THE LAST SUPPER -- WHEN WAS IT?

   CHRISTIANS mark Jesus Christ’s Last Supper on “Maundy Thursday,” but new research suggests it took place on Wednesday before his crucifixion

Jesus perhaps ate the Last Supper on the night before the regular Jewish Passover meal. A theory, proposed in the 1960s by French Biblical scholar Annie Jaubert, is that Jesus and his disciples were adhering to the calendar of the rebellious Pharisee sect, which celebrated the start of Passover a day earlier than the rest of the Jews.

Passover, like all Jewish holidays and regular Jewish days, starts and ends at sundown, and is tied to the phases of the sun and the moon. Passover always falls on the same date on the Jewish calendar. Like all Jewish holidays, Passover occurs at different times each year on the secular calendar. 

BEFORE ANCIENT JEWS fled Egypt, their firstborn children were “passed over” and spared from death, thus giving the holiday the name “Passover.” Passover lambs eaten in Egypt foreshadow Jesus, our Passover Lamb. The Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan. The 15th day begins in the evening at sunset, after the 14th day, and the seder meal is eaten that evening. On the year that Jesus died, the Feast of Unleavened Bread began on Passover, sources say. It usually begins the day after Passover, lasts 7 days, and is observed because the Israelites needed to flee Egypt and did not have time for the bread to rise, so it was made without leaven (also known as yeast).

JOHN places the Last Supper on the day before Passover. Quoting from John 18:28, slate.com says, “the dastardly Jews who hand Jesus over to Pontius Pilate refrain from entering the impure palace as ‘they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.’” If Jesus was already in their hands and they still had the Passover meal ahead of them, the Last Supper must have happened on the day before Passover. 

Jesus appeared to treat the Last Supper as a “passover” meal — but the following evening was the actual night for the Passover meal, says BibleHub.com.

COMMENTARY from the “Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges” says this:

“The events of the Passover are full of difficulty for the harmonist [those trying to bring the four Gospels together in agreement]. It is however almost certain that the ‘Last Supper’ was not the paschal [Passover] meal, but was partaken of on the 14th, that is after sunset on the 13th of Nisan. It is quite certain, from John 18:28, that Jesus was crucified on the preparation, and although the synoptic narratives [Matthew, Mark, and Luke] seem at first sight to disagree with this, it is probably only the want of a complete knowledge of the facts that creates the apparent discrepancy.”

(The following is largely from the ESV of the Bible.)

THAT EVENING during the Last Supper, Jesus reclined at the table with the twelve. As they ate, he said, “One of you will betray me.” In sorrow, they said to him one after the other, “Is it I, Lord?” Judas said, “Is it I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said so.” 

Luke implies that Judas ate the Lord’s Supper, but others imply he left before the supper was shared. Jesus took bread, blessed, broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” About the cup, he said, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  

They sang a hymn and went to the Mount of Olives. Jesus said, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 

PETER SAID he would never fall away. Jesus told Peter that before the rooster crowed, he would deny Jesus three times. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to his men, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter, James, and John and “began to be sorrowful.” Jesus went a little farther and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” 

RETURNING, he found the three sleeping and said to Peter, “Could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” For the second time, he went and prayed about “the cup” he must “drink,” and again came and found them sleeping. He went and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. “Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” 

JUDAS CAME with a large crowd armed with swords and clubs. They came from the chief priests and the elders. Judas told them, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” Judas came to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.

A WOMAN ANOINTS JESUS ON WEDNESDAY BEFORE HIS CRUCIFIXION

-- Illustration from a Bible Dictionary

  TUESDAY: As Jesus leaves the Temple on Tuesday before his crucifixion, the disciples want to show him the Temple buildings. “Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down,” Jesus says (Matt. 24:2 ESV). (In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed the Temple.)

After Jesus takes a seat on the Mount of Olives (with the Temple in view), the disciples ask about the end times and when Jesus will return. In Matthew 24, he tells of the Temple’s destruction and the end times. He says he will leave earth and many of the disciples will be persecuted and killed, but the gospel will be preached everywhere. Be prepared, because none know exactly when Jesus will return.

Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins and of the talents. A parable is “a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual truth.” He then tells of the Judgment of the Nations when he will “place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.” Jesus finishes the lessons and says to the disciples, “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

The chief priests and Jewish elders meet in the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas, and plot to arrest Jesus and kill him. They want to be sneaky about the arrest and do not desire to do this during the Passover Feast because it may cause a riot. Jesus returns to Bethany to spend the night with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. 

WEDNESDAY: Jesus rests. That evening, he and his friends eat supper in the house of Simon, a man the Lord had healed from leprosy. At the supper, a woman approaches Jesus with an alabaster flask of expensive perfume. She pours it on his head as he reclines at the table.   

The disciples observe and are indignant. They say, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.”

Jesus says, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me.” He says poor people will always exist but the disciples will not always have him there in a physical body. 

“ In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial,” Jesus says. “Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

THREE WOMEN: All four gospels tell about women anointing Jesus with a costly jars of perfume, gotquestions.org says. “Matthew and Mark relate the same event but do not give the woman’s name; Luke tells of a different woman, also not named, on an earlier occasion. In yet another event, the woman in John is identified as Mary of Bethany (John 11:2), sister to Martha and Lazarus.”

IN MATTHEW, an unnamed woman with an alabaster flask of expensive ointment pours it on Jesus’ head as he reclines at the table. This happened two days before Passover at Simon the leper’s home (Matt. 26:6-7). 

IN MARK, we hear about an anonymous woman with an alabaster box. She interrupts a meal in Simon the leper’s home to anoint Jesus’ head with costly perfume (Mark 14:3-9) — sort of the way they anointed Old Testament kings.

IN LUKE, we are told of a different anointing by a woman “who is a sinner” — this lady is NOT Mary the sister of Lazarus. This happens in Simon the Pharisee’s home about a year before Jesus dies. This lady anoints Jesus’ feet. Then Jesus tells a parable about forgiveness (Luke 7:39-50).

IN JOHN, Lazarus’ sister Mary is the woman who anoints Jesus with a high-priced perfume at a dinner in Bethany, gotquestions.org says. The story is similar to those in the other gospels, although this anointing takes place six days before Passover. On this occasion, “Mary took a 12-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair.” Judas is named as the one who objects to the “waste” (John 12:1-8).

So, three women are recorded as anointing Jesus. Two anointings happen during Passover Week and are linked with Jesus’ death and burial. Messiah means “anointed one” in Hebrew. Christ comes from the Greek word Christos, also meaning “anointed one.” 

JUDAS: After that dinner on Wednesday, Judas goes to the chief priests and says, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” They pay him 30 pieces of silver “and from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray Jesus.”

Other disciples called Jesus “Lord,” but Judas never used this title for Jesus and instead called him “Rabbi,” which acknowledged Jesus as nothing more than a teacher, sources say.

“Though Jesus knew ahead of time that Judas would betray him, it does not mean God caused Judas to do it,” Pastor Don Stewart says. “Judas acted on his own accord. He was not just a pawn or puppet in God’s hands. … When Jesus talked about dying, Judas realized the kingdom was not going to come immediately. Therefore, he gained what he could by betraying Jesus.”

BEFORE THE CRUCIFIXION: SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY

 
  On the Sabbath (Saturday) before his crucifixion on Friday, Jesus reached Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem, and stayed in Bethany with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Crowds hurried there — some to see Jesus; others to see Lazarus who had been raised from the dead a few weeks before.

ON PALM SUNDAY, Jesus walked from Bethany with his disciples and admirers. He neared Jerusalem, coming to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives. Jesus told two disciples where to find the donkey he would ride into Jerusalem (Matt. 21). 

Jesus fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy: “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden” (Zechariah 9:9 ESV).

Mark and Luke mention the donkey but not the colt. Jesus perhaps rode the donkey first and the young colt later. Matthew recorded the fulfillment of prophecy. Mark and Luke pointed only to Jesus’ kingly status by riding on a colt.

Folk waved palm fronds as Jesus entered Jerusalem. Jewish leaders grew angrier when people called Jesus the Messiah. Jesus and his disciples spent the night in Bethany. 

