Hank Hanegraaff - Bible or False Teacher?

Hidden In Him · Jan 22, 2018

Deadworm said:
To understand just how wrong Hanegraaff is about the Azusa Street revival, watch this awesome documentary on the life of William Seymour, the central figure of this revival and in my view an even more influential African American leader than MLK. The documentary makes clear lust how supernatural this revival truly was:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...D0FC2BFCB9A08F9FC090D0FC2BFCB9A08F9&FORM=VIRE

The Azusa Street revival grew out of the Welsh Revival of 1904-1906 for which a young coal miner named Evan Roberts was the central figure. Though theologically untrained and emotionally unstable, Roberts was the ultimate prayer warrior. His ministry sparked a revival that swept up the entire country, as for no apparent natural reason, previously disinterested Welshmen suddenly felt the urge to pack Welsh churches nightly to suffocation, often staying until 4 AM--so thick was the atmosphere of divine presence in the services! Judges were laid off for lack of criminals to try, taverns went out of business for lack of customers, and the mules in the mines stopped working because they could no longer understand the cursing-free commands of the miners!

Informative post, and deserving of a response. My mind went to the same thing. If Hanegraaff (who as I recall has made a living out of heresy hunting his entire life regardless of what denomination he happened to be a part of) is labelling the Azusa St. revival as of the Devil then absolutely; his work without question fits the Biblical definition of blaspheming the Holy Spirit according to Mark 3:28-30:

"Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” —because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The reason for God's severity in the matter is because the power of God is what confirms the word, and declaring to others that His power is of the Devil is to effectively send many to Hell.

Preachers and teachers bear a grave responsibility. It would be better for many if they had never attained to positions of ministry than presuming to speak for God.

Der Alte · Jan 22, 2018

I just read that Hank Hannegraaf converted to Greek Orthodoxy and his radio network severed ties with him.

listed · Jan 22, 2018

I've been involved in those circles. I'm no longer involved partially because of the fraud.

zelosravioli · Jan 22, 2018

I believe their doctrine is so far off that it is fair to say - there is a health and wealth god. (me)
'Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me your talking more about Word of Faith than Charismatic' (toBeLoved)
True, the second line should not be connected to the first.
Agreed, I should have added a explanation before the second line. I don't agree that 'most' charismatics follow the 'word of faith' theology, but the unchecked undiscerning trend among charismatics seems to be headed that direction. And it seems unstoppable except for the sheer number of people who are let down by the movement, fall away from the movement, and come out of it thanks to its own silliness. So thanks to those speaking out against the heretical parts of it like Hank Hanegraaff did, although I don't always agree with Hank Hanegraaff, for sure.

2Timothy2:15 · Jan 22, 2018

Oscarr said:
Commenting on Hanegraaff's book, "Counterfeit Revival", James A. Beverley, professor of theology and ethics at Tyndale Seminary (formerly Ontario Theological Seminary) in Toronto, Canada, reviewed Counterfeit Revival in Christianity Today, and wrote that while the book "exposes some real excesses and imbalances in the current charismatic renewal movements", it is a "misleading, simplistic, and harmful book, marred by faulty logic, outdated and limited research". Other respected Bible teachers with doctoral decrees have described most statements in his book as "ridiculous". These prominent and reliable Bible teachers are far better qualified than Hanegraaff who does not even have have a College Degree, and his research into Revivals lacks depth and the standard of scholarship. This may mean that if his book was presented even as an undergraduate essay, it would not achieve a passing grade from any good non-Charismatic Bible seminary.

So, if Hanegraaff is asserting that modern revivals, including the Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Brownsville revivals are counterfeit, and therefore are of the devil; but could actually, through their fruits are proved to be of the Holy Spirit, then could it be possible that when he faces the Lord Jesus Christ in person, he may be found to have committed the unforgivable sin, and that Jesus may say, "Regardless of what you think you have done and said for Me, I never knew you?"

This could start an interesting discussion about the pros and cons of my statement.

A lot has come out much to my disappointment about Hank

zelosravioli · Jan 22, 2018

'... I can say without a doubt that your statement that "most of the Charismatic is manipulation" is generalised and inaccurate. I fully acknowledge that there are excesses, because I have seen them all...' (Oscarr)
Yes, I thought I'd seen it all too, and yet it continues. And manipulation is the norm whenever I attend, and wherever I attend, if not all I see. Maybe you don't see it, but 'manipulation' from the pulpits and institutions happens in all so many churches, regardless of denomination. Non-manipulation is the rarity.

