Spiritual Warfare and Territorial Spirits (~5.5 MB) - Moriel Ministries

when no man can work” (John 9:4). Therewill be an hour of darkness and testing atthe end of the world before Jesus comes.And thirdly – finally, with the adventof the Antichrist, all human governmentswill, for at least a 3-1/2year period, be given into his hand.Those are the three ways that God throwsback these powers.The Example of Italy andJapanNow when these powers fail to functionas God intended them, when thechurch stops preaching the Gospel, whenChristians stop praying for the government,or when the Holy Spirit is grieved, theseancient territorial spirits will resurface.We all know that the governmentof Italy has had nearly 50 governmentssince the end of the Second World War.We know about the Mafia in Sicily andthe kinds of corruption that has been endemicin the Italian government. And weknow the Vatican’s involvement with it,with the Sidona scandal and the Bancode Ambrosiano bankruptcy. The Vaticanpaid hundreds of millions of dollarsto buy its way out of it. And then Calviand these people were murdered in London,over 200 murders, with the Vaticanat the center of it -- this kind of treachery.That is exactly what transpired inimperial Rome. There is chronic politicalinstability in the Italian government,the kind of corruption brought about bythe Mafia and organized financial corruptionwithin the Roman Catholic Church...Remember the Roman Catholic Church’sbank is called “The Ministry of ReligiousWorks”. If you’ve been to Italy, you’veseen “Banco Spiritus Sancti”, the “Bankof the Holy Spirit”, it is the tenth biggestbank in Italy. And the Vatican bank is one ofthe largest commercial banks in the world,and one of the largest merchant banks.This goes back to the Middle Ageswith the merchant banking families ofItaly, of Florence, Florenzia, and Venice:the Borgesi family, and the Lombardifamily, and the Medici family. They wereall rivals to get their man into the papacybecause the papal port was a brokeragehouse for merchant banking. But theroots of this go back to Imperial Rome.The political instability, the hyperinflationeven, was endemic in ancientRome, the continual corruption and theinvolvement of the Pontiff . Remember,the Pope’s title is “Pontiff”, but the titleof the emperor was “Pontificus Maximus”.The Pope just took the title of theemperor as the head of the Pantheon ofRome, Rome’s Pagan religion. The rootsJacob Praschof this are, again, the same territorialspirits that existed in imperial Rome thathave come in to modern Italy throughthe papacy, through the Mafia, throughcorruption in the Italian government.The management philosophy in Japanesecorporations is based on the old Shogunmodel. It’s tied into Shintoism. Emperorworship is almost blind allegiance tothe Shogun. That is the management philosophyunderlying Japanese corporations.In the Second World War it expresseditself through Japanese Imperialism which,if you can fathom it, was in many waysworse than the Nazis -- certainly crueler.They believed they were the descendantsof the Sun God and therefore they were geneticallysuperior to the other Asians in thesame as the Germans believed they weregenetically superior to the Jews becauseof the way Hitler used Nietzsche’s ideasof the “Ubermensch”, the “superman”,etc. Same idea. These are the same principalitiesyou find in the Shogun mentalityand in Shintoism, Japanese Buddhism.Israel’s HistoryIf Israel has a history of anything, it’scontinual rebellion against God. Jacob’sname was changed to “Israel”, “he whohas wrestled with God”. Jacob wrestledat Penuel with the Angel of the Lord(Gen. 32:24-32), the One the Talmudcalls the “Metatrone”, “He who dwellsat the center of the throne”. It is an angelwith divine properties who is associatedwith the Messiah. Without doubtthe angel that Jacob wrestled with wasthe preincarnate Christ. The “Angel ofthe Lord” is a christophony: an Old Testamentmanifestation of the Lord Jesus.Jacob wrestled to the end of thenight. Now “the night”, in the Bible,is a metaphor – if you don’tknow – for the Great Tribulation:“Watchman, watchman, howfar is the night?” (Is. 21:11)“Is he coming in the secondwatch of the night or thethird?” (Lk. 2:38)“He’s coming like a thief in thenight”. (1 Th. 5:2)The virgins needed oil in theirlamps to see in the night. (Matt.25:1)The night has to do with the Tribulationat the time of the end. Jacob goes allContinued: Feature Articlethe way through it. The church doesn’t, butJacob does. The Jews go through the Tribulation.It illustrates the point. It’s called“the time of Jacob’s trouble” in Jeremiah.The rebellion seen among the Jewishpeople conveys the same thing. Their resistanceto the Gospel has to do with the sameresistance they had to their own prophets.Always remember this when you’re prayingfor Jewish people: The problem of unsavedJewish people is not that they don’tbelieve that Jesus is the Messiah. The factthat unsaved Jewish people do not believeJesus is the Messiah is not their problem.That is the tragic result of their problem.Their problem is they don’t believe theTorah. Jesus said directly, “If you believedin Moses, you’d believe Me also”(John 5:46). Their problem is they’re inrebellion against the Tanakh, they’re inrebellion against the Mitzvot, they’rein rebellion against the Law of Moses.Their rejection of Jesus is the result of it.Israel has one of the highest abortionrates of any developed country, some wouldsay the highest. God warned Israel aboutsacrificing their children as the Gentilesdo. Now understand this: God’s judgmentfell on Israel before the Babylonian captivitybecause they were sacrificing theirchildren to demons – “Molech worship”.In most western countries, and in Israel,if you were to take all of the major clinicalreasons for abortion and put them together,altogether they would only accountfor a small percentage of the abortionsperformed. Most abortions are non-therapeutic.In other words, they’re performedfor social and economic considerations.Jesus called this “mammon worship”(Matt. 6:24; Lk.16:13). Make nomistake about it, non-therapeutic abortionis very much associated with demonworship. These abortions are the modernequivalent of when babies were sacrificedto Molech in the ancient world. AndIsrael has gone the way of the nationsand is particularly guilty. It has one ofthe highest abortion rates of any country.Japan’s is absolutely astronomical.The Example of GermanyAnd then there’s Germany. Hitlerwas a madman – we all know that – butwhen Sir Winston Churchill wrote aboutthe Germans, he referred to them usuallyas “the Huns” or “the Teutonic Tribes”.Churchill had a very good and acutesense of history. He understood that whenyou look at the Holocaust, the Blitz, andthe Blitzkrieg, that is what the Germansalways did. That’s what the Huns did,what the Visigoths did, what the ancientGermanic tribes did – they always didJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly

Continued: Feature Articlethat. Once the preaching of the Gospeldeclined in Germany, the ancient territorialspirit resurfaced with a vengeance.The Reformation and Protestantismhad much of its origins in Germany.Luther came from Germany. Then thePietists became spiritually very dry. TheMoravians dissipated. Lutheranism –most of it was taken over by liberal theology– Higher Criticism – that came fromTubingen University in the last century:people who followed the ideas of Bookmanand Wellhausen, the theory of Pentateuchalsources, Higher Criticism, liberaltheology. “The Bible is only history andliterature; it’s not God’s Word.” When liberaltheology and Higher Criticism tookover Protestantism, and evangelical Protestantismdeclined, what happened? Theancient territorial spirits resurfaced andthe Germans did what the Germans alwaysdid before they were Christianized.The Example of BritainLook at Britain. Less than 10% ofthe people attend church on any kindof regular basis. Most people who goto any church will go for rights of passage:sprinkling a baby, a funeral, a wedding,or something like that. That’s whatyou have when the Gospel declines.In the ancient world there were occultistsknown as “Druids” or practitioners ofWicca, the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic folkreligions. Today we call them “New AgeTravelers”; it doesn’t matter. When do theywant to have their festivals? The SummerSolstice, the Vernal Equinox. Where dothey want to have their festivals? Stonehenge,Glastonbury. The police tried to tellthem, ”Listen, we’ve got to stop all thesetraffic jams and destroying these people’sfarms. Can’t you go out to the highlands ofScotland or somewhere where you’re notgoing to hurt anybody?” They said, “No,we have to have it here; it’s our religion.”Once Christianity goes, the ancientterritorial spirits resurface. Once the HolySpirit is grieved, He does not convict inthe same way. And once the governmentstops following God’s principles, it’s goingto begin following other principles.Remember, Parliamentary Democracyworked because it was based more thanany other system of government upon biblicalprinciples. That’s why it worked. Forall the mistakes the Puritans made, theybrought a biblical influence into our modelof democracy. That’s why democracyhas worked so well in the western world,particularly the English-speaking democraciesand countries like Holland. Onceyou take the biblical influence out, theinstitutions based on it begin to go down. Moriel Quarterly • June 2007The school system in England, thestate school system, was born out of theinfluences of Methodism. The TradeUnion movement was born out of theinfluences of Methodism. Building Societieswere born out of the influencesof Methodism, to get housing for the urbanclasses, for the working classes. Thehealth system – born out of the influencesof Methodism and Wesley’s revivals.Once you take Jesus out of something,then the principles go. And once the principlesgo, the health system cracks up, theschool system cracks up, the criminal justicesystem cracks up, and ultimately thegovernment cracks up. Now I’m not denyingthere are plausible, intellectual explanationsfor why a society is going the wayit’s going, but I’m simply saying that underneaththis trend there lie spiritual reasons.I live in a country where the SaudiArabian government and the Kuwaiti government,with the blessings of Her Majesty’sgovernment, fund the construction ofmosques all over the United Kingdom. Butthey will not allow one church to be builtin Saudi Arabia or Kuwait. And the Britishgovernment won’t do anything about it.Today’s SituationWe live in a time when the HolySpirit is being grieved by sin, especiallysin in the church. It’s sin in thechurch that grieves God’s Spirit themost. God is always more grieved byour sin than He is the sin of the unsaved.Secondly, our government hasgone away from the biblical principlesupon which they were based.And thirdly, there’s been a definitetrend away from the preaching of thetrue Gospel in favor of Liberal Protestantism,Higher Criticism, Ecumenism,etc. As a result, the ancientterritorial spirits are resurfacing.In Britain, a lot of the ancient spirits– territorial spirits were involved intribalism. The same influences cause thefootball hooliganism we see today, whenpeople from Liverpool go down to Londonto have riots and throw bottles at eachother (these people don’t even care aboutthe game, they only care about gettingdrunk and having a punch-out). On backof this tribalism, there are sociologicalreasons, but there is a spiritual influencebehind it. Once the Gospel goes down,these ancient territorial spirits will in someway resurface and manifest themselves.Football has replaced church on Sundaysand people give almost a religiouskind of significance to the colors and emblemsof their football teams. And they’llgo to war over it. That’s the same kind oftribal mentality that existed in pre-ChristianEngland. And as the church declines, and asthe Gospel declines, this stuff comes back.The Examples of Yugoslaviaand IrelandYugoslavia is another tragic example.Yugoslavia is where the Roman Empiresplit between the Greek-speaking East andthe Latin-speaking West. It was always thecutting edge between the Roman Catholicworld and the Eastern Orthodox world.The hatred you see between Croats andSerbs has very ancient roots going backbefore the Crusades. But also it was thecutting edge between North and South,between the Muslim world and the Christianizedworld, with the Saracen invasions.Same thing: Serbs and Croats hateeach other, but they both hate the Muslims.There’s something spiritual going on.I was just in Northern Ireland. Thegraffiti on the walls of Northern Irelandin the Protestant and Catholic neighborhoodsin recent years has fewer of thefamiliar figures like King William ofOrange and things like that. You’re seeingmore the ancient Celtic war gods,the war goddess Ulidia: the story of anold hag who demanded the blood of theyoung men to be poured out so the oldhag could prolong her beauty. This wasa Celtic goddess, a war goddess, a semimythicalcharacter. I think it was basedupon someone who existed actually, buthe became almost deified as a war god, asthe war god of Northern Ireland. And thisis what you see on the walls in Belfast.Once again, those ancient gods aredemanding the blood of the sons of Ireland,and they’re getting it. On backof these things are territorial spirits.Why Are They ‘Territorial?’Where do we get this idea of spiritsbeing “territorial”? The first is inDaniel, the principality. The spiritualruler was identified with a principality– a region – the prince of Persia.Another example is the gods of Egypt.The Torah tells us directly that othergods are demons (“shedim” in Hebrew,“daimonoi” in Greek), but the gods ofEgypt are associated with that area, thatgeographical location, in that principality.I lived on Mount Carmel in Galileewhere my children were born. Mount Carmelin the days of Justin Martyr – in theearly church – was a center of Babylonianpriestcraft. We all know what happenedwith the story of Elijah. To this day, in theCarmel forest on the outskirts of the cityof Haifa, you can still see the Canaanite

altars. It was the beginning of the Phoeniciancoast where Molech worship waspracticed, where people would mutilatetheir children in worship to Molech. It wasalso a center of Ashteroth worship. It wasa high place where there were temples tothe gods of the Eastern Mediterranean.Ashteroth is a female deity worshipedby the Canaanites –on Mount Carmel.Now today it’s the same territorialspirits. Remember at Gerasenes, whenJesus cast the demons out into the swine,they said, “Don’t send us out of the region”(Mk. 5:10). They didn’t want to leave theirprincipality like the princes of Persia,the gods of Egypt, they were territorial.You can read an account of what happenedin Cambodia during the bloodbathof Pol Pot, an absolutely demonic manifestationif there ever was one, and, I believe,something that tells us what the world isgoing to be like when the Antichrist comes.Things like the Holocaust and the bloodbathof Pol Pot in Cambodia, those thingspresent as clear a picture as anything ofwhat is going to ultimately happen to thewhole world when the Antichrist comes.Frightening, isn’t it? Enough to makeus really want to be ready with Jesus.Again, the missionaries and evangelistsand Cambodian Christians had encounterswith these demons. And they would actuallyspeak from the Buddhist tabernacles,“We don’t want to leave. We wear the redscarves. We’re the rulers of these areas.”The Example of MountCarmelToday Mount Carmel is the center of theBaha’i cult, the Tomb of the Bab. It is their“Mecca”. Baha’is from all over the worldgo there to worship at the Tomb of the Bab.On this same mountain is a witch’s coventhat meets in Elijah’s Cave. In the sameplace where Ashteroth was worshiped,today you have “Our Lady of MountCarmel.” These demonic apparitions ofMary, counterfeits that you see in Knock,Ireland and Medjugorje, Yugoslavia, inGuadalupe, Mexico, Lourdes, France,Fatima, Portugal, etc., are the same apparitionsthat are in Israel on Mount Carmel.Carmelite priests had this practicewhere they carried a particular statue ofMary from her summer home to her winterhome twice a year. If you know Mary at allwell, you know she doesn’t like the coldweather. And they put a gown on her, anembroidered gown with a gold crown, andcarried her up and down the mountain singing“Ave Maria.” And there was Gregory,a friend of mine, a charismatic Catholic,worshiping this idol with the rest of them.“No man can serve two masters”(Matt. 6:24). “Come out of her, My people”(Rev. 18:4). Jesus didn’t say we’renot one of His people, but because youare one of His people, get out of Babylon.And if you’re involved in a false religionlike Roman Catholicism or FreeMasonry and you’re a Christian, get outof it. The Holy Spirit will never lead youto sin. He is the Spirit of holiness. And bypracticing idolatry, you’re sinning. To tellsomeone to stay a Free Mason or a RomanCatholic is no different than tellingan alcoholic to keep drinking after he getssaved, to tell a homosexual to keep beingone, to tell a prostitute to keep working thestreets. Likewise, to tell someone to continuein a religion that prays to the dead,which practices idolatry, is no different.So, Mount Carmel today is thetomb of the Bab and Our Lady ofMount Carmel. It doesn’t matter if youcall it “Ashteroth” or “Lady of MountCarmel”, it’s the same principality.The same pattern is seen with the ShiahMuslims. To commemorate the Battleof Kabalah, they hack the little children’sheads open, the sons. You see them draggingthe little Arab boys to the Mullah– the clergymen – who have a hatchet.And the little boys are screaming, “No,mommy! No, mommy!”, and these guysare hacking their heads open to let thembleed profusely. This is the same locationwhere Molech worship was practiced.They do it to commemorate the martyrdomof Mohammed’s grandson Ali in theBattle of Kabalah, around the 8 th Century.The whole idea of the flagellationrituals that came into Roman Catholicismwith the monks and nuns flagellatingthemselves, that was something thatthe Crusaders saw the Muslims doing, andthey brought it to the Christian world. I justtalked to an ex-Roman Catholic nun theother day at a Pentecostal church up nearWigan who used to practice the same thing–beating themselves with these whips totry to get rid of their sins. You have to denythe sufficiency of the cross to justify it.It Doesn’t Matter What It’sCalledSo instead of Molech worship, it’sShiah Islam. Instead of Ashteroth, it’sOur Lady of Mount Carmel. It’s Baha’iinstead of Baal worship. It doesn’t matter;it’s the same thing. It may be ongoingunder the guise of Baha’i or Islam or RomanCatholicism or rabbinic Judaism, butit’s still a center of false religion, and itstill reflects the same idea: the headshipof territorial spirits. And it’s still going on.This country is going back to what itwas in Celtic and Anglo-Saxon England:folk religion. Germany went back to whatit was. And unless there’s a revival inGermany, it’s still going to revert back towhat it was. That’s why you see neo-Nazismrising in Germany again. In Japan,it’s the Shogun mentality; Israel, it’s rebellion;Italy, it’s endemic corruption andthe political instability it causes. It doesn’tmatter what you call it, it’s all the same.The Case of AmalekIsrael’s battles with Amalekare also revealing as seen in Exodus17, starting in the 8th verse:Then Amalek came and fought againstIsrael at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua,“Choose men for us and go out, fightagainst Amalek. Tomorrow I will stationmyself on the top of the hill with the staffof God in my hand.” Joshua did as Mosestold him, and fought against Amalek; andMoses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the topof the hill. So it came about when Mosesheld his hand up......that’s when he prayed...Continued: Feature Articlethat Israel prevailed, and when he lethis hand down, Amalek prevailed.A very important principle in spiritualwarfare, the first one is always prayer.But Moses’ hands were heavy. Thenthey took a stone and put it under him,and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supportedhis hands, one on one side and oneon the other. Thus his hands were steadyuntil the sun set. So Joshua overwhelmedAmalek and his people with the edge of thesword.Then the LORD said to Moses, “Writethis in a book as a memorial and recite itto Joshua, that I will utterly blot out thememory of Amalek from under heaven.”Moses built an altar and named it TheLORD is My Banner; and he said, “TheLORD has sworn; the LORD will havewar against Amalek from generation togeneration.”Reading through the Torah, the Jewswere always warned to get rid of Amalekthat was also known by another name:“Agag”. You can call the United Kingdomthe UK or you can call it GreatBritain, it doesn’t make a difference.You had this idea in the ancient worldthat comes into our Bible, that the nameof a patriarch or the founding member of atribe, a clan, a people, or a nation becomesa metaphor, or a general term, for the wholenation and its descendants. For instance,Israel is often referred to as “Jacob”. Nationsof the Middle East are often referredto by the names of those who founded thoseJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly

Continued: Feature Articlenations, listed in the table of nations inGenesis 10. And Amalek is one such case.We read about the origins of Amalek– although some scholars dispute ittechnically – In Genesis 36:15-16 wherewe first see Amalek, and then he resurfacesagain in the book of Exodus. Nowlet’s look at Deuteronomy 25:17-19.“Remember what Amalek did to youalong the way when you came out fromEgypt, how he met you along the way andattacked among you all the stragglers atyour rear when you were faint and weary;and he did not fear God. Therefore it shallcome about when the LORD your Godhas given you rest from all your surroundingenemies, in the land which the LORDyour God gives you as an inheritance topossess, you shall blot out the memory ofAmalek from under heaven; you must notforget.Get Rid of AmalekAs seen in the rebellion of King Saul,the reason God got rid of him and replacedhim with David, was because he failed tokeep this portion of the Torah. He would notget rid of Amalek. Let’s look at 1 Samuel 15:But Saul and the people sparedAgag......that is, Amalek......and the best of the sheep, the oxen,the fatlings, the lambs, and all that wasgood, and were not willing to destroythem utterly; but everything despised andworthless, that they utterly destroyed.Then the word of the LORD cameto Samuel, saying, “I regret that I havemade Saul king, for he has turned backfrom following Me and has not carriedout My commands.” And Samuel wasdistressed and cried out to the LORD allnight. Samuel rose early in the morningto meet Saul; and it was told Samuel, saying,“Saul came to Carmel, and behold,he set up a monument for himself, thenturned and proceeded on down to Gilgal.”Samuel came to Saul, and Saul saidto him, “Blessed are you of the LORD!I have carried out the command of theLORD.” But Samuel said, “What thenis this bleating of the sheep in my ears,and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”Saul said, “They have brought them fromthe Amalekites, for the people spared thebest of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice tothe LORD your God; but the rest we haveutterly destroyed.” Then Samuel said toSaul, “Wait, and let me tell you what theLORD said to me last night.”...and he told him. Moriel Quarterly • June 2007It’s amazing to me how people will actuallygo against the Bible, against thingsspecifically written about in the Bible, andcall it “serving the Lord” or God told themto do it. The Holy Spirit will never leadsomebody to do something contrary to theWord of God. Never. Yet I see people allthe time telling me, “God showed me.”I know a woman who told me Godshowed her not to be committed to anychurch. That’s what she said God told herto do. I know somebody else who prays tothe dead, who prays to Mary, who praysto get people out of Purgatory, and saysGod told them to do it. God will nevertell somebody to do those things. It’srebellion. It’s sin, and God will judgeit. Nonetheless, this is what happens.They were to blot him out andSaul wouldn’t. So David comes andhe has to fight the Agagites. The problemis this: if you do not fight and blotout Agag, Agag will always come afteryou. You’ve got to get rid of Agag.Now I’m not suggesting we do whatthe Puritans did, and we go out and wekill all the Roman Catholics – that’s crazy.They were taking an Old Testament motifand applying it to a New Testament legislation.It was totally wrong. Cromwell wasdead wrong. It was terrible, what he did.Nonetheless, the principle is true. There’sno place for compromising with an Agag.If you do, he’ll always come after you.He Always Comes After YouNow the book of Esther tells us directlysomething about Haman. Haman,we’re told in the book of Esther, was adescendant of Agag (Est. 3:1). Hamancame directly from Amalek. If you don’tget rid of Amalek, if you don’t get rid ofAgag, he’s going to come and get you.Once again, it doesn’t much matter ifyou call him “Amalek”, it doesn’t muchmatter if you call him “Agag”, it doesn’tmuch matter if you call him “Haman”, andit doesn’t much matter if you call him “SaddamHussein”. It’s all the same. Do youunderstand? The spiritual forces in backof it – the principality, is always the same.Let’s look at the book of Esther 3:2.All the king’s servants who were at theking’s gate bowed down and paid homageto Haman; for so the king had commandedconcerning him. But Mordecai neitherbowed down nor paid homage.There are Evangelical Christian ministerswho’ve genuflected and kissed thePope’s ring. That directly comes fromthe emperor worship of Pagan Rome.There are Christians who’ve done that.There can be no compromise with anAgag. Let’s deal with this subject.There Can Be No CompromiseJudges 2:1.Now the angel of the LORD came upfrom Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “Ibrought you up out of Egypt and led youinto the land which I have sworn to yourfathers; and I said, ‘I will never break Mycovenant with you, and as for you, youshall make no covenant with the inhabitantsof this land; you shall tear downtheir altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me;what is this you have done? Therefore Ialso said, ‘I will not drive them out beforeyou; but they will become as thorns inyour sides and their gods will be a snareto you.’’That’s what happens when you compromisewith these demonic religionsand the principalities in back of them.You look at this country and see what’shappening. George Carey says he’s a bornagainChristian – he’s the Archbishop ofCanterbury. Over 2,000 evangelical Anglicanclergymen signed a petition askinghim to stop the inter-faith worship in CanterburyCathedral, to stop meeting with thePope, with the Dalai Lama (who is worshipedas god by the Tibetan Buddhists),with African witch doctors, with Zoroastrianpriests, with gurus, with Hindu Brahmanpriests, with God knows what else, it’sall demonic. And he respects all religions.What do you have in this country?More so-called Christians are becomingMuslim than Muslims are being calledChristians. “They’ll become a snare toyou and a thorn to you” (Judges 2:3).God has these Muslims and Hindus inBritain for one reason: it’s a lot easierfor people from a Muslim backgroundto be saved in a Christian country thanit is for them to be saved in their own;they kill them in most cases -- particularlyArab countries. There’s a battle goingon. Is the church in this country goingto reach the Arabs for Christ, or arethe Muslims going to Islamize Britain?Now remember the story – I’ve mentionedit several times, and it has to be saidover and over because there’s still peoplefollowing this stuff. In August of 1990,John Wimber, Paul Cain, and the KansasCity Prophets predicted revival wouldcome in October of 1990 to Great Britain.And all these people from the Charismaticchurches like St. Andrews Chorleywood,and Holy Trinity Brompton, and thepeople from the house churches – the followersof Gerald Coates – were all hyped

up to hear John Wimber and Paul Cain.Now remember Deuteronomy 18,Jeremiah 28, etc.: if somebody predictssomething in the name of the Lord thatdoesn’t happen, they’re a “nabiy sheqer”– they’re a false prophet. We don’t stonethem to death any more as the Torahdecrees, but the sin is no less serious.In the three years since the great revivalof John Wimber and Paul Cain,more mosques have been built in Englandthan churches. That is what’s happening.They’ll Become aThorn to YouIn Church of England schools it’s onething to teach about another religion, butthey’re engaging in social engineeringbased on New Age philosophy. They’retrying to take children at the most impressionableage (according to “EducationalPsychology”), ages 4 to about 11,and convey to them there’s a commonlegitimacy for all religions, all leadingthe same way, etc. They’re not teachingabout other religions, but are promotingall religions. If they honestly taught aboutother religions they would teach them thatother gods are demons (1 Co. 10:21) andJesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life,no one comes to the Father but by Him(John 14:6). But in schools – includingchurch schools funded by the state – ifyou say that, you’re considered a racist.I have corresponded with an Anglicanvicar whose parish has an evangelicalschool in London, in Walthamstow.They got rid of him because he beganreading the Quran in the church services,even though he is a professing evangelicalwho said he doesn’t consider Hinduismto be demonic. I wrote back to himquoting 1 Corinthians 10 and Deuteronomyand he wouldn’t or couldn’t dealwith it. They’ll become a thorn to you.I was assaulted by a gang of Muslimsat Speaker’s Corner in London. About 40of them attacked me and kicked the ladderout from under me. The only thing Iasked was, “If Allah is with you to giveyou victory in a jihad – holy war – thenhow come after six jihads 120 millionMuslims can’t beat 3 million Jews?”They took it personally. I also asked them,“How come you’re always carrying onabout what people are doing to Muslims,how come when King Hussein of Jordan– a Muslim himself – killed 20,000Palestinians during Black September in1970, nobody said a word?” They didn’tlike that either. So they attacked me.For those who don’t believe in freedom,don’t believe in democracy, don’tbelieve in the right to expression or opinion,they should go back to the Muslimworld where there are none of these freedoms.But instead, they come here andriot in front of the British Parliament – thebastion of British democracy, born outof the influences of biblical Christianity,on the foundation of the British government– and want to kill Salman Rushdiefor writing his book, The Satanic Verses.Muslim scholars have known aboutthe “Satanic Verses” for centuries.They’ve known that Mohammed saidthese three Arabian idols Lat, Uzza, andManat were actually birds of intercessionand he erased it. Muslim scholarshave known that for centuries. The onlything Rushdie did was to take somethingthat was known by Islamic scholars, totake it off a shelf of an Islamic library,and make it the title of a book. That’s allhe did. They’ll become a thorn to you.They’ll riot in your streets. They’ll tryto take over your schools. They’ll tell you,you can’t practice your religion. They’llmake laws where they can build mosquesall over this country, be funded by theirgovernment, but won’t allow you to builda single church in their country. And yourown government will kneel down and licktheir boots. They’ll become a thorn to you.I can take you through neighborhoodsin London where you can see Hindu temples,Sikh temples all over the place, morethan there are churches and more people gointo them. I can show you churches in Londonthat are boarded up and later re-openedas mosques. That’s what is happening.Here in Manchester on OxfordRoad is a gothic church: “The IslamicAcademy”. It used to be achurch. They’ll become a thorn to you.When you begin compromising,they become a thorn to you. Yousee that in Judges 2. That’s what ishappening in this country right now.Again, this is not against Muslims,it’s against Islam. The schoolsfinanced in the city of London, influencein the British government, influencein the Christian school system– all of it – they’ll become a snare to you.How to Fight ItNow what do we do about thisstuff? How has God ordained to fight it?Here’s one way that I wouldn’t recommend.Every time a bus of Christianpilgrims comes from the Bible Belt (partsof Midwestern America), they come toMount Carmel and Haifa and they surroundthe high place and they say, “I bindyou! I rebuke you, Satan! We cast thisTomb of the Bab, the Persian Gardens, intothe Mediterranean in the name of Jesus!”Continued: Feature ArticleWell, sorry to say, it’s still there. And thenthe next day, another bus of people arrivefrom Texas and does the same thing.How did Paul deal with it? Lookat the 17 th chapter of the book of Acts:Now while Paul was waiting for themat Athens, his spirit was being provokedwithin him as he was observing the cityfull of idols. So he was reasoning in thesynagogue with the Jews and the GodfearingGentiles, and in the market placeevery day with those who happened to bepresent. And also some of the Epicureanand Stoic philosophers were conversingwith him. Some were saying, “What wouldthis idle babbler wish to say?”......etc., etc., etc. And they took him andbrought him to the Areopagus, andthere he begins to preach the Gospel.If you’ve ever been to Athens, youcan stand on Mars Hill where the Areopaguswas and you can still look up and seethe ruins of the Acropolis, the Temple ofAthena. You can stand right where Paulwas and see where these demons, the idolsthat vexed him, were standing on MarsHill. You can stand right there to this dayand see what was vexing Paul’s spirit.What did Paul do about it? Did hedo his somersault, “I bind you! I rebukeyou!”? No! He preached theGospel. He preached the Gospel.I believe in prayer, in praying againstthese influences, that’s no problem.But when people go on with this “binding”and “loosing”, I don’t even thinkthey know what they’re talking about.Doing Our PartLet’s look once again at Daniel 10.Now as we’ve already read, verse 13...“But the prince of the kingdom of Persiawas withstanding me for twenty-onedays...OK? Now earlier in the chapter, in verse3 it reads...I did not eat any tasty food, nor didmeat or wine enter my mouth, nor did Iuse any ointment at all until the entirethree weeks were completed.“Three weeks” is how many days?How long was the prince of Persiawithstanding God’s messenger beforethe breakthrough came? Twenty-one.These things are principalities. They’repowerful, demonic forces. They’ve beenaround for centuries. Michael the Archangelhad to fight against them. It took theangels of God weeks to break through.Do you think that some clown fromTexas (God bless him) is going to comeJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly

Continued: Feature Articleand say, “I rebuke you” and that’s goingto be the end of it? It’s ridiculous, isn’tit? It’s absurd. I wish it were that easy.Jerusalem – oh, boy. When they seethe Dome of the Rock and the Mosque ofAqsa where the temple used to be, theydo ring-around-the-rosey on that thingand begin their taunt. That thing has been“bound” so many times I’m surprised itdoesn’t have Christmas packaging on it.There is a connection between ourprayers and the spiritual battle. Rememberwhen Moses was praying, and whenhe put his hands down, the enemy Amalekprevailed. Daniel had to fast and pray.We do participate in spiritual warfare.The ability of angels to overcomeagainst these principalities isdriven in part by our prayer and fasting.We do have a weapon, but it’s notthis easy formula, “I bind you! I looseyou!” It’s real prayer. It’s deep prayer.1st Principle:Never CompromiseLet’s look at some more things at thebook of Esther. These are the principles.Esther 3:2...But Mordecai neither bowed downnor paid homage.The first principle of spiritual warfareis never compromise with false religion orthe powers in back of it (see Judges 2).If you begin compromising withthings like ecumenism and liberal Protestantism,they’re going to win. The BaptistUnion in this country has entered the interchurchprocess, uniting with liberal Protestantsand the Roman Catholic Church.What would John Bunyan have said tothat? What would Charles Spurgeonhave said to that? What would the Anabaptists,who were murdered by the Romanchurch, have said to that? “They’vebegun compromising with them.”The Church of England has not onlycompromised with nominal Christianity,it has compromised with other religions’fables. Once you compromise with them,they’re going to win. That’s what it saysin Judges, and that is what’s going to happen.(See Esther 3:2 and Judges 2:2-3.)2nd Principle:Prayer and Fasting“Go, assemble all the Jews who arefound in Susa, and fast for me; do not eator drink for three days, night or day. I andmy maidens also will fast in the same way.And thus I will go in to the king, which isnot according to the law; and if I perish, Iperish.” (Esther 4:16). Moriel Quarterly • June 2007Look at Esther’s countenance. ForChristians to really go up against the avalancheof demonic influence coming intoour society, we have to have the attitude ofEsther, a courageous woman. I wish moreChristian men had the integrity and courageof this woman. “If I perish, I perish.”That was the attitude of the early Christianswhen they went up against the Paganreligions of imperial Rome. “If I perish, Iperish.” That is the only way you’re evergoing to turn these things around: thosewho do not love their life in this world.I don’t seek a martyr’s crown, but bythe grace of God I want to be able to sayif it happens, it happens. I’d rather wina martyr’s crown than compromise andextend my life. I’m not looking to be amartyr, believe me. I haven’t got the guts.But then look: she fasted and prayed.What did Daniel do in 10:3? He fastedand prayed. Not a 2-minute prayer meeting,a 10-minute prayer meeting, the Jewsfasted and prayed. Esther with her handmaidensfasted and prayed three days;Daniel did it for three weeks. You’renever going to overcome these thingswith “I bind you! I rebuke you!” It’scrazy! Jesus said this kind only goes outwith prayer and fasting (Matt. 17:21).3rd Principle:Preach God’s WordThus the Jews struck all their enemieswith the sword, killing and destroying;and they did what they pleased to thosewho hated them (Esther 9:5).Our sword is not the physical swordany more. What does the book of Ephesianssay the sword is? (Eph. 6:17) This isour sword, the Bible. Pick up the sword.Witness to Muslims. Witness to RomanCatholics. Witness to Hindus. Witnessto Orthodox Jews. “If I perish, I perish.”Those Are the PrinciplesWe saw what happened in this centurywith the Third Reich: God’s Spiritwas grieved, it didn’t convict, governmentgot away from Christian principles,Higher Criticism and liberal Protestantismreplaced conservative Protestantism,replaced evangelical Protestantism.And what happens when the Gospel goesdown? When God’s Spirit is grieved,and when the government comes underthe influences of wrong spirits? TheHuns, the Teutons, the Visigoths, the ancientBarbarians. The Germans did whatthey always did before they had Jesus.What do you see in this country andthroughout the West? The football hooligans,the tribalism, the New Age Travelers.It is just going back to what it always was.What do you see in Northern Ireland?Hatred between the Catholics and Protestants!They’re actually putting on the muralsnames of the ancient Celtic gods suchas Ulidia, and are demanding the blood ofthe sons of Ireland and they’re getting it.In Japan, it’s the Shogun mentality.In Italy: corruption and instability.Israel: rebellion, sacrificing childrento demons. Every country, everynation, has its principalities. There arethree ways that it can be restrained:The Holy Spirit. But when the HolySpirit is grieved, He doesn’t do what Hedoes in John 16:8; He doesn’t convict, Hedoesn’t unite or empower the church to thesame degree. Unless there is repentance inthe church, and the Holy Spirit stops beinggrieved, the Holy Spirit is not going todo what He wants to do, and it’s our fault.Government. We need to pray forour leaders. I don’t like any of them. Idon’t like the American government, Idon’t like the Israeli government, I don’tlike the British government, I don’tlike any of them. But I have no doubtthat if I was a politician I’d be just asbad as all of them. Pray for the leaders.And third, there’s the Gospel.Esther is our model: don’t compromise.Don’t compromise with these otherreligions. We need to fast and pray likewe’ve never fasted and prayed before. Weneed to pick up the sword and, like Esther,we need to say, “If I perish, I perish.”It doesn’t matter if you call him“Amalek”, “Agag”, “Haman”, or “SaddamHussein”. It doesn’t matter if youcall her “Ashteroth” or “Our Lady ofMount Carmel”. It doesn’t matter if youcall it “Shiah Islam” or “Molech worship”.It doesn’t matter, it’s all the same.But there is a war. A war is going on,and our side is losing. We are losing thespiritual war. We’re losing against theforces of New Age; we’re losing againstIslam; we’re losing against ecumenism;we’re losing. It’s time to stop losing. It’stime to stop compromising. It’s time tobegin fasting and praying. And it’s time togo to war. And it’s time to say, “If I perish,I perish. We’re going up against it.”We’re going up against Islam, we’regoing up against New Age, we’re goingup against ecumenism. But it’s goingto require people that are not going tocompromise. It’s going to require peoplethat are going to fast and pray. It’s goingto require people who are going to pickup the sword. And it’s going to requirepeople who say, “If I perish, I perish.”

Jackie AlnorLIFESTYLES OF: THEGuest AuthorRICH & FAMOUSCHAPTER 7By Jackie AlnorThe prosperity gospel has evolvedover the past fifty years of its existence.Televangelists have adopted various elementsof it from each other, customizingit to fit their own peculiar vision.There is much debate as to where itall began and who came up with variousinterpretations of pet verses dueto the consistent boasting of preacherswho claim each element as divine revelationgiven to them directly by God.Though Oral Roberts takes the creditfor the idea of seed-faith -give to get -revelation,others say it was given to him by anassociate, Gene Ewing, who built a reputationfor successful fundraising strategies.One historian points to 1950s faithhealer, A. A. Allen, as an early innovator ofmixing faith with prosperity. “Allen wasone of the first in the revival to gain supportby appealing to the financial dreams ofhis followers. Implicit in the revival wasa conviction that God could grant not onlyphysical but financial healing to His children.Allen early indicated that there wasa scriptural secret to financial success.”1Apparently, it was during the healingrevival movement of the post-war, mid-20th century that the Gospel of salvationfor man’s souls was changed into a falsegospel of prosperity. And this at a timewhen America was beginning to live theAmerican dream of a car in every garageand a television set in every livingroom. As one teacher put it, “The moneypreachers -- they’re simply rewriting theGospel as a religion of Western consumerism.”2This was not a movement ofGod, but a worldly inspiration for a betterlife and success in the here and now.Whether or not it was Oral Robertswho came up with the seed-faith secret toprosperity, it was Roberts who popularizedit and utilized it for his own financial benefit.But it was the preaching of seed-faiththat worked for Roberts, not the method ofsowing and reaping itself. Roberts wouldpreach his new gospel and really lay it onthe audience who came to his tent revivalsseeking a healing touch from him. At offeringtime, if you didn’t sow money intoRoberts’ ministry, you weren’t about tobenefit from his so-called healing virtue.And because it seemed to work forRoberts, other Pentecostal ministers adoptedthe concept and put it to work forthemselves. Word/Faith teacher CharlesCapps said, “Several years ago oneof Oral Roberts’ books came into myhands, entitled Miracle of Seed-Faith. Isuppose this book transformed my lifeas much as any book I have ever read .. . Oral put it in understandable form sothat I could put it to work in my life.”The late Jamie Buckingham, a formercolumnist for Charisma magazine, testifiedthat it was Roberts who introduced him toSeed-Faith also. “I remember the afternoonI sat in the audience as Oral spoke.I was still struggling with his ‘Seed-Faith’message, and what I felt was an over-emphasison materialism, but I knew I had tobe intellectually honest. That meant lettingGod flush from my mind all preconceivednotions and listening with a clean slate.”What that really meant was drowning outthe voice of his conscience and the convictionof the Holy Spirit that the Seed-Faithmessage was indeed carnal and unbiblical.Oral Roberts has had a number ofdramatic fund-raising appeals over theyears to raise money for ministry projectshe claimed were God-ordained. But hisCity of Faith hospital that was supposedto come up with a cure for cancer is nowdefunct. The university he named afterhimself has lost both its medical and legalstudies programs and is over 33 milliondollars in debt. Roberts’ record for hearingfrom God has proven to be pretty bad.“How about Oral Roberts?, askedauthor, Dave Hunt. “You know he had aseven-hour conversation with a 900-footJesus who told him to build a hospital inTulsa that anybody knew wasn’t needed.Promises that there will be miracles, acure for cancer. 777 beds. You knowthree 7’s -- that’s terrific! I don’t thinkthey ever had more than 246 of them occupied.The thing went bankrupt. Nocure for cancer. No miracles. Is that afalse prophecy? You have to ask yourselfseriously. Was Oral Roberts just lyingto us or was he hallucinating or didhe really have this conversation? I meana 7-hour hallucination? That’s prettylong. Did he really have a conversationwith some 900-foot being that claimedto be Jesus? That’s quite a delusion!But he continues to be quite popular.”His “900-foot Jesus” campaign in1980 appealed to his supporters to donate$5 million a month to build the unnecessarymedical complex and according tothe Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association,it worked. Then in 1987, when Oral RobertsUniversity was in financial trouble,Roberts announced that God spoke to himand warned him that if he didn’t raise $8million by the end of the month of March,God would “take him home.” The secularpress jumped right on the story with headlinessuch as: “God Will Kill Oral Without5 Mil,” and “Roberts Hustles People.”Right away other televangelistsjumped to Roberts defense. “We’rehere, Oral, to say we love you,” saidJames Robison, whose daily TV programis seen on TBN. “I’ve had enoughof the media flak to know it’s painful.”My own elderly aunt, a long-timeOral Roberts supporter, tried to empty outher savings account, but was fortunatelystopped by her grown children just in thenick of time. They could not afford to takeon the expense of her retirement homeall by themselves which is what wouldhave happened had they not caught herin time. She had already signed over allthe oil rights to the family farm in Oklahomato the Oral Roberts Association. Nodoubt many other shut-ins were not sofortunate, and many lost their nest eggs.The final $1.3 million that Robertsneeded by the deadline of March 31, 1987,was met by a Florida man, Jerry Collins,who owned two greyhound dog racingtracks. Here is a summary of Oral Roberts’record of hearing directly from God as compiledin 1990 by “O Timothy” magazine:“In 1983 Oral said that Jesus Christappeared to him and told him to find acure for cancer. So far, he has not founda cure and it is certain that he never will.In 1986 Oral said that God told him, “Iwant you to use the ORU medical schoolto put My medical presence in the earth. Iwant you to get this going in one year or Iwill call you home. It will cost $8 millionand I want you to believe you can raise it.”In January of 1987 Oral said that Godtold him that he had not sent out any medi-June 2007 • Moriel Quarterly

Continued: Life styles of the Rich and Famous - Pt. 7cal missionaries from the City of Faithand He would take Oral home if he didn’traise the $8 million by March of the sameyear. This money was to be used to providefull scholastic scholarships for medicalmissionaries who would be sent toother countries. Oral claimed that he hadalready raised $3.5 million, but he needed$4.5 million more by March 1, in order toget the full $8 million and prevent Godfrom taking him home. [Note: Shortly afterthis, bumper stickers with a dollar signand the red ‘not’ symbol imposed overit started appearing all over America. Tothe right of this emblem were the words,“Send Oral to heaven in ‘87.” Again thename of Jesus was being defamed in theeyes of the American public by a highprofile minister with a lust for Mammon.]In April Oral Roberts said that he hadreceived $9.1 million, which was $1.1million more than was required by God.In November of that very year,Oral Roberts announced that the Cityof Faith would be closing down.In January of The following year,1988, Oral discontinued the medical scholarships.In March of 1988, the medicalscholarship fund went bankrupt and thosestudents that wanted to transfer to other collegeswere told they would have to repaytheir scholarships to ORU at 18% interest.In September of 1989, Oral closed theCity of Faith, never having sent out a singlemedical missionary. And no, He didn’trefund a single dime of the money that hebilked from the faithful. You do the math.”Role Models for theCrouchesPaul and Jan Crouch continue to thisday to uphold Oral Roberts as one of theirgreatest role-models and fathers in the faith.He is still a frequent guest on the Praisethe Lord program and both Crouches havereceived honorary doctorate degrees fromORU and have served on Roberts’ ministryboards. It is easy to see from watchingTBN and the Crouches lifestyle, howthey were impacted by those they honorwho led the way in Christian television.Not only did the Crouches adopt theirrole models’ fundraising methods, butthey also followed in their footsteps in livinglavishly. The Crouches have praisedearly Christian television pioneer, RexHumbard, whose ministry was “sullied byscandal since he first began broadcastingin 1953.” The Cleveland Press reported in1980 how the Humbards had just boughtthree expensive homes in Florida for RexHumbard and his two sons. The Crouchespay honor to Rex Humbard in their newslettersand on the Praise program as a “greatChristian radio & television pioneer.”Whenever there is a major scandalin televangelism, a love for money is atthe heart of it. When prosperity teachersuse their bank account balances to determinetheir ministry’s measure of success,they lose all sight of what God values.Worldliness and greed were the downfallof the PTL empire. Sexual immoralityplayed a part as well, but the love of moneyis the root of all evil and wealth givesaccess to the world’s goods and services.That’s why Jesus said, “It is easier for acamel to go through the eye of a needle,than for a rich man to enter into heaven.”When “Christian” leaders live in conspicuousconsumption, the world lookson and Christianity is tarnished. Thesetelevangelists rant and rage at the secularpress for confronting them about theirlavish lifestyles as they justify themselvessaying they are merely enjoyingGod’s promises to bless His children.Another inspiration for TBN wasChristian television pioneer, KathrynKuhlman. She was an eccentric faithhealer who Benny Hinn identifies as thesource of his anointing. She came toprominence in the 1950s and had her ownreligious television program, “I Believein Miracles,” on Sundays on CBS, beforethere were any “Christian” networks.Jamie Buckingham was a close associateof Kuhlman’s and wrote her biography,“Daughter of Destiny.” Though he was afriendly reporter, he described Kuhlman’slove of money and fame and her penchantfor trying to capture Hollywood’s attention.“Kathryn was, in her later years, a frequentvisitor in the fashionable boutiquesalong Wilshire Boulevard and in BeverlyHills,” wrote Buckingham. “She loved herexpensive clothes, precious jewels, luxuryhotels and first class travel.” He saidthat Kuhlman loved living like a queenbut off the donations of the commoners.Kuhlman’s pianist, TBN regular DinoKartsonakis, according to Buckingham,also took on the duties of her personalescort around the world until they hada falling out in late 1975. Buckinghamreported that Kuhlman’s staff referred toKartsonakis as “Kathryn’s gigolo,” andshe became insanely jealous when Kartsonakisbecame interested in a young ladyhis own age, who became his first wife.Kuhlman would have Kartsonakis flownto Italy just to have his clothes tailormadeand be put up in the finest hotels.Kuhlman died a few months after theirfalling out and many Kuhlman insidersblamed her demise on Dino Kartsonakis.Since the Crouches’ predecessorsseemed to get away with living high onthe hog off the donations of the little people,I suppose they thought they deservedthe same benefits. After all, their ministriesare bigger than any of their forerunnersso they deserve the same perksas any CEO of a billion-dollar empire.PTL & TBNWhen the PTL scandal hit the newsin 1987, Americans were shocked whentheir expensive lifestyle was revealed forall to see. Remember the air-conditioneddoghouse and the gold plated bathroomfixtures that the secular press made such abig deal over? Yet today the TBN regularsblatantly flaunt their riches and conspicuousconsumption without shame. Fewseem to question the impropriety of it nowadays.It is as if it has lost its shock value.Paul Crouch, on Behind the Scenes, hasoften displayed his expensive white Arabianstallion who, it has been reported byformer staff members, gets VIP treatmentwhen he makes an appearance, and enjoysan air-conditioned portable stable whenhe’s brought to the Irving, Texas, studio.And Paul Crouch’s offices in TBN’sheadquarters in Costa Mesa, California,are said to be so luxurious that few peopleare even allowed onto the third floor of theformer Full Gospel Businessmen’s Associationbuilding where it is located. It hasbeen reported that “Paul Crouch’s 8,000-square-foot executive suite, which occupieshalf of the top floor of the three-storybuilding, is strictly off-limits to the public.Behind doors kept locked throughout constructionare a wet bar and sauna, a personalgym, meticulously handcrafted black walnutwoodwork and ornate velvet furniture.”The Orange County Register’s reporterwas barred from seeing the suite, thereport continued, “but others who havebeen inside or helped build the suite sayit is more befitting a mansion than anoffice building. ‘This makes Hearst Castlelook like a doghouse,’ said Steve Oliver,a master journeyman carpenter. Whilescores of hired hands worked on the exteriorand other public areas of the building,Oliver and others in a crew of highlyskilled carpenters spent several monthslast year on Crouch’s private third-floorquarters. The finished product is ‘reallyrich looking,’ said Willa Bouwens-Killeen,a Costa Mesa senior planner. ‘The woodis the very best quality, and they usedthe best craftsmen,’ she said. ‘It lookslike something you’d expect in a mansiontype of house rather than offices.’”The L.A. Times described the newTBN headquarters as “a cross betweenDisneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castleand a Middle Eastern palace. Inside,10 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007

a sweeping brass and marble staircaseleads to a 15-foot tall statue of Michaelthe Archangel stomping the head of Satan.Behind is a high-definition videotheater with a 48-channel sound systemand a state-of-the-art television studio.”One Pentecostal preacher who touredthe facility was so provoked by whathe saw that he produced a video aboutTBN’s decadence entitled, “Temple ToThe Gods and Goddesses.” In the videoPastor Joseph Chambers shows videoclips of his self-guided tour through theareas that are open to the public. As thevideo scans on the array of red velvet,gold trim, and mirrored walls and ceilings,Chambers gives his commentary.“Now let’s go into the actual headquartersof this temple of the gods and thegoddesses,” Chambers says while rollingthe video footage he took at the newly renovatedbuilding. “Watch with me. Nudepaintings of cherubim and children all overthe ceilings . . . You’ll note that they havefemale angels, I call them new age angels,at the entrance along the way as you leadinto the studio . . . Then you have a pictureof two nude people hanging over a womanfigure . . . I’m not sure what that picturerepresents, but it was quite amazing to me.Now if you look, as we take a look aroundat some other places, there’s ancient godsused in decoration. This is on the statuesand in different places, the legs of tables.It’s all a very motif, a very presence ofa temple of the gods and goddesses.”One thing for sure -- TBN’s décoris done in miserable poor taste. Manycompare the sets and furnishings to ancientbrothels. Jan Crouch takes fullcredit for the interior design. During theSpring, 1999 Praise-a-Thon, Paul Crouchresponded to all the furor that the newstudios created. “Oh how the critics rageover a few nice TV studio sets that Jancreates with poly foam and wood columnsand a little gold paint! It’s all fakefolks. It’s all fake. It’s just a little gildedpaint . . . The heretic hunters just have afield day criticizing Jan and all of us thatcreate a few pretty things that look niceon TV. Of course, God is worthy of it!”TBN’s properties in Hendersonville,Tennessee, were formerly owned by countrysinger, Conway Twitty. TBN revampedthe stage of the Conway Twitty auditoriumto resemble their own grand ole opry withBabylonian trim. The stage is one of themost decadent looking one in TBN’s repertoire,decked out with golden lions oneither side of the stage. Jan Crouch toldthe TBN viewers that she saw the décorin a dream and ordered it to look that way.So is God is worthy of all the fakeryand tasteless flamboyance? I guess thedécor shows how the Crouches view theirGod. But Paul Crouch has a point whenhe compares his temples to Catholic cathedrals.“Hey, if you’re gonna get mad,why don’t you take the Catholic Churchon? I just been over in Italy and I love togo into those beautiful old cathedrals.” Aswe’ll cover in the ecumenism chapter, theCatholic Church wrongly thinks their cathedralsand churches hold the actual bodyand blood, soul and divinity of Christ intheir tabernacles on their altars, and usereal gold plates and chalices to containhim. This is in total contradiction to theWord of God that says that God “doesnot dwell in temples made with hands.”Another similarity between TBN andPTL that many people point out is thefounders’ colorful wives. Many havecompared Jan Crouch to Tammy FayeBakker (Mesner) as if to say that Crouchcopied Bakker, but they have the orderwrong. Tammy Faye, as already pointedout, learned the tricks of the tradefrom the older and wiser Jan Crouch.Like Tammy Faye, Crouch donstons of make-up and false eye-lashesand wigs, sometimes blue or pink-tintedones. One writer of a letter to the editorof Charisma magazine, wrote, “I don’t’judge others by the clothes they wear.However, I can tell you that many peopledo change the channel because of Jan’sextreme appearance. That’s unfortunate.Jesus does not want Christians tooffend others or cause them to stumble.”The letter was in response toCharisma’s June, 1998 issue that featuredTBN as the cover story. In the side-bar,“Jan Will Be Jan,” author J. Lee Gradywrote, “Channel surfers who visit theTrinity Broadcasting Network on weeknightsoften do double takes when theysee Jan Crouch chatting on the flashyPraise the Lord set. Her pink bouffantwig, heavy eye makeup and constantgiggling put her in a category all by herselfwhen it comes to talk-show hosts. .. She doesn’t care if you are offended byher clothing style, her makeup or her recentdecision to have cosmetic surgery.”Certainly her appearance doesgrab the attention of channel-surfers,but diminishes from anything shesays since she can’t be taken seriouslyin the minds of the casual viewer.The Tonight Show’s host, Jay Leno,once commented on her during hismonologue. He said that his wife sometimeswatches Christian television andasked his audience if they have seen thiswoman who “looks like Tammy Fayeon a bad day. White hair piled up high,Continued: Life styles of the Rich and Famous - Pt. 7eye make-up that looks like it’s appliedwith a trowel and wearing a fur coat.”Jan Crouch really goes to work duringthe Christmas holidays. Just likePTL’s Heritage USA theme park thatlit up every Christmas, TBN’s studioscome alive in December. Tammy Fayewas the first to boast of having one millionlights hung on PTL’s property, andnow Jan Crouch has outdone Bakker andhas more than one million lights on theCosta Mesa headquarters alone. Unfortunately,that didn’t sit well in SouthernCalifornia when residents were enduringrolling blackouts due to power shortages.An article appeared in the December20, 2000, issue of the L. A. Timescalled, “A Glaring Exception: Energy CrisisPuts TBN in an Unfavorable Light.”Times Staff Writer, William Lobdell’slead paragraph read, “It’s that time of yearagain: to mail cards, trim the tree—andcomplain about the light display at TrinityBroadcasting Network headquartersin Costa Mesa. But this December, thecomplaints—usually centered aroundmatters of taste—have had greater resonanceas the state endures its worst energycrisis in more than two decades.”The article went on to explain thatTBN made a few concessions to thecomplaints, but still lit up the building,only for shorter periods of time. The localsin the vicinity say you can see thelights from the TBN building for a milebefore you pass by on the 405 Freeway.One of TBN’s brochures boasts ofthe Holiday decorations at their Hendersonville,Tennessee studios. “Marvelat the Yuletide beauty of ChristmasCity USA. Over a million lights sparkleon 30 acres of beautifully decoratedgrounds. Stroll through ChristmasAround the World and see delightfulChristmas traditions from many nations.”Jan Crouch’s former personal assistant,Kelly Whitmore, used to haveto go and purchase furniture and décorat Crouch’s command. “I felt soguilty going and buying those things,”said Whitmore. “Christmas lightswere absolutely phenomenal in cost.”What a bad portrait of ChristianityTBN portrays to the world when they seethe gaudy sets and the painted womanthat resembles her surroundings. On aBehind the Scenes show in December,2000, Jan Crouch gave a guided tour ofthe conference room at TBN’s new CostaMesa facility. The room was full of banquettables and chairs and decorated withred velvet curtains. Mrs. Crouch used thetime to promote the seminars available toall TBN partners in Southern California.June 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 11

