An Invasion of Error a Review of Bill Johnson-- When Heaven Invades Earth by Bob Dewaay

Yous know information technology'south going to be a good book when….

…the dorsum cover says, "If you are not walking in the miraculous, you're living far below your birthright!"

…one of the endorsements is provided by none other than Todd Bentley.

…the pastor of a church that experiences falling aureate dust, angel feathers, and glory clouds writes a book nigh 'walking in the miraculous' and criticizes the apostle Paul for "restricting or rejecting the use of the gifts of the Spirit. 'Permit all things be done decently and in order' [1 Cor. 14.40]" (p. 156).

Bill Johnson

Bill Johnson (a self-proclaimed apostle) is the pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, CA. Bethel is a church whose mission "is to create a vibrant family unit of hope-filled believers who securely experience the honey and presence of God and partner with Jesus to limited the joy and power of His kingdom in every expanse of life."

If you've heard of the Bethel band , Jesus Culture , or Kim Walker (to throw a few names out there), all come out of Bethel Church (Jesus Culture was the worship band for the youth group).

I borrowed this book from a friend virtually three years ago, but never ended up reading information technology. Later coming home this summer I saw it and recognized Bill Johnson as the author. I've heard foreign things most Bethel, but I'd never looked into it much myself (aside from a few videos past Kris Vallotton). Since they're pretty well-known in the United states and in Norway (both places which are of great importance to me), I thought I'd read the book, run into what Johnson was really all about, and perhaps post a review.

Review

I started off WHIE by giving Johnson the benefit of the doubt. Despite what I had previously heard, I came to the book with  preconceived notions as I could and tried to look at Bethel with a fresh perspective. Perhaps the views others had on Bethel'due south theology were wrong? Or maybe Bethel actually wasn't that bad.

I started reading WHIE looking for any came up, whether positive or negative. I before long trashed that idea considering of the underlying presuppositions Johnson holds in his book.

Instead of the usual way I write my reviews, I'm going to start in reverse and pb in with the Recommendation section. Adjacent will exist The Spoiled Milk (negative) section.

This review will likely be separated into multiple posts rather than risk making it also long for anyone to read in one become. I will post as much of Johnson'due south words and context as I tin in an honest way while nevertheless trying to be articulate and succinct. His words volition be colored in bluish .By doing this you lot can expect and decide for yourself if my points are valid (especially if you ain the volume).

Recommended?

No way. Not only is Johnson'southward central reading of the Scriptures skewed towards having heady spiritual experiences, but his own analyses of reason, logic, and noesis is wrong. His hermeneutics, his conception of Paul every bit opposed to the Holy Spirit'southward piece of work, and his kenosis heresy (and I don't use that discussion lightly) of Jesus laying bated His ain divinity is enough to warrant a sufficient denial of this book's worth.

This review will not be overly harsh for "Johnson says there is no sickness or poverty in heaven, which is true. All the same, in that location is as well no falsehood or mistake in heaven." (DeWaay). There is plenty here that is false.

The Spoiled Milk

Deliver U.s.a. From Evil

"A study on the word evil confirms the intended reach of His redemption. That word is plant in Matthew 6:13 (KJV), 'Evangelize us from evil.' The discussion evil represents the entire curse of sin upon homo. Poneros, the Greek word for evil, came from the give-and-take ponos, significant pain. And that give-and-take came from the root word penes, meaning poor. Look at information technology: evil-sin, hurting-sickness, and poor-poverty. Jesus destroyed the ability of sin, sickness, and poverty through His redemptive work on he cross. In Adam and Eve'due south commission to subdue the earth, they were without sickness, poverty, and sin. Now that we are restored to His original purpose, should we await anything less?" (p. 33).

First off, this 'discussion study' is only terrible. Poneros…to ponos….to penes? And they're all related? As one commenter (Lindsay) said beneath, we don't see the word 'butterfly' and assume it's a fly fabricated of butter. Just because Jesus said "Deliver us from evil " doesn't hateful that ' evil ' will cover both the immediate and all of the peripheral meanings.

And leaving that discussion to one of "expecting anything less?", yes, we should look 'less.' I'll explain more in a second, merely if nosotros are Christians and we still experience pain (which we do), what are nosotros to exercise then? Are we not holding tight enough to our beliefs?

