Editor’s Note: This article identifies a matter—emotional emasculation—that has been a very troubling matter in modern American culture for several decades now. But, what is even more troubling to us is its incursion into the church, particularly the Charismatic/Neo-Pentecostal church, and even more particularly the apostolic and prophetic stream of the church.
Yet, while we are deeply troubled by this matter, we are not at all surprised. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, and there is no segment of the church where there exists more light of revelation and truth, as well as dynamics of the anointing, than in the apostolic/prophetic. Thus, it is this segment of the church that Satan most wants to surreptitiously intrude and usurp.
Despite how controversial such a statement will be to many, as a person who has been operating in the area of deliverance with a strong operation of the gift of the discerning of spirits for three and a half decades, I will state categorically that there are no small number, relatively speaking, of individuals identifying with the various streams of the apostolic/prophetic movements upon whom I discerned an effeminate spirit. Some of these I have met personally, simply because the Lord led me to attend their meetings in order to witness and affirm what I was discerning firsthand and in person. Some are living as what the modern culture would term a “metrosexual”—a male who is not outright “gay” in terms of sexual orientation and engaged in homosexual relationships, but nevertheless to varying degrees effeminate emotionally and behaviorally, as opposed to genuinely masculine. There’s quite a number of those in the apostolic/prophetic segment, including a number who have thus far attained some measure of success in leading prophetic networks or becoming the darling-d’jour of prophetic networks.
I first began to be aware of this satanically-inspired invasion of the prophetic movement back in the mid-80s when I attended a meeting in the Florida panhandle of one of the initial meetings of an organization that saw itself, in the words of the senior leader of the organization, as the “international clearinghouse for the prophetic,” and who in that perceived role were going to, again in the words of the leader, maintain “electronic dossiers on every prophet in the world.” That sort of rhetoric and its potential ramifications, as well as a number of other issues, including this organization’s espousal and practice of hyper-authoritarianism about which I wrote in my book, Charismatic Captivation, troubled and concerned me greatly. However, what troubled me even more was when the leader announced in one of those meetings that they were essentially subordinating their organization under the authority and “covering” of a “bishop” who was the presiding bishop over another charismatic organization that had established what they called an international college of charismatic bishops, and introduced this bishop as one of the speakers in one of the meetings during the conference. I was greatly troubled and dismayed by this development for two main reasons: 1) I had done some rather extensive research about this man in preparation for the writing of my book and regarding to his extreme “dominionism” or “Kingdom Now” teachings of which he had become a leading expositor, and had discovered that he had been defrocked back in 1960 by the Pentecostal denomination that had ordained him for immorality causes, but what was not widely known was that the immorality included both heterosexual and homosexual immorality; 2) as this man was speaking the Lord showed me a very strong spirit of homosexuality was embedded deep within the soul of the man, which also worked in tandem with the jezebel spirit and spirit of witchcraft that manifested in the form of hyper-authoritarian domination and control.
In fact, the Lord revealed something to me in that meeting that I had not understood before, which was that these three spirits always operate together, to such an extent that they virtually become one in manifestation: the spirit of homosexuality, the jezebel spirit, and the spirit of witchcraft. When you put that all together, what you have is the fact that homosexuality and the jezebel spirit work together with the spirit of witchcraft to manifest in the form of authoritarian abuse. To say it differently, what is often behind authoritarian abuse, is the homosexual and jezebel spirits, which are often difficult to distinguish because of how closely they work together. When you think about it, this is really not surprising, in that in every homosexual relationship one of the participants is the dominant person, or both people are in a constant battle to dominate the other. That’s why, according to recent studies, that particularly male homosexual relationships last on average only a year and a half. Moreover, my personal experience as a prophet is that wherever I have discerned witchcraft and sexual perversion spirits in operation, there is invariably hyper-authoritarianism, or unbiblical domination and control, in operation as well.
