Excerpts from "Why I Left the Prophetic Movement" by Andrew Strom

Posted: 2007-11-07 08:34:53

Chapter One:  Why I Left the Prophetic Movement (pages 5-15)

P. 5-  I have no problem with the concept of ‘prophets’ as such. In fact, I wish we had more real prophets in the world, not less.

P. 6-  A report on the Kansas City Conference, Oct 28-30, 2004. The saddest thing of all is that many people probably came away from this conference saying how “wonderful” and “uplifting” it was…. But I have to tell you, I was grieved to the core by it.

P. 7-  The word the Lord gave me (He woke me up Friday morning at 6:00 A.M.) was that this must be a ‘repentance’ conference-that this was in essence the “last chance” for the Prophetic movement because it had become more and more corrupt-centered around money and ‘ear tickling’ words, false prophecy and so on.

However, what actually eventuated at this event seemed to me to be more akin to a circus than a solemn assembly. (music, stage lighting, dancers, the hype, $40.00 door fee, offerings every session)

What really bothered me about the weekend was the total lack of any truly ‘prophetic’ preaching (a message that that truly pierces and challenges and convicts).

P. 8-  The on stage dancing throughout this conference… made me very uncomfortable in my spirit. It seemed so “pagan,” that I could hardly even bear to stay in there. Then came one of the main prophets; He said, you may feel uncomfortable with this “pagan” type dancing but that it was originally God’s type of dancing and we were just now ‘stealing back’ what the pagans had stolen from God! This was the last straw for me. What kind of ‘spirits’ do they think are being transmitted to people who open themselves up to that music? There is no discernment in this movement at all.

P. 9-  Below are the SPECIFIC THINGS that God told me He has against this movement as a whole:

-The giving and receiving of “ear tickling” words.

-The giving and receiving of money in expectation of prophecy.

-False words and false teaching.

-The lack of a true Repentance message.

_-The spiritual ‘blindness’ that allows familiar spirits and spirits of divination to flourish.

-The failure of the movement to judge itself, meaning that God must judge it.

-The idolizing of well-known prophets-placing them on a pedestal.

P. 11-  There are some teachings and practices that come straight out of the New Age movement (Andrew Strom gives some examples). I told my readers that if they attended these kind of things, or allowed these prophets to ‘guide’ them in the way, then they were opening themselves up to all kinds of spirits and demonic counterfeits. I went on: “It is with great sadness that I make the above points. I have refrained from saying such things in the past, but I can no longer do so, because untold people are being spiritually damaged by what is going on. Please understand my heart in this.”

HOW TO AVOID DECEPTION

What a lot of people don’t seem to recognize is the sheer level of ‘peer pressure’ and ‘crowd manipulation’ that is going on at many of these events. They end up being led into doing things they feel uncomfortable with, just because “everybody else” is doing it. They squash down their discernment. They ignore the “little voice” or the tiny ‘alarm bells’ inside them that are trying to get their attention.

P. 12-  REDEFINING “PROPHET”   Just because I have cut myself off from today’s Prophetic movement does not mean that there is no place for prophets in the church. In fact, I believe we need true prophets now more than ever. Every true Prophetic movement, right from the Old Testament down through every Revival and Awakening that I have ever studied, has been a movement of REPENTANCE. And yet we find today a movement that calls itself “Prophetic”- but with ‘revelations’ and words of knowledge at its core-No piercing word. This is the precise reason why it has gone off the rails. I am convinced that God IS  going to raise up true prophets in this hour to cry to the lukewarm church “Repent.” The “John the Baptists” whom God has prepared in the caves and wildernesses are about to arise and speak His word-just as in every Great Awakening down through history. The whole point of what we are still doing is to call forth and encourage these “John the Baptists” whom God is raising up in this hour. We will not stop crying aloud until we see a great “Repentance” Revival sweeping this nation from coast to coast. 

