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Polemic Apologetic Articles
Brownsville False Prophecy
The King James Only Controversy
What is the best Bible translation?
The condemnation of The Trinity Broadcasting Network
Brownsville continues outlandish aberrations
False Prophecy of Brownsville Revival
by John Kilpatrick
"I want to say something this morning to Hank Hanegraaff. Hank Hanegraaff,
you may feel like that you can put on the badge of heaven and put on
your white cap and saddle up on your big horse and ride through the kingdom
of God straightening everybody out. But I don't know who called you to
be the high sheriff of heaven and go around straightening everybody out.
I don't know who did that. But I'm going to tell you one thing. You may
criticize other people and other moves of God and other ministries, but
you'd better leave your hands off of this one! Better leave your hands
off of this one. We're walking humbly before God. We're praying. Our
lives are in order. Our finances are in order. Our families are in order.
We're not in adultery and we're not in deception. We're only trying to
manage and pastor a move of God. And Mr. Hanegraaff, I want to say to you,
before you get back on national television and start spouting off at the
mouth again about something of which you know nothing of, you'd better
be careful, because God said, "Vengeance is Mine, saith the Lord." And I
want to say something else to you. If you want to keep any kind of a
semblance of a ministry, you better back off from this revival and what
God is doing. You better back off, because I'm going to prophesy to you
that if you don't, and you continue to put your tongue in your mouth on
this move of God, within 90 days the Holy Ghost will bring you down. I
said, within 90 days the Holy Ghost will bring you down. And I speak that
as a man of God. I don't speak that out of vengeance, I don't speak it
out of selfishness, and I don't speak it out of a hurt feeling, because
my feelings are not hurt. I feel as normal today as I've ever felt. I
don't have a chip on my shoulder, I don't have an ax to grind. But this
is a move of God and you better leave it alone. And I want to tell you
something else. If you don't want your head to start shaking - you make
fun of somebody in the choir shaking. If you don't want your head to do
like this, you better lay your mouth off of her. I know this girl. She's
a godly girl. She's a school teacher, and she lives a godly life. Mr.
Hanegraaff! I want to say something to you. Better walk a mile in another
man's moccasins before you make a judgment on him. I want to say something
else. Am I ashamed that I've got a woman in my choir that shakes like
she's got palsy? Mr. Hanegraaff, let it be a lesson to you, and let the
rest of the body of Christ learn a lesson this morning that God is at
work and heaven has its hard hat on and God is doing a last day quick
work before the soon-coming of His Son, Jesus Christ. And I think the
last thing He needs is a distraction of ungodly people that call themselves
Christians that can't do anything but murmur and complain and gripe. I
tell you what I want to do before the trumpet sounds and before the Lord
Jesus comes back. I want to have a repository built up in heaven in the
ears of God where I praise Him through every trial and every difficulty
and every season of tribulation. I want to close by giving ten proclamations
about how things are going to be. Mr. Hanegraaff, and all other devils,
listen up." (John Kilpatrick Prophecy Against Hank Hanegraaff and CRI,
Brownsville Assembly of God, April 6, 1997). An observation is in order
concerning the words of Kilpatrick. Notice that Kilpatrick says that
Hank Hanegraaff of Christian Research Institute (CRI) would be "brought
down" in "90 days" by the Holy Ghost. This word was given in April 1997
but Hank Hanegraaff and CRI have continued to operate as usual. Ironically,
not only did nothing happen to Mr Hanegraaff, but soon after Kilpatrick
was involved in an accident himself!
The King James Only Controversy
by defend
The Bible is made up of 66 books which have met canonical status and
are deemed to be inspired by God. The Church holds that the Bible in
its original writings are free from error. These original writings
which do not exist today are know as the 'autographs' or the
'autographa'. All we have today is copies of copies of copies. To say
that any modern version (e.g., KJV) is the sole standard whereby we are
to judge all other versions and translations (e.g. NASB, NIV, NKJV,
NASV) would be heretical. The autographa alone is verbally inspired and
without error.
Our second point is to state that the recent translations (NASV, NASB,
NKJV, NIV) came about because of the discovery of manuscripts found in
the 18th century and the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS hereafter) discovered in
the 20th century (1967); manuscripts that were not available at the time
the Authorized Version (KJV) was written. Of primary importance is that
the DSS have been dated to be 1000 years older than the 10th century
Masoretic text which produced the KJV. In other words, the KJV comes
from copies that date to the 10th century A.D., while the NASV, NASB,
NIV, and NKJV come from copies that date from 100 B.C.-200 A.D.
Of further importance, the DSS in the majority of places was closer to
the Septuagant (CXX hereafter), than it was to the KJV. This
authenticated the CXX which is a 400 B.C. Greek translation of the Old
Testament. This led to the discovery of textual additions by the
writers of the texts used for the KJV. Scribal insertions and more
scribal errors crept in over the 1000 year difference between the
translations. Scholars were amazed at the accuracy of the KJV over the
years and maintain it as a great translation along with the now
slightly more accurate NASV, NIV, NKJV, and NASB.
We are not to hold the KJV up as an autographa any more than we are to
condemn the KJV because King James was a homosexual. The work is what
is to be tested, not King James himself. Was the work properly and
truthfully translated and can we trust it to be reliable? Yes we can.
It has some additions (the KJV) by scribes who tried to help the Bible
say more than it actually did in certain passages. In the modern
versions, translated from copies dating 1000 years older than the KJV,
these additions were once again taken out to closer match the copies of
the 1st century B.C. and the CXX.
The New American Standard, the New Internetional Version, the New
King James Version, and the King James Version are all great bibles
that can be trusted for extreme accuracy.
Which Bible translation is best?
The four English translations used most widely by evangelical Christians
are the King James Version (KJV), The New King James Version (NKJV),
the New International Version (NIV), and the New American Standard Bible
(NASB). The KJV is the oldest of the four and continues to be the
favorite of many. It is known as the Authorized Version of 1611 because
King James I approved the project to create an authoritative English
Bible. Although it contains many obsolete words (some of which have
changed in meaning), many people appreciate its dignity and majesty.
The NKJV is a similar translation, taken from the same group of ancient
manuscripts, that simply updates the archaic language of the KJV. The
NIV was completed in 1978. Its translators did not attempt to translate
strictly word for word, but aimed more for equivalent ideas. As a result,
the NIV does not follow the exact wording of the original Greek and
Hebrew texts as closely as the KJV and NASB versions do. Nevertheless,
it can be considered a faithful translation of the original texts, and
its lucid readability makes it quite popular, especially for devotional
reading. The NASB, completed in 1971, is a revision of the American
Standard Version of 1901. It is a literal translation from the Hebrew
and Greek languages, making it a favorite for serious Bible study. Which
version is the best to use? Ultimately, that choice needs to made by
each person individually. Each of the versions have strengths and
weaknesses, but they are all reliable translations of the Bible. Ideally,
the serious student of Scripture should become familiar enough with
concordances and word-study aids, so that even without a thorough
knowledge of the original languages, he or she can explore some of the
nuances of meaning that arise out of the original texts.
The condemnation of the Trinity Broadcasting Network
by defend
The Bible vehemently commands us in Jude to not let false teachers
enter our houses or our churches and present their false teachings. We
are to judge and test the Spirits and hold fast to that which is true.
Anyone who does not follow the doctrine of the Apostles delivered unto
them by Jesus and the Holy Spirit is cursed by the Bible.
TBN daily has false teachers and prophets who have undermined the
Christian faith. Doctrines that have came directly from cults have been
allowed over and over as TBN has failed and continues to fail everyday
in protecting and safeguarding the precious truths of Jesus Christ.
Men like T.D. Jakes who denies that Jesus Christ is an eternal Being.
Jakes denies essential Christian doctrine and denies the Trinity. Jakes
is a proponent of Sabbaelian Modalism, a cultic view of the nature of
God.
Benny Hinn teaches daily on TBN and falsely prophesied that by 1996
all homosexuals in America would be destroyed by a great fire. Recently
he said the Holy Spirit informed him that Jesus was going to appear
physically in his crusade and that they would most likely have video
footage to show the world. Hinn said people should not take their dead
loved ones to funeral homes, rather he instructed his viewers to place
the dead bodies in front of the television set while TBN was on and
that they would be cured.
Jack Van Impe falsely prophesied that before 1976 the Russian flag would
fly over Pennsylvania's Independence Hall. Van Impe is now predicting
the return of Christ in 2006. Even Jesus did not know the time of His
return in His humanity, yet Van Impe has the temerity to say he does
know.
Kenneth Copeland, a long-time TBN favorite teaches that God is 6' 2"
tall, and that when God created Adam, He created another God. This is
an unbiblical and heretical as well as philosophically impossible.
Copeland teahes a very unbiblical form of faith called word-faith,
whereby man controls the universe with spoken words. This form of
metaphysics comes straight from the cults and is vehemently blasphemous.
Copeland teaches that Jesus Christ became a satanic being while on the
cross, and then went to hell where he was eventually born-again.
These are some of the people that TBN has featured on its programs,
most of them are daily. This ministry hereby condemns TBN as a 'heretic
haven' for prostituting the Word of God. Not to forget the millions of
dollars that TBN is taking from people who are desperate for answers,
the elderly, and people who are easily led astray. TBN cohorts
constantly teach 'seed-faith' theology, a give to get scheme. You give
TBN $2000.00 and then God will heal you.
Gold fillings and other aberrations at the Brownsville Revival
by Hank Hanegraaff
It has now been over two years since my book Counterfeit Revival
documented the dangers of looking for God in all the wrong places.
Sadly, leaders of the Counterfeit Revival have continued to employ
sociopsychological manipulation tactics to trap new subjects into their
dangerous web of subjectivism. No one is immune to the contagion of
mass suggestion. Once this epidemic contaminates a movement, it can
make black appear white, obscure realities, and enshrine absurdities.
One of the newest absurdities is the phenomenon of gold-tooth fillings
- that's right, gold fillings! "Fallings in the Spirit" may well have
been eclipsed by "fillings in the Spirit." As one Counterfeit Revival
devotee proclaims, "Have you heard? there's gold in Toronto!" She goes
on to write: Wednesday night, before Dutch Sheets delivered a powerfully
anointed message, there was a short video clip shown of John Arnott
ministering in a South Africa meeting where people's teeth were being
filled with gold. After the clip, John asked for anyone who wanted this
miracle to stand and believe for it while touching the sides of their
faces. After the prayer he asked that we check each others' mouths and
about 10 people went forward, some yelling and all excited because they
now had gold teeth and fillings which they did not previously have! So
John let a couple testify and we prayed again, this time more people
received the miracle. A third time of praying came as did more miracles!!
IT WAS AWESOME!!! Then, at just about every meeting there was prayer
for this miracle and every time there would be many who would discover
their mouth filled with gold! Last count that I heard was over 198
people who were leaving the conference with some gold in their mouths!
One woman who had been on welfare most of her childhood had 8 new gold
teeth! Another woman had 4 gold teeth and/or fillings on Wednesday and
by Saturday she had 11!! (I saw her at both stages of this miracle).
One man had two beautiful, perfect, shiny, gold teeth and one of them
had a cross engraved on it! The drummer of the worship team received
gold teeth as did one of the pastors on staff there at TACF [Toronto
Airport Christian Fellowship] and while officially collecting these
testimonies from the saints, the man who was recording them received
gold teeth as well! And on Saturday, the wonderful "gold dust" started
showing up on people's hands and in their tears as they worshipped! A
Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship official statement titled "GOLD
TEETH!" reports that perhaps God was filling people's teeth with gold
as "a sign and a wonder to expose the skepticism still in so many of us.
