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The
False Teachings of Rick Joyner
By Joseph R. Chambers,
D.D., 1999
The doctrines of Biblical truth have always been the love and joy of godly
men and women. When the soul of man is regenerated by the Holy Spirit,
it is a regeneration unto righteousness or rightness to God and His will.
The joy of such individuals is to discover truth and with great delight
live that truth. The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit by which
the believer is pruned and prepared unto righteousness. Righteousness
is our willing surrender to right conduct according to the Word and will
of God. Holiness is His work of imputation and impartation.
We act in obedience toward righteousness, but He makes us holy by the divine
work of redemption.
Biblical truth and doctrine
are absolutely imperative for true righteousness and holiness. It
is impossible to bring a clean thing out of an unclean thing. The
root and foundation must first be purified and established. If the
doctrines are not pure, then the fruit cannot be pure. "For if
the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy,
so are the branches." (Romans 11:16, KJV).
The Holy Spirit in Proverbs said, "The wicked desireth the net of evil
men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit." (Proverbs 12:12,
KJV). Again, He said, "A man shall not be established by wickedness:
but the root of the righteous shall not be moved." (Proverbs 12:3,
KJV). The Book of Job gives an eternal principle. "Who can bring
a clean thing out of an unclean? not one." (Job 14:4, KJV).
The impure doctrines of our present church systems have muddied the waters
of religion until it hardly favors the Holy Bible and the true church.
Revival is impossible until we return to "the love of the truth." (II Thessalonians
2:10). The love of the truth is the saving power of God.
Babble, Random Talk and
Saying Nothing
The Apostle Paul gave Timothy a charge that applies to all ministers of
the word. Notice the carefulness he charged to us who would be teachers,
"As
I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia,
that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither
give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions,
rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end
of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience,
and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside
unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither
what they say, nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law
is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is
not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for
the ungodly and for sinners for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers
and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that
defile themselves with mankind, for men stealers, for liars, for
perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound
doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was
committed to my trust." (I Timothy 1:3-11, KJV).
This is the foundation we must build if the true church is to be in our
midst. Fables and endless genealogies are "human rational and old
unbiblical traditions." The faith unfeigned is "pure doctrines and
fundamental Biblical truth" that represents our very foundation.
Notice that he said, "From which some having swerved have turned aside
unto "vain jangling." Vain jangling is an excellent description of self-appointed
teachers that babble, talk at random and actually say nothing of real value.
I Believe Rick Joyner
Fits This Mold
The first time I picked up material written by Rick Joyner I immediately
sensed the spirit of darkness and deception. Reading his material
is similar to reading New Age materials. His approach is to take
anything in Scripture and make it mean anything that suits his theological
aims. There is no faithfulness to established facts of interpretation.
It's a smorgasbord of ideas loosely connected with the generous use of
out-of-text Scripture to prove his point. Look at his basic premise
for the book, There Were Two Trees In The Garden. His identification
of the forbidden tree lays a false foundation for the entire book.
"The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is a powerful Biblical model of
the Law. As the Apostle Paul declared "The power of sin is the law"
(I Corinthians 15:56). This is because it is through the Law that
we must derive our knowledge of good and evil. We may wonder how
this knowledge brings death until we see the fruit. The knowledge
of good and evil kills us by distracting us from the One who is the source
of life; the Tree of Life - Jesus. The Tree of Knowledge causes us to focus
our attention upon ourselves. Sin is empowered by the law; not just
because the evil is revealed but the good as well. It drives us either
to corruption or self-righteousness, both of which lead to death." (There
Were Two Trees In The Garden, Rick Joyner, pp. 9-10.)
To suggest that this forbidden tree was the Laws of God as given to Moses
or any other Bible writer is blasphemous. The "Ten Commandments"
are the foundational truths and principles of all of God's revelation.
This attack on "God's Laws" shows the direction of major deception in religious
circles. Satan cannot present himself as God or present his Antichrist
as the "Christ" without first separating Divine revelation or the Holy
Truth from experiences in the religious realm. Throughout Joyner's
writing there is an attack on individuals that call for doctrinal purity.
