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The Last Reformation is a movement founded by Torben Søndergaard in Denmark in 2011, with a core message of restoring the church to the “true gospel” and the practices found in the book of Acts. The Last Reformation provides discipleship training through its Pioneer Training School and Pioneer Leadership School. The name “the Last Reformation” suggests that the “first” Reformation of the sixteenth century failed, as no present-day church exhibits “true fruit.” The Last Reformation aims to refocus the church on discipleship, healing the sick, and Charismatic gifts.
The Last Reformation movement does not have an official doctrinal statement other than the book of Acts. Followers of Søndergaard view Acts as the primary guide for Christians today. They are cautious about labeling themselves a “church,” as they perceive traditional church structure and practices as beyond what is biblical.
While the Last Reformation aims to lead people to faith in Christ and help them grow in Him, the movement promotes some teachings that are not in line with the Bible. Firstly, the Last Reformation teaches that water baptism is a part of salvation. According to the Last Reformation, baptism is not merely a symbol but an essential aspect of attaining freedom from sin. Their official website states: “When Peter stood up and said to repent, as Jesus did, and be baptized for the remission of your sin as Jesus has commanded us to, do it. Let’s obey Jesus and preach the full gospel.” Scripture teaches that salvation comes by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). Adding any religious work—such as water baptism—undermines the very essence of grace «And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace. But if it is by works, it is no longer grace; otherwise, work is no longer work. », (Romans 11:6).
A second unbiblical teaching in the Last Reformation is the practice of “kickstarting.” According to the Last Reformation, all Christians need to be “kickstarted”; that is, they all need to be taught “to heal the sick, preach the gospel, cast out demons, etc. by taking them out and showing them how to do it” (ibid.). Those who are ill are told to “command the pain/disease to leave.” The idea that we should speak to illnesses is never taught in Scripture. Also, the notion that every Christian can and should heal the sick contradicts biblical teaching. In the New Testament, only certain people were gifted with the power to heal others, and not every sick person was healed «Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick. », (2 Timothy 4:20).
In the book of Acts, healings did indeed occur, but there was a deeper purpose—it wasn’t about the miracle but about the Miracle-giver. The miracles in Acts were about verifying to the lost world the truth of the apostles’ message. The gospel has never been about miracles but about being justified by God through Christ’s death and resurrection. As with most modern “healings,” those performed by the Last Reformation disciples differ from those in Scripture by virtue of the types of maladies targeted. Healings recorded in the Bible were not of minor aches and pains. Jesus and the apostles healed those with total blindness (John 9), leprosy (Luke 17:12-15), lifetime paralysis (Acts 3:1-8), and edema (Luke 14:1-4). They even raised the dead (John 11:38-44;Acts 9:36-42). The Last Refo
Information disciples target minor issues—joint stiffness, back pain, etc.—issues that the mind or adrenaline can temporarily overcome to give the appearance of permanent healing. Conveniently, such healings are not visibly evident.
A third unbiblical teaching of the Last Reformation is its focus on “deliverance” ministry, the idea of every believer being able to cast out evil spirits. Yes, spiritual warfare does exist «For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. », (Ephesians 6:12), but there is no biblical command for Christians to exorcise demons and no biblical example showing exactly how to do it. If expelling demons were the job of every believer in Christ, then surely the New Testament would somewhere contain a command to do it or instructions on what to do.
Other questionable teachings of the Last Reformation concern an emphasis on the gift of tongues and Spirit baptism as separate from salvation. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit comes into the life of a believer at the time of salvation— if you are saved, then you have been baptized by the Spirit «For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. », (1 Corinthians 12:13). Speaking in tongues was a gift in the early church (1 Corinthians 12, 14), but those tongues were known languages used to communicate the gospel. The Bible is clear that not all believers would have the gift of tongues «Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? », (1 Corinthians 12:30).
In nearly every public statement, Torben Søndergaard displays an underlying hostility toward church governance. Within the Last Reformation movement, we observe highly critical language toward the church and a refusal of biblical leadership within the church. This reflects Torben Søndergaard’s deeper conflict, as he believes that God instructed him that the church is so corrupt that he must reconstruct it according to the Acts model. In contrast, the objective of Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and the other Reformers was not to dismantle or disregard the church but to cleanse and realign it.
Torben Søndergaard also advocates Holiness doctrine, asserting that it is achievable to live without sin and that liberation from sin results from immersion baptism. Those who undergo baptism possess the capability to live entirely free from sin. However, Scripture presents a different perspective. The apostle Paul discusses his own battle against his sinful nature in Romans 7:15–25. Biblically, we must admit that we still sin “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”, (1 John 1:10). Denying the presence of sin in our lives is nothing but spiritual arrogance.
At the core of many doctrinal issues of the Last Reformation is their reliance on a book of the Bible as their “doctrinal statement” that is not primarily doctrinal. The book of Acts is a historical account and not a theological dissertation. The Last Reformation makes a significant error by treating narrative as command—the book of Acts recounts a period when believers spoke in tongues, but it does not mandate all believers to speak in tongues. Additionally, the Last Reformation overlooks the transitional aspect of Acts and interprets the events in Acts as standard for all believers in all eras. The historical events documented in Acts are intended to demonstrate how God established the foundation of the church, as seen in Ephesians 2:20.How he transitioned from Israel to the church as his witness in the world, from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, and from Jesus’ ministry to the apostles’ ministry. As a result, there are very few direct mandates for the church in Acts—our instructions and their theological basis are found in the Epistles.
Due to its emphasis on healings and tongues, its teaching of baptismal regeneration, its rejection of church leadership, and its seeking after new revelations, the Last Reformation movement is not biblical.
