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HOW DOES ONE TEST THE SPIRITS?

- Ignatius A le Roux

Kérugma has recently released two new videos which are prompting widespread reaction. They are presented by Bill Randles and in them he speaks frankly about the ministry of prophet TB Joshua from the Synagogue of All Nations in Lagos, Nigeria and about the new spiritual warfare movement as promoted on the well known TRANSFORMATIONS video. The editing of these two videos gave me a lot to think about .

Why are so many Christians so easily misled? How can this happen to people who profess to be children of God? One reason might be that many Christians are ignorant about the ways and means of false prophets as they go about their business. How does one discern between a true and a false prophet? In this article we would like to look at the issue of false prophets with reference to these two videos.

On the video about prophet TB Joshua, a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, rev. Jannie Pelser, can be seen amongst those present at the Synagogue of All Nations in Lagos. He actually arranged and accompanied groups of people (including the late Wium Basson) to Lagos. Rev. Pelser has reacted on this video in an OPEN LETTER "to Bill Randles and Kérugma Productions" (He wrote the letter in Afrikaans, and later sent one in English to Bill). In this letter rev. Pelser makes certain statements on which we would like to comment (a photocopy of the OPEN LETTER is available from Kérugma Productions on request. Please keep in mind that there is a difference between the original letter in Afrikaans and rev. Pelser's later edition in English. Because this article was originally written in Afrikaans, we translated the quotations from the Afrikaans issue).

DECEIVERS

If we take a close look at the typical phenomena associated with deception in the church, we notice that these phenomena almost as a rule have their roots somewhere in the truth of Scripture. Similarly the propagators of deception are frequently also leaders in Christian Churches. Some of these leaders are without question false prophets. Others however, are themselves misled and spread the deceptive message as a result of ignorance of the whole truth. Some have never been called by God to be leaders in His Churches. 1 John 4:1 instructs us to put them to the test to see if they are of God. Interestingly it is noteworthy that few of the prophets from the Old Testament were true prophets. The majority certainly were false prophets. The same was true of the Scribes in the time of Jesus Christ. Why should it be different today? We are living in the last days - the time about when the apostles warned that there would be many false prophets who would deceive if possible even the elect. We would like to encourage those of you who have not yet seen Kérugma's video series (and who understands Afrikaans) entitled "DIE TORONTO HERLEWING 'N KRITIESE EVALUERING" to watch it. In this video series the whole issue of putting the spirits to the test is dealt with in detail. In Volume 7 of the series we mention that it is the responsibility of each and every Christian to discern if his/her minister, pastor or spiritual leader is of God.

The Lord teaches us in the parable of the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-15) that it is not impossible that such a leader could be a thief or a robber. A Church leader is either a hireling or someone that has been called by God. Amongst the hirelings there may be some who are saved. Although they are born again they have not been called by God to preach the Word. Preaching is to them an occupation as any other occupation. When the false prophets, the thieves and robbers appear on the scene they do not take a stand. Those that have been called by God in contrast will proclaim the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). In sermon after sermon they will systematically expound the Word of God. When a new thing appears on the scene such as a Prophet TB Joshua, they will know according to the Word of God what is right and what is wrong. As soon as they discern what is in opposition to the truth, they warn their flock.

A true prophet is someone that feeds his flock with the Word by methodical teaching. When required he is able to let the light of the Word give guidance on a specific subject. He not only feeds his flock but also watches over them and protects them. In contrast a hireling (of which many abound) will sit on the fence afraid to take a stand. Typically false prophets are very popular. The true prophet however needs to be wide awake to reveal such a thief and robber. You see, the true prophet is very seldom the popular one. The false prophet will deliver more beautiful and touching sermons than the true prophet. A mark of the false prophet is often his popularity. This is in sharp contrast to ds. Jannie Pelser's defence of TB Joshua against Bill Randles's statement that he is a false prophet.

