A Biblically based commentary on current issues that impact you
Colossian Heresy, Part 3
How Rick Joyner's Claimed Visit to Heaven is a Direct Example of the Colossian Heresy
by Bob DeWaay
“I know a man in Christ who
fourteen years ago— whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do
not know, God knows— such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know
how such a man— whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God
knows— was caught up into Paradise, and heard inexpressible words, which a man
is not permitted to speak.” (2Corinthians 12:2-4)
There is a recent genre of Christian
literature that goes far beyond the fiction of Dante. We can read privileged
individuals expound their meetings with Jesus, visitations to heaven,
conversations with departed souls, and other incredible, mystical experiences.
An earlier CIC article critiqued several such books.1 Since Paul’s experience is
recorded in the Scriptures quoted above, we know that his is legitimate. We do
not have the same certainty about these recent ones. They must be judged by the
teachings of Scripture. It is important to note that Paul, “[H]eard
inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.” The modern
visionaries apparently have no such restrictions. They write books and tell all.
Kenneth Hagin pioneered
this approach with his book I Believe in Visions.2 I still have my yellowed
copy, with the price printed on the cover ($1.50). Heresy was much cheaper in
1973. As a young man and a recent convert to Christianity, I read Hagin’s book
with interest. I was intrigued by stories of healings, visions, and his tour of
heaven and hell led by Jesus Himself. As I read through the book, I was
believing it and hoping to some day have such dramatic experiences. However, at
the very end of the book something “Jesus”3 said to Hagin left me doubtful.
Jesus supposedly said to Hagin, “If you learn to follow this inward witness, I
will help you in all the affairs of your life. If my children will listen to me,
I will make them wealthy.”4 Although possessing little discernment that early in
my Christian walk, I simply could not believe that Jesus would say that all
Christians could be wealthy by following inner impressions properly. To my way
of thinking, this called the entire book into question. If this was not really
Jesus talking to Hagin, then I could not take as authoritative anything this
book quoted directly from Jesus.
It turned out that
Hagin’s book with its revelations and teachings spawned the hugely successful
movement known today as the Word of Faith movement. What is amazing is that
teachings that came by revelation supposedly from Jesus Himself, were
uncritically accepted and disseminated by so many. For example, in the final
pages of the book, Jesus taught Hagin that Hagin had personal angels at his
disposal who would go and get money for him, but that they would not unless
Hagin gave these angels their instructions.5 This idea of speaking to angels and
sending them to bring us what we need became a popular teaching in the Word of
Faith movement. It originated in a vision in which Jesus taught the method to
Kenneth Hagin. The book of Colossians warns against using angelic intermediaries
(Colossians 2:18).6
Today we have new books
that take the vision of heaven genre much farther than Hagin ever did. Rick
Joyner is writing a series of books based on visions he received while in a
series of dreams and trances.7 Like Hagin, Rick Joyner ultimately has his own
unique theology verified by the words of Jesus. Joyner talks with Jesus, elite
prophets, angels, and departed saints who all provide a rather elaborate
confirmation of his Latter Rain theology.8 God is sending to the earth an army
of prophets who have ascended to higher level experiences and hold the key to
raising up an end times army which will win the final battle over Satan. In Rick
Joyner’s book Jesus Himself teaches Latter Rain theology. Joyner quotes Jesus
directly:
I will make more of My grace, and
more of My power available to the last day church, because she must accomplish
more than the church in any age has yet accomplished. The last day believers
will walk in all of the power that I demonstrated, and more, because they will
be the final representatives of all who have gone before them. The last day
church will demonstrate My nature and My ways as they have never been
demonstrated before by men.9
Can we believe that Jesus really
said that to Rick Joyner? This is a claim that the church will reveal Jesus’
power better than Jesus Himself did when He was on the earth. Jesus is God
Incarnate, sinless, and all powerful. He claimed to have fully revealed the
Father before men, so much so that He could say, “He who has seen me has seen
the Father” (John 14:9). How can the church demonstrate Jesus’ nature better
than Jesus Himself did? This cannot be true.
It is interesting that
what Joyner learns from Jesus is somewhat different from what Hagin learned.
