Just recently on Friday, October 21st at 2:30 pm false apostolic teacher C. Peter Wagner passed into eternity. One of Wagner’s best friends, “apostle” Chuck Pierce, confirmed Wagner’s death on his Facebook page Friday. In honor of Wagner’s death, longtime friend Ed Stetzer wrote an article at Christianity Today entitled “C. Peter Wagner (1930-2016), Some Thoughts on His Life and Passing” highlighting their friendship. While death can be a sad occasion for those here on earth as they face the lose a close friend, family member or leader. It is an even more woeful thought that the one who died, C. Peter Wagner, is spending eternity in hell. Even more disheartening is that a prominent face in evangelicalism, Ed Stetzer is leading many astray and right into the welcoming arms of the debaucherous neo-evangelical movement by honoring Wagner’s death. Stetzer is essentially aiding in leading people to the same false christ that Wagner worshiped by paying tribute to Wagner’s death. The death of Wagner should not be celebrated, but be used as a lesson to show where false teaching leads — to hell.
Is it harsh or judgmental to say that C. Peter Wagner has not passed into glory as Charisma News, and others would lead us to believe? No, it is not judgmental or insensitive to speak the truth. Many may criticize me or Pulpit & Pen for striking while the proverbial iron is still hot, but there is no better time in which to speak truth. Truth is not a respecter of time, emotions, people’s states of mind or what the public deems as proper etiquette. Truth only knows one thing–that it must be proclaimed. As Christians, apologists of the faith once delivered, and polemicists, we must be ready always to speak the truth; no matter the minute, the hour, or the day the truth must go forth. From where do we gather our truth? We receive our final authority, our truth, on all matters from the sufficiency of the closed canon of Scripture — God’s Word.
The biblical truth is that C. Peter Wagner is not in “Glory” today, unless he repented last moment of his false teachings and heresy, putting his faith in the Christ of the Bible and not the one of his choosing. Yes, that is correct. Wagner worshiped a different Jesus, not the one of the Bible. Wagner praised the “christ” of the NAR, the “christ” of extrabiblical revelation, the “christ” of modern day Montanism–a different “christ” altogether.
Wagner is often referred to as the grandfather of NAR movement. It was Wagner that invented the term “New Apostolic Reformation” and then charged himself as God’s appointed leader of this new extrabiblical organization. It is through Wagner and his promotion of the heresy of Modern Montanism that the Charismatic window of heresy was slid open, mainstreaming it into today’s neo-evangelical landscape. Wagner had far-reaching influence on outer fringe sub-Christian sects that support such false teachings Dominionism; The 7 Mountain Mandate; Third Wave Revivalism. Wagner’s teachings had power over groups like The Latter Rain Movement; Joel’s Army; IHOP; Bill Johnson’s Bethel Church, The Hillsong Media Empire. In Wagner’s later years he became the patriarch of the heretical Church Growth Movement. It is due in large part to Wagner that many of these outliers and skeptical groups are now part mainstream Christianity which form this quasi-evangelical movement we see today.
If you are reading this and happen to follow any of the teachers or listen to any of the teachings from these unorthodox groups, you need to repent of your sins against a holy thrice God and put your faith in the biblical Christ. As for those who claim the title of “Evangelical leadership” or to be a” missiologist” such as Ed Stetzer, you need to repent and stop promoting false teachers like C. Peter Wagner as a biblical viable Christian option to those in Christianity under your authority. It is these attempts to legitimatize heretics such as C. Peter Wagner that not only bring shame to the body of true believers but also will bring God’s holy wrath on those who promote them. For it is through the Gospel that God has provided a way of salvation for men. Through the gift of His son to the world, by repentance of sin and faith in the Christ of the Bible that one will enter into the Glorious eternity with the Father. It is not through the promotion of sub-Christian chicanery like that of the teachings of C. Peter Wager one enters eternity with a Holy and Righteous God.
