2008: The year of the "Great Shift"?

Below is a selected list of New Year "prophecies," messages and conferences from the New Apostolic Reformation leaders in the evangelical world. You will notice the strong Dominionism themes which call for the transformation of culture and nations, bringing heaven to earth, perfecting the Bride of Christ on earth, training Joel's Army, taking over the neo-Kuyperian spheres of society, etc.

These messages have little or nothing to do with the Gospel of repentance and the cross. The two-edged sword of the Word of God operating in the hearts of men for salvation is being replaced by these kingdom-building activities to transform the earth. There is an inexplicable and formidable silence on the part of evangelical leaders as these heresies sweep over the church unchallenged and unchecked, usurping the simplicity of the Gospel with the distorted doctrines in evidence below.


Too many Christians are lacking God's provision because they know the King but are not aware of His Kingdom. They believe only in a Kingdom that is in the future when the Rapture takes place. Sure, there is a future Kingdom when Jesus returns for His Bride. But there is also a Kingdom that needs to be established on earth and in this hour as it is in Heaven. We cannot have a victorious Bride if she doesn't believe that the Kingdom of God can come through her. . . .

Without a victorious eschatology, we only believe that we will fail and have to occupy until Jesus comes to bail us out of failure. . . . When we get this truth absolute into our spirit, we will begin to activate a realm of the supernatural that the Church has never experienced. We will switch from living in the created to living in the Creator as the Body of Christ with resurrection power. This realm of apostolic authority will begin to set in strategies for a victorious Bride to take cities for Jesus.

- Cal Pierce, "The Victorious Bride will Call Forth ' ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!'" The Elijah List, 12/28/07.

Opening the Gates in 2008!

We have entered into one of the most important, changing, transitional times we have known in Church history. If ever there was a season to receive and understand what God is saying to the Body of Christ, that season is NOW! . . .

Global Harvest Ministries feels a mandate from the Lord to draw together the Body of Christ to "open the gates" of new beginnings in 2008. We will be sponsoring six Open the Gates Conferences to discuss the times and seasons we are living in and equip the Body of Christ for victory in days ahead. These are very strategic gatherings that you will not want to miss!

Isaiah 28:6 says the Lord will give "strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate." Since the "gates" of each region vary, each of these gatherings will have a slightly different focus with different speakers and subjects addressed.

Our first "Open the Gates" Conference will be in Atlanta, Georgia. "Opening the Gates in 2008 - The Southeast Gate: Reformation, Transformation and a Glory Invasion" will be held on February 28 - March 1. Those of you in the Southeast Region will want to come together as we understand the power of opening the gate of Heaven and establishing the Glory of God. Atlanta is a city for reformation.

- Global Harvest Ministries newsletter, 12/19/07.

My friend, 2008 can be the year we see the power of God change that which has always been presumed unchangeable. Imagine governmental and marketplace leaders faced with the same historical challenges but now with Divine insight into their resolution. The Lord wants us to seek Him on this, but He is waiting for us to draw close and listen. If you have not seen yet my latest book, TRANSFORMATION: Change the marketplace and you change the world - I urge you to read it. It will show you how this is happening already and better yet, how it can happen in your sphere of influence!

Would you join with me and the Harvest team to make 2008 the year of the "Great Shift" to God-inspired transformation of our families, schools, businesses and governments?

- Ed Silvoso, "A Message of Hope for 2008," Harvest Evangelism newsletter, 12/28/07.

The faith at work movement is now entering a new phase of expression. . . .

Dr. Henry Blackaby says “God is marshalling his people in the workplace as never before in history.” There is a new trumpet call going out to men and women of influence who are seeing the negative influences in their culture as a wake-up call.

They are beginning to be used by God in the 7 mountains of influence in business, government, media, arts and entertainment, family, religion and education to reclaim their nations for Christ. . . . Leaders are beginning to realize they are called to use their influence in key strategic areas of society for the sake of Christ’s Kingdom in order to fulfill His mandate—to be the head, not the tail (Dt. 28:13) by reflecting the love and power of Christ in the area of our calling. Watch closely as we begin to see cities and nations affected by this new wave of the Spirit in God’s Church today.

-Os Hillman, "The Next Focus of the Faith at Work Movement," ICWM e-newsletter, 10/22/07.

What if Kingdomized people begin to bring Kingdom authority to all the gates of the city--so that we would lead the way in government, business, healthcare, media, law and educational jurisdictions of our cities? . . .

