Latter Rain - Thy Kingdom Come? Part Two
Borrowing Kung's words again: 'Even though it is not the kingdom of God which is to come, it is already under the reign of God which has begun'; the church anticipates the kingdom by being 'its voice, its announcer, its herald.'" (Rubel Shelly / Randy Harris, Second Incarnation, p. 75)
I thought that John the Baptist was the great anticipator. But I realize that many are looking for the "model in heaven" as the ideal to "finally come" and be established on physical earth and recognized as as the biggest, most dominant "congregation" in town. But since our "citizenship is in heaven" we should have little interest in trying to force Jesus to once again tread the dirty streets of Jerusalem or Nashville. He refused to attend the musical performance phase of the Feast of Tabernacles and He probably wouldn't accept our invitation. Didn't Amos find that the leaders of Israel refused God's invitation to dialog? And didn't He complete the final Jubilee?
Secret code words and terms
ripple over the earth and if it is not a coordinated effort it is an
amazing coincidence [Think that Earl got caught with a young boy?]
"Earl Paulk, in his book Ultimate Kingdom, defends the notion that at
"A similar point is made by him in The Wounded Body of Christ.the church is the Second Incarnation to replace the first incarnation: (Note: Many are looking for that new wineskin to bring bubbly, exhilaration to their assembly. This is to replace the old "decadent and deleterious" theology but it may overleap and replace the peaceful Jesus Who never exhilarated as far as I can determine)
"I believe that just as Jesus was the incarnation of God, the Church of the Living God today
is God's incarnation of light in this world. . .
We must now pursue and finish the crusade he began. (Re Shelly - Harris, the wine is still fermenting)
". . I believe that God is calling us to a new level. Jesus was God in the flesh,
and even as he was in the world,
so we must be in the world and even greater.
The implication is clear and often clearly stated that we as the second incarnation are true Christs; are Apostles; are Prophets. If so, it proves (doesn't it?) that Christ really did not completely ferment the "WINE."
At Jubilee 98 one of the experimental goals was to "practice" or force (look like fools if you don't) people to "raise holy hands" and to actually lay hands on other people. In heaven's name, for what? The only Biblical evidence is that the laying on of hands was to endorse some supernatural power given only by the Spirit Christ.
If we try it and people are just disgusted, we can, in Lynn Anderson's words,
use some prayerful brinkmanship and try it again perhaps at Jubilee 99.
In time someone will yell out a prophecy and the Change Agents will be vindicated and the authority for some new doctrine will be "poured out."
If you ask for latter reign (rain) and a water pipe springs a leak someone will surely see the anticipated sign as proof that we have ushered in the completed, even greater, kingdom.
This will "triumph over" the decadent and deleterious ministers of the old patternism -- and even over Jesus with music to do what even Judas could not do (Psalms 41).
Note the connection with latter rain (latter reign) which will be prayed for at Jubilee 99:
"On this point of theology Restorationists and Latter Rain defenders are twins. Consider for example an article appearing in the Sharon Star (official organ of the Latter Rain Movement), November 1, 1948. Earnest H. Hawtin writes:
"When hands are laid on a believer and prophecies are given, many things may be revealed concerning his future life and ministry, his Gifts and how they are to be operated.
(Note: saw that tried by a presumptuous anointer of a new elder.)
"In a similar vein, Dick Iverson writes in a 1975 publication:
"The Church of His day should be using the laying on of hands . . . in the conferring of the Holy Ghost . . . the impartation of spiritual gifts . . . in connection with prophecy to give confirmation and guidance . . . 26
Isn't this the meaning of "new wine still bubbling in ferment to produce exhilaration?"
"This emphasis on the "conferring" of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and of the "imparting" of the gifts of the Spirit by prophecy and the laying on of hands is biblical unsound. In the first place, the language of the Scriptures is "manifestation" (I Cor. 12:7), not "confirmation" or "impartation" -- both of which are terms suggesting that the Spirit's gifts are resident in the believer, which they are not.
