The Charismatic Movement - Its Beginning

wicked from Day 1...

As we have already seen in my last post on the Charismatic Movement, the sign gifts that were exercised by the apostles and the early church pretty much vanished somewhere between 300-400 A.D.; about the same time that the Bible was put together as a whole. For over 1400 years, no mention is made of born-again saints of God speaking in tongues, prophesying, or exercising any other sign gifts which we read of in the book of Acts.

It was in the late 1800s that we find the first mentions of sign gifts being exercised in "evangelical churches" (note the quotation marks). Cases of men or women "speaking in tongues", "prophesying" future events, and "miraculous healings" were being reported, and most of these cases sprang from the "Holiness Movement" (a group which professed that a Christian could attain unto moral perfection in this life). The problem with these rumoured occurrences is that just like to claims of charismatics today, none of the said gifts and miracles were verified or proven to be of the Lord.

If anything, when one studies the men and women who are the recognized pioneers of the charismatic movement, he/she finds that these souls were less than trustworthy in their claims. I submit this list of charismatic pioneers, for your consideration:

Charles Parham: It was at his "church", in Topeka, Kansas, where it was claimed that a woman, Agnes Ozman, spoke Chinese for three days after having hands laid on her. Of course, no Chinese person or anyone outside the "church" could confirm this story. Nonetheless, the story took off, and other "churches" began to dabble with the idea of "speaking in tongues". The whole thing, of course, was a giant lie, which became manifest when Parham sent a "missionary" to India, A.G. Garr, claiming that he didn't need to learn the native language. Garr was to receive the ability to communicate with the Indians through the "power of the Holy Spirit". Want to guess what happened?

Parham was a heretic. He didn't believe in a literal Hell, but like the JWs, he believed in "soul destruction". He believed in anglo-Israelism; a false doctrine that claims that the British were part of the lost tribes of Israel. He professed two separate creations of men (yes... two!): one being Adam and Eve, the other were a race of soulless men created prior to Adam and Eve. He claimed that all Christians had the ability to heal all manner of sickness, yet he lost two of his sons to sickness, and he was responsible for the death of a nine-year old girl who had a medically treatable sickness (the Holy Spirit was to cure her, you see). Parham himself, spent a great deal of time in hospitals, vexed with all manner of sicknesses.

William Seymour and the Azusa Street Mission: Seymour was a member of the Holiness Movement and after being influenced by the teachings of Charles Parham, he claimed that the "second blessing" in which Christians become perfectly holy is evidenced by speaking in tongues. His meetings at the Azusa Street Mission, in Los Angeles, was what you would typically see in many charismatic churches today: mass confusion. People dancing, jumping up and down, falling, trances, "slaying in the Spirit", "tongues," jerking, hysteria, strange noises, and "holy laughter." The sad effect of Seymour and his mission was that many souls visited his wicked house, looking for some supernatural experience. These souls would then leave the Azusa Mission and start their own charismatic cult in other cities. A movement was born.

William Branham: Branham was the original Benny Hinn. He claimed to be a faith healer, but again, nothing but the contrary could be verified by outside sources. Branham also denied the Trinity, taught that Cain was the product of a sexual union between Even and the serpent, and claimed that he was the angel or Revelation 3:14 and 10:7. He was faker than a three dollar bill, yet still today, many charismatics will call this wicked man: a great man of God.

George Went Hensley: The father of snake-handling, my friends. Yes indeed, it wasn't enough to speak in tongues, prophecy and heal by the "power of the Holy Spirit"... no... no. This charismatic preacher thought it was necessary, as a practice of faith for people to fool around with poisonous snakes just to show that the Lord would keep them from harm, as we have it in the last chapter of the Gospel of Mark. Now where in the Bible Hensley got the idea that saints should go looking for snakes... I haven't the foggiest. Again, do you want to guess what the results of this foolish practice was?

Albert Benjamin Simpson: A Canadian heretic (man, I'm ashamed), who like most of the early charismatics, was a proponent of the Holiness Movement, and it's concept of a "second blessing". He founded a "missionary" organization called "Christian and Missionary Alliance", and this organization is credited with the establishing of the "Foursquare Church" and the "Church of Christ - Holiness"; two liberal denominations which teach and spread false doctrines.

Okay, I think with this short list, you will all get the picture. The modern charismatic movement was born out of another false doctrine: the Holiness Movement. The men and women responsible for starting and spreading the charismatic movement were all heretics, and some of them, of the worse sort. The fruits of the ministries of these souls were bad: from the churches and movements they started, to the individual results in the followers' lives. BUT WE ARE TO ACCEPT THAT THESE ARE THE PEOPLE GOD USED TO BRING THE SIGN GIFTS BACK!!!

What nonsense.

The modern charismatic movement, as missionary Paul Washer has once stated, is pure FALSE FIRE. It is an imagined falsehood that has captured the imaginations of foolish souls who desire supernatural experience more than they desire Truth.

Dear readers, if you are still languishing in charismatic circles, do yourselves a favour: GET OUT! You are presently in a pit of false teaching, and you will never spiritually prosper in such a place. Do not let pride ruin you spiritually. Do not let a carnal affinity for these false teachings be the cause of your spiritual demise. You may be tempted to dismiss this post, claiming that the heretics I have cited really didn't have anything to do with your denomination/local assembly, but I assure you, that's a mistake. Study any CREDIBLE historical account of the charismatic movement, and you will find the names I have cited front and center.

The devil himself is behind the charismatic movement; God's people should have nothing to do with it.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1)



Rand

Labels: Charismatic Movement