What if every believer was more concerned about being the Father's change agents for people, families and communities, rather than holding on and waiting for Jesus to remove them from the very earth He desires them to change?

- Robert Ricciardelli, "'WHAT IFS' to Ponder as we Elevate in 2008--for Christ and His Kingdom," The Elijah List, 12/20/07.

Our Training for Reigning School of Ministry is back with an exciting format. This 90-day school will be packed with both teaching, and doing. This training will consist of outreaches, break-out groups, activation, as well as multi-generational training from a variety of instructors ranging in age from their mid-twenties to their fifties. These instructors will be working with our students the entire three months equipping and preparing them to be an awesome force in the Kingdom of God! . . .

90-Day Wonders

In WWII there were a group of recruits called the "90-Day Wonders." These recruits were trained and equipped with four years of training in only 90 days. They were then released as officers right out of boot camp! The time is now to begin taking the ground that God has given into our hands. Are you ready to enlist and do your part in taking ground for the Kingdom?

- "'Training for Reigning' March 3 - May 23, 2008; Albany, OR," paid advertisement, The Elijah List, 12/30/07. [Note: be sure to check out the military boot camp graphic.]

Deluge in the Desert is a training school designed to nurture, equip and release this generation of creative and passionate box-breaking worshipers. We seek to mentor artists, dancers, musicians, singers, writers, designers, ministry leaders and worshipers of all skill levels to find new heights of freedom of expression . . . . in an environment designed for fresh revelation, instruction and impartation, as well as mobilization.

Deluge in the Desert will be a time of equipping "musicianaries" and artists to impact the marketplace onto media fronts, with one being the music world and the other being the film industry. This gathering will involve capable and anointed equippers in the area of dream interpretation and street evangelism. It is our goal to teach, release, and mobilize musicianaries into the environment of the Sundance Film Festival. These seminars provide vital knowledge and training necessary to equip you and your worship team, intercessors, pastors and teachers to change the spiritual atmosphere and release God’s presence into the Church as well as the marketplace in your region.

- "Ray Hughes, Cindy McGill, and Others: 'Deluge in the Desert' January 16-19, 2008; Sandy, UT, The Elijah List, 12/31/07.

We have high expectations of our time together at Life Center Ministries in Harrisburg, PA for Firestorm 2008 scheduled for March 6-9, 2008. There is a pursuit of Glory that has been widening an Open Heaven of wonders and prophetic power over us in recent months and we believe this time will be marked by significant breakthrough for many of you who have been asking, seeking, and knocking! We see this as a time to pull Heaven down and establish the Kingdom of God with every step that you take as the revival breakthrough angel is displacing spriritual forces over this region.

- "Che Ahn, James & Michal Ann Goll, Charles & Anne Stock, Georgian & Winnie Banov, Jeff Jansen, John Crowder, and David Ruis: 'FIRESTORM' March 6-9, 2008; Harrisburg, PA," The Elijah List, 12/21/07.

Transfer Wealth Through Foreign Exchange

New WLI Course!

Learn basic economics, psychology, money management and methods to day-trade foreign exchange. Many of the techniques you will learn will also apply to trading stocks.

- [C. Peter] Wagner Leadership Institute 12/20/07 newsletter, advertising a "Basic Foreign Exchange Trading Course (FX100) for January 10-12, 2008, Colorado Springs, CO.

The Spirit of Crazy Horse

God says, "The warrior spirit is still intact, and I will teach your hands to war. You will tear down ancient strongholds that others have been unwilling and unable to destroy. You will stand in the gates of Washington D.C. with a message from Heaven. Those that have resisted you for 200 years will now declare, 'Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord.' . . .

You will take back coveted land and place it at the feet of your Father. For I tell you this day I hear the prayers of Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull (mighty warriors) and Joseph--apostolic prophetic declarations that were made and are hanging in the balances of fulfillment. The day of the warrior has come.

I Will Resurrect Your Heart at Wounded Knee

God says, "A resurrection is coming at the places where the warrior has fallen. These memorial stones will now be remembered from the highest places of government in the land. The powers that have incarcerated your destiny will now be broken releasing the light of a new beginning in your inherent land. The caricature of history shall be rewritten and the faces of your leaders will be seen in the light of truth. I will place memorial stones in the house of your President, for those that favor you will be favored by Me. Many will see it and be glad."