"A person cannot confer or impart to another a gift of the Spirit. The apostle Paul writes, speaking of the Spirit, "he gives them to each one, just as he determines" (NIV, I Cor. 12:11).
"In the second place, the language of I Corinthians 12:8-11 underscores the point that the one through whom the manifestations of the Spirit are channeled, is not the reservoir of wisdom, knowledge, or any other gift of the Spirit. Rather, they are in the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit, who gives enough "for the need." 27
Thirdly, there is no biblical premise for the imparting of a ministry by the laying on of hands. The point of I Timothy 4:14, a verse sometimes cited to suggest otherwise, is to show the endorsement of the gift that God has already given.
"In keeping with a consistent Old Testament pattern (i.e. Gen. 48:14, 20; Lev. 16:2; Num. 27:18, 23), the New testament here shows that the imposition of hands is symbolic, not efficacious. Paul's use of the Greek expression "meta" ("with") denotes an accompanying circumstance, not agency. The laying on of hands does not produce the gift, nor is it the cause of the gift.
"In THE CORPORATE SON: The Endtime Handmaidens - Prophecy October 1994
"The "new revelations" prophesied at sundry times and in diverse manners by Wimber (Fuller and her children), Foster, Cornwall, Hickey and Austin flow easily into the following prophecy from the Endtime Handmaidens. This revelation shows us that "Sarah's Child" has a purpose. "Isaac" is a corporate man, God's endtime army that will bring in the Kingdom:
"Sarah is a type of the Church. The Church is 'withered,' and its womb is dried up in many places, but God is sending a revival of joy to awaken and renew the Church so that she can bring forth the 'man-child' of joy,
even the army of overcomers
who will go forth in the likeness and image of the Lord in these last days.""Take a note of this: the stated purpose of the laughing revival is to bring forth the "man-child" of joy that will subdue the earth. National ministry leaders have now said God would impregnate, has impregnated, has brought that impregnation to full gestation and has released "the child" into all the nations to bring about God's harvest of souls and His endtime army. But there is no mention in Scripture of such a prophetic utterance or release after the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, "God with us." Nor does Scripture speak of a release of any other spirit but the Holy Spirit, sent ONCE AND FOR ALL at Pentecost to announce the glorification of Christ at the right hand of God.
"This new move is founded on progressive revelation (Note: further ferment), "truths" never heard nor seen before, a typical mark of the Latter Rain Movement. It's no wonder, then, that "Sarah's child" sounds exactly like the Manifest Sons of God of the Latter Rain doctrines."
"Followers of DT, like many charismatics (Note: performance music is charismatic) , especially the Latter Rain Movement, look for a great end time revival in which the masses will turn to Christ. As a result, DT does not believe in the rapture. According to DT, the world should be, and is becoming, a better place through the efforts of Christians (cf. 2 Thes. 2:1-12). As with many others who follow the teachings of George Ladd, DT believes that
"we are in the Kingdom age, Jubilee 99, wineskins,
"but the Kingdom in another sense is yet to come. We are in the Kingdom, and have Kingdom authority, but on the other hand,we are ushering in the Kingdom through our efforts. "The Kingdom is now, but not yet," is a popular slogan.
