Hank Hanegraaff's Criticisms-A Note to Randy Clark

Date: 02-Mar-1995 02:53pm EST
Subject: Hank Hanegraaff's Criticisms-A Note to Randy Clark

Randy, thanks for your query concerning my evaluation of Hank Hanegraaff's criticisms of the current revival. I have listened to his tape, "The Counterfeit Revival," and I'll attempt to interact with it here.

Hank begins by saying that throughout history, the Church has experienced genuine revival, but that "today, we are experiencing what might best be described as 'the counterfeit revival.'"

It would seem to me as a historian that this is an a-historical statement. To my knowledge, at no point in the past have we ever experienced a counterfeit revival. Now, all of a sudden, we are asked to believe that, for the first time in two thousand years, a counterfeit revival has been born. Every revival has had its fierce critics, but thus far, the verdict of history has been that every revival of the past has been genuine, despite the inevitable problems and imbalances.

Hank also says that "lying signs and wonders are not a demonstration of revival. It will come when each one of us is deeply committed to worshipping God in Spirit and in truth. Where we get back into the word and get the word back into us. And without the word, we have no barometer for truth and error." I have been observing carefully the current revival for nine months, and it seems evident to me that this it is causing multitudes of people to do just these things--to become deeply committed to worshipping Him God in Spirit and in truth, to get back into the Word of God, and, especially, to get the Word back into each of us. Really, that's what this revival has been all about--people have been transformed after doing "carpet time" on the floor, slain by the Spirit. They have become new creatures, dedicated anew as servants and disciples of Jesus Christ.

I would agree that signs and wonders, in and of themselves, are not a demonstration of revival. But we are seeing far more than miracles. We're seeing people returning to obedience to Jesus Christ, and we're seeing this on a large scale. Because this is the case, I see no reason to refer to the miracles of the present revival as "lying signs and wonders."

Hank attempts to draw an analogy between what is happening now and what happened during Jeremiah's time, when false prophets were declaring "peace, peace," and there was not peace. He says, "They're declaring 'revival' when revival is far from reality in our lives." But on the contrary, revival has indeed become reality in the lives of multitudes of people over the past year or more.

Hank describes a Rodney Howard-Browne meeting that he attended at Melodyland Christian Center. He says that he was with an expert in mass hypnosis, and that this expert said that Rodney was using psychological and sociological manipulation, and sleight of hand. At one point, when the crowd responded in a certain way, he said, "he's using an embedded command," implying that Rodney had conditioned the crowd to respond in a certain way when he used a certain word, much the same way a person who had been hypnotized would perform a given action upon hearing a certain word embedded in a sentence.

I would encourage anyone who really takes this charge seriously to read the fifth chapter of SIGNS OF REVIVAL by Patrick Dixon, who is a physician. He brings to bear his own medical expertise to help explain the manifestations, and he carefully examines, and dismisses after careful consideration, charges that leaders of the current movement are being manipulative or that people are being brainwashed, or that the movement is nothing but a manifestation of mass hysteria or mass hypnosis.

Hank later observes that Rodney once preached on hell, and that he said that "the more I told people what hell was like, the more the people laughed." Hank contrasts this to the preaching of Jonathan Edwards on this topic, which, he says, elicited weeping and repentance. But God does work in different ways at different time and places, and in my opinion, one cannot conclude from this that Rodney's meetings are part of a "counterfeit revival." As Christians, we know that nothing can separate us from the love of God, neither height nor depth, nor the things of the world, nor the powers of hell itself. For this reason, we are able to laugh in the face of the powers of hell, for we know that they have no power over us. Really, when all is said in done, it is indeed laughable that the enemy should even attempt to make any attempt to overcome us. He doesn't have a chance against the living God.

I think what Rodney was pointing out when he made this statement was that God was sovereignly causing the people to laugh; it could not possibly have been a situation in which he was manipulating the crowd into laughter by telling jokes or by telling funny stories. His critics have taken this and twisted it to make it appear as though the current revival does not concern itself with repentance. Yet, repentance is what this revival is all about. As you know, when people fall under the power of God, God deals with them to become obedient unto him, and this has been happening on a very large scale.

