemies of their kingdom. Dominionists teach that men can be coerced or compelled to enter the kingdom. They assign to the Church duties and rights that belong Scripturally only to Jesus Christ.

These, then, are not merely "strong disagreements" that we can just push to the side for the sake of unity as Rosenberg has suggested.  The compromise at hand is one that is centered on the Gospel and has major implications for the Body of Christ, of which many believers are being deceived into co-mingling, or even substituting, patriotism and moralism with our mandate in the Great Commission.  As was said in this article concerning Glenn Beck and Evangelicals from last year, "we must not compromise the Gospel on the alter of ecumenical patriotism!"
    
With this background, I now share with you something from the secular media.  I by no means am a fan of Rachel Maddow, but she brings up some very serious concerns even though the root of her concerns are not the same for Christians.  The following video shows just who Rick Perry has aligned himself with, and that the New Apostolic Reformation has chosen him to be their vessel to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.  After showing various clips of C. Peter Wagner, Mike Bickle, Cindy Jacobs, and John Benefiel, Maddow closes with the following:

Rick Perry did not just do a prayer event in Texas that was a no-non Christians allowed event, Rick Perry did a prayer event that involved a specific Christian political movement, a movement that has political goals, and wants a political vehicle, and that seems to want a Rick Perry presidential candidacy to be their political vehicle.  The Texas Observer begins its story about these new self-styled apostles with a story about a visit two of them paid to Governor Perry in Austin in 2009, quote, "The pastors told Perry of God's grand plan for Texas.  A chain of powerful prophecies had proclaimed that Texas was "The Prophet State," anointed by God to lead the United States into revival and Godly government.  And the governor would have a special role."  The New Apostolic Reformation appears to have chosen Rick Perry as their candidate, as their vehicle for their political goal, which is of course, world domination, blah blah blah.  Rick Perry is announcing his unofficial start to his presidential campaign this weekend in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Iowa, after hosting a stadium prayer event with all of these folks, and frankly, getting away with no one in the beltway media reporting on who those folks are or why they did just this stadium prayer event with Rick Perry.

Here's the video in full:

So the secular media is picking up that these self-appointed prophets and apostles are getting behind the presidential candidacy of Governor Rick Perry.  They have seemingly "chosen Rick Perry as their candidate, as their vehicle for their political goal, which is of course, world domination".  This is not just something to have "strong disagreement" with, but to accept that we indeed have "serious and fundamental theological differences" that include the Gospel itself.  As such, we have clear guidance from Scripture as to what to do in this type of situation:

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,  “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” - 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

We must separate ourselves from these false teachers, and continue to admonish, rebuke, and warn our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being caught up in the deception of ecumenical patriotism.

At this point, I do not see myself getting behind Rick Perry, even if he is a born again believer.  He is clearly deceived and lacks discernment, and if his candidacy has any role in the NAR, Joel's Army, the Manifests Sons of God, Latter Rain, etc., gaining a foothold stronghold, then I want nothing to do with it and will continue to sound the alarm against it.

Todd Bentley Update - Another Lakeland "Revival"?

By Chadwick Harvey

Shortly after the Lakeland Outpouring ended in utter chaos a year and a half ago, I stated in a note that Morningstar Ministries in Fort Mill, South Carolina would most likely be the next hub of which a "revival" would spring forth. This statement was not some sort of a magnificent prophetic prognostication. Rather, it was more of a well-educated guess based on knowledge I had involving Rick Joyner's desire to create such a move in the Charlotte area.

For the past three months, Morningstar Ministries has been holding "outpouring services" every weekend. In his most recent video, founder and Pastor of Morningstar Ministries Rick Joyner invites people to make reservations for a weekend at Morningstar so that they can experience the wave of the Spirit that is crashing in there. In this video, Joyner specifically states, "Todd Bentley has a gift of faith that is like few I have ever seen or heard of before." Now, a little over a year after divorcing his wife one day and marrying his mistress whom he had the extramarital affair with the next, Todd Bentley is back ministering to the masses that flock to Morningstar seeking an encounter with God albeit in the wrong place.

Has it ever occurred to these people that perhaps their seeking of an encounter with God has led them to miss out on the encounter that God is seeking with them? An encounter that calls them above and beyond the self-serving religious practices that they follow as they flock to the latest spine-tingling sensation. Yet as God knocks at the doors of their hearts, he finds that they are not answering as they have been beguiled by the great serpent, as this ploy of Satan has once again taken people's attention away from advancing the kingdom of God through the practical application of the Word in their everyday lives and thus led them to seek for a quick fix so that they can have an easy ticket (with low cost) to the feeling of spirituality that they so long for.

As for the question of "Why Morningstar?" I could elaborate further as to why Rick Joyner wanted to bring revival to the Charlotte area. However, such information is covered in previous articles I have written on this very topic and about the prophetic movement's intent on creating a carbon copy of the ministry of William Branham who they might as well be worshipping.

In the articles I have written on this subject, it seems as if there is always someone who goes on the attack against me. It's as if they want me to put away my own spirit of "criticism" yet they take liberty at criticizing my faith and labeling me as nothing more than a muckraker. If I am nothing more than a muckraker, then Paul must have been one as well. The call of the Christian faith in the midst of great conflict, persecution, and strife. Paul experienced this far more than anyone could have ever imagined when he wrote his epistles. If it were not for false teachers creeping into the church in those days, then half of Paul's epistles would have never been written. Indeed, Paul wasn't the only one that contended for truth unceasingly. James, Peter, Jude, and John all wrote with the intent of alerting their followers not to be deceived by the vast array of false teachers that were seeking to pervert the true meaning of the gospel in the same way that false teachers like Todd Bentley and Rick Joyner are doing so today. Jude's epistle which deals with nothing but false teachers poignantly warns all Christians "to contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints."

When Todd Bentley's circus show was in Lakeland, it was the responsibility of the people close by to issue very firm warnings to keep geniune Christians from being preyed upon by this wolf in sheep's clothing. Praise God that some Christians stood up to that calling and exposed the man as the false prophet that he is. Unfortunately, there were many Christian leaders who dropped the ball. I for once was extremely disappointed that the Assemblies of God gave a generic statement rather than taking a firm hard-nosed approach to ensure that their flock was protected.

Now that the movement has migrated to the Charlotte area, the time has come for all Christians in the vicinity to string together the bonds of unity in order to combat this ploy of Satan. With the movement so close and the fact that so many young people from teenage years to upper 30's are flocking to these pagan-style cultlike meetings from a host of mainline demoninational churches, to sit back in utter complacency and not take a stand would be the kind of serious sin that I would not the burden of carrying to my grave.

For now, the meetings at Morningstar are only going for three nights a week. They have not yet generated the kind of attention that the Lakeland Outpouring did in 2008. However, with the belief that Todd Bentley has been assigned the same angel as William Branham- we can conclude that it's only a matter of time before the movement elevates itself to such heights. Better to prepare now by warning of the baneful effects of this movement and exposing once for all the legions of Satan behind the ministry not only of Todd Bentley but of the prophetic movement as whole. This includes Morningstar ministries, Patricia King's Extreme Prophetic, and the International House of Prayer Movement all of which though separate entities are united together in the common thread of bringing the Manifest Sons of God to the earth. For further info and for questions, please ask and I will be happy to tell.