The Occult Metaphysics of John Robert Stevens - Woodrow Nichols

The Walk of John Robert Stevens, popularly known as The Church of the Living Word, is a movement animated by extreme belief in a doctrine currently permeating large influential segments of the American charismatic movement.(1) It is the doctrine of the rhema (the alleged »living word« that replaces the static revelation of Scripture), a doctrine clearly antithetical to the orthodox Christian view of revelation. When presented as the core of Christian belief and severed from the influence of other Christian beliefs, it very well could be a preview of the erroneous antichrist spirituality the New Testament warns will characterize the world religion at the end of this age.(2)

The doctrine of the rhema has become an expressway for the introduction of new age Gnosticism in to the beliefs and practices of otherwise sincere charismatic Christians. Appropriately, I have termed that error »Holy Spiritism«--an attempt to inject hardcore occult spiritism and Eastern mysticism(3) into radical charismatic Christianity. In its most uninhibited state, Holy Spiritism is fully incarnated in The Walk of John Robert Stevens.

Whereas The Walk's obvious Scripture-twisting and traditional cult dynamics have already been analyzed, mainly in sociological terms,(4) study of the group's spiritual dynamics has been virtually neglected. But it is precisely because of those spiritual dynamics that The Walk has such ominous eschatological implications. This paper addresses that topic, concentrating solely upon the spiritual dynamics of the rhema.

I define spiritual dynamics as the moral forces produced in human relations based on humanity's obedience or disobedience to objective revelation from God. In other words, just as physical laws, which scientists seek to discover and define, govern the physical sphere of this universe, so spiritual laws, which were fully revealed to Moses in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:1-22), govern the spiritual sphere. Within a Christian metaphysical worldview, the Holy Bible is upheld as objective revelation from the only true God, the Creator of the cosmos. The Bible, therefore, will be the scientific tool by which we will measure the spiritual dynamics of the rhema within the historical context of The Walk.

 
The Rhema

What exactly is The Walk's doctrine of the rhema? Specifically, it is the existentially spoken word of God (vis-a-vis the charisms, or gifts, of the Holy Spirit) that contains the aspects of both revelational speaking, as in prophecy, and speaking in faith, as in positive confession.(5) The Walk also defines rhema in contrast to the logos, or written word of God, the Bible. Charismatic extremists believe the rhema is equal in authority to the logos. If that view were all there were to it, we could just dismiss it as another, albeit radical, view of inspiration. The doctrine of rhema in The Walk, however, has been elevated in value above the core truths of Christianity. It has also been used to justify the notion of progressive, authoritative revelation that exhibits characteristics of classic occultism.

For example, The Walk members chant certain phrases, known as »violent intercession,« that are used as weapons in what they perceive as a spiritual battle with satanic powers that prevent Stevens, their apostle, from reaching higher levels of revelation and thus coming into the perfect state. I recorded such phrases during the prelude to the service held at Grace Chapel (the original Walk church) on 9 July 1978. Examples include:

We resist the Devil and everything that would stand against your (Jesus') perfect victory!

Yes, lord! We demand it, lord Jesus!

Everything that would be a hindrance to the apostolic ministry, we loose it tonight!

We declare tonight, lord, that we're not going to be part of this age....that tonight Brother Stevens would be released to a new level....Lord, that tonight is just one more progressive step for each one of us, in the name of the lord!

We rebuke all passivity!

We have the right tonight!

We prophesy the release of the word (rhema) tonight! We prophesy the release of the word and authority! We declare the man of God is not alone tonight!...we loose the word tonight!

The occult metaphysics are revealed in the chanting, especially in such phrases as declare, loose, rebuke, and prophesy, where the will of the person, not the will of God, is in command.

 

But the orthodox New Testament definition of rhema is the literal Greek meaning--»that which is spoken (as in) an utterance, a saying, or a word of any kind, in either speech or writing (or as) a thing, a matter, or a business.« As such it is used almost interchangeably with logos--»a spoken word (as in) a saying or statement«--implying the full expression of a thought.