Hank Hanegraaff then takes issue with the idea of a great revival immediately preceding the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, "In Biblical eschatology, the precursor to the coming of the Lord is great apostasy." This idea is actually a fairly recent one. In Jonathan Edwards' day, it was assumed that great revival would precede Christ's coming, and that all the earth would be filled with the Glory of the Lord, as Scripture states. It was really only after the pessimism following World War I that large numbers of Christians began interpreting the Bible in such a way as to expect a great apostasy prior to the Lord's coming.

Hank takes issue with Rodney's comments to the effect that, more and more, dramatic healings will become a part of this revival. He says, "I believe God can and does heal. However, where is the evidence this is taking place? Where are the people who have been raised from the dead? We don't need to tell stories of this kind to authenticate the Gospel." Essentially, he is charging Rodney with telling falsehoods, and that is a serious charge, especially in light of the fact that there actually is plenty of evidence that people are being healed. Moreover, he's asking for evidence of things that Rodney says are soon to come. How can anyone produce evidence of things that have not yet happened, even if they will be happening soon?

Hank then says that "God never, never tells us to set aside our rational thinking processes. . . . Feel. Don't think. This is the age old lie of satan." There is some truth to this statement. However, God does tell us that His thoughts are not our thoughts, and that, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts. Scripture also states that the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them. It is true that God has given us the ability to think, and that we should use that as a God-given gift. But it is also true that man, in his fallenness, often uses that gift improperly.

He then goes on to say that "such awful, devilish manifestations" as are taking place in the current revival are being used to sensitize us, as Christians, to the world of the occult. He quotes John Wimber to the effect that, formerly, he considered some of the current manifestations to be demonic, but that now he is taking a wait and see attitude; if the fruit in the peoples' lives turns out to be good, then he will acknowledge that these things are of God. Hank says that "This is a far cry from a pastor protecting his sheep against wolves." It would seem to me that Hank is missing something very important here. The pastor is to protect the sheep against wolves, but those wolves are people, not manifestations. The wolves are those who would lead people astray into evil, not people roaring like lions in church services.

Hank then quotes a couple of verses from Ecclesiastes and from Luke 6:25 to the effect that sorrow is better than laughter. I believe that he is taking these verses out of their proper context, however. When Jesus says "Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep," he is talking to those who are enjoying the pleasures of the world at the expense of obedience unto God. The laughter in the current revival has nothing to do with the pleasures that the world offers. It is a result of God- given joy.

Hank then observes that you can get laughter from Transcendental Meditation, and eastern religions. This may well be, but this, in and of itself, does not demonstrate that laughter among Christians must therefore be of satanic origin. He says that Mahareji Mahesh Yogi twists the Scriptures and says "be still and know that you are God." This may be the case, but this does not demonstrate anything, whether positive or negative, about what goes on in Rodney Howard-Browne's meetings, or in Vineyard meetings.

Hank then states that roaring like a lion is not an indication of the presence of the Holy Spirit. He quotes some statements by John Arnott concerning Revelation 4, and a manifestation in one meeting of the lion, the ox, the eagle, and the warrior. John was addressing the fact that "it scared people so bad that many of them ran right out of the meeting," and reassured someone by saying that if you asked for bread, you would not be given a stone (Luke 11:11), i.e., if you asked for the Holy Spirit you would not be given something demonic (Luke 11:13). Hank contrasts this with the admonition in Scripture to test the spirits and see if they be of God. But while it is true that we are to test the spirits, this does not invalidate Luke 11:11-13. If we ask God for something good, he will not substitute it with something bad.

Hank says that "in genuine revivals there has always been an acute awareness of Satan's seductions. . . . The Gospel must approach the heart through the intellect in direct response to understood truth. . . . Rodney Howard-Browne authenticates his messages through signs and wonders. . . . A self-induced altered state of consciousness is exceedingly dangerous--a doorway into the occult." The fact of the matter is, in the genuine revivals of the past, many of the same things happened that we are now experiencing in the present revival. People experienced the supernatural power of God, knocking them down to the ground, just as is happening now. God often approaches the heart directly, sometimes bypassing the intellect altogether, at least in the beginning of what people experience. These things are not "self- induced." In many cases, particularly in the Vineyard, people were not seeking these things and didn't even know about them until they experienced them.

