I’ve pointed out many times now that as a general rule, and a courtesy, we do not publish email without the permission of the sender.

At the same time, all email sent to AM and Christian Research Network is considered the property of Apprising Ministries so we may indeed publish unsolicited email for the purposes of edification.

Such is the case here. Out of respect, I have changed the name to protect privacy:

On Jun 6, 2012, at 8:36 PM, [Charles] wrote:

From: [Charles] @multnomah.edu
Subject: Another take
Message Body:

Mr. Silva,In your post “Concerning ‘One Thousand Gifts’ by Ann Voskamp,” you said this about Beth Moore’s purported vision:“Well, I have news for you; since this vision wasn’t from God, then at best Beth Moore encountered a demon. At worst, Satan himself.”

I wonder what you have to say about Acts 11:4-10, 2 Cor. 12:1-4, or for that matter the entire book of Revelation. Ms. Moore’s vision doesn’t sound at all strange, much less demonic, when compared to the experiences of Peter, Paul, and John — unless one is a cessationist (which you claim not to be).

I refer you to Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, in which he links God’s promise to pour out his Spirit with the present age. You will note that visions are explicitly mentioned.

I do not know if Ms. Moore’s vision came from God. But we should be cautious when attributing supernatural phenomena to Satan, especially when said phenomena are clearly within the bounds of biblical experience.

Respectfully,
[Charles]

—
This mail is sent via contact form on Apprising Ministries https://www.apprising.org/

Hello [Charles],

Thank you for contacting Apprising Ministries.  Please know there was no offense taken and I received this as written from a point of sincere concern. I’m responding here  below in the tone of two people talking about issues over coffee. I just put all of this up front due to the coldness of the written language, which lacks the ability to distinguish inflections, etc.

Below you wonder about my comment re. Beth Moore’s vision I put in my article CONCERNING ONE THOUSAND GIFTS BY ANN VOSKAMP, which was, “Well, I have news for you; since this vision wasn’t from God, then at best Beth Moore encountered a demon. At worst, Satan himself.” So you then asked:

I wonder what you have to say about Acts 11:4-10, 2 Cor. 12:1-4, or for that matter the entire book of Revelation. Ms. Moore’s vision doesn’t sound at all strange, much less demonic, when compared to the experiences of Peter, Paul, and John — unless one is a cessationist (which you claim not to be).

Unfortunately [Charles], I’m afraid that you are confusing issues here. You are correct, I’m not a strict cessationist; I don’t really have an issue with God sending someone visions, if He chooses to do so. However, we do then have to test any such revelations by Scripture (cf. Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21).

When I do so, just as the Protestant Reformers, I must reject the Roman Catholic Church as apostate because it preaches a false gospel, which is no gospel at all (cf. Galatians 1:6-7). And you should know that THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH HASN’T CHANGED ITS CONDEMNATION OF THE GOSPEL.

Therefore, for Beth Moore to try and tell me God showed her the Church “as Jesus sees it” and then include the apostate Roman Catholic Church as a part of the Body of Christ, I have no choice but to reject it as false. Look for yourself here and follow the transcriptions:

[mejsvideo src=”https://www.apprising.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/God-Shows-Beth-Moore-A-Vision-Of-The-Church-In-The-Dimension-Jesus-Sees-It-flv.mp4″ width=640 height=360]

Transcription: “… to beg to differ with people that are ten times smarter than I am. But I want to say to you I see something different than that. I see God doing something huge in the body of Christ. I do not know why I have had the privilege to get to travel around, see one church after another…one group of believers after another, interdenominationally, all over this country, but I have gotten to see something that I think is huge.

And I’ll also suggest to you I am not the only one. And tonight I’m going to do my absolute best to illustrate to you something that God showed me out on that back porch. He put a picture…I’ve explained to you before I am a very visual person…so He speaks to me very often putting a picture in my head.

And it was as if I was raised up looking down on a community, as I saw the Church in that particular dimension– certainly not all dimensions, not even in many, but in what we will discuss tonight, the church, as Jesus sees it, in a particular dimension.” (source)

[mejsvideo src=”https://www.apprising.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Beth-Moore-Gods-Vision-For-The-Church-Includes-The-Roman-Catholic-Church.mp4″ width=640 height=360]

Transcription:

What I’ve done in this particular class that makes this group so special, and I’m loving this about you who are online, we are a very interdenominational group. And so I’ve literally gotten to position people from these denominations and from these backgrounds into these groups. So that just thrills me.

So this part we’re not playing. However I’ve just made up the name from familiar names of churches I’ve seen through the years. Right over here to my right you see First United Methodist Church of Lessthanland. Right behind them you would find just down the street, just across the street really, you’ve got Christ the Redeemer Lutheran Church.

Every single one of my sisters in this area attends a Lutheran church which thrills me. These all attend a Methodist church. I can’t tell you how I love that kind of diversity. What I’ve asked these ladies to do right here, now this makes it a little bit different, because they do go to different churches. But what I’ve asked them to represent to us tonight to us is an African-American church that we’re going to call Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

Is that good? Did I do good? Yes! Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Right back here I want you to meet St. Anne’s [Roman] Catholic Church of Lessthanland. These ladies come, every single one of them, although they don’t go to one [Roman] Catholic church, every single one of them attend a [Roman] Catholic church probably right here in Houston. And I am so thrilled that they are here.

What I’ve asked my sisters to do here, actually they represent many different churches but they represent one church in our midst tonight. These are our sisters that attend different Charismatic churches in our city but tonight they attend Abundant Life Church. Is that good?

No way do I believe this actually originated with God; I personally don’t think that she dreamed it up, so I must therefore consider it as some sort of a demonic vision. Finally, you say:

I do not know if Ms. Moore’s vision came from God. But we should be cautious when attributing supernatural phenomena to Satan, especially when said phenomena are clearly within the bounds of biblical experience.

Well, because it contradicts His Word (cf. Galatians 1:6-9) I do know that this couldn’t possibly have come from God. Now, it could merely have been her own imagination (which I personally doubt) or it could have been demonic in origin which, due to the subject matter, I believe it was.

So, I would offer that we should be cautious to avoid the possibility of attributing supernatural phenomena to God, especially when said phenomena is clearly outside of what God has revealed in Scripture. As a former Roman Catholic, for me to accept Beth Moore’s mythology, I have to consider the Protestant Reformation to be in error.

That I am not prepared to do because the Bible does teach that salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in the finished work on the Cross by Jesus Christ alone. [Charles], I pray this gives you serious food for thought and may God open your eyes that you may recognize the time in which you live.

Sincerely,

Ken Silva, pastor-teacher
President
Apprising Ministries
Ezekiel 3:7-14

Gen. Ed.
Christian Research Network
2 Corinthians 11:12-15

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Further reading

• SOUTHERN BAPTISTS ASSIST THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH TO INFILTRATE EVANGELICALISM
• HENRY BLACKABY’S MYSTICISM-LITE NEGATES SOLA SCRIPTURA
• BATTLE IS YOUR CALLING