Because of your message Colleen and I thought we had best write to you and let you know our views and how we feel about the acceptance of the 'Toronto Blessing' into our congregation, and also to explain to you why we have such views and why we have taken the stand that we are taking.

As you said in your message, it is a difficult subject and tends to be a 'bit' divisive so we are praying that you will hear our hearts and receive what we want to communicate in the attitude that it is intended. Colleen and I both honour and respect your position as our pastor and we love you and your family as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Our hearts are for the Church and God's people and there is no way that, in this communication to you, we are about to attack what belongs to God. We have been a part of this Church and congregation practically all of our born-again Christian lives and have always stood behind the leadership, supporting what we believe to be God given aspirations and goals. We will continue to do so. The people of the Church are our friends whom we love in the Lord. They are a part of us. We have both been actively involved in the Church and school and have supported both with our time and finances, helping to make CCC the great Church and school that we believe it is today. We feel that we have an investment in CCC. Our hearts are in the place! We do not intend to pull down something that we and our friends have spent so much time and effort into building up. We belong to CCC and CCC belongs to us.

We had been a bit vocal regarding the 'move' up until about January, however, because of our pending marriage, we didn't have the time to pursue the matter further and have not been active in debating it since.

Although at first I felt a bit uncomfortable as you presented your message I soon realised that you were just making your stand clear. We appreciate what you said and the way your message was presented but we came to the conclusion that, as members of the congregation, you would need to be aware of how we feel about the situation.

My questioning and non-acceptance of the 'move' has always been up front with leadership. When Pastor and Kendrie first began to accept the 'Toronto Blessing' as a move of God I was approached by Kendrie and given some tapes to view which were for the move. A message from Dr. Andrew Evans made it clear that the move would be accepted by the AOG in general. My reply to Kendrie was that I was not convinced by the tapes, and that I would not change my views because of them. I spoke to her about what I believed to be unscriptural in the tapes. My position was known by the then current leadership.

There are a number of reasons why we have not contacted you earlier regarding our views. Firstly, we didn't know where you stood on the issue. Secondly, I know of instances where a new pastor arrives only to be attacked on various 'issues' by some person that he doesn't even know. We thought it would be best to give you time to get to know us first and at least establish some form of creditability. We hope we have given the impression of being stable and committed members in the congregation. Thirdly, we've been too busy, with marriage etc.

There are a number of reasons that we have not accepted the 'Toronto Blessing' movement. I would like to respectfully address them with you and I will outline them below.

1. The 'Toronto Blessing' has its roots in the Faith Movement, some of the leading members being Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Fred Price, John Avanzini, Benny Hinn and a host of others.

Until quite recently these ministries were shunned and denounced by the leadership of the mainstream Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches as they were known to be teaching false doctrine. The roots of the Faith Movement can be traced back to the teaching of E. W. Kenyon, who was involved in the metaphysical cults. The occult!

Many Christians presume that the Faith Movement is a true work of God simply because of the claimed healings and miracles. Results can never be the criterion by which the truth of an idea is proven and healings and miracles do not vindicate truth. For every god there is a religion, and in every religion there are healings and miracles.

2. My experience, and the experience of others, has been that when a Christian first encounters the Toronto Blessing, there is a shrinking back from it, a total rejection of the outlandish behaviour of the participants and what is going on in the name of the Holy Spirit. However, somewhere along the path of indecision and confusion, these same Christians have a swing in their mind set and consequently accept the move as being from and blessed by God.

I believe that this pattern of (a.) an initial rejection, (b.) an &quotI'll stand back and have a look and see what happens" attitude, (c.) a total confusion, (d.) a moving on to a tolerance and then (e.) a later acceptance of the teachings and manifestations of the 'Toronto Blessing', is crucial to what is happening in Christendom today.

At the first instance of initial rejection, warning bells are ringing quite clearly. It is obvious that something is wrong. Practically, without exception, all of the people who discussed this topic with me at its inception said, &quotThis couldn't be God!" As stated in your message, it was also your reaction. However, as with all things that will try to lead us away from truth, if we take the attitude of 'looking and seeing' we become confused and, unless we stand firm in our conviction, we progress on to the steps of tolerance and eventual acceptance.

It is the very reason God warns us to flee from all things that can lead us astray. Flee! Flee! Flee! He knows, in His wisdom, that if we stop and look and try to analyse, and justify, and reason, we will become ensnared.

Some do eventually accept, for various reasons (which is a topic in itself), and become involved and there is confusion in the remaining Christians as to what is going on. As Bible believing, read up and prayed up Christians, I don't believe there should be any confusion when the voice of our Shepherd speaks up in warning to us, as I believe He has done.

Ephesians 4:11-15 says &quotIt was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ."

Should we be confused? In my understanding of Ephesians, if there is confusion, that would indicate in itself that something is terribly wrong.

