MOV:Kingdom Theology Part II  by Albert James Dager

Article taken from:

Media Spotlight Vol.7 - NO.3 - July - December 1986
P.O. Box 1288
Costa Mesa, CA 92628

                               KINGDOM THEOLOGY

                                   PART II 
                              -------------------

                             by Albert James Dager

                                 INTRODUCTION

   In Part I we examined the roots of today's Kingdom Theology, and defined 
the movement in terms of its theological and eschatological doctrines as well
as some of its historic proponents.  We delineated the basic premise of the 
movement which, simply stated, is that before Jesus can return, the Church 
must establish the Kingdom of God on earth by taking control over every 
aspect of life through the establishment of a theocratic government.

   Before we proceed further, I feel it necessary to point out that there is
a legitimate "Kingdom Theology" based upon proper exegesis of Scriptural
prophecy.  Jesus will return at the end of this age to establish God's 
authority over the nations of the earth.  Until then, the Kingdom of God 
continues to operate through the administration of the Holy Spirit resident 
in the hearts of God's people.  The Kingdom of God already exists therefore, 
and will one day be manifested throughout the earth during Jesus' millennial 
reign.

   To differentiate between God's legitimate "Kingdom Theology" and man's 
attempt to bring it into existence through his own efforts before Jesus'
Second Coming, we'll call man's attempt "Kingdom Now Theology," or "Dominion 
Theology" (using these terms interchangeably).  This will help us separate 
the error from the truth.

   To accomplish the monumental task of taking dominion, a significant 
number in the Church must come into "unity" of thought and purpose to that 
end.  While the goal of the Kingdom builders is total unity, they realize 
that partial unity may be all they can attain.  Whatever the case, the 
realization of any significant degree of unity necessitates a single voice of
authority:  a hierarchical structure through which individual believers will 
receive the necessary pronouncements to exercise dominion.

   The voice of authority, it is believed, will reside in certain latter-day
apostles and prophets operating in conformity to their own peculiar 
interpretation of Ephesians 4:11-12:  "And he gave some, apostles; and some, 
prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of 
the body of Christ."  In order for the saints to be perfected (made sinless) 
there must be a restoration of the offices of apostles and prophets.  It is a
major prerequisite, therefore, that the apostles and prophets be recognized 
by the Church at large.  (It's interesting that we are currently seeing 
certain well-known Christian leaders referring to one another as "apostles" 
and "prophets".)

   Once they are acknowledged, these apostles and prophets will bring forth 
new revelations from God, which will be the guiding principles in 
establishing the Kingdom.  These revelations will be given to the Church
through the evangelists, pastors, and teachers who accept the hierarchy's 
authority.

   One manner in which the apostles and prophets will receive these new
revelations will be through communication with heavenly beings (angels and 
departed saints), as well as with God - and specifically Jesus.  It's 
expected that many of these "new revelations" will be authenticated through 
demonstrations of power in the working of miracles, signs and wonders.

   Some also believe that for dominion to be effected the world's wealth 
must be under the control of the Church.  Hence the emphasis on prosperity 
and "divine health" as well as the ability to speak into existence things 
that are not as though they are (God-likeness).

   After the Church has taken dominion, its task will be to purge the earth 
of evil, which is defined as lawlessness against God's moral laws and against
the established authority of the apostles and prophets.  This accomplished, 
the earth will be ready to be turned over to Jesus when He returns (some say 
'if' He returns).

   We will find as we continue our study that at the heart of Dominion 
Theology is the belief that man is a god and, as such, must exercise his
godhood through dominion.  The current teaching that man is a god is 
essentially a theosophic concept which can be traced to the beginning of 
man's history.  

                             THE ETERNAL BATTLE      

   The conflict of the ages upon which the spiritual battle for men's souls 
resides is founded upon this single truth:  that God is supreme and His 
creation must be subject to Him.  In his rebellion, Satan ("Lucifer") 
originated the scheme to establish oneself as an equal to God (Isaiah 
14:12-15).  This was the nature of his temptation of Eve:  "...ye shall 
be gods, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5).  Satan's lie is not just that 
man 'is' God, as espoused in Eastern mysticism, but that he could become
'like' God through acquisition of certain knowledge.  In essence, man is, or 
could become, a god himself.

   This appeal to man's pride comprises the essence of the esoteric 
religions which seek, by initiation, to bring certain chosen individuals to 
perfection through obedience to an unseen spiritual hierarchy.  This 
hierarchy - known as "Ascended Masters," among other titles - is allegedly 
comprised of highly evolved men existing in the spirit realm who are leading 
mankind through stages of evolution to higher planes of consciousness which 
will eventually result in the attainment of godhood.

   Throughout history the ancient mystery religions have taken many forms, 
from paganism and witchcraft to humanism and some elements of psychology.  
Today they may be classified under the general name of "theosophy" - the
blending of science and religion to create a universal brotherhood of man 
under a one-world utopian state.  The term "theosophy" (lit. "Divine Wisdom" 
or "Wisdom of the Gods")55 has several synonyms, some of the more common 
being "the Esoteric Philosophy," "the Wisdom-Religion," "the Secret 
Doctrine," "the Ancient Wisdom," and "the Esoteric Tradition."56

   The esoteric ("hidden," "secret") religions have many expressions 
throughout the world, and include such notable movements as Freemasonry, 
Rosicrucianism, and Jewish Kabbalism, among others.  The basic beliefs of 
esotericism, as well as the Eastern religions, form the basis for what has 
come to be known as the "New Age Movement" - today's vulgar expression for 
the masses of the "higher" mysteries.

   The essence of esoteric religion is that man can attain godhood through 
knowledge and positive living.  From time immemorial man has fallen for this 
delusion, and has sought spiritual power through mastery of so-called
"immutable laws" of Nature operative in the spiritual realm.  The learning 
and mastering of these laws allegedly work for man's purposes and "validate" 
his position as a god.  Though modern theosophy, in all its forms, makes 
certain teachings of the ancient mysteries available to the masses, these are
only the exoteric teachings.  The deeper esoteric mysteries are reserved for 
those initiated through secret rites, sworn to secrecy under penalty of 
death.

   Those teachings permitted for the masses have found their way into the 
Church.  They have developed into a form of "Christian" theosophy which has 
affected many otherwise uncompromising Christians who, if they would keep 
their heads about them, would suffer death to maintain the inviolable 
position that deity is an attribute of God alone.

   There is a reason for Satan's emissaries infecting the Church with the 
damnable heresy that we are or can become gods.  To the esotericist, bent 
upon establishing 'men' as gods, all monotheistic religions are anathema and 
their adherents must be converted or at least subjugated to the spiritual 
hierarchy (the spirit beings guiding mankind).  Since the Church alone has 
the power of God to resist the deceptions of Satan, it 'must' be made to 
believe his lies.  If the Church can be corrupted or neutralized Satan will 
have a clear path toward uniting the world against God.  Thus any opposition 
to deception in the Church must be stifled under the pretense that such 
opposition sows discord among the brethren and hinders unity.

   Satan's lies have found fertile ground in the Church not only because 
many Christians lack knowledge, but because they lack the necessary humility 
that can protect them against deception.  Seeking their own wills above God's
will, they are easy prey for deceivers who exalt men and/or the Church to the
status of godhood and promote Satan's lies within the Church, lies 
characterized by the following teachings: 

   - Men are gods;
   - Men may become gods;
   - Men may become like God;
   - Faith is a "law" or "force" that may be activated by anyone - believer 
     or not;
   - The ability to perform miracles, signs, and wonders is latent within 
     all; we need but learn the techniques that activate the spiritual laws 
     upon which faith is based;
   - God is bound by these spiritual laws, and must respond to anyone - even
     His worst enemies - who exercises knowledge of them;
   - as "gods" ("divine beings") we have the "divine right" to health and 
     prosperity'
   - Jesus is our "Elder Brother" who mastered the spiritual laws of Nature,
     and is therefore our example to do the same;
   - Men may become perfected spiritually and physically by mastering these 
     spiritual laws;
   - The Kingdom of God will be established on earth when a sufficient 
     number of people have been perfected.