Jesus told Hagin that if Christians followed inner revelations more clearly,
then Jesus would be able to make them wealthy. The Jesus who spoke to Joyner
teaches mysticism to be sure, but emphasizes self-denial and other aspects of
the pietistic/deeper life movement.10 The Jesus of Hagin’s book said nothing
about an army of latter day prophets, but they are central in Joyner’s. What is
revealing is that both of them find justification for their own theological
streams in the revelations they receive from Jesus Himself. Both the Word of
Faith movement and the Latter Rain movement have serious theological problems.
Rather than interacting with their critics in a scholarly, Biblical manner, the
leaders of these movements go to heaven and talk to Jesus Himself to find
confirmation of their own doctrines.
Another similarity
between Hagin and Joyner is that they seek to silence their critics by inferring
that God may kill some of those who do not listen to them. For example, Hagin
quoted Jesus, “If I give you a message for an individual, a church, or a pastor,
and they don’t accept it, you will not be responsible. . . There will be
ministers who don’t accept it and will fall dead in the pulpit.”11 Joyner is
more subtle. Joyner speaks to a departed saint in heaven who was a contemporary
on earth. This person had been allowed to die of a disease and was in the lowest
ranks of heaven.12 This remorseful dead person confesses to Joyner, “I began to
touch the Lord’s anointed, and to do His prophets harm.”13 This phrase is from
an Old Testament passage about Israel and the patriarchs that has nothing to do
with supposed end time prophets.14 So Joyner misuses Scripture through the
mouth of a departed soul (which by the way is necromancy, forbidden in
Scripture15). The saint further explains: “We sowed fear and division throughout
the church, all in the name of protecting the truth. In my self-righteousness I
was headed for perdition. In His great mercy the Lord allowed me to be struck by
a disease that would bring about a slow and humiliating death.”16
Accordingly, people who
are concerned enough about the truth to correct false prophets are killed by the
Lord. How handy and self-insulating this is for Joyner and his cohorts! Joyner
goes on to pile up the veiled warnings against his potential critics through the
mouth of the now dead ex-critic: “Many of the attacks that came against you were
from those whom I agitated and encouraged in their assaults on others.”17 Can
Rick Joyner do anything he pleases, however unbiblical, and not worry about the
saints being shown the difference between Biblical truth and Joyner’s error, all
because God will quickly kill those who disagree? An honest Bible teacher would
welcome Bereans who search the Scripture and be willing to defend his
perspective through scholarly exegesis and sound doctrine. How unethical to
merely threaten dissenters with imminent judgment and death.
The Colossian Heresy Taught from “Heaven”
In the rest of this article I will
show how the visions in Joyner’s book promote the very heresy that Paul warned
against in Colossians 2. In fact, the great detail to which the book The Final
Quest follows the teachings warned against in Colossians is amazing. I cannot
speculate why, other than that God warns us about things for a reason. The
warnings of Colossians 2 were given to help people in Paul’s day who were
seduced by visionaries who had angelic intermediaries, an elitist version of
Christianity, and special information that would free people from the hostile
powers (stoicheia). Historically speaking, heresy is always repeated in
subsequent generations in other forms. As far as heresy that is seducing
contemporary Christians, it seems the Colossian heresy is the most
prominent.
Elitism
Paul warned, “Let no one keep
defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of
the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by
his fleshly mind,” (Colossians 2:18) In part 1 of this series of articles I
discussed the key Greek word “embateuein,” which means “having entered” in the
grammatical form it takes in Colossians 2:18.18 We saw that certain elitists
had experienced a special mystical experience that involved the stoicheia
(hostile powers), angelic intermediaries, and an enlightenment that made them
immune from the hostile powers. “Having entered” meant now being in a state of
freedom that ordinary Christians do not have.
Joyner’s book begins
with a vision of demonized Christians who are prisoners of demonic vultures.19
These Christians have only the vomit of the vultures for their food.20 The
Christians are a horrid lot, being ridden by demons: “[T]hese demons were
urinating and defecating upon the Christians they rode.”21 When Joyner tried to
warn these wretched, demon-defiled, Christian prisoners, “[M]any of them started
reaching for their arrows to shoot at me.”22 Again, notice how cleverly Joyner
wards off criticism — those who “shoot at” him are demon-desecrated prisoners
who feed on buzzard vomit. The hope for these miserable Christian wretches? —
Joyner and others who share his experiences. There is a Christian army that is
being raised up, who are going up the “mountain” to higher level experiences.