Whose was the first Voice that the Christian heard warning that the 'Toronto Blessing' was not of God? Does not the Scripture below suggest that God will clearly identify Himself? He walks in by the front door and makes Himself known!

In John 9:41-10:4 Jesus said, &quotIf you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice."

I believe that this passage of Scripture is vitally important. Do not be deceived by another shepherd. It speaks of deception to us who live in the age that Christ warns of. There will be a great deception that will lead away even the very elect (Mark 13:22). The passage above shows that the sheep know the voice of their own shepherd. The shepherd calls the name of each sheep and they each in turn respond to his voice and follow him. They respond to him and follow him because they know his voice. There is no confusion about the voice. There is an intimacy between the shepherd and the flock and the sheep immediately recognize his voice. If the sheep do not recognize the voice, they do not follow the shepherd.

What was the negative response that we experienced when the Toronto Blessing was first encountered? Why was it rejected in the first instance? Why was it that, after a couple of months of exposure to the Toronto Blessing, people were still in confusion and couldn't work out whether it was God or not? Could it be that another shepherd was calling us and we couldn't recognise his voice? Perhaps our Shepherd was warning us not to follow and that's why the alarm bells were ringing and the 'Toronto Blessing' was initially rejected?

I have always been taught in the Charismatic and Pentecostal Church that if you have any doubt in your heart about a situation, then don't touch. God is able to make Himself clear! I have also been taught (although I can't substantiate it from Scripture) that the first voice is God (the One that said to beware), the second voice is yourself and the final voice is the enemy himself!

If a Christian is in prayer and constantly in the Word, I would suggest that the voice first heard saying to beware was our Shepherd. The other voice eventually heeded at a later date by the confused and doubting Christian, saying that the 'Toronto Blessing' was a move of the Holy Spirit, was another shepherd, not our shepherd.

Another point pertinent to this subject. When God has made Himself clear about something and then we question what is plainly obvious from Scripture, we will always arrive at another answer, another interpretation. The enemy has permission to prevail.

Finally, I believe there is something else of vital importance in this area of hearing the promptings of our Lord. We are Spirit filled Christians, so we understand and believe that God is a speaking God. We know that God communicates with us through the Holy Spirit and we experience daily in our lives God's leading and directions. We are experienced in this aspect of God. If the first voice that we heard warning us not to embrace the 'Toronto Blessing' was not God, then we have a major problem. We can no longer (as we have been taught to in the Pentecostal Church) appeal to the first voice as being from God. In fact we can no longer appeal to any voice because we are no longer sure which voice is which. There are serious implications with being unsure as to who is speaking to us. There are serious implications when we profess to be mature Christians, being grounded in the Word and communicating with God on a regular basis in prayer yet confess that we are unsure whether the voice that spoke to us and said &quotDon't touch!" is really God. I do understand that our final appeal is to God's Word and not to any voices, but I think you will see what I am alluding to.

3. I am extremely concerned that we are now accepting the Faith Movement as part of the genuine Pentecostal and Charismatic scene. If we have previously denounced these ministries for known error (heresy) I would like to know why we are now embracing them with open arms?

False doctrine is of great concern to God. He likens it to yeast used as a rising agent in the making of bread. 1 Corinthians 5:6 warns, &quotDon't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?" Yeast is used as a type in Scripture not only to depict sin, as most Christians presume, but also as a type for false teaching. Sin and false teaching are a serious matter and both will separate us from God. Even a little bit can get you off-course.

In your message you supported the people promoting the 'Toronto Blessing' saying that we can't accuse them of being wrong because we can't actually point our finger at any sin that they are committing. These people have been spreading false doctrine for years and we have been aware of it for years and yet we are supposed to say they are not sinning. Jesus said to beware of false doctrine. He uses the same 'type' to describe false teaching as He does for murder or adultery. Leaven has to be got out! It is sin!

Mat 16:6, 11-12 &quotBe careful," Jesus said to them. &quotBe on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

&quotHow is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

If the members of the Faith Movement have instigated the &quotToronto Blessing", it has been birthed in false teaching, and we should not be a part of it, no matter how we try to convince ourselves that God is involved. God's Word is plain. False teaching is sin and should be treated in the same way as any other sin.

Since the beginning of this movement I have heard the saying, &quotDon't toss the baby out with the bath-water" so many times. It's like it's saying that it's alright to sort through something that is contaminated by sin and try to separate the bit that is from God and the bit that is from the devil. We can keep the bit that is supposed to be from God and toss the rest out. My Bible is very emphatic that if something has been contaminated by sin, then don't touch it.

In the book of Jude, chapter 1, verses 21-25 we read, &quotKeep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear - hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh."

And again in 2 Corinthians, chapter 7, verse1 we read, &quotSince we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."

And as mentioned previously, 1 Corinthians 5:6 warns, &quotDon't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?" The whole batch is contaminated by the yeast (false doctrine) and God warns us in the previous Scripture to purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit.