The bishop who was introduced as the bishop under whose spiritual covering the Panhandle Prophets’ organization was subordinating itself at the time was Earl Paulk, whose long-term, continuing history of sexual deviance and sexual-authoritarian abuse was not long afterward once again revealed over a period of time, culminating in a series of lawsuits by former church members and staffers who Paulk cajoled into becoming his sexual playmates under the cloak of clerical authority. The judge in one of those lawsuits ordered Paulk to submit to a paternity suit that proved conclusively that Paulk was actually the biological father of a son, through sexual relations with his brother’s wife—Donnie Paulk, who was named as the successor to Earl Paulk following his death at the age of 81 on March 29, 2009.
For many years, I’ve been cautioning believers about the fallacies and fallout of making illegitimate covenants with leaders and the mythology of so-called “spiritual covering,” and devoted an entire chapter to the matter in the book, Charismatic Captivation. While it was well-documented that in the 1970s Derek Prince had been one of the originators of what became known as the Discipleship or Shepherding Movement. To his credit, however, when the doctrines associated with that movement were challenged by numerous prominent church leaders, the highly-respected Bible teacher was the first to publicly acknowledge that the teachings were erroneous, recant them, repent, and ask fellow believers for forgiveness from the spiritual harm he had been instrumental in wreaking upon the Body of Christ. One of the last books Prince authored prior to his recent death was Blessings and Curses, in which he wrote:
In Exodus 23:32-33 God warned Israel about the idolatrous nations whose land they were about to enter: “Do not make a COVENANT with them or with their gods…The worship of their gods will CERTAINLY be a SNARE to YOU.” If you make a solemn agreement with people who are under the power of evil forces, you come under that same power…. As Christians, we are all in a covenant relationship with the Lord and the ONLY other valid covenant is that of marriage between a husband and wife. Covenants are very powerful, and to enter into a covenant relationship on any other basis but these can be extremely dangerous. If it is a scriptural covenant [which the author states are only those between a believer and the Lord, and between a husband and wife], its effect will be a blessing. But, if it is unscriptural, its effect will be a CURSE. Solomon offers an urgent word of counsel in Proverbs 6:4-5 to anyone who has made a pledge or vow binding them to an evil ASSOCIATION:
Allow no sleep to your eyes,
No slumber to your eyelids.
Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
Like a bird from the snare of the fowler.
Covenants are very powerful forms of agreement. Ungodly human covenants of improper submission to men, as postulated by the erroneous Shepherding doctrines, have brought many believers under curses. Here’s an excerpt of what I wrote about the matter in Charismatic Captivation:
Allow me to say in passing that to me, oaths such as these bear little dissimilarity to the secret oaths and pledges required of initiates into secret societies such as the Free Masons, Ku Klux Klan, and the La Cosa Nostra (Italian Mafia), which essentially bind the inductee to that group for life, or in other words, “Til death do us part.” In fact, it has been my experience in dealing with hundreds of people in deliverance from demonic powers that the pledge taken by inductees into these secret societies is precisely the same in terms of the spiritual impact it induces as those taken by members of Discipleship/Shepherding/Covenant cults (as we shall discuss later, this is precisely what these groups are — cults). A plethora of spirits of bondage, witchcraft, and idolatry saunter right through the door willfully opened by the person who enters into such demonic “covenants” of allegiance to men. Additionally, terribly debilitating and subversive satanic soul-ties are formed with the individuals with whom they have “covenanted.” But, in actuality, the spiritual dynamic that is being instigated in the unseen spiritual realm when a person “covenants” with another human being in this manner, agreeing to subject himself to a mere human rather than unto the Lord Jesus Christ, is a pact of idolatry, because, spiritually speaking, wittingly or unwittingly, the subjugant has in essence pledged to submit his human will to his subjugator. In effect, the subjugant has just become the willing slave of his subjugator, for the Spirit says, “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are SLAVES of the one whom you obey” (Rom. 6:16).
