PAUL M. WILLIAMS BIBLE PROPHECY AND THE LAST DAYS [28/02/14] THE RISE OF THE CULTS – PART 21 ONENESS PENTECOSTALS – PART 1 HEADLINES Introduction When a Christian thinks of a cult such names as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons readily come to mind. These groups in particular are very aggressive in their proselytizing campaigns going from door-to-door spreading their message and are well known by the Christian community at large. We are warned to watch out for such groups; we are equipped to engage and tackle them, to understand and refute what they teach. Many seminars and conferences have been held exposing the error of their teaching and practise. One has only to key in the name Jehovah’s Witness or Mormon into a You Tube search and a stream of videos will appear debunking these groups. We ourselves have spent many weeks looking at these groups and refuting their false doctrines. By all accounts, no one has a problem with readily identifying these groups as a cult. However; the particular group that we are going to be looking at in this next teaching, like the Seventh-day Adventists, slip under the radar of so many professing Christians. When this group is mentioned, many find it hard to label them with the accursed title of a cult. Sadly, many within the evangelic world have embraced prominent figures who had their beginnings in this movement; men such as T. D. Jakes, Bishop Noel Jones, Tommy Tenney and the award winning Christian gospel group Phillips, Craig and Dean. Bishop T. D. Jakes is the founder and senior pastor of the non- denominational ‘Potter’s House’ mega Church. He is a national celebrity and a highly influential figure in the Pentecostal and Charismatic world. Last year his annual Mega Fest conference drew in an estimated 75, 000 people from across the world. Who is this group that I make reference to? It is none other than the group referred to as ‘Oneness Pentecostals’ aka ‘Jesus Only’ or alternatively ‘Jesus Name Pentecostals’ or ‘Apostolic Pentecostals’. On The Potter’s House official website, under their ‘Belief Statement’, it states the following about God: “There is one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in three manifestations: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” - The Potter’s House Belief Statement, God – cited from www.the pottershouse.org Do you spot anything amiss with this statement? The sad reality is that many Christians who hold to the belief in the Trinity would not spot anything amiss with the above statement. YET, when one understands the position of the proponent of Oneness theology, one can easily detect the rat when he smells it. There is one word amiss in the above statement that if it were changed would make this a Trinitarian statement. However, Potter’s House chooses to use the word ‚manifestations‛ instead of ‚persons‛ and in so doing affirms the position of Oneness Pentecostals. On the surface Oneness Pentecostals have many similarities to mainstream Pentecostals and that is what makes them so dangerous. ‚It is a disturbing fact that the most vigorous form of anti-trinitarianism currently on the market is to be found within the sphere of conservative evangelicalism. ‚ - Fred Sanders, Oneness Pentecostalism: An Analysis – cited from pantheos.com Oneness Pentecostals absolutely affirm the deity of Jesus Christ, they believe in the continuing gifts of the Holy Spirit, they believe the Bible to be the inspired and infallible word of God, they believe in the literal Second Coming of Jesus Christ, they believe in the final judgment of the wicked and in a literal hell. On the surface one would not find a great deal of disagreement; YET there are four main fundamental beliefs that set them apart from orthodox Biblical Christianity. The first being theological (the study of God) and the remaining three soteriological (the study of salvation) 1. Their outright denial of the doctrine of the Trinity in favour of a modalistic concept of God whereby God assumes different roles i.e. a Father in creation, a Son in redemption and the Holy Spirit in regeneration. 2. Their belief in baptismal regeneration which alone is effected through the baptismal formula ‚in the name of Jesus‛. 3. Their belief that salvation is conditional upon receiving of the Holy Spirit which is evidenced through the speaking of tongues. 4. Their belief that salvation and justification is not instantaneous upon one repenting and placing one’s faith in Jesus Christ, but is rather a process – by exercising faith in Jesus Christ, one will repent, be baptised in the name of Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit and then live a life of obedience to ‚standards of holiness‛ which vary from one Oneness denomination to another (some being more liberal than others). United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is by far the largest body of Oneness Pentecostals in the world with a membership of over 3 million worldwide in some 40 000 churches. UPCI has a presence in over 195 countries throughout the world. Other Oneness denominations include: - Affirming Pentecostal Church International - Apostolic Assemblies of Christ - Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus - Apostolic Gospel Church of Jesus Christ - Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God - Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ - Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Churches of Jesus Christ International - Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith - Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW) However, because UPCI are by far the largest Oneness group, we will choose specifically in this teaching to focus on the core doctrines of this particular group, which by and large should be the same across all Oneness denominations. A Brief Examination of Their Core Beliefs The Nature of God On the UPCI website under ‘what we believe’ they state the following concerning the nature of God: “There is one God, who has revealed Himself as our Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and as the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is God manifested in flesh. He is both God and man.” - What We Believe; About God (UPCI) – cited from www.upci.org In short, Oneness Pentecostals deny the Trinity and instead are Unitarian in their understanding of God - the belief that God is not only singular in being (Monotheism) but also singular in person. Trinitarianism however stands in direct contrast to Unitarianism and defines God as singular in being yet three in persons, namely Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A simple definition of the Trinity would be as follows: “The doctrine of the Trinity is simply that there is one eternal being of God – indivisible, infinite. This one being of God is shared by three co-equal, co-eternal persons, the Father, the Son and the Spirit.” - James White, A Brief Definition of the Trinity – cited from vintage.aomin.org The above has been the historic orthodox position on the nature of God down through the centuries, despite the continual assertion by Oneness Pentecostals that belief in the Trinity is a pagan conception introduced in the 4th century at the Council of Nicea. As we shall see, the great councils that were convened in the life of the early Church were reactionary in nature; responding to the early heresies of heretics such as Arius (early 4th century A.D) and Sabellius (early 3rd century B.C). Arianism taught that Jesus was not Almighty God but rather was a created lesser god (demigod) subordinate to the Father. This heresy is embraced today by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Even earlier than that, Sabellianism aka Modalism taught that God is singular in person manifesting/expressing Himself in three modes. This heresy is embraced today by Oneness Pentecostals. Fundamental to correctly understanding the position of Oneness Pentecostals concerning the nature of God is to understand that they hold the belief that God singular in person. On that basis, they vehemently deny the Trinity which sets forth a plurality of persons within the Oneness of God and conclude that names such as Father, Son and Holy Spirit are mere titles used to express the various roles that the one person of God assumes for the purpose of manifesting/revealing Himself to man. Furthermore, they teach that Jesus Christ is the name of the one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The following quote is taken from a classic book titled ‚The Oneness of God‛, written by leading Oneness Pentecostal apologist and General Superintendent of the UPCI David K. Bernard. “Father, Son and Holy Ghost all describe the one God<The Old Testament promised that there would come a time when Jehovah would have one name and that this one name would be made known<We know that the one name of Matthew 28:19 is Jesus, for Jesus is the name of the name of the Father<the Son<and the Holy Ghost.” - David K. Bernard, The Oneness of God, p136-137 Oneness Pentecostals arrive at the above conclusion by taking Matthew 28:19 and combining it with Acts 2:38. 19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Mat 28:19) Robert K. Bernard argues that in Mat. 28:19, Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost and not ‚names‛. He therefore asserts that Father, Son and Holy Ghost are not ‚names‛ but titles that sum up the different roles that the one ‚name‛ assumes. “Matthew 28:19 does not teach three persons in one God, but rather it gives three titles of God, all of which properly apply to Jesus Christ.