Arleen Westerhof: Advance from Breakthrough into Victory
When you turn aside from the Bible being God's complete revelation to mankind you are on a downward, slippery and very dangerous slope. Arleen Westerhof demonstrates this problem with her latest article on the Elijah List. Arleen is the founder and facilitator of the Netherlands Prophetic Council and is the co-senior pastor of the church: God's Embassy, Amsterdam together with her husband Dick. So before you even read the article you discover that she is already in rebellion to God's word, which neither defines the role of a pastrix or defines the characteristics of one, as is the case with pastors and elders. Does the Holy Spirit encourage submission to the political diktats of human rights or obedience to God's word?Arleen writes: As we get ready to move into 2012 it's already clear that it's going to be an important year for the Church. God, through His Holy Spirit, is saying: "SHIFT! The new is here. The season of the outpouring of My Spirit has begun. The prophets have been prophesying this for many years, and, ready or not, it's here." Where in scripture is it clear that 2012 is an important year? It is no more important a year than any other. How can we believe that the The new is here when scripture says What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1 v9. If God is about to do a new thing then he is defying his own word.
Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12 v2. Clearly the work of Jesus is finished and complete and our salvation is assured. There is no need for Him to do anything else with regards to our salvation. Yet Arleen continues down the slippery slope when, in the section entitled: Picnicking on the Border she says: This will happen because many of us have not yet realized that breakthrough (revival) is not the victory. Breakthrough is a position from which we advance on toward the victory (reformation and transformation). Now here is where Arleen's theology really lets her down. The Apostle Paul wrote Death has been swallowed up in victory 1Corinthians 15 v54b. Christians are called to live in victory, regardless of their circumstances. Why? because ... having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2 v15. When we start to try to control demons or Satan by taking authority over them we are denying that they are already defeated. Put in simple terms we are saying that Jesus's death on the cross was to no avail. If we believe that His death was to no avail then we are still dead in our sins.
This is the position in which many people along with Arleen Westerhof find themselves today. They have believed C.Peter Wagner's ideas of spiritual warfare and with bucket loads of enthusiasm have been hammering stakes into the ground and doing many other things in order to tell Satan that he has no power over this or that city, town or place. It is all to no avail since in Christ alone we, as Christians are a victorious people and how Satan must hate us. The victory to which Arleen refers has to do with reformation and transformation. She ignores the fact that it was on the cross that our sin was bourne on our behalf and when we place our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour then we are reformed and transformed by being born again in the Spirit of God. Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." John 3 v5-6.
Since, according to Arleen, Breakthrough is a position from which we advance on toward the victory (reformation and transformation) she presents us with a gospel of works, which is no gospel at all. The only gospel is one of grace in which Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. The charismatic churches and their leaders have been telling us for thirty years or more that revival is coming and yet it hasn't come. At best this is simply dishonest posturing and at worst it is prophesying falsely. With a prophecy which says: 2012 will mark the beginning of the Church's finest hour. While the world sinks into panic as the economic crisis worsens globally and great societal unrest is unleashed, the Church, with the new breed of Priest-King in place, will shine and finally be able to walk in the Kingdom authority and power that God has always intended. Arleen demonstrates that she is a false prophet offering a false hope, based on a false gospel.
8th December 2011