"Is not My word like fire?" declares the LORD, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock?" (Jeremiah 23:29)
Warren Smith, Elijah Abraham, T.A. McMahon, and Carl Kerby will be speaking at the TBC conference this August 27-29. This is in Bend, Oregon. Read.
You can also sign up for the free online attendance here.
Warren Smith has fought the good fight with his books and articles about Jesus Calling, The Shack, The Message, the counterfeit Christ, and much more.
An interesting review of the first book I ever read by Warren B. Smith, one that forever changed my perception of Rick Warren and Eugene Peterson, author of The Message.
The Passion Translation by Brian Simmons is diverting many. And this is what Eugene Peterson’s The Message has done for decades, and continues to do.
Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the author of lies. (John 8:44, NASB)
The Message “Bible” is the unholy gift that keeps on giving the gift of spiritual deception. Millions of copies have been sold, and many in the visible church use The Message as their primary “Bible.”
And so we come to Romans 10:13. Let’s first look at the KJV and NASB translations:
For whosover shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (KJV)
for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” (NASB)
Here is The Message version of Romans 10:13:
“Everyone who calls ‘help God!’ gets help.” (The Message)
There is a vast difference between being helped and being saved. The Message “Bible” strikes again.
Related:
Beatitude twisted beyond recognition in The Message “Bible”
God’s Holy Name profaned in The Message “Bible”??
Further addition and deletion in The Message “Bible” (“salvation” removed again)
Bill Johnson of Bethel Redding has an interesting teaching about Christ that can be seen as a bridge between the two belief systems—New Age and biblical Christianity.
Johnson believes in a teaching called kenosis, an unorthodox heretical belief that the Incarnate Christ laid aside His divine attributes and walked the earth as a completely limited, human man.13 According to Johnson, Christ “performed miracles, wonders, and signs, as a man in right relationship to God . . . not as God. If He performed miracles because He was God, then they would be unobtainable for us. But if He did them as a man, I am responsible to pursue His lifestyle. Recapturing this simple truth changes everything.”14
In other words, Bill Johnson believes the miracles Jesus performed came about because He, as a man, and only as a man, had access to the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Johnson teaches that Christians should be capable of wondrous feats of healing and miracles due to our own relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Thus Johnson’s kenosis doctrine serves to reduce the biblical Christ and elevate man. As one apologist points out:
Jesus is no longer unique, but only a special enlightened one who could lead the way to many such enlightened ones in the future. Thus we have a New Age Christ.15
Kenosis comes from a faulty understanding of Philippians 2:7. It is proven false by the simple fact that Christ not only created the universe, but He holds it together. If Christ had given up His divine power and attributes and had operated only as a man until Resurrection, all creation would have come apart! (Colossians 1:17). Furthermore, when Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), He was making an emphatic statement to a claim to be both God and man—present tense!
A Second Pentecost and Quantum Vibrations
Bill Johnson further believes that select, end-times Christians will be endowed with great power to work miracles, healings, signs, and wonders. These super-powered Christians—the Elijah generation—will supposedly bring about an unprecedented revival. Johnson states:
[A] generation is now forming . . . that will walk in an anointing that has never been known by mankind before, including the disciples.16
Bonus: Reader, the best work you will find on Bill Johnson’s Christology (including kenosis) is over at the Crosswise blog. Start here and please be sure to scroll down to “Bill Johnson’s Christology Explained.”
An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And my people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it? (Jeremiah 5:30)
Brian Simmons, author of The Passion Translation, is teaching heresy about the return of Christ. Simmons says the Bible uses “clouds” as a term for men eight times. Simmons states the Bible says Jesus comes within clouds, so therefore it means Christ is coming from within us.
Here is what Simmons said to Patricia King:
The Book of Revelation is “not primarily a manual of coming events. A sneak preview of what’s coming. Rather it is the coming one. It’s the unveiling of who is coming. And His coming is within us. We experience that unveiling in our lives.” (5 minutes 9 seconds in video)
Here again is Simmons to Patricia King:
Brian Simmons– What about the clouds? Jesus is coming, Greek is meta nephele, He’s coming, meta nephele, within clouds. He’s coming within clouds. Not on clouds. Within clouds. Eight times in the Bible, CLOUDS ARE PEOPLE. (11 minutes 14 seconds in video)
P.K.– Right. Wow.