MONDAY: Jesus returned to Jerusalem on Monday. Along the way, he cursed a fig tree because it had leaves but failed to bear fruit. Real faith is more than outward appearance and will produce godly fruit. Perhaps the fig tree represented Israel’s spiritually dead religious leaders.

CLEANING HOUSE: Arriving at the Temple, Jesus drove out buyers, sellers, and money-changers in his second cleansing of the Temple.

“He overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, ‘It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of thieves.’”

Some Gentiles of Bethsaida sought out their friends Philip and Andrew (disciples), wanting to see Jesus. Philip and Andrew brought the Greeks to Jesus, who was happy to meet them. He told them, “The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified.” Jesus compared himself to a grain of wheat that must be planted before it yields a harvest. 

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24 NIV). Jesus and his disciples spent the night in Bethany.

TUESDAY: Passing the withered fig tree on their way, Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem, where some members of the Sanhedrin questioned Jesus about his authority chase out buyers and sellers from the Temple. 

(The term "Sanhedrin" is from a Greek word meaning “assembly” or “council,” sources say. The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel, made up of 70 men and the high priest. These leaders later turned Jesus over to Roman authorities to be tried and crucified. The Sanhedrin had no legal authority to put someone to death. They had to appeal to their Roman rulers who could carry out the death penalty.)

ONE QUESTION: “And when Jesus entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?’” 

Jesus answered cleverly.

“I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things,” he said. “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” 

Uh-oh. They were at a loss to answer. They privately discussed it: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, ‘We do not know.’” 

“Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things,” Jesus said.

CAESAR’S COIN: As Jesus taught the crowds, the Pharisees joined with the Herodians to try to trick Jesus. Herodians were Jews who sympathized with the Roman government and Greek social customs Herod had introduced. 

“Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” they asked Jesus. 

“Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax,” Jesus said. 

They brought him a denarius, a standard Roman silver coin worth about $2.60 in U.S. precious metal value in 2021. Jesus said to them as they looked at the coin, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

“Caesar’s,” they said.

“Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s,” he said to them

They marveled and went away. But Jesus knew his death was near.

Listen to Him!

   “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked his disciples (Matt. 16:13). This was before Jesus’ transfiguration (“a change of form or appearance”).

The disciples replied, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” 

“But whom say ye that I am?” Jesus said.

Peter replied, “Thous art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

Jesus said Peter was blessed “for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which art in heaven.”

SPURGEON’S VIEW: Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “I never loved God till I saw him in Christ. … I could never have any familiarity with God till I saw his familiarity with me in the person of his Son. I never understood how I could be God’s son till I understood how God’s Son became a man. I never saw how I could be a partaker of the divine nature till I saw how his Son became a partaker of the human nature. … Oh, beloved, do you delight in Jesus Christ? Is he all your salvation and all your desire? Do you adore him, do you consecrate yourself to his honor, do you wish to live for him, and to die for him? Then be sure that you belong to him, for it is the mark of the children of God that they love God in Christ Jesus.”

JESUS REVEALED: Jesus told his disciples he must go to Jerusalem and suffer, be killed, and be raised. Peter rebuked Jesus, saying that should not happen to Jesus. 

“Get thee behind me Satan,” Jesus said. Peter was “an offense” because of “not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts” (ISV).

TAKE UP CROSSES: “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? … For the Son of Man is going to come … and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. … There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom’” (Matt. 16:24-28 ESV).

SIX DAYS LATER: After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother into a high mountain (Matt. 17:1). (Mount Tabor is 1800 ft. above sea level; most ancient scholars agree is the site of the Transfiguration.) Jesus was transfigured before them; his face shown like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus.

PETER’S MISTAKE: Peter told Jesus it was good to be there, and if need be, he would make three tents (tabernacles), one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Writer Valerie Riese tells us why Peter had this idea:    

The Greek word translated as “tents” refers to the type of shelter the Hebrews called sukkah (pronounced ‘sook-kah’), Riese says. “Strong’s Concordance” defines a “sukkah” as a rude or temporary shelter. A sukkah was a small booth or tabernacle made with roofs of willows, palm trees, and other leafy trees (Lev. 23:40). Similar to our tents today, sukkot (plural for sukkah) were easy to pack up and rebuild in a new location, so they were the standard dwelling of Israelites wandering the desert for 40 years. Peter was also familiar with a more elaborate dwelling, the tabernacle of the Lord that traveled the desert along with the Israelites.