Ds. Pelser writes: "False prophets blatantly demonstrate the qualities of the flesh. Their loftiness, own importance, love for money etc. are clear. (This sentence was left out in the English version of his letter ) After all, - Jesus said a tree shall be known by its fruit." If these words of rev. Pelser were true, who would listen to a false prophet? 1 John 2:18-19 teaches that false prophets know exactly how to behave and what to teach. They do after all, hale from the ranks of the Church and as such have a knowledge of the truth:

These people that the apostle John is speaking about, are the antichrists. This is how we arrive at the terms "anti" and "false". The popular perception about the Antichrist is that he will openly emerge as a tyrant. A monster that will destroy as far as he goes. This is not what the Bible teaches. Only when the fullness of his revelation is made known will his true colours become clear. The Greek word for Antichrist indicates someone that is opposite the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the opponent of the Lord Jesus. The word "Antichrist" indicates one that will be like Christ. He will present himself as Christ, in the place of Christ. That is why the Antichrist (Rev 12:18-13:10) will have a helper, namely the false prophet (Rev 13:11-18) who will prepare the way for him. The false prophet will do all kinds of signs and wonders. By these signs and wonders many will be misled (Rev 13:11-14).

What is happening today (and this Bill Randles clearly shows in the video) is that Christians throughout the world are being prepared to receive him and to accept him as the Christ. Those that are supporting this process of progressive conditioning (the antichrists) do therefore appear Christ-like and they bear counterfeit fruit of the Spirit and do signs and wonders. By signs and wonders we do not mean the "signs and wonders" of a Benny Hinn or a Rodney Howard-Browne. Everyone knows that these are not the signs and wonders which we read of in the Bible. When those that are Christ-like do signs and wonders of the lie then they do exactly the same signs and wonders that the Lord Jesus did. This is not true of prophet TB Joshua however! He does many other signs and wonders which the Lord Jesus did not do. It seems to us that he uses the same hypnotic techniques that Benny Hinn and Rodney Howard-Browne use. Volume 6 of the video series about the Toronto Blessing shows how hypnosis is utilised by Rodney Howard-Browne (amongst others) to "slay in the spirit".

The facts are that the father of mesmerism (or hypnosis), Franz Anton Mesmer, used this same technique in the streets of Paris, exactly what happens in Toronto, Pensacola and Lagos. Mesmer had people fall over in uncontrolled laughter and in convulsions. He was even able to heal people through hypnosis. An illustration of this is the well known example of the pianist who was blind since her youth. Mesmer gave her back her sight using this therapy. She was able to see for a while until she had a similar experience as that which caused the blindness in the first place. Mesmer, a former Roman Catholic priest and later medical practitioner, learned how to distinguish between cases of pure physical illness and those that were psychosomatic in nature. Patients with physical illnesses he treated medically or referred them to other doctors and those with psychosomatic illnesses he mesmerised. Rev. Pelser appeals to the statement of the Lord Jesus when he said that a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Mesmer's and other hypnotists' work did and do in some cases produce excellent results. Does this make the tree good? Should we now look at the healings and other wonders of the witchdoctor, Hindu, Muslim, spiritist and others and declare their fruit good?

In Volume 7 of the mentioned video series we show that heathen spiritual leaders do in fact heal people. We even show people witnessing how they were healed by these people. Rev. Pelser also appeals to the many witnesses of prophet TB Joshua's healings. But Biblical teaching concerning the fruit of the tree, reveals that it is most notably concerned with that which proceeds from the mouth of a person. Here prophet TB Joshua fails the test too.

Rev. Pelser mentions correctly in his letter that our video does not cover all aspects of the prophets' ministry. We did not spend time examining in detail all the teachings of the prophet. That would require a complete video production in itself. It would be impossible to show all the false teachings of the prophet, refute each one and present the true teaching in each instance in the limited time available on one such production. Our video is concerned with the works of the "prophet". Both the works and the teaching must be pure and true for the person to be a true prophet. It does not help that a person leads an exemplary life but his teaching is corrupt. And who will follow someone who teaches the truth but does not live his life accordingly? Our video is more concerned with the actions of TB Joshua when he ministers to people and does not cover his personal life.

Much of what he believes and teaches does however become evident through his actions while ministering to others. It is a apparent from what can be seen in the video that TB Joshua's ministry is not a Biblical ministry. In his letter rev. Pelser acknowledges that he has "differences of opinion on theological issues" with prophet TB Joshua. Are these differences now just ignored?

