Counterfeit Revival

I can hardly put this book down, and am already almost finished reading it. I recognize so much of what he writes about- as a new Christian I walked right into the counterfeit and was involved several years to great peril - mentally, spiritually. It has been utterly devastating and tremendously damaging and confusing for me. I'm still struggling to know what to believe or even who to trust. I wonder if the leaders of this deceptive movement realize or even care how destructive their heresies are. Probably not- as they are becoming so rich from it. Although I continue to believe the gifts of the Spirit are for today, and that God still heals/performs miracles- this does not need to be confused with divination and New Age practices. I've also been disturbed by the overly romantic, even sexual way they portray our relationship with Jesus. And the highly irreverent and bizarre behavior that is considered normal manifestations of the HOLY Spirit! this book is a must read for any Christian seeking truth and wishing to avoid deception. I strongly believe now that we are seeing the Great Apostasy, and many falling away to myths and giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. I also believe this looks bad to unbelievers - who need saved - and may be repelled by what they see. Definitely recommend- this author is a real intellectual who writes very well, and does his research/gives you the history/background of revivals/leaders/doctrines. I'm very impressed with this work and will look for more books by this author.

To start off, I want to say I thought this book was well documented. Everything Hank discusses is footnoted. Throughout the chapters he does not flood the reader with his opinions, but merely analytically reviews the "movements".Nevertheless, I got the impression throughout the book that Hank might be attempting to group all charasmatic's with the individuals he discusses in this book. This was possibly not his goal, but again, the impression I received.I suppose I was hoping at least for a chapter or section that would explain that he is not being critical of all groups that believe in the "gifts of the spirit". Many people and groups who believe in the gifts do not discard doctrine or sanity as the persons/movements analyzed in the book.That aside, many chapters are very interesting to read that left me with an "I can't wait" feeling to continue reading. Others, I felt very bored with. After reading in detail about 8 or so different groups I was left feeling a 'ho-hum' about learning about yet another group with similiar problems.There were also two characters mentioned in passing in the book that I felt were incorrectly portrayed, however that is simply my opinion.In the end I feel like this book was incorrectly titled, yes many of the "movements" mentioned were focused on "revival" but the author focuses more on what it appears he believes are counterfeit gifts. Gifts not mentioned in scripture yet abnormally focused on by these groups. I am certainly in agreement with this analysis on the supposed "gifts" that these movements put forth that are not even hinted at in scripture.If your a cessationist you will likely be excited to read this and saying "Oh yea, you show em Hank"If your skeptical of the gifts you will likely be converted to cessationalism.If your are charasmatic and are a believer in the gifts, you will be frustrated at the lack of a statement distinguishing the difference between you and these over-sensationalized groups.If you are a member of one of these groups mentioned, you will be very angry with Hank.

First off, let me say that it is painfully obvious that not all of the reviewers, particularly some of the critics, of this book have bothered to read this book. Their opinion is uninformed and can (and should) be ignored. This book has received a lot of unfair criticism from the charismatic movement (as have similar books such as John MacArthur's "Charismatic Chaos"), many of whom have not read a single thing that either Hanegraaff or MacArthur have written (take it from an ex-charismatic; the strongest critics of MacArthur and Hanegraaff that I know are the people who know the least about their actual positions).In any case, to get back on topic, this is a very important work in my opinion, one that successfully documents many of the bizzare practices within movements such as the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (TACF). As much as many people (particularly charismatics) may hate to hear much of the stuff written in this book, it needs to be said and they should have the humility to listen rather than rushing to be defensive. (I speak as one who is a former charismatic myself). Many people have a tendancy to rush to "jump on the latest bandwagon" without discerning whether or not it is from God. Hank does an excellet job showing the danger of this - as the subtitle says, "looking for God in the wrong places" can be VERY dangerous.Many people tend to exaggarate the positive sides of movements such as Brownsville and TACF without analyzing the tremendous amount of damage that these and similar movements have caused in the Body of Christ - division, strife, manipulation, church splits, confusion, chaos, and many other tragic consequences. Hank takes a refreshingly honest look at many of these topics, including:- Fraudulent signs and wonders- Fraudulent practices- Bad doctrine in counterfeit revival movements- Endtime restorationism- Being "slain in the Spirit"- Psychological manipulation in counterfeit revival movements- Etc.After reading the book, I think that most of the criticisms of the book are fair, although in a few cases the book seemed a little bit unnecessarily inflammitory. I don't think that this was deliberate on Hanegraaff's part though. As a former charismatic, I think this book is very accurate to many of the dangerous doctrines and practices that are going on in many sectors of the movement, and he documents some of the very doctrines and practices that started originally causing me to question the movement. In some ways I slightly preferred John MacArthur's "Charismatic Chaos" because it is more fair in some regards than Counterfeit Revival and because it makes more of an exegetical case (although, in all fairness, Counterfeit Revival was never supposed to make much of an exegetical case, and, contrary to popular belief, Hank Hanegraaff is NOT a cessationist, so I guess I shouldn't criticize a horse for not flying, as the expression goes).Definitely recommended.

Not all that glitters is gold. Discernment is needed in the church today. This book is an eye-opener to the counterfeit "revivals" and fake "signs and wonders" claims happening today.

Muito esclarecedor!! Um verdadeiro manual para aqueles que querem entender um pouco sobre a grande apostasia que infelizmente atingiu a igreja através do Pentecostalismo.