Blasphemy The False Anointing

It is impossible to understand a false anointing unless we first understand the true. Jesus Christ was filled with the Holy Ghost without measure. He is the final example of what a Holy Ghost-filled life represents. Every quality we see in Him—apart from the acts of redemption that befitted and fulfilled His redemptive blood—we are to carry out in our own lives. Subsequently, Jesus Christ actually stated, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." (John 14:12). Christ is the Holy Ghost-filled example of a Holy Ghost-filled church. The church following the day of Pentecost immediately represented Him and His acts continued in their midst. They have never ceased.

When we say that Jesus Christ and the Spirit-filled church that followed represents the Spirit-filled life, we are also excluding anything that does not fit their model. The life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Acts of the Apostles serve as the prototype for His church. Everything they represented and nothing they did not represent is to be seen as our perfect model. If we pattern our message, our methods, or our organization after any idea or scheme not embodied by Christ, we will miss the privilege of being His church. Regardless of how captivating or successful we might appear; God will hold us accountable for our adherence to the church model of Holy Scriptures.

This has nothing to do with the architecture of the church; it has nothing to do with the medium (radio, television, etc.) we use to get the message out; it has nothing to do with the way we organize our church staffs to get our jobs done. This is dealing with the narrowness of the Holy Scriptures that we preach, the operations of Holy Ghost gifts, and the atmosphere that represents His divine administration. This is dealing with what we call truth and what we identify as the works of GodÂ’s anointing in our midst. Jesus plainly taught that we are to worship in spirit and in truth; that is in the power of the Holy Spirit and according to the truth of Holy Scripture: "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24).

When you separate truth from Spirit or Spirit from truth, you either experience emptiness in the church or the false anointing of Antichrist. Truth without the Spirit produces a dead church full of correct doctrines but empty of the Holy Ghost-filled life. Spirit without truth leads to incredible error, twisted human reasoning, and finally, the false anointing of divination. Many dead mainline churches serve as an example of the first, and the New Wave/New Age churches give us an excellent example of the latter.

Remember that although the Antichrist will be a key player in the Tribulation Period, he has been represented by false deception since the early church: "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many Antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." (1 John 2:18).

The spirit of Antichrist can be best described as a false anointing, or an imitation of the real person of the Holy Ghost and of His authority and power. This false anointing is more evident in the church world today than ever before. It is a clever masquerading of the real operations and gifts of the Holy Ghost and of His manifestations. To get a clear picture of how close his evil imitation of the Holy Spirit’s authority and power will be to the real thing, just consider as an illustration how easy it is for a bank teller—who handles money on a daily basis—to accept counterfeit bills. Or think about how many great works of art have been counterfeited and sold for the high dollars of a genuine masterpiece. Satan is the ultimate counterfeiter and his end-time deception will represent the masterpiece of satanic delusion. The beast we call the false prophet will not be revealed in his personal form until after the Rapture, but his spirit is already hard at work.

The Scripture warns us of the incredible results of this false anointing. For example, the Apostle Paul said, "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).

Notice that he said, "with all power and signs and lying wonders." This deception will imitate the true supernatural power of God through attention-getting miracles that will occur in to people who "received not the love of the truth that they might be saved." Clearly, the truth of Holy Scripture is set in contrast to unbiblical acts of paranormal power and signs. The Holy Spirit never acts except in perfect harmony with Holy Scripture. While the truth of Scripture was spoken by the Lord Jesus Himself, because He is the Word, the Holy Ghost is the person that births those truths in the human heart: "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Peter 1:21).

Jesus Christ warned us that the days just before He returns will produce such great deceptions of miracles and signs that the very elect will be deceived if possible. He stated, "Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before." (Matthew 24:23-25).

Look carefully at the emphasis Jesus placed on this warning, "Behold, I have told you before." This is a serious warning about the ultimate deception. These deceivers are naming the name of Jesus Christ: "Lo, He is here" or "He is there." They appear to be preaching the true Jesus. Jesus had said in an earlier verse of this same chapter, "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." (Matthew 24:5). They actually use His name and say He is Christ, but their powers are paranormal instead of supernatural.

They will come in "My name," He said. We are not talking about New Age leaders. We are talking about ministers and teachers in churches that are supposedly representing the Bible. In order for these Scriptures to be fulfilled, everything must be presented in a manner that carries out a total imitation: The setting must be church-like, the spokesmen and women must be reputable, the language must at least sound biblical, and the name of Jesus and some Bible doctrines must be at least a large part of these events. We are talking about deception that will fool a multitude of people. They will think that Jesus Christ is doing these incredible things, but they will learn too late that they have given themselves to another "Jesus."

Daniel warned that the Antichrist shall think to change times and laws (Daniel 7:25). We are talking about a false anointing that thinks to change GodÂ’s laws and GodÂ’s schedule, or times. These deceivers will teach every great truth of prophetic and doctrinal significance with a paradigm shift, which presents old truths from a new worldview. This is exactly what these deceivers are presently admitting. They even call it a new paradigm. Note how clearly David PytchesÂ’ quote from the book, Some Said It Thundered, describes this twisting of truth:

"We felt we were experiencing a paradigm shift—we were beginning to see another way of looking at the foundational things we held dear, without having in any way to discard them. Perhaps that is what the Bible meant when it spoke about scales falling from Paul’s eyes." (Some Said It Thundered, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991, p. 140.)

John the Revelator gave us a clear picture of this false prophet and his deception. He stated, "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." (Revelation 13:13-15).

This false spirit behind the false anointing is identified as being full of miracle-working powers. The false prophet will resurrect a mortally wounded beast of the first order and then give life to an imitation of that same beast (Antichrist). He will then require worship of that image and will issue the "Mark of the Beast" for everyone to wear or receive. False worship and false miracles are all preparing for this false baptism into the Antichrist. Accepting the "Mark" will be a religious expression or act sealing the soul of each person to Satan. That is why there can be no forgiveness for those who take the "Mark."

The False Anointing And The "Latter Reign" Movement. This present "revival" characterizing the false anointing began in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s as "the Latter Reign Movement." What is happening now is a resurfacing of what Bible-believing churches rejected when it first occurred. One confusing false doctrine that came out of the latter reign movement is the "Jesus-only" theory, which denies the Trinity and presents a "god" who does not know who he is. He is schizophrenic, one minute claiming to be the Father that gave His son, the next minute claiming to be the Son, and the next minute claiming to be the Holy Ghost sent by the Father at the request of the Son. I often say to the Jesus-only proponents, "I would not want to serve a ‘god’ who does not know for sure who He is." This kind of doctrinal confusion is the mindset of the present new wave anointing called "revival."

When you look at the big picture comprising the many movements and false teachings of this misnamed revival, you see a very dark scene THAT CAN HARDLY BE CALLED "BIBLICAL," "CHRISTIAN," "A HOLY GHOST REVIVAL," OR ANY OTHER POSITIVE TITLE. LetÂ’s begin our look at some of the characteristics of the false anointing by examining visions recounted by two different well-known individuals.

In a publication called "Prophetic Perspective" it was reported that the following "vision in which the Lord showed her things concerning imminent visitation" was given to Bonnie Chavda. She and her husband, Mahesh Chavda, are evangelists with an international ministry. They travel extensively and conduct large international meetings here in Charlotte, NC. This entire vision is presented in a two-video or two-cassette offer entitled, "WeÂ’re Off To See The Wizard." Here are excerpts from that report:

"I heard a voice say, "This is the refreshing: IT WILL BE VERY VIOLENT."

"As I watched, a series of scenes from the movie adaptation of the American classic by L. Frank Baum, the ‘Wizard of Oz,’ passed before me. With each picture, a voice described things that will take place as this coming ‘wind’ moved over the land. I understood that it would not be sinners, false religions, or even political institutions, including the media, which will most vehemently question and oppose the coming ‘wind.’ It will be institutions of Christian tradition and influence, including those who claim the ‘fullness of the Spirit.’"

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

"There will be those who will call this wind ‘demonic’ because of what it will make manifest. Demons will be stirred up, the flesh will be made obvious, things formerly 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 being subject to the Spirit, will misread the appearance of what is to come, and will deny that Jesus is driving this wind.""‘I have come not to bring peace, but a sword,’ and again, ‘Anything spoken against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.’"

"The Holy Spirit says, ‘Do you know who I am in this picture?Â’ Though this would certainly offend the religious, and surprised me, the Lord said, ‘I am "Toto" – just like Toto is DorothyÂ’s constant comforter, friend, protector, and guide, I am with you!Â’"

"Witchcraft wants to control the Holy Spirit and put God in a box! Miss Gulch is a picture of the spirit of witchcraft working through the arm of the flesh and legalism to ‘manage’, define, and ultimately resist God through religious tradition and control."

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

"The spirit of religion will refuse My army and resist their entrance to and possession of the resources of their kingdom."

"I could feel intense power and heat as thunderings and fire came forth when Oz spoke." (Prophetic Perspective, Vol. 5, Part V, Charlotte, NC. Vision given by Bonnie Chavda at the April Â’95 Cleveland, OH, MCMIÂ’s Healing The Nations Conference.)

This vision is certainly strange and without Biblical precedence. In the vision, the Holy Ghost is a dog named Toto. God the Father is the Wizard of Oz and anybody who resists the dog called the Holy Ghost and the Wizard called God, is involved in witchcraft and has blasphemed the Holy Spirit. There is no question in my mind that this is the spirit driving the falsely labeled revival sweeping across many churches. Almost every characteristic you see in this vision can be identified in the different aspects of the New Wave revival. Several noted ministers have called this a "violent revival." They often speak of people being thrown against walls and in trances where they are glued to the floor. The army of warriors is a recurring theme.

Anyone who would receive this as a vision from God would appear to have experienced a paradigm shift in understanding the Bible. This approach to truth is represented as a major fact in the RELIGIOUS MEGATRENDS. Those who are firmly grounded in GodÂ’s Word and who consequently have received His spiritual discernment would be quick to question this vision.

James Ryles, pastor of a vineyard church in Boulder, Colorado, received a vision of the rock group, the Beatles, in which the musicians represented the music God was going to use to bring an end-time revival. Here is his explanation of what he saw and what he was told:

"In the summer of 1989, I had a dream and in this dream I saw a flatbed truck that was being used as a stage . . . it was like a big semi-trailer . . . there were huge blue curtains, a microphone and sitting on the stage were two blue guitars — electric blue . . . it was actually the color of the wood . . . two musicians came out from behind the curtain. They have a piece of sheet music in their hand and they are very excited as they are looking at the sheet music and nudging one another and pointing to notes. In the dream I was able to look over their shoulder and see the music and though I canÂ’t read music, I could tell by looking at that that it was a new song. I could tell that they were excited because they had discovered a new sound – a new kind of music. And I remember in the dream thinking to myself, ‘Wow – this is new like the Beatles music was new.Â’

"The Lord spoke to me and said, ‘What you saw in the Beatles – the gifting and that sound that they had – was from me. It did not belong to them. It belonged to me. It was my purpose to bring forth through music a world-wide revival that would usher in the move of my spirit in bringing men and women to Christ.Â’ And I want to tell you those four lads aborted something. They took what did not belong to them and used it in a way that was not intended by God to be used. It did bring a revival of music – but it brought it on the other side of the fence . . . if you know what IÂ’m saying. And the Lord spoke to men and He said, ‘In 1970 I lifted that anointing off of them. And it has been held in my hand ever since.Â’ And the Lord said, ‘The reason you saw it in the equipment room in that church is because that anointing belongs to the church. It is part of our equipment. It doesnÂ’t belong to the world. It belongs to the Lord Jesus.Â’ And the Lord said, ‘Now IÂ’m looking for those who I can place that anointing back upon. And as surely as I place it upon them, they will come forth with a sound that is distinctive. That will turn the hearts of men and women and capture their heart. Turn their heads and capture their hearts.Â’" (Harvest Conference, Denver, Colorado, James Ryle, November 1990).

Indeed, this is the music propelling many revivals and religious events. I have documented many examples of singers exhibiting every characteristic of a Beatles-type musician. After attending one large revival event, I can say with absolute certainty that the music was one of the main drawing cards to the service. It was full of hype and emotions, with a great majority of the audience jumping, dancing, etc. as if they were at a rock concert rather than a spiritual worship service. Many revival services, wherever they may be occurring, duplicate rock concerts by manifesting the same emotions, the same hysteria, the same dancing, and the same trivializing of truth and righteousness.

A secular writer for Knight-Ridder Newspapers recently spoke of the trivializing of the sacred in a splendid article. Here are a few of his statements and quotes:
"The sense of awe and mystery that could drop believers to their knees is mostly absent. A fearful respect that once meant removing shoes or reverencing a symbol of divine presence is rarely observed.

"Today, many believers have homogenized the Holy One. They conceive of God in ways that donÂ’t require their humble obedience or patient trusting in adversity. That way, their spiritual digestive systems arenÂ’t upset.

"Annie Dillard wrote: ‘Why do people in churches seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke?’

"The general mood of the spiritually minded, regardless of their religious identification, seems to ignore the power and majesty of any deity" (Tom Schaefer, The Charlotte Observer.)

What a picture of the Religious Megatrends that is enveloping the church and being called revival.

As a Pentecostal of 46 years, I learned long ago to reject any suggestion or idea, which used an image or idol in any part of worship. This represents the ultimate idolatry specifically condemned by God in Isaiah 42:8. However, all of this has changed as a part of the new mood called "truth and revival." A large Pentecostal denomination allowed a graven image to be displayed at a recent churchwide assembly. It was sold to be erected in sanctuaries and church foyers.

The Scripture states "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images." (Isaiah 42:8). We are not even to praise or enjoy a graven image, much less erect it in the House of God.

Bizarre Emotions, Laughing, Shaking, Roaring Like Lions, Etc.
Every great revival has brought a freedom and liberty in the Holy Spirit that has changed lives. Times when a glorious shout is heard in the House of God always follow a move of God. ItÂ’s breathtaking to be in the midst of the Holy Spirit at work. History is replete with these "times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19). To try to remove this glory of the Lord from true Christianity is impossible. It certainly suits the style of Satan to stop such refreshing experiences, but it also suits his style to imitate the glory. The problem is that the only thing Satan has to offer, as an imitation, is fleshly or soulical emotions.

Satan creates many problems and foolishness when he offers his substitute. By using human emotion in his scheme, those emotions always get out of control and become weird, wild and unpredictable. Larry Thomas describes a laughing service in his book, No Laughing Matter:

"Soon a woman begins laughing. Others gradually join her with hearty belly laughs. A young worshipper falls to the floor, hands twitching. Another falls, then another and another. Within half an hour, there are bodies everywhere as supplicants sob, shake, roar like lions, and strangest of all, laugh uncontrollably." (No Laughing Matter, Excelsior Springs, Missouri: Double Crown Publishing, 1985, pp. 88-89.)

Numerous videos show one religious evangelist walking around giggling, telling funny stories and encouraging people to "pull up to the bar and have another drink." He calls himself a "Holy Ghost bartender." No matter how hard you try, it is difficult to imagine Jesus Christ, Apostle Peter or Apostle Paul directing such a scene and calling it the Holy Ghost. The minister stated, "You canÂ’t understand what God is doing in these meetings with an analytical mind. The only way youÂ’re going to understand what God is doing is with your heart." Such a false anointing will progressively lead to utter destruction.

Another evangelist couple described this same person and connected it to Mary worship. Here are their words:

"The woman could not forget what she said! … she went to church and lit a candle to Mary, and as she did, she burst out in holy laughter! Not only that, she began to sing sounds and words she had never heard in her entire life as Jesus baptized her with the Holy Spirit!"

They also said, "We have seen a dove ‘like as of fire’ with a 5-foot wing span appear in an auditorium . . . When the dove mentioned above appeared, the people began screaming, ‘God save men, God save me!’"

"For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." (Psalm 119:89). The experience of salvation, deliverance and new life is firmly rooted in the infallible truth of Scripture. It is an experience that affects our emotions and alters our personality in such a manner as to be verifiable by human understanding. We do not need to be afraid of emotions, great joy or shouting the praises of God, but we must weigh and guide all of what we experience by the simple teachings of Scripture.

The reality of a dynamic faith and a heart-changing experience is deeply spiritual and profoundly superior to wild hysterical actions and uncontrolled emotion. When faith is tied to extreme emotions, it is weak at best and a booby trap for deception. Remember, ". . . the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23). Temperance is self-control, not self-out-of-control. What the Holy Spirit actually produces in our personality and body is self-control. He exalts the spirit of man beyond the flesh and emotions of man and makes us a living example of temperance, self-control and godliness. To equate wild dementia with the Holy Spirit shows the nature of Satan and demons, not the divine Spirit of God the Father and God the Son.

Apostle Paul laid out the orderly operations of the Holy Ghost. He clearly taught that the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets (I Corinthians 14:32). God does not do odd things with human emotions and He does nothing that takes control of our will apart from constant surrender. When someone speaks of being glued to the floor, we know that the Holy Ghost did not do it because no such idea in Scripture supports, "The Holy Ghost made me do it." Apostle Paul said, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14). He leads, but He does not drive. He wants us to covet the best gifts and then allow them to bring glory to the church and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Holy Ghost is a perfect, sovereign gentleman. He is God and everything He does is God-like. Every operation of the Holy Ghost is divine and supernatural, never giddy and cheap. As a man that has had the pleasure of yielding my temple to all nine gifts of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:1-11) and having seen them bring glory to my God many times, I am repulsed by those who charge the Holy Spirit with the foolishness of this present hour. He has no part in physical convulsions, babbling, uncertain sounds, and wallowing on the floor in hysteria. He is God, not a bartender or a New Age guru.