Rev. Pelser also draws our attention to the fact that he is "an ordained minister in the Dutch Reformed Church" and has been "in full time ministry for 16 years". What about the oath he took as a minister yet now he is defending someone with a different "theological emphasis"? Is this not precisely the fruit which the good tree cannot bear. What about the unscriptural things which TB Joshua performs that are clearly highlighted in the video by Bill Randles?

The video shows that there are also praiseworthy things happening at Lagos. If it was not for these things then no one would go to Lagos. Therefore rev. Pelser mentions the apparent fruit of the Spirit such as humility which people attribute to the prophet. This is one of the aspects which makes it difficult to understand exactly what is happening in Lagos. Rev. Pelser defends TB Joshua by saying that the prophet's emphasis is on "a holy life, the refrain 'Sin no more', the pronouncement 'I am not the healer but I know the healer…His name is Jesus Christ'…" These just do not go down well. As Bill Randles also points out, no one will go to a false prophet if he does not profess these sentiments.

It's a fact that the so-called emphasis that the prophet places on holy living does not match up with the absurd propagandistic imagery that this chaste and humble prophet spreads in the form of glossy magazines and videos. They show naked people with open boils and sores. In defence rev. Pelser holds an argument which has become all too common. This is that the "cultural context must be taken into account when one wants to evaluate the ministry in Lagos. Vomiting, nakedness, exhibitionism and other phenomena can only be understood if this context is appreciated."

To me, nothing can be further from the truth. I have been privileged to have been born in the missionary fields in Africa. From my own experience I can say that rev. Pelser is not speaking the truth. I went to the trouble of questioning many missionaries on this topic during the time we were editing this video to confirm my belief.

I am sorry to say that it is unacceptable that a child of God can ask anyone to bare himself in front of 14000 people (and video cameras) and to parade his sores in public. Not even a heathen medical practitioner would do this. In my opinion it is not possible for a true Christian to film such a disgrace and have it shown repeatedly to promote his ministry. One scene on the video produced by the Synagogue (of which we barely show a fraction) shows how a person who has been healed is persuaded to pull down his pants in front of TV cameras to expose his healed genitals. What doctor will have his patient do this in public? What cultural background justifies this? What has happened to the new creation in Christ? Could this possibly be what a Christian "prophet" teaches his converts?

Furthermore it is explained that the healed person has to bare himself in order that the spectators can believe because "seeing is believing". These words echo like a refrain throughout the videos of this "prophet". Since when do Christians accept the ministry of someone who propagates "seeing is believing"? Worse still, the poor man in his humiliation is told that if he will not show the people he will loose his healing!

Seen against the background of the modest dress of the thousands in the crowd at the Synagogue of All Nations, the argument of a cultural allowance just does not hold water. The African tradition does not hold that an ill person would have to display his sore prior to receiving prayer for its healing. Should God touch a person and heal him, the person will mention to you with thanks that he has been healed. He does not have to prove to you that he has been healed. If the sore has gone the person knows that he has been healed. But prophet TB Joshua and his followers distribute magazines for which the patients have had to strip naked to be photographed. The shocking fact to me is that there are some Christian ministers and pastors who have shown these decadent videos to their congregation. Both the videos and the magazines border on sickening pornography in my modest opinion.

Initially we did not plan to show any of this on Bill Randles' video. It was however brought under our attention that Christians are viewing videos from the Synagogue as a new national pastime. When we heard that the videos were being shown in the Churches we decided to include a few short fragments in our video. We also showed two cases where it was abundantly clear that the people who posed as healed ones were not the same as those who were shown to have the illnesses a day or so earlier. Rev. Pelser had the following to say after he had inspected the material:

"The suggestion that the people witnessing are not the same people borders on false testimony. But what about the tens of South Africans bearing witness of healing?" (Our own translation of the Afrikaans letter)