   No doubt many who teach these things would deny they are theosophists.  
In all probability they think of themselves as true Christians who have 
received special revelations from God.  But whether they adhere to 
theosophical doctrines consciously or are merely pawns in the battle of the 
ages is immaterial.  A child playing with matches needn't have knowledge of 
the damage he can cause.

   It's evident from the recent emergence of these aberrant teachings within
the Church that - through schooling and/or personal association - theosophy 
is having a significant impact upon some of today's prominent teachers.  I 
believe some of these teachers, though sincere in their profession of faith 
in Jesus, are themselves victims of esotericists who knew how to use biblical
and Christian terminology to gain their confidence, or they learned from
others who were victims.

   Esotericists have made special efforts to merge their secret teachings 
with the basic tenets of the Christian faith, resulting in some rather 
interesting esoteric interpretations of Scripture.

   The major Christian doctrines - the deity of Christ; His Virgin Birth, 
His sacrifice for sin, His Resurrection, and His Second Coming - can be made 
to fit perfectly well into the theosophical model of religion.  But their 
aberrant interpretations of these basic doctrines, unless openly stated, will
escape the average Christian and deceive him into placing his trust where he 
ought not.

   As we look at these doctrines from the standpoint of theosophy as opposed
to that of Scripture, some may find our expositions of interest; others will 
no doubt find them tedious and may wish to pass over them.  I've included 
them for purposes of documentation, and to demonstrate how esotericists might
use certain terminology to convince Christians - even Christian teachers - 
that they are brethren in Christ, specially "anointed" to teach new 
revelations.  I should add that it is not these interpretations of essential 
doctrines with which I am concerned (any mature Christian would reject them 
at the outset), but the inroads into the Church of other teachings based on 
these interpretations.  Though there are few in the Church proper who would 
agree with these interpretations, many have bought the rest of the package 
which is bringing many in the Church into damnable heresies.  These are 
offered as a warning to learn as much as possible what a teacher believes 
before accepting what he says.

                             The Deity Of Christ

   Theosophists would agree that Jesus is divine.  But then so are all men, 
if not actually at least potentially.  It is therefore not inconsistent for 
theosophists to speak of Jesus as "Son of God," "God in the flesh," "truly 
God and truly man," and use similar "Christian-sounding" phrases implying His
deity.  Nevertheless, whereas Christians believe that God became man 
(exclusively in the person of Jesus), theosophists believe that a man named 
Jesus became a god.

   To most theosophists, Jesus was one of many men who displayed an 
exceptional expression of the divine nature.  They include Him among such 
notables as Confucius, Buddha, and Mohammed.  To some, however, Jesus was 
unique among all men in His expression of the divine nature; they would say 
that no one has ever attained His status of spiritual enlightenment.  
However, they also believe that all men and women have the potential to reach
that same degree of spiritual enlightenment, i.e., to be equal with Jesus.  
Some even go so far as to say that, theoretically at least, we have the 
potential to be greater than He, by further mastering the spiritual laws of 
Nature to do good for mankind.

   Jesus' uniqueness, to them, lies not in His person as the Word of God 
incarnate, but in His particular anointing as "the Christ" to bring 
enlightenment and truth for His time in history, just as Buddha and Mohammed 
did for their eras.  Though it is believed that there are exceptional 
"Christs" for different stages of man's evolutionary journey, we may all
become expressions of the "Christ principle" and thus achieve divinity. 
Theosophists, therefore, have no problem with calling Jesus the "Son of God."
As John H. Dewey, the leading apostle of "Christian" Theosophy during the 
previous turn of the century stated:

       "The law of FAITH as announced by Jesus and exemplified in his life, 
   is the supreme law and method of all divine realization for man."57

       "That he was fully and absolutely human, the veritable "Son of man," 
   no sane mind will deny.  That he was also fully and absolutely divine, 
   the veritable "Son of God," we with equal positiveness claim and 
   affirm."58

   On the basis of these statements alone Dewey might easily have been 
accepted into Christian fellowship.  But further on we find that he qualifies
his remarks:

       "This incarnation of the Divine in Jesus, however, but reveals and 
   demonstrates the innate capacity of our common humanity as the offspring 
   of God, for receiving into its unfolding life the full Spirit of the
   Father, and becoming divine, as illustrated in the life of our great 
   Exemplar [Jesus]."59

       "The manifestation of God in one man [Jesus], demonstrates the 
   possibility of a like demonstration in all men."60

   Were these teachings confined to the inner sanctums of the Masonic, 
Rosicrucian, and Mormon temples - were they bandied about only among 
theosophists seated around their tables of discussion - they would pose no 
genuine threat to the Church.  But we are now hearing from prominent teachers
in the Christian media that man was created with a divine nature which was 
lost due to the introduction of sin.  By being born again by the Spirit of 
God we lose our sin nature and regain our divine nature.61

   There is no such teaching in Scripture.  Rather, it is based upon a 
theosophical interpretation of II Peter 1:4 which, properly understood, tells
us no more than that the believer in Jesus Christ is a partaker of the divine
nature through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  But it is the divine 
nature of the Holy Spirit, not ourselves, to which Peter was referring.

   The quality of divinity belongs exclusively to God, the Creator of the 
heavens and the earth.  As the Word of God incarnate, Jesus is divine, as is 
the Holy Spirit through whom God accomplishes His purposes.  The First 
Commandment of God is, "I am the Lord thy God....Thou shalt have no other 
gods before me" (Exodus 20:2-3).  Some may beg the question by stating that 
the word "before" qualifies the statement to mean only that Jehovah is the 
God who must come first.  But the historically accepted meaning from the 
context is that we are to have no other gods in His presence:  none are to be
before His face.

   Yet many Christians today have bought the lie that they themselves are 
gods, and perfectly legitimate ones at that, whereas God has stated that 
there are no other gods besides Himself (Deuteronomy 4:35).  Therefore, 
whenever the Scriptures speak of other gods, they are speaking of false 
gods:  demons, idols or men (Christian or non-Christian) who attempt to usurp
the rightful position of Jehovah. 

                              The Virgin Birth

   The various schools of theosophy generally deny the doctrine of the 
Virgin Birth of Jesus.  However, in an attempt to spiritualize what the 
Scriptures plainly state as applicable to the physical - i.e., that Jesus was
born of a virgin woman by the power of the Holy Spirit - there are those who 
might say they accept the idea of the virgin birth.  But their affirmation 
would be qualified within their minds in the following manner:

       "...[Jesus' virgin birth] was originally a highly mystical and 
   philosophical teaching, which became in time a theologic dogma and 
   legend....It is a mystical or symbolic tenet referring to the birth of 
   the Christ in man from the virgin-part of one's being, i.e., from the 
   spiritual or highest portions of man's constitution.  It also has a 
   cosmical significance - the Virgin-Mother of Space giving birth through 
   the Child, the Cosmic Logos, to her multitudes of children of various 
   kinds.  There are thus two aspects of this mystical or symbolical 
   doctrine:  there is, first, the Cosmical Virgin, and, second, there is 
   the mystical 'virgin-birth' of an initiate.  An initiate is one 'reborn,'
   or, as the saying goes, 'born a second time.'  He is not born of course 
   in initiation from a physical father and mother, for his body is born in 
   the usual manner, but in initiation, the 'new man,' the inner man, the 
   Christ-man, is born 'from himself' because of his bringing out or 
   unfolding into active manifestation the divinity within him and over-
   enlightening him; and his 'Virgin-Mother' is that part of himself which 
   is the root of his being, the spiritual soul in its spotless and 
   unstained purity.  From the Virgin or Spiritual Soul is born the human 
   Christ or the human Buddha, without admixture of extrinsic elements of 
   any kind, and without other means than the man's own yearnings and 
   strivings to become the god within himself.