Chapter Five:  What is Real Revival? (pages 56-60)

P. 56-  I have often been saddened by the corruption of the term “Revival” in recent times-and what it actually means. So few Christians seem to be aware of what really happens when God comes down. (For that is what true Revival is- “GOD COMING DOWN”). When Moses came down from the mountain, he carried the holy presence and glory of God with him. The people wanted to run and hide! That is what true Revival has always been like. It is the invasion of the awesome holy presence of God….We need to see people truly “cut to the heart” like on the day of Pentecost.

P. 57-  True Revival itself is aimed at cleansing, purging and then empowering God’s people. If they have fallen into a state of spiritual decline or lukewarmness, then the first thing that true Revival will bring is deep REPENTANCE. True Revival brings God’s children to their knees. As on writer commented, Revival is “not the top blowing off, but rather the bottom falling out.”

P. 58-  In this kind of genuine outpouring of the Holy Spirit the tangible presence of God is very real Frank Bartleman described one of the meetings during the Azusa Street Revival of 1906 as follows: “God came so wonderfully near us the very atmosphere of Heaven seemed to surround us. Such a divine ‘weight of glory’ was upon us we could only lie on our faces. All would be on their faces on the floor, sometimes during the whole service.”

P. 59-  As Evan Roberts (of the 1904 Welsh Revival) said: “First, is there any sin in your past with which you have not honestly dealt,-not confessed to God? On your knees at once. Your past must be put away and cleansed. Second, is there anything in your life that is doubtful-anything you cannot decide whether it is good or evil? Away with it There must not be a trace of a cloud between you and God. Have you forgiven everybody-EVERYBODY? If not, don’t expect forgiveness for your sins….”

A CLOUD OF CONFUSION   With any new MOVE OF God, Satan is desperate to somehow thwart or destroy it, not just AFTER it has begun, but if at all possible, even BEFORE it begins.

P. 60-  The devil will use any means at his disposal to try and derail or destroy a new (or imminent) Revival.  Revival is the devil’s worst nightmare come true- a flood of cleansing and power designed to restore God’s people to what they were meant to be in the world. When Revival breaks out, or is about to break out, the devil will often move on many fronts: targeting certain leaders whom God is using to prepare the people, trying to break up relationships between key leaders, stirring up opposition from other Christians, introducing “counterfeits”…stirring up controversy to distract people’s minds away from central truths, etc. If he can ruin a Revival in the ‘preparation’ stage, then the devil knows he has done incredibly well. However, if he can’t, then he will try to ruin it as soon as possible after it begins.

Chapter Seven:  A Real Prophetic Movement (pages 89-91) Trumpet Call to the Church---Laodicean Prophets in a Laodicean Age

P. 89-  It is not just the (false) “manifestations” that convinced me that the whole Prophetic movement was failing God, but it was also the lack of any real “trumpet call” to the church. In one of my articles I wrote, “We live today in the age of the ‘Lukewarm” church- a church that is at imminent risk of being “spewed out” of the mouth of God. I believe that God raised up the Prophetic move specifically to awaken and challenge and convict His wayward people before it was too late. Too many prophets have made themselves thoroughly comfortable with the present system. They know that if they keep their mouths shut in certain areas and “emphasize the positive” (an advertising slogan) then they can do quite nicely for themselves without too much risk. Thus, through their silence they have become nodding supporters of the status quo. They are Laodicean prophets in a Laodicean age. Biblical prophets knew how to “cry aloud and spare not.” Which is exactly the kind of preaching that a lukewarm church most needs to hear.