4. In your message you stated that the people speaking against the 'move' are using &quotoutright slander" to demote the 'Toronto Blessing' and promote their own cause. I am not sure who you were referring to in that part of your message, but if it was to the sources that I have seen and studied, then I believe that we have a responsibility to investigate what is being accused. I have taken the trouble, during my Christian walk, to investigate what is being claimed by people 'slandering' different ministries and movements and I am absolutely horrified to find that most of the accusations against leaders and ministries that we hold in great esteem are absolutely true.

Should we blindly accept, without question, without verifying in the Word of God, everything that is promoted. I know that you would say that we should not. (Acts 17:11 we see that the Bereans were commended for examining the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.) However, what are we to do if we discover that someone is teaching false doctrine, for whatever reason or purpose? The moment you try to expose false doctrine you are accused of attacking the brethren or the leadership of your Church and come under attack yourself.

I believe it is time for the prophetic voice to stand up in the Church and boldly proclaim truth, contending for the faith, fearing not intimidation nor slander nor threat of being &quotstruck down dead in your pew" by a God who is angry because you dared to question something that is not clearly substantiated by Scripture.

I have not simply read everything that is against the 'move' and then just 'run' with it, repeating what other people have written. I have spent my precious time researching and checking what has been said by various people, for and against the move. The people who have written the articles questioning the move that I have in my possession have spent their precious time researching and documenting the various heresies promoted by the Faith Movement. Neither have I just blindly accepted what these people are saying. I have checked tapes and videos and magazines produced by the Faith Movement and it is there. What is accused is well supported by the evidence.

Most of the people questioning the 'Toronto Blessing' are doing it out of love for the Body of Christ. They are concerned, as they should be, and we should be, that the Word of God is under attack. We seem to have more concern for the survival of the 'Toronto Blessing' movement than we have for the accurate presentation of God's Holy Word.

Kenneth Copeland did say that Satan conquered Jesus on the Cross.

Benny Hinn did say &quotNever, ever, ever go the Lord and say, 'If it be Thy will...' Don't allow such faith destroying words to be spoken from your mouth."

Frederick Price did say &quotGod has to be given permission to work in this earth realm on behalf of man....Yes! You are in control! So, if man has control, who no longer has it? God."

Kenneth Hagin did say &quotMan was created on terms of equality with God, and he could stand in God's presence without any consciousness of inferiority."

Kenneth Copeland did say &quotI was shocked when I found out who the biggest failure in the Bible actually is. The biggest one is God. I mean, He lost his top ranking, most anointed angel; the first man He ever created; the first woman He ever created; the whole earth and the fullness therein; a third of the angels, at least - that's a big loss, man. Now, the reason you don't think of God as a failure is He never said He's a failure. And you're not a failure till you say you're one."

Frederick Price did say &quotDo you think that the punishment for our sin was to die on a cross? If that were the case, the two thieves could have paid your price. No, the punishment was to go into hell itself and to serve time in hell separated from God...Satan and all the demons of hell thought that they had Him bound. And they threw a net over Jesus and they dragged Him down to the very pit of hell itself to serve our sentence."

Kenneth Copeland did say that Jesus was born again in Hell. This was after Jesus had already proclaimed from the Cross, &quotIt is finished!" To insinuate that Jesus needed to be born again is to say that Jesus was a sinner just like you and me and needed a Redeemer. In other words He couldn't qualify as the Great High Priest to give His blood as a ransom for us. When you mess with the true meaning of Scripture there is always a cost. The cost in this example is to denigrate Jesus to the level of you and me. It either brings Jesus down to our level, or promotes us up to His. It's not far from there to saying that we are Gods ourselves, which is what the New Age movement is all about.

They have attacked the very foundations of what the Bible teaches regarding the supremacy of God and His plan of redemption for fallen man. They bring the very crucifixion of Christ to naught, denigrating Jesus to, as Kenneth Copeland put it, a &quotwormy little spirit" who had no power over Satan.

I think it is time to look at what is being said, not to close off because we are loyal to our group or some movement and don't want to rock the boat. We get all defensive and ignore the warning calls to our own peril. We need to take a look. Someone maligns our group, we get upset. But if someone maligns the Word of God we close our eyes.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

5. I have on many occasions during my Christian walk, heard of people being drunk in the Spirit. I, like most Pentecostals, have naively and unquestioningly presumed that this is a valid Holy Spirit induced experience. When Rodney Howard Brown came to our Church I saw some people who were supposed to be drunk in the Spirit. As I studied this phenomena I believe the Lord spoke to me, revealing that He was not involved in what was taking place. The Scripture, &quotAbstain from all appearance of evil" came to me.

