A Book Review of The Anointing By Rodney Howard- Browne

Mr. Browne begins his book with the major scriptures on the anointing: Luke 4:14-19 ( Jesus preaching); Isa.61; 1 Jn.2 :20, 27 the anointing of believers.)

What begins with scripture departs quickly from a Biblical understanding and interpretation of these passages to something quite different. On p. 2, we read his understanding of the anointing. 'Brother Rodney, more is happening in the supernatural realm than is happening in the natural realm.' He says, “That’s a bunch of religious garbage. If something is happening in the realm of the Spirit, then it will be manifested in the natural realm.”

 Is this true? When Elisha prayed for the servant's eyes to see into the spiritual realm, he was shocked to see so many more chariots than their physical enemies had. Obviously it was not a regular thing to see this. When Daniel prayer a revelation, Michael fought for 21 days to give him his answer to prayer about the end times for Israel. Daniel never knew what was going on at that time, he had to be told by the angel. Over and over, examples can be used to prove that what is happening in the invisible is not manifested in the physical except on rare occurrences and for God's purpose. However, this is a common view in the occult metaphysical world view and the mind sciences, where things are incubated or realized first in the spiritual before they manifest physically in the earth plane. This is not surprising as Browne’s roots are in Rhema, Kenneth Hagin’s school.

If everything going to be revealed to us that goes on in the spiritual realm, imagine what life would be like if this were so.

On pages 3-4, he goes on to say that if the anointing is present, something supernatural will happen. His description of this anointing is most revealing: “It is tangible. It can be felt.” “Just as electric” is “tangible, so is the anointing.”

In one of his meetings in Carpenter's Home Church, his describes this anointing as being electricity: 'Not only is it tangible but transferable. You can communicate it you can give it away. You can store it up and you can give it away.' The anointing of God as wonderful as it is, is electricity. Electricity can either bless you or it can burn you. Electricity can either bring heat to your homes lights you can play some of your electrical equipment in your home or if can blow your house right off of its foundation.' Another quote -- 100,000 volts going into a suburb will bring great blessing. 100,000 volts going into a I person will bring great destruction.'

Clearly his view on God's Spirit (Who is a person) is not Biblical but sounds rather cultic. He's not electricity, but Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not irrational or out of control, squirting from fingers and bouncing off of wails as Browne describes. Browne has several stories of his experiences of this power and it has never dawned on him that this is not  normal or even abnormal. Nowhere can this be seen in the scriptures. If the Holy Spirit is electric” then the electric companies become the spiritual centers of the world, since they are the ones who send it to our homes of which we, in turn, pay good money for their service. This kind of uncontrollable power attributed to God makes it seem that if something gets done right its by happenstance. This view has become very accepted today despite it’s going against all biblical examples. So people actually believe they can have the Holy Spirit squirt onto people and every irrational thing that occurs in a service is the Holy Spirit at work.

On page 6, he gives two extremes on a minister: one who screams and jumps around and another Who is dignified and professional, stating that if the touch of God is not on the minister, lives will not be changed. While it is true that the man in the pulpit has influence, it is the one who reads God's Word in truth and purify and live it that God's hand is on.

Concerning the claims of miracle healings of incurable diseases, he gives an example on page s 10-11 of a woman who was dying of cancer and only had a few hours left to live. Commanding the Spirit of death and cancer to leave her in the name of the Lord, he spent 20 minutes cursing the cancer as Jesus cursed the fig tree. He describes the Power of God as hitting her from the top of her head down to her feet, and shaking her and her bed as well as her nephew. She finally fell out of her bed healed.

If we go back to a Biblical basis for this, there seems to be very little. Jesus made a distinction between those having physical diseases and those afflicted by demonic power. There is hardly a description of people feeling the anointing and shaking. This sounds very much like an occult experience. There was a purpose for Jesus cursing the fig tree, it was a illustration of Israel's leadership that made merchandise of the people. There may be some correlation after all.

On page 11, he describes the anointing as our cloak or clothing. He then states Adam was originally clothed in Eden, before he fell, in the shekinah glory of God. When he fell, he was then naked. As we can see, he is taking this change literally. But there is no biblical precedent for this, not a hint in the scripture.

He then goes on to state that, through the new covenant, Jesus restored us back to what Adam lost. He quotes 2 Cor. 4:7 and deduces that this treasure is in earthen vessels. This is convoluted reasoning. If we are restored to what Adam lost, (Assuming that what he says is right), then we could see God's glory physically clothed on us. Considering that he has already defined the anointing as electricity, we become walking dynamos. When Adam fell, he didn't lose electricity (the anointing). He lost his innocence and severed his relationship from inside. Simply put His spirit became dead to God and it was replaced with guilt and a stained conscience.

