Please feel free to contact me: mog_hesed@hotmail.com

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Two Years Later, What's Changed?


  • Well, Ignited is doing well.  Still with the only video church sign in the county.

Not too many false prophets and miracle ministries in the last year or so.

Looking at the upcoming events, it appears that they're attempting to be more mainstream, and less in the 'third heaven.'

  • The homeless still live out back of the 'church' without any outreach from the church, or any invitation.   The one minister of the Gospel that tried to minster to the lost, in the woods adjacent to the church....well, he was arrested. 

A Link For More Information

Todd Bentley-false revival-prophets-unbiblical manifestations-third wave-weird angels-God TV-TBN-Charisma-Joyner hyped-revival-Links Compilation

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

One Way To Tell A False Ministry

One way to tell a false ministry is to look at the youtube clips, and compare them to Scripture.

What does that say about Todd Bentley when all there is on youtube is videos about his false ministry?

I guess that means he must be doing something right, if everyone is against him?

Let's not forget: He left his wife for the babysitter of his children, and then he proceeded to divorce his wife, and along comes Rick Joyner to pronounce he's restored, lend his ministry's name and support, and voila, the same old Todd Bentley pops up again in ministry.

This time with a new, dreams of speaking with dead people, wife, to try to legitimatize his 'ministry' to those churches/people with itching ears.

Go figure.

Todd Bentley Is Back, Peddling His Ungodly Wares

Wow, and we thought this would be over.


Looks like Todd Bentley wrested the name and website back from the Fresh Fire ministry. You know, he wouldn't want to miss some possible faith monies.

Looks like Rick Joyner says he's restored. Nothing like a false prophet, yes that's my opinion, restoring one who left his wife for the bars and his child's babysitter, right?

So why again is he delving into the angel of finance thingy, if he is about the Lord's work?

HMMMM.

There is nothing new under the sun.

I sometimes can’t believe the stupidity that passes itself off as Christianity. In the video below from the Kingdom Business Association, Todd Bentley talks more about the angel of finance and the angel called “International Banker.” I find it hard to believe he can say these things with a straight face.

So much time and energy is spent chasing riches. In this video, Todd Bentley speaks of God’s glory and material riches in the same breath. Sad. The Scriptures tell us that God was glorified through His Son. Those are the true riches. For those who lust for the treasure that corrupts, you have the angel called “International Banker” who spreads around filthy lucre. For those who want God’s TRUE glory, God sent them His Son, Jesus Christ.
Read more over at Slaughtering The Sheep blog

Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Lakeland Scandal - From Charisma Magazine

You should see what Charisma, it's of God, we had better be careful, now it's not, has to say about Lakeland.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Todd Bentley’s announcement that his marriage is ending has thrown our movement into a tailspin—and questions need to be answered.

It was not supposed to end like this.
Evangelist Todd Bentley had heralded the Lakeland revival as the greatest Pentecostal outpouring since Azusa Street. From his stage in a gigantic tent in Florida, Bentley preached to thousands, bringing many of them to the stage for prayer. Many claimed to be healed of deafness, blindness, heart problems, depression and dozens of other conditions in the Lakeland services, which ran for more than 100 consecutive nights. Bentley announced confidently that dozens of people had been raised from the dead during the revival.
But this week, a few days after the Canadian preacher announced the end of his visits to Lakeland, he told his staff that his marriage is ending. Without blaming the pace of the revival for Bentley’s personal problems, his board released a public statement saying that he and his wife, Shonnah, are separating. The news shocked Bentley’s adoring fans and saddened those who have questioned his credibility since the Lakeland movement erupted in early April.
“Among those who jumped on the Lakeland bandwagon, discernment was discouraged. They were expected to swallow and follow. The message was clear: ‘This is God. Don’t question.’ ”
I’m sad. I’m disappointed. And I’m angry. Here are few of my many, many questions about this fiasco:
Why did so many people flock to Lakeland from around the world to rally behind an evangelist who had serious credibility issues from the beginning?
To put it bluntly, we’re just plain gullible.
From the first week of the Lakeland revival, many discerning Christians raised questions about Bentley’s beliefs and practices. They felt uneasy when he said he talked to an angel in his hotel room. They sensed something amiss when he wore a T-shirt with a skeleton on it. They wondered why a man of God would cover himself with tattoos. They were horrified when they heard him describe how he tackled a man and knocked his tooth out during prayer.
But among those who jumped on the Lakeland bandwagon, discernment was discouraged. They were expected to swallow and follow. The message was clear: “This is God. Don’t question.” So before we could all say, “Sheeka Boomba” (as Bentley often prayed from his pulpit), many people went home, prayed for people and shoved them to the floor with reckless abandon, Bentley-style.
I blame this lack of discernment, partly, on raw zeal for God. We’re spiritually hungry—which can be a good thing. But sometimes, hungry people will eat anything.
Many of us would rather watch a noisy demonstration of miracles, signs and wonders than have a quiet Bible study. Yet we are faced today with the sad reality that our untempered zeal is a sign of immaturity. Our adolescent craving for the wild and crazy makes us do stupid things. It’s way past time for us to grow up.
Why didn’t anyone in Lakeland denounce the favorable comments Bentley made about William Branham?
This one baffles me. Branham embraced horrible deception near the end of his ministry, before he died in 1965. He claimed that he was the reincarnation of Elijah—and his strange doctrines are still embraced by a cultlike following today. When Bentley announced to the world that the same angel that ushered in the 1950s healing revival had come to Lakeland, the entire audience should have run for the exits.
Why didn’t anyone correct this error from the pulpit? Godly leaders are supposed to protect the sheep from heresy, not spoon feed deception to them. Only God knows how far this poison traveled from Lakeland to take root elsewhere. May God forgive us for allowing His Word to be so flippantly contaminated.
A prominent Pentecostal evangelist called me this week after Bentley’s news hit the fan. He said to me: “I’m now convinced that a large segment of the charismatic church will follow the anti-Christ when he shows up because they have no discernment.” Ouch. Hopefully we’ll learn our lesson this time and apply the necessary caution when an imposter shows up.
Why did God TV tell people that “any criticism of Todd Bentley is demonic”?
This ridiculous statement was actually made on one of God TV’s pre-shows. In fact, the network’s hosts also warned listeners that if they listened to criticism of Bentley, they could lose their healings.
This is cultic manipulation at its worst. The Bible tells us that the Bereans were noble believers because they studied the Scriptures daily “to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11, NASB). Yet in the case of Lakeland, honest intellectual inquiry was viewed as a sign of weakness. People were expected to jump first and then open their eyes.
Just because we believe in the power of the Holy Spirit does not mean we check our brains at the church door. We are commanded to test the spirits. Jesus wants us to love Him with our hearts and our minds.
Because of the Lakeland scandal, there may be large numbers of people who feel they’ve been burned by Bentley. Some may give up on church and join the growing ranks of bitter, disenfranchised Christians. Others may suffer total spiritual shipwreck. This could have been avoided if leaders had been more vocal about their objections and urged people to evaluate spiritual experiences through the filter of God’s Word.
Why did a group of respected ministers lay hands on Bentley on June 23 and publicly ordain him? Did they know of his personal problems?
This controversial ceremony was organized by Peter Wagner, who felt that one of Bentley’s greatest needs was proper spiritual covering. He asked California pastors Che Ahn and Bill Johnson, along with Canadian pastor John Arnott, to lay hands on Bentley and bring him under their care.
Bentley certainly needs such covering. No one in ministry today should be out on their own, living in isolation without checks, balances and wise counsel. It was commendable that Wagner reached out to Bentley and that Bentley acknowledged his need for spiritual fathers by agreeing to submit to the process. The question remains, however, whether it was wise to commend Bentley during a televised commissioning service that at times seemed more like a king’s coronation.
In hindsight, we can all see that it would have been better to take Bentley into a back room and talk about his personal issues.
The Bible tells us that ordination of a minister is a sober responsibility. Paul wrote: “Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others” (1 Tim. 5:22). We might be tempted to rush the process, but the apostle warned against fast-tracking ordination—and he said that those who commission a minister who is not ready for the job will bear some of the blame for his failures.
I trust that Wagner, Ahn, Johnson and Arnott didn’t know of Bentley’s problems before they ordained him. I am sure they are saddened by the events of this week and are reaching out to Bentley and his wife to promote healing and restoration. But I believe that they, along with Bentley and the owners of God TV, owe the body of Christ a forthright, public apology for thrusting Bentley’s ministry into the spotlight prematurely. (Perhaps such an apology should be aired on God TV.)
Can anything good come out of this?
That depends on how people respond. If the men assigned to oversee Bentley offer loving but firm correction, and if Bentley responds humbly to the process by stepping out of ministry for a season of rehabilitation, we could witness a healthy case of church discipline play out the way it is supposed to. If all those who were so eager to promote Bentley now rush just as fast to repent for their errors in judgment, then the rest of us could breathe a huge sigh of relief—and the credibility of our movement could be restored.
I still believe that God desires to visit our nation in supernatural power. I know He wants to heal multitudes, and I will continue praying for a healing revival to sweep across the United States. But we must contend for the genuine, not an imitation. True revival will be accompanied by brokenness, humility, reverence and repentance—not the arrogance, showmanship and empty hype that often was on display in Lakeland.
We are weathering an unprecedented season of moral failure and spiritual compromise in our nation today. I urge everyone in the charismatic world to pray for Bentley; his wife, Shonnah; his three young children; Bentley’s ministry staff; and the men and women who serve as his counselors and advisers. Let’s pray that God will turn this embarrassing debacle into an opportunity for miraculous restoration.

