Andrew Strom and Prophetic Movement

What are your thoughts on Andrew? Is anyone familiar with him beyond his ardent opposition to the prophetic movement?
He recently released a list of ministries to watch out for, saying that they practice Kundalini and Shakti.

Here is a transcript of a recent bulletin:

KUNDALINI WARNING - Urgent
-by Andrew Strom.

I just saw the video of Rick Joyner announcing that Todd Bentley
is back ministering every night at Morningstar in North Carolina
and now they have so-called "revival" manifestations eerily similar
to Lakeland. They also announced that they are streaming these
big meetings every night on their new TV channel - and they are
greatly promoting the whole thing.

Now I am a tongues-speaking Pentecostal myself - but can I ask
a simple question here please? What kind of "spirit" was it
operating in the Lakeland revival - when the leader and main focal-
point of the meetings (Todd Bentley) was having an adulterous
affair behind the scenes? Was it truly the "Holy" Spirit that was
anointing something so sensual and unholy? And now that Todd
divorced his wife and married his mistress - are we supposed to
welcome him back and this "anointing" with him? What is going
on here? Rick Joyner has been warned very specifically by high-
level ministries not to do what he is doing now - bringing Todd
Bentley back into the limelight. And yet it seems he does not
care. Apparently the "manifestations" are all that matter.

So what exactly are these 'manifestations' if they are seemingly
at home in such an unholy environment? Are they from God at
all? (I am talking here about the violent "jerking", uncontrollable
laughter, bodily contortions, drunkenness, 'portals', strange "angel"
encounters, etc.) Why do we not see such an 'anointing' in the
Bible? Why aren't Jesus or the apostles promoting these
manifestations if they really are true Revival? Why instead do we
see these things all the way through the New Age and Hinduism,
etc? Do we not realize that many false religions have their own
version of "laying on of hands" that results in these very types of
manifestations? This 'spirit' is not in the Bible - but it is all the
way through Kundalini-type Hinduism! Don't you think this should
alarm us?

WHAT is KUNDALINI?

If you search for Kundalini and Shakti on the Internet, you will find
that multitudes of people in the New Age and Eastern religions
still experience these powerful manifestations. Often this is with
the help of a Guru, who touches them on the forehead so that
they can experience a "Kundalini Awakening".

As researcher Robert Walker wrote in 1995:
"The meetings which mystic Hindu gurus hold are called 'Darshan'.
At these meetings devotees go forward to receive spiritual experience
from a touch by the open palm of the hand, often to the forehead,
by the guru in what is known as the Shakti Pat or divine touch.
The raising of the spiritual experience is called raising Kundalini…
After a period when the devotee has reached a certain spiritual
elevation they begin to shake, jerk, or hop or squirm uncontrollably,
sometimes breaking into uncontrolled animal noises or laughter
as they reach an ecstatic high. These manifestations are called
'Kriyas'. Devotees sometimes roar like lions and show all kinds
of physical signs during this period. Often devotees move on to
higher states of spiritual consciousness and become inert
physically and appear to slip into an unconsciousness..."

And as the guru Shri Yogãnandji Mahãrãja wrote:
"When Your body begins trembling, hair stands on roots, you laugh
or begin to weep without your wishing, your tongue begins to utter
deformed sounds, you are filled with fear or see frightening visions…
the Kundalini Shakti has become active."

In China there is a popular Kundalini-type movement called 'Qigong'.
When a Chinese Qigong spiritual master spoke in the USA in
1991, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that many in the crowd
began to experience "spontaneous movements". The master told
his audience, "Those who are sensitive might start having some
strong physical sensations - or start laughing or crying. Don't worry.
This is quite normal."

When you see videos of these "kriyas" or other Kundalini-type
manifestations, you would often swear that you are watching a
modern "Impartation"-type church meeting. (And I say this as
someone who believes strongly in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I just
don't believe in "alien" anointings infiltrating the Body of Christ!
There is a big difference between Kundalini and the real Holy Spirit).

Since 1993-4, I believe a foreign spirit has been allowed to invade
the church - first through Rodney Howard-Browne's ministry - then
Toronto, then the Prophetic movement (which I was part of at the
time) and on into Lakeland and many other ministries and
movements. I urge people now to "test the spirits" just as we are
commanded to in Scripture. Do not let just anyone lay hands on
you. This is a powerful spirit and it has the backing of a lot of
big-name ministries. In fact, these men and women are the very
ones responsible for allowing it to spread right through the body
of Christ. And one day they will be answerable to God for doing so.