Continued: Life styles of the Rich and Famous - Pt. 7The upcoming seminar was to be conductedby Jan Crouch’s own cosmetic surgeonand was on the topic of liposuction.Perhaps Jan Crouch was indebted toher cosmetic surgeons to promote theirbusinesses after all the time they put intoJan’s reconstruction that occurred in thelate 1990s. Jan seemed to disappear fora while from the airwaves. She left lookinglike Elly Mae Clampett of the BeverlyHillbillies with her frilly pink rufflesand blonde curly wigs and came back inthe style of Pamela Sue Anderson withstraightened, tinted, wigs and collagenlips. Jan Crouch’s personality changedalong with her new outward appearance.She now is rarely seen in a color otherthan black. Before her renovation sherarely wore that color. And her Elly Maegiggles were replaced with Pamela Lee’ssauciness. And the world takes notice.One Christian reporter, Robin Bandini,wrote of Jan Crouch, “ She hasreportedly used countless thousandsof TBN money to get a variety of facelifts,liposuction, tummy tucks, collagenlip implants, and breast augmentation.”Jan Crouch’s former assistant, KellyWhitmore, confirmed this and said“Jan has had three breast augmentationsurgeries and went from a 34-b toa 40-dd . She wanted to go slowly so itwouldn’t be so noticeable. Dolly Partonwas one of Jan’s idols and Jan carriesBarbie dolls around with her.”But Jan Crouch is not ashamed ofthese things, but rather flaunts them to theTBN viewers as some sort of fringe benefitof her prosperity gospel. She doesn’tseem to care what anybody thinks, she’sgoing to do what she wants to do. She hasthe power over the programming of thelargest “Christian” network in the world.It is reported that the Crouches havelived separately for years. This is apparentfrom watching TBN and seeingthe Crouches refer to each other as beingelsewhere very consistently. Whitmoretestified of the Crouches’ condos in Tennesseebeing next door to each other, soeven when the Crouches are together inthe same place, they reside separately.There might be some logical explanationfor these reports, however the Crouchesrefuse to be interviewed. But it certainlydoes give “an appearance of evil,”something the Bible clearly warns against.Both Jan and Paul have spoken publiclyabout Jan’s reputation as a flirt, sowhen she’s seen acting unbecomingly inpublic, it looks all the more incriminating.Jan shared with the TBN viewers:“When I had gotten thrown out of college-- Can you see this little sweet face?Can you believe this little sweet face evergot thrown out of a Christian college? Imean they went, ‘Out of here, child! Wecannot help you! Out! Out! Out!’ Andthe day that I was thrown out of EvangelCollege in Springfield, Missouri, mylittle daddy that night . . . I was planningjust to leave. I knew the disgrace I hadbrought him. My dad (Edgar Bentley)was on the board of Evangel College. Iknew the disgrace. One of the big wigsin the Assemblies of God church, whenhis daughter going to a Christian collegeof the denomination was the first girlever to get thrown out. I felt helpless. . .“ I heard the car motor going outsidemy dorm window where I had a ladder up tomy window . . . They called it Jacob’s ladder.I don’t think it should have been calledthat -- it’s Jacob and John and Bruce andEd and whoever will . . . I heard Bruce’s caroutside the window and I was fixin to go.”She explained how her dad’s prayersstopped her and she called him to pick herup rather than run away. Her recent behaviormakes one ask if she has ever gottenover the promiscuity of her youth. Asa public figure in the Christian community,she certainly is looked up to by many TBNloyalists. But her public image makes ahorrible role-model for young Christianwomen who are sent the message that impurityand sleaze is quite OK for a believer.Both Jan and Paul Crouch are globetrotters who stay in the finest, first-classhotels. In fact, one day on Behind theScenes, Jan Crouch held grand-son, Calan,on her lap, talking about what a relaxingweek-end she had and Calan blurtedout that they stayed at the “Ritz Carlton,”an expensive five-star hotel on the beachin Laguna. Jan quickly put her hand overhis mouth and made excuses that theyjust wanted to stay at the beach. That’sodd too since the Crouches own a housein Newport Beach and a condo near thenew Costa Mesa headquarters, a merefew miles from their house. (Again, moreevidence that the Crouches reside apart.)So Jan Crouch knows her lifestyle isshameful or she wouldn’t have been embarrassedwhen Calan advertised it. TheCrouches apparently hold to an idea ofcheap grace -- “Sin all the more that graceshould abound.” Insiders have reportedthat Jan Crouch enjoys smoking cigarettesand Paul Crouch keeps a supply of expensivecigars on hand. Once Jan joked abouther smoking on the Praise-a-Thon in April,2001. “Matt said today on the phone to me,our son Matthew. When I was talking tohim, he said, ‘Mom, it sounds like you’vebeen smoking for 50 years.’ I’m sorry --No, only 48.” And she laughed about it.Paul Crouch also has expensivetaste. He recently bragged about buyinga classic sports car while at the same timeclaiming that he controls his money, hismoney doesn’t control him. “The Lordgave me a desire of my heart last week,Crouch announced during the Spring2001 Praise a Thon. “I got me a littlesports car . . . Yes I did, just like SteveBrock’s. He got his a year earlier, yes.”Steve Brock, Benny Hinn’s tenorwho has also been a regular performeron TBN’s Praise-the-Lord programsfor a couple of decades, got agood laugh from Crouch’s confession.TBN Regulars Follow SuitThe lifestyles of those who haveshows on TBN tend to match the exampleset by the Crouches. There are afew exceptions, but the programming onthe network tends to send the same messageand give a consistent display of avarice,greed, and worldliness. The Bibleis specific as to how we must respondto those whose lifestyles are so ungodly.“But now I have written to you notto keep company with anyone nameda brother, who is sexually immoral, orcovetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, ora drunkard, or an extortioner--not evento eat with such a person.” (1Co 5:11)1. Harrell, Daved Edwin Jr., “All Things ArePossible,” @1975, Indiana University Press,Bloomington, p 742. Prasch, Jacob, “People’s Opinions or God’s,”a study of II Sam. 5 & 6, audio tape #PRA1129on file.3. Capps, Charles, “Seed-Faith Book TurnsLife Around,” from Oral Roberts’ magazine,Abundant Life, May/June 1987, pg. 5.4. Buckingham, Jamie, “Something GoodHas Happened,” from Oral Roberts’ magazine,Abundant Life, May/June 1987, pg. 7.Hunt, Dave -- “Word-Faith Movement” messagespoken @ CCLV on 2/28/99, audio tapeon file.Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/1/80, “A False Image.”Robison, James, quoted in Philadelphia Inquirer,“Oral’s ‘death watch’ Start,” 3/5/87.“O Timothy” magazine, Volume 7, Issue 3,1990. David W. Cloud, Editor. Quoted in “AndThey Will Make Merchandise of You” by MichaelClark and George Davis, A WildernessVoice Website, [http://awildernessvoice.com].Buckingham, Jamie, Daughter of Destiny, pg.246.Ibid., pg.272-273.1998 On-line forum, Thread: “TBN is insane”:alt.fan.bob-larsonApodaca, Patricia, “Southland Ranks as TV’sBible Belt, Los Angeles Times, Orange Countyedition, 1/12/9812 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007

The video is available from Paw Creek Ministries,5110 Tuckaseegee Rd., Charlotte, NC28208. >www.pawcreek.org

ComentaryCalvin L. SmithChristianZionism:Commentary by Calvin L. SmithRoad-map toArmageddonC O M M E N T A R YStephen Sizer’s Christian Zionism:Road-map to Armageddon? (ACritical Book Review), by Calvin L.Smith© Calvin L. Smith 2007.An explosion of Evangelicalism(predominantly Pentecostalism)across Latin America duringthe 1980s quickly captured the attentionof sociologists. Since then,this ripe field of research has beenextended to include the social andpolitical impact of explosive Pentecostalgrowth in Africa and elsewhere,while the entire phenomenonhas arguably spawned a relativelynew, interdisciplinary academicfield, Pentecostal Studies, which isnow well-established in respecteduniversities and centres throughoutEurope and North America.If several decades of scholarlyPentecostal studies have taught usanything, it is the movement’s heterogeneity.Pentecostalism’s diverse histories,beliefs, and practices underpinvarious expressions of global Pentecostalism,which in turn demands anuanced approach to the movement.Some scholars viewing Pentecostalismas essentially homogenous havediscovered this to their cost, producingresearch that has ultimatelyproved flawed and been ridiculedwithin the academic community.Yet despite these apparently disparateexpressions of Pentecostalism,nevertheless there are featurescommon to most. These includestyles of worship, pneumatology,and especially charismata (spiritualgifts), especially glossolalia (speakingin tongues). Another, arguably, isZionism. Several years ago, when Idelivered a lecture to a PentecostalStudies group at the University ofBirmingham, the subject of Israelwas raised. Given Pentecostalism’sdiverse nature, together with the variousexpressions represented there, Isought students’ views on the modernstate of Israel. Of more than adozen postgraduates, I do not recall anystudent expressing other than a positiveview of Israel. I suppose this should notbe that surprising. After all, Pentecostalism’seschatology is historically stronglyinfluenced by dispensationalism, whichhas helped to ensure that classical Pentecostalismis strongly Zionist by nature.Even though one can find Pentecostalstoday who are not Zionist or support themodern state of Israel, nonetheless Zionismhas become a defining feature ofclassical Pentecostalism which has sincebeen embraced by other expressions ofPentecostalism throughout the world.It is because of this pro-Israel stancethat Pentecostals (or, for that matter, anyother Christians who believe the Jews remainGod’s people and who support themodern state of Israel) should be awareof Stephen Sizer’s book, Christian Zionism:Road-map to Armageddon? whichis highly critical of Christian Zionism. Inhis book, Sizer traces the roots and historyof Christian Zionist dispensationalism, itstheological emphases, and what he considersto be its damaging political implications.The book concludes with what Sizerrefers to as a `a covenantal alternative’.Sizer argues that British dispensationalismwas instrumental in creating thenecessary political will within the Britishpolitical establishment to create a Jewishhomeland within the land that fell atthat time under the British Mandate. Healso states that British dispensationalism,which predated the American variant, wenton to influence U.S. Christian perceptionsof Israel. Thus, the book argues thatwhereas British dispensationalism helpedto create the modern state of Israel, U.S.dispensationalists (and those influencedby it) provide Israel with ongoing legitimacyand active support. Among those atthe forefront of garnering political supportfor Israel are several leading Pentecostaltelevangelists, which brings us rightback to where this essay began, namely,Pentecostal attitudes towards Israel.Sizer’s book is unnecessarily polemicaland pejorative. It is also strongly biased.Sizer is strongly associated witha Palestinian ecumenical and liberationtheology movement called Sabeel, whichsides very strongly with the Palestiniancause and vociferously condemns Israel.Although Sabeel’s founder, Naim Ateek,has condemned suicide bombings, hisstatement is qualified by seeking to understandwhy suicide bombers do whatthey do. It is interesting to see also how,in the context of suicide bombings againstIsrael, Naim Ateek and Sabeel refer toSamson’s last act in the Philistines’ templeof Dagon. Thus, Sabeel’s position onsuicde bombings appears somewhat ambiguous.(For details, see http://www.sabeel.org/old/news/cstone25/suicidebombers.htm).Its pejorative and biased nature meansthe book is not as objective as it might be,which weaken its scholarly impact. Actually,these flaws are a pity because Sizermakes some valid points concerning extremedispensationalism. He also highlightssome of the dangers of an “Israelright or wrong” mentality which someChristians hold. (Even many Jews do nottake this position.) Other valid points Sizermakes are how at times dispensationalismis theologically arbitrary, the extremenature of what he calls “political dispensationalism”,the very real theologicalpitfalls of seeking to read every piece ofnews and current affairs through the spectaclesof biblical prophecy, and the desireby some pro-Israel Christians to offer Goda `helping hand’ in seeing those propheciesfulfilled. God does not need our helpto fulfil His own prophecies, but Sizermanages to highlight how some Christianleaders think in precisely these terms, especiallyin the U.S., where they engage inpolitical lobbying to bring pressure to bearon government policy so as to fulfil biblicalprophecy on God’s behalf. Such a mentalityis no different from anthropocentricpostmillennialist Kingdom Theology attemptsto usher in and present the Kingdomto Christ, thus hastening His return.A major problem with the book is thatit dwells almost exclusively on extremepolitical dispensationalism, without anymeaningful or fair discussion of theologicalsupport for the Jews by Evangelicalswho are not dispensationalist. The viewthat the Jews continue to be God’s cho-14 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007

sen people does not necessarily translateinto the expressions of the forms of extremeChristian Zionism which Sizer describes.Moreover, a pro-Jewish theologicalstance is nowhere near as new as Sizerwould have us believe. He looks back tothe Puritans as the progenitors of a pro-Jewish doctrinal stance which he arguesreaches maturity in nineteenth centurydispensationalism. Yet arguably, supportfor the doctrine of the Jews as God’speople is the longstanding historic viewof the church which, ironically, led to terribleanti-Semitism excesses by medievalChristians frustrated that God’s very ownpeople had rejected Christ. Even that anti-Semite Martin Luther recognised the Jewsstill retained a special place in God’s hand.Sizer’s book also raises questionsabout his hermeneutical methodology.For example, as a typical covenantalist hebelieves most biblical prophecy has beenfulfilled already (this position is known aspreterism). A case in point is his interpretationof the abomination of desolation, referredto by Jesus in Matthew 24. Clearly,Jesus was alluding to the fall of Jerusalemto Titus in AD 70. Yet the passage also haseschatological significance: it is, after all,located in Matthew’s so-called eschatologicaldiscourse, and even a superficial readingdemonstrates Jesus is using a soon-tooccurevent to describe an eschatologicalscenario. Thus a Jewish understanding ofprophecy as repeated history which canhave several partial or illustrative fulfilmentsis lost on Sizer. Lest he think sucha view is clear evidence of someone unableto shed their dispensationalist mindset,one need only consider Isaiah 7:14,which found an expression in Isaiah’sday, but also when Jesus was born. Bothchildren represented a sign that markedthe salvation of God’s people Israel.This leads to another hermeneuticalproblem with the book. Sizer correctlyidentifies how a dispensationalist hermeneutic(like any other) can predeterminethe interpretation of the Bible. In thiscase, Sizer argues, a dispensationalistwill always read the Bible along Zionistlines, leading to a tunnel vision whichrejects all other interpretations. Yet Sizerfalls into precisely the very same trap,quite unable to break away from his ownstrongly covenantal hermeneutic, to theextent that his interpretation of biblicalprophecy is allegorised and preterisedalong established covenantal lines. Thus,Sizer engages in the very same dogmatichermeneutics he condemns, rather thanthe exegetical objectivity he appeals for.All this aside, Sizer’s book throwsdown the gauntlet to Christian Zionists,Calvin L. Smithand by extension, many Pentecostals,and thus merits closer inspection. Afterall, support for Jews as God’s people,and by extension the Jewish state, doesnot necessarily or automatically translateinto support for a secular government ofIsrael, which is arguably somewhat moretheologically difficult to justify. Asidefrom this book, there are several otherrecent academic Evangelical attempts topush anti-Zionism. There have been severaltheologically-meaty rebuttals, andChristians who support the Jews as God’speople do well to familiarise themselveswith the current debate and seek to defendtheir position persuasively and effectivelyin a manner which is exegeticallyand theologically viable and nuanced.Dr Calvin L. SmithEditor, Evangelical Review ofSociety and PoliticsCourse Director and Lecturer inTheologyThe Midlands Bible Collegewww.moriel.orgmoriel online• MORIEL is an evangelistic ministry topeople of other faiths, beginning with the Jewsand nominal (non-evangelical) Christians, suchas Roman Catholics and liberal Protestants. Wealso hold seminars on Messianic apologetics,and on Islamic evangelism, and cult evangelism• MORIEL seeks to plant Messianic fellowshipswhere none exist. These are “fellowships”and not congregations, designed to evangelizeJews and to provide a practical way for Jewishbelievers and those called to the Jews to preserveand express their identity in Yeshua as Messiah• MORIEL helps believers to plant churchesin situations where bible-based congregationsdo not exist. We call this Misgav Ladach;a Hebrewterm meaning “shelter for the oppressed”.• MORIEL will stand against serious doctrinalerror where it threatens the credibility ofthe gospel or undermines the authority of scripture.This will be particularly true concerning areaslikely to prove detrimental to Jewish evangelism- such as “Dual Covenant Theology” and“Christian Anti-Semitic”, and “Anti-Zionism”CommentaryDear Mr. Prasch,I just read your article you had writtenabout David Wilkerson. We had receivedhis pulpit newletters for over 20years and supported him financially. Asof about 2 or 3 years ago we cancelledour subscription to his newsletters. Wewere not really aware of what was goingon with him of what we read on the articleyou had written, but that his pulpitnewletters had changed so much we didn’twant them anymore and wondered whathad happened to him. We know about theconfrontation of his ministry and the “holylaughter” of Rodney Howard Brownewhen Browne was in N.Y. for a crusade,and also felt he changed after that. Is isso sad, what a day of apostacy we livein. We quit attending churches totallya few years ago and am amazed how thechurch is in apostacy. We are truly livingin the very last days before our LordJesus returns. I believe the deception thatwe are experiencing is nothing to whatis coming soon. Lord Jesus help us...Randy B.Dear J. Snith:Thank you for your letter.It is a shame how the mighty have fallen.We had long endorsed David and agreedwith his teaching, but you are right somethinghappened. If it happened to David,who can it not happen to? May the Lordpreserve us!We do agree that it is the time of the greatapostasy, but we agree even more with theLord in his direct command that we shouldnot forsake the gathering together of ourselves,especially as we see the day of theLord approach. Also, those who remainalone argue against all sound wisdom.While we understand that churches havemany problems, we do encourage peoplethe solution for bad church is not nochurch but good church. We hope and encouragepeople if they are not in church,to at least be in small group home fellowships,or bible studies.In Peace,DavidJ a c o bYour Letters ...L e t t e r s t oP r a s c hJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 15

Moriel AmericaA m e r I C a n N e w sM O R I E L A M E R I C AU S AGreetings in Jesus preciousname,Recently at the new Morielchurch-plant in Pittsburgh I dida series of messages on the lastcouple of weeks of Jesus’ lifeand the instructions that he leftHis followers. The followingcame from one of those lessons.John 13 shows us somerelationships that Jesus hadand in those relationships wecan learn spiritual truths forour relationships with othersand for our Christian walk.The first relationship wasJesus and His Father in Heaven(John 13:1-5). With Jesus on adivine timetable, He knew Hishour was come (13:1). Andwith that knowledge He knewit was the time when He wouldbe glorified through His death,resurrection, and ascension. Jesusrelationship with His Fathertaught Him certain truths. Heknew who He was, where Hecame from, what He had, andwhere He was going, He wascomplete master of the situation.But, He wanted to teachsome last lessons to His own.These lessons are on Humility,Holiness, and Blessedness. Forus we are children of God, bornagain, and by knowing this factwe know where we are going.So by following Jesus’ examplesand having the type of relationshipHe had with the Father, wecan experience a blessed life.The Scriptures show us thatat this point of the evening duringwhat is called the last supper,Jesus gets up and lays asideHis outer garments, wraps atowel around His waist, takesa basin of water, and starts towash the feet of the disciples.This must have been shockingfor the disciples. No Jew, noteven a Jewish servant woulddo this, as this was left for theGentile servants to do. But, thedisciple’s master kneels downand gives them a lesson in humility.Jesus knew that therewas a competitive spirit in the16 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007David Listerhearts of His disciples. In fact, within afew minutes, the men were disputing overwhich of them was the greatest (Luke22:24-30). But He wanted to teach themand by extension, us! This lesson musthave sunk in for Peter because later inhis epistle he would write that we are to“be clothed with humility” (1 Peter 5:5).Jesus was Lord of all and He makesHimself a servant. All things were Hisand He picks up a towel to dry His disciples’feet. He was Master, but He choseto serve. It has well been said that humilityis not thinking meanly of yourself; itis simply not thinking of yourself at all.True humility grows out of our relationshipwith the Father. True joy can befound when we follow His example anddo the Father’s will. Out of this will comethe glorification of His name. We today,just like the disciples that night, desperatelyneed this lesson on humility. Thechurch is filled with a worldly spirit ofcompetition, a spirit that one seeks achurch that will meet one’s own need insteadof finding a church where one canserve. Also, we often vie to see who hasthe biggest and best ministry. If Jesusserved His disciples because of His humilityand because of His love so should we.During this time Peter spoke out withhis usual impulsiveness and ignorancegiving us the next lesson on Holiness.. Itshould be noted here that the word translated“wash” in John 13:5-6, 8, 12, and 14is nipto and means “to wash a part of thebody.” It is important as Jesus is not usingthe word louo(13:10) which means “tobathe all over.” He is drawing a distinctionin this lesson about the importanceof a holy walk! When someone becomesa believer he is washed all over (1 Cor.6:9-11; Titus 3:3-7). As we come in contactwith this world it is easy to be defiled,to get dirty. Jesus tells Peter, ““If I do notwash you, you have no part with Me.”(John 13:8). It is important to understandthe word here “part” for clarification. Itmeans, “participation, having a share insomeone or something.” What is beingsaid is what James says, that we have tobe “unspotted from the world” (James1:27). Our communion with Him is brokenby our sin. So it is of the utmost importancethat we be Holy as He is holy,that our walked is marked by holiness.I love Old Testament pictures andtypology and there is an illustration inExodus 29 that should help us to under-stand this passage’s meaning and theinteraction between the Lord and Peter.When the priest was consecrated, hewas bathed all over (Ex. 29:4), and thatexperience was never repeated. However,during his daily ministry, he becamedefiled; so it was necessary that hewash his hands and feet at the brass laverin the courtyard when he served there.(Ex. 30:18-21). After washing he couldtrim the lamps, top off the oil or performwhatever job the lot had fallen to him.For believers today the Lord cleansesus through the blood of Christ, fromHis work on the cross (1 John 1:5-10),and through the application of His Wordto our lives (Ps. 119:9; John 15:3; Eph.5:25-26). The “water of the Word” cankeep our hearts and minds clean so thatwe will avoid the pollutions of this world.Yet when we sin, we have we have an Advocatewith the Father, Jesus Christ therighteous; who will hear our prayers ofconfession and forgive us (1 John 2:1-2).Finally for our last lesson, want togive a definition: Blessedness: A stateof well-being and contentment. The primarysense of the word “blessed” hereis the sense of approval. It is saying thatGod has expressed His approval on theDisciples and those that do His will. Tobe blessed is to be approved by God!With these words, Jesus sums upthe first two lessons, “If you know thesethings, you are blessed if you do them.”(John 13:17). Jesus tells us very simply,a life lived in humbleness and holinessproduces blessedness. It is not just knowingthese things as Jesus clearly statesand James 1:22-27 restates for us, but theWord has to be put into action in the lifeof the believer to produce the desired effectof a blessed life. If the servant is notgreater than the master and the Masterbends down to serve where does that putus. It puts us into to a position to do whatour Lord did, serve others in humility andholiness. And in this we find the joy andthat state of being that our souls so desire.With the world and especially the westernworld so caught up in being served,this lesson ought to be on our hearts andat the forefront of our lives in order thatwe will experience life and life abundantly.By His service, He dignified sacrificeand service, so let us go and do likewise.In Peace,David

Dr. Thomas Ice CommentaryBy, Dr. Thomas IceFor the last fifteen years or so whenI have heard Hank Hanegraaff, host ofthe Bible Answer Man radio program,field questions on eschatology (end timesprophecy) it was very clear that he hasbeen against the futurist perspective fromthe get-go. Hanegraaff has told his audiencefor years that he was studying thefield of eschatology and would announcehis views in a book one day. Hanegraaff’sbook has now been released, entitled TheApocalypse Code [1] and has confirmedhis rhetoric and tone heard for the lastfifteen years on the radio as Hanegraaffhas been treating dispensationalism asif it were a cult. Yes, Hanegraaff hasbeen “culting” dispensationalism! Eventhough Hanegraaff always insisted thathe was open to and had not adopted aspecific view of eschatology, it has alwaysbeen equally clear to anyone whois schooled in the various views that hehad all along rejected dispensationalismand embraced his own version of a preterist/idealistscheme. Yet, he has neveradmitted this; and even after the release ofhis book still refuses to classify his ownconclusions in spite of the fact that he assignslabels to virtually everyone else.Some Factual ErrorsAs I first started reading the book, Inoticed a number of factual errors. Let mechronicle just a couple of them. Hanegraaffsays Tim LaHaye is “Unlike earlydispensationalists, who believed that theJews would be regathered in Palestinebecause of belief in their Redeemer.” [2]Hanegraaff gives no documentation forthis statement, which is factually in error.In fact, J. N. Darby (the earliest ofdispensationalists) believed that the Jewswould return to their land in unbelief. Hesays, “At the end of the age the same factwill be reproduced: the Jews-returned totheir own land, though without being converted-willfind themselves in connectionwith the fourth beast.” [3] HistorianDavid Rausch in his Ph.D. dissertationentitled: Zionism Within Early AmericanFundamentalism 1878-1918, says,“The Proto-Fundamentalist believedthat the Jewish people would return toPalestine, the ‘Promised Land,’ withoutconverting enmasse to Christianity.” [4]HANK HANEGRAAFF –THEA p o c a l y p s eCODEMore examples could be given, but it isclear that most dispensationalists have alwaysagreed with LaHaye on this matter.Another error in fact by Hanegraaffis his statement that Author James Balfour“was raised on a steady diet of dispensationalism.”[5] Lord Balfour wasforeign secretary when the British governmentissues a statement in 1917 supportingthe reestablishment of a Jewishstate in Israel called the Balfour Declaration.Balfour was a Zionist, but hisviews were not based upon eschatology,let alone dispensationalism. Hissister and biographer said the following:Balfour’s interest in the Jews andtheir history was lifelong. It originated inthe Old Testament training of his mother,and in his Scottish upbringing. As hegrew up, his intellectual admiration andsympathy for certain aspects of Jewishphilosophy and culture grew also, and theproblem of the Jews in the modern worldseemed to him of immense importance.He always talked eagerly on this, and Iremember in childhood imbibing fromhim the idea that Christian religion andcivilization owes to Judaism an immeasurabledebt, shamefully ill repaid. [6]Historian Barbara Tuckman tells usthat Balfour was “not ardent but a skeptic,not a religious enthusiast but a philosophicalpessimist, . . . that Christianreligion and civilization owes to Judaisman immeasurable debt, shamefullyill repaid.” [7] Hardly one influenced bydispensationalism as Hanegraaff wouldhave his readers believe. In fact, it isprobably true that none of the ChristianZionists of the early twentieth century inBritain were influenced at all by dispensationalism.Most of the Christian Zionistsin Britain at this time were usuallymembers of the Church of England. [8]Humble HankHumble Hank Hanegraaff ridiculesHal Lindsey’s 1997 book, ApocalypseCode [9] as one who claimed to understandthe book of Revelation. “Until thepresent generation,” declares Hanegraaffof Lindsey, “the encrypted message ofthe Apocalypse had remained unrealized”until Lindsey cracked the code.[10] Now Hanegraaff meekly declaresof the release of his new book: “I thinkIllustrated by: Grimdarit will create a major paradigm shift inour understanding of the end times thatis long overdue.” [11] He believes it willbe away from dispensational futurism andtoward his preterism/idealism scheme.Hanegraaff contends that his bookis about “Exegetical Eschatology to underscorethat above all else I am deeplycommitted to a proper method of biblicalinterpretation rather than to any particularmodel of eschatology.” [12] If that ishis goal then he has fallen far short ofthe mark! Hanegraaff’s proposed interpretativeapproaches, if implemented,would send the church back to the DarkAges hermeneutically. He may want toproduce only a method of interpretation,but the moment anyone applies amethod it produces an outcome or modelof eschatology. Further, the book of Revelationis not written in code (where doesRevelation say that?), thus, no need tobreak the code as Hanegraaff contends.The great majority of the book is arant against Hanegraaff’s distorted viewof dispensationalism in general and TimLaHaye in particular. There is preciouslittle actual exegesis, if any at all, to supporthis preterist/idealist eschatology,however, there are great quantities ofsome of the most vicious tirades againstLaHaye and many other Bible prophecyteachers that I have ever read in print.Hanegraaff appears rather proud totell readers that the principles of his methodologyis “called Exegetical Eschatologyor e 2,” [13] as if no one before hecame along had ever produced a view ofeschatology from proper exegesis. Interestingly,for someone who claims such adeep commitment “to a proper method ofbiblical interpretation” [14] it is stunningto realize that Hanegraaff’s “method” isstated as principles, rather than an actualmethod like the historical-grammatical.“I have organized the principles thatare foundational to e 2 around the acronymLIGHTS,” [15] says Hanegraaff.The letters of the acronym LIGHTSstands for the following principles: L refersto the literal principle, I represents theillumination principle, G stands for thegrammatical principle, H for the historicalprinciple, T means the typology principle,and S is for the principle of scripturalsynergy .[16] Only half of Hanegraaff’sJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 17

