This particular post should be read in concert with the previous posts that I have produced on the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement, Graham Cooke posts (includes Aglow International) and Healing Rooms posts. Just type in the applicable subject in the “Search here …” option at the right side of your screen when you are on my blog and the associated posts will appear.

I’m not overly keen about getting into the subject of Dominionism. Not because it isn’t necessary to expose this heresy but because it opens up young Christians to what can and does happen when someone gets a so called “lightbulb moment” where they suddenly see how they are right and the rest of the Christian Church has been all wrong. I wish this wasn’t necessary but the bottom line is that it is. False doctrine and heresies within the Christian Church are not new. They happened to the early Church when the eye witness Apostles were still with us and various heresies have continued throughout all of Christian history. You can read about some of them here if you would like additional information. The short story is that the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has always been attacked, especially when the objective is to detract believers from the sufficiency of Jesus and the sufficiency of God’s Word, the Bible.

This is exactly what has happened within the New Apostolic Reformation, under the leadership and guidance of now deceased C. Peter Wagner, where of course, he was instrumental in the recent re-surfacing of this particular doctrine within the Christian Church.

Originally, I was going to go through the Healing Foundation Series Training Workbook that was written by Cal Pierce (an acknowledged leader within the NAR movement) for the Healing Rooms movement. As I read through this Training Workbook, it became obvious within a very short time that the doctrine of Dominionism was prevalent throughout the entire publication.

So, rather than addressing the examples of Dominionism that are articulated throughout the Training Workbook, I shall address the doctrine of Dominionism itself.

Some KEY BELIEFS of the NAR:

•  “APOSTLES”  We’re in a “Second Apostolic Age.” There are new Apostles are on the earth today, anointed by the laying of hands to represent and speak for God here on Earth. These “Super Apostles” are equal to the original Apostles – the ones who witnessed Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and were appointed by Christ Himself to the office. Since these new apostles are commissioned by God, their authority may not be questioned.
• “KINGDOM” Rather than preach the Gospel of the cross, Apostolic leaders are working to bring the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth.  They do this by taking dominion of earthly kingdoms or “mountains” of government, media, entertainment, education, business, family, and religion. Leaders often talk of city building and organize prayer walks to pray against demonic strongholds. They often speak of being mission-focused rather than being Christ-centered.
•  “DESTINY” “PRESENCE” “GLORY” Though members are not always charismatic, they frequently emphasize a manifestation of “Glory” and “God’s presence,” and often have a special anointing to receive direct revelation from God, perform healings and other signs and wonders. They teach that our purpose is to achieve our dream destiny so that we can change the world.
• “REVIVAL” Revival on a massive scale is key in this movement. There is a strong emphasis on an “end times harvest” through a great awakening that we can usher in.  Often these revivals are held in stadiums and reach millions around the world via live stream technology; they are marketed and produced like rock concerts. All scripture verses about an end times falling away are ignored, and get replaced with hyped-up claims about the Next Big Thing that’s always just around the corner.
• “UNITY” Unity (at the expense of biblical doctrine) is almost always used as both the how and the why in this movement.  Unity for the sake of bringing Heaven to Earth is leading to the blurring of doctrinal and denominational lines, often bringing together well-known leaders of charismatic, reformed, Word of Faith, seeker-emergent, progressive and Roman Catholics churches, all under one umbrella.
• NAR DENIES THE SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE. NAR adherents may say they believe in the inerrancy and authority of the Bible, but God’s breathed-out Word is just not enough for them. Their Apostles and Prophets issue “new” revelational creeds, the old ways of adhering to God’s Word are turned aside and now “decrees”, “dreams” and “visions” provide marching orders.

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”

— Galatians 1:6-9

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

— 1 John 4:1

“Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”

— 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12

Matthew 7:15-23  “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?‘ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

Matthew 24: 3-14; 24-25  “As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Vs. 24): For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. (25) Behold, I have told you in advance.”

1 Timothy 6:5  “…and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.”

Titus 1:7-11  “For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”

2 Timothy 3:12-17  “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings, which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

2 Timothy 4:1-4  “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

As I have indicated in previous posts about the NAR, there are literally hundreds of different articles from different theological and denominational backgrounds THAT ALL AGREE that the “New Apostolic Reformation” isn’t new, isn’t apostolic and isn’t a reformation.  I will list some of these articles here that focus on Dominionism but please note that this is just a very small sample of what is available:

See, the problem is, is that Satan has had too much of his way in our society because he has a government!  And the only way to overthrow a government is with a government.  It won’t happen otherwise.  So therefore the government of the church has to get into place in the extended church just like we do have it very well in place, we haven’t reached our goal yet, but it’s very well established in the nuclear church. … These apostles in the workplace are the ones that are going to come into the picture and with them we’ll be open these gates, without them we can have all the prayer meetings we want, all the marches for Jesus we want, all the prayer walking we want, the gates aren’t going to be opened. Because it takes a government to overthrow a government. Gate number one, letter A, the gate of social transformation, the gate of social transformation.  … This gate will be opened when we understand about the church in the workplace, that the church has a government, that it takes a government to overthrow a government, and when we understand this, if we renew our minds, if we embrace this paradigm shift, if we see, if we hear what the spirit is saying to the churches, if we recognize ministry in the extended church and government in the extended church, the revival we’ve been praying for is just around the corner.  We will see it. …And now I pray for every individual here, before you, who is in the workplace, who tomorrow and in the days to come will be going out to their ministries in the workplace, and I impart to them an anointing, I impart to them an anointing for not seeing a job, but seeing a ministry in the workplace.  And I impart an anointing to them and to this whole community to recognize and raise up apostles who will set the church in the workplace in order so that our cities, our communities, our states, and our nations will be transformed for Your glory, in Jesus’ name. (C. Peter Wagner, Arise Prophetic Conference, Gateway Church, San Jose, CA, 10-10-2004)

The doctrines of Dominionism are rooted in the earth. Their basis is the (false) teaching that man must take dominion of this earth and change it for the better before Jesus can come. The emphasis, therefore, has shifted from ‘looking up’ to ‘looking around’ to see what can be done to patch up the environment and change society into a more godly one.

Reasons why Dominionism is rejected:

1. It requires a universal Kingdom of God on earth.
2. It robs the Jews of their inheritance.
3. It removes awareness of the Return of the Lord.
4. It denies the scriptural prophesies of the end-times.
5. It denies the sovereignty of the Godhead.
6. It requires religious unity.
7. It rests on human ability and wisdom.
8. It requires a structured Church system based on human leadership.
9. It replaces Jesus with the Church.
10. It draws from corrupt roots.

For an overview on each of these points please refer to this link.

SUMMARY

And if you want to get confirmation on the “special anointing” that these so called ‘Apostles”  and “Prophets” have, take a good hard look at this link. Check out all the working video links that are provided. There’s no “here say” involved here, it was recorded on video and the consequences of Wagner’s “decree” are public record. Who was on the stage that day, other than C. Peter Wagner? That would be Bill Johnson, Rick Joyner, Che Ahn, John and Carol Arnott, and Todd Bentley. And then there is this video with Todd Bentley’s new wife giving her understanding of a dream that she had. Notice the head movements. You can’t make this stuff up! And I tell you, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

1 Timothy 4:1 NIV “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”

In John 15:5 NIV Jesus said “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” My question to you is what vine are you attaching your branch to?

Worthy is the Lamb! Blessings!

Filed under: Apologetics, Christian History, Defending Christianity, Graham Cooke, New Apostolic Reformation Tagged: Christian Apologetics, Christian History, New Apostolic Reformation