"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."
(Revelation 3:19)
There are those who are of the opinion that writing the kind of articles that appear on this blog, and others like it, is not a loving thing for a Christian to do. They hold that in love we should let be, remain silent, and leave it all to God to deal with later on. But it really needs to be asked of our Christian love, "In what way is it being demonstrated? When is it true, and when is it mistaken? When is it being exercised with wisdom, and when with folly?" Here is a little parable that the Lord has laid on my heart to present to anyone who has ears that are open to receive it:
Two men were walking down the street. Alan and George were great friends, as were their two young sons, James and Jack, who were ambling along a few steps ahead of their fathers, engrossed in their own little world. Suddenly, the boys saw a pigeon on the opposite pavement, and as they just loved chasing pigeons into flight, they immediately started running across the road towards it. "Stop, James!" cried his father Alan. "There's a bus coming! How many times have you been told it's very dangerous to cross the road without looking! Come back here now, you silly boy!" James skidded to a halt and sheepishly stepped back onto the pavement, but Jack raced on regardless. "MY dad's said nothing to ME!" he grinned. George turned to Alan. "How can you yell at your boy like that?" he demanded angrily. "I love my son so much I'd never shout at him like that!" Scarcely had the words left his lips when there was a terrible squealing of brakes. With unbelieving eyes George watched helplessly as his son was hit by the speeding bus that Alan had anxiously warned about, and was crushed beneath its heavy wheels. It was all now far too late; Jack was beyond hearing any amount of anguished shouts of warning...
"A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke."
(Proverbs 13:1)
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
The Rapture. The Harpazo. The Snatching Away. The Translation of the Saints. Whatever way you care to describe it, it is an event that the Bible teaches WILL happen at some point in the future. But exactly WHEN it will happen is a controversial issue to say the least! This question of the timing of the Rapture has been the subject of absolutely endless debate since way back when, and unfortunately also the cause of unresolved and often bitter conflict among sincere believers who might otherwise be in complete harmony one with another, and in agreement on all essential doctrine. IT IS GOOD AND RIGHT TO BELIEVE IN THE RAPTURE, FOR THIS IS UPHOLDING SCRIPTURAL TRUTH. WHAT IS NOT GOOD IS THE OPEN HOSTILITY - AND THE RESULTANT POLARIZATION - BEING EVERYWHERE DEMONSTRATED BY THOSE ON ALL SIDES OF THE DEBATE TOWARDS THOSE OF A DIFFERENT PERSUASION. THIS IS, QUITE SIMPLY, VERY WRONG, FOR HEALTHY CHRISTIAN DEBATE HAS DEGENERATED INTO HEATED ARGUMENT AND DEEP DIVISION, SETTING BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER AND SISTER AGAINST SISTER, FOR NO PROFIT WHATSOEVER TO ANYONE EXCEPT OUR DELIGHTED MUTUAL ENEMY! Most believers who have been in the Faith for any length of time will probably have formulated their own opinion on the subject; the problems occur when one person will feel that he or she has a superior understanding of it than another. When this causes someone to label those with an opposing position as being in error, or worse, deceived and deceiving, or worse still, a heretic, the situation has become grievous indeed. We who believe in the reality of the Rapture have now become so busy beating each other with big sticks over the issue of its timing, that our eyes have effectively been taken off the ball. We have been side-tracked into a no-win civil war, and in the process stopped seeing that the real battle is actually with a common foe that is gaining ground by the second as we fiercely and foolishly fight among ourselves. The true opposition to be tackled? Those with an utterly unbiblical false eschatology who dismiss the Rapture as mere myth. Consider this published quote from UK Restorationist leader Gerald Coates, who established the 'Pioneer' strand of the British New Church Movement:
"The Rapture idea is ridiculous... One has to conclude that the secret rapture theory may be evangelical, but is nonetheless unbiblical. It is a grotesque idea - the rapture may be a most agreeable doctrine for cowards, but it is nothing better than wishful thinking and must be relegated to the area of myth and fantasy."