We need to hear from Rubel Shelly "parent" of the Second Incarnation" of the new and improved child, and promoter of "Praying for Reign: Thy Kingdom Come" at Jubilee 99:
Borrowing Kung's words again: Jubilee 99, wineskins,
'Even though it is not the kingdom of God which is to come, it is already under the reign of God which has begun';
the church anticipates the kingdom by being 'its voice, its announcer, its herald.'" (ushering in the kingdom?) (Rubel Shelly / Randy Harris, Second Incarnation, p. 75)
May we see that again? Jubilee 99, wineskins, Jubilee 99, wineskins,
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George Ladd and Latter Rain |
Rubel Shelly, Jubilee 99, Praying for Latter Reign |
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we are in the Kingdom age,
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it is already under the reign of God which has begun' (order reversed) |
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but the Kingdom in another sense is yet to come. We are in the Kingdom, and have Kingdom authority, but on the other hand |
'Even though it is not the kingdom of God which is to come |
|
we are ushering in the Kingdom through our efforts. (The Kingdom is now, but not yet," is a popular slogan.) |
the church anticipates the kingdom by being 'its voice, its announcer, its herald.'" (Rubel Shelly / Randy Harris, Second Incarnation, p. 75) |
If the church -- meaning a massive "church plant" with worship rituals to meet the standards of the seekers - is the herald or evangelist, then the "located evangelist" (Try getting paid as a "located traveling salesman") is even greater than the "old, first incarnation" and can, with God's blessing, train "worshipers" and remain at home and have another sip!
"Prophetically, the child Isaac, which means 'Laughter,' is being released in nation after nation as the new wine is being passed."(20)
There is a close connection between Dominion Theology (heaven help their shriveled little souls) and some restructure movements. While many expect a literal, secular kingdom. The following is listed not for total endorsement but to show that most people are looking for a literal kingdom in which they can dominate the world to hand out rewards and exact punishments. If the first, inferior Incarnation, is going to finally establish his kingdom then WE must begin reigning over our little kingdom in a superior incarnation and can quit serving:
"Dominion theology (the belief-system behind the reconstructionist movement) teaches that through the coming of Christ the believer has dominion over every area of life. We are now in the Kingdom of God (note the similar view of the Kingdom that the Vineyard movement takes, as well as the plethora of Christian songs being written implying that we are in the Kingdom at the present time),
and as a result, we should be reigning with Christ over the earth (as Rev. 5:10 says). The question is when will we reign. If the Kingdom is on earth now, then we should have dominion now, so say the Dominionists. Many of us non-reconstructionists proclaim this same thought when we sing the popular Charismatic song "Majesty," which invites us to
"Come glorify Christ Jesus, the King"--after all, "Kingdom authority flows from His throne unto His own." (Or Lift up the Name of the Lord?)
"With this authority from the King we are to reclaim the earth for Christ, not just spiritually, but socially, economically (it is no accident that one of the reconstructionist's organizations is called, The Institute for Christian Economics), and
"politically. The dominion of the earth is accomplished not only through prayer and evangelism, but through political process and social reformation. [The Dominion/Reconstructionist organization Coalition on Revival (COR) was established for this purpose; more on COR in a companion report.] (See Willow Creek and Seeker Service)
Christ will not return to earth until the church has accomplished this task.
"DT is postmillennial. It is believed that as a result of the reconstruction of society by Biblical principals that the final aspect of the Kingdom of God will be established on earth. Christ cannot return until a certain amount of dominion is achieved by the church ("Get ahead of" or anticipate re Shelly/Harris). It is believed that the curse will slowly be removed as the world is won over. Even disease and death will be all but eliminated before Christ returns to the earth.
The "archaic" has a strong appeal: old junk seems like an antique if the price is high enough. However, we should understand that in this "nostalgia for the good old days" the Jews failed because they saw a god who didn't quite meet their needs. He lived in standing stones, could be called to attention with music and could be fired so that they could return to Egypt. However, God warned the people that He, and not the Baals, created the world and could do what the idols could not do --it was His world.
Christ did not need to "break into" the world --it is His world. However, as a grudging concession we might even confess that --
In Christ, the reign of God has broken into (violated or transgressed re Thesaurus) the world in a decisive way and continues to be displayed in the church. In Colossians 1:12-13 for instance, there is clearly a close relationship between the ekklesia and the 'kingdom of light' and the kingdom of the Son." (Shelly/Harris, p. 75)
But I thought that Jesus was the Foundation, Body, Head with Spirit and everything we know of as "church." His is the kingdom and we are the ekklesia called out of anxiety-creating religious rituals to be united with Him and have our citizenship transferred to heaven. His kingdom, therefore, does not reside in temples with erected asherah poles (steeples). Rather, His kingdom is within us. Jesus said that.