If there is any real theological distinction among the New Testament writers between rhema and logos, it is not apparent. Consider, for example, 1 Peter 1:23-25:

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word (logos) of God, which liveth and abideth forever. Because all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word (rhema) of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word (rhema) which by the gospel was preached unto you(6) (parentheses mine).

Some commentators have chosen to make a theological distinction between those two words, however, giving the heterodox charismatics mistaken encouragement in their radical interpretation. For example, the New Testament Greek expositor W. E. Vine makes this distinction in his famous dictionary:

The significance of rhema, as distinct from logos, is exemplified in the injunction to take »the sword of the Spirit, which is the word (rhema) of God,« Ephesians 6:17; here the reference is not to the whole Bible as such, but to the individual scripture which the Spirit brings to our remembrance for use in time of need, a prerequisite being the regular storing of the mind with Scripture(7) (parentheses mine).

Unfortunately, outside of his own preference for defining the logos as the »whole Bible,« he gives no defense for that distinction, and there is no internal scriptural evidence to support it.

The Assemblies of God, who are noted for their charismatic leanings, have an official statement on the rhema which clearly states that

...the distinction is not justified by usage in the Greek New Testament or in the Septuagint (Greek version of the Old Testament). The words are used synonymously in both. In the case of the Septuagint, both rhema and logos are used to translate the one Hebrew word dabar which is used in various ways relative to communication. For instance, the word dabar (translated, word of God) is used in both Jeremiah 1:1 and 2. Yet in the Septuagint it is translated rhema in verse 1 and logos in verse 2.(8)

In the face of that scriptural ambiguity and the counsel of that large charismatic denomination, many charismatic extremists still choose to follow Vine's distinction. Their radical interpretation gives them a supposed authority for creating revelation. Although Vine limited his concept of the rhema to individual passages of the logos brought to mind by the Spirit, the radical charismatics leave it totally unbound to any objective authority.

A historical survey(9) of the Pentecostal/charismatic movement suggests that that interpretation of rhema evolved and has subsequently been accepted among so many charismatics as the result of both inner and outer controversies. Inner, in that the radicals needed a rationalization in their struggle with those charismatics who stressed the absolute authority of the Bible as the only source for doctrine and practice. Outer, in that a credible doctrine was needed in their struggle with anti-charismatics to assert that the charisms did not die out with the gradual acceptance of the New Testament canon within orthodox Christianity.

The doctrine of the rhema came into prominence only at the end of World War II, and many charismatics jumped on the bandwagon. One of those was John Robert Stevens.

 
Christian Sorcery

John Robert Stevens is distinct among all other adherents of the rhema in that he was the first one to openly acknowledge and explore the occult potential of that doctrine. In fact, it was at the height of one of the most divisive controversies in Pentecostal history--the Latter Rain Movement of 1948(10)--that he inaugurated The Walk which, from its inception in 1950 onward, was meant to be distinguished from everything prior to it as the next progressive step of revelation.(11) As part of his new revelational system, Stevens began training his disciples in a »school of the prophets« to enable them to manipulate the spirit realm by their word of faith, an application of the rhema.

In a magical/occult worldview, words are discrete entities that have power that corresponds to their kind and use. When spoken according to certain formulas (spells) by those with gnosis (knowledge), it is believed those words have creative power to affect both the spiritual and physical spheres of existence.(12) Similarly, the person who possessed that gnosis--who could speak the words of power--was known in the Old Testament as a seer-prophet. It is more than coincidence, then, that that is precisely the ministry emphasized among adherents of The Walk.

