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  Montanists also believed that their prophecies superseded the doctrines of the Apostles.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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As spirit-filled Christians we believe in prophecy. We believe that the Holy Spirit can move upon an individual and speak through an individual the words of divine revelation that God wants to impart to His church in this hour. Prophecy is one of the Gifts of the Spirit as found in I Corinthians. The Holy Spirit desires to move through the Body of Christ with the utterance of prophecy just as much today as in the early church.

Having said the things above, I want to address some issues that are problematic in the Body of Christ today pertaining to the area of prophecy. First, let me say as clearly as I can, nobody but nobody can give a prophetic word today that would supersede or supplant the authority of the written word of God as found in the Bible. If anyone tells you otherwise, then that person is either momentarily deluded, or worse, a false prophet altogether. You must determine this matter in your own heart if you choose to listen to such a person. If you choose to neglect your duty of discernment, then you do so to your own peril. And, there is a lot at stake when it comes to your spirituality and your future.

We are hearing some ministers who are actually teaching that the Bible is no longer relevant in today’s world and, at the same time, these ministers claim to have current prophetic revelation that actually supersedes the authority of the Bible. This is a most damnable heresy. If you are currently in a church that is teaching such grievous error, then you should run out the door and never look back. If any Pastor or so-called spiritual leader says that a modern prophetic word spoken today has more authority than the written words found in the Bible, then that Pastor or so-called spiritual leader is a liar and a heretic. The person who would speak such lies is a false prophet, a charlatan, a white-washed sepulcher. Indeed, their throat is an open grave.

We have this problem in the Body of Christ today. In fact, there are churches where the congregations are told that they need not to bring their Bibles to church anymore as it appears too religious and out-dated to be seen “walking around with a Bible tucked under your arm”. Or, even worse, it is reported that some ministers are even teaching that the words of the Bible are outdated and no longer relevant today. And, these same ministers claim that they are now operating solely in the realm of the prophetic revelation they are receiving from God. This is beyond heresy, it is demonic. It is a demon-inspired teaching because it directly rebels against the Word of God and it prevents the listener from reading or studying the Word of God. The Pastors who are preaching or allowing such heresy to be preached in their churches are going to pay a severe price. The Bible says that if a spiritual leader deliberately misleads the flock then, outer darkness awaits that Pastor. Yes, it is possible for a Pastor to end up in Hell if he or she turns their back on the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. To put it in street vernacular “Hell will be very hot for the Pastor who deliberately leads the people astray”.

The above described approach to ministry and the inordinate emphasis on the prophetic has led to a flood of false teaching, a flood of false manifestations, a flood of demonic activity within the church. The experience of spiritual manifestation is elevated above a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Signs and wonders, angel dust, (plastic) gemstones (bought at local craft stores), angel feathers, oil, physical sensations and the like are elevated above the very Savior these so-called signs and wonders are supposed to be a testimony of.

You listen to some of the false prophets and they seem completely focused on the manifestation and the physical attributes associated with them. They rarely, if ever, mention the name of Jesus. There is no testimony of Jesus and His saving grace. The message of these false prophets is totally focused on the prophet rather than the God that the prophet is supposed to be prophesying about. It is a false prophetic realm of “me, myself and my”.
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Lakeland Florida

Looking out over the battlefield called Lakeland, I believe something good has come out of it all. Yes, something good has come out of Lakeland. I see the Body of Christ beginning to take charge of its future and I see the true men and women of God beginning to get their voice. Yes, the true servants of God are getting their voice. And, this is a very, very good thing.

For a change, it appears that the Body of Christ has initiated correction of itself from within. This is extremely encouraging. I think that the way the Body of Christ is handling this situation should be a model for dealing with future issues and disagreements within the Body of Christ. What I am trying to say is that the Body of Christ should be “policing” itself rather than asking non-Christian, government entities to get involved.

Specifically, one thing I see is that the IHOP/NAR/ICA apostolic/prophetic group has been exposed for what they truly are. This group is now in check and their stranglehold on the Body of Christ has been broken. It makes me want to shout! Too long have the many false prophets within these groups had their way. One can clearly see now, in the various editorials and rebuttals being written by them, that they are arrogant, and simply will not relent even in the face of truth.

