The Holy Spirit Whirlpool

The Bible clearly states in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 that the Antichrist will be revealed in the last days:

Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition

Who this “son of perdition” is, no one knows. But we do know that many Christians are being deceived, caught up in a fuzzy whirlpool of good feelings, false unity, and muddled spirituality.

Included in this apostate whirlpool is Rick Warren. He recently made it even more clear that he is biblically unhinged when he encouraged Christians to pray for the 115 cardinals, who were selecting the new pope, that they would “seek(ing) God’s will in a new leader”. Do Not Be Surprised has an interesting article about Warren’s support of Catholics Come Home, a Catholic group that uses broadcast media in order to evangelize and inspire inactive Catholics to come back “home”.

Another player in the whirlpool is Kenneth Copeland. His aberrant doctrines include the ransom theory (God sent Jesus in order to reclaim the planet earth from satan) and the prosperity theory (name-it-claim-it). His teachings are quite liberal, although his followers (Charismatics and Pentecostals) would say he’s a conservative. In this article on KCM.org a former KCM director, Tony Palmer, who is involved in Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) and also an official member of a Roman Catholic Ecumenical Delegation for Christian Unity and Reconciliation, is interviewed by BVOV, Believer´s Voice of Victory, Copeland’s magazine. KCM and the Copelands have maintained a strong pro-Catholic partnership with him. Palmer knows the new pope, Francis I, and in fact considers him his spiritual father and prayer partner. Palmer reveals that

…when he (Pope Francis) was introduced during a large Christian meeting in Buenos Aires where over 5,000 evangelical protestant leaders were in attendance, Pope Francis (then Cardinal Bergoglio) knelt down in front of the evangelical pastors and asked them to lay hands on him and bless him! Every year, as Cardinal, he would join his evangelical brothers (pastors) for their annual weeklong retreat—not as a guest speaker to teach, but as one of them… He always tells me that we all need to live like Jesus. It’s all about Jesus!

…During our times together, we have spoken about our shared pain of the division of Christians, and together we have shared both tears and prayers for her healing—the one Bride of Christ…

…The time of “spiritual apartheid” is coming to an end, and I believe Pope Francis will be one of the proponents of its demise. We have a worldwide charismatic movement of the renewal of the Holy Spirit within the Catholic Church… We now live in a post-Protestant era with a pope who openly embraces his brothers and sisters of all Christian denominations… Diversity is divine, but division is diabolic. It’s time to celebrate diversity in the bond of unity. We are one Bride, one Body in one Baptism. (emphasis added)

Supposedly the Holy Spirit is the common denominator in bringing the Protestants and Catholics together. Since when does the word of God declare that Christians who are new creatures in Christ Jesus are spiritually compatible with those who reject justification in Christ alone and teach their billion plus followers that salvation is through the Catholic church, the priests and the sacraments? The infallible word of God doesn’t teach any such thing.

Here in Mexico, evangelical missionaries have come in the past to stay with me while they have their Charismatic meetings. (For the record, they no longer stay with me.) A few years ago a missionary couple came back to my house after preaching at a local church service. They told me that there were two women who received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I responded, “But I know them and they aren’t even Christians!”. The preaching couple didn’t care that they weren’t Christians, they just continued to tell people how “God had moved” in the service and the two women, along with others, had been speaking in tongues. I was quite appalled, but come to find out, Charismatics believe that anyone can be baptized in the Holy Spirit as long as they can “speak in tongues”.

In the Copeland article, Palmer says

Pope Francis is openly supportive of the work of the Holy Spirit and the Charismatic renewal, and in his choosing of Saint Francis’ name, he promises to continue to support what the Holy Spirit has begun.

I see. So as long as the “Holy Spirit” is working in people’s lives, the relationship (or lack of a relationship) with God doesn’t matter. That’s a whirlpool I’d rather not step in.