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Will they be fooled again by the Bentley's etc? Let Us Reason Ministries: Here is a long message regarding it |
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Todd Bentley “Meet the New thing- Same as the Old thing” “Will We get Fooled Again?” The newest wandering star breaking forth on the on the Signs and wonders scene is--Todd Bentley a Canadian evangelist from Abbotsford, BC, Canada. He and his team hold crusades in over 55 nations where they say, “Thousands have been saved, healed and delivered.” “In his late teens, Todd had a dramatic encounter with the saving and delivering power of God. This experience brought Todd out of a lifestyle of drug and alcohol addiction without cravings or withdrawal symptoms. He was also delivered from a lifestyle involving criminal activity, youth prisons, drugs, sex, satanic music and bondage. Todd's miraculous conversion to Jesus was much like the Apostle Paul's on the Damascus road. Todd was instantly transformed into a radical disciple and soul winning evangelist for Jesus.” (Website- About Us Todd Bentley's Personal Profile). “Saved” at 17, shortly after he began preaching and He also began prophesying during this time. In his Bio- God has drawn Todd into deep and intimate places of prayer. These extended times in God's presence has released a fresh prophetic and miracle-healing anointing. He wants to “see others set free through the anointing of the Holy Spirit and to see others come into the reality of intimate relationship with Jesus. This we are told is done as “He ministers prophetically, corporately and personally as well as brings forth the word of God with the power and demonstration of the Spirit -- God confirming His word with signs and wonders following. God has released an increase of the healing anointing into Todd's life to the point where the blind see, the deaf hear & growths dissolve as Jesus still heals every sickness and disease.” Wow, these are just a few impressive marketing phrases that do not compare to the supernatural stories that surround him. His ministry is called, “Fresh Fire ministries International: Apostolic Network.” After a short visit to Ignited last year Bentley was invited by Strader to return. He has been conducting "healing meetings" (twice daily) in Lakeland since April 2. 2008. The 700-seat sanctuary of host pastor Stephen Strader’s Ignited Church is filled up as people have been waiting for hours for the doors to open. It has now been attended by more than 20,000. Steven Strader is the son of Karl Strader former pastor of Carpenter's Home Church that launched Rodney Howard Browne’s ministry in the US. The TBN broadcasts carried its services and the church was influenced to believe this kind of preaching and behavior is what revival is about. Like previous revivals, people from all over are willing to fly to Lakeland to catch the revival fire and bring it back to wherever they live. Not knowing that if it is God, you are unable to capture Him (or His anointing) and distribute him (or it) to others. Instead of people getting saved they are getting people lost- by listening to a mans experiences of the supernatural that are both unbiblical and untrue. This revival has all the spiritual sensations and activities of the other revivals combined: roaring, groaning, burning sensations in the body- head and stomach, shaking, jerking, spiritual drunkenness and uncontrollable laughter and then some new manifestations. People have their eyes rolled in the back of their heads. Reports of women gyrating and pulsating like they’re being ravaged from behind by some unseen force. Holy or un-holy may still debated by some but to those of us that are knowledgeable on the previous revivals and the power of the occult, the jury is in- Maximum unholiness, the source is not the God of he Bible. This may disturb some, but if they will use their Bible, pray and think it through, they will gain discernment and spiritual understanding. The shakes, jerks, twitching, frozen stillness, laughter and falling to the floor have all been standard in revivals since Hinn passed “it” on to to Rodney Howard Browne which came through Randy Clark and filled many of the Vineyard churches. It continues today, the only difference, this time the conductor of this orchestrated supernatural hodgepodge is Todd Bentley. When it comes right down to it Todd Bentley and the Florida Outpouring is just another chapter added to the various “false revivals” of our time. This revival is a continuation of Pensacola, that came from Toronto that came from Rodney Browne that came from Benny Hinn, etc, etc. I’m able to say this because I have studied these revivals from when the Kansas City prophets came into the Vineyard churches, which began in the 80’s … and now this. Bentley has been doing the miracle ministry for over 8 years: “It wasn’t long and he began to pray for people who needed fillings. Seven people received Gold teeth last night. ..One lady was standing at the front and while waiting to be prayed for received five gold teeth in a row. Not just filled, but buldging with Gold. People were being healed in there seats, others heard the instruments prophesy in an audible voice, over the two nights there were salvations and more healings (Source: Message posted on the pro-Toronto Blessing New Wine mailing list (item on file), March 22, 1999) -underline mine- “Diamond dust manifestations of God’s presence have appeared in meetings led by Evangelists Todd Bentley in Canada and Ian Turton in Australia. There have been other places where they have appeared also, but it seems that they are not as commonplace as the gold dust and gold dental miracles. According to Todd, they look like fine sparkly ” ground glass”, reflecting light in beautiful colors”. (Message posted on the pro-Toronto Blessing New Wine mailing list (item on file), Feb. 16, 2000). Once we identify the people Todd Bentley associates with, the angels that work among him (which he claims to have constant experiences with) we can then understand exactly what this is all about. Bentley: “has shown no sign of leaving since an angel, he said, visited him the day after he arrived. Prophetic minister Bob Jones told Bentley he believed the angel’s name was “Winds of Change”--the same angel, Jones said, that visited healing evangelist William Branham in the 1940s.” (Paul Steven Ghiringhelli in Lakeland, Fla. Asst News Editor, Charisma) http://bigchurch.com …the second night of the Lakeland meetings…he said he saw an angel he described as carrying the “Winds of Change.” “Asking him to describe this angel, Bentley replied that those familiar with the life of William Branham would recognize the angel from being a relevant factor in his healing ministry. He felt that this angel’s appearance signaled a “shift in the atmosphere” for the meetings and felt that an openness for revival had been ushered in.”(Teresa Neumann, Reports of Revival Breaking Out in Lakeland, Florida http://bigchurch.com=read&status=revival&Id=132&pid=954&bid=923 “He has prepared you for such a time as this ... there is a Branham anointing on you and a double portion of it!” Che Ahn to Todd Bentley (Lakeland Revival -April 24 2008 - from God TV). Bentley is well read up on Branham- he describes how he conducted his services in detail in his article ‘Living in the Supernatural” May 25, 2003. “When people would come on the platform to receive healing and Branham entered that realm, he would go into visions and tell everyone many details of their life. He did this only as a sign that the Lord would heal them. People would wait in healing lines for hours. They would have to get a card with a number to get into the healing line to even get prayer. He would wait for an angel to come and stand behind him on his left side. He would do nothing until the angel arrived.” The beginning of the prophetic movement goes back to the 40's where there began what certain Pentecostals call the "Healing Revival." It continued from 1947 to 1957, led by Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborn, Jack Coe, A.A. Allen, and O.L. Jaggers. Gordon Lindsay's Voice of Healing magazine recorded many of their astonishing stories. And there was also William Branham who stood out among them all as “the healer and prophet.” The Pentecostal Healing Movement was transformed by a number of new teachings he introduced. It was called the Latter-Rain, which began in Canada from Branham who laid hands on the leaders. From the beginning Branham had unusual manifestations which he attributed to his angel. “The power invested me by my commission given by Almighty God and ministered to me by an Angel, a Pillar of Light” (The Revelation of the Seven Seals p.112-113). Branham admits the angel is a pillar of light (this will become important as we look at Todd Bentleys experiences with angels and light). The angel that William Branham had was actually a powerful angel of light- a demonic entity that masqueraded as the angel of the Lord and the Holy Spirit of God. This entity appeared throughout Branham’s life from early childhood and eventually led him into all kinds of “serious error.” It is crucial to understand what Bentley is claiming, by renewing the call of William Branham. Bentley’s acknowledgement of his angel as Branham’s angel via Bob Jones (notwithstanding the many other angels that constantly visit him) puts his imprimatur on Branham being used of God. This is not that unusual, many charismatics endorse Branham, the difference is that he is saying this angel is an influence or power in his ministry. If one examines the beliefs of William Branham that were taught by this angel there is no other conclusion but it being heresy. Branham was guided by this angel his whole life, he claimed the angel was with him night and day. He stated that he was unable to minister unless the angel was at his side (Occult Bondage and Deliverance, Kurt Koch pp. 49, 50). “I'm convinced that It's the Angel of the Lord… I'm convinced that, right now, that This is what I'm looking at, this Circle of Light before me, I'm convinced that's the Holy Spirit! (“Convinced than Concerned”, June 10, 1962). Ironically, Bentley is also Convinced than Concerned. The healings and prophecies purportedly came through an angel that was always with Branham on stage and continually gave him counsel and revelations (William Branham: His Life and Teachings, Kathie Adler; Narrow Way Ministries, Holbrook, NY, 1986; pp. 3-5). Branham claimed that he was the angel found in Rev 3:14 and 10  . From a supernatural experience of a ball of light he believed that he was Elijah, who would precede Christ’s return before the 2nd coming. Branham taught that the angels to the 7 churches in the book of Revelation were men who appeared at various times throughout Church history bringing new revelation, that he was the messenger of the last Church age, Laodicea. From his angelic influence, he denied the Trinity and called it a satanic doctrine: “Thus saith the Lord,” trinitarianism is of the Devil” (Footprints, p. 606). He taught the oneness doctrine of the godhead “Christ, and the Holy Spirit is the self same person, only in a different form It's three manifestations of the same Person, or you might call it three offices.... (The Revelation of the Seven Seals, pp.156-157). He at times denied the Son of God was the eternal God. In referring to Jn.1 “Now, in the beginning was the word. A word is thought expressed. In the beginning He wasn’t even God” (The Mighty God Unveiled Before Us, p.11).Branham taught numerous other strange and heretical doctrines. That God in all ages had skin on him - even before the incarnation. That Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) was sexual sin with the serpent and that Cain was the offspring (known as the serpent seed doctrine). Branham believed in three Bibles; the Scripture, the Zodiac and the pyramids were other revelations of God. He taught that denominations were abominations, belonging to any denomination meant you had taken “the mark of the beast.” There are many other beliefs too numerous to list here. Those who endorse Branham as genuine, only implicate themselves as being ignorant and immature in the word of God. (see- Branham). From the Latter Rain of this time period we hear the same “the next great outpouring is going to be marked by all these other truths plus such a demonstration of the nine gifts of the