       "The Christian Church has interpreted these very mystical doctrines 
   physically and thus has largely lost the far nobler and really profound 
   symbolic sense...."62

   Such esoteric interpretations of Scripture are difficult to recognize 
without careful scrutiny.  One may say he believes in the virgin birth of 
Christ, but hold an entirely different view from that of Christianity - in 
this case applying an occult analogy to the Scriptures.

   This ploy of esoteric religion is becoming increasingly evident in some 
circles of Christianity, most notably among charismatics.  The current 
penchant of some teachers to cloud the simple truth of the Gospel with 
teachings that impress the unlearned with man's wisdom is evidence of a new 
Gnosticism based on salvation through knowledge springing up in our midst.  
Paul warned of such in II Corinthians 11:3: "But I fear, lest by any means, 
as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be 
corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  For if he that cometh 
preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another 
spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not
accepted, ye might well bear [agree] with him."

   In light of today's deceptions, we would be wise to see that the meanings
applied by teachers to the doctrines of the Church are clearly stated, and 
backed up by the whole of Scripture.

                                  Atonement

   As in many other Christian doctrines, Jesus' death as atonement for sin 
is given an entirely different meaning by esotericists from that stated in 
Scripture.  As Christians we believe that Jesus' blood is the element that 
cleanses us from sin, provided we come to God in faith and allow Him to apply
that blood to our own lives.  As God incarnate and sinless - the only 
begotten Son of God - only Jesus could pay the price for our sins.  No one 
else's suffering and/or death as a vicarious sacrifice has any merit with 
God.  The esotericist, however, holds a different view:

       "If a man loves another greatly, can he not save his friend from 
   future sorrow by taking upon himself his friend's karman [consequences of
   actions destined to follow from reincarnation to reincarnation]?  The 
   question is purely academic in a way, because when the last word is said,
   the karman of the friend is the friend himself, and therefore the answer 
   in general is comprised of an emphatic negative; nevertheless, there is a
   possibility, not indeed of taking upon oneself the friend's karman, but 
   of shouldering by means of a powerful will and a high intelligence 
   directed to that end, a certain portion, be it large or small, of the 
   consequences which in the normal course of Nature, with heavy and perhaps
   crushing effect, would fall upon the friend.  The secret in such a 
   situation lies in allying one's own life intimately with the life of the 
   one whose heavy karman it is thus hoped to aid in carrying or 
   exhausting...

       "In those cases where such noble and altruistic action be taken for 
   the benefit of all that lives or for the results which it is hoped will 
   benefit a large portion of mankind, it is a Buddha-like thing to do, it 
   is a Christ-like thing."63

   The esoteric view of atonement does make room for Jesus' sacrifice for 
mankind, but only to a point.  Any person whose motives are pure can take 
upon himself the consequences of the sins of another through altruistic acts 
of piety and self-denial.  So the theosophist and other esotericists can say 
they accept Jesus' death on the cross as atonement for "sin," but their 
doctrine is faulty, and Christians who lack understanding of this fact can be
misled into thinking they are on the same spiritual level.  The efficacious 
sacrifice of Jesus which provides for the taking away of sins for all who 
come to Him by faith is actually denied by all schools of esotericism:

       "This doctrine of vicarious substitution, both in form and spirit, is
   diametrically opposed to the positive teachings of Jesus, which makes 
   righteousness itself salvation, obedience to the righteous law of God in 
   the doing of the Father's will in the personal and social life....

       "These authoritative words of the Christ, with the whole Sermon on 
   the Mount, from which they are taken, and the full tenor of all his 
   teaching most unmistakably emphasize the 'doing' of the Father's will, 
   and unity with him in a righteous life, as the only salvation possible or
   desirable for mankind, while not a precept or parable of his can be 
   brought to sustain in the slightest degree this doctrine of substitution;
   as though it were possible for the absolute justice and goodness of the 
   All-Father to demand or accept the punishment of the innocent for the 
   guilty, or could impute the righteousness of the sinless to the sinner, 
   or accept any as righteous who are not really so.  But as righteousness 
   of life is secured only through personal obedience to the law of right, 
   no man can become righteous before God, except by his own act of 
   obedience.  If this were possible in the economy of God, then the very 
   idea of justice would be a delusion and a sham, and the thought and talk 
   of a changeless moral order a pitiable and unmeaning farce.

       "Surely salvation from sin in this life, by lifting man above the 
   power of temptation, as promised by the Christ, and exemplified in his 
   own life, would prevent all consequences of sin in this world or any 
   other.  And this is the only salvation worthy of the name.

       "How is this to be accomplished but by the perfection of human life 
   itself, through the unfolding and bringing forth of the divine or 
   spiritual nature in that life."64

   Through the clever manipulation of the word 'atonement,' esotericists 
have devised the doctrine of "at-one-ment," which states in effect that once 
a person has attained mastery over his physical nature he becomes "at-one 
with the Divine,"  and may exercise mental influence over the physical realm 
for the effecting of healing and other manifestations of psychic power:

       "The casting out of devils and reforming the vicious, the reclaiming 
   of drunkards and restoration of the insane to soberness and reason, 
   giving strength to the weak and courage to the lowly and disheartened, 
   and working "not after the law of a carnal commandment but after the 
   power of an endless life," for the universal emancipation, enlightenment 
   and uplifting of mankind, become the easy and true work of life.

       "Man then becomes one in spirit and purpose with the divine, and is 
   led, governed and crowned with wisdom, sympathy and power.  It is the 
   Christ or God-anointed life; the true at-one-ment of man with God, the 
   human with the Divine, Christianity as Christ taught and lived it."65

       "...when man has thus learned to specifically direct the force of 
   life in the control of the elements in his own organism, he may then 
   accumulate power within himself to master and control the elements and 
   forces of the world outside himself; but as this is to be acquired 
   through cooperation with divine power, he can attain absolute control 
   over himself and that which is below only by first becoming at-one with 
   the Divine, which is within and above him."66

   This esoteric view of "at-one-ment" - coming into the expression of 
godhood in order to control the elements of nature - is a major tenet of mind
science.  Though expressed in different terms, it has crept into the Church 
through the Positive Confession teachings which declare that man is a god, 
and "faith is a force" that God used to create the universe, and that anyone 
can use for his own purposes.67

                              The Resurrection

   The Resurrection of Jesus following His death as sacrifice for our sins 
is a primary focus of the Christian faith.  For if He had not been 
resurrected we would still be lost in our sins (I Corinthians 15:12-26).

   The esotericist does not believe in resurrection, but in reincarnation - 
the evolutionary process by which souls are allegedly perfected by working 
out their karmic consequences from one lifetime to another.  Yet the term 
"resurrection" does find its way into esoteric philosophy, specifically in 
relation to reincarnation, and its use can be misleading:

       "No sane man, it is to be supposed, today can or does believe that 
   the physical body, as regards its physical elements - or rather when once
   its elements have been returned to earth - shall be gathered together 
   again into one component and perfect whole at some future period which 
   Christians call the Judgment Day; when the 'last trump' shall be sounded,
   according to the quaint imagery of older times....Yet back of this idea 
   of the 'resurrection of the body' there actually is a most beautiful 
   truth or fact of Nature.  This truth may be expressed in two forms; or, 
   as the mathematicians say, it is expressible in both a general and in a 
   special case.

       "This special case involves a mystery - a teaching of the ancient 
   Mysteries; but hinted at, it might be phrased thus:  When a man has 
   received his final degree of initiation he is said to be 'raised' to
   Masterhood in the same physical body.  This point need not be elaborated 
   further here.