J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma. To read Charisma’s news story on Todd Bentley’s recent announcement, click here.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Todd Leaves His Wife

Apparently Todd Bentley filed for separation, the first step to his divorce from his wife, in Canada.

http://religion.theledger.com/default.asp?item=2248784

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Anyone Ever Hear of Marjoe Gortner?

I recently ran across the child evangelist, Marjoe Gortner.

There are several videos about Marjoe Gortner, including the Academy Award winning documentary he produced about his ministry in the early 70s.

There are lots of similarities of Marjoe, a confessed fake miracles and signs and wonders minister, and those of the present revival.

Just food for thought.

Short 3 min Clip - - Wow.

Longer, better clip. - - Sad.

Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner, generally known as Marjoe Gortner (born January 14, 1944 in Long Beach, California), is a former evangelical minister who first gained a certain fame in the late 1940s and early to mid 1950s when he became the youngest ordained preacher at the age of four, and then outright notoriety in the 1970s when he starred in an Oscar-winning, behind-the-scenes documentary about the lucrative business of Pentecostal preaching. The name "Marjoe" is a combination of the names "Mary" and "Joseph".

When Marjoe was three, his father, a second generation evangelical minister, noticed his son's talent for mimicry and overall fearlessness of strangers and public settings. His parents claimed Marjoe had received a vision from God during a bath and began training him to deliver sermons, complete with dramatic gestures and emphatic lunges. By the time Marjoe was four, his parents arranged for him to perform a marriage ceremony for a film crew from Paramount studios, referring to him as "the youngest ordained minister in history." Like much in Marjoe's early life it is hard to say for sure who exactly ordained him, if his father ordained him, or if he was even ordained at all.

Until the time he was a teenager, Marjoe and his parents traveled the rural United States, holding revival meetings. As well as teaching him scriptural passages, Marjoe's parents also taught him several money-making tactics, involving the sale of supposedly "holy" articles at revivals which promised to heal the sick and dying. By the time Marjoe was sixteen, he later estimated, his family had amassed maybe three million dollars; shortly after his sixteenth birthday, Marjoe's father absconded with the money, and a disillusioned Marjoe left his mother for San Francisco, where he was taken in by and became the lover of an older woman. Marjoe spent the remainder of his teenage years as an itinerant hippie until his early twenties, when, hard pressed for money, he decided to put his old skills to work and re-emerged on the evangelical circuit with a charismatic stage-show modeled after those of contemporary rockers, most notably Mick Jagger. Marjoe made enough to take six months off every year, during which he returned to California, surviving on the previous six months' earnings.

In the late 1960s, Marjoe suffered a crisis of conscience -- in particular about the threats of damnation he felt compelled to weave into his sermons -- and resolved to make one final tour, this time on film. Under the pretense of making a documentary on the evangelical and non-denominational faiths, Marjoe assembled a documentary film crew to follow him around the Southern United States during 1971; unbeknownst to everyone else involved -- including, at one point, his father -- Marjoe gave "backstage" interviews to the filmmakers in between sermons and revivals, explaining intimate details of how he and other ministers operated. After sermons, the filmmakers were invited back to Marjoe's hotel room to tape him counting the money he collected during the day. The resulting film, Marjoe, won the 1972 Academy Award for best documentary.

After leaving the revival circuit, Gortner then attempted to break into both Hollywood and the recording industry. He cut an LP with Columbia Records, entitled "Bad, but not Evil" (Gortner's description of himself in the documentary), which met with poor sales and reviews. Gortner began his acting career with a featured role in The Marcus-Nelson Murders, the 1973 pilot for the Kojak tv-series. The following year saw him featured in the disaster film Earthquake as a psychotic National Guardsman, and in the television movie Pray for the Wildcats.

During the late 1970s, Marjoe attempted to self-finance another film, this time a pseudo-fictional drama about an evangelist con-man and based in part on his real-life experiences. The film started shooting in New Orleans, Louisiana, but went bankrupt less than 6-weeks into production. The film was never completed.

Gortner was married briefly to Candy Clark, from 1978-1979.

Gortner's most memorable film performance was as the psychopathic, hostage-taking drug dealer in Milton Katselas's 1979 screen adaptation of Mark Medoff's play When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, also starring Peter Firth, Lee Grant, and Hal Linden.

Gortner reappeared a few years later, starring in several B-movies such as Starcrash and hosting an early-1980s reality TV series called Speak Up America before ending his movie career in 1995. Today he sponsors charity golf tournaments and other events.

His most recent film appearance was in the 1995 feature Wild Bill, where he played, appropriately enough, a preacher.


Ezekiel 13:3 - "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: What sorrow awaits the false prophets who are following their own imaginations and have seen nothing at all."

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

It's All About Todd's Imagination - That's How He Does It

It's interesting to read the older website writings of Todd Bentley.

Link to Article


Tasting Supernatural Honey

...Revelation supernaturally transforms your imagination and understanding.

...If you imagine with your "spirit eye" then you'll have your revelation....

...5. Sanctified Imagination: If we want to see in the spirit, we must use the powerful key of sanctified imagination....

...We have to begin to see with our “third eye”—the eye on the inside, in our imagination....

