Opwekking 2016 attracts 50,000 visitors

On By In Topical, Idolatry

The 46th edition of the Pentecost conference attracted 50,000 visitors. Among them were 21,000 campers. The rest attended the annual conference of the Opwekking Foundation as a day guest.

Source: Revival 2016 attracts 50,000 visitors (Photos) – Cvandaag  
Should you be happy with it?

I think many Christians are happy with Revival. But it makes me quite sad. That so many Christians go to a 'happening' where, let's just put it this way, 'the Pentecostal spirit is blowing', is something that saddens me a lot. On Revival does not blow the Spirit of God, but another spirit. But how do you tell that to Christians who think what they are experiencing is the Holy Spirit?

How on earth are you supposed to explain that you're not going there and that you don't think it's right for a believer to go to Revival? That is almost impossible to explain these days. Still, I want to say a few things about it, based largely on what I see in the program. After all, you can assume that the descriptions in the program indicate what it is about and that the most important things have been mentioned. I have seen fragments of it here and there via livestream.

Who were there?

When 50,000 people come to such an event, you naturally wonder who they are. I know some of them personally, but most of them don't. Most likely, most of those 50,000 are Christians. Undoubtedly, among those Christians there were many—I hope most—who are truly born again and know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord.

Still, I'm not going to Revival and I'll explain why.

Charismatic

The origin and signature of Opwekking is charismatic. Speakers from this corner include Kees Goedhart, Martin Koornstra and Wilkin van de Kamp. We have already said more about the charismatic on this site; see for example here and here. This alone is reason enough for me to stay away from here.

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What's missing!

When you look at the site and you read what is written about the theme, the speeches and the parallel sessions, one thing stands out. That is the complete lack of any reference to the cross of Calvary! Nothing is said about the fact that the Lord Jesus, God's Son, became man and accomplished the work of atonement and redemption on the cross of Calvary! That is the main characteristic that it is not the Spirit of God working here. According to John, it is a spirit that is not from God, the spirit of antichrist.

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; but that is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and which is already in the world now. (…) By this we recognize the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”  (1 John 4:1-3,6b).

Well, if you can't find anything on the site about the center of the Christian faith, namely the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on Calvary's cross, then this is the work of a 'spirit who confesses not that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. is'. It is a work of 'the spirit of error'. The Christian faith is actually about “Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23; 2:2) and if He is missing, it is no coincidence! See for example here and here.

Just in between. That the absence of 'Christ the Crucified' is no coincidence, may be apparent from the fact that on the site of the Leadership Conference is exactly the same. The Evangelical Work Association of the PKN is organizing next September. a so-called Leadership Conference with the theme 'There is more'. It is about experiencing more of God, the supernatural, healing and deliverance. Those kind of things. But the Lord Jesus Christ and His crucifixion are utterly lacking.

Yes but …

Now you may argue that this may not say it all. After all, if the rest of what is offered is good, then there is nothing to worry about, right? Yes, because if it is not about the real Gospel of the Crucified Christ, then it is about 'another gospel' (2 Corinthians 11:4). We have about that here already written some things. Below we will see that many elements of this are also in the program of Opwekking 2016.

A few notes

First some 'blank blanks' of things that you can read and that fit into the image of 'another gospel'. Each time first one or more quotes and then my short comment.

Become who you are

“Everyone longs for the freedom to become who you are. God has ordained us for a time like this, to stand up and get moving. Stop being guided by limitations or boundaries. Like Jabez, we may exclaim, "Lord, expand my territory!" In our personal lives we are allowed to reclaim lands that have been taken from us and we even clear new land. In Christ we have been given authority to reign with Him as King's children. Come, cherish and celebrate life in space and freedom!”

'become who you are': that's the goal. You are already someone as God intended you to be. You just have to discover it. So get up, get moving and discover who you are. Many also call that 'discovering your identity'.

