World Wide Body of Christ

     With tongue in cheek, I think the title gives clear indication as to the article I am about to write here. With all the hubbub that came of the Lakeland thing and now all the information that is being unveiled concerning Todd Bentley I came to muse over these so called “Apostles” who had not the discernment in the beginning to have sensed the dangers of such moves. There are, I believe, useful and intriguing points I will make in this writing, but it will likely be – for the most part – entertainment. If useful insight comes of it then praise God for it. I might suppose there would be some even offended in this, but - I’ve been around the track so I am used to that - though it is not my intention.

    The more I considered the movie “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” the more I could glean different ironic portrayals of current so called, self appointed ministries - especially so called apostolic ministries for the most part.

Let’s just list the characters in the movie first:

·         Quartermain

·         The invisible man

·         The Vampire Lady

·         Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (same person of course)

·         Dorian Grey

·         “M”

·         Captain Nemo

·         The Young Secret Service “Kid”

     The more I think of this movie and the characters in it the more I seem to correlate the bunch of ideas with the current arena of the ministries that exist and especially maybe this “League of Apostles”.

     I first want to make the point that the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in the movie was actually put together and formed by the enemy in the first place – how weird is that? I believe it was “M” who brought them together, but it was “M” that proved to be the villain later on. With such people who call themselves apostles yet have had such a poor sense of discernment to have allowed and condoned Todd Bentley and even to have so promoted him can only seem to prove more the issue that they are not apostles called of God or they would have had discernment in such a way so as to have been those watchmen on the wall to have protected the sheep from this insanity.

The Invisible Man: These are those that want to back paddle out of this controversy with Todd Bentley now and make themselves invisible from this whole episode. To become invisible now will allow them to avoid accountability again. It simply seems like a number of these leaders now wish to pull this invisibility act. Although I think there are now more sincere hearts in these matters than ever before and there may come now some sincere consideration for these positions these people have assumed to hold. May they repent and in many cases – may they step down from these lofty places and renounce that they have or ever have had a call to these positions.

The Vampire Lady: Not hard to assign the Jezebel character to this one. A seemingly beautiful and alluring woman, but who has at the core of her being the desire to drain the very life’s blood from your system. Is this not Jezebel? Do we not have in place this spirit with these self-appointment apostles who have now brought more shame upon the name of Christ? One does not have to be a woman to be a Jezebel. In fact – so many of these men have been Jezebels all along – since they have hated the true prophets for many years and have sought to destroy many true prophets over the years and it is Jezebel who was famous for this in the first place. They are controlling – wanting all the power and control to come from them and they persecute the very vessels of God’s choosing. Have I not seen this “Counsel of Apostolic Elders” – or whatever they call themselves - demean and defame true prophets over the years? These very same guys have told me to take a hike many times over the years when I had given them warnings that now, with all this Todd Bentley stuff has only brought to a head the reality that discernment as it was in me and as it was in others was right from the git-go and, not heeded by these so called leaders – and because of that now they have led many into this ditch we now call “Lakeland”. But Lakeland is only the revealing tip of all the problems with leaders who have made themselves leaders. One cannot, in the wildest of my imaginations, be apostles who have come to be so tricked by Todd and Lakeland as these many leaders were. To have missed this danger is an indictment and evidence and proof to the fullest that anyone who got behind Todd is not and has not been a leader to be trusted and is one who should, in fact, step down from leadership all together – at least as a so called apostle. Many of these men likely have a call to ministry – the problem is that they chose to be apostles and now with this whole charade have proven beyond a shadow of doubt that they are not apostles whatsoever.

Dorian Gray: Now here is really an interesting character. This guy stays young as long as he does not have to confront the reality of his true image. WOW! How adequately this portrays these leaders who have set themselves up. I might muse over the idea that when the true Spirit of God shows up and they really do have to look at themselves how well will they be able to handle the truth. Will they decay away into dust as Dorian Grey did when confronted with the portrait of himself? Dorian Grey is the Judas of the bunch. He is in league with “M” – the true villain from the start and like one who has never actually dealt with their own sins and looked at the image of their real self will become destroyed by it when it comes to the point where it is too late – they will have missed the opportunities for salvation because they had already passed it by; choosing evil, corruption and to be in league with the enemy for gain in the first place.