...I believe (This is Todd Bentley Speaking) that 90 percent or more of all visions and revelations happen in the eye of our hearts, in our imagination....
You can read the stuff for yourself, HERE.

Folks, Todd wants your imagination to become your "God" experience/revelation.

Look at the article.

Use common sense and what's in the Scripture. Re-read the whole thing in the light of Truth.

Listen to him say basically here it is and here's how God brings revelation---IMAGINATION.

And then he says, here's some Scripture that says something remotely similar, if you take a leap of faith, that to seem to agree, totally out of context of course, with what he's saying.


BTW, this is just one of the articles about how Todd does it. Just google it to see that this isn't just a one time article, that it's a core teaching on how to receive revelation, through imagination.

The Video - Todd Predicts The Second Coming of Christ


What more has to be said or witnessed than this?

Please watch this video.




I recently ran across this video, and for some reason, didn't post it. I've watched it a dozen times or so, trying to wrap my mind around that axle and figure out how it could be up and up and not heretical.

I've had people say it's like the Book of Revelation, figurative not literal. And that you have to understand that and take it that way...

I had people say that Todd didn't say that, and that He was just saying Jesus would be there.

I also had people say He corrected what was in the prophecy.

Personally, I think the transcript from the video says it all:

Quote:
By Todd Bentley

Let me tell you...
I believe...
People can receive impartations.

Now let me tell you the prophetic word Wendy gave me.

To those watching. This is why I believe tomorrow night's meeting
if you live in

if you're watching on the internet and you're local

you need to be here Sunday night.

***>>>Watch for yourself<<<***


LISTEN TO THIS
(reading from a letter/email)

The 'lord' just spoke to me and said
This is what will happen tomorrow night.

The king and the king's anointing falls...


(pointing to the audience) tomorrow night.

The Eighth of June, the anointing of the 'king of glory' falls.

Jesus said, "I am coming in person."
[55sec]
***>>>Please, Watch for yourself<<<***

The king is coming in person.

I sense so strongly that there will be a personal, divine visitation of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to the revival tomorrow night.

Image
[1min 23 sec] ***>>>Please, Watch for yourself<<<***

He will come in the clouds in his chariot surrounded by a great angelic host

because the great honoring of the Lamb of God

The king of glory is coming to visit Lakeland

To visit the revival to visit the outpouring.



The devil trembles with that knowledge.


[1min 40 sec] ***>>>Please, Watch for yourself<<<***
For tomorrow, the king of glory sets foot upon the stage.

In

Divine

Personal

One to One

Visitation




Lead balloon hits.

Then Todd goes into his backpedaling and the you gotta understand the "prophetic" talk, and then changes the subject to how awesome worship has been the last few nights.

***>>>Please, Watch for yourself<<<***

It's all there in a easy to follow, 3 minute video.


What more has to be said or witnessed than this?

NOTE: I EDITED THIS POST TODAY 7/27/10 AS I NOTICED TODD HAD HIS VIDEO REMOVED AND UPDATED THE LINK. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNGPjFYdgJw

Monday, July 14, 2008

A Forum Post

LINK

Sagebrush, this Robert Brownell of that “Civil War” link you gave me says he interviewed 25 people were miraculously healed (at Lakeland via Todd Bentley), and these healings were “confirmed by multiple sources” He did not include doctors in that list, but medical records would be impossible to get without express permission of the person due to privacy laws. The Bentley camp themselves would have to work with people to get medical proof, and multiple sources say that Bentley is using delay tactics of making promises without producing any evidence. Multiple sources also say that there are no healings of people in wheelchairs or other obvious physical infirmities at the Bentley meetings.

One of the many things that disturbs me is how Bentley is enough of a false healing evangelist to not only fail to preach the Word (which is also being consistently reported), but to say that people who are supposedly resurrected are giving praise to God and Todd Bentley too. Here’s the video:

Raised From the Dead Shouting Praises to God AND Todd Bentley
There, Todd Bentley reads an unconfirmed ‘claim’ of a dead man coming back to life in a funeral home and claiming his voice pulled the dead man’s spirit out of heaven. The man is alleged to have woken up shouting praises to God AND Todd Bentley. He doesn't bat an eye while saying this type of blasphemy.

Eye witnesses are also saying Bentley is pronouncing people healed when they are not. At this website: Miracles That Never Happened in Lakeland , there is a video of Bentley reading out a false prophecy about a personal visitation of Jesus “in person” at Lakeland, coming “in a clouds in the clouds in His chariot, surrounded by a great angelic host,” no less. Jesus is supposed to step on stage. Then Bentley tries to backtrack on what he just said. He doesn't say, "Oh oops- that's obviously a false prophecy"... he tries to backtrack instead.

Below that video on the same webpage, there is the radio interviews: “Todd Friel and Justin Peters (Way of the Masters Radio) on Todd Bentley pt.1”, and “Todd Friel and Justin Peters (Way of the Masters Radio) on Todd Bentley pt.2”

This is an interview with Justin Peters who did his thesis on the Word of Faith movement. Justin walks on crutches or uses a wheelchair himself because of a relatively mild case of CP (Cerebral Palsey). He was at the Lakeland revival for a couple of days and he said he tried to go there with an open mind. However he found Bentley flippant about God and an “exceedingly arrogant person, constantly claiming experiences with angels and trips to heaven etc. He said there was no preaching of God’s Word and they described the anointed as “walking in the sauce” was “their word for the ‘anointing of God’”He said that he made it a point to get the names and phone #’s of 7 people who went up on stage, who said they were touched by God, were ‘slain’ in the Spirit and Todd Bentley proclaimed them healed, but when he called them and contacted them later, they all admitted they were no better. One man by the name of Larry Reed died of cancer 8 days after Bentley proclaimed him healed. In part 2, Justin said he was in a wheelchair with others in wheelchair (May 19th) and he described a heart-breaking scene after Todd Bentley encouraged people in wheelchairs to physically move around and do what they could to “exercise their faith”. One of the wheelchair victims fell out of their chair and laid there for about ½ hour until people finally got him up and put him back in their wheel chair.

Here is one of the written accounts from Justin Peter, with the Larry there obviously being the same person who is now deceased.

I’m sure lots of people have heard about this already, but this is the same Larry Reed that Andrew Strom has recently spoken about. There are accounts of this all over too. Here is one of them:

Quote:
I just read the saddest testimony on Strom’s website http://www.revivalschool.com/modules.php?name=Forums&...&start=390. A Pastor Larry Reed from Washington State had terminal bone cancer. He went to Lakeland last week, and Mr. Bentley “Bammed” him. He struggled out of his wheelchair and cheered with the crowd as Mr. Bentley proclaimed him healed. He died yesterday.

“…a dear friend of mine who passed away this morning at 5:20 AM. His name is Pastor Larry Reed, Pastor of Olympic View Assembly of God in Silverdale, Washington. Pastor Larry has been suffering for the past 18 months of terminal bone cancer. He was given only a year to live, but PRAISE THE LORD out lived the doctors findings. He (Pastor Larry) told me last year at breakfast one morning that he wanted more for Jesus and was going to do whatever it took to accomplish that. He invited speakers from all over the country from evangelists to prophetic speakers so that he and his congregation could catch the fire and maybe just maybe a revival would break out in his church.

He really took a turn for the worst this year, and lost most of his weight, he looked like a skeleton, was on oxygen and needed care all of the time. He couldn’t even preach anymore. Pastor Larry was a man who dearly loved Jesus, and was very strong in his faith and very strong in stature physically. So to see him so frail was shocking to say the least.

