Latter Rain Theology And The Pre-Tribulation Rapture

Dr. Joesph Chambers

Thistheology in a broad sense embraces at least eight different concepts or ideas.There is a lot of variations from minister to minister or ministry to ministry.Tommy Ice has done an excellent job explaining the background; therefore, Iwill not try to repeat his material. Rather, let me show you how these ideasare impacting the present day church. Let's look at the different concepts thatrelate to "Latter Rain" theology.

1. Thistheology teaches that there is a distinct period of revival to occur at the endof the church age, which is above, greater, and more complete than any revivalof the Second Testament church.

Bob Jones, a vineyardminister and one of the original "Kansas City Prophets" stated, "Theywill move into things of the supernatural that no one has ever moved in before.Every miracle, sign and wonder that has ever been in the Bible - they'll movein it consistently. They'll move in the power that Christ did. Every sign andwonder that's ever been will be many times in the last days. They themselveswill be that generation that raised up to put death itself underneath theirfeet and to glorify Christ in every way... and the Church that is raising up inthe government will be the head and the covering for them. So that thatglorious church might be revealed in the last days because the Lord Jesus isworthy to be lifted up by a church that has reached the full maturity of thegod-man!" (Visions &Revelations, Fall, 1988.)

Jewel Van der Merwe, anAssembly of God member, describes this "New Wave Theology", which ispromoted by the Vineyard church as following,

"VineyardMinistries are holding conferences overseas and throughout the U.S.A. Churchesand denominations are being proselytized and preyed on with a 'gospel' theyclaim is ordained to bring forth:

(1) the greatestrevival the Church has ever known;

(2) the greatestbaptism of the Spirit the Church has ever experienced;

(3) the greatest Army(Joel's Army) distinguished by invincibility, immortality and divinity;

(4) the greatest purging(inquisition) in the history of the Church;

(5) the greatestministry - the Prize of all Ages; and

(6) the greatestmiracles, supernatural signs and wonders far exceeding that of the Apostles andProphets of old." (Joel'sArmy, pp. 1-2.)

2. They believe that there must be a restoration of all prophetic andapostolic offices to accompany this end time revival.

Mike Bickle with the Kansas City Prophets and Vineyard Church statedthe following, "There's Apostles, there's Imminent Apostles and there'sMOST IMMINENT APOSTLES... There's various levels of Apostles and the Lord wasshowing that... out of this Movement there would be 35 apostles... that will beof the highest level of apostolic ministry... the whole government of thismovement in its highest level in all places it goes ... the government rests onApostles and Prophets... Though I believe there will be hundreds of apostles inthis movement and every movement will have its apostles and prophets, I believeGod, He's merging Apostles in a number of movements now and He's going to addprophets to the prophets that are already there and He's going to bring us tohigher statures." (Visions& Revelations Kansas City Fellowship.)

Rick Joyner in great reputation among the Charismatics stated, "Thedismantling of organizations and disbanding of some works will be a positiveand exhilarating experience for the Lord's faithful servants. .. a greatcompany of prophets, teachers, pastors, and apostles will be raised up with thespirit of Phineas . . ." (TheHarvest Rick Joyner.)

A book written by Richard Kelly Hoskin, entitled Vigilantes OfChristendom describes these warriors. he says of them, "As theKamikaze is to the Japanese, As the Shiite is to Islam, As the Zionist is tothe Jew, So the Phineas priest is to Christendom."

3. They believe that Joel's Army, asdescribed by the prophet Joel and John the Revelator, will be a Christian armytaking dominion for Jesus Christ on the earth.

Paul Cain, one of thebiggest names in Charismatic circles, described this army as following, "Youknow this message is 35 years old and I'm just preaching it again. Thank GodI've found some- body to preach it to. I told you about the vision, what I'vehad. This recurring vision of standing at the crossroads of life and the angelof the Lord said, 'You are standing at the crossroads of life. What do yousee?' And I saw a brilliantly lit billboard which reads JOEL'S ARMY NOW INTRAINING... See, I've been wanting to share this so long and find somebody -how would you like to have something on the back burner for 35 years and nobodyhad any - boy this is, I mean this isn't leftovers. I mean this has been hotwith me all these years, but everywhere I tried to preach it, they cooked mygoose. Don't you boo me. This kind of fiery preaching is a lost art todayexcept in a very mild degree."("Joel's Army", cassette from Kansas City Prophets.)