- Chad Taylor, "The DAY of the WARRIOR Has Come--You Will TAKE BACK COVETED LAND and GIVE IT to the FATHER," The Elijah List, 12/29/07.

Dear Visionary Leader,

The faces of Christianity are changing and the places of Christianity are moving. A major shift underway today will have permanent impact on global missions. . . .

History Makers Leadership Award At the upcoming SYNERGIZE! Pastors Conference, the History Makers Leadership Award will be presented to a pastor who has to helped to transform all seven spheres of society.

- "Are you ready to shift in '08?" Winning the Second Billion Together! 11/14/07.

The Truth:

"O God, you are my God; early will I seek you– my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land, where there is no water; to see your power and your glory, so as I have seen you in the sanctuary." Psalm 63:1, 2


Put your soul in one scale and put all that the world calls good and great in the other. Think of everything that the heart of man can desire– riches, honor, pleasure, power– heap it well up; fill the scale until there is no room for more. Put in all the gold of Australia, all the diamonds of India, all the delights of youthful love, all the pleasures of wife and home, of children and friends, of health and strength, of name and fame; put in all that the natural mind of man deems the height of happiness, and everything that may weigh the scale down. Now, when you have filled the scale, put your soul into the other– the state of your soul for all eternity. Represent to yourself your deathbed; hold the scales with dying hands as lying just at the brink of eternity. See how the scales now hang. What if you had the whole world that you have put into the scale, and could call it all your own, but at that solemn hour felt that your soul was forever lost, that you were dying under the wrath of God, and there was nothing before you but an eternity of misery! At such a moment as this what could you put in the scale equal to the weight of your immortal soul?

Take the scales again– put into one every affliction, trial, sorrow, and distress that imagination can conceive or tongue express– let them all be yours. Distress of mind, pain of body, poverty of circumstances, contempt from man, assaults from Satan, Job's afflictions, Jacob's bereavements, David's persecutions, Jeremiah's prison, Hezekiah's sickness– put into one scale everything that makes life naturally miserable; and then put into the other scale a saved soul. Surely, as in the case of worldly honors, and riches, and happiness, a lost soul must weigh them all down; so in the case of afflictions and sorrows and troubles, a saved soul must weigh them all down too.

It is by working these feelings and convictions that God puts a soul to seek after him; for as he alone can save the soul, in seeking him it seeks salvation in and from him; for it knows that in finding him, it will find the salvation of itself in him. It therefore seeks pardon at his hands. Knowing the guilt, filth, and condemnation of sin; seeing its own ruined, desperate case as a transgressor of God's holy and righteous law, it craves pardon as a manifested blessing, for it knows it cannot die in peace unless pardon be sealed upon the conscience. To live and die an unpardoned sinner, the quickened sinner knows and feels is to live and die under the wrath of God. And knowing that manifested pardon is not a name or a notion, an enthusiast's dream, or a fanatic's fancy, but a divine reality and a gospel blessing, it craves to have this pardon revealed by God's own witnessing voice, the atoning blood of Christ applied and sprinkled by the Holy Spirit to purge the conscience from filth, guilt, and dead works to serve the living God.

[Excerpted from "A Long Soul in a Thirsty Land," by J.C. Philpot, preached at North Street Chapel, Stamford, England, on November 15, 1857.]

Shepherds Abiding in the Field

"And there were in the same country shepherds
abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night."
(Luke 2:8)

The shepherds to whom the Lord's Angel appeared announcing the birth of our Saviour were engaged in a most humble occupation. They were keeping watch over their flock by night, a serious responsibility. Sheep are not by nature easy to care for. They are silly and stupid, prone to wander, and incapable of helping themselves. Especially they are susceptible to danger in the night when the nocturnal predators come out searching for an easy snack. It is under the cover of darkness when so many things can go wrong. If a shepherd would slack off on his night watch by dozing, he could awaken to a disaster where it would be too late to rescue his flock. Sheep were, after all, the livelihood of these shepherds and an essential source for food and clothing for their families.

A slumbering shepherd during the night watch could be putting his sheep at risk for many disasters. His sheep might be easily picked off by creatures prowling the night. Wandering sheep could come too close to the edge of a rocky cliff, tumbling into darkness and death. Thieves could sneak in to snatch away precious lambs. Storms could arise with hail and driving winds. There is a long list of nocturnal dangers.