Sadly, I believe there is manipulation 'consistently' within the charismatic 'services', which is unfortunate to the real authentic work of the Spirit. And since all Pentecostals are technically charismatics, and half the charismatics are Pentecostal, and half of the other half seem to practice most of the pentecostal beliefs anyway: that would make 3/4 who practice a form of sensationalism and seeking after Spirit signs and wonders or practice to a degree such I would say involves manipulation. The calvary chapel movement denomination and such is certainly a softer charismatic style, and your assemblies of God more so, and then more so with other denominations - of which I affiliate and attend - and am very familiar with. Still, I would rather fellowship with the charismatics than fundamental stoics and such, as I love Spirit filled believers, but it hurts to see so many duped by the manipulative side of the ministries that use 'wonders and signs' to keep their pockets and pews filled.

Granted each individual has their own style, practice and belief in the gifts.

listed · Jan 22, 2018

zelosravioli said:
I believe their doctrine is so far off that it is fair to say - there is a health and wealth god. (me)
'Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me your talking more about Word of Faith than Charismatic' (toBeLoved)
True, the second line should not be connected to the first.
Agreed, I should have added a explanation before the second line. I don't agree that 'most' charismatics follow the 'word of faith' theology, but the unchecked undiscerning trend among charismatics seems to be headed that direction. And it seems unstoppable except for the sheer number of people who are let down by the movement, fall away from the movement, and come out of it thanks to its own silliness. So thanks to those speaking out against the heretical parts of it like Hank Hanegraaff did, although I don't always agree with Hank Hanegraaff, for sure.

Yeah the thread seems to be about tearing down another. My personal involvement verifies well enough for me to disassociate.

~Anastasia~ · Jan 22, 2018

1stcenturylady said:
I looked and it appears he was Episcopal. Bott radio kicked him off saying he wasn't scripturally sound.

It's always best to hear it straight from the person in question, IMO.

https://www.ancientfaith.com/films/hanegraaff-interviews

He was an Evangelical Christian, and referred to as "The Bible Answer Man". Even when I didn't agree with him, I had to admire his extensive knowledge of Scripture.

Presbyterian Continuist · Jan 22, 2018

zelosravioli said:
'... I can say without a doubt that your statement that "most of the Charismatic is manipulation" is generalised and inaccurate. I fully acknowledge that there are excesses, because I have seen them all...' (Oscarr)
Yes, I thought I'd seen it all too, and yet it continues. And manipulation is the norm whenever I attend, and wherever I attend, if not all I see. Maybe you don't see it, but 'manipulation' from the pulpits and institutions happens in all so many churches, regardless of denomination. Non-manipulation is the rarity.

Sadly, I believe there is manipulation 'consistently' within the charismatic 'services', which is unfortunate to the real authentic work of the Spirit. And since all Pentecostals are technically charismatics, and half the charismatics are Pentecostal, and half of the other half seem to practice most of the pentecostal beliefs anyway: that would make 3/4 who practice a form of sensationalism and seeking after Spirit signs and wonders or practice to a degree such I would say involves manipulation. The calvary chapel movement denomination and such is certainly a softer charismatic style, and your assemblies of God more so, and then more so with other denominations - of which I affiliate and attend - and am very familiar with. Still, I would rather fellowship with the charismatics than fundamental stoics and such, as I love Spirit filled believers, but it hurts to see so many duped by the manipulative side of the ministries that use 'wonders and signs' to keep their pockets and pews filled.

Granted each individual has their own style, practice and belief in the gifts.

I can understand your position. I left my last Charismatic church in 1979 because of the legalism and dominance of those who tried to impose rules on others, and the two social groups - the "in-crowd" made up of family and supporter of one particular elder (it was an elder run church and one particular elder tried to dominate everyone else. He came from a very exclusive sect, and although he had left the sect, he still had a lot of the legalism of that sect in the way he tried to lead their church). I went and joined my local Anglican church and met a whole group of Anglican Charismatics and found them a completely different group. They were a joyful, honest, God-loving group and did not go for the hype that I found in the mainstream Charismatic churches. It was refreshing for me.