But this is actually very misleading. This is nothing but gnostic thinking (see here). The Bible teaches that we are sinners, lost forever, and that we must repent and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.

‘Stop being guided by limitations or boundaries'. This opens the door to supernatural experiences and is also a call to forget what you have ever learned about the things of God and the Bible. It is typically such an element from the 'other gospel' (see there).

About the Holy Spirit
“(…) The most important question in all of this is: How do we receive the Holy Spirit and how does it get space in our lives, so that He can also be seen through the gifts?”
‘Receive the Holy Spirit?' If the people are addressed as unbelievers, then you must repent and then God will give His Spirit. You don't have to reach out to receive Him. God graciously gives His Spirit, who will “lead us into all truth” (John 16:13). And when people are addressed as believers, they have already received the Spirit when they were converted. Then they no longer need to receive the Holy Spirit.
It is not about the Holy Spirit becoming visible in our lives. The point is that we love the Lord Jesus (1 John 4:19), then God's Spirit will do His work. He will transform us in an inimitable way into the image of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18), so that something of the Lord Jesus becomes visible in our lives. Our lives must be exclusively about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Crucified. We have received God's Spirit to lead and grow in it.
The almost exclusive emphasis on the Holy Spirit is the cause of the great deception. It is part of the charismatic and spiritual philosophy and is also prominent on Opwekking.
 Changing the world

“God has a bold plan to change the world through ordinary people who discover that the life of Christ in them also brings life to a broken world. As Christians, we are not called to separate ourselves from the world but to be involved in it. (…)”

“The Netherlands longs for the revelation of Jesus' Life. What could happen to our country – and from our country?! – when people go together Jesus from Life, at work, in schools and in the neighborhood?”

“(…) full of anticipation about what God is doing in our beautiful country. The church is the hope of this world, if we are going to do just that: live like Jesus, together.”

“(…) the role of leadership in transforming society through the living out of Jesus. How can leaders lead their church or organization in such a way that they 'Live Jesus Together' and thus influence their environment?”

 “God has a bold plan to change the world through ordinary people (…)”. Let's just say right away that this isn't true. The Bible teaches that the world is under the judgment of God and awaits “the day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each according to his works (…)” (Romans 2:5,6). This world will not be changed for the better, no matter how hard Christians try. Not only does the Bible say that, but if you are honest and look around the world, any sane person should come to that conclusion.
When Jesus Christ will come to this earth visibly, it will not be to set up His kingdom, as most Christians would have you believe today, but to judge. Only then will His kingdom come. That is also the reason that everyone is called to repent to God:
“God, therefore, now declares . . . to all men everywhere that they must repent, and this because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world righteously through a Man whom He has appointed. Of this He gave proof to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31).
Of course, we may do good to those around us and tell them the true gospel. But that is quite different from God having given 'the church' the task to change the world.
“And let us not tire of doing good, for in due time we shall reap, if we do not give up. So, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all, . . . ” (Galatians 6:9-10)
Some other things, like for example 'healing' and 'liberation'let me sit for a while. Finally, there is still something to say about the theme of the conference.
The theme 'Jesus life'
The theme of Revival 2106 was 'Jesus Life'; that was the coat rack on which everything else hung. It is also the title of a book by Henk Stoorvogel, who was the main speaker on Sunday morning. I've only read the book once; the subtitle is 'Following in the Rhythm of the Rabbi'. Below are some remarks, without it being allowed to call it a book review. After all, this is about Revival, but I think the book does provide some information.
  • In 'Jesus life' the life of the Lord Jesus is described in broad outline and that is done in a fascinating and visual way.
  • 'Living Jesus' also means following Him. He is consistently referred to as "the rabbi." Like the apostles, we must learn to follow Him, in 'the rhythm of the rabbi'. This is a mysterious expression that does not appear in the Bible and is not defined. You just have to feel what it means. It will become clear later on.
  • With some regularity (it seems to be a rhythm) it is stated that 'following the rabbi' ultimately means that we become exactly like Him. See some quotes below.

