“In this unique documentary, produced entirely in Israel, a Christian and a Mormon sit down to dialogue about one of the most important questions of faith: How do we know if a prophet is speaking the truth? Listen in on their fascinating discussion and follow along as they travel throughout the Holy Land in search of the facts. They will put Biblical prophets and Mormon prophets to the test in order to find out if their predictions actually took place in history. If even one prediction fails to come true, then that prophet fails the test!”
First John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” How do Mormonism’s prophecies stack up to the Bible’s prophecies? Watch as both are put to the test and find out!
Have you ever heard the term “New Apostolic Reformation” or “NAR” and have some idea of what it is?
If not, I’m so glad the Lord led you here, because, over the last 20 years or so, the New Apostolic Reformation has become the predominant form of false doctrine in Protestant American evangelicalism, and you’ve probably encountered it in some way, even if you’re just now learning what it’s called.
In my opinion, the NAR is the most dangerous form of false doctrine in the United States today because so many people think it is biblical Christianity and unknowingly import it into reasonably doctrinally sound churches. I mean, I’ve never heard of Anytown Baptist Church teaching (as Christianity) that Mohammed was a prophet or that God lives next door to the planet Kolob, but you’ll certainly see NAR beliefs and practices like dominionism, unbiblical manifestations of the “Holy Spirit” and NAR prayer practices gradually creeping into many average evangelical churches.
And, to our shame, America has so diligently exported this false doctrine to other countries under the banner of “missions,” that in many areas of the world – particularly Africa – the New Apostolic Reformation is the primary representation of so-called “Christianity”.
It is pervasive, it is heretical, it is blasphemous, and it is sending people to Hell at an alarming rate.
Because this is an article (albeit a long one) rather than a book, I want to give you an overview of a few of the major points of New Apostolic Reformation doctrine, and then I want to focus in on unbiblical NAR practices and experiences so you’ll be able to more easily spot an NAR church*, recognize when a loved one is straying into NAR false doctrine, and keep NAR false doctrine from creeping into your own church.
*New Apostolic Reformation organizations are heretical, which means their organizations are not “churches” and their adherents are not “Christians”. Typically, when I write about the NAR, I use “scare quotes” when referring to NAR “churches” and other Christian terminology the NAR has co-opted. However, because of the volume of this terminology in an article of this length, I felt that attempting to do so would be distracting to the reader and burdensome to the writing process. I have, therefore, left most of them out. But please understand, NAR “churches” are no more real churches than a Mormon “church” or a Jehovah’s Witness “church”.
Because that’s the immediate danger here. You’re not going to go to an NAR “church’s” website, go read their statement of faith page, and see – clearly spelled out for you – the doctrines explained below. But you probably will notice the outward signs and practices. So I do want to give those unbiblical practices and experiences some emphasis.
So let’s start by taking a look at…
Major NAR Doctrines
The first thing you need to understand is that one thing the NAR has in common with the rest of the evangelical world is that there are variations in beliefs and practices from church to church and individual to individual. I mean, I’m Baptist. You ask ten random Baptists what they believe, and you’re going to get ten different answers, even though there will be a lot of similarities.
It’s the same with the NAR. And on top of that, because this is a doctrine of demons, and its leaders disguise themselves as angels of light, some of them will flat out deny right to your face that they believe, teach, and practice some of these things, when you’ve read in their books, and heard in their sermons, and watched in videos of their worship services that they do.
Another thing that leads to variations in beliefs is that the NAR is not an organized denomination like the PCA or the ELCA. There’s no defined structure of leadership or governance. There’s no headquarters building, no national president, no official creed, confession, or statement of beliefs that all its churches hold to, no membership criteria for admitting or dismissing churches, or, indeed, even the concept of “membership” itself, because there’s no denomination for churches to be a member of.
So just keep that in mind. If you walk up to your friend NAR Nancy and say, “I heard your church believes X, Y, and Z,” she’s very likely to say either, “No, it doesn’t,” or “I never heard of that,” because NAR “churches” really minimize teaching and doctrine and maximize feelings and experiences.
But let’s look at some of those doctrines that most NAR churches and those in leadership in the NAR hold in common:
False Doctrine 1: Restoration of the offices of Apostle and Prophet
Probably the most definitive, stake your claim doctrine of the NAR that separates them from typical, Bible believing Protestant churches, is that they believe God has restored the offices of Apostle and Prophet. “Capital A” Apostle, as in Peter and Paul. “Capital P” Prophet, as in Isaiah and Jeremiah.
NAR doctrine holds that the offices of Apostle and Prophet have been restored to the church, and that God places people in those offices today to rule and run the church. The prophets (supposedly) receive new revelations from God and the apostles take that revelation and apply it to govern the church.
Here’s why that’s unbiblical: Acts 1:21-26 clearly spells out the normative requirements for the office of Apostle:
1. He had to have followed Jesus during His entire earthly ministry, from his baptism by John the Baptist to His ascension. And/or (in the case of Paul)…
2. He had to have been an eyewitness to the resurrected Christ.
3. He had to have been personally appointed to the office by Christ Himself.
Now, NAR apostles will skirt around numbers 2 and 3 by telling you that Jesus appeared to them and personally appointed them in a dream or a vision. But even if you give them that, not a single one of them followed Jesus during His earthly ministry, the very first requirement of an Apostle.
Furthermore, if God wanted Apostles and Prophets running the church today, why doesn’t He say in the New Testament that He wants Apostles and Prophets running the church? There is no mention whatsoever of the office of Prophet in the New Testament, or any qualifications a man must meet if he wants to hold the office of Prophet in the church. And none of the original Apostles in Acts were replaced when they died.
