Promoters of “Theistic Evolution” claim that the creation days in the Bible can be interpreted as any number of years, even billions of years.  This is to try to align Christianity with evolution.  But that is foolishness.  God made it quite clear, when he told Adam about the creation before Adam was created, that one day, in this context, equals at 24 hour period of one night and one day.

Genesis 1:5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Though the concept of a “day” can take on other meanings such as in “the day of the Lord” meaning the time of the end, in the context of the creation days it cannot be other than one 24 hour day by the definition given.

Could God Really Have Created Everything in Six Days? by Ken Ham on September 27, 2007

(2) Was there such a thing as a worldwide flood as told in the Bible?

The idea that there was never a worldwide flood has been around for centuries.  Even though those who lived right after the flood knew it well, later people began to make up all kinds of mythologies to explain away a worldwide flood. 

2 Peter 3:5-6 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.

But the fact is that science also proves them wrong.  The formation of layers of dirt and rock in places like the Grand Canyon were not laid down over millions of years.  They were laid down catastrophically and rapidly by the upheaval of the waters of the flood coming from underground and the rain from above, which was proven by the canyons created from one volcano, Mt. St. Helens.  After the canopy of the earth came down as rain, the earth was exposed to the heavens in a new way which caused there to be rainbows for the first time (Gen. 9:13), freezing temperatures during the first winter (the earth was tropical in the ancient world as evidenced by tropical vegetation found in glaciers, and the first winter formed the glaciers from flood waters runoff (note that glacier water is blue in color). The oceans were formed by those waters which created a “blue planet” with oceans comprising over 71% of the earth's surface.  The fact of the flood laying down layers of earth also destroys the silly “geologic column” which evolutionists use to “prove” their ridiculous theory.

Worldwide Flood, Worldwide Evidence by Answers In Genesis

(3) Were there Nephilim after the Flood?

I have heard Christians claim that the flood destroyed the Nephilim.  They try to prove this by saying that after the flood the word for “giants” is “anakim”.  But the Bible, in two places, says that the Nephilim were again to become a problem after the flood.

Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
Numbers 13:33 There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

The Nephilim were one of the reasons the Caananites had to be wiped out due to their involvement with and following of the demonic Nephilim.

"Who / what were the Nephilim?" by GotQuestions?.org

(4) The further back in history you go can you find Monotheism in many cultures?

There is a foolish argument being made by World Christian Gathering of Indigenous People and liberal Christian advocates that the further back you go in history the more monotheistic cultures were.  I completely debunk this myth in my article “Monotheism In Ancient Cultures”.  But if these people had started with the Bible they would know that it is impossible that monotheism existed in ancient cultures because of the numerous verses that state that the Gentiles “did not know God”.

Gal. 4:8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 
1 Cor. 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 
1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 
Rom. 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worth while to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 
1 Thess. 4:5 ...not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God... 
Ephesians 2:12-13 ...remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 
2 Thess. 1:8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

"Monotheism" in Ancient Cultures is virtually non-existent by Sandy Simpson, 7/22/13

(5) If there is little Monotheism in ancient cultures, what is the history of the knowledge and worship of God?

Since, as proven above, the Gentiles “did not know God” then God was preserving the knowledge of Himself through a particular line … the line from Adam to Noah and from Noah through to Abraham who are all in the line of Jesus.  The proof of this is that God, Adam, Noah, Shem, Terah and Abraham wrote eyewitness accounts of their lives and offspring.

Genesis 5:1 This is the written account of Adam's family line. When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God.
Genesis 6:9  This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 
Genesis 10:1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah's sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.
Genesis 11:10 This is the account of Shem's family line. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.
Genesis 11:27 This is the account of Terah's family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
Genesis 25:12 This is the account of the family line of Abraham's son Ishmael, whom Sarah's slave, Hagar the Egyptian, bore to Abraham.
Genesis 25:19 This is the account of the family line of Abraham's son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac,

As a side note, just because there is an account of Abraham's son Ishmael does not mean that the knowledge and worship of God continued in Ishmael's line.  Islam is “monotheistic” but before 600 A.D. or so the pre-Arabian sons of Ishmael were polytheistic.  You can see this information in my article “Monotheism In Ancient Cultures”. 

The History Of The Knowledge and Worship Of God by Sandy Simpson, 8/9/13

(6) Why did people in the middle ages think the world was flat? 

It is fascinating to me that, during the Middle Ages, people forgot that the world was a sphere.  If they had looked at their Bibles they would have known it was not flat, but then many of them could not read Latin and the Bible was not readily available to them as it is for us today.

Isaiah 40:22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. (NIV)

Did Bible writers believe the Earth was flat? by ChristianAnswers.net

(7) Does the Bible teach that animals can evolve into different kinds?

The fact that all the way back in Genesis the Lord already let people know that He created everything “after their kind”, meaning that animals of different kinds will not reproduce or evolve into another kind, should have been a clue for evolutionists.  This ends any debate on evolution from a biblical standpoint.  Of course people can now combine DNA to form various hybrids, but that is not how God created reproduction.  Evolution across “kinds” is a myth.

Genesis 1:11 Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.
Genesis 1:12  The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:21 God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.
Genesis 1:25 God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 6:19-20 And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.
Genesis 7:14 they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds.

Evolution? Impossible! by Answers In Genesis

(8) Were there dinosaurs after the flood?

There are many evolutionists and other scientists who believe that the dinosaurs were wiped out millions of year ago either by a comet or some cause other than the Flood.  But they are wrong on two counts.  They were not wiped out by the Flood because some were water dwelling and others were likely brought on the Ark as young males and females.  After the Flood the Bible indicates that at least two types of dinosaurs survived, namely Behemoth and Leviathan.  Notice that Leviathan was a water dwelling creature that was impossible to kill by men, breathed fire, and apparently spoke.  These were likely used by demons.

Job 40:15  “Behold now, Behemoth, which I made as well as you; He eats grass like an ox.
Job 3:8  “Let those curse it who curse the day, Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.
Job 41:1-34 Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook? Or press down his tongue with a cord? “Can you put a rope in his nose or pierce his jaw with a hook? “Will he make many supplications to you, or will he speak to you soft words? “Will he make a covenant with you? Will you take him for a servant forever? “Will you play with him as with a bird, or will you bind him for your maidens? “Will the traders bargain over him? Will they divide him among the merchants? “Can you fill his skin with harpoons, or his head with fishing spears? “Lay your hand on him; remember the battle; you will not do it again! Behold, your expectation is false; Will you be laid low even at the sight of him? “No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him; who then is he that can stand before Me? “Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine. “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs, or his mighty strength, or his orderly frame. “Who can strip off his outer armor? Who can come within his double mail? “Who can open the doors of his face? Around his teeth there is terror. “His strong scales are his pride, Shut up as with a tight seal. “One is so near to another that no air can come between them. “They are joined one to another; they clasp each other and cannot be separated. “His sneezes flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. “Out of his mouth go burning torches; Sparks of fire leap forth. “Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. “His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes forth from his mouth. “In his neck lodges strength and dismay leaps before him. “The folds of his flesh are joined together, Firm on him and immovable. “His heart is as hard as a stone, even as hard as a lower millstone. “When he raises himself up, the mighty fear; Because of the crashing they are bewildered. “The sword that reaches him cannot avail, nor the spear, the dart or the javelin. “He regards iron as straw, Bronze as rotten wood. “The arrow cannot make him flee; Slingstones are turned into stubble for him. “Clubs are regarded as stubble; He laughs at the rattling of the javelin. “His underparts are like sharp potsherds; He spreads out like a threshing sledge on the mire. “He makes the depths boil like a pot; He makes the sea like a jar of ointment. “Behind him he makes a wake to shine; one would think the deep to be gray-haired. “Nothing on earth is like him, one made without fear. He looks on everything that is high; He is king over all the sons of pride.”
Psalm 104:26 There the ships move along, And Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
Psalm 74:14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan; You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
Isaiah 27:1 In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, With His fierce and great and mighty sword, Even Leviathan the twisted serpent; And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.

Leviathan is also used as a name for and picture of Satan.  Jesus Christ will crush Satan, the dragon that comes out of the sea, in the Millennial Kingdom.

Sea Monsters … More than a Legend? by Rebecca Driver on September 1, 1997

(9) Are the "blood moon" eclipses what the Bible describes as the moon turning red in the end times?

The current “blood moons” teaching by John Hagee and others is not biblical.  It does not take into account that the sun and moon will both be affected at the same time by what is occurring on earth during the Tribulation, which we have not entered yet as neither the antichrist nor the third Temple have been established.

Acts 2:19-21. “I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Four Blood moons are coming - Significant or not? by Mike Oppenheimer, 4/13/14.

(10) Are the gifts of the Spirit still being given today?