       "The general case, however, is to be explained by the reassembling of
   the life-atoms in the manner described in preceding paragraphs.  These 
   life-atoms are man's own offspring, at least most of those which build 
   man's constitution are; inbuilt into his body during the physical life 
   which he leads on Earth, although they are not derivative from outside 
   but spring forth from within himself.  Therefore they are psycho-
   magnetically attracted back to the Reimbodying Ego on its return journey 
   to the new earth-life, and the Reimbodying Ego can no more avoid or 
   escape receiving these life-atoms again into itself than it can avoid or 
   escape being itself.  To it they are again drawn because out from it they
   formerly went.  They too, these life-atoms, during the Reimbodying Ego's 
   term of devachanic rest and peace, have had their own wonderful 
   adventures - adventures in the different spheres and on the different 
   planes of the seven globes of the planetary chain; and thus when the 
   'descending' individual or Reimbodying Ego reaches the grades of our
   physical plane, and the baby-body is finally born, its growth thereafter 
   is assured by and through and because of the aforesaid magnetic 
   attractions and repulsions, and by the body's receiving into it and 
   expulsion from it of these its former life-atoms.  These are continuously
   attracted to and built into the physical body, as it passes from babyhood
   into childhood into youth, and from youth into manhood - the very life-
   atoms which had made the Reimbodying Ego's physical body on Earth in the 
   last earth-life.  Thus it is that the body of the former earth-life is 
   resurrected - is 'arisen.'"68

   This fanciful account of reincarnation has no basis for proof and is in 
direct opposition to God's Word:  "It is appointed unto men once to die, but 
after this the judgment:  For Christ was once offered to bear the sins of 
many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without
sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:27-28).

   Jesus died only once; and we will die only once.  There is no reincarn-
ation by which we may eventually attain spiritual perfection through works of
our righteousness.  It is only the precious blood of Jesus that cleanses us 
from sin and provides for our salvation if we trust in Him by faith.

                              The Second Coming

   On April 25, 1982, many were surprised by the appearance of full-page ads
in some twenty major newspapers worldwide, proclaiming that "THE CHRIST IS 
NOW HERE."69  These ads, placed by a New Age organization known as Tara 
Center, declared that the Christ had come to lead mankind into an era of
peace and brotherhood.  The Christ, according to these ads, is Lord Maitreya,
an Ascended Master whose message of hope was, and still is, conveyed by an 
Englishman named Benjamin Creme (Krehm).  Creme contends that Maitreya had 
embodied himself somewhere in the Himalayas, and is currently living in 
London awaiting the opportune moment to emerge and be recognized by the 
population of the world as the Christ for the New Age.70

   Maitreya is said to be the embodiment of the aspirations of the world's 
major religions.  According to the newspaper ads, "He is known to Christians 
as 'the Christ,' to Hindus as 'Krishna,' to Jews as 'the Messiah,' to Moslems
as 'Imam Mahdi,' and to Buddhists as 'the fifth Buddha.'"  The Christ for the
New Age is not Jesus.  Jesus, it seems, has been reincarnated and will stand 
with Lord Maitreya to convince Christians that they, along with the rest of 
humanity, must follow their new spiritual leader.71

   While Maitreya waits in the wings for the consciousness of humanity to be
sufficiently raised to make us worthy to receive him, the resultant media 
exposure has fanned an interest among many who are expectantly awaiting a 
"man of peace" to come along and solve the world's ills.

   Creme claims that the emergence of Maitreya as "the Christ" will be 
validated by demonstrations of miracles, signs, and wonders.72  In Matthew 
24:24 Jesus warned of such demonstrations of power by God's enemies:  "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."

   Whether or not Maitreya really exists no one can say at this time, but we
can learn from this that when the esotericist speaks of the Second Coming, it
is certain that he is not speaking of Jesus' Second Coming.  He is speakig of
the coming of "the Christ" for the New Age.  According to Creme and other New
Agers, Jesus was the Christ for the age of Pisces, and Maitreya is the Christ
for our age, the age of Aquarius.73  This is to be the "Golden Age" of 
utopian bliss to begin around the turn of the century.  It is the New Agers' 
version of the millennium - the Kingdom Age - run by men who have attained 
godhood.

   Since the office of "Christ" is not considered by esotericists to be
exclusive to Jesus, they do not affirm 'His' Second Coming.  Rather, they 
make mention of the "Coming of Christ," or even "Second Coming of Christ."  
This is because they separate the "Christ 'principle'" from the 'person' of 
Jesus, and apply it to all men.

   In the broad sense, therefore, they teach that the "Second Coming" of 
"Christ" will take place through the raising of humanity's consciousness to 
the point where a significant number will believe that 'they' are the 
embodiment of the Second Coming.  Then the world will be prepared to receive 
the "Christ" who will lead the nations into the New Age of peace and 
brotherhood.  The central figure of the "Spiritual Hierarchy" (the "Ascended 
Masters") will represent the full manifestation of the office of Christ for 
that age.

   In Dominion Theology, this teaching has a parallel which states that the 
Church is the "ongoing incarnation" of God.  Yes, Jesus is Christ, but so is 
the Church as the body of Christ.  Therefore, the Church is Christ.74

                      An Esoteric 'Statement of Faith'

   A clear definition of terms is essential for a proper understanding of 
the theological stance of those who teach us.  Though holding erroneous 
interpretations of any or all the doctrines represented, one may make a 
declaration of faith like this:  "I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, 
true God and true man, God incarnate, virgin born, that His death was an 
atonement for my sins, that he has been resurrected, and that Christ is 
coming again."  And on the basis of this confession, that person may gain the
confidence of Christians to fill their minds with other teachings that will 
sway them from the truth essential to their salvation.  The teachers with 
which we deal in this study might not be theosophists on these important 
points of doctrine, but there is sufficient evidence to suggest that they 
have been infected by esoteric philosophies, possibly by having been exposed 
to wolves in sheep's clothing themselves.

   The various schools of theosophy that grew out of the Gnostic traditions 
and other apostate "Christian" sects have found their way into the Christian 
media, greatly diluting the strength of the true Gospel and polluting the 
thinking of many in the Church.  Some Christians, perceiving themselves 
spiritually-minded, have fallen for the lie that they can become gods.  But 
this is not spiritual-mindedness; it is carnal-mindedness, demonstrating a 
lack of understanding of the basic premise upon which the battle between God 
and Satan rages.

                        A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HERESY

   Scripture chronicles man's attempts at godhood:  the rebelliousness that 
led to the flood and the tower of Babel, and the sorcery and witchcraft that 
dominated not only pagan cultures, but God's chosen people Israel.  Jewish 
Kabbalism, thought by some to be a phenomenon of the Middle Ages, is really a
blending of apostate Judaism with the Egyptian mystery religion learned while 
in captivity.  The resultant paganism of Israel was the source of revolt 
against God's prophets.  When the Church was established, the same spirit of 
rebellion was immediately at work to destroy the simplicity and purity of the 
Gospel.  Heretics led many away from the truth into errors which either 
demeaned the person of Christ or exalted the position of the believer - or 
both.

   During the Church's early years the Gnostic "gospels" and Essene 
teachings mixed the ancient mystery traditions with Christian teaching, and 
provided esoteric interpretations of Scripture that remain with us today.

   One of the earliest heresies declared that the resurrection of the saints 
had already taken place.  Paul wrote to Timothy that this teaching was 
overthrowing the faith of some (II Timothy 2:18).  Consider that, if the 
resurrection had already occured, then there was no hope that Jesus would 
return to establish His Kingdom on earth.  It follows, therefore, that that 
task would have to fall to the Church.  This was essentially the first 
postmillenial teaching.

   Kingdom Now proponents are correct in stating that postmillenialism is a 
teaching as old as the Church.  But that doesn't make it a true doctrine.  It 
was just one heresy among many that found acceptance among some in the early 
Church.  The age of a teaching is not a criterion for its truth.  Only its 
conformity to the strict and clear Word of God validates it.

   The Roman Catholic Church is an example of one of the earliest attempts 
within the Church to establish the Kingdom of God on earth by human effort.  
With the Reformation came not only freedom for many from the bondage of Rome, 
but there also arose attempts by some radical sects to establish themselves 
as the "only true Church," destined to overcome sin and usher in the Kingdom.