What is poverty? I have more money than 85% pct of the globe. I can read. I tin can write. I have a calculator. But what nearly Christians living in tertiary-world countries? Do they not have plenty religion to bring themselves out of their state of affairs?

In his second letter of the alphabet, Peter says we are looking frontward to the consummation of new creation [two Pet 3.ten-13], and in Revelation 21-22 the former things accept passed abroad and all things are made new. It is where the garden of eden 'temple' (where God'due south presence was) and the mandate for Adam and Eve to 'be fruitful,' 'fill the earth,' and 'subdue it' [Gen one.28] so that the 'world volition be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" [Hab two.xiv] are fulfilled.

Pain Doesn't Set

Johnson doesn't see God using hurting to build character. "Religion lives within the revealed will of God. When I have misconceptions of who He is and what He is like, my religion is restricted by those misconceptions. For example, if I believe that God allows sickness in order to build character, I'll not take conviction praying in nearly situations where healing is needed…. A woman who needed a miracle in one case told me that she felt God had immune her sickness for a purpose. I told her if I treated my children that way I'd exist arrested for kid corruption" (p. 45). Johnson and then states she agreed with him, allowed him to pray for her, and she was healed within minutes.

He goes on to say, "Unbelief is anchored in what is visible or reasonable apart from God. Information technology honors the natural realm as superior to the invisible. The apostle Paul states that what you can see is temporal, and what you can't encounter is eternal*. Unbelief is faith in the inferior [* 2 Cor. 4.18 ] " (p. 45).

Opposite to Johnson's bespeak, this is not at all Paul'south point in 2 Cor. 4.xviii. Johnson fails to keep 4.18 in it's proper context. In 4.7 Paul says, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to prove that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." Though he is affected ( 4.8 ), struck down ( 4.viii ), and carries in the torso the death of Jesus ( 4.10 ), he manifests Christ's life through his flesh and does not lose heart ( iv.sixteen ).

Paul isn't saying "don't believe what y'all run across, God is able to piece of work wondrous miracles before your eyes to keep yous healthy, wealthy, and wise." He's proverb, "Nosotros don't lose heart. Even though our outer self is wasting away (from disease [ four.9-11 ]), our inner cocky is being renewed solar day past day [cf. 3.xviii]. This affliction that is light and momentary is preparing for us a glory that is weighty and eternal, as we expect not to the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen" ( iv.sixteen-eighteen , paraphrase). And then what is unseen? The "building" we have "from God," "eternal in the heavens." Only nosotros know we will exist further clothed in Christ in our resurrection bodies ( v.ii, 4 ) because God "has given united states of america the Spirit as a guarantee" ( v.v ).

My organized religion is put into the fact that God works through our (and my own) suffering, preparing an eternal celebrity; our resurrected bodies. Information technology's non kid abuse. God gives suffering then that the glory to come up is put into its proper perspective (eternal, weighty, glorious). God prepares u.s.a. by giving u.s.a. a foretaste of glory to come, in gild that the suffering may exist put into proper perspective (momentary, lite, illness) (Rom 5.ane-5; 8.16-24).

That God is faithful and can heal me at every turn, but even if I did die from this disease/pain/affliction, I will triumph over decease through and considering of Christ (1 Cor. 15.21-26).

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Conclusion

This outset review covered who Pecker Johnson is, how I will review this book, if it is recommended, while going over three quotes from Johnson. Throughout his book Johnson has in view a Rule theology, where, in Christ, we are now taking the place of Adam and Eve to fill and subdue the world. I take no problem with that, still he as well tacks on that we should be as Adam and Eve were, perfect and hurting gratuitous. We should be able to, by faith, call downwards God'south Spirit, demark the enemy, and bring miracles to hard hearts and pain people. Yet this is not what the Bible teaches. We are to be weak and lowly. We are to a be picture of Christ. Equally the globe begins and continues to agonize united states of america in their hatred of Christ, we persevere in Christ's resurrection power that is at work in us now (2 Cor. 4.12).

Next Time

In my next review I'll become over Johnson's belief in Fideism (or believing that faith is true knowledge), how he cuts upward verses to accept them out of context (with Hebrews 11.3 every bit a instance study), and the spring of faith he takes past saying faith is superior to noesis.

 Later that we'll look at "rejecting everything we don't understand" and pitting Paul against Pentecost.

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Source: https://spoiledmilks.com/2014/10/24/when-heaven-invades-earth-review-pt-1/

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