It is no trivial suggestion that the people are different. Anyone watching the video can see for themselves that the people are not the same. The video of Bill Randles acknowledges that there are healings taking place at Lagos. The question to ask is: by the hand of what Jesus does it take place? (2 Cor 11:4). Recently there was a program on e-TV with clear testimony of people who have been healed by faith healers from practically every religion. Rev. Pelser further writes:

"It is clear that what Lagos describe as a point of contact is far removed from the examples you quote. Why is it necessary to refer to the work of other ministers of God to build a case against TB Joshua. Why is the ministry in Lagos so frequently associated with Oral Roberts, Benny Hinn and the Roman Catholic Church." (The last sentence is our translation from the Afrikaans letter)

This question is strange in the light that prophet TB Joshua explicitly states in an insert on our video that all Christians, both Roman Catholic and Protestants are the body of Christ. The "point of contact" as practised by prophet Joshua is exactly the same as that which is propagated by Oral Roberts. In Volume 1 of the Toronto series we show that this is an occult method of healing where demons use the body of the "healer" as the medium through which they transfer the healing to the patient.

Many inserts are shown where the prophet transfers the healing to the patient. Not only does the narrator explain that this is what is taking place, but it is also shown on the screen as a sub-title. The prophet places his one hand over the part of his own body where the offending area is on the body of the patient. Then with his other hand he points to the patient. Thus he transfers the healing from the point of contact on his body to the body of the patient.

The people who have seen and experienced this healing claim that the prophet is praying for the patient. Since when is such an occult practise called prayer? Many people who require healing are in this way lured to Lagos just to come to the realisation that they are not really being prayed for. The fact of the matter is that the Holy Spirit has never performed healing in this manner.

Neither does he do it in this manner today through either Oral Roberts or TB Joshua and never ever will He do it in this manner. In contrast we know what the Bible teaches about the way in which the Lord heals people and that this will be valid for eternity. God is sovereign and heals as it pleases Him and where and when it pleases Him. He is the same yesterday, today and for ever (Heb 13:8). He does not allow people to manipulate Him and still does today the same things in the same way as it pleased Him to reveal His ways in Scripture.

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

Rev. Pelser mentions in his reply amongst others "the accent on the blood and the meaning thereof". Here I find something very disturbing. A man with the mentioned qualifications of rev. Pelser looks at our video which clearly shows the occult practises associated with the "blood of Jesus" ritual. The prophet is shown standing before a row of taps pronouncing that he is the anointed of God (the same as Benny Hinn does). The word "anointed" is Messiah in Hebrew and Christ in Greek. Anyone who claims that he is more anointed than another elevates himself above that which scripture teaches namely that each and every born again child of God has the anointing of the Holy One (1 John 2:20,27). By claiming that he is the "anointed" one of God, he is saying that he is the Messiah or the Christ.

Christians must know to avoid people who claim to have the anointing. They are the antichrists who are busy preparing the way for the Antichrist - the one that will come and present himself as the Anointed, as the Messiah, as the Christ. The Bible and specifically the New Testament does not teach that there will be anyone with an anointing which will be different from that which a person receives when he becomes converted or born again. Prophet TB Joshua then goes on to say that everything that the anointed one touches, becomes blessed. He then opens the taps and "blesses" the water. This water supposedly then changes into the "blood of Christ".

The video then goes on to show what happens to the poor people who drink of this water or sprinkle themselves with it or merely touch it. Many enter into hypnotic trances which we would call demonic manifestations. If this is not witchcraft, then what is it? Will anyone who has studied theology for seven years not look at this and condemn it? I am sorry, but as far as I am concerned this is blatant blasphemy.

I believe it is time that we return to the Scriptures in order to reveal the true character of all these phenomena which are aimed at preparing the way for the World-wide Church to accept the False Christ. Just think how many Christians fell for the lie of the Transformations video? It is not necessary to add anything more to that. The way in which Bill Randles handles the issue of the Transformations video, will make it clear to anyone who has been misled by it to come to the right insight after seeing the video just once.

WHY DO CHRISTIANS FALL FOR THIS DECEPTION?