   The history of the Church, though obscure in many areas regarding its 
early stages, demonstrates how religious men, not content with God's rule 
over them, dissatisfied that they may die before the Kingdom of God was 
manifested on earth, chose to believe the lie that they could become immortal
and establish the Kingdom themselves.  This dissatisfaction continues among 
today's Dominion proponents.  I suspect that such are really afraid of death.
Lacking the faith necessary to trust God, they wish to work their way to 
immortality rather than pass through the valley of the shadow of death.

   Recent history has seen the rise of certain cults out of Christianity 
which purport to teach the true "gospel of the Kingdom":  Mormonism, 
Jehovah's Witnesses, Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church (Moonies), the late 
Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God (not to be confused with The 
Church of God), and other, lesser-known groups, are seeking to establish 
themselves as the only true Church, destined to reign over earth's 
governments and people.

   A premise upon which some build their case is that there are two gospels:
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Gospel of the Kingdom.  They maintain 
that no one has preached the Gospel of the Kingdom before they themselves 
came on the scene to proclaim that their church (not Jesus) will usher in the
Kingdom of God.

   Paul tells us there is only one Gospel, and he delineates it in I Corin-
thians 1:5.  The entire chapter is a retelling of the complete Gospel through
the Second Coming of Jesus.  Nowhere does Paul separate the Gospel of Christ 
from the Gospel of the Kingdom.  Nor does he indicate that the church will 
institute the Kingdom of God on earth before Jesus returns.

   The teachings with which we deal in this study are, therefore, not new, 
but centuries old, most traceable to certain groups that sprang from the
Radical Reformation as opposed to the Reformation proper; some go further 
back to primitive Christianity's early heretical groups, and even to the dawn
of man's history.

   All these teachings reside in man's prideful refusal to accept his 
station in life in humble obedience to his Creator.

   Yes, those who remain true to Christ will one day be glorified; we will 
be exalted to rule with Him.  But if we will be glorified - if we will be 
exalted - let God glorify us; let Him exalt us.  We must glorify and exalt 
only Him.

   And if we are to boast in anything, let it not be in our 'position' in 
Christ, but in Christ himself.

                              TODAY'S MOVEMENTS     

   There are many ways by which men within the Church are attempting to 
establish the Kindgom of God on earth.  They are not always in agreement on 
the methods to attain that end; nor are they necessarily in agreement as to 
the philosophical direction that should be taken to accomplish their 
purpose.  One area in which most if not all are in agreement is that the 
Church must be united in a dominion mindset.

   Of a certainty, some branches of the Kingdom Now Movement are more 
militant in their stance, and/or more zealous in the propagation of their 
particular brand of Dominion Theology.  As we outline the more prominent of 
these movements we'll see how they work together, often without conscious 
collaboration, to establish the dominion mindset within the Church.  Some 
have even attained cult status among many Christians.  Whether one ascribes 
to the radical element or the passive, or rests somewhere between the two, is
not as important as the overall threat to the Church that these movements 
present through their aberrant teachings.

   Yet in spite of these dangers, I'm convinced that there are many true and
sincere Christians who have become involved in these movements because they 
are fed up with the increase of the sinful actions and perverse attitudes of 
society.  They long for a world with a more sane and moral social structure, 
and are easily led to believe that if Christians can only take control, God's
righteousness will reign on earth.  How His righteousness will be implemented
- whether by legislation, coercion, example, or by a miraculous move of the 
Holy Spirit upon the hearts of all men - is not fully agreed upon even among 
the leaders in the Kingdom Now movements.

   Nevertheless, close scrutiny reveals that all hold certain elements in 
common, making it difficult to discern one from the other.  For example, some
Manifested Sons of God teachings are indistinguishable from some of the 
teachings of Restorationism.

   We are more concerned, therefore, with the teachings themselves and the 
men who promote them, than we are with the movements, which are little more 
than a networking of various individuals and groups.  Yet it is important to 
this study that we briefly outline these movements and deal with some of 
their peculiarities.

                                  Identity

   The Identity Movement teaches that the Anglo-Saxon race and their kin 
(Scandinavians, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, etc.) are the "lost tribes" of 
Israel, who are destined as God's chosen people to rule the world.  The full 
name of Identity is "Anglo-Israel-Identity Movement."75

   It is believed that, as God's chosen people whose king (or queen) sits on
the throne of David (the British throne), and whose lineage can be traced 
back through the Jewish patriarchs to Adam, the Anglo-Saxon race has special 
favor with God.76  "Israel-America" (comprised of Anglo and related 
descendants in the United States)77 has a special anointing.

   The nation of Israel that exists today in the Middle East is considered a
pretender to the name of Israel, being allegedly comprised of certain Asian 
peoples known as "Kazars."  Thus any biblical references to God's prophesied 
dealings with Israel in the last days are believed to have been fulfilled.  
Daniel's seventieth week has come and gone, as has anti-Christ, and now we 
must look forward to the establishment of Yahweh's Kingdom on earth.  This is
to be administered through the Anglo-Saxon Christians who have come to 
recognize their unique destiny.

   Though Identity is overtly anti-Semitic, its proponents claim that those 
who are against them are the true anti-Semites.  But there is a deeper reason
for the anti-Israel stance taken not only by Identity, but by other dominion-
oriented movements.

   Should national Israel remain established, the belief that God is going 
to save a remnant of Jews to be a witness for Jesus in the last days would be
validated.  Hence, the Church will have to be taken out of the world before 
Jesus sets His feet upon the earth, and before God's wrath is poured out upon
rebellious mankind (Matthew 24; Mark 13; Revelation 6 & 7).  If this is true,
then the dominion theory falls apart:  the Kingdom of God will not be establ-
ished on earth until Jesus returns with His saints to destroy the anti-
Christ's kingdom.  While we who are outside the Kingdom Now Movement under-
stand that Jews, like all men, are lost until they come by faith to recognize
Jesus as their Messiah, we also recognize that the nation of Israel does have
a purpose in God's plans for the last days.

   Identity's hatred is not limited to Jews, however.  Blacks and other non-
whites are looked upon as inferior beings who may be allowed to enjoy the 
benefits of the kingdom as long as they remain subject to their Anglo-Saxon 
superiors.  They cannot hold positions of significant authority, however, 
because the promises to Israel belong only to the "true" Israelites:  the 
Anglo-Saxon believers.

   The snag in Identity's plans for America is the tremendous influx of non-
white immigrants whom they see as parasitical and detrimental to the estab-
lishment of God's white-dominated world government.  The fewer non-whites 
that are left to enter the Kingdom, the better, as far as Identity is 
concerned.

   As a side note, there is a black counter to Identity known as the Yahweh 
sect.  This cult believes that American blacks are the true descendants of 
the biblical tribe of Judah, living in the land of the "white devil."78  
Maybe the black Yahweh sect and white Identity are both right.  Perhaps 
they're related and don't know it.

   In view of Identity's racial policy, it isn't surprising that radical 
racist groups such as the neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan have joined.79  For 
all their error and their attacks against non-whites, these groups are 
zealously moralistic (by their convoluted standards).  Although Identity's 
members consider themselves Christians their ideology is more akin to 
salvation by race than salvation by grace.  They welcome Aryan pagans into 
fellowship while mounting hate campaigns against Christian Jews, blacks, and 
other non-whites.

    This isn't to say that all Identity People are overtly racist, but their
philosophy reflects a dangerous mindset that threatens to exacerbate an 
already tense situation between races.  Their para-militarism and rebellion 
against constituted authority combine to create a volatile situation that 
could someday erupt into fullscale racial warfare. 
 

   Even older than the Latter Rain Movement, Identity found fertile ground 
to propagate its own brand of Kingdom Theology among the neo-Pentecostals of 
the mid-twentieth century.  Seeing the opportunity to cloak itself with the 
respectability of the Church, Identity has aligned with neo-Pentecostalism, 
and today presents the Anglo-Israel-Identity Movement as "just as much a 
result of the work of the Holy Spirit as the Charismatic renewal."80

   Not all who believe in British-Israelism are part of Identity.  But on 
the basis of little more than conjecture and hearsay, British-Israelism has 
found credibility in the eyes of many otherwise sensible Christians.