Also, as I watched the proceedings before me, I believe that the Spirit revealed to me that we are accepting the standards of the world into the Church. These young people who were leading the drunkenness thing on that particular night were from an age group who have been brought up with the philosophy that 'anything goes'. If it feels good, do it! No restraints! We have been bombarded with this philosophy for a couple of decades now via the media, and it is having its desired effect. We no longer question outlandish behaviour. We are the generation of the end time spoken of in 1 Timothy 3:1-7

&quotBut mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth." It needs to be recognized that this Scripture is talking about Christians, not the people in the world.

We are allowing any sort of behaviour as sanctified by the Holy Spirit. The standards of the world are flooding in upon us and we stand back and allow it. Acting like a drunk who has no self-control is encouraged. It's looked upon as a sign of great holiness in the participant, a sign that they are very spiritual. People are actually testifying that they have no control over themselves, that they have been so drunk in the Spirit that they cannot walk or speak coherently. And while in this state, God is supposed to be dealing with them in some miraculous way.

However, being prompted by God, I checked all Scriptures referring to the word drunk, drunken, drunkenness etc, and found not one that substantiates God wanting us to act in such a manner. In fact, most of the references I found would preclude acting in a drunken manner because God actually curses drunkenness. The only time that anyone was drunk because God made him so was when God cursed that person or nation.

I was also prompted by the Lord to re-evaluate the classic Scripture used in promoting being drunk in the Spirit and had my eyes opened to the error of the teaching that we have received. The day of Pentecost!

In your message you very strongly and emotionally pointed out that when the Spirit of God comes upon you these are the things that will take place. You stated that everyone came running to see what was going on and when they saw the Apostles staggering around &quotthe very first thing that is said about the Spirit filled Church is that they are drunk."

My re-study of the Scriptures has led me to discover that nothing is further from the truth. Let's read the Scripture again and see what it says.

Acts 2:5-18. &quotNow there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language."

(They were speaking in known languages - not glossolalia and not gibberish.)

Utterly amazed, they asked: &quotAre not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!"

(The miracle was that unlearned, common Galileans were speaking in the languages of neighbouring nations - declaring the wonders of God. Not struck mute nor staggering around in a drunken stupor.)

Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, &quotWhat does this mean?" Some, however, made fun of them and said, &quotThey have had too much wine."

(The crowd of people did not accuse the apostles of being drunk as we have been, and still are being taught. The people were amazed that the disciples were speaking in their language - and could understand them. They knew it wasn't possible for these unlearned men to be doing this. It was a miracle, and it was recognised by the people of the surrounding nations as a sovereign work of God. However, as is always in a crowd of thousands of people, some didn't understand what was happening and, as the Bible clearly states, made fun of them. In fun they joked that they had been drinking. They had no answer to, nor could they understand what was going on, so they made a bit of fun of them. We have based a whole doctrine around this verse that clearly does not say that the apostles were acting drunk nor how many made fun of them and jokingly said they must have been drinking wine. How many is some in a crowd? Three? A dozen? Certainly not the main crowd, because as we see, about 3000 got saved.)

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:

(They were not rolling around on the ground incoherently drunk as we have been taught. They were standing up. I would suggest that they were not staggering either. Peter could speak also. He was not struck dumb, as Rodney Howard Brown and others would have you believe. He went on from that point to preach a message to the assembled crowd that climaxed in about three thousand people being converted. To say that the apostles were acting in a drunken stupor borders on blasphemy. You only have to keep reading in Acts chapter 2 to see that Peter preached the Gospel to the assembled listeners. It was such a bold and convicting message that when the people heard it, they were cut to the heart and those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.)

&quotFellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.'"

(I do not see anything in the above verses that would suggest that we will act like drunken men or women when God pours out His Holy Spirit. To the contrary. Visions and dreams. Yes! Prophesy. Yes! The prophet Joel never mentioned drunkenness.)

In one of the Rodney Howard Brown meetings that I have on tape, pastors of substantial Churches are called to testify what has happened to them and their congregations since attending his meetings or going to the Toronto Church. They are unable to speak, as though struck dumb, and eventually start laughing or acting drunk, or both, and then fall on the floor unable to stand. Rodney Howard Brown blames this behaviour upon Acts chapter 2. He says, and everyone believes, that this is what happened on the day of Pentecost. I think we need to re-evaluate what is being espoused by these last-day 'prophets'.

Another Scripture used to substantiate drunken behaviour is in Ephesians 5:15-20.

&quotBe very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The teaching that we have received in Pentecostalism in the past suggests that being filled with the Spirit can be compared to being drunk on wine. But I would suggest that Paul was not comparing the two, but contrasting them. There is a vast difference. In verse 4 of the same chapter we read, &quotNor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." Are we to suggest that thanksgiving is the same as obscenity, or foolish talk or perhaps course joking. The logic used in this kind of interpretation is irrational. Consider a scenario where we are witnessing to a homosexual person and we suggest to him that he should discontinue his life of homosexuality and repent and be saved. Is it logical for him to think that repenting and being saved will have the same affect upon him as his homosexual actions?