The erroneous teaching of Cessationists is that there are no more gifts of the Spirit in the Church today.  This is based on a number of Scriptures taken out of context, but one big one is the one that follows.

1 Cor. 13:8-13 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

They claim that “the perfect” is when the cannon of the Bible was put together (even though we already had the Scriptures as approved by the first century church before the Bible was canonized).  The Bible is the perfect Word of God (Ps. 18:30) but in context this is not talking about the Bible because (1) we will see Him “face to face” and (2) we do not now fully know God as we are known. 

Are there Spiritual Gifts today or have they ceased? by Mike Oppenheimer, 6/27/14

(11) Do you think there are hidden "codes" in the Bible containing new revelation for the church? 

No.  Not of the type being presented in books such as The Bible Code (Drosnin 1997), the Omega Code movie, any Equidistant Letter Sequence code, etc.  There is a "Torah Code" that has been debated for centuries, which has some merit, but other secret messages books on the Bible purporting to use coding sequences are bogus.  The Bible is clear and meant to be read by ordinary people because it is God's way of communicating with born again believers.

The Bible Code: Prophetic Insight Or Fertile Imagination? by G. Richard Fisher.

(12) Aren't we as Christians not supposed to judge?

There are many ways in which we are to judge, discern and test.  "Judge not lest you be judged" is only one type of judging, hypocritical judging, which God does not want people doing.  But we are to test everything.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 

Judge Not? by Jacob Prasch.

(13) Did Christian missionaries bring a "foreign God" to the Gentile nations of the world?

Of course the missionaries brought a foreign god!   That is because God was foreign to every Gentile through history and particularly since Babel.

Eph. 2:11-13 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)-- remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

In fact this charge, brought by people who don't understand culture or the Bible, is a great disservice to missionaries who carried out the Great Commission so that people could hear and understand the Gospel message.

Romans 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

The Missionaries Brought A Foreign God by Sandy Simpson, 7/7/13

(14) Isn't man basically good?

This false doctrine lays the basis for Pelegianism and Arminianism to a lesser degree.  But the idea that man is inherently good or even a mixture of good and evil is not according to what the Bible teaches about the condition of man or His need for a Savior.  Otherwise we could meet God on judgment day and be saved by our good works.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Romans 7:18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
Romans 7:25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

According to the Bible we are born with a sin nature and must be born again spiritually to live eternally.

John 3:3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

We are not only born with a sin nature, but we choose to sin.  David prayed that the Lord would help him keep away from willful sins.

Psalm 19:13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

Do we become sinners when we sin or are we born sinful? by Mike Oppenheimer, Let Us Reason Ministries

(15) Can the Church take the kingdom of this world away from Satan?

The kingdoms of this world are currently under the dominion of the evil one.

Revelation 12:9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

The devil was hurled to the earth after he sinned along with the angels who followed him.  The world then became the place where Satan would make his last stand, attempting to take as many people in the world with him into judgment.  God would allow Satan to continue till his time was up for the greater glory of Himself, in that God had already foreseen that Adam and Eve would disobey Him and would need redemption through His Son.  So God allowed Satan to have temporary dominion over the earth. 

Luke 4:5-8 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’

Lest you believe this was a lying or empty promise by Satan, think again.  Though Satan mixes lies with truth in his temptation of Christ, this offer was a real one based on the facts.  Notice that Jesus does not correct Satan by telling him "You are a liar.  You don't have dominion of the kingdoms of the world".  Instead He states that everyone should worship the Lord and serve Him only.  So Satan really does have a "kingdom now" and at this time the world is still in the power of the evil one. 

Luke 11:18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 
Ephesians 2:2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 
1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

We are not moving toward some great awakening and spiritual revival in the end times as the Latter Rain teaches through the leadership of the Third Wave, New Apostolic, Word of Faith and other heretical movements.  The enemy is still prowling and will continue to do so until the physical return of Christ.  Satan is not yet bound as Reformed Theology teachers falsely teach as part of Amillennialism because the Bible says that will happen after the Second Coming at the beginning of the Millennial reign of Christ. Till then we are to carry out the Great Commission whereby those who are born again are added to God's Kingdom spiritually, awaiting the final salvation of the resurrection and Christ's physical Kingdom on earth. 

Colossians 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

So it is not the Church that will take away the kingdoms of the world from the evil one.

Matt. 13:40-43 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
1 Corinthians 15:24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.

Who Is the Prince of This World? by Dave Hunt, The Berean Call

(16) What should I do if I see my church getting into the Third Wave?

Don't panic.  Get into the Word.  Arm yourself with the Truth.  Get on your knees and pray for your friends and church.  Go to your head pastor and express your concerns.  If you are rebuffed, go to the other elders of the church.  If they are still unwilling to listen to what the Bible has to say, write a letter and distribute it with attached supporting materials to the pastors, elders and people of  your church.  Don't give up until you have either succeeded in getting the church to remove the Third Wave influences from you church, or removing yourself to a church that is Bible believing and Christ centered.  Continue to pray for your friends who are in the Third Wave, but do not fellowship with them until they truly repent and show evidence of change. Try to pull them from the fire, being careful not to soil your white clothes in the process (Jude 1:17-25).

How to find a good church by Sandy Simpson

(17) What about those who teach there is no Millennial Kingdom?

The Amillennialists claim that the Bible is being figurative rather than literal when it talks about a one thousand year reign of Christ on earth.  They use arguments from verses such as the following to make their case.

2 Peter 3:8  But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

In context this verse is an attempt to explain the eternal state of God, being outside of time and space.  You cannot take this verse which is figurative and apply it to statements that are meant to be understood as a literal timeframe.

Rev. 20:1-3 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
Rev. 20:4-6 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

If these verses were meant to be figurative then they would have either mentioned 2 Peter 3:8 as a context or they would have not given any exact timeframe.  The problem with allegorizing Scripture willy nilly is that it always leads to doing that with other passages, in particular the six day creation of Genesis.

A Tale Of Two Kingdoms by Sandy Simpson, 8/27/11

(18) How can I protect myself if I find myself in a Third Wave meeting?

God knows your heart.  He knows if you are truly obedient to Him, truly believe in His Son.  He also knows if you are there to seek "power" or "thrills" or if you are truly there to worship Him.  Every person I have spoken to who has prayed a prayer of protection has not been able to be "slain in the spirit".  This is a powerful testimony to the fact that "slain in the spirit" is not of the Holy Spirit, but of spirits.  I experienced this myself, praying that if it was of the Lord then I wanted it but if it was not of the Lord then I never wanted any demonic influence in my life.  Though a certain group attempted to zap me countless times they were unable to ply their trade.  I later realized just how much God had protected me in my relative ignorance.  Kurt Koch had the same experience at a Kathryn Kuhlman meeting. He also related that when groups of Christians would go to William Branham meetings and pray that if what Branham was doing was not of God he would be unable to do anything, Branham was said to have come out and stated that something was prohibiting him from doing any miracles that night.  I am not saying you should attend Third Wave meetings to do this.  Koch also warned Christians not to attend occult gatherings.  I believe this holds true for Third Wave meetings because occult rituals and methods are being used.  Stay away and tell everyone you know to stay away.  In fact, don't go to events unless you know exactly who is sponsoring them and what is going to be done and taught there.

What Should I Say? by Sandy Simpson

(19) I heard someone preach that Paul told the Greeks about a known "god" by the name of "theos".

Those who teach this are ignorant of Scripture and the Greek language.  “Theos” was a term that could be applied to any god, false or true.  Therefore it is also the generic term used for the monument the Greeks made to an “Unknown God”. 

Acts 17:23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god (theos, not Theos). So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

Again, the Gentiles did not know God (Theos) because the Bible says they did not, so they built an altar to an unknown god (theos) to cover their bases with the plethora of other altars for false gods.  Their reason for doing so was superstition, not that they were worshipping the true God (Theos).  This passage is entirely consistent with Paul's  other teachings on the state of the Gentiles, unless you take it out of context like Don Richardson, Daniel Kikawa, Danny Lehman, Richard Twiss and a whole host of other WCGIP adherents do to try to prove the Gentiles knew God.

An Endrun around Rom. 1 and Acts 17 by Sandy Simpson, Apologetics Coordination Team, March 2006

(20) I heard there are legitimate foundational apostles and prophets in the churches today.

Those who claim to be foundational apostles today, to be considered equal or even greater than the original apostles, are false apostles by biblical definition.

2 Cor. 11: 12-15 And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

There are no more foundational apostles for the churches today, only sent out evangelistic church planting missionaries. 

False Apostles! - The False Apostles of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) by Sandy Simpson, 10/13/04

(21) Is there really a hell?