Continued: The Apocalypse Codeprinciples can even be classified as interpretativemethods, the other three arebest classified as theological beliefs. Illuminationis a work of the Holy Spiriton the believer that enables him to see orunderstand God’s Word. An unbeliever isblinded to the truth of God (1 Cor. 2:14),however, a believer is in a state in whichhe is able to see and understand God’struth (1 Cor. 2:9-3:2). This theologicaltruth is not an interpretative method.Typology is not a method for exegetingScripture, instead, as Paul says, some OldTestament events were types, patterns, illustrations,or examples to help us live theChristian life (1 Cor. 10:6, 11). Hanegraaffdefines his principle of scriptural synergyas a belief “that the whole of Scripture isgreater than the sum of its individual passages.. . . that individual Bible passagesmay never be interpreted in such a wayas to conflict with the whole of Scripture.”[17] Traditionally this is called the analogyof faith, that Scripture interprets Scripture.This also is a theological outcomeand not a method. This principle also presupposesthat one already properly understandsthe meaning of all of the other passagesthat are supposed to shed light uponthe one in dispute. Such is not the case.Tim LaHaye Racist andBlasphemer?Hanegraaff’s new book anoints TimLaHaye as the head of this new cult, replacingHal Lindsey the former whippingboy, and is the prime target in hissub-Christian attack on LaHaye and otherBible prophecy advocates. Strangely,Hanegraaff is known for often quotingthe famous maxim: “In essentials, unity;in nonessentials, liberty; in all things,charity.” [18] So where is the libertyand charity in practice that he advocatesin theory? Charity and liberty towardsthose he disagrees with is totally absent inHanegraaff’s new book. In fact, his newbook actually competes with the writingsof Gary North for the most invective perparagraph and makes Gary DeMar appearto be a fairly nice guy. It is one thing todisagree with another Christian (Hanegraaffand any other Christian has a rightto voice their disagreement with otherChristians), but to call his fellow brother inChrist a racist [19] and a blasphemer [20]because he advocates a different view ofBible prophecy goes well beyond the pale.“Furthermore,” says Hanegraaff,“there is the very real problem of racialdiscrimination.” [21] Watch how Hanegraaffplays the race card: he takes La-Haye’s commonly held view that Israelhas a future in God’s plan, adds a touch of18 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007his famous misrepresentation of another’sview, and presto, LaHaye has become aracist. It would seem to me that the sameHanegraaff logic applied to God in theOld Testament would also make the Lorda racist for choosing Israel “out of all thepeoples who are on the face of the earth”(Deut. 6:6-8). It follows that if you sidewith God on this issue then Hanegraaffwould believe that you believe in salvationby race instead of grace. Yes, LaHayebelieves that God has chosen Israel, butlike all dispensationalists, he also believesthat Israel will be saved in the futureby the same gracious gospel that isavailable to all mankind-Jew or Gentile.Anti-Israel and Pro-PalestinianHanegraaff’s blend of preterism andidealism produces an eschatology thatis viciously antiIsrael and pro-Palestinian.His brand of replacement theologyteaches that national Israel has no futuresince she is replaced by the church.Just as Joshua is a type of Jesus wholeads the true children of Israel into theeternal land of promise, so King Davidis a type of the “King of Kings and Lordor Lords” who forever rules and reignsfrom the New Jerusalem in faithfulnessand in truth (Revelation 19:16; cf. 19:11).In each case, the lesser is fulfilled andrendered obsolete by the greater. [22]As is typical within systems of replacementtheology, Hanegraaff renders muchof the Old Testament obsolete by what issaid to have happened in New Testamenttheology. He says, the “relationship betweenthe Testaments is in essence typological.”[23] Future prophetic promises,which usually relate to Israel, are renderedas mythical or mere types and shadows ofsomething else, but never what they actuallysay. Through alleged hermeneuticalideas, such as Hanegraaff’s so-called,“typology principle,” he interprets futurepromises to Israel allegorically as fulfilledthrough the church. Such deconstruction ofGod’s Word renders the future promises toIsrael as mythological and not true historicalrecords of God’s veracity. [24] Thus,the reader is not surprised that Hanegraaffdoes not believe that the seventy weeks ofyears (490 years) in Daniel refer to literalyears that actually elapse in specific history,instead, he says, “the seventy sevensof Daniel encompass ten Jubilee eras andrepresent the extended exile of the Jewsthat would end in the fullness of time-thequintessential Jubilee-when the people ofGod would experience ultimate redemptionand restoration, not in the harlot city,but in the holy Christ.” [25] Hanegraaffregularly calls Jerusalem “the harlot city.”ConclusionThis book is not only filled with factualerror throughout, but teaches thatmost Bible prophecy has already beenfulfilled and advocates the following preteristviewpoints: Nero was the beast ofRevelation (i.e., the antichrist), Christ’sOlivet discourse and most of the Bookof Revelation were fulfilled by eventssurrounding the a.d. 70 destruction ofJerusalem, and the tribulation was alsofulfilled in the first century. Hanegraaffis certainly no lover of Israel since heteaches that God divorced the harlot Israel(he needs to read the end of Hosea) andtook a new bride-the church, supports thepro-Palestinian claims against Israel, andeven accuses Israel of the ethnic cleansingof Palestinians. Hanegraaff embracesand argues for many viewpoints that aredetrimental to sound Bible study and interpretation.Not surprisingly, I do notrecommend this book, unless one is lookingfor an example of how not to studythe Bible for all its worth. Maranatha!Endnotes[1] Hank Hanegraaff, The Apocalypse Code:Find Out What the Bible Really SaysAbout The End Times and Why It MattersToday (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 300pages.[2] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, p. xxii.[3] John Nelson Darby, The Hopes of theChurch of God, in Connection with the Destinyof the Jews and the Nations as Revealedin Prophecy (1840), Collected Writings, (Winschoten,Netherlands: H. L. Heijkoop, reprint1971), vol. 2, p. 324.[4] David A. Rausch, Zionism Within EarlyAmerican Fundamentalism 1878-1918: AConvergence of Two Traditions (New York:The Edwin Mellen Press, 1979), p. 64.[5] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, p. 183.[6] Blanche E. C. Dugdale, Arthur James Balfour:First Earl of Balfour, 1848-1906 (NewYork: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1937), p. 324.[7] Barbara W. Tuchman, Bible and Sword:England and Palestine from the Bronze Age toBalfour (New York: Ballatine Press, 1956), p.311.[8] For an overview of the history of ChristianZionism see Thomas Ice, “Lovers of Zion: AHistory of Christian Zionism” at the followinginternet site: http://www.pre-trib.org/articleview.php?id=295.[9] Hal Lindsey, Apocalypse Code (PalosVerdes, CA: Western Front, 1997).[10] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, pp. xvxvi.[11] Hank Hanegraaff, www.gather.com/view-Article.jsp?articleId=281474976960023.[12] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, p. 2.[13] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, p. xxvii.14] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, p. 2. Italicsoriginal.[15] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, p. 3.

[16] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, pp. 3-10.[17] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, p. 9.[18] Hank Hanegraaff and Sigmund Brouwer,The Last Disciple (Wheaton: Tyndale, 2004),p. 395.[19] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, pp. xxxxiii.[20] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, pp. 189,225.[21] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, p. xx. Italicsoriginal.[22] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, p. 201.[23] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, p. 170.[24] Hanegraaff realizes that his typologicalprinciple would come across as allegorical interpretationso he attempts to deny this, ApocalypseCode, pp. 171-72.[25] Hanegraaff, Apocalypse Code, p. 194.In the case of CRI/Hanegraaffvs. Alnor, CRI/Hanegraaffdid not appeal the court’s ruling.This means that besidesthe meritless defamationsuit filed against me being thrown outof court, Hanegraaff and CRI has beenordered to pay all of my legal bills. Asyou might remember, the court ruled thatCRI/Hanegraaff violated California’santi-SLAPP statutes by filing the lawsuit.Today my legal team petitioned thecourt for recovery of my legal expenses,which are in the six-figure range. I willgive the exact figure in the near future.At the same time, Hank Hanegraaffis begging for money again, claimingthat CRI has experienced “a virtualshutdown in giving.” In an unusual appealin today’s (6-12-07) Bible AnswerMan broadcast, Hanegraaff claimed thatCRI is $775,000 short, and that “incomefrom giving . evaporated from whereit was this time last year.” CRI is soshort that they are considering shrinkingback from some of its operations...Here is today’s Bible Answer ManBroadcast: http://tinyurl.com/3ymps3 Thepitch for money begins around minute 39.the equipping we engage in each and everyday. We receive innumerable letters,emails phone calls from Christians andnonchristians alike who are asking aboutGod, the Bible life after death, Islam, thereality of Christ, end times prayer, and somuch more. The only way the ChristianResearch Institute can keep up with thisoutreach and then make headway withthese substantial financial challenges isthrough YOUR prayerful and financialsupport. If you are regular or even semiregular listener to the Bible Answer Manbroadcast and you have seen first handthe difference this ministry has made inpresenting the truth of God’s word, thenI am asking for you for you financial andprayerful help. It’s CRITICAL that wehear from you today.Respectfully,William M. Alnor, Ph.D.Continued: The Apocalypse CodeCRI Claims Contributions‘Evaporated’Comment6-12-07Hank Hanegraaff transcript:“I just want to take a few moments toshare with you a very important concern thatis before us right here at the Christian ResearchInstitute. You see, lately we’ve experienceda virtual shutdown in giving fromlistener’s and donors.“Income from giving seems evaporatedfrom where it was this time last year. Ithas produced a shortfall that is in the neighborhoodof $775,000. In addition, we arecoming up on the end of our fiscal year andby all accounts we are projected to come upsubstantially short as we close our books.“With only a few days remainingin CRI’s year-end, a HUGE GAPneeds to be closed between where weare right now financially and wherewe need to be. Add all those factorstogether and we find ourselves in aCRITICAL situation. The last thingwe want to do during this critical timeis to shrink back from the outreach andMoriel & Jacob Prasch recognizeGod’s judgment on Hank Hanegraaff forhis financially unethical malconduct, hiscontra-scriptural litigation against otherbelievers, and his false doctrine that includesa hyper Calvinist anti Israel biasand propagation of the erroneous dogmaof replacement theology(Genesis 12:1-3).On top of this is his compromise onthe ecumenical issue and the unbelievablehypocrisy of publicly hanging othersfor the same cheap brand of financial lowfinancial integrity he exercises himself.May The lord continue to raiseHis hand against this deceiver.June 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 19

CommentaryCommentary by Roger OaklandRoger OaklandNew Spiritual Disciplines FromAncient Roman Catholic SourcesC O M M E N T A R YPromoters of the emergent conversationsay we are on the vergeof an era that promises renewedspiritual awareness. “Spiritual disciplines”are being touted as theavenue to a “spiritual reformation”that will take Christianity to a newand higher level of spirituality drawingall participants closer to God.Books published by majorChristian publishers written by wellknown authors are plentiful on thistopic. For example, J.P. Morelandand Klaus Issler are both professorsat Talbot School of Theology at BiolaUniversity in southern California.Moreland is professor of philosophy.Issler is professor of Christian educationand theology. In 2006, Navpresspublished a book they co-authoredtitled The Lost Virtue of Happiness:Discovering the Disciplines of theGood Life. [1] On the back cover,the following statement is made:Authors J.P. Moreland and KlausIssler illustrate how we are happyonly when we pursue a transcendentpurpose – something larger than ourselves.This involves a deeply meaningfulrelationship with God througha selfless preoccupation with thespiritual disciplines. The Lost Virtueof Happiness takes a fresh look at thespiritual disciplines, offering concreteexamples of ways you can make thempractical and life transforming. [2]The title gives a good overviewof what the book is about. Morelandand Issler believe they have rediscoveredimportant spiritual principlesthat have been lost. If youfollow these principles and they becomepart of your everyday Christianlife, you can be transformed.One of the spiritual disciplinesthe authors have recovered is outlinedin a chapter titled “GainingHappiness by Losing Your Life.”Under the subheading “Two Friends:Solitude and Silence” the authorsmake the following statement:The disciplines of solitude andsilence are absolutely fundamentalto the Christian life, are naturally practicedin tandem. In solitude we chooseto be alone and to reflect on how we experiencethe facets of life (family, job,relationship with God, finances) andwhat they mean to us while in isolation.We unhook from companionship withothers; we take ourselves physicallyand mentally out of our social, familial,and other human relationships. [3]While it is true, getting away and alonesomewhere is often the best way to concentrateand evaluate life’s most importantdecisions, the isolation and solitude thatMoreland and Issler are promoting as aspiritual discipline in the name of Christianityhas some eastern mystical overtones.Further the authors attempt to add credibilityto this rediscovered “spiritual discipline”by quoting Roman Catholic mysticand priest, Henri Nouwen, who once said:The man or woman who has developedthis solitude of heart is no longerpulled apart by the most divergentstimuli of the surrounding world butis able to perceive and understand thisworld from a quiet inner center. [4]This “quiet inner center” Nouwenwrote about is suspect, especially in lightof spiritual disciplines practiced by thoseinvolved in the Buddhist and Hindu faiths.Further, it seems that Nouwen’s RomanCatholic mystical beliefs and teachingshave strongly influenced the authors.Continuing to develop their idea of theimportance of rediscovering the lost art offinding the “quiet inner center,” they state:Go to a retreat center that has one ofits purposes the provision of a place forindividual sojourners. Try to find a centerthat has gardens, fountains, statues, andother forms of beautiful artwork. In ourexperience, Catholic retreat centers areusually ideal for solitude retreats… Wealso recommend that you bring photos ofyour loved ones and a picture of Jesus…Or gaze at a statue of Jesus. Or let somethought, feeling, or memory run throughyour mind over and over again. [5]I have searched the scriptures. Gazingat a picture or statue of Jesus or concentratingon a thought or feeling in order to establish“a quiet inner center” just isn’t there!God’s Word or Man’s wordIt is apparent to me after readingcountless books published by mainlinepublishers on the subject of the emergingchurch movement that there aretwo underlying common denominators.First, it is apparent that the “new kindof Christian” that is being groomed byemergent teachings is being conditionedto accept, embrace and promote a “newmysticism” under the banner of spiritualformation. However, the so-called spiritualdisciplines that are promoted as partof this spiritual formation are not new.They are the same methods and techniquesthat have seduced the masses sincethe fall of man in the Garden of Eden.Second, the teachings and beliefs ofRoman Catholic mystics who embracedeastern mysticism in the past are being reintroduced,and for many, are taking precedenceover the Word of God. The onslaughtof ideas promoted by these RomanCatholic mystics is staggering. Why is thisso? Is it possible many are being seducedand don’t realize what is happening? Whycan people not see the Roman Catholicconnection? Have they been blinded?For example, in a section of TheLost Virtue of Happiness: DiscoveringThe Disciplines of The Good Life,Moreland and Issler provide tips for“developing ongoing prayer.” Hereare some of the points they made:• We recommend that you beginby saying the Jesus Prayer aboutthree hundred times a day. [6]• When you first awaken, say the JesusPrayer twenty to thirty times. Asyou do, something will begin to happento you. God will begin to slowlyoccupy the center of your attention. [7]• Repetitive use of the Jesus Prayerwhile doing more focused things allowsGod to be on the boundaries of yourmind and forms the habit of being gentlyin contact with him all day long. [8]You don’t have to be Bible scholarto understand that repetitive prayersdesigned to get one into a state of consciousnessin order to bring one clos-20 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007

er to God, is not in the Word of God.Further, Moreland and Issler attemptto justify their case for the practice of repetitiveprayer in their book, claiming thatsuch a “spiritual discipline” is biblicallyand historically valid. Encouraging theunsuspecting reader to be at ease, they say:Now, before you role your eyes indisbelief, hang in there with me. Derivedfrom Luke 18:38, the Jesus Prayer has hada powerful impact on people at varioustimes in church history. [9] And while itcomes in different forms, the wording weprefer is “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy onme!” If you take up the challenge, I thinkyou’ll see some remarkable results. [10]Then, attempting to add more convincingbiblical grounds to place a seal of approvalon such antibiblical practice to getcloser to God, Moreland and Issler stated:You may be thinking that repeating aprayer over and over again violates Jesus’warning, “And when you are praying, donot use meaningless repetition [do notkeep on babbling, NIV] as the gentilesdo, for they suppose they will be heardfor their many words” (Matthew 6:7,NASB). On the contrary, the use of repetitiveprayer as a spiritual training exercisedoes not fall under this prohibition. AsNew Testament scholar Don Carson said,Jesus is not forbidding all long prayersor all repetition. He himself prayed atlength (Luke :12), repeated himself inprayer (Matt 26:14), and told a parable toshow His disciples that “they should alwayspray and not give up” (Luke :12).His point is that His disciples shouldavoid meaningless, repetitive prayers offeredunder the misconception that merelength will make prayers efficacious. [11]This apologetic, if it was writtenby J.P. Moreland who is a well knownapologist, justifying mindless repetitiveshort word prayers verses long prayersis difficult for me to accept. This wouldmean that for centuries Christians whohave spoken out against the very thingthe authors are promoting were mindlessfools. This is just too much to accept.I have been to the country of Myanmar(formerly called Burma) twice. Onboth occasions I observed (and havevideo footage) of both Roman Catholicsand Buddhists practicing the spiritualprinciple of repetitive prayer. By theway, in both cases they were chantingthese prayers over and over again whilethey were counting beads. Yes, RomanCatholics and Buddhists both have a“rosary” technique to keep track of howmany times they have chanted a prayer.I have also taken the time to interviewRoman Catholics and Buddhists in theRoger Oakland Commentarycountry of Myanmar. I have asked themwhat they are doing and why they are doingthis. Each time that I have asked this questionI have been told the same thing. It is away to concentrate and focus their thoughtsand get in tune with the spirit world.Chanting repetitive phrases to getcloser to God is not biblical, it is Satanic.If I am wrong in what I am saying, thenplease show me from the scriptures. In lightof what the Bible warns about repetitiveprayer and the fact that Satan has a significantplan to seduce believers in the LastDays, if you are headed down this path,I implore you to stop in your tracks. Repentand turn back to Jesus and His Word![1] J.P. Moreland, Klaus Issler, The LostVirtue of Happiness: Discovering theDisciplines of the Good Life,Navpress, Colorado Springs,CO, 2006[2] Ibid. back page[3] Ibid. p. 51[4] Henri Nouwen, Reaching Out (NewYork, Doubleday, 1986), 25[5] Moreland and Issler, page 54-55[6] J.P. Moreland, Klaus Issler, The LostVirtue of Happiness: Discovering theDisciplines of the Good Life,Navpress, Colorado Springs, CO,2006, p. 90[7] Ibid. p. 92[8] Ibid. p. 93[9] See R.M. French, tans., The Way ofthe Pilgrim (San Francisco: Harperand Row, 1988), 156[10] J.P. Moreland, Issler. p. 90[11] D.A. Carson, “Matthew,” inExpositor’s Bible Commentary, ed.Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids,MI: Zondervan, 1984), 166E-mail - roakland@aol.comQuotes of the QUARTER !“Restoring the Jews totheir national home inPalestine...is a Nobeldream and one shared bymany Americans”.By: Abraham LincolnMidlandsBibleCollegeAs a lecturer at MBC,Jacob Prasch recommendsthe College as aplace of study for thosewishing a more in-depthunderstanding of God’sWord. Distance-learningBible courses rangingfrom beginner through tofully accredited degreelevelavailable in eitherelectronic study pack ortraditional cassette andprinted notes format.The Midlands BibleCollegeSt. John’s SquareWolverhamptonWV2 4AT(United Kingdom)www.midbible.ac.ukadmin@midbible.ac.ukw w w . m i d b i b l e . a c . u kJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 21

Special InterestYOUR ALTERNATIVE TO:!“The Word of God is not bound.”– 2 Timothy 2:9WATCH BIBLE CONFERENCESWATCH BIBLE MESSAGESBIBLE SCHOOL COURSESSPEAKERS, TOPICS,radiofreechurch.comLIVE CHATS“O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.”—Jeremiah 22:29Radio Free Church is an onlne resource for listeningand viewing God’s Word through 24-hourscheduled radio and video broadcasts, live streamingof conferences and local church services,archived messages, and Bible School courses.Speakers will include David Hocking, Jacob Prasch,Rick Oliver, Dave Hunt, Roger Oakland,Bill Koenig, John Higgins, and many others. Wewant to take advantage of the available technologyand reach the world for the Lord Jesus Christ.The time is fast approaching where true believersmay be forced underground to avoid persecution;nations will attempt to restrict the preachingand teaching of God’s Word, but “TheWord of God is not bound.”—2 Timothy 2:New Website in DevelopmentRFC website is growing and expanding. We will be soonadding a scheduled audio Biblical messages stream,selection of messages on demand by speaker, topic,or title, and scheduled live chats with RFC speakers.Upcoming ConferencesBehold I Come Quickly June 21–24Location: Calvary Chapel Clarinda (Clarinda, IA)Speakers: Roger Oakland, John Higgins, Bill Koenig,Steve JohnsonNew FeaturesNew Downloads are available in PDF format.Recently Joined Webcast Now!ChurchesCalvary Chapel of Lima, OhioCalvary Chapel of Clarinda, IowaWATCH BIBLE MESSAGESFROM THESE GREAT MEN OF GODCOMING SOON22 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007

Israel Tour – October 2007S P A C E A V A I L A B L E R E G I S T E R T O D A YISRAEL SOLIDARITY TOUR• Tour led by:Jacob PraschJacob:• Speaks Hebrew• Jacob lived In Israel• Ministered in Israel• Education: Judaism• Bible Studies: Messianic• Visiting Sites:Jerusalem’s Eastern GateMount of OlivesCave of Ein GediCaesareaMount of BeatitudesAnd other Biblical SitesCOME SEE ISRAEL !£1450.00 Half Board$2880 approx.Sunday7 October 2007-Arrival at Ben Gurion airport. Transfer toEshel HaShomronMonday8 October 2007-Shiloh, Alon Moreh, View Mt. Gerizim, ArielTuesday9 October 2007-Caeserea, Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, Nazareth, CanaWednesday10 October 2007-Boat cruise on Sea of Galilee, Beit Igal Alon( First Century Boat Museum), Mt. of Beatitudes, Capernaum,Kursi, Bethsaida, KorazimThursday11 October 2007-Safed, Tel Hazor, Tel Dan, Banias, GolanHeightsFriday12 October 2007-Ein Harod, Beth Shean, Gilgal, pass by Jericho,QumranSaturday13 October 2007-Morning to enjoy the Dead Sea spa. Visit to Masadaand Ein Gedi, Tabernacle at Almog.Sunday14 October 2007-Mt. of Olives, Palm Sunday Path to Garden ofGethsemane, City of David, Caiphas House, Mt. Zion including theUpper Room, Zion Gate, Jewish Quarter including the Cardo andTemple Institute, Western Wall TunnelMonday15 October 2007-Israel Museum (Shrine of the Book and HolylandModel), Yad VaShem, view of BethlehemTuesday16 October 2007-Southern Steps of the Temple, Temple Mount,Poolsof Bethesda, Ecce Homo (Fortress of Antonia), Old City, Garden TombWednesday17 October 2007-Ein Karem, Elah Valley (David’s battle with Goliath),Tel Beth Shemesh (Ark of the Covenant), Tzora (Samson’s Birthplace),Transfer to airport for departuresrael is like a museum.You will seeIrelicsthat date from antiquity,buildings thatare not considered oldunless they were builtthousands of years ago.Israel offers you a timeportal, almost like theones you see in a sciencefiction movie, throughwhich to see the past.We want the Jewish peopleto know that thereare Bible believing Christianswho stand with Israelwho recognise itsplace in Prophecy andFor full tour details and brochure, please contact:Arch Tours UK Ltd / Polly Zabari (Tour Administrator)1 Danes Court CottagesLeatherhead Road, OxshottKT22 0HQTel: 01372 843678 / Email: the.zabaris@tesco.netwho do this precisely becausethey are Christians.So if you dreamed ofseeing the land of theBible come join uson this magical tour!11 D A Y T O U R W I T H J A C O B P R A S C HJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 23

Albert James DagerSpecial ReportAPOSTLIC REFORMATIONA NEW MOVE OR AN OLD DECEPTIONBy Albert James DagerArecent phenomenon described as a“move of God,” termed “Ap ostolicReformation” is implementing aplan for world evangelization throughthe efforts of Global Harvest Ministries(GHM) under the direction of C. PeterWagner. It has taken a few years for thismove to get into high gear, but it is nowimpacting a large number of churches.Apostolic Reformation posits thatGod is restoring the offices of apostles andprophets, and that C. Peter Wagner, inparticular, is the apostle God is using toimplement that restoration. Says Wagner:Back in the 1990s we began hearingthe Holy Spirit speaking about restoringapostles and prophets as thefoundation of the church as God originallydesigned (see Eph. 2:20). As Ihave explained in my book, Apostlesand Prophets: The Foundation of theChurch (Regal Books), I gradually cameto the realization that God had givenme the gift of apostle, and that certainspheres of the body of Christ were recognizingthat I had the office of apostleas well. Consequently, developing apostolicleadership in today’s churchhas now be come an important functionof GHM. 1C. Peter Wagner was at one timementor as well as disciple of the late JohnWimber, who took over the VineyardChristian Fellowship and developed itinto an international church denomination.The Vineyard’s focus under Wimberwas an emphasis upon what he believedwere true signs and wonders. By integrat -ing psychology with inner healing, thelaying on of hands, and a peculiar form ofmysticism which resulted in many bizarremanifestations, Wimber’s movement leftthe objective reality of God’s Word toturn to charismania. Wagner championedWimber’s philosophy and has never repentedof do ing so.Wimber also believed in the restorationof the offices of apostles and prophetsand considered himself to be alatter-day apostle to all the churches.Now Wag ner is promoting him self as the“Presiding Apostle” over an organization24 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007Called In ternational Coalition of Apos tles(ICA). 2 Wagner lists this and other avenuesthrough which the Ap os tolic Ref or -mation is tak ing shape:• International Coalition of Apostles(ICA). I am the Presiding Apostle overthis organization with John Kelly,Chuck Pierce, and Doris [Wagner] asmy leadership team. At present, 229apostles are members, and we meetevery December in Dallas.• New Apostolic Roundtable (NAR). Iconvene this account ability group ofunder 25 apostles once a year in Colo -rado Springs.• Ap ostolic Coun cil of Pro phetic El ders(ACPE). A select group of prophetswho feel the need to build personal relationships with peer-level prophetsmeets together once a year (sometimesmore) in Colorado Springs.• Apostolic Council for EducationalAccountability (ACEA). The ACEAprovides a creative alternative to accreditationfor schools de signed toserve the New Apostolic Reformation.Currently some 40 schools haveACEA membership.• Apostolic Roundtable for DeliveranceMinisters (ARDM). Many deliveranceministers feel a need formeeting regularly with peers to keepup with this rapidly-developing field.I convene this group of under 25 everyyear in Colorado Springs.In addition to these apostolicgroups, John Kelly, Chuck Pierce, andI do a series of one-day ICA LeadershipSeminars across the country in orderto introduce Christian leaders to thetrends in apostolic leadership.3This “move of God,” according toWagner, requires millions of dollars inthe development of facilities for offices,classrooms and a conference center whereapostles and prophets can be trained.Some of the apostles promoted byWagner:• Ché AhnHarvest Rock ChurchPasadena, California• Bob BeckettThe Dwelling Place Family ChurchHemet, California• Rice BroocksMorningstar InternationalBrentwood, Tennessee• Naomi DowdyTrinity Christian CenterSingapore• John EckhardtCrusaders Church/IMPACTUrbana, Il li nois• Michael FletcherManna ChurchFayetteville, North Carolina• Bill HamonChristian InternationalSanta Rosa Beach, Florida 4WHAT IS APOSTOLICREFORMATION?During the 1990’s, Wagner felt heperceived a new worldwide reformationtaking place among churches. Because ofhis thirty plus years as a “professor ofchurch growth,” as well as some sixteenyears as a mis sionary to Bolivia and a specialistin world missions, Wagner becameaware of church growth in third-worldcountries such as Africa, China and LatinAmerica. He saw this growth as being theresult of non-traditional leadership.Wagner saw a pattern emerge whenhe noticed that these different movementshad a number of things in common,even though they were notassociated with one an other.“That’s when it first be came clearto me that we had some thing to lookinto,” re calls Wagner. “When we did,the most important characteristic thatwe found in these new churches wasthat they had a new authority structurewhich was different than that of tradi -tional Christianity. That played it selfout on the local level, with the pastorbeing the leader of the church in steadof an employee, and on the translocallevel, with the author ity of the apostleover a number of churches.”5What struck Wagner was that, partic-

ularly in Latin America, his major field ofmissions, large churches were operatingin urban areas under the leadership ofpeople who had had no contact withWestern mis ionaries or mission-initiatedinstitutions. Yet, says Wagner, “theyhad churches of several thousand peopleand were leading them with a degree ofauthority that most of us were not usedto.” 6 This led Wagner to believe that anew reformation was taking place whichwas reshaping the face of Christianity.“Every time Jesus began buildingHis Church in a new way through outhistory, He provided new wineskins.The growth of the Church through theages is, in part, a story of newwineskins,” says Wag ner. “These newwineskins appear to be at least as rad i -cal as those of the Protestant Ref or ma -tion almost five hundred years ago.”Initially, in trying to de scribe whatwas occurring, he used the term,“Postdenominational Churches,”which was eventually rejected becauseof strong protests fromdenominational friends and the factthat many of these new churcheshave remained within their denominations.The name he then settledon was the New Apostolic Reformation.“The New Apostolic Reformation isan extraordinary work of God at theclose of the twentieth century that is,to a significant extent, changing theshape of Protestant Christianityaround the world,” Wagner explains.“For al most five hundred years, Chris -tian churches have largely functionedwithin traditional denominationalstructures of one kind or an other.“Particularly in the 1990s, but hav -ing roots going back for almost a cen -tury, new forms and operationalprocedures are now emerging in areassuch as local church government,interchurch relationships, financing,evangelism, missions, prayer, lead er -ship selection and training, the role ofsupernatural power, worship andother important aspects of church life.“Some of these changes are beingseen within denominations themselves,but for the most part they aretaking the form of loosely structuredapostolic networks. In virtually everyregion of the world, these new apos -tolic churches constitute the fastestgrowing segment of Christianity.” 7Wagner believes that what he calls“new wineskins” are needed to containthe “new truths” being revealed by theSpecial Reportnew breed of apostles and prophets. Hesays that new wineskins have always beenneeded for all the new movementsthrough out the history of the churches:Every time Jesus began buildingHis Church in a new way through outhistory, He provided new wineskins.While He was still on earth, He saidthat such a thing would be necessary...(Matt. 9:17). The growth of theChurch through out the ages is, in part,a story of new wineskins. 8He gives ex amples of how Je sus hasbuilt His “Church” over the cen turies:How do these biblical principlesunfold in real life? For 2,000 years, theChurch of Jesus Christ has grown andspread into every continent. Jesus said,“I will build My church,” and He hasbeen doing it. As we review those2,000 years, how ever, it is quite obvi -ous that Jesus does not al ways buildHis Church in the same ways. He did itone way in the Roman Empire beforeConstantine; another way afterConstantine; another way in the Mid -dle Ages; an other way following theReformation; another way during theera of European colonization; and yetanother way post-World War II, just toname a few. 9According to Wagner, the new wineskinby which Jesus will continue to buildHis “Church” is the Apostolic Reformation.But the basic premise upon whichHe builds his case is faulty.In the first place, the new wine ofwhich Jesus spoke was not a method forbuilding His body of called out saints. Itwas the New Covenant which could notbe contained by the Mosaic Law. The OldCovenant under Moses’ Law was the oldwine skin. That’s the extent of Jesus’ referenceto new wineskins. To suggest thatHe meant anything else, such as themovements Wagner presents as evidencefor his case is naïve at best, and/or in tel -lectually dishonest.Are we to believe that the Holy RomanEmpire under Constantine was a newwine skin for the building up of the Bodyof Christ? On the contrary, it was a disasterto the purity of the Gospel. How can atrue apostle think otherwise?Wagner also believes that the apostlesand prophets of his reformation willbring new truths to the Body of Christ:God has been speaking to me, bothin my spirit and through other prophets,during the last five years about acceptingincreased responsibility totrain and over see those called to propheticand apostolic ministry. ApostlesContinued: Special Reportand prophets must have their fingersaccurately on the pulse of what God isdoing and they must be able to righteouslydemonstrate His power andplan. Christian International Networkof Churches was birthed from this desireto not only see ministers trainedand activated, but also to provide aplace of accountability and over sight.Just as Samuel and Elijah headedschools of the prophets scatteredthrough out Israel, so I believe Godcontinues the work of “fathering” andschooling His people into ministrythrough similar means. God uses individuals,their messages and their ministriesto help propagate new truth. Thesame principle seems to be at work inHis desire to restore and establish theoffices of all five fold ministries withinthe Church. 10Wagner of ten speaks about newtruths emanating from the apostles andprophets of his reformation. By “newtruths,” Wagner is not speaking aboutnew understanding of God’s truth. Bypointing to the various movements in historyas valid manifestations of Jesus buildingHis “Church,” he is endorsing the“new truths” of those movements, which“truths” of ten contradict Scripture. Thesubjective nature of these “new truths”has been evident of late in the weirdsigns-and-wonders move ment.While we’re on the subject of this“apostle” misunderstanding God’s Word,he falls into the same error as that of theLatter-Rain proponents who believe thatthe “school of prophets” was some sort oftraining center. In reality, a “school” is anassociation. There is no evidence inScripture of any “school” in the sense ofacademia regarding God’s prophets. Godchooses His apos tles and prophets andendows them with the gifts they need toserve Him in those capacities.Wagner sees evolving out of his newreformation apostles and prophets whorepresent a new form of spiritual authority.He believes this apostolic reformationis beginning to take hold in the West aswell, and will result in tremendouschurch growth and revival.“The biggest difference betweenNew Ap os tolic Christian ity and tradi -tional Christianity is the amount ofspiritual authority delegated by theHoly Spirit to individuals,” Wagneremphasizes. “In tradi tional Christianity,authority resided in groups such aschurch councils, sessions, congregations,and general assemblies. NewApostolic Christianity sees God entrustingthe gov ernment of the churchJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 25