I believe very strongly that God is calling us to re-evaluate the teaching we have received and look at His Word afresh. We believe things and do things that can not be substantiated by Scripture and yet stand in judgment of Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholics and others that we know to be deceived in error, misled by false teachers.

6. Fear is being used as an agent to cause people to accept the 'Toronto Blessing' as coming from God.

Rodney Howard Brown stated in the meeting that I attended in our Church, &quotIf you have come here to check me out, be very careful because the Holy Spirit is checking you out." In the taped messages that I have viewed he declares that anyone that speaks against the movement or resists it in any way will &quotdrop dead in their pew". God will simply strike them dead. He, and many other leaders of the Faith Movement, use fear to cause people to accept their doctrine.

They use the Scripture of Ananias and his wife Sapphira to substantiate their claim that God will strike you down dead if you resist their teaching or reject the manifestations that are taking place. Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit! Checking a man's doctrine is not lying to the Holy Spirit. That is called Scripture Twisting and it is used to cause people to accept your point of view. That's what the cults do. We are encouraged by Scripture to check what the teachers are teaching. The blind lead the blind and both go into the ditch. Paul teaches that if even he or an angel from Heaven (not hell even) comes with another message let him be accursed. He repeats it to make sure we get the message. When God repeats Himself, it's because what He is saying is vitally important. If the apostle Paul were invited to speak in our Church, would we bother to check his doctrine? I would suggest that we would not, being secure in the assumption that Paul should know what he is talking about. But Paul himself encourages us to check and not just blindly accept what is being preached.

When Paul encountered someone that didn't accept his message, he didn't pronounce some fearful curse upon that person. He simply left them and went and preached to someone who would accept what he was saying. Today's 'apostles' use strong arm tactics and twist the Scriptures to cause the weak and unlearned to fearfully accept their doctrine.

Nobody's teachings or practices are beyond biblical evaluation, especially influential leaders. According to the Bible, in Luke 12:48, authority and accountability go hand in hand. The greater the responsibility one holds, the greater the accountability one has before God and His people.

Teachers and other leaders of the Church should be extremely careful not to mislead any believer with wrong teaching, for their calling carries with it a strict judgment. They should be grateful when sincere Christians take the time and effort to bring attention to whatever wrong doctrine they may be preaching to the people. And if the criticisms are in error or unbiblical, they should respond in the manner that the Bible sets forth, which tells them to correct misguided doctrinal opposition with gentle instruction (2 Timothy 2:25), not pronounce death and sickness upon them as the Faith Movement is doing.

There is, of course, another side to this issue. Criticism often can be sinful, leading to rebellion and unnecessary division. Christians should respect the leaders that God has given them as prescribed in Hebrews 13:17. Theirs is the task of assisting the church in its spiritual growth and doctrinal understanding as set out in Ephesians 4:11-16. At the same time, however, believers should be aware that false teachers will arise among the Christian fold as warned in Acts 20:29 and 2 Peter 2:1. This makes it imperative for us to test all things by Scripture, as the Bereans were commended for doing when they examined the words of even the apostle Paul as recorded in Acts 17:11.

2 Timothy 4:2 tells us that not only is the Bible useful for preaching, teaching, and encouragement, but it is equally useful for correcting and rebuking. In fact, we as Christians are held accountable for proclaiming the whole will of God and warning others of wrong teachings and exposing those responsible for them. Acts 20:26-28 and Ezekiel 33:7-9; 34:1-10.

We need to heed Scripture's repeated warnings to be on guard for false teachings as pointed out in Romans 16:17-18, 1 Timothy 1:3-4, 1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Timothy 1:13-14, Titus 1:9, Titus 2:1, and to point them out to brothers and sisters in Christ as Scripture also tells to in 1 Timothy 4:6. With so much Scriptural support, such actions can hardly be considered unbiblical and worthy of the condemnation pronounced by the leaders of the Faith Movement.

Sadly, Benny Hinn, who is being held up in esteem by our leadership and who will be guest speaker at the 31st AOG Biennial National Conference to be held in Adelaide in May next year (1997) has made, on several occasions, vicious attacks upon people who have pointed out the error in his teachings. Hank Hanegraaff, author of 'Christianity in Crisis' and president of Christian Research Institute has received threats even against his children. Benny Hinn actually told the video crew to stop taping while he made his threats, but he forgot to tell the cassette tape crew to do likewise. The threats upon the families of genuine Christian men and women who have discovered heresy is on record. This is NOT God!

My own cursory examination of just one Benny Hinn tape that is promoted by our own book shop has confirmed to me that he is teaching wrong doctrine.

Before the service on Christmas eve morning (1995), I hired a video of Benny Hinn entitled &quotI Am" which had been recorded on Monday 21/01/91.

Listed below are a couple of errors that I picked up without even trying.