This is certainly wishful thinking at its worst and most destructive.  The Bible is replete with warnings about the lake of fire and who will follow the AntiChrist, False Prophet (Rev. 19:20) and Satan and his demons (Rev. 20:10)... that is all unbelievers (Rev. 21:8).  Those who believe there is no hell are those who do not believe in what Jesus Christ and the Apostles warned us about in the Bible.  Among those who teach against the Biblical teaching on hell are many of the leadership of the Emerging Church movement including Doug Pagitt, Brian McLaren,

"For many Christians, their faith is primarily about what happens to people after they die. That distracts them from seeking justice and living in a compassionate way while we're still alive in this life. We need to go back and take another look at Jesus' teachings about hell. For so many people, the conventional teaching about hell makes God seem vicious. That's not something we should let stand." (Beyond Business-as-Usual Christianity - Brian McLaren talks about hell, the emerging church, and seeker Christians who are fed up with traditional Christianity, Interview by Sherry Huang, Beliefnet, (Source)

"[T]his is one of the huge problems with the traditional understanding of hell, because if the Cross is in line with Jesus' teaching, then I won't say the only and I certainly won't say ... or even the primary or a primary meaning of the Cross ... is that the Kingdom of God doesn't come like the kingdoms of this world by inflicting violence and coercing people. But that the kingdom of God comes thru suffering and willing voluntary sacrifice right? But in an ironic way the doctrine of hell basically says no, that's not really true. At the end God gets his way thru coercion and violence and intimidation and uh domination just like every other kingdom does. The Cross isn't the center then, the Cross is almost a distraction and false advertising for God." (Brian McLaren speaking, (Source)

“… all who do not consciously and decisively accept Jesus as their personal savior will burn forever in hell.” … “That phrase raises concerns for me, because based on the Scriptures, I believe Jesus primarily came not to proclaim a way out of hell for some after death, but rather a way into a better life for all before death …not to constrict but rather to expand the dimensions of who could be welcomed into the kingdom of God, of who could be accepted in the people of God. So my understanding of Jesus’ essential message tells me that ‘exclusivity of’ should generally precede ‘the Pharisees’ or ‘the judgmental’ or ‘the hypocrites,’ and never ‘Christ.’ (Brian McLaren, “A Reading of John 14:6,” (Source)

The Bible and Jesus Christ are clear that those who do not believe and live in sin are destined for hell (Mt 5:22, 5:29, 5:30, 10:28, 16:18, 18:9, 23:15, 23:33, Mr 9:43, 9:45, 9:46, 9:47, Lu 12:5, 16:23, Jas 3:6, 2 Pet. 2:4) or the lake of fire (2 Pet. 3:7, Jude 1:7, Rev. 20:14-15 etc.) along with the AntiChrist, False Prophet, Satan and his angels.  As to eternal torment, the Bible is also clear.

Re 14:11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."
Jude 1:7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
Heb 6:2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
Mt 25:46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Mt 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Hell by C.A.R.M. 
Hell by Mike Oppenheimer
Is there a Hell? by Mike Oppenheimer 

(22) Is there a "purgatory"?

There is a holding place called Hades where unbelievers are held till the day of judgment.  Old Testament believers were taken with Christ upon His death when He went to the part of Hades called "Abraham's bosom" and emptied it by taking those there to heaven with Him.  By the way, Jesus did not go to hell but to Hades to tell everyone there what He had done by His death and coming resurrection.  Today Hades is only populated by unbelievers.  Purgatory is a manmade idea from the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and has no support in Scripture.  Since there are no believers there since today all believer's spirits immediately go to be with Christ in the third heaven or Paradise, then there is no such place as Purgatory where either sinful believers or unbelievers can do penance and be prayed out of there by living believers.

Doctrine of Purgatory at ACT
Is There Really Such a Place as Purgatory? by The Berean Call
Purgatory a Spiritual Bermuda Triangle by Mike Oppenheimer
The Roman Catholic Bible Has The Answer (of why Purgatory) by Mike Gendron
Purgatory: Purifying Fire or Fatal Fable by Mike Gendron

(23) I heard I can confess what I want and God will give it to me.

Also known as "blab it an grab it", "positive confession", "name it and claim it" and other names this idea is solely without merit in Scripture.  We are not little gods as Word of Faith proponents extol, since that is the original lie of Satan (Gen. 3:5).  We cannot create something out of nothing as only God can.

Rom. 4:17  As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." {Gen. 17:5} He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

Only God can create something out of nothing.  We may ask God for His help but we do not command God. We may ask, seek and knock (Matt. 7:7) if we do so according to His will (1 Jn. 5:14) as long as His words remain in us (John 15:7).

Do not say "Lord if it be thy will". (Robert Tilton, Success in Life, recorded 12/14/91)

We cannot speak a car or money into existence from nothing.  Yet that is what they claim.

What do you need? Start creating it. Start speaking about it. Start speaking it into being. Speak to your billfold. Say, ‘You big, thick billfold full of money.’ Speak to your checkbook. Say, ‘You, checkbook, you. You've never been so prosperous since I owned you. You're just jammed full of money.’ Say to your body, ‘You're whole, body! Why, you just function so beautifully and so well. Why, body, you never have any problems. You're a strong, healthy body.’ Or speak to your leg, or speak to your foot, or speak to your neck, or speak to your back. … Speak to your wife, speak to your husband, speak to your circumstances; and speak faith to them to create in them and God will create what you are speaking.” (Marilyn Hickey, quoted in Hanegraaff, Crisis, 63).

(Paul Yongi) Cho's concept of fourth-dimensional thinking is nothing short of occultism. In his best-selling book "The Fourth Dimension", Cho unveils his departure from historic Christian theology and his entry into the world of the occult. Cho lists four steps in his incubation formula: 1) Visualize a clear-cut goal or idea in your mind; 2) have a burning desire for your objective; 3) pray until you get the guarantee or assurance from God that what you desire is already yours; 4) speak or confess the end result into existence. (Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity in Crisis, 1993 citing Paul Yonggi Cho, The Fourth Dimension, Volume One (So. Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, 1979), 9-35; vol. 2, 18-33)

Many of the phrases popularized by present-day prosperity preachers, such as "What I confess, I possess," were originally coined by Kenyon. Kenneth Hagin ... plagiarized much of Kenyon's work, including the statement, "Every man who has been 'born again' is an Incarnation, and Christianity is a miracle. The believer is as much an Incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth." (E. W. Kenyon, The Father and His Family, 17th ed. (Lynnwood, WA: Kenyon's Gospel Publishing Society, 1964), 100; cf. Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Incarnation," The Word of Faith, December 1980, 14)

Confession doctrine is probably the quintessential "wishful thinking" gimmick of our time.  This is what "The Secret", Oprah Winfrey and other New Age gurus have been advocating for a long time.  So have hundreds of Word of Faith teachers who hearken back to Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland.

Preaching a False-Positive with a Smile by Mike Oppenheimer
I have what I think and say I have by Mike Oppenheimer
A Profile Of The Word-Faith Movement by Apologetics Coordination Team
Danger and Apostasy! The Signs and Wonders of Kenneth Copeland by Moriel Ministries
Four Current Movements Within The Church by Moriel Ministries
Revisit to "The Seduction of Christianity" Part One by The Berean Call

(24) Should Christians be getting "drunk in the spirit"?

There is a Latter Rain teaching that has floated around now for many decades through many counterfeit revivals.  It is the idea that Christians should seek to be "drunk in the spirit" usually through a transferable impartation.  The justification for this practice is from the teachings of Rodney Howard-Browne and others where they claim that the disciples were drunk in the Spirit at Pentecost.  But this teaching is exactly backwards.

Acts 2:5-16  Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs— we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?" Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine." {Or sweet wine} Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

Peter explained to them that their mocking remarks about the disciples were incorrect, they were not drunk.  They were filled with the Spirit and speaking tongues lucidly, proclaiming the Gospel message.  And yet drunkenness is equated by Latter Rain proponents as being filled with the Spirit.

"I mean people say, "How can Dr. Wagner at his age be with all these weird people.  He's been on a fourteen year drunk.  It's the only way to explain it.  He's not been sober for years. ... when you sober up and all of a sudden you're not cross-eyed, your pastor doesn't look what you thought, man that person you've been praying with irritates you and you don't like their personality, you've got one choice. Get drunk again!  And let me tell you (cheers) if we're going to make it in this hour, if we're going to make it in this hour, we have got to stay filled with the spirit." (Jim Laffoon, NSOP, 5/00)

The Bible not only says not to be drunk but it contrast being drunk with being filled with the Spirit.

Eph 5:18  Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

Being filled with the Spirit is the exact opposite of getting drunk and putting oneself in an altered state of consciousness.  Being filled with the spirit is the ultimate in soberness and self-control, which is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).

Drunk on the new wine by Mike Oppenheimer
Whooping it up under the new anointing by Mike Oppenheimer
Resolution on the Brownsville Assembly "Revival" Movement by Sandy Simpson

(25) Can a Christian be "spiritually formed" by practicing spiritual disciplines outlined by the Emergent Church?

