Rod Parsley is the newest big name in the "New Wave" movement within the Charismatic churches. He has the flair of an old-fashioned preacher, but the theology of a Kenneth Hagin or a Benny Hinn. In fact, his theology is even more confusing than Benny Hinn's. We will take a look at one of his books, entitled The Backside Of Calvary. Either the book was written to be confusing or his concept of Jesus Christ and the blood is the most bizarre theology on Christology I have ever encountered.

I suggest that a great research project for any devoted student of Scripture would be a comparison of Andrew Murray's book, entitled The Blood Of Jesus, and the book by Parsley, The Backside Of Calvary. It will provide you an excellent picture of what this "New Wave" group of Charismatics call a paradigm shift. They preach a form of the same old-fashioned subjects, but with a view totally different from established truth. It is actually a new "Jesus" with the same name. There is a discernible sense of demonic spirits as you listen or read Rod Parsley presentations.

One of Parsley's main themes during 1998 has been the idea of "celebration within the context of a church service." He calls this the "Year of Jubilee" and somehow ties the idea to a supernatural harvest. During these services he and the congregation put on their party hats and pull out their party whistles and hoop and holler just like they were at a carnival. The House of God becomes just as vile as a pagan temple celebrating the rites of fertility. Jesus spoke to the Jewish leaders of His day and soundly rebuked them for making the House of God a den of thieves. He would do the same today to these defilers of the House of God. I can envision Him saying, "You have made the House of God a playhouse of entertainment and folly." It is blasphemous.

Let's look at a few passages of Andrew Murray's classic, The Blood Of Jesus Christ, with a comparison to Rod Parsley's book, The Backside Of Calvary:

Andrew Murray: "He Himself gave, with the minutest care, directions for the arrangement and service of that house. But notice that the blood is the center and reason of all this. Draw near to the vestibule of the earthly temple of the Heavenly King, and the first thing visible is the altar of burnt offering, where the sprinkling of blood continues, without ceasing, from morning until evening. Enter the Holy Place, and the most conspicuous thing is the golden altar of incense, which also, together with the veil, is constantly sprinkled with the blood. Ask what lies beyond the Holy Place, and you will be told that it is the Most Holy Place where God dwells. If you ask how He dwells there and how He is approached, you will be told "not without blood." The golden throne, where His glory shines, is itself sprinkled with the blood, once every year when the high priest alone enters to bring in the blood and to worship God. The highest act in that worship is the sprinkling of the blood.

"If you inquire further, you will be told that always, and for everything, the blood is the one thing needful. At the consecration of the house or of the priests, at the birth of a child, in the deepest penitence on account of sin, in the highest festival -- always and in everything -- the way to fellowship with God is through the blood alone.

"This continued for fifteen hundred years. At Sinai, in the desert, at Shiloh, in the temple on Mount Moriah it continued -- till our Lord came to make an end of all shadows by bringing in the substance and by establishing a fellowship with the Holy One, in spirit and truth." (Andrew Murray, The Power Of The Blood Of Jesus, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1994, pp. 13-14.)

Compare With:

Rod Parsley: "Before Calvary, man had to approach the Lord through the 'filter' of animal blood and the veil of God's 'go-betweens', the Temple High Priest and prophets. There was no direct contact. And Although God wanted, and man needed, this separation to end, the original blood covenant could not fulfill that purpose. (Rod Parsley, The Backside Of Calvary, Results Publishing, Columbus, OH, 1991, p. 47.)

"That event instituted the practice of animal sacrifice. Its purpose was to act as a temporary blood covering for man's transgressions. However, its effectiveness was so inadequate that our Old Testament forefathers had to repeat the process each time they brought a petition to the Lord. In effect, the shedding of animal blood was a means of 'momentarily sterilizing' man's sin infection, that he might re-establish limited contact with His Creator." (Ibid., pp. 29-30.)