The first item that I am bringing to light is not so much wrong teaching but a prediction that was off beam. Benny Hinn was careful enough not to make this a prophecy, but it was so close to it that if it had come to pass the people would have taken it as such, and no doubt Benny Hinn would have let the people know that he was correct in a 'God inspired' prophecy.

Israel In Gulf War

Benny Hinn claimed in his message that Israel would be involved in the Gulf War and that this war would herald in a mighty move of the Holy Spirit in revival. Revival was coming and this would be the catalyst. His guess was that the Rapture would take place within five years. If my math serve me correct, his prediction places this to happen sometime before 21/01/1996.

However, one of the amazing things about the Gulf War is the fact that Israel abstained from being involved even though they were fired upon and suffered direct hits from Iraqi scud missiles. They exercised unbelievable restraint due to promises made to them by the US government. Another amazing thing is that not one single person was killed in the whole of Israel from the missiles that came from Iraq.

Some may say that I am being a bit picky on this point, but what I want to point out is that these preachers within the Faith Movement make mistakes despite their claims to be constantly in touch with God. They are not infallible as they would like us to believe. Benny Hinn made the boast that when God speaks to him, &quotHe really speaks to me." According to Benny Hinn, he and God carry on conversations regularly like common men. Multitudes of people have the impression that if Benny Hinn or Kenneth Copeland preach something and add the words, &quotGod said...", then we should blindly believe them. I say, so much for Benny Hinn's amazing direct line to God.

No Sickness

Hinn also claimed in this tape that:

"...in this new move that is about to take place, not one Christian will be sick. God will heal everybody in the revival."

He uses the Scripture concerning the Israelites leaving Egypt to substantiate his claim. The exodus from Egypt is likened to the revival prior to the Rapture, which is not very good exegesis or typology according to my teaching. Whether it be good exegesis or not, if the Toronto Blessing is the move he is indicating then we should not be seeing any more sick people in our church services. Sickness and death and misery will not be eradicated until the appearing of the new Heaven and the new earth as depicted in Revelation 21.

Creation Still Taking Place

"...creation is still taking place. The universe is expanding at the speed of light and new planets are continually being created."

This is an evolutionist view. God's word says that Creation took six literal days and then stopped.

Exodus 20:11 tells us &quotFor in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them (including the heavens), but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

And again in Exodus 31:17 &quotIt will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested."

There is no suggestion in Scripture that the Lord merely started making the heavens, had a rest on day seven, and then carried on with the rest of it at a later date which, according to Benny Hinn, is still going on.

This teaching is a direct attack on Genesis and Creation. It is a subtle (knowing or unknowing) attempt to discredit the very first chapter of the Bible. How can people have trust in God's Word if the very opening chapter is questioned and discredited? If we don't believe what God says about Creation, then why should we believe in redemption in the Crucifixion or eternal life at the Resurrection?

Son Of God Denied

They are getting worse. In this item Benny Hinn stated:

&quotThere was no Son of God before Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. God was not a father before Jesus became flesh."

This is an attack upon the Trinity.

The word states that Jesus was with God in the beginning.

John 1:1-2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

There has never been a time (according to Scripture) when the Trinity didn't exist.

Hebrews 1:1-5, &quotIn the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word."

Further comment to show the error of this teaching is not really necessary. Any Christians who want to read their Bibles will immediately discern that something is wrong.

The Last Prophet

&quotJohn the Baptist was the last prophet."

John the Baptist was already dead when Jesus prophesied that the Temple of Jerusalem would be trodden down and destroyed and the people dispersed throughout the nations.

Again, no further comment should be necessary.

7. The next thing that I would like to address is the problem of basing our doctrine on experience. As stated previously, experience can never be the criteria by which we judge something to be of God or not. Even if people appear to have good fruit from their experiences, or even healings, this does not mean it is God who is at work. Good fruit is not even the criteria by which we judge if someone is a Christian, as we are constantly being taught. The Scripture that claims, &quotby their fruit you will know them" is not talking about us being able to judge if one is in the Lord or not, it is actually talking about false teachers. It is by their fruit that we discern if one is a false teacher or false prophet, as pointed out in Matthew 7:13-16:

&quotEnter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them."

And again in Matthew 7:20-23:

&quotThus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

The fruit of the Spirit as mentioned in Galatians is also not a criteria by which we judge if one is a Christian or not. Even the Catholics or JW's or Mormons can display good fruit, but that doesn't make them Christian. The Scripture doesn't teach that if people are displaying these fruit they are Christian but rather that if they don't have these fruit something is wrong. All Christians should be displaying good fruit, but not all who display good fruit are Christians. It is vitally important that we understand this.

