Response to Michael Brown's "Truth" About NAR

Alright, welcome to a YouTube edition of a Fighting for the Faith segment.

The audio for this is actually available on our podcast, but I made the decision that I was going to go ahead and make this available as its own standalone

YouTube thing so that you can see what was on my screen as I played some of my rebuttals to the things that Michael Brown said yesterday on his

Line of Fire program. He did an episode titled, The Truth About NAR and Seven Mountain Theology, and I found it to be less than helpful.

In fact, there's a reason why I refer to Michael Brown as the Apostle of Obfuscation.

The reason why is because there was a lot of obfuscation, now there were some very clear points that he was making regarding his own beliefs, but I found some of the things that he said regarding the

NAR to be less than helpful and less than precise, is the best way

I can put it. And so we're going to get to it, and you'll notice a little bit of a break here, and the break will be where we pick up from the program itself, so you actually get to see me recording an episode of Fighting for the

Faith, never done it this way where we've had video going. But let's get to it as we cover the topic about Michael Brown's Line of Fire and his so -called truth regarding the

NAR and Seven Mountain Theology. Let's get to it. All right, so we're going to take a look at portions of Dr.

Michael Brown's The Line of Fire yesterday, where the name of the episode was, The Truth About NAR and Seven Mountain Theology.

And one thing was very clear, is that Dr. Michael Brown is intentionally distancing himself from those who are claiming that he is part of the

NAR. And he made a point of making a distinction between his understanding of apostles and prophets today, in contradistinction to C.

Peter Wagner, and also made it clear that he is not post -millennial, which is a part of many of the churches within the

NAR. And they view the Seven Mountains Mandate as a dominion mandate as part of a post -millennial eschatology.

He made it very clear that he was not part of that as well. So I mean, that's what his stated position is.

I can't say, no, you believe different than that. No, that's not the purpose of this. Overall, I found his treatment of the topic to be less than helpful.

The reason why is because we've noted that Michael Brown, we call him the apostle of obfuscation here at Pirate Christian Radio, and there's a reason for that, because he seems to speak out of both sides of his mouth, and the way he does his apologetics for the charismatic movement ends up blurring things tremendously, is the best way

I can put it. So let me put my display on here so that everybody can see it. Yeah, that's right.

Those of you listening to the podcast are going, I can't see anything. Yeah, you'll have to watch this on YouTube, because we're making this segment available on our

YouTube channel. And let's listen to Michael Brown as he talks about, again, the so -called

New Apostolic Reformation. And we'll chime in and note a few things here, and we'll just do a little historical work to basically say, yeah, he's not giving this a proper, fair treatment.

In fact, I almost feel like he's creating a straw man in order to discredit all critics of the

NAR by basically going to websites and maybe kind of picking through their understanding of the

NAR to see, oh, everybody who's a critic thinks this way, which is not true. But let's listen to Michael Brown from the line of fire yesterday as he sets up the topic.

I want to talk to you about the NAR and Seventh Mountain Theology, and I want to explain why

I'm bringing this up again. A few things happened in the last couple of weeks, last few days, because of which this is on my mind again.

I was talking to a colleague of mine who is responsible for setting up a large meeting taking place,

God willing, in April in Toronto, featuring a number of us, a number of leaders who've been involved in recent revival movements, including

John Kilpatrick, including Bill Johnson, including John Arnot. And these are allegedly some of the key leaders of the

NAR, the New Apostolic Reformation. Now I'm going to pause right there, and we're going to note what he's saying here.

He's getting ready for the 20 -year anniversary celebration of the so -called, and I have to say it that way, so -called

Toronto Blessing. Wasn't a blessing. It was a complete train wreck. In fact, it was so wild and over the top that if you know your history in the charismatic movement that John Wimber ended up distancing himself from the

Arnots and the people in Toronto. And that used to be the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church, and they were dropped from the vineyard.

So they're getting ready for their big 20 -year celebration, and Michael Brown has made it clear that the people he's going to be meeting with are part of the so -called

New Apostolic Reformation. And he mentioned the Arnots, he mentioned Bill Johnson.

John Kilpatrick, I don't know of anybody that thinks that John Kilpatrick is part of the NAR. But, you know, okay, but yeah,

I've never seen any evidence that Kilpatrick's part of the NAR, and there's nothing that he does that makes me believe that he is.

But I would argue, and we're going to demonstrate this, that John Arnot and Bill Johnson, that they truly are part of the

NAR, despite Michael Brown's attempts to try to make it appear like they're not part of it.

But let's continue as he builds his case here. So I mentioned to this friend of mine, who's one of the speakers as well,

I said, it's interesting that from some critics and circles, I'm getting a lot of flack for speaking at that because of all its association with the

NAR. And he said, what's that? Yeah, I would be concerned about your speaking at it in order to lend credibility to the false revival of the

Toronto Airport Church and their laughing revival and the nonsense that came out of there.