It is being taught that if you do certain pragmatic exercises you can get closer to God or have a better relationship with God.  But this is the same misguided methodology practiced by false religions and cults.  Yet many in the Emerging Church movement are trying to take people back to the practices of the early Roman Catholic "desert fathers", monks who instead of getting out and preaching the Gospel has sequestered themselves away from people in order to mystically get closer to God.  So EC proponents want Christians to follow the practices and teachings of men who were fundamentally disobedient to the Great Commission.  Going into trance states, contemplating your belly button, doing labyrinth prayer repeating some word over and over, standing under a waterfall for hours, subjecting your body to rigorous exercise or grueling self-inflicted punishment will do absolutely nothing to get you closer to God.

Col. 2:22-23; 3:1-2  These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Mt 6:7  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

Spiritual disciplines ultimately focus our attention on earthly things, get us further into self and emotion.  If we would but follow the practices of the first century Christians we would benefit.

Acts 2:42-47   They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Journey Into Wholeness or Journey Into Worldliness? at ACT
Pragmatic Methodology versus Practical Theology at ACT
New Spiritual Discipline from Ancient Roman Catholic Sources by Moriel Ministries
Ancient-Future Heresies by The Berean Call
Life with God, Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation by Richard J. Foster reviewed by Gary Gilley
Contemplative and Spiritual Formation by Lighthouse Trails

(26) I have been told the Church is to take dominion over the world now.

It is such a popular wishful thinking today that it has infiltrated most churches.  That is the false doctrine of "Dominionism" that has doctrinal streams going back to the Latter Rain, Kingdom Now, Reformed Theology (in the form of "Reconstructionism"), and other false teachings.  If you are a Preterist/Amillenialist/Postmillenialist and you believe that prophecies in Daniel, Revelation and other places have already taken place in the past, then you have to replace the silence of the Bible with regard to the present age with a new manufactured unbiblical mandate such as "taking dominion over the world".  If you think that there are restored foundational apostles in the Church today, then they must "rule" and part of that "rule" is organizing the takeover of every aspect of life such as business, politics, government, education, etc.  Dominionism fits well with "save the planet" green ideology but does not fit with the Bible at all.  The biblical mandate of true believers is to preach the Gospel to all nations (Mr. 16:15) and disciple believers from those places (Mt. 28:19).  We are to help with social and physical problems in the world (James 1:27), but we are not here to solve them.  Jesus Christ will solve all problems when He physically returns (John 14:3) to rule from the throne of David (1 Kings 2:45, 9:5) for 1000 years (Rev. 20:4-6) before the end (Rev. 20:7-15; 21:1).  Until that time we are to do what we have been commissioned to do and not act like we can solve the world's problems, like Rick Warren has claimed in his P.E.A.C.E. plan or teach that Jesus Christ cannot return to the world until we as the Church rise up and take it back from the devil.  That is unbiblical nonsense.

A Global Peace Plan by Mike Oppenheimer
Reject Kingdom-Dominion compiled by Sandy Simpson
Dominionism Exposed by Sandy Simpson
Dominionism And The Rise Of Christian Imperialism by Moriel Ministries
Kingdom Dominionism by Mike Oppenheimer
Peter Wagner-Let's take Dominion by Mike Oppenheimer

(27) Will my beloved pet be with me in heaven?

The Bible is silent on this subject but we can infer the answer if we just think this subject through.  I know what I am about to say will be highly unpopular with some people who have lost a beloved pet.  I have lost many in my lifetime.  First of all pets do not have spirits.  They have body and soul (mind) but not spirit.  Only people who are tripartite beings made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27) have body, soul and spirit (1 Thes. 5:23).  In Gen. 1:27 it only mentions that humans were made in the image of God.  The problem with a lot of people, including many Christians, is that they are not tripartitists but rather dualists.  Only human beings who have a spirit and have been born again in the Spirit go to heaven (John 3:3).  Pets cannot be born again because (a) they have life but no eternal spirit and (b) they cannot make a conscious choice to accept Jesus Christ as Savior.  God will set things right in the Millennial Kingdom and there are obviously animals there but that is not heaven.  Horses are mentioned as coming from heaven but there is no mention of animals going there in the resurrection.  Again, only human beings who have made a choice to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will be part of the resurrection to life and eternity.

(we do not necessarily endorse the web sites where we found these articles):

Do Pets Go To Heaven? by Clarifying Christianity
Do All Dogs Go to Heaven? Will Our Pets Be With Us in Heaven? by God & Science
Pets in Heaven? by LambLion
Do animals and pets go to heaven? by Biblestudy.org

(28) Should we pray to Mary and the saints?

The problem with these wishful prayers is more than that they are praying to the wrong people for help.  They are praying to DEAD people.  This sin of necromancy is expressly forbidden in the Bible (De. 18:10-13).  Necromancy is defined as: "conjuration of the spirits of the dead for purposes of magically revealing the future or influencing the course of events." (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary) That means anything asked of dead people is communicating with them in order to influence the course of events.  The reason this is forbidden in the Bible is because it gives the enemy a big opening to deceive people.  Yet the Roman Catholic Church has been promoting this practice for centuries!  There is only one God and His Son is alive sitting at the right hand of God.  Christians are to pray to our living Savior.  Mary recognized her Son as her Savior (Luke 1:47).  Therefore it is useless to pray to a dead woman who has no power to do anything for the living.  She is to be remembered for that fact the God chose her to bear His Son, but she is not to be venerated and worshipped.  The same goes for dead Christians.  By the way, every Christian is a "saint" (Col. 1:26, Eph. 3:18) not those installed by the Pope and his Cardinals.

Doctrines of the Rosary And Prayers To Mary on ACT
Prayers From The Dead on ACT
Prayers For The Dead on ACT
Roman Catholicism Compared To Biblical Christianity on ACT
Praying to Mary and the Saints by Mike Oppenheimer
The "Evangelical" Seduction by The Berean Call
History & Development of Mariolatry by Christian Witness Ministries

(29) I've heard that God has many names and can be worshipped under other names as long as he is identified in the culture as a 'supreme being'.

There is an immediate problem with this idea.

Ac 4:12  Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

That name is Jesus Christ and He is the only way to eternal life and the Father (John 14:6).  God gave Moses His name when He asked Him.  It is "I Am That I Am" or YHWH (YHVH).  That is His name and Yeshua is a derivative of Yahweh.  He does not go by the name of Baal, or Allah, or Osirus, or any other name.

Joh 20:31  But these are written that you may {Some manuscripts may continue to} believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Mt 12:21  In his name the nations will put their hope." {Isaiah 42:1-4}

Mike Oppenheimer and I wrote a very important book on this subject called "Idolatry In Their Hearts".  I hope many Christians will read this book to remind them about what the Bible tells us about YHWH.  The fact that many Bible translation organization as substituting the general term of "God" in the Bible for the specific false god called "Allah" has already gotten people killed in Muslim countries.  YHWH is not Allah.

Is Allah The Same As YHWH? by Sandy Simpson
Allah of Islam, Is He Yahweh God of the Bible? by Answering Islam
IPM False Teaching About The Names Of God by Sandy Simpson
Is Allah God's name by Mike Oppenheimer
Io-The Hawaiian Supreme God by Mike Oppenheimer
"Blasphemizing" The Bible by Sandy Simpson

(30) There are many books out there by people who claim to have been taken on a trip of heaven or hell.  Are they true?

I'm not sure if this qualifies more as wishful thinking so much as trying to play spiritual oneupsmanship.  In any case we can dispatch this subject in short order.  Let's deal with visits to hell first.  No one is in hell, the lake of fire (Hades being a separate issue).  The AntiChrist will be the first to be thrown there (Rev. 19:20).  Satan is not the king of hell.  He knows it is his final destination and wants to stay away from it as long as possible.  So people who claim to have been taken to hell or had a vision where they visit hell are liars or simply deluded.  God is not going to take people on a hell tour and anyone else, including Satan, cannot.  But the enemy can deceive people into thinking they have been there for various reasons.  In the same way, the only way to go to heaven is to die in Christ (Luke 23:43, 2 Cor. 5:8).  It is true that Paul said of himself that he was either taken to the third heaven or was allowed to see Jesus there (2 Cor. 12:2-4).  The answer has to be the second one because, on further reflection of Scripture, we discover that no physical human body may enter heaven.  The spirit must be born again and the spirits of those who have believed on Jesus Christ and die are kept in heaven until the resurrection.  The resurrection is necessary, just as spiritual rebirth, in order to get rid of the corrupt seed (the seed of Adam) and replace it with the incorruptible seed (that of God) in order that his followers can live forever in the new heaven and new earth where there can be no sin.  This brings us to our final point.  In testing visions and alleged trips to heaven we must compare what is said to have been seen there with what the Bible tells us about it.  One man claimed to have died and been brought back to life and while dead he visited both heaven and hell.  In hell he saw a sign over the alleged gate to hell that read "Welcome to hell".  A simple test of logic would dictate that God does not want to send anyone there, the devil is not there, in fact no one is there right now, so who put up the sign?  Buzzer!  This vision is a lie.  Benny Hinn claimed he went to heaven and to the throne room of God, and among other absurd statements, said that when he got to the throne room God wasn't there on the throne.  Buzzer!  The symbolism of God on a throne, whether there is an actual throne in heaven or not, is symbolic of his authority.  If God was not on the throne that means He was not in control.  We must test everything, hold on to the good (1 Thes. 5:21).  We must test all reports of supernatural trips with the written Word of God and rebuke those who are telling these stories to further their careers and make money selling books.