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  •  This is bizarre and ultimate heresy! It means we can become like Jesus. To live the same life as Him. The same inner life, in contact with God the Father. But also in external things: doing miracles and healings. We can experience the same things that Jesus did. He came anyway to lead us therein and we would only follow.
  • On the other hand, this should not surprise us. It has been Gnosticism from the beginning which has proclaimed the same thing: that we are gods in the depths; we just don't know it yet and have yet to discover it. See here's something about gnosticism. It is old Gnostic wine in new bottles.
  • In January 2015, Jos Douma wrote a blog in which he also says things like this and refers to Henri Nouwen I quote:

“(…) The man who says 'Je suis Jesus' (I am Jesus) calls us to say in his footsteps 'Je suis Jesus' (I follow Jesus). Yet I believe that Christians should also learn to say 'I am Jesus'. I like to repeat it Henri Nouwen (…):

“The Spirit is the breath of Christ in us, the divine power of Christ at work in us, the mysterious source of new inspiration, making us aware that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us (Gal. 2:20). So to lead a spiritual existence means to become living Christs. It is not enough to try to follow Christ as much as possible, nor to remind others of the existence of Jesus, even it is not enough to be inspired by the words and deeds of Jesus Christ. No, the spiritual way of life makes a far more drastic appeal to us: to live as the living Christ, here and now, always and everywhere'.

That is what the world needs: people who follow in Jesus' footsteps, people who share his nonviolent love and love their enemies, people who become like Jesus, people who are like Jesus, people in whom Jesus is recognized.”

Finally, the cross of Calvary

We have already mentioned above that you will not find anything on the Opwekking 2016 site about the atoning death of Christ. But what about the book 'Jesus Life'?

Of course the book 'Jesus lives' cannot get around the cross of the Lord Jesus. An entire chapter is devoted to the last day before the Lord died.

  • It is stated that the Lord Jesus died for the sins of all mankind and that He took all that misery upon Himself. But that's not what the Bible says. Of course, eventually, through the work of the Lord Jesus, all sin will be taken from and out of the cosmos (John 1:29). But anyone who has not received Christ will face the judgment of God himself (Romans 2:3; Hebrews 9:27). Christ did not bear that for him.

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  • This is a concept that Christ died for everything and made it right. It is the same 'gospel' that the EO is propagating today (see e.g. EO on this page). But it is absolutely unbiblical!
  • Fortunately, there is also something personal and it is mentioned that the Lord Jesus died for my sins. But it is not mentioned that you must then repent to Him!

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  • Finally, perhaps the most serious. The Atonement Made by the Lord Jesus in the three hours of darkness, is not mentioned anywhere! While this is exactly what it is all about! It is the same phenomenon that you can also observe in Wilkin van de Kamp's book on “The Miracle of the Cross”: many words, many own unbiblical fictions, but no trace of the three hours of darkness!
Warn

In the meantime it will be clear why I don't go to Revival, but I have to warn against it. It is heresy that is brought, nicely wrapped with biblical texts, as justification for pagan, idolatrous practices. You will find an example of what you can encounter about unholy here.

We can think, just like the people of Israel, that we serve God, while meanwhile we serve the (idols) gods. But the Lord God is 'not pleased with it' as we can read in Amos, among others.

“I hate, I despise your feasts.
Your special meetings I cannot air,
for though you bring me burnt offerings,
and your grain offerings, I take no pleasure in it,
and the peace offering of thy fattened cattle I will not see.
Take away the noise of your songs from Me,
and the strumming of your lutes I cannot hear!
Let justice flow like water,
righteousness like an ever-flowing brook.
Did you offer me sacrifices and grain offerings?
in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel?
Thou hast carried Sikkut thy king around,
and kewan, your images,
the stars, your gods, which you have made for yourself!
Therefore I will take you into captivity
(…).”  (Amos 5: 21-27)

 

 

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