We have the pastoral epistles – 1&2 Timothy and Titus. These are the policy and procedure manuals for the church. You’ve read them (and if you haven’t you can stop right now and read all three of them in 30-40 minutes). Do they say anything about Apostles and Prophets running the church? No, they don’t.
The Apostle Paul, an actual Apostle – under the divine, theopneustos inspiration of the Holy Spirit, writes these words to Titus, who’s getting a bunch of new churches up and running…
For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you.
Titus 1:5
Not Apostles. Not Prophets. Elders. And then he goes on in verses 6-9 (and in 1 Timothy 3:1-7) to list the qualifications of elders, or overseers, or pastors, not Prophets and Apostles. If God wanted Prophets and Apostles running the church He would have said so right here. And He doesn’t.
False Doctrine 2: Dominionism and the 7 Mountain Mandate
The NAR believes that the biblical gospel isn’t good enough. You know the gospel, right? If not, or if you’re not sure, click here. That’s the gospel. That is the complete gospel. We don’t add to it or take away from it.
But the NAR says that’s not the complete gospel. They have what they call the Kingdom Gospel, which is the gospel plus the idea that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection made it possible for NAR “Christians” to take dominion of the earth, and gave them a mandate to do so.
Now, this is not your Genesis 1:28 dominion where God tells Adam to take dominion over the fish and the birds and every living creature. This is also not the idea of sharing the gospel and being salt and light – being a godly influence on the world – like Scripture tells us to.
This is the idea of the NAR taking over every institution and government of every nation, and eventually, literally ruling the world in order to usher in the second coming of Christ. That’s dominionism.
They even have a plan for doing this called the 7 Mountain Mandate, which basically breaks society down into seven different categories or “mountains” to move – government, media, family, business & finance, education, church & religion, and arts & entertainment.
The NAR twists two main Scriptures to teach this.
The Great Commission- Matthew 28:19 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…”. What does that mean? It means “as you go,” as you walk through life each day, share the gospel with people and disciple them if they become Believers. Send out missionaries. That’s what the Great Commission means.
The NAR teaches that “make disciples of all the nations,” means make every nation disciples. Infiltrate every corner of every nation and make that nation NAR.
The other Scripture they twist is in the Lord’s Prayer. Matthew 6:10: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Does that mean we’re supposed to literally take over the world and establish God’s kingdom on earth by force or by stealth? Of course not. But that’s what the NAR believes and teaches.
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” What does that mean? It’s similar to “Maranatha: come Lord Jesus”. It is our prayer that Christ will come soon to rule and reign over all the earth.
This is not the biblical spiritual warfare we find in Ephesians 6 with the full armor of God – standing firm in Christ with prayer, study of the Word, righteousness, truth, and so on.
This is more like something out of a scary Hollywood movie. The NAR believes that there are powerful, high ranking demons and evil spirits that control various geographical regions or territories as well as those 7 mountains in the 7 Mountain Mandate. These evil spirits have to be driven out before the NAR can take dominion of all of the seven mountains, and, thus, each nation.
You’ve read your New Testament. Does the Bible teach this? Of course not. Say it loud. Say it convictionally. Say it fearlessly and without shame:
THE BIBLE DOESN’T TEACH THAT.
That is spiritual warfare. Stand firm against the schemes of the devil -like the false teaching of the New Apostolic Reformation- by girding your loins with truth and taking up the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. That is spiritual warfare.
False Doctrine 4: Signs and Wonders
This is probably the best known doctrine of the NAR because it’s the most visible and publicized. The NAR teaches that you can do all the same miracles you saw Jesus do during his earthly ministry.
For many, the reason they believe this is that they believe a twisted version of Philippians 2:6-7. They think when that passage says Jesus “emptied Himself,” that He gave up His deity. That when He came to earth, He was not God. This is called Kenoticism, or the Kenotic heresy.
Bethel Church in Redding, California, is basically ground zero for the NAR in the United States- and that’s what they believe. That’s why you’ll hear discerning Christians say that Bethel and the NAR are heretical. Because they are. They literally deny the deity of Christ. You can’t get more heretical than that.
Both Bethel and most of the NAR believe Jesus was just a regular human being like you and me who was so faithful to God and so filled with the Spirit that He was able to work miracles. So, of course, if you’re able to be that faithful to God and filled with the Spirit, you can do those miracles, too.
They’ll also take you to John 14:12, where Jesus said: “…he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do…”
Now, if you’re a good student of your Bible, you will read this verse in context and you will quickly see that it is not promising or commanding Christians today to go out and work miracles.
But the NAR twists this verse to mean that they are to do all the same miracles Jesus did. Mostly healing the sick and raising the dead. And then you’ve also got speaking in tongues, and prophecy, and extra-biblical revelation.
But they don’t even get their own Bible twisting right, because Jesus didn’t just say they would do the same works He did. Jesus said those of us who believe on Him would do greater works than He did. What’s greater than healing the sick, or raising the dead?
There’s only one thing greater than that- it’s the miracle that takes place when God raises the spiritually dead to newness of life in Christ. We have the privilege and the honor of being entrusted by Christ to take the gospel – the true gospel – to those who are dead in their sins so that Jesus can give them life.
That’s the greater work. Jesus could not do that work during His earthly ministry the way we can, because He had not yet died and risen from the grave. And another thing – Jesus’ entire earthly ministry was spent in that little tiny area of Israel. It wasn’t God’s plan for Him to take the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth like we’ve been able to do. So it’s a greater work in that sense, too.
But the NAR not only gets it wrong in that they don’t understand what the greater work is, they don’t even do the same works Jesus did. They have never genuinely healed one person. They have never genuinely raised one person from the dead. They’ve never multiplied food for thousands or calmed a storm or caused a fig tree to wither instantaneously. Never. If they had, there would be evidence of it.