Last week on 5/18/08 he was in the sanctuary there in Lakeland trying to find the healing he soo much wanted, sitting in his wheel chair in front of Mr. Bentley, he was deemed as “healed” when Pastor Larry stood up and cheered in victory. During the course of last week when he returned, he got worse and so this morning he died.

So that’s by the mouths of more than one witness. And of course, there are also all the videos of Todd Bentley such as the videos above where Todd testifies against himself. Of course I would expect no apologies from any of these N.A.R. people or KC prophets for anything they do or say—I’ve never seen it-, but it is very distressing to see desperate people get hurt like this and I’m glad people are exposing these practices and these duplicities, for their sake.

-Teri

Video Interview/Commentary About Lakeland - "AN INSIDER's WARNING" - Lakeland Revival

Here are some good, short videos, an interview, about revival, the prophetic movement, and Lakeland.

They are entitled, "AN INSIDER's WARNING" - Lakeland Revival

Pt. 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-Y5R_raf6M Why I Left The Prophetic Movement

Pt. 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyW1UFzS2LY My Main Concern About Lakeland

Pt. 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaNiuRWHZrY The Holy Spirit and Angels -OR- Demons and Kundalini

Pt. 4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyqA7vr-4p8 Is Impartation Found In The Bible?

Pt. 5 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fjRv1AcgiQ Manifestations Found In Past Revivals

Friday, July 11, 2008

Elvis Has Left The Building

Fresh Fire Ministries announced yesterday that Todd Bentley would be taking some time off to refresh and to rest from the Florida Outpouring after nearly one hundred days of ministry. The Lakeland meetings will continue and Todd will remain the leader of this move of God.


Link

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Reminders, Lest We Forget

The True Workings of God, and Counterfeits of Satan.

LINK

"Knowledge and all discernment; so that ye may prove the things that
differ, that ye may be sincere and void of offence. . . ." Phil. 1: 9,10, m.


True. Counterfeit.

1. The Baptism, or Fullness of the Spirit: An influx of the Spirit of God into the human spirit, which liberates the spirit from the soul (Heb. 4: 12), so as to become a pliable organ or channel for the outflow of the Spirit through the believer, manifested in witness to Christ and in aggressive prayer service against the powers of darkness.

It is a true baptizing into the Body of Christ, and oneness with all the members of the Body. Its special mark and result is known in power to witness for Christ, and in conviction of sin in others, and their turning to God.

The highest manifestation of the Fullness of the Spirit is co-existent with the use of the faculties and self-control.

There is but one reception of the Holy Spirit: with many succeeding experiences, developments, or new crises, resultant on fresh acts of faith, or apprehension of truth; various believers having varied degrees of the same Infilling of the Spirit, according to individual conditions. The enduement of power for service is often a definite experience in many lives. Pages 50, 291, 297.

1. Counterfeit workings of evil spirits may accompany a true reception of the Fullness of the Holy Spirit, if the believer "lets go" his mind into "blankness," and yields his body up passively to supernatural power. As a "blank mind" and "passive body" is contrary to the condition for use required by the Holy Spirit, and is the primary condition necessary for evil spirits to work, the anomaly is found in the Holy Spirit responding to the law of faith, and filling the man's spirit, at the same time that evil supernatural powers respond to the law of passivity fulfilled in mind and body. They then can produce in the senses manifestations, which seem to be the outcome of the Holy Spirit's entry to the spirit.

The results of the counterfeit manifestations are varied, and wide in their ramifications, according to individual conditions. The abstract result is great "manifestations" with little real fruit; "possession" by evil spirits of the mind and body in varied degrees; a spirit of division from others, instead of unity, etc., etc. Pages 54, 97, 106, 107, 108.

2. The Presence of God: Known in and by the human spirit, through the Holy Spirit. When He fills the atmosphere of a room the spirit of the man is conscious of it, not his senses. The faculties of those present are alert and clear, and they retain freedom of action. The spirit is made tender (Psa. 34: 18), and the will pliable to the will of God. All the actions of a person moved by the true and pure Presence of God are in accord with the highest ideal of harmony and grace. Pages 104, 107.

2. The counterfeit of the Presence of God is mainly felt upon the body, and by the physical senses, in conscious "fire," "thrills," etc. The counterfeit of the "Presence" in the atmosphere is felt by the senses of the body, as "breath," "wind," etc., whilst the mind is passive or inactive. The person affected by this counterfeit "presence" will be moved almost automatically to actions he would not perform of his own will, and with all his faculties in operation. He may not even remember what he has done when under the "power" of this "presence," just as a sleep-walker knows nothing of his actions when in that state. The inaction of the mind can often be seen by the vacant look in the eyes. Pages 109, 112, 124, 128, 130.

3. God in and with man in the spirit: John 14: 23. The Father in heaven is realized to be a real Father (Gal. 4: 6), the Son a real Saviour, the Holy Spirit a real Person; manifested as One in the spirit of the believer, by the Holy Spirit: with resulting effects as in Rom. 8: 9-11. Pages 103, 130.

3. Evil spirit's counterfeit, as the occasion serves them, each Person of the Trinity, and can thus obtain access, and become in and with a man in manifestations given to the senses, in which the real spirit-sense may have no part. Pages 52, 103, 104, 105, 108.

4. Christ manifested in the believer by His Spirit, so that He is known as a Living Person on the Throne in heaven, and the believer joined in spirit to Him there, with the result that Christ's life and nature is imparted to him, forming and building up in him a "new creation," (Gal. 1: 16; 4: 19. Col. 1: 27), the believer growing up into Him in all things.note 1 Pages 103, 107, 126, 127, 289.

4. Christ apparently manifested inwardly as a "Person," to whom the soul prays, or with whom he holds communion, yet there is no real evidence of the expression of the Divine nature, or true growth of the Christ life, with a deepening fellowship with the Christ in heaven. On the contrary the Christ in heaven seems far away. The counterfeit centres and ends in an "experience" which keeps the person introverted or self-centred (spiritually). Page 107. Cf. pp. 289, 290, 291.

5. Consciousness of God: Felt in the spirit, and not by the physical senses. Pages 107, 108.

5. "Consciousness" of "God" in bodily sensations, which feed the "flesh" and overpower the true spirit-sense. Pages 106, 130.

6. The Holiness of God: when realized by the believer produces worship and godly awe, with a hatred of sin. On the ground of the Blood of Calvary God draws near to men, seeking their love, but His presence does not terrorize. Page 289.

6. Evil spirits counterfeit this by giving a terror of God, which drives men away from Him, or forces them into actions of slavish fear, apart from the use of the mind, and volition, in glad voluntary obedience to Him. Page 143.

7. Surrender to God: Of spirit, soul and body, is a simple yielding or committal to Him of the whole man, to do His will and be at His service. God asks the full co-operationnote 2 of the man in the intelligent use of all his faculties. Rom. 6: 13. Page 70.

7. Passive yielding of spirit, soul and body to supernatural power, to be moved automatically, in passive, blind obedience, apart from the use of volition or mind. Evil spirits desire "control" of a man, and his passive submission to them. Pages 68, 69.

