A SPECIAL REPORT BY LIGHTHOUSE TRAILS RESEARCH AND ROGER
OAKLAND On March 7, 2011, Roger Oakland, founder of
Understand the Times,
International, and two other members from his ministry attended
the
Peace in a Globalized Society forum at Saddleback Church in Lake
Forest, California, which featured Rick Warren and special guest,
former UK prime minister Tony Blair. Roger Oakland and his
co-workers obtained eye-witness seats at the event that included
well over 2000 people in attendance. Although cameras and recorders
were not allowed in the main sanctuary where the interview took
place, the UTT team took notes.
What Oakland and his team heard caused them much concern – thus
the reason for this special report. Warren and Blair spoke about
Warren’s PEACE Plan and his “Three Legged Stool Plan.” Tony Blair
spoke about his
inter-faith Faith Foundation. Both speakers were noticeably
excited about what they were doing for the world. According to a
2010 UK Observer report, “Tony Blair is preparing to
launch a “faith offensive” across the United States over the next
year, after building up relationships with a network of influential
religious leaders and faith organisations.” Blair’s foundation is
“develop[ing] a US arm that will pursue a host of faith-based
projects.” Given the fact that Warren joined
the advisory board of Blair’s foundation, it is safe to assume
Saddleback will be part of Blair’s US interfaith arm.
At the forum, both Warren and Blair stated that the only way a
global peace could happen on planet earth in the future would be for
all faiths to work together and do good together. The audience at
the forum appeared to be mesmerized and awe-struck as they were
wooed with discussion on faith, good works, democracy, and coming
together. Beneath the vernacular, however, was another story.
Blair and Warren also mentioned they have been partnering with
the President of Rwanda in an effort to develop a Purpose Driven
country as an initial step to establishing a Purpose Driven world.
In 2005,
Rick Warren announced his global P.E.A.C.E. Plan to his
congregation and then in 2008
announced that Rwanda
would be the first Purpose Driven country. In 2003,
he said of New Age sympathizer Ken Blanchard that he had “signed
on to help with the Peace Plan, and he’s going to be helping train
us in leadership and in how to train others to be leaders all around
the world” (35-37 min mark).* Blanchard is just one of many “new”
spirituality leaders
whom Warren has turned to for assistance in building his Peace
Plan globally. While Blanchard’s name is not mentioned much publicly
by Rick Warren these days, Warren still sits on
Blanchard’s Board of Advisors with a number of New Agers at
Blanchard’s Lead Like Jesus organization. Blanchard has been
promoting New Age mystical teachers for many years and even today
sits on the Board of the New Age Hoffman Institute. In 2007,
Blanchard
wrote
the foreword to a book that was “inspired by Hindu swami
Paramahansa Yogananada. Will this Warren/Blair Peace Plan be one
that is driven by mysticism?
It seems apparent that neither Rick Warren nor Tony Blair
understand that their Peace Plan goals are fulfilling Bible
prophecy, which speaks of a peace that is not from God but will
deceive many. By appearances, the majority of the people who were
attending the forum last week appeared mesmerized and awe-struck by
what was being said. Do they not realize that a three legged stool
(the joining together of government, business (or economy), and
religion) plan will be a plan by man and not by God (see Faith
Undone)?
Rick Warren has also partnered with Chuck
Colson, the Christian leader who authored the
Evangelicals & Catholics Together document in 1994 and the
Manhattan Declaration in 2009. Former Catholic priest Richard
Bennett
documents the embedded Catholic agenda in the Manhattan
Declaration as does
Chris
Pinto of Adullam Films.
At the Global forum last week, two standing ovations were given
to Tony Blair for his support of the USA in the war against
terrorism. Mention was made that Blair is now involved in trying to
broker a peace plan with the nation of Israel with his faith-based
program. He thinks he can do this in time. But what will an
inter-faith peace plan look like in Israel? What will it look like
in the world?
While Rick Warren is a Baptist and Tony Blair is an ex-Anglican,
now-Roman Catholic, neither showed any concern about the major
doctrinal differences between Evangelicals/Protestants and
Catholics. “It’s all about working together to do good,” Warren
stated. In
a 2005 interview with broadcast host Charlie Rose, Warren stated
that there are over 2 billion Christians in the world, and said that
this number includes hundreds of millions of Catholics. He said that
“minor doctrinal differences” should not keep the two groups
separated. “What I am interested in is bringing the church together
… we are never going to agree on a lot of things, but I found we do
agree on purpose. Of course, there was no mention at the forum last
week about the papacy’s plan for
a world-wide Eucharistic (Catholic) “Christ”who will come on the
scene to be worshiped by the world. Will this inter-faith Purpose
Driven peace plan include that eucharistic false christ?