Now, as I said, your average NAR churchgoer who just shows up for the worship experience on Sunday morning is likely not to even be aware of these doctrines or that her church subscribes to them, because, while some of these things might be hinted at, implied, or assumed on Sunday morning, generally speaking, NAR churches don’t usually sit their members down and formally teach and explain these doctrines to them.
They don’t have a church covenant you sign, or a creed you recite, or a statement of faith, confession, or catechism that says these things. In fact it’s often the opposite – they try to hide these things because they know it’s weird and unbiblical and it’s going to turn people away. And they don’t want to do that, they want to draw people in so they can deceive them.
So, if NAR false doctrine starts creeping into your church, it’s not going to look like your pastor standing up in the pulpit and saying, “Please turn to Philippians 2 and let us learn the Kenotic heresy.” And if your brother and sister-in-law start going to an NAR church, she’s not going to tell you over coffee that they learned all about strategic level spiritual warfare in Sunday School last week.
What you will see and hear is the NAR’s unbiblical practices, experiences, and street level Bible twisting.
Unbiblical NAR Practices and Experiences
I opened this article by asking if you were familiar with the NAR. If not, you might be familiar with the Word of Faith or prosperity gospel:
Name it and claim it / blab it and grab it
It’s never God’s will for you to suffer, be poor, or be sick.
It’s always God’s will for you to be healthy, wealthy, and successful.
To live your best life now, as Joel Osteen would have us believe.
Because the NAR and the Word of Faith movement both have their roots in charismatic Pentecostalism, there is a great deal of overlap between the two as far as what they look like to most people. In fact, the way I usually explain it is that the NAR takes the Word of Faith and kicks it up a notch with outlandish “supernatural” manifestations and signs and wonders, and blasphemously attributes these to the Holy Spirit.
So let’s take a look at some of the NAR’s unbiblical practices and experiences. Some of these will be common to Word of Faith/prosperity gospel churches as well.
Street Level Bible Twisting
Health, Wealth, and Prosperity
Like the Word of Faith, the NAR teaches followers that it is never God’s will for Christians to be poor, unsuccessful, or sick. It’s always God’s will for you to be healthy, wealthy, and successful. The Word of Faith tends to place a little more emphasis on the “wealthy and successful” part. The NAR tends to place a little more emphasis on the “healthy” part.
There are a couple of Scriptures they twist for this. One is John 10:34, where Jesus, in order to demonstrate to the Pharisees that they were being hypocritical and inconsistent, quoted Psalm 82:6: “Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?”.
Now, obviously, Jesus was not saying that you and I possess any level of deity whatsoever, because the entirety of the Bible clearly teaches against that. Take the time to read those verses in context and you’ll plainly see that. But both the NAR and the Word of Faith rip these verses out of context so they can say that we are “little gods” – we are divine.
Now, think about it: God can’t get sick. God can’t be poor. So if we’re little gods, we can’t be sick or poor either.
They will also take you to Isaiah 53:5, which, speaking of Jesus’ crucifixion, says, in part, “by His [stripes or] wounds we are healed.” Now, we understand, just by reading the rest of that verse, that what’s being said there is that Jesus’ death on the cross paid for our sins. We are “healed” from our sinful state of spiritual unwellness by the physical unwellness -the wounds- Jesus suffered on the cross that led to His death for us.
And we can even go so far as to say that Jesus’ wounds did ultimately pay for our physical healing, because those of us who are in Christ will all be completely, totally healed the moment we step into eternal life with Jesus.
But the NAR and Word of Faith will tell you that Isaiah 53:5 means that Jesus’ death on the cross purchased your healing in this life on earth. And that’s demonstrably not true. Any pagan can look around and see that even the most godly person he can think of gets sick, gets injured, and eventually dies.
I mean, just take a look at the Johnson family. They have plenty of health issues. Bill Johnson, the leader of Bethel, wears glasses. He had a serious intestinal blockage several years ago that required surgery. I would guess that, at 73 years old, he takes just as many medications for high blood pressure, or diabetes, or cholesterol, or whatever, as most 73 year olds take. Bill’s wife, Beni, who literally wrote the book on health, called Healthy and Free, tragically died of cancer in 2022.
Their own theology doesn’t even work for them.
Love Bombing, Ego Boosting, and Environmental Manipulation
Just the general air and experience of attending an NAR worship service is also Bible twisting. Everything is centered around and focused on you rather than on Christ, even though the whole time they’re saying the focus is on Christ.
But their view of Jesus is that He’s a life enhancement accessory. Jesus is there to serve me, to make my life better, to give me all the stuff my greedy little heart desires. Remember John 6:26? After He fed the 5000, Jesus said to the crowd of people following Him, “you seek Me, because you ate of the loaves and were filled”.
In other words, they weren’t following Jesus because they wanted Jesus. They were following Him to get something out of Him: food, healing, miracles. Something to make their earthly lives easier and better. That’s what the NAR is. They don’t want Jesus, they want a genie.
So even when an NAR church is supposedly focusing on Jesus – singing about Jesus, preaching and teaching about Jesus, praying to Jesus – they’re really still focused on you, because their false Jesus is just a means to an end to get you what you want.
So you walk in the front door, and you’re immediately love bombed – especially if you’re new. You get a million hugs, and everyone’s so thrilled to see you: “Can I help you with that?” “Here’s a coffee and a swag bag for first time visitors.” “Why don’t you come out to lunch with us after?”. You’re made to feel like a queen. Like you’re the most important person in the building.
This is not biblical hospitality – because this place isn’t biblical – this is Satanic manipulation and deception. It’s the same kind of thing cults do to draw people in.
You go in and find your seat, and the house lights go down, and the band comes out, and you get an hour long concert that you can sing along with if you want. It’s music that’s written specifically to get a hold of your emotions. It stirs you and makes you feel good.
