---

The Laughing Shepherds aren't the only ones rejoicing in the revival of their flocks. Though the shepherds apparently can't see the true identity of the spirit now filling the churches, New Agers seem to know exactly what it is. Both of these moves are presently evolving from one stage to another, and both are looking forward to the same end: celebration of the ultimate indwelling of Christ in his people, whether they be the Latter Rain's Manifest Sons of God or the New Age's Sons and Daughters of God. As you read this segment, be aware of the depth inherent in the words of the Church's true Savior and Lord, the true Shepherd, who emphatically warned: "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before" (Matthew 24:23-25).

NEW BEGINNINGS: New Age and Latter Rain

All of this is disturbing, to say the least. By the use of replacement theology, Latter Rain sees the Church as the "New" Israel inheriting all of God's promises to Abraham. Israel has no more part to play in the endtime scenario, except as it becomes part of the New Breed, the one New Man to be birthed through the Church: the Manifest Sons of God.

We have already discussed the upcoming unity in the Global Church, but now we must ask, is there another, deeper unity ahead, being sought by spirits not of God? After all, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in the regions above (Eph. 6:10-13). Are the "non-church" principalities working in cahoots with the "churchy" ones? We could get a clue by comparing the vocabulary and goals of both. For instance, in documenting the start of the Toronto Blessing, Vineyard's John Wimber writes:

And in New Age leader Barbara Marx Hubbard's book, "The Revelation," her "Christ" also promised a season of New Beginnings:

THE EVOLUTIONARY MODEL: Godhood Realization

In his new book, "Weighed and Found Wanting . . . Putting the Toronto Blessing in Context," Bill Randles makes the point that this "revival" was started primarily to bring Christians into their fullness in Christ (godhood), and not necessarily for the conversion of sinners. According to Latter Rain teachers, attaining this fullness is not through accepting Christ alone, but by growing into a maturity that God will finally accept. Randles writes,

It is a fact of Scripture that when a person receives Christ, he receives a share in the fullness of Christ which makes him complete, although always short of godhood (Colossians 2:9-10). Each member is vitally united to Christ by the Spirit through faith in Christ's finished work. But Latter Rain teachers say otherwise, calling for much more than just following the Holy Spirit. Theirs is a call to godhood realization, where God fully indwells the Christian and makes him the ongoing incarnation of Christ. It is this state of maturity which will bring about the manifestation of the Sons of God and set creation free from corruption. Hubbard's teachings say the same things, although they're couched in different words.

We've already discussed the impregnation, gestation and birth of "Isaac," but what this process does to the Church is place it in the evolutionary model of the New Age. In a like manner, the Church's move through the Feasts of Atonement, Pentecost and into Tabernacles is an evolutionary process. Latter Rain teaches that Christ Jesus comes to the individual at Pentecost only to incorporate him into the unity of the Army of Sons formed in Tabernacles.

The evolutionary model was evident in the 1980s restoration teaching which lead up to this laughing "revival," i.e., the restoration of the apostles and prophets, their "new" revelations, the new wave of signs and wonders, power evangelism, individuals "progressing" into a maturity pleasing to God, men overcoming death in the physical realm, and finally, the Church conquering the world for Christ and reigning as Him on earth. Now the laughing phenomena connected with the Feast of Tabernacles has become the driving force behind the Church's move toward Christification. But the key to Latter Rain realizing its goals is the evolutionary birthing process itself. This is New Age philosophy, Christianized to make it palatable to the Church.

THE CHILD: Key To The New Beginnings

Wimber felt like Abraham awaiting the fulfillment of God's promise through the birth of Sarah's child. But this also reflects Barbara Marx Hubbard's New Age revelations. In another of her books, a section entitled "The Lineage of Founders of a New Order of the Future" has one of her sources of the "New Beginning" also pointing to Abraham and Sarah:

I'd never read much of Hubbard before researching this article, but I was intrigued by her statements on birth as a new beginning, and dug a little deeper. Her work is overwhelmingly based on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, whom she considers to be a "life-saver" because of his theory that the human race will one day reach the place of Christification. Look at a sample of Teilhard's writing:

What is this "spiritual reality . . . formed by souls" through the "process of gestation and birth"? Is it the same as Judson Cornwall's "truth"? He'd told Pat Robertson that God is "now impregnating some of my mature, older ministers with truth. . . . to carry that truth to full gestation."(8)

In Hubbard's search for answers, she'd asked herself, "What in our age is comparable to the birth of Christ?"(9) Then, after coming out of a dreamlike state, she said she heard these inner words clearly:

But Hubbard says that being born as one humanity is not the end of the road for man. The Christ, she said, had revealed to her that

We've already described how Cornwall's "truth . . . carried to full gestation" and "raised up" after delivery, will become the corporate Christ of Christianity, the endtime Joel's Army.(12) Now the New Age prophetess Barbara Marx Hubbard gives us her version of the same objective, the endtime "Homo universalis." Hubbard's Christ exhorted her:

As I read this Christ's words, I realized this was Manifest Sons doctrine in New Age terms, the same doctrine coming through the church's global "move of God." Or was it vice-versa? I couldn't tell. The "avant-garde" of the New Age Christ was no different than the Manifest Sons of God of the Latter Rain movement. The joy, the fire, the glory, the transformation to Christ incarnate, the overcoming of death, taking the message to the nations of the world "to bring on the shared contact" with "the Christ;" HUBBARD WAS PREACHING THE MANIFEST SONS DOCTRINE! OR WAS LATTER RAIN BASED ON HUBBARD? The terminology and processes were different, but the outcomes were the same:

LATTER RAIN GLOBAL MOVE OF GOD: "The completion of the incarnation of God in the world must be in His church. . . Jesus Christ is the firstfruits, but without the ongoing harvest, the incarnation will never be complete."(14)

The goal of the Latter Rain appears to be the the bringing about of a global community that is God's. This seems rather apparent, since, under this doctrine, God will cleanse the earth of all that refuse to follow His ways. That this is the goal of the the New Age is shown in Hubbard's words:

HUBBARD: "Who is this child? This child is the Christ-child within who has emerged victorious, fully born, incarnated as every member of the human race who evolves."(15) Other likenesses between the new "global move of God" and Hubbard's revelation quickly came to light:

A. THE CHILD OF JOY AND LAUGHTER

HUBBARD: "It was a planetary smile - like the smile of a new born baby. . . Now for the first time, we were seeing it together. Ecstatic joy rippled through the planetary body - and through me as one of its billions of members."(17)

If one equates "Laughter" being released in nation after nation with the New Age planetary body being filled with ecstatic joy, then this aspect of both moves are the same.

B. JOY AS A POWERFUL FORCE

HUBBARD: "An uncontrollable joy will ripple through the thinking layer of Earth. The co-creative systems, which are lying psychologically dormant in humanity, will be activated. From within, all sensitive persons will feel the joy of the force, flooding their systems with love and attraction."(19)

HUBBARD: "Joy is essential right now. Lightness of heart will help you overcome the heaviness of life during the tribulations to come"(20).

Ecstatic and uncontrollable joy - An irresistable force flooding people's systems - Billions of members - Was this Toronto and the global laughing phenomena based on Latter Rain? Or was it Hubbard and the New Age Christ? It was obvious; it was both - it was the same.

C. FIRE

LATTER RAIN GLOBAL MOVE OF GOD: Reported by an observer of three of the four nights at the Seattle "Fire and Reign" conference (February 14-17, 1995): "They were 'midwifing', and 'birthing the baby' there. The most incredible scenario I have ever witnessed. . . . Reports I've heard from other Fire conferences lead me to believe they are all going that far once they get the 'fire' started. Wes [Campbell] had the people divide into groups the second and third nights. He called the groups 'nests.' They were to pray and wait for the fire to 'spark' in someone, and when they saw the spark, they were to 'fan' it into life. They blew on people, fanned them, in the most extraordinary gestures, and repetitive (as in shamanistic) ritualistic, ways. It was completely bizarre. Others were in states of 'labor,' I think."(21)

Feeling the fire was part of Rodney Howard-Browne's experience of God that empowered him for this "move of God." And his brother experienced this heat for six hours during one service while being unable to move, pinned to the floor. But so has Barbara Marx Hubbard:

HUBBARD: "The purpose of our new powers is to give birth to universal life.