Galatians 5:19-23, &quotThe acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

In my own prayerful opinion I believe that the Word Faith Movement is being deceived, and is in turn deceiving the masses, by looking to their experiences as the criteria by which to judge whether something is coming from the Lord or not. They have run after experience and have been led astray by the enemy. I also believe that they have made little of the anointing of the Lord. They have used the anointing as some kind of toy or side show attraction and have wandered off into error, and like some modern day Pied Piper they are drawing multitudes after them.

When Rodney Howard-Brown came to our Church, he gave a brief testimony of when he first had an encounter with God. Also in his booklet &quotFresh Oil From Heaven" he testifies that in 1979 he had a great hunger for God and prayed to God saying, &quotEither you come down here and touch me or I'm going to come up there and touch You." He says the fire of God came upon him, starting on his head and going right down to his feet. He began to laugh uncontrollably and then began to weep and then speak with other tongues.

Benny Hinn's testimony is also interesting to me. He says that when he first encountered the Spirit of God, he felt as though someone had wrapped him up in a blanket and a feeling of ecstasy flowed from the top of his head, down through his body and then back up to his head again.

Both men testify that their lives were radically changed and they were on fire for God from that moment onward.

My own conversion experience in Weipa in 1982 was very similar and I have no hesitation in believing that these men had a real encounter with God. I can readily identify with what happened to both of them. But I believe something went wrong after their encounter with God.

My conversion took place when I was in the depths of unimaginable depression due to the separation from my first wife and my children. I was on the brink of suicide and contemplated it regularly. I was also in danger of death by a mixture of prescription drugs and alcohol. After about a year of this sort of existence I came in contact with an Anglican priest who led me to the Lord. He was a born again, Spirit filled priest who was a little different from the general run of the mill Anglican priests. About two weeks after I was saved he told me about being baptized in the Holy Spirit and after a bit of counseling asked me if I wanted to be baptized in this way. I agreed that it would probably be a good idea, so he laid hands on me and prayed for me.

That was on Saturday 14th August, 1982. My hunger for God increased and my excitement grew so much that I could not sleep. I spent the next three days and nights praying and reading anything I could get my hands on regarding God. I did not and could not sleep. I was on night shift at the time and spent my entire working time totally alone in a massive big store run by Comalco. The Lord led me through my past life and convicted me of sin in every area. I was overcome by my total unworthiness to have any forgiveness from God and spent a lot of time in remorse.

On Tuesday morning after three days and nights of not sleeping I went to the priest and told him what was going on. I was afraid that I would go to sleep on the job and not wake up. He asked me if I was tired and I told him that I wasn't. He told me not to worry as God was looking after things.

I didn't trust his judgment so I bought some stubbies of beer and drank them, thinking they would put me to sleep. They did.

I slept from about 11 o'clock on Tuesday morning through to 6 o'clock on Wednesday morning. I had also missed my shift which was supposed to begin at midnight. When I awoke, the hunger for God was still there and I spent another two nights without sleep, praying and reading and singing out to God like a maniac.

I eventually sensed that God was very close, as though I could just about reach out and touch Him. I even cried out, in my ignorance, for Him to reveal Himself to me. Like Rodney Howard-Brown, I said some stupid things, but my hunger for God was so intense.

Eventually, at 4.30 on the Friday morning I had a tangible encounter with the Holy Spirit. As I was standing crying out to God I felt something like a silk scarf wrap itself around the top of my head. It was the most beautiful sensation that I have ever experienced. The feeling then proceeded slowly down through my body until it reached my feet. It then came slowly back up through my body and then I felt two hands take hold of my shoulders and gently, but firmly, begin to push me down to the floor. I knew in my heart that someone was wanting me to kneel down, but I ended up sitting on the floor. As the experience progressed I became a little afraid that I might not be in control of my faculties if I let it continue, so I stopped it. My reason for fear was not the experience itself, but that I would no longer be able to administer my responsibility which was the security of Comalco's main store complex and the stock that I was supposed to be looking after.

This experience is similar to the ones described by Howard-Brown and Hinn. They had a tangible experience.

On another occasion after my first experience, I had another encounter with the Holy Spirit of God. I was praying and praising God and got to a place where the same feeling that I had experienced previously came to me. It was so beautiful and can only be described as a feeling of total love or ecstasy but this time I didn't have to fear about my job as I was home and off-duty. I began speaking in tongues and was totally immersed in the feeling and praising and worshipping God. However, after a short while, the Spirit of God told me that I was not to look for this experience ever again. I was not to go seeking for this most beautiful feeling but I was to seek God only. Do not go looking for the gift but seek the Giver of the gift. I distinctly heard the message and have obeyed it to this day.

