Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.You will recognize them by their fruits (Matthew 7/15-16)
..if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3).
GFM: "The Good Fight Ministries team had boots on the ground at the Turning Point USA event, where Ray Comfort and the guys from Living Waters used the opportunity to share the gospel with the student body at Cal State Fullerton. While there in person we even had the chance to do some interviews with those who attended. Today will be telling you what we saw, heard and thought of the event after taking it all in firsthand. Also, Candace Owens recently claimed to have been visited by Charlie Kirk in a dream. A dream she says confirmed her own beliefs about what happened and that it would all be revealed very soon. Finally, we'll look at the broader reaction from Christians across the country, many of whom are calling what's happening a revival following Charlie's death, while others are urging caution."
I am assuming Chad Davidson's attendance at TPUSA at Cal State Fullerton was with the blessing of his mentor Joe Schimmel. Both these men should know better, having warned about false teachers for years via their numerous exposés.
Do we really have to ask the question: Is this a revival?
What are the foundations of TPUSA?
Charlie Kirk was a right-wing political activist, entrepreneur, and media personality. He co-founded the conservative student organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) in 2012. Over time, he became aligned with the Christian right and began advocating for Christian nationalism. His more controversial views included criticism of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Martin Luther King Jr., COVID-19, claims of electoral fraud in 2020, and the white genocide conspiracy theory.
One of Kirk's favorite topics was skepticism about the value of college degrees. Wikipedia: "He had the advantage of having refined his debate performance against hundreds of people and used arguments likely to result in agitated and defensive responses by his less experienced opponents."1
Kirk's rhetoric has been described as divisive, racist, xenophobic, and extremist by groups that study hate speech, including the Southern Poverty Law Centre. Kirk's positions have been described as far-right by a variety of outlets and academics, and others state that these positions are now in the mainstream of American conservatism.
Tragically, the ecumenical agenda has been radically advanced by Kirk. In this respect, he actually damaged the true gospel and he was an enemy of Jesus Christ. Kirk's unwavering commitment to the seven mountain mandate, his association with the NAR, Roman Catholics, Mormons, false teachers like Mark Driscoll, and his derogatory remarks about the black community are anti-Christian indicators. It is patently obvious that TPUSA has never been about the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
Davidson discussed the problems encountered by Ray Comfort at TPUSA Cal State Fullerton. Comfort apparently received an invitation to speak at the event, and he accepted, claiming that he intended to preach the gospel. However, it all went badly wrong. Comfort had prepared two Charlie Kirk video clips and questions he would like to be asked. He told the associate producer how important it was that those two clips were played. After waiting all day for his slot and preparing what he was going to say, he discovered that "the powers that be" hadn't used those clips. After the event, Comfort admitted that he had messed up and he apologised to upset believers for being "rude, impatient, and unloving". This is what comes of validating false teachers and putting oneself under the authority of a pseudo-Christian organisation.2
Others who attended were Calvinist Jeff Durbin, who is continuing to speak at TPUSA events. Mike Winger, whose latest exposé of "cover up culture" was achieved with the corroboration of false teacher and demon slayer Torben Sonderbgaard.3
Gabe Hughes: "Now this movement may eventually be overrun by conspiracy theorists, by people trying to radicalize you to their agenda, and by liars and false teachers. But for now, we have this opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and speak the truth in love, and we should take it. It's dangerous, but eternal souls are at stake. The danger didn't stop Charlie Kirk, and it shouldn't stop us." 14:00 mark. > The real danger is that TPUSA is leading thousands of vulnerable young people to accept a false gospel! (2 Corinthians 11:4 cf. 1 John 4:1).
Davidson: "I was astounded by how many false things were being shared.."
Chad Davidson has chosen to ignore the elephant in the room. However, many of his viewers have not. The selection of comments below say it all.
But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3).
Mike Winger is the featured teacher of BibleThinker online ministry. He graduated from the School of Ministry at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and was ordained in 2006.1 Winger abandoned his post as an associate pastor in Southern California, and he is now described as an "influencer".
