Apprising Ministries first came onto the Net nine years ago to help pioneer the mission field of online apologetics and discernment ministry. Then my focus was upon the sinfully ecumenical neo-liberal cult of the Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church—with its “big tent” Progressive Christianity aka Emergence Christianity.

Since that time, as most all “new” things eventually do, these rebels against the final authority of God’s Word became as obsolete as the original liberalism after which they patterned themselves. However, this is not to say that leaders like the dubious duo of Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones left no little lasting impact.

Tragically, as I first pointed out in my 2011 piece The Emerging Church on a Wild Goose chase, these neo-Gnostics with their Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism begat other fools who also unbuckled themselves from the Word of God and embarked upon their wild goose chase of subjective experience.

Now devolved into a full free-fall with no gravity, they will only continue to drift deeper into spiritual outer space. Well I’m sorry to have to tell you but, with all of this rampant charismania I’ve been warning you about over the past few months, there’s a parallel track to the Pagitts and the Joneses within evangelicalism.

The sad fact is, the heart of the visible professing Christian church has begun following their fickle feelings rather than the Rock of God’s Word in Holy Scripture. One couldn’t find a more fitting figure to use in order to demonstrate this to you than quasi-elder Beth Moore, who is still heavily promoted by the Southern Baptist Convention.

For example, because she tweeted about it, recently we saw Beth Moore worships at Joel Osteen’s Church as Pastrix Christine Caine Preaches:

(source)

The name Lakewood may sound familiar to you;  and yes, it was that Lakewood Church led by Word Faith pastor Joel Osteen and his wife pastrix Victoria. ((http://www.lakewoodchurch.com/Pages/new-here/Leadership-Team.aspx, accessed 3/24/14.)) There’s a couple of reasons I remind you of this; 1) we’re witnessing yet another example of Joel Osteen Moving One Step Closer To Mainstream Evangelicalism.

Because 2) today someone as revered in conservative Christian circles, and supposedly such a solid teacher of the Bible, as Beth Moore feels comfortable enough to announce that she was going to go and join in fellowship with someone like Joel Osteen and his false gospel as well as with women in open rebellion against the Bible.

Now you’re positioned upon the battlefield in the right place to observe the enemy’s advance upon the efficacy of Scripture within the mainstream of the church visible. By efficacy of Scripture I mean “that it is united with the power of the Holy Spirit and with it, not only demands, but also creates the acceptance of its teaching.” ((http://www.answers.com/topic/efficacy, accessed 3/24/14.))

O sure, Beth Moore gives lip service to the Bible but, just the same as mystics like the aforementioned Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones, subjective personal experience eventually overshadows what the text of Holy Scripture actually says. In other words, they read the Bible through the lens of whatever they think God said directly to them.

A quick example, through their alleged personal encounters with God outside of Scripture people like Moore may apparently “feel” that it’s okay for women to function as elders. However, there’s a couple of immediate problems which arise. First of all, we know that God does not change (cf. Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8).

Secondly, we also know that all Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16); i.e. the Bible is a creation of God, not mere man’s opinions. Then there’s the following:

 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. (1 Timothy 2:12).

This is quite clear and we note that the Holy Spirit then leads Paul to argue for this within the context of God’s created order itself. In addition, people who would advance women as pastors will search in vain for the qualifications for female elders. For you see, in the text of Holy Scripture the role of elder is specific to men.

To adapt a popular statement because it’s erroneous in its original state: God said it; that settles it; it doesn’t matter one iota what I may personally believe about a given subject. Whatever God says is right; period, end of discussion. However, for hyper-charismatics like Beth Moore, their experience will trump the text of the Bible.

As I begin to close this out it’s imperative that you understand this because we are entering a very dangerous time in the visible Christian community. Like I pointed out a couple of years back in Beth Moore Recommends “Jesus Calling” Book Claiming Direct Divine Revelation we’re heading right into a type of neo-Gnosticism.

The same as that which so infected the theology of the Church of Rome it would anathematize the very Gospel of Jesus Christ; a “liver shiver” theology where we can see already that virtually every other sentence or two out of the mouths of e.g. Rick Warren or Beth Moore herself is “God told me” this or “the Lord said” that to me.

We’re reaching the point in the mainstream of the visible church where charismania is beginning to rule the day, which is going to lead to our having to deal with dueling revelations. Which brings me around to James Robison’s Life Today Wednesday February 26. ((http://lifetoday.org/video/an-outpouring-part-3/, accessed 3/24/14.)) The program featured a segment from Beth Moore.