   Yet even if true, the very nature of British-Israelism and the strife it 
engenders is contrary to the warning of Scripture that we not be concerned 
with endless geneologies (I Timothy 1:4; Titus 3:9).

   True Israel consists of all who have come to God by faith in Jesus 
Christ, whether Jew or Gentile (Romans 2:28-29).  To God no one has any 
standing except by His grace.  In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, rich
nor poor, bond nor free, male nor female, but we are all one in Him 
(Galatians 3:26-29).  As Jesus said, God is able to turn stones into children
of Abraham (Matthew 4:9), so who is anyone to boast of his ancestry, 
especially an ancestry built on little more than fanciful conjecture?

                             Charismatic Renewal

   One must be careful when including the Charismatic Renewal in the list of
Kingdom Now movements, simply because a significant number of charismatics do
not have a definitive understanding of any such eschatological viewpoint.  In
fact, many charismatics see the return of Jesus as imminent.  They believe in
the "Rapture," whether pre-, mid-, or post-Tribulation, and would reject the 
notion that the Church must establish a theocratic rule before Jesus can
return.

   Yet if there is any distinction between the charismatism of the mid- to 
late-twentieth century and the pentecostalism that preceded it, it's that 
charismatics tend to lean more heavily on supernatural manifestations as
conclusive evidence that God is at work.  They are also actively seeking 
unity wihin the Body of Christ on the basis of those manifestations, many 
times at the expense of biblical truth.  The charismatic ideal seems to have 
developed into this:  in the interest of unity we must overlook differences 
in doctrine as long as those with whom we seek unity confess the name of 
Jesus and appear to exhibit the gifts of the Spirit - particularly speaking 
in tongues.

   It's on these points that Roman Catholic priests have been given 
platforms to teach on Christian TV, and that Mormons have been welcomed into 
fellowship among some charismatics.  (And what could find more compatibility 
between Mormonism and Kingdom Now Theology than the idea that men are gods?)

   If there is any reason or rhyme to this it is that many charismatics, 
having come out of denominationalism, have lacked sufficient grounding in the
Word of God to be able to separate the true work of the Holy Spirit from that
of Satan.  Having had little or no experience with supernatural power in
their denominations, they are sorely lacking in discernment in that area.  
Still, many of today's most prominent leaders in charismatism hail from 
pentecostal backgrounds.  So whether traditional or pentecostal, when one 
attaches more importance to experience than to the rightly-divided Word of 
Truth, the chance for error is greatly increased.

   Due to its interdenominational thrust, charismatism presents especially 
fertile ground for the propagation of Dominion Theology.  The saying, "All 
roads lead to Rome," isn't limited to the heyday of the Caesars or to the 
papacy's former domination of western culture.  It's through the charismatic 
movement that Roman Catholicism has regained much of its credibility among 
Protestants and other non-Catholics, capitalizing on that credibility to make
overtures for unity.

   Because some Roman Catholics speak in tongues and exhibit an attitude of 
acceptance toward non-Catholic charismatics, it's been stated that Roman
Catholicism is changing - that there is now an opportunity to bring about a 
unity which has been lacking since the Reformation.

   Besides the issue of tongues, ecumenical charismatics point to the use of
Christian hymns sung at "charismatic masses" to the accompaniment of modern 
musical instruments as evidence that differences are minimal.  This naivete 
is being exploited by Catholic clergy who, though professing "love" and 
"unity" toward non-Catholic Christians, refuse them the elements of communion
on the basis that non-Catholics do not recognize the pope as their spiritual 
head.

   Though some Roman Catholics, even among the clergy, have undoubtedly been
touched by the Holy Spirit and are coming into a greater understanding of 
what it means to have a personal relationship with God, Roman Catholicism 
itself has not changed.  It is still as strong a political system as ever, 
ruled by a hierarchy whose intent has been from its inception (and remains) 
to establish the Kingdom of God on earth under the headship of the pope.

   The danger to the purity of the Faith is a genuine reality.  The 
Charismatic Renewal has opened doors which it may find difficult to shut when
Satan's demonstrations of signs and wonders increase to the point where 
spiritual life or death hang on the basis of one's discernment.

                           Manifested Sons Of God

   One of the most militant movements attempting to establish the Kingdom of
God on earth is the Manifested Sons of God.  This aberration came out of the 
Latter Rain Movement under the "apostleship" of John Robert Stevens, a 
William Branham disciple whose church in Redondo Beach, California, operated 
for a number of years as the headquarters for the movement.

   The Manifested Sons of God teachings are perhaps the most definitive 
among Kingdom Now doctrines.  They have all the elements of classical dominion
theory:  immortalization, restoration of the offices of apostles and 
prophets, absolute authoritarianism, attainment of godhood - you name it, the
Manifested Sons of God have it.

   The Manifested Sons of God Movement suffered massive dissipation as the 
result of many scandals that attended the extreme cult status to which it had
attained.  Nevertheless, its devotees, fervent in their beliefs, covertly 
continue to spread its doctrines to other churches.

   Because association with the Manifested Sons of God Movement has proven a
source of extreme embarrassment, there are few today who would admit they are
Manifested Sons of God devotees.  Much as a communist would deny his affil-
iation with the party because he doesn't carry a card, Manifested Sons of God
adherents deny they are what they are.  The test is what they believe and 
teach, however, not whether they are "officially" members of a Manifested 
Sons of God church.

   Central to Manifested Sons of God doctrine is the idea that sonship comes
through higher revelation.  The Christian life is fragmented into stages of 
maturity:  the first step is that of servant of God; the next step is to 
become a friend of God; following this is to become a son of God and, 
ultimately, gods ourselves.  Yet the Scriptures demonstrate that we are 
already all three:  servants (Galatians 3:10), friends (John 15:14-15), and 
sons (I John 3:1).  Yet there is nothing in Scripture to support the idea 
that Paul or any apostle or prophet ever put aside his servanthood to attain 
sonship (many epistles begin with the salutation by the apostle identifying 
himself as a servant of God), or that they ever believed they would become 
gods themselves.

   Apart from John Robert Stevens's disciples, there are many whose 
teachings would qualify them as Manifested Sons of God, the essential 
ingredient being a peculiar interpretation of Romans 8:19-23:

       "For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the mani-
   festation of the sons of God.
       "For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by 
   reason of him who hath subjected the same hope,
       "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage
   of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
       "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain 
   together until now.
       "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of
   the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the 
   adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."

   As a doctrine crucial to the Manifested Sons of God, perfection (success 
in living sinlessly) will result in incorruptibility.  This will qualify 
those who "overcome" as worthy to rule in the Kingdom of God.

   Whether Jesus will return at the beginning, during, or after the Mill-
ennium is open to conjecture.  Some who have been touched by the Manifested 
Sons of God influence even believe He will not return physically, but rather 
that Christ and the Church are becoming one in nature and essence, and that 
the Church, as the incarnation of God, will manifest Christ on earth.

   There are even those who believe that they have already attained per-
fection and, as a result, will never die.  They have attained a higher degree
of spiritual evolution, so to speak.

   For all the elaborate surmisings with which these people have deluded 
themselves, a careful reading of Romans 8:19 will show that the "manifest-
ation of the sons of God" alluding to the redemption of our bodies (verse 23)
cannot be properly understood apart from I Corinthians 15:51-52, which states
that we shall all be changed, "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at 
the last trump:  for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised 
incorruptible, and we shall be changed."

   From these verses it is clear that the "manifestation of the sons of God"
- immortality - will take place at the last trump.  First Thessalonians 4:15 
makes it even clearer that this will not occur before the resurrection of the
dead at the coming of Christ:

       "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are 
   alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [go 
   before] them which are asleep.
       "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the 
   voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  and the dead in 
   Christ shall rise first:
       "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with 
   them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air:  and so shall we ever be 
   with the Lord."

