THE FOURTH WAVE PROPHETIC MINISTRY
IN LIGHT OF CLASSICAL PENTECOSTAL CRITICISM
IN LIGHT OF CLASSICAL PENTECOSTAL CRITICISM
PRESENTED TO DR. TOTO GUSTILLO
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR HOLINESS-PENTECOSTAL AND CHARISMATIC MOVEMENTS
BY
PATRICK VINCENT C. TAN
MAKATI, PHILIPPINES
24 OCTOBER 2009
Introduction
The revelatory spiritual manifestation of prophecy has been integral to the people of God throughout salvation history[i]. It is through the means of prophetic revelation that God’s will is made known to His people. In the Old Testament, from the giving of the law through Moses, to presiding the nation’s political transition through Samuel; From the allegorical rebuke of David through the prophet Nathan, to the words of warning and assurance of Isaiah and the exilic prophets, God has empowered these select men to become messengers of counsel, comfort and correction to His covenant people. In the New Testament, fulfilling the great prophecies of old came the Great Prophet and Messiah, messenger of the kingdom and salvation, Jesus whom Moses proclaimed as someone equal to or even greater than him (Deut 18:15). And at the advent of Pentecost, the ministry of prophecy that once was available to select individuals was released to the body of Christ “as [the Spirit] wills” (1Co 12:11, NASB).
Growing up in a Pentecostal denomination, I was aware of the spiritual charismatic gift of prophecy whose main if not sole purpose, like the other gifts of the Spirit of 1 Corinthians, was to build up and edify the church. I have seen firsthand the ministry of prophecy at work in our local church, in other ministries, and also myself. At this point I have come to a personal distinction that there are two forms of prophecy based on the content of the prophecy. First is a “broad” type of prophecy (I would prefer calling it “broad” than “vague” for lack of a better term). It is relevant yet not too specific because it aims to encourage and exhort all believers present and defers the risk of exposing confidential situations publicly. The second type of prophecy is “specific.” It is specific because its content addresses a specific situation factual to a specific individual or a group of people. It is often geared to address or reveal the future. Often this spiritual gift is manifests together with the gift of wisdom and knowledge, and the gift of healing. I have witnessed this kind of prophetic ministry in the likes of Cindy Jacobs’ prophetic ministry and Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn and their contemporaries. It is important to note that prophetic utterances range from broadness to being specific. However, the “prophet” who prophesies “specifically” is publicly held accountable and lays on the line their reputation as a genuine messenger of God. If the “prophet’s” words stood ground, they are declared credible, however if their words failed to happen, they lose credibility and harshly criticized. Such was the challenge that faced this new “wave” of prophetic ministry that started to proliferate the church scene in the recent decades. I would soon learn that this was the “fourth wave” of spiritual renewal in modern church history—the advent of the Prophetic-Apostolic Movement (PAM).
Through my class in Holiness-Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, I have learned of this current movement that is slowly waning to welcome the next wave of renewal. And being a believer raised in a classical Pentecostal tradition, I have to admit that the experiences and expressions held in this movement are foreign and unchartered to me. Thus, my desire for this paper is to answer the following: What is the Prophetic-Apostolic Movement? When and how did it start? What are its strengths and weaknesses? And more importantly, how does this movement relate and interact with what I believe and practice? The objectives of this paper seeks to do the following: (1) to explain the historical and theological development of the PAM with further emphasis its understanding of prophecy, (2) to explain the ministry of prophecy in the light of Pentecostal and Charismatic understanding, (3) to compare and contrast the two movement’s understanding of prophetic ministry, and lastly (4), to attempt to establish parameters of biblical prophetic ministry in light of former objectives.
The Prophetic-Apostolic Movement
Forerunners of the Fourth Wave
Before we fully understand what the Prophetic-Apostolic Movement is, it is important to look back at the forerunners that led to the birth of this movement. From the beginning, the church is in a constant process and need of renewal, a process which can be perceived as a series of renewal events or “revivals.” And this process of constant renewal is thus described and coined as a spiritual “wave”.[ii] So far we know that before the PAM, three waves of spiritual renewal happened in the modern church era.