Another passage by Andrew Murray:

"In the synagogue at Capernaum He spoke of Himself as 'the Bread of Life'; of His flesh, 'that He would give it for the life of the world.' Four times over He said most emphatically, 'Except ye . . . drink his blood ye have no life in you. He that drinketh my blood hath everlasting life. My blood is drink indeed. He that drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him' (John 6:53-56). Our Lord thus declared the fundamental fact that He Himself, as the Son of the Father, who came to restore to us our lost life, can do this in no other way than by dying for us, by shedding His blood for us, and then making us partakers of its power." (Andrew Murray, The Power Of The Blood Of Jesus, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1994, p. 15.)

Compare With:

Rod Parsley: "It is that simple. The hard part has already been tackled. If God didn't want to heal you, He should not have done it! Remember, by his stripes, you WERE healed! Your cure has already been appropriated through the "IMMUNIZED" blood of His Son." (Rod Parsley, The Backside Of Calvary, Results Publishing, Columbus, OH, 1991, p. 72.) (Emphasis added.)

"The same "IMMUNIZED" blood that saved your soul was shed as well for the healing of your body. This is not just a factual promise; it's a Bible truth." (Ibid., p. 73.) (Emphasis added.)

"If through the 'filter' of the old blood covenant the Lord was able to declare, 'I am the God that healeth thee', then here on the back side of Calvary, through the "IMMUNIZED" blood of His Son, how much better for us is God's healing Word?" (Ibid., p. 94.) (Emphasis added.)

Another passage by Andrew Murray:

"The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin,' from original, as well as from actual, sin. The blood exercises its spiritual, heavenly power in the soul. The believer in whose life the blood is fully efficacious, experiences that the old nature is hindered from manifesting its power. Through the blood, its lusts and desires are subdued and slain, and everything is cleansed that the Spirit can bring forth His glorious fruit. In case of the least stumbling, the soul finds immediate cleansing and restoration. Even unconscious sin are rendered powerless through its efficacy." (Andrew Murray, The Power Of The Blood Of Jesus, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1994, p. 65.)

Compare with:

Rod Parsley: "Then, without warning, there came the sudden thud of a hammer. The nails that pounded into Christ's hands and feet that day 'injected' Him with every blatant iniquity, every subtle sin, every vile act that mankind had ever or would ever commit."

"Hanging from those nails, Jesus was also deliberately infected with all manner of sickness and sin, so to bring about salvation and healing, through His divine, immunized blood." (Rod Parsley, The Backside Of Calvary, Results Publishing, Columbus, OH, 1991, p. 46.)

Rod Parsley Teachings Compared to Scripture
Let's view a few of Parsley's teachings from His writing and a few from His video/audio messages being distributed to a growing number of undiscerning souls. First, let's deal with his view of the Old Testament sacrifices.

Rod Parsley: "Before Calvary, man had to approach the Lord through the 'filter' of animal blood and the veil of God's 'go-betweens', the Temple High Priest and prophets. There was no direct contact." (Ibid., p. 47.)

Parsley also said: "In effect, the shedding of animal blood was a means of 'momentarily sterilizing' man's sin infection, that he might re-establish limited contact with His Creator." (Ibid., p. 29.)

He uses two terms to declare the purpose of the blood sacrifices as provided in this first blood covenant. First, he spoke of the blood as a 'filter' and then stated that its effect was to 'sterilize' them from sin. Neither idea has an ounce of Biblical validity.

The purpose of a filter is to separate something desirable from something undesirable. Sterilize means to render an unpure thing to become a pure thing. The sacrifices of animals did neither. The blood was a covering from sin and the power of this blood was in its foreshadow of Jesus Christ, something Parsley did not even mention. These sacrifices were powerful because they were destined to be completed in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul made it plain that the Old Testament glory was inferior to the Second Testament, but nevertheless powerfull and glorious.

"But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory." (2 Corinthians 3:7-9).

Animal blood, if the animal was properly presented, was offered as a substitute for the individual until the death of Jesus Christ. The individual was set apart for God because of this sacrifice, but was not rendered holy from his adamic nature. The law was to be kept as the obedience for his holiness. The law had to be in his head, but could never be imparted into his heart. Paul said this clearly to the Hebrew Christians,

"The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation." (Hebrews 9:8-10)

Rod Parsley speaks over and over of the "immunized" blood of Jesus Christ. Look at several quotes:

"It is that simple. The hard part has already been tackled. If God didn't want to heal you, He should not have done it! Remember, by his stripes, you WERE healed! Your cure has already been appropriated through the 'IMMUNIZED' blood of His Son." (Rod Parsley, The Backside Of Calvary, Results Publishing, Columbus, OH, 1991, p. 72.) (Emphasis added.)