We are specifically warned in the Bible that the Last Days will be
a time of "seducing spirits," false prophets, 'lying signs and
wonders,' and that we always need to watch for "angels of light"
masquerading as the real thing. Why does the modern church
not take these warnings seriously? Aren't we living in the very
days that the Bible warns about?

Right now I need to do something that I have never done in such
a way before. I have never before published a list of ministries or
movements to watch out for. But this time I have to. This sickness
has gone on long enough. I urge you to cut yourself off from
the following ministries and their tainted "anointings" my friends.
Even though some of these people say "good things" at times, it
is simply not worth having any involvement with them due to the
tainted anointing that they endorse or minister in themselves. Here
is the list-

(1) Todd Bentley.
(2) Rodney Howard Browne - the so-called "Holy Ghost Bartender."
(2) Rick Joyner or anyone connected with Morningstar Ministries.
(3) John Arnott & any connected with TACF (The "Toronto Blessing").
(4) Peter Wagner of the 'New Apostolic Reformation' who claims
to be head of a worldwide network of 'apostles' - who publicly
endorsed Lakeland and will soon preach at Toronto TACF alongside
other "false anointing" advocates.
(5) Mike Bickle and IHOP Kansas City (-I lived nearby for over
two years - and know how much they are into all this stuff. Mike
Bickle promotes it in his book).
(6) Bob Jones - the Kansas City prophet whose ministry is utterly
tainted by it all.
(7) Patricia King and anyone else from 'Extreme Prophetic.'
(8) John Crowder & anyone connected with "Sloshfest."
(9) Bill Johnson of Bethel church, Redding - who says some good
things but publicly endorsed Lakeland and promotes the "false
anointing" very strongly behind the scenes.
(10) Heidi & Rolland Baker of IRIS Ministries - who do good work
amongst the poor in Mozambique - but who have also carried
and promoted this tainted anointing for years.
(11) Randy Clark, Wes & Stacey Campbell, and other key
figures from the "Toronto blessing."
(12) The Elijah List - and almost anyone featured on it.

Of course there are a huge number of lesser-known preachers
and ministries who carry or endorse this Kundalini-type "anointing"
around the world. But I have concentrated here on the most
influential that I know of. It really is an enormous issue in the
church. I urge anyone who is a supporter of any of the above
ministries to really check them out thoroughly. If you find (as I have)
that they carry or endorse this false Kundalini spirit in the church,
then please stop supporting them in any way - and whatever you
do, don't let them "lay hands" on you!

I am putting everything on the line to be "naming names" like this.
But I believe it is that serious. How on earth did we get to the point
where "kriyas" just like Hinduism are spreading through the church?

Please forward this email to everyone you know, blogs and boards,
etc. These people are trying to "relaunch" this whole thing right
now. Help us get this warning out. To see a video showing "kriyas"
and other Kundalini-type manifestations, please click on the
Youtube links below-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyW1UFzS2LY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaNiuRWHZrY

Please send feedback on this article to- prophetic@revivalschool.com

God bless you all!

Andrew Strom.

--Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks Greg.

I was involved with the Vineyard/Kansas City Prophet movement at the time of the Toronto blessing, and I can affirm that what Strom is saying is accurate. The scary thing is that Rick Joyner used to be a solid Bible teacher; now I see him on YouTube presiding over lunatic meetings. I'm not familiar with all the ministries listed by Strom, but 1 through 6 are examples of what happens to people who refuse to try the spirits.

"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

Failure to "test all things and hold fast to that which is good" was the downfall of the Third Wave.

I became suspicious when some friends went to Toronto and "got the blessing." On the way home, the lady driving fell into a trance, tooled off the freeway, up an embankment and into a cow pasture. We (well, a few of us) concluded that what we were experiencing was neither divine nor demonic, but "soulish," like these kundalini experiences. This sort of ministry is really just stage hypnotism.

The scary thing is that Rick Joyner used to be a solid Bible teacher

I know, that's very troubling.

But what causes this downfall? Ambition? Some unsurrendered thing? A love for the praises of men? A love for some project, some ministry, that's greater than a love for the will of God?

1 Cor. 10.12

I've seen some of the services from this recent outpouring, they are saying that if this explodes again that it won't look like the lakeland outpouring but so far from what i've seen it looks the same. They are believing that it is going to far surpass the attention that lakeland had and be the biggest move of God ever seen.