Jack Deese, anotherVineyard minister, gives a very clear description of this army, 11... thisarmy is totally unique. This army, there's never been one like it and therenever will be one like it in ages to come... It's so mighty that there's neverbeen anything like it before. Not even Moses, not even David, not even Paul.What's going to happen now will transcend what Paul did, what David did... whatMoses did, even though Moses parted the Red Sea... there'll be a numerouscompany... Revelation hints at this when it talks about the 144,000 that followthe Lamb wherever He goes and no one, no one can harm that 144,000. See, that'sa multiple of 12. What's 12? Twelve is the number of the Apostles, 12 isApostolic government. And when you take an important number in the Bible andyou multiply it, it means you intensify it. So 12,000 times 12,000 + 144,000[Wrong math]. That is the ultimate in Apostolic government. Revelation talksabout that. Well, here Joel is talking about it now in different words, apowerful, a MIGHTY ARMY with many Paul's, many Moses, many David's." (Joel's Army Vineyard MinistriesInternational,

4. Many within this movement believe thatthe church has the right of dominion over all institutions and powers ofgovernment, commerce, education, and judiciary. Pat Robinson has stated this onnumerous occasions.

Gary North is one of theleaders preparing for this world takeover, "We are now witnessing thebeginning of a true paradigm shift.. . the Christian community in the UnitedStates has at last begun to adopt the intellectual foundation of a new worldview, and this is always the first step in the replacement of a dying civilizationwhich is based on a dying world view... the rotten wood is ready for burning,and a new civilization is being prepared to replace it. (DOMINION AND COMMON GRACE: The Biblical Basisof Progress, Gary North.)

Rick Joyner expresseshis concept of this New World Order that he believes the church is going toestablish, "We are all members of one another and we must start actinglike the church - as a body. I believe the same thing could be said today thatwas said before the Revolutionary War - because I tell you, we've come to atime of a spiritual revolution What Benjamin Franklin said, 'We've gottajoin or die' is becoming increasingly applicable to the Church. Those thatrefuse to tear down the walls - if the leaders refuse to tear down the walls, Itell you the people are going to do It. They going to come down. And just asthose of the former ORDER - who did not recognize that a NEW ORDER had come,they got swept away with the changes when they came. If we do not recognize thetimes in which we live - if we do not recognize the NEW ORDER has come upon theChurch - that there is a NEW ORDER TODAY. There is a Revolution taking place inthe Church today. I tell you, if we do not recognize that, if we do not becomea part of that, we are going to be swept away by these changes when they comebecause they are coming - they are irresistible. The Kingdom of God is comingand I'll tell you, there is nothing that we can do to stand against it...

"I remember someof the most penetrating scenes that I saw in the news last year were thecommunist leaders who just weeks before were some of the most powerful men inthis world, were on their knees begging the people to listen to them and thepeople were saying, 'Away with you, we will not listen to you because you werepart of the OLD ORDER, we will never listen to you again.' A NEW ORDER hascome. I tell you, you are going to see the same thing taking place inthe Church. If you wait until it becomes politically expedient to jumpon the bandwagon, I tell you, it will be too late. Today is our day ofvisitation. Now is the time to stand up for that which is coming. There arechanges. The Lord is going to bring down every wall that separates Hispeople." (HarvestConference, Denver, CO, R. Joyner, November, 1990.)

5. They believe that the Rapture doctrine,especially in its pre-Tribulation form, was nothing but Escapism Theology. Somebelieve He will come only after they take dominion over the earth. Othersbelieve that the full "manifestation of the Son's of God" on earth isactually the Biblical Rapture.

Rick Joyner was quick toannounce the death of a "Rapture" doctrine. He stated, "Thedoctrine of the rapture was a great and effective ruse of the enemy to implantin the church a retreat mentality, but it will not succeed. Already this yokehas been cast off by the majority in the advancing church, and it will soon becast off by all..." (TheHarvest, Rick Joyner.)