The music is often very repetitive and literally mind numbing, because that puts you in a suggestive state, very much like hypnosis. Sometimes they will even tell you something like, “Just empty your mind and sing with your heart and let the spirit move.”
Then someone they call a pastor will come out on the stage, and he or she will give you a word salad with a few Bible verses for croutons, some general truisms and tips you could get from Dr. Phil or Oprah, and tell you a bunch of emotionally manipulative stories.
It’s all about how much God loves you, how great He thinks you are, and how wonderful He wants your life to be. And so quickly that you can’t even catch it, they’re weaving in unbiblical ideas here and nuggets of false doctrine there.
And you’ll get out of there high as a kite, feeling like you can conquer the world and God just thinks you’re awesome… until about 6 a.m. on Monday when the alarm goes off and real life sets in. And you still have all the same problems. And you still have all the same bills you’re struggling to pay. And you’re still taking all the same medications you were taking yesterday.
It’s cotton candy Christianity. It’s fake. They’re not teaching you what the Bible really teaches, and they’re teaching you to worship yourself instead of Christ.
Unbiblical Signs and Wonders
This is what really has marked the NAR in recent years because it’s so obvious and attention grabbing, and in most cases, so clearly fake and unbiblical.
Some of these things are rooted in the NAR’s misunderstanding and twisting of the events surrounding Pentecost. For example…
Speaking in Tongues, etc.
If you will sit down with your Bible and carefully read Acts 2, you will see two things about the phrase “speaking in other tongues”.
The first thing you will see is that “tongues,” in this passage, means known, legitimate, foreign languages. Verse 5 says, “there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.”
In verse 8, those devout men from every nation under heaven said of the apostles, “We each hear them in our own language in which we were born.”
And verse 11 bookends the whole thing by saying, “We hear them in our own tongues [languages] speaking of the mighty deeds of God.”
Why were the apostles speaking in all these different languages? To preach the gospel to all these people who spoke different languages. They didn’t have Google Translate. And this purpose is borne out by the rest of the chapter where you can read Peter’s sermon on the gospel.
That’s not how speaking in tongues is practiced in NAR churches. It’s not a legitimate tool for explaining the gospel to someone who doesn’t speak your language. Again, it’s all about you, and how you can have this supposedly supernatural experience of speaking meaningless syllables that makes you feel good and supposedly brings you closer to God as you worship Him. That’s not what the Bible teaches about speaking in tongues.
Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 14:27-28 says that in the church setting, a maximum of three people can speak in a tongue and someone must interpret it from the foreign language being spoken into the common language spoken by the church. And you will rarely, if ever, see those two commands being obeyed in NAR churches.
Did any true prophet in the Bible ever say, “Thus says the Lord…” and then get it wrong? Of course not. One reason for this was that the punishment for false prophets was execution.
If a prophet’s prophecy comes true, but he leads you astray to false gods (like the false god of the NAR) or
If a prophet speaks something God has not commanded him to speak (like the “prophets” of the NAR do) or
If a prophet speaks in the name of a false god (like the false god of the NAR)
…that prophet is to be put to death.
Am I advocating for the death penalty for false prophets today? No, I am not. All I’m saying is, in the Old Testament, all of the NAR prophets would be dead three times over.
The God these people teach isn’t the God of the Bible. The things these people tell you aren’t prophecies. They’re much more like the false prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah warned about who just tell you what you want to hear to make you feel good.
And from the prophet even to the priest everyone practices lying. They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.
Jeremiah 6: 13-14
And listen to what God says about His people who prefer the message of false prophets over true prophets:
For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who are not willing to listen to the law of Yahweh, Who say to the seers [the true prophets of God], “You must not see,” And to those who have visions [the true prophets of God], “You must not behold visions for us of what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, behold visions of illusions. Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Cease speaking before us about the Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah 30:9-11
In other words, God’s people are telling the true prophets, like Isaiah, “Stop telling us the hard truths of God’s Word. Be nice! Tell us nice things that make us feel good! Scratch our itching ears!”.
NAR prophecies, extra-biblical revelation, words of knowledge – these supposed revelations from God that are found nowhere in the Bible – are the vain imaginings of their own minds. Case in point, the 2020 Presidential election.
Anybody on the planet had a 50-50 chance of correctly guessing who would be the next President, Trump or Biden. Every single NAR prophet who gave a public prophecy got it wrong. Every single one of them. They all said Trump would win the election and occupy the White House, serving as president.
There’s no New Testament special dispensation for prophets to get things wrong. They don’t have the gift of prophecy. They aren’t prophets.
You’ve probably seen videos of Benny Hinn and other fake faith healers calling people up on stage and pretending to heal them.
Maybe you’ve even seen the man on the street videos of Todd White going up to random people and pretending to lengthen their one leg that’s shorter than the other.
You might have even heard of Todd Bentley who has been known to try to heal people by kicking or punching them, such as the man with stomach cancer whom he kicked in the gut.
None of these so-called miracle healings are real. Benny Hinn only allows people into his healing lines who have invisible or fake illnesses, so you can’t tell whether they’re really healed or not. Todd White’s leg lengthening has been demonstrated to be a parlor trick. Todd Bentley has injured more people than he’s healed.
If you still think these things are real, ask yourself, “Where are the doctors and hospitals publicly coming forward and saying, ‘Yes, this person was genuinely, medically healed,’ and why wasn’t it splashed all over the news?”.
Why don’t these fake healers ever heal someone medically documented to be paralyzed, or brain injured, or with cerebral palsy?
Why don’t they walk into hospitals and heal everyone there?
How come there’s not one video of a fake healer instantly growing back an amputee’s arm or leg, or healing someone’s badly disfigured face, or making the skin of a burn victim like new?