Please note this statement by Joyner, "The Tree of Knowledge of Good
and Evil is a powerful Biblical model of the Law." (Ibid, p.10.) There
is absolutely no fact in this statement. Only the devil and his evil
spirits would dare say such a thing. The eating from "the Tree of
Knowledge" was not receiving the law or living by the law, it was disobedience
against God's law. It was rejection of the plain commandment of God
for a life of one's own experience and control.
The Opposite Of Truth,
Satan's Lie
As all New Agers teach this reflect the opposite of truth. Satan
is the master imitator. Instead of judging human experiences by the
Word of God, this false idea suggests that we judge the Word of God by
human experiences. When we base interpretation of truth on our experiences
we totally lose the basis of truth. Man is taught throughout Scripture
to never trust himself. Yes, this is the opposite of the psychological
base of humanistic teaching, but God's Word has always stood opposite the
ideas of flesh and human rationale.
The Psalmist said, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but
the end thereofare the ways of death. " (Proverbs
14:12, KJV). Apostle Paul said, "For we are the circumcision,
which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus,
and have no confidence in the flesh." (Philippians 3:3, KJV).
A man never reaches the spiritual height this side of our future glorification
that he dare leave the constant dependency of Holy Scripture. We
must weigh every experience by the clear truth of God's book.
Read again what Joyner said about the law of God being the tree of knowledge
of good and evil and then read the following truths:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven
and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one
of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called
the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them,
the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say
unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness
of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom
of heaven." (Matthew 5:17-20, KJV).
"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."
(Romans
7:12, KJV).
"Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we
might be justified by faith." (Galatians 3:24, KJV).
"I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love." (Psalm 119:113, KJV).
Did Jesus come to fulfill the "tree of knowledge of good and evil" as Joyner
has suggested. Is Joyner calling the tree of knowledge holy, for
that is what Paul the apostle called the laws of God? Is he calling
it "our schoolmaster" as Apostle Paul spoke to the Galatians?
David, a man after God's own heart, spoke of God's law and said he loved
them. Was David loving "the tree of knowledge" that has brought utter
destruction of the human family. We know the
answer if we love the truth, but New Agers such as Rick Joyner do not know
of what they speak.
The Antichrist Who Shall
Appear
Mr. Joyner cleverly explains away the coming Antichrist. He is no
longer the man of sin that the Scripture reveals to come, but is some kind
of religious fundamentalist. We certainly do not need to look very
deep to identify the source of this idea. Satan loves it.
Mr Joyner says, "'Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding
calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and
his number is six hundred and sixty-six' (Revelation 13:18). The
number 666 is not taken arbitrarily. Because man was created on the
sixth day, the number six is often used symbolically in the Scriptures
as the number of man. This number is further identification of the
spirit of the beast, which is the spirit of fallen man. In verse
11, we see that this beast "comes up out of the earth." This beast
is the result of the seed of Cain having been a "tiller of the ground"
or earthly-minded. The beast is the embodiment of religion that originates
in the mind of man. It comes up out of the earth in contrast to Christ
who comes down out of heaven." (Ibid, pp. 17-18.)
Jesus made it absolutely clear that the Antichrist is a man that will
establish his powers in the world and set up his image called "The Abomination
of Desolation" in Jerusalem. (Matthew 24:15). Mr. Joyner says this
Antichrist is rather a rehgious spirit that completes or as he states,
"is
the mature fruit of the tree of knowledge." Again, we have a complete
confusion of the truth. If the tree of knowledge of good and evil
is the laws of God, then the mature fruit are fundamental Bible-believing
Christians that obey the Word of God. It appears that the Bible-believers
are Mr. Joyner's Antichrist.
Deciphering what Rick Joyner teaches is no easy task as is true with all
New Age books. In the chapter where he deals with the Antichrist
he also deals with his so-called born again experience. This born
again experience appears to take man beyond living by the laws of God to
an esoteric level of initiation. It is clear to me that Mr. Joyner
is actually teaching the "New Paradigm" or "New World View" that prepares
men for the "New World Religion" of the false prophet and Antichrist.
Look now at this entire paragraph where he calls the "man of sin" the mature
fruit of the "tree of knowledge" and then talks about a place beyond the
law (which he identified as the tree of knowledge of good and evil) where
men meet a Christ. "This man of sin is the personification of
the
sin of man. This is our basic nature until we are changed in Christ.