Evaluation of Mr. Wiese's book, 23 Minutes In Hell reviewed by The Berean Call
The “Heavenly Hash” of Mary K. Baxter reviewed by PFO
Divine Revelation of Hell reviewed by Mike Oppenheimer
The Final Answer reviewed by Mike Oppenheimer
Jesse Duplantis reviewed by Mike Oppenheimer
Raised From The Dead! by Reinhard Bonnke - Oh Really? by Sandy Simpson
Examination of Life After Death Experiences by Gary Gilley

(31) Is Satan the ruler of hell?

Did Jesus Die Spiritually, His Spirit Become Re-Created, And He Become Born Again? at ACT
Was Jesus Tortured In Hell? by The Berean Call
Did Jesus take the keys from Satan? by Mike Oppenheimer
Divine Revelation of Hell reviewed by Mike Oppenheimer

(32) Is discernment optional for Christians?

Since discernment is the very Biblical definition of maturity in Christ, it cannot be optional.

Heb 5:14  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Eph. 4:13-14  until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

Those who apply Matt. 7:1 to everything ("judge not") when it is clearly talking about hypocritical judgment, leave people who buy into this argument defenseless against both the enemy and the deceitful scheming of men.  We are to test, judge rightly, discern and keep alert at all times, particularly against false teaching and false prophecy.  Here are just a few verses on discernment to consider:

Titus 3:10  A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject; (KJV)
2 Peter 2:1  But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-- bringing swift destruction on themselves.
Galatians 1:8-9  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Acts 17:11  Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
1 Corinthians 4:6  Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.
Phil. 1:9-11 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-- to the glory and praise of God.
Proverbs 15:14  The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
Proverbs 17:24  A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.
Proverbs 18:15  The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.
Proverbs 28:7  He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father
Proverbs 3:21  My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight;
2 Timothy 4:3  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Titus 1:9  He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Titus 2:1  You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.
1 Timothy 1:10  for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers -- and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine
1 John 4:1  Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Romans 12:2  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
2 Corinthians 13:5  Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-- unless, of course, you fail the test?
Galatians 6:4  Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else,
1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test everything. Hold on to the good.
1 Corinthians 10:15  I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.
1 Corinthians 6:3  Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!
1 Corinthians 5:12-13  What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

How To Discern, Test and Judge Rightly by Sandy Simpson
Let's Take A Look At The Judge Not Argument For A Moment! by Sandy Simpson
Judge Not? by Jacob Prasch
Discernment Toolkit (Book) by Sandy Simpson
Discernment Toolkit (DVD) by Sandy Simpson
Discernment And The Watchman by Jacob Prasch
Exercising discernment by Mike Oppenheimer
Discernment Ministry - A Biblical Defense by Gary Gilley

(33) What about predestination?

Predestination is a Biblical reality, but when taught without the concept of foreknowledge, upon which predestination is based, you end up with a "god" who is a despot.

1Pe 1:2  who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Ro 8:29-30  For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Those who teach predestination without going back one step and teaching foreknowledge or the omniscience of God are teaching a type of Calvinism that even Calvin clearly did not believe.  If your basis of teaching leaves out foreknowledge, then you will not have a true understanding of the nature of God.  God is not willing that any should perish.

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us–ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

That statement would not be true if God predestined some to heaven and some to hell without regard to His foreknowledge of whether or not they would believe in Jesus Christ when convicted by the Holy Spirit.  Strict Calvinism also lays the blame of sending people to hell on God, when the blame rests squarely on the decision of a person whether or not to believe in Jesus Christ after being convicted by the Holy Spirit.  There are other false teachings that stem from this fundamental error and this is why a few of the points of Calvinism are totally wrong.  Arminianism is also wrong in at least one point because the Bible clearly states that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

The Doctrines Fueling The Third Wave by Sandy Simpson
Predestination by Sandy Simpson
Dave Hunt's Response to James White by The Berean Call
What Love Is This? by The Berean Call

(34) Many people, including Orprah Winfrey, teach that there is good in all people.  Is this true?

The problem with this statement is that it often becomes a defense that doing good will result in people going to heaven.  It is true that Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  The problem is, they already knew good.  What they added was evil and a sin nature that is passed down to all humanity.  Man is capable to doing both good and evil, but our measuring rod is the goodness of God, and if we do not measure up then we cannot be reconciled to Him and be with Him for eternity.  The only way for man to be good enough to please God is to be found "in Christ" who is God Himself.

2Pe 1:17  For he (Jesus Christ) received honour and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

God is not pleased at all by sin and every human being is sinful.  The Bible is clear that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Ro 11:6  And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Eph. 2:8-9  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no-one can boast.

Christ was sinless, therefore when His righteousness is imputed to us, we become pleasing to God.

Heb 4:15  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.
Isa 53:6  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

So good works cannot justify a person with God or give them eternal life.  Works based on faith are good (James 2:20 & 26).  A faith based on works is not.  An Arminian/Pelegian doctrine states that there is enough good in men for them to choose to follow the Lord.  That is not the case without the convicting work of the Holy Spirit as to sin (John 16:8).  No man is good enough to stand before a holy God.

Ro 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Jer 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Isa 6:5  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
Isa 53:6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Unless a person recognizes their sinful nature and their choice to follow it before God, they cannot be saved.

Lu 13:3  I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
Ac 2:38  Peter replied, "Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Ac 3:19  Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
Ac 17:30  In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
1Jo 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

And yet Arminians, Pelegianists and all false religions teach that man can be good enough to enter heaven.  This is what the New Age teaches and has been widely popularized by Oprah Winfrey and many New Age gurus.

Every man did that which was right in his own eyes by Sandy Simpson
How Can Evil People Do Anything Good? by The Berean Call
Are there good people? by Mike Oppenheimer

(35) Can one get the Spirit by pilgrimage, impartation, signs and wonders, slain in the spirit, gold dust, etc.?

The simple answer is "no".  We are not to go on a pilgrimage to find the Lord or get more of His Spirit.  We are to believe the Gospel message, repent and obey the Lord.  You don't get the Holy Spirit by impartation.  If that had been the case it would have been the norm in Scripture and verses where people who had believed had hands laid on them by the elders do not state that the Holy Spirit came upon them "by" the laying on of hands, "by" the will of man, but "at" or "through" the laying on of hands, which shows it is completely a sovereign act of God.  You also have to realize that the Holy Spirit empowered people for service without any laying on of hands.  So impartation is not only not necessary, it can in many cases become a tool of the enemy to deceive.  Signs and wonders do not safe, and in fact the Bible is replete with stories about those who saw many signs and wonders and did not believe.  The gold dust, angel feathers, gold fillings, diamonds phenomena we see in modern Third Wave meetings are the devices of men who are scheming to deceive.  The gold dust turns out to stationary glitter, the feathers turn out to be bird feathers, the filling turn out to have already been there, the diamonds are cheap glass.  Pragmatic ideas on how to get closer to God are useless.  Read the Bible, pray, do the Lord's work.  That is the Biblical pattern.  The more you read your Bible and the Holy Spirit teaches you, the more you will know about God and what He expects of you.

New Apostolic Reformation articles on ACT
Latest Deceptions articles on ACT
Toronto Blessings articles on ACT
Pensacola "Outpouring"/Awake America! articles on ACT
Emergent Church articles on ACT

I saw a survey by C. Peter Wagner on how to find my spiritual gifts.  Would that really work?

C. Peter Wagner has a survey out being used by many organizations and churches which purports to help a person find their spiritual gifts.  But taking a survey about spiritual gifts is not the Biblical way.