I think that Charismatic people in traditional churches are much more sensible in their approach and tend to avoid the excesses. I favour the "third wave" movement which allowed the modern day use of the supernatural gifts of the Spirit without wanting to change the character of their traditional church. I am a Presbyterian elder in a non-Charismatic church, and I am open about my theology and the people there have no problem with it. I have preached on tongues, prophecy and healing, and they have drank it in willingly. But I have only preached on that once or twice, Most of my preaching as been more the more foundational issues of of the faith which is found in the Westminster Confession. My foundation theology is Puritan Calvinist but without the extremist election doctrine. I guess I am a bit like Charles Finney - somewhere halfway between Calvinist and Arminian but not strictly either. I see the manifestations that sometimes accompany the move of the Spirit as very secondary to the truth of where we stand with Christ and the value of what He did for us on the Cross. I am basically a one-message man in my preaching - "Jesus died for us on the cross and rose again so that we can have eternal life, free from guilt, shame and punishment for sin."

Presbyterian Continuist · Jan 22, 2018

~Anastasia~ said:
It's always best to hear it straight from the person in question, IMO.

https://www.ancientfaith.com/films/hanegraaff-interviews

He was an Evangelical Christian, and referred to as "The Bible Answer Man". Even when I didn't agree with him, I had to admire his extensive knowledge of Scripture.

Like all of us, he has his strong points and his faults. If he wasn't so prejudiced against the Charismatic movement, he would be a great Bible teacher instead of just a good one.

Presbyterian Continuist · Jan 22, 2018

listed said:
Yeah the thread seems to be about tearing down another. My personal involvement verifies well enough for me to disassociate.

The question in my OP really asks whether Mr Hanegraaff is correct in tearing down millions of Bible believing born again Christians in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements and accusing them of being false and deceived. My basic question is, "Who is being deceived here?"

~Anastasia~ · Jan 22, 2018

Oscarr said:
Like all of us, he has his strong points and his faults. If he wasn't so prejudiced against the Charismatic movement, he would be a great Bible teacher instead of just a good one.

But with all due respect, have you checked to see whether he still holds the exact same prejudices, 20 years later and having gone through obvious spiritual changes?

And he's not a Bible teacher now.

I said a few things even 5 years ago, much less over 20 years ago, that don't represent what I believe now.

Light of the East · Jan 22, 2018

GirdYourLoins said:
Whether this person is saved or not is between him and God. What I do question is whether he is filled with and knows the spirit.

My personal view is that God uses denominations to put people into a church which is right for them. Revelations talks about the 7 churches, that is in my opinion God grouping the churches together as He see's fit to show the characteristics that He wants to encourage and those He wants to warn us about. There are different churches/denominations with different characteristics and it is for God to judge them, not us.

The Bible speaks of only ONE Church - not thousands. The Church does not exist to please the "itching ears" of people nor to be run according to their tastes. When God instructed Moses in the wilderness, He gave Moses a strong warning not to tamper with the worship that He had shown Moses. In other words, it wasn't about what the Israelites wanted or about individual tastes. It was about truth.

God established the ONE Church -- that which does not follow what the first Christians taught - i.e., the Early Fathers - is not the Church.

SMITTY7000 · Jan 22, 2018

GirdYourLoins said:
Whether this person is saved or not is between him and God. What I do question is whether he is filled with and knows the spirit.

My personal view is that God uses denominations to put people into a church which is right for them. Revelations talks about the 7 churches, that is in my opinion God grouping the churches together as He see's fit to show the characteristics that He wants to encourage and those He wants to warn us about. There are different churches/denominations with different characteristics and it is for God to judge them, not us.

Gird Your Loins,
Rev. 1:10 John was taken in the spirit, not the flesh, to the "Day of the Lord, and while it is still ahead of our present time frame, I fully believe and am persuaded that it is not to far in the future for those of us living today. That day of our glorious Savior`s return is the day when all who God created will be in our spiritual bodies and this flesh age will be over. We can plainly see the symbols identifying the subject is the 7 Churches as Jesus explains what the words mean. Rev. 1:20

The 7 Churches are 7 different types of Churches that are present on the day that Christ returns, "The Day of the Lord". They are symbolic and represent of all the forms of church doctrine represented in the Christian world today. These 7 Churches are present in that day and are on the Earth and will have gone thru the tribulation and we can see the tribulation is over at His Return. We have to see here that John is told to write what he sees and sent it to the 7 Churches and we have seen that he is see everything from the standpoint of just before - on and after the Day of the Lord.