The question is: Why are Christians so easily misled by these things? Perhaps a part of the answer is that Christians are not familiar with what the Bible teaches about the last days and how the Antichrist will come to deceive. The reason for this is that many of the Protestant Churches are caught up in the Roman Catholic eschatology. Many that study theology are not taught the true Biblical facts. They are taught that it is "sectarian" to do that. Thus they do not know what the Bible teaches. In the place of this they are not taught much else. Because what they are taught does not have a Biblical foundation, they don't have a way of judging the truth. Everyone decides for himself what he will teach in this regard. In broad terms they are taught what was established as the truth by the Roman Catholic Church many centuries ago. This teaching proclaims that we are now living in the kingdom dispensation. Now is the time when Satan is bound. That is why we are now supposedly living in the world-wide peaceful reign of the Messiah. They teach that we today live in the time when Satan does not deceive the nations and Christians are not persecuted for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God (Rev 20:2-4).

I suppose one has to accept that someone who can fall for this lie, can also fall for any other deception that the Antichrist concocts. You see: the Antichrist is the one that will come in the image of Christ. He will impersonate the Son of God. Many will believe that He is the Christ. That is why it is so important that each of us personally must see to it that we accept and believe the Word as it is written. We must know it, make it our own and live by it alone.

COUNTERFEIT KÉRUGMA VIDEOS

It has come to our attention that people are duplicating and distributing our videos without our permission. One of these people has a company which rents and distributes Christian videos. In all probability he does the same with other producers' videos with the misguided intention of cutting costs but at the same time sadly sacrificing quality. He has created the impression with clients that he is our official distributor, has master copies of our videos and implies that he has the right to duplicate them and even to sell them at a lower price than we do.

We have over a period of time received complaints regarding the quality of our products. This seemed very strange to us as each video we duplicate is carefully checked at different sections of the tape including the start and finish to make absolutely certain that the picture and sound quality is good. Only after this is the video sealed and packed. Duplication is the most time consuming and expensive part of production. Videos cannot be copied at high speed. The machines have to run at the standard replay speed. A three hour video thus takes three hours to copy. The duplication is done through a very costly digital master copy which is run from an equally expensive recorder. The signal is then amplified for each individual machine which is making a copy. These machines each cost several times the price of a normal household video machine.

The complaints we have been receiving (ever more frequently) are that sometimes the picture disappears and sometimes the sound. Some said that they received videos which are completely blank. We are actually in possession of one such video. When we tested it we saw that it was a brand new tape of a type which we have never used.

One aspect which we at Kérugma feel very strongly about is the quality of our videos. To us it is about hearing and seeing the best possible quality, equal to or better than the standard you will receive on TV. A good quality video will be much more convincing than a low quality one where you cannot hear and see properly what you need to learn. To achieve this we have to sacrifice much.

Should the Copyright Department of the South African Police have to take the matter further, they will have to find the illegal copies from the people that bought illegal copies. They will be required to make statements as to how they obtained their copy. If there is a conviction the guilty person could face a minimum penalty of 3 years or R5000 fine per illegal copy. The owner of the video shop has been warned that if he should make any further attempts to continue with this practise, that we will be forced to publish his name in the Bulletin and hand over this case to the Police. While we appreciate that costs are an important factor in our lives, we must remind clients that it is our reputation and the honour of the Lord here that is on the line. It is also an offence to make illegal copies of copyright material and we ask your co-operation in this regard.

PLEASE EXCHANGE ILLEGAL COPIES

With this in mind we would like to make a special offer. We want to stress the fact that we make no profit on any of our videos. We also do not want inferior copies of our products to be in circulation. It is a violation of the quality of the product. If you are in possession of any illegal copies, please send them to us telling us where or from whom you bought them and at what price. Please remember to include your own name and address. Look then on the latest catalogue for the real price of the product or just phone us. Subtract R25 from this price and send us the remainder of the price together with the video. We will then happily send you a new copy of the video. Please also remember to send it via insured post. This offer only concerns illegal copies of our videos. Will you please help us to rid the country of the inferior illegal copies.

Bill Randles' answer to Rev. Jannie Pelser

Dear Jannie, thank you for your letter and the concern that comes across in it for fairness as well as for the Berean spirit. Since yours is an open letter, I ask you to consider disseminating this reply as widely as possible. I believe that it is a healthy thing to discuss these things openly.