The first wave is the birth of Pentecostalism in the Asuza Revival of 1906. This new wave of spiritual renewal placed significant emphasis on what would soon be called the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The movement also placed equal importance in glossolalia or speaking in tongues as the initial physical evidence of baptism in the Spirit. Baptism in the Holy Spirit was considered as a second blessing subsequent to the conversion experience. Manifestations of healing, social and racial harmony, passionate worship, renewed commitment to evangelism and missions, and eschatology also characterized this movement.[iii]
The second wave was the rise of the Charismatic renewal in mainline denominations of Christianity. The notable beginnings of this movement was rooted on the Spirit-baptism experienced by the Episcopalian priest Father Dennis Bennet in 1960. The second wave had notable differences from the first. Unlike the first wave whose followers moved out of mainline denominations to form Pentecostal groups and denominations, the people who experienced Charismatic renewal chose to remain in their denominations. This was so because the forerunners of the movement were the clergy themselves. The focus group was also different in that its dominant followers were of the middle-class (contrary to the first wavers who were of the lower class and the social outcasts of that time). This had an effect on the focus of ministry from physical healing to inner and emotional healing. The second wavers were also perceived as more ecumenically-minded than their predecessors.[iv]
The third wave movement began within the Protestant Evangelical churches. Signs and wonders dominated this movement with proponents such as John Wimber and C. Peter Wagner in the early 1980s.[v] The third wave movement appeared to be a distant cousin of the first two movements in that it deferred from two major tenets held by its predecessors. (1) Third Wavers believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is not a second blessing, but an experience that happens at conversion. (2) Third Wavers also believe that speaking in tongues is only one of many spiritual gifts, and is not necessarily the initial physical evidence of Spirit baptism. Third Wavers focused more on the gift of healing.[vi]
Rooted in the previous movements of spiritual renewal, the fourth wave of the Spirit was believed to arrive soon in that century which will lead to a global revival of the church.[vii] It was further strengthen by a “self-perceived weakness” of its three predecessors marked by a struggle between those who relied on Scripture and those who relied on the Spirit.[viii] This new wave of spiritual awakening was almost unstoppable.
The Fourth Wave or the Prophetic-Apostolic Movement
The Prophetic-Apostolic movement rallied on the restoration of the “neglected” five-fold ministry (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher) of the church as mentioned in Ephesians 4:10-11[ix]. As early as 1947, early Pentecostal figure Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947) prophesied that a movement of God would arrive in which the Word and Spirit would be combined[x]. Third Wave proponent C. Peter Wagner calls it the New Apostolic Reformation[xi]. Contemporary British bible teacher J. David Pawson (1930-) describes it as an integration of the two streams of tradition that is evangelicalism and charismatic[xii]. Kelly Weiler describes it as the new wave of apostles and prophets that would form new leadership and ministry. The fourth wave was a return to the biblical foundation of “one body and one Spirit” (Eph 4:4)[xiii]. Early fourth waver proponent Mark Stibbe goes on to say that this was “the greatest movement of God’s Spirit ever witnessed in church history.”[xiv] The movement would greatly be shaped by the US-based PAM that would soon be known as the Kansas City prophets. Among its members were Kansas City Fellowship senior pastor Mike Bickle and his pastoral team, Rick Joyner, Paul Cain, Bob Jones, James Goll, John Paul Jackson, Lou Engle and Bill Hamon.[xv] The following is an outline of some the important events related to the PAM:
· 1950s – William Branham holds the Voice of Healing Revival. Branham was considered by many as a genuine prophet. He believed that Christians need to return to the original apostolic faith of the Bible.[xvii]
Paul Cain begins to minister during this time and was present during these revivals. Cain who would soon become one of the forerunners of the fourth wave movement attends this gathering.[xviii]
· 1970 – Rick Joyner converts to Christianity during which he began to write a series of books documenting his prophetic and visionary experiences about the church and the end times. Rick would also become part of the Kansas City prophets (KCP).[xix]
· 1982 – The Kansas City Fellowship (KCF) founded by Mike Bickle after he received a prophecy and heard an audible voice in Cairo, Egypt instructing him to “raise up a work that will touch the ends of the earth.”[xx] Bickle’s teaching focused on preparing the body of Christ for the second coming of Jesus.