However, most of them were a mess too, not ready for battle.23
The problem in Colossae
was that false teachers were telling the Christians that they were still under
the domination of the hostile powers. To counter this claim, Paul taught that
the Christians were: transferred into Christ’s kingdom (1:13), attached to the
head, Christ, who is above all powers (1:16-18), reconciled to Christ (1:21-23),
having all wisdom and knowledge in Christ (2:2,3), being complete in Christ
(2:10), and alive, forgiven, and victorious over the rulers and powers
(2:13-15). Compare that picture to Joyner’s version where most Christians are a
pathetic, demon-driven lot:
I quickly thought about the mob
behind the army [these are Christians who did not think the Lord would let
anything bad happen to them — Joyner23] and ran to see what had happened to
them. It seemed impossible but the scene among them was even worse. Thousands
lay on the ground wounded and groaning. The sky over them was darkened by the
vultures that were carrying them off to become prisoners of the enemy. Many of
those who were not wounded just sat in a stupor of unbelief, and they, too, were
easily carried away by the vultures.24
Clearly, Joyner’s idea is very much
like the false teachers in Colossae. The hostile powers would dominate
Christians unless the Christians shared the elitist’s special knowledge of the
workings of the stoicheia and were initiated into a higher order Christianity.
Joyner’s journey up the mountain to the third heaven was about finding the
answer and bringing it back to help the demonized Christian hoards. Certain
elite Christians make it up the mountain to be congratulated by Jesus, while the
ordinary Christians are stuck in demonic, spiritual squalor.
The elitist teachers in
Colossae claimed to “have entered” a higher order experience and found freedom
from the hostile powers. This is exactly the claim Rick Joyner makes about
himself. After making up the mountain and being congratulated by Jesus Himself
for reaching the top,25 Joyner eats of the tree of life,26 and is then taught
mysticism of the “Star Wars” sort by an angel: “What you see with the eyes of
your heart is more real than what you see with your physical eyes.”27 This Greek
dualism is not dissimilar to pagan ideas in first century Colossae, and taught
by an angel nonetheless. The tree of life and garden that Joyner experienced
were to always be with Joyner, because he could then after leave the “real”
world that is not actually real in his mystical scheme of things, and enter the
more “real” inner world that would take him back to the higher level.28 The
angel, Wisdom (who later is Jesus Himself) told Joyner, “But this dream is more
real than what you think of as real. . . In dreams they [angels] can bypass the
fallen mind of man and go straight to the heart.”29
Let us understand more
clearly what Joyner was taught in his mystical experience. First, what is this
eating of the tree of life? Biblically, either all true Christians have eaten of
it when they met Christ through the cross or none have. The tree of life
signified living forever. All Christians have been given eternal life. So what
did Joyner experience that the rest of us lack? Second, the mind/heart dualism
that was taught by angels in heaven is very unbiblical. The Bible does not teach
that the mind is fallen and the heart is not. In the New Testament, the heart
stands for the whole inner person, which includes the mind.30 For example, the
terms mind and heart in this passage occur in a synonymous parallelism: “This is
the covenant that I will make with them After those days, says the Lord: I will
put My laws upon their heart, And upon their mind I will write them,” (Hebrews
10:16). How can revelation by-pass the mind? If the mind is not involved,
nothing was revealed, because the mind is the faculty for reasoning and
understanding. Third, the dualistic idea that the material world we see with our
eyes is less real than the unseen world is completely unbiblical. This false
concept was behind the gnostic thinking that John refuted in 1John. So on
Biblical grounds alone we know that this is not really Jesus speaking to Rick
Joyner, because Jesus does not teach Greek dualism.
The gnostics taught that
the material world was evil and therefore lesser than the spiritual realm. Here
is what the angel Wisdom taught Rick Joyner:
Part of John’s revelation was from
the third heaven, but most of it was from the second heaven. The first heaven
was before the fall of man. The second heaven is the spiritual realm during the
reign of evil upon the earth. The third heaven is when the love and domain of
the Father will again prevail over the earth through the King.31
This scheme has nothing to do with
the idea of the third heaven in Scripture. In Scripture it is the dwelling place
of God. In 1Corinthians 12:2,3 the terms “third heaven” and “paradise” are used
synonymously. Lenski comments on this passage: “The first heaven is that of the
clouds, the second that of the far firmament of the sky and stars, the third is
the actual abode of God, of the angels, and of departed saints in glory.”32 The
idea that the second heaven is the “spiritual realm” now, is completely foreign
to anything taught in the Bible. It is very much like the teachings of pagan
dualists. Though Joyner claims to not be adding new revelations to the Bible,
this teaching of the three heavens being epochs of history on the earth is
clearly a new revelation. Since it is put in the mouth of the angel Wisdom who
later reveals Himself as Jesus, it constitutes adding to the Bible. What could
be more authoritative than direct quotations from Jesus Himself?