(from 'What On Earth Is This Kingdom?')
IT IS THE REPUDIATION OF THE RAPTURE THAT IS WRONG DOCTRINE, AND IT IS INTRINSICALLY LINKED TO THE DOMINIONIST / 'KINGDOM NOW' DELUSION. RIGHT DOCTRINE IS SIMPLY TO UPHOLD THE RAPTURE AS A SCRIPTURAL TRUTH; NOTHING MORE AND NOTHING LESS THAN THIS. ITS TIMING IS EMPHATICALLY NOT A DOCTRINAL MATTER!
Me? Well, I make no apology for my own continued Pre-Trib. stance, but I have no problem in accepting that other folks are of an alternative though equally honest persuasion. My personal understanding of 2 Thessalonians 2:6-9 is that the Restrainer, being the Person of the Holy Spirit, is to be removed, and THEN the Antichrist is revealed. And as the Holy Spirit indwells the believing Body, the (true) Church needs must go with Him when He leaves. Just one reason why I think as I do as things stand, but I'm not going to be dogmatic about it and have absolutely no desire to argue the toss. So please don't write to me to lock horns over this. Let us remember that we all see through a glass but darkly, and know only in part (Ref. 1 Corinthians 13:12); we don't yet know it all (though there is certainly no shortage of "know-it-alls" out there!) The whole purpose of this posting is to present an urgent plea for tolerance and respect for fellow Christians who may have a viewpoint differing from our own, over what is a NON-ESSENTIAL issue.
As Augustine of Hippo urged:
"In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things charity."
The Rapture is NOT something to be used for spiritual one-upmanship, and as a reason for crossing swords with a fellow believer who is similarly saved by grace and is similarly exercising his or her right to hold a different view. There are some things in the Faith which we can debate until the proverbial cows come mooing home, without ever reaching any across-the-board consensus, things like Arminianism v. Calvinism, Cessationism v. continuation of the gifts, or Eternal Security (Once Saved Always Saved). The Rapture is another of those contentious things, to be handled so, so very carefully. WHATEVER SOME MAY THINK AND DECISIVELY DECLARE, HOLY WRIT DOES NOT PROVIDE US WITH A DEFINITIVE ANSWER AS TO WHEN EXACTLY THE RAPTURE WILL OCCUR. WE CAN MAKE ASSUMPTIONS, WE MAY MAKE "INTELLIGENT GUESSES" BASED ON WHAT SCRIPTURE DOES REVEAL. BUT WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, ONE MAN'S OR WOMAN'S OPINION IS JUST AS VALID AS ANOTHER'S. IT IS GOD ALONE WHO KNOWS FOR SURE; WE HAVE ONLY TENTATIVE AND SUBJECTIVE INTERPRETATIONS. JUST HYPOTHESES. THAT'S HOW IT IS. IN INSPIRING THE WRITING OF THE WORD, THE HOLY SPIRIT DID NOT SEE FIT TO BE MORE SPECIFIC, AND OBVIOUSLY HAD HIS REASONS FOR THIS. PERHAPS ONE OF THE REASONS WAS TO KEEP US ON OUR TOES, TO BE READY AND WAITING REGARDLESS OF WHEN THE LORD COMES FOR US, TO BE AS THE WISE VIRGINS WITH LAMPS KEPT FULL OF OIL, IN A STATE OF CONSTANT READINESS FOR THE BRIDEGROOM'S IMMINENT RETURN. (Ref. Matthew 25:1-13). IT IS MOST CERTAINLY OUR BRIEF TO BE WATCHING OUT FOR CHRIST'S COMING, NOT FOR ANTICHRIST'S! At some unknown point, every single one of us who are truly His will be "snatched away" from this Earth! It may be an individual "harpazo," when God unties the silver cord and our spirit returns to He who gave it (Ref. Ecclesiastes 12:6-7), or it may be in that corporate "harpazo" to meet the Lord in the air while we yet live. Either way, we'll be in the temporal one moment, and in the eternal the next! And the only concern for us all at that time will be that - in an attitude of humble thankfulness to God for His infinite mercy - we've made it safely home!
