THE NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION MOVEMENT OVERVIEW

Beginning in the late 1990s, a heterodox movement in Protestant Christianity known as the “New Apostolic Reformation” (NAR), also known as the Apostolic-prophetic movement, gained widespread appeal among Pentecostal and charismatic churches worldwide. People in this expanding movement follow modern-day apostles and prophets who claim to control the church and provide new divine revelation required to establish God’s kingdom on earth. NAR is comparable to Grape. Nuts – it’s neither grapes nor nuts. It’s similar to Christian Science in that it’s neither Christian nor scientific. The New Apostolic Reformation, on the other hand, is neither new nor apostolic, nor is it a reformation. However, it is a quickly growing movement led by some of the same old disturbing false teachers and false leaders who have been present in Charismania for hundreds of years, always dishonoring the Holy Spirit, always dishonoring the Scripture, always claiming miracle signs wonders, visions, dreams, heavenly visitations, and extrabiblical insights are all possible. The New Apostolic Reformation, according to Forrest Wilder, an environmental-issues writer for the Texas Observer, “taken Pentecostalism, with its emphasis on ecstatic worship and the supernatural, and given it an adrenaline shot.” Wilder goes on to say that the movement’s ideas “can tend toward the bizarre” and that it has “taken biblical literalism to an extreme.” In his book, “God’s Generals,” 1997 Edition, Roberts Liardon described how Dowie claimed to have heard a voice from heaven announcing him to be the Elijah prophesied in the Bible. He declared himself to be the First Apostle of a reborn, end-of-the-world Church, renounced his surname, and signed his documents as “John Alexander, First Apostle. “Many individuals, including many of the organization’s leaders, will not identify this movement by its formal term “NAR.” The lack of name recognition can be attributed to the fact that the movement is not organized by a single official denomination or organization.

Small groups and church planting fuel growth in the New Apostolic Reformation, which is often wholly autonomous of a parent congregation. Because the movement is not centralized, many of its adherents will not self-identify as members or even know the name (Jude 4). All similarly, thousands of Pentecostal churches and millions of people follow the doctrines of the New Apostolic Reformation without realizing the dangers. According to this belief, when the church rallies around the apostles, these leaders will gain increasingly powerful supernatural abilities. This will eventually feature the power to do mass healings and suspend physical laws. The signs are intended to trigger a big wave of Christian conversions. These apostles will also be recipients of a large financial transfer (in the end times), which will allow the church to build God’s dominion on earth. The New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) is widely regarded as having begun on May 21-23, 1996, at Fuller Theological Seminary’s “National Symposium on the Post-Denominational Church.” This gathering was organized by NAR apostle C. Peter Wagner, a former Fuller Professor, drew around 500 church leaders, church growth experts, and denominational officials. It was the first to promote the concept of modern-day apostles and prophets to the greater evangelical world. The panelists are supposed to have agreed at the end of the symposium that the two offices still exist today. Bill Johnson has been designated as a “Apostle” by the false prophet C Peter Wagner. The NAR movement is famous for dubious “manifestations” of gold flakes, glory clouds, angel feathers, angel orbs, grave sucking, open heaven experiences, and much, much more. Johnson’s wife Beni believes she is called to the “prophetic act of waking up angels”! Such strange teachings have never happened in church history as it is today. Much of the dramatic church growth in Africa, Asia, and Latin America can be attributed to the NAR movement. Many of the world’s largest churches’ leaders advocate present-day apostles and prophets. Though the NAR movement has grown most rapidly in the Global South, it has also garnered significant clout in the West. The NAR movement has taken over an entire denomination in Australia, the Assemblies of God in Australia. Approximately three million people in the United States attend NAR churches, which openly accept NAR principles. And, in In Uganda, NAR leaders exercised enormous political power, including the pushing of a contentious measure that would impose harsher penalties for homosexuality. They also endeavor to fight measures introduced in parliament that appear to violate Pentecostal churches’ close connections with the state. Traditional Christians, as well as secular liberals, have criticized the NAR movement, fearing that NAR leaders are attempting to establish theocracies in Uganda, the United States, and other countries. According to NAR leaders, God began returning the office of prophet to the church in the 1980s, followed by the office of apostle in the 1990s. According to C. Peter Wagner, one of the movement’s most influential US apostles, 2001 A.D. marked the start of the “Second Apostolic Age,” when the legitimate church administration, led by living apostles and prophets, was fully restored. The major job of apostles, according to the NAR organization, is in charge of the church. Many NAR leaders regard them as holding the highest office in church government, above prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. As a result, they are frequently referred to as the movement’s “generals.” Apostles, like prophets in the NAR movement, can deliver new divine revelation. Their particular role, however, is to apply the new revelation given by NAR prophets. As a result, they receive fresh revelation, assess how it should be applied in the church, and advise their followers on how to respond appropriately to the new revelation. According to the NAR organization, the primary purpose of prophets is to receive new divine revelation. Thus, many NAR leaders regard prophets as the second highest office in church leadership, second only to apostles, whereas others regard prophets and apostles as equal partners. Regardless of this distinction, most NAR leaders preach, either openly or implicitly, that apostles and prophets jointly hold the two highest posts in church leadership. The rationale for their higher authority is that only these two offices receive and implement new legislation divine revelations. According to NAR leaders, pastors, teachers, and evangelists do not typically receive fresh revelations. As a result, their tasks are confined to teaching the new revelation received by the NAR apostles and prophets, as well as the previous revelation found in the Bible. NAR prophets cannot be expected to be completely correct in their prophecies. As a result, even if they make mistakes in their prophecies, they might still be considered credible prophets. The concept of new revelations from God, particularly those that come in form of vague,