It is clear that spiritual gifts are given to serve OTHERS.  We are to eagerly desire spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 14:1 & 12) but the Holy Spirit distributes gifts according to the will of God (Heb. 2:4). To find out how God wants to use you, you need to get busy (1) witnessing the Gospel (2) discipling others (3) helping others with physical needs (4) and working hard in the context of the Church, desiring to bless others and encourage them.  When you do this, without spending your time focusing on what your spiritual gifts might be, God will show you what He wants you to do and empower you to do it.  It may have NOTHING to do with your natural gifts, in fact in my experience it often does not, contrary to what Rick Warren teaches in his "Purpose Driven" books.  Out of your service to Him and obedience to His Word and the Holy Spirit, your teacher, the Lord can and will do miraculous things, many times in ways you did not expect.  He may give you a lifelong gift. He may give you temporary gifts.  The point, though, is not to go around bragging about your gift but to use it to serve others.  When you go around telling people what your gift(s) are, in my opinion, you lose any reward you might have coming.  Paul was a true foundational apostle, but he was also clear that he was a fellow servant (Eph. 3:7, Tit. 1:1) and a simple humble man who could do nothing in his own strength (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul was also given the gift of foundational apostleship by the Lord Himself.  He did not take a survey to find out he had the gift of apostleship.

So to focus people who call themselves followers of Christ on themselves like some Reader's Digest poll, is actually counterproductive to finding how God wants to use you and empower you.  One of the gifts you could find out you had according to their scoring system, was being an apostle.  What if women take this survey?  There were no female foundational apostles in the Bible.  So what about Rom. 16:7 and "Junia"?  Paul states he was the last apostle.  There is a type of apostle who is a sent out messenger, a church planting missionary.  Women can be church planters, although usually accompanied by men and certainly under the authority of their husbands and male leadership of the church.  In any case, most commentaries state that Junia or Junias was a man, though is can be either a male or female name.  Andronicus and Junia—or, as it might be, "Junias," a contracted form of "Junianus"; in this case, it is a man's name. (JFB)  Junia should be read Junias, a contraction of Junilius: (Gill)

Note that the word "apostles" is in lower case in Rom. 16:7 which is talking about the type of apostle who is a sent out one, like Barnabas, not a foundational Apostle, Paul being the last (1 Cor. 15:8).   Biblical churches do not call sent out missionaries "apostles" so as not to confuse people into thinking they have the same authority as the Apostles.

Pragmatic Methodology versus Practical Theology - a comment on "Finding Your Spiritual Gifts" by C. Peter Wagner - Journey Into Wholeness or Journey Into Worldliness? - Part 2 by Sandy Simpson

Is it okay to be uniting in prayer with anyone who names the name of Christ?

A lot of people who call themselves "Christians" use the name of Jesus Christ, yet by their teachings we discover they are teaching a different Jesus, a different Gospel, a different Spirit (2 Cor. 11:4).  So why would pastors from good Biblical churches unite in prayer with leaders from the Roman Catholics, Word of Faith, New Apostolic Reformation, Emerging Church, and many other heretical movements?  It is because they have been duped into believing that anyone who names the name of Christ is a brother in Christ.  This mindset is what is behind the Evangelicals and Catholics Together documents as well as the new Manhattan Declaration which brought together Roman Catholics, Evangelicals and Mormons.  The "Uniting In Prayer" effort in Hawaii is backed by the New Apostolic Reformation "Transformations" leadership including Ed Silvoso, C. Peter Wagner, George Otis Jr., Cindy Jacobs and a whole host of others.  In fact the whole "Transformations Hawaii" program gets it's impetus from an often repeated false prophecy by Cindy Jacobs where she prophesied that Hawaii would be the first entirely Christian state.  In order to try to force this false prophecy to come to pass a lot of lie have been told about the State of Hawaii, such as the repeated statement that things are improving in Hawaii due to the prayers of this movement, and can be documented in a lowering crime rate.  Yet just a few weeks ago while walking I spotted the Honolulu Advertiser in a newspaper machine with the headline "Oahu crime up 6%" (Honolulu Advertiser, Local News, Sunday, January 31, 2010)  This is what happens when you have to fabricate, manipulate and lie about facts in order to prove an unbiblical movement is of God.  This is exactly what the two "Transformation" videos were about.

United in prayer - united in error by Mike Oppenheimer
Transformations or Re-Transformation - A Paradigm Shift For Evangelism by Sandy Simpson & Mike Oppenheimer
"What Did You Really Mean By That" by Dr. Orrel Steinkamp
A Review of and Response to "Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium" by Alpha & Omega
The Manhattan Declaration by Truth For Life
Our Regretful Inability To Become A Signatory - The Manhattan Declaration by Moriel Ministries
Manhattan Declaration by Proclaiming The Gospel

There are teachers who teach that there is no millennial Kingdom to come on earth.  Are they correct?

Unbiblical eschatological systems such as Preterism, Amillennialism, Postmillennialism and Dominionism incorporate the idea that there is no 1000 year reign of Christ on earth yet to come.  Yet this teaching denies many, many unfulfilled prophecies of Scripture and takes away part of the blessed hope of the return of Christ to restore all things (Rev. 15:4: 20:4-6, Rom. 15:2).  One often repeated reference is to Jerusalem being the capital city in the Millennial Kingdom (Isa. 1:27; 2:3; 4:1-6; Joel 3:16; Zech. 1:16-17; 8:3-8; Rom. 11:26).  Jesus Christ will fulfill prophecies concerning the throne of David which can only be fulfilled by an earthly reign before the new heaven and new earth are created.

The Millennial Reign of Christ by LWBC
Messiah's Coming Millennial Reign by False Messiahs
Pre Millennial And Post Millennial Doctrines Do Not Mix by Sandy Simpson
Preterism-is it a intentional lack of understanding the prophetic scriptures? by Mike Oppenheimer
Why Preterism is not an accurate interpretation of Bible Prophecy by Mike Oppenheimer
ESCHATOLOGY: The Doctrine of end times by Gary Gilley
ISRAELOLOGY: The Missing Link In Systematic Theology (Book) by Mike Oppenheimer
The Millennium Part 1 by Precept Austin

I heard some preachers teach that God has limitations.  Is that the case?

God has limited Himself in a number of ways, but self limitation on His part is not the same thing as saying that God does not know the future.  There is a false doctrine being taught by some Emerging Church leaders called "Open Theism". 

Gregory A. Boyd claims that "open theism" is an inappropriate term since the position posits more about the nature of time and reality than it does about God itself. This is to say that open theists do not believe that God doesn't know the future, but rather that the future doesn't exist to be known by anyone. For the open theist the future simply hasn't happened yet, not for anyone, and thus is unknowable in the common sense. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_theism) 

If God does not know the future then there can be no such thing as a Christian being predestined and called, which are based on the foreknowledge or omniscience of God.  God has no such limitation.  He is not constrained by time, therefore His knowledge is beyond time in an eternal state.  This "theology" originally came up to try to bolster the free will of man.  But if even God does not know the future, then God doesn't have free will either.  Think about it.  If God has free will, then He can will anything into existence, which the Bible says He did and does.

Rom. 4:17  As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." {Gen. 17:5} He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
Re 4:11  "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

So then our free will is in His image, though we do not have His power to create something out of nothing.  People live to try to recreate God in their own image.  God is far above our understanding and knows everything.

1Jo 3:20  ... For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
Isa 55:8  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

Open Theism - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 & Part 4 by Gary Gilley

Some people use the expression "I'm okay with God".  Are they really okay?

This is a statement you will often hear from people who do not really know what it means to be born again and actually have no real desire to please God.  It is often all about God being pleased with them doing whatever they want.  This is often also tied to a postmodern paradigm where truth is relative and every man does what is right in their own eyes.  There is only one way to be "ok with God".  That is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  That means that you believe that He died in your place to provide you with forgiveness of sins and rose again to provide you with eternal life.  It means you commit yourself to Him as the "Lord" of your life and that you believe that He is God.  It means that you recognize that in His name is the fact that He is the God-man, that God came in the flesh.  In believing in Him you also recognize you are a sinner, both by nature and by choice, and that you confess your sins and repent of them.  You then commit to follow Him and allow Him to build you up to maturity in Christ.

Salvation Tract by Juanita & Sandy Simpson
"Every man did that which was right in his own eyes." by Sandy Simpson

Can mankind or the Church really "save the planet"?

Again, one of the most wishful ideas around today.  But the fact is that we can do little to change the weather, environment, etc.  We can do what we can but our human efforts pale in light of the forces that God set into motion on this planet and in the universe.  The fact is that creation is running down and it will take an act of God to set it right again.  That act of God will take place when Jesus Christ returns and takes His rightful place on the throne of David for one thousand years.  He will set things right on earth at that time.  But in the Tribulation many things will come apart, yet people will rebel against God and curse Him instead of following Him.  Ultimately this world is headed for fire and destruction.  God will create a new heaven and new earth and that creation will not suffer the effects of sin and death.  It is a good thing to be good stewards of what God has given us in a number of ways, but we also have to be realistic about the fate of the world.  That is why we should be busy preaching the Gospel and discipling Christians rather than getting involved in worldly causes to save the planet.