"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."
"Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart."
(Jeremiah 14:14)
JAMES W. GOLL AND THE BIBLE COLLEGE OF WALES On May 25th. this year, the refurbished Bible College of Wales in Swansea reopened, with Lou Engle and Dutch Sheets leading the celebrations of the Dominionist takeover. This sorry story was covered in a previous article: http://watchman4wales.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/bible-college-of-wales-reopens-lou.html The first intake of eager students arrived at BCW on 24th. August, with the semester ending on 13th. November. (There will be two intakes a year, at a cost to each student of £1,300 for a 3-month course). As a sharp and direct warning about the kind of things that they will be opening themselves up to by studying at this hyper-Charismatic establishment, I will focus here on one of the staff members who has been recruited to teach the new generation of students to walk unwittingly through the doors of Derwen Fawr. The lecturer in question is one James W. Goll. This is Goll's bio as it appears on the College website: DR. JAMES W. GOLL Co-founder, Encounters Network and International Director, Prayer Storm Dr. James W. Goll is the co-founder of Encounters Network - a ministry to the nations and the International Director of Prayer Storm. He is the author of over 25 books including The Lost Art of Intercession, The Seer, Dream Language, The Coming Israel Awakening and many others. James is a member of the Harvest International Ministries Apostolic Team, the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders, and other national and international ministries. OK. Spot any red flags fluttering here? 'The Seer' and 'Dream Language' give a hint as to the make-up of the man, but let's consider "James is a member of the Harvest International Ministries Apostolic Team." This is Che Ahn's outfit. And Che Ahn is at the very core of the gangrenous weeping sore on the Body of Christ that is the New Apostolic Reformation, with its supposed "Seven Mountains Mandate" to take over ALL areas of human activity and establish the Kingdom on Earth PRIOR to Christ's return. This one collaboration alone is confirmation enough that Goll's theology and eschatology is fundamentally flawed, and that he rejects the absolute authority of the Written Word. But let's continue... Another red flag? How about "James is a member of... the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders." ACPE is convened annually by NAR frontman C. Peter Wagner, and is a major gathering of self-appointed and mutually back-slapping "prophets" in the NAR hierarchy. People like Chuck Pierce, Tommy Tenney and Cindy Jacobs, all of whom I've had occasion to warn about in these columns previously. Cindy Jacobs conclusively admitted that she and the whole Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders are FALSE prophets! This is what she said on one of her own 'God Knows' TV programmes, when talking about ACPE:
"Yes, in fact, you know... as I chair the Prophetic Round Table, every year I go back and I will pull out the prophecy from the year before, because if we're prophets, then we need to look and see if we got it right; if we did not get it right, we need to go back and correct it."
IF THEY DIDN'T GET IT RIGHT, IT WAS A FALSE PROPHECY UTTERED BY FALSE PROPHETS. PERIOD. AND THE CONCEPT OF THOSE FALSE PROPHETS RE-VISITING THEIR FALSE PROPHECIES IN ORDER TO CORRECT THEM JUST BEGGARS BELIEF! OH DEAR, DR. GOLL. YOUR GOOD FRIEND CINDY JACOBS HAS HERSELF OUTED YOU, SHOWING YOU UP FOR THE CHARLATANS YOU ALL ARE!
"When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously."