easily reinterpreted mysteries, runs counter to the idea of a faith delivered “once for all” to men (Jude 1:3). The fact that (N A R) prophesies frequently turn out to be wrong implies the presence of a false spirit (Deuteronomy 18:22). The same is true for miracles: C. Peter Wagner, the movement’s intellectual father, declared the end of European Mad Cow disease in 2001, yet the disease is still being detected and treated in the United States and even Uganda over decades later. Similarly, Pastor Oyedepo, a NAR/Dominion guru, claimed to have received divine instructions more than 30 years ago to make Nigerians rich and eradicate moral decadence by converting Nigerians to God, falls short of reality, because the current situation in Nigeria is so bad morally that it has worsened in Nigerian history (see chapter 3.9.0-7).
The NAR’s tendency to regard spiritual warfare as a form of Christianized voodoo is not only unbiblical, but also hazardous. Other critics of the NAR organization say that tolerating incorrect prophecies contradicts the Bible’s teaching that delivering erroneous, or false, predictions are a fundamental hallmark of a false prophet (Deuteronomy 18:2022). Some NAR prophets have made widely publicized, incorrect predictions yet are nonetheless regarded as legitimate prophets. The majority of NAR prophesies nowadays are not specific forecasts. Rather, the majority of their predictions are framed in such a way that they are difficult to determine whether they came to pass or not. Critics of the NAR movement see this habit of providing vague, non-specific prophesies as a cover-up for failed prophecies.

“The Assemblies of God (AOG) – USA, has published official statements taking stances against many NAR teachings (see this http: worldfellwship.org).” This is the reason why many Pentecostal churches withdrew their denominational membership from AOG as a protest.”Now that the church is led by living apostles and prophets, it can perform its primary goal, the Great directive, which NAR leaders have reinterpreted as a directive to acquire dominion, or sociopolitical control, of the earth through the use of the seven pillars of influence. The abandoning of God’s complete amour (Ephesians 6) to accomplish the great commission through the use of unbiblical instruments like as science and psycho-social engineering has rendered the church lifeless and Islam vibrant. The NAR and supporters of the seven-mountain mandate abandoned biblical teaching on the end times, believing that Christians must prepare the world for Jesus’ second arrival by gaining authority over its systems. According to 7-M theology, Jesus will only return to a world that resembles God’s kingdom. This concept is similar to New Age teachings that predict a cosmic spiritual shift when man becomes a co-redeemer of Planet Earth. In a story about the NAR, Al Jazeera referred to it as “America’s Own Taliban.” Because of the NAR’s discourse about spiritual battle, dominionism is compared to Islamic extremism found in groups like as the Taliban. According to NAR, spiritual combat is used to address worldly issues. For example, economic or health issues in a specific city are attributed to the presence of a demonic entity. Prayer investigation into the exact name of that demon, as well as other spiritual disciplines, are then used to oppose its existence. This is vital not only for the region’s health, but also because the church cannot exercise “dominion” over the territory until demonic control is removed. Much of what the NAR