Why did Peter suggests a sukkah for each of the three? God gave Moses instructions for three Jewish Festivals, Riese says. The Festival of Booths is detailed in Leviticus 23:33-44. Every year, the Israelites built sukkot to remember how God sustained them during the Exodus. Peter lived in a sukkah for a week every year during the Festival of Booths, known as Sukkot, as Jews do each year as one of the three Pilgrimage Festivals. He learned to go without most conveniences of life to rely on God, as his ancestors did, and was reminded of their years of wandering in the wilderness. 

Peter knew a sukkah was a place to meet with God, so it seemed appropriate to accommodate God’s glory as he’d always done. He was trying to worship God. There are only three recorded instances of people hearing God’s audible voice in the New Testament. One of them was God speaking to Peter to tell him to listen to Jesus. God didn’t need a tabernacle to speak to his people anymore!  

While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, and from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

LENT -- I WASN'T SURE ABOUT IT

   A few years ago at lunchtime on a Wednesday, I left the carpet mill I worked for and drove down a hill into downtown Aberdeen, NC. Walking into Page Memorial United Methodist Church’s fellowship building, I laid down $4 for a Wednesdays-during-Lent lunch, served with dessert and an inspirational message by a guest speaker.   

Dot, a friend from Aberdeen, was there, and I sat with her and three of her friends. As we ate good home-cooked food, Dot asked me, “What are you giving up for Lent?”

My thoughts went like this: “Uh-oh. We’re into the Lenten season and I haven’t given up one thing. Dot probably expects that I should give up something to attune my mind to the passion and suffering Jesus endured.”

“Lent” observes the 40 days Jesus fasted in the desert and was tempted by Satan before beginning public ministry. Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 23 in 2023), when some folk get ashes dabbed on their foreheads. Those ashes are often from burned palm fronds waved during the previous year’s Palm Sunday services. Lent continues through Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Begun by the Catholic Church, Lent is now observed by various Christian churches and focuses on Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. Many believers pray, fast, and give alms more during Lent and often “give up” things — everything from alcohol and smoking to nail-biting and overeating.

“It is a time set aside each year to remember the love of God poured out through Christ Jesus on the cross in his death; and his defeat of death, sin and Satan in Christ’s death and resurrection,” sources say.

“Dot goes to Aberdeen First Baptist,” I thought.  “Why is she concerned about giving something up for Lent? Has she ‘gone Catholic’ or something?
Protestants used to avoid observing Lent because it seemed so Catholic.”

“Uh, I haven’t given up anything, yet,” I said. “I’m thinking about chocolate.” 

I envisioned myself standing at our workplace vending machine, looking at a package of M&Ms and being unable to buy those treats because Dot had shamed me into giving up chocolate during Lent.

“What are some of y’all giving up?” I asked, getting the attention off of me. I remembered Andy Griffith’s keen insight: “Put ’em on the scent of other game.” 

“Soft drinks,” one lady said. 

Some people fast during Lent, giving up meals so their prayers will become more focused. When I hear the word “fasting,” I usually think about a certain mule. I was a grade-school boy in SC when my paternal grandfather owned a not-too-user-friendly mule. I recall one evening when my grandpa opened the creature’s stall door to “put him up” for the night. The beast put his front feet inside his stall and then let go with a powerful kick. I can still see those hind legs moving backward with the kind of snap-motion a batter uses when swinging to hit a baseball over an outfield fence.

“I got to cut down on his corn,” my grandfather said.

I understood that. I’d heard someone describe an energetic child by saying, “He’s feeling his oats.” My grandfather was saying the mule possessed excess energy. Taking away some of the critter’s fuel supply would make him a more docile, cooperative worker. Perhaps fasting can tame or harness the body, so the soul and spirit can be nourished.  

“One thing Americans don’t’ want to give up is their time,” I said. “We’ll give money but we won’t give time. We tend to buy things for our kids rather than spend time with them.” 

“Yeah, it’s hard to get people to volunteer,” one of Dot’s friends said. 