Continued: Special Reportto individuals.”Within New Apostolic Christianity,Wagner sees this governmental authoritybeing exercised in the localchurch by the pastor and on atranslocal level by apostles who operatewith a relational authority ratherthan a hierarchical, bureaucratic onethat had typically been exercisedthrough denominational structures.“The other important thing with regardsto this authority is that allegianceor relationship with the apostle isvoluntary,” adds Wagner.“There is nothing that holds the pastoror the church related to the apostlein the apostolic network except theperception that the apostle is addingvalue to their life and ministry.” 11Along with this new authority, Wagnerperceives that the new contemporaryform of worship is a commonality amongthese fast-growing churches. Financialsolvency is also a plus, according to Wagner,because the leadership of thesechurches expect their people to be faithfulin their tithes and offerings.A NEW THING?While Wagner says that the ApostolicReformation is a new phenomenon thatwill bring spiritual reformation to thechurches, in reality it is a re hash of theLat ter Rain Movement of the mid-twentiethcentury. It is Pentecostalism goneamok, led by such notorious men asFranklin Hall, William Branham, and,lately, Paul Cain, recently exposed as ahomosexual by some in his own ranks.What Wagner is promoting is an apostolicconcept inherited from the LatterRain Movement primarily among charismaticchurches and Pentecostal denominations.(For an in-depth study of thismove see my book, Vengeance is Ours: TheChurch in Dominion.)The impact of this movement inNorth America has been observed in the“Toronto Blessing,” the “Pensacola Revival”(AKA “Brownsville Revival”) andother similar charismatic foolishness.The unscriptural nature of these movementsis a clue to their ungodliness.FELLOW TRAVELERSOne is known by the company onekeeps. Not that we don’t all have familymembers, friends, and associates that arenot true believers. Nor do all true believersagree on every point of Scripture. Butthose whom we promote and with whomwe engage in ministry reveal much about26 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007what we think. A true apostle would notassociate his min is try with some onewhose theology and/or methodology isunscriptural.As we look at a few of the “apostles”with whom Wagner claims to be in as so -ciation, we can judge whether he is legitimatelyan apostle himself.Che Ahn, Har vest Rock Church,Pasadena CaliforniaHarvest Rock Church bills it self as a“multi-ethnic, spirit-filled Christian congregation,”and sponsors “apostolic conferences.”Speakers scheduled for theJuly, 2005 apostolic conference are JillAustin, Paul Keith Davis, Lou Engle,James Goll, and Chuck Pierce.Jill Austin is part of the “propheticteam” at Metro Christian Fellowship(formerly Kansas City Fellowship, whencesprang the Kansas City prophets). Sheconducts “Master Potter” conferences atwhich “holy laughter” is promoted.Paul Keith Davis is an associate ofKansas City “prophet” Bob Jones, andfounder of White Dove Ministries.White Dove Ministries spreads the LatterRain doctrine of apostolic and propheticrevival with an emphasis on youth.Lou Engle is founder of Elijah Revolution,a call to take America and the worldfor Jesus. His group “rum bled in theheavenlies for justice!” with the “Reversethe Decree of ’73 Conference,” a call to reverseRoe v. Wade in January, 2005.Speakers and worship leaders werecharismatics and Latter Rain proponents:Lou Engle, Dutch Sheets, CheAhn, Bishop Harry Jackson, CindyJacobs, Bonnie Chavda, Patricia King,Kirk Bennett, Jason Upton, Jay Swallow,Dr. Negiel Bigpond, Will Ford, KevinKleint, Laura Woodley, and Rick Joyner.James Goll is head of EncountersNetwork and has written books on “prophetic”ministry. He promotes so-called“contemplative prayer and worship” designedto bring God into one’s presence,as if that were possible. Contemplativeprayer and worship is rooted in RomanCatholic mysticism and has wormed itsway into nonCatholic churches primarilythrough the charismatic movement.Chuck Pierce is the apostle of Gloryof Zion International Ministries. He promotesdeliverance and spiritual warfare.Bob Beckett, The DwellingPlaceFamily Church, Hemet, CaliforniaBob Beckett has taught the localchurch’s role in prayer and communitytransformation as part of Peter Wagner’sWorld Missions Class and his SpiritualIssues in Church Growth classes at FullerSem i nary. He believes that the “Church”is gifted to “conquer” through spiritualwarfare and deliverance.Rice Broocks, MorningstarInternational, Brentwood,TennesseeMorning Star International calls itself“a world wide family of churches and ministrieswhose vision is to reach ‘Every Nationin Our Generation.’” Rice Broockscollaborates with Bob Weiner, a proponentof the Latter Rain, Manifested Sonsof God heresy which they spread on collegecampuses.Naomi Dowdy, TrinityChristian Center, SingaporeNaomi Dowdy is a global leader forapostolic strategies and Founder-Presidentof Global Leadership Network andGlobal Business Network Partners. She isalso said to be Apos tle/Senior Pastor ofTrinity Christian Center, and is highlysought after by Christian leaders aroundthe world for her coun sel and wis dom.(So now we have fe male apos tles, as if fe -male pas tors were not un scripturalenough for these people.)Interestingly, Wagner says church officesare reserved for men. So why is hecom promising here?John Eckhardt, CrusadersChurch/IMPACT, Urbana, IllinoisJohn Eckhardt founded the IMPACTNetwork (International Ministries of Propheticand Apostolic Churches Together)in 1995. It has grown to includeover 400 churches and ministries in 25nations. IMPACT Net work is a vehiclefor global apostolic reformation. As an“apostle” himself, Eckhardt is ordainingapostles and prophets around the worldto facilitate the current “reformation.”He also conducts “apostolic breakthrough”conferences in many nations.Bill Hamon, Christian International,Santa Rosa Beach, FloridaBill Hamon is a classic ManifestedSons of God apostle whose doctrine centerson the belief that before Jesus can returnto the earth (if He returns at all),certain overcomers in the “Church” willbecome immortal through submission tothe new apostles and prophets for theLast Days. (See my book, Vengeance isOurs: The Church in Dominion for anin-depth analysis of dominion theology,including the Latter rain, ManifestedSons of God heresy.) This is based on thebelief that Jesus first returns “in” His

“Church,” not in His flesh.AN APOSTLE? REALLY?So Wagner thinks himself an apostle.And an apostle of apostles at that!Interesting, since his discernment is, atbest, around zero. How does a true apostleof God hob nob with wackos who callbarking like a dog and cackling like achicken a manifestation of the HolySpirit? How does a true apostle of God endorsesome one like John Wimber andbrag that Wimber was his “mentor”? Howdoes a true apostle of God give credibilityto Latter Rain teachers?Can such lack of discernment, as wellas unequivocal endorsement of thesepeople qualify such a person to be a trueapostle of God? I say no. And if not, thenthe entire concept of his “Apostolic Reformation”is not merely in doubt, it mustbe refuted.TRAINING OF APOSTLES?There is an issue which re quires addressinghere. It is Wagner’s statementthat millions of dollars are needed for thedevelopment of facilities where apostlesand prophets can be trained.Where in Scripture do we find apostlesand prophets being “trained”? Onecan not be “trained” in the gifts of God.That is man’s way of trying to control thegifts to further some religious belief system.In Wagner’s case the belief system isthe Latter Rain philosophy. True apostlesmay mentor one another, but they arelargely independent and led by the Spiritof God. Most of what they say and do isrejected. They do not find the popularitythat to day’s self-proclaimed apostles andprophets enjoy.Another issue is Wagner’s erroneousbelief that what he perceived in thirdworldcountries is somehow different from whathe sees in the West. The form and functionmay appear different because of alack of de nominational oversight, butthere really is no difference.For example, Wagner says the pastorin the type of church he credits with havinga different authority structure is “theleader of the church in stead of employee.”What’s so different aboutchurches in the West? Pastors are generallyabsolute leaders as well as em ployees.But pastors in those third-world churchesare employees also. Most of them receivetheir living from the contributions oftheir constituents.IS THERE A REFORMATION?There is no Apostolic Restoration.Apostles and prophets have been operativethrough out the centuries, but havebeen relegated to the realm of the unknownand unheralded. They may nothave been called apostles and prophets,but they have operated in those capacitiesamong small, humble gatherings of believersapart from the denominationalstructures. They were persecuted andmartyred for standing against the heresiesof Romanism, Calvinism, Anglicanismand other “Christian” authoritarianstructures. They have stood against theheresies of the Latter Rain Movementthat sought to usurp the positions ofapostle and prophet for the benefit of asatanic deception. The true apostles andprophets have not touted themselves assuch, but have worked in relaiveanonymity.We must understand, however, thatthe role of apostle is not the same in all respectsas that of the first-century apostles.Those apostles defined the faith, andsome gave us the Scriptures. Their revelationssealed the revelations of God asthey pertain to the entire Body of Christ.The similarity between those apostlesand subsequent apostles through the agesis the role of “beingsent.” That is, apostlesare those sent under the anointing ofthe Holy Spirit to establish assemblies ofbelievers and to over see them to thepoint where they may appoint elders toserve the as semblies.The role of apostle has been largelyusurped by “missionaries” who are sentby denominational institutions to establishchurches in accordance with thoseinstitutions’ dictates. True apostles operateapart from religious structureswhether denominational or, in the caseof Wagner’s “apostles,” beholden to aberrantreligious philosophies (such as theLatter Rain Movement).If there is a restoration of apostles andprophets it is not through any of thechurches or para-church organizationsthat operate in an unscriptural manner.More and more of the true believers arecoming out of the religious institutionsand are gathering in homes, their eyes beingopened to the true pattern for thegathering of the saints. It is in this settingthat apostles and prophets will in crease,but not to their own profit, and not bytheir own pro motion.That’s not to say that everyone meetingin homes is led by God, or that allhouse assemblies are of God. It is to saythat the megachurch phenomenon is notthe place where true believers can grow inwisdom, knowledge and understandingContinued : Special Reportbeyond the elementary truths of Scripture.Yet that is where C. Peter Wagnerpoints for evidence that his newly- discovered,old Latter Rain authority structureis at work.NOTES1.www.globalharvestministries.org/in-dex.asp?ac tion=about2. Ibid.3. Ibid.4. Ibid.5. (New Ap os tolic Reformation, Arise, September,2000)6. Ibid.7. Ibid.8. C. Peter Wagner, The New ApostolicChurches (Ventura, CA: Re gal Books, 1998)pg. 15.9. Ibid.10. Ibid.11. New Apostolic Reformation, Op. Cit. Copyright ã July, 2006, Media Spot lightHave you seen this Jewish Warrior?He may well be dangerous (that isif you are a Benny Hinn, a Kenneth Copeland,a Rodney Brown or any otherfalse prophet out there). The above pictureshows this unidentified strangerwill be partaking in a pre-war ritual,which we believe could signal a suddendeparture from previous methodshe has deployed against these rivals. Wehave reason to believe he could now beturning to more tried-and-tested methodsof eliminating these seducers of theChurch. If you have seen him please let usknow. Thank you for your co-operation.MORIEL MINISTRIESJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 27

Israel UpdateRuth NessimAnother month has taken wingsand flown by, each day full of unexpectedexperiences and opportufromlowers in theCJFM June 2007Shalom to all our dear Friends,esert....We could almost begin this month’sletter with the words of the Passover song,“Why was this month different fromall other months?” And the answer wouldcome back, “Because all other months arefilled with rushing from place to place,and this month found me in a hospitalbed for two weeks” I was admitted withhigh eye pressure after a botched cataractoperation, and remained until mysurgeon was able to do a laser treatment,which he hopes will solve the problem. Ishould know in about three weeks’ timewhether it has been successful or not.Meanwhile, the set-up is such, thatwith or without me, the meetings go on.I have a lady called Shoshana living inmy house. She kindly prepared the house,and the meeting was packed. Unfortunately,I spent my birthday in hospital,which was the meeting Saturday, so agood number of them came to visit afterthe meeting, and I was greatly cheered.Staying in hospital was not withoutits humor or its brighter side. Khalilcame to give me a summary of who hadcome to the meeting, and it turned outthat on that particular Shabbat, more Arabshad come than Jews or anyone else!Then Khalil turned to me and said, “ThoseArabs, they get everywhere!” (Khalilhimself is an ex Moslem waiting to gointo ministry) We had a good laugh. Butwhile I was relating this to Gideon of CJFMinistries, son Sammy, who was listeningon the loudspeaker, quipped, ”You’regoing to have to rename your organization,to “the Christian Arab Foundation!”In the next bed to me was a nurse whowas quite ill. One day her whole family,including her parents came to visit, andour Karen was also visiting me. Somehow,instead of having a private visit,we all became one happy family, chattingfreely to one another. At one point,the whole family had to go somewhere,and left the old mother alone with us.She fixed her eyes on us and said quitedeliberately, “I learned English in Tunisia,I learned it in a mission School. They did28 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007not pray to Mary, but only believed in Jesus.They were wonderful people” “Yes,”I said, “My husband visited such schoolsin Cairo and India, and they were run bythe Anglican Church. He loved them too.”Karen then asked her, “Did they try to teachyou their beliefs?” “Yes they did”, shesaid, “and I have loved Jesus since I wasfive years old” At this point Karen wentto sit next to her and said, “We also loveJesus, and there are thousands of Jews inthis country who believe like us” “What ablessed day this is,” she said, “that I camehere to meet you two. As soon as I sawyou, I knew there was a different spirit,and you reminded me at once of those Anglicanladies” She reads the Bible secretly,as her husband is against, but asked us tovisit her and have a meal with her, andbring Khalil with us, whom she also melater on. Her daughter also wants us to visither, which we will do next week. Whatamazed us, is that this dear lady has hadno fellowship for at least 65 years, (she isnow 77), and she was able to discern thatwe were believers, without a word beingsaid. Both Karen and I were astounded!Last Shabbat was a little sad, as wesaid farewell to Jim and Vera, refugeesfrom the Lebanon. After knowing them forsome years, it was with heavy hearts thatwe took our leave of them, as they go tofind a new life in Canada. Jim and familybrought to the meeting the biggest and mostdelicious chocolate birthday cake that wehave ever seen or eaten, made at home bya fellow Lebanese who lives not far fromus .It was difficult not to cry. And again westress, that in the Messiah, there is neitherJew, nor Arab, nor Lebanese, nor Gentile.God loves them all, and though our primarytask is to reach Jews, he is not unmindfulof all the others that make up the colorfulmosaic of peoples, which is this country.This week, we hope to baptize twonew Russian believers, a mother andher daughter. They have come a longaway, and still have much to learn, butare strong in their desire for baptismand to follow the Lord. Please pray forthem, as their life is far from easy.Shoshana, my former neighbour,and I continue to meet almost everyweek. Last week she treated me to a Chinesemeal. Next week we will return toour breakfast schedule. At the moment,her heart is shut to the things of God,at least outwardly, but there is always abreakthrough. One has to wait patiently.The two sick sisters are definitely not doingwell, and we have had to step backabout from them. Cindy visits us frequently,but is still sitting on the fence,and two other non believers come to themeetings quite frequently, but whetherthey take anything in, is anyone’s guess!Our Teacher will be leavingus for 6 weeks after the next meeting,and in his place we hope to havean Arabic Pastor, who has kindlyagreed to fill in for that period of time.There is one more thing. There isconstant talk of war. This time, it is notonly Hezbollah, but also maybe Iranwho is threatening to wipe us off themap, and Syria, which wants the GolanHeights (and Lebanon!). The townof Sderot has been rocketed from theGaza strip unmercifully for weeks, infact ever since Israel withdrew completelynearly two years ago. Rememberus in your prayers, as we get readyfor another round of bombings. Pray forwisdom for our government, which doesnot appear to be unduly blessed with it.Pray for us, as we prepare for this situation.Pray that all may be to the furtheranceof the Kingdom of God, and thespread of the good news of the Gospel.With greetings in Yeshua,From Ruth and the congregationDear Friends,

nities, and also trials and blessingsWe continue to be more than busy, withthe usual and unusual visitors from all overthe world, and also from within our town,expected and unexpected. Sometimespeople call to ask what we are doing, andgo away promising to pray for us. Otherscome because they are distressed or curious,and want to hear what we have to say.One day, Paul dropped in. He used tobe a neighbour, and moved to a nearbytown, but still keeps in touch. He and hiswife are both Jewish, but into new age, andopen to listen. He stayed for breakfast anda long chat, and then invited me to cometogether with another lady who lives withus, and also to bring Halil, whose faithin Yeshua (as a former Moslem) reallyinterested him. We plan to visit him forlunch shortly, and ask prayer for this manwho is a descendent of the priestly tribe,but knows so little of the God of Israel.Cindy is also one who drops by frequently.She is educated, intelligent andsearching, and finds a refuge in our homefor her personal sorrows. She has read anumber of books about the faith, includingmy poetry book, and loves everyonein the fellowship. One of her sons died ofa heart attack before he reached the ageof 40, and the other is sick. She is so sad,and needs to know the God of all comfort.Shoshana and I continue to meet ona weekly basis. Yesterday I visited her,and she greeted me with such a warmsmile, and such obvious pleasure. Sometimeswe have lively discussions, as wedid when she also met Halil some weeksback, but she still holds out stubbornly.After a year or more, the parents of R.came again to visit him. I was as usual invitedto a meal out, and what a discussionensued. These are also Jews of the priestlytribe, who have long since given up anyfaith in God, but now owing to their son’sfaith in Yeshua and immigration to Israel,they want to understand and get to thebottom of everything. The day before yesterday,they all came over for a Chinesetake-away, and Cindy joined us. These“eating together” evenings are wonderfulbarrier breakers, and we have formeda number of loving friendships this way.The meetings continue to be well attended,and our sitting room is packed tocapacity, and always we have problemsseating so many people for the meal afterwards,but these are again great timesof fellowship, and opportunity for believersand non-believers to talk and exchange.Our teacher is back, and somewhatimproved in health, for which weare grateful. We are hoping that two ofour newer believers will soon be ableRuth Nessim Israel Updateto confess their faith in Baptism, and tothis end we have started mid-week meetingswhere we endeavor to teach basicdoctrine. Halil is doing this and gettingpractice for possible future ministry.The two sick sisters are not doing sowell, although the health of Elana hasimproved. They are still walking in darkness,confused and troubled, and althoughintelligent, have great difficulty understandingthe plain facts of the Gospel.Please keep praying for Abdullahand Hashem. The last we heard ofHashem was that he was waiting for histurn to go for surgery to fit a new leg,after the Fatah shot his off! Nageeb,the Arab Pastor, is hoping to see Abdullahshortly in Bethlehem, and we shouldhave some news soon. Pray that the Gospelwill take deep root in their hearts.God bless you all, and please continueto remember us.In Yeshua’s service,Ruth Nessim.Watch Jacob Prasch &Friends On WebcastInternet TVJacob & Friends can also be seen atGodlyConferences.com &Radio Free TVGraphically illustrative of a widespreadproblem in the media is thiscartoon from South Africa’s BusinessDay.Israel is held wholly responsiblefor the situations in Lebanon in 2006and the current crisis in Gaza. OnlyEhud Olmert is seen to be stirring thepot or deliberately leaving it to boilover depending on one’s interpretation.Either way, the poisonous penof Brandon, who titles his cartoon“Chef’s Specialty”, leaves no doubtas to whom he believes to be at fault.This conveniently ignores Hezbollah’sprimary responsibility for provokingthe Lebanon war and the chaosand violence in the Gaza Strip, as Palestinianterror gangs fight each otherand launch barrages of Qassam missilesat Israeli civilians in Sderot andthe western Negev.Comments to South Africa’s BusinessDay - busday@bdfm.co.zaPlease be on the lookout for similarattempts to unjustly blame Israeland absolve the Palestinians from responsibilityfor the current situation.For more on anti-Israeli mediasentiment in South Africa, seethe It’s Almost Supernatural blog.June 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 29

Israel UpdateRonnie CohenMorielMinistriesBy Ronnie Cohen– UPDATENEWSLETTER FROM ISRAEL;Well, the good news is thatSyria is on the way to Democracy.New elections were had for thepresidency recently and, surprisingly,Bashir Assad was electedfor another seven year term. Hereceived an unbelievable 97% ofthe vote. Okay, he was the onlycandidate but look at those figures!The other 3% were probably not intown at the moment being that theywere driving weapons to Lebanonfor Hezbollah so their absenteevotes will be a couple of days coming.Hopefully they won’t swaythe outcome. Since we’re on thesubject...Syria has made a formalcomplaint to the U.N. that weaponsare being smuggled into Syriafrom Lebanon! It is said that BashirAssad has shown photos provingthis to the U.N. Sect. General BanKi-moon. Many of the U.N. memberslook upon this as a joke butare trying to keep straight faces.What I don’t quite understandis - Hamas has been firing Kassamrockets into the Israeli city ofSderot for the past two weeks continuously,the world hasn’t said aword, I don’t even think the U.N.knows or cares about this and everyonehas sort of, accepted thisas the “norm”. Israel has limitedretaliation, pinpointing it’s targets,over 70 Hamas terrorists have beenwelcomed into the open arms of70 virgins and still the Palestiniansand the Arab world claim thatits legitimate self defense. A Kassamrocket is the most inaccurateweapon in the world. They randomlyfire them hoping to kill asmany people (and it doesn’t matterwho) as possible and cause asmuch damage. If Israel, in the pro-30 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007cess of targeting a terrorist, kills aninnocent bystander because theythought it would be cool to hangoutwhile firing a Kassam, the U.N.would be the first to condemn Israel.What a wonderful world!Because of the plight of thepeople from Darfur the Israeli JusticeMinister has said that Israelhas an obligation to accept Darfurrefugees based on the Torahand Biblical compassion. Manyof these refugees have managed toescape the Sudan and, somehow,make it through Egypt to the bordersof Israel. The Israeli governmentuntil now, doesn’t know howto cope with the refugee problemand , in the meantime, the refugeesare under detention for crossing theborder illegally. Humanitarian aidis afforded them but they are in astate of “limbo”. The governmentis trying to find a solution or a morepermanent status for these people.And that’s that.RonnieRonnie Cohen; rontour@hotmail.comQuotes of the QUARTER !Be not deceived: evil communicationscorrupt goodmanners.Bible, 1 Corinthians xv.33.Posted by Forkum – http://www.coxandforkum.com/In order for Ahmadinejad to bringhis plans [of eliminating Israel]to fruition, however, he has to demonizethe Jews and the State of Israel. Demonizationis a necessary preconditionfor genocide. As we well know, Hitler firstengaged in a major campaign of demonizationof the Jews before actually murderingthem en masse. Ahmadinejad and theIranian regime are taking the same path,and are conducting a similar virulent,antisemitic campaign of demonization.To this end, Iranian state-controlledtelevision produces various TV seriesdedicated to the demonization of Jews.These include classic blood libels, depictingJews as using the blood of non-Jewish children to bake their Passovermatzos, and as kidnapping non-Jewishchildren to steal their body parts. Jewsare reduced to sub-human levels, depictedas pigs and apes. They are accused ofpersecuting the Prophet Muhammad invoodoo ritualistic scenes, and as tormentinga historic figure reminiscent of Jesuson the Cross. All these TV series existalongside others that deny the Holocaust.Again, it should be stressed that allthese phenomena are interrelated, andare state-directed at the highest level. It ismost indicative that Ahmadinejad’s firstpublic appearance after coming to powerwas made before television producers.All this is done in order to achievethe goal of demonization of Jews andIsrael, which, as I mentioned earlier, isvital for their elimination. However, it isnot possible to demonize a people as longas it is viewed as a victim of the Holocaust.Therefore, as long as the Jews areperceived as victims of the Holocaust,this demonization cannot take root. Holocaustdenial is thus vital, in order towipe out the image of the Jews as victims.This is the reason why thesethree elements - Holocaust denial,the elimination of the State of Israel,and demonization of the Jews - areconstantly present in statements by Ahmadinejadand other senior Iranian officials.