Purpose and Eckhart Tolle’s (and Oprah’s) New Earth by Slice Of Laodicea
Weaning Evangelicals Off the Word - Part 3 by The Berean Call
The Greening of the Cross by The Berean Call
The ghosts of planet earth's past and future by Mike Oppenheimer
Save the earth at all costs by Mike Oppenheimer
The Kingdom of Emergent Theology - Part 2 by Gary Gilley

Can mankind or the Church create Utopia on earth?

Long the goal of the "baby boomer" hippy generation of socialists, a state of manmade Utopia is said to be achievable if we all just unite together in mind and purpose.  These ideas are even part of a new Christian agenda to save the planet and "solve" all its problems laid out by people like Rick Warren in his P.E.A.C.E. plan.

During the five weekends of November, we'll teach five messages on the P.E.A.C.E. plan: a strategy to have every small group in our church,  and then tens of thousands of small groups in other churches, become engaged in solving the five biggest problems in the world: Spiritual Lostness, Lack of Godly Leaders, Poverty,  Disease, and Lack of Education. (Rick Warren's P.E.A.C.E. plan, http://www.saddleback.com/home/todaystory.asp?id=6213)

But this kind of Utopian vision is neither achievable by people uniting nor in the context of true Christianity.  The only time when these problems Warren claims to be able to solve will be solved is in the Millennial Kingdom when Jesus Christ is on the throne.  Till that time we will have all these problems with us.  We can help with them but we cannot solve them.  In fact when we look at what is coming in the end times, these problems will only grow worse, which is part of God's foreknowledge to bring about the culmination of His "peace" plans through Christ.  The Church is not here to take dominion over the world and solve all its problems. We are here to preach the solution to the personal problem of sin and thereby provide the platform for the Holy Spirit to change people from within.  Those who look for Utopia now, for the Kingdom Now, are fooling themselves and become pawns of the enemy.

How to Know When the Emerging Church Shows Signs of Emerging in Your Churchby Moriel Ministries
Save the earth at all costs by Mike Oppenheimer
The Global Coherence Initiative by Sandy Simpson
Dominionism And The Rise Of Christian Imperialism by Moriel Ministries
The UN Plan for Global Migration by Moriel Ministries
Why the Heavens Hold Back the Rain by Mike Oppenheimer

If I just think positive thoughts and speak positive confessions will good things happen to me?

Positive thinking does have it's benefits as long as it is honest.  When this methodology is applied to spirituality, however, it falls short.  In Christianity we are to study, understand and believe the truth about things.  We don't whitewash the facts in order to brainwash ourselves into happiness or peace.  The modern gurus of "positive thinking" are Norman Vincent Peale and his protégé, Robert Schuller.  Joel Osteen has followed in their footsteps along with many others.  They have found a philosophy that appeals to humans with roots in Eastern mysticism.  This stuff appeals to people from every walk of life and every nation and they do not easily let go of this principle that is supposed to bring spiritual formation.  It is firmly a part of the Emerging Church in the practices of contemplative prayer and visualization.  The problem is, if your positive thinking is in opposition to the Truth of God's Word, God's truth, then it is of absolutely no use at all.

Karma (by any other name) by Sandy Simpson
Newsweek: We're All Hindus Now by Slice Of Laodicea
Joel Osteen: The Prosperity Gospel's Coverboy by Moriel Ministries
The Secret Seduction by The Berean Call
Norman Vincent Peale by Mike Oppenheimer
The gospel According to Schuller by Mike Oppenheimer
Preaching a false-POSITIVE by Mike Oppenheimer
Robert Schuller – The Humpty Dumpty of Evangelicalism by Gary Gilley
A “Wonderful ” Deception at Lighthouse Trails

Is bigger always better?

This American ideal has unfortunately become part of the ethos of the Christian churches.  But in God's Word we discover that God is not interested in quantity as much as He is in quality.  The Church Growth movement of C. Peter Wagner, Bill Hybels, Rick Warren and others was built on the notion that bigger is better.  In fact, when you look at the model of the first century church, bigger was not better. The Church was comprised of house churches.  Today when a church begins to grow it should split and new small church groups should be formed.  The problems with mega churches are the lack of personal accountability, ability of people to interact with teachers to get their questions answered, the focus on Christian entertainment in order to get more people to attend as opposed to the exposition of the written Word, etc.

Church Growth Movement at ACT
Enteraintment-style Christianity vs. Interactive-style Christianity by Sandy Simpson
Did You Buy A Used Car From This Man? by Sandy Simpson
The Seeker-Friendly Way of Doing Church by The Berean Call
The Growth of a Purpose Driven Church by Mike Oppenheimer
The New and Improved Church by Mike Oppenheimer
One step forward and three steps back by Mike Oppenheimer
The Market-Driven Church - Part 1 by Gary Gilley
The Market-Driven Church - Part 2 by Gary Gilley

Does the end justify the means?

This is an untrue statement in any context.  You cannot ethically apply any means to an end.  You have to be consistent with your morals and philosophy, and in a Christian context you have to be consistent with the principles of the Word of God.  Yet C. Peter Wagner, head of one of the biggest fraudulent movements in the history of the Church, that is the New Apostolic Reformation, wrote in one of his early Church Growth books the following:

"... we ought to see clearly that the end DOES justify the means.  What else possible could justify the means?  If the method I am using accomplishes the goal I am aiming at, it is for that reason a good method.  If, on the other hand, my method is not accomplishing the goal, how can I be justified in continuing to use it?"  (C. Peter Wagner, "Your Church Can Grow - Seven Vital Signs Of A Healthy Church", 1976, pg. 137. - emphasis in original)

Since Wagner is talking about church growth and evangelism here, let's take this thesis to its logical conclusion.  If a church is not increasing in numbers, then according to Wagner you should use any method that increases those numbers. If this idea is correct then I guess we can assume that if preaching the Gospel is not working then we are to try employing things like: more entertaining stories and unsubstantiated subjective testimonies ... getting anyone to our churches who can do alleged signs, wonders and healings ... having less preaching from the boring old Bible and more psychological and topical sermons ... putting more emphasis on financial blessings from God and less emphasis on serving God no matter what the circumstances.

According to Wagner if is works it is a "good" method.

Let's look at it another way.  Let's hypothesize that preaching the straight truth is not bringing in lots of people to your church.  They struggle.  Some even leave because the teaching is just too "harsh" for their taste.  Don't fret.  Change the method.  Change the message!  Update it.  Hip it up!  Make it more tolerant.  Make it more appealing and less judgmental.

This pragmatic approach is exactly what C. Peter Wagner was hawking and what John Wimber later initiated in the Vineyard.  This pragmatic Wagner/Wimber emphasis continued through the Toronto/Brownsville movement and into the Purpose Driven, New Apostolic, Emerging Church church growth models of today..

I guess Jesus should have sat under the tutelage of C. Peter Wagner.  He might not have turned so many people off like He did in the following case:

John 6:53-66   Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live for ever." He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no-one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him." From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

Apparently Jesus was not "hip" to the pragmatic methods of modern anointed "apostles" like C. Peter Wagner.  I guess Jesus could have benefited from paying some money to go to a lecture by Wagner, because it sure looks like Jesus went out of his way to offend people and not build a large mega-following.

Paul made the same mistakes.  He failed to build a big following at the council of the Areopagus:

Acts 17:33-34   At that, Paul left the Council. A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Only a "few" became followers?  Paul's method apparently was not working, according to Wagner.  Maybe Paul should not have been preaching the Gospel but doing signs and wonders!  He probably would have gotten much better results that way, according to Wagner's methods.  Remember, if the method is not working it is, by implication, at least "not good" and at most an "evil" method. Whatever method works is a "good" method, accordingly.

Employing Wagner's methodology, Paul just gave up too soon.  He should have stayed longer.  Maybe instead of preaching the Gospel he should have had other believers come in and testify about the miracles they had received at the hands of Paul.  Perhaps he should have tried toning down the references to Jesus Christ being the only Way, and instead told them that all roads ultimately lead to God.  Maybe he could have changed the semantics so that the word "God" could also be interpreted as Artimus or Athena.  Perhaps he should have concentrated on finances and asked them to bankroll his future mission trips with their "seed faith" gifts, giving away trinkets made from rocks along the Damascus road.  Maybe he could have put on a week long "crusade" in downtown Athens with big signs saying "Come and get your miracle".  Anything but that tired old useless Gospel message!

Let's look at another Apostle who really used the wrong methods ... Stephen:

Acts 7:52-60  Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him--you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."  When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."  Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Boy, Stephen REALLY messed up!  He preached the Gospel and NOBODY believed, not even Saul (Paul)!  Too bad he wasn't around to read Wagner's book before he died.

It's true that Jesus and the Apostles continued to preach the Gospel wherever they went, and in some places the response was better than others.  But they NEVER changed their method!  They may have changed certain emphases in the Gospel account as Peter did for the Jews and Paul did for the Gentiles, but never the basic message itself.  They never added or took away from the salvation message.  Yet today we see many churches diluting the Gospel or simply eliminating it altogether in order to pad their numbers.

