Religious Imagination The Driving Force of the One World Church

Modern religion is being driven by the imaginations of unspiritual, mostly converted, religious leaders. The multitude of the church loves it because the spirit of antichrist dominant in the world is a spirit of wild imaginations. The whole of the entertainment world is dominated by the wild, spectacular, flesh- exhilarating emotions and imaginations. Religious and secular books more and more are turning to imaginations as the theme or method of writing. Of course, this can be good or bad depending on its abandonment to pure truth or to perceived ideas. From the "Lord of the Rings" to "Harry Potter," the whole world is more and more intrigued with anything that fires the imagination.

Rick Joyner is a noted writer of twisted theological, imaginative ideas. His wild idea of the coming civil war within the church has created great interest because it fits the antichrist mold. The majority of his followers have no idea that a civil war in the religious world is a prophetic fact, but that it will occur after the Rapture, an event which he denies with a vengeance. Both Joel in the First Testament, and John the revelator in the Second Testament, prophesy of this civil war which will be the martyrdom of millions of Bible believers who repent and are washed in the Blood after missing the Rapture. The resurrection of the massive crowd they slaughter is clearly seen in the book of Revelation. The Lord revealed, "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:9, 13-14)

Rick Warren has done to the evangelicals what Rick Joyner did to the Pentecostals with his imagination-saturated book, "The Purpose Driven Life." The very title is a fire in the human mind. Everybody is looking for something to intrigue them and add a perception to their life that has the capacity to fire up their emotions. Of course, the cross-life of Jesus Christ can do that, but it is costly. The person who comes to Christ gives up all control and right of choice. Jesus Christ cannot fill you with His Spirit until you make Him Lord of all, but Rick WarrenÂ’s book promises all of this in a smorgasboard life of choices. He offers nine different approaches to fulfilling your "purpose driven life." Here are his words:

"In his book Sacred Pathways, Gary identifies nine of the ways people draw near to God: Naturalists are most inspired to love God out-of-doors, in natural settings. Sensates love God with their senses and appreciate beautiful worship services that involve their sight, taste, smell, and touch, not just their ears. Traditionalists draw closer to God through rituals, liturgies, symbols, and unchanging structures. Ascetics prefer to love God in solitude and simplicity. Activists love God through confronting evil, battling injustice, and working to make the world a better place. Caregivers love God by loving others and meeting their needs. Enthusiasts love God through celebration. Contemplatives love God through adoration. Intellectuals love God by studying with their minds.

"There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to worship and friendship with God. One thing is certain: You don’t bring glory to God by trying to be someone he never intended you to be. God wants you to be yourself. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship." (The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren, p.103)

The very book he quotes, this "ultimate lie of lies", is a New Age book right out of SatanÂ’s one world church. If this is the standard for finding His purpose, then every religion in our world can be a part, and therein lays the basis of his incredible success. His appeal is a Robert Schuller appeal. The entire Robert Schuller, Rick Warren, Bill Hybel, etc., list of imagination-driven ministries is taking the church world by storm and the whole foundation is revealed in the Holy Scripture as false. Apostle Paul gives a fitting description of this crowd of New Age religionists, "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their IMAGINATIONS, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." (Underscore and emphasis mine) (Romans 1:19-22) The Apostle called them fools because "human imagination" was allowed to change "Divine Revelation."

All you need to do is watch this crowd and follow where it all leads because the picture is ugly. He said, "And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." (Romans 1:23-25) It is a dark scene.

Catholicism has been driven by wild, imaginative ideas since its inception. Remember, Constantine saw a vision of his army under the banner of a cross as being victorious. Common sense, without Biblical truth, would convince anyone that the Cross of Jesus was never meant to be used to slaughter the opposing Roman army. One side was as evil as the other as the emperors of Rome fought for control of that pagan city. The entire structure of Roman Catholicism is rooted in wild human imaginations. Several of the stations of the cross are nothing but human imagination. The resurrection of Jesus Christ, as depicted by the Catholic stigmatist, is wild stuff. The wearing of the scapular, the trip by the dead to purgatory, selling of indulgences, and the ultimate appearances of Mary as apparitions, is all woven out of human imagination with not an ounce of truth. It has all proved that SatanÂ’s grandest tool is a fire in the undisciplined mind.

The antichrist is already unraveling the minds of millions of once Bible believing people and replacing it all with richly embossed, concocted schemes that set the imagination of people aflame with emotion. You have not seen anything yet. Wait until he fulfills Revelation chapter thirteen. Jesus tells us of the antichristÂ’s coming and his imagination-driven, paranormal events. Listen to the LordÂ’s words as given to John, "And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed." (Revelation 13:12-15) Fire coming down from heaven, an image of the antichrist that becomes animated, takes on life, talks, condemns his rejectors, commands their death and, finally, by some incredible feat, produces an identification connecting himself to his worshippers. This will be so spectacular that the world will gladly worship this great revelation of a god.

Right now the "imagination ideas" that are flooding the religious world are all preparation for the ultimate imagination of a god that claims to be the true God. Only the godly saints, with their names written in the Book of Life, can withstand what is happening right now on the religious scene. Unless you are "Sola Scriptura", you are a sitting fool awaiting the next fad. From "Promise Keepers" to "The Prayer of Jabez", to the "God Chasers", the angel feathers, gold dust, to "The Purpose Driven Life", it all is a world of imaginations preparing those that do not "love truth alone" for the darkness about to arise. Live in the book of God for it alone is safe territory.

Joseph R. Chambers