Kenneth Copeland, Pope Francis & The Catholic Charismatic, Word of Faith Renewal

By Brannon S. Howse

A melding of world religions is not as outlandish an idea as you might think. In fact, the key players in this unification movement are already active among us. The most significant of these are the Word of Faith, the New Apostolic Reformation, and the Church of Rome. If the world religions are going to unite around the belief that man is God, then it makes sense that Mormons, New Agers, Hindus, and Buddhists could unite. What may not seem as obvious is that the Word of Faith, New Apostolic Reformation, and Church of Rome can unite with them. Yet, in this chapter, I will explain how all can unite around 16 theological issues. 

As I begin, though, let me point out that I make an important distinction between the Word of Faith and New Apostolic Reformation and “charismatics” in general because some who are charismatic oppose the Word of Faith, the New Apostolic Reformation and the doctrinal aberrations they represent. I would suggest, however, that these opponents consider abandoning the term charismatic for themselves because, unfortunately, it has been co-opted by the Word of Faith, NAR, and now even the Church of Rome. The Word of Faith and New Apostolic Reformation camp is filled with false converts, false teachers, and generally the apostate. I don’t see how anyone who follows Word of Faith or NAR theology can be a Christian because they teach a different Jesus and, as a result, a different gospel.

Although I’ve written extensively about Word of Faith and the New Apostolic Reformation in my previous book Religious Trojan Horse (available at worldviewweekend.com/bookstore), I need to highlight certain aspects of their teachings and activities in order to connect a number of meaningful dots in the development of a one-world religious Reich. I developed this material while preparing for a series of television programs and through studying scripture; I discovered 16 reasons the Word of Faith and New Apostolic Reformation can all merge and, in turn, merge with other religions of the world. 

As I’ve noted before, the Bible reveals that there will be a religious world government. Revelation 17 clearly describes this system as based in Babylon, and the mysticism of NAR, Church of Rome, and Word of Faith will assist in making the necessary syncretism possible. The Church of Rome has been working for many years to co-opt the charismatic movement, and I think this has now actually occurred to a large extent. 

And how has this occurred? An article entitled “The Charismatic Renewal and the Catholic Church,” posted at catholicworldreport.com, offers pertinent background information:

[quote] As Cardinal Mario Bergoglio [before becoming Pope Francis]—the Pope would celebrate mass on a monthly basis for the Charismatic Renewal of Buenos Aires. And despite the conflicts between Catholics and Pentecostals in Latin America, word has it that Pentecostal pastors rejoiced at the election of the new Catholic pope. . . . The worldwide charismatic movement, which now includes an estimated 700 million people around the world, of which an estimated 160 million are Catholics. [end quote] 

One of the people who has aggressively tried to bring Protestant and Catholic charismatics together is C. Peter Wagner. For years, Wagner and his Third Wave have promoted the joining together of charismatics from all denominations. Here’s a summary statement about this process that I’ll share from Religious Trojan Horse (page 106):

[quote] The New Apostolic Reformation is an outgrowth of the Latter Rain Movement, the Word of Faith movement that includes the prosperity gospel, also known as “Name It and Claim It.” The full name of the Latter Rain Movement—the New Order of the Latter Rain—is important to note because the movement is fast becoming mainstream and accepted by many within evangelicalism and pro-family circles of the New Religious Right. The New Order of the Latter Rain is helping build the “new order” or “new world order” of the antichrist.

When the antichrist shows up on the world scene, the followers of the New Apostolic Reformation, Word of Faith, New Agers, Mormons, Hindus, and Buddhists will have been well prepared to embrace his message of pagan spirituality and ecumenicalism, which will be backed by signs and wonders as described in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11, which reads: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” [end quote] 

I wrote that as a warning several years ago that the New Apostolic Reformation, the Word of Faith movement, and the world’s religions can all come together.

Rome Calling—to Charismatics

Powerful personalities are at work to bring about this unity among charismatics. At the conference for ministers at which Kenneth Copeland included Tony Palmer among his keynote speakers, Palmer brought to the Copeland conference a video message from Pope Francis to the group. During his speech, Palmer presented his iPhone message from Pope Francis. In his address to the group, Palmer also invoked the previous pope, citing his support of charismatics this way:

[quote] Pope Benedict, he said to all the charismatic leaders—charismatic Catholics publicly—he said this in Italian to them, he said, “You Charismatics, you are the hope of the church.” [end quote]

So, Benedict reached out in a big way to charismatics. 