Brian Simmons– So, maybe the Second Coming isn’t what we think.
P.K.– Wow.
Brian Simmons– Maybe we don’t have it all figured out.
Here is Brian Simmons at the Glory of the Last Days Conference:
Something about clouds. God really likes clouds. He rides, His name is cloud rider. I put that in Psalms, the translation of the Psalms. Thou shalt get the Book of Psalms on your way out too. But His name is Yah, cloud rider, ha ha ha ha. He rides upon the clouds. Okay, you’re the cloud. Eight times in the Bible. Uno, dos, tres, quatro, eight times. Men are clouds. Cloud of witnesses. Jude speaks of false teachers that are clouds with no rain.
Throw up Isaiah 60 verse 8. Put up Isaiah 60 verse 8, if you dare to read this. The Passion Translation: Who are these that soar like clouds, like doves flying into their portals. Jesus is coming in the clouds! I’m here to announce to you, ladies and gentlemen. Everybody missed His first coming. Everyone missed the first coming. Only people who got revelation understood the first coming.
Even though they had the Bible, they knew it’d be Bethlehem, but yet He was from Nazareth so they, He purposely let them get offended over being in Nazareth, but He wasn’t, He was from Bethlehem, but they called Him from Nazareth. He didn’t set the record straight. He let them be deceived.
But those with spirit revelation would understand. He was from Bethlehem. Micah 5:2. So if everyone missed the first coming except by divine revelation, how is it you got all the Second Coming figured out? There’s so much more to the unveiling. I want to unveil, I want to lift some of that veil as we go into Revelation 1. After lunch I want to show you some secrets about the coming of the Lord. (10 minutes 54 seconds in video)
We’re the seed of Christ, the 42nd generation, we complete the genealogy of Jesus. Christ is no longer a man, He’s a people. YOU AND I CARRY LIKE MARY. WE WILL BRING FORTH THE CHRIST. THE SECOND COMING IS THE BECOMING OF THE LORD. The Father loves the Son so much, he is going to fill the earth with people just like Him. (4 minutes 31 seconds in video)
Please note that Simmons proclaims, “Christ is no longer a man, He’s a people” and “The Second Coming is the Becoming of the Lord.” It appears that Simmons, beneath his New Apostolic Reformation exterior, is promoting a New Age, corporate manifestation of Christ.
Related Article: Christians determine when the Second Coming will occur, says The Passion Translation author
Related Article: The PASSION of the PRESENCE and the Purpose of the Passion (Herescope)
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Before traveling to androgynous territory, a brief recap of a recent article:
On Mother’s Day 2019, Bethesda NW, a church closely aligned with Bill Johnson’s Bethel Redding, decided to worship the Mother Goddess rather than the Father. Fast forward to Mother’s Day 2020, and church leaders Ben and Tisha Straup continued with this teaching.
In the Mother’s Day sermon, Tisha Straup twisted the parable of the woman and the lost coin (Luke 15) to prove that God can be a woman, and has a female side. She declared:
Jesus is not just giving a parable about God and sinners, He’s saying that God could be a woman, that the Holy Spirit, the Mother Heart of God, is searching for the lost coin like the Prodigal Father and the Good Shepherd. This enraged the Pharisees. They were so, they like, who do you, you think you’re like the Son of God and now you can say that God has a female side, that God can be like a woman searching for a lost coin? This was beyond anything they’d ever heard. It enraged them, it made them so angry. (1 hr. and 41 minutes in video, give or take.)
Tisha Straup also said:
So, God is not male. He’s male and female. (1 hr. 34 minutes in video, give or take.)
Androgynous: having the characteristics of both male and female; neither specifically feminine or masculine. –Merriam-Webster Dictionary
As pointed out elsewhere, The Shack has greatly affected the theological understanding of many, and Bethesda NW epitomizes this. But is there another influence at work here? Perhaps. Bethel Redding’s Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton are enthusiastic admirers of false prophet William Branham, and Bethel Redding exerts enormous influence on Bethesda NW–and on many other churches in the New Apostolic Reformation movement as well.