8. Fellowship with the sufferings of Christ: The result of faithful witness for Him, and in such "suffering," the joy of the Spirit breaks forth in spirit. (Acts 5: 41). The fruit of true conformity to Christ's death in the "fellowship of His sufferings" is seen in life to others, and growth in tenderness of spirit, and Christ-likeness in character. 2 Cor. 4: 10-12. Page 89.

8. "Suffering" caused by evil spirits is characterized by a fiendish acuteness, and is fruitless in result--the victim being hardened instead of mellowed by it. The demons can cause anguished suffering in spirit, soul or body. "Possession" manifested in abnormal suffering, may be the fruit of (unconscious) acceptance of sufferings caused by evil spirits, often under the name of the "will of God." Pages 88, 89, 90.

9. Trusting God: A true faith given of God in the spirit, having its origin in Him, without effort reckoning upon Him to fulfil His written Word. Co-existent with the full use of every faculty in intelligent action. "Faith" is a fruit of the Spirit and cannot be forced. Gal. 5: 22. 2 Cor. 4: 13. Page 275.

9. "Trusting evil spirits" comes about through trusting blindly some supernatural words, or revelations, supposed to come from God, which produces a forced "faith," or faith beyond the believer's true measure, the result being actions which lead into paths of trial never planned by God. Pages 129, 135, 274, 275.

10. Reliance upon God: An attitude of the will, of trust and dependence upon God, taking Him at His word, and depending upon His character of faithfulness. Page 127.

10. Reliance upon evil spirits means a passive leaning upon supernatural help and experience, which draws the person away from faith in God Himself, and from active co-action with Him. Page 143.

11. Communion with God: Fellowship in the Spirit with Christ in the glory as one spirit with Him. The consciousness of this is in the spirit (John 4: 24) only, and not in "feelings" in the senses. See for conditions of true communion with God, 1 John 1: 5-7. Page 291.

11. "Communion" with evil spirits may take place by retiring within to enjoy sense communion, in "exquisite feelings" which absorbs and renders the soul incapable of the duties of life. The "flesh" is fed by this spurious spiritual "communion" as really as in grosser ways. Pages 124, 125, 155.

12. Waiting on God: The spirit in restful co-operation with the Holy spirit, waiting God's time to act, and a waiting for Him to fulfil His promises. The true waiting upon God can be co-existent with the keenest activity of mind and service. Page 62-63.

12. A "waiting for the Spirit to come," in hours of prayer, which brings those who "wait" into passivity, which at last reaches a point of "séance" conditions, followed by an influx of lying spirits in manifestations. Pages 62, 63.

13. Praying to God: Having access to the Holiest of all, on the ground of the Blood (Heb. 10: 19). Penetrating in spirit through the lower heavens to the Throne of Grace. Heb 4: 14-16. True "prayer" is not directed toward God as within the believer, but to a Father in heaven, in the Name of the Son, by the Holy Spirit. Page 126.

13. Praying to evil spirits comes about by praying to "God" in the atmosphere, or within, or possibly to "pictures" of God in the mind; instead of approaching the Throne of Grace according to Heb. 10: 19. Pages 95, 130.

14. Asking God: An act of the will in simple faith, making a transaction with God in heaven, on the ground of His written Word. "Answers to prayer" from God are usually so unsensational and so unobtrusive that the petitioner often does not recognize the answer. Cf. pages 249, 276, 279.

14. "Asking" evil spirits, by speaking to some supernatural presence in, or around the person. The "answers" are generally "dramatic," sensational, calculated to over-awe the person, and make him feel he is a wonderful recipient of favour from on high. By this means the demons gain control over him. Pages 118, 119, 142.

15. God speaking: Through His Word, by His Spirit, in the spirit and conscience of the man, illuminating the mind to understand the will of the Lord. Page 136.

15. Evil spirits speaking, wither puffing up, accusing, condemning or confusing the person, so that the is bewildered or distracted and cannot exercise his reason or judgment. The "speaking" of accusing spirits resembles the "thinking," or speaking to oneself, when the words are not uttered audibly. Pages 170, 171. Also "Listening" on pages 119, 125, 136, 142, 143.


16. The voice of God: Is heard and known in the spirit of man, wherein the Spirit of God dwells. God also speaks through the conscience, and through the written Word (see "Texts"), never confusing or dulling the faculties of the man, or perplexing him, so as to hinder clearness of judgment and reason. The true voice of God does not make a demand of unreasoning obedience to it, irrespective of the man's free volition. Pages 137, 138.

16. The counterfeit "voice" of God is usually loud and comes from outside the person. It can come from within, when the person is deeply possessed. It is frequently imperative and persistent, urging to sudden action. Confusing and clamorous, or subtle in suggestion; producing fear through its insistent demands, making the man a slave to supernatural power. May also be distinguished from the voice of God by its sometimes, trivial objective, and fruitless results when obeyed. Pages 137, 139, 141, 142.

17. Divine guidance: Through the spirit and mind; i.e., "drawing" in spirit, light in the mind: spirit and mind brought into one accord in harmony with the principles of the Word of God (Ephes. 5: 17; Phil. 1: 9-11 A.V. m.) Pages 134, 135, 136, 140, 219.

17. Satanic guidance by supernatural voices, visions, leadings, drawings, are all dependent upon the passivity of the mind and reason, and take place in the sense-realm as a counterfeit of the true in the spirit. Pages 128, 134, 135, 136, 221, 222.

18. Divine "Leadings": Are in the spirit; demand co-operation of the man in every faculty of mind, and spiritual intelligence in correctly rending the monitions of the Spirit. The will is always left free to choose and act. The true "leading of the Spirit" is never out of accord with principles of God's Word. Pages 140, 141.

18. Satanic "leadings" and impulses, demand passive surrender of mind and body. They are compulsory in effect, and all "compelling" and "compulsion" from the supernatural realm indicates the work of deceiving spirits. Pages 140, 141, 157.

19. Divine "Visions": When given, come (1) without seeking for them, (2) with definite purpose, (3) are never abortive, and (4) are co-existent with active use of the mind and faculties. Page 150.

19. Satanic visions, (1) demand a passive state, (2) are broken by mental action, (3) are frequently contrary to truth, and (4) fruitless in result. Destroy all faith reliance on God. Pages 149, 150.

20. Obedience to God: An act of deliberate will, choosing to do the will of God, when made known to the believer. A full examination of the source of the command preceding intelligent decision to obey, is co-existent with true obedience. Pages 50, 51, 54.

20. Counterfeit of "obedience" is a passive, automatic, blind yielding to supernatural power or voices, apart from intelligent apprehension of results or consequences. The person fears to question or examine the source of the command. Pages 50, 141.

21. God giving power: By the Holy Spirit in the man's spirit, strengthening him in spirit, so as to energize his mind and every faculty of his being to their fullest use, and enabling him to endure and accomplish what he would not bear or do apart from God. (Ephes. 3: 16) Pages 70, 138, 288.

21. Evil spirits give power in a supernatural energy--generally spasmodic and unreliable--dependent upon the man being passive in spirit, soul and body. This "power," when it ceases, leaves the man dull and exhausted, the effect generally being attributed to natural causes. Cf. pages 112, 118, 119.

22. God giving influence: Means that the believer draws others to God, not to himself. True Divine "influence" does not "control" others automatically, but constrains them to turn to God. Page 289.

22. Evil spirits giving "influence," means a control or power over other which causes them to act apart from their volition, or reason. This "power" may be exercised unknowingly by persons the demons can use in this way. Page 145.