Spirit as the world, not even the Apostolic world, has ever witnessed before. This revival will be short and will be the last before the Rapture of the Church” (Richard Riss, Latter Rain, Honeycomb Visual Productions, pg. 56-57). Today we hear: “On New Year's Eve, for 2008, God told Bob Jones that "the third wave was coming." Todd asked Bob what the third wave was. He said that Toronto was wave #1, Pensacola was wave #2, and the third wave is the "Winds of Change"--this move of God. This move will be a global move, traveling with signs and wonders all over the world! The third wave is here!” http://bigchurch.com The third wave a cliché coined through Peter Wagner who heads up the apostle/ prophet movement where many of the Kansas city prophets have come under his leadership. From what I have read and watched in video, when you go to one of these meetings your senses will be assaulted by the enthusiasm of the crowd and Todd Bentleys supermarket of supernatural ideas and revelation experiences that exceed any apostle. As he tells his stories he acts out his induction by psychological and spiritual manipulation in an entertaining package. A servant of God do not speak nor act in this manner. Bentley can manifest the “anointing” by shaking his head back and forth, with his body physically shaking. He will even wave his arms over the audience, shouting, “Fire! Fire! Fire. This is nearly identical to Toronto and Pensacola. And his own ID, shouting “BAM!” We will examine the subjective, the experiences and revelations he is bringing others into and the objective i.e. the teaching, the new revelation from angels and the inconsistency in his stories with the Bible and within themselves at times. First: in his ministries Statement of Faith the majority is in agreement with Christian teaching, however there are few points that need to be focused on: -We Believe in... Number 1. THE WORD OF GOD-We hold the Bible to be trustworthy, the only supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. Scripture is our source of revelation of God, …it is the final Court of Appeal on all points of doctrine, life and godliness. (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:12). Number 12. FURTHER REVELATION - We recognize that God is continually restoring truth and light to His Church. Therefore, we place no limit on further revelation; however, each must be substantiated according to the Scriptures. http://bigchurch.com=106 That is exactly what we will do-look to see if what Bentley teaches and practices is substantiated according to the Scriptures when they are read correctly and in context of the authors intent. This last statement of faith in itself is an oxymoron since God has already finished his revelation and does not continue giving more and more. Instead, we are to learn and understand what is already given. This means we have an open Bible. This has become the modus operandi of Bentley’s ministry and lifestyle. I personally believe (and have experienced) the power of God and genuine gifts of the Holy Spirit which are given to empower our ministries and lives. Some think that we should just have an attitude of rejoicing for the good reports coming from Lakeland and not concentrate on any flaws. These people often make excuses for anything that does not line up with Bible doctrine because they want to believe and not be critical of someone in ministry. They are willing to accept anything, even when error stares them straight in the face. But a mature believer will not blush and run from an examination, nor fear what man may say but only what God says. We want to be sober minded, on guard, discerning, knowing we are at the end of the age which Jesus warned there would be great signs and wonders to deceive the elect (us). This is what God says, and it is not to be ignored. Some people have wondered if this is the new age inside the church- well, its operatives have been working inside since the late 80- early 90’s so we should be surprised at the escalation of power in counterfeit miracles and experiences. Because the masses are attracted to SEE a miracle they have become unable to hear, they become deaf to the word of God. In the vacuum of true Bible exposition which they are supposed to grow in they are seeking supernatural experiences that are being promoted by Bentley’s gatherings. Bentley has openly promoted angelic encounters, transportation to heaven and Jesus appearing for years. He is preaching what is not in the Bible and it does not make one hungry for the word but instead desiring for a supernatural experience. Some may ask, why is this wrong? I will hold off on answering this immediately and let you decide after you have read of the experiences and the refutations by the word of God that is living and active- sharper than any two edged sword. What we need is to be in prayer for the many young people that are attending his meetings, that they are not led astray or damaged by what is encouraged for them to do. The book of Leviticus speaks about piercing and tattoos - that we are not to follow the trends of the world, we are to be sanctified. It is in the last several years that Bentley has thoroughly decorated himself for his ministry. On this site it gives pictures of his tattoos: http://bigchurch.com Putting aside his abundance of tattoos and body piercing it is far more important to examine the teaching and concepts he is putting forth to know whether the source of the supernatural that is taking place is of God or is from another source. How does a sign and wonder deceive? When they are delivered by someone who does not know or teach the word correctly. This is not about someone’s quirky personality but what they believe -teach and practice apart from sound doctrine. You can also know what people believe by the people they associate with; Bentley’s associations should be the first red flag for anyone familiar with the prophetic movement and the Latter Rain proponents. Bob Jones, Rick Joyner, Paul Cain, Randy Clarke, John Arnott (Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship), Patricia King and a host of unknowns that also hold to Latter Rain teachings. Bentley is a part of “Elijah’s List,” a loose group of false prophets (nearly all) who have intentionally divorced themselves from the word of God in their interpretation and operation of spiritual gifts. They now have an influential internet forum to sell their books, DVD’S and post their prophetic promptings. They daily post every wacky nonsensical prophecy possible, nothing seems to be prohibited. If you think you have heard it all, you have not until read their daily posts. Lets read just a few teachings from the Elijah list website: Q: Do psychics have a prophetic gift from God? A: While there is no verse in the Bible that says that psychics have a prophetic gift from God, there are numerous passages in the Bible that, if taken together, paint a picture of a loving Heavenly Father who gives gifts to every single person from the time of his or her conception. Some of these passages include: scripture references given for brevity- Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13,16 ; James 1:17; Romans 11:29. (submitted by a reader of our website- Prophetic.TV is a production of Elijah List ministries http://bigchurch.com) Sorry, there are no Scriptures to justify this. All the Scriptures he cited have no explanation of everyone born with spiritual gifts. God gives us natural gifts, not supernatural gifts. Natural gifts are for the natural man. The spiritual gifts only come through the possession of the Holy Spirit, which are to those who believe the gospel, not to everyone born. Yet Shultz says these, “were born with a prophetic gifting from God” they can “use their gifts for their own selfish, and even demonic, purposes If they can’t get this right how trustworthy are they to discern the truth form error? They’re not. This is beyond absurd and scary. It shows us how bankrupt they are in understanding the gospel and the Holy Spirit that works “charisma” in believers only. In another the article “Debugging the prophetic by Steve Shultz who heads up the Elijah list answers a question- “How and where do you find accountability for the accuracy and fulfillment of prophetic words delivered by the prophets today? Who can I rely on?” Answer-“When we post any word at all on The Elijah List website-- ANY word some think it's from God and some think it's NOT from God. So, that's the way it's supposed to work. Over time, you will decide literally for yourself which words you feel are trustworthy for YOU and/or which prophets you feel have the least or best credibility. He goes on to say after making a case for prophetic accuracy with Katrina “So, the bottom line is this: just work to decide for yourself which prophet/prophetess you most trust and which you don't and leave it at that. I believe this is the wisest course.” Is this how we decide? It is up to an individuals feelings to determine what is true or not. This is not wise nor biblical. We are not to lean on our own understanding, we are to trust in his delivered word. Our trust is not to be in men that prophesy but the God of prophecy. This is a “every man does what is right in his own eyes” philosophy. It is promoting a prophetic free-for-all. When Israel did this they were misled by the false prophets. And what were the false prophets saying? Through their dreams and visions they were telling the people of Israel’s future. Lets look at who Bentley attributes his influence from- ANGEL[S]. “Now let me talk about an angelic experience with Emma. Twice Bob Jones asked me about this angel that was in Kansas City in 1980: “Todd, have you ever seen the angel by the name of Emma?” He asked me as if he expected that this angel was appearing to me. Surprised, I said, “Bob, who is Emma?” He told me that Emma was the angel that helped birth and start the whole prophetic movement in Kansas City in the 1980s. She was a mothering-type angel that helped nurture the prophetic as it broke out.” http://bigchurch.com A "female" angel ‒there are none mentioned in the Bible, not once. Everytime an angel appears they look like men. They are called sons of God, not sons and daughters of God. It is crucial to understand the roots of this whole movement that first went through the Vineyard churches through John Wimber spread to the body of Christ. To befriend Bob Jones (who is one among many sordid characters he hangs with) is not good. Bob Jones telling Bentley the prophetic movement was started by a female angel may be more revealing than one would first think. Bentley has a view of the supernatural that has crippled him from understanding the simple truth from the word. So he has replaced it with his own revelations and supernatural experiences that exceed even the apostles. Bentley’s whole ministry is focused on angels and false revelatory visions and visitations- from this come the healings. Bob Jones, was a Vineyard minister (one of the original Kansas City Prophets). Bob Jones was removed from The Vineyard for sexual impropriety? He had women strip so they could ’stand naked before the Lord.” Two women came forward in 1991 and told Vineyard leaders that Jones had used his prophetic authority to touch and fondle them sexually. (Roy Rivenburg, "A Question of Faith," Los Angeles Times, 28 January 1992, sec. El, P.  