P. 90-  I believe that God gave one of the most key mandates to the modern Prophetic movement in 1982 when He said: “I am going to change the understanding and expression of Christianity IN THE EARTH in one generation.” I believe this movement was sent to essentially proclaim this to the church-in the fullest degree-A tidal wave of MASSIVE CHANGE. There is no doubt that it is a very threatening message to the Laodicean status quo. But we are to STAND on it and PROCLAIM it in the most radical sense.  What we have now is a Prophetic movement that can live quite happily with the status quo-side by side with a thoroughly lukewarm church. The Prophetic movement that God desired to be at the center of a great vortex of “CHANGE” affecting the whole body of Christ, is now little less than a “sideshow.” –A safe, predictable sideshow that people can visit if they want to hear some warm prophecies about themselves or the church. Church leaders talk about “making a place for the prophetic” in their church like it was some tame little dog that they need to find room for. Just another flavor to add to the mix. But it was never supposed to be that way. The prophetic was supposed to THREATEN AND SHAKE EVERYTHING. That is what prophets were sent in to do when Israel was backslidden, were they not? It is the same with the church. Can you imagine Jesus arriving in a lukewarm church and NOT shaking everything?

P. 91-  There is all this talk about “coming Elijahs” today. I tell you, if Elijah did arrive in the church, most of these people would not know where to hide themselves fast enough. Do you think he would stand for the nonsense that we call “charismatic church meetings” today? The time has come for TRULY RADICAL prophets of God to arise. Prophets, let the fire of God consume you, and come forth bearing words that will SHAKE THE CHURCH. Nothing less will do. A tepid and insipid Prophetic? –AWAY WITH IT FOREVER.

Prophetic “Junkies” (pages 93-94)

P. 93-  The Prophetic should not be centered around ‘revelations’ above all else. (My own thought here: Some who may be addicted to and who read many revelations may not be changed to walk closer to the Lord in their daily lives).

At this point I would like to challenge any prophetic minister who is reading this:

-Is your ministry centered mostly around revelatory experiences? (Feeding itching ears)

-Or are you boldly proclaiming Shaking, Change and Repentance, as you should to a Laodicean church?

-Is your preaching convicting and challenging? (Like every prophet in the Bible).

-Or does it leave the church ‘warmed but largely unshaken?

-Is your ministry aimed at actually equipping and raising up the whole Body into ministry?

-Or is it your OWN MINISTRY that remains the center of attention?

P. 94-  Prophets, please hear me: I am all for visions and words being shared. But it must be in the context of a ‘REPENTANCE AND CHANGE’ type ministry.

Chapter Eight:  Needed: A Great Reformation (pages 114-116) Getting the Church “Saved”

P. 114-  It is an interesting fact that Charles Finney spent his entire ministry preaching to professing Christians. And yet he was called the greatest ‘evangelist’! What he was doing was evangelizing the church people-because he found that that most of them were not living in a state of true salvation at all. The church was ‘unsaved’! Finney found himself preaching piercing salvation messages his whole life in church buildings, Bible Colleges and so-on. The “Christians” must be saved. In most Revivals down through the centuries, what Revival was, was the church coming into true SALVATION for the first time. They THOUGHT  they were saved before, but they had been under a delusion. When the ‘Revivalist’ arrived and preached to them, suddenly they saw that they were undone and in a lost state, and multitudes were converted. (We need to hear the true message of salvation).

P. 115-  It is difficult not to come to the conclusion that many of these churches are like “holding pens” for the damned-telling people that they are, ‘OK,’ when in reality they are headed for destruction. Of course, Finney was hated and despised by churchmen for saying such things. How DARE he preach in such a way that implied that many ‘fine church members’ were unsaved? Today we see exactly the same thing Finney saw in his day. We see a “church” that is very largely UNSAVED. A truly “saved” church (in the New Testament sense) behaves and looks and sounds utterly different to what we see today. Even in Pentacostal/Charismatic circles we often find many “previously-saved-but-no-longer-walking-in-it” believers. Friends, this is not a state of ‘salvation.’ The Bible is very clear that only those who CONTINUE in New Testament Christianity and who “overcome” will be saved. These people are lost. (We need to hear the true message of salvation and see born again “new creatures” filled with love for Christ and others).