D. WATER

LATTER RAIN GLOBAL MOVE OF GOD: "Then one more thing . . . [ISRAEL] did was this. They . . . were also recognizing that God was the source of supernatural water. They also went further to call out on God that they might drink of this living water, and that finally, by drinking of the living water, they might become rivers of life to the nations."(23)

HUBBARD: "The 'living fountains of water,' the source of ever-evolving life in each of you, is waiting to be turned on. It is the mechanism for rejuvenation and renewal."(24)

E. "IT"

LATTER RAIN GLOBAL MOVE OF GOD: "There IT is! Take IT! Take IT! Take IT!" The use of the word "IT" when referring to the Holy Spirit is common in the laughing phenomena meetings.(25)

HUBBARD: "Then I heard the inner words, which seemed to flow from the heart of the cosmos directly into my heart: 'Thank you, Barbara.'

THE LATTER RAIN AND THE NEW AGE PHILOSOPHY: A Comparison

Familiarize yourself with this doctrine so you can recognize it and share it with others. The New Age and Latter Rain scenarios will soon be meshing, as the apostate Church continues on its way to destruction.

Remember that the terminology of the teachings may differ, but the end result is the same. For example, Latter Rain calls the incarnated person a Manifest Son of God, while the New Age says he is Christed, the Universal Human, or Homo Universalis. The same idea is true regarding "immortality." In the Latter Rain, there is a "fresh" RECEIVING of the "Holy Spirit" and then maturing into Christ until one becomes immortal. But in the New Age, the seed of immortality is said to be ALREADY PRESENT at birth and must only be realized. These are two different MEANS to immortality, but the adversary's desired result is the same: "godhood." The END, therefore, justifies the MEANS. The devil has always changed the names and ways of his deceptions, but the goals and purposes he set for himself in the Garden continue.

A. ---REPLACEMENT--- Latter Rain teaches that the Church replaces Israel.

HUBBARD - Replace Israel - "It is not as biological Jews, nor as biological Christians, that you will be selected."(27)

HUBBARD - Replace Israel - "Who do you suppose those 'children of Israel' are, dearly beloved? They are you who love God above all else, your neighbor as yourself, and yourself as me. You are sealed in your foreheads. . . . "O Israel, awaken to the reality of your potential to be heirs of God!"(28)

B. ---FORMER, LATTER RAINS--- Latter Rain teaches that the New Testament Pentecost was the "former rain," leaving the "latter rain," the Feast of Tabernacles, yet to come.

HUBBARD - Former, latter promises - "There shall be a great rejoicing among Jews and Gentiles as we approach the Quantum Transformation. . . . They will join as individuals [as at Pentecost] who are attracted to the potential of humanity for universal life as heirs of God [as at Tabernacles]."(29)

C. ---TABERNACLES--- the celebration of this feast fulfills these phases:

1) HUBBARD - Unity - ". . . . A time will come when the elect from all nations will be gathered together and consciously coordinated so the perfect alignment of aspiration occurs. . . .

As in Latter Rain, there is a gathering together that unites everyone into one corporate body.

2,4) HUBBARD - Revival, Christ's spiritual coming - "Finally, you start the transition. . . During the transition, millions of members of the body awaken to their power to be natural Christs, full humans in the model of the first person to manifest the next stage in the development of humanity. . . ."(31)

In Latter Rain, Christ is the Pattern Son, and Hubbard's Christ is a model. The "millions of members" spoken of here is complimentary to the Latter Rain revival, which leads to the incarnation of Christ in humanity.

3) HUBBARD - Harvest - "Now, this has been tried by my disciples for two thousand years, and it has not worked - yet. Why? Because it was not yet the fullness of time. The idea was not wrong; it was premature. The vines of the Earth were not ripe to be harvested. Now they are."(32)

As does Latter rain, Hubbard's philosophy based on a Cosmic Christ also says now is the time for the harvesting of the earth.

