The Kansas City Prophets



Inside a Prophetic Service



     The "prophet" had the crowd following every word he said, even

almost every movement he made, in fact, every sensation he felt in

his body!



     [Bob Jones] Hmmmm, witchcraft coming again...check that

     in Jesus' name.  I feel pin pricks on me.  There's

     witchcraft comin'...

 

Then the pastor, Mike Bickle explains to the crowd,



     When Bob feels pin pricks in his hand, that just show up,

     that means witchcraft is in this [place]...The phrase

     that Bob uses is his senses turn golden...His five senses

     are literally inspired by the Holy Spirit ...He could

     tell what was happening in the spirit realm from the five

     senses...1 (See Jude 19)



     What's going on here?  No, it's not a psychic, it's a full

gospel church service, featuring Mike Bickle and "seer" Bob Jones! 

Bob Jones is "picking up" witchcraft by the pin prickly feeling in

his hand and Mike Bickle is asking him to elaborate on the whole

concept of "golden senses," in which 20-30 different signs show up

in his physical body to help him divine the spiritual realm.  For

example, his hands turn different colors to indicate things,

(purple-royalty, red-intercession, etc).  Did the apostles ever

model anything even remotely like this?  Never mind, these men are

part of the new breed, they are so anointed that the apostles can't

wait to meet them!  As Mike Bickle says, 



     The saints in the New Testament would wait in line to

     greet the apostles coming from this generation![2]



Who Are the Kansas City Prophets?



     In following the trail of error that has led to this current

mysticized revival, we need to fully explore the role that the

company of men known as the Kansas City Prophets have to play in

it.  The controversy that surrounded them in the late 1980's and

very early 1990's seems to have died down since John Wimber came

forward to offer them a "covering" through affiliation with the

Vineyard Movement.  It is my contention that instead of truly

resolving the problems that were raised by these false prophets, a

band-aid was put over the whole affair.  The erroneous teaching and

ministry of Paul Cain, Bob Jones, John Paul Jackson, and others has

been promoted and circulated through the Body of Christ in the

years since Vineyard has been their covering.  Bob Jones, one of

the more obviously false prophets, finally was exposed, but not as

a false prophet, but for an ethical/moral failure.  His prophecies

have been cited several times, to my knowledge, as valid, at

Toronto Airport Vineyard.  The same people who heralded these men

as prophets are now heralding this spiritual drunkenness as a great

end times revival.  I wouldn't even be surprised to find that

behind the scenes of this "latest move of the Spirit" you'd

probably find some of the same people offering their "prophetic

ministry."  We are not talking about personality differences here,

nor about doctrinal hairsplitting, the men I'll be discussing in

this chapter have presumed to speak prophetically, in the name of

the Lord, (as though God were talking) to the whole, universal

church!  They have made great claims, like "The Lord spoke to me

clearly..." or "I stood face to face before the Lord."  And what is

in the message?  Sheer Manifested Sons, Latter Rain, last days

super church, church as manchild stuff, reheated, repackaged and

rehashed!



     In describing the Kansas City Prophets, for the sake of time

and space, I'll zero in on three men, Mike Bickle, Bob Jones, and

Paul Cain.  I will briefly discuss some others, but these are the

three major players, in the Kansas City Prophets controversy.  It's

also important, however, to take a fresh look at how the church

handled (or failed to handle with responsibility) the exposure of

false prophecy, for this has set the course which we are currently

on, and the same people who wouldn't discern at that time, even

more so now, refuse to think critically.



Mike Bickle



     We must start with the pastor of a church in Kansas City,

Missouri, named Mike Bickle.  The church is now known as the Metro

Vineyard of Kansas City, but in the early 1980's when it was

started it was called KCF for Kansas City Fellowship.  Bickle

originally had pastored in St. Louis.  In June of 1982, a man named

Augustine approached Bickle and told him that he had heard an

audible voice telling him to prophesy by the "spirit of truth" to

Bickle's congregation.  Bickle allowed him to do this and was

impressed by the seeming accuracy with which he described the

condition of his church.  In September, the same year, Mike Bickle

himself heard an audible voice speak to him, while on a trip in

Cairo, Egypt.  The voice told him,



     I am inviting you to raise up a work that will touch the

     ends of the earth.  I have invited many people to do this

     thing and many people have said yes, but very few have

     done my will.[3]



