Seven Mountains/Kingdom Takeover Theology (AKA “Dominionism”)

Addressing Worldly Ambitions Disguised In Christian Language

Motte-and-Bailey (MaB) arguments are typically difficult to refute because of the equivocation of the points as well as the mixture of poison with the truth that the bailey oftentimes contains. Such is the case of the Kingdom takeover/7 mountain mandate (aka Dominionism, New Apostolic Reformation (NAR)), which guises itself as evangelism.

The doctrine itself teaches that there are 7 mountains or spheres of influence —generally fields— that control the world. The doctrine teaches that they are to be conquered for Christ, typically by getting to the top of the mountain or by “influencing” the mountain for God. The mountains: Religion, Family, Government, Arts & Entertainment, Media, Economy and Education.

Where the aim is to have Christian influence in these mountains and “take them for God,” influencing them with Christian values. The most common way this influence is spoken about is by reaching a critical mass of influence, where believers will be able to dictate the culture in these spheres of influence. In more recent times though, the narrative has taken a less dominant view, where the supposed aim of the doctrine is to take back the spheres of influence from the satanic powers that currently rule them; a variant of this being that the powers that currently control them just need to be pulled down, but we don’t necessarily need to dominate, we just need to influence them. There are many variants of this doctrine being taught today in churches, but the resounding theme is that Christians need to “evangelize” these spheres of influence.

The names given to this teaching have morphed over the years as some have tried a subtler way of introducing it to the unsuspecting in a bid to make the doctrine look more righteous and palatable to the hearers. Kingdom advancement/takeover is part of the nomenclature metamorphosis the movement has taken to make it more desirable and probably less offensive to outsiders. A prominent pastor and advocate of kingdom advancement defines it as “Kingdom Advancement refers to every and any scriptural means deployed to advance/enthrone Jesus Christ and His purposes first in the hearts of men and then across every strata of human activities.”

There are also off-shoot labels like “Joshua generation,” which speaks more to the posture this generation of believers should have rather than the mandate itself. The “Joshua generation” believes that they are the ones to conquer these mountains. The “fathers,” like Moses have brought the light of the 7-mountain mandate, but they are the ones to conquer the mountains and take them for God as Joshua did for the Israelites. There are variants and forms this idea takes and it takes paying careful attention to what is said and how the execution of the idea is discussed to discern them. Various terms are used in the communication of this idea but the central theme remains the same, a presence (domination/influence) in the secular “fields.”

Evangelism is the Trojan horse the proponents of this view use to justify the ideas to the people they seek to indoctrinate. Evangelism is core to Christianity and should not be taken with levity, It is part of our worship as Christians, an instruction Christ gave to reach the world. However, 7 Mountain Mandate (7MM) use texts such as Matt. 28:19-20, Matt 6:10, Gen. 1:28, Isa. 2:2-4, Rev. 17:9, and Rev. 11:15 as proof texts for their teaching. They typically interpret the texts by reading their implied meaning into the text to validate their doctrine, while dismissing the local context of the portion of scripture.

We will examine the common themes misconstrued by 7M/takeover mandate proponents while looking at some of the passages used. Thereafter, we will examine some of the common narratives used by the proponents and using MaB, show examples of their faulty logic. This will hopefully help you fish out such perversions to the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Firstly, a general overview of the equivocation of the terms often used in their Motte-and-Bailey arguments must be understood. We must understand the biblical concept of influence and the perversion of influence that has been named kingdom takeover today. When 7MM proponents talk about influence or buying a field, they refer to the active pursuit and participation of the believer in such spheres of influence, to the end that they might “change the culture” or “dominate/buy the field” so that they determine what happens in the sphere. This is usually taught as rising to the top of the mountain or reaching a critical mass in the mountain to be effective. However it is taught, it involves imposing your preferred values (aka Christian values) in such fields.