I’d broadened the conversation. No one now seemed to be thinking about stuff I should give up. We finished lunch and waited for the day’s speaker, the Rev. Thomas Simpson of Vass, NC. He brought a good message. I felt thankful he didn’t mention sacrificing something during Lent.  

“Maybe it’s sort of silly,” I thought. “When I miss eating chocolate, will I be reminded that Jesus suffered for me? Is laying down chocolate during Lent some kind of trivial American idea of religious sacrifice?” 

Later, while standing at our office vending machine, I told a coworker about my Lent dilemma. 

“I thought Jesus died so we wouldn’t have to give up stuff,” she said. “I’m really into that ‘grace’ thing.”

Maybe she had a point. But I kept thinking about my grandfather’s mule and wondering if maybe I should give up a little something during Lent.

THE ASBURY REVIVAL of 2023

                   

  Barbara and I drove home recently from Greenville and found more stories about a revival at Asbury University. News about this is all over the internet.

   The 2023 Asbury Revival, which is ongoing,  seems to have started Wednesday (Feb. 8, 2023), when students at Asbury University gathered for their biweekly chapel service in the 1,500-seat Hughes Auditorium in Wilmore, Kentucky, about a half-hour outside of Lexington. 

Asbury University is a private school affiliated with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. Chapel attendance is mandatory for students on certain weekdays.

“The revival has been compared to similar revivals at Asbury, notably one that occurred in 1970, which had far-reaching consequences in Methodism, US culture, and in the creation of the Jesus Movement,” Wikipedia says. “The new revival is noted for its use of social media, as the participants are mainly members of Generation Z.” 

Generation Z grew up with access to the internet and began being born in the mid-to-late 1990s. The early 2010s marks the ending birth years for Gen Z. 

“Videos of students singing, weeping and praying have been posted on social media, leading to both criticism and praise from onlookers,” writes Bob Smietana of Religious News Service. “News of the revival has also drawn students and other visitors to the campus to take part in the ongoing prayer and worship.”

“We’ve been here in Hughes Auditorium for over a hundred hours — praying, crying, worshipping and uniting — because of Love,” wrote Alexandra Presta, editor of The Asbury Collegian, the school’s student newspaper, days after the revival started.

Michael McKenzie, associate professor of religion and philosophy at Keuka College in upstate New York, said revivals have long been a staple in the Methodist tradition that Asbury belongs to, reports Smietana. Revivals often happened when people felt things had gone wrong and were trying to recapture something that had been lost, he said. Online accounts of the meetings at Asbury, he said, seem to “fit all the historical signposts of previous revivals.”

Like revivals in the past, said McKenzie, the one at Asbury seems to have happened spontaneously. They often bypass leaders and start from the grassroots. That makes them harder to predict or control. They can also be a way of separating spiritual experience from the baggage of organized religion, said McKenzie.

Friday, Feb. 17, 2023: “It’s not winding down,” said Craig Keener, a biblical studies scholar at Asbury Theological Seminary, which is across the street from the university. “People have been praying for it for years,” he said. 

Lee Grady, a Christian journalist, gives the following account of Francis Asbury and also comments on the new revival:

“Asbury University is named after Methodist leader Francis Asbury (1745-1816), who was only 26 when he came [from England] to evangelize the American colonies. He became a leader of the 2nd Great Awakening. It’s estimated that he traveled 270,000 miles on horseback preaching and planting Methodist churches. But circuit-riding wasn’t glamorous; prior to 1847 more than half of Methodist circuit riders died before the age of 30 because of animal attacks, exposure to bad weather and the hardships of travel. Their sacrifice was a seed that died in the ground and produced a massive spiritual harvest. 

“Francis Asbury’s life was marked by white hot spiritual fervor. After being sent to our shores by John Wesley, Asbury wrote: ‘We must reach every section of America, especially the raw frontiers. We must not be afraid of men, devils, wild animals, or disease. Our motto must always be FORWARD!’ Like a modern Joshua, Asbury possessed the land, in spite of his frequent ailments. He never married, perhaps because he knew his sacrificial lifestyle would be difficult for a wife. He was so loved by his Christian brethren that more than 20,000 people followed his coffin when he was buried in Virginia after his death at age 70.