3,4) HUBBARD - Joy and gladness, Christ's spiritual coming - "All is silent to see if a second miracle can occur comparable to the birth of Christ.

We have shown the similarities of the birthing process in both the New Age and Latter Rain movements, leading to the birth of a corporate body that will transform the earth.

5,6) HUBBARD - Defeat of Adversaries, Establishment Of Kingdom - "The power of the self-centered human has become a universal aberration, a dragon that can destroy the natural Christ and prevent the birth of the future human. . . .

This is an interesting quote because the word from Toronto about a coming Civil War in the Church attributes those opposing the move to rleying on their "intellect andindividuality." These are the "grays." It is through this Civil War that the grays will be eliminated and the Blues selected as the ones to establish the Kingdom after this War. There is little or no difference between this and what Hubbard's Christ stated in the last quote.

D. ---RESTORATION--- the restoration of the offices of Apostles and Prophets.

HUBBARD - Prophets - "All of you who are now awakening to your own evolution are to gather. Find one another. Join spiritually. . . . You will be guided from within as to the design of the Planetary Birth and your roles in it. From every race, nation and religion you will prophesy that the transition from Homo sapiens to Homo universalis is now occurring.

Both movements are prophesying a birth on a global basis, a joining together being brought about by the prophets of both moves. E. ---REVELATIONS--- the new, progressive or evolutionary revelations of the Latter Rain Apostles and Prophets.

HUBBARD - New Revelation - "The text of the New Order of the Future is th

"The text" referred to here is Hubbard's book, The Revelation, which is the second part of a work entitled, The Book Co-Creation. It in itself is about 350 pages of new revelations from a spirit who says he is Christ, revelations being given to humanity through the New Age prophets. Faith and knowledge undergird both moves, but it is a faith and revelatory knowledge that denies the truth of Scripture.

F. ---IMMORTALITY--- Latter Rain teaches death is overcome by the Manifest Sons, who attain immortality by incarnating Christ before His return.

HUBBARD - Immortality - "The memory of immortality is in every cell in your body. It dates back to the first self-replicating cell that divided to reproduce and did not die.

G. ---UNIFICATION--- Church unity on a global basis is absolutely essential to Latter Rain doctrine, because Christ cannot incarnate in a divided body.

HUBBARD - Unification - We've already discussed this aspect of both moves earlier, so we won't go comment on this here.

H. ---ESCHATOLOGY--- in Latter Rain doctrine,

1) HUBBARD - Christ's Return - "The 'church' is the congregation of believers in their power to be me. I cannot consummate my union with you until you become like me. I cannot join my body to your body until your body becomes comparable to mine."(38)

The changing of the physical body which brings immortality to the adeherents of both Latter Rain and the New Age philosophy is key to both movements, (incarnation of Christ in the person), bring about the revelation of the corporate Christ.

2) HUBBARD - Defeat of Evil - "The devil, Satan, will be overcome. . . . He will be released from his anger and reunited to God. . . . "The consciousness defect of the illusion of separation will be corrected once and for all. You will never go back again."(39)

Again, we commented on this before, so we won't expand on it here.

3) HUBBARD - Church Reign - "If the positive scenario comes true, if those sealed with the seal of the living God do their work in time, I shall be enabled to come not to you, but with and through you to empower the people of the world to rule themselves. My message is: you are King of Kings, you are Lord of Lords. I have no desire to return to earth in the role of ruler over you. That is a failure. That is treating you as a regressive child."(40)

As in Latter Rain, a kingdom is established which is ruled over by a humanity which has reached its purpose: godhood.

I. ---RELIGIOSITY--- the religious "Old Generation" will either be destroyed by the Manifest Sons or "converted" by the prophets.

HUBBARD - Destruction of the "Old Ways" - "First you may have to decide to save the child by destroying those elements which are unhealthy. If you are a surgeon delivering a child whose umbilical cord is wrapped around his neck, you must operate quickly, or the child will be strangled by the cord that connects him to the past.