Today, we live in a time when there are many slumbering shepherds who are not abiding in the fields faithfully, nor are they keeping watch over their flock by night. Particularly in these dark days of great growing spiritual apostasy, so many shepherds have become complacent, reticent, apathetic and drowsy. They have welcomed many wolves into their flocks, never stooping down to check beneath the fuzzy wool. It is a fearful time for the innocent sheep.

The Scriptures tell us that a faithful shepherd must keep the night watch alert and awake. But keeping the night watch is against our bodies' natural rhythms. Our bodies want to snooze in warmth and snuggly comfort, not stand watch in the chilly midnight air. Nevertheless, there are many important jobs that must be done in the cool blackness of night. Some duties are borne out of compassion - caring for the infirm, feeding infants, rocking sick children, nursing the wounded. Other duties guard against danger such as thieves and attacks.

In our modern era of electricity we may not fully remember how dark the night can be. Scientists tell us that the earth is lit up at night, and that there are very few truly dark places on the planet anymore. We have nightlights, motion-detectors, surveillance cameras, electric fences and streetlights to protect our 24-hour passion for supercenters, restaurants, commuter trains, and factory shifts. The night has become lightened and brightened, but it isn't all for the better. With artificial light or without, mankind has always done his most dastardly deeds under the obscurity of night.

The Bible tells us that not only the physical night is dark, but there is also a corresponding spiritual night that is very dark indeed. Edom called to the prophet Isaiah and sarcastically twice asked him, "Watchman, what of the night?" He responded with a call to repentance, "The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come."

Jeremiah records sinful Zedekiah's flight from Jerusalem by night to attempt to escape the coming destruction of Jerusalem, only to be caught by the Chaldeans (39:4-5; 52:7-8). Night offered this king, who had been warned otherwise by Jeremiah, no protection.

Hosea describes a baker who sleeps all night while his cakes are rising with a terrible leaven, and then rises to discover a startling scene, that these spiritual adulterers "ready their heart like an oven" that "burneth as a flaming fire" (vs. 4-6).

How frightening it can be when a fire breaks out in the night! This was a kind of fire that does not give warmth, nor light, but rather terrorizes. Amos describes a similar scene:

"Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel. Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth, Seek Him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is His name." (Amos 5:6-8)

Many shepherds in our era feign great and magnificent visions while the hour grows late and times become darker. Micah warns about these false shepherds, and describes their night blindness:

"Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against Him: Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets and the day shall be dark over them." (Micah 3:5-6)

Our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed in the night. He commanded his disciples to "watch with me" but they fell asleep. He awoke them and asked, "What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." His concern was not that they watch in order to defend or protect Him, which He needed not, but rather that they watch because of their own frailty of flesh to falling into temptation. Wasn't the Lord chiding them for their complacency when He woke them once again at the hour of His betrayal, "Sleep on now, and take your rest"?

The believer has duties that obligate him to watch in the night. Sometimes this is a literal watch, sometimes it is a spiritual watch. The woman of Proverbs 31 diligently worked into the night and rose up early in the morning (vs. 15, 18) to care for her family, which could be likened to caring for flocks. The Psalmist tells us that he so delighted in the Law of the Lord that "in his law doth he meditate day and night" (Ps. 1:2). Psalm 119 says, "Mine eyes prevent [keep] the night watches, that I might meditate in Thy Word" (vs. 148).

There are many Scriptures in the New Testament that point to shepherds "labouring night and day" in the work of the Gospel and in prayer. Just a few include 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Thess. 3:8; 1 Timothy 5:5; and 2 Tim. 1:3. Sleeplessness for the purpose of earnest and fervent prayer is evidently part of the "normal" Christian life.

Romans 13:11-13 speaks to the necessity of righteous conduct in these last days. These verses speak to the fact that most sinful activities are partaken of during the cover of the darkness of night. A good saint will carefully guard his walk in the nighttime hours:

"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed; The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying."

The physical and spiritual darkness of night is not fearful to those who put their trust in God. Revelation tells us that Satan "accuses us before our God day and night." He is relentless. Likewise, so should we be fervent both day and night because Colossians 1:12-13 promises us that God the Father "hath made us meet to be parkers of the inheritance of the saints in light" and "hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." 1 John 2:8 announces that "the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth."

