Perhaps the second greatest recurring false theology for dominionists, after not understanding Genesis, is not understanding what ekklesia means. While ekklesia does mean on some level a called-out group, there is nothing in the definition to support the notion of ruling and reigning. This is straight up NAR dominionism. I like the summary of this issue from the popular Got Questions website:
It is important that the church today understand the definition of ekklesia. The church needs to see itself as being "called out" by God. If the church wants to make a difference in the world, it must be different from the world. Salt is different from the food it flavors. God has called the church to be separate from sin (1Peter 1:16), to embrace fellowship with other believers (Acts 2:42), and to be a light to the world (Matthew 5:14). God has graciously called us unto Himself: "'Come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you'" (2Corinthians 6:17). - Got Questions?
Yes! Salt is different from the food it flavors! The separating out has nothing to do with ruling the world. The Lord laid no such thing on this man's wickedly deceitful heart. This mish-mashing of cobbled together scriptures is also indicative of the false theology of dominionism. Yes it is true that the gates of hell will not prevail. Yes we are to be called out, sanctified by God for His service. Maracle mixes these with two distinctly unbiblical notions however. We are most certainly not being given a spirit of dominion. More importantly, the covenant of the Promised Land for the nation of Israel is not being given to us individually so we might take dominion. What is staggering is the seeming obliviousness to how the Promised Land story ends. As if the Israelites did not fail miserably at being able to solely worship God and the Lord did not have Israel's enemies take over the Promised Land, which He promised He would do way back in Deuteronomy 28. This is why we needed Jesus to begin with! How scripturally myopic to focus so singularly on this country as to not even see the true foundations for the very need for the Gospel.
"How We Take Dominion Is Just as Important as Taking Dominion. "Now you are ready, my bride, to come with me as we climb the highest peaks together. Come with me through the archway of trust. We will look down from the crest of the glistening mounts and from the summit of our sublime sanctuary. Together we will wage war in the lion's den and the leopard's lair as they watch nightly for their prey" (Song 4:8, TPT). What we have all been going through, especially over the last 10 months, has prepared us to be able to handle the harvests that He has prepared for us--the harvests of souls, healings, signs, wonders, finances, lands, buildings and more." - Barry Maracle
Sigh, nothing like mixing in a little Song of Solomon to show how biblically illiterate you are. This verse of course has nothing to do with taking dominion. I was not going to get into this sideshow but it is important to push back against the usage of the Passion paraphrase, which is utterly heretical and never to be used. Song of Solomon 4:8 actually reads:
Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards. - Song of Solomon 4:8 (ESV)
No mentioning of waging war in the dens of lions. All this verse means is a plea to his love to come with him to safer venues. Read the commentaries. Maracle then conflates a sacred term, harvest, with a Charismaniacal wish list. Biblically, the term harvest refers to souls. It refers to spreading the Gospel so that some might be saved. It has nothing to do with healings or signs and wonders. It is sacrilegious to trivialize it with finances, buildings, or lands.
Many of us do not feel ready, but know this: You are ready because He says you are. A level of intimacy has been developed in us, and we are beginning to understand Whose we are. We are beginning to trust the Lord and walk with Him. I love where it says in Song of Songs 4:8 that we will climb the highest peaks together, walking through the archway of trust together and looking down from the glistening mount and our sublime sanctuary. Together, we will wage war in the lion's den and the leopard's lair as they watch nightly for their prey. What God is saying is as we have our focus on Him and not on the enemy, we will walk arm in arm right into the enemy's camp, unannounced, because the enemy is so caught up in his own diabolical schemes that he won't even see us coming. We will then crush the enemy under our feet. The key here is that we are like the calves released from the stall: "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. You will go out and grow up like calves from the stall. And you will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I do this, says the Lord of Hosts." (Mal. 4:2-3, MEV). "Your obedience has become known to all men. Therefore I am glad on your behalf. Yet I want you to be wise to that which is good, and innocent to that which is evil" (Rom. 16:19-20, MEV).
Beloved this is spiritually criminal and very dangerous. Songs of Songs 4:8 says nothing of the kind. The Passion is not a translation, it is a paraphrase and a bad one at that. SOS 4:8 does not say that we will walk through the archway of trust together. The phrase archway of trust is not even in the text! Neither is the notion of waging war in the lion's den or the leopard's lair. The bible simply does not say these things! Thus, God never said these things! Yet Barry Maracle declares we should march in the camp of the devil based upon the very lies the devil has spun in his heart. Not a good battle plan. To further confuse things, he then mixes in completely unrelated verses from Malachi! The key here is not that we are like calves released from a stall but rather that we have feared the name of the Lord. Because we do, we realize that Malachi 4 is speaking about the second coming of the Lord not something we must do in order for the second coming to be realized. Once again, Maracle's theology is badly askew. The bible is not a salad bar where we take what we want and mix it all on the same plate. Realize that Maracle just mixed a self-contained verse from Song of Solomon that has nothing to do with two verses from Malachi about the second coming and topped it off with equally unrelated verses from Romans which ironically are surrounded in context by not listening to false teachers and the reality that Jesus will crush Satan under our feet, having nothing to do with our own selves or efforts.