In the Charlie Rose interview in 2005, Warren said that we don’t
have to have the same religion or moral beliefs to work with people
on poverty, disease, etc. As an example he said he had met with the
President of the gay-activist group ACT UP, and asked him, “Eric
[Sawyer], how can I help you get your message out?” Sawyer answered,
“Use your moral authority” (29-31
min mark). Warren then said to Rose, “I’m working with these
guys … I’m looking for a coalition of civility, which means let’s
get back to the original meaning of tolerance. Will this Purpose
Driven peace plan and new reformation include practicing
homosexuals? Warren seems to believe his new Purpose Driven world
will be all inclusive. But how can this be called a reformation from
God?
Both Blair and Warren have a vision to see churches with
like-minded vision planted all over the world. These churches will
be ones of any faith and all faith as long as they have some kind of
faith in some god. “These churches will be like lights shining in a
dark place and bring light to the world,” Warren stated. Warren said
the more lights, the brighter the world will be. His view that a
“second reformation” is needed and that people of various faiths can
be part of it has been documented time and again. Listen to Warren’s
description of this new reformation:
Who’s the man of peace in any village – or it might be a
woman of peace – who has the most respect, they’re open and
they’re influential? They don’t have to be a Christian. In fact,
they could be a Muslim, but they’re open and they’re influential
and you work with them to attack the five giants. And that’s
going to bring the second Reformation. Rick Warren, May 23,
2005,
Pew Forum on Religion
When Warren says “second reformation,” he is contrasting with the
first reformation when Christians broke away from the Catholic
church 500 years ago. How can he say that a reformation from God
could include Muslims and those of other religions? And practicing
homosexuals? What kind of reformation would that be? Will it be
like the one the Bible warns about that will come in the last days
when mankind will bow down to one leader – the Antichrist. Many,
many centuries ago, man attempted to reach God ( because he
considered himself equal to God) through the tower of Babel (Genesis
11). God dispersed man and confounded his plans because they were
not plans that gave glory to the Creator of the Universe. Is not an
inter-faith plan to unite all faiths together in order to “reach
God” and heal planet earth, equally displeasing to God? These tower
of Babel plans do not bring glory to God – they attempt to deify
man. And in this newest effort by man, has not Jesus Christ been
left out? Only through the acceptance and faith in His blood
atonement can any man or woman be united with God. All other
attempts are attempts to enter in through another door: “Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the
sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a
robber” (John 10:1).
During the time that Roger Oakland and his co-researchers were at
the Blair/Warren forum at Saddleback this past week, the team only
heard one Bible verse mentioned. It was quoted so quickly it was
hard to recognize if it was a verse or a paraphrase of a biblical
verse. Clearly the Word of God was not included as a crucial element
in this inter-faith plan to save the world.
While the UTT team was in attendance at the forum (they did leave
a little early), there was nothing mentioned about Jesus Christ in
this global peace plan, although Blair did say the phrase “Our
Lord,” on one occasion. The shed blood of Jesus and the finished
work of the cross were never mentioned, and there was NO gospel
message given.
Although Saddleback is considered to be a “Christian” Church and
its pastor considered by many to be America’s foremost and most
influential
pastor, it was hard to tell if this was really the case at the
forum. “It seemed like we were in Babylon,” one member of the UTT
team stated as he listened to the inter-faith discussion and looked
at the flowing fountain that forms a downhill river provided as a
special attraction for those who were lining up to enter the
sanctuary. Strict security measures during the forum gave an even
more foreboding atmosphere. Roger Oakland was reminded of the heavy
security that the pope is protected by with his own secret service
in Rome. By the way, many who read this article may not be aware
that Tony Blair has special entrance to see the pope of Rome now
that he has become a Roman Catholic converted away from the Anglican
Church.
Indeed, Tony Blair and Rick Warren are very important players in
the coming One World Religion.
As an aside, Rick Warren seems to be getting thinner by the day.
People entering the sanctuary were handed an advertisement for the
Daniel Diet Plan that has been inspired and created with
Rick
Warren’s own New Age gurus: Dr. Oz, Dr. Amen, and Dr. Hyman. All
three Saddleback health experts are advocates of eastern meditation.
According to New Age leaders, meditation is the vehicle through
which the masses of people will enter into an Aquarian world where
man realizes his divinity and that God dwells in all things (see
A Time of Departing). Roger Oakland believes that this
one world government and one world religion that Rick Warren and
Tony Blair are pushing will come about through such means (read
Faith Undone). Warren himself has been
promoting contemplative mystical teachers for many years. Will
this contemplative mysticism he advocates help to bring about his
Purpose Driven world?
