Todd Bentley - False Prophet & Damnable Heresy

Many people seek healing, financial success, spiritual experiences, prophetic knowledge and sensual entertainment. Bentley puts on quite a show! Known for his heavenly visions, angelic "partners," mystical tattoos, and irreverent "teaching," he makes them laugh. One of his many Youtube performances includes this outrageous dialogue with an unbiblical "God":

"The woman was standing in the back of the room when the faith of God hit the meeting, and her tumour exploded out of her right leg, slid down her leg onto the floor! ... [God] said, '...I want you to grab that lady's crippled legs and bang them up-and-down on the platform like a baseball bat.' [loud laughter] I walked up and I grabbed her legs, and I started going, BAM! BAM! ...banging them.... She got healed!...

"And there is this older lady worshipping right in front of the platform. And the Holy Spirit spoke to me; the gift of faith came on me. He said, 'Kick her in the face with your biker-boot.' ... I went like this [kicks and shouts] BAM! And just as my boot made contact with her nose, she fell under the power of God."

Jesus said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:16) But the genuine "fruit of the Spirit" (God's love, goodness, gentleness...) was missing from this brutal show.

Counterfeit angels and demonic visions

Bentley is no stranger to demonic forces. "...twenty-five demons were cast out of me," he said in one of the many videos that document his teachings. "

He claims to have met a dazzling "angel" named Emma. Bentley described their first encounter in his article "Angelic Hosts":

"In the middle of the service... in walks Emma. As I stared at the angels with open eyes, the Lord said, 'Here's Emma.' I'm not kidding. She floated a couple of inches off the floor... emitting brilliant light and colours. Emma carried these bags and began pulling gold out of them. Then, as she walked up and down the aisles of the church, she began putting gold dust on people. 'God, what is happening?' I asked. The Lord answered: 'She is releasing the gold, which is both the revelation and the financial breakthrough that I am bringing into this church.'"

The "god" behind this "angel" is not our Lord! But with the rising popularity of fascinating female "angels", Emma would hardly be hindering Bentley's world-wide popularity. As he wrote in his Personal Message:

"Thousands of leaders and pastors have received impartation. And the fire is spreading throughout the GLOBE! ... This anointing is very contagious and hundreds of churches and ministries are now hosting overflow rooms..."

The Bible warned us that this sort of thing would happen:

"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

The crowds who attend Bentley's performances are being tricked! Satanic agents often masquerade as "angels of light," and Satan uses feel-good experiences to deepen the deception. Through these unbiblical meetings, many are "fellowshipping" with demons and this will eventually bring them into indescribable depression and despair in the long run. The enchanting moments of light will prove fleeting, at best, while fear and confusion will darken their days. They will continue to suffer under that cruel master unless God sets them free.

Bentley's tools are occultic. Like a tribal shaman (and like his own former world of "satanic music"), he uses loud rhythmic sounds (drums, etc.), then adds repetitious words and hypnotic music. Pastor Gary Osborne described it in his article, Bentley's "Revival" in Lakeland, Florida:

"The phrase 'stir yourselves up' was used repeatedly.... A woman led in prayer for the service and ... told the people to 'roar like a lion!' ... People everywhere shouted at the top of their lungs.... This same lady was jerking and twitching.... There was also much talk of 'birthing' and 'signs and wonders.'... People were swaying and dancing.... There was a very sensual spirit... People seemed to be in a trance all around me. If the worship leader said, 'raise your hands' everyone did so immediately. If he said, 'drop to your knees' they did.... The music had the people mesmerized....

"At about 8:30 PM... the music leader says, 'I’m feeling drunk.' He then tells the people to say to God, 'Intoxicate me, Lord'.... Now the people are getting truly wild and the leader says, 'Scream!!!' and the people let out a yell.... Finally the worship leader falls to the floor himself...."

"This manipulative process started up again the next evening. Finally, with the crowd thoroughly conditioned to "break out of the box" of Biblical order, Bentley took control. Wearing a t-shirt with the words, "Jesus Gave Me My Tattoos," he announced the presence of "great authority" in the building. "I speak creation," he declared. "I speak new hearts, new livers into existence tonight....""

Doesn't he know God's view of such arrogance? Has he no fear of God's judgments on those who serve the purpose of the master deceiver?

"Signs", "wonders" and mystical "healings"

"The glory of God is intense," wrote Bentley in a "Personal Message", "...miracles continue - tumours disappearing nightly, cancers and deaf ears being healed. It has been reported that more than 55 people in wheelchairs are receiving their healing. Another remarkable turn of events - 13 reported resurrections!"

He claims that a male "angel" named "Healing Revival" worked with him in many past healings:

"When he comes I get... the ability to diagnose people's sicknesses with my left hand.... I get very accurate details from God.... And whenever this angel shows up the miracles go off the charts."