What Wagner's model seems to ignore is that the issue is the hearts of people that are either good soil, rocky soil, thorny soil, or hard soil.  The cold hard fact of the Gospel message is that you either believe or you don't.  There is no way to sugar coat it.  Jesus says: "Come and die ... so that you may live".

In Conclusion: Christians should never change the message to suit the statistics.  We are not called to employ ANY method just to add numbers of people to our Christian "club".  Look what using any means to an end has spawned ... an entire church movement that is totally pragmatic and cares little or nothing for objective truth, that simply changes the "truth" to fit the circumstances.  "Whatever works, man!" is the cry of the Third Wave today.  Church growth has become more important than spiritual growth.  Quantity has won out over quality.  Mega churches and mega movements are whitewashing the truth so they can increase their stats on their "salvation" tote boards.  The cross has taken a back seat to the new "glitter Christianity".

Did You Buy A Used Car From This Man? by Sandy Simpson
When The Ends AND The Means Are Unjustifiable by Sandy Simpson
Third Wave Neo-Pragmatism - Christianity's New White Witchcraft by Sandy Simpson
A New Way of Thinking by Mike Oppenheimer

Can "Allah" be legitimately used in the place of "YHWH" or "God" in Arabic Bibles?

There are two issues here.  (1) Can the word "Allah" be used in place of "YHWH" and (2) can "Allah" be used in the place of a genereic term for deity such as "God"?  As to (1) the Koran defines "Allah" as a Oneness deity that has no son.  Therefore he cannot be, by definition, "YHWH".  "YHWH" is God's name, not Allah.  In the case of (2) "Allah" is not a generic term such as "God" in English Bibles as it refers to a specific false god with roots as far back as Babylon and one of the hunderds of gods worshipped at Mecca from which Muhammad chose "Allah" thus creating Islam.  If Bible translation societies had simply looked at the Arabic "Shahada" they would have discovered the gereric term for "god" there ...  "There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God."  The word used in Arabic for "god" is "illah" (god) and for "God" is "Illallah" (Allah).  So they use the term "illah" to refer to "deity", which could be used to refer to either the true God or a false god.  The fact that Bible translation socieities put the word "allah" in the place of the generic word "God" in the Bible is then completely erroneous and misleading.  They are basically folllowing the agenda of Don Richardson, YWAM and others who are using the names of false "supreme beings" in many cultures in Bible translations in order to attempt to syncretize Christianity with all the world's cultures and religions.

Is postmodernism/relitavism a correct worldview?

This "new" idea is not new at all.  There is nothing "new" under the sun.  For evidence of that, look at the paradigm of those living during the time of the Judges.

 Jud 17:6  In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
 Pr 21:2  Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

One of the ideas behind postmodernism is that truth is relative and what I feel justified in thinking and doing is fine for me but may be different for someone else.  The fact of the matter, no matter the wishful thinking of people, is that God's truth is absolute.  We either obey and please Him, or re please ourselves and suffer the consequences, one of which is hell.  Satan was the first "postmodernist" having made up his own reality while in heaven in the presence of God in wanting to be worshipped as God.

Isa. 14:12-15  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! {O Lucifer: or, O day star} For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

He passed along this relativist lie to Adam and Eve and they bought it as well.

Gen. 3:5  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The great lie lurking beneath postmodernism is that we can be little gods unto ourselves and make our own decisions about what we want to believe and do.  But we are not little gods, not any kind of gods at all.

Isa 44:8  Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
Isa 45:21  Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

Ultimately we all have to answer to the one true God: Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

Satan, The First Postmodernist by Sandy Simpson
The Death of Truth by PFO
The Underlying problem[s] with the Emergent Church movement? by Mike Oppenheimer
Postmodernism by Gary Gilley, Part 1 of 5

Did Jesus go to hell?

When Jesus died He went to Hades, not hell.  Hell is the lake of fire or gehenna, the place of final and eternal punishment (Mt. 25:46).  Hades is hades in Greek or sheol in Hebrew, the place of the dead.  In the end Hades will be emptied completely (Rev. 20:14) into the lake of fire or gehenna.

Eph. 4:8-10  This is why it {Or God} says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." {Psalm 68:18} (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? {Or the depths of the earth} He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)

Jesus descended into Hades. Both those in the "bosom of Abraham" and in the part of Hades set aside for those on their way to hell heard what Jesus had to say.  When He left Hades He led captives in His train, meaning He emptied out Abraham's Bosom and took those saints to heaven.

1 Pet. 4:6  For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

So Jesus was redeeming the Old Testament saints in Abraham's Bosom after telling them of what He had done to redeem mankind, since they had believed in God in faith and were looking forward to the Messiah.  But Jesus also preached this same message to the disobedient people in Hades awaiting judgment.

1 Pet. 3:18-20  For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,

So Christ told both those in Hades who were in "Abraham's Bosom" because they had been justified by faith about His death on the cross and He emptied that part of Hades and took the souls of the dead Old Testament saints to heaven with him.  Those in the other part of Hades, which still exists until the end, who were unbelievers, also heard his message so that they would also be without excuse when final judgment is passed on them at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11).

There is also no such thing as purgatory or a temporary hell.  Before the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:13) those who believe in Christ go to be with Him (2 Cor. 5:8, Luke 23:43, 1 Th. 4:17), and those who do not are held in Hades which is temporary (Rev. 20:13).  But there is no escape from Hades (Luke 16:22-30).  At the Judgment those who have not believed in Christ are thrown into the Lake of Fire (Hell) (Rev. 20:14) after the Antichrist, False Prophet (Rev. 19:20), Satan and his demons (Rev. 20:10, Mt. 25:41) have been placed there by God.  Their torment will be eternal (Rev. 14:11, Jude 1:7).

What is very sinister about Word of Faith teachers is that they not only say Jesus went to hell, but that Satan drug him there and tortured Him there for three days and nights.  It was in hell that Jesus, according to their fable, was born again.

Did Jesus Die Spiritually, His Spirit Become Re-Created, And He Become Born Again? by Neil Rivalland
Did Jesus go to HELL for your Salvation by Mike Oppenheimer
Did Jesus descend into Hell or Hades after he died on the cross by Mike Oppenheimer
Did Jesus take the keys from Satan? by Mike Oppenheimer

---

New Sandy Simpson Messages 
on CD & DVD

---

NEW!
Karma (by any other name)
by Sandy Simpson


This DVD is a message based on this article.

According to Wikipedia: 

"Karma means action, work or deed; it also refers to the principle of causality where intent and actions of an individual influence the future of that individual.  Good intent and good deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed contribute to bad karma and future suffering.  Karma is closely associated with the idea of rebirth in some schools of Asian religions.  In these schools, karma in the present affects one's future in the current life, as well as the nature and quality of future lives - or, one's samsara. With origins in ancient India, it is a key concept in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Ching Hai and others."(emphasis mine)

Mirram-Webster defines it this way:

the force created by a person's actions that is believed in Hinduism and Buddhism to determine what that person's next life will be like: the force created by a person's actions that some people believe causes good or bad things to happen to that person

Given the definitions of "karma" above, this same idea, usually without the reincarnation aspect in Christian circles, has been taught for decades in New Thought movements such as the Positive Thinking/Positive Confession teachings of Norman Vincent Peale & Robert Schuller, the Word of Faith ideas of Essex Kenyan, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn, the mixture of Eastern Mysticism and Christianity by Korean false teachers such as the "force of faith" Paul Yongii Cho, and newer renditions and fusions by people like Joel Osteen, Joseph Prince, T.D. Jakes (recently agreeing with Oprah Winfrey who teaches karma on her WHO network), and others such as Ernest Angley, John Bevere, Markus Bishop, Juanita Bynum, Morris Cerullo, Kim Clement, Paul Crouch, Creflo Dollar, Jesse Duplantis, Marilyn Hickey, Brian Houston, Rodney Howard-Browne, Larry Huch, Bishop Eddie L. Long, Clarence McClendon, Joyce Meyer, Myles Munroe, Steve Munsey, Mike Murdock, Rod Parsley, Peter Popoff, Fred Price, Oral Roberts, R.W. Shambach, Robert Schuller, Karl Strader, Robert Tilton, Paula White, Ed Young and many others.

Only $10. plus s/h. for US. 

Go here for product information.

---

His Name, The Only Name
by Sandy Simpson


This DVD is a message based on this article.

Zechariah 14:9 NIV The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.

 The reason I wrote this article based on Zech 14:9 is that I was reminded of how many so-called Christians, who are influential in the churches, are promoting the worship of God in the names of other gods.

Only $10. plus s/h. for US. 

Go here for product information.

---

Donations Accepted!

---