We in this ministry want to see revival. However, there are 'revivals' today, (i.e. 'Toronto Blessing', Pensacola, etc), which do not stand up to the test of Scripture or in comparison to real historic revivals. It should not surprise us that many such movements are connected with the signs and wonders movement and will be counterfeits of true revival. If we deny this we deny the warnings of Scripture for the end-times and the fact that in every place where the Bible mentions signs and wonders, they are described as false or 'lying'.

Many churches are using the 'Transformations' video as a means to promote programs which have been developed to make 'revival' happen. However, a study of true revivals in Scripture and history will show they cannot be manufactured by man or any program or methods. Let us look at the philosophy of the 'Transformations' movement and then look at what has happened in real revivals.

A look at some of the leaders involved in the Transformations video and conferences should help us examine the fruit of the 'Transformations' movement, (Matt. 7:15-20).

Bob Beckett: pastors a church with associations to Peter Wagner/Cindy Jacobs and involved in the 'laughter revival'.

He teaches on 'strategic intercession', helping mobilize churches cross-denominationally. He is on the Executive Board of Generals of Intercession. This group is headed by Cindy Jacobs, who attends a Vineyard church. Beckett featured extensively as a source for the video 'Transformations' which makes claims of transformation in Hemet, California.

Francis Frangipane: Author Francis Frangipane's church has been involved in the laughter movement. He teaches we are called to 'conquer our city'. However, there is no Scripture about conquering cities. Christ said His kingdom is not of this world. We are to preach the gospel and disciple people.

Francis says that we should not look for apostasy yet Scripture tells us to test the spirits, (1 Jn. 4:1). He opposes discernment ministries, comparing them to demons and accusers of the brethren. He believes that before revival comes, churches in each city must be structured to see one person with a 'Father gifting' overseeing other pastors in an apostolic role. Frangipane was associated with the 'Kansas City Prophets' which fell into false prophecies a decade ago.

Dutch Sheets: Dutch pastors a Vineyard church involved in the laughter movement. He wrote the book, 'River of God' , endorsed by Cindy Jacobs, Peter Wagner and false prophet Rick Joyner, (see Diakrisis, Oct/96).

George Otis Jr.: wrote a book in 1978 which became one of the primary books endorsed by the Moral Government of God movement which denies the orthodox view of Christ's substitutionary death on the cross paying for our sins, original sin, and the sin nature of man. One quote from his book shows the denial of the imputed righteousness of Christ as a legal and forensic act at salvation:

'The Bible does indeed teach that Christ's righteousness is imputed to us. This righteousness, however, cannot be imputed as a technicality - it can only come to us through relationship...as I spend time with God, watching Him, listening to Him and emulating Him, I will begin to take on His characteristics and likeness'. (1)

This is a confusion between justification and sanctification. Justification occurs by imputation (Rom. 4) at salvation.

Other errors in this book also taught in the 'Transformations' program are:

P.4 - 'Praise God for the miracles that will bring people to Christ.' [It is the Gospel, not miracles, that brings people to Christ. Many believed on Jesus because of the miracles yet He did not receive them, (Jn. 12:42)].

P.4 - 'The spiritual forces came under (Jesus') authority because He was obedient...Jesus took spiritual forces captive and disarmed them, because He was obedient to God'. [Spiritual forces are under Jesus' authority because He is God!]

P.12 - 'The way most people come to realize that God exists and to be lived for, is when they experience a miracle'. [People realise God by faith in His Word. 'An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign...' (Matt. 12:39)].

P.15 - 'Ask Him to empower you with new life from on high to live a holy life'. [New life was a gift at salvation. The Spirit never comes upon a Christian once they are indwelt. This is more occult than Christian and denies the work of the Spirit filling from within, (Eph. 5:18)].

P.16 - '...I trust that you will lift up your head in such a way that the King of glory will come in and you will have a fresh or perhaps new revelatory understanding of who Jesus is'. [There is no new revelation of Jesus Christ. We are warned not to add to His Word, (Rev. 22:18). '...that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written...', (1 Cor. 4:6)].

P.24 - 'Over these past few weeks we have chosen to prepare our personal lives to be 'temples' or 'habitations' for God to dwell…We have looked at...becoming 'places' - 'beings' for God to dwell…' [If we are in Christ, we are already the temple of God! (1 Cor. 3:16,17; 6:19)].