The Scripture also likens night to the last of the last days when "perilous times shall come" (2 Tim. 3:1). Thieves know to come in the night because they can be especially effective when people are sleeping! 1 Thessalonians 5 says that the "day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." But we are also told that we "are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief." If we are as watchful, alert and awake, as the five virgins (Matthew 25) who put oil in their lamps for light, we will not be overtaken in surprise by His coming. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 continues:

"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."

Perhaps the shepherds faithfully abiding in the fields outside Bethlehem recalled to mind the Scripture of Isaiah: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee" Psalm 139:11-12 promises that "the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and light are both alike to Thee."

Revelation foretells a time in the future when there is no more "curse" but a perpetual day: "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever" (chapter 22).

May we all be as faithful as these humble shepherds of Bethlehem, abiding in the field, keeping watch over the flocks that the Lord has given to our charge in these last of the last days.


The Truth:

"Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord:" (Lamentations 2:19a)


Copyright 2007 Discernment Ministries. Permission to repost in its entirety with a link to the original.

Oprah Winfrey and Marianne Williamson: Reflections on their New Age Christ

". . . [W]e urge people to consciously create. . . a world without deception, without hidden agendas, without back door dealings, or under the table manipulations, or behind the scenes maneuverings, or out of sight agreements, or between the lines understandings, or anything that is not totally transparent. A world in which telling and living the truth carries the highest reward and is given the highest honor by society."

- Neale Donald Walsch and Brad Blanton, Honest to God: A Change Of Heart That Can Change the World (Sparrowhawk, 2002), p. 60

On 11/8/07 New Age leader and Oprah & Friends XM Satellite reporter Marianne Williamson put up a "Big News!" announcement on her www.marianne.com website. Her announcement seemed quite confident and authoritative. She even had a link to Oprah & Friends XM Satellite Radio. She wrote:

Big News!
Beginning January 1, 2008, I will be teaching A Course in Miracles daily on Oprah & Friends XM 156. For one year, we will go through the entire Course. If this is of interest to you, get your XM ready, take your Course off the shelf or order a copy. We're going to do the Course, and stay the course!

On 11/09/07 Herescope posted an article by former New Age follower Warren Smith entitled Oprah and Friends to Teach Course on New Age Christ. In that article Smith presented significant concerns about Oprah & Friends teaching this New Age Course in Miracles. Many years ago he was a devoted student of A Course in Miracles and he discovered that the teachings of the Course - supposedly "new revelation" channeled from "Jesus" - were diametrically opposed to the teachings of the true Jesus Christ of the Bible. He came to understand that the "Jesus" of A Course in Miracles was one of the false christs that the real Jesus warned His followers to watch out for:

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (Matthew 24:3-5)

Shortly after the posting of Smith's article and the two subsequent articles on Herescope, there was considerable concern - at least in Christian circles - that Oprah was using her radio program to teach this New Age Course. Many Internet sources cited what was happening. Amidst the uproar, Marianne Williamson's "Big News!" announcement suddenly disappeared from her website. All attempts to get information on why Williamson withdrew her announcement were to no avail.

However, Marianne Williamson has just posted a new announcement on her website that seems to take the place of the "Big News!" announcement of several days ago:

Starting January 1 on Oprah and Friends XM156, I will be discussing my daily reflections on A Course in Miracles. Watch this space for details.

Send me any questions you have about A Course in Miracles and its application to your daily life. Some of these questions will be used on my radio show. (Be sure to include your phone number.)

According to this new announcement, Williamson is pulling back from "teaching" A Course in Miracles and is now offering her "daily reflections" on the Course. This subtle semantic change may indicate a change in strategy. However, this type of maneuvering around potentially controversial New Age agendas by Oprah and her staff has been noted previously. For example, bestselling author Neale Donald Walsch told colleagues at a New Age Humanity's Team conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2003, that Oprah had flown him to Chicago for a two-hour interview with him that never aired. Walsch explained what happened:

…Oprah brought me to Chicago. She loves Conversations. In fact she says it is her favorite book. She says that on the air—“This is my favorite book”—and she holds up Conversations with God. So she brought me to Chicago and she said, “Let’s do two hours.” I’m gonna do a two hour special. And she interviewed me on videotape for two hours and we had a fascinating conversation, the way only Oprah can, ‘cause she gets right into the interior of it. And I went back home, flying back home, and I thought, “My God, they’re going to do a two-hour special. This is incredible… talk about zooming sales.” And I went home and… it stayed in the can for a year and a half. I did not call her, ‘cause I didn’t want to bother Oprah with, you know, “Where is my program? When are you going to put it on?” …But finally the producer called us and said, “You know, Neale, we just can’t use it. You are so incredibly provocative in what you’re saying about your relationship with God, humanity’s relationship with God, where religion currently stands in the world etc., etc.,… that we’ve looked at this thing, we’ve watched this program eight times and all of us agree it’s just too soon. You’re way ahead of the curve, we can’t put this on now.”*


