Transformation Hawaii is apostle Ed Silvoso’s project (who is associated with Peter Wagner’s NEW apostolic government). This is being promoted through Cal Chinen, pastor at Moanalua Gardens Missionary Church (who first brought the laughter movement to Hawaii in the mid 90’s, and has also been bringing the apostles and prophets under Peter Wagner).

Ed Silvoso is a businessman from Argentina and founder of Harvest Evangelism. He is the author of a number of books, That None Shall Perish, Prayer Evangelism, Women, God's Secret Weapon and Anointed for Business. He is gathering an army to take dominion over the State of Hawaii, by teaching people to take their faith into the marketplace. Certainly, we can all be more vocal and upfront on whom we believe. If this is all it was about there would be no problem, but there is more to this transformation prayer movement than one can learn in a weekend of attending their meeting. As the saying goes, “there is more to this than meets the eye.”

They now believe you are to equip the church to do the pastoring, not over sheep, but in the marketplace, at their jobs, place of recreation etc. Silvoso has endorsed the Toronto blessing (among the manifestations of this spirit was people screaming on the floor, knocked out, shaking, barking and women making believe they are in labor pains, screaming). He also promotes the Transformations video by the apostle George Otis Jr. (another apostle under C.P. Wagner’s false apostolic movement). Silvoso’s niche in the spiritual warfare agenda is marketplace transformation, and he is directly associated with Peter Wagner’s new apostolic reformation. Anyone who does a good amount of research will find this is NOT a good group to be involved with!

Silvoso has proclaimed: “Hawaii will be the first Christian state in the Union.” They believe that by gathering enough people to pray (and fast) they will take Hawaii for Christ thus fulfilling the prophecy by Cindy Jacobs and others (another associated with the apostolic prophetic group of Peter Wagner.) Recently on Hawaii’s TBN program Ed Silvoso said, “Hawaii has been prophesied by reliable prophets that it will be the first Christian state in the union. I believe that” (January 31, 2005 TBN Hawaii, Cal Chinen interview). If he is referring to Cindy Jacobs, she may be one of the most capricious, untrustworthy prophetess’ we know on Wagner’s team.

Of course we would all like to see the majority of Hawaii or any state be Christian, but it just isn’t going to happen by their “new methodologies,” but by sound doctrine being taught and the gospel clearly being explained.

Silvoso states, “We know that 2005 is the year when nation transformation could go global. The iron is hot from the victories of 2004, and now, as we cross into the New Year, it is time to strike the most devastating blow yet against the demonic strongholds that have held not only people, but nations, captive” (Ed and Ruth Silvoso). As one listens to Silvoso’s teaching one wonders if has a grasp on the way things really are or work. Silvoso is often scattered and often does not make sense from a biblical perspective. And I do not think it can be attributed to a language barrier.

Silvoso is into declaring and decreeing words to change the atmosphere over a workplace, a school and cities “ You should go to your work, open the door and declare ‘The Kingdom of God has come into this place and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.”… This is accomplished by “Speaking peace is looking at the people and saying ‘Lord, I send peace over them.,’ I wish them well. I pray that angels will protect them. And then that positive energy that come from the throne of God begins to dismantle the forces of evil and as it does the eyes of the people will open up.” “if all the Christians in Hawaii were to bless at least 10 people everyday, we would change the spiritual climate and that’s what my book Prayer Evangelism is all about, how to change the spiritual climate by blessing those who curse you…” (January 31, 2005 TBN Hawaii Cal Chinen interviews Ed Silvoso)

That is how it works according to Silvoso, but unfortunately not according to the word of God. We do not evangelize by prayer we do so by speaking and explaining the gospel. I think instead of speaking a blessing it would be effective to be a blessing by our works.

Here are some portions of what they describe as prayer that will change our city and state posted on the prayer Hawaii website.

HOW TO DO THE PRAYER WALK A.) Map out the entire school into sections.  Kahuku mapped it out into twelve areas and called them by the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.  B.) Recruit prayer captains.  Student and teacher leaders are ideal.  C.) Each captain will have an assigned area.

Prayer captains will be on the football field, holding light sticks, candles, assignments, and prayer cards.
Go to a prayer captain, get your candle.  When a team is formed, candles will be lit. As you walk to your assigned area pray for Jesus to enter into the school and change the spiritual climate of Castle.  Pray over every door, room, office, field, etc.