I believe in my heart that Howard-Brown and Hinn and others in the Word Faith Movement have sought the experience in the same way that I did but they have not heeded the warning from God to resist seeking the feelings and look only for Him. If you seek the Lord with all your heart he will be found by you. Once you have found Him you do not make Him into some kind of plaything or toy, which I believe they are doing. They have no reverence for the God who created everything, including us. God is some kind of force that can be dispensed from the hands of men at will and random. He is not a sovereign God who requires our fearful respect and honour. Faith Movement teaching espouses that we can stand before God on equal terms, without feeling inferior or unworthy. Benny Hinn stands before the assembled crowds and asks &quotDo you want it?" and as the crowd responds with a mighty shout of &quotYes!" he throws his arms as a man casts a net and the crowd reels back, falling under the supposed power of God. He can even manipulate this power so that it only affects people in certain rows. The left side of the auditorium, or the right side of the auditorium, the back three rows, etc., etc., etc. And the crowd loves it! Where in all of history, as written in the Scriptures, do we find a precedence for this kind of ministry? The answer is, &quotWe do not!"

I believe God is calling us, in these last and dangerous days, back to the pure Word of Scripture. Adding to or subtracting from the intended message of Scripture carries with it dire consequences and we need to heed the warnings. I believe also that God is calling His people, no matter how much they hate to read, back to the prayerful reading and study of the Scriptures. Our failure to partake of Christ in the Living Word daily will lead us to spiritual death. He is the Word and He is the Bread of Life. People crave after quail, God will let them have quail. We live in a time where we see the fruit of television watching taking its toll and reaping its reward. The enemy has prepared the masses to reject reading for themselves. We want someone to read to us, unquestioningly accepting anything that is espoused. Satan is reaping his harvest.

I know that the majority of Christians are not reading and studying the Word because God showed me so. He showed me in a vision, as I was praying, a bowl of something looking like cereal (what is it?), a spoon and milk being poured onto the cereal and He said, &quotI can't make anyone eat it!" There is a poverty in Christians partaking of the Word. Which is why we have the problem we have today. They will gather around them teachers preaching messages to suit what their itching ears want to hear, never checking what God says on the issue, therefore being open to every wind of doctrine and being deceived. We live in the days that the Master warns of. We need to be vigilant.

God has also showed me that everyone is so looking to revival that they will accept, without question, whatever comes along. Whatever is poured out, they think, &quotThis must be it." God doesn't need man to orchestrate what He alone can do.

I know this communiqué will cause some problems, but as I said in the beginning, I pray that you will receive it in the way it is intended. I have no desire to be the leader of any congregation or draw a group after me. I know my calling, gifts and motivations and they are not predisposed toward running a Church or being the 'leader' of some break away splinter group. My Church is CCC and I want to remain there and be involved there. My motivations for speaking against the 'Toronto Blessing' are to expose the deeds of darkness wherever I might discern them, to expose the enemy wherever I might encounter him, and to warn my friends in the Body of Christ of impending danger. I have a great fear for the members of the Church, not just here, but world wide. I love the Church that Christ died for and will defend Her and the Gospel unto death if that be required. God has called me to that and has shown me alarming and frightening things taking place. I pray that you will understand that if I were to accept the 'Toronto Blessing' as being from God, I would have to deny Him.

I respect you as the leader of our Church, the one person that God has given us to nurture and guide and protect the flock. I respect that and thank God for you and your family. I intend to continue supporting your leadership and ministry as we go forward to the aspirations and goals that God gives you and the leadership team for our particular congregation.

I would expect that at some time you would want to speak with me on what I have brought forth. I know I will not get away lightly and I make myself available for that at your convenience.

I also know that there will be a mighty cry of dismay from people who hold the Word Faith Movement and Rhema Bible Colleges in high esteem, but it is time to forsake the traditions of man, check the validity of what is being brought against these people and return to the pure, unadulterated Gospel that God so carefully gave. Time is running out for us to simply play church.

Consequently, because I know there will be resistance to what I have written from a number of quarters within the Body, when we do discuss this issue I will also present to you a directive that I have been receiving from God through divine revelation since July of 1986. A message from the Lord that clearly shows His warning of this move that has taken place. God revealed this move to me ten years ago. There is nothing amazing about that. His Word assures us in Isaiah 42:9, &quotBehold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."

God bless you and prosper you. Respectfully in His love, your brother in Christ.

Hughie Seaborn
Monday, 14 October 1996

IMPORTANT NOTE: To the readers of this letter. This is an unedited, original letter that I wrote to Chris Brock. In it, I have related some 'mystical' experiences that I endured after submitting myself to the 'baptism of the Holy Spirit' as recommended by my pastor in Weipa, Qld., Australia. This was secondary to my initial conversion, in which I accepted Christ as my Lord and Redeemer, some weeks previously. The details of the experience have been included for your perusal in this public copy, however, due to my studies of the Scriptures, my investigations into Charismatic and Pentecostal history and also my investigations into the current 'new moves of God' and their associated manifestations, I no longer vigorously contend that it was, in fact, the Holy Spirit of God who was dealing with me at the time. However, I do still maintain, unreservedly, that it was God who spoke to me and told me not to seek the manifestations that I was experiencing. - Hughie Seaborn (July, 1999).