· 1988 – Bickle convinces Third Waver John Wimber to change the emphasis of his Vineyard Church to that of a prophetic ministry.[xxiii] The following year, Wimber was so impressed with the KCP that he publicly calls every Vineyard pastor to be ministered to by the prophetic group.
· 1990 – Pastor Ernie Gruen (Full Faith Church of Love), one of the forerunners of the Charismatic movement in Kansas City, releases an audio recording of his sermon “Do We Keep Smiling and Say Nothing?” accusing KCF of sending out false prophets, prophesying the closure of churches in the area, and the transfer of congregations to KCF, and of lying. Gruen also releases a 233-page document across the US addressing the alleged abuses of KCF.[xxv]
At a KCF-sponsored conference Bickle admits to 15 abuses accused by Gruen. One of the 15 errors admitted by Bickle was the appropriation of prophetic and apostolic titles to KCF leaders instead. Most admissions however do not address Gruen’s major accusations.[xxvi]
· 1990 – Bickle submits all KCP ministries to Vineyard covering. Wimber issues some cautions and promises to address the questionable practices of KCP.
· 1994 – Toronto Blessing. Mark Stibbes claims the Toronto Blessing was the crest of the fourth wave which will mark the global revival before the end of the century.
· 1997 – Joyner publishes Final Quest, his most popular book documenting his visions, transportation to heaven experiences, and meeting Jesus and deceased saints. While it was written in fiction form, the author claims the experiences were actual facts.[xxvii]
John Paul Jackson launches the Streams Institute for Spiritual Development, a training program for mentoring those who claim to have revelatory gifts. In 2003, more than 12,000 individuals from various countries enrolled in this program. Jackson is a Christian teacher and conference speaker whose teachings focus on dreams, visions and the supernatural. He also once served as pastoral staff to Wimber before joining KCF and KCP.[xxviii]
· 1998 – Fresh Fire Ministry asked Todd Bentley to give his testimony at one of their weekly meetings. Soon after Bentley took over leadership of the group which became a revival movement.[xxix]
· 2000 – Lou Engle’s The Call gathers 400,000 for prayer and fasting in Washington DC. Engle was part of the KCP and a leader at the International House of Prayer headed by Bickle.[xxx]
· 2005 – Paul Cain steps down from ministry after admitting to struggle in homosexuality and alcoholism. He would re-emerge again in public after two years in claims of rehabilitation.[xxxi]
· 2008 – Lakeland Revival gains church and media attention with evangelist Todd Bentley at the forefront. Soon after Bentley announces his divorce with his wife and admits to elicit affair and steps down from ministry. March following year, Joyner who is closely associated with Bentley announces Bentley’s rehabilitation under Joyner’s oversight.[xxxii]
Characteristics of the Prophetic-Apostolic Movement
The Prophetic-Apostolic Movement borrows some of its tenets from the Latter Rain movement of the late 1940s. The Latter Rain Movement rose from the Pentecostal tradition that teaches the outpouring of God's Spirit once more as He did at Pentecost. The beginnings of this movement began in 1948 when a revival broke out in Saskatchewan, Canada where the doctrinal beliefs were later made clear. Latter Rain teaching is characterized by highly typological hermeneutic[xxxiii], which means that the Bible is interpreted in a symbolic, personalized manner. Latter Rain doctrine includes the following beliefs[xxxiv]:
1. The restoration of the five-fold ministry of the church (apostle, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers)
2. The gifts of the Spirit, including tongues, are received through the laying on of hands.
3. Divine healing can be administered by the laying of hands.
4. Belief that Christians can be demonized and required deliverance.
5. The "latter rain" will bring God's work into completion. The church will be victorious over the world and usher in Christ's kingdom.