I recently became very alarmed by Winger's attendance at the Charlie Kirk memorial and his subsequent announcement that he was "changing" and was considering involvement in the gospel combined with political activism. This is, of course, fraternization with the world and has nothing to do with pure devotion to Christ. Winger was seen happily chatting with Calvinist Jeff Durbin at the Kirk memorial. What I find troubling about this is that Winger seems to have difficulty drawing the line between calling out false teachers and fraternizing with them. Winger appeared to be the best of friends with Durbin at this event, which is surprising considering his in-depth series calling out Calvinism as unbiblical and the fact that many believers regard Calvinism as a "different gospel". (2 Corinthians 11:4; Romans 16:17-18)2
Winger has recently attended a TPUSA meeting together with Ray Comfort to "see what he thinks".3 This is a no-brainer. Christ explicitly repeated the phrase, "My kingdom is not of this world".
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36).
Winger: "I am going to take down an artificial barrier that was stopping some of my activity of thinking biblically about everything.."4Winger said this was an off-the-cuff "random weird livestream". It is never a good idea to do something like this on the spur of the moment without prayer and due consideration, especially considering the huge implications of Winger's newideas. There was hardly any scripture in the entire 1:15-hour livestream; what scripture there was was twisted by worldly reasoning! (30:55 mark) As a so-called "influencer", Winger is on the cusp of deceiving his entire audience of approximately 100,0000 into worldly thinking and deflecting them from the true purposes of God! (Matthew 16:23). This is a massive issue! Charlie Kirk-style debating about moral issues is to go beyond the remit of Christian ministry. Conviction of sin is the work of the Holy Spirit! (John 16:8 cf. John 15:26-27). The primary sin of the world is unbelief. (John 16:9). Believers are called to preach the gospel and make disciples of all nations, nothing more. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47). The New Testament teaches that it is those within the church we should judge; God will judge those outside. (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).
The considerable efforts of some to sanitize Charlie Kirk's legacy should fool no one. Kirk was a fast talker and a skilled debater whose opponents consisted largely of inexperienced college students who were no match for his considerable rhetorical expertise. In many instances, he "won the argument" due to what in my view were bullying tactics. On close examination, Kirk has been proven to be contradictory and factually wrong in a number of instances.TPUSA is a worldly organization that seeks to attain political dominion, hence their allegiance to many NAR false teachers who promote Dominion Theology. Charlie Kirk was heavily invested in the unbiblical NAR Seven Mountain Mandate.
The "Third Way" theology within TPUSA represents a complex interplay between political activism and theological fidelity, challenging believers to navigate the complexities of contemporary culture while adhering to their faith. The critical question is whether political activism and adherence to faith can be combined or whether they are mutually exclusive. Jesus Himself did not involve Himself in the politics of His time, and neither did His apostles. The political realm is part of the worldly system of corruption and will ultimately be used by the Antichrist as his vehicle to gain ascendancy. TPUSA has been described as a threat to democracy and has been linked to white nationalism and Christofascism.
It should be noted that Satan is presently in authority over worldly powers. Jesus rejected worldly power and dominion when he rejected Satan's offer of "all the kingdoms of the world". The required compromise is "if you will fall down and worship me.."
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. (Matthew 4:8-11).
You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4 cf. 1 John 2:15-17; Romans 12:2).
Dominion theology and true faith in Christ are at variance with one another. Any Christian supporting TPUSA must abandon biblical eschatology and realign their faith to political dominionist eschatology rooted in this world.
Will TPUSA and Dominionism make a positive difference in the world? Not according to Jesus. Jesus described a multiplication of wickedness and a deterioration of the world in the last days.
Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.....For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.. (Matthew 24:4-8,37 cf.Genesis 6:5).
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. (2 Timothy 3:1-9).
And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (Revelation 19:19-21 cf.Revelation 16:14).