(Deuteronomy 18:22)
ANGELS, ORBS AND A PERSONAL VISIT FROM "JESUS"
James W. Goll is a man who "sees" things and "hears" things, like the alleged audible "voice of God." Please watch the following video of Goll being interviewed on Sid Roth's 'It's Supernatural' TV programme (as aired on the apostate TBN channel). Anyone with the tiniest pinch of discernment will perceive in this that Goll is in no way a true man of God, but rather a New Age mystic and conjurer of demonic entities, passing off heavy occultism as the work of the Holy Spirit.
Let's examine some of the experiences that Goll boasts about in this interview. After telling the awe-struck Sid that the first prophecy he ever heard came out of his own mouth - a "prophecy" which can realistically only be described as so much nonsensical claptrap - the seer proceeds to relate a series of spectacular occurrences. Let's start with:
"A lightning bolt crashes in the yard, and I wake up at 11.59 at night and the light from the lightning bolt comes into the bedroom, and now a man, an angel, is standing at the end of my bed... He looks at me for one straight minute, the clock turns to 12 zero zero..."
"This opened the door to nine straight weeks of angelic visitations that would go from midnight to 5 a.m."
Now, let me think. What angel was it that fell to earth as lightning? Ah, yes, it was SATAN. And yes, isn't he still able to appear as an angel of light?
What is it about 12 o'clock midnight that rings a little bell in my brain? Of course! It's the "witching hour" when all things occult revel in the deep darkness. And how very strange that Goll's midnight visitors would always depart before daybreak - NOT! The Word of God unambiguously spells it out concerning such things, though Goll sadly but unsurprisingly fails to take heed:
"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness."
(1 Thessalonians 5:5)
Not just angels, but glowing orbs would appear to the super-blessed seer! Not a Scriptural phenomenon, but one that's well-known in occult circles. But hey, why worry about little details like that, especially when you have "Jesus" turning up and teaching you personally! According to Goll, "Jesus" appeared to him and gave him an extraordinary teaching on healing. Sadly, and all too typical of NAR "prophets" the revelation was not just extra-ordinary but extra-Biblical. Not to mention downright ridiculous, as we shall see. Goll's "Jesus" informs him that "with every wound I received I obtained a special level of healing for my people." Goll then informs us that "he took me to his wounds... he took me to his back and the 39 stripes..." Firstly, let us note that Scripture does not give a count of the stripes received by Jesus. The number of 39 cited by Goll refers to the Jewish custom of giving a 39-lash punishment for offences. But Jesus was scourged not by the Jews but by the Romans, who had little to no regard for Jewish customs, and who could have whipped Him any number of times. Unlike the seer, the Bible is silent on the total amount. But let's now look closely at what Goll goes on to reveal:
"Within each of those places where the back of Yeshua/Jesus was laid open I saw names of sicknesses and diseases. I saw leukaemia, I saw paralysis... I saw names written in every one of the stripes of Jesus. He takes me to the crown of thorns, and he says, 'When the crown of thorns was pierced upon my head I obtained healing for every mental disease known to mankind.' He took me to his feet where they were pierced through, and he said, ''I obtained healing for paralysis'..."