Francis Frangipaneappears to teach that the Rapture is the final perfection of the "ManifestSons of God." "Most of true Christianity shares a doctrinecommonly called the 'rapture' of the church (I Thessalonians 4:16). And whilestudy and debate surround the timing of this event, Scripture assures us itwill occur before Jesus Himself returns. However, before the rapture occurs,there will be a time of unusual grace in which the living church of JesusChrist, like a bride, makes '...herself ready'. In this unparalleled season ofpreparation, those who are alive in Christ shall realize a level of holinessand blamelessness of the quality in which Jesus Himself walked.

"The result ofthis new level of holiness will be a new level of unity.

"During therapture our bodies will be changed. But our character, that is, the essence ofwho we have become, will remain intact. There will be no regrets or wonderinghow 'those from that church' made it, for the living bride will be a churchbuilt together in love, meeting in separate buildings but serving the singleLord.

"It is highlysignificant that the Scriptural term for the rapture is called 'the gathering together'. What ultimatelywill be consummated in our gathering together physically to the Lord will beprecipitated by a spiritual gathering together of His body on earth. Concerningthe '...end of the age,' Jesustaught that the 'good fish' shall begathered.. . into containers'

"The pastors ofthe last Christian church will be under-shepherds to the Lord Jesus; they willbe anointed to gather together His remnant and under that anointing shall be 'fruitful and multiply.'

"Indeed, rightnow, in the context of humbling ourselves and submitting our hearts to Hiswill, we are participating in being'gathered together.' (Mr. Frangipane's new rapture.) And that process willprogressively increase until the barriers between brethren are melted by theover- coming nature of Christ's love. Before Jesus returns, we will truly be' one flock with one Shep- herd.' We will be a holy and blamelesssheepfold, meeting in different buildings, but baptized into one body." (Exposing The "Accuser Of The Brethren"Francis Frangipane, pp. 13-16.)

6. Another aberrant teaching is the ideaof "Manifest Sons of God." I just heard Kenneth Hagin tell a largechurch filled with his ministers and followers that this "New Wave"will perfect them until their body works perfectly.

Francis Frangipaneteaches this idea in a very prolific manner. He stated, "In anothersense, Mary, the mother of Jesus, also was 'a body [God] has prepared' (Hebrews 10:5). When Christ firstentered our world as a child, it was Mary whom God chose to give Christ birth.Mary's life symbolized the qualities the church must possess to walk in thefullness of Christ... Like Mary, our humble state as the Lord's bond slaves isbut a preparation for the coming forth of Christ in our lives . ...Indeed, ourpurity, our spiritual virginity as the body of Christ, is nothing less than GodHimself preparing us, as He did Mary, to 'give birth' to the ministry of HisSon. Even now, in the spiritual womb of the virgin church, the holy purpose ofChrist is growing, awaiting maturity; ready to be born in power in the timingof God!

"Through intenseprayer and the agonizing of the Holy Spirit, in groanings too deep for words,she embraces her appointed destiny - until the very voice of Christ Himself isheard again through her prayers:'Lo, I have come to do Thy will, 0 God!' Birthed in His Spirit and in Hispower, fused together through love and suffering, this holy people becomes, asit were, a 'body [God] hast prepared.'

"Even now, helltrembles and the heavens watch in awe. For I say to you, once again the 'virgin is with child.'

"Before JesusHimself returns, the last virgin child shall become pregnant with the promiseof God. Out of her travail the body of Christ shall come forth, raised to thefull stature of its Head, the Lord Jesus ... Yet in the midst of darkness, thevisible powerful glory of the Lord Jesus shall rise upon the virgin church .. .Radiant shall they appear, for their hearts shall possess the beautiful Star ofthe Morning. In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, their light shall exultlike the dew!" (HolinessTruth And The Presence Of God, Francis Frangipane, pp. 128-130)

7. One of the greatest sources of falseteaching within the Latter Rain Movement is its acceptance of New Revelation onequality with Holy Scripture. The entire landscape of their theological ideasare filled with strange interpretations of Scripture dreams and visions.