The statement went on to say that "reports of people's fillings turning
a bright silver or gold color are coming in from South Africa, Australia,
England, Mexico and across Canada and the USA. The excitement at TACF
is electric with news of how these dental miracles are so rapidly
spreading." (This gives new meaning to Arnott's mantra: "Fill, fill,
fill!") Even as reports of gold fillings are pouring in from the
Counterfeit Revival leaders in Toronto, leaders at the Brownsville
revival in Pensacola have begun citing resurrections from the dead. For
$75 the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry will sell you a video
series titled Faith to Raise the Dead. Brownsville leaders are claiming
that evangelist David Hogan and his associate missionaries in Mexico
have seen more than 200 raised from the dead. The expectations of
people have reached such a fever pitch that some time ago a parent who
lost a child put his baby on ice and drove 350 miles to the Brownsville
Assembly of God to have the baby raised from the dead.5 To some, this
father's actions may appear foolish. Yet, if God is indeed raising
hundreds from the dead in Mexico, it would be perfectly logical to
think that He would raise the dead in the church whose ongoing revival
that is being touted as perhaps the greatest in the history of humanity.
While Arnott and his associates are duping people with the gold-filling
ruse, and while Hogan's heroes are heralding resurrections from the
dead, Rodney Howard-Browne is attempting to make a comeback at Madison
Square Garden in New York. With a dwindling following in Florida,
Howard-Browne has come up with a new angle. It seems Rodney "had a
dream from God," in which Billy Graham told him about a crusade Graham
held in New York back in 1957. Rodney says that as he listened to Billy,
he started weeping. Says Howard-Browne, "I wept so hard that when I
woke up, my pillow was soaked with tears."8 The Holy Ghost allegedly
told the self-designated "Holy Ghost Bartender" that he was to launch
one of the biggest soul-winning crusades ever. Through a variety of
techniques, including a Charisma magazine ad, Rodney now raises money
and manpower for "Unlocking Heaven at the Garden." While at first blush
the stories of Counterfeit Revival leaders may be amusing, the
consequences of their fabrications, fantasies, and frauds are often
tragic. The story of the parent who took his baby to Brownsville speaks
for itself. Such stories as gold fillings can also have tragic
repercussions. First, when followers finally catch on to the manipulations
of revival leaders, they often become disillusioned and disenchanted.
They no longer know what to believe or whom to trust and secretly fear
that the untrustworthiness of those who claim to be God's representatives
translates into the untrustworthiness of God Himself. Furthermore, these
testimonies leave believers with a watered-down understanding of
miracles that cheapens their appreciation of the biblical reality. We
should ask ourselves why God isn't restoring teeth as opposed to merely
filling cavities with gold. While gold and silver fillings might be a
human solution to a decayed tooth, one would think that God would provide
a solution without the possible side effects produced by placing metals
in the mouth. In addition, when Christ healed the blind man in John 9,
He didn't give him a super-duper pair of spectacles; He restored his
sight. Likewise, when Jesus healed the paralytic in Luke 5, He did not
give him a diamond-studded gold crutch. The difference between the
"magic" of mental manipulations and genuine miracles is dramatic. As
documented by Christian apologist Dr. Norman Geisler, when Jesus and
the apostles healed people, the miracles were always 100 percent
successful and immediate, and there were no relapses. Finally, the
consequences of counterfeit miracles based on sociopsychological
manipulation are often far reaching. The power of the Spirit can indeed
create life and limb, but the power of suggestion creates only a
lamentable lie. It is all too easy to make the masses believe the lie.
It is often incredibly difficult to undo that work again.
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This article was provided by http://Craom.Net
For further study: D.A. Carson, The King James Version Debate (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1979). James White, The King James Only Controversy
(Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1995).
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