Goll tells us that in each of the wounds the specific names of medical complaints were written. Let's examine this amazing claim coolly and logically, using just a few cells of the brain God gave us to think things through and reason with. We might first note that although Goll claims that the wound in Jesus' feet obtained healing for paralysis, the word 'paralysis' was written in one of the stripes on his back. This means that Goll is either completely contradicting himself as to exactly which wound won which type of healing, thus making his "Jesus" pretty darned confused, or the names of the conditions for which healing was obtained were all written in the stripes, regardless of the actual location of the wound on Jesus' body which had obtained that particular healing. Either scenario makes Goll's tale an absolute fable! Consider this. How many sicknesses and diseases are there? Well, nobody knows, one of the reasons being that new ones are being identified all the time. But at least one very important list is available, the World Health Organization's ICD-10, the current International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. This catalogues and assigns codes to all the conditions recognized, and is used world-wide for health service resource allocation and insurance company pay-outs. (It is implemented by the NHS here in the UK). And how many medical conditions does this coding system allow for? A staggering 14,400+ with capacity for extension to 16,000+ if required! Dr. Goll, your claim is simply ludicrous. In just 3 of the 39 stripes that you extra-Biblically assume were on the Lord's back, 1,000+ names would have had to be written, and all obscured by bruising and blood and torn skin! A statistical and visual impossibility, unless the words were so minute that a microscope would be needed to read them, and one with x-ray capability at that. Do you have the eyes of a Marvel Comics superhero, Dr. Goll? Or was there perhaps only the one solitary word written in each of the remarkably unbruised and bloodless stripes? But that would leave multiple thousands of physical complaints excluded from the "special level of healing" would it not? Would 39 conditions out of a 5-figure total really constitute "a special level of healing?" Don't you think it's quite incredble also, that the words were written in ENGLISH? Or that even more incredibly, Jesus apparently had to OBTAIN these healings? JESUS DIDN'T HAVE TO "OBTAIN" HEALING FROM ANYONE OR ANYWHERE. THE ABILITY TO HEAL WAS ALWAYS HIS, AND HE WAS USING THAT HEALING POWER - IN ACCORDANCE WITH HIS WILL AND PURPOSES - LONG BEFORE CALVARY! THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT THE HEALING OF THE ATONEMENT IS SPIRITUAL, NOT PHYSICAL. BY FAITH OUR SPIRIT IS REDEEMED, BUT OUR FLESH REMAINS SUBJECT TO DISEASE, DECAY AND DEATH, REGARDLESS OF OUR RE-BIRTH IN HIM. WE DO NOT YET HAVE PERFECT BODIES GIFTED TO US! WHICHEVER WAY YOU LOOK AT IT, GOLL'S CLAIMS SIMPLY DON'T ADD UP. THE WORDS TRIPPING OFF HIS TONGUE CAN - AND SHOULD BE - COMPLETELY DISMISSED AS JUST SO MUCH SENSATIONALIST DRIVEL... UNLESS, THAT IS, TRUTH AND REALITY HAVE FAR LESS APPEAL FOR YOU THAN FANTASY AND FABRICATION! If, of course, Goll's claimed "revelation knowledge" is the kind of giddy fiction you are into, you will no doubt have drooled over his 'Living in the Supernatural Course' as hyped in this episode of the Rothy Horror Show. My goodness, for a mere $49 - I love the way these guys use the word "donation" rather than "price!" - the eminent seer will teach you, among other things, "how to partner with angels so you can access their supernatural assistance." An utterly unBiblical practice, but hey, there are indeed lots of angels out there who are more than willing to partner with you. Unfortunately, they happen to be of the FALLEN kind! We might mention that Goll has amassed quite a catalogue of "must have" merchandise. Apart from his shelf-full of books for the aspiring seer, you could perhaps be enticed to buy his "Prophetic Worship" CD called 'Invitation to Intimacy' from his big buddy and fellow ACPE member Steve Shultz's 'Elijah List' website. Allegedly recorded while Goll was "caught up into another realm," the ad gushes, "It is great for soaking!" Well, if you want a good "soak" I'd recommend splashing out the $15 on bubble bath instead, and would also suggest that CD in this particular context stands for Complete Delusion! As the Word of God warns:
"And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you..."
(2 Peter 2:2-3)
DR. JAMES W. GOLL IS TO CHRISTIANITY WHAT A "WILD WEST" SNAKE OIL SALESMAN IS TO MEDICINE. BUT HE DRAWS LARGE CROWDS OF PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM AURAL PRURITUS SYNDROME: FOLKS WITH BADLY ITCHING EARS... CAUSED BY A SEVERE ALLERGY TO BIBLICAL TRUTH! (See 2 Timothy 4:3-4).
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Recommended further viewing: All prospective BCW students should watch this excellent video exposing James W. Goll's false teachings and fantastical claims:
