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Do we listen to Scripture? Do we follow Scripture or ignore it? Do we adhere to its clear meaning, do we place ourselves underneath Scripture and let it inform us? Or, do we take it and mold it according to our desired interpretations and beliefs?

It is crucial that we take Scripture at face value, in context, and let it inform us. God often uses it to tell us things we’d rather not hear or need to deal with. Through it, we often become aware of our need to change and can then take active steps to live differently.

Hebrews 4:12 (NAU): “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

As it says elsewhere in Hebrews, being disciplined is not fun, but painful. Yet through it, we grow and mature. As we submit ourselves to Scripture, the Holy Spirit works through it to change us, to make us, as believers, more like Jesus Christ.

In contrast, as we’ve seen, the NAR tends to bend Scripture to fit their own agenda and interpretations. One more example, from C. Peter Wagner’s book, “The Great Transfer of Wealth” (pages 88–89 in the edition that I have):

In Revelation chapter two, in the letter to Smyrna, Wagner says that Smyrna is guilty of being under a spirit of parsimony, of living in poverty when they were financially wealthy. How does he know that? Wagner is certain because regarding Smyrna, God says, Revelation 2:9a (NAU), “I know your tribulation and poverty (but you are rich).”

Does that make biblical sense in the context of the suffering, tribulation, and death the church at Smyrna is about to endure? No! Biblically, we also find Smyrna is one of only two of the seven churches in Revelation chapters two and three that God has nothing against. The other is the church at Philadelphia, a church that has “a little power” (Revelation 3:8), not the level of wealth, authority, or influence the NAR typically prophesies.

Do we find any of this in Scripture? No. Wagner’s opinion stands in direct contradiction to Scripture. I keep thinking about the church in Nigeria, a contemporary biblical “Smyrna” in every sense of the word. That church is under severe persecution, where Muslim “extremists” are slaughtering Christians on an ongoing basis. How does Wagner’s take fit with that situation? It doesn’t!

Worse, based on a couple isolated Scripture verses, Wagner declares he is an open theist. Thus, NAR beliefs and practices are based on open theism, that God doesn’t know everything that will happen. That is central to their belief of why the timing of Christ’s return is based on the obedience and actions of the church, rather than on a time set by the Father.

Wagner even goes so far as to state that Jesus’s coming to earth to die for our sins was God’s “plan B.” God’s initial plan was for Adam to choose obedience rather than choosing to sin (C. Peter Wagner, “Dominion,” Shippensburg: Destiny Image Publishers, 2022, page 82). God didn’t know if Adam would obey or not, and when Adam chose to sin, God had to come up with a new plan. The key aspect of Jesus’s death on the cross wasn’t for our salvation, though that is important, but to restore man’s dominion over the earth. Such a view—that Jesus is God’s “plan B”—is nowhere to be found in Scripture, and if anything, diminishes what Jesus did for us on the cross.

Sometimes, the ways in which Scripture is twisted can be quite subtle. In the next post, we will look at one more example of the way the NAR twists Scripture.

Are we captivated by signs and wonders? How do we respond to spiritual gifts, especially those recorded in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 14?

If you’ve been around long enough, at some point you’ve probably heard teachings from at least some fundamentalists that after the time of the apostles, the gifts ceased. The Bible had come, and as it is perfect, the so-called sign gifts were no longer needed. They based their position on the last couple of verses in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. That chapter does not precisely define who or what the “perfect” refers to. Personally, I’d suggest that it most likely refers to the return of Jesus Christ.

Have the gifts ceased? Once more, I’d argue that they have not. Nowhere does Scripture state that they’ve been abolished. Are people sometimes still miraculously healed? Yes. Are people still being delivered from demonic oppression and even possession? Yes. Are dreams and visions still taking place? Yes. The book of Joel even states that in the last days they will increase. One thinks of the many Muslims who’ve had visions and dreams of the real Jesus, visions and dreams that lead to their coming to faith in the genuine Jesus Christ.

In essence the gifts are a normal part of Christian life, neither to be ignored nor magnified, hence the word “normal.” Our focus is to remain on Jesus, not the gifts. Consider: What happened when the seventy Jesus had sent out, returned? They were focused on spiritual gifts, how they had operated in those gifts, the power and authority they had through Jesus Christ.

Luke 10:17 (NAU): “The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’”

How did Jesus respond? Luke 10:20 (NAU): “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

Jesus made it clear that the focus wasn’t to be on what they had done, but on their relationship with Him, specifically their eternal destination, that their names were written in heaven.

Consider Matthew 7:22–23 (NAU): “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

What does that tell us? First, it is possible to perform all sorts of miracles and have deliverance ministries without truly knowing Christ, without being in a real relationship with Him. Second, performing signs and wonders is no guarantee that a person is ministering in the truth of Christ. Third, note how the speakers all focus on “their” ministries, not on Jesus. As Scripture repeatedly warns us, Satan will deceive the world through performing false signs and wonders (see 2 Thessalonians 2:9–10).