Jones admitted it and was removed from ministry. While Jones is repentant, at the same time period he was prophesying that Jesus told him that a certain portion of the end-time church will be an immortal end times army. Bentley says of Jones “My friend….Bob Jones (is) a gifted, mature seer-prophet..” Jones has been instrumental in his influence on Bentley and even this so called miracle revival. in Lakeland. On Bob Jones website we read of him being sick. (April 12, 2008 Update on Bob Jones). “We still need to have a fistula placed in his arm in the event he should need dialysis in the future. However, we believe the Lord gave us a miracle and will continue to heal the kidneys and totally restore his health. He is gaining strength daily. We must be good stewards of the miracle He gave us. There were many long and exhausting days due to effects of the chemicals used to cleanse the bloodstream. Many times Bob was ill and very weak after dialysis. In the process of healing, he lost about 55 pounds, however his lungs are clear and his vitals are normal.” They ask “ to pray for his kidney function to increase” The most recent report “Our last visit to the kidney doctor was a great success. Bob’s kidney function continues to improve; the creatinine level dropped to 3.1 so the doctor removed the perm-cath from his chest last Wednesday” (May, 6 200 .Why didn’t Bob go to Todd Bentley and be instantly, miraculously healed as we hear others are? Isn’t this what is taking place at the Lakeland meetings? The answer should be obvious ‒ just like the faith healers, when they are sick (and this is serious) they go to a doctor, not to their fellow gifted healers- they know better. What does Bob Jones believe and teach? These are just a few examples-- He had this to say about Joel’s army, "They will move into things of the supernatural that no one has ever moved in before. Every miracle, sign and wonder that has ever been in the Bible - they'll move in it consistently. They'll move in the power that Christ did. Every sign and wonder that's ever been will be many times in the last days. They themselves will be that generation that raised up to put death itself underneath their feet and to glorify Christ in every way. . .and the Church that is raising up in the government will be the head and the covering for them. So that that glorious church might be revealed in the last days because the Lord Jesus is worthy to be lifted up by a church that has reached the full maturity of the god-man!" (Visions & Revelations, fall 1988.) Jones describes his hands turn blue, and then they turn purple. And when that happens that means you've got some incense that's gone up. You've got some intercession that's gone up that Papa's saying yes to. Jones also states that his alleged healing power came upon him when he was struck by lightning: “It was about 76. A bolt of lightning. I was inside I didn't have my wires grounded in the basement down there, and I grabbed ahold of the refrigerator, and lightning hit the wires outside, and a great blue flame came in. And a ball of fire danced all over that basement, and didn't hurt me. But from that time forth my hands worked funny…. Anytime God is going to start a fire, he starts it with lightning. And you can take a little of that fire and impart it wherever it is needed. And it will start a God's fire” (Bob Jones, Visions and Revelations, 1988.) "Bob Jones was told that the general level of prophetic revelation in the church was about 65% accurate at this time. Some are only about 10% accurate, a very few of the most mature prophets are approaching 85% to 95% accuracy. Prophecy is increasing in purity, but there is a still a long way to go for those who walk in this ministry. This is actually grace for the church now, because 100% accuracy in this ministry would bring a level of accountability to the church which she is too immature to bear at this time. ('The Prophetic Ministry." Rick Joyner. Morningstar Prophetic Newsletter. Vol. 3, No. 2, Page 2). This is probably the most dangerous of his statements. In other words God gives us false prophecy because we are immature, unable to be accountable. Just like the Devil to turn the truth on its head. What about the Old Testament prophets, did they not have 100% accuracy in prophecy? And so when these prophets miss it (even 10%, its far more) his excuse is that it’s God’s fault, not ours. Mike Bickle and Bob Jones relate the story of an angel revealing that God would appear to Bickle in the form of another person named "Don" in a vision or in a dream. Bickle said the vision eventually took place, and part of its message was to show him that "Jesus appears in thousands of different faces to portray something," Bickle said. "He was trying to say, 'I'm your friend, I am your familiar friend and I'm going to show you all things so you can move in the power of the Spirit'" (Mike Bickle with Bob Jones, Visions and Revelations, transcript, series of five tapes from the fall of 1988 p.53-60.) I am your familiar friend may be more like a familiar spirit considering the teachings that have come forth and the activity that took place. This next statement is proof that this whole revival is orchestrated by the same men who brought it to the church over 20 years ago through the Vineyard: " And now my government is in place, and in a time of great stress I shall bring forth my next step, for Toronto was a step, Brownsville was another step; My next step will be my glory, and signs like you have never seen before..." (The Remnant Seed", a prophecy by Bob Jones at Hamilton, Ontario, March 199 .Can a revival be genuine when you have the same players that are involved in continual false prophecies, false teaching and other false revivals? I think not. Florida Outpouring on May 5, 2008-“Paul Cain received numerous, recurring visions and words about the coming faceless generation healing revival. Todd flew Paul Cain in specifically to release that prophecy again and bless the revival. Jim Goll also spoke over the revival as well. It was a powerful night.” So they are trying to make a connection to Paul Cain’s prophecy that has recurred for over 30 years. Certainly he is not a good source and it shows the discernment of the people involved who honored his false vision which is all about the Latter Rain. Incidentally, Bob Jones called Cain “the most anointed prophet that's in the world today.” The Holy Spirit will always show what is false to a believer walking in the light, He will not bear witness to the false. But it can take effort and perseverance for one to get through the trappings of the shadows to the light. Paul Cain, was a prophet above prophets among his association of fellow prophets who had elevated him to a super prophet status, (see www.letusreason.org/Latrain5.htm.) He is one of the few that knew William Branham personally and participated in the Latter Rain of the 50’s. Paul Cain considered William Branham the greatest prophet in the 20th century. Several years ago it was revealed that he was an alcoholic and a practicing homosexual. This was by his own friends the prophets who did not know this for years when he was with them, right under their own noses. Much like his discipler Branham, “the Angel of the Lord” visited Cain for the first time when he was 8, and then years later Jesus materialized in his car and said he was jealous of his fiancé and told him not to marry. His theology is Latter Rain/ Manifest Sons of God/ dominionism. His most important teaching of all Joel’s Army. Cain said “Many years ago,.. I have came to the crossroads of life and I saw a vision of an illuminated billboard on which was written: Joel’s army in training.” This became his message. In 1987 Cain met with the leadership of Kansas City Fellowship and they received him as a father, a prophet over prophets. It was at this time period (1989) he also met John Wimber and the Kansas city prophets became accepted into the Vineyard movement. At a meeting in Lakeland Paul Cain was given a place on the platform, it is reported that he publicly said that there were “false rumors” about him and that he had lived a “chaste life.” Bentley did not correct Paul Cain who basically lied about his indiscretions. (see www.letusreason.org/Latrain25.htm) The teaching of Joel’s army from both Jones and Paul Cain (and others) also finds itself in Bentleys ministry (from freshfire website) BECOME A JOEL’S ARMY INTERN! Under the Leadership of Revivalist/Evangelist, Todd Bentley “Impartation and prayer time with Todd Bentley Question and answer times” *Impartation is from the Latter Rain teaching “Servant hood Weekly soaking, evangelism/outreach” *(Soaking is an unbiblical way to receive the Holy Spirit that was done in the Vineyard) September: Miracles Signs and Wonders Conference “Discipleship From time to time Todd will have weekly associate ministries and friends blast you in the Holy Ghost Interns will sit in on Supernatural Training Centre classes once a week” *Blast you with the Holy Ghost! ‒ it is doubtful this can be the Holy Spirit who is called the comforter. One cannot be trained to learn to impart the Holy Spirit or enter the supernatural, this is all far removed from the teachings of the Apostles in the Bible. (underlines mine) Spiritual Manipulations and Manifestations Last year God asked me an unusual question: "Todd, are you ready to pray for people to receive a double portion?" Then, as I sought the Lord for direction in 2008, He brought that question to my remembrance as He said: "2008 is the year of the double portion"-- (Todd Bentley: "Prophetic Directions for 2008," The ElijahList, 1/23/0 NOWHERE in the New Testament do we read of the anointing being transmitted from one person to another person, nor do the apostles teach of any “double-portion” anointing. This was only related to one prophet- Elisha. This is straight out of the heretical Latter Rain teachings and has absolutely nothing to do with the real anointing that resides in every believer already. On one video we watch him say “God told me there was going to be a special anointing tonight I saw an angel today. that is going to visit the children” Theres a glory moving into the room ‒a Drunken glory- heavy heavy weight glory, smokin glory, shekinah glory.” Frankly, when I hear this kind of foolish talk I fear for the person. What did people do when they had a glimpse of the true glory. Moses was hid in a cleft of rocks only to see his passing, in the New Testament John were astonished and fell as dead. I do not find anyone in the Bible talking crass like this. If you are trained by the truth, word of God you should be able to tell if someone is sound and speaking according to the Holy Spirit by what they teach and how they speak. If you can’t tell or are unsure, then get a biblical education, for it may mean your survival in the times we live. “Last night was a tremendous explosion of miracles over cell phones! They were coming in so fast that they could barely keep up with the testimonies!! report from Stephen Strader, pastor of Ignited Church says this move of God is the Spirit of Elijah.” The Supernatural Realms of Heaven: Experiencing God in the Prophetic: In an advertisement of a new school by Todd Bentley and Fresh Fire Ministries- combines teaching on prophetic ministry with instruction on how to engage the revelatory realm of Heaven. during this course Todd will teach and impart prophetic gifting to each student in faith that takes this course. Todd's goal is to share and impart everything that he has learned and experienced in the realm of the prophetic. (EARLY BIRD - $110) Todd shares many of his prophetic experiences and teaches how to activate spiritual senses. …Saints, get ready to fly like an eagle into the supernatural realm! "The School of the Supernatural Realms of Heaven" will help launch you there! Angels Everywhere “In our ministry over the last year, this angel has come frequently and on many different occasions. When He comes I get a gift. the ability to diagnose people's sicknesses with my left hand. At times this angel brings words of knowledge; I get very accurate details from God including people's first, middle and last names as well as nicknames, the year they were injured, the color of their vehicle and the state they are from” (ANGELIC HOSTS- Bentely). Just like Branham and the psychics today, the Bibles gifts do not operate in this way, we do not get the gifts from angels. Now lets listen to the interview by Patricia King- Extreme prophetic interview Patricia King: Todd, I remember years ago, you gave me a phone call and you said ‘Hey, I’ve just been soaking with Bob Jones and I’ve gone up into the “third heaven.” Bentley explains: The first time I met Bob was actually in Grants Pass, Oregon. We were sitting in a restaurant and I was really hungry; I knew Bob was a real seer prophet. I thought ‘Lord I’m going to get an impartation’. I’ve been having all these encounters and all these visions and experiences already soaking, but I thought ‘Lord I need to talk to somebody that’s been walking in this that’s really a senior prophet’. So when I met Bob, I thought ‘Lord, I’m going to get an impartation’ and I remember talking with Bob in a restaurant about going into the heavens and what it was and we were talking about the “third heaven”, going into the immediate abode, into that place, the dwelling place of God. And I thought ‘That’s awesome!’