I’ve received many requests from HBP readers to express my thoughts on the New Apostles and Prophets movement that is sweeping the nation. Hopefully, there will be more articles to come on this subject of concern. In this post, the focus is on Mike Bickle and a recent video posted below in which he describes his dramatic supernatural experiences.
According to his own website, Bickle is “ the director of the International House of Prayer Missions Base of Kansas City, an evangelical missions organization based on 24/7 prayer with worship that is engaged in many evangelistic and inner city outreaches along with multiple justice initiatives, planting houses of prayer, and training missionaries.”
To his credit Bickle has delivered some sermons against Oprah and the hyper-grace message of false teachers. When I viewed the video below, I must say that my initial response was that of unbelief. Not to be cynical, but I share Bickle’s attitude (toward Bickle in this case) that he expressed when others tell him of their supernatural experiences: unbelief, “fake,” “exaggeration,” “hype,” etc. Obviously the Bible records supernatural events and many Christians have genuinely experienced miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, but the Bible also tells us:
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 1:4)
How can we test Bickle’s testimony? With Scripture. Bickle claims to have had “5 or 10 very dramatic supernatural experiences,” but he recently had his first “open vision” in 30 years of ministry (in the video below). I found the term “Open Vision” defined by New Apostolic Reformation leader Rick Joyner who said:
The next level of inspiration is a conscious sense of the presence of the Lord, or the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which gives special illumination to our minds. This often happens to me when I am writing, or speaking, and it gives me much greater confidence in the importance or accuracy of what I am saying. I believe that this was probably experienced by the apostles as they wrote the New Testament epistles. This will give us great confidence, but it is still a level where we can still be influenced by our prejudices, doctrines, etc. This is why I believe, in certain matters, Paul would say that he was giving his opinion, but that he thought he had [the agreement of] the Spirit of the Lord. . .
“Open visions” occur on a higher level than impressions; they tend to give us more clarity than we may have even when we feel the conscious presence of the Lord, or the anointing. Open visions are external, and are viewed with the clarity of a movie screen. Because that there is far less possibility of mixture in revelations that come this way. (Rick Joyner, The Final Quest, (New Kensington, PA: Whiteaker House, 1996), 10)
Notice Joyner equated the inspiration of Scripture at a lower level of inspiration than “Open Visions.” Mike Bickle has stated:
On occasion God speaks to His servants in an audible voice. Clearly these are His “very words” that may be reported with 100 percent accuracy. Additionally, open visions of the spiritual realm or of future events are familiar modes of communications to those who move in the prophetic realm with a remarkable degree of accuracy. (Mike Bickle, Growing in the Prophetic (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 1996), 118)
Bickle’s “Open Vision” in the video consisted of tanks coming in mass across America. In September 2005, he said he “saw an angel” with his eyes, “not in a dream, not in a vision.” Bickle says this angel was standing in his room. The angel put a trumpet to his mouth but the trumpet did not touch his lips. He recalls being captivated, confused and in unbelief that he saw an angel. The angel appeared three times to Bickle and he reiterated that he was in turmoil (a state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty). Bickle interprets the trumpet as a warning that disaster is coming and the rallying call to gather to the Temple to the house of prayer. Bickle says disasters far beyond 9/11 and Katrina are coming to America along with a great revival. Bickle speaks of stadiums filled with people for solemn assemblies of prayer along with great disaster in “the next decade or two.”
Bickle’s statement of “in the next decade or two” is helpful, but not necessarily for the time being to determine whether or not he is a true prophet. It is certainly not with “a remarkable degree of accuracy” as he wrote about in his book. Most of the time, when the prophets of the OT would predict an event within a certain time frame, they would give exact figures of years, not “the next decade to two.” Though we are not under the Old Covenant, the following principle applies to Christians as well in discerning the spirits of prophets:
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)
So we have another 10 or 20 years to see if Bickle passes that test. When Bickle spoke of the angelic visitation, he expressed more of a confusion and unbelief than anything else. This testimony was alarming to me because in comparison to the following Scriptures, all of which record historical accounts where angels appeared to people and the consistent response from them was FEAR, which is not what Bickle conveyed in his experience:
Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. (Numbers 22:31)
And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die. (Judges 6:22,23)
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. (Matthew 28:1-5)
And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. (Luke 1:11,12)
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. (Luke 1:28-30)
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (Luke 2:8-10)
He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. (Acts 10:3,4)
This holy fear and reverence is absent in Bickle’s details of his story as well as his manner in which he retells the story. Even if Bickle did see an angel, we must test his words with Scripture. “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). And we must remember that the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ, not the speaker or how many supernatural experiences they’ve had. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit: “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (John 16:14).
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