“Asbury University is named after this giant of faith. I think it’s fitting that the revival that erupted last week on the campus also reminds us of Francis Asbury. I’m not listening to religious critics who are skeptical of the music being sung at the revival, or worried about ‘emotionalism,’ or which translation of the Bible is being used, or which denominations are represented in the audience. God please forgive us for the cold, heartless Phariseeism that quenches the Holy Spirit. Francis Asbury would have been thrilled to see young people repenting and worshiping Jesus. May this holy fire spread to the world, and may an army of young Francis Asburys be sent out to claim the nations for Jesus.”

THE NAR (NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION): WHY I BELIEVE IT IS WRONG

   I was nine years old when my then-pastor, the Rev.James H. Thompson, raised as a Baptist, was criticized for inviting speakers to Gum Springs Pentecostal-Holiness (PH) Church, Taylors, SC, who were not from the PH denomination. 

Those speakers reportedly had received “baptisms in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues.” Pastor Jimmy resigned his Gum Springs pastorate. Some church members wanted to start a new church. The result was Faith Temple, an independent, interdenominational “church for all people.” My family became part of Faith Temple, Taylors, SC.

Pentecostals are continuationists, meaning they believe that all New Testament spiritual gifts, including “sign gifts,” continue today. (Descriptions of those gifts are found in 1 Cor. 12:4–11 and 1 Cor. 12:27–31.)

The Greek word “charisma” means "favor" or “gift." A “Charismatic Christian” is one who believes in the Pentecostal gifts but is not a member of a classical Pentecostal church. Some groups sprang up as Charismatic churches, though many Charismatics remained in old-line denominations.

“Among Anglicans, the charismatic movement emerged in 1958,” sources say. “The second half of the 1970s and the first half of the 1980s was the golden era of the charismatic movement.”  

Sources define the Charismatic Movement this way: “The charismatic movement is the international trend of historically mainstream Christian congregations adopting beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity similar to Pentecostalism. Fundamental to the movement is the experience of baptism with the Holy Spirit and the use of spiritual gifts (charismata).”

  EXPOSED TO THE NAR

At Logos International, a then-Charismatic publisher I worked for in 1973, I believe I experienced a baptism in the Holy Spirit. 

In 1989, I worked for Gulistan Carpet in Aberdeen, NC. My wife and I (and two daughters) attended Sandhills Assembly of God in Southern Pines, NC. 

After 12 years at Sandhills AG, my younger daughter persuaded us to join Grace Church of Southern Pines, NC, known as a Charismatic Church. After a time, a Grace Church friend said to me, “Steve, we have to pray in the Kingdom.” 

I said, “I thought Jesus could return at any time.”

“No, we have to pray in the kingdom,” she said.

This lady and her husband liked Pastor Rick Joyner, so I googled “pray in the kingdom, Rick Joyner” and learned about a world I did not know existed: the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation). The NAR had influenced Grace Church.  

The church I attended had been influenced in the early 1990s by by Professor C. Peter Wagner who fostered a movement that seemed to say this: Christ will return but not until we get the world in better shape to present to him. Wagner advocated that roles of Apostles and Prophets needed to be re-established, hence the name, New Apostolic Reformation. The greatest leaders in this NAR movement are referred to as Apostles or Prophets.

“The biggest innovation of NAR is the belief that apostles, working together with prophets, must take over the governance of the church — taking the reins from the pastors, elders, and denominational leaders — so that God’s end-time plans can be fulfilled and Christ can return,” says Holly Pivic, an author who writes about the NAR.

Most people, I believe, at the large church I attended (Grace Church) did not know the specifics of what the church’s inner circle believed. 

I believe NAR influences hurt Grace Church. What had been a seemingly good Charismatic church morphed into an "Apostles and Prophets" experiment with strange ideas. 

  The RAPTURE?

A now-deceased NAR prophet said, “Christ is not coming FOR his Church; he’s coming IN his Church.” That means Christians should not look for a Rapture but should be empowered to “take the world” for Christ — becoming a sort of corporate version of Christ. That idea may come from an old movement called “The Manifest Sons of God” movement. 