Four angels supposedly operated on him during one of his heavenly visions. He saw "a Pillar of fire" rise up through the roof of a church. When "God" told him to "get into the Pillar," he complied -- and landed on an operating table in heaven. The angels tied him down and began surgery:

"[T]hey pick this thing up... and they stuck it in me right here on my neck and it didn’t hurt.... they went right down to my lowards and all of a sudden ... everything inside of me popped out onto the table, my heart, my liver -- like everything.... . [T]he angels start taking these white boxes… and they start stuffing these things inside of me... and I heard the verse 'I desire truth in the inward parts.'”

Bentley's reference to Psalm 51:6 illustrates his blatant Scripture twisting -- a timeless demonic tool. And his "surgery" reminds me of the mystical reports about "alien abductions."

We shouldn't be surprised. Long ago, missionaries to distant tribal cultures described both the source and the effect of shamanic magic. It's not a new phenomenon!

The Bible says, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Ephesians 5:11)

Exposing the darkness can be costly. Church leaders who seek unity, popularity and unbounded fellowship are quick to label us intolerant and judgmental. But the cost is nothing compared to the genuine joy of serving the Lord!

Torment of the Muslim family who converted to Christianity

A Muslim who converted to Christianity was threatened with having his home burned to the ground.

In a hate campaign Islamist fanatics also hurled bricks through the family’s sitting room windows terrorising their five children, all under 10.

His wife was also held hostage inside their home for two hours by a mob who later daubed graffiti on his walls and windows branding him a “Christian bastard”.

But when the hospital nurse complained to police, he said an officer told him: “Stop being a crusader.”

The arson threat was made by a man in 2001. Despite the father fearing for their lives, the officer told him such threats were rarely carried out.

He added that if he was so concerned, he should sell up and move away. Just a few days later the unoccupied house next door to their home in Bradford, West Yorks, was set alight.

The man, Nissar Hussein, 43, was born and raised in Britain by his Pakistani parents - devout Muslims. But in 1996 he and his wife Qubra decided that they wanted to convert to Christianity. In Muslim countries which use sharia law the death penalty can still be applied to apostates - or converts. Living in Britain, the Hussein family thought they’d be safe from such extremism. But their car windows were regularly smashed and the vehicle was even set alight.

Whenever Mr Hussein and his family dared to venture out of their house they would be jostled, abused, attacked and death threats hurled at them. He was at work when his wife was trapped in the house by a mob.

He claims West Yorkshire Police dismissed his concerns out of hand instead of taking action against those responsible. The family’s torment is revealed in a new report by pressure group Christian Solidarity Worldwide into the daily abuses suffered by apostates.

The report, No Place To Call Home, by commentator and apostate Ziya Meral, claims converts “are subject to gross and wide-ranging human rights abuses”.

They include extra-judicial killings by state-related agents or mobs, honour killings by family members, lack of access to services and day-to-day discrimination.

Mr Meral interviewed 28 apostates in various countries for the report, including Mr Hussein. The attacks on the family home and property continued until July 2006 when they finally moved to another part of the city. Mr Hussein said he felt the police had wilfully failed to arrest and charge the attackers, saying it was “not in the public interest”.

The report concludes that apostates suffer a host of serious abuses from their families, communities and nations because of traditional Islamic beliefs, increasing radicalism within Islam, the roles of shame and honour and the belief that converting to another religion is a betrayal of Islam. Mr Meral says: “This report is not about Islam, nor is it written to be used as a critical attack on Islam. It is designed to highlight the immense suffering of these individuals and analyses of the factors contributing to their persecution.”

West Yorkshire Police said it could not comment on the claims made by Mr Hussein in the report.

Churches Back Plan to Unite Under Pope

According to The Times newspaper, radical proposals to reunite Anglicans with the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope are to be published this year.

Read the article here.

A Letter From the President of the Chinese House Church Alliance

The president of the Chinese House Church Alliance has written this letter to the international community regarding religious freedom and the upcoming Olympics in China.

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats ?

"An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years it has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing, than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. From speaking out as the Puritans did, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church - if it is a Christian work why did not Christ speak of it? 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature'. That is clear enough, so it would have been if He had added, 'and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel'. No such words, however, are to he found. It did not seem to occur to Him. Then again, 'He gave some apostles, some prophets, some pastors and teachers, for the work of the ministry'. Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all His apostles. What was the attitude of the Church to the world? 'Ye are the salt', not the sugar candy - something the world will spit out, not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance 'Let the dead bury their dead'. He was in awful earnestness!

Had he introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into His mission, He would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear Him say, 'Run after these people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow - something short and attractive with little preaching - we will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick, Peter, we must get the people somehow!' Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them. In vain will the epistles be searched to find any trace of the gospel of amusement. Their message is. 'Come out, keep out, keep clean out' - anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the Church had a prayer meeting, but they did not pray, 'Lord, grant unto thy servants that by a wise and disc by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are'. If they ceased not for preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments - scattered by persecution they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned the world upside down, that is the only difference! Lord, clear the Church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her and bring us back to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to effect the end desired. It works among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the Church met them half way, speak and testify. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment had been God's link in the chain of their conversion, stand up! There are none to answer! The mission of amusement produces no converts.

The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship, joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is Biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire."

~ Charles H. Spurgeon