Moriel MissionsDear FriendsDavid RoyleMORIEL AFRICAGreetings in Jesus name.The Apostle Paul tells us that hislife and ministry were fraught withperils, in fact from 2Cor 11:21-29, itshow’s us the life he led was not a comfortableone with dangers from all angles,even from his own countryman.South Africa over the years has becomea place of danger. The statisticsare frightening and the truth is that mostof us here know someone who has eitherbeen hijacked, raped or murdered. SouthAfrican residents are leaving in theirdroves for more peaceful countries suchas Australia and New Zealand. But mostSouth Africans have to live here and ridethis wave of shocking violence that hasgripped this land. However in contrast wesee that not only are people leaving for abetter life, we also see people from these‘safer’ countries coming to South Africawith a burden to help the situation. Peoplesuch as Dianne from New Zealand, whohas swapped a comfortable life as a collegelecturer to help young pregnant mumsfrom our neighbors on Kwazinzele. Youngladies like Becca and Suzie who haveswapped the peaceful hills of Yorkshirefor a life helping HIV orphans. Take Erinas another example who could be leadinga comfortable life by the sea in Formbywho chooses to come to South Africa tohelp school our children. So why do theycome? It’s a simple answer; they like Paulhave become obedient to Gods call, andwhen God calls, He supplies the means tosurvive and like Paul, some of our peoplewill have to go through dangers too. Thiswas no more evident the other Friday eveningwhen seven of our people were havingan evening off and visited a local restaurant.While dropping off a member oftheir group, three armed men entered thefront yard and robbed them stealing thecar, cash, cards and cell-phones. Salvadorwho was trying to witness to them was hitover the eye with the butt of a gun; it wasa shocking experience for them all. Howeverwhat impressed me about our guyswas this. First of all they had a calmnessabout the whole thing which I attribute tothe shalom peace that only Jesus can give.Secondly when the press got hold of thenews and wanted to interview them; theyasked one of the ladies did they now wantto get on the next plane home? Her reply?God has called her and she will be staying.I would like to take my hat off to ourmissionaries. They have come to a placeMoriel South Africawere few want to go. They have comewhen others are leaving. They have comein the place of many who do not head thecall. I then realized “how then do we treatbrothers and sisters who go in our place?”Do we encourage them with a letter? Dolook after their physical needs? Makesyou think doesn’t it? Well I was telling theguys that this incident was a wake up callthat must shake us from our complacency.The reality is that this is a wake up call foreveryone of us in the Church and particularlyin Moriel who love the idea that weare now missioning on several continents.It’s a wake up call to the fact that missionariesneed love. It’s a wake up call to thefact that missionaries need support. It’s awake up call to the fact that God may wantyou to go in their place after they have leftfor home. It is a wake up call to the cost ofmission in terms of our priorities. As formy wake up call? Well I am glad it went asit did, God has been compassionate withus. These young people could have beenkilled. Our Son could have been killed. Ihave become awake to the fact that Goduses the foolish things of this world toconfound the wise and the fact is, He haschosen to use even young girls fresh outof school to go in the place of men andwomen who are better equip. Let me ask,what will it take to awake you today.In JesusDave RoyleMISSION NEWSBuilding work continues thanks totwo nice donations from the UK andUSA. We have just seen completed 274meters of concrete walling and 54 metersof steel palisade fencing. This means thatEbyown is completely sealed off from theoutside and security has been upgraded.We now need about $1000 to secure razorwire and the job will be complete. Theanimals can now be kept outside the habitatcompound securely and we hope thatin the near future we will be able to purchasesome sheep and a few more cows.The children are all doing fairly well.A few problems with chest infectionsdue to the onset of winter and the woodfires from Kwazinzele across the road.We have a new social worker thatdropped in unexpectantly. We have not hada visit from any government official for 7months or so, which is both a blessing and acurse. Anyway it looks as though this ladywill be easier to work with than the last.Apart from the obvious glitch, ouroverseas visitors have really settled into their roles. Dianne has been busy puttingtogether the Bethesda project. ThisJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 31

Continued : Moriel South Africahas meant the construction of a smallbuilding with its own fenced play area,then plenty of paint and posters. A leaflethas been produced in English andZulu explaining the project and this isbeing distributed around Kwazinzele.Erin has been busy assisting Lyn withthe school work as well as researching thechildren’s special needs. This has led to theproduction of several leaflets that are to beused in future staff training and orientation.Becca spends a great deal of her timewith the babies, especially Deven. Devenhas a special place in her heart and it wouldnot surprise me if Becca goes on to dostudy in special needs child development.Sussi’ being a farmer’s daughter hasundertaken the task of developing ourvegetable garden. Along side this she managesto look after the children as well plushelp Aaron in the kitchen – a busy girl.Although he is our son, Aaron hascome back to South Africa to work andso he has been given the role of chiefcook and bottle washer. Aaron producesa meal for 20 people and snacks formost of the week (I Brai on Saturdays).This year we have more visitors.Judith from the Netherlands. Marianne,Hannah and Jonathan from Sweden.Bob from the USA and Suzie fromSingapore. There is even rumor thatour favorite possum Marge Godwinfrom Australia is coming over as well.BezaleelThings are fine at Bezaleel; theyhave recently been blessed with tilingwhich has meant Aletheia Fellowshiphas temporarily been relocatedto the school room at Ebyown.This month Ruth, one of the youngsters,had a very bad illness that causeda lot of worry. Ruth has two strainsof the virus and her health has to bewatched extra carefully. This culminatedwith an emergency run to the hospital.But praise God she pulled through.ROME MISSION 15TH-22ND MAYPART 1Ciao!This month has been very busy andproductive. We have recently movedhouseinto a bigger home ready for thebaby to come and nearer our church. Duringthis time I also had a few preachingengagements and haven’t really had timetosettle in our new home.(The new addressand phone number is below) Then shortlyafter I went to Rome for a weeks mission32 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007to evangelise, teach, and learn about thebody of Christ there and seek God’s willin calling us to Rome. Unfortunately I hadto visit Rome alone as Liz is too far gonewith her pregnancy to have flown with meand keep the pace of the trip. It was a veryhard decision to go and even harder toleave her here and be apart especially whileshe is pregnant. But by God’s grace shewas surrounded by friends and family andwe were able to keep in touch regularly.This trip has been a real test of faithand a time of much growth for Liz and I.So much happened and so much I wishto share with you. So I will share a fewdays at a time over the next few weeks.Tuesday 15th MayLanded in Rome at 8.30pm. PastorBrent Harrel picks me up at the airportand have fellowship with him for the restof the evening talking about end times,church issues, families and life in Italy.The short term mission team from Americahad cancelled their trip last minute.Probably works out for the better as I’dget more time to spend with the leadership.Wednesday 16th MayWoke up early and caught the metro tothe Vatican. Brent’s wife, Hope, was havingher second scan for their baby they areexpecting (same time as Liz), so had to goevangelising on my own. Well, Jesus waswith me and so who else did I really need?When I arrived there I began handingtracts out to Pizzeria guys handing outleafletswith menu’s on trying to get customersto eat at their place. So I offered themspiritual food for physical food. I mademy way to St Peter’s Square and walkedaround waiting for the Holy Spirit’s leadingin who to talk to. There is just so manypeople who come and visit the Vatican ona daily basis, some locals, some touristsand some on pilgrimages. I noticed a guypraying with some rosary beads lookingfairly distressed and sad. I walked up tothe man and said “parla Inglese?”(Do youspeak English?) He said “No.” I though“here we go, this will be difficult” andpointed to his rosary beads and said “Rosary?”“Si” He said, “Rosario” I turned toMatthew 6. “Ah, Matthau” he said withdelight. I showed him the verse aboutnot praying in vain repetition like thegentiles do and said pointing to his Rosarybeads “Repetition?” “Si Repititione”“Gesu (Jesus) no repetition. No Rosario”“No Rosario?” He said with confusion.I tried in the best way possible explainwe don’t need rosaries or prieststo pray to God. We are simply free to approachGod through His son Jesus. Infact Rosary beads come between you andGod. He seemed to understand to myamazement, and put his rosary beadsaway. I then gave him a tract in Italiangiven to me by Brent and went on myway as it was difficult to communicatemore about the gospel than I already did.I tried talking to some nuns butmost of them were not very open. I triedgiving them some tracts saying “Gesu,it’s about Gesu” and they refused. Isaid “No, Gesu? No Jesus?” They shooktheir head. They didn’t want to know.After spending a few hours at the VaticanI made my way back to Brent’s. Inthe evening we had Bible Study at ayoung ladies house near the centre ofRome. They asked me to share my testimonyand a message of exhortation. Ispoke from Matthew 9v35-38 saying howwe need compassion when evangelising.Times in my life when failing to sharethe gospel has been down to the factof a lack of compassion. I related thisback to the guy with the Rosaries asI saw the bondage he was in and feltcompassion to share the good news tofree him from his heavy burden. Anda lot of people in Rome are distressed,like sheep without a shepherd. Anotherreason we fail to evangelise as muchas we should do because of the fearof rejection and/or the futility we feelwhen sharing the good news to thosewho are stubborn. But in Matt 9v37 Jesussays the harvest is plentiful, the problemis that the workers are few.Thursday 17th MayI went by the Vatican again for anhour or so and talked to a few people inqueue’s and spoke to some Americantourists. They were catholic but didn’tattend church or take mass. I asked themhow they were getting to heaven andthey told me good works. Through goingthrough the ten commandments withthem they realised they were sinnersand also pointed out that good worksare like filthy rags in they eyes ofthe Lord and presented the gospel tothem. I realised I could just plant theseed with a few of these people, Ipray that the Lord sends someone to waterand that he does the growing! Onelady didn’t believe she could go toheaven and I told her Jesus died forevery sin, there is nothing He can’t forgiveyou for. She then agreed but Icould see the hard heartedness she had.What bondage she must be in. I toldher Jesus died for her, to free her from

the pain she was feeling. She thenstopped speaking to me.In the afternoon and early eveningBrent disciples a lady from Ethiopia whospeaks Italian and a fair amount ofEnglish. He asked me to take thediscipleship for Him and share whatJoel and I have been going through. Iwent through the Messianic prophesiesin Genesis and noted where Satan hadtried to thwart God’s plan of redemption.That the Messiah would come fromthe seed of a woman and then the sonsof God (fallen angels) corrupted theseed and God saved the only familythat was not corrupted (Noah). The heused a specific line of that familyfor the messiah to come from andseparated the nations and set boundariesbut then the tower of Babel wasbuilt to stop that distinction. But Godthen scattered man and confusedtheir language and then we see Goduse the nation of Israel and how Satanhas come against their patriarchs, bringingthem into shame, disputes, warsand trying to corrupt theirseed and moral standing.To Be Continued...PRAYER REQUESTS• Liz and Babies health• God’s will concerning our calling• Pastor Brent, Hope and kids• Calvary Chapel Rome• God to convert souls in Rome• Against oppression of Babylon (RomanCatholic Church)• Against slavery of Egypt (The worldliness of people in Rome)EvangelismSalvador has continued to coordinatethings and have people like Mike Lillenfieldand Ps John from Tsakane work alongsidehim. We have also received a nice donationfor Bibles and tracts from Australia whichwe will use with Pastors we work with.Further AfieldPastor Norbert and Pastor Mosesin Tanzania and Western Kenya havereported tremendous growth. Norbertover the last few months has distributedover 500 wheelchairs to thedisabled in Tanzania. Moses also isbusy and runs conferences for pastors.The one thing that is a constant concernfor me is the need for resources tosupport these men. What little support theyget is usually from the little that’s left overbecause of our huge commitment to SouthAfrica. Norbert and Moses never ask fora penny even though personally they gothrough financial frustration with theirministries and families and yet they constantlyencourage me with their emails andzealous endeavor. In the years that I haveknown them they have planted churches,pastured churches, run bible schools andlooked after orphans. Surely something canbe done to raise regular support for thesemen? It would be a crying shame if for ourlack of support we lose anyone of them.Ps Chanti and his wife Lilly holda special place in our heart and we planto put a mission team together to visit inNovember. Chanti wants to put together apastor’s conference for between 500 and1000 pastors as well as do village to villageevangelism. The team will only bea small one so there are not many places.You will need your air fair, Visa, anyshots required and a contribution towardsfood and accommodation. By the way theGuest house they also run is first class withair conditioning. If you are interested thenI will need to know by the end of July.Australia TripIt was wonderful to catch up with oldfriends and make some new friends duringmy itinerary down under. I had notbeen to Aussie for two years to speakbut was there last year for the funeralof my good friend Ross Godwin; so itwas great to catch up with Marg and herteam who are now in their new office.Can I say a big thanks to all who wereinvolved in my visit, especially to thosewho hosted me and even more Aunty Margwho organized events, flights, hotels etc.It was great to have my dear Lyn withme at the latter end of my tour in Melbourne.The people at Pilgrim fellowshipshowed her great hospitality. FinallyI was able to whisk her off to Cairns tocelebrate our 25 years of marriage. Cairnsis a beautiful city and we really enjoyed agood rest before coming back home intothe work again. I know I keep saying thisbut Thank You to all who made our trippossible, for your love and generosity.USA tripI will be away again from July 9thto speak in the States. Please pray forthe ministry and my family again whileI have the opportunity to teach and shareabout the work in Moriel Missions.Main TeachingSince Jacob’s visit is almost uponus I have decided to print his teachingContinued: Moriel South Africaon Midrash, so that we can become accustomedagain to Jacobs teaching style.I know its an oldie, but it’s a goodie.The Way The New TestamentWriters Handled The OldTestamentMidrash is the method of hermeneutics(Biblical interpretation) used bythe ancient rabbis in the time of Jesusand Paul. Midrash incorporates a grammatical-historicalexegesis, vaguelysimilar to the western models of Biblicalinterpretation that the Reformersborrowed from 16th century Humanism,but it sees this as simply a first step.In its handling of various Biblical literarygenre — such as narrative, wisdomliterature, Hebrew poetry and apocalyptic— it seeks cognate relationships betweendifferent scriptural texts in orderto interpret them in light of each other.The approach is more topical than linear.The clearest set of guidelines inMidrash are the Seven Midroth attributedto Rabbi Hillel, the founder of thePharisaic School of Hillel, where St.Paul was educated as a rabbi by RabbiGamaliel, the grandson of Hillel.Midrash makes heavy use of allegoryand typology to illustrate and illuminatedoctrine, but never as a basis for doctrine.It sees multiple meanings in Bibletexts found in strata, but this is very differentin certain fundamental respectsfrom the Gnostic and Alexandrian uses offigurative interpretation associated withPhilo and Origen, reflecting more of Hebraic,rather than Hellenistic philosophicalworld-view and view of theology.Midrash interprets prophecy as a cyclicalpattern of historical recapitulation(prophecies having multiple fulfilment),with an ultimate fulfilment associatedwith the eschaton, which is the final focalpoint of the redemptive process. Aclassical work of Midrash in Judaismis the Midrash Rabba on Genesis (Berashith).Another is Lamentations Rabba.Midrash follows certain formats.One is the Mashal/Nimshal format seenin Proverbs or the parables, where physicalthings are representative of thingsspiritual. Figurative midrashic expositionin the New Testament is viewed,for instance, in Jude’s epistle or Galatians4:24-34. It is Midrash which accountsfor the manner in which the NewTestament handles the Old Testament.Another format is the parashiyot; sectionsopening with a petihah in which abase verse is followed by commentary. Inaddition to exegetical midrash, there areJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 33

Continued : Moriel South Africahomiletic midrashim, arranged in topicallyargued pisaqaot. These frequently followa yelammedenu rabbenu format used byJesus in the gospels. Both of these kindsof midrashim are haggadic. There are alsowide bodies of midrashic literature whichare halakik, but these are of less importanceto New Testament scholarship.Unless someone has been educatedin Judaism, Hebrew, or theology, it iseasier to demonstrate midrash than toexplain it. Moriel provides various tapesand videos where midrashic exegesisis practically applied and demonstratedin interpreting Scripture. One examplewould be “The Woman at the Well,” amidrashic interpretation of John chapterfour, used to expound the Scriptures relatingto the subject of Roman Catholicism.If you look at the way the New Testamentquotes the Old Testament, it is clearthat the apostles did not use western Protestantmethods of exegesis or interpretation.Jesus was a rabbi. Paul was a rabbi. Theyinterpreted the Bible in the way other rabbisdid-according to a method called Midrash.Something went wrong in the earlyChurch; it got away from its Jewishroots. And as more Gentiles becameChristians, something that Paul (in Romans11) warned should not happen,happened. People lost sight of the root.Whenever you have a change inworld-view, you’re going to have a changein theology. A positive way to handle thatchange is called recontextualising; a negativeway is called redefining. Recontextualisingthe gospel when Wycliffe Bibletranslators translated Isaiah 1:18, Thoughyour sins are like scarlet, they shall bewhite as snow, for tribal people in equatorialAfrica — a place where the peoplehad never seen snow — they translated itas they shall be white as coconut. That isrecontextualising — taking the same truthand putting it into the context of somebodyelse’s language or culture or world-view.That is perfectly valid; it does no harm tothe message, in contrast to redefinition.Instead of re-explaining what the Biblemeans, redefinition changes what theBible means. That is wrong. And that iswhat happened in the Early Church. AfterConstantine the Great turned Christianityinto the religion of the state, people beganredefining the gospel in increasingly radicalways. Some of the Early Church Fathersbelieved that what was best in Greektheosophy, for example the monotheisticideas of Plato and Socrates, helped to preparethe Greek world for the coming ofJesus, in the same way that the Torah (theOld Testament) prepared the Jewish world.Up to a point, that is a fair statement.There is a Greek (Hellenistic) way34 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007of thinking and there is a Hebrew (Hebraic)way of thinking. Paul used both.When Paul spoke to the Jews he usedthe Hebrew way of thinking, but in Athenswhen he was preaching the gospel tothe Areopagites (Acts 17:22-31), he usedthe Greek way of thinking. Jews seek asign, Greeks seek wisdom. There is validityin both, if they are used biblically.A problem arose when people began toHellenise a Jewish faith. Instead of recontextualisingthe gospel for Greeks, they beganredefining it in Greek terms. This happenedespecially in Alexandria in the timeof Origen, but it became a major problemafter Constantine. With the introduction ofthe teachings of Augustine of Hippo, andthe people who influenced him — Cyprianof Carthage, Ambrose, and others.The Greeks knew many things fromPlato and Socrates that were true such asthe fact that man is made in God’s imageand likeness. Anybody — even peoplewith no Judeo-Christian background andno access to the Bible — can know bynatural reason there is one true God andthat man is sinful (Romans 1:18-20).We can agree with the things in Greektheosophy up to the point they agree withthe Bible. But when people begin reinterpretingand redefining the gospel in thelight of a Greek world-view, we have aproblem. The Greeks believed in Dualism.They thought that everything of theflesh was bad and everything of the spiritwas good. A Greek reading the words,In the beginning was the Word, and theWord was with God, and the Word wasGod (John 1:1), could agree with them.But he could not agree with the statement,The Word became flesh (John 1:14). TheGreeks believed that something physicalwas bad, simply because it was physical.The Bible teaches that the spiritualand the physical were meant to work inharmony with each other. There wasnot to be any contradiction or any conflictbetween the two. The flesh is fallen,that is true, but there is nothing wrongwith the physical elements themselves.When Augustine came along he didnot recontextualise but, rather, redefinedChristianity as a Greek, Platonic religion.Augustine said things like, “Theonly good thing about marriage is havingchildren who will be celibate.” The Manichaeans,who said that the first sin washaving marital relations, introduced theseideas into the Greek world. That is why, tothis day, Roman Catholicism cannot handlesexuality, and why it has so many restrictionsand hang-ups, and why RomanCatholics are even hung about marital sex.People began reinterpreting the Bible,not using the Jewish method of midrash,but using Greek methods. Typology andallegory Midrash uses typology and allegory— symbols — in order to illustrateand illumine doctrine. For instance, Jesusis “the Passover Lamb.” The symbolismof the Jewish Passover perfectly illustratesthe doctrine of atonement, but wenever base the doctrine of atonement onthe symbolism. The symbolism illustratesthe doctrine, which is itself stated plainlyelsewhere in Scripture. In the Gnosticworld of Greek thinking, the oppositehappens. Gnostics claim to have receiveda subjective, mystical insight — calleda gnosis — into the symbols. They thenreinterpret the plain meaning of the textin light of the gnosis. For Gnostics, symbolismis the basis for their doctrine,contrary to the ancient Jewish methods.These methods first started to creepinto the Church through people who wereinfluenced by Philo. His teachings progressivelyentered into Roman Catholicism, tothe point where Augustine would say, “IfGod used violence to convert Paul, theChurch can use violence to convert people,”which led to the Crusades, the SpanishInquisition and so on. Instead of recontextualising,they were redefining Scripture.They were reading a Jewish book as if itwere a Greek book. That was a mistake.It started with Origen in the Eastand Augustine in the West, and steadilyworsened over the centuries. It becamemuch worse in the Middle Ages withsomething called Scholasticism. Aristotle’sideas were absorbed into Islam,then the Crusades brought those ideasback to Europe, and into medieval RomanCatholicism. Moses Maimonidesrewrote Judaism as an Aristotelian religion,then Thomas Aquinas rewroteChristianity as an Aristotelian religion.The Reformers came along and triedto correct what had gone wrong in medievalRoman Catholicism. Unfortunately,although the Reformers were dynamicpersonalities, they were not dynamicthinkers. The Reformation was born outof something called Humanism. (Note:the first Humanists were not secular, theywere Christians.) The best of the Humanistswere men like Thomas A Kempis,John Colet, and Jacques Lefèvre. But thegreatest of them all was Erasmus of Rotterdam.Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and mostof the other Reformers got their ideasfrom Erasmus. Erasmus and the other Humanistsattempted to study and teach theBible in its plain literal meaning, in orderto undo the medieval abuses of RomanCatholicism. They placed the emphasison reading the Bible as literature and ashistory, and gave us the system of grammatical-historicalexegesis that has been

used in the Protestant churches ever since.The problem with the Reformers isthat they only went so far. They made rulesgoverning the application of their grammatical-historicalsystem in order to refutemedieval Roman Catholicism, and manyof those rules are still taught in theologicalseminaries today. One such rule is this:There are many applications of a Scripturebut only one interpretation. That is totalrubbish! The Talmud tells us there are multipleinterpretations. Who did Jesus agreewith? The Reformers? Or the other rabbis?Jesus said, A wicked and adulterousgeneration asks for a miraculous sign! Butnone will be given it except the sign ofthe prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:39). Whatwas “the sign of the prophet Jonah?” Inone place Jesus says it was this, that “asJonah was three days and nights in thestomach of a huge fish, so the Son of Manwill be three days and three nights in theheart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). But,at the same time, He says that it was thefact that the men of Ninevah repented atthe preaching of Jonah (Luke 11:32). TheGentiles would repent when the Jews didnot, that is also the sign of the prophet Jonah.He gave two equally CO-valid interpretationsof what that sign is. So, whereProtestant hermeneutics say that thereis only one interpretation, all the rest isapplication, it is out of step with Jesus.Another rule of Reformed Hermeneuticssays that, if the plain wordingof Scripture makes sense, seek noother sense. Take it at its face value,full stop. That is also total rubbish!A First or Second Century JewishChristian reading John’s Gospel, chaptersone, two and three, would have said it wasthe new Creation narrative — the story ofthe new Creation. He would have seen thatGod walked the earth in Genesis, and nowGod walked the earth again in the newCreation in John. He would have seen thatthe Spirit moved on the water and broughtforth the Creation in Genesis, and now theSpirit moved on the water and broughtforth the new Creation in John. He wouldhave seen that there was the small light andthe great light in the Creation in Genesis,and now there was the small light — Johnthe Baptist — and the great light — Jesus— in the new Creation in John. The figtree, midrashically, in Jewish metaphor,represents the Tree of Life that we see inthe garden in Genesis, in Ezekiel 47, andin the Book of Revelation. So when Jesustold Nathaniel, “I saw you while you werestill under the fig tree” (John 1:48), Hewas not simply saying to Nathaniel that Hesaw him under a literal fig tree (althoughHe did), He was telling him that He hadseen him from the garden, from the Creation,from the foundation of the world.By reading the Bible as literature andhistory, as the Humanists did, you only seepart of it. The Humanists were reacting tomedieval Scholasticism and the Gnosticismthat much of Roman Catholicism isbased upon. Nonetheless, their approachprevents people from seeing much of thedepth of Scripture. Using the grammaticalhistoricalmethod, the Reformers were ableto discover truths such as Justification byFaith and the Authority of Scripture. Butthat is all they could see; they could not gobeyond it. Martin Luther considered Romansto be the main book of the Bible. Hetotally rejected the Book of Revelation. Yetthe Book of Revelation is the book for theLast Days. Luther admitted that you cannotunderstand it with a Protestant mind.What is wrong? Is the Book of Revelationwrong? Or is the Protestant mindwrong? Be very careful. Daniel (Daniel12:4) and John (Revelation 10:4) weretold to “seal these things up” until the timeof the end. In the fullness of God’s time,the interpretation of these books will bemanifested to the faithful. When you seepeople writing out diagrams and charts,saying that they have got the whole eschatologicalprogram and all of Revelationfigured out, be very cautious. It is sealedup until the appropriate time. God willunveil it in His way and in His time. Andthat will be done step by step. The firststep is going back to reading the Bible asa Jewish book, instead of as a Greek one.The Epistles are commentary onother Scripture; they tell you what otherScripture means on a very practical level.It is fine to read the Epistles as literatureand history, using grammatical-historicalmethods. But there are different kinds ofliterature in the Bible, different literarygenre that God put in there for different reasons.Psalms (Hebrew poetry), Revelation(apocalyptic literature), the Gospels (narrative),and Proverbs (wisdom literature).You do not read a letter in the sameway as you read poetry. You do not readThe Narnia Chronicles (C.S. Lewis) in thesame way as you would read a letter fromAunt Harriet back in England. If you readthe Epistles, you will see that the apostlesdid not interpret the other books of the Bibleby the grammatical-historical method.The book of Hebrews is a commentaryon the symbolism of the Levitical priesthoodand the Temple. Look at Galatians4:24 onwards, the story of the two women— it is a midrash on the purpose of theLaw. Look at the epistle of Jude, it is midrashicliterature. The apostles did nothandle the Scriptures according to Protestantgrammatical-historical methods.There are different kinds of prophecyContinued: Moriel South Africain the Bible. The two kinds that are importantin understanding the Last Daysare Messianic prophecies and, connectedto those, eschatological prophecies. Whenwe come to consider biblical prophecy,this is very important. Because theWestern mind, with its basis in SixteenthCentury Humanism, says that prophecyconsists of a prediction and a fulfilment.To the ancient Jewish mind, it was not aquestion of something being predicted,then being fulfilled. Rather, to the ancientJewish mind, prophecy was a patternwhich is recapitulated; a prophecy havingmultiple fulfilments. And each fulfilment,each cycle, teaches something aboutthe ultimate fulfilment. For example: In afamine, Abraham went into Egypt (Genesis12:10-20). God judged Pharaoh.Abraham and his descendants came outof Egypt, taking the wealth of Egypt withthem, and went into the Promised Land.Abraham’s descendants replayed the sameexperience. In a famine they went intoEgypt (Genesis 42). God judged Pharaohagain, a wicked king. Abraham’s descendantscame out of Egypt, taking the wealthof Egypt with them (Exodus 12:36),and they went into the Promised Land.What happened to Abraham happenedto his descendants. Then the samething happened with Jesus. When theyhad gone, an angel of the Lord appearedto Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said,“take the child and his mother and escapeto Egypt. Stay there until I tell you,for Herod is going to search for the childto kill him.” So he got up, took the childand his mother during the night and leftfor Egypt, where he stayed until the deathof Herod. And so was fulfilled what theLord had said through the prophet: “Outof Egypt I called my son” (Matthew 2:16).Matthew says that when Jesus cameout of Egypt, after the wicked King Heroddied, that fulfilled the prophecy of Hosea.“When Israel was a child, I loved him, andout of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11:1-2). Very plainly, Hosea chapter 11 is talkingabout the Exodus, about what happenedwith Moses. In its grammatical-historicalcontext, it is talking about the Exodus, notabout the Messiah. But Matthew appearsto take the passage out of all reasonablecontext and twist it into talking about Jesus.We have to ask, is Matthew wrong?or is there something wrong with ourProtestant way of interpreting the Bible?There is nothing wrong with Matthew,and there is nothing wrong withthe New Testament. But there is somethingwrong with our Protestant mentality.The Jewish idea of prophecy is notprediction, but pattern. Abraham cameout of Egypt, when Pharaoh was judged;June 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 35