In an April 5, 2007 Oprah & Friends radio interview with Esther Hicks - a woman who channels out-of-body entities that singularly refer to themselves as "Abraham" - Oprah confessed that her television viewers weren't ready for her to be talking to channeled out-of-body entities. She said:

I am talking to Esther Hicks here, who is, I am saying today, the secret behind The Secret because she . . . is a big, big, big part, she and her husband Jerry, of the creation of the DVD that Rhonda Byrne did. . . . But she is here in our studio and I am going to ask you to channel Abraham, and let me just say, the reason why I wanted you to do this on the radio is because the television audience isn't ready for it. . . .

This radio interview, posted on the Spiritual Inspiration.info website, is really difficult to listen to because it involves occult channeling, so the listener should beware. Sadly, one quickly realizes the depth of Oprah's New Age beliefs when listening to this interview. And the reader of Herescope is reminded to pray for these two women who are so deeply drawn into spiritual deception.

The other issue here is not Oprah's right to present her New Age views - but to be honest with her viewers and listeners about these beliefs. For over twenty years Oprah has been taking her viewers and listeners step-by-step deeper into the New Age teachings. It is time for her to stop pretending that her New Age "Jesus" is the same as the Jesus of her Baptist youth. The "Jesus" of A Course in Miracles and the "Jesus" of the New Age bear absolutely no resemblance to the Jesus found in the Holy Bible.

It seems apparent that in early November someone calculated that the time was right for Marianne Williamson to teach the year-long, 365 lessons of A Course in Miracles on Oprah & Friends XM Satellite Radio. But one has to wonder if this situation, like the one described by Neale Donald Walsch above, was "just too soon" and too "way ahead of the curve" in teaching the year-long Course at this time.

What difference does it make whether Marianne Williamson is "teaching" A Course in Miracles directly, or "teaching" it indirectly by providing "reflections" on it? Whatever the case, whether through "reflection" or "teaching," this year-long study of the Course, designed for listener participation, will lead many deeper into spiritual darkness.


The Truth:

"And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.

But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest,

Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. (Acts 26:24-28)


* Humanity’s Team Leadership Gathering, Portland, Oregon, June 27- July 1, 2003: “The Care and Feeding of the Press.” Transcribed from audiotape by Warren Smith and cited in the second edition of Reinventing Jesus Christ: The New Gospel, Chapter 3 Update, subsection heading "Walsch, Winfrey and the Press."

Missing Link & Puff Pieces

Puff Pieces
Rick Warren has turned into his own apologist in the latest public relations campaign to undo some of the purported damage done by his critics. One can read the first two of a 3-part series at WorldNetDaily here and here. Strangely, he seems to be calling Rev. Robert Schuller's honesty into question about their previous associations. Schuller had publicly stated on 4/04/04:

And there’s Rick Warren, a pastor who today is phenomenal. He came to our institute time after time. And in "Christianity Today," his wife was quoted as saying, "When we came to that institute, we were blown away." How God has blessed him. And today Rick Warren is blessing millions of people.

So far no hard questions have been asked in this series. And one has to wonder why Warren would need be concerned about his public image anyway. What's next? Stay tuned. . . .


Missing Link
The link to the opening quotation in the previous post, advertising the "Eschatology & The Market Place: Rethinking the Future" conference, is no longer active. This conference was also advertised by Global Harvest Ministries (C. Peter Wagner's organization) in an e-mail sent out on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 1:34 PM.


The Truth:

…To be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29

The doctrine of justification by faith—a biblical truth, and a blessed relief from sterile legalism and unavailing self-effort—has in our time fallen into evil company and been interpreted by many in such a manner as actually to bar men and women from the knowledge of God.

The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless. Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego. Christ may be "received" without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver. The man is "saved" but he is not hungry or thirsty after God!

--A.W.Tozer, Renewed Day by Day, Volume One

Rethinking Eschatology: Dominionists on the Move

Does it matter what we believe about the “end times?” It does only if we have to live through them. Is cultural restoration through the workplace inconsistent with Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation? If the Great Tribulation is in our future, why does it matter what happens in the marketplace?