Of course, he never heard of it. I knew he never heard of it. What's that? I explained New Apostolic Reformation.

Oh, he didn't know about that. Then, oh, maybe about a week before that, I was in Des Moines, Iowa.

I was talking to a Christian friend. He's also a radio host. He is politically astute. He was involved with the

Cruz campaign. And he said, yeah, what's this? He's a born -again believer, committed Christian, educated guy.

He said, yeah, what's this NAR thing? He said, I heard about it. They thought Ted Cruz was part of it. He said, what is that?

I'd explain it to him. Then someone sent me a manuscript to look at of a particular book.

And this book was critiquing throughout the theology of the NAR and the activities of the NAR. And I said, you're chasing shadows.

Deal with the issues. But to make it all into this conspiratorial NAR thing is is mythical.

Now, a little bit of a note here. I mean, I don't I personally do not put forward the idea that the

NAR is some kind of a conspiracy. It's a movement within the charismatic movement.

It's a sub part of the charismatic movement. It's not a it in its entirety, but it is a legitimate thing.

The term itself, New Apostolic Reformation, was coined by C. Peter Wagner, and he had his apostolic and prophetic institute that he had when he was alive.

And so, I mean, it's not like this thing is is, you know, a mythical thing. It is a real thing.

It is not akin to the Illuminati. It's none of that stuff. So, I mean, I, you know, so I'm not sure what manuscript he read that made it sound like it was some kind of a conspiracy theory.

I mean, it's it's not it's not like believing in the NAR makes you like somebody who denies the

Holocaust or makes you like somebody who denies that 9 -11 was conducted by, you know,

Islamic terrorists. But that's literally how Michael Brown has set this up.

It reminds me of when we went cross country, when my sister and I were kids, maybe she was 13, 14, maybe.

Now, we've heard him use this metaphor before, but it's where it bears repeating here. 10 -11, we drove cross country, my mom and dad.

And I remember one way going back forth. Don't remember which. We stopped in Texas and we went to a restaurant and my dad ordered a

New York cut steak. And I remember him saying, I've lived in New York all my life. I've never heard of a

New York cut steak. In other words, it was just something they were saying in Texas to sell steaks.

Oh, it's a New York cut. I've never heard of a New York cut. I've lived in New York all my life. It's the same thing.

This whole conspiratorial NAR, which is everywhere and taking over. Conspiratorial NAR.

Yeah, again, I wouldn't say it's a conspiracy. I mean, people who are part of the NAR are generally quite open about it.

I mean, it's not like they're a secret society or anything. And if you deny it, you're lying.

Oh, oh, this is really quite amazing. It's like me saying that all Southern Baptists are members of the

Freemason Society and that they are Baptist Freemasons. And when they say, what are you talking about?

I said, aha, that's part of the denial. It's kind of crazy. Yeah, again, I just wonder who who is making that argument.

But I want to make a point here, and that is, is that fighting for the faith and pirate Christian media and our authors and contributors, nobody's out there saying that one of the hallmarks of the

NAR is that they lie about it. Nobody. And the proof that they're part of it is that they lie and deny that they're part of it.

Yeah, no, that's not how that works. Let me explain exactly what I believe about the relevant issues.

OK, everybody ready? And then I'll explain the other terms. I've got a lot of quotes I want to read to you. I want to put some things.

Those that will be watching, you'll be able to follow along. Everyone else can catch it later on our YouTube channel. Ask Dr.

Brown. Let me tell you exactly what I believe. I believe that since Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven based on Ephesians four.

Now, this is where he's going to go on and talk about his personal beliefs, the ones that he subscribes to and holds to.

And Michael Brown makes an important point of basically saying, I do not hold to the tenets of the

NAR. And but what's weird is that he starts off by basically kind of denying its existence in one sense and basically calling it the so -called

NAR. Now, if you remember at the setup at the beginning of the segment, he was talking about Arnott and Bill Johnson.

Now, later in that episode, and I'll fast forward here later in that episode,

Michael Brown does something rather fascinating, and that is that he reads out part of a quote from a

Christianity Today interview that they had with Bill Johnson. And which, by the way,

I'm going to challenge and basically say, well, we've got a problem. And that is that history doesn't bear out what it is that Bill Johnson claims in this

Christianity Today interview. So we'll consider the options there. But listen to the setups and his explanation and his reading out regarding Bill Johnson.

And then we'll just do a little bit of historical work, if you would, in kind of debunking and putting this all together.