J. ---EVOLUTION--- We've already explained the evolutionary model above, but would add this discussion on George Warnock's "The Feast of Tabernacles" from Bill Randles:

So according to Warnock, God's ultimate indwelling of His people in the midst of Celebration is His "consummate purpose for us"; the corporate Child of the Latter Rain will be born. This global birth will be possible by the Latter Rain's seed of Abraham taking the Holy Spirit to the nations which destroys seprateness and ushers all nations into the Kingdom of God. Once established, Christ will return to an established kingdom. But as it is with Latter Rain, so it is with the New Age philosophy. Barbara Marx Hubbard's Christ calls this shared contact the Instant of Co-operation, or the Planetary Pentecost:

"The Instant of Co-operation begins, empathy floods the feelings of the whole body of Earth, separateness is overcome, and I appear to all of you at once. I appear to you from within as a voice, and as a vision of yourself as an evolving being. I appear to you from beyond as the light being that I now am. Your electronic media will pulse with light - the same light your mystics see.

Though the New Age was virtually unheard of when Warnock published his book in 1951, this evolutionary model is now the norm among the New Age futurists who believe, along with the Latter Rain and its rejoicing, celebrating followers, that the human race as a whole is birthing the next stage of man's evolution: Godhood.

FOOTNOTES:

SIDEBAR - PART 4

* ALICE A. BAILEY (Theosophist, New Age Channeler) - "The New Age is upon us, and we are witnessing the birth pangs of the new culture and the new civilisation. This is now in progress. That which is old and undesirable must go and of these undesirable things, hatred and the spirit of separation must be the first to go" (The Externalisation Of The Hierarchy, Page 62).

* CLAYT SONMORE (Latter Rain teacher) - "Today, God is again - like unto 'the firstborn among many brethren' - bringing forth perfection in a combination priest/prophet/king company. This is an anointing far beyond that of King David. David, though 'a man after mine own heart' did not come to total perfection. Even now, God is beginning to anoint His servant sons with an anointing of new beginnings . . . In the highest sense, these are the ones (or the position) Matthew was referring to when he wrote: 'Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect'" (Matt. 5:48) ("Beyond Pentecost," pp. 176-177).

* PIERRE TIELHARD DE CHARDIN (Jesuit) - "Sooner or later souls will end by giving themselves to the religion which activates them most as human beings" (Christianity and Evolution, p. 228; italics removed).

* POPE JOHN PAUL II - "Mary . . . should inspire all who cooperate in the Church's apostolic mission for the rebirth of humanity. . . The Church journeys through time . . . along the path already trodden by the Virgin Mary" (Redemptoris Missio, pp. 86, 92).

* JOHN WIMBER (Founder, Vineyard Churches) - [On how we should respond to the laughing:] "I think that the response of Mary to the visitation of the angel is classic: 'be it done to me according to thy will.' I'm afraid the church today does not pray with that kind of acceptance in mind. I mean Mary was given the most incredible proposition that any human being in all the history of mankind was given: 'the Holy Spirit will come upon you and overshadow you and you will be with child'...acknowledging our sin, we should be saying 'Oh God, we need you. Come any way you want to, even if it puzzles us, even if it confounds us, COME'" (Holy Trinity Brompton's parish paper, "HTB in Focus," October 9th 1994).

* TOM SINE (Futurist) - "Giving birth! What imagery could remind us more compellingly of the agony of our journey or unleash such a wild hope within us for our common future? As we have anticipated the avalanche of change rushing toward us, it would be easy to focus on the pain, trauma, and ordeal of the birth process and never look forward to the birth of the new.

