In the 2^nd Century there arose a cult called Montanism.  It was started by a “Prophet” called Montanus.  Early church historians tell us that Montanus, prior to becoming a Christian, was a Temple Priest of the Mother Goddess of Fertility who was called Cybele.   In the worship of Cybele, the followers would dance wildly to the point of convulsing.  Also, there would be very loud music and the followers would often fall into a “trance” like state. 

Even more bizarre, was that during the course of the wild, ecstatic type worship,  some of the male followers would publicly and ritualistically castrate themselves.  Then, subsequent to their castration, these same men would take on “female” identities and begin wearing women’s clothing.  So, it was out of this spiritual environment that Montanus evolved.

Upon becoming a Christian, Montanus began to prophesy.  When prophesying, it is recorded that Montanus would fall into a trance like state while speaking forth his prophecies.  This was called ecstatic prophecy by the early church historians.  Also, there was loud music and ecstatic type worship associated with these meetings. 

A very interesting part of the history of this movement involved two women named Prisca (or Priscilla) and Maximilla.  These two women are said to have left their husbands in order to “go and prophesy with Montanus”.  Later, it is recorded that Prisca claimed that Jesus would come to her at night and sleep by her side, but He would be in the form of a woman.  And, we thought there were problems with the book “The Shack”!

Theologically, Montanists claimed to have a “fuller revelation” than that which was already given in scripture.  Montanists also believed that their prophecies superseded the doctrines of the Apostles. 

Eusebius, a historian of the early church, is said to have written when describing Montanus, that Montanus would “fall into a frenzy and convulsions” while supposedly prophesying.  This led some to believe that Montanus was actually possessed by a demonic spirit. 

When looking at the brief history of Montanism as described above, it sounds all too familiar doesn’t it?  I mean, if you consider the recent developments in the Body of Christ over the last couple of years, it seems that upon reading the history of  Montanism, you could be reading a description of our modern day followers of the “New Ecstatic Worship” and the “New Ecstatic Prophesy”.   

When watching the many You Tube clips of our modern ecstatic prophets and the modern ecstatic worship, one cannot help but draw the close comparison to what one reads about when researching Montanism.  I believe, seeing how it is so very close in comparison, that we are witnessing a revival of the ancient spirit of Montanism within the Body of Christ today.  And, this is very serious for the church. 

Some credit ancient Montanism with creating a strong backlash within the 2^nd Century church against the operation of the gifts of the spirit.  In some churches the operation of the gifts all but disappeared.  Such a reaction is the last thing the church needs today. 

I find the vulgarity exhibited by some of our modern day ecstatic prophets to be particularly damaging to the church.  Especially, this new thing going on where certain Pastors are comparing the anointing of the Holy Spirit to getting high on street drugs as these same Pastors “act out” as if they are smoking marijuana and injecting heroin as they are supposedly getting “high” on the Holy Spirit.  They are coining it “Tokin On the Ghost”.  If you don’t believe this, then simply go to You Tube and type in “ecstatic prophesy”.  See for yourself at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDOQyikIUdA and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itAUIaMM5zQ .

All of this is simply an abomination.  The Bible says that God stands in battle array against the proud.  I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that people should have a reverent fear of God while He is sitting on His throne in Heaven above, let alone if He becomes angry and decides to take an offensive and militaristic posture against someone.  I believe these ecstatic folks are testing God and they are getting ready to see “fire and smoke” for sure, but it is not going to be coming from a “drug pipe”.  Wait and see.  God will not be mocked.

Another significant issue we see concerning the ecstatics is that there seems to be an emasculation of males in this movement.  The men are not men.  They act like immature boys.  They are grossly underdeveloped spiritually and they are effeminate.  This leads me to believe that, in fact, the ancient Jezebellic spirits are at work today.  You see, Jezebel and her false prophets hated the true prophets of God.  And, we see in the Bible, that Jezebel sought to do what?  Jezebel sought to kill the true prophets of God. 

The same demonic spirits are at work today.  They cause the modern day ecstatics to work themselves up into trances and frenzies just like the false prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel.   And, just as some of the male followers of Cybele would publicly and ritualistically castrate themselves back then, I believe today we are seeing these same demonic influences as they attempt to “spiritually castrate” the male leadership of the present day church.