Hank complains that there is no Biblical precedent for people being slain in the Spirit, and that, in the Scriptures, those who worshipped Christ fell forward, and His enemies fell backwards. But the Bible does not claim to be exhaustive. Just because something is not in the Bible does not mean that it is illegitimate. In many of the revivals of past history, people have fallen over backwards, overcome by the power of God. Taken to their logical conclusions, some of Hank's statements would imply that most of the previous revivals of past history were also counterfeit revivals.

He then says, "What is being pronounced as a work of God is merely a deception in our midst. . . . Rodney Howard-Browne glues you to the floor in the Spirit. . . . He causes you to go dumb and to get drunk in the Spirit, along with many other lying signs and wonders." Rodney never claims to be doing these things himself. Rather, he says that God in manifesting His power in the midst of the meeting. Also, it appears that Hank really doesn't understand what is meant by "lying signs and wonders" in the Bible. "Lying signs and wonders" will cause people to be led into works of evil. But that is the exact opposite of what is happening in the current revival. In May of 1994, Bill Jackson said in WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING TO US: A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON RENEWAL, that "reports are coming from every corner about people falling in love with Jesus in a whole new way, about a new love for the Bible, about being taken up into heaven in the form of visions and dreams. In the arms of Jesus is fullness of Joy." He also says, "Reports too numerous to count tell of physical healings, deliverance from demonic influence and deep emotional wounds being touched." You and I both know enough about this revival to know that Bill Jackson is not making these things up. We are constantly getting reports of this nature, and we have seen these things happening in our own lives and in the lives of our friends and family members.

Hank then goes into a discussion of the second chapter of Acts. He attempts to maintain the thesis that the people were accused of drunkenness, not because they were acting drunk, but because they were speaking in tongues. "There is absolutely no evidence that anything else [other than the speaking in tongues and the tongues as of fire] occurred." This really seems to me to be stretching things. Where in the world would these witnesses get the idea that the apostles were drunken if they were only speaking in other tongues? Why would such a thing even occur to them? It should be fairly obvious that it was supposed that they were drunken because they were acting as though they were inebriated.

Then he says, "Paul of course in Ephesians 5 is not saying that drunkenness is desirable and has some kind of a Biblical counterpart. Paul no more wants you to get drunk in the Spirit than he wants you to have a sexual affair in the Spirit or to use obscene language in the Spirit. Rather, he says, have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. Instead, manifest self- control, not drunkenness. Self control is the Fruit of the Spirit." It would seem to me that Hank is being a bit ridiculous here. Surely he must know that it is impossible to have a sexual affair in the Spirit or to use obscene language in the Spirit. But this has nothing to do with Ephesians 5:18, which specifically says, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." It would seem to me that this verse very clearly compares the effects of the Holy Spirit to the effects of alcohol. As it happens, drunkenness in the Spirit does lead to the worship and love of God, obedience and even to self-control. It should be obvious that when self-control is mentioned as a fruit of the Spirit, the reference is to preventing oneself from sinning. "Self-control" has to do with restraining oneself from evil, and not with whether or not one can prevent oneself from laughing or being stricken to the floor.

Hank then says, "They're shaking so fast that the only thing that I've seen remotely close to it is what you find in the Ashrams in Puma, India, later transported to America, to Oregon under Bogwa Shri Rashvej. So they did what was called dynamic meditation to work themselves into an altered state of consciousness. The same thing you see there can be seen in the Church." But more than anyone, Hank should know that the enemy can counterfeit that which is genuinely of God. If some of the same phenomena are observable among adherents of eastern religions or of occult groups as can be seen in the midst of revival, this does not invalidate the genuine article of which these things are counterfeits in the occult groups.

Of course, it seems to me that there are obvious differences between what happens in a revival and what happens among adherents of the occult or of eastern religions. While Hank indicates that those who practice "dynamic meditation" work themselves into an altered state of consciousness, in the case of those involved in the current revival, there is certainly no attempt to work oneself into any given state. It just happens spontaneously as God moves sovereignly.

