Together 2016/The Reset Movement

[amariselle]

On July 16, 2016 there is a potentially huge event that will take place in Washington D.C. Evangelical church leaders are calling for 1 million Christians to come together in the nation's capital to worship Jesus. This event has been called Together 2016 and is part of what has become known as the Reset Movement.

This event was initiated by Nick Hall of PULSE (which is "a prayer and evangelism movement" which strives to empower the church and "awaken our culture to Jesus."

Some of the noteworthy speakers and artists attending are:

Hillsong United, Crowder, Passion, Michael W. Smith, Jeremy Camp, Matthew West, Casting Crown, Ravi Zacharias, Josh McDowell, Kirk Franklin and Francis Chan.

There are some pretty big names there, and it has now been officially announced that Pope Francis will deliver a video message to all in attendance.

This sounds great right? I mean, what could be better than all of these people coming together to worship our Saviour? Despite how it may seem however, some Christians have serious concerns with revival events like this one, and I think these concerns are quite legitimate.

The intent of revivals and huge events like Together 2016 appears to be to erase division among denominations and unite all believers and churches. Again, at first thought, this sounds great, but we should be willing to take a deeper look at what is behind all of this.

The revival movement with the goal of uniting faiths is something that was started by C. Peter Wagner in what he has named the New Apostolic Reformation. There have been a lot of questions and concerns surrounding this movement and its teachings. One of the main teachings associated with NAR is Dominionism/Kingdom Now Theology, which holds that Christians are to take control over seven "mountains" or sectors of society: education, religion, family, business, government/military, arts/entertainment, and media. The belief is that in doing so, Christians will set up a theocracy and create a worldwide kingdom for Jesus' return. They do not believe Jesus will return until this has been accomplished.

This of course is far from Biblical. The Bible tells us that Jesus will return at the end of the great tribulation, after Christians have been intensely persecuted and killed, not to a perfect world that has been taken captive for Him after a great revival and awakening.

There is no great revival foretold in the Bible, but rather a great falling away.

"Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God."

"Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming."

"This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12)

So, although I don't believe that every Christian attending these events is deceived or that all the speakers and entertainers are deceived, I think the potential is there.

If you look into NAR and the false signs and wonders that occur in churches involved in this movement, hopefully you will be able to see the truly frightening nature of what goes on.

I do think also that mainstream churches today are very caught up in entertainment and worship experiences. This is not where our focus is to be, and we should be continually praying for discernment in these times. We are surrounded by distractions and confusion, and we must remain focused on Jesus, testing everything by the word of God, and judging such ministries by their fruits.

Here is another article about the Together 2016 event.

Thoughts? Should we be concerned?

 

[Sultan Of Swing]

I think you're reading too much into an event planned with some simple good intentions.

You're right we should be concerned about ecumenical movements. I wouldn't have Pope Francis sending in video messages etc.

I don't think there's some dominionist agenda however, just the church being infected by well-meaning postmodern relativism and compromise, where everyone is right and unity is more important than fundamental doctrine.

 

[amariselle]

I think you're reading too much into an event planned with some simple good intentions.

You're right we should be concerned about ecumenical movements. I wouldn't have Pope Francis sending in video messages etc.

I don't think there's some dominionist agenda however, just the church being infected by well-meaning postmodern relativism and compromise, where everyone is right and unity is more important than fundamental doctrine.

Well, I think to really understand if there is a questionable agenda, you need to do research into who is funding it, who is behind it and what movements it is associated with. It is apparently tied into the New Apostolic reformation, which is in fact associated with Dominionism and Kingdom Now Theology. Also one of the main entertainers, Hillsong has done many many questionable things lately. Here is just one recent example.

And the church should not compromise. We are to remain separate from the world. Unfortunately, we are trying to hard to just fit in and be accepted. Jesus warned us that the world would hate us, but we are too busy trying to be liked.

