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The new “prophets” and “apostles”

The new “prophets” and “apostles”

Last updated on: August 4, 2017 at 6:01 am by Gene Veith

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The new “prophets” and “apostles” 2017-08-04T06:01:11-04:00 Gene Veith

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There is a new movement in contemporary Christianity, known as the “New Apostolic Reformation” or the “Independent Network Charismatics” (INC) or “Network Christianity.”

It combines “signs and wonders” Pentecostalism, the prosperity gospel, and megachurch techniques. But the new elements are an emphasis on leaders who are considered authoritative “apostles” from God and a this-worldly post-millennialism. Most Pentecostals up to now have been pre-millennialists, holding that Jesus will return before God establishes an earthly utopian rule. This new group holds that God will establish His thousand-year kingdom before Jesus comes back.

The New Apostolic folks believe in the “Seven Mountains Theology,” by which Christians will gradually attain leadership in the “mountains” of business, government, media, arts and entertainment, education, the family, and religion. Whereupon the world will be transformed.

They believe, for example, that Donald Trump is a “Cyrus,” a non-Christian whom God raised up–like the King of Persia who allowed the exiled Jews to return to their land and rebuild the Temple–to restore America.

This movement is gathering more and more traction, including here in Australia where I am visiting!

Have any of you encountered this? Do any of you believe in this? What are the problems–to put it mildly–with this theology?

After the jump, Bob Smietana of Christianity Today interviews Brad Christerson and Richard Flory, the authors of a book on the subject.

Photograph of Bill Johnson, an “Apostle” in the movement, by Kevin Shorter, Flickr, Creative Commons License

From Bob Smietana, The ‘Prophets’ and ‘Apostles’ Leading the Quiet Revolution in American Religion… | Christianity Today:

What’s the difference between INC Christians and the prosperity gospel movement or megachurch networks like the Association of Related Churches (ARC)?

Christerson: Probably the closest kinship would be prosperity gospel movement. But it’s a little different in that the INC movement has a network that cooperates more often. My sense of the prosperity gospel is that it consists of individual entrepreneurs, TV preachers, and megachurch leaders, but there’s not as much cooperation.

Also, the theology is different. The prosperity gospel would focus more on the individual’s health and wealth. This group is unique in that they really think God has put these apostles on earth to basically transform the world. It’s a sort of trickle-down Christianity, where these apostles are at the top of the mountain, exercising this power from the top down. That’s how the kingdom of God comes in. . . .

How do the people in this group identify themselves? Are they Pentecostals? Charismatics? INC Christians?

Christerson: They would use the word prophetic or apostolic—or they would align themselves with one of the apostles. They would say, “I am a follower of Bill Johnson,” or Mike Bickle, or Cindy Jacobs. People would tell us, “he’s my apostle” or “he’s my prophet.” The other term we hear a lot is “spiritual covering”: There’s this idea that you are under spiritual covering of your specific apostle or prophet. A related term is “impartation.” The apostles basically impart their power to you. If you are under them, the power that they have straight from God trickles down to you.

They consciously avoid any kind of formal organization or denomination. They see the strength of weak ties—it allows them room to experiment and to work with all kinds of different people. They can focus on putting together these big events—they don’t have to support a staff or donate to a seminary. They can just go straight to the marketing activities. . . .

Let’s talk about the “7 mountains” theology, which is popular in these circles. On some levels, it sounds like theocracy. Christians are in charge of every part of life: On the other hand, it sounds like there’s no actual plan—aside from putting these Christians in charge. So what’s going on?

Some INC people describe Trump as a King Cyrus figure—he’s not one of us, but God is using him to defeat our enemies and restore our nation. If Trump collapses or gets impeached, they will not look very good. Some of them have staked their reputation on Trump’s performance, but not all of them.

They don’t have policy goals, other than anti-abortion and anti-gay-marriage sentiments. They don’t have an idea of what it takes to reduce poverty or curb international conflict. None of that is even on their radar.

It’s a very different approach than other religious groups take. If it’s the Catholic Church, the religious right, or the religious left, they actually have a strategy. They have think-tanks and organizations, and they’re involved at different levels with political parties. This is nothing like that.

Flory: In some ways, it’s a really romantic vision. For most of the 20th century, most Pentecostals and evangelicals were pre-millennial—they imagined that God’s reign would appear in full only after the second coming of Christ. But the INC movement is explicitly post-millennial. In their minds, God’s kingdom can come to earth before Christ returns—and, by the way, it will be in America. There is this interesting combination of America first, Americans as God’s chosen people, and a romantic vision of God working it out through the people he chooses.

[Keep reading. . .]

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