I am hearing statements such as “everything that happens (happened) on the platform in Lakeland is/was scriptural”. This is simply not true. How arrogant, in light of all that has happened, that we would be asked to believe that everything that has gone on there is “scriptural”. I mean, is it scriptural for a person to shake their head back and forth in order to perform “portalling” between two portals? Show me, in the Bible, anywhere in the Bible where someone did this sort of thing. I’m waiting.

Furthermore, the “prophets” want us to respect their “prophecies” as coming from God. They expect us to believe that when they speak that they are speaking a direct word from God. OK, let’s go back to the prophecy that was spoken over Todd Bentley that stated that God had been “waiting for centuries” to “loosen” the anointing that we were seeing in Lakeland. And, let’s not forget all the other prophecies that were given that day. So, we are asked to believe that all of these prophets spoke for God, by the Holy Spirit, and that the words they spoke were true. And, don’t forget about all the talk of the “Third Wave”. And, the angels, uh, what was her name – “Emma”? But now look, just like that, it’s “lights out”. It is lights out for what was declared by the prophets to be the greatest anointing the world has seen in the last several centuries. It is lights out on the “Third Wave”. It is lights out for all of the angels, even “Emma”, where is she?

It is troublesome to see many who are still saying that this is/was one of the most powerful moves of God, ever. It was not. It is troublesome to see many who are still saying that we should not make any analysis of what has transpired because to do so (make an analysis) is to come against God and His anointing. How much of Lakeland was truly God’s anointing? It seems that one could more accurately compare much of what we have seen in Lakeland to the events surrounding Abihu and Nadab.

Let’s get one thing straight. You can do what you want as far as going in and out of portals, going around looking for gold dust and gems (plastic gems), you can writhe like a snake on the floor, you can wear t-shirts with snakes on them, you can taunt the truly discerning Christians, you can rebel against the counsel of elders, you can flirt with female angels, you can go on your “third heaven” trips and visit dead saints who tell you things, and you can even flail and flog yourself like the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel. But, one thing you cannot do anymore is silence the truth. You can no longer silence the Christians who are truly led by the Holy Spirit. You can no longer quench the gift of discernment of spirits from operating within the Body of Christ.

Everyone knows that the Lakeland Revival was a fiasco. But, what concerns me more is that the Body of Christ could get fixated on and too focused on the aftermath of Lakeland and lose focus concerning the future and other more ominous things on the horizon. I sense that, as bad as Lakeland was, it may have been a “red herring” to distract the Body of Christ from something more dangerous that is developing in the not too distant future. I believe there are more powerful and more pervasive forces at work in the world that we should be aware of and that we need to get ready to face.

Also, the events and controversy swirling around Lakeland could, in a sense, be viewed as a red herring to get us distracted from the broader and more fundamental principles that have arisen. We should realize and understand now that we can legitimately express questions about what we are seeing without being disqualified from being a spiritual person. We can legitimately formulate an educated and informed opinion about a ministry without being accused of being anti-Christ. We can confidently point out what we believe to be doctrinal error without being ostracized within the Body of Christ.

We, as the Body of Christ, cannot allow ourselves to get “tied up” with Lakeland for the next several years and spend too much time sorting out what went wrong. We cannot allow Lakeland to define the agenda for the Body of Christ for the next 10 years. There isn’t enough time. There are far, far greater challenges ahead for the Body of Christ.

Publish Date: August 14, 2008

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A Pastor has the responsibility to instruct his sheep with sound doctrine and to ensure that those under his leadership develop a sound theological system. This is one of a Pastor’s most important responsibilities. For you see, what you believe will determine your future and destiny. In particular, what you believe about Jesus Christ and His blood sacrifice for your sins will determine where you will spend eternity.

It is not enough to just believe that Jesus “exists”. I mean, the Bible says that “even the demons believe and tremble”. What this verse means on this point is that just believing that Jesus exists is not enough to save the soul. Because, we know that demons cannot ever be saved (unless you are of the universal salvation camp).

What you believe about Jesus and exactly who you believe He is will determine where you spend your eternity. The Bible makes it very clear that Jesus is the only way to get to Heaven. Jesus himself says this. So, if you are of the new and emergent church camp, then you had better check your doctrine. Here’s the point. If you are going to say that there are more ways than Jesus to get to Heaven, then, which way is best (or, should I say the easiest way with the least responsibility)? Furthermore, if you are going to reduce Jesus to a mere choice among many options, then, in fact, you do not have revelation of the Jesus of the Bible, but rather, you are believing on someone other than the Jesus of the Bible. This is why doctrine is so important. Yes, your salvation does depend on your doctrine about Jesus.