A classic Old Testament case of the seer-prophet ministry is that of Balaam (Numbers 22:1-24:25). In the ancient biblical world, one special man was universally regarded as having the power to bless or curse anything, including the nation of Israel. Balaam is the prototype of the magus, the person who can bend time and space according to his will through his secret supernatural wisdom.(13) As the »Apostle of the Kingdom,« Stevens has adopted that role. Both he and his followers believe he has the power to bless or curse, judge or forgive anyone on earth, including institutions and governments. Ex-members have testified during private interviews that Stevens used that supposed power to pray for the deaths of Robert Kennedy and David Rockefeller and claimed that his power was effective in the case of the former. Not even a strained definition of biblical apostolic authority or prophecy includes that type of prayer. Rather, such prayers are w hat is traditionally known as sorcery, or witchcraft, which I have defined elsewhere as:

...the use of magic and/or divination for the purpose of knowing or controlling the course of nature, events, or the lives of others by means of a supernatural agency (i.e., a demon) Therefore, witchcraft is the casting of spells (words of power) with occult wisdom (gnosis) by the power of demons.(14)

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 gives the basic criterion for prophesying in the name of the Lord; namely, whether or not the prophecy comes true. If it does, it is from God. That passage must be balanced, however, by the counsel in Deuteronomy 13:1-5 that any prophecy--including dreams, signs, or visions--that does come to pass, but which leads to the worship of other gods (thus directly weakening and breaking the first three commandments), is not from God even though it did come true. It is interesting and crucial to note further that the criterion in Deuteronomy 18:20-22 is in direct relationship to the forbidding of pagan practices by the people of God.

Unfortunately, those proscriptions have not checked The Walk's advocates of the rhema. To them the rhema is at least equal in authority to the logos {Scripture). Many even believe the logos cannot be properly understood without the rhema. That has the added effect of making the rhema greater than the logos. Such a development is fully foreseen in the New Testament {for example, 1 John 4:1-3). Pseudo-Christian prophets were prophesying in the name of Jesus, but their doctrines were clearly divorced from the authoritative doctrines revealed by the Apostles. Thus, John sets up a criterion {based on the Deuteronomy texts) for the New Testament Church. Any prophecy that contradicts the Apostles' testimony to Jesus is from the spirit of antichrist.

Furthermore, the doctrine of the rhema parallels the false promise of the serpent to Eve in the Garden of Eden. If Eve would only eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she would receive the occult gnosis and be equal with God (Genesis 3:1-6). The rhema establishes humanity's godhood by divorcing them from their servant-creature position, raising them to full autonomy, and breaks the first three of the Ten Commandments. The false inspiration from the serpent (outside the clearly revealed word of God to Adam in Genesis 2:16-17) sets the spiritual dynamics of disobedience into motion, leaving Adam and Eve to the temporary delusion of their own autonomous ethical system. That brings us to the crux of our analysis: the contrast between servanthood, as exemplified in Jesus' life on earth, and sorcery, as exemplified in the doctrine of the rhema. In fact, the distinction between the two clearly defines orthodoxy from heterodoxy, true Christianity from antichrist Christianity.

Through gnosis a sorcerer is able to cast spells, words of power, that bind spirits to serve the purposes of his or her will. Here the relationship between humanity and spirits is clear: the human will plays the role of God, the spirits play the role of servant. The ideology behind Christian-oriented sorcery is based on the creative power of God's word, the logos, as revealed in the Genesis creation account: God spoke through his wisdom and brought things into existence. The Walk's rhema is but a subtle attempt to introduce classical sorcery into Christianity by assuming powers to create, both spiritually and physically, one's own realities.

When human will intentionally takes the place of God's revealed will in Christian affairs, the Holy Spirit is usurped. The prophet Samuel told King Saul that type of rebellion was equivalent to witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23). That rebellion is fully manifested in The Walk, where Stevens is believed to have a blank check from God, regardless of whether he uses his authority for good or evil. (It is commonly believed in the charismatic movement that the gifts of God are given permanently, which is a misreading of Romans 11:29.) It is also believed that Stevens has the power to transfer his authority, by the laying on of hands, to whosoever he chooses. Thus, any declaration made by him in the name of the spirit he allegedly commands (in the name of Jesus) gives him that Balaamite power.