Captain Nemo: So here is a guy who worships the God of Death. And, also one who has a knack for technology. So who is this guy like? Well, we were able to see Todd Bentley live on the internet and television and “God TV”. Now that I think about it; it was because of those who offered to put Todd on TV – God TV – that brought him to the forefront and so visible. Yet – it was not the God of Life that was promoted in all this, but it was the god of death that was served. So then “Nemo” through technology did promote the god of death through the use of his technologies. It was not the God of Life or Jesus Christ who was served in all this. In my own life such things like cars, planes, boats etc. represent certain and different types of ministries. I know this is the case with other prophetic people. For me – a ship represents an apostolic symbolism. Again – how appropriate they all had to get on this ship to get to their destination – an apostolic ship in symbolism. Without having created this “Apostolic Ship” on which these leaders have traveled now for many years – many of them could never have traveled where they have. I will also point out the oddity in the fact that all these items Nemo provided were – to say – before their time. And as such, these who have sought to proclaim themselves these apostolic leaders have done so before the time – and in a way then the idea of the Mormon Church – who have a most interesting statement of faith – their problem being they have assigned to themselves the idea that they are the fulfillment of such truths. In the same way – these “apostolic leaders” have known or understood there will or needs to come into place a leadership of apostolic and prophetic people to be that anchoring force for the Body of Christ. But these assigned to themselves these positions and have supported each other in their rise to power. Nemo is almost an anti-Christ type of spirit providing the means to technologies to get accomplished what could not be accomplished without him. Had God TV not been available or the internet; would Lakeland and Todd have died away without so much media fervor in the whole mix? YET! – It is a good thing that the whole world was shown all of this – that now they may consider and repent and seek more the real Truth of God. To look at the vehicles Nemo provides – they seem to be, by design, mutant in themselves. Though they are functional and effective they are somehow mutant – and, again – Nemo is said to be a pirate in the movie – and therefore, behind it all – he has paid for his “things” through having taken it from others. Since he is a pirate and has taken his wealth from others – the sea or ocean biblically represents the people of the world. Nemo has built up all he has from stealing it from the general masses of society – “God told me to tell you that a thousand people need to come up and give a thousand dollars each to me” – This is a pirate taking from the general, unsuspecting, and unprepared masses of the world.

Quartermain: Now, this is truly an interesting character to dissect and take apart. I rather see this character as the only pure character in the mix. He really does not want anything to do with the whole mess in the first place, but participates out of a sense of importance that seems only internally understood or known by himself. I almost see him as the real apostolic figure who got caught up in the mix of treachery and in the end is killed because of it all, but – the end of the movie, at his grave – it appears that it begins to move and that he is being resurrected. In this imagery I see the resurrection of the remnant believers who are truly called to this move of God. They are not the self-assumed leaders having no discernment, but are those who will be brought out from their graves of sorts to do a new thing. The movie ends with the ground moving and you just know Quartermain is being raised from the dead. That is the point we might consider we are at; at this stage. Quartermain was killed in the mess, but is being raised to a new thing in the end. There is a sense of stability in Quartermain that he really is the leader and has more sense than anyone else – yet he is still tricked by it all (he shall seek to deceive the very elect if it were possible) and it does result in his death – but he gets raised from that death. And I see men and women who have been caught up in this ludicrous apostolic leadership counsel crap who really are called and chosen of God, but who – by the stage setting of these false self-proclaiming high minded power seeking people, have been side-tracked from their call into participating in these false pursuits that these apostolic counsels have chased after for so long. So then, these will suffer a death in the end, but for the sake of being brought back to life for the real deal. Quartermain is reluctant to align himself with this league since he blames the death of his own son on the tactics of things that resulted in the past. Again – some of us have had “spiritual sons” we have brought forth in the faith only to see them “die” in our arms because of the poison of these other ministries.

Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde: There is a certain person who was very instrumental in setting up, bringing to the forefront and supporting Todd Bentley. This person has a well known ministry, but I have seen him “morph” from the seemingly benign image he has with most people into a monstrous and hate filled individual. And, as Jekyll and Hyde this person has become addicted to his own “formula” in a sense. And as Dr. Jekyll really has nothing without his formula – so this person is really quite a non-person without his formula. Had he not tried to resurrect and steal the “so-called” mantle of John G. Lake he would likely still be a relative nobody in the ranks of ministry. And like Jekyll, by his “elixir” he has only created a mutant monstrous ministry that has become of no effect in the realm of the true Gospel other than the rampaging Mr. Hyde going about wrecking and running the lives of others in his monstrous plight of pillage for which some of us have had to work to pick up the many pieces of shattered lives over the years.

M: He is the villain behind it all. “M” – might simply stand for “M”inistry in and of itself and for itself – without it being any real vehicle for the spreading of the Gospel at all. “M” – as in “M”eglomaniac. “M” as in “M”asters over slaves. “M” as in “M”other of all harlots – that being the self-seeking self-proclaimed power seeking ministries that were not set up by God in the first place. “M” as in “M”asters of deception.

Young Secret Service “Kid”: This presents an interesting character. It seems as though this guy represents this new X-generation rising up in innocence and not polluted it seems from the past. And it is, in the end, that it is by his shot that he kills the villain. Quartermain is wounded and hands the rifle to this young guy for him to take the mortal shot. He is told to take his time, get his aim and then shoot. How apropos that an older true apostolic figure is giving instruction to the younger one on how to take the killing shot before he himself dies. Yes – this makes sense to me. As this generation comes in and there are those called to this move of God like a young man I know is, (Thomas)  and those older ones in ministry that have been around the track a few times are telling him how to take the right aim, take the needed time and then to take the killing shot. This really looks like this young many I have come to know. And – in the movie Quartermain does seem to carry his ethics and morals though caught up in the crazy mix – and this younger “secret service” guy seems to be connected at the hip to him. Even in the sense this young guy is “secret service” – we have in this generation X – and generation of “secret service” vessels of God that will come into the harvest and into ministry in such a way and from out of the blue you can term them the “secret service” guys. For one reason – they are not yet revealed who all they are as they have yet to come into the kingdom and into their own work – they are at this point – secret service guys.