preaches is based on Scripture, albeit it is taken much further than the Bible allows (2 John 9-10). However, those concepts remain unbiblical, and Christians should categorically reject the NAR’s teachings and those who choose to engage with it. The following are NAR / Word of Faith guru quotes which have been adopted in Pentecostal charismatic teachings to the detriment of the church.
JOYNER, RICK (Kansas City Prophets/Latter Rain/NAR)
“What is about to happen on Earth is not just a revival or another awakening; it is a revolution.” The vision was revealed to begin to awaken individuals who are destined to profoundly shift the path of history, and even the fundamental definition of Christianity.” (From Rick Joyner’s the Harvest, “Joel’s Army.”)
EARL PAULK (Dominion/Manifest Sons of God)
“Christ in us must rule over the earth…. God’s next step cannot happen unless Christ takes dominion in us. Earl Paulk, Held in the Heavens Until…, p.234, 1985. “God has predestined the Church to be that people who will be so glorified that we can bring Christ back to the earth. Before Jesus can return, the glorified church must make the earth God’s footstool.” (From Earl Paulk’s book The Wounded Body of Christ, as quoted in Jewel Van der Merwe’s book Joel’s Army).
“God literally moves His throne from heaven,” says TOMMY TENNEY (Former UPC/Antitrinitarian/NAR).
When this occurs, the church is constructing a chair, a seat, and a place for God to visit. When will the church rise up and create a mercy seat after the pattern of heaven? And He will truly establish His throne in the heart of the church, and some group somewhere will build a seat for the glory of God, and the water that runs from that spot will be holy. Eventually, the earth will be covered. The next wave of rebirth will be unlike anything you’ve ever seen. If there is nothing of man on it, God will not come to sit. He’s sick of breaking the seats we’ve fashioned for Him. He is now insisting that we construct a mercy seat.” (Tommy Tenny, Rivermail Archives: March-April 1999, FRED PRICE (Word-Faith) “However, God must be granted permission to work in this earth realm on behalf of man.” You are in command! So, if man has control, who does not? God. When God granted dominion to Adam, it meant that God no longer had dominion. So God cannot do anything on Earth unless we allow Him to. And prayer is how we let Him in or give Him permission.” (Fred Price, The Word Study Bible, 1990, p. 1178, “Prayer: Do You Know What Prayer Is…And How to Pray?” When did God relinquish his authority and strength and rely on Wagner to perform a task greater than that of his own Son, Jesus Christ?BILL HAMON (Prophetic Movement/Latter Rain)”At that time, God’s sons will be fully manifested on the earth.” The Sons of God will engage in widespread spiritual combat with Satan and company, and the non-Christian nations of the globe will be defeated. When the earth has been conquered. Jesus will return to earth and be handed the Kingdom earned for Him by this “Manchild Company.” (From Prophets and the Prophetic Movement by Bill Hamon) KENNETH HAGIN (Word-Faith) “Yes, sin, sickness and disease, spiritual death, poverty, and everything else associated with the devil once ruled over us.” But, thank God, we now rule over them — for this is the Day of Dominion!” (From Kenneth Hagin’s “Rejoice! This Is the Day That the Lord Has Made!” (7/96, The Word of Faith, p.16) “The cultural mandate, which some refer to as Christian social responsibility, dates back to the Garden of Eden,” says C. PETER WAGNER (Head Apostle of the NAR). After creating Adam and Eve, God told them, “Be fruitful and multiply.” increase, fill and subdue the world, have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all living things… In my opinion, both the cultural and evangelistic mandates are crucial components of biblical mission. Neither is an alternative. In Evangelical circles, there is growing agreement on this topic. This was not the case even twenty-two years ago, when the World Congress on Evangelism was held in Berlin. Horace Fenton of the Latin America

Mission was one of the first Evangelicals to emphasize the cultural mandate in a public setting at the Wheaton Congress on the Church’s Mission. Worldwide Mission, which was also held in 1966. Following that, the social consciousness caused by the 1960s social upheavals elevated the cultural mandate until it was given a rather significant profile on the platform of the International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne in 1974.” Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, A Reader, Revised Edition (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1981, 1992), pp. D-45-46. (C. Peter Wagner, “On the Cutting Edge of Mission Strategy,” Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, A Reader, Revised Edition (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1981, 1992).
DR. NALOKA BAKER FREDERICK RESEARCH FELLOW AT ZION APOLOGETIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE. KAMAPALA
January, 2023