There is even a stronger
connection to the warnings in Colossians 2:18 in what happens next in Joyner’s
“magical mystery tour” of the third heaven. Joyner is given a special armor and
shield: “It was then I first noticed the glory of the Lord was emanating from my
armor and shield.”33 The false teachers of Colossae claimed to be judges because
of “having entered.” Here is what the angel Wisdom told Rick Joyner:
[Y]ou can enter Paradise at anytime.
The Lord, His Paradise, and this mountain, are all abiding in you, because He is
in you. What were but foretastes before, are now a reality to you because you
have climbed the mountain. The reason you can see me and others cannot, is not
because I have entered your realm, but because you have entered mine.34
Obviously, this puts Joyner above
ordinary Christians because of “having entered.” Due to this experience, Joyner
was able to easily defeat the enemy. He became a “dreaded champion,” who is the
object of the awe of angels.35 Because of his diligence and skill at climbing to
higher levels, he became part of a group of “great champions” who could destroy
the enemy.36 This is precisely what the false teachers at Colossae claimed: that
they had entered, that they had access to angelic intermediaries, and because of
these things were free from the hostile powers and were in position to help the
lesser Christians who were under these powers.
Interestingly, Joyner
does not deny elitism when questioned about it. On his website he answers a
question about elitism:
Q. Am I trying to start an elite group of Christians?
A. Absolutely. I will not apologize
for the fact that I am on a quest to find Christians who will rise above the
lukewarm and fearful to be true knights of the cross, true nobility in the earth
that will not compromise the biblical standards for morality, integrity, and
commitment to sound biblical truth.37
I am truly amazed that
one who wrote such a grossly unbiblical book could claim commitment to “sound
biblical truth.” F.F. Bruce writes in his commentary on Colossians 2:18, “Some
people love to make a parade of exceptional piety. They pretend to have found
the way to a higher plane of spiritual experience, as though they had been
initiated in sacred mysteries. . . .”38 Given such lofty claims, it is ironic
that Joyner also claims superior “humility.”
Superior Humility
When studying for the previous
articles on the Colossian heresy, I came across a word from the Greek that was
used twice at the end of Colossians 2. It is the word “humility.” It appears in
the Greek of Colossians 2:18, in the phrase thelo_n en tapeinophrosune_ (willing
in humility). The KJV translates it “voluntary humility,” while the NASB
translates it “self-abasement.” The same Greek word for humility is used in
Paul’s description of the false teachings at Colossae in Colossians 2:23, again
translated “humility” in the KJV and “self-abasement” in the NASB. Quoting the
KJV which is more literal, “Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will
worship, and humility. . .” (Colossians 2:23a). The key question is this: what
does humility have to do with elitism? The false teachers claimed that they were
more spiritual, had superior experiences, were above being touched by the
stoicheia, and thus were the judges of the lesser Christians. That hardly seems
like humility.
When reading The Final
Quest, Paul’s use of the term “humility” twice in Colossians 2 began to make a
lot of sense to me. Rick Joyner makes continual reference to a “cloak of
humility” that served as a cover for the underlying glorious shining armor that
he was given because of having entered the higher realm of the third heaven. On
the way back down from the heights, Joyner had problems seeing: “[I] had to
shield my eyes from the glory emanating from my own armor to see anything.”39
The angel Wisdom gave him a drab “cloak of humility,” that immediately enabled
him to see clearly.40 This cloak enabled him to see the enemy (hostile powers).
So the cloak of humility gives Joyner insights about the stoicheia that the rest
of us lack. Humility fits into his elitism just as it did in Colossae.