     Shortly after this, on a "word from the Lord," Bickle began a

new work in Kansas City, Missouri.  The church grew rapidly in a

very short time.  In 1986, Bickle and his elders formed an

organization called Grace Ministries, which they described as, "A

ministry team of men committed to seeing the church fully restored

to the glory described in God's Word."[4]  Now, Grace Ministries

and KCF are two distinct organizations.  Al Dager gives a good

description of the function of Grace Ministries,

 

     Grace Ministries is a parachurch organization that

     represents several men who engage in itinerant, allegedly

     prophetic, ministries...There are seven major facets to

     Grace Ministries: 1. Apostolic teams; 2. City churches;

     3. The House of Prayer; 4. The Joseph Company; 5. The

     Israel Mandate; 6. A Ministry training center; 7. Shiloh

     Ministries.[5]



     I won't try to describe in detail each facet, as Al Dager did

in his helpful Media Spotlight Report, but I will highlight a few

aspects of two of the facets.  



     City churches, Bickle believes that every city really only has

one church, which may consist of several congregations, but must

come under one, citywide, eldership.  As Ministries Today reported,



     Bickle and his leadership team have promoted a concept

     advocating unity among all pastors in a geographic area. 

     Bickle now says that the idea should have emphasized

     "unity through friendship" rather than "unity through a

     church government structure."  Many pastors in Kansas

     City felt threatened by what they perceived to be an

     attempt to "swallow" other churches under KCF's banner. 

     "The way we used terminology created fear, division, and

     suspicion," Bickle admits.[6]



      Shiloh Ministries was or is, the development of a prophetic

community.  A piece of land was designated and developed, where

prophets could live together, convene prophetic conferences, share

their insights, and train up other prophets.  The senior prophetic

authority recognized over Shiloh, was to be Paul Cain, a former

associate of William Branham.  Cain once called Branham, "The

greatest prophet who ever lived."  (It is interesting to note that

there was, in Iowa, (might still be) a "prophetic" retreat and

community called Shiloh.  It was noted for its Manifested Sons of

God teaching.  But I don't know if it's directly related.)



     Though Bickle is the pastor of KCF and founder of Grace

Ministries, he at one point, seemed to back down from calling

anybody a prophet.  Here is an excerpt from an interview he had

with Al Dager.



     There's no one in our midst that we give the title

     "prophet."  The only one I would feel comfortable of

     giving that office would be Paul Cain, but he refuses to

     accept it.  So, I'd say both of them, apostle and

     prophet_I believe that in God's purpose they exist, but

     we're very hesitant to designate somebody as being one at

     this point and time.[7]



     But, on the other hand, in his lengthy interview with Bob

Jones on the tape, "Visions and Revelations," Jones describes

numerous face to face encounters with the Lord.  Upon Bickle's

encouragement, Jones tells the crowd what God supposedly said, what

he saw in the throne room, what he clearly "heard."  If that is not

playing the role of the prophet, what is?  Semantically avoiding

the actual title "prophet," but then delivering messages to the

church in the name of the Lord, seems hypocritical to me.  To avoid

the scrutiny of Deut 13 and Deut 18, they call themselves

"prophetic ministries" instead of "prophets."  But, even the ones

who follow them know better, calling them "The Prophets."



     I believe that Mike Bickle has been zealous, and well

intentioned.  I have read a book of his, Passion for Jesus,

which makes clear some beautiful teachings about the attributes of

God, the fear of the Lord, and knowing God.  But, I also believe

that through an unfortunate lack of discernment, he has promoted

false prophets, as well as the doctrines of Manifested Sons of God,

on an international scale.  This has helped pave the way for the

current mysticism.  The next person we will discuss is an excellent

example of this.



Bob Jones



     Bob Jones has been described publicly at KCF as a "resident

seer."  This is unfortunate because he turned out to be one of the

most blatant examples of a false prophet, of them all.  How anyone

can listen to him for even 10 minutes and not completely reject him

as a prophet, is amazing to me.  And yet, Mike Bickle and KCF

thought enough of him to tape a lengthy interview with him called,

"Visions and Revelations."  The blatantly false doctrine, and

occultic dreams and "revelations" found on this tape were enabled

to make their way all over the world in a relatively short time. 

On the tape, Jones describes how he went from being a drunkard,

fornicator, and bar room brawler, to eventually land in a mental

institution, where he was regularly visited by demons who would

hold conversations with him.  Finally, Jesus Himself told Bob in

order to get his mind back, to either kill or forgive twelve people

he hated!  Jones goes on to describe his Christian life and

supernatural ministry.