23. God giving "impressions": Means a gentle movement in the spirit, which leaves the person free to act of his own volition, and does not compel him to action. "impressions from God" are within in the shrine of the spirit; and not from a "power" outside, e.g., in "touches" on the body, or an exterior compelling force. See page 219 for action of the spirit.

23. Evil spirits' "impressions" are from outside, upon the person, and require certain conditions for the "impressions" to be given--i.e., a sitting still and waiting, etc. These conditions can also be fulfilled unconsciously by cultivating passivity of the whole being. See obsession, ppp. Cf. pages 128, 129.

24. Divine life from God: Is known, not by "consciousness," but results, enabling the believer to bear and suffer what he could not bear or suffer humanly. There is rarely any "feeling" of strength or life, because consciousness of Divine life would draw the man from the path of faith to rely upon his experience. Pages 91, 291.

24."Life" in thrills, etc., given by evil spirits, is known by its being in the senses, giving pleasant sensations, rather than true power. When it passes away, the person is dulled or weakened, and may go into spiritual darkness through numbness of the sensibilities, e.g., he says he is "like a stone." Page 130.

25. Divine love: Shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit, is co-existent with keen and faithful dealing with sin; with acute hatred to sin and Satan, and all that is contrary to righteousness.

God's love does not dull, but energizes every faculty to fulfil the action for which it was intended in creation. It has no "craving" in it, nor does it weaken those to whom it flows out. Cf. page 291.

25. Counterfeit of the "love of God" makes the recipient cover over sin, compromise with it; dulls him to keen-edged righteousness; makes him incapable of true hatred to the things that God hates, for the faculty which "loves" is the faculty which hates.

The counterfeit of love, whether human or Divine, given by evil spirits, grips the sensibilities with an overmastering and painful "craving" for its object. Pages 108, 128, 145.

26. Fire from God: Is a purifying through suffering (Matt. 3: 11,12), or a consuming zeal in spirit, which deepens into white heat intensity to do the will and work of God, which no trials or opposition can quench. Fire from God is spiritual, not literal, and therefore falls upon the spirit, not the body. Page 291.

26. "Fire" caused by evil spirits is generally a glow in the body, which the believer thinks is a manifestation of "God" in "possession" of the body, but afterwards results in darkness, dullness and weakness with no reasonable cause; or else it continues deceiving the believer into counterfeit experiences. Pages 82, 130.

27. Texts from God: These are given through the organ of the spirit to the mind, when the spirit is (1) calm, (2) unstrained, (3) at liberty, (4) open to the Spirit of God. They do not confuse, and when acted upon are found to be confirmed in Providence, and are always in accord with the keen use of the faculties. Intelligent knowledge of the broad principles of Scripture is needed for the true interpretation of "texts" which arise in the spirit, lest they be misused through human conceptions of Divine things, e.g., the mind may take literally what God means spiritually. Cf. page 139.

27. Texts from evil spirits "flash" into the mind: rush with force; come from without (audibly), or in the mental sphere. They elate or crush, condemn or puff up; confuse or turn out fruitless, leading those who obey them into vain actions, or into wreckage of circumstances. Evil spirits give a false "experience," and then "texts to confirm it," whereas true experience confirms the truth of the statements of the written Word. Evil spirits make use of all misconceptions of truth. Pages 18, 65, 66, 139, 149, 150.

28. Sin from the fallen nature: Is from within, carries the will with it, or else forces the will by its pressure. The man knows the movement to sin is sin, and yet yields to it. Rom. 6: 6,11,12 is God's way of dealing with the fallen nature, and its workings, as the believer stands on the ground of the Cross, and wields Christ's finished Calvary work as a weapon for victory. The Holy Spirit bears witness to the Cross in setting free from sin, when it is the outcome of the evil nature. Pages 229, 234, 247.

28. Sin caused by e.s., apart from temptation, is also within, but is forced into the spirit, mind or body, against the desire of the man, and should be recognized as distinctly not of, or from himself, e.g., blasphemous thoughts and unexplainable "feelings." If the "sin" infused by demons is dealt with as from the evil nature, although the person stands on Rom. 6: 6,11, and refuses it, no deliverance comes, but when it is recognized as the work of demons, and resisted on the ground of the Cross, freedom is quickly given. Pages 133, 218, 228-233.

29. Self-examination in the light of God: A discrimination of his own actions exercised by the spiritual man, which does not produce "despair," "disappointment," a "crushed feeling," etc., but leads to rapid decision of action, and a joyous faith in the co-operating work of the Spirit in deliverance from all that does not bear the verdict of the light of God. John 3: 21. Page 56.

29. Self-introspection, is made use of by evil spirits to throw the believer into self-accusation and despair. This dries the person inward and downward to crushed impotence and faithlessness. God never crushes His children. He convicts only to reveal the remedy. Evil spirits seek to turn souls into self-centred absorption whereas God moves in them to live and care for others. Page 159.

30. Conviction of sin: Comes from the Word of God, or by the direct action of the Holy Spirit, to the conscience, in times of quiet prayer or reading. It is never "vague" or confusing, and ceases directly the man decides to obey the Word, or go to God for cleansing in the Blood of Christ. True conviction is also a deepening experience, as the light of God shines into the conscience and life. Cf. pages 229 to 234.

30. Evil spirits' accusations, which are a counterfeit of conviction, are from without, in the ear (audibly), or to the mind , in a "nagging," persistent, confusing kind of "speaking," often without definite purpose or specific reason. No "confessing" or "step of obedience" affects these accusations, and they come again and again over the same things Many live under a perpetual cloud through the attacks of accusing spirits. They are under the shadow of being "always wrong." Cf. pages 229 to 234.

31. Confession of sin: To God and man, should be the deliberate act of the will in obedience to the Word of God, and conscience. It should be followed by sincere repentance and putting away of the confessed sin, and have the witness of the Spirit to the conscience that the sin has been put away through the efficacy of the Blood of Christ. Page 133.

31. Compulsory confessions, by the driving power of evil spirits upon the mind in accusation, or from remorse; or, to silence the accusing voices, the man is sometimes impelled to "confess" "sins" which have no actual existence. Page 133.

Notes

Without exception the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is marked by (a) a Christ-like spirit of love, (b) soberness of spirit vision, (c) keenness of vision, (d) deep humility of heart and meekness of spirit, with lion-courage against sin and Satan, and (e) clearness of the mental faculties with a "sound mind." 2 Timothy 1: 7.

"Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is . . ."--Ephes. 5: 17, R.V.

Notes

Speaking generally, proof of "sense-manifestations" being from deceiving spirits may be found in the spirit being wrong alongside of "manifestations," e.g., 1. Condemning spirit and judging spirit. 2. Spirit-vision dulled; cannot see marks of God at work in other ways. 3. Absence of true Spirit-power in (a) conviction of sin, (b) deliverance of souls, or (c) salvation of souls. 4. Or the spirit is "sweet" in a weak sense, with mind dulled, and unable to work with clearness.

Todd's Interview on Nightline

Wow, they seem to have done a good job analyzing the meetings and Todd, according to Sola Dei Gloria

If I had never heard or read anything about this man or the event and this interview was my introduction to both, there is no way I would think this was of God. When asked for verification on all the healings and miracles he claims to have ‘performed’ (and believe me, he does take the credit) he offers the interview-er the “media packet” which is suppose to be proof–it held no proof at all folks. He said on camara this packet contained ‘verifiable testimonies’ and ‘medical documents’. They showed these ‘papers’ on camara, they were nothing more then papers with names, locations, contact info blacked out.