. I was hungry for it too; I wanted more! ‘Cause, up until that point, sovereignly God was just visiting me. And I was just waiting in His presence and sovereignly God was visiting me. And Bob said to me, he said, ‘We can go right now!’ And I said ‘What do you mean, we can go right now?! We can make the decision right now and enter into that realm of the spirit?’ And he said, “Sure we can! Don’t you have faith, boy?! So Bob Jones is a senior prophet to Bentley and he sought an impartation by him; big mistake. It was God who brought John and Paul to heaven, we cannot initiate this on our own. Bentley now teaches people can visit heaven anytime they want- that is completely and utterly false. The Bible teaches us that only the apostles were communicated a revelation of heaven, not regular Christians. It was because they were the ones commissioned to teach the church and write the word for us. The interview continues: KING: “Well, I remember when you [Bentley] were telling me about it, I got so hungry for it. And right after that Bob was coming to a conference that we were having… I was going to just ask him all kinds of questions about this third heaven, I didn’t know, because I wanted to know. I wanted to experience God in a new way; and I think we all do; we’re all so hungry for Him, right? But I hadn’t caught yet, because you had told me about the experience but not the faith dimension, so I was just still thinking ‘Sovereignty’. God’s sovereignly going to move, take me out, well whatever. So I’m asking Bob questions and Bob, you said ‘Well, I do my raptures every day!’. I said ‘What do you mean, your raptures every day?’. He said ‘I go up every day!’. And I said ‘You go up EVERY DAY! I’d love to go up every day!’ And he said ‘Well, it’s by faith!‘… Does a person’s FAITH make something like this happen! the faith dimension ? Where’s that in Scripture. Jones goes to heaven everyday, and he teaches others this! Someone who says this may not go there at all unless they repent- this is blasphemous. Where did the apostles teach any of this. They didn’t, but the Latter Rain proponents can because they are doing even greater miracles than the apostles! Impartations are unbiblical, especially seeking one. One cannot pass the Holy Spirit to another, He is God, He is sovereign. we do not have control over Him, he is to have control of us. Grants Pass comes up again-- Todd Bentley’s angels are the same that appeared to Branham, to Lake ( he endorses the healing rooms) and others. ”I first saw the angel called Healing Revival on December 5 of 2000 in Grant’s Pass. The angel came to me again in Albany the next February. He stood in the church service with his body going through the ceiling of the church. Then the Lord told me the angel’s name and that he was the same angel I saw in Grant’s Pass earlier. God also revealed to me that this angel was involved in the ministry of John Lake, William Branham, and John Knox in Scotland. This angel, the Lord said, is from the North West Healing Revival and is manifesting again as a sign that God is restoring the Voice of Healing revival and opening up the ancient wells” “In our ministry over the last year, this angel has come frequently and on many different occasions. When He comes I get a gift–the ability to diagnose people’s sicknesses with my left hand. At times this angel brings words of knowledge; I get very accurate details from God including people’s first, middle and last names as well as nicknames, the year they were injured, the color of their vehicle and the state they are from.” “ I believe the angel showed up in Albany as a sign that God was endorsing what was taking place and that it was opening up a healing well. Everywhere I have seen this angel the miracles continue after I leave and a healing well is established in that church and in that city. When that angel visits, we have another John 5 Pool of Bethesda experience as God releases His approval” ( ANGELIC HOSTS Revivalist Todd Bentley) Apart from questioning the validity of what God told him, if this is the same angel involved in John Lakes ministry (which I have never read of him referring to an angel) or William Branham’s then we must go to the Scripture and see if there were angels involved in the healing ministry of the apostles. The answer is no, there was not. So then we have a Biblical problem of what source this angel is. Bentley besmirches John Knox's name by including him with these men and this angel. As far as the angel in William Branham’s ministry- if this is so then we now have validated a demonic connection from none other than Bentley Himself. For Branham denied the tenets of the faith because of his angels influence. Furthermore, Branham believed this to be The Angel of the Lord that appeared to Moses (same as Paul Cain believed). Now we have Biblical problems escalating because Jesus was The Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament and once he became man, The Angel of the Lord no longer appears. Why? Because he is no longer coming as a messenger ‒ He became man. Bentley seems to have angels follow him and speak to him nearly everywhere he goes. “Recently, I had an angel come to me in Kansas City. He said, “Todd, my name is Promise, and I’ve come to bring the fulfillment of God’s promises.” I thought believers were given the Holy Spirit for this. Experiences described by Bentley brought on by an angel are unbiblical and there are so many that it may be beyond all the miracles in the Bible put together. “In three occasions over the past couple of years I’ve had a visitation from the Lord in which I’ve seen the angel of finance. Every time this happens (in our meetings) there is an incredible financial breakthrough–something is opened up in heaven, it invades the earth, and people respond by giving generously. http://bigchurch.com=read&status=teaching&Id=236&bid= Todd sees the angel that is going to visit the children, and he’s only seen this angel two other times: http://bigchurch.com=acvsv1 I’m concerned that the angel that Todd has been encountering is let loose to the children and they too are overtaken by the same influence. “I’m asking God to release the seer anointing to you as you read this article so that you can even see the angelic hosts. Today I want to focus the teaching on the angelic realm and how you can release angels to fulfill God’s word. Recently, I had several daily visitations of angels which lasted for weeks. Since the beginning of this year I’ve also sensed an increase in the presence of angels in our meetings.[ Todd Bentley, “Opening Our Eyes to the Angelic Realm,” http://bigchurch.com=1785.] There is no such teaching of our releasing angels to fulfill God’s word, God sends the angels, man has no control over these angelic beings that answer to God. Seeing angels day in and out (like Benny Hinn) is neither spiritually healthy nor true. But this is the power behind Bentleys ministry, he is caught up in a infatuation with angels and has made contact.. Bentley says “Let angels come right now to win souls in the North, East, South, and West of my city. Father I release the angels." It is important that we release the angels if we don't, angels can be bound out of the battle. The Devil can be prevailing in his darkness in a region until we begin to release, bind and loose in heaven, and begin to pray to the Father to release the angelic hosts that we need as reinforcements. ( Fresh Fire Ministries - Todd Bentley - Teachings http://bigchurch.com) No Christian can be taught to summon angels (it is demons that obey man), one can twist the words of God about them serving us but they cannot find any example of any apostle of believer summoning angels or ordering them around as Bentley teaches (go do a study on angels). This teaching is in the Kabballa in the occult, and it is also found in word faith teachings. The angel in Daniel did his mission and overcame the fallen angel over Persia without Daniel even knowing there was a battle going on. Those who have attended this revival bring the 'anointing' back with them just as it was done in Toronto. People who go to these meetings and get the anointing begin to see angels . While this may make the Hunters happy, this is a very dangerous precedent that many people are unaware of. None of this has anything a Christian who wants to grow spiritually should pursue. Paranormal experiences can seem to be of God when they are not. This kind of spirituality makes a person dysfunctional and eventually have a dissonance with reality. The more one experiences it the stronger the demonic element gets until they are taken over. Angel feathers, gold dust, diamonds falling, seeing angels constantly ‒even female angels, trips to heaven at your disposal, new revelation, extra biblical and even anti biblical revelation, what can be said of this ministry is- participants beware. Pt.2 To be forewarned is to be forearmed
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To be Forewarned is to be Forearmed Before we move on into examining the teachings of Bentley and the meetings in dept we need to pause and consider the Word of God's teaching on these supernatural matters. The basis of some people’s Christianity is if a miracle takes place, it is sufficient evidence for them to believe it is from God. They never check it out or test it; something that God commands us to do. The Bible teaches us that Satan uses this method to deceive the naïve, the immature, and the ignorant to remove them from walking in the truth of the word. Someone who argues that miracles are from God 100 percent of the time is already open to deception. This becomes a major flaw from those who are willing to accept all miracles that happens is from God. To avoid testing is to neglect many of the Bibles commands for our safety. Jesus warns us about a movement in the last days that will be done by many coming in his name (Mt.24:5-6) and include miraculous signs taking place. Matthew 24:23-25: “Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. For false christ's and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” If a Christian neglects this they will be deceived. The Scripture gives us insight into the power the enemy can have. The first beasts deadly wound is healed. It says of the second beast “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.” (Revelation 13:12-14). Great signs-Counterfeiting the glory of God would be very convincing. FIRE- consider what you hear today at the miracle meetings. Not all things supernatural experiences are from God. Just because one receives a dream or vision does not mean it is from God. Satan can give dreams and visions, he even did to Jesus to tempt him to receive his inheritance by a short cut. “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” (Luke 4:5). The misconception is that if it is from Satan, its always going to look evil, when it is more often the opposite. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). Satan can look like the real deal and the only way to protect oneself from his deception is to discern, by testing him with the word of God.. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders” The power and energy exhibited by Jesus in his miracles will be counterfeited by the Devil, in the meantime before he shows up his servants that look like men of righteousness are at work among us. “Why would the Devil heal people when the Bible says the Devil comes to kill, steal and destroy.” Contrary to what we hear that the Devil afflicts and only God heals is not the total truth. The argument used is that “the Devil can’t heal; He comes only to kill, steal and destroy.” However, miracles take place in cults, by Occult means and in other religions (also by shamans, witchdoctors, gurus and spiritualists, etc.) it happens all the time. Those who deny Christ and the essential teachings of the Christian faith perform them. Can anyone believe that the true God healed someone in a cult or religion that teaches blatant false doctrine? We are warned in Deuteronomy 13 v 1-5 “If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place,” Consider what God is saying. It can take place, they are accurate, you do see a display of power- God says it is not from him. Moses goes on to say and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.” He is leading you to a completely new perspective of God by giving you new revelations, from angels or telling you that you can visit heaven when you want. By listening to this revelation, or dream or vision you are showing that you reject God, you have no respect for his word and have strayed from Him. What is real does not always mean it is true or authentic. People judge the authenticity because of what they perceive are healings and miracles; exactly what the Devil likes to see happen. Because if they judged by doctrine ‒ the word of God and not just what they see they would come to a very different conclusion. This is why I’m not not going to be influenced in my judgment by how many people testify they are healed or how many miracles they have seen take place because we do not validate what is from God by this alone. A subjective experience or knowledge that confirms what is true is not how a Christian is to test a supernatural experience or story. There are Scripture and principles that God uses to prove what is of him and what is from another source. We should carefully examine what we see or hear to see if it is really of God. Those who have seen both the real and the counterfeit explain that the ONLY way to tell is by careful scrutiny from the Word. If someone claims Christ and does miracles, we need to know what the person really believes on the core teachings of Scripture. The person the healing came by should hold and practice the core doctrines of the faith. If they fail this test, no matter how remarkable the healing or miracle you are to separate yourself from them. We need to confirm that the person is orthodox and that it is actually God who has used the human vessel. If one does not test the spirits the way the Bible tells us to- they will be deceived, just as Todd and others surrounding him are. The bottom line, your body can be healed. A Christian can be deceived by a false teacher and a false representation of God can be portrayed to us as authentic through a deceived believer. And you can lose your soul if you follow a false teacher. Therefore there must be another explanation for what we may see. We need to look at the supernatural from a biblical perspective. It is inconsistent with God’s character to permit His supernatural power to accompany false teachers/teachings that deny what He has so clearly said in His word. Satan can perform lying signs and wonders that exhibit power just as the apostles did. If Satan cannot do these miracles then how can we explain the incredible success the Anti-Christ will have? Lying signs and wonders only endorse the person as a messenger from God when they are not questioned, when one is willing to overlook any false teaching. Someone can convince them-self that by feeling no more pain or having a temporary energy boost, they are being healed by God. However, healing may come from another supernatural source, the Devil. That’s right, Satan who afflicts us can temporarily can alleviate that same sickness or pain to increase deception and demonic influences within the person’s life. It can look like a healing because he afflicted a person and then relieves them of it. That is why it is called a lying sign. Who is to say the Devil does not give up a pawn in order to gain the queen in his deceptive game of chess. This way his kingdom is not divided but is advanced. Satan certainly has the power to put his hand on individuals to make them ill; he also has the power to take his hand from that individual, thus manufacturing a bogus “cure.” It can be convincing enough for those who unaware of his deception and power. And those who do not test it are under his cruelty. A lying sign often brings glory and prominence to an individual or ministry, not Christ, even though He may be mentioned. They may say “in Jesus” name which leads them into further false teaching. When you are under deception, you are able to justify any action as long as Jesus’ name is attached to it. If we look at the apostles, they did not preach the Word for the signs and wonders to take place; the Word was preached and signs would follow‒‒when the Lord was willing. We are to preach and teach first and let the miracles be up to God. Advertising the miracles to attract people already gives us insight to whether this is of God or not. A lying sign or wonder is a miracle claimed to be from God. A miracle in itself cannot reveal the source of its power. It must be tested, by knowing what the person whom the miracle came through believes. If someone’s doctrine of Christ is wrong, if there practice is wrong, God will not express His supernatural power by or though that individual. Then the source of the miracle is not from God. That is- God does not use false teachers or false teaching to pour out his power through. We can tell by how they mishandle scripture, it is what they want it to mean not what it actually means from the author. A tell tale sign is the abundance of new revelation and the misuse of words to make it sound like it is from the Bible. C.D. Cole stated it well by saying, “People who are looking for miracles as a sign or proof of God’s presence and favor are putting themselves in a good position to be deceived. What is supernatural is not necessarily divine.” Certainly to hold the position that all healings are from God can be disastrous; there are counterfeits, and if they can take place outside the Church, there is no justification for saying they can’t take place inside as well, especially when Scripture tells us that they will. Paul writes of this in several places-2 Thess. 2 :8-10; 1 Tim.4:1; 2 Tim. 3:13. If people gather to see signs and wonders, they are already removed from the prescribed order for a church gathering. God is interested in communicating truth not just His power. God’s Word is truth that has the power to change lives. God said He would lead us into truth through His Word, not through miraculous signs. God still does miracles but He will NOT honor falsehood by the power of His presence. Any sign or wonder must be questioned, and tested by the word rather than relying on the experience itself to validate it. Many of those who are caught up in the miracle services say, “it is not for you to judge, God will stop or expose those whom are teaching incorrectly.” If one really puts all the correction on God then the next time you are in a conversation with someone who speaks wrong, say nothing and let God take care of it. Don’t correct your children, don’t correct yourself. don't evangelize, don't teach because God is capable of doing all of this without you, does this sound biblical or right to you? The fact is, God tells us to confront those who have offended and hurt us. And false teaching leads people astray from the faith and it is far more serious than being offended or bruised by someone. We are told to EXPOSE the unfruitful works of darkness. I cannot think of a more applicable Scripture than this to what is taking place today "And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead expose them" (Ephesians 5:11). You can’t know what not to participate in unless you judge by God's word, and after you find out its wrong you are obligated to let others know. The one thing that God does not say is to do nothing and leave it ALL up to him. He tells us to do what is right. One must be mature to do what is right. 1 Cor 5:12-13: For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges.” John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ confronted the religious leaders, calling them a 'generation of vipers' and told them to repent. Were they wrong to pass judgment on them? It is not wrong to challenge false teachings by the Bible, it is something God says for all of us to do? Are we wrong for saying they are wrong or are they wrong for saying WHAT'S WRONG? Was John wrong to write in 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” The Bible even says in 1 Cor. 14:29 “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge"- 2 Timothy 4:2-3 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” “That you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:3). In other words if they have stories of Jesus, of heaven that are not of the Bible, it is another doctrine other than what the apostles delivered. For those who have already subscribed their loyalty to his ministry, I have this to say. From the videos I have seen there is hardly any preaching of God’s word, but instead his EXPERIENCES. When the word is read it is applied to his EXPERIENCES. Bentley feels most comfortable when he is talking about his EXPERIENCES. In fact he is teaching others to have supernatural EXPERIENCES. There is no question–it is more about his EXPERIENCES than glorifying God. Satan is not just a counterfeiter‒‒he is an inventor, especially when it comes to religious-spiritual practices. He uses clever deceptive means to get us from one level of deception to the next. Satan has a counterfeit program involving signs and wonders that he has used throughout history. Contrary to popular belief that we need signs and wonders in order to convince people, it changed very few hearts in Moses’ time and Jesus’ day and it is no different today. People are motivated by selfishness to seek a sign and wonder and have a supernatural experience like mystic adepts. Signs for the most part were for unbelievers to attest what to believe, not for believers. The signs were to move the people to pay attention to what Jesus spoke not what He did. Jesus scolded them saying “Except you see signs and wonders you will not believe” John 4:4 . He made it clear that it is an evil generation that seeks a sign! Nothing has changed in the word of God nor in the heart of man.God can overwhelm someone with His presence if he wants to. However, when one presumes to represent the Spirit’s work and it is contrary to the word of God and is the opposite of what the fruit of the spirit produces we can know it is not of God. A true supernatural experience will compliment the word NOT contradict it. Once again miracle and healing crusades are filled to the brim, but genuine teaching and evangelistic ministries continue to be poorly attended. Many have come using the name Jesus in their false teachings and counterfeit miracles and you can be assured many more will. We can’t judge the motives of the people involved, they may have good intentions. Nonetheless, we need to make a decision from the Bible, not from our personal feelings or loyalties. To judge teaching and supernatural occurrences is to act in love. To stand by and ignore this while falsehood continues to spread and misleads and destroys many lives is negligence. It is the absence of true discipleship and compassion. True love is not silent when people are being misled or deceived. Nowhere are we told to have grace for false teachers and allow them to continue with no challenge or exposure. Let them repent and we gladly accept them back. But if they do not let ,everyone know of their heresy. That is the Bible’s command Paul wrote in Phil. 3:15-17  #x201C;Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule let us be of the same mind. Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.” Paul used himself and the other apostles as our primary examples. Paul could not deal individually with the many false teachers springing up like weeds in the different areas. Paul said to follow his example as he followed Christ. Christ openly showed what is false, so did Paul, and so did the other apostles. Much of the New Testament was written to publicly correct false teaching within the Church itself. Every second epistle written by an apostle is for correction or judging false doctrine. It is up to us all to watch over the household of God and help the brethren, by doing this we show our love for them. Pt.3 Stories of heaven- examining one of Bentleys frequent trips to heaven.