Such is not the case in true Christian spirituality, as is shown in such passages as John 5:19 where Jesus reveals that even though he is equal with God, he (as a man) has submitted his will to doing the will of God--a fact made even more clear in his final agony in Gethsemane (see Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; and Luke 22:39-46). That clearly applies to use of the charisms of the Holy Spirit as well. When the Spirit descended at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), the Apostles and disciples spoke »as the Spirit gave them utterance.« Nowhere is any indication given that God's people have been given the authority to command spirits at their own will. In fact, the Epistle of James states that the reason much of what people pray for does not come to pass (regardless of whether or not it is prayed for in faith) is because »ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts« (James 4:3). That verse clearly balances James' previous statement that any prayer will be answered if it is prayed without any doubt (James 1:5-6): Even Jesus' statement that anything asked for in his name will be answered (John 14:14) is put into context in 1 John 5:14: »And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.«

The New Testament is clear: the Holy Spirit's will is supreme in the Church (John 16:7-11). How can he accomplish his goals if the Church, which he is supposed to enlighten and empower, usurps his authority? There is no true role for the Church outside of the will of the Holy Spirit. Usurping his will leads only to false Christianity.

That is why Simon Magus is so harshly treated by the Apostle Peter in Acts 8:18.24. Magus tries to buy the power to give the Holy Spirit, by the laying on of hands, to whosoever he wills. The New Testament is clear: God is the master, we are the servants. Anything that usurps that hierarchy is sorcery.

 
Strong Delusion

In 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 the Apostle Paul discusses the spiritual dynamics involved in rejecting the truth of the gospel (as opposed to The Walk's rhema) as a warning to those already in the household of faith: »And for this cause (because they received not the love of the truth) God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.« As in the passages mentioned earlier,ls Jesus gives ample warning (recorded in Mark 13:22) of the false teaching and leaders who will come on the scene in the end times: »For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders (as in false charisms) to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect« (parentheses mine). It would appear that that antichrist Christianity is ordained by God to separate the wheat from the chaff within Christianity at the end of this age. That may come as a great surprise to those who believe that the antichrist will be the enemy of Christianity. As we see here, he is the enemy of only true Christianity. If he were not to come in the sheepskin of Christianity, it is hard to see how he could deceive the very elect.

That becomes even more apparent when we examine those passages in the New Testament that directly mention the term antichrist; namely, 1 John 2:18, 22 and 4:3 and 2 John 7. It is clear in those verses that what John identifies as the antichrist Christianity of the last days is movement away from orthodoxy as the result of false revelations (perhaps as the result of an early first-century rhema-Iike doctrine). That idea is proposed by Raymond E. Brown, a leading authority on the Johannine documents.

Could the secessionist prophets and teachers who claimed to speak by the Spirit justify their roles by appealing to the Johannine tradition that we know through the Fourth Gospel? The Spirit appears prominently in many NT books, but the personal role of the Spirit in the Fourth Gospel under the title of »Paraclete« is unique It is the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, who teaches the believer everything (14:26), and guides the believer along the way of all truth (16:13). And it is the Paraclete who bears witness to Jesus in coordination with the Johannine believer (15:25-26). Presumably the secessionist prophet or teacher would justify his christological proclamation in terms of such Spirit-guided witness that is very much a part of the Johannine tradition.16

 

Those who had left orthodoxy were appealing to Johannine traditions even though their interpretation of them (based on their revelations from a spirit) differed from John's interpretation. It is for that reason that John sets up his criterion for discernment of spirits in 1 John 4:1-3: any revelation that contradicts the plain orthodox meaning of the Bible is of the antichrist, no matter whose name it is uttered in, no matter how much faith the speaker has.

Word of Power sorcery, like radical uses of the rhema, is clearly identified with the doctrines of Balaam in such New Testament passages as 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 11, and Revelation 2:14. Those texts speak of false prophets within Christianity itself. The doctrine of the rhema, therefore, could very well be a false prophet's first taste of strong delusion.

John Robert Stevens and The Walk's occult interpretation of the Greek New Testament word rhema justifies practices commonly associated with Balaam and makes the power of God subject to their desires. The Spirit of God is subject to The Walk members because they so closely identify themselves with God that practical distinctions between the two are unnecessary. Consequently, there is no attachment to biblical theology or biblical authority; both are jettisoned in favor of occult spiritual dynamics that lead to the divinity of humanity.