Almost two thousand years ago, the proof of the "fully-broken through kingdom" was confessed by Paul when he wrote --
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, Col 1:10
being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully -- giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Col 1:11-12
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and (has) brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, Col 1:13
Now, you worship facilitators will undoubtedly take that to mean that we have to add light shows! Some have. If the church is the kingdom of light and Christ, the first incarnation, has been replaced by our "institution" as a second and greater incarnation then we should have light shows. Some of you can set up a conference next year and get on the payroll as Light Worship Facilitators. But Jesus said that He was the Light of the Word and we only "sing" in the prophetic sense when we go into all the world (Romans 15:9).
If we cannot find the lost kingdom then perhaps we are looking in all the wrong places. Perhaps we just have not grown up and found the only source of sermon, song and light:
"It is possible that some spiritual immaturity today may arise from other causes. It may be produced by a failure to provide an adequate program of Bible instruction for the whole church. It may be the result of indifference and lack of a real desire to know the rich things of the Word. Too often people have assumed that all the Bible should be as simple as kindergarten lessons. It that were true, it is doubtful if there would ever be such a thing as a full grown Christian. The usual Sunday morning scolding which the church receives for not doing this will only make the situation worse. (Applebury, p. 51)
Farb notes that Shamanism has its own revival because of the false notion that orthodox
religion must solve all of life's ills (marriage, children, drugs, bank account, broken auto, bad breath). Jubilee 99 will be over run by people solving marriage problems, Y2K problems, how to worship problems (Oh God, have mercy!) and on and on.
When our human scheme fails -- and they always fail -- the church throws up its hands and abandons its "post" where Jesus left it to deliver the Word "as it has been entrusted to you." When that happens a new leader with a magical solution is right there because --
"The revival of shamanism in the United States is probably symptomatic of the weakening of orthodox religion's ability to regulate social behavior and to maintain social values -- and of the lack of any stirring new philosophy or ethic to replace the vacuum left by traditional religions." (Farb, Peter, Man's Rise to Civilization, p. 182)
The urge of Mexico, Babylon or Cane Ridge as dead symbols create the "affect image" and sounds very spiritual. However, Farb and others observe that this is a "rejection of the old religion" in favor of the Shaman whom we can see and worship. The "bad pattern," which he probably created in the first place, is denied to have power to "light fires in old hearts." When the self-invented goal of the church does not work, the "magic" is gone and he goes looking for an old image to incarnate and give life.
Because the church as the "old wineskin" is believed to be "bursting" it might be more than a metaphor when on page 5 Shelly/Harris use the Aztec imagery to say that God has called us to do something to bring the kingdom into view --to rescue us from ignorant theology and destructive church organization. After speaking of the church as God's laboratory they quote --
"It's as if with each generation, right in the teeth of whatever's threatening humanity the worst, the Master Conductor is calling together another ragtag orchestra of amateur musicians and asking us to play music that's so great we can't quite play it!" Shelly/Harris
The overwhelming belief that God needs us as a ragtag orchestra to play unplayable music corresponds to the age-old belief that "the sky is falling and the gods need me to prop it up." The Aztec's held their yearly "Jubilee" where all things were revived-through-burning. Unfortunately, the leaders were still sign-seekers and the nation was believed to be "revived" or "restored" only when they received a supernatural sign. In the modern world this is a real charismatic breakdown or even "exciting music" which has been called "low-level glossolalia."
This sorrow for a failing church or nation also has its counterpart in all ancient incarnations of the need to rescue God and His kingdom. For instance,
In Augustines Anti-Manichaean Writings:
CHAP. 16.--DISCLOSURE OF THE MONSTROUS TENETS OF THE MANICHAEANS.