This is the mature fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. The root and power of
the man of sin is the serpent; the beast had to be fully revealed in man
- whatever is sown must also be reaped. In this beast we see ourselves
without Christ. By this revelation we begin to perceive the depth
of the unfathomable grace and mercy of God and our profound need to be
reborn in Christ." (Ibid, pp. 16-17.)
A little further in this same paragraph he says that the evil in this world
is from the same root as the good in this world. Notice: "The
evil nature of man is manifested in these last days with increasing intensity,
but so is the 'good' of man which is rooted in the same tree. Just
as the evil is becoming more blatant, the good is becoming more subtle
and deceptive." (Ibid, p. 18.)
Those who have not had Mr. Joyner's version of being bom again are either
the bad or the good whom he says are becoming more subtle and deceptive.
We are witnessing in this man's writings some of the most blatant "false
teachings" ever to invade the church to my knowledge. He is preparing
the way for any person who clings to the doctrines of the Bible to be identified
as the real enemy.
Communion And The New
Elite
Even the Lord's Supper does not escape his penknife. No longer does the
flesh and blood represent His bleeding and broken body, now it represents
the church. Here is his expression, "When the Lord referred to
the eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood, of course He was not
talking of his physical flesh and blood, but of what they symbolically
represented -His life and His body, the church (we are bone of His bone
and flesh of His flesh)." (Ibid, p. 164.) Please notice that
communion, according to Mr. Joyner, does not represent death and resurrection,
but some kind of life and the church, apparently the new elite church that
has been initiated.
This is a very dangerous concept concerning the Lord's Supper. The
Scripture teaches that we receive communion to show forth His death until
He comes. Just as Mr. Joyner calls "The Tree of Knowledge" the law
so he calls "The Tree of Life" the Lord Jesus. As is true with all
the religious leaders that have experienced "The New Paradigm" they use
familiar language to say new things that leave you wondering what side
they are on. Confusing? It was meant to be.
The New Agers have learned that the "New Paradigm" cannot be experienced
until the old fundamental truths are destroyed. Every idea of Scripture
has got to be seen in a new light. Everything must change.
All great doctrines must be understood by a new revelation. That's
what a new "paradigm" means. The same Jesus, the same Bible, the
same experiences, but all seen with a new "world view." These teachers
can teach for hours saying all the famihar words, but introducing you to
a totally new Jesus or Christ that is false and from the Devil himself.
1995 On Joyner's Calendar
Rick Joyner's Prophetic Bulletin for 1995 is a perfect picture of Babel.
It is a joke to any church that is anchored in the Bible, but, to a church
world already separated from Scripture it becomes a revelation itself.
He called 1995 the year when there will be an outpouring of "a word of
wisdom." There is no Biblical basis for his prophecy except his own conjured
ideas. But again, when your sources are the "demons preparing the
world for Antichrist and the false prophets," it is a perfect picture.
When you remember that the new idea coming down theological circles is
the worship of Sophia, the goddess of wisdom, this fits the overall prophetic
picture. John, in the Book of Revelation, makes it clear that the
religious world will be dominated by a harlot woman who teaches the world
to
commit fornication (spiritual fornication). "So he carried me
away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet
coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten
horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and
decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in
her handfull of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon
her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER
OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken
with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus:
and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration." (Revelation
17:3-6, KJV).
The most spectacular event of 1993 was the Re-emerging Conference, sponsored
by several mainline churches. The center of attention was their worship
of Sophia, the goddess of wisdom. The Assemblies of God just conducted
a World Congress in Korea (October 1994) in which "earth worship" was a
primary function. Listen to the word of Paul Yonggi Cho, a major
New Ager and the host and chairman of this event.
"Through our prayer, we will ask for God's mercy and the Holy Spirit, who
dramatically changed people of the early church, will lift fallen man again
and also give renewed life to our earth that is dying because of the terrible
pollution and environmental problems. . . . Unusual changes in weather
patterns are occurring all over the world and the ecological system is
being severely demolished day by day as a result of people's sins and crimes.
If we refuse to act now, the earth will be totally destroyed sooner or
later.
