The New Apostolic Reformation, Bethel Church, and Spiritus Sanctus

Today, I produced a 22-minute video explaining why I must speak out against the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and Bethel Church (Redding, CA). The New Apostolic Reformation and Bethel Church both claim to be authentic moves of the Holy Spirit (Spiritus Sanctus). However, if one simply compares what this false spiritual movement and this false church assert are the works of the Holy Spirit to how the work of the Holy Spirit is described in the following Puritan prayer, the differences between them will prove too significant to ignore.

In the Puritan prayer book, Valley of Vision, the authentic work of the Holy Spirit is described this way:

O Holy Spirit,

As the sun if full of light,
the ocean full of water,
Heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of thee.

Vain are all divine purposes of love
and the redemption wrought by Jesus
except thou work within,
regenerating by thy power,
giving me eyes to see Jesus,
showing me the realities of the unseen world.

Give me thyself without measure,
as an unimpaired fountain,
as inexhaustible riches.

I bewail my coldness, poverty, emptiness,
imperfect vision, languid service,
prayerless prayers, praiseless praises.

Suffer me not to grieve or resit thee.

Come as power,
to expel every rebel lust, to reign supreme
and keep me thine;

Come as teacher,
leading me into all truth, filling me with
all understanding;

Come as love,
that I may adore the Father and love him
as my all;

Come as joy;
to dwell in me, move in me, animate me;

Come as light,
illuminating the Scripture, moulding me
in its laws;

Come as sanctifier,
body, soul and spirit wholly thine;

Come as helper,
with strength to bless and keep, direct my
every step;

Come as beautifier,
bringing order out of confusion, loveliness
out of chaos.

Magnify to me thy glory by being magnified in me,
and make me redolent [strongly reminiscent or suggestive of] thy fragrance.

The Holy Spirit has been given to the born-again Christian, not as a possession, not as a genie in a bottle, not as a divine butler, not as a playmate, and not to point attention to Himself. Sadly, all of the before-mentioned descriptions are characteristic of the New Apostolic Reformation and Bethel Church. The NAR and Bethel Church, even with all of their teaching on honor, dishonor the Holy Spirit.

Rather, as so clearly and beautifully stated in the above prayer:

He has come in power to expel the rebellious lusts of the flesh and the eyes.

He has come to lead the redeemed into an understanding of God’s Truth, His Word.

He has come to help the Christian love the Father, not himself or the “gifts” presumed by some to be from Him–gifts that are more like that first free slam of heroin, from a drug dealer knowing the user will come back for more, and willing to pay anything to get another fix.

He has come to help the Christian experience true and authentic joy; the joy of the Lord is the Christian’s strength.

He has come to light the way in the Christian’s heart and mind to receive and obey the Word of God.

He has come to sanctify the Christian, to conform him to the image of God the Son.

He has come to help the Christian to persevere, to be immovable in Christ, and to direct his path.

He has come in an orderly fashion–never confusing, never chaotic.

God the Holy Spirit has been sinfully redefined and His character has been maligned by the NAR and Bethel Church. I fear that much by way of alleged miracles and other manifestations that are coming out of this movement and this church, which is being attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit, is not of Him, but rather the manipulations and creations of sinful people and the demonic spirits of the age.

And this is why I am compelled to speak out against and warn people about the dangers of the New Apostolic Reformation and Bethel Church.

Now, please take the time to watch this video.