   The teachings of most Kingdom Now groups can be traced to the Manifested 
Sons of God.  And not only do they come from the Manifested Sons of God, they
must ultimately return to the "pure" Manifested Sons of God doctrine:  man 
need not die; by taking hold of secret knowledge he can become like God.

   Whether or not the Manifested Sons of God will ever make a comeback as an
organized segment of the Christian community only the Lord knows.  But their 
influence has been more far-reaching through undercover proselytizing than it
would have had there been no breakup.  And they continue to affect more and 
more Christians who are sufficiently naive to think they can become immortal 
by acting spiritual.  The grandiose promise of ruling over the world as 
implementers of God's righteousness holds special appeal for the prideful, 
"god-consciousness" persons who perceive authority as rulership rather than 
servanthood.

                                 Restoration

   Inherent to all Kingdom Now Theology is the idea of "Restoration."  The 
premise of Restoration is that since the first century, the Church has not 
functioned as God planned, and must therefore be "restored" to its original 
purpose of achieving dominion.  This involves the "restoration" of the 
offices of apostles and prophets, the "restoration" of the Tabernacle of 
David (signified by the restoration of worship and praise), and the "restor-
ation" of power (signs and wonders).

   As a less cultic form of Manifested Sons of God, the Restoration Movement
believes in immortalization through perfection.  Thus Restoration's emphasis 
on purifying the Church through repentance and holy living.

   Certainly no one can find fault with repentance and holy living.  But at 
the heart of Restoration is the goal of establishing the Kingdom of God on 
earth in the physical absence of Jesus.  Holy living, forgiveness, and unity 
of the Body of Christ are essential to the attainment of that purpose.

   Restoration preachers appear to be among the humblest of God's servants, 
confessing their own sins before the people and presenting themselves as 
examples of how Christians should examine their own hearts.

   One of the Scriptures most often quoted by Restoration preachers is 
Matthew 7:1:  "Judge not, that ye be not judged."  In their view, it is 
especially imperative that the people not judge teachers, regardless of 
doctrine.  We are to let the Holy Spirit judge them.

   I believe many Restoration proponents are truly humble men who have 
unwittingly opened themselves to error.  But so, too, many of those who cry 
"Touch not God's anointed," or "Judge not," do so out of fear that their own 
doctrines might come under close scrutiny.  They totally ignore the context 
of Matthew 7:1, which implies hypocritical judgment, not the judgment 
necessary to preserve the purity of the Faith.  We are often exhorted in 
Scripture to judge, not those outside the Body of Christ, but those in the 
Body of Christ (I Corinthians 5:12, 6:5; John 7:24).

   In Romans 14:10-13, one of the strongest Scriptures about judging, we 
find that the context reveals we are not to judge a brother for what he eats 
or drinks.  But we are to judge stumbling blocks that others put before the 
brethren.  Certainly false doctrine would fall into that category.  We are 
not to judge men's hearts, but we are to judge actions and teachings that 
lead others away from God's truth.  Why those who cry against judgment 
propagate error, and why, contrary to their own teachings, they condemn those
who judge those errors is between them and the Lord.

   Again, there is nothing wrong in holy living, or in unity with brothers 
in Christ.  These we should desire.  But what Restoration and Dominion 
Theology in general seek is not so much unity of the faith as uniformity of 
the dictates of self-proclaimed apostles and prophets.

                               Reconstruction

   More than any other movement, Reconstruction is the intellectual arm of 
Dominion Theology.  Offering articulate and intelligent arguments for the 
Church to establish theocratic rule by taking dominion over politics, 
economics, science, the arts, and every other expression of human social 
structure, Reconstruction attracts thinking people who see God's laws as the 
only answer to the present chaos.  No right-thinking Christian would deny 
that this is true.  However, unless Jesus is present to administer the 
affairs of that theocracy, human fallibility, no matter how well-intentioned,
would ultimately result in religious totalitarianism.

   Now, I'm one who believes that Christians should become involved in 
politics and in every other area of civic life in order to be a light to the 
world and salt to the earth.  If we are to win souls and influence people for
Christ, we cannot cloister ourselves from the world.  But we are deluding 
ourselves if we think we can establish any man or religious group of men as 
saviors of the world.

   Reconstruction's noble ideas of bringing about a transformation of 
society through which righteousness will be manifested are doomed to failure.
But that does not mean we cannot use the information on politics and other 
fields of human endeavor that notable Reconstructionists provide.  Their 
analyses of world affairs from a Scriptureal perspective are often intell-
igent and well-documented, and can be of significant help to Christians who 
wish to be informed on current events.  (Just beware the leaven.)

   Nor does it mean we shouldn't continue to wage spiritual warfare and take
authority wherever God grants it to us.  But a theocracy administered without
the benefit of Jesus' physical presence begs for subjective reasoning based 
on the intellectual whims of man's faulty wisdom.

   Yes, the Holy Spirit can keep such a theocratic rule in line.  But He 
won't if it exists apart from the will of God.  And based on His Word, no 
such theocracy will be established by God without Jesus present.  Should any 
such theocracy be established, it would not be a true theocracy, but a 
totalitarian state of man's own making.

   God's Word is clear that before Jesus returns tremendous evil will 
encompass the governments of the world (Matthew 24, Mark 14, Revelation 
6 & 7).  We might not like that prospect, but God's Word is without error.  
The question is whether Reconstruction seeks to impose the will of man in the
name of God.  This, I believe, is the direction in which Reconstruction, like
all Dominion movements, is headed.

                             Positive Confession

   If there is one teaching of Dominion Theology that has come to character-
ize the Positive Confession Movement of late, it is the deification of man.  
While most of the aforementioned movements employ this theme, Positive 
Confession is coming to the forefront.

   This is a paradox of sorts because there are many in Positive Confession 
who are not consciously linked to Dominion Theology, looking instead for the 
imminent return of Jesus, whether pre-, mid-, or post-Tribulation, and do not
see man's efforts as the answer to anything.  They would reject the idea that
they are or can be gods, even though in their acting out the Positive 
Confession scenario they are acting out the role of God.  This by their 
insistence that they can speak into existence things that aren't as if they 
are.

   But it isn't the conscious adherence to Kingdom Now Theology that makes 
Positive Confession so compatible (though there are many who do adhere 
consciously to Kingdom Now Theology).  It's the strong dominion mindset and 
the increasingly prevalent teachings on the believer's alleged "god-likeness"
that will eventually draw a great bulk of Positive Confession people into the
Kingdom Now camp.

   Reconstructionist Gary North, in his book 'Unholy Spirits,' demonstrates 
how the reconstructionists have influenced the charismatics and, most 
specifically, the Positive Confession Movement, without their being aware of 
the historicity of Dominion Theology:

       "Some of the charismatic groups believe in tightly knit church 
   convenants.  The reconstructionists have been the major theologians of 
   the biblical convenant.  Other charismatics have preached personal 
   financial victory and health through prayer and by obeying God's 
   'principles.'  The reconstructionists have been the major defenders of 
   the continuing legitimacy of God's law in New Testament times.  Some of 
   these 'positive confession' charismatics (also called 'word of faith') 
   have begun to preach that the optimism which God offers to individuals 
   also applies to God's other convenanted associations: families, churches,
   and civil governments.  This represents a major break with the tradit-
   ional pessimistic eschatology of fundamentalism, called dispensation-
   alism.  These charismatic leaders have not self-consciously made the 
   break from premillenialism to postmillenial optimism, but the term 
   'dominion' implies it.  Again, the reconstructionists are the only 
   Protestant theologians to have forthrightly preached postmillenialism 
   after 1965.  (R.J. Rushdoony was the pioneer here.)  Thus, the ideas of 
   the reconstructionists have penetrated into Protestant circles that for 
   the most part are unaware of the original source of the theological ideas
   that are beginning to transform them."81

   The concept of dominion fits the Positive Confession mold.  If all that's
necessary for the Church to take dominion is to speak and act "in faith," 
then the only problem is to get enough Christians to do so.