Continued : Moriel South Africahis descendant’s came out of Egypt whenthe wicked king was judged; then anotherwicked king was judged and the Messiahcame out of Egypt. There are multiple fulfilment’sof prophecy. Midrashically, “Israel”alludes to Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah.When you see verses like: “Israelmy glory and Israel my first born,” theyare midrashic allusions to the Messiah.Then, in 1 Corinthians 10, somethingelse happens: We come out of Egypt,which Paul tells us is a symbol of theworld. Pharaoh, who was deified by theEgyptians and worshipped as God, is asymbol of the devil, the god of this world.Just as Moses made a covenant with bloodand sprinkled it on the people, so did Jesus.Moses fasted forty days, and so didJesus. Jesus is the prophet like Moses, predictedin Deuteronomy 18:18. Just as Mosesled the children of Israel out of Egypt,through the water, into the Promised Land,so Jesus leads us out of the world, throughbaptism, into heaven. It is a pattern.Then the horse and its rider arethrown into the sea (Exodus 15:1). Wesing the song of Moses — the horse andrider thrown into the sea — in Revelation15:3. Why? Because it is a pattern.The ultimate meaning of “coming out ofEgypt” is the resurrection and rapture ofthe Church. The judgments that happen inExodus are replayed in Revelation. Andjust as Pharaoh’s magicians were ableto counterfeit the miracles of Moses andAaron, so the antichrist and False Prophetwill counterfeit the miracles of Jesus andHis witnesses. They brought Joseph’sbones with them when they came out ofEgypt (Exodus 13:19). Why? Because thedead in Christ will rise first. It is a patternThe ancient Jewish mind that producedthe New Testament looks at prophecy,not as prediction, but as pattern.To understand what is going to happenin the future, you look at what did happenin the past. There are multiple fulfilments,and each successive fulfilmentteaches something about the ultimate one.You will never understand the Bookof Revelation with the kind of limitedapproach to biblical interpretation that istaught in Protestant seminaries. Midrashis like a quadratic equation or a verycomplex second order differential equation,a thirteen or fourteen step equation.Some people take the first step of grammatical-historicalexegesis and thinkthe equation is solved. There is nothingwrong with what they do, but there isplenty wrong with what they don’t do.The equation is not solved. There is nothingwrong with grammatical-historicalexegesis. It is a necessary first step, it is36 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007a necessary preliminary, and it is okayfor reading the Epistles. But that is all.It takes the wisdom of the ancientsto really understand these things — Lethim that hath understanding count thenumber of the beast... (Revelation 13:18)— not the wisdom of the 16th century,but the wisdom of the first century.FellowshipHaving recently spoken in Sydneyon this subject matter, I decidedto transcribe it in three parts in caseany of our readers find it edifying.TRUE FELLOWSHIPActs 2: 42 – 47“And they continued stedfastly in theapostles’ teaching and fellowship, in thebreaking of bread and the prayers. Andfear came upon every soul: and manywonders and signs were done through theapostles. And all that believed were together,and had all things common; andthey sold their possessions and goods,and parted them to all, according as anyman had need. And day by day, continuingstedfastly with one accord in the temple,and breaking bread at home, they tooktheir food with gladness and singlenessof heart, praising God, and having favorwith all the people. And the Lord added tothem day by day those that were saved.”I was speaking to someone a whileago, and they were reminiscing abouta church many years back. They saidthat at this particular church the fellowshipwas sweet like nothing they haveexperienced before or since. In fact overthe last few years, I’ve spoken to quite afew people who have told me the samething. In fact I, myself, as a youth leaderin the late 70’s, early 80’s, have memorieswhich are so sweet; of fellowshipwith the crowd I was involved with then.So is fellowship consigned to thepast? Does it only exist in the nostalgicmemories of a few? Or is there a possibilitythat fellowship can be lived andexperienced among believers today? Despitewhat we see so often in our churches,despite the apparent shallowness ofsome of our relationships, I believe fellowshipis a distinct possibility for youand I, if we endeavor to do two things.Firstly – We fellowship tothe depth and breadth which theNew and Old Testaments indicate.Secondly – We see fellowship aswhat it really is; something which needsto be constantly worked at. I don’t knowabout you but I carry baggage that hindersmy fellowship; stuff that I need tolet go of if I desire to grow in this area.The text we are looking at is probablythe text that most people wouldcome up with when thinking about NewTestament fellowship and that’s why Ichose it. For here we see a group of believerswho shared everything together inthose early days straight after Pentecost.But today I am not going to exegete thattext fully because when one looks at theoriginal Greek and Hebrew texts concerningthe whole area of fellowship, webegin to see a lot deeper into what Goddesires for us. For example, the word‘fellow’ in the Hebrew has four uses.• It can just mean man or ‘ish’. ‘Isha’ is thefeminine for woman. It’s a generic term.• Another is ‘Reya’, an associate, an acquaintance.• Another is ‘Amiyth’, which means acomrade, a closer word than ‘Reya’.• And finally there is ‘Kawbare’, whichliterally means ‘to be knitted together’or intermeshed.When we look at the Greek we get aneven more in depth look, because it suggestswhat we must do or be with our fellows.• In Ephesians 2: 19, it says we must be‘fellow citizens’ or ‘Soompolytare’. In otherwords a native of the same town or faith.• In John 11: 16, we are called ‘fellowdisciples’ or ‘Soomathetes’. In other wordsa co-learner under the same master.• In Ephesians 3: 6, Paul says we are ‘fellowheirs’ in Christ, in other words we participatein a common inheritance. ‘Soongklayronomos’.We are also fellow membersof the body, fellow partakers of the promise.• In 1 Thessalonians 3: 2, we are called‘fellow laborers’, or ‘helpers’. It’s thesame Greek word ‘Soonergos’, a companionin labor.• In Romans 16: 7, we are called ‘fellowprisoners’, ‘Soonaheekmalotos’,a co-capture in Christ or for Christ.• In Colossians 1: 7, we are to befound as fellow servants, ‘Soondoulos’,co ministers with the same Master.• Then in Philemon verse 2, theword suggests ‘fellow soldier’, ‘Soostiateotare’,a companion in battle.So when we look just at the depth inthe way scripture suggests how you and Iare to interrelate in Christ, we see that evenhere, sometimes what we know as ‘church’pales into insignificance. But there is onemore ‘fellow’ which even makes thesefall short of what I believe God reallydesires and that ‘fellow’ is ‘fellow-ship’.In the Hebrew we have several words;The first is, ‘Tesoometh’ or to bepledged together.Secondly we have ‘Yad’which means an ‘open hand’ quite liter-

ally, and can be used to both grasp andalso smack if necessary.Thirdly is ‘Kawbar’,similar to ‘Kawbare’ and it literallymeans to ‘be fascinated’ by one another.In the Greek it is just as fascinating.Firstly, ‘Soongkoynoneho’, to sharecompany with someone.Secondly, ‘Metoche’which means ‘fellowship’, but notat a particularly deep level.But thirdlywe have that word for fellowship, mentionednot just in Acts 2; but in manyplaces. It is a word that lies at the heartof all relationships – ‘Koinonia’. Literallyto have everything in common.So let’s look at three pointsin this word study, which wewill cover over three teachings.• Firstly What is Koinonia? How couldit affect us? That is this teaching.• Secondly Who and what we haveKoinonia with and who we don’t. Wewill look at this in the next teaching.• Thirdly Obstacles to Koinonia, whichwill be our final lesson.Koinonia, according to Vine is “Communion,fellowship, sharing in common,that which is the outcome of fellowship,a contribution.” When we look, at ourpicture of the early church in the bookof Acts we do indeed see all these thingsoccurring. Five in particular which to mestand out significantly in our text are;1. In verse 44 they were together! It isimpossible to have fellowship unless wemeet as an extended family and as Hebrews10: 25 says “all the more as you seethe day approaching”. It upsets me terriblywhen I see the amount of Christians outthere, keeping away from a local churchbecause of heavy shepherding churchesand the abuses of the word of faith movementand other heresies. I understand, Isympathize, even empathize BUT someoneonce said and I agree, ‘The answerto bad church is not no church, but goodchurch.’ But these believers were together.2. Again in verse 44, they had all thingsin common. Now let me make a point herebecause this is where quite a few churchesgo wrong. You see when we look at othercontemporary groups of the time, we seesome living lifestyles in a similar way tocommunes. The Qumran documents showclearly that the Essenes and the Qumransects lived in a similar fashion; being togetherand having all things in common. InActs 4: 32 – 5: 11 though, it clearly showsthat the selling of possessions was voluntary,and the fact that the Christians movedfrom house to house in verse 46 shows thatthe Christians were distinct from the communesfrom the time. In fact what it doesmean is that to hold together and havethings together does not mean you join aKibbutz or a commune; what it does meanis that even though you may own land,things, finances, a cricket bat, lawn mower– whatever, we can make them availableto the community of believers if there is aneed. In other words if you have 2 coats,food, whatever you should share with whoever has none. Many years ago the welfaresystem of society was ‘The Church’. Justinethe Apostate, enemy of the Church,said “These followers of Christos, theynot only look after their own poor, theylook after ours as well.” When we lookat some of the Great welfare movementsof all time with people such as Shaftsbury,Muller, Barnado etc, we see that itwas always the Christian at the forefront.We see that the Church played a prominentrole. In the UK after the 1st and 2ndworld wars, we see a Paternal state takingthe place of the Church. And now as thesesystems become so expensive to maintainand institutionalized, we see the failureof the state and people unchurched andadrift in poverty. In our society, times areeconomically difficult and I believe onceagain the fellowship of believers must fillthe GAP as we see brothers and sisters interrible need, children orphaned, as wesee an HIV pandemic shattering lives andfamilies. We must respond in Christ’s love.3. Verse 46 says they had one mind, oneaccord, in the temple. Their act of worshipwas an act of unity, and this overflowedinto their very houses because…4. It goes on to say they broke bread fromhouse to house, even taking their meals togetherwith gladness and sincerity of heart;praising God and having favor with all thepeople. So their ‘Koinonia’ involved communion,fellowship, a sharing in commonand, what an outcome their fellowship hadwith gladness, praise, joy and sincerity ofheart! Let me ask, when was the last timeyou had fellowship of this quality! Let meask again, is our fellowship a present dayreality? Or is it confined to the limitationsof nostalgia? But like I said earlier, thereare two things which we need to understand.A) That we must fellowship to thebreadth and depth of the biblical term. B)And also we must understand then, that ifwe claim to be in Christ Jesus then we arefellows – together.5. That we are fellow citizens in Christ,fellow disciples in Christ, fellow heirsin Christ, fellow laborers in Christ, fellowprisoners in Christ, fellow servantsin Christ, fellow soldiers in Christ.And in Christ as we come to understandthese terms, we must work at it.Koinonia does not happen overnightbut it begins to happen when we worshiptogether, when we work together, when weeat together, when we have fun together,Continued: Moriel South Africawhen we show hospitality to one another.Then, when we begin to trust, then we beginto heal from our past mistrusts, thenwe stop judging according to our misconceptions,then we begin to have Koinonia.Let me ask;• In Christ do you desire to work atKoinonia?• Are you fed up of a pale imitation?• Do you long for the real thing?• Next time we will look at “Koinoniawith who?”Teaching MaterialA catalogue of Moriel teaching materialcan be obtained from Christopher atthe following email address, I have alsobrought back from Aussie some new stuffwhich I will be catalogued for next month.Meanwhile to stir the hearts of some, Ihave obtained a DVD called “The RevivalHymn”. We will send it out for nextto nothing at cost +P+P. It’s a 30 minuteDVD set to music using inspirationalwords from revival preachers and includesdescriptions of the great Hebrides revivalin the 1950’s. morielmissions@gmail.comPrayer Items1. Dianne’s tenants in New Zealand are leaving.This leaves her with the problem of getting newpeople or she may have to go home.2. Praise the Lord for Ant’s Mission to Rome.We are looking for sponsors for Ant and Liz tocarry out this work. If you are interested pleaseget in touch with them.3. For Norbert and Moses in Tanzania and Kenyaand their growing work4. For Chanti and Lilly at Good News Ministriesin Vijayawada in India5. For The whole team here at Moriel in Africa6. For the children as they continue to fight theirailments7. For Salvador and his team as they preach thegospel8. For all our missionaries those who are yet tocome9. For all our needs both temporal and spiritualHow can you help?Prayer is important, but also the helping handsand the finances that enable us to do what we do.So please consider the following.Receive a regular News update either by emailor hard copy. Just send your address to us andwe will pop one in the post for you or email itto you. (although email to save mail size will bewithout pictures)Secondly you can apply to be a short or long termmissionary. If the Lord burdens you and youwant to investigate more please contact us.Finally you can give a one off gift or a regularmonthly amount to cover the costs of mission.This is simple to do. Just contact the followingpeople or you can contact any Moriel office andthey will assist you.June 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 37

South Africa NewsBNAllen & SueE Z A L E E LE W S L E T T E RJune 2007Dear friends,Our days begin with the householderupting into wakefulness and ending inthe blissful sounds of sleeping children.We go about the mornings to the strainsof a Baroque Minuet and the beginninghalting efforts of Hava Nagila rendered byLizzie on the piano. As she conscientiouslypractices each day in preparation for herupcoming exams and the Music Festivalin August and September, her improvementis obvious and it adds a festive airto our chores. On completion she movesto her recorder and practices with quietconfidence. She is also preparing for theLondon Trinity Exam for recorder. Thabopipes out notes on his recorder, and as abeginner his progress pleases his teacher.Ruth doggedly plucks on her guitar incounts of 4: B, C, D, E, F and G with Allenor my encouragement. She was not able toattend her music lesson this week becausethe teachers and pupils were threatenedby the union that they would be shot ifthey went to school. At present, governmentinstitutions like schools and hospitalsare striking for an increase in wages.Autumn on the highveld in South Africais probably my most favourite season.The stillness and colours of autumnleaves have a peaceful effect on me. Itwas short lived however as winter arrivedwith such sudden forcefulness ,plungingus into record lows long before it’s expectedarrival about the middle of June.We also had record rainfalls for the monthof June. In one night we had 30 mm ofrainfall in an area that is normally dry inwinter. Needless to say it is very cold.We are grateful to the Lord for ordinarydays, filled with the activities ofchildren growing, learning and playing.Roxanne has returned to work and Iteach all the children. After some experimentingwith schedules and who to teachwhat, when and with whom we have abusy but comfortable timetable workedout for academics. The four younger onesare delighted that I am teaching themagain and their eyes shine brightly as weread stories with requests for them to beread over and over again. I tried to teachmath to Ruth, Rose and Walter together,but abandoned the idea when Rosie wascoping far better. This did not bode wellwith Ruth and she gave Rosie witheringstares whenever she responded to one ofthe questions I asked. Ruth and Walterare comfortable being taught togetherand respond spontaneously. Rosie is inbetween the others with math, so she getsmy undivided attention for her math work.Six of the children and I had an opportunityto visit the Walter Sisulu BotanicalGardens near Roodepoort withthe music school to hear a jazz big bandplay outdoors. In front of us the MagaliesburgMountains towered, with a lone maleBlack Eagle soaring over it and a waterfallcascading from it. We shared a picnicon a blanket while we listened to GirlTalk by Bill Fairley’s Big Band. Adrian,our oldest son who lives nearby the gardensin Centurion, Pretoria joined us foran hour or so. It was Mothers Day andwe had a wonderful time together, onceRuth overcame her apprehensiveness ofthe mountain and people thronging about.Ben settled too once he became accustomedto the loudness of the music. Hehas always been sensitive to high pitchedsounds and cries when it is too loud.During the week I went with seven ofthe children to see a play at the local theaterby a local company. It was The Soundof Music and the children enjoyed it greatly.They have watched the DVD a numberof times and they love stories aboutother families who have a lot of children.One night one of our chickens diedand at the breakfast table the next morningRosie said to the children they must pray forit. Thabo emphatically stated that we don’tpray for the dead. On another occasion thechildren were discussing how many childrenthey were going to have when theygrow up. Lizzie said she was going to havethree children, an older child to look afterthe two younger ones. Rosie said she isonly going to have two because too manychildren make too much noise. Ben sayshe’s going to have lots of children becausehe likes noise. (He is the noisiest in thehouse.) Ernie informs everyone that it isnot their decision to make as to how manychildren they’re going to have. Mmm… Iwonder if he’s being listening to Bill Randlesand the Christ in the Family series.With regards to the children’s healthwe had a scare with Ruth in April. She hada severe infection and fever and in the runaround to get her to a doctor and have aurine test done, I was overwhelmed bythe kindness and assistance of those in themedical profession around me. Throughthis experience, as well as a book I wasreading at the time by Edith Schaeffertitled Affliction and through God’s word,I was reminded that He is our comforterin times of trouble. Jesus was withoutcomfort on the cross, forsaken, so thatwe could be comforted Is: 53:3 and 2 Cor1:3-7.As the Holy Spirit, our paraklesis,the One who comes alongside us and doesnot leave us alone but rather comforts us,so should we come alongside one anotherbringing comfort. Ruth recovered completelyand is still well. We, at last, afterscouring pet shops, S.P.C.A’s and the likefound a dog for Ruth to replace Max. Shelooks just like him and Ruth has namedher Maxine. Rosie has been seeing anoccupational therapist that specialises inhand related injuries and has had a splintmade to support her wrist and thumb. Shehas also been given exercises to preventshortening of muscles through lack of usein her arm. Wearing the splint has givenRosie far more mobility in her hand andshe is delighted. Thabo had a seizure inApril. The last one happened in Novemberlast year. What precipitates it we don’tknow. Little Themba is responding verywell to his ARV’s. According to his skinspecialist his skin condition is directlyrelated to HIV. His skin is clearing rapidlythough and we suspect that it’s as aresult of an improved CD4 count. His dadDavid regularly picks him up every secondweekend. Thoko has settled in verywell. She is eager to learn and participatesin the life of the family. She is a helpfulchild and Lizzie, Thoko and Thabo havelong discussions and sing together whenthey do dishes in the evenings. Her dadvisited last week after an absence of threemonths due to serious illness. He has virtuallywasted away and looks skeletal.He has not seen a doctor and I suspect hemay have T.B. I encouraged him to go tothe clinic for tests. Please pray for him.His name is Christopher. Walter, Ernest,Themba and Precious are all well. Walteris more confident in his school work althoughstill markedly behind. He enjoyshis lessons. Ernest is playing soccer againthis year for the same club he played forlast year. Themba’s chest tightens up everynow and again and Precious is our cuddly38 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007

little girl. Over the last three months muchhas happened in Jowie’s life. She has hada chance in a safe environment to come toterms with her status and begin to moveforward in making decisions for herselfand her twins. It’s not been easy but sheis determined and appears to be leaningon God. She is spending more time withher family and is staying with them at themoment to attend a course to improveher chances for finding employment.Please continue to pray for her and wethank the Lord for all He’s done for her.On Sunday nights Alethia meets atour place for fellowship together, usuallyover ice-cream and coffee and to listen toa teaching. While Dave, Lyn and Mornehave been away we have had a very relaxedtime together, normally with Salvadorfrom Ebyown, Mike from Alethia,Becca and Susie from the UK, Diannefrom New Zealand and Allen, myself andClayton from Bezaleel. On most occasionswe’ve watched DVD’s of Jacob’steachings and as he eloquently renders thetruth of Gods word, we banter back andforth in lively conversation about whathe’s saying, his expressions, antics etc.Some are normally about 2 hours long andDave would show it over a few weeks butwe forgot and listen to the whole teaching.(We much prefer the DVD’s) Somewhatin surprise we realise the time and everyonerushes home. How does the old adagego? While the cats away the mice willplay? Never a dull moment with Jacoband we look forward to his visit in August.As I approach my 49th birthday (sosoon?), I look back and see what the Lordhas done in and through our lives with thecomfort of the people He has given us ,to share in the joy and make possible Hiswork in this part of His vineyard. Trulythe Lord has set our feet in a broad place.Thank you for your love and prayers,the support you give us that makes possiblewhat we do. Please continue to pray for thematters mentioned in this letter with thanksgivingfor His faithfulness in all things.• Vindicate the weak and fatherless;• Do justice to the afflicted and destitute• Rescue the weak and needy;• Deliver them out of the hand ofthe wicked.Psalm82:3, 4. NASBMay the Lord’s joy be your strength.Allen and Sue.bezaleel@saol.comPERTINENT “FACTOID”April 26, 1933 - The Gestapo is born,created by Hermann Göring in the Germanstate of Prussia.April 22, 1938 - Nazis prohibit Aryan‘front-ownership’ of Jewish businesses.April 26, 1938 - Nazis order Jewsto register wealth and property.April 19, 1939 - Slovakia passes itsown version of the Nuremberg Laws.April 30, 1939 - Jews lose rights as tenantsand are relocated into Jewish houses.May 10, 1933 - Burning of books inBerlin and throughout Germany.April 9, 1940 - Nazis invade Denmark(Jewish pop. 8,000) and Norway (Jewishpop. 2,000).April 30, 1940 - The Lodz Ghetto inoccupied Poland is sealed off from theoutside world with 230,000 Jews lockedinside.April 6, 1941 - Nazis invade Yugoslavia(Jewish pop. 75,000) and Greece (Jewishpop. 77,000) 3,500)May 1, 1940 - Rudolf Höss is chosen tobe kommandant of Auschwitz.May 10, 1940 - Nazis invade France(Jewish pop. 350,000), Belgium (Jewishpop. 65,000), Holland (Jewish pop.140,000), and Luxembourg (Jewish pop.May 14, 1941 - 3,600 Jews arrestedin Paris.May 16, 1941 - French Marshal Petainissues a radio broadcast approving collaborationwith Hitler.May 17, 1934 - Jews not allowednational health insurance.May 21, 1935 - Nazis ban Jews fromserving in the military.May 1939 - The St. Louis, a shipcrowded with 930 Jewish refugees, isturned away by Cuba, the United Statesand other countries and returns to Europe.June 30, 1934 - The Night of LongKnives occurs as Hitler, Göring and Himmlerconduct a purge of the SA (stormtrooper) leadership.June 26, 1935 - Nazis pass law allowingforced abortions on women to preventthem from passing on hereditary diseases.June 17, 1936 - Heinrich Himmler isappointed chief of the German Police.June 14, 1938 - Nazis order Jewishowned businesses to register.June 14, 1940 - Paris is occupied bythe Nazis.June 22, 1940 - France signs an armisticewith Hitler.Voyage of the St. LouisThe voyage of the SS St. Louis, a Germanocean liner, dramatically highlights thedifficulties faced by many people trying toescape Nazi terror. In May 1939, 937 passengers,most Jewish refugees, left Hamburg,Germany, en route to Cuba. Most of themplanned eventually to emigrate to the UnitedStates and were on the waiting list for admission.All passengers held landing certificatespermitting them entry to Cuba, but when theSt. Louis reached the port of Havana, the Presidentof Cuba refused to honor the documents.After the ship left the Havana harbor, itsailed so close to the Florida coast that thepassengers could see the lights of Miami.The captain appealed for help, but in vain.U.S. Coast Guard ships patrolled the watersto make sure that no one jumped to freedomand did not allow the ship to dock in the U.S.The St. Louis turned back to Europe. Belgium,the Netherlands, England, and Franceadmitted the passengers. But within months,the Germans overran western Europe. Hundredsof passengers who disembarked in Belgium,the Netherlands, and France eventuallyfell victim to the Nazi “Final Solution.”www.ushmm.org/outreach/louis.htmHolocaust EncyclopediaPoint of InterestA view of the ship St. Louis surroundedby smaller vessels in the port of Havana, Cuba.(USHMN Photo)Belgian officials at the gangplank of the SS St.Louis after the German ocean liner was forced toreturn to Europe from Cuba. Belgium granted entryto some of the Jewish refugees aboard the ship.Antwerp, Belgium, June 1939.. (USHMN Photo)Refugees aboard the SS St. Louis wait to hearwhether Cuba will grant them entry. Off the coastof Havana, Cuba, June 3, 1939. (USHMN Photo)June 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 39

South Africa NewsSalvador Ung HayworthBy Salvador Ung Hayworth June, 2007 – No. 36E-MAIL: msindisi@gmail.comWEBSITE; http://msindisi.googlepages.com“For from the creation of the worldthe invisible things of Him are clearlyseen, being understood through the thingsthat are made, even His eternal power andGodhead, so that they are without excuse.For when they knew God, they neitherglorified Him as God, nor were thankful,but became vain in their imaginations, andtheir foolish heart was darkened. Professingthemselves to be wise, they becamefools, and changed the glory of the incorruptibleGod into an image made like corruptibleman, and to birds and four footedbeasts and creeping things. Therefore Godalso gave them up to uncleanness throughthe lusts of their own hearts, to dishonortheir own bodies among themselves.They changed the truth of God into a lie,and worshiped and served the creaturemore than the Creator, who is blessedfor ever. Amen.” (Romans 1: 20 – 25)The latest News: Dave and Lyn havebeen away celebrating their 25th weddinganniversary. God provided them themeans of going away together which hasbeen good for Lyn to get a break. Bothher and another lady in church called SueWells (who also is a mother to orphanedchildren) work tirelessly to a number ofchildren that many couples of today wouldreel at the idea of having. T his month hasbeen a little different. Some challengeshave gone and others come. We have stillhad car trouble this month and with Daveand Lyn being away certain errands mayhave had to have taken priority with ourvehicle shortage. However, the good newsis that the Ebyown vehicle that I have hadthe most use of, which has been in thedrive way for over a month has been repairedtoday. Tomorrow morning I musttake one of the other vehicles to have theaccelerator cable fixed on it. Also withDave and Morne (our other preacher) beingaway continually I have had to havetaken up all the teaching, which in oneway is good because it meant I could getthrough a huge chunk of the series on thebook of Romans. I was just fixing a coupleof cupboard doors and working throughproblems along the way and I realised thesimilarity to doing a message. No one reallysees the work but they see the finishedproduct. But however a message alwaysdemands some kind of response. Studyingthe Bible is to have an impact on ones40 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007life. I have also dug a trench to help withthe flow of dirty water away from the livingpart of the compound, which is somethingI enjoyed doing. There has beensome good experiences this month, whichI have been grateful for. Also on an upnote, I am looking forward to the arrivalof Dave tomorrow and even more I willbe looking forward to my visit to the UKin August. It will be so nice to see familyand friends. My itinerary, as it stands,is attached at the end of this newsletter.We continue to have Erin, Becca and Susiefrom Starbeck mission in the UK withus, and Di Vincent is continuing to stayfrom New Zealand. Also for this monthonly we have seen the arrival of Su Lymnfrom Singapore who apparently has beenhere before I came back to South Africa.Evangelism: I have continued to havedifficulties keeping a complete consistencyin my going out. Also there have beendifficulties with evangelism at Tsakanebecause of timing. I have changed thetime a Saturday morning because theevening avails little time. However in themorning John has been busy on a coupleof occasions and, last week there wasno vehicle I could use. In July my Hebrewteacher will be off to America for5 months training as her husband and herhave been accepted on the staff of Jewsfor Jesus. I have been asked to teach theclass behind us while she is away and thiswill also mean that the time for studyingHebrew will change from a Saturday to aFriday. The great thing about this is thatit will free up Saturday so that I may goto Tsakane at a more reasonable time andthus be quite aggressive in my activitythere. At the beginning of the month, myfriend’s wife had died and I was asked byhim (his name being Zak) to give a shortmessage at the funeral. It was a great privilegeto share a short gospel message atthis occasion where so many people arethinking about life and death and asking‘what is the point of it all?’ Being at thegrave yard was an amazing experience.There were about 7 other funerals happeningat the same time and that wasn’t it forthat day. Just the company that was doingthe funeral I attended had over 5 othermounds of earth ready to be got throughthat day! Death is so rampant and is a factof life. I also met a couple of great guys,one guy being from Ghana and I hope tomeet up with him again at some point.Despite our lack of consistency withthe evangelism, Mike and I have seengood opportunities this month to share.Even in handing out Gospel literature wehave been able to speak with a coupleof people. On the same day I chatted toa Moslem from another African countryand Mike chatted to a Mormon for anincredibly long time. I always find blackMormons intriguing because the Book ofMormon says that black skin was a curseplaced on a supposed race of people calledthe Lamanites. (2 Nephi 5: 21). But thisgentleman was honestly seeking for somereal answers. Mike and I have seen a ladycalled Zandile make a decision to followJesus. We are trying to plan a biblestudy in the area she lives in KwaThema(a township near to Tsakane) but we havehad difficulty because we are trying toinclude our friend Bafana who also livesthere. However Bafana doesn’t own a mobilephone. Let us hope that we can startit up this month. I would be happy to dothis until such a time as we find a soundchurch that I may recommend to them.I have just received a box full oftracts from Australia sent, donated byYorke Hinds of Living Waters whichwill prove really useful as well as afew from my good friends in the UK.Their son Joe spent a few weeks withme when I lived in KwaZulu Natal andhas proved a faithful and loyal friend.Thanks to every one who has supportedme and the mission here in prayer.PRAYER REQUESTS1. For the possibility of more witnessingopportunities and the sensitivity, guidanceand courage to proclaim God’s gospel. Pleasepray for the individuals that we speak with,which ever names God lays on your heart.2. For our own devotion to Jesus.For that reality to be apparent in our ownlives as we attempt to practice what thescripture tells us in love and humility.3. For guidance for direction now and future.4. For the Royle family and kids at Ebyownas those various illnesses come up frequently.5. For our relationship with PastorJohn in Tsakane and the door and opportunityfor more rigorous evangelism in Tsakane.6. For a possible Bible Study to start inKwaThema.