A couple of the people they followed who came for healing, a man and his critically ill child being one, was heart breaking to watch.These people are coming to see Todd…to have “Todd” heal them or their ill loved one. That was very clear in the interviews with the people. This is all about Todd. If I ever doubted that, this interview and Todd’s own words proved it.

Todd’s comment about needing “1,000 more Todd Bentley’s” made me sick.

For those of you who have written me nasty letters concerning the money being taken in at this event, telling me Todd gets nothing–this interview proves you wrong. He makes 100,000.00 a year…plus its revealed he now needs more to be given: more money to pay his ‘ever growing staff’. I noticed he has public relation people around him now.

MORE HERE


Added 7/10~~The ABC Nightline page on the segment is here.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Award

LINK


And the False Teacher of the Year Award Goes to…

Todd Bentley! Yes folks, it’s awfully hard these days to narrow it down to just one heretic when there are so many to choose from in American churchianity. What, with the plethora of apostates in the Word of Faith, seeker-sensitive, emergent church and easy believism proponents abounding, it is increasingly difficult to decide who “takes the cake” for the coveted ‘Informed Evangelist” false prophet award, but Bentley wins it going away.

Bentley brought his traveling freak show to the University of North Texas’ (Denton) Coliseum on Thursday night for “one night only” (praise God for small mercies). A team from The Lost Cause Ministries went out primarily to share the Gospel with those who are deluded by Bentley’s brand of false teaching. This was no easy task. Even though we were two hours early, the die-hard Word of Faith followers could not stop long enough for even a five minute interview because (they said with panicked expressions), “I need to get inside and get a seat. I might miss something!” Their demeanor was very similar to that of hardcore crack cocaine addicts who “joneses” without their quick fix. Fortunately admission was free and we got inside and passed out several hundred Gospel tracts and did some one-to-ones with a few Bentley fans.

Several of our team had to leave for another pre-scheduled venue, but a few of us stayed. Because of fortuitous circumstances, we ended up seated about four rows from the front, on the ground level. We were able to catch some of the service on video tape and audio recorded the entirety of Bentley’s “sermon”. What follows is a review of his message with some observations of things we personally witnessed at this event.

An Overview

Bentley’s message ran a total of 75 minutes. A friend asked me before he spoke, “What do you think he will preach about?” I said, “I think Todd will preach about Todd.” Apparently I was moving in the prophetic because that is exactly what he did. Imagine, and I had never even been to Lakeland before! Apparently the anointing is even more transferable than Bentley thinks!

After an hour and a half of being pummeled by worship leaders whose style resembled something like a cross between a squirrel on methamphetamines and whirling dervishes (intended, no doubt, to “let the anointing come” or simply to induce mass hysteria or brain washing), the local heretics (aka “gatekeepers”) welcomed Bentley to Denton\DFW. Chief heretic presiding was Chuck Pierce, of the Glory of Zion Outreach Center in Denton. GOZ is a self-styled “apostolic” Word of Faith ministry who is huge on receiving extra-Biblical revelation via dreams, prophecies, words of knowledge, etc. Pierce made an innocuous prophecy regarding the global outpouring that Bentley will usher in (now there’s a surprise).

Keith Miller of Stand Firm World Ministries, who has preached in Lakeland on several occasions and is trying to “bring it back” to Texas, was prophesied over by Bentley, at which point his true character was physically manifested when he and his wife lost their spines and turned into jelly on the stage, presumably from the power of the anointing. Texas, be warned. Miller is coming to a city near you with the Lakeland style hysteria. Just add Word of Faithers and stir. Instant revival.

The house keeping attended to, and Miller’s physical spine restored, Bentley began his diatribe (it cannot be called “preaching” or a “sermon” by any definition of the word). As already stated, Bentley pontificated about himself and the experiences at Lakeland. His speaking cadence varied from calm and quiet to hysterical. The crowd responded in kind, at the typical cues. In Bentley’s case, whenever he frantically shakes his head from side to side, this is a sign of the “anointing”. If he blows puffs of air out of his lips, apparently that means something big is REALLY going to happen. The crowd response? Speak in jibberish, laugh maniacally, sob, or scream in unison. This apparently helps grow the “fire” and “keep it going”, judging by the way the “worship” leader conducted herself.

Bentley reviewed the history of his own ministry going back to 1999, when he claims he was transported to Heaven and saw tens of thousands of “healing angels.” He came to understand that he is going to be the agent for the release of at least one hundred “healing revivals” at the same time, across the globe. This special anointing was to be released just prior to the return of Christ. He had the impression that he “has to score the touchdown” (his vision had to do with a Super Bowl-like scenario in a football stadium) and that it’s basically all up to him. Lo and behold, now is the time for the outpouring as evidenced by what is happening at Lakeland. In short, “It’s all about Todd.”

Bentley states that the unique thing about his healing revival is that it will be sustainable and transferable. In other words, anyone can get it. And those who get it are encouraged and expected to take the “fire” back to their own churches where they can have the same kind of revival (circus?) in their own church. Bentley is democratizing healing ministry. Apparently it will no longer be necessary to go back again and again to the specialist healers like Bentley, Benny Hinn and others. Now, if you can shake your head and yell “fire”, “bam” or “pow”, you “got it.” Imagine the confusion that will exist in so many churches.

At this point, Bentley made a big show of opening his Bible to John 5. He said something to the effect, “I better have you open your Bibles. I wouldn’t want anyone to say that Bentley came to Texas and never had you open your Bibles” (followed by snide laughter by Bentley AND many in the crowd). We’ll come back to Bentley’s hack-job of exegesis a bit later. It was deeply concerning that a professed preacher of the Gospel would actually mock anyone who would expect him to open his Bible.

This attitude is not surprising considering the fact that in a crowd of 10,000 our team saw less than ten Bibles in the arena. There were probably more than that, but it would be generous to say that 10% of the attendees had a Bible with them. One of our team members asked someone in the parking lot why they didn’t have their Bible with them. She said that the last time she came to one of these Word of Faith events that her family had their Bibles stolen. Bentley brags that he does not preach against specific sins, but apparently it wouldn’t hurt his own people if he preached against thievery.

After his deeply flawed exegesis of John 5, Bentley reverted to his chest thumping. He claims to have the names and contact information of 50,000 people healed in Lakeland in 90 days. Of these 50,000, he claims to have received hundreds of verifiable medical reports and is in the process of compiling a book documenting the healings. He further claims that he has a medical doctor on his team and a staff of about 100 who follow-up on the professed miracles one to two weeks later. He claims that this book will be available in “about two weeks” (from July 3rd). He is now on the clock. Watch for his book around July 17th. We will give him the benefit of a doubt and give him until the end of the month, but we are not holding our breath.

Bentley claims that there have been thirty resurrections from the dead since April 3rd because of his revival. He covers his own posterior by saying that if at least five of them are real then God is really doing something. He does the same thing with his “healings”, telling the gullible that sometimes it can take as much as a week or two before they “receive” their healing. He also says that people sometimes “lose their healing”. What? I don’t recall the Lord Jesus giving His followers disclaimers when He healed them. Folks, face it. This stuff is not real. It’s the fruit of lousy theology combined with the power of suggestion to a crowd that is desperate for healing and an experience.

