When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson is required reading at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM), according to Jess Westwood a BSSM alumni. He said it was one of the pillars of Bethel’s theology. In an interview for Medium, Jesse said the first year at BSSM was about starting a fire in you; learning that you have apostle-like authority to cast out demons, heal the sick and raise the dead. The second year focused on learning how to take that “revival culture” to other churches around the world. He commented, “This is ultimately rooted in dominionism and the Seven Mountain Mandate.”

Jesse grew up in the charismatic movement and thought what he learned at BSSM was normal Christianity. But he began to question Bethel’s theology after he noticed how much it had in common with Mormonism. “My worldview was very much based on feelings, subjective truth, and personal revelation. I eventually came to the conclusion that Bethel does not have much in common with historical Christianity.” His podcast, “Breaking Bethel,” is available on AGTV and YouTube.

In previous articles, I’ve shown how Bill Johnson distorts Scripture to support his theology, and here we’ll see more of the same. He systematically deconstructs the theology and religious practices of the modern church—even the Lord’s Prayer—and asserts a belief in the supernatural that goes beyond what Scripture and the church have believed from the time of Pentecost. What Johnson teaches in When Heaven Invades Earth is central to his deconstruction efforts. See “Deconstructing the Lord’s Prayer” and “Does Jesus Have a Multiple Personality Disorder?” Here we’ll look at what he said was God’s original commission and purpose for humanity and how it relates to dominionism in When Heaven Invades Earth. The following quote is found on page 30.

The Original Commission

The backbone of Kingdom authority and power is found in the commission. Discovering God’s original commission and purpose for mankind can help to fortify our resolve to a life of history changing significance. To find that truth we must go back to the beginning.

Man was created in the image of God and placed in the Father’s ultimate expression of beauty and peace: the Garden of Eden. Outside of that garden it was a different story. It was without the order and blessing contained within and was in great need of the touch of God’s delegated one—Adam.

Adam and Eve were placed in the garden with a mission. God said, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” It was God’s intention that as they bore more children, who also lived under God’s rule, they would be extending the boundaries of His garden (His government) through the simplicity of their devotion to Him. The greater the number of people in right relationship to God, the greater the impact of their leadership. This process was to continue until the entire earth was covered with the glorious rule of God through man. [note the implied dominion theology]

But in Genesis chapter 1 we discover it’s not a perfect universe. Satan had rebelled and had been cast out of heaven, and with him a portion of the fallen angels took dominion of the earth. It’s obvious why the rest of the planet needed to be subdued—it was under the influence of darkness. God could have destroyed the devil and his host with a word, but instead He chose to defeat darkness through His delegated authority—those made in His image who were lovers of God by choice.

The original commission Johnson referred to here has been traditionally known as the creation or cultural mandate, expressed clearly in Genesis 1:28: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” The creation mandate says man is sovereign over the earth, and is obligated to “responsibly use what God has placed under his control,” including to reproduce according to God’s intended design. Note where Johnson’s quote of Genesis 1:28 stops after “fill the earth and subdue it,” implicitly rejecting the creation mandate understanding of the text.

The term cultural mandate is more flexible, extending its application to a wider range of subjects. There are three main versions of the cultural mandate, where the first sense essentially being the same as the idea of a creation mandate. The second sense implies divine authority over all social and political matters, and connects Genesis 1:28 with the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. The third sense is the most controversial, as it places the Great Commission within the creation mandate, “requiring political and social matters to be brought forcibly under Christian control.”

The second sense of the cultural mandate implies that part of our stewardship of the earth includes making an effort to influence culture and politics to reflect God’s will. Everything—including our personal lives and dealings with society and government—is part of our responsibility to enact the will of God. The submission spoken of in Genesis 1:28 is that of the earth to man, and not of man over man. This seems to be the most consistent sense of the Biblical perspective on government and society. See “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Christian Nationalism.”