The ultimate result of such a “pax idolatrus” is that that person has in actuality made the pact, not with that leader, but with demons, for in reality there is no such a thing as an idol, but the idolatrous homage rendered unto “idols,” whether they be human or inanimate is “sacrifice to demons, and not to God” (1 Cor. 10:19-22). In other words, anyone who makes a spiritual covenant with anyone other than God, covenants with demons, whether they intend to or not, for “You cannot drink the cup of (fellowship with) the Lord and the cup of (fellowship with) demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons” (Ibid, v. 21, parenthesis added by author). If you do so covenant and so partake of fellowship with idols (other gods), or demons, you “provoke the Lord to jealousy” (Ibid, v. 22). Thus, in actuality this “covenanting” business and paying homage to human leaders is tantamount to pagan demon worship. The Bible explicitly constrains us against making such “covenants” with anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It specifically commands, “Do not become slaves of men” (1 Cor. 7:23).
The reason I take up the significant time and space to mention all this here is it is powerfully illustrated by another very odd turn of events related to the leader of the Panhandle Prophets, who members of the family run organization refer to as the “papa-prophet,” which sounds strikingly similar to the etymology of the term “pope” given to the ultimate leader of the Roman Catholic church rooted in the Italian word “papa.” In 2003, I believe it was, I was invited to attend a local meeting of this organization, after which I would be afforded an opportunity to meet with the “papa-prophet,” or “Bishop” he was also called. In that meeting, the leader asked those in attendance to please be prayer for him about something that had been going on with him for a number of years, about which he had confided with some other leaders and subsequently with his family, which was that, though he had never yielded to it, and since it was obvious from his 50+ years of marriage to his wife and the children they had produced he was behaviorially heterosexual, he had for a number of years (he did not disclose how many) been assaulted with various forms of homosexual temptations. While this revelation certainly carried with it elements of shock and bewilderment, nothing of the sort was expressed in that meeting, or afterward that I was ever privy to. But, the reason I talk about it here is that the Lord immediately showed me that the temptations and assaults by these evil spirits of sexual perversion were a direct result of the covenant of spiritual covering this man had by his own pronouncement entered into some seventeen or eighteen years earlier with Earl Paulk. When you enter into a covenant with someone, you have just entered into agreement with and subjected yourself to the demon spirits that are operating in that person. That’s one of the most preeminent reasons why God warns, “Be not the slaves of men!”
The matter addressed in the following article by its author, Joseph Mattera, I believe, is one of the most critical issues facing both the church and the apostolic/prophetic movement today. Spirits of sexual perversion are doing everything within their power to infiltrate that movement in order to bring devastation and ultimate destruction to it. Of course, there’s nothing new about this assault from hell. There has been no shortage of homosexuals and so-called metrosexuals in similar movements in the past. Paul Cain first emerged to notoriety as a teenage prodigy prophet during the New Order of the Latter Rain Movement in the mid-50s. Rumors of his homosexuality have existed for decades, and were proven to be true a few years ago, along with his admission also to having been an alcoholic. Ostensibly, Cain subsequently submitted to counseling and ministry by a number of leaders, and announced he had brought himself and his ministry under greater accountability to a panel of leaders, but the process of his restoration has been fraught with controversy and suspicion, and his standing as a legitimate prophet has suffered as a result.
The apostolic/prophetic giftings, without any doubt, are the most powerful of all the Fivefold Ministry Gifts, and it is for this reason that evil spirits galore are attracted to that realm like moths to a flame. As Jesus put it, “Where the Spirit is, the ravens (scavenger birds; symbol of demons spirits) will gather.”
I believe the Lord is pointing His prophetic finger to what is becoming a prevalent problem, particularly in the apostolic/prophetic realm, and God is saying that the grace-period is over! Those who have been so far operating undetected and under the concealment of the cloak of leadership, in particular, who have buddied up with pet evil spirits of homosexuality and emotional emasculation had better “come out of the closet” voluntarily, quickly, and begin to seek counseling for their psyche and deliverance from the demons that are shaping their personalities and influencing their behavior, their doctrines, and their ministries. God has opened a window in the Spirit to accommodate that coming out and confession, but it is a short window, for the time is short. Those who refuse to heed the warning of the Spirit, will soon be publicly exposed, disgraced, and demoted by God, because He will not longer tolerate the spirit of the world—”the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2)—operating in His Blood-Bought Church! [End Editor’s Note]
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The Signs of an Emotionally Emasculated Man
By Joseph Mattera
In this day and age, it seems there is increasing pressure from secular contemporary culture for men to become effeminate. This has resulted in celebrating the “gay man,” “metrosexuality” (men who are not really gay, yet not masculine either), and other forms or expressions of manhood that do not resonate with the average American male.