6. The manifest sons of God, that the church will give rise to a special group of "overcomers" who will receive immortality and spiritual bodies.
While most of the doctrines of the Latter Rain movement adopted by the fourth wave PAM and its scriptural interpretations are in conflict with the classical Pentecostal standpoint[xxxv], this paper will seek to expound more on the restorationist doctrine (#1) of the PAM in relation to one of the five-fold ministry that is the office of the prophet.
The PAM believes in the restoration of the five-fold ministry with special emphasis to the office of the apostle and the prophet in the church. This establishment of modern-day apostles and prophets is the major means of bringing about the unity of the church.[xxxvi] They believe that this event would directly answer Jesus’ prayer for the universal unity of the church in John 17. It is through this restoration the God will be able to fully pour out his power on the church.[xxxvii] This unity will bring about the eventual demise of the denominational system and will pave the way for the second coming of Christ.[xxxviii] And with the absence of a governing system a new church structure will be in place which will be governed by the modern-day apostles and prophets.[xxxix] Here arises the “manifest sonship” doctrine (a typological interpretation of Romans 8:19) which will characterize this modern-day apostles and prophets. It is described as an elite core of individuals that will attain the fullness of holiness and anointing that will be at the forefront of the church’s battle against worldly forces (such as disease, the devil, human enemies and the like) achieving eminent victory over it.[xl] Manifested sonship doctrine believes in a “mystical second coming” wherein Christ does not actually physically return to earth, but rather through his manifestation to the manifest sons of God, or the corporate Christ.[xli]
It is common therefore in this movement for individuals who manifest such gift of prophetic ministry to be called or to claim upon himself the title of a prophet as seen through the likes of the Kansas City prophets among others. There was also an emphasis on extra-biblical revelation such as the ministry of personal prophecies wherein prophetic declarations are made over the future welfare of one’s aspect of life such as personal, family, financial success, romantic relationships etc. These declarations are often characterized by “Thus saith the Lord …” in an expression of confident stance that the prophetic declaration comes from God himself. There was also personal spiritual experiences either physical or non-physical encounters with otherworldly environments such as heaven and hell or with heavenly beings such as angels and deceased saints and sometimes even Jesus himself. All experiences were considered directives directly coming straight from God.[xlii]
Classical Pentecostal Response
My desire for the first part of the paper was to present the fourth wave movement through documentary glasses to the best of my ability (though there might be some leanings toward a Pentecostal bias). This portion of the paper will be a response toward the PAM’s doctrines and experiences in light of classical Pentecostal tradition. [xliii]
The Office of the Prophet
Dr. Daniel Tappeiner gives an extensive definition of prophecy. According to him, prophecy “is not preaching, teaching, or prediction, but an especially appropriate and powerful spontaneous utterance provided by the Holy Spirit, in one’s own language, given to the group, for the moment, for the purpose of upbuilding, encouragement and consolation.”[xliv] At another document, he writes that prophecy “is speaking out under the anointing of Jesus the Prophet by the Holy Spirit of God’s ‘now word’ or rhema in one’s own language to the appropriate persons for the purposes of God (usually consolation, encouragement and upbuilding)”[xlv]. And by consolidating his two definitions of prophecy, one can say that a prophet (1) speaks with a function different from preaching, teaching, or prediction, (2) speaks appropriate and powerful utterance provided by the Holy Spirit under the anointing of Jesus Christ, (3) addresses the present situation (God’s ‘now word’ or rhema), (4) prophesies in one’s own language, (5) prophesies to an appropriate person or group, and (6) prophesies for the purpose of edification and consolation.