The NAR’s roots go back to a Latter Rain Movement (LRM) in the late 1940s. This movement was opposed by the Assembly of God (AG), the world’s largest Pentecostal denomination. The AG has published two “position papers” challenging NAR teachings that apostles and prophets must govern the Church. While some AG churches have allowed NAR teachings into their groups, AG leadership is opposed to NAR ideas about apostles and prophets ruling the Church.

  HOW DID NAR IDEAS SPREAD?

C. Peter Wagner reportedly had his disciples approach independent charismatic churches to spread his views. But there is even a division inside many AG churches because of NAR influence. The NAR promotes “signs and wonders,” Dominion, and does not believe in a Dispensation Premillennial Rapture of the Church as classical Pentecostals do.

The late C. Peter Wagner said, “The Gospel will be preached to all nations ... I believe the world is going to get better ... we believe God has sent us out to restore things ... when that has happened enough, Jesus will return to a very strong world, reflecting the Kingdom of God.”  

Many NAR adherents believe they will go through the End-Time Tribulation the Bible describes and that no Dispensational Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church will happen. 

Taking Dominion of this world involves, for the NAR, a “Seven Mountains Mandate.” Those seven mountains are religion, education, family, business, government, the arts, and media.

  SEVEN MOUNTAINS MANDATE  

Strict Dominion ideas include that it is the duty of Christians to create a worldwide kingdom patterned after the Bible’s moral law. Strict dominionists believe that Christ will not return to earth until such a kingdom has been established.

After much research, I arranged to meet with the lead pastor of my church. We talked for an hour. I said, “Many of our church’s attendees, if they knew of these NAR beliefs, might leave the church.” He said, “Maybe.”

On Sunday morning at that church, one probably would not hear of most NAR subjects. The music is contemporary and messages are basic Christian appeals to seekers and generic believers. 

My wife and I returned to the AG church, where most members had not heard of the NAR. In Jan. 2018, we moved back to SC. Carol passed on in Jan. 2019.  

  THE NAR — a SUMMARY (from sources)

In the NAR there seems to be heavy emphasis on spiritual warfare, “word of knowledge,” a pursuit of cultural and political control in society, and an emphasis on signs and wonders. Many of its followers will not self-identify as part of NAR.

The NAR teaches that God’s intended form of church governance is apostles and prophets who hold leadership over evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-12). According to the NAR, God began to restore prophets and apostles over the last 30 to 40 years. Only now, as the church is guided by the appropriate spiritual leaders, can it fulfill its commission. This commission is seen as more than spiritual — it includes cultural and political control.

These apostles are also destined to be recipients of a great wealth transfer (in the end times), which will enable the church to establish God’s kingdom on earth, NAR sources say.

NAR Prophets are almost as important as apostles, in their system. They theoretically have been empowered to receive “new” revelations from God that will aid the church in establishing dominion. 

  Criticism of the NAR from bewatchful.org: 

“The Bible warns us that in the last days, many will turn away from the truth (2 Timothy 4:4). Christians will not control the earth before Jesus returns. Conversely, persecution will increase, people will turn away from God, and the world will gradually fall apart. Only the return of the Lord can save it from utter destruction.”         

The Rapture of the Church, which I learned about at Faith Temple (years ago) and at Bob Jones Univ. and at most churches I’ve been in, including the Assembly of God, is different from the Second Coming. The Rapture is “a taking away of believers, where Christ’s feet do not touch the earth, as I understand. Later, the Second Coming takes place when Christ returns to set up his Kingdom in Jerusalem, as I understand. 

Some groups, including the NAR, seem to teach that there is no Rapture (of saints from the world before the Second Coming).

Will the Gospel be preached to the ends of the earth after the Rapture and during the Great Tribulation? Will it be preached by Jewish evangelists? I wonder.

The largest NAR question concerns the governing of the Church by Apostles and Prophets. 

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

The NAR elevates apostles and prophets to governing roles over evangelists, pastors, and teachers as they interpret that verse. I see all five positions as being equal in that verse.

  BOOKS by Holly Civic and R. Douglas Geivett for FUTHER READING:

    “God’s Super-Apostles”

    “A New Apostolic Reformation?”

    “Counterfeit Kingdom”