God still heals people all the time. He heals people in answer to our prayers, usually through modern medicine and the body’s own healing properties, but sometimes miraculously and inexplicably by His own hand. He is not giving people the sign gift of healing today, and even if He were, it certainly wouldn’t be to these rank heretics.
Resurrections
I’m not really sure why, but these people think they can raise the dead. They’ve never done it. There’s never been any medical documentation of it. And in this age of everyone having smart phones, there’s never been photographic or video evidence of it.
And, I mean, if somebody who was certifiably dead was resurrected, where is he? He ought to be up walking around among us and telling his story on every news channel and talk show.
No one raised Bill Johnson’s wife from the dead when she died of cancer a few years ago. Why not?
In December of 2019, a precious 2 year old little girl named Olive tragically died in her sleep. As a mother and grandmother, I can only imagine the excruciating heartbreak and agony her family went through.
Olive’s parents were members of Bethel Redding where her mother was also a worship leader. Instead of making funeral arrangements for Olive, they contacted Bethel’s dead raising team.
No, I’m not kidding. Your church has a hospitality committee, Bethel has a dead raising team.
And for – not one, not two, – but five days, they cried out to their god, they sang, they jumped around, they chanted “Wake up Olive! Wake up Olive! Wake up Olive!”. And “there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.” The false god of Bethel did not answer them.
And this story went viral – all over the world. And I remember following this story, and how all I could think about when I saw the pictures and videos of all of this was the 1 Kings 18 story of the prophets of Baal crying out to their false god to answer them with fire and consume their sacrifice. But, verse 29 tells us, “there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention.”
On the sixth day the parents announced that they were planning Olive’s funeral. And how do you think that momma and daddy felt, when, at the worst moment of their lives, their false god failed them and didn’t give them back that precious baby?
Bill Johnson, their pastor whom they trusted, failed them. Their church that so believed they could resurrect the dead, that they had a dead raising team, failed them because Bethel believed and taught lies.
Second only to the fact that NAR heresy sends people to Hell, the cruelest of their false teachings is that they can resurrect the dead.
These are just a few of the more notable unbiblical signs and wonders of the NAR. There are so many more.
NAR People and Organizations to Be Aware Of
I’ve covered some of what the NAR believes, teaches, and practices, but I think it might help you to know some of the movers and shakers in this movement, so if your friend comes to you and says, “I’m reading a book by this lady,” or “I started listening to a podcast by that guy,” you’ll immediately be on the alert.
But please understand, the NAR has been the fastest growing version of so-called Christianity over the last 20+ years, so this is by no means anywhere near a comprehensive list.
If you want to avoid false teachers and heretical organizations in the New Apostolic Reformation, mark and avoid:
Anyone who calls him or herself an apostle, prophet, or prophetess
Bill Johnson (Bethel’s pastor), Brian and Jenn Johnson (Bethel’s worship leaders and founders of Bethel Music). Pretty much anybody with the last name of Johnson who’s associated with Bethel.
If you hear one of these names, you’re dealing with someone in the New Apostolic Reformation. (And if you’d like more information on any of those listed above, try the ministries listed here.)
Now you may have just read a name that surprised and offended you because you like that person. I want you to think about something. If I told you that person was a Mormon, or a Muslim, or a Jehovah’s Witness, or a Hindu, and because of that, you shouldn’t listen to him, you wouldn’t have any problem with me saying that.
The New Apostolic Reformation is just as false, and heretical, and blasphemous as any of those other false religions, but because it calls itself “Christian,” and because your church might use music or materials from some of those people, it’s not as obvious.
The NAR in Music and Women’s Ministry
If you listen to contemporary Christian music, you probably recognized the names of some musicians in the list above: Bethel Music, Jesus Culture, Brandon Lake, Cory Asbury, and Phil Wickham. And there are many more.
Two of the main ways NAR false doctrine usually begins infiltrating otherwise healthy churches is through the music ministry and the women’s ministry.
Bethel Music and its production and publication companies practically have a monopoly on the contemporary worship music industry. If your church sings contemporary worship music in the worship service, you’re probably using music from Bethel, Phil Wickham, Hillsong, and/or Elevation. In order, those are the top four most widely used sources for worship music.
When you bring music like that into your church – even the songs with seemingly biblical lyrics – people like it, they start listening to the music outside the church, and that acts like a gateway drug to draw them in to the NAR and its false doctrine.
Bill Johnson has proudly and publicly boasted about doing this – on purpose. That’s why they’ve built up this music empire. It’s by design, to draw people in.
I, and many others who teach against the NAR, have heard the testimonies of hundreds of people who have told us that’s exactly how they got drawn away into a New Apostolic Reformation church.
Don’t think it can’t happen to you.
Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
1 Corinthians 10:12
Can a man take fire in his bosom And his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals And his feet not be scorched?
Proverbs 6:27-28
You don’t know when you’re being deceived. That’s why it’s deception.
I explain things like this when I teach, and I explain all the blasphemies and cruelties the NAR commits against vulnerable people, and I still have Christians come up to me and argue with me that it’s perfectly fine to for them to listen to NAR artists like the ones I just mentioned.
Also, examine the materials your women’s ministry is using and the conferences they’re attending. It’s extremely likely that the authors and teachers your women’s ministry follows are in the NAR themselves, or they’re partnering with and embracing NAR teachers, or they are in some way being influenced by NAR teachers.
Research the authors and teachers your church uses and that you follow. See who they surround themselves with. First Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals.” Or if you want the country version: If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. Birds of a feather flock together.
This is one of the reasons why Romans 16:17-18, and 2 John 9-11, and 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, and Titus 1:9 and so many other passages of Scripture command us to have nothing to do with false teachers.
If you find NAR false doctrine infiltrating your church, kindly, lovingly, gently, take what you’ve learned today, go to your pastor, and express your concerns.