So listen in. Joining us today is Setting Records Straight, regarding so -called

NAR, New Apostolic Reformation. So -called NAR, so -called. Also Seven Mountains Theology and Dominionism, which which, by the way, in those you know, those churches and those leaders who are genuinely

NAR and they buy into Dominionism, the Seven Mountains is considered the

Seven Mountains Dominion mandate for taking over. Yeah, it's part of their postmillennial eschatology.

Overlap, but are not all the same. And I'll explain these terms a bit more as we open things up.

There's an article on Christianity Today by Martin Wendell Jones, and it was focusing on Bethel Church in Reading, California.

And Bill Johnson is a friend. We spent some time together. Chris Vallance, an executive pastor there is a friend, spent time with Chris as well.

I don't agree with everything Bethel teaches or emphasizes, but I welcome them as brothers and respect the work that God has done in their midst.

So in this article about Bethel, there's a quote that various critics believe

Bethel to be instrumental in leading some Christians to embrace tenets of the

New Apostolic Reformation, NAR, a movement known for Dominion theology and a belief in the continuing ministries of apostles and prophets alongside those of evangelists, pastors and teachers.

Bill Johnson is regularly listed as a NAR leader. He believes in the apostolic and prophetic ministry. Now, by the way, there's a reason for that, and we will demonstrate why that reason is, but says the church does not have any official ties to the

NAR. Now, here's what's interesting. Bill is often considered to. Now, I need to say something here.

A book worth reading on this topic. Let me pull my Kindle up real quick here.

A book worth reading on this topic is titled The Rise of Network Christianity.

The Rise of Network Christianity. It is published by Oxford University Press. It is by Brad Christerson and Richard Flory.

I found this book when I read it to be extremely helpful in understanding the New Apostolic Reformation, and they are focusing in on network

Christianity specifically because the NAR is part of this big, broad movement.

And it's important to note that they, in this book, give a very good brief history of how

Bethel Church came to be and what Bill Johnson and Bethel Church's role is within the

NAR. Now, important to note, the NAR is not an organization that you subscribe to in the sense where NAR headquarters are in Brooklyn, New York, and all people who want to be part of the

NAR must believe these things. And it's not a denomination like that. In fact, it's the whole point of the

NAR is that it's not a denomination. It is a network of independent apostolic leaders who recognize and work with each other.

And oftentimes, they work with each other on a conference or an event, and they come together for this thing, and then they kind of diminish back into the background and go back to their own thing.

And this has a lot. In fact, Brad Christerson and Richard Flory do a very good job of explaining that the reason why the

NAR is like this is because several of the leaders early on were part of the

Vineyard Movement and John Wimber's organization and ran afoul of Wimber and the leadership of the

Vineyard. Now, they basically argued in the book that Wimber and the

Vineyard were behaving like a denomination. And so when the Arnauts and Cheyenne in particular ran afoul of the ideas and doctrines and teachings of the

Vineyard Movement, they found themselves on the out. But they continued on. And so the

NAR, it's not a denomination. In fact, read the book.

It's a fantastic work that explains kind of how the network itself works. And the

NAR is part of this broader network. And the idea then is that they purposely, basically, you can go and do your own independent thing, and we're going to do our own independent thing, and we're not interested in starting a denomination.

That's kind of the whole point of the NAR, at least in this book.

And so I think that's worth bearing out at this point. And then in defining terms, in the book itself, the authors go in to define terms.

And here's how they define some things. Pentecostal Charismatic Christianity has numerous branches, many of which overlap in their theology and practice.

The groups and leaders that we call INC, these are the network Christians, INC Christianity, however, have broken off from the rest of the

Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity in significant ways. Thus, as a starting point, we need to define the terms that describe the various strands of the

Pentecostal slash Charismatic Christianity. And so they go on to explain what some of those strands are, and they even make reference to Holly Pivick and her book on the

New Apostolic Reformation and how Pivick and them see the NAR, at least the main

NAR leaders, as being theologically connected to what used to be known as the

Latter Rain Movement or what people called the New Order of the Latter Rain. And important to note, I came out of the

Latter Rain Movement. I was involved in a Latter Rain Church back in the late 80s in Seattle.

So I actually know the movement from the inside. But in talking about these network

Christian churches, the NAR is part of, and it's a different branch within the

Charismatic Movement, it says this, they do not seek to build a movement or to create affiliated franchise congregations using a particular name, like the

Vineyard or something like that. They are not primarily focused on building congregations in the traditional sense, but rather they seek to influence the beliefs and practices of believers regardless of congregation or affiliation, including those who are not affiliated with any congregation or religious group.

They seek to transform society as a whole rather than saving individual souls and building the church.

And instead of being formally organized into a movement or a denomination, the various leaders and ministries in this category are highly connected by networks of cooperation.