     One unforgettable episode that Jones recounts is how he

received a visit from an angelic guide name "Dominus."  "Dominus"

eventually turned out to be the Lord Jesus Christ Himself,

according to Jones.  Jones tells how, in an out of body experience,

he and Dominus sat above the KCF "in the Spirit," on rocking

chairs, holding hands.  To confirm Jones' "ministry" to Mike Bickle

and his brother in law and associate pastor Bob Scott, Dominus

revealed to Jones that he would visit the two men in their dreams. 

Each man subsequently had a dream in which a friend they knew named

"Don" appeared (two separate Don's).  When they asked Jones why Don

appeared and not Jesus, Jones impatiently replied,



     You guys are never going to learn the language of the

     Spirit, are you?...Jesus appears in thousands of

     different faces to portray something.  He was trying to

     say, "I'm your friend, I am your familiar friend and I'm

     going to show you all things so you can move in the power

     of the Spirit."[8]



To be honest with you, I think this was a combination of the

working of a powerful familiar spirit and incredible naivete. 

Bickle would later say of Jones, "He should have had a backstage

ministry."[9]



The Shepherd's Rod



     Bob Jones also contributed the Shepherd's Rod Revelation to

the Body.  According to him, "Everyone must pass under the

shepherd's rod once a year."  It all started when, according to

Mike Bickle,



     Ten years ago, the Lord began to visit Bob and tell him

     that he would visit him on the day of atonement each

     year...The Lord literally stands before Bob and speaks to

     him...it's a real holy thing before the Lord...[10] 



     "The Lord" showed Bob Jones that on the day of atonement the

shepherd of the congregation must hold out his staff and all must

pass under it for a time of prophetic inspection.  If they are in

sin, it will be revealed prophetically to the leader.  Bob Jones

says this is a time where the Lord turns you upside down and looks

you over for blemishes.  Thus, through this blatant denial of the

cross, you have God's people observing a distorted day of

atonement.



     It would take an entire book to catalog the heresy of this one

man, and that is not my purpose.  My burden in this chapter is to

remind us, where was the discernment?  We were so spiritual, so

full of "mystical" revelation and "cutting edge truth," but look at

what we overlooked!  The emperor obviously has no clothes!  And

when it began to be exposed by Ernie Gruen, it was almost dealt

with as a matter of personal animosity and covered over.  These men

didn't leave ministry, their tapes weren't pulled.  They haven't

missed a beat!  This is why we are so blind and intoxicated right

now.  Before there was a scandal, Mike Bickle said of Bob Jones,

"There is nobody in the natural that had a more integral role in

establishing our foundations in that kind of prophetic way, than

Bob [Jones]"[11]  After part of the controversy, Mike Bickle

expresses regrets, "I made the mistake of allowing Bob Jones to

step out from backstage into prominent, public ministry," and "I

believe the Lord gave Bob Jones a backstage ministry, but I

promoted him on the front stage."[12]  Backstage ministry?  I hope

not.  I'd rather have people like him out in the open than

influencing movements backstage.  Here are just a few of the

blatant errors promoted by the "backstage ministry."

      When Bob Scott, associate pastor at KCF questioned Bob Jones

about being in a recent dream, Jones replied, "It was not a dream,

it was something other than a dream."  He questioned Jones again,

"Was that a dream or a trance or a vision?"  Bob says, "Well, it

was neither, I was there...on occasions, I'm there, it's not a

vision, it's not a trance, I'm there."[13]



      Bob Jones' White Talking Horse_(Bob Jones) "The first time I

ever seen the white horse was when an angel called Gabriel was

riding.  I saw him a couple of times in the '70's, I didn't

understand what it meant, I would just see the white horse...(Mike

Bickle interjects) (Mike Bickle) "The white horse always speaks in

Bob's visions...In his vision it speaks of the corporate purpose

that God is bringing to pass..."[14]



     35 Super Apostles like unto Paul_Bob Jones saw and described

a vision in which, "The Holy Spirit took me to a place_this time it

wasn't the Lord took me, it was the Holy Spirit.  He took me to a

place and I saw the Lord, high and lifted up, by some young men and

he set upon the golden ark...and I looked and there were men that

had hold of the ark and they had the ark upon their shoulders.  And

the government will be upon their single shoulders."  Jones goes on

to explain how, by way of allegory, the Lord showed him he would

raise up 35 men, to be champions for Christ in the last days. 