Not only that, but if we
do not see his superiority, it is because we are full of pride! This comes from
the angel Wisdom (Jesus), “Only the soldiers who wear this cloak will recognize
your authority.”41 Rick Joyner is a great prophet from God with special
experiences, revelations for the end time church, direct quotations right from
the mouth of Jesus and angels, and great power over Satan. You do not believe
it? It is because you do not have enough humility to see his authority. Frankly,
he takes self-validation to a new level. In essence his position is, “Either
agree with me or you are full of pride and sitting under demonic influence.”
Heads I win, tails you lose. How do you argue with that? That is assuming God
does not kill you like some others and make you apologize to Joyner on one of
his visits to heaven.
F. F. Bruce comments on
humility in Colossians 2:18, “Humility is a Christian virtue, but the ‘humility’
professed by the people here referred to is a counterfeit ‘humility.’ The truly
humble person is unconscious of his or her humility, let alone taking delight or
pride in it.”42 When Joyner speaks to the apostle Paul in heaven, Paul tells
him, “[Y]ou do not understand just how much we have looked forward to meeting
you. You are a soldier in the last battle; you are the ones whom everyone here
is waiting to meet.”43 Paul confesses to Joyner, “I fell short of all that I was
called to do.” But about Joyner the Apostle Paul proclaims, “[Y]ou can walk in
much more than I did.”44 Such is Joyner’s “humility.”
Throughout the book we
have Biblical reason not to believe what is claimed. In the Bible Paul said, “I
have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith”
(2Timothy 4:7). The same Paul in heaven told Joyner he fell short. The Paul that
Joyner meets in heaven soft peddles the value of his own inspired writings: “If
what I have written is used as a foundation, it will not be able to hold the
weight of that which needs to be built upon it. . . You must see my teachings
through the Lord’s teachings, not try to understand Him from my perspective. His
words are the foundation.”45 This means that the canonical books written by Paul
are not really “the Lord’s teachings.” By Joyner’s weird standards, supposedly
learned from a departed saint, the “red letters” (some Bibles put Jesus’ words
in red) are more inspired and authoritative than the black ones. Paul claimed
that the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (the
Biblical ones46), but now Paul in heaven denies what he had written under
inspiration. What a horrible mess this makes of the authority of scripture. Paul
tells Rick Joyner to take the actual words of Jesus as more authoritative than
Paul’s writings; but Rick Joyner’s book supplies page after page of direct
quotes of Jesus, verbatim, published for all to read. Dear readers, I hope you
can see that this is a set up: it denigrates the importance of the epistles,
elevates the words of Jesus, and then supplies more words of Jesus.
The humility of Joyner
is mentioned often in his book. God knows the heart. The fact is, none of us is
totally free from pride in this life. It is endemic to the fallen race. However,
God does bring humility, freedom, and real love for Him and others. The truly
humble, as Bruce said, do not know it, and are aghast at their own pride. We do
not know our own hearts, much less someone else’s. Yet Jesus told Rick Joyner
that he could gain complete knowledge of others like Jesus has.
This knowledge [about some peoples
illnesses] comes when you touch My mind to just a small degree. I know all
things. If you were to fully have My mind you would be able to know everything
about everyone that you encounter, just as you have begun to experience here. .
. . When you know My heart, then the eyes of your heart will be opened. Then you
will see as I see, and you will do what I do.47
Besides being awash in a sea of
subjectivism, there is a serious problem with the idea that Rick Joyner can know
everything about others like Jesus knows. The problem is that God does not
dispense the ability to fully know the hearts and minds of others. We do not
fully know our own hearts. “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is
desperately sick; Who can understand it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test
the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the
results of his deeds” (Jeremiah 17:9,10).
Judgment Before the Time
Paul told the Corinthians,
“Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the
Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and
disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to
him from God” (1Corinthians 4:5). We do not know the motives of anyone’s heart.
We are to judge teachings in light of Scripture and lives by their fruits, but
the inner motives of the heart are hidden from us. Since only God knows the
heart, only God can be the final judge. God’s judgment is yet future. Neither
the judgment seat of Christ (2Corinthians 5:10) nor the great white throne
judgment (Revelation 20:11) have happened yet. Amazingly, Rick Joyner claims
that the final rewards of certain individuals have already been revealed to him.
He learns about this through interviews with the departed.