Further Concerns
As recently as November 2022, Winger claimed that he would "absolutely" fellowship with false churches like Bethel.. I will not throw out the baby with the bathwater. I think that Bethel is not a church full of demons. Bethel is a church full of people that are sincere, that have some things off.. I would still fellowship with them. I would still call them my brothers and sisters in the Lord. Absolutely."5I was concerned about this statement at that time, but I gave Winger the benefit of the doubt. Winger only changed his mind about Bethel when he received severe pushback and was shamed into issuing a retraction. I now regard Winger's statement at that time as a red flag and a harbinger of things to come. Having given this matter further consideration in light of recent events, it seems incomprehensible that a discerning Christian teacher could have missed Bethel's blasphemy and failed to call them out adequately. Bethel Redding is a hotbed of aberrant NAR New Age unbiblical teachings, including spiritual fakery, grave suckng, and the prosperity gospel.6
Winger's anonymous witnesses during his exposure of Todd White was unbiblical. Winger claimed that multiple eye-witnesses came forward alleging years of disqualifying behavior from White, including theft, pathological lies, spiritual abuse and manipulation, and allegations of domestic abuse. However, Winger's multiple eyewitnesses failed to materialize. Winger claimed, “I’ve met with them, confirmed their identities, seen the evidence that corroborates their testimonies, and believe that it’s Christ-honoring to come forward and shout a warning to believers everywhere that Todd White is disqualified and dangerous.” It may well be that Winger's accusations against White were true and I do not dismiss them. However, biblically, we should not accept an allegation against an "elder" (I use the term loosely in Todd Whites case) without evidence. Biblically, the word of a single witness is unacceptable, and corroborating evidence is always required. (Matthew 18:16; 1 Timothy 5:19; 2 Corinthians 13:1; Deuteronomy 19:15, etc.) Winger promised that the evidence would be forthcoming, but it has never materialized. Winger's exposé would have endorsed White's already tainted reputation as a conman who engages in parlour tricks and false teaching, but without corroboration, it cannot be accepted.
Winger "About those objections to hell..." 28 September 2023: "I am open to the idea of annihilationism or conditional immortality.."7 (10:42 mark). At the same time, Winger affirms the existence of hell. This kind of double-talk is very unhelpful and waters down the gospel.
Recently, I reported on Winger's interview with Elijah Stephens, where it was assumed that false teachers could be reinstated. Winger: "This video is made to help stir up positive change in the movement." Stephens repeatedly made protracted appeals to Shawn Bolz and Bethel leaders to take accountability and to reform their ministries.8 Once again, Winger apparently failed to comprehend that Shawn Bolz and Bethel leaders are utterly disqualified and should never assume the role of teachers within the body of Christ, even if they do repent.
Mike Winger's recent exposure of cult leader Steven Koko, the so-called "predator of Panama",9 involves close collaboration with hypercharismatic false teacher Torben Sondergaard, founder of The Last Reformation.10 Sondergaard is a "thus saith the Lord" leg puller and demon slayer who hijacks people into false repentance. (See further links) Again, I am not dismissing Winger's claims against Koko, and it appears that in this instance, there are viable witnesses to the abuse. However, no bona fide Christian apologist should collaborate with false teachers like Sondergaard > the means do not justify the ends.
What Winger describes as his epic fight against "cover-up culture" may seem very worthy, but it is problematic. Winger's response to Koko's "goons" is "over my dead body". This sounds very courageous, but Christ is not looking for lone ranger heroes who ignore his precepts, just faithful servants.11
Winger: "Over my dead body. Steve Koko's goons are already threatening people with legal action, trying to get my video removed. Can I reply to them right here? My reply: If we got anything wrong reach out to me and tell me. But, if you are trying to intimidate and control, doing Cover-Up Culture (as I suspect) then I want you to know that every action you take will only make things WORSE for you. I will shine the light on your acts and the things you do to try to continue intimidating and controlling people. If my video has anything wrong in it, I will happily deal with it. But, when it comes to lies, threats, and bullying, my only response to you is 'over my dead body.'"
Having now done a much deeper dive into Mike Winger's ministry, he puts me in mind of compromiser Michael Brown, who speaks out of both sides of his mouth and makes excuses for false teachers. I now regard Winger as unsafe, and critically, he is potentially part of the false light of the political right.
