Chapter 2 begins with some non-directed
commentary about how “many now say that
we are on the brink of the greatest revival of Christianity since the Book of
Acts...” In any event, after claiming that “the Lord directed me” and the Lord even gave him passages in Isaiah
as a warning to others, Dean cites exactly the same passages that most
fundamental believers have used long —before him— to claim that the Christian
church went “apostate” in the second century.
Make no mistake. We agree with Dean when he
writes:
“…the Bible plainly predicts that the churches
of Christendom will be in a state of terminal apostasy both BEFORE and at the
return of Jesus Christ. It has been my sad and disheartening discovery that the
peoples of Christendom, and especially their leaders, are all liars. What makes
them liars, is that they willfully refuse to acknowledge what, in particular,
the Bible has to say about the last days of Christendom”.
And:
“there is
NO, not so much as a single mention in the New Testament of any time in which
this evil trend will ever be reversed; but in every case, and in every place,
all of the inspired writers see nothing but infiltration by false brethren, the
rise and popularity of false teachers, and the continuous corruption of Christian
doctrine”.
Our problem is with his claim that “the Lord directed” HIM to write about the great and final apostasy of Christendom as
he were the first or the only one whose eyes have been opened. This is an
inflated claim. Twenty years before “the
Lord directed” Dean about this unquestionable apostasy, Tozer warned:
“Wherever Christians meet these days one word
is sure to be heard constantly repeated; that is revival. In sermon, song and prayer we are forever reminding the
Lord and each other that we must have to solve all our spiritual problems is a
‘mighty, old-time revival…’ So strongly is the breeze blowing for revival that
scarcely anyone appears to have the discernment or the courage to turn around
and lean into the wind, even though the truth may easily lie in that direction…
It is my considered opinion that under the present circumstances we do not want
revival at all. A widespread revival of the kind of Christianity we know today
in America might prove to be a moral tragedy from which we would not recover in
a hundred years” [A.W. Tozer, Keys to the
Deeper Life, The Sunday Magazine, 1971, pp.7-8].
It should be more than passing interest to
everyone that the Lord Jesus Christ and the prophets and apostles, whose words
are recorded in the Bible, predicted a time of unprecedented revival of the mysterious and apparently
miraculous. Yet they warned that these “last days signs and wonders” would be a
great delusion that would prepare the world and the false Christians for the
Antichrist.
The fact that Christ and His apostles
accurately pinpointed MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS AGO precisely what we are seeing
today ought to pique our interest in what else they said, and why. We all should
examine these prophecies and seek to understand them in the context of today’s
highly touted “spiritual awakening” or “revival” that is occurring
simultaneously inside and outside Christendom.
Biblical prophets, and the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself, also warned of a great spiritual delusion and occult seduction in a
period of time called the “last days” just prior to Christ return. The warnings
concerned “false prophets” who would perform “great signs and wonders” that
would be so convincing that “if it were possible, they shall deceive the very
elect” (Matthew 24:24). Paul also warned of a false “signs and wonders”
movement in the last days (2 Timothy 3:8). Significantly, nowhere in the Bible
do we find a good or legitimate “signs and wonders” or “revival” movement
prophesied for the last days, nor even a hint that would be needed or helpful.
Today a growing “signs and wonders” movement in
Christendom is literally exploding and is involving not only charismatics and
Pentecostals but even evangelicals who only a few years ago were opposed to
what they would have characterized at that time as fraud. Today, in spite of
the warnings by both Christ and Paul, there is scarcely any thought that
today’s revival might be part of the
very spiritual deception which the Bible foretells.
We are also seeing as a part of the “signs and
wonders” movement a burgeoning “church growth” movement, and “praying and
fasting for revival” movement, and a “spiritual warfare” movement, all working
toward the same goal. Few are those who dare to see any connection between
these movements within Christendom and the apostasy from the faith which the
Bible prophesies for the last-days (1 Timothy 4:1). Those who call themselves
Christians are just as reluctant to admit the possibility of any satanic
involvement in their “miracles” as the secular world is to admit the possibility
of such involvement in the human potential and psychic powers it seeks to
develop.
