from Gay Christian Movement Watch:
The false teachers seem to be popping up everywhere, just like the violent ”pop-up storms” we have in Georgia which quickly do massive damage in selected areas.
On the heels of our post on “doctrines of devils”, take a moment to examine another searing example of the doctrines of devils being spewed from the pulpits of the contemporary church.
Feted as one of the world’s foremost theologians who teaches at the likes of Harvard and Oxford, Bishop Thomas Wright of England contends that heaven is not the final destination of the saved. And strangely reminiscent of Watchtower doctrine, Wright denies the rapture and the destruction of the earth. Wright’s teachings seem to question even the resurrection of the dead.
In a radical departure from traditional belief, Wright says that Christians are not ultimately destined for a spiritual place called heaven. He says that at the end of time as we know it, God will literally remake our physical bodies and return us to a newly restored planet.
“Heaven is important but it’s not our final destination,” he explained. “If you want to say that when someone dies they go to heaven, fine. But that’s only a temporary holding pattern that is life after death. And what I’m much more interested in, or the New Testament is much more interested in, is what I’ve called life after life after death.”
The major issue with people like Wright who perhaps unwittingly become pawns in the spread of the demon’s doctrine is that they take some scripture and skillfully mix it with speculation, worldly wisdom and postmodernist ideology. Its a deadly concoction because truth mixed with anything other than truth (God’s that is) becomes deadlier than an outright lie. It is beautiful, attractive deception.
The red flag that is it a “departure from traditional belief.” In this case, Wright false doctrine is a radical departure. That would equal seven red flags.
Wright’s motivation (as was mentioned by the pastor at Dead Theologians) is not to evoke a desire for holiness in people, obedience to the will of God, nor to uphold clear principles of righteousness, but to steer people away from what the Bible has said and confirmed concerning the faith once delivered to the saints.
If you are a minimal, casual bible reader, BEWARE you are the type that will be fooled, hoodwinked and bamboozled by the false teachers running around like demonic pacmen. I strongly urge you to pray first and ask God to give you a hunger and thirst for the living water and the bread of heaven. Then put action to your prayer and study God’s word to know HIM and who HE is. Only then will you live. Jesus said in John 6:63 “the words that I speak are spirit and life”. If you listen to and become influenced by the false teachers, you will become like the chaff which the winds drive away.
NOTE: I forgot to include the article from which the quote came from in the body of the post. There are a couple:
(1) ABC News (2)Time Magazine. I encourage you to read them also.
I knew that this man was deluded when I saw his funny book called the Final Quest…he said that he saw demons on the mountain side “urinating on Christians below and polluting them…I remember I closed the book thinking, demons don’t unrinate, they are spiritual beings and forgot about him.
Then he came to Jacksonville, we have a DVD showing an entire church under hypnosis, including the pastor …we’ve had DVD about five years, we were shocked but have only realized now what his position seems to be in the apostasy movement that is going going on.
pat holliday
First, I would like to address the previous comment by patpat. The book to which you refer was written by Rick Joyner, a false prophet, not by N.T. Wright who is one of the worlds’ leading theologians.
Now to John. I admire your zeal to defend biblical doctrine. I feel the same way. I wish more people were concerned about teaching sound Biblical doctrine. That is the very reason I think you should reconsider your position on N.T. Wright. Have you actually read any of his books?
If you do, will find that he formulates his teaching from scripture. His teaching related to heaven is that Christians have adopted false ideas about heaven that are not based on the Bible. A careful reading of scripture will reveal that the hope of the Apostles was in the resurrection.
Very often, when we first hear something that challenges what we have come to believe, we simply dismiss it and disregard it out of hand. I am guilty as anybody else of doing the same thing. Like you, I would dismiss ideas that conflicted with my presuppositions.
I think that we would probably agree on many issues but again, I think you should at least give Wright a fair hearing. At a minimum, read one of his books and fairly consider what he has to say. His teaching has had a huge impact on my ability to understand the Bible.
Blessings to you.
Russell,
I have read some of N.T. Wrights book and in this instance I agree with the author of this article
N.T Wright IS incorrectly identifying what Salvation is. He even contradicts Jesus own Words. and hence he misunderstands Revelation 21.
N.T. Wright is saying that Salvation is not being “Born Again” or Born of the Spirit. He is saying that Salvation is a future thing. Something that does not occur until the “New Heaven and New Earth” are created by God as spoken of in Revelation 21
You can read N.T. Wrights explanation here:
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/nicholas_t_wright/2007/06/start_by_understanding_salvati.html
Also his reading of Revelation 21 is very far off!