MIRACLES, SIGNS, AND WONDERS, OR WHY I AM A CHARISMATIC, NOT A CHARISMANIAC

Very early in my Christian experience, I became a Charismatic.  For those who don't know, a Charismatic Christian is similar to a Pentecostal in that they both believe in speaking in tongues.  For a long time, I believed the only difference was in the church organizations they came out of.  Now I know that is not the case.

Pentecostals separated from the traditional Protestant denominations in the early 20th century.  In the late 1940s a new movement emerged from  Pentecostalism called the Latter Rain.  Most Pentecostal dominations renounced the Latter Rain because they taught esoteric doctrines.  However, no new denomations formed within the movement.  Many new local congregations formed and stayed indepentent.  Then some of pastors began to form alliances and/or spin off new congregations from their original group.  These became cults, such as the Branham cult.

Then, in the late 50s, many traditional Christians started speaking in tongues, but they stayed within their denominations!  Because Pentecostals tended to be viewed as legalistic, these decided to identify as Charismatic instead.

Somehow, the Latter Rain and WOF movements got labeled as Charismatic as well.  So, in my opinion, two Charismatic movements may have been going on at the same time.

Today, we see another movement called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR for short).  In my opinion, it is a resurgence of the Latter Rain, but this time, it's on steroids.

The major trait of the Latter Rain/WOF/NAR is the emphasis on miracles, signs, and wonders.  This often comes with emotionalism and sometimes strange behavior that has nothing to do with Christ.  Because of this, this new movement has been called Charismania.

What makes all this possible is a misunderstanding of miracles, signs, and wonders.  I am not going to claim to be an expert on these things.  I just want to give people a better understanding of them, so they won't be misled.

What is a miracle?

In general, a miracle is an event that someone can't explain, and that an invisible agent, such as a spirit or God must have made it happen.

But an unseen agent could be hidden instead of invisible.  When someone performs an act that appears miraculous, it is an illusion.  If done for the purpose of entertainment, we call it stage magic.  When they do the same same thing to persuade people that a real supernatural event has taken place, it is deception, no matter if anyone calls it a miracle.

A true miracle happens when God intervenes in the physical realm.  It is not just a supernatural effect.

False miracles can be performed by demons.  Consider the confrontation between Moses and the Pharaoh's priests.  All three serpents were physically real, but only one remained.

Sometimes things happen that someone can't explain how it happened, so they assume it was a miracle, especially after they prayed for it.  If some time passed between the prayer and the answer, the event could still be totally natural.  I once heard of an incident where someone wanted an air conditioner turned on, but it didn't start blowing until later.  They said it was a miracle, but I had my doubts.  I've had box fans that when they got old, the blades would turn slowly until speeding up to a full blow.  In the case of the delayed AC, the same thing could have happened, but because the people involved could not see the fan, they assumed a miracle.  They still had reason to be thankful - the AC wasn't dead yet.

Healing sometimes does occur naturally.  Let's say you get a small scratch on your arm without any redness or bleeding.  You don't even need a bandage, maybe just a little lotion, cream, or ointment.  You don't pay any more attention to it.  Then you notice it's gone a couple of days later.  God gave our bodies amazing ways to heal and fight diseases.

God also gave us the intelligence to discover and develop medical treatments.  But, our intellects are finite, so medicine is limited.

I believe that God heals through miracles as well as through medicine, and natural processes.  Sometimes, God speeds up the natural processes, and those instances are miracles too, because those processes can not speed up on their own.

What is a sign?

A sign is a miracle.  So, what makes a miracle a sign?  What makes anything a sign?  It has a message on it.

You drive down a main street and see a thing that is shaped like a cowboy hat.  It has a name on in, Arby's.  The message is, You can get roast beef and other kinds of sandwiches here.

So a supernatural sign is a miracle with a message attached.

What is a wonder?

A wonder is a sign, but you do not know or cannot figure out what the message is, so you wonder, What is God trying to say?

The best example of this that I know of is in Acts 2.  The crowd that gathered knew that the speaking in tongues they heard was a miracle.  They also knew it was a sign.  But they couldn't figure out what the message was, so someone asked, What does this mean?

They did not ask if it was a miracle.  They could tell that it was because they could understand what the tongue-speakers said.

Since nothing like this had happened to them before, they saw that it was also a sign.

Too many reports are coming out about staged 'miracles' performed by big name leaders in Charismania and it's predecessor movements.  Many of their practices come from Spiritualism, and their doctrines come from Gnosticism.

People need to be aware of the deception and the deceivers out there.