(In spite of this, most best-selling action movies still celebrate male heroism, masculinity and strength because moviemakers know these caricatures of manhood rake in the most money!)
The results of this gradual shift over the past several decades are not always easy to notice. Secular cultural pressures have even resulted in some masculine-appearing men who are also homosexuals. This makes it more difficult to tell from appearances who is gay and who is straight. In this piece I am not dealing with homosexuality per se but the tendency of many males to be emotionally emasculated—a common phenomenon even in the church.
Part of the sanctification process must involve not just learning how to be a child of God but also how to function as a biblical male or female. Unfortunately, many men are afraid to act like men because true manhood is rarely celebrated in everyday contemporary culture, except in many movies, the military, and some aspects of contact sports.
The following are some signs of emotionally emasculated males.
Men that always concede leadership decisions to their wives
I have been married for almost 32 years and have learned the importance of mutual submission as taught in Ephesians 5:22. I have learned that I am to surrender myself and my life to please my wife and family on most issues. But, in issues related to making life-altering decisions related to our finances, ministry direction, and where we will live (to name a few), I am the primary person God will hold responsible for the direction of my life and family. Thus, I must have the final say on matters of this kind, while being very open to the wisdom and counsel of my spouse.
Men that allow their emotions to dictate their actions
Although men, like all humans, are emotional beings, we are taught in James 1:20 that the anger of man does not work out the righteousness of God. Hence, we need to make sure that we never allow ourselves to be led by our emotional state but by principle and divine purpose. Godly men in scripture were sober-minded, men of valor that did not allow fear to stop them from performing the task at hand. Those led by their emotions are more driven by how they feel than by what is right and honorable! Men of principle keep their word even when it hurts (Psalm 15:4).
In Job 38:3 God tells Job to “gird up his loins like a man and I will speak to you.” There is something about acting “manly” that releases God to speak to those He created as men, since biblical manhood involves being stewards of our emotions so that we are led by truth and not by mercurial feelings that can get in the way of biblical obedience.
Men that can never make a firm decision without second-guessing themselves
Part of the gift of masculinity is to be able to take risks and make hard leadership decisions based on scripture, wise counsel and prayer. Emotionally emasculated men are afraid of making hard decisions because they don’t have the courage to take risks or to suffer the consequences of their decisions. Thus, they are always paralyzed by excessive analysis and second-guessing themselves. This takes away from their call to lead as a man.
Men that are not the spiritual leaders of their homes
Being the spiritual leader is more than being the head of the house in terms of making decisions. It mainly has to do with leading by example: taking the initiative to serve others, to minister, to gather the family together for prayer and Bible study, to attend church, to put God first in the home and personal life.
Men that are led by their wives spiritually are emotionally and spiritually emasculated because they leave their wives spiritually uncovered, unprotected and waging spiritual warfare for their families by themselves! Men should not have to be dragged to church or pressured to pray with their families by their wives; men should be the ones blazing the trail for everyone else to follow!
Men that may act tough on the outside but are irresponsible regarding work and family
I have seen many men in church that are muscle-bound and act tough, but are flakey when it comes to being responsible at their jobs, with their families, or in church. Outward appearances and acting ‘big and bad’ is easy. True men are the ones who work very hard to provide for their families materially, emotionally and spiritually. Being responsible in spite of the hard grind of everyday life and conflict is one of the true tests of manhood in this day and age.
Men who abuse instead of protect women and children
Emotionally emasculated men are often insecure men who pick on those weaker than themselves to try to prove their manhood! Often this results in men verbally or physically abusing their spouses and children. This is not a sign of true manhood but a sign that they are lacking in true male identity and function.