Jesus then explains His view, not man`s view , of each Church. His words are to all Christians and especially to those who`s Church has these types of doctrines and works that He defines. He brings out good points if any and then the bad points if any.

My point here that I want to stress is that as Jesus has John write His message that 2 out of the 7 Churches do not have any bad points for Him to point out. What do these 2 churches have in common that our Savior actually praises them for? Jesus is very pleased with Smyrna and Philidelphia and that common thread is that both know of the blasphemy of certain people who claimed to be of the tribe of Judah, but are imposters, and are of "the synagogues of Satan". . Rev. 2:9 & Rev. 3:9

Jesus is saying here, if the ability to identify and know these people of Satan is not taught in your church, He is not happy with you. The Church of Smyrna and Philidelphia and those churches of like doctrine, know who these imposters are, and God will bless them for this knowledge. Jesus even instructs these from Smyrna that they will be delivered up to these false Jews during the tribulation. No rapture for these brethren. They are promised a crown of eternal life by Jesus and to have no fear in this but to remain faithful. Rev.2:10-11.
If we look at Mark 13:9-13 ; Luke 21:12-19 ; Luke 12:8-12 we see the same instructions that some of the followers of Jesus will be delivered up to the synagogues and that these will be given words to speak by the Holy Spirit. I would bet right now that these words will be understood by everyone just as it was done in Acts 2. What an honor it would be to serve God in this manner.

The Philidelphian Church can be found in Rev. 3:7-13. Jesus has opened a door to these of Philidelphia. He has revealed the ``Key of David`` which unlocks these doors to the hidden manna of knowledge. This key will unlock the knowledge of who these imposters are and will actually give us the wisdom that allow us to ``count the number of the beast``. Rev.13:18

Who are these imposters. They are surely the enemies of our Savior and we should do our best to identify them. These imposters give our brother Judah the bad name it receives to this day. To help us with this Jesus told us to learn the Parable of the Fig Tree. This parable is a key to identify these enemies of Christ. In Matthew 24 - Mark 13 - and Luke 21 we are commanded to learn this parable. The next question is ``Have you learned it?`` I will give a hint here and that is the parable started in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve covered their genitals with fig leaves. Another hint would be ``Who are the Kenites and where did they come from?``. My last hint is why have these Kenites become the scribes for the Levite Priests in Israel. We should remember the scribes from our Saviors` words against them in Matthew 23. They were words of ``WOE``.

Presbyterian Continuist · Jan 22, 2018

~Anastasia~ said:
But with all due respect, have you checked to see whether he still holds the exact same prejudices, 20 years later and having gone through obvious spiritual changes?

And he's not a Bible teacher now.

I said a few things even 5 years ago, much less over 20 years ago, that don't represent what I believe now.

You're right. I will check him out and see. But as far as I know, he has not recanted any of his views about Charismatics.

Presbyterian Continuist · Jan 22, 2018

Light of the East said:
The Bible speaks of only ONE Church - not thousands. The Church does not exist to please the "itching ears" of people nor to be run according to their tastes. When God instructed Moses in the wilderness, He gave Moses a strong warning not to tamper with the worship that He had shown Moses. In other words, it wasn't about what the Israelites wanted or about individual tastes. It was about truth.

God established the ONE Church -- that which does not follow what the first Christians taught - i.e., the Early Fathers - is not the Church.

Yes, there is only one Church - all those who have received Jesus as Saviour, and that Church includes the 50 million Pentecostals and Charismatic believers as well.

Presbyterian Continuist · Jan 22, 2018

SMITTY7000 said:
Gird Your Loins,
Rev. 1:10 John was taken in the spirit, not the flesh, to the "Day of the Lord, and while it is still ahead of our present time frame, I fully believe and am persuaded that it is not to far in the future for those of us living today. That day of our glorious Savior`s return is the day when all who God created will be in our spiritual bodies and this flesh age will be over. We can plainly see the symbols identifying the subject is the 7 Churches as Jesus explains what the words mean. Rev. 1:20

The 7 Churches are 7 different types of Churches that are present on the day that Christ returns, "The Day of the Lord". They are symbolic and represent of all the forms of church doctrine represented in the Christian world today. These 7 Churches are present in that day and are on the Earth and will have gone thru the tribulation and we can see the tribulation is over at His Return. We have to see here that John is told to write what he sees and sent it to the 7 Churches and we have seen that he is see everything from the standpoint of just before - on and after the Day of the Lord.