There is no escaping this comparison.  What we are witnessing today is so close to what we read about in church history.  I want to warn the Pastors of churches today.  You ignore all of this to your peril and the peril of your church.  Do not underestimate to size and scope of this movement.  It is large, and it is organized.  There are several different organizations throughout the country that are involved in this, with each group having its own area or facet of emphasis, but ultimately, they are being motivated by, and influenced by the same demonic influence. 

Again Pastors, you cannot simply look the other way and ignore this.  I urge you to educate yourself to what is transpiring within the Body of Christ.  Do this so you can be prepared to give a defense of the true gospel when the time comes.  May the Lord empower His true servants and prepare them for the days ahead.  Amen.

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It is time for Christians everywhere to take inventory of what is transpiring within the Body of Christ. You ignore current realities to your peril. The church today is in a state that could be compared to what we see and read about in I Samuel where we see the words “And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation”.

What is of note about this time period is that Eli and his sons were individuals who were in positions of spiritual leadership but, there was no leading of the Holy Spirit. In other words, these individuals held their positions but functioned and operated in these positions in “name only”. They had the titles, but they had no real power. This describes much of the church today as we see many who have titles and name recognition, but no real spiritual power. They are like the army of Israel going out to fight against the Philistines while thinking that victory would be theirs just like in times past. However, this day would be different. God was going to judge Israel because of the dereliction of duty of the spiritual leadership.

The Ark of The Covenant was brought out into the battle as in times past; however, on this day there was no presence of the Holy Spirit to assist Israel in the battle. The battle was lost that day, many soldiers died and the Ark of The Covenant was captured. Also, during this battle, the two sons of Eli were killed. Upon hearing the news of all this, Eli falls backwards and breaks his neck and dies “for he was old and heavy”.

I believe this describes the state of the church today, “old (not spiritually current), and heavy (lazy and indifferent) to the things of God”. We read that the Lord was very angry with the sons of Eli. In the Bible we see the word of the Lord concerning Hophni and Phinehas and we read where the Bible says “Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the Lord desired to kill them”.

I believe that there are those in ministry within the church today who, just like Eli and his sons, have grieved the Holy Spirit with their continued and unrelenting sinful behavior, to the point that the Lord is going to remove them. It will be the Lord and no man can stop Him. It will be judgment from above.

God has a standard. God has communicated His standard to us through His word. It is clear that ministers of the gospel are held to a high standard. God will not be mocked. The requirement that ministers live a life of holiness before the Lord cannot be negotiated away or relegated as unimportant by any man. And, if any man teaches doctrine that misleads the flock, then God will judge that man.

Lately, we have witnessed an almost “carnival type atmosphere” surrounding some so-called ministers of the gospel. These phonies go to no length to smear, trivialize and demean the Holy Name of God. They believe it is their responsibility to make God “common”. They communicate the gospel message with such crass vulgarity it is stunning. These preachers are even comparing the precious anointing of the Holy Spirit to the type of experience that is usually associated with what a demon-possessed drug user experiences when shooting up heroin. It is an abomination. God is not pleased at this sort of “cuteness” and He will judge these ministers. Wait and see.

Also, from the same group of ministers described above, we are witnessing a mocking of the experience of speaking in tongues. These phony ministers make vulgar, immature, rude, weird and ugly type sounds as they mimic the real and genuine act of speaking in tongues. They do this because they are not called to preach the gospel. These men are hirelings. They care nothing about the sheep. They care nothing about proper instruction or appropriate behavior. They are in rebellion. They are offending the spirit of grace and they are kindling the wrath of God against themselves. He will judge these mockers of the gospel. Wait and see.

These same imposters believe they have the authority to compromise the truth of the gospel to somehow make it relevant for today. In their attempt to “modernize” the gospel they handle the word of God violently. These men neither have the guts or character to preach the Bible as it is. They have to play act and make up silly stunts in their attempt to preach. They are underdeveloped spiritually. They are not led by the Holy Spirit but rather, they are led by the base attributes of their flesh nature. These men are what the Bible describes as “white-washed sepulchers”. And, their throats are open graves. Hell is opening wide to receive these men. God will judge them for misleading the people astray.

Next, we have ministers who have gone into the sin of homosexuality. They are practicing a lifestyle that is sinful and contrary to the word of God. They are leading people astray into a vast wasteland of failure and misery. These ministers are leading the people headlong into the flames of Hell. God will judge these ministers most severely of all.

If you examine the history of how God has dealt with the sin of homosexuality in the past, it is clear that He is getting ready to intervene in the goings on of the present day church. How can He not?
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