Where is any of this found in the Scripture that is to be our instruction for every good thing (2 Tim.3:16). Is this how Jesus or the apostles taught the church to pray?  One report I heard is that when a group went into a section of the school and the wind blew their candle out they started binding Satan. Is this a Bible method to change our land or is it something else? I heard of people praying and laying hands on the seats everyone is going to sit in. We are not to pray over objects-- we pray toward God. This has a new age flavor, like sending your energy toward something to be incorporated in it. They may call it the anointing but its not the Bibles anointing.

It has become increasingly obvious Hawai’i is being targeted by the apostles and prophets to be a gateway to the Pacific with their aberrant views on the spirit realm and their Christian dominionism. Spirit concepts not found in the Bible are used to promote this so called current revival. What they are using is an unbiblical form of spiritual warfare invented by men to move the church into a unity that will eventually come under their leadership. “Apostolic conferences bring together apostolic leaders, pastors, and their teams to hear the new and creative strategies the Holy Spirit is revealing to reach the nations of the world” http://www.globalharvest.org/index.asp?action=hw May 19, 2005). Unfortunately, these men’s new ideas are not from the Bible but from their own imagination which they attribute to the new wave of the Spirit (the third wave).

Peter Wagner believes that new apostles will be everywhere in society “There’ll be apostles raised up in religion, apostles raised up for the family, for education, for government, for media, for arts, for business, for all these different spheres in the workplace” (C. Peter Wagner Arise Prophetic Conference Gateway Church San Jose, CA 10/10/2004). Obviously, these apostles are not the same type of apostle we had in laying the foundation for the church. Wagner and his associates believe they will do apostolic miracles and in all these sectors.

On Peter Wagner’s Global harvest website, under the heading: Hawaii State Prayer Focus, it states “The Lord is saying to our team that it is time to take dominion of the land in prayer, position, and posture through planting and evangelism. This is the hour to take back what has been deceptively and deceitfully taken from God’s people.” While a number of things stated should be in every persons prayers (drugs in Hawaii, broken families) we are told to “Pray for God to bring into spiritual alignment the areas of media, government, social services, education, and sports. These 5 areas affect most areas of life.” http://www.globalharvest.org/index.asp?action=hw

The Lord seems to have said a number of things to Wagner’s prayer team over the years that have NOT TAKEN PLACE. One of which Wagner himself said “10 million Japanese will come to Christ by the year 2000;  Wagner commenting on their spiritual warfare “it helped to bring down the Berlin Wall and opened Albania to the gospel; it deposed dictator Manuel Noriega; it lowered the crime rate in Los Angeles and broke the power of demons over Japan (Breaking Strongholds in Your City, 1993, P. 25). Did it? Silvoso is promoting the same Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare methods C. Peter Wagner does in a different package, despite all the astonishing claims nothing has changed.

The problem with this belief system is that the land was never God’s peoples land so there is nothing to TAKE back. Whatever God’ allows the church to have inroads to, it is by His grace and cannot be attributed to any spirit warfare prayers against the Devil and his kingdom.

Transformations Hawaii is about to launch their second event this year. They are hoping to “gather 10,000 adherents at the Blaisdell Center this weekend for training on how to "transform Hawaii to God's great plan” (Aiona: God's love can transform Hawaii Evangelical push opens questions of church/state by David Shapiro May 18, 05 Honolulu Advertiser).

The sponsors of this event have sought the participation of key people in government, as they have done elsewhere, for obvious reasons.

Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona, who is honorary chairman along with Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, sent a letter over his official title urging church leaders to join the movement and "be the salt and the light." (ibid).

Mufi Hannemann is a Mormon, this is all part and parcel of their transformation - by unity. Other participants included Catholics, and Loren Cunningham the founder of YWAM.

“The lieutenant governor made a video promoting the event in which he urged viewers to "experience God's movement in Hawai'i."

"The movement is happening ...and we all have to be a part of it," he said.

He said then, "Our schools will become God's schools; our community will become God's community; our city will become God's city; our Islands will become God's Islands; our state will become God's state; and our Hawaii will become God's Hawai'i” (Honolulu Advertiser Aiona: God's love can Transform Hawaii By David Shapiro)

As much as we agree with the good intentions of these men, there is much disagreement on the method.