It is our conviction, based upon many years of
observation and research, than we are in the midst of an accelerating false spiritual revival of both the
secular world and Christendom.
As said before, these warnings and predictions
were made MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS AGO. Dean’s claim that “the Lord directed” HIM is exaggerated and misleading. Many, through
these more than 2,000 years have written, warned and called attention to these
truths. He is neither the first nor the only one.
Dean also quotes 2 Peter 2:3 to prove his case
about the great and final apostasy of
Christendom and its impossibility of reformation.
It is also impossible to believe that Dean does
not see his own begged question: That the complaints about “endless pleading”
are indeed ALWAYS valid (and not the errant complaints of selfish parishoners
who refuse to support legitimate missions); that the motives of anyone
requesting support are always impure. Dean has made it his business to
mind-read anyone who requests support as being “covetous” with no concern for
discernment. Well, what of that Jesus' ministry was supported by others
financially, as was Paul's? In that day and age, to get support, you went and
ASKED a wealthy person or two to be your patron (Luke 8:1-3). In that day also
it was considered a mark of honor to share the wealth, and shameful to refuse.
Now it is considered honorable to have wealth and a shame to ask someone to
share it! Dean has fallen for the anachronism of reading modern values into the
text.
It should be noted here that Dean does not
stick to his austerity. The way he
writes against the “endless pleading for more of your money” from Christians
devoted to the Lord’s work one would think that he doesn’t plead for money. He
does. He drops subtle hints about how much he’d like to receive financial
support from his followers.
“By no
means am I denying that they which preach the gospel should live of (from) the
gospel (1 Cor. 9:14). There are, and will be, certain persons that God ordains
to receive financial assistance from others, that they may devote themselves to
work for which THE WORLD will not pay them. I am, myself, in such a case: but I
dare not allow anyone who "helps me on the way" to think that all is
well between them and God just because they supported or flattered me. In the
fear of God, I am more severe and demanding with my "friends" than I
am with strangers: always ready to lose both their approval and support FOR
THEIR OWN GOOD, and in the Fear of God” (Chapter 8, page 226).
And:
“You may decide to
send some money to me, in the belief that God wants you to affirm and support
the message of this book; but for that, you will get NO tax exemption. By this
means, The State is funneling money into particular churches, while
discouraging any giving or charity outside these "official channels".
Those who will "sign up" with The State also gain public authority by
having "official credentials" that are recognized and honored by THE
WORLD” (Chapter 17,
page 411).
And:
“Someone in Singapore completely type set and paid for the publishing of THE GREAT DREAM all on their own time and money. Someone else created the the web-site featuring THE GREAT DREAM on their own time and with their own money (not me). Someone in Holland is now translating the entire massive
472 pages of THE GREAT DREAM into Dutch and placing that on a new Dutch web-site on their own time and money. Others have bought case loads of THE GREAT DREAM on their own money to give away. Someone else is working on starting a Spanish translation of THE GREAT DREAM to be published on the web and in print. Complete copies of THE GREAT DREAM are on several other web-sites around the world (not my doing, either). People gave me free advertising for THE GREAT DREAM in international publications. Without tremendous help, encouragement and practical assistance by a few others, THE GREAT DREAM would still be a manuscript in a cardboard box gathering dust somewhere. One fellow, after reading THE GREAT DREAM through twice in a row, sent me $2000.00.... and 6 month later, he did it again!” (Email on
file).
You see the problem here? The motives of anyone
requesting support are always impure, Dean’s are pure. Others don’t have the
right to receive help from fellow believers, he does.
With an injection of realism and common sense, Dean's entire
case collapses in a heap. But let's proceed to more particulars anyway.