Men who run from relational conflict
Nobody likes to have tough conversations with loved ones, business associates, or family members. Emotionally emasculated men give in to the fear of confrontation, procrastinate, or try to avoid conflict completely, perhaps fearing rejection or fearing more responsibility to make hard decisions that may arise out of such conflict.
True manhood involves meeting problems and conflicts head-on as the need arises and not running from them
In conclusion, there are many more things we could discuss regarding this issue. Part of our countercultural call as Christ-followers is to celebrate masculinity and femininity. Men should be celebrated as men, and ladies as ladies. We don’t need men to act or look like women and vice versa. We also don’t need hybrids of both. May God give us the courage to nurture the next generation to not only be spiritually but emotionally mature and secure in their gender functions and identity.###
Source: http://josephmattera.org/_blog/Free_Articles/post/The_Signs_of_an_Emotionally_Emasculated_Man/
[Editor’s additional note: Previously, we have republished some of this author’s articles because we obviously agree with his observations and commentary in those particular articles we republished and believe they speak to issues currently confronting the Church in this hour, thereby serving an important purpose. However, we, nevertheless, strongly disagree with some of the author’s other doctrinal beliefs; e.g., his eschatology, i.e. preterism, amillennialism, his frequent condescending comments against strongly-held, Biblically-sound teachings concerning what is commonly referred to as “the rapture” as being “escapism,” and the millions who wholeheartedly believe in a coming rapture as “escapists,” et al.; his ecumenical views and what appears to us to be soul-tie-generated sentimentality for the Catholic church, which we regard as the one-world end-times church identified in the Bible as the Babylon church system led by “the false prophet” (who we believe to be the final Roman Catholic Pope) into which all the false religions of the world, Biblical Christianity excluded, will be coalesced; and his advocacy for syncretism or reintegration of Roman Catholic false and idolatrous doctrines into the Pentecostal/Charismatic stream. Some of his viewpoints, in our view, essentially establish him as an apologist for Roman Catholicism, an opponent of the Protestant Reformation, and an advocate for the dismantling and reversion of Protestant reforms. Indeed, that this author can write so correctly, poignantly, and prolifically regarding so many problematic issues extant in the ecclesiastical realm in this hour, and yet maintain the heterodoxical viewpoints he does, is to us an inexplicable enigma, except to point out that all these matters are rooted in Roman Catholicism, that he self-identifies as a former Catholic (see, his paid-content article: Seven Reasons Why I am Not a Roman Catholic), along with many of his family-members and friends, and as mentioned before, appears to us to have a psychological soul-tie to the Roman Catholic church, and some of its traditional religious trappings, which, again, is highly enigmatic in consideration of an article such as this one as well as many of the others we’ve republished. Update (10-13-18): In a recent phone and email exchange in which I confronted him regarding his self-publicized alliance with, endorsement and promotion of postmodernism (i.e., spiritual formation, pre-reformation mysticism, contemplative spirituality, etc.) proponents, as well as apparent acceptance and espousal of their teachings, his unequivocal response was, in essence, that he does not regard any of same to be in any way problematic or heretical, and sophomorically attempted to censure me for confronting him on these matters, despite providing him a “best of short list” of hundreds of the millions of available articles available on the Internet describing the irrefutable heterodoxy of these anti-Biblical teachings and how they lead ultimately to total apostasy. More to come on these matters in future articles. Again, despite agreeing with the concepts Joseph Mattera expressed in this article and others we have published on this site, sadly, I am also compelled to state categorically that I do not in any way endorse him or his ministry, and, in light of my recent exchanges with him regarding specific doctrinal issues, including some not mentioned here, must issue a strong warning to anyone and everyone to steer clear of his ministry, teachings, and all organizations he leads, due to his current intransigence and apparent refusal to properly consider the substantial areas of doctrinal error he espouses and promulgates. Consequently, we will not be republishing any additional articles by Joseph Mattera.]
Dr. Joseph Mattera is currently the Presiding Bishop of Christ Covenant Coalition, Overseeing Bishop of Resurrection Church in New York, and the president of U.S. Coalition of Apostolic Leaders (USCAL). His website is at: http://www.josephmattera.org.
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