"Instead, depending on how the Greek verbs are understood, Jesus is either saying that God's kingdom is under attack, with violent people assaulting His followers. (See Matthew 11:12 in the NIV: "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.") Or Jesus is saying that, as we are being attacked by the world, we must respond in a spiritually aggressive way, waging war with the weapons of prayer and the Word of God. (See the ESV's rendering of the verse; see also 2 Cor. 10:3-5; Eph. 6:12). But either way, without any question whatsoever, Jesus is not calling for us to engage in violent acts against nonbelievers as an expression of our Christian faith. To say it once more: God forbid! That's why it is so reprehensible for a pastor with a large following to engage in this kind of misguided, inflammatory, carnal rhetoric, especially in such divided, fearful and angry times. The fact that he still has such a large audience means that most of his followers agree with him. That is scary." - Dr. Michael Brown
Yes, it is scary Dr. Brown. Not only for these reasons but because the ability to push back now falls to you and I fear you will once again look for the common ground, pay lip service to the vileness, and go on to sing Kumbaya with Greg Locke when he does call your radio show. While I pray that will not be the case I fear it will based on your attempts in this article to spilt the bill at every turn. Let me make it easier for you. This is not about anti-trump preachers. This is not about rhetoric on both sides. This is about Greg Locke inciting the church to turn against the very people who might need the gospel the most. It is about him LYING about hearing from God. It is about him LYING about the President of the United States. It is about him THREATENING the country with revolution if he does not get his way. It is about him consigning people to hell based on the voting records. So, I ask you Dr., Michael Brown, where do you stand on these issues. With Christ or against Him? There is no middle ground. This is not some one off when Locke got excited. This is his theology. This is what he preaches week in and out. If people do not agree with him and vote like he says to vote, then they are automatically lumped into the demonic camp and consigned to hell. This is pretty serious Dr. Brown. Where do you stand?
"What makes this all the more unfortunate is that I have been told Pastor Locke has been rock solid on some biblical and cultural issues in the past. And, his website notes, he holds a master's degree in revival history. He is hardly uneducated or unaware, which only makes him more culpable. Having said that, without a doubt, I believe our nation is in grave danger, and many of my recent books have addressed that danger directly. And I have also used the term "revolution" for more than 20 years. But I have endlessly qualified my words: I'm speaking of a nonviolent, radical, transformative Jesus revolution that overcomes evil with good and hatred with love. And when writing on the topic, I devote whole chapters to the principles of nonviolent resistance and the call to put down our sword and take up our cross. Locke is calling for a very different kind of revolution. Let us rebuke that call together in Jesus' name. (Pastor Locke, if this article gets to you, I would gladly have a public debate with you on what the Bible says about these issues. Or you are welcome to argue for your point of view on my radio show. Just reach out to me, and we will put the issues on the table, Bibles in hand, for the world to see.) - Dr. Michael Brown
No Dr. Brown. He has not been "solid." A truly insidious false teacher is only wrong some of the time but the egregious nature of that falseness outweighs whatever other truths he may stumble into. That is why someone like Joseph Prince is so dangerous. So much of what he has to say about grace is true! But the part that is wrong will send you right to hell. Does it matter if Greg Locke preaches a fine seven-point sermon on the Parable of the Good Samaritan only to follow it up by casting out every "Democrat" from his congregation and claiming they are all demons? C'mon, this is low hanging fruit. At least other false teachers like Bill Johnson do us the honor of pretending they are not bat-poop crazy. Locke wears it like a Merit Badge. As I said, it looks like Locke will appear on Brown's show. I hope Brown does not waver but I am not getting that vibe. Stay tuned beloved.
Reverend Anthony Wade - May 20, 2022