As pious as this might sound, it is quite different from what the Bible teaches. Matt 5:13-16, a popular proof text often used by proponents of 7MM, clearly describes to us the process of biblical influence. The key to understanding biblical influence is seen in v15-16 (NIV); “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” The light (believer) is put on a stand and gives light to everyone, and because we give light, people see the light and glorify God. The Bible teaches that our light should shine wherever we find ourselves, it, however, does not ask us to seek the places to shine as light, we are simply asked to shine as light wherever we have been placed by God’s sovereign will. Our only responsibility is to shine as light, not to place ourselves in places to shine. 7MM however teaches the pursuit of influence in certain spheres, to ―take over those mountains for God‖ as opposed to simply being the light that we’ve been called to wherever we find ourselves as the bible teaches. This perversion of the scriptures is an example of the leaven that leavens the whole lump (Gal 5:9) where extra “effort” is taught as necessary for the gospel. The extra effort is often used to conceal greed and desire for riches and influence by slapping a righteous/Christian intention on it. No matter how righteous they paint these desires for influence and wealth, it stand in direct opposition to Apostle Paul’s warning in 1 Tim. 6:9. It is also taught as “not rejecting what God has planned for you‖ but they employ MaB in shifting the focus from what God is doing to what you desire. God can sovereignly place you in positions of influence, but it should not be because you sought it out or desired it. Being salt and light isn’t done by scheming how to influence industries and spheres of influence, it is simply by living in accordance with God’s word.

Another equivocation of the 7M/takeover mandate is the equivocation of Natural revelation with Specific revelation. Natural revelation (NR) refers to all we can know about God from nature through reason. God has manifested himself through nature and reason so that no one has an excuse (Romans 1:18-23, Psalm 19:1-6). Natural revelation also known as general revelation is the knowledge of God he has given to everyone. Nature reveals that God is and made manifest in the natural created order, but does not offer any specific knowledge. Specific/special revelation (SR) on the other hand refers to what is known about God by divine intervention. It contains specific and special information not revealed through any other means. The ultimate specific revelation we have is seen in Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3). Natural revelation is only enough to condemn a man but not enough to save; specific revelation is needed to save a man. Natural revelation orients us towards God, proving the existence of a “god” who created the natural order of things, specific revelation however, gives us specific knowledge of God and how Christ has come to save us from the impending destruction that awaits us. In natural revelation, we have to rely on our understanding and ability to analyse nature whereas in specific revelation, we receive the knowledge of God from God himself. Both forms of revelation are vital to our understanding of God and are used by God as He pleases, but only one of them brings salvation. No one has ever looked at nature and determined that they were dead in sins and needed a saviour, specific revelation helps us understand that.

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The equivocation of this understanding is very common in narratives used by 7MM proponents. They read almost all the texts tainted by this sleight of hand. Let us look at Matt 28:19-20, one main prooftext they use reads thus “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This text has often been used as proof text that we’re supposed to go into (read as actively pursue or engage) the world (read as spheres of influence) and make disciples (influence the world). The expectation, however, isn’t that you go to your mountain (verbally) preaching the gospel and making disciples, but that by the exhibition of Christian values and traits, they are somehow preaching the gospel just as we see in natural/general revelation. But this isn’t what Jesus asked the disciples to do here, He gave them a specific message to preach and asked them to make disciples using specifically the knowledge he taught them. The knowledge He taught them isn’t verbally communicated by Christian trait any more than the heavens declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). The communication of the teaching of Christ is a specific revelation that involves verbal communication of the things he taught them and it is how disciples are made of all nation, not just certain people in certain spheres or mountains of influence. By all means, we are to show forth good works and shine as light wherever we find ourselves in our deeds and character, but that is not sufficient to bring people to the knowledge of His saving grace. God uses natural revelation to draw and orient people towards Himself but the specific instruction contained in that passage involves verbal communication in preaching and discipleship. Our good works are to bear witness to the glory of God but do not fulfil the specifics of the great commission of preaching and discipling.

With the understanding of these two key elements commonly communicated by 7MM advocates, we can see that verses that speak about man and his role in redemption, the responsibility of man, etc., are easy targets for the fallacies employed by 7M/takeover proponents. We will take a look at some verses commonly used by proponents of this false gospel.

Gen. 1:28 – “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” This verse is taught by proponents this way:

Motte (M) – “God asked us to subdue/dominate the earth”

Bailey (B) – “God has given us dominion over the earth and everything in it, so we should take over these mountains/spheres of influence for God.”

The Bailey introduces concept foreign to the passage, the dominion over the earth is extended to dominion/influence over fellow men which the passage does not imply. The dominion man has is over other living creatures not over humans or their spheres of influence, see the later part of the verse “...Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” The sleight of hand is a common fallacy employed by advocates of the dominion mandate in their eisegesis of the texts.

