"Counterfeit Kingdom" by Pivec and Geivett. A Review.
Some fifteen years ago he sat in my church study. He was the minister of a large charismatic church in town and had come to invite me to join a new reforming “movement,” the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). I had never heard of this movement, but he claimed it had apostles and prophets whom God had raised up to reignite the church and restore America to her Christian roots. Since those days I have heard more and more about the NAR, and began to notice how some prominent church leaders, pastors, and a few politicians, who are aligned with the NAR and are coming into influence in our civil government. I knew I needed to learn more and was glad to find a very readable 272-page softback that addressed this program. “Counterfeit Kingdom: The Dangers of New Revelation, New Prophets, and New Age Practices in the Church” was put together by Holly Pivec, blogger and author of several books on the New Apostolic Reformation, who also served as university editor at Biola University for nearly a decade, and R. Douglas Geivett, author of several works on the New Apostolic Reformation, and professor at Biola University and Talbot School of Theology.
If I understand the authors correctly, they are in agreement with the charismatic and Pentecostal tradition, and thus their work is not a cessationist manuscript. Rather, as orthodox Pentecostals they have felt – personally – the impact of the NAR and have seen its dangers. They write the book to give a voice to the countless people and churches who have been harmed by the NAR. “It’s meant to expose the movement and its practices. Along the way, we reveal the dangers of NAR teachings, the harm they’re doing, and the way they’re compromising the gospel” (15).
The authors use Bethel Church in Redding, California, as their sample case, though they do reach beyond that organization to show that Bethel is not a one-off. Pivec and Geivett address numerous oddities that seem to be mainline at Bethel, and the NAR. They show how New Age practices and teaching – given other names – are commonplace. They examine the different kinds of “prophecies” that are promoted in that association, and how their numerous inaccuracies and failures are sidestepped by leadership. There are a host of other practices and models that are studied in the book, such as prayer declarations, leaders ‘activating’ prophetic gifts in others, fresh revelations, and communicating with the dead, to name a few.
One of the beliefs of the NAR that Pivec and Geivett present is the Seven Mountain Mandate. The Seven Mountain Mandate is supposedly revealed to the NAR prophets and apostles on how to infiltrate and seize the highest positions of the major societal institutions: government, media, family, business, education, church, and the arts. The ‘prophets’ and ‘apostles’ of the NAR “claim that this mandate gives them authority to govern not only the church, but also society” (104). Let that sink in a bit.
As the authors examine various aspects and angles of the NAR, they also give good, wholesome, biblical, sober guidance so their readers can gain discernment. For example, they show how the “Bible gives three negative tests” for evaluating the legitimacy of prophecy and prophet: “the Orthodoxy Test (do their prophecies line up with Scripture?), the Lifestyle Test (are they greedy and lustful), and the Fulfillment Test (did they get it right?)…” (50). Though I’m a cessationist (let the reader understand), I still found this three-fold test useful. The writers also show how the NAR distort the gospel and minimize Jesus. Their “airtime” test is really a good, simple approach: “see how many minutes are devoted to talking about forgiveness of sin, salvation, and growth in holiness versus miracles, prophetic words, and Christians “ruling and reigning”” (105). That airtime test is a good rule-of-thumb for evaluating any ministry or church.
Pivec and Geivett give readers much more. They lay out the control tactics used by NAR groups to keep people in their circles (pg. 80-94) and what to do to recover from those tactics (pg. 95-99). They expose how the NAR has created their own “translation” of Scripture – The Passion Translation – to sneak in their peculiar dogmas, which is specious in its source and rendition (Chapter 7) – which should raise more than a bunch of eyebrows! Further, they show solid reasons to avoid NAR worship music put out by Bethel Music, Jesus Culture, Hillsong Music, Forerunner Music and Gateway Worship.
All told, this is a useful, easy-to-read book on an
important topic: The New Apostolic Reformation. Copies of this work should be
in the hands of pastors, elders, Bible teachers, and anyone who cares about the
gospel of Jesus Christ and his church. I highly recommend the book.
If you would like to learn more regarding the NAR, check out the May-June 2024 edition of Modern Reformation here. There's even an interview with Pivec and Geivett.
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