Here is a quote out ofRick Joyner's book, There Were Two Trees In The Garden Mr. Joyner says, "Hereis wisdom. 'Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast,for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.'(Revelation 13:18). The number 666 is not taken arbitrarily. Because man wascreated on the sixth day, the number six is often used symbolically in theScriptures as the number of man. This number is further identification of thespirit of the beast, which is the spirit of fallen man. In verse 11, we seethat this beast 'comes up out of the earth.' This beast is the result of theseed of Cain having been a 'tiller of the ground' or earthly-minded. The beastis the embodiment of religion that originates in the mind of man. It comes upout of the earth in contrast to Christ who comes down out of heaven." (There Were Two Trees In The Garden RickJoyner, pp. 17-18.)

Here is a breathtakingdeparture into fantasy by a minister's wife, Bonnie Chavada. "I hear avoice say, 'This is the refreshing: IT WILL BE VERY VIOLENT.'

"As I watched, aseries of scenes from the movie adaptation of the American classic by L. FrankBaum, the 'Wizard Of Oz,' passed before me. With each picture, a voicedescribed things that will take place as this coming 'wind' moved over theland. I understood that it will not be sinners, false religions, or evenpolitical institutions, including the media, that will most vehemently questionand oppose the coming 'wind.' It will be institutions of Christian traditionand influence, including those who claim the 'fullness of the Spirit

"I saw the girlDorothy, in her humility, purity, and faith, as a type of the bride of Christ.

"There will bethose who will call this wind "demonic" because of what it will makemanifest. Demons will be stirred up, the flesh will be made obvious, thingsformerly hidden will be exposed and seen as they are in relation to My Spirit:BUT THIS WIND IS FROM ME!' I realized how human logic and tradition, not beingsubject to the Spirit, will misread the appearance of what is to come, and willdeny that Jesus is driving this wind.

"'I have comenot to bring peace, but a sword, 'and again, 'Anything spoken against the Sonof Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Son of Man will beforgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.'

"The Holy Spiritsays, 'Do you know who I am in this picture?' Though this would certainly

offend the religious,and surprised me, the Lord said, 'Jam "Tote" -just like Toto isDorothy's constant comforter, friend, protector, and guide, Jam with you!'

"Witchcraftwants to control the Holy Spirit and put God in a box! Miss Gulch is a pictureof the spirit of witchcraft working through the arm of the flesh and legalismto 'manage', define, and ultimately resist God through religious tradition andcontrol.

"They areunified, not because they are alike, nor because any one of them is great inthemselves, but because they have one common goal, to see the Great Oz.

"The spirit ofreligion will refuse My army and resist their entrance to and possession of theresources of their kingdom.

"I could feelintense power and heat as thunderings and fire came forth when Oz spoke."

Prophetic PerspectiveVol. 5, Part V. Charlotte, NC. Vision described by Bonnie Chavada at the April'95 Cleveland, OH, MCMI's Healing The Nations Conference.)

8. The latest and most deceptive of theLatter Rain teachings is their confused doctrines concerning Jesus Christ andHis death.

Look at Benny Hinn'steachings concerning Jesus and the nature of Satan. "Ladies andgentlemen, the serpent is a symbol of Satan. Jesus Christ knew the only way Hewould stop Satan is by becoming one in nature with him. 'What did you say? Whatblasphemy is this?' No, you hear this! He did not take my sin, He became my sin.Sin is the nature of hell. Sin is what made Satan. You remember, he wasn'tSatan till sin was found in him. Lucifer was perfect till Ezekiel says, sin wasfound in thee. It was sin that made Satan. Jesus said, 'I'll be sin. I'll go tothe lowest place. I'll go to the origin of it. I won't just take part of it.'I'll be the totality of it. When Jesus became sin, sir, he took it from A-Z andsaid no more. Think about this. He became flesh that flesh might become likeHim. He became death so dying man can live. He became sin so sinners can berighteous in Him. He became one with the nature of Satan so all those who hadthe nature of Satan can partake of the nature of God." - Benny Hinn.