"First we are going to ask God in unison: 'May Your divine healing power
of the Holy Spirit come upon our earth as well as upon those people who
have become corrupted and heal them.'
". . . Press on as never before for world evangelization. Be a good
steward of the holy responsibility to bring wholeness to our earth until
the day of Christ's coming again." (The Inkhorn, Vol. 6, No. 2, April
1995, p. 34.)
The following is the "Grand Prayer Rally Prospectus" statement as it was
published in the program.
"The world is facing the crisis of self-destruction. When people
gradually lose their dignity as a human being they disrupt the order of
nature. We prefer the provocation of war to maintaining peace. We
prefer the environmental disruption to preserving the environment.
As a result, the earth is dying from a variety of pollutions and contamination
everyday. Unless this deterioration is stopped, there is no guarantee
for the future of human beings. Furthermore, it is a tragedy of our age
that we cannot work out the permanent solution of all of these problems.
"Therefore, the urgency confronting all the churches is to release the
Holy Spirit throughout the world in every direction to bring spiritual
renewal to the whole mankind through prayer. And churches must solve
the environmental crisis of the earth by restoring harmonious relationship
among God, human beings and nature.
"In view of this, we hold the 'Grand Prayer Rally' on Yoido Plaza under
the auspices of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship. Via satellite,
thirty million members of the World Assemblies of God will join this soul-searching
prayer rally. When we pray in unison, God will hear us and heal ourland
through releasing the mighty work of the Holy Spirit." (Ibid,
pp. 34-35.) There is more on this event in the article, "Treaty From Hell."
Mr. Joyner Defends
Holy Laughter And Mimicing Animals
Mr Joyner is a New Ager feeding this same kind of garbage into the Pentecostal
ranks. He defends the current pandemonium of "holy laughter" with
the following statement:
"One of the disconcerting aspects of this movement has been the animal
sounds and mimics that some have felt compelled to make. There are
'signs and wonders,, and almost everyone is wondering about this sign.
Some of it is demonic. Some of it is mere human foolishness.
Some of it is really inspired by the Holy Spirit. There will always
be tares in the wheat, but this is something that the Holy Spirit is doing,
and it is important.
"As John Amos Comenius paraphrased the apostle Paul, 'Nature is God's second
book.' The December 1994 issue of National Geographic carried an
insightful article titled 'Animals at Play.' The author of this article
had been commissioned by Texas Governor John Connally to do a psychological
study on mass murderers after the tragic murder of sixteen people on a
Texas campus. The one common denominator that this author found in
the character of mass murderers was that 'they never learned to play.'...
The conclusion was essentially that learning to play is necessary for the
healthy development, and possibly the survival, of almost every creature."
(The
Morning Star, Prophetic Bulletin, January 1995, p. 8.)
Conclusion
Mr. Joyner condemns those in the church who refuse to allow any departure
from the Holy Scripture. He believes it is time to "lighten up" and
quit being so serious. Here we are on the verge of the darkest time
of human history when millions will be destroyed and condemned to eternal
bell and it's time in Joyner's theology to "lighten up." Here is a paragraph
from his prophetic vision for 1995. Please note that we who are involved
in exposing this "New Age Babel" in churches are called "Spiritual Mass
Murderers." The enemy has become the "Bible believers," who refuse the
false message of men like Rick Joyner. Here are his words:
"If we studied the 'spiritual mass murderers,' who spread slander and seek
to spiritually assassinate other Christians, it would almost certainly
be found that they are so bound by the religious spirit that they cannot
stand any form of religious levity. The Lord is trying to get His
people to simply "lighten up." It is a serious delusion for us to take
ourselves, or our work, too seriously, because that is usually an indication
that we are still moving in our own human energy. The Lord really
does sit in the heavens and laugh, and when we are truly seated with Him,
seeing from His perspective, we too will begin to laugh at many of the
things that we are so uptight about now." (Ibid.)
There are a multitude of other false doctrines taught by Rick Joyner, but
space does not allow for a complete analysis.
My prayer is that our God will grant space to repent to Mr. Joyner and
the host of good people who have been influenced
by his babble. The Truth of God's commandments and redemption will
forever stand. No amount of false doctrine will stop the true church
and the remnant of faithful believers.
All quotes concerning Mr. Joyner are directly from his writings. |
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