   Positive Confession's belief in faith as a "force" into which anyone can 
tap is a tenet of witchcraft.  It places God at the disposal of anyone who 
can learn the formulas (or "principles") of "faith," and tries to force Him 
to work on their behalf regardless of His will.

   Positive confession is not prayer; it's not communication with God. 
Rather, it's mental affirmation of what the person "confessing" wants 
accomplished with little or no practical consideration of what God's will 
might be.

   While Positive Confession has no definitive eschatology, it has establ-
ished certain teachings that prepare Christians to accept Dominion 
Theology.

                          Shepherding-Discipleship

   The Shepherding-Discipleship Movement which attained its greatest impetus
during the 1960s and 70s exemplifies the extreme authoritarianism which would
probably be necessary to implement and sustain any attempted theocracy.  In 
spite of extreme abuses against personal freedom in Christ, the thought 
control that characterized that movement continues to rear its ugly head 
among Kingdom Now groups.  Former leaders of that movement have gained new 
respectability among other leaders within charismatism.  They have much to 
offer in the way of instruction on how to bend the wills of others to their 
own - a talent vital to any human attempt to set up the Kingdom of God.

   There is no doubt that a great need exists within the Church for 
'scripturally-based' discipleship and authority.  Such must be founded on the
concept of authority as servanthood, ministered in love and humility by those
mature in the faith.  Shepherding-Discipleship as the movement it became, 
however, is nothing less than spiritual child-abuse.  Through intimidation by
the instilling of fear and unfounded guilt, it bludgeons babes in Christ into
obedience to the wills of the "shepherds" in authority.  And not only babes, 
but many "mature" Christians have fallen prey to this evil due to the misuse 
of Scripture to establish "coverings" over every member.  Ephesians 5:11-14 
is used to convince the unwary that in order to be perfected they must submit
to those in authority, regardless of what that authority requires of them.  
Thus, abuses are rampant in Shepherding-Discipleship.

   In extreme Shepherding-Discipleship many are compelled to live a communal
lifestyle in total obedience to their "shepherds."  They may not marry, work,
minister, buy or sell, or exercise their own wills in any matter without
their shepherd's approval.  They live in strict conformity to religious and 
temporal duties within their communal society.  Disobedience, and even 
weariness common to such a stringent lifestyle, meet with strong disciplinary
action.  There have even been reports of physical abuse to keep the "sheep" 
in line.

   In such a scenario the individual's personal relationship to God is 
subordinated to the corporate structure of their religious society.  One is 
not allowed to hear from God directly, because God only speaks to them 
through their shepherd.  Should a person leave the "covering" of his shepherd
to pursue his freedom in Christ, he is threatened wth reprisals from the hand
of God:  loss of salvation, sickness, divorce, financial ruin.  He is shunned
by the community of which he was a part, and spoken of as a servant of Satan 
or in some other derogatory way.

   Even the marriage relationship is subordinate to the relationship of the 
shepherd with his disciple.  Broken homes and divorces are not uncommon among
those marriages where one spouse develops a stronger bond to the shepherd 
than to his or her mate.  All these abuses exceed the parameters of disciple-
ship intended by Jesus, and establish the babes in Christ as disciples of men
rather than disciples of Christ.

   The Shepherding-Discipleship mentality is such that self-prideful human-
ity finds it appealing.  Those disciples who obey are rewarded by being made 
shepherds over others.  Thus is propagated a brutal and demeaning society 
governed by fear and guilt.

   Though these are the extreme abuses of Shepherding-Discipleship, the
mentality is the same throughout the movement.  Such a mentality is critical 
to Kingdom Now Theology.  For how can a significant portion of mankind be 
made to conform to the dictates of the apostles and prophets except through 
the instilling of fear and guilt?  No one wants to miss out on what appears 
to be a move of God.  Ignorance on the part of those who are unsure of their 
relationship to God breeds indecision which, in turn, results in acquiesence 
to authority at the expense of their personal relationship to Christ.

                           Inherent Fear And Guilt

   The use of fear and guilt to bring people into line with the dictates of 
self-appointed authority is not the exclusive property of Shepherding- 
Discipleship.  Were we to analyze each movement germain to Kingdom Now 
Theology we would find strong elements of such fear and guilt at the core of 
their structures.  They all subordinate the individual's relationship to
Christ to the dictates of the religious leaders.  To illustrate, let's take 
the other movements with which we've already dealt and briefly see how fear 
and guilt play a part.

   Identity:  Fear and guilt are essential ingredients in any racist, 
authoritarian structure - especially where the use of para-militarism is
utilized to foment hatred and threaten bloodshed.

   Manifested Sons of God:  Extreme fear and guilt for those who do not move
forward to perfection in order that the Kingdom of God may be established.

   Restoration:  A strong condemnation of utilizing judgment breeds guilt in
those who question the teachings of others, resulting in fear that God's
displeasure will be the consequence.  This applies even to the righteous
judgment of sin and doctrinal error.

   Reconstruction:  Guilt results from not becoming involved in attempting 
to establish the Kingdom of God through politics and other societal 
strategies.

   Charismatic Renewal:  Guilt is instilled in those who balk at attempts to
meld them into unity with others whose doctrines are seriously in conflict 
with Scripture.  This results in a fear of God's displeasure for hampering 
unity, and fear of men's reprisals for speaking out against error.

   Positive Confession:  Fear that if one doesn't act and speak in a pre-
scribed manner God will not answer.  Guilt that one's faith is deficient
should his prayers not be answered to his satisfaction.

   These are sketchy but accurate assessments of how religion based on fear 
and guilt has encroached upon the modern Church.  The individual relationship
of the Christian with his Savior is a sacred trust to be nurtured and 
strengthened by the teaching and counsel of the elders in his church.  While 
the corporate expression of faith is vital to the life of the Church, that 
life is only as strong as the strength of the individual links in the 
corporate chain.

   The subordination of the individual to the corporate body at the expense 
of individuality actually weakens the Church in its ability to stand against 
deception and, ultimately, even against the overt evil influences of the 
world.

                                  Coming Up

   In our next installment we'll detail the various teachings within Kingdom 
Now Theology, quote those who hold those teachings, and name the particular 
movement or movements with which they are associated.  Hold on to your hats.

                                    NOTES

55.  G.dePurucker, 'The Esoteric Tradition,' 2 Vols.(Point Loma, CA: Theo-
     sophical University Press, 1935),p.24.
56.  Ibid.,p.29.
57.  John H. Dewey, 'Christian Theosophy'(New York: J.H. Dewey Publishing 
     Company, 1888),p.vi.
58.  Ibid.,p.ix.
59.  Ibid.
60.  Ibid.,p.xi.
61.  Randy Shankle, Video Tape of Trinity Broadcasting Network "Praise the 
     Lord" program, c.August, 1986.
62.  'The Esoteric Tradition,' pp.1104-1105.
63.  Ibid.,pp.513-514.
64.  'Christian Theosophy,'pp.28-30.
65.  Ibid.,p.291.
66.  Ibid.,p.135.
67.  Ken Copeland, Trinity Broadcasting Network,"Praise the Lord" program,   
     c.September, 1985.
68.  'The Esoteric Tradition,'pp.788-791.
69.  Los Angeles Times, Part 1,p.31.
70.  Benjamin Creme, press conference at The Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, 
     CA, May 14, 1982.
71.  Ibid.
72.  Ibid.
73.  Ibid.
74.  Earl Paulk, video tape of church service in which he refers to the 
     Church as "the ongoing incarnation of God," c.October, 1986.
75.  Curtis Clair Ewing, Tract:  "For the Benefit of Our Pentecostal and
     Charismatic Brethren!" (Waynesville, NC: New Beginnings, undated),p.1.
76.  'Time,' October 20,1986,p.74.
77.  Ibid.
78.  Orange County 'Register,' Orange County, CA, October 30, 1986,p.A23.
79.  'Time.'
80.  "For the Benefit of Our Pentecostal and Charismatic Brethren," p.1.
81.  Gary North, 'Unholy Spirits,' (Fort Worth: Dominion Press, 1986), 
     pp.374-375