Jesus then explains His view, not man`s view , of each Church. His words are to all Christians and especially to those who`s Church has these types of doctrines and works that He defines. He brings out good points if any and then the bad points if any.

My point here that I want to stress is that as Jesus has John write His message that 2 out of the 7 Churches do not have any bad points for Him to point out. What do these 2 churches have in common that our Savior actually praises them for? Jesus is very pleased with Smyrna and Philidelphia and that common thread is that both know of the blasphemy of certain people who claimed to be of the tribe of Judah, but are imposters, and are of "the synagogues of Satan". . Rev. 2:9 & Rev. 3:9

Jesus is saying here, if the ability to identify and know these people of Satan is not taught in your church, He is not happy with you. The Church of Smyrna and Philidelphia and those churches of like doctrine, know who these imposters are, and God will bless them for this knowledge. Jesus even instructs these from Smyrna that they will be delivered up to these false Jews during the tribulation. No rapture for these brethren. They are promised a crown of eternal life by Jesus and to have no fear in this but to remain faithful. Rev.2:10-11.
If we look at Mark 13:9-13 ; Luke 21:12-19 ; Luke 12:8-12 we see the same instructions that some of the followers of Jesus will be delivered up to the synagogues and that these will be given words to speak by the Holy Spirit. I would bet right now that these words will be understood by everyone just as it was done in Acts 2. What an honor it would be to serve God in this manner.

The Philidelphian Church can be found in Rev. 3:7-13. Jesus has opened a door to these of Philidelphia. He has revealed the ``Key of David`` which unlocks these doors to the hidden manna of knowledge. This key will unlock the knowledge of who these imposters are and will actually give us the wisdom that allow us to ``count the number of the beast``. Rev.13:18

Who are these imposters. They are surely the enemies of our Savior and we should do our best to identify them. These imposters give our brother Judah the bad name it receives to this day. To help us with this Jesus told us to learn the Parable of the Fig Tree. This parable is a key to identify these enemies of Christ. In Matthew 24 - Mark 13 - and Luke 21 we are commanded to learn this parable. The next question is ``Have you learned it?`` I will give a hint here and that is the parable started in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve covered their genitals with fig leaves. Another hint would be ``Who are the Kenites and where did they come from?``. My last hint is why have these Kenites become the scribes for the Levite Priests in Israel. We should remember the scribes from our Saviors` words against them in Matthew 23. They were words of ``WOE``.

So, how does your post relate to Charismatics? Are you really saying that Charismatic churches are the synagogues of Satan? Really?

Presbyterian Continuist · Jan 22, 2018

listed said:
I've been involved in those circles. I'm no longer involved partially because of the fraud.

Oh? I have been involved in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement for the last 50 years, 12 years as a integral member and deacon, and leader of an interdenominational evangelistic organisation, and associated with another Pentecostal ministry while being a member of my Presbyterian church. In all that time, I have never seen any fraudulent activity in any church I was involved with. So you experience with the Pentecostal churches you were involved with must have been totally different to mine.

Tell me, did the churches you went to preach other Jesus then the one in the Bible? Did they teach that people could be Christian without receiving Christ as Saviour? Did they teach that repentance and holiness were not crucial to a stable Christian life? And did they teach that the Bible was not true and people should not believe it? If they didn't teach those things, then where was the fraud?

SMITTY7000 · Jan 22, 2018

Oscarr said:
So, how does your post relate to Charismatics? Are you really saying that Charismatic churches are the synagogues of Satan? Really?

Oscarr,
I believe the Charismatics would be Christian and of the 7 types.

Presbyterian Continuist · Jan 22, 2018

SMITTY7000 said:
Oscarr,
I believe the Charismatics would be Christian and of the 7 types.

The same could be quite rightly said about every non-Charismatic church as well - to be honest.

Hank Hanegraaff - Bible or False Teacher?

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