Now, let's look atKenneth Hagin's teaching on this same subject. "He [Jesus] tastedspiritual death for every man. And His spirit and inner man went to hell in myplace. Can't you see that? PHYSICAL DEATH WOULDN'T REMOVE YOUR SINS He'stasted death for every man. He's talking about tasting spiritual death." -Kenneth Hagin. (ChristianityIn Crisis Hank Hanegraaff, p. 60.)

Look at the same ideafrom Kenneth Copeland. He said, "The Spirit of God spoke to me and Hesaid, 'Son, realize this. Now follow me in this and don't let your traditiontrip you up.' He said, 'Think this way - a twice-born man whipped Satan in hisown domain.' And I threw my Bible down ... like that. I said, 'What?' He said,'A born-again man defeated Satan, the firstborn of many brethren defeated him.'He said, 'You are the very image, the very copy of that one.' I said,'Goodness, gracious sakes alive!' And I began to see what had gone on In there,and I said, 'Well, now you don't mean, you couldn't dare mean, that I couldhave done the same thing?' He said, 'Oh yeah, if you'd had the knowledge of theWord of God that He did, you could've done the same thing, 'cause you're areborn man too." (KennethCopeland, "Substitution and Identification" [Kenneth CopelandMinistries, 1989], tape #00-0202, side 2.)

Most of the new musicbeing sung in Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Evangelical churches is"Latter Rain" theology put to song. Look at the words to one of themost important songs of the Pensacola Phenomenon.

"FIRE IN HISEYES" (COME RIDE WITH ME) He has fire in His eyes and a sword in Hishands. He's riding a white horse across this land. He has fire in His eyes anda sword in His hands. And He's riding a white horse all across this land. He'scalling out to you and me, will you ride with me?

We are saying, 'Lordwe'll ride with you.'

We will stand up andfight.

We will ride, We willbe dressed in white.

We're saying, 'Lord,we'll ride. Yes, Lord, I'll ride with you.'

He has a crown on Hishead.

He carries a scepterin His hand

And He's leading thearmy all across this land.

He's calling out toyou and me, Will you ride with me?

That fire in His eyesis His love for His bride.

And He's longing thatshe will be with Him right by His side.

That fire in His eyesis His burning desire

that this Bride willbe with Him right by His side.

And He's calling outto you right now, 'Wifi you ride with me?' We say, 'Yes, Lord.' We say, 'Yes,Lord, we'll ride with you.' Say, 'Yes, Lord, Yes, Lord.'

Here are two more songsbeing widely sung:

THE RIVER IS HERE

Down the mountain theriver flows

And it bringsrefreshing wherever it goes

Through the valleysand over the fields

The river is rushingand the river is here.

The river of God isteeming with life

And all who touch itcan be revived

And those who lingeron this river's shore

Will come backthirsting for more of the Lord.

Up to the mountain welove to go

To find the presenceof the Lord

Along the banks ofthe river we run

We dance withlaughter giving praise to the Son.

The river of God setsour feet a-dancing. The river of God fills our hearts with cheer. The river ofGod fills our mouths with laughter. And we rejoice for the river is here.

THE DRINKING SONG (Tobe sung to the tune of "When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder")

Now I laugh like anidiot and bark like a dog,

If! don't sober up,I'll likely hop like a frog!

And I'll crow like arooster 'til the break of day,

'Cause the Holy Ghostis moving, and I can't stay away!

Now I roar like alioness who's on the prowl,

I laugh and I shake,maybe hoot like an owl!

Since God's holyriver started bubbling up in me,

It spills outside,and it's setting me free!

So, I'll crunch andI'll dip and I'll dance round and round,

'Cause the pew wasfine, but it's more fun on the ground!

So, I'll jump like apogo stick, then fall on the floor,

'Cause the Holy Ghostis moving, and I just want MORE!

CHORUS:

Now I'm just a partyanimal grazing at God's trough,

I'm a Jesus junkie,and I can't get enough!

I'm an alcoholic forthat great New Wine,

'Cause the Holy Ghostis pouring, and I'm drinking all the time!

(Written by KathrynRiss (Richard Riss 's wife). He is historian for the Latter Rain Movement.

Let me share from mynotes a few more quotes and then a few excerpts from videos.