Regarding William Branham, Mike Oppenheimer writes in Was man first made androgynous?:
It is William Branham that taught emphatically on man being both male and female, androgynous when he was created in heaven (not earth) and many word faith teachers accept this terrible interpretation, such as Kenneth Copeland.
Branham taught that God is an androgynous being, and that he created man as both male and female in his image. “And man in his spirit was both man and woman.” (58-0928E)
Oppenheimer goes on to mention other false teachers who have taught this at various times.
Yet, in terms of the visible church, William Branham and William Paul Young and (other heretics) are simply spiritual middlemen. The Bible tells us:
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, (1 Timothy 4:1)
Doctrines of demons. What will the false church look like? Will the Mother Goddess be prominent? Will man, woman, and God be seen as androgynous? Will man, woman, God (and creation) be seen as ONE?
Our biblical churches are to be protected and built up by men and women who know the Word of God. By men and women who are obedient in pointing out false teaching, even if it costs friendships. By men and women who are willing to disciple others. And by men and women who love Christ and the lost enough to do what the Bible instructs–spread the gospel message.
Times are going to get tougher. There will be persecution. The Bible tells us:
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe. (Proverbs 18:10)
Apostasy will increase. Strange teachings will continue to bubble up and spew forth from apostate churches. Yet, the news is still good: The gates of Hades will not overpower His church. (Matthew 16:18)
End Part 1
Part 2: Androgynous society, Androgynous “god”
RELATED: When I need to know what the Word of God says about strange or puzzling teachings or teachers, when I need to know the history, I often go to Deception in the Church and Let Us Reason. Here complex histories and theologies are made simple thanks to thorough research and concise writing. If you need to know about something, chances are it’s on these sites.
I have other high priority go to sites, and will be giving links and information in a future article.
On Mother’s Day in 2019, Bethesda NW, a church closely aligned with Bill Johnson’s Bethel Redding, decided to worship the Mother Goddess instead of God the Father. It was painful proof of the widespread and seductive theology in William Paul Young’s book, The Shack. (Link)
What was the Bethesda NW service like one year later on Mother’s Day 2020? Had Bethesda NW leaders searched the Scriptures and corrected their theology? Unfortunately, in the sermon, leaders Ben and Tisha Straup pretty much doubled down.
Tisha Straup: So, God is not male. He’s male and female. (1 hr. 34 minutes in video, give or take.)
In order to further this assertion, Tisha Straup spoke about three parables, and gave a meaning to the parable of the woman and the lost coin (Luke 15) that simply does not exist.
Tisha Straup: Jesus was communicating to the Pharisees that the Trinity, God the Father and the Son, the Shepherd and the Father, and what’s the one in the middle–it’s a parable of a woman with the lost coin, a woman searching for a lost coin. Jesus is not just giving a parable about God and sinners, He’s saying that God could be a woman, that the Holy Spirit, the Mother Heart of God, is searching for the lost coin like the Prodigal Father and the Good Shepherd. This enraged the Pharisees. They were so, they like, who do you, you think you’re like the Son of God and now you can say that God has a female side, that God can be like a woman searching for a lost coin? This was beyond anything they’d ever heard. It enraged them, it made them so angry. (1 hr. and 41 minutes in video, give or take.)
Those who neither fear the Lord nor comprehend His holiness do not hesitate to attack the biblical understanding of God. If it takes some creative “interpretation” of the Scriptures, then so be it. As Israel bowed before the Golden Calf and worshiped it as the Lord their God, (Ex 32:4) so too is a hideous Queen of Heaven being lifted up and celebrated within the visible church.
“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods to spite Me.” (Jeremiah 7:18)
The Straups are right that the “true woman’s liberation movement was founded by Jesus.” The Straups are right about some other things as well. But God is neither male nor female. He is immutable. He is not to be shaped and crafted as if He is some malleable deity.