JOHN ALEXANDER DOWIE - THE CORNERSTONE OF CULTS

You might not have heard of John Alexander Dowie, but you have probably seen his influence in operation in many modern cults.  This article is not going to rehash his history, but analyse his behavior and his personality.  Most of this is based on a book: Militant Christian Extremism: A Critical Examination of John Alexander Dowie, by John Andrew Collins.

For those who don't know much about Dowie, I will summarize his history.

He was born in Scotland in the middle of the 19th century.  His family moved to Australia when he was in his preteens.  In his late teens, he did return to Scotland for Bible studies.  Back in Australia, he became a Congregational minister, and pastored a few churches.  He split with that organization, and became totally antidenominational.  He also began preaching a "Gospel of Divine Healing."

As a faith healer, he gained more fame and influence.  But pressure from the press and local government officials led him to come to America.

First, he settled in Los Angeles.  The newspapers supported him, until they received reports about his behavior in Australia.  He soon moved up to San Francisco, where the same process repeated itself.

He arrived in Chicago just as the city was beginning to prepare for a World's Fair.  He set up a tent right beside the entrance to the fair as an easy way to pull in new followers, and money.

Conflicts with the press and city leaders caused him to move again, but this time he didn't go far.  He established the Chicago suburb of Zion, sandwiched between Waukegan and Wisconsin.  He was ousted from ministry, but stayed in Zion until his death in 1906.

Several well known leaders in early Pentecostal circles came from Dowie's commune:  Charles Fox Parham, F. F. Bosworth, John G. Lake, and Gordon Lindsay.  Bosworth and Lindsay were close associates of William Branham.

My analysis of Dowie is that he was a narcissist.  Narcissists always want to be the center of attention, they are always right, they are never to be blamed even when they are caught doing wrong.

I don't think he was born a narcissist, but I can see how he might have become one.

His exposure to ministry began in Scotland during his childhood.  Dowie wrote tracts and gave speeches for the Temperance Movement.  I'm sure the attention he received then boosted his confidence, and his ego.

He probably worked with the Salvation Army then because they were a major part of that movement.  Later, in Australia, he led several Salvation Army style marches.  When Dowie was criticized for the noisy spectacles, he publicly condemned the bar owners, the press, and even other ministers who didn't like his tactics.

Dowie seemed to have an appetite for controversy as a way to draw attention to himself.  He would often attack Spiritualists, Catholics, denominations and their ministers before they would say anything about him.  He even criticized a popular Civil War hero upon the man's death.  After he started his healing ministry, he added doctors, nurses, and government health officials to his list of targets.

Sadly, Dowie criticized his victims.  Many people with serious medical conditions came to him for healing, but no one could confirm any healings happening under his ministry.  He opened up healing homes, where people would pay good money to stay in order to receive healing.  But many were carried out the back under cover of darkness to be taken to funeral homes.  People who came to his services and didn't get healed, he would accuse them of not having enough faith.  Towards the end, he claimed that some were not worthy of healing!

One other thing I need to cover about Dowie - his financial abuse.  He would take up multiple collections during a service.  He would neglect or refuse to pay suppliers or contractors.  He built his commune by buying up land, then lease lots to his followers, or if they wanted to buy the lot, they could borrow money from the bank he owned.  He left behind a huge fortune. I believe the gathering of wealth also fed his ego.  He sometimes bragged about his business skills.

Well, I hope you can see how many cult leaders, false teachers, false prophets, false apostles, and false messiahs, etc. operate and fit this pattern.  Chances are, Dowie wasn't the first preacher to work this way, and he definitely wasn't the last, either!  But, I believe that preachers who followed Dowie copied his pattern, and it spread through various movements and revivals.

If you want to read John Collins' book, or just to find out more about Dowie, check John's website:  William Branham Historical Research

WHY TALK ABOUT CULTS?

The answer is quite simple.  Cults usually don't draw in a large number of people, as in a large portion of the population, so they might not seem to be a big threat.  But, these groups might promote false doctrines that could be adopted by other groups.  Those other groups might or might not become a cults, but the ones that don't become cults could still develop cultish traits.

Today, church scandals make the news almost every day.  Scandals are nothing new in Christendom, but they have become more common.  When you look at the history of cults, you can see how they can be a breeding ground for scandalous behavior.

Some time ago, a video popped up on my YouTube feed that caught my attention.  It was about William Branham.  I had heard that Branham had operated in miracles, but had taught false doctrine towards the end of his ministry.  The truth about this man turned out to be much worse.  In short, he started a cult that still exists.

That video was a podcast, part of a series on William Branham.  The host had grown up in the cult, but left as an adult.  He had questions, and began to research.  The result of his research was not just the podcast, but some short documentaries, a website, and a few books.  If you want to know more -

William Branham Historical Research