* M. SCOTT PECK (New Age Christian) - "When I think of all that is required to bring an end to the arms race - not only the changes in individual styles and attitudes, but the willingness of the military-industrial establishment to no longer worship Mammon, and the willingness of the nation to relinguish its external sovereignty to a supra-national agency - it seems to me that a virtual Second Coming is required. In fact, that is what its all about. With all due respect to the traditional millennialists, I think what is meant by the Second Coming is not the bodily return of that one solitary man, but the coming of the mystical body of His True Church; the coming of the spirit of Christ to everyone, sweeping through the nations, sweeping through the world. Father, make us like Mary . . . to give birth to Your Son; to give Him to everyone. This is the time of the Second Coming. Whether we like it or not. There's no alternative except self-anihilation. And the battle is heating up just as predicted. The forces of evil are coming out into the open. The iron fists within the velvet gloves are about to revealed. And we must face the fact that crucifixion is not something that happened to that one man nineteen hundred and fifty years ago. They're going to want to stone us again. And ultimately that's what giving birth to Jesus means. It means, like Him, we need to be willing to die for love and truth. I'm sorry. I know it sounds hard. It is hard. But there's no escaping it. It is the time of the Second Coming. 'Here and now we're chosen to be, to reveal His grace that all then may see.' It's either give birth to Jesus or else. The time when we must choose is upon us. Father, make us like Mary" (What Return Can I Make, p. 152).

* MATTHEW FOX (Dominican, Director of Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality) - "Indeed, the birthing of the Cosmic Christ is the purpose of the incarnation. . . . Divinity wants to birth the Cosmic Christ in each and every individual" (The Coming Of The Cosmic Christ, p. 122).

* FRANCIS FRANGIPANE (River Of Life Ministries) - "Secure this thought in your mind: when the Spirit of Christ comes into the physical world, He must enter through a physical body . . . When Christ first entered our world as a child, it was Mary whom God chose to give Christ birth. Mary's life symbolised the qualities the Church must possess to walk in the fulness of Christ . . . [God is preparing us] as He did Mary to give birth to the ministry of His Son. Even now, in the spiritual womb of the virgin Church, the holy purpose of Christ is growing, awaiting maturity; ready to be born in power in the timing of God . . . the virgin Church is 'in labour and in pain to give birth' (Rev 12:1-2) . . . even now, hell trembles and the heavens watch in awe, for I say to you, once again, the virgin is with child. Before Jesus Himself returns, the last virgin Church shall become pregnant with the promise of God. Out of her travail, the Body of Christ shall come forth, raised to the full stature of its Head, the Lord Jesus. Corporately manifested in holiness, power and love, the Bride of Christ shall arise" (In the Presence of God, pp. 153-157, 1994).

* JOHN WIMBER (Founder, Vineyard churches) - [On animal noises made at Toronto Blessing meetings:] "I think we're all delighted with babies but I don't think very many of us want to attend the birthing process. And I believe what we have in the church is a birthing process. I believe the Holy Spirit has chosen to visit and revitalize the church and with it there's all kinds of noises and activities that would be best done behind closed doors [like a birth] but church is an open activity and God has chosen to visit the church. I'm a little puzzled myself by some of the things that God chooses to reveal publicly, aren't you? . . . I don't have any more explanation or idea of what it means than anybody else, but I love the after-effect, just as I love babies but am confused by the birthing process, but I love what happens afterwards" (Ibid.).

* ESTHER INILSKI (Overseer for global intercession) - Chris Mitchell, CBN: "Esther Inilski oversees a prayer network for global intercession. She says many intercessors describe the times we're in like a spiritual pregnancy."

* WES CAMPBELL (Vineyard Pastor) - "Yes . . . amen . . . yes Lord, ooohh . . . yes, the Holy glory is on you Matthew, the Holy glory . . . That's right! That's right!, and Father we pray that you'd put an anointing of a preacher on Matthew, an anointing of fire, let the coals come from the altar of the Lord, Matthew, and touch your lips, and Lord I pray for faith and ignition, let fire come out of his stomach Lord, let the fire of God come on his back. And Lord I pray that Matthew would stand up in faith, that's true faith, Matthew, believe it! IT'S THE TIME TO BIRTH THE BABY. It's the time for the outpouring of the Spirit. Believe it! Lord I pray for faith that when Matthew says, 'This is the time!' It's not 'I hope it's the time,' . . . 'it might be the time.' THIS IS THE TIME! . . ." (Seattle Fire & Reign Conference, February 14, 1995).

* BARBARA MARX HUBBARD (Futurist, a founder of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution) - "'Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed.' Omega! The planetary birth is a real event in cosmic time. . . . that is really happening to us now!" (The Revelation: Our Crisis Is A Birth, p. 40; emphasis removed).