What they are already claiming is that All of Hawai’i has changed.  They give numerous statistics on crime, drug use and jobs (it happens to go up and down depending on when you quote the newspapers.) While they claim that all the good things taking place is because of their prayer, the news reported in 2004 Dui's was 950- in 2005 it is 1144 which is almost 200 more (channel 2 News May 20, 2005). 

According to the Star Bulletin newspaper June 5, 2005, the state of Hawaii is fifth in fraud in the nation fraud is the “fastest growing crime in Hawaii.” The Honolulu Advertisers headline said “Crime figures dropping” but if we read the subheading it says Despite overall trend, murder, arson on rise in Honolulu. Property and Violent crime went down from 2,606 to 2,507; but murders jumped from 15-26 in 2004. (June 7, 2005). Considering that many statistics of crime went down before they began to practice their spiritual warfare makes these statistics attributed to prayer disputable, especially when these same crime figures have gone down in cities not engaged in this kind of spiritual warfare prayer.

So not everything is a good report, and I suspect that these statistic would be very different than what is reported on their websites if one were to look into it. Besides Hawai'i being number one in crystal meth use in the nation it is number one in the nation for cults per capita. And no one seems to want to do anything about this problem. This problem can only be solved by evangelism and prevention by making the public aware of the different religions beliefs.

Chinen states “Ed Silvoso is a renowned author, architect and student of the godly transformation of cities and nations.  His books on transformation and marketplace ministry are used around the world as basic primers.  He is a sought after speaker and teacher of transformation around the world.  Therefore it was all the more significant that after Ed had observed what was happening here, he declared, “The spiritual climate over Hawai’i has dramatically changed for the better.”  And then, he quoted from Luke 10:18 and said, “Satan has fallen over Hawai’i.” . . .

"What does it that Satan has fallen? (sic) First, it does not mean that Satan has been cast into the pit as stated in the book of Revelation.  That is yet to happen.  Second, it does not mean that there is no more evil in Hawai’i – as is apparent to the most casual of observers.  Third, it does not guarantee victory.  After all, even after Satan fell like lightning, the city of Jerusalem rejected Jesus and did not recognize the “day of their visitation”  (Luke 19:44).
 
Therefore, what does it mean when Satan falls like lightning?  “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over It means that Jesus has given his people authority, power, and safety over the demonic powers that have held places and people captive all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.”
 
”What are we supposed to do now that Satan has fallen?  We need to exercise this authority, power, and safety.  We need to go in and possess the land.  The spiritual climate has changed over our schools and communities.  Let’s go in and pray blessings upon them.” 

Chinen says “But how could a mere 6,000 people cause Satan to fall when there are more than a million people in Hawai’i?  But when we look at Luke 10, we see that it took only 70 people to cause Satan to fall over all of Israel”

Chinen proposes quite a number of things outside the biblical texts meaning to entice his audience into his spiritual warfare belief. The more people gathered in regions the greater effectiveness they will be against Satan. He states It means that Jesus has given his people authority, power, and safety over the demonic powers that have held places and people captive, but as he also states in contradiction it does not guarantee victory...  even after Satan fell like lightning, the city of Jerusalem rejected Jesus.”

Is this what Jesus meant when he said He saw Satan fall like lightning to the 70 that reported back to Him? Not at all, but this is just one of the bad Bible interpretations used to convince people to follow because they offer greater power over the Devil. It doesn't mean that Hawaii will accept the Lord not because of his own reasoning but because the Bible teaches that Satan's kingdom was overcome in individuals, not nations or cities. If we look at Luke 10, Jesus expressed how he was aware of their mission, and watched their success over the devils (in people not cities) because He gave them authority to use his name. They were casting out demons from people and healing them. Instead, these men see it as a mandate  to cast demons out of the atmosphere and locations i.e. territorial spirits. Satan falling like lightning- is not a postscript for the church, even the 70 disciples were not sent out to make Satan fall.

The Seventy said to Jesus, “the demons are subject to us, Jesus words might be a good reminder of what this is really about and just as applicable today as it was then “do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” No one can get their name written in the book of life without the gospel being presented and their submission to its mandates, its not by our binding demons and cleansing the atmosphere

Chinen continues “Ultimately, like the people and leaders of Jerusalem, it will be up to the people and leaders of Hawai’i to choose how they will respond to Jesus.   If they choose to reject him, as did Jerusalem, may God have mercy upon us.  But if they choose to accept him, then watch out, world!  The transformation of Hawai’i will have begun!