After some more self aggrandizement regarding the coming “media revival” where he will be featured on Nightline and other news shows, he rehearsed the history of the Lakeland revival in particular. He claims that a “healing angel” visited him in his hotel room on April 3rd telling him that the long awaited “healing revival has begun.” He spoke of some “unusual miracles” where scars and burn marks miraculously vanished. A man with a glass eyeball claims to see out of it. A double amputee claims that his legs have begun to grow back to the tune of one inch. Homosexuals have been “healed” of their homosexuality and fifty wheelchair bound people have been healed.

At this point Bentley stated that he does not preach against specific sin. He alluded to Romans 3:10 and Romans 3:23 and said, “Sin is sin and only the blood of Jesus can cleanse it.” These few sentences out of 75 minutes of preaching comprise the only content than can be remotely called a presentation of the Gospel. More on this later.

At this point, Bentley conducted a free will offering which was collected for Keith Miller’s ministry. He used it as an invitation to “plant revival seeds” and reap “one hundredfold”. His disclaimer of “you cannot purchase the anointing” seemed disingenuous considering the emphasis made upon personal blessing if one faithfully gave financially to the ministry. Just because Bentley gave that little disclaimer in no way frees him from the responsibility he bears when he led them to believe that their “harvest of miracles” was directly related to their giving. A charlatan is a charlatan even if he’s raising money for another charlatan.

Concerns:

What’s wrong with Bentley and his message should be obvious to anyone with just a modicum of discernment. Since one cannot use the words “discernment” and “Lakeland fan” in the same sentence, I’m going to step out on a limb and explain just a few important points.

1. His ridiculous interpretation of Scripture.

Since Bentley didn’t actually use much Scripture, this is an easy place to start. He went to John 5 and read some of the account regarding the pool of Bethesda. He committed some atrocious eisegesis (he read his interpretation into the text instead of interpreting what the text actually says). He emphasized the fact that the KJV says that an “angel” stirred up the pool and WHOEVER was cured of WHATEVER. He said that the miracles happened there because the angel stirred up the “healing anointing” (pool) and that the anointing was even stronger with Jesus. He said that the word “Bethesda” means “grace of God” and “outpouring”. During a personal conversation he claims he had with the Lord on the plane to DFW, the Lord told him that the swimming pools he saw on the approach to DFW airport were “pools of Bethesda” or “pools of healing” and that this was a promise from God that there would be an outpouring in Denton. Now there’s a surprise since that is what he PLANNED on doing while he was in town.

A couple of issues with what little interpretation he actually did: 1) the story about the “angel” does not appear in many manuscripts of John 5. 2) Even if you allow for the story, most Biblical scholars understand that this story has to do with a tradition that is not endorsed by Scripture, simply reported on. In other words, it would be better to say, “It was said that an angel stirred up the pool.” 3) “Bethesda” is an Aramaic word (not Greek or Hebrew) and any Aramaic place name is very difficult to interpret with exact certainty, even if you specialize in the Aramaic language. 4) The big idea of John 5:1-9 is not the fact that a place of healing was established by an angel, but that the Lord Jesus established His claims to Deity, title to Messiah and the fact that He is Lord of the Sabbath since He performed this miracle on the Sabbath (cf. the context of the rest of chapter 5).

This text is NOT proof that Todd Bentley is an anointed messenger of God. It is proof that Jesus Christ is God. Bentley abuses the text to subtly take the eyes of professing believers off of Christ and onto himself. Bentley is guilty of the “spirit of antichrist” (1 Jn. 4:1-3). He is taking Jesus out of the text and adding himself.

2. His Emphasis on Angelic Visions:

Bentley, in an unprecedented way, credits “healing angels” with the revivals he claims. He claims angelic visits, angelic revelations, etc. Apparently Galatians 1:8 is lost on him. Apparently he is not concerned by others who have been deceived by angelic visions, including the Mormon false prophet, Joseph Smith and the Muslim false prophet, Mohammed. Apparently he does not understand the truth of 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 that messengers of Satan disguise themselves as “angels of light.” The cold, hard fact that his claims do not match Scripture do not concern him since the Word of Faith movement allows for additional revelation besides the Bible.

3. His “Proof” of the Veracity of His Experiences:

Bentley stated flatly that the proof of the reality of his experiences is, “the global outpouring happening at Lakeland”. In other words, the miracles, number of followers, and global spread of this revival is the “proof.” By that line of reasoning, Islam and Mormonism are also blessed of God since they started with angelic messages and are both growing exponentially. Furthermore, miracles have NEVER been considered final proof of the truthfulness of a prophet’s claims. What has been the distinguishing factor has been the Scriptural content of the message and fulfilled prophecies. One single unfulfilled prophecy resulted in the execution of the false prophet in Old Testament days (Deut. 13:1-5).

The real proof of Bentley is completely lacking. He is a false teacher. Considering the fact that there are “lying wonders”, even if Bentley’s healings are real the content of his message reveal him as a fraud (2 Thess. 2:9).

During the “healings” in Denton, there was not one single immediately verifiable healing. All of the healings were for medical issues which could not be observed outwardly with any certainty. Those who came forward said that they “felt better” (in some cases) but it was totally impossible to determine that they had indeed been healed. If they felt a “tingling” or “a burning”, it was equated with the anointing. What would these same folks make of the “burning in the bosom” that the Mormons talk so much about? They would be easily sucked into that cult. Scripture must trump experience every time.

4. His Refusal to Preach the Gospel:

This is an important issue. Some who have used Way of the Master make a big deal about the fact that a partner ministry of Bentley’s called “Citytakers” trains the people who do street evangelism in Lakeland using some (not all) of Ray Comfort’s material. They miss the facts that: 1) Bentley does not “preach against specific sins”, which is contrary to the principle of using the Law in evangelism, 2) their questionnaires and materials do not teach the concept of false conversion, 3) their questionnaires use modern Gospel techniques to “get decisions”, and 4) their material places a heavier than normal emphasis on baptism, similar to Church of Christ false teachings.

Bentley did NOT preach the Gospel in Denton. He only briefly mentioned sin as something he does not preach specifically about. He mentioned Christ’s sacrifice in passing (one sentence) and did not mention repentance or Biblical faith. He did not even mention the substitutionary nature of Christ’s death and did not mention His resurrection in connection with the Gospel. This single issue disqualifies Bentley as a minister of the Gospel. What is the point of assembling 10,000 people to simply talk about your ministry for more than an hour? In spite of all of the lip service to God’s glory, this fact alone reveals that this Lakeland outpouring is strictly about Todd Bentley.

Conclusion:

There is much, much more that can be said about this dangerous heresy arising out of Lakeland. There is much more that we witnessed that was disturbing. What is truly sad is going to an event like this and seeing those in wheel chairs who leave the arena disappointed. They are lied to and told either that their faith is not strong enough or that their healing will come later.

What is even worse, is the fact that these folks are deluded by a man who is spreading a false Gospel. They are experiencing something at these events and think that they now know Christ. They have been inoculated by Satan himself against the true Gospel. They will not hear it because they think they already have it, when all they have is a cheap counterfeit. Eventually, these folks will burn out on the hype and will not be found in any church. Meanwhile, the preachers like Bentley and those who support him will continue to make money off of this lie. They will be faithful to their heresy as long as their bank accounts are full. On the day of judgment they will hear those horrible words from our Lord Himself, “Depart from Me, I never knew you, you workers of iniquity” (Matt. 7:23).