Tuesday, August 5, 2008

THE LATTER RAIN MOVEMENT

The Latter Rain Movement is a heretical movement popularized by Franklin Hall, William Branham, George Warnock, John Robert Stevens, etc. Elements of Latter Rain teachings are today being taught within certain renewal and revival movements.

Considered to be one of today's most dangerous false teachings in the church, the movement's doctrines are taught and supported by a wide range of controversial teachers. They include Rick Joyner, C. Peter Wagner, Paul Cain, Cindy Jacobs, Bill Hamon, and countless others.

Latter-Rain teachers believe that a "New Breed" of Apostles and Prophets is being raised up who will assume their end-time role of leading the Church to take dominion and to execute God’s judgments in the world.

We can sum up the Latter Rain or Dominion teaching this way:

* the Church must be restored and equipped to rule by the five-fold ministries.
* it must come to perfection and complete visible UNITY.
* out of the purified church will come a spiritual elite corps, a Corporate Christ who possess the
* Spirit without measure
* they will purge the earth of all wickedness and rebellion
* they will judge the apostate Church
* they will redeem all creation, and restore the earth
* they will eventually overcome death itself in a counterfeit of the Rapture
* the Church will thus inherit the earth, and rule over it from the Throne of Christ.

From:

http://www.apologeticsindex.org/l39.html

Also see:
My July 23 post on THE LATTER RAIN REVIVAL

13 comments:

Jeff said...

Someone sent me this email yesterday:


BENTLEY LEAVING FLORIDA EARLY- YES!!!!!!!!!!!!


The tents are coming down!

After today’s service, the tents in Lakeland are coming down, and the revival is moving back to Ignited Church where it originated. The revival was slated to end August 23rd, but with dwindling crowds, the hefty price tag may be too much for those in charge of the revival to continue, and it is shutting down early.

When the so-called revival first began, Bentley made the bold statement that God told him this revival would continue until the second coming of the Lord. Either God was mistaken, or Bentley was speaking presumptuously in the name of God. After being cornered by all the media attention and the discernment ministries who kept sounding the alarm, Bentley ran away, not able to suffer having his theology tested, or the glaring eye of the spotlight searching him for answers to his bold claims. In other words, he realized his antics weren’t taking place in a vacuum, and there was accountability for his actions. When the heat reached a boiling point, he bailed.

What does this mean for his enablers such as Patricia King, Bob Jones, Stacey Campbell, Che Ahn, Paul Cain, Rick Joyner, and others who prophesied over Todd in his commissioning? Stacey Campbell arrogantly stated that Todd was chosen by God to carry this revival forward because he asked for it in a way that no one else had. Campbell, with head in full swing, was supposedly speaking for God. Did God change His mind? No, Campbell wasn’t hearing from God…she was speaking out of the abundance of her own wickedness and uttering false prophesies.

I praise God that many, many, many in the blogosphere ran to the front lines and stood together in solidarity, sounding the alarm and warning others with the truth of God’s Word. While time is short, let us keep pressing on. As the Lord continues to delay, there will be others who speak presumptuously, and time will continue to grow darker as we approach the day of His appearing. Keep looking up.

preacherman said...

Jeff,
Interesting post.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
May God bless your week!

Great Googly Moogly! said...

Wow...everytime I read something about this movement it makes me wonder what Bible they're reading! I can understand how there can be some differences of interpretation regarding such things as a rapture, a millenial reign, and how we understand Israel and its purpose (to name just a few), which are all to some extent debated between (and even within) "reformed" and "dispensational" theological traditions; but sometimes I wonder if any of these "latter rain" guys even have a clue as to how ridiculous they sound.

Of course, simply sounding ridiculous is no proof of heresey; after all, I'm sure that Jesus Himself, as well as His disciples sounded plenty ridiculous in their time. Heck...even we probably sound ridiculous to the lost. But we have a restraint--it's called the Bible. We have the finished Revelation of God in the Scriptures and this is our standard of truth. This is why it's so amazing to me that movements such as this continue to thrive throughout the ages.