Thus (in relation to #1) one could hypothesize that the ministry of the prophet is one that is functional rather than titular. The passage does address issues of unity and functions as held by PAM doctrine, but an exegesis of Ephesians 4:10-11 in light of its immediate context disproves any restorationist and eschatological tone in its context. The call and vision for unity is in the context of a local church or a group of churches in a specific region that is Ephesus (vv. 2-5). Furthermore, verses 13-16 answers the purpose for unity: so that “we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine …” (v. 14), and that the church would edify itself and grow in love (v. 16). As for the ministerial offices, administering titles cannot be supported by these passages because the offices are functional rather than titular. A person may function as a pastor as he shepherds his congregational flock. At the same time, or for a moment, there might be a need for him to function as a teacher. And similarly, he may function prophetically and be referred to as a prophet. Thus, the function dictates the office, not the other way around.
In an official statement, the Assemblies of God, a classical Pentecostal denomination, while they believe that the five-fold ministry and the spiritual gift have not ceased, it clarifies,
“[However], we do not believe it is necessary to use the titles of apostles and prophets in order for those functions to be active in the world and the church today.”[xlvi]
It goes on to say,
“Since the New Testament does not provide for establishing the prophet in a hierarchal governing structure of the church, the Assemblies of God disapproves of formally naming or declaring individuals as prophets in the church.”[xlvii]
In both statements, one will conclude that the prophetic ministry is one that is more functional rather than titular.
As per the doctrine of manifest sons of God, once again it is helpful to perform an exegesis of Romans 8:19 from which the doctrine is derived from. This passage simply refers to the “revealing” or presentation with Christ in his second coming, of the sons of God, that is, the redeemed of the ages (Rev 19:14; Mt 24:30).[xlviii] Furthermore the idea of a select group of individuals contradicts the development of the prophetic ministry through biblical and modern history. For this we can ask ourselves, who can administer the gift of prophecy?
God wanted every person to enter into a prophetic ministry.[xlix] Moses, in response to Joshua’s agitation over the sight of prophesying elders Eldad and Medad, said, “that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them” (Nu 11:29). And so it happened on the day of Pentecost when the people of God are heard “speaking of the mighty deeds of God” (Acts 2:11). In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he exhorts the whole church to “desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” (14:1). He goes on to acknowledge that all of them can “prophesy one by one (v. 31). As the empowerment of the Spirit is made available to all believers, the function of the prophet is a continuing gift of the Holy Spirit that is broadly distributed and could be fulfilled by any Spirit-filled believer the Spirit wills.[l] Contrary to the idea that only a select few can be called prophets and govern over the “new church”, it is God’s sovereign plan that the prophetic gift be made available to everyone, and that God’s chosen people, the church, justified and sanctified for his holy purposes, is called “to show forth the praises of him” (1Pt 2:9).
While Assemblies of God does not discount predictive prophesy (which is the nature of PAM), it asserts that the biblical gift of prophecy is more “forth-telling” rather that “foretelling”. The Old Testament prophets sometimes saw and predicted the future, but the predication was focused on God’s will and plan for His people.[li] In this aspect, it cannot be fully denied that foretelling prophecy does not exist, however, there is a hazardous tendency to give final-word authority to predictions and personal prophecies about what a person should do, whom they should marry, etc. Thus certain parameters must be undergone in order to test the prophetic word.[lii]
Discernment of the Prophetic Word
It has been proven through the Corinthian church that the prophecy and other gifts can be abused and misused for purposes other than God had intended. To abuse or misues the prophetic ministry was to “quench the Spirit” or “despising prophetic utterance” (1Th 5:19-20). Thus it is imperative for sound practice of prophetic ministry that all prophetic utterances are tested by way of three tests of validity. First is to test the utterance in accordance to the Word of God. As claimed to be upheld by the PAM, all prophetic utterances must be in congruence to the conviction of the infallible Word of God. Second is validating the utterance according to the affirmation of the body of believers. On this aspect Paul writes that “others should weigh carefully what is said” (1Co 14:29). Tappeiner goes on to say that the prophetic word can be valid when there is “expressed simultaneity of insight among others in the group who did not utter the prophecy but sensed a similar meaning in the Holy Spirit’s activity.”[liii] And thirdly, one may validate the genuineness of the prophetic word in accordance to what happens after he speaks.[liv] Judge the person’s ministry by the results that follow. “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Mt 7:16).