P.28 - '…unity services…Walls are coming down! Pastors and priest are coming together in and for prayer'. [This is the false ecumenical movement. It is 'unity' at the expense of doctrine. Unity must come only through the Word, (Jn. 17)].

P.40 - 'The unity of the Church is the ultimate witness to the presence and divinity of the living Christ'. [The Word of God, not unity, tells of Christ's presence and divinity].

P.42 - '...birth a miracle in our midst'. [This was a catch phrase of the 'Laughter movement' which practised 'birthing in the Holy Spirit', complete with squatting, grunting and groaning participants].

P.44 - 'Unity within the Body of Christ is a key to revival within a city...We must set aside the issues of style or doctrine and begin to join together…Unifying with other congregations is not compromise, but love…We must build a bridge from church to church so that we can build bridges to our lost world…When we are one, the world will be won!' [The real historic revivals never occurred because of unity. Doctrine does divide! Light cannot fellowship with darkness and false doctrine is leaven which must be purged out or separated from. However, the Bible does mention a global church - the harlot one world church ridden by the antichrist and which Christ will destroy!]

P.63 - '...breaking the power of possible generational cursing...' [If we are in Christ, all the old is gone (2 Cor. 5:17), including 'generational curses'].

Paul Cain: Over 50 years ago, William Branham, George Warnock, Paul Cain and others attempted to introduce Latter Rain/Manifest Sons of God teachings into the Pentecostal movement. In 1949 the Assemblies of God officially rejected their teachings as heresy. The cult went underground but surfaced again in the 1960's as the Manchild Company. Paul Cain and the Kansas City Prophets subsequently reintroduced this false doctrine into many Pentecostal churches.

Michael Pierce: Michael co-ordinates efforts to bring 'revival' to cities using a pre-set agenda/sequence of events. He endorses the Toronto Blessing/Laughter movement.

John Dawson: is director of Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in Los Angeles, California, and teaches spiritual warfare (new teaching as taught by Wagner).

C. Peter Wagner: is considered by many to be the leader of the signs and wonders movement and has stated that the Gospel is not enough, that we must have signs and wonders to convince the unbeliever. His church teaches that it is necessary that every city have an Apostolic leadership over it before the end of 2003.

Cindy Jacobs: is involved with the Generals of Intercessions and Peter Wagner's Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders. This group believes in the restoration of the apostolic ministry. Cindy Jacob's was involved in the Argentinian 'revival' (Ed Silvoso) which was one of the triggers for the 'Toronto Blessing' and 'Pensacola Outpouring'.

Ed Silvoso: worked with his brother-in-law evangelist Luis Palau, before founding Harvest Evangelism. Ed is the author of 'Taking Our Cities For Christ'. He believes ecumenical unity is essential for the world to believe. He endorsed the Toronto Blessing/laughter/spiritual drunkenness.

Ruth Ruibal: is pastor of Ekklesia Christian Colombian Centre and a leader in promoting unity among churches.

Julio Ruibal: was Ruth's husband until he was killed in 1995 over a property dispute by the owner of the land next to the church. However, the Ruibal Foundation website says that Julio was 'martyred for the Gospel of Jesus Christ'.

Thomas Multhee: is pastor of the 'Prayer Cave' in Kiambu, Kenya, which is featured in the 'Transformations' video. The Prayer Cave is a 'Word of Faith' church. The Word-Faith movement is lead by such false prophets as Hagin, Copeland, etc, (see our paper 'Word-Faith Teaching a Closer Look'). The teaching of this movement is rank heresy concerning the doctrine of the atonement and the deity of Christ on earth.

Ted Haggard: of Colorado Springs, spoke at the 'National School of the Prophets' conference in 1999 to 'mobilize the prophetic office for the next century'. The brochure stated: 'The prophetic streams across this nation are uniting to sound a clear trumpet for the future!...Prophets help to prepare the way for the Apostles to establish the Lord's Church.' Peter Wagner's World Prayer Centre is located on the same property.

The above references and associations should concern the Evangelical reader. However, the claims of the transformations movement show the credibility of recent 'revivals':

Cali, Colombia:

Claim: Drug Cartels have been defeated.

Truth: Only six of the leaders were put in jail. The drug Cartels re-organized with two of the original leaders still operating out of Cali, one operating from prison. Others set up just outside Cali or elsewhere in Colombia. The organization is now more resilient. The rebels (who protect the drug trade) have attacked churches in Cali, shutting many down. Curfews have been imposed upon some services. Drug enforcement agencies state that 65% of heroin seized in the United States in 1998 was produced in Colombia. (2)

Claim: Cults have decreased.