Oh well...I'm content to believe God and let Man be the liar (though I'm not content to let Man try to steal God's glory). It's truly a shame that there are thousands (if not millions)of "itching" ears for these false prophets to scratch (tickle)!

Anonymous said...

Todd Bentley and the Latter Rain Heresy

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

* the Church must be restored and equipped to rule by the five-fold ministries.
* it must come to perfection and complete visible UNITY.
* out of the purified church will come a spiritual elite corps, a Corporate Christ who possess the
* Spirit without measure
* they will purge the earth of all wickedness and rebellion
* they will judge the apostate Church
* they will redeem all creation, and restore the earth
* they will eventually overcome death itself in a counterfeit of the Rapture
* the Church will thus inherit the earth, and rule over it from the Throne of Christ.

The first cause creator is sovereign.

The Church is not in control of reality.

Christ and God will be the primary cause of the end of the age.

My latest in related somewhat...

Jeff said...

preacherman said...

Jeff,
Interesting post.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
May God bless your week!


Thank you very much, Preacherman!
And thank you for dropping by!

Jeff said...

Great Googly Moogly!,

Agreed.

Some of the dangers are:

Dangers and errors
1. Existentialism. If I have experienced it, it must be true
2. Pragmatism. If a technique works it must be of God
3. Subjectivism. Equality of all sources of information as truth
4. Power and personality of leaders.
5. Re-unification of Protestants and Rome
6. Restoration (Imminent Revival)
7. Replacement Theology (Israel now out of God's plan)
8. 'Faith Movement' (Guaranteed success)
9. Inner healing and healing of the memories.

from: Danger In The Church Today!

Jeff said...

Russ,

Agreed.

Here's another site that talks about it: The Latter Rain Movement

Dr. Russell Norman Murray said...

Jeff, here in the Lower Mainland we have a Later Rain Movement...

Jeff said...

Russ,

Jeff, here in the Lower Mainland we have a Later Rain Movement...

LOL! Here where I am, for the past few weeks, we've been having a Daily Rain Movement. The grass is growing super-fast.

Tamela's Place said...

Hi Jeff,

I have always believed that emotion without the Word can bring chaos which we see in some of the faith movement but the Word without the emotion can bring on legalism which is the religious spirit. There must be a balance of both. God is a God of emotion and He created us with emotion as well but He also is the God of Truth/Word. And God said that He is seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Being in touch with God on an emotional level as well as in Truth I believe keeps us in balance and this only comes by and through His Holy Spirit in us. What do you think about this? I would like to hear your thoughts. God bless you!

Jeff said...

Tamela,

I have always believed that emotion without the Word can bring chaos which we see in some of the faith movement but the Word without the emotion can bring on legalism which is the religious spirit. There must be a balance of both. God is a God of emotion and He created us with emotion as well but He also is the God of Truth/Word. And God said that He is seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Being in touch with God on an emotional level as well as in Truth I believe keeps us in balance and this only comes by and through His Holy Spirit in us. What do you think about this? I would like to hear your thoughts. God bless you!

I think that is incredibly well-put! Excellent comment! You even skillfully created a bridge between my "Latter Rain Movement" article and my Wed., Aug. 6 "Covenantalism" article!

That perfect "balance" is something which seems very difficult for humans to achieve.

I am reading a book on Church History, and it is evident in that book that, historically, factions have swayed from one extreme to the other. From the decline of the Medieval Church to the Reformation. From the Reformation to the Counter-Reformation. From an Age of Orthodoxy to an Age of Rationalism.

I have seen people who grew up in the cold orthodoxy of the Lutheran church leave that and join a Charismatic church, almost as a knee-jerk reaction.

People see flaws in denominational churches, and, in response, they move to a non-denominational church, thinking they will find the perfect church there.

I have seen spiritually-dead, orthodox, liturgical churches; and I have also seen Charismatic churches where there is a focus on the Holy Spirit and on spontaneity, but where there is also a glaring weakness for false doctrine to come in, and come in it does.

I think it was in C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters where it said that Satan moves people to either one extreme or the other.

Jeff said...

Thanks, Anonymous.

And I'm guessing you are Lee.