In a recent statement addressing the validity of revivals, the Assemblies of God presents three qualifiers in form of interrogative statements that can validate true prophetic experience and manifestations.[lv] (1) Is Jesus Christ exalted? The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to testify about Christ, and to convict the world of sin and judgment to come. Supernatural manifestations must always point to and seek to glorify Christ and not some person or any other being. (2) Is the Word of God proclaimed? In the statement it says that every lasting revival is founded in the faithful proclamation of God’s Word. Therefore in keeping with the spread of gospel in the early church as recorded in the book of Acts[lvi], it is important to test the experience whether it is in agreement to the words of Jesus and the Apostles. Sound utterance must “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3). And (3), are persons repenting of sin and being baptized in water and the Holy Spirit? The final test of the revival’s validity is the positive response of the hearers of the word. Repentance is one of the initial marks of transformational proclamation of the gospel in the early church. In reference to the Asuza Revival as a sound model for biblical revival, George Wood writes,
The Azusa Street Revival had such enduring fruitfulness precisely because the three questions raised above can be well answered, both then and now: Christ was exalted, the Word of God was the plumb line, and people responded to the gospel with repentance and baptism in water and in the Spirit.[lvii]
Conclusion
Thomas F. Zimmerman once compared the Holy Spirit to a mighty river, and the Scriptures to the banks of that river: Great harm occurs when the river overruns the banks, but the river does great good when it stays within the banks. If indeed the Prophetic-Apostolic movement is a recurrence of the Spirit’s wave, true to his non-static nature, there should be validity to it. The fourth wave of spiritual renewal, being a young movement, has much yet to be learned from the inside, and much to be appreciated from the outside. For one its emphasis on prophetic ministry is something to be appreciated and revived among our churches in dire need of edification and consolation. However, there must be accountability for the one who gives the prophetic utterances. It should be practiced in love—toward God and toward others, both in the denial of self. Discernment is its constant companion. In the threat of the presence of counterfeit prophetic ministries today, one must rejoice that God has empowered his people to discern and “test everything” in light of the Scripture, the lordship of Christ, the affirmation of the body and the enduring fruit of ones ministry.
Bibliography
“Pentecostalism & Beyond”. Class lecture from Holiness-Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements.
“What is the Latter Rain Movement”. Accessed October 23, 2009. http://www.gotquestions.org/latter-rain-movement.html; Internet.
“Wikipedia”. Accessed October 23, 2009. http://www.wikipedia.org; Internet.
About Morning Star Publications and Ministries. “Morning Star Ministries Online”. Accessed October 23, 2009. http://www.morningstarministries.org/Groups/1000012510/MorningStar_Ministries/About/About.aspx; Internet.
Clasen, Don. “Vintage Metro: My Eight Years with the Kansas City Prophets”. Accessed October 23, 2009. http://www.intotruth.org/kcp/kcp-Vintage-Metro.pdf; Internet.
Hawkes, Paul. “A Critical Analysis of the Third and Fourth Wave of Pentecostalism”. Accessed October 23, 2009. http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/10500/1857/2/02thesis.pdf; Internet.
Lyons, William John. “The Fourth Wave and the Approaching Millenium: Some problems with charismatic hermeneutics”. Accessed October 23, 2009. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/thrs/staff/essayspublications/fourth.pdf; Internet.
Prophets and Personal Prophecies. “Assemblies of God Online”. Accessed October 23, 2009. http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/sptlissues_prophets_prophecies.cfm; Internet.
Tappeiner, Daniel. “How to be a ‘prophetic’ person in your ministry”.
Tappeiner, Daniel. “Prophetic Heart Ministry: The Principles, Preparations and Practices”.
Tappeiner, Daniel. A Psychological Paradigm for the Interpretation of the Charismatic Phenomenon of Prophecy. “Journal of Psychology and Theology”, 1977.