God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)
He is never referred to as “she” or “her” in the Bible. He is the Father, and that is how we are to understand Him. The Holy Spirit is also addressed as “he” or “him.” And of course, so is Christ.
Why does this keep happening? Why are so many in the visible church enthralled with The Shack? Is The Shack theology really that seductive? Yes, for many, it is–because this is the time we are in. The Bible tells us:
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, (1 Timothy 4:1)
The Shack author William Paul Young has done much damage with his Mother Goddess mythology. But it goes far beyond that. What Young and close ally C. Baxter Kruger are teaching is that creation, man and God are all one. This is the very definition of New Age spirituality.
We noted recently how one pastor was promoting elements of C. Baxter Kruger’s (and therefore Paul Young’s) theology, while another pastor–in the same denomination!–was warning his church against this heretical teaching. (Link)
The pastor who warned the saints wrote, “We have to be close to the return of our Lord. ‘Surely, I come quickly. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.’” (Revelation 22:20)
This article is not about Bethesda NW. It is not about The Shack, William Paul Young, or C. Baxter Kruger. It is about the timeline. The apostasy is here. It is a great time to get right with God.
Related: A New Age View of the Trinity Enters the Church
Related: ONENESS VS. SEPARATION HERESY NOW IN THE CHURCH
Note to readers: The times on NW Bethesda video are approximate.
A tale of two pastors.
We recently learned of an Assemblies of God pastor in Texas who seems to be teaching aspects of the new age “trinitarian” view promoted by The Shack author and his ally, C. Baxter Kruger — yet this pastor has not acknowledged this is what he is doing. Nor has he responded to queries. In a recent video the Texas pastor read from one of Kruger’s books, but never identified him. He simply called him “a theologian. Someone I respect.”
Why is an AoG pastor quoting the heretical Kruger? Okay, hold up right there, Hoss. Isn’t it wrong to accuse someone of being heretical? Yes–unless that person is truly promoting heresy. Then our obligation is to warn our brothers and sisters. (Eph 5:11, Jude 1:3-4, Acts 20:29-30) And this is what needs to happen regarding C. Baxter Kruger.
We recently posted this article where this heresy is clearly explained. All manner of false teaching is now flooding into our churches. Southern Baptists, Presbyterians, Assemblies of God and other denominations are being attacked in ways that would have been unthinkable just a few short years ago.
and many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. (2 Peter 2:2)
It was encouraging to receive this email from an Assemblies of God pastor in the Northwest who read A New Age View of the Trinity Enters the Church, and will be warning his church that this doctrine has snaked its way into the Body of Christ.
Letter from an Assemblies of God pastor:
“As I read this, I had a profound sense of these individuals displaying an overwhelming sense of ‘arrogance’ as they dare to include themselves in the whole of the Trinity. That’s even worse than Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyers et al proclaiming themselves to be ‘little gods.’ This new ‘trinity’ of Kruger goes way beyond that issue and now seems to say, not that we are ‘little gods,’ but that we, if I read this correctly, are part of the Trinity itself. I’m preaching on the Word of God this Sunday and I feel led to incorporate a little bit of this ‘heresay’ to show how far the church has come in their view of this ‘heresay.’ We have to be close to the return of our Lord. ‘Surely, I come quickly. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.'” (Revelation 22:20)
The Lord warns that deception, which has always been with us, is increasing. (1 Timothy 4:1) May the saints in the House of God be protected.
His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.” (John 2:17)
When it comes to A.A’.s alleged “Christian” roots, God’s people have been—to use a technical term—snookered.
Scripture is clear. We were never meant to be part of an all-gods religion. It is not “legalism” to point out that the Lord will absolutely not be seen as one higher power among many (Isaiah 42:8, Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-17).
A.A.’s murky history can seem very confusing. Throughout his writing career, (now deceased) pro-A.A. author Dick B. presented A.A.’s origin as Christian. But Alcoholics Anonymous is like a pie. One can claim it is made with lemon meringue ingredients, but if tar, rat poison, and glass shards are also in the mix, was it ever really a lemon meringue pie? A little leaven… (1 Corinthians 5:6) Continue reading…
The Word Like Fire 