If God chooses Todd Bentley to bring true genuine revival to the world, there is going to be some pretty confused Christians out there. What if God did use him?

God is definitly shaking things up right now.

If God chooses Todd Bentley to bring true genuine revival to the world, there is going to be some pretty confused Christians out there. What if God did use him?

God did choose Saul, renamed him and used him mightily. But Jesus changed him and gave him a new message. Todd Bentley is rehashing the same old lies. The Spirit will bear witness to God's children whether or not these things are real. If there are serious questions by solid men of God, that should be enough. Lots of talk about Jesus but little of the cross and even less of repentance. 2 Peter 2:14.

Number 8 brought me to tears one night. He is especially dangerous, as most of these are, to "pentecostal" young people. The gifts are taught and the Bible encourages us to seek the gifts, and these men seek to destroy using that which is meant to edify. I saw on youtube a video of this man holding a meeting full of teens spouting his false message and these kids were just eating it up. He bases his message on 1 Peter 1:8 saying that we should walk around drunk in the Spirit, or high. I can't even go into it. Don't look for it, don't look for it. If you hear his name, run.

These false gospels are so very dangerous. They put on a good show and sound good, but they distort the blessedly simple gospel. Saints hear this, believe and then don't understand why God isn't blessing them, getting them high, or whatever it is and they leave the faith. The biggest problem is Christians aren't reading their Bibles. Read 2 Peter chapter 2. He is talking about these men. The gospel is simple. It is Christ and Him crucified.

This was shared with me and I thought it was worth posting here.
God Bless
mj
____________________________________________________________
Before John the Baptist was beheaded he prophesied that God would endue His church with power. He announced that Jesus Christ would give His church a double portion of His Spirit. John said: "He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire" (Matt. 3:11, NASB, emphasis added). When the day of Pentecost arrived, sure enough, both wind and fire were evident. True Pentecost has both.

We've known the wind. We have felt "times of refreshing" in the Holy Spirit's renewing presence. We've enjoyed His healing, and experienced His gifts, life, and power from the Spirit.

And sometimes, because of immaturity, some try to use the Holy Spirit's power to feed selfish desires or meet emotional needs.

But genuine Pentecost does not consist of wind alone. It's not just about noise or feelings. John said Jesus would baptize us in fire as well as power. What is the fire of the Spirit?

Fire has a refining element. John the Baptist said: "His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and he will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (Matt. 3:12). When it comes to Pentecost, holiness is not a side issue. It is the essence of the Holy Spirit's work. When He comes in power, He also comes to burn up the sin in our lives. He comes with conviction, searching our motives, uprooting our unforgiveness and shattering our pride.

Our problem is that we treat the whole scene in Acts 2 as if it were a party. We want hoopla instead of the fear of God. We spend all our time splashing in the shallow end of His river when He has deeper things for us. We are afraid to embrace Jesus' winnowing fork, and we resist when the fire of His Spirit comes to burn up our selfishness.

My Bible says wind and fire appeared on the day of Pentecost. We will not see Pentecost-style harvest without both. I pray you will ask for the double portion.
-Lee Grady

I appreciate Andrew detailing what these movements look like, how they act...

When Bentley was at Lakeland, I looked at the videos of this 'ministry' while there. As I recall his performance matched the descriptions shared by Andrew. Scary.

You know, it is mighty near impossible for a body to know everything about every aberrant movement out there. But if we follow the Spirit's leading, when he gives us red flags, we do well to listen, back off even when we do not know the fine details of why. Life has proven many times that failure to do so will invite hurt and getting burned.

Thanks for posting this informative article, Giggles.

ginnyrose

by Mahoney

I guess my question is: why in the world do we need movements? Isn't the Gospel good enough?

I don't say this lightly nor to make them out to be evil, b/c I don't think they are. I don't think they woke up one morning and said, "I want to be deceived today and deceive others." !!

We HAVE TO [b]remember Christ's last prayer[/b] for the very ones who killed Him, "Forgive them, they know not what they do."

by Mahoney

Well, actually they are evil...and so am I...and so are you.

And that's the first step in understanding the Gospel. We are all evil and wicked and we love a lie. We love to suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

If I understand how wicked I really am, then Christ will become my treasure, my all, and I will not seek movements or manifestations, or "words" or whatever....I will seek Christ.

I understand where you are coming from; but with my personality if I continually lived with what you have just written, I would be hopeless. So I, too, will seek Christ but with hope b/c I believe that when God ripped the veil from top to bottom; God, Himself, visually showed us that we have now been made righteous, and no longer will our sin keep us from His presence.

Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [i]let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.[/i]
Hebrews 10:19-22

Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; [i]blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin.[/i]
Romans 4:6-8

And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, [i]God made alive together with him[/i], having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; [i]this he set aside, nailing it to the cross[/i].
Colossians 2:13,14

I know how evil I am Mahoney but I also know how great God is and that I cannot be victorious over any sin in myself unless God allows me to be victorious! I don't understand it all but I know that "I can do nothing without Him" and that helps me to understand that I am accepted no matter how evil anyone says that I am!

God bless you!

Good word, Lysa.

Anyway, we can't get inside Todd Bentley' poor brain and determine whether he is sincere. We do know that sincerity is no guarantee against deception if we neglect to "try the spirits." 1 John 4:1 William Branham was a simple minded man who appeared to be very sincere, but we know he wasn't the real deal because he didn't preach Christ - all he talked about was himself and his revelations...like Bentley. But Branham appears to have worked genuine healing miracles...unlike Bentley.

When my friends and I got on our "power evangelism" kick, we were sincere. In fact, we got pulled into it when a minister singled me out at a signs and wonders seminar and gave me the gift of "laying on of hands." I laid hands on people and it felt like 120 volts of electricity was running thru my hands, and the people I prayed for looked like they really were being electrocuted! They would tremble violently and then collapse to the floor, sobbing. But after a few years of "signs and wonders" we weren't seeing the sort of spiritual fruit that you would expect to accompany all these spectacular "manifestations of the Spirit." I never could shake the feeling that there was something fishy in all this.

Penn-lewis' War on the Saints and jonathan Edwards' Religious Affections both state that counterfeit spiritual experiences begin with physical sensations. The Spirit works from the inside out, revealing the mystery of salvation to the inner man; lying spirits operate on the flesh with tingling, thrills of fire and other enjoyable sensations. The latter describes the experiences people have under Hunter's and Joyner's ministry. But nothing happeming under their ministries requires a supernatural explanation - it could stage hypnotism and mass hysteria, nothing more. I'm not sure whether we should assign the blame to demonic activity or human folly.

Hello...

I believe that there are prophets...and that they can exist and operate in the gift today. However, there are so many people who fancy themselves to be prophets who are truly not. In fact, I think that some of them actually believe that they are. I have noticed that the words of many would-be prophets are mingled with sectarian ideology, but packaged in a way that makes it seem like it comes straight from God Himself. I can't help but wonder if those "prophets" have truly weighed the ease in which they speak for God. It would be a terrible thing to (even unwittingly) place words into the mouth of God.

Some of these often almost feel justified when they are rejected, as if those who reject or test their words are testing the undeniable words of God Himself. When they spread their sectarian words that come across as brash or bitter, they almost comfort themselves in their rejection.

While I was a teenager, one would-be prophet used to share his "prophet words of knowledge" quite readily. He would speak for God and tell people things that came across as if God were speaking in the first person through his mouth. Ironically, he was wrong most of the time. The things that he was NOT wrong about were often generic words that merely lined up with common understanding of the Word of God. People stopped hanging out with this guy. He was extremely abrasive, but falsely identified this with what he considered the characteristic of a prophet amongst real Christians.

In fact, this same guy used to take comfort in his rejection. He once confided that people didn't like him because he was a "prophet." I asked him, "Is it because you are a prophet, or is it because you are just mean?" Needless to say, he didn't take my question with a "grain of salt." He continued to speak out as if he were a prophet...to the point that he was eventually asked to refrain from doing so. He "shook the dust" off his shoulders and shoes and moved on to a congregation that embraced his "words." He even talked a girl into marrying him (after he told her that God told him that they would be married). However, he "wore out his welcome" at that congregation soon enough...and eventually fell into sin.

When I see certain men like Todd Bentley, Benny Hinn and even those seemingly sincere believers who try to publicly present or proclaim themselves as prophets, I just want to weep. There has never been a greater need for prophets than in this day and age! As brother Ravenhill said, "We desperately need the Elijahs of God!" However, so many who might even truly think themselves to be prophets just seem to "miss" it so often (even if they don't realize it). Yet there many believers -- especially those who are Pentecostal or Charismatic -- who are more welcoming of those "words" uttered in a "prophetic" manner. Ultimately, we should be of the Berean attitude (Acts 17:11). We should TEST EVERYTHING (I Thessalonians 5:21) -- no matter who says it. I believe that a true prophet will welcome such a test.