 

Woodrow Nichols is a biblical analyst, new wave evangelist, and editor of The Pergamum Fifth Column (P.O. Box 1735, Fresno, California 93717), an underground magazine which seeks to present a Christian metaphysical worldview.

 

 
Physical Signs in the Body

At the »school of the prophets,« Stevens's disciples learn how to develop spiritual perception. Sensations in certain parts of their bodies help them interpret their spirituality, as well as others’. The school's materials list those signs as:

Top of the head: Spirit reaching to God. This is where the human spirit is.

Back of the head: Emotions--pressure and tension in relationship to the Lord and people. If you get a pressure, it's connected with submission to the Lord. A warm presence means submission is good.

Temples: Heavy pressure means satanic invasion. Light pressure means you are anointed to absorb the word.

Ears: Warm feeling means God is speaking to them. Pressure means you are under a deceptive spirit.

Eyes: Feeling across eyes means spiritual blindness.

Genitals: Sign of creative life, God is going to bring forth something creative in your life.

Hands: A pain in the palm means the work of the cross. A warmth in the palm is a sign of sonship.

Tip of nose: A sign of burning means the person is a worshiper.

Stevens also teaches his disciples how to interpret auras (a field of color that seems to surround a person). The following color key is used to discern what spirit a person has:

Red: Rebellion.

Black: Death {they are spiritually dead)

Brown: Stubbornness, religious spirit

Yellow: A sick yellow means perversion (either sexual or perverting the truth)

Green: Life giving

White: Pure

Blue: Heavenly

Gold: Divinity (the presence of God)

Purple: Royalty

People in The Walk are constantly making signs with their hands and bodies and building up their auras either to prevent psychic attack or to secure blessing.

 

 

 

Notes:

 

1. This paper is not to be construed as an anti-charismatic diatribe. I believe I qualify as a charismatic Christian, having either experienced or witnessed most of the charisms listed in the New Testament. In fact, I consider this paper an exercise in the charism of the discernment of spirits.

2. For example, see Mark 13:5-6, 19-23; 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 2 Peter 1:1-22; 1 John 2:18-19 (the first direct reference to antichrist in the New Testament), 4:1-3; 2 John 7; Jude 4-19; and Revelation 13:11-18.

3. See Brooks Alexander, »Occult Philosophy and Mystical Experience« (Berkeley: Spiritual Counterfeits Project) and J. Isamu Yamamoto, »Eastern Mysticism,« Pergamum Fifth Column, Summer 1980.

4. See Ronald Enroth, The Lure of the Culls (Chapaqua, NY: Christian Herald Books, 1979); Walter Martin, »The Church of the Living Word« in The New Cults (Santa Ana, CA: Vision House, 1980); Eric Pement, »The Walk,« Cornerstone, Nov/Dec 1981; and »John Robert Stevens and the Church of the Living Word ('The Walk'),« SCP Newsletter, September 1976.

5. The nine charisms listed in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 are accepted by the majority of charismatics. They are the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, works of power (miracles), prophecy, the discernment of spirits. tongues (glossolalia). and the interpretation of tongues. The five charismatic ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11--apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher--are also accepted.

The problem among charismatics occurs over the precise biblical interpretation of the nature, role, and authority of those charisms in the contemporary Church. The doctrine of the rhema--though currently in vogue in many circles--is still controversial, being largely denied by the older, more orthodox charismatic denominations. For example, see »The 'shepherding Movement' Examined in the Light of Scripture,« Pentecostal Evangel, 12 December 1976 and »The Believer and Positive Confession«, Pentecostal Evangel, 16 November 1980.

6. Unless otherwise noted, I am using the King James Version of the Bible, because it is the one adopted by most rhema adherents.

7. W. E. Vine, Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (McLean, V A: MacDonald Pub. Co., no date), p. 1253.

8. »The Believer and Positive Confession,« loc. cit., p. 19.