 

[Starcrystal]

Yeah, while on the surface it looks good and in light of current world situations a bunch of Christians coming together to pray would be wonderful...
BUT can they pray in AGREEMENT?
The Kingdom now theology is disturbing..
I remember Pat Robertson back in the 80s saying on TV that he envisioned a "Holy Spirit filled police force that could arrest people before they committed a crime."
Then in 2002 the movie "Minority Report" came out which showed psychics doing exactly that so people were arrested before any crime was committed, which is totally unconstitutional...
All that stuff sounded extremely dangerous. Robertson and others also spoke many unbiblical things like
1) Bible is not inerrant;
2)Jesus cannot return to earth until His followers conquer the world;
3) No literal Rapture of the Church;
4) Wealth of this world will be transferred from sinners to Christians;
5) Our rescue from sin was not Jesus' actual goal;
6) Believers can attain immortality on earth by living sinless lives and then become immune to injury, disease, death;
7) "Overcomers" must purge the earth of all "evil" influences, even to the point of killing anyone who will not submit to their authority

http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n2068.cfm

 

[amariselle]

Yeah, while on the surface it looks good and in light of current world situations a bunch of Christians coming together to pray would be wonderful...
BUT can they pray in AGREEMENT?
The Kingdom now theology is disturbing..
I remember Pat Robertson back in the 80s saying on TV that he envisioned a "Holy Spirit filled police force that could arrest people before they committed a crime."
Then in 2002 the movie "Minority Report" came out which showed psychics doing exactly that so people were arrested before any crime was committed, which is totally unconstitutional...
All that stuff sounded extremely dangerous. Robertson and others also spoke many unbiblical things like
1) Bible is not inerrant;
2)Jesus cannot return to earth until His followers conquer the world;
3) No literal Rapture of the Church;
4) Wealth of this world will be transferred from sinners to Christians;
5) Our rescue from sin was not Jesus' actual goal;
6) Believers can attain immortality on earth by living sinless lives and then become immune to injury, disease, death;
7) "Overcomers" must purge the earth of all "evil" influences, even to the point of killing anyone who will not submit to their authority

http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n2068.cfm

Yes, and this is exactly why I think we need to be concerned with movements like this. On the outside they appear attractive and wonderful, but we need to look deeper. What is their real goal for instance, and their real agenda?

Also, regarding Hillsong, which is one of the main entertainers at this event, one does not need to look very far to find highly controversial events and performances they've taken part in.

Overall, I think events like this are all about the entertainment and not much else. They may use the name of Jesus, but they are not glorifying Him, they are glorifying themselves.

*Just a note, I am not condemning all Christians here or all those who may be attending this event or one like it. I am saying we need to be carful and pray for discernment. We need to look for the true agenda and the true focus. We are living in times where many (even Christians) will be led astray and deceived. We should not just accept something because it looks safe and good on the surface. We should test everything and be vigilant so that we do not fall into deception.

 

[Starcrystal]

Yes, and this is exactly why I think we need to be concerned with movements like this. On the outside they appear attractive and wonderful, but we need to look deeper. What is their real goal for instance, and their real agenda?

Also, regarding Hillsong, which is one of the main entertainers at this event, one does not need to look very far to find highly controversial events and performances they've taken part in.

Overall, I think events like this are all about the entertainment and not much else. They may use the name of Jesus, but they are not glorifying Him, they are glorifying themselves.

.

The entertainment aspect has been an issue for awhile. Does anyone get saved, or does anything actually get done in the Spirit? Or is it a human movement with the name of Jesus attached?
I am sure many will honestly pray, but with that many people from so many denominations (and i am sure probably a few Cult type infiltrators too) how can they totally agree in prayer? And if they cannot totally agree in prayer what effect does it have?
I am pretty sure some will secretly pray for Hillary to be elected while others pray for Trump and still others pray against both...
and other issues people may pray for that are not in agreement.

 

[seashale76]

Well, if they would like to unite with Orthodox Christianity, that would necessitate them becoming Orthodox. As it stands, my faith and theirs are not united in either belief, practice, or communion. Sometimes we may use the same words, but we often mean vastly different things. For all that everyone involved uses the Christian label, practically speaking, we have a different religion. However, if they are seeking after Christ, then I pray God guides them to Himself. I suppose their intentions are good.