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A Story of Heaven and Earth Caught up to deception and a dark visitation We begin with a video account of Bentley telling his story of going to heaven via a pillar of fire and having the pillar of fire visit his room later. By this account alone he is disqualified from teaching the word, which he has proven, that he has no intention of teaching correctly anyway. Bentley does not seem to be of a sound mind, he certainly is not of sound doctrine. This is a 10 minute account that contains enough of the story to understand what took place. http://bigchurch.com (transcript of video) This video account of him going to heaven begins by him saying “Revelations 10, ooh I love this stuff” Okay, cause its so alive to me because these are so many experiences I had.” had’ Rev.10: I still saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, as a might angel coming down from heaven clothed with a cloud rainbow was on his head his face was like the sun, his feet Charlie, look at this his feet were like pillars of fire “this angel that has feet like pillars of fire has come to me on several occasions” Then he recants and then says “I don’t know if it was THIS angel” “But I’m telling you there are angels in heaven that have feet that are like pillars of fire. (Yes we can read that -there is one) This might not even be an angel, it might actually be Jesus, The angel of the Lord. So maybe it wasn’t an angel that came to me maybe it was actually Jesus. But let me tell you the experience.” I was in Seattle Washington at a public meeting and as the speaker was speaking I was sitting in the front row; he pauses to say, “I’m telling you is the truth now- everything I’m telling you is the truth- I shouldn’t have to say I’m telling you the truth. (at least according to his mindset). Jesus did that, every once in a while, kind of reemphasizing what he was saying he wanted make sure recapture you attention really what I’m saying, this is important listen up. Bentley- “The atmosphere around me starts changing and become electric, like is there some kind of angelic being moving around here now… “so I’m sitting in the front row and all of a sudden the atmosphere around me starts changing and like become electric, and I‘m like- is there some kind of angelic being moving around me right now… have you ever had that sense that something was going, you couldn’t see in the invisible realm but you were sure aware of it, either demonically or angelically, okay so I’m sitting there trying to listen to the speaker and all of a sudden I’m aware of like an electrical presence, an electrical, it was like electricity and it was like 2-3 feet in front of me” right in front of my chair, it was like a whirlwind actually, it was swirling, it was swirling like a whirlwind. And it was very electric and so I’m sitting there and I heard the Lord say “put your hand out. And I‘m thinking, God were listening to the speaker and the lord’s speaking to me put your hand out. So I put my hand out and heres what happened RRRRRR (I didn’t hear that noise that’s for you) “it was like putting my hand into an electrical forcefield.” Everytime I stuck my hand out the atmosphere was like RRRRRRR…RRRRR and then I thought what is this “and God says it’s a portal, an open heaven”. ‘and then you know what I saw? A pillar of fire “just like God brought Israel out with a pilla…I have 4 ft. maybe it was 3 ft. this pillar,… that went through the church roof. A round pillar of living fire, blue, red, sparks I mean it was pillar of fire, moving fire went right up through the church roof. I’m looking at Bill Johnson , he speaking I have a pillar of fire here God’s telling me it’s a portal and its like the bush that was consumed but did not burn I thought can this be happening to me . I’m having a Moses experience in Seattle. There’s this pillar of fire here and the lord says put your hand in it and your first thought is I’m going to burn my arm off. So, I put my hand in it RRRR and it was a real pillar of fire. So I say what do you want me to do God what do you want me to do God, he says get in. I said now, God you want me to get in the pillar of fire, I’ve got a pillar of fire that is appeared at my meeting and you want me to climb in it. One, nobody else can see the pillar of fire. Two, if I’m going to climb in it anyone at the meeting looking at me is going to see me laying on the floor, they’re not going to see the pillar of fire and I’m going to look like a fool, Bill’s speaking. I’m wrestling with God he says “get in the Pillar of fire” so I get in to the pillar of fire ‒ as soon as I get in to the pillar of fire my entire body starts going RAAAAAAR and I go up through the church roof in the pillar of fire, its transporting me- I’m in the pillar of fire, its like beam me up, up through this pillar, I’m through the church roof and all of a sudden I, I land, when I say land I mean crash on an operating table in heaven” this si a prophetic experience just in case you didn’t know. I mean, you were there charlie you probably remember the sounds; and the sights, okay. So, I’m gone, I’m in heaven on an operating table. The first thing I’m thinking, I don’t watch CSI very often I just started, its interesting, and I’m thinking I’m in an autopsy room or something that’s the first thought, I thought I’m on one of those tables. That’s my first thought y’know I’m in this room appear 4 angels that look like men don’t worry they weren’t like glorious living creatures like seraphim thy were just like guys in white coats but they were angels they had appearance of men two angels stood on one side of the operating table. And two angels stood on the other side of the operating table and honest truth they wrenched me down, I don’t know what it was they tied me down with but all of a sudden my hands and my ankles were fastened to this table but don’t tell me, this is a little graphic. I’m thinking they’re going to do a surgery on me and I’m awake that’s my first thought they are going to do a surgery on me ‒ your going t o operated on by these angels and heres what happens, I’m thinking they are going to pull out a scapel and go like (sound) and cut me open And all of a sudden I hear this sound like a mitre saw rrrrrrrr a mitre saw like one of those things before brain surgery, they rrrr . y’know they cut your skull , they pick this thing up and I I literally thought (sound) and they put this thing and they stuck it in me right here on my neck and it didn’t hurt but here’s what happened they went (sound of cutting him open) right down to my lowards and all of sudden my stomach went puchh and everything inside of me popped out onto the table, my heart, my liver like everything. And I’m lying there and you want to scream because you think it should hurt but it doesn’t hurt. and your lying there and your arrr arrr all your insides are, here's the strangest thing. so then here’s what happens the angels start taking these white boxes, they were white boxes (small), I mean like a little Christmas present, but they were white boxes and they were stuff, have you ever seen anyone stuff a turkey… and they start stuffing these things inside of me They t stuffing these boxes all over and I heard the verse “I desire truth in the inward parts.” ” I said God what’s happening - God responds, “Todd this is something I’m doing on the church today as an acceleration, He says “I’m supernaturally imparting the character, the revelation and the knowledge that I need the church to have to so they can do the do the work I need them to do because the laborers are few.” He said “I don’t have the thirty forty years to prepare a vessel.” Moses 40 years , 80 years … I don’t have. I’m doing something quick there’s going to be people who get saved and I’m going to open them up and supernaturally place inside of them 10 years of knowledge, wisdom and even character because of the fruits of the spirit. And so These boxes represent character attributes…”and God, so I desire truth, I said whoa that’s pretty awesome and so I come back to meeting, not come back like I wake up I’m in the meeting again And the Lord says get off the floor get back to your hotel room - right now, I’m going to visit you in power for one hour. I thought whoa, what’s going on. So I said Charlie quick, the lord told me to get back to the hotel room he’s going visit me in power for one hour, you want to come? Grab your son. Randy, Randy Clark was with me, I took a couple of his interns. My father was with me and one other person. and uh So lets go and we went back to the hotel and we went to Charlies room in the hotel in Seattle. And uh I looked at my watch it was a quarter to twelve, or a quarter to eleven, a quarter to eleven. And we opened the hotel door and looked at the clock a quarter to eleven we didn’t even have to pray, the moment the door closed, the moment I said it was a quarter to eleven Instantly without anybody praying “boom the holy visitation fell on the room and everybody in the room was caught up with me in the visions I mean, all you could hear was aaargh, arrgh (torturing sounds) everybody was shaking y’know and people were having open visions Charlie was skiing on the mountain of the Lord. I was screaming out fire, its consuming me fire, y’know Charlies son was in a vision, my father was in a vis,“all at the same time, it was rad.” “So anyways an hour after the power of God encounter to make a long story short what happen was the angel came into the room that had the feet like pillars of fire again… Into the hotel room and in the natural the whole hotel room filled with smoke, everybody in the room smelt it. 12 hours later those two hotel rooms burnt to the ground, above Charlies room. Above Charlies room the angel to come down to those to hotel rooms on his way down to visit us those two hotel rooms caught fire for real and burnt down. I said God I’m going to get a reputation. “In fact the next year people did not want to stay above my room or under my room nobody wanted to be near my room last year in Seattle I thought what is this and the Holy Spirit showed me the angel in Revelation 10.” Account one (the video) Lets go over his supernatural experience. As in-cohesive as the details are in his storyline, we will look at the Bible to validate this and then the other stories of the same experience to see how they compare. This angel has appeared to Bentley numerous times yet he still does not know if it is an angel or Jesus, or even the same one. Would we not know if we are in the presence of our creator or a creature? So Bentley who has had angels and Jesus come to him on several occasions cannot tell who this is? The Lord said he would come, instead it’s an angel. Bentley repeats the phrase pillar of fire over 20 times in 10 minutes, which gives the impression of suggestion, planting it as valid experience to the audience, crafting his experience as realistic as the one recorded in Rev.10 that he began with. God tells him it’s a portal, an open heaven “a pillar of fire just like God brought Israel out… A portal is something used in the new age and the Bible has nothing of any similarity. This pillar of fire becomes a teleporter like star trek? A pillar of fire just like Israel! Not at all. This pillar of fire is a transporter. Everyone in Israel saw the pillar (which was also a cloud by day) as it protected them and gave them light at night. It was the glory of the Lord and I can promise you that it was not electricity, and it was not a portal. Bentley also says his experience was like Moses and the burning bush. God told Moses not to come closer for he was on holy Ground, in this experience God supposedly tells Bentley to jump in. One thing we need to distinguish, Moses had a spiritual experience, What Bentley describes is an experience with what he and others call the spiritual realm. Bentley is concerned about getting in it, because no one else sees it and he will be seen laying on the floor looking like a fool as the speaker is still speaking they see him lying on the floor- so what, this happens all the time at these meetings and is not considered unusual. He says the electric is an angel, which he stuck his hand in several times and then God tells him it’s a portal, which is now a pillar of fire. He had already put his hand in it several times and is reluctant to put his hand in it because he’s concerned it’s going to burn his arm off. Bentley asks what do you want me to do God, he says get in. He immediately crashes on an “operating table in heaven” with angels he describes as guys in white coats (apropos). 