Tillin, Tricia, “KCP: The Roots of Revival”. Accessed October 23, 2009. http://www.intotruth.org/kcp/kcp-roots.html; Internet.
Wood, George O. AG Statement on Revival. “Assemblies of God Online”. Accessed October 23, 2009. http://ag.org/top/General_Superintendent/Statement_on_Revival.cfm; Internet.
Cannon, Stephen. “Kansas City Fellowship Revisted: The Controversy Continues”. Accessed October 23, 2009. http://www.intotruth.org/kcp/kcp-revisited.html; Internet.
[ii] William John Lyons. The Fourth Wave and the Approaching Millennium: Some problems with charismatic hermeneutics (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/thrs/staff/essayspublications/fourth.pdf), 2.
[vi] Ibid. / Paul Hawkes. A Critical Analysis of the Third and Fourth Wave of Pentecostalism (http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/10500/1857/2/02thesis.pdf; Internet), 108.
[xiv] Lyons, 3. In his exegetical analysis of Ezekiel 47:1-12, Mark Stibbes interprets the following passage in relation to the arrival of the fourth wave of spiritual renewal. In the passage, Stibbes interprets the four stage of the water rising in Ezekiel’s vision as the four-stage pattern of spiritual renewal. The ankle-deep water was the first wave of Pentecostalism. The knee-deep water was the second wave of Charismatic Renewal. The loin-deep water was the third wave of Signs and Wonders movement. And thus the fourth wave which forces Ezekiel to swim against is the fourth wave of spiritual renewal in which “the final wave completes the process.” Stibbe also notes that the time gaps between waves are decreasing consecutively: fifty years between the first and second, twenty between the second and third and so on.
[xviii] Wikipedia: Apostolic-Prophetic Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic-Prophetic_Movement).
[xxii] Biblical Mandate of Matthew 24:45-46 (http://www.morningstarministries.org/Groups/1000012510/MorningStar_Ministries/About/About.aspx). Matthew 24:45-46 (NIV) states, “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.”
[xxvi] Stephen Cannon. Kansas City Fellowship Revisted: The Controversy Continues (http://www.intotruth.org/kcp/kcp-revisited.html).
[xxvii] Wikipedia: Rick Joyner. Controversial books like William P. Young’s The Shack and Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code take this similar approach.
[xxxiii] “Typology in Christian theology and Biblical exegesis is a doctrine or theory concerning the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. Events in the Old Testament (a term linked with Supersessionism, see Hebrew Bible) are seen as pre-figuring events or aspects of Christ in the New Testament, and, in the fullest version of the theory, that is seen as the purpose behind the Old Testament events occurring.” (Wikipedia: Typology)
[xxxiv] What is the Latter Rain Movement (http://www.gotquestions.org/latter-rain-movement.html), Wikipedia: Latter Rain Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latter_Rain_Movement).
[xxxv] Comments: (Belief #1) Pentecostalism believes in the function of the five-fold ministry of the church, but does not have the same interpretation and expression as the PAM which will be expounded later. (2) The gifts of the Spirit are received through the work of Holy Spirit with or without the laying of hands, Pentecostalism believes in waiting expectantly for the gift. (3) Similar to #2, the administration of healing is not exclusive only through the laying of hands. (4) Pentecostals do not believe that Christians can be demonized.
[xxxvi] Don Clasen. Vintage Metro: My Eight Years with the Kansas City Prophets (http://www.intotruth.org/kcp/kcp-Vintage-Metro.pdf).
[xliii] The author’s source primarily on classic Pentecostalism Assemblies of God position on prophetic ministry, and view of Dr. Daniel Tappeiner.
[xliv] Daniel Tappeine. A Psychological Paradigm for the Interpretation of the Charismatic Phenomenon of Prophecy. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 25.
[xlvi] Prophets and Personal Prophecies. Assemblies of God Online (http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/sptlissues_prophets_prophecies.cfm) .
[lv] George O. Wood. AG Statement on Revival. Assemblies of God Online (http://ag.org/top/General_Superintendent/Statement_on_Revival.cfm).