So, I mean, in their describing of Ink Christianity, the NAR is part of all of that.

You know, the idea here is that this isn't an organization like the

Jehovah's Witness Watchtower and Bible Track Society or even John Wimber's Vineyard Church Movement.

It's not like that at all. And what I find fascinating is that, well,

Michael Brown doesn't seem to be really interested in actually addressing the movement as it's been criticized by good scholarly sources like this book.

Instead, you know, he's finding, you know, kind of the holes out there in the blogosphere.

And granted, you know, when it comes to the Internet, some are more careful in their scholarship than others.

And some, they offer really legitimate criticisms of the NAR mixed with some stuff that isn't actually substantiate -able, is that the right word?

But instead, so what Michael Brown is basically doing is basically trying to create this narrative that all the critics of the

NAR are into this cabal of, you know, Illuminati conspiracy theory type stuff.

And, you know, we who are in the charismatic movement don't even know what they're talking about. Yeah, that's not exactly how you do this.

But let's continue. One of the senior leaders of this movement. So check this out in the article.

Martin Luther Jones asked him, so what are your thoughts on the new apostolic reformation?

I ask. I'm not completely clear on what it is. That's Bill's response.

Yeah. So Bill Johnson is not exactly clear on what the new apostolic reformation is. I don't know.

And by the way, I don't consider this to be a credible response. And I will explain why with historical documentation momentarily.

But I want you to hear what Michael Brown did to basically exonerate

Bill Johnson for any connections with the NAR. By the way, the rise of network

Christianity, that book puts Bethel Church right in the thick of it regarding the

NAR. And I believe rightly so. But let's continue. I laugh with incredulity, but he seems sincere.

Dan Farrelly, who's the dean of Bethel's Supernatural School of Ministry, will later say that he doesn't know about the

NAR either. So both of these men, nobody is playing a game here.

This is not something where you deny you're part of a secret society. Now, I'm going to point something out here.

By Michael Brown not rightly addressing this issue and the criticisms and the historical critiques that have already been offered against this

Christianity Today article, he's actually fueling those who would have conspiratorial

Illuminati type theories regarding the NAR. And the reason being is because when you look at the historical evidence here, there's something wrong with what

Bill Johnson is doing here. It seems disingenuous and there's not a lot of, let's just say, good options as far as explanations.

So by him doing what he did here, he's actually ironically going to end up fueling those who think the

NAR is some kind of an Illuminati conspiracy. And you'll see it for yourself in a minute. Well, say about NAR is not accurate.

You follow what I'm saying? If anybody would know it, someone like Bill Johnson is considered to be one of the leaders of it.

He's like, I don't know exactly what you're talking about. It's not that people are playing games. Trust me, this is a world in which

I live, the charismatic Pentecostal world. It's that there is this bizarre false narrative about this worldwide conspiratorial

NAR. Yeah, no, not I'm going to basically make this clear. Not all of the critics of the

New Apostolic Reformation think it's a conspiracy. No, that's not it at all.

It is doing all these different things that everybody's part of. And that one of the things you do with is you deny your involvement.

It is just a myth. Yeah. And I would say that the NAR probably doesn't have a secret handshake either.

But let's let him continue his point. I will very specifically in a little while tell you what

I understand NAR to be and what NAR is. But it is not what the critics say and think.

And I'm just trying to help dispel myths because people are chasing shadows is what they're doing.

Let's deal with issues. Let's have our differences. That's fine. But let's do it based on substance. Bill Johnson said this,

I've seen my name on the list, but if it's what I think it is, all we're saying is we want the culture around us to change.

Johnson says for him, that looks like a kingdom accrual of soft power in the world. My job is this person's in pain.

This person's broken. I step in and bring the kingdom, the dominion of Christ in this situation.

In other words, from Bill's perspective, and I don't I don't know that I share all this theology on this anyway.

We've never talked about it. But from Bill's perspective, the dominion he's talking about is that Jesus is Lord and is going to bring the

Lordship of Jesus into each situation he finds through preaching the gospel and bringing healing and salvation and deliverance, not through taking over the government.

For example, where they are, Bethel gives, I think, a tithe of their income to help the city.

I think they tithe to the city of Reading to say, hey, we're here. We want to serve you.

And how can we help the city better itself? That's their view of how to advance things. So so check this out.

All right. I'm not going to put the websites up. I'm checking for two reasons. One, I don't want to give them any publicity to they are less reliable than the

Babylon B. If you've been to the Babylon B, it's a satire site. The problem is that's meant to be funny.

These are not meant to be funny. Now, I can't say across the board everything they report is unreliable because I don't read the sites.

But people send me links when they write about me. And I know when they write about me, it's bogus, bogus, nonsense, ridiculous, conspiratorial myths.