Moriel AustraliaDusty Peterson & Elizabeth McDonaldTIME to LOOKatyourBy Dusty Peterson and Elizabeth McDonaldOur Lord declared, “[W]hat I say untoyou I say unto all, Watch.” Is our watchtelling the right time? Or have some ofus stopped watching altogether? Certainfolks believe that Christians shouldn’tbother watching the world’s slide towardsaccepting the antichrist. They argue thatsuch an activity is unhealthy because itcan become obsessive. They also contendthat it takes our eyes off the true Christ.Finally they claim it is pointless anywayand is therefore a waste of valuabletime. These are serious charges whichdeserve proper consideration. Hopefullythe following will be of use in this regard.CAN BE OBSESSIVEAn investigation into the differenttentacles of the New World Order cancertainly lead some people to become obsessedwith studying the topic. However,it doesn’t follow from this that we shouldall ignore the topic. Many other activitiescan become obsessive, but this doesnot mean all study of such things is intrinsicallywrong. As Bayith Ministries recentlypointed out in another context, “Ifwe take the argument to its logical conclusion,we end up with a very peculiar situation.For example, since some peopledevelop an obsession about keeping fit oreating healthily, does this mean it is wrongfor us to encourage exercise or a sensiblediet? Any truth can become an obsessionwith people, but that’s no excuse for concealingit.” In rightly seeking to avoidone extreme, let’s not end up at the other.TAKES OUR EYES OFF CHRIST?There seem to be four progressivelevels of argument made here:(1) We may initially be toldthat, since we should always focuson Christ, any activity whichdoesn’t focus on Him must be wrong.It is absolutely true that our focusshould always be on Christ. But manyother activities are compatible with that.Does learning to play the guitar necessarilytake our eyes off Christ? Does changing ababy’s nappy take our eyes off Christ? Orfeeding one’s family? Or applying one’sself in a secular job? Clearly we should bewary of sweeping statements on this matter.(2) The next stage is to argue that theNew World Order is, by definition, worldly.On this basis we are told we would inevitablybe taking our eyes off Christ sinceHe is separate from sinners (Heb. 7:26).Again, it is undeniable that the worldis at enmity with God and that God calls usto be holy and to be distinct from the world(2 Cor. 6:14-17). But again we need to bebalanced. Many non-evangelistic activitiesinvolve us associating with the world.Every time we shop in a store owned bya non-Christian we are interacting withthe world. Every time we obtain any servicefrom an unbeliever (e.g. a plumber,a waiter, or an air stewardess) we needto connect with the world. None of thisis automatically improper, so neither is itautomatically improper to watch the politicalmachinations going on in the world.Again, the Lord Jesus should be ourfocus, but that doesn’t mean we shouldbe “ignorant of [Satan’s] devices” (2 Cor.2:11). The Bible contains whole chaptersabout the enemy and/or his false church(e.g. Rev. 13 & 17), yet the Bible obviouslynever stops focusing on Christ.At its core, the New World Order is aspiritual issue. The proper study of anyspiritual issue will point us to Christ.(3) The third stage is to arguethat the Apostle Paul never concernedhimself with the affairs of theworld and therefore neither should we.On the face of it, this seems conclusive.But in fact there are several majorproblems with this line of reasoning.Firstly, Paul isn’t our only example inScripture. In the book of Revelation, theApostle John wrote extensively about theworld and about Satan’s efforts to controlits citizens. Secondly, Paul did indeedconcern himself with the world, else henever would have penned 2 Thess. 2:3-12.(Christopher Wordsworth’s superb booklet,entitled Is The Papacy Predicted by St.Paul?, goes into this point much more fully.)Thirdly, the institution at the heart ofthe New World Order claims to be Christian,and Paul was more than happy towarn of people who falsely claimed to beChristian.1 Next, the whole point aboutthe antichrist is that he will set himself‘in the place of Christ’ and pretend to beChrist. Again, anyone familiar with Paul’swritings will know that, had he been aliveto witness it, he would have had no qualmsabout exposing this man and his activities.Finally, Paul commanded us to prayfor good governance, yet people seeminglythen try to tell us we shouldn’t takeany notice of the governance we receive!(4) The last stage is to arguethat some limited study may be acceptable,but it should certainly nottake up a serious amount of time.There is a truth in this of course. EveryChristian needs to concentrate on becomingmore Christlike. Everything else willflow from this, including true (i.e. Spiritled)evangelism. If God is not calling aperson to undertake a particular activity,they should not try to perform it in theirown strength. But does this really meanthat no Christian should ever do seriousstudy into the New World Order? TheBody of Christ is meant to act like a body,where everyone performs their God-givenfunction to complement the whole. Ifno-one ever did any serious study, wherewould that leave the rest of the Body?God gives each Christian a specificministry (i.e. a burden on their heart toserve the Kingdom of God in one wayor another) in order to encourage eachof us to abide in Christ more and more– for otherwise we will merely generatewood, hay and stubble instead of producinglasting fruit and fulfilling the burdenHe has given us. Just as pursuing a coursein computer studies or foreign languagesfor a season can be entirely compatiblewith pursuing Christ, so can investigatingthe organizations behind the New WorldOrder for a season (especially if onehas been given a discernment ministry).WATCHING IS POINTLESS?The suggestion that there is no valuein watching, or being aware of, theNew World Order and its developmentsis very mistaken. Here are just some ofthe responses one can make to such acharge. (Note that several of these benefitsare of direct help in evangelism.)• As the Lord plainly stated in MatJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 41

Moriel Australiathew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, suchstudy helps us to recognize the times weare in and how close we are to the end.• Such study also gives us valuableguidance about things that have thesanction of New World Order groups.For instance, it helps us to avoid contributingto, or otherwise entanglingourselves in, certain organizations oractivities promoted by those groups.• It helps us to understand politicaland other developments around us, andtherefore enables us to pray more intelligently.We should be prepared to beinformed about the broad brush thingsgoing on in the world so that we canpray knowledgeably rather than wastetime praying for things that are actuallytools of the enemy that are beyond hope.• It means we can better make senseof the world, which helps us to have aninner peace rather than confusion. If weare asked about some political development,or the meaning of some event, itis better to be able to explain the spiritualdimension behind the issue thanjust to look blankly at the other person.• It helps us to see our redemptiondrawing nigh, which enables us to enjoygreater hope. In turbulent times, this willstir and convict unbelievers around us.• Such study also helps confirm Rome’strue nature. The better we understand thefalse church the better we can help thosein it, deter those who are thinking of joiningit, and keep ourselves safe from it.Dusty Peterson & Elizabeth McDonaldThrough A DimlyLit Corridor5/1/1997By Marshall BeeberThrough a dimly lit corridor,I peer through space and time.Not too far from here and now,As time and spacecan be defined.I see the earth at peace,And all the works of evil ceased.Swords are beaten backto plowshares,God’s holy governmentincreased.Jerusalem redeemed eternal,Both Jew and Gentilereconciled.Young and old alike rejoice,Free at last from sin’s defile.Messiah Jesus on His throne,To judge the nationsjust and true.Is this your hope as it is mine?If it is not, God welcomes you!Israeli PoetrySee our book Alpha - the UnofficialGuide: Church for more on this whole matterof exposing apostasy in the professing Church.CONCLUSIONFar from wasting our time and takingus away from Christ, godly study of thiswhole matter will actually lead us into thearms of God more than ever. “[T]he endof all things is at hand: be ye thereforesober, and watch unto prayer” (1 Pet.4:7).Quotes of the QUARTER !Ahouse divided againstitselfcannot stand- Abraham Lincoln -Will It MatterJuly 27, 1998By Marshall BeeberWhen Messiah sits uponhis throne,to judge the nations true.And every people,race and tongue,profess their faith anew.When Israel shall be blessed,extolled by every heart.Their curse erased byboundless grace,that never will depart.Will it matter if the faithful,are known as something new?Would it mean that much toanyone, if a Christianwere a Jew.42 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007

ComfortingTrust in YHWH with all yourheart. Proverbs 3:5T h o s e W h o M o u r nRussian Report Jason C.Update from Russia, 3. May 19, 20075/13/07, Sunday: Had a great visitwith Svyeta and her son, Vova; theywere both held hostage in the school forthe three days during the terrorist attack– Svyeta’s husband (and Vova’s dad),Sergei, was killed there. Their story isyet another very sad one here. Their familyhad lived in a different part of Bsln,and had bought an apartment close toSchool No. 1 (the school the terroriststook over). They finished remodeling theapartment, and moved in, and the first daythey were ever in School No. 1 was thatfirst day of September (2004). As the terroristsquickly took many of the healthyand strong men away and shot them executionstyle, I’m guessing that’s whathappened to Sergei. I don’t know if Vovaalways was, but he seems very grown upand quite serious for his age; Svyeta saidthey’re already like friends and not simplymother and son... that Vova has a sayin things, since he’s the man in the house.Vova wanted to give me an icon picture,but I said I was a Christian and couldn’taccept it. Svyeta, not out of insult, simplyasked why not, and The Lord blessedme with a good time to share with them.I shared how Jesus died to give us the opportunityto pray straight to God, Jesus IsThe Bridge between man and God, andno one else is necessary. Icons, candles,and so forth... they’re not necessary. Godhas the most power, and so why not praystraight to Him? I shared how offendedSyveta would be if Vova needed something,but wouldn’t ask her, instead justgoing to a neighbor’s. Svyeta understood.5/14/07, Monday: Began teachingguitar and English lessons here at Nahzee’shouse, where I live. As our reading textfor the English, we’ll be reading throughThe Gospel of John for a few verses eachsession. Afterwards, had the first RussianBible reading session – this is a group I reallyhope The Lord grows... it’s just an informalgathering of any who want to come& read His Word together (in Russian).5/15/07, Tuesday: Went to Madina’sapartment; her dad had previously askedme to make them an ‘American dinner’,something Americans eat. So I helpedMadina and we made a pasta dish, asalad, and garlic bread – to God’s glory,they really seemed to like it, especiallyher parents (Alan and Zalina). PraiseThe Lord for the opportunity to do somethingpractical like help make a dinnerfor a family who lost their 10 year oldson, Marat, in the school massacre. Forthis family, life has essentially stopped.5/16/07, Wednesday: AM fellowship.Later visited with Rusik, and had goodvisit with him and his mom. (Rusik survivedthe attack, but was shot in his rightarm, and still has a golf-ball-sized protrusionby his elbow.) He still cannot fullystraighten his arm, nor make a fist with hisright hand. Coming up on three years sincethe injury, the doctors‚ keep saying forhim to wait until he’s 18 next year for thesurgery. ? Rusik’s mom asked if I’d helptranslate 2 medical papers and help thempost the info on the internet so they mighttry and find a sponsor to cover his surgery.They’ve seen lots of doctors, but it seemslike they’re getting the run-around. Godwilling, they’d really like to have his armoperated on in the US or another countryoutside of Russia. Also visited Byella andparents; Byella is a teenage girl who survivedthe attack. The Lord opened up opportuntiesto share with them about TheBible and Jesus. I asked Byella’s mom(Rita) how Zina was (Rita’s friend, whosehouse is close by.) I also knew Zina fromseeing and talking with her many times atthe Mother’s Committee and other places;Zina lost her son in the attack. To my horror,I found out that Zina was killed in acar crash right before Christmas. Zina’sdaughter’s birthday fell just a few dayslater. This young girl, Vika, survived theattack herself, but lost her older brotherand only sibling there. And then, a littleover two years later, she loses her mom ina car crash right before her own birthday.The people of Bsln have some of the mosttragic lives that I’ve ever heard of. ...Camehome later, and received news that mademe so incredibly angry inside – so angrythat I can’t even explain. Apparently theRussian version of our FBI called Nahzee(the grandma I live with here) and herdaughter, and we’re supposed to go to Vldikavkz(the nearby big city) tomorrow. Iguess they want to make sure I’m reallyliving where I said I am or whatever – butit just makes me so angry, unless God doesan amazing miracle, there goes the wholemorning, and perhaps early afternoon, andI need to be back here in Bsln for classesat 3. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!Nahzee and I prayed together,and I also called my dad and asked him tocall my pastor (Kevin), asking them to prayabout it. O God, You know how angry andfrustrated I am, and I’m just so tired of allthis. Please grant me favor and kindness,in Jesus‚ Name – please give me the opportunityto share Jesus Christ, Your Son.5/17/07, Thursday: All glory andpraise to Yah – thanks be to God, themeeting in Vladikvkz went well. YHWHgreatly heard our prayers, and He answeredin His mercy; and thanks, gratitude, glory,honor, and praise be to Him. Thank You,Abba! Got back in time to eat lunch andget some stuff done before the lessonstoday. Thank you everyone who prayed!5/18/07, Friday: Saw and talked agood bit with Valerya, Taimara, and Allaˆ three believers from Taimuraz’s fellowshipin Vldikavkz. Every Friday, they visitpeople in Bsln who lost loved ones in theterrorist attack. Praise God – people whoshare the same vision as me! It was a reallynice time, and i really felt a connectionwith them. Taimara is also involvedwith a Bible translating committee, andsaid we could talk more about that in thefuture; as many of you, Lord willing, I’dreally like to be involved in Bible translationin the future. Valerya invited me togo with him any Thursday to the prisonto meet the brothers there. He also said topass on a sincere thank you to my churchfor sending me to them. So to all who arehelping and have helped, both from CalvaryChapel Pittsburgh as well as fromother fellowships, thanks so much! Inthe courtyard in front of Mairbek’s building,I sat and talked with Svyeta. (Svyetais a mother who survived the attack, butlost her only daughter/child in it.) Prayfor her: she is still so distraught and filledwith grief in her soul... she lives, but saidthat honestly speaking, she doesn’t wantto live... Visited with Mairbek and hisfamily; Monday is his 11th birthday, andI said I’d drop by their apartment aftermy lessons. (Mairbek miraculously survivedthe school massacre, but lost hisJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 43

Letters to the Editormom there.) When leaving, Mairbek said,‘May God keep/protect you’, and I toldhim that Jesus loved him; Mairbek alsoreminded me not to open the door at night.Please pray for:• God’s blessing on the English, guitar,and Bible-reading times I’m leading• The Lord to comfort Vika and her dad,Tamik, on the loss of Zina (Vika’s momand Tamik’s wife)• Svyeta and her husband,Valiko thatGod will draw them to Jesus, and comfort them with His love• And please pray for my cousins, the Nicolette family. My 18 year-old cousin, John,was killed in a skateboarding accident onthe morning of his last day of high school.John was holding on to the side of a Jeepwhen he fell off his board and sufferedsevere damage to his head. Please prayfor his mom and dad, and his youngersister. Please also pray for the studentwho was driving the Jeep, as he now has tolive the rest of his life with this on his conscience. This is especially tragic for the Nicolette family since the father (also namedJohn) lost his own father not too long ago.Thank you for all of your prayers, love,and support in this ministry,In Jesus our Hope and Peace,jason, jalazone7@yahoo.comTrust in YHWH with all your heart.Proverbs 3:5Dear Friends:Ebyown Childrens Home is situatedin South Africa 65 km outside Johannesburg,currently we have 9 children but thiswill increase shortly to 15 children shortly.All the children have special needsand range in age from 1-10, while Lyn isexperienced with pre-school she is in needof someone to help with the older children.The curriculum used :KonosLaltlMathsuseeFootprints over AfricaWe are looking for an energeticperson who is zelous for the Lord,has teaching experience and willingto give at least 2 years to the children.The missionary must be sponsoredalthough we can provide accommodation,food and a friendlyfamily working environment.If anyone is interested please applyto Dave Royle at thelion@mweb.co.za44 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007Baghdad, IraqYour Letters ...-I have been working in Iraq for 3 1/2years. A friend asks, “Any hope in Iraq; isit any different”?Shia killing Suni and vise versa; justmore pronounced. Where there is Islam,there are problems. Consider most of thewars & conflicts in the world have Islamdirectly or indirectly related to them. Themost blessed countries are God honoringcountries. The Middle East had to haveWestern knowledge and technology to remove& refine oil products and bring themfrom the Stone Age to the jet age. Islam,though peaceful in the US will not continueto be peaceful. Eventually, they willgrow in number and start to influence legislationand take over government activities.Islam will try to enslave Americans& Europeans into its deceptive, oppressiverules and interpretations. They willattempt to take freedom from every countrythey inhabit. Islam’s end goal is worlddomination and conversion of this world’sinhabitants. Muhammad started Islamwith the sword and Islam WILL End withthe sword at the “Battle of Armageddon”.After reading 2/3 of the Koran, it becameclear it is a book full of war and commandsand examples to kill, expel or oppressnon-Muslims. They have taken theTestament of the Jews (Christians call theOld Testament) and incorporated there interpretationto accommodate their beliefsin the Koran; “There is a way that seemsright to a man but the end is the way ofdestruction; eternal loss (Proverbs 14:12).They have peaceful verses that keepthe ignorant and unlearned off balance,therefore, unaware of its true intents.Muslims say the Koran is a holy book thatmust be kept in the original language forthe true meaning. The only book that isholy is the Word of God who “became aman and dwelt among us” (John 1:10-14),“Who died once, for all” (1 Peter 3:18)and “Without the shedding of His Blood,there is no remission (forgiveness) of sins”(Hebrews 9:22). Without Jesus, this worldis “Lost and without hope” (Ephesians2:12) and that includes Muslims, Europeansand Americans claiming Christianitywith-out asking Jesus to come into theirlives (Romans 10:9-10). In the book ofRevelation, the saints/Christians are be-headed for their faith (Revelation 20:4).The Middle East still practices this formof the death penalty and they will continueit during the time of the Tribulation.Is this offensive to the Muslim community?This applies to anyone, anywherein the world. How many times did Jesus& John call the “Religious” leaders,scribes...etc, snakes, vipers, graves full ofdead men’s bones, hiding the truth fromthose who are seeking it, Jesus saying theyare children of the devil, who was a liarfrom the beginning and a murder (John8:44). Every person, not matter what theirbeliefs are, that has lived throughout eternitypast, present and future will have oneevent in common, “Every knee shall bow& every tongue shall confess that JesusChrist is Lord” (Romans 14:11). For thesaved, they will bow to Christ as theirsavior, the lost will bow to Christ as theirJudge at the Great White Throne Judgment(Revelation 20:11-14). God gave all a freewill. Judas was not predestined to betrayChrist and be lost; he became a trader, hemade his choice (Luke 6:16. NKJ version).The only “Predestination” taughtin the Bible is “Whoever shall call on thename of the Lord shall be saved. Thosewho call on Jesus are predestined foreternal life. The decision for Christ is anINDIVIDUAL choice.The USA had its battle for independence& and more than 500,000 died in theCivil War that eventually made the USA“One Nation under GOD”. The price washigh but out of that destruction came thegreatest nation to ever exist. The US is themost powerful and advanced country thatcontributes more than any nation to makethis world a better place. If Iraq has a CivilWar that results in freedom, then theirchildren will enjoy the freedoms their parentsfought and sacrificed their lives for.H.International Zone, Baghdad, IraqL e t t e r s t o t h eE D I T O R

Letters & CommentsFeedback AustraliaYour letters and CommentsDear Marg,Thank you for putting together theintercessors’ prayer list. There certainlyis enough to say grace over, as FatherTim says in the Mitford series. Thereare lots of hurting people out there.What I’ve done - perhaps it may helpyour other readers - is put half the pagesof the prayer list in the New Testamentwhich I read in the morning, and the otherhalf in the Old Testament which I read atnight. So that helps me to remember tobe faithful praying in depth for one personon each list every day. I also have writtenout a quote from Ephesians 3:20-21 on abookmark kept there too, to remind mewhen daunted that it’s not my prayers butthe One to whom I’m praying that’s effective,and that He is not limited in any way.One can become discouraged whenprayers don’t get the quick answers wewant. I remember my pastor from Americasaying that time is part of God’s answeredprayers, something difficult for usin this day of quick fixes (Jacob preachedabout that in South Africa in 1994 or‘95; that we Christians have adopted theworld’s mindset with the expectation thateverything has to be done pronto). ButI’m not in any particular hurry to prayfor patience, because I know from experiencehow the Lord answers that one! :)But just to provide encouragement toothers: about five years ago the Americanpastor above - he was a church planter -left South Africa to go back to his country,and he’d decided it was just too expensiveto ship out his furniture once again. Heasked us to pray for him and his wife; thatthe Lord provide whatever they neededto replace what they were going to giveaway in South Africa. Well, later fromAmerica he said to me: ‘I think you canstop praying now; all the furniture wecould ever need, and more, has been provided;it just came in from everywhere!’.I have lots of answered prayers likethat in a notebook; reflecting on God’spast faithfulness strengthens my beliefin present and future help; thoughone has to resist the worldly mercantilenotion that one can exhaust one’scredit with God. I write ‘Ebenezer’on the cover of each, after Samuel, aswell as this poem by John Newton:“I will trust and be notafraid” - Olney Hymn 37By John NewtonBegone, unbelief,My Savior is near,And for my reliefWill surely appear;By prayer let me wrestle,And He will perform;With Christ in the vessel,I smile at the storm.Though dark be my way,Since He is my Guide,‘Tis mine to obey,‘Tis His to provide;Though cisterns be broken,And creatures all fail,The word He hath spokenShall surely prevail.His love, in time past,Forbids me to thinkHe’ll leave me at lastIn trouble to sink:Each sweet EbenezerI have in reviewConfirms His good pleasureTo help me quite through.Determined to save,He watched o’er my path,When Satan’s blind slave,I sported with death;And can he have taught meTo trust in his name,And thus far have brought me,To put me to shame?Why should I complainOf want or distress,Temptation or pain?He told me no less.The heirs of salvation,I know from His Word,Through much tribulationMust follow their Lord.How bitter that cupNo heart can conceive,Which He drank quite up,That sinners might live!His way was much rougherAnd darker than mine;Did Christ, my Lord, suffer,And shall I repine?Since all that I meetShall work for my good,The bitter is sweet,The medicine, food;Though painful at present,‘Twill cease before long,And then, oh, how pleasantThe conqueror’s song!Isn’t that hymn just so strengtheningto one’s spirit and so full of goodtheology? A vast improvement onthe advertising jingles passing themselvesoff as worship nowadays.May God bless you and Morieland all the Moriel supporters too,and may all our problems last aslong as our New Year’s resolutions!In ChristDenise of New South WalesAustraliaConsider these two facts:1. The Purpose Driven Church byRick Warren has sold over 1 millioncopies in 20 languages and is a standardtextbook in hundreds of Bible Colleges.2. Over 400,000 pastors from 162 countrieshave been trained under Rick Warren’schurch growth seminar material. Is it anywonder that Warren calls his philosophy a“stealth movement flying beneath the radarthat’s changing literally thousands ofchurches around the world”? Yet despitethe incredible popularity of Rick Warrenand others like him, there are numerousserious problems with the church growthmovement. For a new critique of Warren’sdangerous book see www.webtruth.orgJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 45

Jacob’s USA ItineraryJacob’s 2007 USA TourSo, Where’s Jacob Today?Jacob has several conferences thissummer and we look forward to seeingyou all there. Here is the most currentinformation on his Summer 07 speakingengagements. But, please check the websitefor the most up to date information.This will be the last time Jacob isin the US till next year. We do covetyour prayers for Jacob. Please prayfor his safety as he travels, his family,and the numerous airline connectionsas well as his health concernsthat are aggravated by long flights,as well as the meetings themselves.JulyThursday – Saturday 19 - 21, 2007Calvary Chapel East1510 Tramway Blvd. NE, Suite E(Skyview Center - Indian School& Tramway)Albuquerque, NM 87112-6100Contact: (505) 243-2025Thursday – Saturday, July 26 - 28, 2007Yavapai College Performance Hall1100 E. Sheldon St., Prescott, Az 86301Speakers: Jacob Prasch, David Hocking& Wallid ShoebatContact: (928)642-8228 or(928)713-3926Sunday – July 29, 10:00 AMCalvary Chapel Mountain VistaSurprise17825 W. Sierra Montana LoopSurprise, AZ 85379Contact: (623) 876-9464AugustSaturday - August 4 & 5, 2007Sat. August 4 @ 6:00 PMSunday - August 5 @8:30 & 10:30 AMMaranatha Chapel10752 Coastwood RoadSan Diego, CA 92127 USAContact: 858-613-7800Sunday, Aug 5th, 2007Sunday – 8:30 & 10:30 AMMaranatha Chapel10752 Coastwood RoadSan Diego, CA 92127 USAContact: 858-613-7800Wednesday Aug 8thBible Study “Time is Short”Cultural Arts Center at Victoria Gardens12505 Cultural Center DriveRancho Cucamonga, CA 91739Cultural Center Administrative Offices:909-477-2775CONTACT: Marco Quintana 909-484-8740Thursday Aug 9thBible StudyCrossroads Center1931 N Campus Ave (210 Fwyand Campus)Upland, CA 91784CONTACT: Marco Quintana 909-484-8740Friday, Saturday Aug 10th & 11thSimcha Yeshua590 Santa Lucia DrHemet, CA 92543(951) 652-8599Sunday, Aug 12, 2007Calvary Chapel San Jacinto1450 W. 7th StreetSan Jacinto, CA 92582951-654-14018:00 AM, 9:45 AM, & 11.30 AMSunday, August 15 - 17, 2007Sunday @ 7:00 PMBeth HebronMoriel Pittsburgh FellowshipPittsburgh, PAContact: 412-321-6154Sunday, August 19, 2007Sunday @ 10:30 AMBeth HebronMoriel Pittsburgh FellowshipPittsburgh, PAContact: 412-321-6154Friday - Sunday, Aug 3 & 4, 2007The Day The Lord Is NearCalvary Chapel Chino Hills4201 Eucalyptus AveChino, CA 91710 USA909-393-7100Come see Jacob everyday@ moriel.org46 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007

Be AlertMINISTRIES“ So Then let us not sleep as others do, but let us bealert and sober ” – Thessalonians 5:6Welcome to Moriel Ministries’ Be Alert page! The links that youwill receive in your emails are past news alerts.“Be Alert!” is sent out regularly and contain various items of interest,encouragement, and a warning to the body of Christ to keepyou looking up for our soon and coming King, Jesus Christ.The Be Alerts are produced in a PDF format.If your looking for an article you have read in the past, use theGoogle search engine.How to Searchthe Be Alert!BlogSomeFeaturearticlesYou will notice thateach post begins with anAlert Focus. These aresimple Keywords thatmake searching for particulararticles easy. Forexample, if you know thatan article you are searchingfor dealt with the topicof Deception, all relevantarticles have that keywordin the Alert Focus heading.Some examples ofthe different Alert Focuskeywords are The FallingAway, Deception, TheIron and the Clay, MysteryBabylon, and As inthe days of Noah, etc...1) WARNING Apostate Bible Released: Contains 67thBook Entitled “God’s New Law”2) Want Middle East Stability? Move UN to Iraq3) The prince of the kingdom of Persia4) Answering ‘the Bible Answer Man’5) Church wants to ‘understand gays’6) Answering ‘the Bible Answer Man’7) Hank Hanegraaff’s Conference on Preterism and Replacement Theology8) On Tap -Have Suds With Your Buds!9) Saddleback Church Defends Rick Warren Against ‘Inappropriate’ Charges10) US: Pastor’s mission to bring ‘values voters’ intoDems’ flock......and many other informative articles!SentOutRegularlyJune 2007 • Moriel Quarterly 47

Continued – Be AlertMINISTRIES“ So Then let us not sleep as others do, but let us bealert and sober ” – Thessalonians 5:61) WARNING Apostate Bible Released: Contains 67th Book Entitled “God’s New Law”Author Tim Fleming Offers a Free Download of a New Version of the Bible for the Gay CommunityThe free Bible download contains all the text of the King James Version, as well as a new book entitled God’s New Law, which describesa prophecy from the year 2000 that forgives homosexuality and fornication. This new book is meant to inaugurate the rebirthof mankind and the acceptance of gay marriage in God’s kingdom.PRESS RELEASE NEWSWIRE - February 14, 2007San Diego, CA -- This is a new version of the Holy Bible that includes the New Testament, along with a new book entitled God’s NewLaw, which was introduced in the year 2000. This book contains testimony of prophecy fulfilled, prophecy to be, and the decommissioningof traditional religion so that God may dwell with all those who believe. God’s New Law is meant to be the last book of theBible and to herald the birth of God’s religion without doctrine....... For more details about this article go to, http://morielbealertblog.blogspot.com2) Want Middle East Stability? Move UN to IraqNEWSWEEK / POSTGLOBAL - by Prof. Cynthia E. Ayers and COL (R) David W. Cammons - April 9, 2007Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policyor position of the U.S. Army, the Dept. of Defense, or any organization within the U.S. government.“Get the U.S. out of the U.N.!,” a sign near Gettysburg shouts. “The United Nations sabotages America’s security,” author Eric Shawndeclared in his book The U.N. Exposed. Iranian spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham told reporters that the U.N. “must be relocatedfrom the U.S.” And a few days after Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez’s rant before a U.N. audience, a New York Daily News editorialencouraged Chavez to “take the atrophied, self-abasing remains of a global idea 2,100 miles to Caracas!”....... For more detailsabout this article go to, http://morielbealertblog.blogspot.com3) The prince of the kingdom of PersiaAhmadinijad’s bluster boosted by secret deal for North Korean Taep’o-dong-2 ballistic missilesDEBKAFILE - June 5, 2007Iran and North Korea are in advanced negotiations for Tehran’s purchase of Taep’o-dong-2 ballistic missiles, whose estimate range is3,500-4,000 km., DEBKAfile’s exclusive intelligence sources report. North Korea’s deputy foreign minister Kim Hyong brought theproposition to its final stages when he visited Tehran in the first week of May. Delivery was promised for late July or early August. USVice President Richard Cheney informed Saudi King Abdullah of this development during his May visit to Riyadh, as DEBKA-Net-Weekly 300 first revealed on May 11.Israeli military sources say that Iranian president Mahoud Ahmadinejad’s declarations are made more outrageous than ever by knowledgeof the deal. Sunday he declared the countdown has begun for the demise of the Zionist state....... For more details about this articlego to, http://morielbealertblog.blogspot.com4) Answering ‘the Bible Answer Man’WORLDNETDAILY - By Joseph Farah - May 23, 2007Hank Hanegraaff, also known as “the Bible Answer Man,” may know more about theology than me. He may have memorized moreScripture than me. He may have a deeper understanding of some Bible passages than me. But he sure doesn’t know much about theMiddle East. Therefore, today, I am going to address some issues being raised by “the Bible Answer Man” - especially insofar as theyapply to the suicidal policies he is advocating with regard to this explosive area of the world. In a new novel he has written with fictionwriter Sigmund Brouwer, “Fuse of Armageddon,” he makes the amazingly false case that America’s support of Israel causes, atleast in part, terrorism directed against Americans. It is fitting that such a preposterous and wholly unsupportable thesis could only bemarketed to the American people as a work of fiction - because that’s what it is. ....... For more details about this article go to, http://morielbealertblog.blogspot.com48 Moriel Quarterly • June 2007