Then he says, "Most of what you see in the Vineyard, in other churches under Rodney Howard-Browne and in the counterfeit revival can be explained through human phenomena. But there certainly is a demonic element to it as well. We see the acquisition of power to manipulate people into certain actions. We ought to be reminded once again of Deuteronomy, chapter 18." He then quotes from this chapter, which speaks against such things as divination, sorcery, and those who consult the dead. But these things are far removed from what is happening in the revival today. When was the last time Rodney Howard-Browne or John Arnott consulted the dead, or practiced divination? As far as I am aware, there is absolutely no evidence that anyone in leadership in the various streams of the revival has ever done anything associated with the occult.

He then expresses his incredulity about various accounts that Rodney Howard-Browne gave about Smith Wigglesworth, especially one in which there was a resurrection from the dead. He says, "Does that stretch your credulity at all? It does mine. I believe that God can raise someone from the dead, but, my friends, if that had happened, why is it that Wigglesworth was better known for supposedly healing appendicitis than raising people from the dead? And if that had happened, I guarantee you it would be front page news in every newspaper in the world."

Why Hank Hanegraaff would think a resurrection from the dead would be front page news is totally beyond me. I am familiar with approximately twelve cases of resurrections from the dead in modern times, and in no case was the media willing to say or do anything about it. Many of these cases are well substantiated, but the western world does not seem to want to hear about such things, and most of the organs of the media were silent.

Hank later goes on to say that "during the Welsh revival, in 1904, laughter was actually associated with the demonic." This may have been true in some cases, but in other cases during the Welsh revival, the phenomena were considered to be of divine origin. For example, David Matthews, in his book, I SAW THE WELSH REVIVAL, takes issue with Jessie Penn-Lewis for dismissing many of the phenomena as demonic. Furthermore, if laughter was a part of the Welsh revival, why does Hank consider the Welsh revival to be of God, yet reject the current move of the Spirit? If it was possible at that time to have "satanic" manifestations during a true move of God, then why is it not possible now?

Then he says, "Past revivals were conducted in an atmosphere of reverential awe for God. Revival was consistently accompanied by the powerful proclamation of the word of God. There was a conviction of sin and a desire for repentance." I would say that the present revival is also being conducted in an atmosphere of reverential awe for God. And it is certainly the case that it is being accompanied by the powerful proclamation of the word of God. I have witnessed this at Rodney Howard-Browne meetings, at CATCH THE FIRE in October of last year, and at individual Vineyard churches, such as Lance Pittluck's in Rockville Centre, L.I.

Hank continues by saying, "never in history has there been a revival that's genuine that's characterized by Christian lined up to receive a dose of holy laughter." This may be true, but many revivals of the past were criticized for their own "new measures." Hank seems to be afraid of doing anything differently from the way it was done in the past. But God is creative, and often moves different ways at different times.

Then he says, "In fact, leaders of past revivals were guarding against physical manifestations, lest satan get a foothold in the work of God. Jonathan Edwards believed that the great awakening was actually squelched, not by theological correctness, but by spiritual fanaticism and extremism." Edwards may have spoken against fanaticism and extremism, but he never spoke against the physical manifestations. He was completely neutral with respect to whether they were "distinquishing marks" of a work of the Spirit of God. And, as far as fanaticism and extremism are concerned, those things are always part of revival. There has probably never been a revival that did not have fanatical and extremist components.

Hank then complains about Rodney's meetings by saying, "Altar calls in Rodney Howard-Browne's meetings--altar calls for people to come to Christ--are not preceded by the powerful proclamation of the word of God. Rather, they are preceded by a manifestation or a demonstration of supposed power." Hank seems to fail to realize that, throughout almost all of history, people have been brought to repentance and faith when confronted with the power of God. Moreover, Rodney does proclaim the word of God. Sometimes he reads entire chapters of Scripture at his meetings without comment. Hank then complains that Rodney's altar calls are not preceded by a "clear, cogent presentation of the Gospel." This may be true in some cases, but his primary concern seems to me to be to minister to believers, that they might have a deeper, fuller walk with God. His meetings are at churches, and are more pastoral in nature than evangelistic. It really isn't necessary, in such a situation, always to give an altar call, but he does so anyway, with surprising results. And what Hank may not realize is that, after Rodney does give an altar call, the people are given a clear, cogent presentation of the Gospel in a separate place while the main meeting is drawing to a close.