And they've traced it all together. So I'm just going to give you some quotes that this is allegedly one of the chief strategies of those involved with NAR that we deny are involved in here.

So look at this. Here's here's one quote. Like other new apostolic Reformation apostles,

Michael Brown has not been honest about his past. And this series will demonstrate just how deceptive Brown has been about his involvement with the

NAR for a few decades. Well, when we read that, some team members said it. I mean, we were literally laughing out loud, except feeling bad that people actually believe this.

All right. So I want to point out the strategy that is engaging in here, and then we will focus in on Bill Johnson and the

Arnauts and Cheyenne and others. And that is is that on the one hand.

So he quotes this Christianity Today article that interviewed Bill Johnson and basically

Bill Johnson's like, I don't know what the NAR is and, you know, all this kind of stuff. Yeah, the

NAR is a descriptive term, again, coined by C. Peter Wagner. And it does have certain tenets, you know, that generally are held in common, one of them being that God has restored in our lifetime the office of apostle and prophet and that there are apostles and prophets out there today and that you're supposed to align yourselves under them.

Now, I'm going to go back in time. We're going to go back in time 10 years, 10 years ago in June in the year 2008.

And we're going to watch as C. Peter Wagner, the guy who coined the term the

New Apostolic Reformation, is going to preside over an apostolic alignment ceremony for Todd Bentley.

And it's this particular historical fact and event that calls into question what it is that Bill Johnson denied in the

Christianity Today article. So we'll go back in time. And here is C.

Peter Wagner. And this is from the Lakeland Revival of 10 years ago.

And we'll let him kind of explain what's going on. My name is

Peter Wagner and I'm president of Global Harvest Ministries based in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

I have served the body of Christ in apostolic ministry for many years and currently

I preside over the International Coalition of Apostles, which brings together over 500 recognized apostles.

All right. So he's the International Coalition of Apostles guy. He is the guy who wrote the book on the

New Apostolic Reformation, coined the term, says that he represents more than 500 apostles.

And you're going to note that on the stage with him are Rick Joyner, Shea Yon, Bill Johnson, John Arnott and others.

I have the honor of being assigned to preside over this momentous occasion and I am humbled as I approach the task with an enormous sense of awe.

Holy Spirit, I invite your presence. Now, again, you can see John Arnott, he's on the on the right hand side of your screen.

Next to him is Rick Joyner. Shea Yon is on the left hand side of the screen. Power in your direction.

Amen. This is a ceremony celebrating the formal apostolic alignment of Todd Bentley.

So this is the formal apostolic alignment. Of Todd Bentley, we'll talk about what apostolic alignment is shortly.

My first desire is to lay a biblical foundation for what we are about to do.

I will begin with a scripture that has been a central text for those of us who are in the stream of contemporary apostolic prophetic movement, which is

Ephesians 4, 11 and 12. And he himself, that is Jesus at his ascension.

He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry.

Yeah. And the the office of apostle is no no longer.

Yeah, no. I mean, all those guys died. And if you read in Ephesians 2,

Ephesians chapter 2, Paul, that same author, makes it clear that the apostles and prophets are the foundation of the church.

You don't relay a foundation. So, yeah. And there's a reason why there have been no apostles on planet

Earth since John the Apostle died. Mm hmm. Yeah. Just saying.

The word equipping is a translation of the Greek katartidzo, which means literally aligning, as in setting a broken bone or a chiropractic adjustment.

It means putting things in order so that the body functions as it was designed to function.

This is one of the responsibilities of apostles such as those whom you see on the platform.

So, yeah, he's claiming to be an apostle, a leader of apostles. And there are apostles on the platform.

He just made that very clear. And Todd Bentley is going to align under them.

And that is the reason we are present tonight. For example, Paul wrote to Titus for this reason,

I left you in Crete that you should set in order the things that are lacking. Speaking of Paul and Titus, their relationship is a biblical prototype of apostolic alignment.

Same would apply to Paul and Timothy. The apostolic alignment of Timothy and Titus with Paul was a principal factor in allowing

God to develop and fulfill his complete destiny in both of their lives. Yeah.

So, yeah, that Timothy guy, yeah, Pastor Timothy would have never fulfilled his destiny if he hadn't aligned under the apostolic umbrella of the apostle

Paul. Notak says that, by the way, and he just twisted scripture to make it appear like it teaches this.

But Paul himself was also apostolically aligned. Soon after he was called to join

Barnabas and his colleagues in Antioch for the then controversial ministry of planting churches among Gentiles, he traveled to Jerusalem to bring a gift for famine relief and also to align with some of the apostles.

I want to use the experience that Paul had on that occasion as the text for the protocol for tonight's alignment and commissioning of Todd Bentley.