That is the big concern with the NAR’s emphasis on signs and wonders. They say the world will come to faith through the performance of signs and wonders. While in the book of Acts signs and wonders confirmed apostolic ministry, Scripture states that the world will ultimately be deceived through (false) signs and wonders. If we are pursuing them for their own sake, we are in grave danger.

Has the Holy Spirit provided spiritual gifts? Yes. Should they be part of our lives? As God directs us, yes. But if they have become our focus, what we are actively pursuing, we are at risk of being deceived by the arrival of false signs and wonders. Better that we stay focused on Jesus Christ, trusting Him to give us the spiritual gifts we need when we need them, and to operate in them accordingly.

What do we make of Hamon’s failed prophecy regarding the timing of Christ’s return? As we saw, he recast it, saying that while his perception was off, what he was sensing was correct. He was aware of God’s moving, it was just that God was moving in a different way. God was about to birth the charismatic movement as rather than having Christ literally return to earth in 1963.

Hamon was not the first Christian leader to reinterpret a failed prophecy regarding Christ’s return. When William Miller’s predictions that Christ would return in 1844 did not materialize, Miller took the rare step of confessing that he was wrong. Subsequently, Ellen White recast that error, declared that Miller was basically correct. God had moved in 1844, that a major event in the heavenly realm had taken place: Jesus had entered the heavenly tabernacle to start cleansing it, known as the investigatory judgment, a key event prior to Christ’s return within Seventh-Day Adventist theology. According to her, while Miller’s perception was off, his underlying point of God doing something major, was correct. Her revision on how to deal with “the great disappointment,” became a key tenet of Seventh-Day Adventism.

Even in NAR terms, with Hamon, we’re not talking about a young prophet’s misstep, of learning to recognize the voice of the Lord, or learning to speak properly. As we’ve seen, NAR authors, including Hamon, are clear that a young prophet will make mistakes. We’re talking about a major series of ongoing prophecies, something even Hamon admits. As mentioned, Charisma magazine named him as the key individual in restoring the prophetic office within the church, of what would become the NAR.

On the other hand, as we are under Christ, given repentance, forgiveness and restoration are possible. One of the difficulties in writing this series of concerns especially as related to the NAR, is remembering to treat others as you’d like them to treat you. Are we, am I, willing to forgive others for their failings, as we seek forgiveness for our own shortcomings?

What makes it tougher is that Hamon is a revered father-figure within the NAR. Arguably no one has had more influence in that movement than he. Nevertheless, regarding the New Apostolic Reformation, where their new prophetic revelations are at the core of their doctrine and teaching—especially Hamon’s—false prophecy is as spiritually deadly as ever. It is made worse by Hamon’s numerous unbiblical end-times prophetic “revelations.”

Generally, one is not to question NAR apostles, prophets, or other leaders. Indeed, the raising of genuine biblical concerns is often seen as a direct attack against the movement’s leaders. That is unlike the New Testament: while a singular complaint is not to be registered against an elder or leader, if two or three come with the same concerning issue, then it needs to be researched and addressed as the situation may dictate. Sinning elders are to be publicly rebuked.

It must be mentioned that not every NAR book goes down these sorts of paths. For example, one example is a book I’ve just gone through by Cindy Jacobs, “Essential Guide to the Prophetic.” In it, she talks about how some end up becoming false prophets, the limits of biblical submission, and the importance of humility. At least in this book (I have several others by her yet to read), unlike Hamon, she does not pronounce judgments against those who reject NAR teachings and beliefs. Unfortunately, as with other NAR authors, she accepts NAR prophetic utterances as truth.

A long-term sobering possibility concerns the great falling away just before the Antichrist is revealed. We saw that the NAR recasts the 2 Thessalonians passage, that the great falling away took place 1,500 years ago. But, what might happen should end-time events not transpire according to NAR prophecies? How would adherents respond?

Overall, the wisest course is to stay away from NAR churches. If currently involved in one, get out. Return to a legitimate charismatic church. When a founding NAR prophet says pastors must ultimately submit to NAR apostolic authority and teachings, or God will judge them by causing many of them to get sick and die prematurely, be cast out of their ministry as Lucifer was, or be devoured, get out. Couple that with the movement’s numerous questionable prophecies—from the prophetic fabrications made by Shawn Bolz to failed predictions that Trump would win the 2020 election—coupled with the documented troubles within IHoPKC, and Bethel, Redding, to cite two NAR church examples, get free.

My deepest wish for NAR leaders would be for them to humble themselves and repent, to jettison their erroneous teachings and beliefs, to set aside their emphasis on signs and wonders along with their view of the exalted church in the end-times; to return Jesus to His rightful place.

Jesus is central. Our life, as Christians, is all about Jesus Christ, what He has done, what He is doing; magnifying and praising Him. It is not about signs and wonders “we” perform, prophecies and pronouncements “we” make. It is not about worldwide ministries that “we” may have, how NAR writers tend to speak of the vastness of their ministries, their giftings, their accomplishments.

It is all about Jesus.