"The same 'IMMUNIZED' blood that saved your soul was shed as well for the healing of your body. This is not just a factual promise; it's a Bible truth." (Ibid., p. 73.) (Emphasis added.)

" . . . so that through Christ's 'IMMUNIZED' blood, we are forgiven, purified, and able to choose again." (Ibid., p. 93.) (Emphasis added.)

What does he mean by stating that the blood was "immunized". The medical procedure of immunization means that a germ is placed in the bloodstream, which builds up resistance against that same germ in a future contact. Was Rod Parsley saying that Jesus was infected with our sins and disease so that now His blood can defeat our sins and diseases? Indeed, that is clearly what he is stating. Here are his exact words,

"The nails that pounded into Christ's hands and feet that day 'injected' Him with every blatant iniquity, every subtle sin, every vile act that mankind had ever or would ever commit." (Ibid., p. 46.)

Does Biblical truth teach that Jesus was "injected" with our sins or does it teach that He became a substitute for our sins? This question is at the heart of the gospel. Isaiah stated plainly what the Biblical answer has always been and always will be.

"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand." (Isaiah 53:3-6,10).

The Eternal Father has "laid" our sins upon Him and made "His soul an offering for sin," but never "injected" Him with our sins. The most amateur of ministers should have settled this question before they even walked into a pulpit. This process of immunizing the blood of Jesus actually creates a paranormal "Jesus", instead of a divine Saviour that effects our redemption with "precious blood", unstained and unblemished.

Please notice in the following quote that Rod Parsley elevates man to a position of worthiness for this blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

"His willingness was illustrated when He voluntarily hung on the cross. Your worthiness was exhibited plainly by the blood He shed there." (Rod Parsley, The Backside Of Calvary, Results Publishing, Columbus, OH, 1991, p. 63.)

Salvation by grace is utterly based on our unworthiness, not on our worthiness. We are saved by grace alone,

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8).

The "New Wave" preachers, such as Parsley, have created a gospel of self and self-esteem. They are copies of Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller, but with a Charismatic flair.

The basic teaching of Rod Parsley is that of "divine health" and prosperity. Here are two quotes, where he declares these ideas.

"Jesus Christ accomplished everything that God the Father started at the creation, and that includes total health." (Rod Parsley, The Backside Of Calvary, Results Publishing, Columbus, OH, 1991, p. 49.)

"Salvation and healing are two gifts wrapped up in the same package. For God, it is just as easy to forgive sin as it is to dissolve a cancerous growth. To Him, healing is just as important and necessary as Salvation." (Ibid., p. 55.)

Please notice that he does not preach "divine healing", that is indeed a truth of Holy Scripture. He preaches a false version of this wonderful subject that he calls "divine health." Divine health is not only false, it is impossible. The Bible teaches that, ". . . Our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." (2 Corinthians 4:16). This body is corruptible and the very nature of sin in our world determines that we will suffer tribulation and trials. Yes, Jesus does heal. I have witnessed many miracles, but no one can equate sin and sickness to the same level.

This is a quote from a pulpit message by Rod Parsley.

"We might as well put sin on one side and righteousness on the other, health on one side and sickness on the other. And, we might as well use the dividing line of John, chapter ten, and verse ten to do it. "The thief comes, but to kill and to steal and to destroy, but I am come" (My God, somebody should have shouted right there. Shouting heard in background.). Jesus said that I am come that you might have life, not death.

"We believe and know it and it is true. It is the will of God to prosper us in every area of our lives. It is the will of God for us to walk in divine health. But, that is not the will of God that will set you free from the icy tentacles of sin, which would drag your life down unto despair and damn your soul when life is over.

"Sanctification comes from being free in your body from the torment of the after effect of sin, called disease." (Rod Parsley Audio, "The Subject Of Sin".)