So, we now see Pastors who are going along with the Lakeland Revival. They are sending members of their flock there and many are going themselves. These Pastors are doing this even though they know there are very serious shortcomings in the doctrine being promoted in Lakeland. The tragedy is that some of these Pastors don’t care. They don’t care that they are sending their flock into the mouth of a serpent. They don’t care as long as it all makes them look like they are keeping up with the most recent theological trend. They know the truth but are choosing to capitulate their position on the ancient path in order that they might appear “hip and mod” with their congregation. Even worse, there are some Pastors who understand the financial dynamic of Lakeland and are choosing to endorse the Lakeland Revival to keep themselves and their ministries in favor with those going along with this new trend. Some of these Pastors know that they are exposing their flock to serious doctrinal error, and they are choosing to do so for financial purposes. To put it in street, these Pastors say to themselves “Hey, here is a chance to get a few more people coming to church, a chance to bring in more money. I know that the doctrine coming forth in all of this has some real problems, but hey, it’s a chance to get a boost in my church in a hurry without having to do any work. Besides if I choose to take a stand against this, it could cost me in people and money. Plus, if I choose to take a stand against Lakeland, then I will have to read and study my Bible, pick up a concordance, and even spend time in prayer so I will be able to explain to my congregation what is going on theologically”. These are the worst Pastors on the planet. And, I might add, according to the Bible, these Pastors will face some of the most severe punishment of all (that is, after all things Lakeland, if people even believe there is a Hell anymore – it’s there whether a person chooses to believe it is or not).

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I was meditating this morning about all that is going on in the Body of Christ and the Holy Spirit brought to my memory the time and the season of the Cabbage Patch Doll. Remember the Cabbage Patch Doll. Well, the Cabbage Patch Doll was a bizarre sort of looking thing that was very simply made and was so strange looking that it could momentarily appear to be even cute to the onlooker.

This particular doll became an overnight rave among a large stratum of our society. You had people camping out overnight at stores where shipments of these dolls had just arrived, hoping that upon store opening the following day, the camper might get to buy one. It was a sensational thing. It was a national thing. Even major news networks began covering the long lines that streamed outside through the parking lots of major department stores. There were interviews of waiting customers in which the customer was asked why he or she would go to such an extent to get something like a Cabbage Patch Doll. And, even worse, the customers would attempt to give a reasonable and logical answer.

Inside the stores it was worse as there were reports of some customers actually getting into physical confrontations with each other over the few remaining dolls that were left.

That was years ago. Today, ask a young person what a Cabbage Patch Doll is. Most won’t even know or at best will say “Oh, yea, I think I heard about that”. The Cabbage Patch Doll is but a distant memory and a reminder of a time when normal human beings had abandoned all reason and acted in a way that was quite irrational and unbecoming.

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I cannot help but address this issue. We are witnessing much in the Body of Christ that is being attributed to the Holy Spirit. But, I ask you, can we honestly say that all that is being acclaimed as being initiated by the Holy Spirit of late, really of the Holy Spirit or, could it be something else?

The names of Kathryn Kuhlman and William Branham have been invoked by the leadership of the Lakeland, Florida revival. Kathryn Kuhlman has been likened to a so-called angel named “Emma”. And, we are told, that an angel of healing that was long ago associated with the ministry of William Branham is supposedly also in operation at this particular revival.

But, I ask you, did you ever see or hear of anyone at one of William Branham’s meetings “barking like a dog”, or “flapping their arms while clucking like a chicken” or “hopping like a frog”. I don’t think you can say that anything like this ever happened in one of Branham’s meetings. And, I would like for someone to find me a video clip showing William Branham coming onto the platform and falling onto his back in a fit of phony laughter so as to “light up the crowd”. Find the video clips, post them on You Tube and direct me to them. You can’t, because they don’t exist.

Next, remember how Kathryn Kuhlman used to come onto the platform with such grace and dignity. Oh the respect that she would show for the moving of the Holy Spirit. Can you imagine what would have happened if in one of her meetings someone would have started “barking like a dog”. Just imagine. Needless-to-say, that person would not have been allowed to stay very long.

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