Under the third sense, the Great Commission is an expansion of the cultural mandate. Man has an obligation to apply Christian views formally and even forcibly through government, law, and other means. In other words, government is required to mandate adherence to Christian ideals in civil, social, and personal matters. The command to subdue in Genesis 1:28 includes other men, under the sponsorship of government. Those who take this view include those who hold to Kingdom Now theology, believing that laws and government should necessarily be explicitly Christian. For more on Kingdom Now theology, see “Kingdom Now: Bringing Heaven to Earth” and “Kingdom Now: Jesus and the Kingdom.”

There doesn’t appear to be any overt language in When Heaven Invades Earth to place Bill Johnson’s belief of the cultural mandate into the second or the third sense, but there are some statements that suggest it is to the third sense. He began “The Original Commission” with the statement, “The backbone of Kingdom authority and power is found in the commission.” In discussing the commission or mandate of Adam and Eve, he said by having children, they would effectively be extending the boundaries of the garden, which he simply referred to as “government.” This would lead to a greater impact of their leadership, presumably in government, “until the entire earth was covered with the glorious rule of God through man.”

Drawing on his understanding of Genesis 1, Johnson went on to say we were born to rule over creation and darkness; to plunder hell and establish the rule of Jesus by preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. “Now that sin has entered the world, creation has been infected by darkness, namely: disease, sickness, afflicting spirits, poverty, natural disasters, demonic influence, etc. Our rule is still over creation, but now it is focused on exposing and undoing the works of the devil” (p. 32). We are to have dominion over creation (Genesis 1:28), but for now our rule/dominion is focused on the works of the devil, the works of darkness. More on this point later.

Peter Wagner and Dominion Theology

In Dominion: Your Role in Bringing Heaven to Earth, Peter Wagner was more willing to use the term dominion theology than Bill Johnson was. Citing Genesis 1:26 and 1:28, Wagner said he thinks dominion theology is more biblically comprehensive than kingdom theology. “The Kingdom of God is a New Testament theme, while dominion is both Old Testament and New Testament.” After quoting Genesis 1:28, Wagner said, “God not only created the earth, but He established a government for the earth, beginning with Adam and Eve as the governors. He gave Adam and Eve full authority to take dominion in His name.”

Bizarrely, Wagner then said not only did the serpent/Satan want to break Adam and Eve’s relationship with God, an even greater goal was “to usurp the dominion over the world that God had given to Adam.” Wagner said that before his fall from heaven, Lucifer had both power and authority, and citing Ezekiel 28:14, was called “the anointed cherub who covers.” His citation of Ezekiel 28:14 needs more explanation to support this interpretation because Ezekiel 28:11-23 is a lament over the king of Tyre. Nevertheless, Wagner further referenced Isaiah 14:13-14—“I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will be like the Most High”—and said as a result, Lucifer was cast down. Wagner also needs more justification for his use of Isaiah 14:13-14, as it is in the midst of a “taunt against the king of Babylon” (Isaiah 14:3-23).

When he was [cast down], he did not lose his power, but he did lose his authority. Then when God delegated authority for dominion over creation to Adam, along with free moral choice, satan saw an opportunity to take back the authority he has lost. God would not have given it back to him, but Adam now could. . .

The so-called “apple” became simply the visual symbol of Adam’s choice. Would he choose to obey God or would he go satan’s way? When satan convinced him to disobey God, history suddenly changed. Adam’s authority to take dominion over God’s creation was passed over to satan. Worse yet, Adam put himself and the whole future human race under the authority of satan as well.

Here again, Wagner and Johnson agree. In When Heaven Invades Earth, Johnson said we discover it’s not a perfect universe in Genesis 1. Satan was cast out of heaven and with a portion of the fallen angels, “took dominion of the earth.” Johnson thought it was obvious why the rest of the planet needs to be subdued, citing Genesis 1:2, he said: “it was under the influence of darkness.” He said mankind’s authority to rule was forfeited when Adam ate the forbidden fruit. “The suggestion to eat the forbidden fruit was simply the devil’s effort to get Adam and Eve to agree with him in opposition to God, thus empowering him.” And the rest of his book is about regaining the authority lost to Satan and exercising dominion over the earth. More on this issue in Part 2.