Truth: Satanists are invading churches to shut them down. (3)

Claim: Cali is a 'safe' city, revival flourishes and people now safely walk the streets.

Truth: Ruth Ruibal, (mentioned in the video) states in her own newsletters that Cali is 'a gross darkness', a city where her church must hire armed guards and be protected by barbed wired, (soon to be replaced by a 10-12 ft. wall). Bodyguards are hired to get any work done. In one church a body guard was killed when the church was attacked by guerillas protecting the drug trade. (4)

Alomolonga, Guatemala:

Claim: 92% percent of the people are Christians.

Truth: Stephen Sywulka (in Guatemala City) for Christianity Today, says the figure is exaggerated and more like 65%, and in many cases the change is only 'skin deep', with former witchdoctors now calling themselves 'prophets' but doing much the same thing as before. (5)

Claim: Large vegetables; production increased 1000% over 20 years.

Truth: The war in Guatemala brought agriculture to a stand-still and went on for 36 years. This ended only in the early to mid-1990s. Other natural factors also affected production. (6)

Hemet, California:

Claim: Once 9 metaphetamine labs operated, now most have been shut down.

Truth: Traffickers have changed their operations to avoid detection, due to better methods used by drug police. (7)

Claim: 75% decreased Drug Trade.

Truth: Neither the churches nor the authorities contacted were aware of any such drop. One authority stated: 'I have not heard of...anyone in that area, including the police, talking about such a mind-boggling drop in drug use.' (8) A police contact in Hemet said '...This is a new claim to me.' (9)

Claim: Unity amongst the churches; Most cults have left town; decrease in crime, church attendance increase to 14% of the population (double in 10 years).

Truth: Two churches contacted were not aware of any such claims. Police comment: 'Like most cities in our nation, yes, the crime rate is measurably down.' (10)

Claim: Revival has broken out across the city from 'The Prayer Cave', (Kenya).

Truth: 'The Prayer Cave' is a 'Word of Faith' church, (see reference earlier).

Real Revival is the sudden, sovereign and selective operation of the Spirit of God. Man cannot manufacture it through any programmes. In the Ulster revival of 1859 a meeting in a Belfast Presbyterian church filled the church and overflowed into the street where eventually the crowd mysteriously grew to 40,000. True revivals reach the masses of perishing souls suddenly and sovereignly. You cannot package it and take it elsewhere! In the New England revivals (1740-1770) a staggering 20% of populations were converted within years. Real Revival is 10,000 people coming to hear George Whitefield preach a sermon in Pennsylvania - in driving winter rain!

True revivals such as the New England, Welsh and Ulster affected the very fabric of society including dramatic decreases in crime rates. In the Welsh revival pubs closed, police ran out of work, (they conducted roving musical bands to pass the time) and Judges had many days free.

True revivals affected churches that held firmly to Evangelical doctrines of Grace such as Sola Fide (Faith Alone) and Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone).

True revivals were characterised by a fear of God and fearsome and fearless preaching on the wrath of God, the law and sin.

Revival is not the Church doing something, but rather something being done to the church.

Today there are many man made efforts to produce revival but many are racked with false teaching, false prophets and claims that are exaggerations in the least and outright lies at the worst. The 'Transformations' programme is no exception but part of God's prediction of a falling away into the endtime signs and wonders and ecumenical church..

Terry Arnold.

References excerpted from: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/ Plains/4948.transformations.html.

(1) '120 Days of Prayer for Your City - God's New Millennium for Your City' - 'The God They Never Knew', P.43.
(2) http://www.usdoj.gov/ dea/traffickers/Colombia.htm
(3) http://www.bijbelnet.org/landen/ colombia.html
(4) (http://www.Ruibal.org/1999oct.htm) (http:// www.ruibal.org/1999nov.htm) (http://www.ruibal.org/1999dec.htm) (http://www.bijbelnet.org/landen/colombia.html)
(5) http:// www.christianity.net/vt/9T4/9T423c.html
(6) http://134.197.49.132/ GR/issues/GR Vol 88/GR-Jan1998/Jan98-Arbona.html
(7) http:/ /www.inlandempireonline.com/meth/meth5.shtml
(8) http:// www.inlandempireonline.com/meth/
(9) Ibid
(10) http:// www.antioch.com.sg/events/hei/

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