First of all I have not "found TB Joshua" guilty of anything! There is nothing personal about this criticism, the fact is, he has a public ministry which is affecting thousands and perhaps millions of people around the world, therefore we are duty bound to be Bereans and examine these claims and practices in the light of the Bible. As a matter of fact I was very careful to note that Joshua does'nt seem to be about money, I said in my talk that Joshua gives money away to the poor and seems to be a very humble and giving person. I don't think it fair of you to imply that I have become "instrument(s) of strife and division".

I do not claim to have gone to Nigeria to see Joshua, I believe that it is possible to make judgments based on what the Prophet teaches, as well as on the basis of the videos which the Synagogue itself releases and endorses. As far as your criticism that the videos we used were outdated, and that the Prophet has progressed since then, my reply would be that these are currently being distributed by the Synagogue. Jannie, do you contest the testimony of Wium Basson and His Mother? Why do you distribute an open Letter implying that she changed her testimony? Have you consulted with her privately about it?

Do I need to meet the prophet personally, to prove as you assert that I am "serious about the Truth"? I disagree with you there, Jannie. I do not have to have personal contact to know where a prophet is coming from. I can read His words, I can watch the videos streaming out from the Synagogue and I can make judgments based upon what he says and the practices he promotes. Would you have to meet personally with the chief prophet of the Mormon church in order to make a judgment about Mormonism? You know that you don't.

You say that I am not putting things into an "African context" and that things like exhibitionism, vomiting, and nakedness are typical of African culture. I make no claim to understanding the "African context" so perhaps you are right. But doesn't real Christianity transcend pagan aspects of all cultures? All I have asked people to do is consider these 'miracles' in the light of the miracles worked in the Bible. If we have to accept these things in the name of cultural context, where does Christianity sanctify? Jannie you mention that the clips we used only represent about 15 minutes of services that can last all day long, therefore implying a biassed representation. Why not answer for the video clips as they are? All we are doing is showing what the Synagogue itself presents as the ministry of a modern day prophet! What context are we withholding that would make Biblical sense of the practices of "Remote control", Transubstantiation, "Vomiting problems away", exhibitionism, etc.?

I take exception to your criticism of the use of the phrase, "Is this the God of the Bible?", I know that the God of the Bible has done strange and wonderful and terrible things which are hard to explain. But when the God of the Bible came in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, and "went about doing good, healing all of those oppressed by the devil", we do not see him subjecting people to anything like the indignity of naked exhibitionism, putting them into vomiting states, turning water into "the blood of Jesus", or "remote control techniques". Therefore regardless of your assertion, it is a valid question to ask, "Is this the God of the Bible?". We are to "Try the Spirits, to see whether they are of God...for many false Prophets are gone out into the world". Rather than trying to "Force God into my preconceived ideas" I am simply asking people to judge through a Biblical frame of reference.

One of the most alarming aspects of Joshua's ministry that I raised is Transubstantiation, the heretical teaching that Joshua has power to transform water into the Blood of Jesus. This magical ritual demeans the true teaching of the precious blood, which Christ offered unto God for our salvation. The blasphemous sight of people fighting to get under the spigots, that they might wash in it, swim in it, drink it, and the demoniacs going into a frenzy under it ought to revolt all true Christians. I believe personally that it is even an insult to African Christians, to relegate such paganism to an "African context". All Christians, from every tribe and tongue, have "turned away from idols, to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven". Transubstantiation alone is enough to justify the caution I have raised concerning Joshua.

Jannie I appreciate the spirit of your letter, I hope the dialogue can bear fruit. I would gladly debate you although it will not be until March that I get over there, so let's pray for the good will of God on it. Please consider what I say, I have carefully considered your letter. May God help us to stand for Truth, Sincerely, Pastor Bill

Copyright © 1999 Kérugma^® Productions. All rights reserved.
PO/Box 1367, KUILS RIVER, 7579 SOUTH-AFRICA Tel: +27 (0)21 903-1901 Fax: +27 (0)21 906-2637
E-mail: info@kerugma.org.za; http://www.kerugma.org.za/