It is found in Galatians 2, 9, which tells the story of one of Paul's visits to Jerusalem.

It says, and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship that we should go to the

Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Yeah. By the way, I would note the obvious here, and that is that if this was a conspiracy and they were

Illuminati and stuff like that, they wouldn't be openly talking about being apostles and the need for people to apostolically align with them.

This was broadcast on God TV, which I think broadcast globally, even back then it did.

So it's not like this was occurring off in some dark corner of the universe. This was out there for everyone to see.

And you can find this on YouTube. Yeah. Todd is following Paul's example by inviting to the platform three apostolic pillars of today's church.

Now, listen to who he says these apostolic pillars are. Cheyenne of Pasadena, California.

Yep. Bill Johnson of Reading, California. And John Arnott of Toronto, Canada.

Yeah. See, Peter Wagner himself, the guy who coined the term New Apostolic Reformation, believed that the three pillars that were vitally important at Todd Bentley's apostolic alignment were the apostles

Cheyenne, John Arnott and Bill Johnson.

So I just have to ask the question, if Bill Johnson is not part of the

New Apostolic Reformation and doesn't know what it is, why was he present in the office of apostle for the alignment ceremony of Todd Bentley with C.

Peter Wagner as the emcee for the night's festivities? You see what

I'm saying here? It doesn't make any sense. So I'm just calling into question what

Bill Johnson said to Christianity Today not that long ago and basically say,

OK, Bill, could you explain to us, since you don't know what the N .A .R. is, why is it that you're a fellow who goes along with like one of the like primary things of the

N .A .R., that being the restoration of the of apostles on the earth and that there are people who are apostolically aligned under you?

Notably, in the past, one of those fellows would be Todd Bentley.

Hmm. Todd's native land, they represent an apostolic network called

Revival Alliance. Notice that the apostles in Jerusalem perceived the grace that God had given to Paul.

The word grace is charis, the root of charisma, meaning spiritual gift or gifts.

In Paul's case, it was the gift mix necessary to carry the gospel to Gentiles.

In Todd's case, it is the gift mix necessary to lead the Lakeland outpouring.

I have a question for the three apostles. Notice the three apostles,

Bill Johnson, Shea on John Arnott. Now, did

Michael Brown not open up his program with talking about the festivities that are coming up in April at the

Toronto Church? And that was the first stop as far as the so -called N .A

.R. Well, John Arnott was one of the apostles present for Todd Bentley's ceremony.

And there's C. Peter Wagner. We just heard him say the three apostles who are present.

Do you perceive the grace of God given to Todd Bentley? And there's

John Arnott stepping up close to C. Peter Wagner to answer this question. Evangelist to lead the

Lakeland outpouring. Yeah, and John Arnott just said yes. C.

Peter Wagner recognized him on international television as an apostle. Do you recognize

Todd Bentley? Yes, John Arnott said. Is he not an apostle?

I have a question for Todd Bentley. And there's Shea on and Bill Johnson right there.

Do you recognize the apostolic authority of these three men in your life and ministry?

And do you desire to establish an apostolic alignment with them and with Revival Alliance?

With this affirmation, we will move to a formal commissioning equivalent to offering the right hand of fellowship as the three apostles did to Paul in Jerusalem.

So the three apostles, Shea on John Arnott. Bill Johnson are clearly acting as if they are in the office of apostle.

This commissioning represents a powerful spiritual transaction taking place in the invisible world.

With this in mind, I take the apostolic authority that God has given me and I decree to Todd Bentley.

Your power will increase. Your authority will increase.

Your favor will increase. Your influence will increase.

Your revelation will increase. I also decree that a new supernatural strength will flow through this ministry.

A new life force will penetrate this move of God. Government will be established to set things in their proper order.

God will pour out a higher level of discernment to distinguish truth from error.

Yeah, that didn't happen as part of Lakeland. All right, let me fast forward just a little bit more in this.

As Shea on took the stage, you know, took the microphone to continue with the festivities of apostolically aligning

Todd Bentley. Let's see what Shea on had to say. How deeply honored

I am that John would just come from Africa and make time to be here, Bill. I mean, it's a miracle that...

Yeah, so Shea on just acknowledged John Arnott and Bill Johnson. The others, those are the three notable apostles present for this apostolic alignment.

Wagner, Bill Johnson, John Arnott, Todd Bentley, and these distinguished apostles would all be able to make it all together at one time, one place.

So Shea on just said publicly that they were all apostles. So again,

I just have to ask the question, if Bill Johnson knows nothing about the NAR, why was he acting in the office of apostle at Todd Bentley's alignment with C.

Peter Wagner running the show? With our international commitments, that's a miracle in itself.

