Study – Grow – Know

NAR’s Call for Restoration of the Church

December 27, 2017 at 7:21 AM Leave a comment

A “prophet” and an “apostle” together for a few nights to bring healing…oh, and salvation to people!

I read with interest a post over at Church Watch Central (CWC), in which they dissected and called out the blatant lies and subterfuge of many associated with New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). It is interesting the level some will stoop in an attempt to normalize what is nothing else than a cult. This appears to be the case with those involved in NAR.

Years ago, attorney and Christian, Constance Cumbey published two books in which she highlighted aspects of the growing phenomenon of the New Age movement. She believed then and now that the movement’s main plan was to invade and take over aspects of evangelicalism (mainline Protestant churches), to give itself credence and seeming integrity. If you do not have her books – Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow (1983) and A Planned Deception The Staging of a New Age “Messiah” (1986), my advice would be to try to locate copies for your home library.

Though much of what Cumbey wrote about in these two books covers aspects of the New Age movement, it also appears to apply to modern-day cults (with NAR as one in particular that has changed names and leadership with each decade, though its emphasis remains consistent). All of this involves a great deal of redirection through untruth. This is how cults operate, not only to indoctrinate their followers, but to appear as though they are actually a sect or denomination within Christianity. They seek to appear genuine.

As the article at CWC notes, NAR proponents attempt to corral the discussion into just the area of cessationism vs. continuation with respect to the sign gifts. If they can successfully do that, most Christians will simply ignore them, realizing that trying to debate or discuss the issue of whether the sign gifts are for today is a waste of time since most have already made up their minds about the issue.

But what CWC brings to the fore is the truth that this is merely an attempt to derail the conversation by side tracking people into a subject that is not really being discussed, or at the very least is secondary to the main problem with NAR. In other words, to understand the focus, we have to understand what NAR is truly about. Is that loose-knit global group simply about whether the sign gifts have continued through to today or does it have to do with something else entirely?

Upon closer inspection, we find that the main problem with NAR is actually about something else, called restorationism. This should be the focus of any discussion regarding NAR, but it is not because those within NAR (who routinely deny they are part of NAR, by the way), attempt to hijack the conversation, redirecting it into the cessationism vs. continuation debate. It is disingenuous at best and fully deceptive at worst.

However the NOLR*/NAR aren’t continuationists – they are restorationists. They believe God is RESTORING/RENEWING things to his church. And this is where the battle plays out. (Emphasis in original)

In essence, as we’ve noted before in other articles, NAR proponents fully believe that God is appointing new apostles and prophets for service to the Church today. It is alleged (often implicitly), that these apostles and prophets have the exact same authority as the original prophets and apostles of the Old and New Testaments respectively. Clearly, if God is doing this today, it naturally follows that He is still writing the Bible. The Canon of Scripture then, according to NAR, is not closed but is constantly being renewed with additional teachings and prophecies.

How could there be any other belief if God is still speaking today? Is what God is alleged to be saying today any less authoritative than what He said that is already recorded in Scripture? It cannot be both ways. Either what God said in the past that is recorded for us in the Bible is authoritative and final or what He is allegedly saying now is just as authoritative but not final, with more to come.

If God is allegedly speaking through the many prophets and apostles of NAR today (and effectively since 1948 or 1906, whichever you prefer), then clearly, the responsibility to obey these new revelations as fully authoritative is incumbent upon each Christian. This is the main issue where NAR is concerned. Dovetailing into this (as a secondary issue), is the belief in continued signs and wonders, specifically where “new” or current prophetic utterances and apostolic teachings are given.

Again, the overriding concern with NAR is on whether or not God is actually calling, anointing, and appointing people alive today as prophets and apostles, with the same authority that the prophets and apostles of old had. Christians need to understand this. It is not merely whether the sign gifts have passed and are no longer valid. It goes way beyond that.

As CWC rightly points out, all Christians believe God can and does heal today, that He is still calling people into various ministries as overseers (pastors), evangelists, etc. There is no doubt about that. What is in serious doubt is whether God is raising people up to be what are known as faith-healers (for healing, as an example), or prophets and apostles. There is no evidence of a person in the Bible called specifically to be a faith-healer. It is a position created by alleged faith-healers to give themselves an aura of authenticity and authority over others.

The idea that God continues to appoint new, modern-day apostles and prophets to positions in the Church today should not even be debatable. I believe NAR knows this clearly, which is why leaders there are trying desperately to focus the issue on continuationism where the sign gifts are concerned, while ignoring the main problem, restorationism. In the end, NAR is simply setting up a straw man argument and then knocking it down.

The question of whether or not God is still anointing apostles and prophets to positions in the Church is the thing that constantly needs to be addressed regarding NAR. We cannot allow ourselves to be taken off track into a fruitless debate over cessationism vs. continuationism.