Classic MaB tactic with the theme of influence among 7MM/takeover proponents involves the equivocation of how influence is gotten. This sleight of hand is best seen in the typical language used by advocates of the Joshua generation. They make statements like this direct quote from a published source:

“While we are taught in the services about Christ and His passion, we must also take on this message to the world by creating godly expressions that will reach out to the lost. For the gospel to thrive in our day, we must be involved in every facet of life – media, government, education, economy, religion, family, and so on.

Make no mistakes, one of the biggest moves of God in our generation will be shouldered by those who, like Joshua, can function in the secular and the church. Which territory are you fighting for? Start thinking strategically about how to be relevant in the secular space as well. God needs us all to take our place”

At first glance, this seems benign and a righteous endeavour, however, we will carefully examine this statement and sift through the logical fallacies.

Statement 1: “While we are taught in the services about Christ and His passion, we must also take on this message to the world by creating godly expressions that will reach out to the lost.”

From this statement, we can see how they conflate the natural revelation with specific revelation with the phrase ―creating godly expressions that will reach out to the lost‖. The whole statement is framed as a derivative of Matthew 28:19-20. Creating godly expressions is not the primary way to reach the lost, preaching the gospel is. God uses godly expression to orient people to Himself and make them aware of His glory, but there must be communication of specific revelation of His saving grace and discipleship must be done.

Statement 2: “For the gospel to thrive in our day, we must be involved in every facet of life —media, government, education, economy, religion, family, and so on.”

This is the Bailey statement and it utilizes a couple of fallacies we will briefly examine:

i. False Cause fallacy (https://www.scribbr.com/fallacies/false-cause-fallacy/ ): This occurs when someone falsely assumes the existence of a causal relationship between two items or events. In this instance, they create a false causal link between the thriving of the gospel and involvement in the 7 mountains. There’s no evidence to support the causal link drawn. On the contrary, we see from the early church that no form of influence is needed in any of these facets of life for the gospel to thrive. The apostles were persecuted but the gospel kept spreading, and the same can be seen in this age with the existence of the underground churches in North Korea, Iran, China, etc. The gospel does not need influence to thrive, it needs men willing to preach it.

ii. Appeal to Consequences (https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/logicalfallacies/Appeal-to-Consequences): The appeal to consequences fallacy occurs when someone argues that a premise is true or false based on how desirable the effects are. An example of the logical form of this fallacy is seen here: “X is true because if people did not accept X as being true then there would be negative consequences.” The statement suggests that for the gospel to thrive (a desirable result), active participation in all these facets of life is necessary. The desire for the gospel to thrive is used to justify the proposed means (influence in the mountains) without solid reasoning connecting the means to the end.

Statement 3: “Make no mistakes, one of the biggest moves of God in our generation will be shouldered by those who, like Joshua, can function in the secular and the church. Which territory are you fighting for? Start thinking strategically about how to be relevant in the secular space as well. God needs us all to take our place.”

This statement also utilizes many fallacies but we’ll take a look at some major ones:

i. Slippery Slope and Appeal to Authority Fallacy: It is implied that if you can’t function in the secular space and the church God’s biggest moves would be hindered. The charge “Start thinking strategically about how to be relevant in the secular space as well”‖ implies that failing to be relevant in the secular space would limit your participation in God’s biggest moves. The claim about Joshua being an example is another fallacy called the appeal to authority fallacy, where a prescriptive instruction in the bible is attributed to biblical authority or character to serve as a descriptive instruction. It appeals to the fact that the way Joshua went about his situation-specific is the way we are to go about the spread of the gospel. This is clearly wrong because the Lord has clearly prescribed how we are to go about this work of evangelism, by preaching and teaching.

ii. Begging the Question (Circular Reasoning): This is a fallacy that happens when the assumption of an argument assumes that the conclusion is true instead of supporting it. The statement strongly implies that to make big moves for God, we must fight for a secular territory as well as be active in church to be part of God’s biggest move in our generation. But this statement is built on a faulty logic from statement 2 for which there is no evidence for. In fact, the causal link between our “fighting for the territory” and the thriving of the gospel is disproven by the testimony of the early church.

By carefully examining this short phrase by a 7M/takeover mandate advocate, we have seen how the motte in statement 1 is used to build the baileys in statements 2 and 3. We have seen the equivocation used in the motte to sponsor the baileys in statements 2 and 3.

I hope that by stating the two common Motte and Bailey equivocations (influence and revelation) used by advocates of the 7 mountain/takeover mandate, you can understand the Motte-and-bailey tactic in operation, and you can develop some immunity against the prosperity gospel.