Page 15 The anointing on the life and ministry of Jesus. After citing Luke 4:18 about the Spirit of the Lord on Jesus, he states one of the strongest flows in his personal theology: “Nothing Jesus did was because He was Jesus the Son of God. The Bible says that he laid aside his royal robes of deity-and when He walked the earth, He did so as a prophet under the Abrahamic Covenant.'

This type of teaching is nowhere to be found in scripture. Jesus never put aside His deity.  He did add humanity to His deity. Jesus gave up His independent use of His power to be a servant coming in the likeness of man. He never surrendered His nature.

Many cultic groups see Jesus as only a prophet or that He became the Christ at His baptismal anointing. I hope that this is not the case with Mr. Browne. Jesus was fulfilling all 3 offices-prophet, priest, and king. He was a prophet when He come but that does not exclude the other 2 offices. What it does mean is that He did not function in all 3 offices at that time.

What Rodney is saying, apparently, is that Jesus was only capable of performing miracles by the power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This makes the Spirit more powerful than Jesus and Jesus becomes less than co-equal with the Father. We find it clearly presented in the transfiguration of Jesus unveiling His glory, which He hid while here on earth. Philippians 2: 7 also tells us that He lowered Himself in position, not in his nature, He never stopped being God. Mr. Browne is implying and stating that this same anointing that was on Jesus is on us. Then we too can do the same miracles that He did. This fits in perfectly to the Latter Rain's theology of God restoring power to the Church and the doctrine of the Manifest Sons of God. Which is exactly what Browne is involved with. One can tell this by the people he quotes and what he refers to. (See more on the Latter Rain)

Luke 2:11 tells us that Jesus was anointed before His birth. He is called Christ (the anointed one), He had a special anointing at His baptism which was to identify Him as the Messiah to John and Israel. Being in complete submission, His humanity needed to be anointed even though He was God.

Again in The Touch of God, we read on page 129, this idea of Jesus being under the Abrahamic Covenant: 'But you ask what did it mean then by- “It is finished'? It meant that He had fulfilled the Abrahamic Covenant of which, He, you remember, was a part.'

This is wrong, very wrong. The statement 'It is finished' is not part of the Abrahamic Covenant. It was the Mosaic Covenant of which the sacrificial system was part of. Jesus said paid in full which He was referring to the sin debt. His dying for sin was accomplished (Col. 2:14-15, Heb. 7:27, Heb. 10:10,20). If the Abrahamic covenant was finished Israel would be in the land, read Gen.12.

In The Anointing, p.22, Browne states that any believer can operate in any of the 9 gifts of the Spirit. This is patently false because I Cor.12 explains to us that everyone has certain gifts and that God has placed each one in a specific part of the body. No one person functions as the whole body with all the gifts. We are interdependent on each other. No one is a body unto himself. Some may have one gift other several, to have all is false. Some may have gifts stronger than others as some of them are operated by faith,  to teach we have it all is later rain we have the fullness that O.L. Jagger’s and others spoke of. Is just not so.

In Chapter 5 on page 27, we read about the five-fold ministry and the call of God. Speaking on prophets, he says they speak by divine inspiration and revelation, and not just as one who operates in the gift of prophecy. People who prophesy are not always prophets: 'A prophet is either a preacher or a teacher, a prophet is a seer. He has visions and revelations and can interpret the plan of God for the church. Yes here we have the later rain agenda in wanting to set up their  prophets and apostles in all the churches.  

This might have been so in the Old Testament or in the beginning of the New Testament period but it is clearly not applicable for today. Heb. 1:1-2 says that “God in past times spoke to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.' Eph. 2:20 also states that the Church is already built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the Chief Cornerstone. An apostle was one who saw the resurrected Christ. It was an office and a gift. A prophet was one who spoke revelation in the New Testament church as God was forming it. Once it was built, the offices faded yet the gift of prophecy is still functioning as encouragement to the body. However, we can have enormous problems with self-proclaimed prophets and apostles. Do they submit to others, are they willing to be corrected? It seems they are only answerable to those who are of the some mindset and they are never wrong. These are the only people they choose to be accountable to in the doctrines because they will have no challenge. if they are erroneous in their teaching and everyone has the same mindset that one should not or cannot correct each other or touch God's anointed ones. Then no one is ever wrong. So the prophets can be only 10 to 30% right and be accepted.

Jesus' revelation was completed when the apostles penned it all down. The office of the prophet is no longer functioning. We have the completeness of it as Heb.1 states. While prophecy continues it is not scripture because God is not giving new doctrine.