As to Warren’s Daniel health plan, this brings up another
question: can a Baptist become a Roman Catholic while he or she is
on the Daniel weight reduction plan if it is based on New Age
methodology? How many Christians really understand what is taking
place here? Is mainstream Christianity becoming corrupted for the
sake of a PEACE Plan and the formation of the system preparing the
way for an antichrist? Is this “new” Christianity an apostate church
that will lead the way to deceiving millions? The woman who coined
the term New Age,
occultist Alice Bailey, (believing that we were on the threshold
of a new spiritual awakening) said that this new enlightened age
would come, not around the Christian church, but rather through it.
She said the outer layers would be initially kept intact (i.e.,
Christian terminology would still be used) but the changes would
take place obscurely from the inside.1 Is this not what we are
witnessing happening today through the Purpose Driven,
contemplative, emerging, interfaith church?
Rick Warren and Tony Blair share much in common when it comes to
plans for the world. One thing they share is their views on the
problem with what they term fundamentalism or extremism.
Blair states that “religion must be rescued from extremism and
irrelevance and used as a force for good at a time of global
turmoil.” Rick Warren “predicts that fundamentalism, of all
varieties, will be ‘one of the big enemies of the 21st century.’
‘Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism,
Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism – they’re all
motivated by fear. Fear of each other.’” Blair and Warren discussed
their views on extremism and fundamentalism at the forum last week.
Will Bible-believing Christians be included in their definitions of
fundamentalism and extremism in the near days to come? The answer to
that is becoming more clear every day.
In a 2008
video statement, Tony Blair described his ambition to help bring
about the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG). In view
of Saddleback’s recent day-long health seminar promoting the Daniel
Plan where U.N. Agenda 21 ideas such as “sustainable living” “going
green,” and “smart growth” were used, how interesting to note
Blair’s appearance just a few weeks later at Saddleback. Is Rick
Warren allowing the influence of the United Nations into his church
and possibly into tens of thousands of other churches around the
world? At the
World Economic Forum in Davos in 2008, Rick Warren claimed that
he “lead[s] a very small network of about 500,000 churches.” (40 min
mark - That’s a potential of well over 200 million people!).
Roger Oakland and his team found the Peace in a
Globalized Society Forum utterly troubling, to say the least. “We
will have to warn that a judgment is ahead for a “Christianity” that
is not Christianity at all,” Oakland stated after the forum.
“Judgment is coming and few seem to be ready. Titus 2: 13 tells us
that “we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
present world” and we should have an expectancy of Christ’s return,
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the
great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” It will be glorious for
those who are ready; for the others it will be terrifying.
What
is becoming more obvious everyday to some seems amazingly hidden to
mainstream Christian leaders. Not one well-known leader has called
out Rick Warren and publicly challenged him. On the contrary, there
is either silence from these leaders or worse yet a public display
of embracing and resonance (e.g.: popular teacher John Piper invited
Rick Warren to
speak at his Desiring God conference. Calvary Chapel founder
Chuck Smith stood in front of thousands at Greg Laurie’s Harvest
crusade and
introduced Rick Warren as his friend, allowing him to pray with
the crowd). Has there been any outcry by Christian pastors or
leaders to these occurrences? No, and the silence is deafening.
The Bible makes it clear there is coming a false peace plan that
will be headed up by the antichrist sometime in the future. “For
when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall
not escape.” I Thessalonians 5:3
Some readers may be asking, “Why did Roger Oakland and his
co-workers attend this forum?” or “Why did Lighthouse Trails and
Roger Oakland write this report?” The answer is simple: Because we
love the Gospel and know its message is the only hope for any
person. In connecting the dots as this report attempts to do, we
believe it is a biblical mandate for believers to contend earnestly
for the faith (Jude 1:3) and warn those who are in spiritual danger.
For the Bible-believing Christian, there is no alternative, though
the cost for taking a stand can be high, resulting in the loss of
friends and associates. But is it not a small price to pay in
comparison to what our Lord has done for us on the Cross?
But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the
trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and
take any person from among them, he is taken away in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
Ezekiel 33:6
There is a peace plan coming on the earth; but it is not the
Lord’s peace plan. There is a false peace, and it will deceive many.
Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying,
Peace; and there was no peace; Ezekiel 13:10
Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there
shall be none. Ezekiel 7:25
And in those times there was no peace to him that went out,
nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the
inhabitants of the countries. II Chronicles 15:5
* For a detailed account of Rick Warren, Ken Blanchard, and
Lighthouse Trails, read
A “Wonderful” Deception.
Notes:
1. Alice Bailey, The Externalization of the Hierarchy(New
York, NY: Lucis Publishing, 1976), p. 510; from page 123 of A
Time of Departing by Ray Yungen, 2nd edition.
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