Hank goes on to say, "when people come forward, they don't hear the gospel. They come forward because they've seen what they think is a demonstration of the power of God." Yes, that's Biblical. When the jailer saw that Paul and his companions had been released from the prison by an earthquake, he asked, "what must I do to be saved." He, too, was confronted by an awesome manifestation of the power of God. This is what happens when God's power is released--people suddenly realize that there is an omnipotent God who will judge them unless they make drastic changes in their lives and are reconciled to Him.

Hank says, "They're coming into an experience, not the everlasting savior." If he thinks that coming into Christ does not involve an experience, he's missing a lot. Very decidedly, Christianity has an experiential component, and that's nothing new. It has been the case for two millennia.

Finally, he says:

The impact of the counterfeit revival upon our culture has indeed already been massive. Worship is being replaced with entertainment. Fellowship is being transformed into individualism. Instead of the fellowship of the saints drawing people into the Church, it's the experience that's drawing people into the Church.

Revival comes when the world sees the love that we demonstrate for one another in such a wonderful, passionate way that they are constrained to come in. They say, "see how they love one another." It is the love of Christ that constrains them to come in to the fellowship of the believers. They see the tangible demonstration that we really care for one another. When one cries, we all cry. And when one laughs, we all laugh. We're bonded together. and when that happens, true revival will break out. Bonded together around the Word. Deeply committed to the Lord in prayer. Willing to share the truth of Jesus Christ with a lost and searching world. Indeed, the Biblical concept of every believer a witness for Christ is being replaced by the dubious witness of men like Rodney Howard-Browne. Indeed, the very form and function of the Church has been dramatically altered.

As I close let me say that we will know that genuine revival has come to the Church when we are devoted to the sharing of our faith rather than the seduction of our feelings. When the Church is known for selfless love rather than for seductive laughter. When Christians are passionately committed, through equipping the saints, rather than experiencing the sensational. When we come to church, and are saturated in Scripture, rather slain in the Spirit. And finally, when we become truly committed to His story rather than becoming another casualty of history. The choice is yours. We can re-live history or re-commit ourselves to His story. [He then quotes from Chronicles and from the book of Hebrews.]

I do agree that it is lamentable that in the contemporary church, worship has been replaced by entertainment. He implies that this is a result of the revival, but that is far from the case. Rather, it is a result of the influence of the secular culture upon the American church, and this sorry state of affairs was at least as true before the revival began as it is now. There's no need to blame Rodney for the fact that "the form and function of the Church has been dramatically altered." To do so seems to me to quite inappropriate. The revival that God has brought through Rodney may well help to alleviate these imbalances, as God continues to work supernatural healing in peoples' hearts and transformation of their minds.

If the thrill of an experience is drawing people to meetings rather than the fellowship of the saints, then this may be unfortunate, but it seems to be where many people are at. This is not a fault of the revival, so much as it is a result of the current spiritual condition of the Church as it existed before the revival began. Perhaps God can meet people where they are at, and use the desire for the thrill of an experience as a way of drawing them into greater maturity. Undoubtedly, this is what He has been doing.

Hank speaks of the love of Christians for one another as the means by which God draws people into the fellowship of the saints. I do hope that this means that he will love those of us within the Church with whom he disagrees, and treat people like Rodney Howard-Browne, John Wimber, John Arnott and yourself according to the dictates of the golden rule, continually doing unto the proponents of the revival as he would have them do unto him. And of course it is also my hope that those of us who are in favor of the revival will treat Hank equally charitably, with a tremendous dose of Christian compassion, as I know you have already been doing in your attempts to contact him. May God bless you in this endeavor of building bridges!

With every good wish to you in the Lord,

Richard M. Riss
RRISS@DREW.EDU