RICK JOYNER, TODD BENTLEY, AND THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION
By AM on Jun 12, 2010 in Current Issues, Features, New Apostolic Reformation, Word Faith
By Apprising Ministries correspondent Chrystal Whitt of Slaughter of the SheepThe heretical New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) has been gaining steam, and the movers and shakers want to take over the world through their seven mountain, or seven spheres, of influence. When we watch people like Rick Joyner in action, we may be tempted to believe he is just a false teacher on the fringes of hypercharismatic lunacy. You would be wrong if you think that. He has an agenda. (For more information on the New Apostolic Reformation, click here and here.)
Rick Joyner has done more than infect people with unbibical mysticism, he has also somehow convinced lawmakers that he is credible and, shall we say, normal. Check this out: he formed the Oak Initiative, whose goal is to “unite, mobilize, equip, and activate Christians to be the salt and light they are called to be by engaging in the great issues of our time from a sound biblical worldview.” While that sounds noble, it’s really insidious. If you’ll remember, the folks in the NAR are dominionists, and dominionists believe that God lost the title-deed to earth in the garden of Eden to Satan, and the church must rise up, take it back, and put the enemies of God under their feet. They believe they can do this by conquering the seven mountain of influence. These mountains are:
- The home
- The church
- Schools
- Government and politics
- The media
- Arts, entertainment, and sports
- Commerce, science, and technology
They believe that until they conquer this earth, Jesus cannot come back. He’s held in Heaven until they do.
Joyner has already began his dalliances with the government. He has been helpful in getting a health care bill, H.R. 3590, passed – which is now American law. He rubs elbows with Congresswoman Michele Bauchman (R-Minnesota), and Sarah Palin. He attends meetings in Washington, D.C. But, should Rick Joyner really be someone lawmakers need to reliably depend upon as a credible ally?
Let’s take a closer look at Rick Joyner. We need look back no further than a couple of years ago.
Rick Joyner at Lakeland
If you’ll think back to June 23, 2008, Rick Joyner attended the Lakeland Revival with others from the NAR to commission, or align, Todd Bentley with C. Peter Wagner and bring him under the so-called apostolic covering of the NAR. In the above video (at the 6:35 mark), Rick Joyner steps up to the mic to prophesy over Bentley. What he says is:
“Todd, your ministry is very appropriately named ’Fresh Fire,’ and uh, you’ve certainly been bringing fresh fire and even when you were going through the dark night of the soul, I thought you had more fire on you than, than uh, many… I’ll just say. But, uh, you know, the worse state we could ever fall into is lukewarmness, and God has sent you as an antidote for that lukewarm spirit. And, uh, the fire has been birthed here, it’s been released here, you’ve unstopped a well, you have other wells to unstop in other cities, in other places. This is just the beginning, and, uh, there is longevity too. There is increase, but there is also longevity coming. There are many wells, but they’re also oil wells, and they catch on fire when you unstop them.” (emphasis mine)
Compared to others, Joyner’s prophecy was rather short, but what he had to say was very telling. He prophesied longevity for Bentley. If he had been a true prophet of God you would expect Bentley to stick around a while afterward, right? Rick Joyner uttered that prophecy on June 23, 2008… Todd Bentley announced on July 21, 2008 that he was leaving the Lakeland Revival…and when he left, he did so in disgrace. It had been revealed that Bentley was getting drunk after the meeting’s services, and he was having an adulterous affair with his mistress, Jessa Hasbrook, whom he divorced his wife to marry. When he left Lakeland, he did so in the company of his mistress.
This presented a big problem for Joyner, who had prophesied Bentley’s longevity. If Bentley crashed and burned, Joyner would be proven a false prophet. It became imperative that Joyner get Bentley back, restored, and ministering again to save his prophetic credibility, if nothing else. Soon after, Joyner reached out to Bentley with an effort to restore him and get him back in the saddle. Despite a sharp public outcry and strong Biblical proof that Bentley was disqualified to fill the role of minister because of his adultery, Joyner ignored Scripture and fought hard to get him restored to ministry. Why? His public reputation was more important than Biblical truth. He couldn’t be known as a false prophet now, could he? He had a very personal stake in Bentley’s restoration.
As Joyner strives to be accepted in the mainstream, let’s not forget who this man truly is. While Rick Joyner and the rest of the NAR are chomping at the bit to conquer the seven mountains of society, he also brings with him people like Todd Bentley. Do you want these people having pull in the government of your country?
If you just shrug and turn away, watch the following videos first. I can only pray they change your mind.
Rick Joyner’s Church
Holy Ghost Hokey Pokey
MorningStar Madness (I posted this yesterday, but it goes well with this post)
Rick Joyner Manipulation
The original post with a comments section appears here.
See also:
THE ROOTS AND FRUITS OF THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION
THE COALESCING OF THE CHRISTIAN RIGHT WITH APOSTOLIC DOMINIONISM
CHRISTIAN RESEARCH SERVICE ON THE PROPHETIC MOVEMENT
TODD BENTLEY IS ABSOLUTELY A FALSE PROPHET, A PHONY, AND A FRAUD
LEONARD SWEET, FRANK VIOLA, AND THE THIRD WAY
RICHARD ROHR AND THE EMERGING CHURCH AS THE THIRD WAY
MIKE MORRELL ON MATTHEW FOX, JOHN WIMBER, AND THE EMERGING CHURCH