"...They will reign and reveal to the world that they truly are the

faithful and true leaders and the government that will be upon his

single shoulder."  Mike Bickle comments, "I think there'll be 35

like unto Paul...There would be 35 whom the Lord would separate in

the highest way.  The government rests on apostles and

prophets."[15]



     What a perversion of Isaiah 9, in which Jesus is described as

Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father and

the one on whose shoulder shall rest the government of the whole

earth!! Yet how typical of Manifested Sons heresy, to replace

the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, with the "corporate Christ"

concept.

 

     Bob's revelation concerning prophetic accuracy.  Bob Jones, in

the tape "Shepherd's Rod" told us that God had revealed to him that

the Rhema (spoken word) would be two-thirds accurate in the days to

come.  In other words, up to two-thirds of the time these prophets

would be "right on."  Why not 100% of the time?  If you listen to

Bob Jones, you would be glad for inaccurate prophets!  Why?  God

showed Bob, supposedly, that if enough power was released to give

us 100% accuracy, we would have dead Ananias' and Sapphirra's all

over the place!  (How's that for making people actually thankful

for inaccurate prophets?)  Jones says we shouldn't worry about

inaccurate prophesies, for God told him that prophets are like guns

and prophecies are like bullets and inaccurate prophecies are like

blanks.  And he also says that God told him, "I'm loading the guns,

I'm putting the blanks in!"  Incredible!  Jones would have us

believe that God is responsible for innaccurate prophecies! 

Supposedly, even when we shoot blanks, it scares the enemy!  Bob

Jones complains about people who "try to make us Old Testament

prophets" meaning to hold them to the standard of Deut 18.  He then

quotes I Cor 14, about giving prophecy in church and judging to see

if they are all right.  I must reply to this.



     There is a huge difference, I agree, in giving a prophecy, "To

edify, exhort, and comfort" the church, and in being a prophet, who

presumes to speak in the name of the Lord.  But, we aren't trying

to make these modern "prophets" into Old Testament prophets, they

are.  They are the ones who emphatically say, "The Lord said this,"

or "I saw the Lord face to face, and He said thus and so..." 

that's a far cry from supernatural utterance to edify, exhort, and

comfort.  Standing up and making bold pronouncements to the church

universal in the name of God is a serious matter, New or Old

Testament.  Leading the church into error as a teacher is bad

enough, but to claim direct revelation while doing it is even

worse.  Bob Jones is a man who claims to have five to six visions

and revelations per day.  We are talking about a man who thought he

was a backslider when two days went by without a visitation from

Jesus.  He actually stands before the Lord on the day of atonement,

remember?  And Mike Bickle enthusiastically promoted it!

 

     The New Breed To Come, The Elected Seed - Bob Jones has much

to say about the actual bloodline of the great last days

overcomers.  Bob reports that the Lord told him, "From out of the

sands of time I have called the best of every bloodline in the

earth, unto this generation...Even the bloodline of Paul...of

David...of Peter, James and John, the best of their seed is unto

this generation.  They will even be superior to them in heart,

stature and love for me..."  What does bloodline matter to God,

who of one blood, made us all? Sounds more like some kind of

Eugenics cult than the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Jones goes on to

promise prophetically, the old Manifested Sons of God hopes that,

"They will move into things of the supernatural that no one has

ever moved in before.  Every miracle, sign and wonder that has ever

been in the Bible, they'll move in it consistently.  They'll move

in the power that Christ did...They themselves will be that

generation that's raised up to put death itself underneath their

feet and to glorify Christ in every way...So that glorious church

might be revealed in the last days because the Lord Jesus is worthy

to be lifted up by a church that has reached the full maturity of

the God man!"[16]



     This is typical of the sheer Manifested Sons heresy promoted

by KCF and Grace Ministries.  Has anyone renounced this?  No, they

renounce the fact that they put Bob Jones out in "front stage" and

not "backstage," but the heresy isn't rejected.  Jones' real

problem was that he openly promoted things that others realize the

church isn't "quite ready for."



     Several times while I have been there in Toronto in the

services at Airport Vineyard, the prophecies of Bob Jones were

discussed in a noncritical matter, as having been fulfilled in part

by this revival.  In a transcript of a meeting at Airport Vineyard,

Friday, October 14, 1994, Wes Campbell discusses Bob Jones'

revelation of an upcoming "civil war" in the church.  In this war,

the blue represents "revelation knowledge" people, fighting for

freedom in the Spirit.  "The gray" as in gray matter, those bound

to their minds, you know, critical thinking (of course they are the

ones keeping the church in slavery).  This "revelation" was

discussed as being credible and soon coming.[17]



     This failure to resolve to correct the obvious lack of

discernment, has cost us our spiritual eyesight, and led us deeper

into error.  Bob Jones can be an object lesson to us.  After all,

how could all of the "great prophetic company" fail to "pick up on

him?"  Truly, the emperor has no clothes.