2 on each side strapping him down. Bentley is not the first person to be operated on by these angels. This sounds more like the stories of alien abductions, not anything that occurred or was taught in the Bible. He receives invasive surgery performed by these so called “angels” that were waiting for him (guess they have no anesthesia). He assures the audience they weren’t like glorious living creatures like seraphim, as if after hearing his story of being transported through the pillar of fire people are going to be concerned that he saw glorious angels. This does not sound like God’s angels at all. If this is real, they are fallen angels. Are we to believe Bentley went up through Jesus feet as he referred to Rev.10, the Angel’s feet as pillars of fire and is then “stuffed” with little white boxes? The white boxes represent character attributes but they are not the character attributes. This is more than just strange, it is ridiculous! He hears- I desire truth in the inward parts- (a Freudian slip of his imagination maybe). Does this mean he had no truth that God could find? In reality the story lacks any biblical precedent and is far from being like the truth delivered by God in the Bible. Bentley says he does not watch much CSI, maybe not, but he certainly seems to be a Sci-fi fan. Of course he has to add this is a prophetic experience. In his description he says you were there Charlie you probably remember the sounds… and the sights. This confuses the story further, since no one is supposed to have seen any of this, Charlie was not there in this experience (but was in the hotel). God sets an appointment with him for “an hour of power”? He is told to go back to his hotel room- Instead He goes back to Charlie's room with several people, is he disobedient? As far as I can tell, 7 people along with Todd, make 8 in the room. This is an important detail as it contradicts other stories of how many people were there. Instantly after he tells them the time a quarter to eleven (10:45 at their hotel room) everybody in the room was caught up with me in the visions He says everyone is having their own vision “all at the same time, one of them was “Skiing on the mountain of the Lord” in heaven (snow in heaven?) God tells him he does not have 40 years? Is God limited by his own time clock? Does he not hold the future in his hand? The angel that has the feet like pillars of fire enters hotel room, it is filled with smoke, everybody smells it. 12 hours later two hotel rooms above them burnt to the ground. So he’s now concerned he is going to get a reputation. “In fact next year people did not want to stay above my room or under my room.” Nobody wants to be near his room as if God is going to burn them! Shows what kind of teaching they have on God. I think he should be more concerned about his stories, that should be listed as charismatic fables. This story of Bentley’s experience has not been told only once but numerous times. Each story seems to have some different details that alter the story and even contradict each other. As we look at the details given- the time, the room burning and even what happened, one is faced with trying to piece together some very contradictory portions, and it elicits more questions than there are answers. Moses' bush burned but was not consumed. Since when does God judge principalities by destroying hotel rooms? There are too many similarities to William Branham and others in this story. He is trying to fill William Branham’s shoes in many ways. The details of this video we will now compare to other accounts he wrote down. Second story A FIERY ANGELIC VISITOR “Now I'm going to share a recent prophetic encounter with you to further illustrate what God wants to do today. I was recently in Seattle, Washington participating in a 'Healing Explosion' conference. During that conference, I had a profound visitation. It was about ten o'clock at night and Bill Johnson, one of the speakers, was speaking. During his message, an angel dropped down in front of me. Nobody else could see the angel, but I could. The angel's feet were like pillars of fire. As this portal opened up in the spirit realm, my spirit eyes opened and I could see an opening about four foot by four foot which the angel had opened. This rip, like a black hole, opened up in the sky. A pillar of smoke and a pillar of fire appeared and I could feel this energy in the room. I stuck my hand out and it felt like it was going into an electrical force field. Then I shouted out, "What's going on!" I started to shake but I didn't want anyone to notice I'm having a prophetic encounter. I didn't want to interrupt the sermon. Then I ask the Lord, "What do want to do with this?" He says, 'Climb in, climb in. Just soak'." So that's what I did. I just lay down at the altar and the Lord took me up into visions. I first went up into a scene from ancient Roman days with these seven huge pillars around me. Then God said, "These are the seven pillars of revelation". Revelation 10:1 describes the same scene (every prophetic experience is in the bible): "I saw a mighty angel come down from heaven clothed with a cloud. His rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun. He had feet like pillars of fire..." STANDING AMONG PILLARS OF REVELATION The book of Revelation also talks about seven pillars which, the Lord shows me, were the seven spirits which rested on Jesus in Revelation 11:2. Here I am standing in the midst of the seven pillars of Revelation in a prophetic vision wondering what it is and the Lord says, "Proverbs 9:1". This is what the verse says: "Wisdom has built her house. She has cut out her seven pillars." I realize these are the seven pillars of wisdom and the Lord tells me "they're also the seven pillars of Isaiah 11:2." This passage reads: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." Suddenly I realize that this experience is a sign of a new dimension of revelation God's about to release in the Church today. As I come out of this experience and get up off of the carpet, the Lord says, "Get back to your hotel room. I'm going to visit you in power for one hour". So I grab some guys, one of Randy Clark's interns and a couple of my team and we rush back to the hotel room. It's five minutes to eleven when I pull my truck into the parking lot. We run into the hotel room at one minute to eleven. Everybody lays on the carpet at eleven o'clock on the nose. The power of God falls and every single person in the room starts screaming, shaking and vibrating. Everyone goes into visions simultaneously at eleven o'clock - five guys experiencing a simultaneous vision, seeing the same things at the same time. I had a vision of a fire and I started yelling out "My God is a consuming fire! My God is a consuming fire!" As I see the fire come down I scream, "The fire, the fire! Burn up my flesh! I want to feel the fire!" HOLY SMOKE AND FRAGRANCE I'm in this prophetic experience about the fire of God and in the natural realm the whole room fills with smoke and everybody smells it. My dad, who's been a Christian for a year and a half says, "Todd, I'm in a room in heaven right now and there's filing cabinets everywhere. The Lord opened a filing cabinet and he brought out a little book." The moment he spoke that, in my vision, I was already ripping a scroll from a book and eating it. I know this sounds wild and you're probably thinking 'come on'! The next thing I scream out, "I'm in a room full of spices". I see these little jars of spices - like cinnamon, garlic and oregano. The scene goes on farther than my eyes can see - wall-to-wall spice jars. Then I yell out, "The spices, the fragrant spices, the aromas!" and the whole room fills with the fragrance of the Lord. In that moment, in the natural, everybody smells burning cinnamon. You may be reading this thinking, "This is too much. I've heard of guys having visions but everybody being caught up into the same vision Todd?" I'm just sharing a profound, unusual, prophetic encounter that tells us, "God's about to visit us in a whole new dimension of revelation and wisdom. He's releasing Isaiah 11:2…. Now, back in our hotel encounter I'm asking God, "O.K. God, what's going on? The fire comes down, the whole room is filled with the smell of smoke and now the fragrance comes down. What does it mean for the church today?" He directs me to the Song of Solomon 3:6 where the king asks, "Who is this coming out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke?" That's what I'm asking: "Who is this in my hotel room like pillars of smoke?" It continues: "(He's) perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the merchant's fragrant powders…. At twelve o'clock, everybody comes out of the prophetic encounter. The presence of the Lord lifts and I look at the clock - it's just a couple minutes before midnight. Praise God, I'm speaking in the meeting tomorrow night at the Reality of the Supernatural conference. But what does all this mean? At eleven o'clock the next day, the very two hotel rooms above me where the angel stepped down, burned to the ground. And it burned till twelve o'clock exactly. We get back to the hotel and the whole hotel is now filled with the smell of smoke. To validate my vision, the Lord brought a judgement on a principality and literally burned up the two hotel rooms right above the room where the visitation took place in the spiritual realm. All the hotel staff start gathering around and they want to hear about the visitation and what took place. They are amazed at the story of what took place. And get this - when the fire started coming down at about 11:20 at night, the lady in the hotel room above us, called the front desk and said, "I hear crackling in the walls. I think there's a fire. I hear it burning." So they checked it out - it was nothing. All the power in that area of the hotel went out except for our room. The very next day, the room is burned down. Through this experience I believe the Lord is saying He's going to validate the prophetic words and the visions and dreams of the prophets by releasing signs in the heavens above and wonders on the earth beneath. It's going to become commonplace in the church today.” *Examination of the Second story In this second encounter he calls it a visitation and is sure it is an angel. It is both a pillar of smoke and a pillar of fire. He stuck his hand in the pillar of smoke and a pillar of fire and it felt like it was going into an electrical force field. This time he shouted out, "What's going on!" not asked as he did previously. Instead of the lord telling him to put his hand in The lord tells him to, climb in. Just soak'." Which is not what he said in the video. Instead of laying down not to attract attention he laid down at the altar and the Lord took me up into visions” He never laid down at the altar in the first story. This time instead of immediately crashing on a table “ I first went up into a scene from ancient Roman days with these seven huge pillars around me. But in the first story he immediately crashed onto a table in heaven and did not go to ancient Rome. Bentley says book of Revelation also talks about seven pillars, the Lord shows him these are the seven spirits which rested on Jesus in Revelation 11:2. his interpretation is Complete nonsense, especially it being a new dimension to the church. His so called prophetic experience has nothing to do with the Bible speaking of 7 pillars in Revelation. Isa.11 is describing 7 attributes of the Spirit that are upon Jesus, and these are not called pillars. Keep in mind Bentley says “ every prophetic experience is in the Bible,” unfortunately, none of this is in the Bible except for a few words he uses to force the meaning of his unbiblical supernatural experience. They are in the hotel room at one minute to eleven. Everybody lays on the carpet at eleven o'clock on the nose. The power of God falls and every single person in the room starts screaming, shaking and vibrating. Everyone goes into visions simultaneously at eleven o'clock - five guys experiencing a simultaneous vision, seeing the same things at the same time. In the video (story one) he says it began exactly at quarter to eleven. These are all important details that contradict other stories’ There are only 5 people in the room, not 8. In this account everyone is receiving the same vision (same things at the same time) no one is skiing on the heavenly mountain. Was everyone skiing on a mountain, did everyone burn with fire at Todd describes- the answer is no. He is screaming out, "I'm in a room full of spices." I see these little jars of spices - like cinnamon, garlic and oregano. wall-to-wall spice jars. He yells out, "The spices, the fragrant spices, the aromas!" and the whole room fills with the fragrance of the Lord. In the natural, everybody smells burning cinnamon. This too is not mentioned in the other stories. First story “ an hour after the power of God encounter to make a long story short what happen was the angel came into the room that had the feet like pillars of fire again… Into the hotel room and in the natural the whole hotel room