The interviews with two
un-named individuals, whose identities are not hard to guess, are very
revealing. Joyner saw a man he knew on a great throne in heaven.48 From Joyner’s
description, it was apparently the heretical Latter Rain teacher William
Branham. Jesus told Joyner this about the man: “He was a messenger to My last
day church, but the church could not hear him for reasons you must understand in
due time. He did fall into discouragement and delusion for a time and his
message was distorted. It must be recovered. . .”49 So Joyner sees that Branham
(if that is who it was) is greatly rewarded and that Branham’s message must be
recovered.
Previously Joyner had
met another departed saint, “I recognized him as one I had considered as one of
the greatest Christian leaders of all time.”50 The man was not well rewarded in
heaven: “Seeing this man in the company of ‘the foolish virgins’ was the
greatest surprise I had yet.”51 The man is called, “the famous Reformer.”52
According to Rick Joyner’s interview with the Reformer, he had been allowed to
die early.53 The Reformer confesses to Joyner, “By the end of my life I was
actually an enemy of the true gospel, at least in practice, even if my teachings
and writings seemed impeccably biblical.”54 He also confesses, “I did trust in
the cross for my own salvation, even though I actually kept other men from it,
leading them to myself rather than to the Lord.”55 There is more along these
lines, with Joyner also interviewing the man’s wife.
So in Joyner’s scheme of
judgment, those who go off into heresy are sitting on thrones next to Jesus and
those who defend the faith in a scholarly manner are on the lowest rung of
heaven. He also finds his unbiblical Latter Rain theology in this part of the
book. That the Reformer is a “foolish virgin,” is a reference to the elitist
idea that only some Christians are a part of the bride of Christ. Rather than
just trying to prove from Scripture that his elitism is true, he seeks to prove
it through the mouths of judged, contrite, departed saints. Throughout the
book, those who contend for the faith, correct false teaching, and are concerned
with scholarly study are always shown in a bad light. They are stuck partly up
the mountain fighting for some doctrine while the truly enlightened ones enter
the highest realm.56
Conclusion
It is hardly noteworthy that Rick
Joyner and those of his ilk teach mysticism, elitism, and portray an
anti-scholastic bias. Their theological roots are deep in such approaches. What
is so very disturbing about The Final Quest is the way these theological ideas
are taught. Rather than trying to justify elitism from Scripture, he puts it in
the mouth of Jesus, angels and departed saints. His whole scheme is rife with
elitism and works righteousness. By having Jesus teach it, how is one to correct
it, or prove Joyner wrong? It is not like we can have our own journey to heaven,
talk to Jesus and Paul, and ask if they really told Rick Joyner these things.
Since Joyner claims to already know the results of judgment (at least in certain
cases) before the fact, the reader is bullied and intimidated into accepting his
unbiblical scheme. Those who did not promote mystical and elitist versions of
Christianity are found to have died young and lost most of their rewards. Those
who do not see Joyner’s “authority” are full of pride. Those who correct error
are under horrific demonic influence, unable to find freedom unless the “eagles”
(prophets like Joyner who have entered the highest realm and come back to help
the wretched masses of ordinary Christians), come to our aid.
As we have seen, Rick
Joyner’s teachings are nearly identical to those Paul warned against in
Colossians 2. Having “entered,” he is now claiming to be able to judge, discern,
and hold the key to freedom from the hostile powers. Since this is the case, we
should simply take Paul’s advice about it. He told us three things to do with
Joyner and others like him: 1) “See to it that no one takes you captive” (lit.
carry you away as plunder — Colossians 2:8a; 2) “Let no one act as your judge”
(Colossians 2:16a); and 3) “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize” (lit.
“act as an umpire and disqualify you” — Colossians 2:18a). If we refuse to
believe that Joyner’s direct quotations of Jesus are really Jesus’ words, we are
being wise, not putting ourselves under judgment. We will not lose our “prize”
because we fail to let supposed prophets lead us up the “mountain” to the third
heaven. God will not kill us because we see how unbiblical Joyner’s book is and
warn people about it. Paul says of the elitist teachers, “[A]nd not holding fast
to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the
joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God” (Colossians 2:19).
The entire body, even the seemingly least significant member, is held together
by Christ, and our growth is due to the grace given to us by Christ through the
cross. No elitist teacher can “disqualify” even the neediest saint. Every part
of the body is supplied by the head, Christ, without intermediaries, angelic or
human. So do not fear the Rick Joyners of the world; they cannot take away your
prize.