     Rev 3:17-18  Because thou sayest, I am rich and increased

     with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not

     that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and

     blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried

     in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment,

     that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy

     nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with

     eyesalve, that thou mayest see.



Paul Cain



     One of the most prominent and well received ministries

associated with KCF would be the ministry of Paul Cain.  The people

of KCF and Grace Ministries have held Cain in the highest regard.



     We [KCF] have recognized a mandate from the Lord to make

     a special commitment to follow the leadership of John

     Wimber and Paul Cain.  Grace Ministries believes that

     these two men are chosen vessels among others in the

     nation.[18]



     In the tape, "Visions and Revelations" in which Bickle

interviews Bob Jones, Cain is described by Jones as "the most

anointed prophet that's in the world today."  He is said to have

the "fear mantle on him," and we are assured that "the enemy would

love to take him out before he [Cain] anoints this next generation,

before he writes upon your mind...before he imparts his anointing

into thousands of you."[19]



     Paul Cain has an interesting background.  In his testimony, it

is reported that immediately before his birth, his mother was

nearly dead from four major conditions.  Breast cancer,

tuberculosis, heart disease, and three other malignant tumors, all

were afflicting her at the time she was to give birth.  But, an

angel of the Lord came to her and told her not to fear, she would

not die, but give birth to a male child.  The angel even told her

to name him Paul for he would preach the gospel as Paul did.  As

you can see, there are many similarities to the testimony of

William Branham whom Cain was to one day be an associate of.  Paul

Cain says that the angel of the Lord spoke to him at the age of 8

in an audible voice.  "I heard an audible voice and of course,

often the angel of the Lord_it might have been the Lord Jesus

Christ_but anyway, when He speaks it's rather awesome."[20]



Joel's Army



     Paul Cain testifies of another unusual visitation which

occurred at the age of 19, which gave him a message that he

promotes to this day.  An angel appeared to him in glory and

magnificence, holding out a sword, pointing to a billboard.  The

billboard said, "Joel's army now in training."  When he asked the

Lord what it meant, the Lord took him through the book of Joel. 

Joel's army is described in Joel 2:1-11.  To Cain and others,

Joel's army is that great last days church, that "New Breed" of

believers in whom the whole plan of God is climaxed in.  These are

the ones who take the world for Christ, are in perfect unity, are

invincible, even divine in a sense!  The idea of a Joel's army of

invincible saints, executing judgement, is a huge expression of the

Latter Rain/Manifested Sons of God teachers.



     In 1947, Paul Cain began a public healing ministry, he was 18

years old.  His contemporaries were William Branham, Oral Roberts,

A. A. Allen, Jack Coe, T. L. Osborne, etc.  As the healing revival

exploded and prosperity and popularity increased Cain saw greed,

pride, and self service begin to characterize himself and others he

knew.  He entered into a season of repentance of which he would say

after that God stripped everything away.  It was during that season

of repentance that he had another life changing visitation from the

Lord,



     God had told him that if he kept himself from corruption

     and remained content with living a humble life, marked by

     scripture study and prayer, one day he would be allowed

     to stand before a new breed of men and women leaders. 

     These would be marked by simplicity, purity, and

     remarkable manifestations of power.[21]



     Thus began 25 years of extremely low profile for this

"prophet" of the Lord, whom the Lord had also called to be

celibate.  It wasn't until April of 1987 that "the Lord ordained a

divine appointment for Paul with Mike Bickle and others from

KCF"[22]  "The KCF eldership instantly felt the Lord prompting them

to make a deep and permanent commitment to serve Paul Cain in

anyway possible for the rest of his days as the Lord

permitted."[23]  Bob Jones, the "resident seer" at KCF went so far

as to say of Cain, "The Lord named Paul Cain's ministry, "The

Terror of the Lord" or "The Jealousy of God."[24]



     Terror of the Lord?  What is it about Paul Cain that causes

people to regard him so reverently?  Paul Cain has exhibited the

ability to tell people the details of their lives, hidden sins and

even things they have said in confidence to others.  There have

been reports of earthquakes and other natural disasters predicted

by him.  