If the gospel is preached to them they may have a choice but not just by praying –binding or breaking the demons in the land. The confusion should be evident, how can you state the spiritual climate has changed everywhere, then prophecy Hawaii will be the first Christian state and then say the people must respond correctly or it will not happen. Besides, haven’t the people of Hawaii always had this choice, just as others elsewhere? Either God has spoken or it is not from God but men.

If we have power over the enemy then we should be able to remove the blindness of the gospel over the people. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4: “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” Of course this power over the enemy is applied to demons over areas, (in the atmosphere- heavenlies). Again when we go back to the Bible we find God’s solution for a people to make a choice is V.5 “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.”

All this talk and activity is nothing new, it comes straight from the heretical Latter Rain teaching of the late 40’s that everyone is naively embracing because they are unaware of its practices, teachings and agenda. The defeat of Satan by the newbreed of overcomers is nothing new- “God's people are going to start to exercise rule, and they're going to take dominion over the Power of Satan. They're going to bring diabolical princes down. The dark powers that hover over the Parliament buildings of the nations are going to be paralyzed by the corporate prayer of an authoritative community. As the rod of His strength goes out of Zion, He'll change legislation. He'll chase the devil off the face of God's earth, and God's people together, doing the will of God, will bring about God's purposes and Gods reign " (Ern Baxter, National Men's Shepherds Conference, Kansas City, Missouri, September, 1975.)

Managing communities is the secular world’s answer for the 21st century. Global governance by managing cities is also in the church - Both Wagner and Ed Silvoso talk about pastoring cities not just churches.

Prophetic council member Jim Goll reported several years ago "We will see tremendous transfers of wealth into the Kingdom of God through the ministry of market apostles (those with apostolic anointing for business and other areas of society)" ( Jim Goll, "Entering The New Millennium" End Time Prophetic Vision web site,  http://www.doyou-love-me.org/wsomers/enewmill.html). 

Both Goll and Silvoso are with Wagners apostolic network. This become a self fulfilling prophecy as they enlist businessmen to come aboard by laying hands on them and imparting the marketplace anointing and inaugurating them as marketplace ministers.

We cannot understand what Silvoso means without connecting it the source. Silvoso is only echoing Peter Wagner’s plans for his apostolic network and government to be installed in the church first, and then the world. “The church has a God-designed government… The second apostolic age began in the year 2001” (ed. Note clearly implying they are just like the original apostles Jesus picked).

“What’s important is that you’re the people of God out there, you’re representing the kingdom of God, and you know this, but nothing has happened because the government of the church has not come into place. See, the problem is, is that Satan has had too much of his way in our society because he has a government! And the only way to overthrow a government is with a government.”

There it is in a nutshell, but now its not just cities, they are about taking over civil governments and education, Christianizing the world- DOMINIONISM. Notice the emphasis, it is Wagner’s apostolic government that is the answer to the churches success.

“This gate will be opened when we understand about the church in the workplace, that the church has a government, that it takes a government to overthrow a government, and when we understand this, if we renew our minds, if we embrace this paradigm shift, if we see, if we hear what the spirit is saying to the churches, if we recognize ministry in the extended church and government in the extended church, the revival we’ve been praying for is just around the corner. We will see it” (C. Peter Wagner Arise Prophetic Conference Gateway Church San Jose, CA 10/10/2004) (emphasis mine)

Wagner once thought the prayer walks, marches for Jesus were the answer. “I believe the March for Jesus has the potential to become one of the most powerful vehicles for the advancement of the kingdom of God that we have yet known -...This kind of public declaration can do serious damage to the principalities and powers of darkness over a city ...What tremendous spiritual power will be released on that day I anticipate a world that will never again be the same” (Ministries today May/June 1992, C. Peter Wagner - Marching for Jesus).

Now we have a newer way put forth by the 21st century apostles that is supposedly greater than the old “new” way they first endorsed. So powerful are the new methods they are promoting that Silvoso assures us “we have cities in Argentina where it’s very difficult for anyone to go to hell. They can still go there if they insist but they’re gonna have a heaven of a time getting there, and the reason is that the church in the city…“ (January 31, 2005 TBN Hawaii, Cal Chinen interviews Ed Silvoso) (emphasis mine)

The question that one must ask is what is being transformed? The city or you? You can easily be swept up and persuaded into their spiritual warfare transformation methods or stand on the Bibles word to transform individual lives. It is all a matter of perspective, man’s or God’s. You choose whom you will believe and serve.