It is absolute heresy to place sin and sickness on the same level of Jesus' sacrifice. Sanctification never deals with divine health, but maturity and holiness in our walk with Jesus Christ. This kind of teacher is so unfair to a suffering or dying saint. Scriptures teach that if you offend one of God's little ones, it were better for you that a millstone were hanged around your neck and that you were cast into the sea. (Matthew 18:6). Many of the very "New Wave" minister friends of Rod Parsley have either died of sudden disease or live under a doctor's care. Such preaching is nothing, but a money-grabbing exercise.

His faith is not the Biblical faith of surrender and commitment to God, but a power used to get wealth. Here is a quote from a pulpit message that shows the folly of such teaching.
"This woman over here has got a financial need. She has got a financial situation. Maybe it is a need, maybe it is a want. It doesn't make any difference to God. He said, 'the desire, what thing soever you desire.' Now, you have got to understand II Thessalonians, chapter one I believe declared your faith groweth exceedingly. You can't believe for a four layered wedding cake until you've had a doughnut. You've got to exercise your faith, your faith groweth. I said your faith groweth. You can't just jump out there and say, 'I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart a new Lincoln Continental.' Start with a bicycle."

The glory of the gospel becomes a gospel of greed under such false ideas. Any Bible believer that has taken up their cross will be repulsed by this teaching. If you like it, it is good evidence that you have made the paradigm shift from truth into New Age philosophy.

Parsley preaches a strange form of our eternal state at the resurrection. This again shows some idea of the paranormal nature of the "New Wave" teachers. He states,

"We know that when He shall appear we are going to be changed. We shall be made like Him in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. We are coming out of this earth suit and then we are going to be spirit, spirit, and spirit can touch spirit and spirit can see spirit and that's the way we are going to walk up and down those heavenly boulevards made out of purest gold." (Rod Parsley Audio, "The Subject Of Sin".)

The Bible is clear on the state of our resurrection. We will possess a glorified body, raised in the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul stated,

"And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body." "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." (1 Corinthians 15:37-38,44).

We will know even as we are known and enjoy eternal fellowship with the saints of all ages. To reduce our eternal state to a spirit is contrary to our glorious future.

The way Parsley elevates himself is scary. Here is a quote from a pulpit message that presents the Lord Jesus almost reluctantly interrupting him. Parsley stated,

"I want you to know how wonderful Jesus is. Right in the middle of the wedding came there to me and said, 'I don't mean to interrupt you,' and told me what to do today just as plain, plainer than I'm speaking to you right now, said it up in my spirit, said to me, 'I want you to teach them on healing.' In my spirit said that to me." (Rod Parsley Audio, "The Double Cure Of Calvary.")

When a man becomes so elevated that he would dare state that Jesus apologized for interrupting him, he has a serious problem. That kind of brassness is a clear picture of a man that has lost any concept of the Biblical humility and any reverence for our Almighty God.

His "god" is clearly a pagan god that acts in peculiar ways. In one sermon he tells the congregation that the Holy Ghost is acting funny that morning. Here are his exact words,

"I'm just being moved on in a funny way today by the Holy Ghost and I yield myself to it that great blessing may come to you . . . I just love the different anointings of God. I'm glad to be serving a God of variety . . . This is just a different anointing." (Rod Parsley Audio: "The Hinge Of Faith".)

Clearly the Biblical model is the only model in which the Spirit of God is manifest. God declared, speaking of the Godhead,

"For, I am the Lord, I change not." (Malachi 3:6).

An expose on a minister like Rod Parsley is not an easy task. I desire to help build up and strengthen every voice that proclaims truth. In listening to different messages and reading material from Rod Parsley, there is a constant sense of empty, noisy hype and fleshly manipulation. Everything is geared to creating an altered, highly emotional atmosphere. Individuals that think for themselves and reason from the Scripture would be totally out of place. The people are told when to shout and when to listen.

How has the great movement, called "20th Century Pentecost," come to this sorrowful end is beyond my understanding. My burden is that we reach as many as possible and encourage them back to the model of Holy Scripture. Let's pray afresh "that the Word of God will prevail." Truth is at the heart of the Gospel and the Life of Jesus Christ cannot be communicated except by the Gospel. Plain Biblical preaching is the need of this hour and it will produce a harvest.