     In January of 1989, Paul Cain told Jack Deere, a Vineyard

     pastor, that an earthquake would occur on the day Paul

     arrived for the first time to meet John Wimber at the

     church in Anaheim, California.  Another would occur

     elsewhere in the world the day after he left Anaheim. 

     Cain said that the earthquake would be a confirmation

     that the Lord had a strategic purpose for the Vineyard

     Movement.  The first earthquake took place in Pasadena on

     the day Cain arrived.  He left Anaheim on December 7. 

     The Soviet-Armenian earthquake occurred on December

     8.[25]



     Another reason that Paul Cain is highly regarded as a "Terror

of the Lord" could be the reported power surges of electricity that

occur at places where he ministers.  On one occasion in a church a

tremendous surge of electrical power blew out circuits and set off

fire alarms.  The fire department responded, only to find that

there was no fire, just a "prophetic meeting!"  In Anaheim,

California, even a battery operated video camera was short

circuited, and the telephone systems were "blown out!"  People have

attributed this to the "heavy prophetic anointing" on Paul Cain,

but does this sound like the Holy Spirit moving to you?



     Not every manifestation is heavy or frightening as Clifford

Hill points out in his review of Some Said It Thundered a

book defending the Kansas City Prophets.



     The main body of this book is an account of story after

     story of what I believe are best described as "paranormal

     experiences," such as the following telephone

     conversation between Paul Cain...and Mike Bickle.  After

     the opening greetings Paul Cain said, "Why Mike, you've

     got a bit of a sniffle and you are all wet.  Your hair is

     standing up on the left side of your head."  Bickle

     called his wife, Diana, to look at him.  "Sweetheart,

     Paul says I have a sniffle, I am all wet, and my hair is

     standing up on one side.  Am I all wet?"  "Yes," she

     said, "You've just come out of the shower."  "And is my

     hair standing up on one side?"  "Yes," she replied, "on

     the left side!"  Paul Cain calls these strange

     experiences little tokens that the line is still open

     with the Lord." (Page 29).   Why would the Lord Almighty,

     maker of heaven and earth give divine revelation to a

     prophet that his pastor had just taken a shower?  This

     kind of trivialization of prophecy does immense harm and

     causes confusion among the spiritually immature."[26]



The New Breed, Joel's Army



     As I said earlier, one of Paul Cain's major messages seems to

be that there is coming a new breed in the church, of overcomers. 

It is this company of end times people that the prophets have

eagerly anticipated.



     This army is also in the New Testament.  It's referred to

     as "the manchild."  I know some of you are going to

     disagree with this...Rev 12:25...Here it is this great

     army in the New Testament is the manchild.  Rev 12:5, the

     overcomers Rev 2 and 3, the 144,000 servants, Rev 7:3,

     the bride or the lamb's wife, Rev 19:7 and 21:9, and the

     white horse, Rev 6:2, the first fruits, Rev 14:4, the

     precious fruits James 5:7, the wise virgins, Matt

     25:1-13, the Manifested Sons of God, Rom 8:19-23 and it's

     certainly a remarkable fact that none of these names are

     expressions applied to the saints of God or at any other

     time in history.  But, all of them are in their context

     and promises showing undeniably that they belong to the

     end of time...To this present generation, Matt

     24:34...and God wants us to realize once again in closing

     that there's going to be a great company of overcomers

     prepared for this mighty ministry which I call the prize

     of all the ages.  And again, God's offering to the

     believers of this generation a greater privilege than was

     ever offered to any people of any generation at any time

     from ADAM clear down through the end of the

     millennium.[27]



Manifested Sons of God?



     Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature

     waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.



     Unlike many others who espouse this doctrine, Paul Cain

doesn't seem to balk at admitting to be a proponent of the

Manifested Sons of God doctrine.  The only problem that he seems to

have with it is people trying to manifest their sonship

presumptuously.



     There will be a manifestation of the sons of God.  And it

     won't be this baloney that we've heard of in the past; I

     mean there's been a few people tried to walk through a

     wall like this one over here and knocked their brain

     loose, but that's not what I'm talking about.  I'm

     talking about a true manifested son of God; if anyone

     walks through this wall, over here, they're not going to

     tell you about it, I mean, they're just going to do it. 