Issue 71 - July/August 2002
End Notes
- CIC Issue 54, Visiting Heaven and Hell
- Kenneth E. Hagin, I Believe in Visions; (Revell: Old Tappan, NJ, 1972).
- Throughout the rest of this article, I will not put quotation marks around the “Jesus” who speaks to Hagin and Joyner. Though the evidence shows that this was not the Jesus of the Bible, I will dispense with the quotation marks for the ease of writing and reading.
- Hagin, Visions, 117.
- Ibid. 124 - 126.
- Clinton E. Arnold in The Colossian Syncretism The Interface between Christianity and Folk Belief at Colossae, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), 101. In discussing the phrase the_skeia to_n aggelo_n (translated ‘worship of angels’), argues that phrase did not likely mean direct worship of angels, because neither Jew nor Christians would do that, but more likely in the folk context it mean “veneration.” Arnold writes about this, “People called on the angels are intermediaries of God to protect them from the evil powers . . . They probably also called on angels for revelation that would have taken place in a visionary manner.”
- The first of these, Rick Joyner, The Final Quest, (Morning Star: Charlotte, 1996) tells of the means of receiving these experiences; 10 - 12.
- CIC issue 66 discusses the basic ideas of the Latter Rain Movement
- Joyner, Quest, 137. The idea that the last day church will do greater miracles than Jesus did is not Biblical. See CIC Issue 65 for Biblical evidence that this teaching is in error
- See Joyner, Quest, 140 where “Wisdom” (Jesus when in angelic form walking with Joyner) tells Joyner, “If you really desire to be even closer to Me than Paul was, you can. Some will want this, and they will want it badly enough to lay aside anything that hinders their intimacy with Me to give themselves fully to it, and they shall have what they seek.”
- Hagin, Visions, 115.
- Joyner, Quest, 107, 108.
- Ibid. 107.
- This is from Psalm 105:15 which is about the patriarchs in particular and Israel in general and has nothing to do with New Testament
prophets. All Christians are equally anointed according to the New Testament. See CIC issue 5
- Also consider this passage: “And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us” (Luke 16:26). See Deuteronomy 18:11.
- Joyner, Quest, 108.
- Ibid. 109.
- See CIC Issue 69
- Joyner, Quest, 19-22.
- Ibid. 21
- Ibid.
- Ibid.
- Ibid. 22,23.
- Ibid. 24.
- Ibid. 35.
- Ibid. 41.
- Ibid. 42.
- Ibid. 44.
- Ibid.
- See Theological Dictionary of the New Testament; Vol III; (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1965), s.f. kardia, 611, 612.
- Joyner, Quest, 45.
- R.C.H. Lenski, “2Corinthians” in Commentary on the New Testament; (Augsburg: Minneapolis, 1963) Hendrikson reprint edition, 1293.
- Joyner, Quest, 48.
- Ibid. 50.
- Ibid. 56.
- Ibid. 27.
- Joyner from his website:
https://mornings.temp.veriohosting.com/pages/questions/answer_index/Oct_1_2001_Print.html
(View PDF of archived page HERE)
- F.F. Bruce, “Colossians in The New International Commentary on the New Testament; (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1984) 117.
- Joyner, Quest, 50.
- Ibid. 51.
- Ibid.
- Bruce, Colossians, 118.
- Joyner, Quest, 131.
- Ibid. 132, 133.
- Ibid. 133, 134.
- Ephesians 2:20; 1Corinthians 3:10; See CIC Issue 66 for Biblical evidence for this
- Joyner, Quest, 130.
- Ibid. 144, 145.
- Ibid. 145.
- Ibid. 95.
- Ibid. 96.
- Ibid. 98.
- Ibid. 97.
- Ibid. 96.
- Ibid. 97.
- Ibid. 49.
Find Us on Facebook
Critical Issues Commentary is now on Facebook.Click "like" below to stay up to date on the latest articles and podcasts.
We are also on Google+and on Youtube Click any of the icons below to follow us.
Contact Us
CIC is a ministry of Gospel of Grace Fellowship.
Critical Issues Commentary
c/o Gospel of Grace Fellowship
P.O. Box 390334
Edina, MN 55439-0334
bob@cicministry.org
Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1995 The Lockman Foundation.
Copyright © 1992-2016 Critical Issues Commentary
|