Revival or Ruin? How the NAR Replaces Christ with Celebrity Apostles

🎧Article 8 The Counterfeit Kingdoms, Apostles for a New Age – The NAR, Bethel, and the Return of False Prophets

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The Song That Sings You Into Error

“The New Apostolic Reformation promises a second Pentecost—but delivers only a recycled Babel.”

The NAR doesn’t usually start with doctrine—it starts with music. For millions, the first taste of its theology comes not from Bill Johnson’s pulpit but from Bethel Music’s Spotify playlist. Worship, that sacred act meant to exalt Christ, has become a Trojan horse for exporting counterfeit theology to churches that would never dare host a Bethel conference.

When every worship song is also a sermon, what doctrine is being preached?

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The Claims of a Movement

The New Apostolic Reformation, popularized by C. Peter Wagner, insists that God has restored apostles and prophets to lead the end-times church. Unlike historic Pentecostalism, NAR leaders don’t merely claim spiritual gifts—they claim governmental authority.

Bill Johnson (Bethel): “Jesus didn’t come as God; He came as a man in right relationship with God. If He did miracles as God, I’m still stuck. But if He did them as a man, I can follow.”

→ This denies the hypostatic union and redefines Christ’s divinity.

Lou Engle (The Call / NAR prophet): publically kissed the feet of a Catholic priest to signify unity with Rome, while simultaneously claiming America is on the cusp of a prophetic revival.

→ False unity + false prophecy equals confusion, not gospel.

Cindy Jacobs (“prophetess” in Wagner’s circle): repeatedly declared that new apostles are rising to take dominion of nations and that America would experience “sweeping revival by 2010.”

→ Fourteen years later, we are still waiting. By Deuteronomy 18, no more waiting is needed. She failed.

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A Pile of Broken Prophecies

The NAR is littered with the debris of failed words:

The Lakeland Revival (2008): NAR leaders (Wagner, Johnson, and others) publicly laid hands on Todd Bentley, declaring his revival the real thing. Weeks later Bentley left the pulpit in disgrace for adultery and violence.

Trump Prophecies (2020): Nearly every high-profile NAR prophet—from Kris Vallotton at Bethel to Jeremiah Johnson—declared Donald Trump would win reelection. When the prophecy failed, they scrambled, deleted apologies, or blamed the church for “not praying enough.” Scripture leaves no such escape hatch (Deut. 18:22).

Prophetic Dates: From Wagner’s 2001 claim that a billion-soul harvest would happen by the early 2000s, to Bethel-linked prophets insisting California would be the epicenter of a world-shaking revival by 2012—every timeline has crumbled.

In any other context, this pattern would be called fraud. In the NAR, it’s rebranded as “learning to hear God.”

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The Theology Beneath the Glitter

At its core, the NAR is not about music or politics—it’s about authority.

1. New Apostles: They claim the foundational role reserved for Christ’s apostles, redefining Ephesians 2:20 to mean apostles continue indefinitely. But Paul said the foundation is laid once for all. (1 Cor. 3:11).

2. New Revelation: Prophetic words are treated as binding, even above Scripture. Bethel’s Vallotton once said: “Prophets are the mouthpieces of God on earth. To reject them is to reject God.”

→ Direct contradiction of Jude 3: “the faith once for all delivered.”

3. New Mission: Instead of the Great Commission, NAR leaders call for “Seven Mountain Mandate” dominion—taking over media, government, education, and more through apostolic power. But Christ did not send apostles to conquer mountains—He sent them to make disciples.

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The Music Trojan Horse

Songs like “Reckless Love” and “King of My Heart” spread NAR theology more effectively than sermons.

“Reckless Love” portrays God’s love as irrational pursuit, not sovereign covenant.

Endless choruses of “fire,” “destiny,” and “revival” shift worship from Christ crucified to the worshipper’s feelings.

Bethel’s BSSM (School of Supernatural Ministry) literally trains students to “heal,” “prophesy,” and “see in the Spirit” as part of their worship culture. Graduates spread into local churches worldwide, embedding NAR assumptions with every song they lead.

Worship is never neutral. When you sing Bethel, you catechize your church with Bethel’s gospel.

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The False Signs

Gold dust, angel feathers, “glory clouds,” fake resurrections—all have been reported from Bethel’s services.

In 2019, Bethel made headlines when it refused to bury the body of two-year-old Olive Heiligenthal, claiming she would be raised from the dead. For a week the church livestreamed “resurrection services.” Olive never rose. Instead of repentance, Bethel doubled down, calling it a “lesson in faith.”

Video evidence shows their “glory cloud” was nothing more than theatrical glitter shot from a ventilation system. Scripture’s signs were undeniable (Acts 3:9–10). Bethel’s are staged illusions.

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Apostolic Coverings and the Babel Tower

NAR networks claim that churches must submit to an “apostolic covering” to thrive. This creates cult-like dependence on charismatic leaders who declare themselves God’s generals.

But Paul declares: “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:11).

The NAR is not laying Christ’s foundation—it is building a new Babel, brick by prophetic brick.

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A Pastoral Warning

This is not harmless. The NAR:

Divides families when children embrace Bethel’s theology over their parents’ faith.

Exports a counterfeit gospel across the world through music.

Elevates men and women above Scripture.

Normalizes false prophecy as “learning.”

The tragedy? Many who come seeking Christ are handed an idol draped in Christian language.

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Christ, the True Apostle

The New Testament leaves no room for new apostles. Christ Himself is called “the apostle and high priest of our confession” (Heb. 3:1). His apostles laid the foundation (Eph. 2:20), and their witness closed with Scripture itself.

Every “apostle” who comes after them does not restore the church—they replace Christ.

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Closing Charge

“The canon is closed, the apostles are gone, and the Word of God endures. The New Apostolic Reformation is not a second Pentecost—it is a second Babel. Test the spirits. Reject the fraud. Cling to Christ.”

✒️ The Pilgrim’s Post