Then Palmer explained his relationship with Pope Francis and why he so fully embraces the Catholic initiatives toward charismatics: 

• [quote] About eight years ago, I was working for the Catholic Church in South America, in Argentina. And it’s protocol when we go into a Catholic diocese, we go visit the Catholic bishop, and we ask his permission to work among his people. And when I went to Argentina, the bishop that I had to visit at that time was Father Mario Jorge Bergoglio. And he and I struck up a very intimate relationship.
   
• I have three spiritual fathers. The man who ordained me a priest, Archbishop Robert Wise, ten years ago, and then later consecrated me four years ago as a bishop, he’s my spiritual father. Kenneth Copeland, without a doubt, he received me in South Africa. . . . 

   

• And the third spiritual father was Mario Jorge Bergoglio. Because you see, my wife, when she saw she could be Catholic and Charismatic and Evangelical and Pentecostal, and it was absolutely accepted within the Catholic Church, she said that she’d like to reconnect her roots with her Catholic culture. So, she did.

   

• And so, I was working intimately with the Catholic Church. My wife was a charismatic Catholic. My children were going to Catholic school. So, we raised our kids Catholic/Charismatics/Pentecostals/Evangelicals. Jesus was all of those, you know. Jesus is sacramental. He instituted the sacraments. He did the things that were required of Him in the synagogue. He believed in sign and symbol. He used it all the time in His parables. But He was also Evangelical, because He said, “You have to be born again.” It is written. He was also the contemplative. He was also the Charismatic. How much of Jesus do you want? Do you only want one denomination of Jesus? Jump in, get it all. [end quote]

What a troubling assortment of claims. First he lists the pope among his three most important spiritual mentors. Then he claims that Jesus was Catholic, charismatic, Pentecostal, evangelical, and contemplative. Palmer claims Jesus represented all of these groups and their theologies. But I say his claim is false, false, false, false, and false. Yet Palmer’s statement is consistent with the message he brought from Pope Francis. The gist of his message was that there is no reason why we can’t all come together. Charismatics, Roman Catholics, and evangelicals should unite, beginning with the charismatic pastors at Kenneth Copeland’s conference.

Palmer apparently believed there is no longer a reason charismatics and evangelicals should be separated from the Catholic Church. The protest of Martin Luther, he claimed, is over, and now the Church of Rome believes in the same gospel as evangelicals, charismatics, and (supposedly) the rest of us. But the truth is, the Roman Church will say and do whatever it must do in order to grab converts and turn people back to Rome in their counter-reformation efforts.

My friend, the late Ron Carlson, who traveled the world, told me repeatedly that the Catholic Church would morph into the dominant religion of whichever country it found itself in. If, for instance, the church ministered in India, it would take on the flavor of Hinduism, and if in America, an American feel. As a result, the American version of Catholicism is not the version of Roman Catholicism that most of the world knows, and since America is strongly influenced by the Judeo-Christian worldview, it is a softer, gentler form of Roman Catholicism. But this ability to “go with the flow” means the church can allow a variety of theological aberrations under its umbrella and can be comfortable with wide-ranging ecumenicalism as long as people “come under” the pope.

So why would a message like this appeal to a group of ministers such as those gathered for the Copeland conference? I believe it’s because these people are actually ministers of unrighteousness. The Bible says that Satan will appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), so it follows that his ministers, too, will appear as ministers of righteousness. Many of these ministers, who are false teachers of the New Apostolic Reformation, the Word of Faith, neo-evangelicalism, or the New Religious Right, are doing the bidding of their father the devil. In John 8, Jesus is clear there are only two possibilities for service: you’re either in God’s camp, or you’re in Satan’s. Despite what Palmer claims of the potential unity between Roman Catholics and others, the Church of Rome is actually promoting a deception. It may want evangelicals to believe they think alike, but evangelicals would be extremely naïve to buy the idea. The real teachings of the Church of Rome hold that people who reject Catholic teachings about the Eucharist and the supremacy and infallibility of the pope are condemned. 

The Ecumenical Road to Babylon 

In relating this event at the Copeland conference, I’m not just picking on a specific group. It stands as an example of many others who endorse the call of Rome to unity. Many false theological beliefs embraced by Baptists, Southern Baptists, Evangelical Free, Nazarene,  Missionary Alliance and other evangelicals are helping implement this false church and to mainstream false teachers. If evangelicals do not want to take part in assisting in the building of the great harlot of Revelation 17:1, then they had better be aware of the 16 theological reasons why false religions of the world can unite, and they had better oppose these aberrant theological beliefs with the truth of God’s Word. 

Copyright 2015 ©Brannon Howse. This content is for Situation Room members and is not to be duplicated in any form or uploaded to other websites without the express written permission of Brannon Howse or his legally authorized representative.