9. For an excellent historical survey of the impact of the Pentecostal/charismatic movement in 20th-century America, see Robert G. Gromacki, The Modern Tongues Movement (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co., 1967); David Edwin Harrell, Jr., All Things Are Possible (Bloomingdale, IN: Indiana University Press, 1975); Walter J. Hollenweger, The Pentecostals (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Pub. House, 1972); Richard Quebedeaux, The New Charismatics (Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Co., 1976); Richard Michael Riss, »The Latter Rain Movement of 1948 and the Mid-Twentieth Century Awakening« (Vancouver, BC: unpublished Regent College thesis, April 1979); and Vinson Synan, The Holiness-Pentecostal Movement in the United States (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1971).

10. From the beginning of the tongues movement at the dawn of this century, every major revival has been hailed as the »latter rain,« a concept based mainly upon Hosea 6:3, Joel 2:23, and Zecheriah 10:1. The idea of the former and latter rain in those passages is interpreted prophetically to encompass the original outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4, 16-21)--the former rain--and the last great outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the end of this age, usually referred to as the »restoration« or the »renewal«--the latter rain. The Latter Rain Movement of 1948 which came out of Canada (spawned in Vancouver by William Branham, a controversial mediumistic-healer and cabalistic mystic who helped popularize the healing movement and the doctrine of the rhema) is distinguished from all the others for, instead of expanding Pentecostalism (as most other movements before it), it split it nearly in half. It was one of the main forces in the creation of the largely independent charismatic movement led by such diverse figures as Oral Roberts and Demos Shakarian of the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship International, one of the main bastions of the doctrine of the rhema today. For a full account see Riss (footnote 9).

11. After being asked to resign from the Assemblies of God in 1950 for introducing latter-rain ideology (for example, the ministries of apostle and prophet, personal- directive prophecy through the laying on of hands, singing in tongues--all of which are interlocked with the doctrine of the rhema), Stevens formed The Walk. Going one step further than the Latter Rain Movement and the charismatic renewal, he announced himself as not just a restored New Testament apostle but as the »Apostle of Kingdom,« the most important eschatological figure in biblical history next to the Lord Jesus. During the early '60s, Stevens began to introduce classical occult philosophy, Eastern mysticism, and witchcraft to the elders of The Walk (I have private tapes on file of many of those meetings, as well as taped interviews from ex-leaders and members). That led eventually, at the beginning of the Jesus movement, to the establishment of a »school of the prophets,« where everyone in The Walk could learn the spiritual technology of manipulating the spirit world through occult gnosis. For detailed accounts of The Walk's beliefs, see footnote 4.

12. For an excellent survey of this view, see the following works of Richard Cavendish: The Black Arts (New York: Capricorn Books, 1967); A History of Magic (London: Weidenfield and Nicolson, 1977); and The Encyclopedia of the Unexplained: Magic, Occultism, and Parapsychology (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1974). see also Edwyn Bevan, Sibyls and seers: A Survey of some Ancient Theories of Revelation and Inspiration (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press, 1929); E.M. Butler, The Myth of the Magus (New York: Macmillan Pub. Co., Inc., 1948); Ritual Magic (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1949); The Fortunes of Faust (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1952); Sir James Frazer, The Golden Bough, abridged ed. (New York: Macmillan Pub. Co., Inc., 1922); Alfred Guillaume, Prophecy and Divination Among the Hebrews and Other Semites (London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1938); and Helmer Ringgren, Religions of the Ancient Near East (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1973).

13. As Robert S. Ellwood, Jr. defines him in Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1973), p. 51.

The magus, with his personal mystery, is an exemplary figure potentially the center of a cult type of group. He is a personified symbol of the »otherness« which the cultist seeks to lay hold of for himself. The magus appears like one who has been through ultimate transformation, yet is visible here.

See also Woodrow Nichols, »The Magus in Fact and Fiction« Pergamum Fifth Column, Winter/spring 1980 and »The Pergamum Fifth Column Glossary of Terms: A Prospective Christian Metaphysical World View,« Pergamum Fifth Column, Summer 1980.

14. Nichols, ibid., p. 10.

15. See footnote 2.

16. Raymond E. Brown, The Community af the Beloved Disciple (New York: Paulist Press, 1979), p. 139.