Well maybe not. Maybe they will join together? Come with me to a meeting at the Vatican, June 2016. Who is that I see? Well of course Papa is there, but look at his visitors, and look carefully.

See who has obtained an audience with the top man of false religion. Why, it’s none other than Mike Bickle! What? And Che Ahn! And Kris Vallotton of Bethel! Really!

Kris was pumped up for a long time, claiming that this was “one of the highlights of my life!” He shares with us that Papa is funny, warm, and very spiritual. He has a deep passion for unity among believers.

Oh yes, you better believe he does. Think Middle Ages, pre-Reformation, persecution of true saints of God. Popes have been longing for Protestant return for centuries. Now he may have found another avenue into the Protestant revolt, the charismatic renewal of the sixties being another way in.

The Pope is quoted as saying at this meeting, “We must invite prophets back into the church and welcome them with open arms.” Prophets? Like Kris? That’s how Kris took it, being a prophet himself, allegedly. The church? You mean the Roman church? Invite charismatic prophets (what about apostles? Oops. We have a succession problem there!) and all charismatics of course. That’s been going on for decades.

But do NAR and POR (Pope of Rome) have the same vision? Will they be able to form an amalgamation? Based on the New Age tendencies of NAR, it looks like they may be open to most anything!

Far-fetched? You should have been at that 100,000-in-attendance meeting in L.A. not long ago. Host Lou Engle (NAR head of the “Call” Ministry) invited a Catholic leader to the meeting. Among other events of the meeting was a foot-kissing ceremony. (I tell you, I’m not making this up.) Lou and his Catholic counterpart actually took turns kissing one another’s feet!

Reconciliation is in the air. Papa is smiling. After all, his church knows all about miracles and those who work them. It’s not a bad match. It’s called strong delusion. It’s called “if it were possible the very elect would be deceived.” Watch out church! In 1517 we came out of Rome. In 2017, we took another huge step back.

Did I say “we”? Not me. I like the direction Luther and Calvin went. Out. Out of her.

When I was a part of NAR, it was totally by accident. I was invited to hear guest preachers. The messages were enticing, sometimes even entertaining. I was drawn in, not knowing I had touched base with a world force. For example...

Steve Strang, founder of Charisma magazine, is an award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, businessman and author. He is founder and CEO of Charisma Media, which in addition to Charisma, publishes Ministry Today, the Spanish magazine Vida Cristiana and Christian Retailing. His Orlando, Fla.,-based company also includes Charisma House, Siloam, Creation House, Casa Creación, Realms, and FrontLine, plus many other innovative products that in the last 36 years have earned a reputation as the world's leading charismatic publisher.

So what's the big deal about Steve Strang?

I quote from SPIRITOFERROR.ORG:

Flip through the pages of any recent issue of Charisma magazine, and you can’t miss them–the NAR apostles and prophets, that is. They’re everywhere. Their smiling faces appear next to reports on their latest prophetic words, promotions of their newest books, and advertisements for upcoming NAR events.

For those who don’t know, “NAR” is short-hand for the “New Apostolic Reformation“–a movement of present-day apostles and prophets who are seeking to rule the church and set up God’s earthly kingdom before Christ returns. This movement is also sometimes called the “apostolic-prophetic” movement. But, whatever you want to call it, it presents one of the most significant challenges to Christian orthodoxy today.

And this movement is growing quickly–thanks, in no small part, to Charisma Media and its flagship publication, Charisma magazine. Charisma magazine–the printed edition–has a readership of 240,000, made up mostly of people who attend Pentecostal and independent charismatic churches. Yet–based on the amount of ink given to NAR apostles and prophets in each issue–it is obvious that the people behind Charisma are dead-set on mainstreaming the NAR movement and its aberrant teachings.

Then, again, this should come as no surprise. After all, the magazine’s founder and publisher, Stephen Strang, and its long-time former editor of 11 years, J. Lee Grady (who still serves as a contributing editor), have both sat as apostles on the International Coalition of Apostles. And they continue to take part in NAR gatherings, such as a recent Awakening Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, featuring Grady.

Here are some of the NAR leaders and their teachings that appeared in the March 2012 edition of Charisma.

• NAR pastor Bill Johnson wrote the cover article titled “You’ve Got the Power!” (page 24)
• Apostle Randy Clark wrote an article on the “global revival” (page 34)
• A full-page advertisement featured two upcoming NAR conferences to be held at Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, Calif: Revival Alliance Conference on April 12-15, and LeaderSHIFT Conference on June 7-10 (page 11)
• An advertisement featured a “Voice of the Prophets” conference to be held in Camp Hill, Penn., on April 18-21. NAR prophets who were featured in the advertisement included Randy Clark, Graham Cooke and Rick Joyner.
• NAR apostle Cal Pierce (director of The Healing Rooms Ministries in Spokane, Wash.) wrote a full-page article titled “A Holy Spirit Healing” (page 22)
• An advertisement featured a book by NAR leaders Bill Johnson and Randy Clark titled The Essential Guide to Healing (page 29)
• An article sidebar titled “God’s Arsonists” identified the major leaders of today’s global revival, including NAR leaders Bill Johnson, Supresa Sithole, and Rolland and Heidi Baker (page 37)
• An advertisement featured a book by NAR prophet Kris Vallotton titled Spirit Wars (page 49)
• A full-advertisement featured a book by apostle Guillermo Maldonado titled How to Operate in the Supernatural Power of God (page 62)
• An article titled “The List: What’s Trending in March” featured an NAR conference titled “Prophetic Fire: Ablaze in Glory,” featuring NAR leaders Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda (page 64)
• A full-page article offering “Prophetic Insight” was written by apostle Kimberly Daniels (page 68)
• An advertisement featured a “Prayer & Prophetic Gathering” in Jacksonville, Fla., hosted by apostles John Eckhardt and Kimberly Daniels (page 75)
• A full-page, back cover advertisement featured the “International School of Ministry,” which offers curriculum taught by prophets and apostles

To be clear, not all the articles and advertisements listed above mentioned the words “apostle” or “prophet.” But, by digging a little deeper, the NAR affiliations can be uncovered.

It bears emphasizing that all the above features on NAR leaders appeared in just a single issue of Charisma magazine. The November 2011 issue printed a (woefully inadequate) defense of the New Apostolic Reformation by its most vocal promoter, apostle C. Peter Wagner. In the article, titled “The Truth About the New Apostolic Reformation,” Wagner told anything but the truth– not only by downplaying the NAR dominionist agenda, but also by denying that the movement is seeking to change any church doctrine. (If trying to restore apostolic leadership to the church and promoting extra-biblical revelation aren’t examples of efforts to change church doctrine, then I don’t know what is.) Wagner also denied that the NAR movement promotes any heresy, though I would beg to differ as prominent NAR leaders promote both Manifest Sons of God teaching and Open Theism. But I digress.

All this is to say that Charisma magazine has been a major force behind the growth of the NAR movement.