To see the shape of the church to come, click on this link to a 3/30/2007 Elijah List posting:
http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word_pf.html?ID=5134
This bride is on testosterone!
This gruesome illustration accompanies an advertisement for a Warrior Bride Awaken Conference. The Elijah List is the chief organ of communication for the Latter Rain segment of the New Apostolic Reformation. The text below the photo reads:
“Purpose
“Christ is calling to His bride to awaken in this hour! To awaken from her slumber, complacency and to awaken to her place as a mighty warrior in the body of Christ!
“Warrior means a person engaged or experienced in warfare while Bride speaks of a very intimate partner. Isn’t it interesting? This paradox God has set before us? To be warriors of warfare while being intimately in love with our Bridegroom.
“We are gathering the troops for 2 1/2 days of training, equipping, and challenge. Will you hear the call? Will you hear the voice of One calling you to a place of greater warfare and intimacy?
“God has put together a line-up of speakers that will challenge us to awaken to the call of our King and Bridegroom. The conference is open to all women 16 years of age and older. Don’t miss it!”
This has everything to do with the rise of the “Joel’s Army” — the dominionist doctrine of the Latter Rain cult. Note another similar artwork posted on the Elijah List at:
http://www.elijahshopper.com/detail.aspx?ID=2854
The text to this artwork reads, in part:
“The beautiful bride is also a warrior, and as such, wears army boots into battle. This seeming contradiction is the two-fold calling on the church — to worship and to war. As the bride, we worship our bridegroom King. As the warrior, we follow the Lord of Hosts, always advancing the Kingdom of our God.”
This is reminiscent of statements “Bishop” Bill Hamon, a NAR leader, made at the New Life Church in South Africa on November 13, 1997:
“The Bride [of Christ] has combat boots on. I said, the Bride of Christ has combat boots on under her wedding dress. . . .
“”The Army of the Lord’s Movement,’ coming right after the saints movement after the apostles and prophets. Apostles and prophets are preparing us for something more than going to heaven to be good for nothing. Hello saints. Apostles and prophets are not going to be your nice little evangelists, pastors and teachers — they’ve come to revolutionize and bring restoration and bring the King back. . . .
“Jesus is raising up a Church and the Apostles and Prophets are coming to equip the saints, give ’em weapons in their hand and make an army of soldiers and take ’em out of the nursing home, take ’em out of the old folks home, take ’em out of the baby nursery and get ’em out of those churches and places where they’ve just been lullabied till Jesus comes, and put ’em in their armories and in their training camp and make soldiers of the cross, make warriors out of them! . . .
“How many want to be the Bride of Christ? Then you gotta put your combat boots on. Get off your little golden slippers. . .
“Let’s take that devil, and put him under our feet, and stomp him to dust. . . Are you ready? . . . Where is that devil now? Dead meat under your feet!
“Now did the Bible say all things are under our feet? Are we demonstrating in an act in the natural by what’s happening in the spiritual? I’m gonna kill another, I killed that one good. . . . [music, drums, shouting in background]
“Jesus said, ‘For this purpose was the Son of God manifested that he might destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy the works of the devil!’ Halleleluia! Amen! Alright. Now. . . . . Are you ready, are you read? I, I want to hear some shouting and I want to hear this whole floor reverberating with squished, squashed destroyed devils. . . “
[talk transcribed]
This is pure Latter Rain dominionism heretical theology, teaching that Jesus did not defeat Satan at the Cross, and that the Church must do the work in defeating Satan on earth. To understand why these statements are heresies, see articles posted at this webpage.
The question remains — at what point does this military rhetoric turn into real warfare?
The Truth:
Believers are plainly told what type of footwear to put on in the New Testament. We are to wear the footwear of the Gospel of peace. Our stance is to stand and withstand heresies such as those described above. (Eph. 6:13) And our only “weapon” is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17)
“And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” (Ephesians 6:15)