"The Manichaeans believed that the intoxicating quality in fermented new wine was divine substance. Therefore, they enjoyed their wine from the vat when it was "sparkling and moving around."
However, God asks:
Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? Proverbs 23:29
They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Proverbs 23:30
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. Proverbs 23:31
the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Proverbs 23:32 At
Thine eyes shall behold strange (prostitutes) women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Proverbs 23:33
Augustine continues to show that the Manichaeans hated the old, pure wine in the old wineskin. They demanded new wine from a new wineskin. Why? Because the gods are in the new wine because it bites and stings and causes me to fall into a frenzy, exhilarate, babble with foreign tongues and surely God lives in new wine. However, Augustine asks:
44. Who does not know that wine becomes purer and better by age? Jubilee 99, wineskins,
Nor is it, as you think, more tempting to the destruction of the senses,
but more useful for invigorating the body,--only let there be moderation, which ought to control everything.
The senses are sooner destroyed by new wine. When the must has been only a short time in the vat, and has begun to ferment, it makes those who look down into it fall headlong, affecting their brain, so that without assistance they would perish.And as regards health, every one knows that bodies are swollen up and injuriously distended by new wine? Has it these bad properties because there is more good in it?
Old wine, even when fermented, was often boiled and allowed to oxidize and became less destructive. The Manachaeans didn't like the old, mild wine because the gods had left it and it didn't exhilarate!
"Are they not found in wine when old because a good deal of the divine substance has gone? An absurd thing to say, especially for you, who prove the divine presence by the pleasing effect produced on your eyes, nose, and palate!
"And what a contradiction it is to make wine the poison of the princes of darkness, and yet to eat grapes! Has it more of the poison when in the cup than when in the cluster?
"Or if the evil remains unmixed after the good is gone, and that by the process of time, how is it that the same grapes, when hung up for awhile, become milder, sweeter, and more wholesome?
or how does the wine itself, as already mentioned, become purer and brighter when the light has gone, and more wholesome by the loss of the beneficial substance?
45. What are we to say of wood and leaves, which in course of time become dry, but cannot be the worse on that account in your estimation? For while they lose that which produces smoke, they retain that from which a bright flame arises; and, to judge by the clearness, which you think so much of, there is more good in the dry than in the green. Hence you must either deny that there is more of God in the pure light than in the smoky one, which will upset all your evidences; or you must allow it to be possible that, when plants are plucked up, or branches plucked off, and kept for a time, more of the nature of evil may escape from them than of the nature of good. And, on the strength of this, we shall hold that more evil may go off from plucked fruits; and so more good may remain in animal food. So much on the subject of time.
46. As for motion, and tossing, and rubbing (melody), if these give the divine nature the opportunity of escaping from these substances, many things of the same kind are against you, which are improved by motion. In some grains the juice resembles wine, and is excellent when moved about.
"Indeed, as must not be overlooked, this kind of drink produces intoxication rapidly; and yet you never called the juice of grain the poison of the princes of darkness. There is a preparation of water, thickened with a little meal, which is the better of being shaken, and, strange to say, is lighter in color when the light is gone. The pastry cook stirs honey for a long time to give it this light color, and to make its sweetness milder and less unwholesome: you must explain how this can come from the loss of good.
Again, if you prefer to test the presence of God by the agreeable effects on the hearing, and not sight, or smell, or taste, harps get their strings and pipes their bones from animals; and these become musical by being dried, and rubbed, and twisted.
So the pleasures of music, which you hold to have come from the divine kingdom, are obtained from the refuse of dead animals, and that, too, when they are dried by time, and lessened by rubbing, and stretched by twisting. Such rough treatment, according to you, drives the divine substance from living objects; even cooking them, you say, does this. Why then are boiled thistles not unwholesome? Is it because God, or part of God, leaves them when they are cooked?
Click Here to see how Change Agents borrow from secular schemes and witchcraft.
Kenneth Sublett
Counter added 6.23.07
