BALAAM-
JACK VAN IMPE
By:
The Editor: Blessed Quietness Journal, Steve Van Nattan
Jack Van Impe has made it very clear in his books that anyone who
questions him is not in God's will. In spite of this omnipotent edict by
the Van Impe, we will venture to take a look at his heritage in the Lord's work.
There was a time, especially during the 1970s, when Jack Van Impe
was the Fundamental evangelist of choice. He required the use of the King
James Bible, masculine hair styles, and modest dress of anyone working with him.
He preached for a verdict to the Gospel message, and many were born again
during his city by city crusades. He seemed satisfied to never be as famous
as Billy Graham, and he would not make the compromises to do so. WHAT
WENT WRONG? How did Van Impe get to be one of the Pope's
most useful front agents in drawing Bible believers to cuddle up to the Roman
Catholic Whore? I have isolated two principle reasons for this transition.
It is an amazing transition, for Jack Van Impe came from a far narrower
position then Billy Graham in the beginning of his ministry. It is now a
dead heat, between Van Impe and Graham, which of them will win Most Valuable
Player award from the Vatican. Billy Graham is now ahead by a nose after
getting the Templeton award from Sir Templeton for charming that English Hindu
mystic. Do you suppose I am on Templeton's list of possible good guys? :-)
The startling thing is that Van Impe made the trip to Rome in about
10 years, while Graham took 40 years. Why the rush? So here is how
I see it, and this is sad, certainly nothing for us to gloat over: REASON
ONE: I have an audio tape of Van Impe at a prophecy conference sponsored
by Peter LaLonde in Canada in about 1990. Van Impe was asked why he left
radio and went to a TV ministry. Also, why did he go to preaching exclusively
prophecy. He boldly stated that when he preached the Gospel of salvation,
the letters came in by the hundreds. When he switched over to preach prophecy
of the end times, he received letters by the thousands. It is very
clear what he meant. Many letters have contributions in them. MONEY--
The Bible teaches that the LOVE of it is the root of all evil. At the time,
as I listened to the tape, I trembled. I knew that Van Impe was off base,
but it was not yet clear how badly off he was. Beware saint! When
you let money decide where you will serve and what message you will preach, you
are doomed. That is where Balaam want wrong, and it will probably be the
root cause of evil in most of the Balaams we consider in this journal.
Should Van Impe eat and have a reasonable home to live in? Of course,
but that is exactly what he had before he went chasing money.
REASON TWO: I was recently reading the book Van Impe published
about himself called, They Call Him the Walking Bible. Let us not
be deceived. This book was published by Van Impe to distribute about himself.
Who actually wrote it is beside the point. If he didn't like
the way it exalted him, he would not have distributed it. It becomes
clear in the book that Van Impe was a very insecure kid in his youth. That
is not uncommon, and how people respond to insecure kids is very important. There
can come a day when an insecure kid finally believes beyond any doubt that he
is a nothing, and thereafter, his life is a sad journey indeed. There
can enter, into such a kid's life, someone who sees such a kid as a ministry.
An old broken hearted old vicar in England saw a 10 year old walking by,
and he stopped the kid, and lead him to Christ-- William Carey. The
end of such a story can be beautiful, and the kid can become a great servant of
Christ. Sadly, some insecure kids eventually learn that if they act
out their insecurities, they will be fawned over by certain folks, and the result
is a great deal of pampering and assistance along the way. I believe Van
Impe was just such a kid long ago. When he got to his manhood, he sent,
according to the above book, two messages to those around him. First, he
was unsure if he should be an evangelist and preacher, or if he should stay in
musical ministry. Second, he let everyone know that he didn't think he could
ever preach because he was too shy and insecure. A good number of those
around him took the bait, and the Van Impe train was on the track to success.
Never mind that it had little or nothing to do with the Holy Spirit. The
book is woefully void of the leading of the Holy Spirit in a number of key discussions.
Listen to page 86 in The Walking Bible, "The second great reason
(Van Impe was insecure about preaching) is probably found in his perfectionism.
He was afraid to preach. He didn't feel he could do an adequate job.
Fear of failure was crippling him again. Tying his hands. Limiting
his horizons. Had he not finally broken through that stifling characteristic,
there would have been no Van Impe world-wide ministry story to tell. His
life would have been far less effective." Van Impe was probably genuinely
insecure at one time or other, but it is clear that he learned to use that insecurity
to good advantage. On his television sessions, his wife Roxella, is always
by his side to fawn over him. She gushes over his notions, and sustains
him. This appeals to the women viewers who have no use for Paul's teaching
that a lady is not to take authority over her husband. This subtle use of
his insecurity has won him thousands of devoted women viewers, and their giving.
I have met some of them myself. In the same book above, page
86-87, there is a discussion of Jack's ordination. The committee is exalted
as being of a choice nature, which is not a New Testament practice, and their
reaction to his machine gun presentation of the Christian doctrine was, "Gentlemen,"
said Dr. Hottel, "we have another Martin Luther on our hands. Let's ordain
him." They did not approve of the man in the Pauline model, they exalted
him. Martin Luther fled from Rome, while Van Impe has kissed the Pope's
ring. What supreme irony. CONCLUSION: Pope
John Paul II, or his strategists, read the book, They Call Him the Walking
Bible, and they figured out how to get to Van Impe. First, Promise him
money. Second, Exalt him and feed him security. The Old Mother Whore
has been very good at this for 1500 years. To achieve this,
the following strategy was followed: First, Paul Appalling Crouch wooed
Van Impe to TBN, where there is a standing rule that NOTHING negative can be said
against the Roman Catholic Whore. Second, somehow, the Pope then wooed Van
Impe into the fold as a good and faithful servant of His Hellishness. The
result-- Van Impe has become the most effective ambassador of the Pope to
the Evangelical and Fundamental community. LESSON TO LEARN
IN ALL OF THIS: Bible memorization alone is no guarantee that
a kid will stay right all his life. Parents, you better get that kid in
a narrow position in the Lord right in the beginning. Your child should
learn early on to be right with the Word and pert in the application of it. He
or she should be helped to verbalize zeal for the narrow way. He or she
should learn to exalt Jesus Christ, NOT self. Do not fawn over your children--
love them and discipline them, but do not teach them that they are special outside
of Christ. Do encourage them to memorize the Bible, but do not make them
the center of attention when they memorize a verse. Rather; teach them to
apply the verses learned in everyday life. PRAY FOR JACK VAN IMPE:
1. Either, that he will repent soon-- That God will break Jack
by whatever means is necessary... 2. Or, that God will remove
him from influence. God knows how. That is not our business. It
is quite biblical to ask God to remove His enemies for the sake of the Elect,
and Van Impe is now the friend of the Whore and the enemy of the Lord's Church.
3. That we will remember to take heed to ourselves lest we too fall
(1 Corinthians 10:12).
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