Why is any of this important?
A lot of well meaning Christians look at NAR “churches” and think, “Well, they may worship a little differently, but it’s no big deal. We all love Jesus!”
No, we do not.
Regardless of what they say, people who believe and teach damnable heresy, by biblical definition, do not love Jesus. And it is harmful to those people and the vulnerable people they’re deceiving, to say – or treat them like – they do.
I told you about baby Olive and her parents. I didn’t mention the thousands of direly ill and disabled people, the parents of children with terminal cancer, or who are horribly disfigured, who give their life savings to these fake healers because that is their last hope. And they’re either turned away, or they’re not healed, and they’re told it’s their fault because they just didn’t have enough faith.
Or how about the young woman who was almost murdered because she believed a false prophecy that it was God’s will for her to marry this certain guy who turned out to be unspeakably abusive.
The NAR is evangelically-sanctioned spiritual abuse. It has destroyed countless lives, ruins everything it touches, and has sent untold millions to Hell for all eternity.
And as unfathomably awful as that is – exponentiallyworse than all of that – New Apostolic Reformation heresy is a slap in the face to our precious Jesus who hung on a cruel Roman cross in agony for your sins and for mine.
It is blasphemy of the highest order against God, our Father. It is lying about, slandering, and maligning the Holy Spirit.
The New Apostolic Reformation is heresy and has no place in a Christian church in any way, shape, or form. Stay far away from it. Protect yourself. Protect your loved ones. Protect your church.
Or maybe I answered your question already? Check out my article The Mailbag: Top 10 FAQs to see if your question has been answered and to get some helpful resources.
In response to the question about Simeon [in this article], would you consider John (the John that wrote Revelation) to be a prophet? I know he was an apostle but I was just wondering if he would also be considered a prophet due to all the Lord showed him regarding Revelation.
Great question! I love it when women are thinking deeply about the things of God. Since you’re asking my opinion, I didn’t delve into any scholarly works on the subject, I’m just going to give you my take on it based on what I know of Scripture.
As you probably know, in the Old Testament, there were two different types of people who prophesied:
Men who held the office of prophet – what we might think of as a “professional prophet,” so to speak – like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha, and so on.
People to whom God gave a “one and done” (or maybe twice or thrice) word of prophecy for a particular reason or moment in time, like Eldad, Medad, and the 70 elders, Saul, Eliezer, and others.
Jesus was, and is, the final, permanent occupant of the offices of prophet, priest, and king. This is why we don’t see the office of prophet or priest in the New Testament church or anyone installed as “king” over New Testament Christians.
Until the canon of Scripture was complete, however, and foretelling prophecy become obsolete, we do see occasional references to the second type of prophecy in the New Testament church. It seems to me that second category is the category John’s prophecy in Revelation would fall into. He held the office of Apostle, but not the office of prophet (since that position was filled), and God gave Him a “one and done” prophecy to communicate to us.
I’m learning so much from your articles, and I think my husband would benefit from and enjoy hearing what I’m learning. Can I share your posts with him? I don’t want YOU to be teaching my husband and break that command.
It’s always important to be obedient to God’s commands, but it’s equally important that we understand exactly what the command does and doesn’t prohibit so we can obey it properly.
For example, the sixth Commandments says, “You shall not murder,” but this Commandment doesn’t preclude self defense, capital punishment, fighting in a war, or vehemently annihilating an uppity rat or snake with a shovel (I hate rats and snakes. :0)
In the same way, the New Testament’s prohibition on women instructing men in the Scriptures doesn’t mean no male can ever learn anything – even biblical things – from a woman. For example, we see Lois and Eunice instructing Timothy in the Scriptures when he was a boy, and Priscilla, along with her husband Aquila, privately correcting and instructing Apollos.
The biblical prohibition against women teaching men in 1 Timothy 2:11-3:7 has a very specific context. Women are prohibited from preaching to or instructing men (not boys, girls, or other women), in the Scriptures (not in other subjects), or holding authority over men, in the context of the gathering of the body of Believers (the church). Women are also prohibited from holding the office of pastor or elder.
Long story short, yes, you can feel free to show your husband my articles and discuss them with him. Showing your husband one of my articles and having a private discussion with him about what you’ve learned from it doesn’t meet the criteria of the biblical prohibition against women instructing men. A blog is not the gathering of the church body, and as you can tell from the title of it, “Discipleship for Christian Women” I’m teaching you as a woman, not him as a man. The principles in these Scriptures are the applicable ones for sharing with your husband in this way, not 1 Timothy 2:12.
What do you think about Teacher X? She preaches to men…he partners with a bunch of false teachers…his church seems to hold New Apostolic Reformation beliefs…she teaches evolution…
While I’m always honored when y’all ask for my thoughts on a particular teacher, if you already know a teacher is sinning by preaching to (or allowing a woman to preach to) men, yoking with false teachers, teaching false doctrine, or unrepentantly doing something else unbiblical, you don’t need my – or anyone else’s – input or approval to stop following that teacher, refuse to use that teacher’s materials, etc. You’ve done what you’re supposed to do – you’ve compared that teacher’s behavior and teaching to Scripture and found it to be contradictory. You’ve been a good Berean. Go ahead and stay away from that teacher.
This week two separate women from different churches and ministry settings have used the words “Too Christianese” to describe words in a song or tract that were being considered for ministry with children. I wonder where this term has come from and why this has become a catchphrase. To me it felt critical and condescending at the same time as well as limiting to the church ministry to have to feel around for words so they are not labeled in this way. I should note we live in New Zealand so I’m not sure if this line of thinking is solely a problem for here or if it is an issue elsewhere.
I think that the foundational issue here is not the word “Christianese” itself, but the underlying paradigm that’s at play.
Sometimes, as might be the case in your situation, when people say, “This has too much Christianese in it,” they’re saying, “People don’t understand biblical terms like ‘sin,’ so we should ditch those terms in favor of other words most people understand, like ‘mistakes’.”
In other words: dumb the Bible down for people. That’s not a biblical paradigm. (And yes, that’s just as much a thing in the U.S. as it apparently is in New Zealand.) The biblical approach is to use biblical terms and teach people what they mean, especially when you’re dealing with children.
On the other hand there’s a lot of churchy “inside language” we use, often without even realizing it, that can make new Christians and people who don’t have a church background feel left out because they don’t know what we’re talking about. For example: “Unspoken prayer request,” “the right hand of fellowship,” “extend grace,” “backslider,” “altar call,” “rededication.” With these sorts of non-theological terms, it might be appropriate to find a clearer way to say things, or it might be appropriate to just explain what they mean.
As to where the term “Christianese” came from and why it has become a catchphrase, I plead ignorance. :0)
We used to regularly follow and enjoy the Sherwood people/movies (i.e. the Kendrick brothers and their crowd)…We’ve pretty much moved away from them due to some theology & discernment concerns (working with/fellowships with Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, as well some muted undertones of the prosperity gospel) and was hoping to hear your opinion on where you’d classify them.
I guess I’d stick those movies in the same category as “Christian fiction” books, meaning that I don’t hold works of fiction to the same high standard as, say, Bible study or theology books, but that doesn’t mean anything goes, either. (I’ve explained more about that here.)
Here’s where I’d land on those movies, or any other work of Christian fiction:
Don’t get your theology from works of fiction. This includes any “Bible” studies, devotionals, journals, curricula, programs, or any other materials based on a novel or movie. Get your theology from the Bible, from good teaching and preaching at your church, and from theological books from trustworthy authors/teachers.
Think about the financial angle. Will your conscience allow you to financially support the people who made the movie, the actors in the movie, and any false teachers or false doctrine in, or associated with, the movie?
Evaluate your spiritual maturity and level of discernment. If you’re spiritually mature and skilled in discernment, you may be able to step around a few doctrinal “cow pies” in a novel or movie that’s otherwise generally in compliance with Scripture. If you’re a new Christian or have not honed your discernment skills, you might want to forego certain novels and movies, or at least watch or discuss them with a spiritually mature, discerning friend.
Thank you thank you for the article on being discreet when breastfeeding. There was a lady at the ballpark yesterday, walking around, and sitting down with it popped out in front of everyone!!!!! I just about lost it and don’t want to. But I need to know how to approach her nicely. I hope and pray I can.
Hang on just a sec, there. I think you might be misunderstanding something. That article was addressed to Christian women about policing their own personal behavior. It was not written to anyone about addressing other people’s behavior.
If you have a personal discipling relationship with a Christian young woman for whom this is an issue, and she’s open to it, you may want to share that article with her and disciple her in the area of modesty.
But don’t go up to random strangers and address this issue. It doesn’t matter how nicely you approach her, it’s not going to go well. And, assuming she’s lost, she’s not going to care about biblical reasons for modesty. Please trust me, and the massive number of emails and comments I got from professing Christian women who were offended by that article, on this. Avert your eyes, mind your business, and look for an opportunity to share the gospel with her instead.
If you have a question about: a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.
“As “true” Christian women, we consecrate ourselves to fulfill his calling and purposes for our lives. By his grace and in humble dependence on his power,” we can pursue that which is pleasing to the Lord in these 15 Ways to Honor Christ as Women by Susan Hunt.
“At first blush, these two texts seem to settle the matter in favor of the complementarian position. After all, this is the sense adopted in the vast majority of English translations. How could they all be wrong? Clearly Paul does not intend for women to be teaching/preaching within the church, right?” An excellent apologetic on this aspect of complementarianism in Why it is important not to conflate prophecy and teaching in discussions about women preaching by Denny Burk.
“God’s design of the worship of his Church transcends pandemics and culture. This season shall pass and local churches will once again assemble together, embrace one another in Christian love, and celebrate the body and blood of King Jesus through the Lord’s Supper as we long for him to return and make all things new.” Some insightful observations and exhortations in Josh Buice’s thought-provoking article There Is No Such Thing as Virtual Lord’s Supper.
“Abuse does not call for the abandonment of God’s good design, but the restoration of it through the power of the Gospel. The answer for every form of abuse is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Tom Buck handily addresses the issue of abuse eroding biblical headship and submission in this article for Founders Ministries:Complementarianism is Not the Problem.
Four pianists, eight hymns (do you recognize all of them?): enjoy!
The resources listed above are not to be understood as a blanket endorsement for the websites on which they appear, or of everything the author or subject of the resource says or does. I do not endorse any person, website, or resource that conflicts with Scripture or the theology outlined in the Statement of Faith and Welcome tabs at the top of this page.
What is God’s perspective on sin? What is His posture toward His people when they persist in sin…and when they repent? What was it like to be a prophet of (mostly) doom and gloom? For the next few months we’ll work our way through the book of Ezekiel, learning about the holiness of God and what it’s like to stand on God’s Word even when “God’s people” don’t want to hear it. You might be surprised to find out just how relevant this Old Testament book is to Christians today!
The image in the title pic for this study alludes to Ezekiel 33:7:
So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
In Ezekiel’s day a watchman would be stationed in a watchtower in an area with good visibility so he could see if an enemy was approaching the city. The watchman needed good eyes and the ability to distinguish an enemy from an ally. If he spotted an enemy, he was to alert everyone to the impending threat and the need to mount a defense. God appointed Ezekiel a spiritual “watchman” to His people, Israel. The book of Ezekiel is God’s warning to His people – through the prophet Ezekiel – that the enemy of sin is overtaking them.
Parts of the book of Ezekiel can be a little challenging. Your comprehension will be challenged. Your patience might even be challenged. But it’s good to stretch ourselves and choose books that help us to develop discipline in our study of the Word, rather than always choosing the shorter or “easier” books of Scripture. I have complete confidence that you’re up for the challenge and that God will grow you in the grace and knowledge of Christ as you apply yourself to His Word.
Ezekiel is one of the longer books of Scripture, weighing in at 48 chapters. This means that instead of studying approximately one chapter per week in depth (as we usually do in my studies of shorter books), we will be covering at least two chapters (often more) per week with a broader perspective.
As I mentioned in this recent articleon study resources, you might – particularly for this book of the Bible – want to invest in a good study Bible or at least check out some of the online resources that can help if you have questions while you’re studying.
If you’re new to using my Bible studies, just a few housekeeping items and helpful hints:
The studies I’ve written (you can find all of them at the Bible Studies tab in the blue menu bar at the top of this page) are like “training wheels”. They’re designed to teach you how to study the Bible for yourself and what kinds of questions to ask of the text so that, when you get the hang of it, you won’t have to depend on other people’s books and materials – even mine – any more. To that end, I do not provide answers for the study questions in the studies I’ve written.
My studies are meant to be extremely flexible and self-paced so that you can use them in the way that works best for you. You can do an entire lesson in one day or work on the questions over the course of the week (or longer). You do not need to feel obligated to answer all (or any) of the questions. If the Holy Spirit parks you on one question for several days, enjoy digging deep into that one aspect of the lesson. If He shows you something I haven’t written a question about that captures your attention, dive in and study it! Those are ways the Holy Spirit speaks to us through His Word. This is your time to commune with the Lord, not a school assignment or work project you are beholden to complete in a certain way by a certain deadline.
I will post a new lesson on the blog every Wednesday, so there is nothing to sign up for or commit to. Simply stop by the blog each week, or subscribe to the blog via e-mail to have the lessons delivered to your inbox.
I use hyperlinksliberally. The Scriptures for each lesson will be linked at the beginning of the lesson and in the lesson questions. As you’re reading the lesson, whenever you see a word in a different color text, click on it, and it will take you to a Scripture, article, or other resource that will help as you study.
All of the studies I’ve written are suitable for groups or individuals. You are welcome to use them as a Sunday school or Bible study class curriculum (for free) with proper attribution.
You are also welcome to print out any of my Bible studies (or any article I’ve written) for free and make as many copies as you’d like, again, with proper attribution. I’ve explained more about that in this article (3rd section).
Introduction to Ezekiel
Before we begin studying a book of the Bible, it’s very important that we understand some things about that book. We need to know…
Who the author was and anything we might be able to find out about him or his background.
Who the audience of the book is: Jews or Gentiles? Old Testament Israelites or New Testament Christians? This will help us understand the author’s purpose and approach to what he’s writing.
What kind of biblical literature we’re looking at. We approach books of history differently than books of wisdom, books of wisdom differently than books of prophecy, etc.
What the purpose of the book is. Was it written to encourage? Rebuke? Warn?
What the historical backdrop is for the book. Is Israel at war? At peace? In exile? Under a bad king? Good king? Understanding the historical events surrounding a piece of writing help us understand what was written and why it was written.
When the book was written. Where does the book fall on the timeline of biblical history? This is especially important for Old Testament books which are not always arranged in chronological order.
So this week, before we start studying the actual text of the book of Ezekiel, we need to lay the foundation to understanding the book by finding the answers to these questions.
Read the following overviews of the book of Ezekiel, taking notes on anything that might aid your understanding of the book, and answer the questions below:
1. Who wrote the book of Ezekiel? How do we know this?
2. Approximately when was Ezekiel written? What is the geographical setting of the book of Ezekiel? Here are some maps (scroll down to “Ezekiel”) that may be helpful as you study through the book of Ezekiel.
3. Who is the original, intended audience of the book of Ezekiel? Describe the historical setting (historic events, politics, sociology of the time, etc.) of Ezekiel.
4. Which genre of biblical literature is the book of Ezekiel: law, history, wisdom, poetry, narrative, epistles, or prophecy/apocalyptic? What does this tell us about the approach we should take when studying this book versus our approach to books of other genres?
5. What is the theme or purpose of the book of Ezekiel?
6. What are some of the major topics of instruction or exhortation in the book of Ezekiel? How do these topics relate to the theme of Ezekiel?
7. What are some ways Ezekiel points to and connects to Jesus?
8. What else did you learn about Ezekiel or the setting of this book that might help you understand the text of the book better?
Take some time in prayer this week to begin preparing your heart for this study. Ask God to give you wisdom and understanding for the text and a greater appreciation for his attributes of wrath and mercy as we study Ezekiel together.
“As “true” Christian women, we consecrate ourselves to fulfill his calling and purposes for our lives. By his grace and in humble dependence on his power,” we can pursue that which is pleasing to the Lord in these 
“At first blush, these two texts seem to settle the matter in favor of the complementarian position. After all, this is the sense adopted in the vast majority of English translations. How could they all be wrong? Clearly Paul does not intend for women to be teaching/preaching within the church, right?” An excellent apologetic on this aspect of complementarianism in 
“God’s design of the worship of his Church transcends pandemics and culture. This season shall pass and local churches will once again assemble together, embrace one another in Christian love, and celebrate the body and blood of King Jesus through the Lord’s Supper as we long for him to return and make all things new.” Some insightful observations and exhortations in Josh Buice’s thought-provoking article 
“Abuse does not call for the abandonment of God’s good design, but the restoration of it through the power of the Gospel. The answer for every form of abuse is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Tom Buck handily addresses the issue of abuse eroding biblical headship and submission in this article for 
