Bill Johnson, IHOP, and the 'Passion Translation'

The New Apostolic Reformation's most influential leaders continue to quote from the "Passion Translation"--despite the fact that this translation is no translation at all. Rather it completely rewords Scripture, making it falsely appear that the Bible supports New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) teachings. Especially disturbing is the fact that well-known adult pastors and teachers--who should know better--are promoting this so-called translation among Christian youth.Recently, the Passion Translation was praised at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri, before thousands of young adults gathered for the annual Onething conference. NAR apostle Bill Johnson--senior pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and a featured speaker at the conference--called the Passion Translation a "great translation." He then cited Simmons' translation of the book of Proverbs in support of the NAR teaching that Christians are called to "reign in life" and to bring heaven to earth by revealing divine solutions to solve society's problems. (In the NAR movement, Christians must submit to the leadership of present-day apostles and prophets to fulfill this calling.) Watch Johnson promote the Passion Translation here, starting at 0:34:45. [Notice that the IHOP video link isn't working. You can watch the same message at YouTube here, starting at 1:51:00.]Though disappointing, it's not surprising that Johnson would promote the Passion Translation, as he's one of its official endorsers. But it's another thing to have this NAR Bible promoted on stage at the International House of Prayer (IHOP). One wonders where IHOP founder Mike Bickle stands on the Passion Translation. The thousands of youth who look to Bickle as a Bible teacher would be served well by him alerting them to this unreliable "translation."To learn more about problems with the Passion Translation, read my four-part series, A New NAR Bible, or see my co-authored book God's Super-Apostles.--------------Holly Pivec is the co-author of A New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement and God's Super-Apostles: Encountering the Worldwide Prophets and Apostles Movement. She has a master's degree in Christian apologetics from Biola University.