Kenneth Hagin’s Rhema: The Spoken Word

One of the more unusual phrases of overloaded language introduced in the Latter Rain Movement was “The Spoken Word”. For most Christians, the “Word” (capitalized) is used in conjunction with the Bible, specifically referring to the “Words” of Jesus Christ. Many Christian ministers hold their Bibles up in the air, pointing to “The Word of God”. But for the Latter Rain movement, the Bible came secondary to “The Spoken Word”. This was a new “Word”, meaning new revelation, vision, prophecy, teaching, doctrine, or combination of them all.

This phrase was introduced very subtly. Leaders in Latter Rain knew that they couldn’t very easily recruit Christians to devalue their Bibles for “new revelations”. William Branham, the leader of the revival, often told his audience that the “Spoken Word” came to the “prophet” for the “age”, and warned his listeners that he was “God’s Voice to them”.

Kenneth Hagin, who was deeply involved with the movement, used the Greek word “rhema”, which simply means, “any spoken word”. Hagin emphasized his importance in the “Fivefold Ministry” as a “prophet”, alleging that he had the “rhema”, or “the spoken word”. Hagin’s “Rhema Bible Training College”, and “Rhema Ministries” are the Latter Rain counterpart to Branham’s “Spoken Word Publications” and “Voice of God Recordings”. All bear names with similar meanings.

Jim Jones, who was a leader in the Latter Rain movement in the 1950s also used the phrase while recruiting for Peoples Temple. Jones said, “We’re not in a praying house here, we’re in a speaking house. The Spoken Word is here. The Word is made flesh. We don’t pray and beg anymore, we don’t grovel around on our knees anymore, we can talk to God face-to-face, and we can hear God with our own ears, and with our own understanding.”

You can learn this and more on william-branham.org

Kenneth Hagin:
https://william-branham.org/site/research/people/kenneth_hagin

Spoken Word Publications:
https://william-branham.org/site/research/topics/spoken_word_publications

Voice of God Recordings:
https://william-branham.org/site/research/topics/voice_of_god_recordings

Quote:
Jones: (Lower tone) Hallelujah hallelujah. Hallelujah hallelujah. (Pause) [Jesus] Said the time’s gonna come when you no longer pray to me, you’ll speak to the Father directly. [He] Said you’ll no longer ask me to go to the Father, but you’ll speak to the Father directly. We’re not in a praying house here, we’re in a speaking house. The Spoken Word is here. The Word is made flesh. We don’t pray and beg anymore, we don’t grovel around on our knees anymore, we can talk to God face-to-face, and we can hear God with our own ears, and with our own understanding. (Pause) (Softly) So glad that I know this truth. (Pause) The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own unders — authority or understanding. The Father dwells in me, he’s doing the speaking. But when you see your Father, you see me, you’ve seen the Father, and vice versa. (Pause) If you just believe in me, I can give you the keynote to salvation. I’ve got it. I’ve got it. (Pause) You just believe in me.
- Jim Jones
https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27429