It was actually taken from Moore’s appearance at Awaken Now (AN); a conference put on by Robison last year and which was also the featured resource the day the program aired:

(source)

This is an example of the charismania I’ve been speaking to you about because in no uncertain terms we’re told above that what you’re about to hear from Moore is divine revelation; in other words, “what the Holy Spirit is saying.” And further, that those of us who oppose false teachers of this phony unity are scoffers:

[mejsvideo src=”https://www.apprising.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/BethMooreScoffers.mp4″ width=640 height=360]

You’ll find the transcript of Robison’s program from which this clip was taken here. One of the things Beth Moore would go on to tell us is: “Unity will be called defection.” ((http://lifetoday.org/assets/files/2-26-14e.pdf, accessed 3/24/14.)) The other day Christian apologist Chris Rosebrough of Fighting For The Faith reviewed Moore’s musing about a supposed coming outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

I leave you with his commentary below; but before I do, I want to draw your attention to the over-arching theme of Moore’s message at AN concerning this alleged outpouring. It appears to begin with her January 2014 blog post A New Year, A New Time. As usual with Moore, it contained some of her supposed direct encounters with God.

For example, Moore tells us, “In mid-November of 2012, God dropped a word so convicting on my heart,” so “I knew God was talking to me” and ” I have rarely – if ever – received clearer orders from God.” In her post Moore speaks of a “fresh work of Christ” bringing a “revival” through the “wind” of the Holy Spirit, i.e. a new outpouring.

This hyper-charismatic teaching, essentially of a new Pentecost, is not new at all. However, it is becoming more prevalent within evangelical youth movements, which are converging together around this as you can see e.g. in The Significance of Youth-Filled Stadiums: Revisiting the Old Latter Rain Prophecy in Light of Current Events.

From my time in the Word Faith movement, I can tell you this mythical “revival” is quite common within hyper-charismatic circles such as those aligned with the New Apostolic Reformation, e.g. Bill Johnson, who spawned the Jesus Culture movement, and with Mike Bickle and his cult-like International House of Prayer (IHOP).

The fact is, what we’re dealing with is a form of the Latter Rain movement. ((http://www.theopedia.com/Latter_Rain_movement, accessed 3/24/14.)) In his The Roots and Fruits of the New Apostolic Reformation Christian apologist Bob DeWaay explains:

the restoration/Latter Rain idea…fuels the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) [and] is unbiblical and dangerous to the well-being of Christians who become part of it…  At the very beginning of the 20th century a man named David Wesley Myland used the term “Latter Rain” to describe the Pentecostal revival that was going on…

The thinking of early “Latter Rain” Pentecostals was that God was restoring the apostolic power of the early church… In the 1930s, a man by the name of William Branham began to preach and exhibit supernatural manifestations. George Hawtin and P. G. Hunt heard Branham speak in Vancouver and brought his ideas to North Battleford, Saskatchewan where the “Latter Rain” revival that became the New Order of the Later Rain (NOLR) actually began.

A key book that was circulated at that time was Atomic Power with God Through Prayer and Fasting by Franklin Hall. A key idea that still persists is that God is continually desiring to do great and powerful miracles… he Latter Rain would be characterized by far greater power and glory than what was seen in the Book of Acts… I was involved in that movement myself in the late 1970s. The key idea was that authority came from “hearing from God.” (source)

I’ve only highlighted a simple synopsis for you above as there are many offshoots and ideas slithering around the concept of a coming revival i.e. an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the “latter days.” One thing they all have in common though is the idea of receiving revelations, thought to be of God, outside of Holy Scripture.

Lord willing, I’ll have more on this another time; for now, as Christian writer Mike Oppenheimer brings out:

Latter Rain adherents have a movement that believes in a last day’s revival unlike any other in history. This revival is for the church. They incorrectly apply eschatological passages specifically for Israel to the church.

The common mistake is taking the scripture in Acts 2:17 which says: ‘God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh,’ [and allegorizing Joel, chapter 2 in order] to substantiate what is happening in the new revivals today…

The only way one can apply this to any revival today in the church is to spiritualize or allegorize this passage, removing it from its intended context. Which is exactly what we find these teachers for the new revival doing, as they apply it to themselves. (source)

And this is the root error being made by Beth Moore with her supposed latter day outpouring and why it should be roundly rejected as unbiblical musing:

Further reading

• BUT JOHN PIPER IS HAPPY TO LEARN FROM BETH MOORE
• NO TEARS FOR LOST ROMAN CATHOLICS, BETH MOORE?
• SOUTHERN BAPTISTS ASSIST THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH TO INFILTRATE EVANGELICALISM