This conference will shift your paradigm on things to come.

This past weekend, December 4, 2007, in Dallas, Texas, there was an Acts 29 Conference. It was called Eschatology and the Marketplace: Rethinking the Future and sponsored by the marketplace transformation apostles. This conference is an interesting precursor to another marketplace transformation conference, which is immediately following Robert Schuller's Rethink Conference (see previous blog posts), and called Reclaiming the 7 Mountains the 2008 Church in the Workplace Conference. This Reclaiming the 7 Mountains Conference will be held in Atlanta, Georgia on January 24-26.

This "Rethinking the Future" eschatology conference was hosted by the RiosBrook Foundation. Linda Rios Brook, president of this foundation, is closely associated with C. Peter Wagner and a member of his International Coalition of Apostles. She heads Acts 29, which is variously described as "a think tank seeking answers to social and cultural issues through the marketplace" and the "Apostolic Council for Transformation in Society." The RiosBrook Foundation's purpose is Dominionist:

"[God] is trying to restore righteousness and justice to the marketplace and bring about the redemption of culture. RiosBrook Foundation believes He intends to do this through working people who receive the revelation that their calling is not to change the church; but rather, to change the world by bringing the purposes of God into the economic and power systems that govern it." [emphasis added]

Guest speakers listed for this conference included Os Hillman, chief apostle of the marketplace transformation movement, and Dennis Peacocke, who has long served as a bridge between the Charismatic and Reconstructionist Dominionists. The focus of all of this new activity is the intended transformation of seven "spheres" of society. The term "spheres" is used interchangeably with "domains," and C. Peter Wagner and his "apostles" are now calling them "mountains."

By all means, take a few moments to visit the http://www.reclaim7mountains.com website. Check out the brochure and watch the clip with Lance Wallnau, marketplace transformation leader. Wallnau states: "This is the time when God is giving territory to Kingdom people." The video clip says: "There are Seven -- it's time to take them all."

The Dominionist philosophy behind the Reclaiming 7 Mountains conference literally has to do with taking over governments and nations:

When God called the people of Israel out of Egypt to form a new nation in the Promised Land, He told them that they would be the head, not the tail, if they obeyed the commands of the Lord. He told them to divide the land into 7 parts (Joshua 18:5). They would also have to displace 7 enemies that currently resided in the Promised Land. “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out 7 enemies before you including the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and the Jebusites (Joshua 3:10).

Have you noticed a pattern yet — 7 mountains, 7 parts of land, and 7 enemies that needed to be displaced?

There is a graphic representation in this Dominionism with the mystical artwork coinciding with the conference promotion which is said to help you "cast the vision of shaping our culture."

The new eschatology has to do with building the kingdom of God on earth, a radical restructuring of the Gospel of Salvation so that the focus shifts to nation-building here on earth. Quite a transformation in thinking is required to develop this new worldview, which may be why all of these conferences are talking about "rethinking."

Landa Cope of YWAM has written a key book, promoted by Os Hillman, entitled An Introduction to The Old Testament Template: Rediscovering God's principles for discipling all nations, which serves as a Theonomy primer for Charismatics by teaching them how to acquire a Dominionist mindset. In this book she states that:

"We must destroy the split thinking we have been taught and take up again the gospel of the Kingdom." (p. 147)

What is this "split thinking"?

"The Message Is The Kingdom

"This means when we preach salvation alone we are missing the majority of God's kingdom message. Salvation is essential. There is no other way of entry into the Kingdom of God. But salvation is the entry into the kingdom; it is not the goal or the Kingdom itself. By making it the goal we have lost most of God's message. (p. 147) . . .

"Our destiny is not salvation
"God died to save us and desires salvation for all. The only way into the Kingdom of God is through Jesus Christ, but salvation is not God's ultimate goal. The new birth is a means to an end." (p. 150)

Marketplace Meditations, a “Daily Electronic Devotional published by Os Hillman at Marketplace Leaders” published a talk by Landa Cope to YWAM:

“'We need to preach a gospel of the kingdom that God is the God of law, development, science, technology, health care, and economics.’ God does not just want a big church, he wants a diverse church, a deep church. He does not want just to save individuals in nations but to redeem the nations themselves.” [bold added]


The Truth:

"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." (Daniel 2:35)