And I also feel significant that two things. One, that this would be on June 23rd.

Bob Jones prophesied that you will go to a whole different level June 22nd.

Remember that? Here's the day after. And you're going to a whole different level. Isaiah 22, 22.

He's giving you the keys of David. He's opening doors that no man can close. And so it's very, very significant that this is taking place.

And it was not because of Bob's prophecy. It was just based on our calendar. But I think it's significant that would be here on this day, a day after that word was prophesied.

I also think it's significant that we have three generations coming together. God's God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

And you know, we're old enough to be your dad. And Peter's old enough to be your grandfather.

And so it's wonderful that we could come together three generations.

So I want to proceed recognizing that God has chosen you and appointed you to bear much and lasting fruit in this

Lakeland revival and revival around the world. Recognizing that he has called you as an

Ephesians 4 evangelist and a revivalist moving in signs and wonders. Knowing that you have walked in a manner worthy of the

Lord, pleasing Jesus in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing in the intimacy and knowledge of God.

Yeah, Todd Bentley, the guy who claims that God told him to punch a lady with stomach cancer in the gut with his biker boot.

All right, let's fast forward a little bit as John R. Nott takes the stage as an apostle.

You know, Todd Bentley, I think, fell over during Cheyenne's impartation.

But let's listen in as John R. Nott speaks now. We bless you today, Todd Bentley. And again, remember, he was there as an apostle.

This is part of him doing his duties as an apostle. You're a man of God.

You're a man of prayer. You're a man of the Spirit. You love the anointing. And I would say that it's not just the

Lakeland revival, but the whole world that goes into revival. And you're leading an amazing charge.

And multitudes are getting in behind you and saying, come on, I'm going to go with you. And so we bless all of that.

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for raising up this young man to lead such a mighty charge around the world and to partner with GotTV and all that has happened here in the last several months now, three months almost.

We bless it in the name of Jesus. And we stand with you. And we encourage you.

And we honor you. All right, now he's passed the microphone to the third apostle present.

Remember, there were three. He's Sheon, John Arnott. He just got done speaking.

And now here's Bill Johnson giving his little speech as an apostle at this apostolic alignment ceremony.

When David wanted Uriah killed, he sent him into battle and then withdrew from him.

As a company of people, we refuse to do that. Many revivals through history have been cut short of their intention of God's destiny and intention over individuals.

Because of jealousies and fears that get stirred up in the people of God. And we refuse to do that.

We shape the course of history by partnering with you, giving honor where it's due.

You welcome the glory as well as anybody I've ever seen in my life.

I long to learn from you in that. And I bless you. And I pray with the rest of these that the measure of glory would increase.

That Moses would no longer be considered the high watermark with a glory shown from his face.

But instead, the revelation of the goodness of God would change the face of the church. And then he would use your voice.

He would use your grace, your anointing to alter the face of the church before this world.

That the goodness of the Lord would be seen once again. All right. So I think you get the idea there.

All right. I would argue that all of these men are false apostles. They're not true apostles at all.

And the signs and wonders of the Lakeland revival, all sham and flim flam, just like his claim that some kid rose from the dead after a drug overdose last summer.

Yeah, you can check our YouTube channel for that as well. Now, it's important to note there is another person who is also apostolically aligned.

And that would be Jennifer LeClaire. Jennifer LeClaire. And if you remember, I had last year a conversation with Michael Brown regarding Jennifer LeClaire and her claims that she has received revelation of a thing called a sneaky squid spirit.

And I went on Michael Brown's program and basically said, yeah, no, this is false teaching.

It's extra biblical doctrine. And Jennifer LeClaire, back on October 30th of last year, announced on her website that she had resigned from Charisma Magazine.

And there's an important note here regarding Jennifer LeClaire and her future and her ministry and stuff like that.

And I'm going to read from the document itself. Here's what it says. After eight years with Charisma Magazine, I resigned from my role as senior editor to follow

God's higher call for my life and ministry in June. I stayed on as a consultant for several months, but I'm now moving forward to the next,

I prophesied in January. I am thankful for the opportunity to serve as the first female editor in the company's history.

And I would like to think the Lord used me to inspire and equip people through this platform, which grew online from thousands to millions of visitors a month during my time there.

And she says, I will continue releasing my voice through my book and itinerant travel ministry, my

Ignite prophetic network, Awakening House of Prayer, AwakeningTV .com,

and other ministries under the umbrella of Jennifer LeClaire Ministries. And God has put on my heart many plans, including the

Awakening Blaze prayer movement that launched in June and is spreading like fire around the world.

And I have plans for media projects, including a new television show called

Your Prophetic Voice that will air in three quarters of the world in eight languages.