Though many within NAR completely downplay their belief in modern-day apostles and prophets, the truth is evidenced by their own videos, of which there are many on the ‘Net, where leaders refer to themselves or others in NAR as “apostles” or “prophets.” It becomes very clear that their intention is to use these terms not in generic or general terms, but as they are often used in Scripture to denote a person specifically called by God to that particular authoritative ministry. The implication is that since (really, if), apostles and prophets exist today, being disobedient to their message is tantamount to being disobedient to the prophets and apostles of old. Such hubris!

Yet, this is exactly how cults work. They are often led by people who have charisma, who can successfully pull the wool over the eyes of the average person. Once they reel people in through deceptive practices, these leaders literally bind them by causing them to come under their self-professed authority. Going outside or rejecting that authority is tantamount to losing salvation. NAR is doing everything it can to operate under demagoguery. Leaders understand that once people start to see them as having real often absolute) authority, those people are snared and it becomes difficult to leave.

Being part of NAR offers some semblance of protection for those involved. They become fully dependent upon leaders and remaining within NAR is their safe place. These followers stop thinking for themselves and simply accept (and do), whatever is taught without question. Just watch their videos to see this in action. This is the main construct of a cult and how they keep people involved, whether the number is 5 or 5,000.

NAR offers the spectacular, a chance to touch the hem of God’s robe. However, followers do so under the auspices of the leaders within NAR, who constantly dole out “blessings” from God. It is in their presence and because of their teaching and guidance that these blessings come. In essence, and tragically, they are replacing God with themselves. This is cultic behavior to a T.

The tragedy is in realizing just how often NAR leaders are wrong about their “prophecies” or “words of knowledge.” In fact, it is interesting to see how certain “prophets” can say one thing while others say another thing, often diametrically opposed. This is allowed, because these “words of knowledge” are always being reviewed by the “apostles” and sometimes, it can take a while to discern what “God” allegedly means.

Educate yourself so that you will not fall for the false trappings of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a cult that has grown exponentially since 1948 though the names and leadership has changed over time. Because it rose seemingly out of evangelical Christianity, it has the trappings of and operates under the guise of Christianity.

Don’t be fooled. If NAR practices starts sneaking into your church, alert the ministers in charge. However, be warned that there is a great chance it will succeed in your church and you will need to find another one because if it comes in, it is usually allowed by those who are in charge and given the responsibility of overseeing the local church. We’ve seen it happen with numerous churches that we’ve been involved in.

In fact, it appears to be happening to one church that we were involved in several years ago but moved out to another because of the changes we saw occurring there, which were small compared to what is occurring now. It began with the music. Once the church brought in a new worship leader who seemed in many ways Charismatic, it began to change for the worse. The emphasis was geared to trigger the emotions in people and it has grown from that. Over time, the music got louder, rockier, more repetitive, and there has recently been a call to find out who if anyone is interested in “interpretive dance” during the services. Before we left, the music had taken up 45 minutes of the morning service while the time for the message reduced to about 20.

I clearly recall the new worship leader inviting people to clap and even dance in the aisles of the sanctuary during morning service. He wanted people to worship God in the way he thought was appropriate, through emotional displays. Where is the self-control? Where is the decorum that is so often spoken of in Scripture? Too often today, love for God is relegated to or simply stems from our emotions. While we certainly should be glad for what God has done for us, with hearts filled with genuine praise, the reality is that love for God is best seen in our quiet, submissive obedience to every aspect of His will. Anyone can dance in the aisles and shout “hallelujah!” Go watch a Kenneth Hagin or Benny Hinn video on the ‘Net to see it. However, it means nothing if our lives do not conform to His will in obedience.

I would encourage readers to read the entire article over on Church Watch Central called: Michael Brown’s friend Mike Bickle acknowledges NAR; lies about iHOP’s involvement; rejects NAR TPT Bible.

NAR is a dangerous cult for many reasons, not least of which is their unbiblical belief that God is appointing new apostles and prophets to the Church today. This is tragic and more so when considering how many unthinking, gullible people follow them blindly.

*NOLR stands for New Order of Latter Rain and was the precursor to the modern-day New Apostolic Restoration (NAR) movement.

Entry filed under: Atheism and religion, christianity, Cultural Marxism, Demonic, devil worship, Eastern Mysticism, emergent church, Emotional virtue, eternity, Maitreya, new age movement, Political Correctness, Politically Correct, Politics, Religious - Christian - End Times, Religious - Christian - Prophecy, Religious - Christian - Theology, salvation, Satanism, second coming. Tags: michael brown, mike bickle, NAR, new apostolic reformation, signs and wonders.