     And sons of God don't tell you they're sons of God,

     they'll just show you!  Amen![28]



     Romans 8:17 is the scriptural point at which the Manifested

Sons of God proponents leap into error.  The scripture teaches that

the whole of creation indeed does await the time of manifestation

of the sons of God, (ie the glorification of the saints, the final

resurrection).  The contention is that we believe we shall be

glorified after the return of Jesus Christ bodily.  It is then that

He, Jesus, will put death underneath His feet.  Manifested Sons of

God teaches that there will be a company of supersaints who will be

glorified and immortalized, before the bodily return of Jesus, and

that we, the glorified, corporate Christ, will be the ones who put

death under our feet.  They also believe that only after that

happens can Jesus return bodily.  Clifford Hill summarizes it

nicely in his Prophecy Today publication.



     The opportunity of joining the "new breed" an elite group

     of believers endowed with supernatural power that would

     enable them to be a part of the army of dread warriors

     that God was said to be raising up in our generation. 

     According to John Wimber this is a type of "Joel's Army"

     who will overcome all opposition to the gospel and

     eventually subdue the nations.  This teaching is part of

     what is known as "dominion theology," which teaches that

     an elite army of overcomers will either destroy or subdue

     all the enemies of Christ until they eventually gain

     power and authority throughout the world.  The government

     of the nations will be upon their shoulders and when all

     the secular authorities, governments, princes and kings

     have finally submitted to them, Christ will return and

     they will present the kingdom to Him.[29]



     This is the theology that has been promoted by the Kansas City

Prophets and their followers.  As I have said earlier, it is a

theology that emphasizes man in the place of Christ.  The

"corporate Christ" is still the church, not Christ.  It is Jesus

Christ who has destroyed death and will ultimately put it under His

feet, we don't do it for Him.



The Challenge



     In January, 1990, Ernie Gruen a Charismatic pastor in Kansas

City for 27 years, of the Full Faith Church of Love, released a 233

page document listing erroneous prophecies, statements, doctrines,

and incidents involving the Kansas City Prophets.  "He accused KCF

of sending out false prophets; of prophesying area churches to

close down (and then join KCF) and of outright lying."[30]



     As an example of the kind of "prophetic" response to these

charges, here is an excerpt from Rick Joyner's Morningstar.



     KCF is just one of many new streams starting to flow in

     the body of Christ, each of which is destined to receive

     furious and unrelenting attacks for a season, much of

     which will come from those who may have a great influence

     on the church but have long ago lost the anointing.[31]



     Do you see how the Berean spirit is being strangled here? 

When someone does raise some valid, specific criticism, "Well, it

must be jealousy, they have a Saul spirit and don't like our "David

Movement." "  One of most insidious and blinding concepts to come

to the church lately is the idea that all criticism is personal. 

This idea is amplified by the emphasis on people who have the

Jezebel Spirit, fault finding spirit, or that old standby, the

accuser of the brethren!  The whole idea deflects people's

attention away from the issues of false, destructive doctrine and

ministry to personality, "hurt," so called division and phony

humility.



     Gruen and Bickle were headed toward a resolution of their

differences by a meeting of the Network of Christian Ministries,

which was supposed to occur in July of 1990.  But, in May, John

Wimber stepped into the situation, offering himself and the

Vineyard Movement as a "covering" to KCF and the prophets.  



     Wimber acknowledged that there were indeed "excesses" at

     KCF.  In a letter to Gruen, Wimber promised to address

     the errors and declared, "I am satisfied that we will not

     see these problems arising again in the future."  The

     meeting with the NCM leaders was called off.[32]



     Why?  Didn't the errors still need to be examined, discussed,

rejected or corrected?  Shouldn't the Pentecostals at least have

insisted on the opportunity to publicly, formally renounce these

heresies?  By sweeping the problem into the "Vineyard House" and

not openly exposing and standing against it, we have sown the wind

and are reaping the whirlwind!  It was probably a great relief to

everyone that Wimber's action saved us from another controversy,

but what's the matter with controversy?  Wimber did offer some

correction and guidelines and I appreciate him for it, but for the

most part the Kansas City Prophets rolled right along.  The

erroneous teachings were made available through the Vineyard

Catalogs.  Bob Jones was asked to "limit his public ministry,"

instead of being rejected from public or private ministry.  John

Paul Jackson (See our appendix of KCF Quotes), a blatantly false

prophet was shipped out to California to minister there with

Wimber.  Paul Cain is in England now.  Mike Bickle is a popular

author, pastor and widely accepted Charismatic leader.  Bickle, in

looking back to 1990, told Charisma that he has learned four

lessons from the experience.



     1.   "We had an elite spirit.  That's become more and

     more real to me -- it's so repulsive."

     2.   "We promoted mystical experience in a

     disproportionate way and it was disastrous."

     3.   "We were careless in the way we communicated

     prophetic words.  This was hurtful in a lot of cases."

     4.   "We were wrong in the way we promoted the city

     church concept.  I still believe in it, but now I believe

     it's a unity based on friendship."[33]



     That's good, but weren't any of the prophecies, prophets, or

mystical experiences blatantly false?  What about false teaching? 

Do you still believe in the city wide church?  Should Bob Jones

have been renounced as a false prophet?



     In all fairness, KCF and Vineyard Church did release a list of

errors they had discovered and were correcting.

 

     Lack of accountability for prophecies that do not come true or

do not bear witness to the person receiving the ministry.



     The attempt by some prophetic ministers to establish doctrine

or practice by revelation alone, apart from clear biblical support.



Dogmatic assertions in delivery of prophetic words.



Revealing negative prophetic words in public without first

confronting the individual.



Giving prophetic words that affect a movement or church without

going first to the appropriate levels of authority.

 

The use of prophetic gifting for controlling purposes.

 

     Manifesting an attitude of superiority through the possession

of a secret body of information.  Amos 3:7 is true surely the

sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His

servants the prophets. But the prophetic people are not to wear

a garment of pride because of this knowledge.[34]



     In 1991, Jones finally did have his messages pulled from the

Vineyard Tape Catalog, after confessing to a moral failure.  He is

still cited as a credible prophet by many within the "prophetic

movement," including many of those associated with the Toronto

Blessing.

 

    In conclusion, there is a severe judgement for following and

supporting false prophets.  I believe it was the acceptance and

"covering" of these "prophets" that immediately accelerated this

revival of spiritual drunkenness.



     Jer 23:16  Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto

     the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they

     make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart,

     and not out of the mouth of the Lord.



     Ezekiel 13:1-9  And the word of the Lord came unto me,

     saying, Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of

     Israel that prophesy, and say thou unto them that

     prophesy out of their own hearts.  Hear ye the word of

     the Lord; Thus said the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish

     prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen

     nothing!  O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in

     the deserts.  Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither

     made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the

     battle in the day of the Lord.  They have seen vanity and

     lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord

     hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope

     that they would confirm the word.  Have ye not seen a

     vain vision, and have ye not spoke a lying divination,

     whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not

     spoken?  Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye

     have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I

     am against you, saith the Lord God.  And mine hand shall

     be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine

     lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people,

     neither shall they be written in the writing of the house

     of the Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of

     Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God. 





End Notes



1. Audio Tape.  "The Shepherd's Rod."  Mike Bickle, Bob Jones. 

Fall, 1989.

2.  Audio Tape Transcription.  "Visions and Revelations."  Mike

Bickle and Bob Jones.  Fall, 1989.  Page 74.

3. Audio Tape.  "The Prophetic History of Grace Ministries."  Mike

Bickle.

4. "Latter Day Prophets."  Media Spotlight.  Page 3.  Al Dager.

5. Ibid.

6. "Resolving the Kansas City Prophets Controversy."  Ministries

Today.  Lee Grady.  Sept/Oct 1990.

7. "Latter Day Prophets."

8. "Visions and Revelations" Audio Tape Transcript.  Page 60.

9. "Resolving the Kansas City Prophets Controversy."

10. "The Shepherd's Rod."

11. "What's the Problem?"  Ernie Gruen.

12. "Resolving the Kansas City Prophets Controversy."

13. "Visions and Revelations."

14. Ibid.

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid.

17. Wes Campbell.  October 14, 1994.  Toronto Airport Vineyard.

18. "Grace City Report."  December, 1989.

19. "Visions and Revelations."

20. Audio Tape, "The New Breed."  Fall, 1989.

21. "Paul Cain: A Personal Profile."  Terri Sullivant.  "Grace City

Report."  Page 13.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.

25. "Latter Day Prophets."  Media Spotlight, PO Box 290, Redmond,

WA 98073-0290.

26. Clifford Hill.  "Kansas City Prophets."  Prophecy Today

Magazine.

27. Audio Tape, Paul Cain.  "Joel's Army."  KCF's Southside

Meeting.

28. "The New Breed."

29.  Clifford Hill.

30. "Resolving the Kansas City Prophets Controversy."

31. Ibid.

32. Ibid.

33. "Kansas City Churches Reconciled."  Charisma.  Lee Grady. 

July, 1993.

34. "Making Corrections."  Ministries Today.  Sept/Oct, 1990.