And here she then goes on to say, and this is the important part, as some of you know,

I was recently recommissioned by Bishop Bill Hammond and am also aligned with Chuck Pierce and Ken Malone.

Chuck Pierce and Ken Malone. Chuck Pierce is an apostle within the within the

NAR. Chuck Malone also is an apostle. In fact, here's a video of the apostle

Ken Malone, whom Jennifer LeClaire is aligned under, with JoJo Dawson explaining what apostolic alignment is.

Listen in. Hey guys, JoJo Dawson here with my apostle Ken Malone, and today we're going to talk about apostolic alignment.

So, Apostle Ken, if you could, could you just explain to us what apostolic alignment is and how it works?

I'd love to, Jim. Apostolic alignment, to a lot of people, is still a new terminology.

It's a new thing that the Lord is doing in the body of Christ. It's a new thing that the Lord is doing in the body of Christ.

New thing. Okay. An old thing. Yes, it's been going on ever since Jesus walked the earth. Even beyond that, even when

Elijah and Moses walked the earth, there were people coming into alignment. You take Joshua, for example, who came into alignment with Moses and became

Moses's right hand man. Where was Joshua's alignment ceremony?

And then there came a time when Moses wasn't on the earth anymore, that God raised up Joshua because Joshua had been operating with Moses, knew the workings of God and the deemings of God, and so he was able to step into that role that Moses vacated when he went to be with the

Lord. And so it's been going on for many, many years, but today in the body of Christ, it's still kind of new.

And apostolic alignment is when you are, even a group of people, beginning to align with somebody who is an apostle.

And I like the word alignment better than I do the word covering. The word covering kind of tends control, but alignment is you and I coming alongside each other and begin partnering with each other to see

God's work come into the earth. So it's a very powerful tool that the Lord is using today.

One of the things that happens for me with alignment is when people align with me and I become their apostle, it becomes a relational -based alignment.

And now you'll note, since Jennifer LeClaire has made it clear that she is apostolically aligned under Chuck Pierce and Ken Malone, that would mean that Jennifer LeClaire is part of the

NAR. It doesn't matter if she calls it the NAR. The reality is, is her apostolic alignment under Chuck Pierce, who was a close associate of C.

Peter Wagner, and her claim that she's under the apostolic alignment of Ken Malone, that that means that Jennifer LeClaire is an

NAR gal. So yeah, I just bring all of this up because it's cogent and relevant regarding Michael Brown.

Michael Brown is basically talking about the so -called New Apostolic Reformation. And granted, there's probably some critics out there who are describing it in Illuminati and conspiracy theory terminology.

I'm not. No. In fact, I've been talking about the NAR for a long time.

As somebody who came out of the latter reign or the new order of the latter reign, I see similarities in the doctrines and the major theological emphases, including the eschatology within the

NAR. Now, does that mean that the NAR has a, well, a unified theological statement that everybody has to subscribe to?

No, no, not at all. In fact, it's a loose network. And it is intentionally not a denomination.

And so I found Michael Brown's episode of his line of fire yesterday to be less than helpful because he is engaging, again, in obfuscation.

Now, granted, there was a lot of clarity in his line of fire program yesterday, and that clarity revolves around his personal beliefs.

Personal, personal. And so he basically, at the end of it, makes it very clear that, yeah, he knows some people who believe some of these things regarding the

NAR and stuff like that. And they're all just great brothers and sisters in Christ, and you can agree to disagree on this kind of stuff.

And he's opposed to some of their alignment stuff, and he's not a dominionist, and he's not post -millennial, and he opposes that.

And yet he still partners with these people, all the while talking about the so -called

NAR. Yeah, it makes me wonder if the authors of the book

The Rise of Network Christianity would consider Michael Brown to be an ink guy.

Not an NAR guy, but an ink guy. But he sure does do a lot of carrying of water for NAR folks.

Yeah, that's for sure. I think you get the idea. Now, those of you watching on YouTube, that's the end of this segment, and this is only the beginning of my response to Michael Brown regarding his

Line of Fire episode from yesterday. I'll be talking with Phil Johnson tomorrow to cover some more of the other aspects of the things that he brought up in his

Line of Fire regarding the truth about the NAR and the Seven Mountain Theology and that kind of stuff, hopefully with the idea of providing just a good rebuttal.

And if he wants to respond, he's more than welcome to, although he doesn't generally respond to me.

So, yeah, and even when I've been on his program, let's just say

I had to be on my best behavior and resist the idea to try to make too many points while on his program.

But those of you who would like to continue to see videos like this, you can support us.

Click on the links below in the description box there. You'll find a link to our

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Fighting for the Faith to you and to the world. And so until next time, may God richly bless you in the grace and mercy won by Jesus Christ and His vicarious death on the cross for all of your sins.