filled with smoke, In this story there is a different timing for the smoke and fragrance. It becomes very confusing in its details. For we are told when The angel that has the feet like pillars of fire enters hotel room- then it is filled with smoke. In this second story I yell out, "The spices, the fragrant spices, the aromas! and the whole room fills with the fragrance of the Lord. In that moment, in the natural, everybody smells burning cinnamon. Apparently the Lord smells as cinnamon (his cologne?). it's just a couple minutes before midnight when everyone come out of the visions At twelve o'clock, everybody comes out of the prophetic encounter about 11:20 at night, the lady in the hotel room above us, called the front desk and said, "I hear crackling in the walls. I think there's a fire. I hear it burning." “All the power in that area of the hotel went out except for our room. The very next day, the room is burned down.” which room ‒ theirs? This would mean three rooms,, but he says on two. The power going out is not included in every story. At eleven o'clock the next day, the very two hotel rooms above me where the angel stepped down, burned to the ground. And it burned till twelve o'clock exactly. We get back to the hotel and the whole hotel is now filled with the smell of smoke. He explains the Lord brought judgment on a principality by literally burning up the two hotel rooms right above the room where the visitation took place. All the hotel staff start gathering around and they want to hear about the visitation and what took place and were amazed. I would think after two hotel rooms burn and you have some strange looking guy telling you a very strange story about angels causing it that he would be questioned by them and the Fire department. Third story Heaven's Realities - Part 2 of 2 Another time I was one of the guest speakers in a conference in Seattle, Washington, and while I was listening to one of the other speakers, suddenly it was like I was in a trance. About three feet in front of me a blue pillar of light appeared, and I began putting my hand into it. I could feel something sort of “electrical.” So I asked a couple of people sitting beside me if they could see it, but they couldn’t. Seeing that pillar, and it went up like a tornado into heaven, I began asking the Lord, “What do you want me to do with this?” He said, “Get in it.” But I wondered if I would disturb the meeting, and while I remained seated, God repeated, “Get in it.” So I jumped off my chair and jumped into the pillar of blue light. Instantly, I was in heaven. (I won’t go into what took place in heaven.) Back at the meeting, when the experience was over, God said, “Go back to your hotel room. I’m going to visit you in power for one hour.” So I told this to a few of the other guys, and after I asked if anyone wanted to come with me, they decided to come. As soon as we got inside the hotel room I was impressed with the thought that it was important to remember what time it was, so I said, “Everybody, take note of the time.” Then, in unison, we all said, “It’s quarter to eleven.” Now the “atmosphere” had been normal but as soon as we said, “quarter to eleven,” instantly, bam, the glory fell, and fire. I was lying on my bed. Everyone was suddenly having a supernatural encounter, shaking–two people were in the same vision and another guy was in different one. I was screaming, “The fire, the fire, I’m burning up! The fire!” and right then, an angel appeared. His appearance reminded me of the angel spoken of in the Book of Revelation in Chapter 10: “Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven . . . and his feet (legs) were like columns of fire” (v. 1, Amplified Bible, emphasis mine). He stood over my bed; two pillars of burning fire! Then, just as quickly as it all began, it was over. All of a sudden the atmosphere was ordinary again and everyone was as normal as you and I. We looked at the clock and it was quarter to twelve, to the exact minute. The power of God fell for one hour. We were all awed by the experience. But what happened next really shocked us! About twelve hours later not only did that particular hotel room catch fire, but so did some other rooms! Totally burned to a crisp! Why? Because the reality of what happens in the spiritual heavenly realm affects what happens in this (earthly) realm. We’re talking about heaven’s realities, making heaven real. http://bigchurch.com=read&status=teaching&Id=237&bid Examining Story Three suddenly he is in a trance, a blue pillar of light appeared, in the other account its blue and other colors and it came after the presence of the angel. He asks a couple of people sitting beside him if they could see it, they said no (of course). In the first and second story he did not speak to anyone on purpose. Bentley is saying that he had eyes to see this and no one else was a spiritual enough to sense it in the spirit? God immediately told him to “Get in it” Bentley did not ask him questions about the pillar in this account. I jumped off my chair and jumped into the pillar of blue light. Instantly, I was in heaven. The other story he went to the altar- and he went to Rome with the 7 pillars before heaven? In this account at the hotel, in unison, we all said, “It’s quarter to eleven.” Now, as soon as we said, “quarter to eleven,” instantly, bam, the glory fell, and fire. I was lying on my bed”. In the second story Everybody lays on the carpet at eleven o'clock on the nose. First story (video ) its a quarter to eleven In this experience two people have the same vision and another a different one. That is 3 people not 5 not 8 as in the other accounts. ending of the experience- We looked at the clock and it was quarter to twelve, to the exact minute. But the other times it is different. I was screaming, “The fire, the fire, I’m burning up! The fire!” and right then, an angel appeared. it was quarter to twelve, to the exact minute. Second story it is twelve o'clock, everybody comes out of the prophetic encounter 9on hour later). About twelve hours later he mentions that not only did that particular hotel room catch fire, but so did some other rooms! So it appears his room apparently burnt, that makes three rooms not two. This is significant because he said in the second story it was a judgment on a principality. This becomes a larger problem because he stated previously it was the two hotel rooms right above the room where the visitation took place burned. “the very two hotel rooms above me where the angel stepped down, burned to the ground” If they are burnt to the ground the fire department would be called in and there would be a record of it, we did not find any. Overall when you have this many conflicts in three accounts of the same story it does not give credence to its validity. Maybe these details can be overlooked by some, and I suspect those who want to believe it will. But there seems to be a problem when it is so varied. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. In these stories he certainly is. Let me summarize all this. The idea of God or the Holy Spirit as electricity is outrageous, He is a person, he has power but it is not electric, it is not nuclear nor is it laser. Imagine if Moses had several different details in his stories -what if Moses said the bush was burning and not consumed and then says it was consumed, or it was not a bush but a rock, or in his story of going up Mt. Sinai, he had been given one commandment before the others and that their were not 10 commandments, but says there were 11, would he be trustworthy? Bentley’s account is more like Joseph Smith and his encounter in the grove where they accumulated at least 6-9 different accounts. When you are not telling the truth it is harder to keep the story straight- the more times you tell it the more it changes. Bentley’s story is not even consistent in itself. He has crisscrossed reality with his imagination and the Bible. His passive aggressive story telling is very convincing until one examines it against the word of God and finds no true correlation. Was this the power of God or an occult experience they entered into corporately? It’s only when one does not have a true experience that they come up with different versions of the same story, the extra details are not enhancing the story but diminish its accuracy to the point that it becomes much like Joseph Smith. These points are more than embellishments, the differences are not mistakes. As far as we could find with our research there was a conference advertised at this time at Seattle Washington but there are other locations where the conference was held by those mentioned in the story. We also have found no evidence of a hotel fire at this location like Bentley describes prior to the date of Bentley’s articles or video (which is dated May 2003). Bentleys ministry has been contacted over a week ago ( this is now May 26, 200 and has not responded with any facts or produced the evidence of the name of the hotel or the date the fire occurred. So far the evidence is in his mind. Unless Bentley can tell us where this occurred, in what hotel in Seattle it took place, it brings into question the whole matter.Info on Randy Clark and Bill Johnson When the Angel came The Branham connection
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These are posted to know about those that endorse freshfires revivalism *Randy Clark was a Vineyard pastor of Christian Fellowship in south St. Louis. Clark became a part of the Vineyard in 1984 under the founder John Wimber. Randy attended a Rodney Howard-Browne meeting (1993) in Tulsa, Okla., at Kenneth Hagin, Jr.'s Rhema Bible Church. He was reluctant to go because of his theological differences with Hagin. Clark claims that, “The Lord spoke to me immediately, and said, 'You have a denominational spirit. How badly do you want to be touched afresh?” At the meeting Browne lays hands on Randy Clark and he receives the transferable anointing (that is not from God.) He then goes back to his church and the same manifestations broke out in his church the weeks following. John Arnott invites Clark to come to Toronto Airport Church, he comes in Jan. 20 1994. (hoping that something might break out there as well). What they call “Revival” breaks out at TACF and is labeled a “sovereign” move of God's Spirit. The visits begin and it is labeled the Toronto blessing disconnecting itself to its original carrier Rodney Howard Browne who incidentally was inaugurated by Benny Hinn laying hands on him and giving him the approval of spreading the uncontrolled laughter and fire of God to the people. Clark states, “This is the most powerful revival that has hit this country since Azusa Street. It will be the greatest revival we've ever seen before it's over. It won't surprise me if it lasts 20 years.” And claims that the “greatest revival of all times” is now a reality. He tells credulous Christians that “people are being raised from the dead and temples are being hit by lightening or fireballs and knocked off their things. It's all over. Germany and Africa. It's everywhere. God's doing it.” (Randy Clark, “Catch The Fire: Questions and Answers”, Toronto Airport Church Fellowship, 10/14/94) In 2001 Clark was asked to leave the Vineyard. He stated that he “was feeling a growing discomfort fitting in the Vineyard.” In his letter he wrote. “I was told that my Arminian leanings were alienating me from about 70% of the Vineyards. ... More particularly my open view of God was alienating me from many Vineyards.” Clark believes it is his association with open theist Greg Boyd. Clark moved his ministry “Global Awakening Apostolic Missions Network”, to Harrisburg, Pa. because of what he called a divine directive in prophecy. *Bill Johnson, is the Senior Pastor of Bethel Church Is connected to the Healing rooms, has a school of the prophets incorporated in his church teaching on the five fold ministry, passing mantles, apostolic commissioning, how not to become a false prophet, Developing and leading prophetic teams, Directing churches, businesses and nations through prophetic proclamations, Dealing with Jezebel, Judas and other evil spirits Bethel church has conferences with the Arnotts, Che Arn, John Paul Jackson, Jill Austin, Larry , Randolph and Kris Vallotton, Randy Clark some of the links are-- Revival Ministries - Rodney Howard-Browne; Brownsville Revival; Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship; Extreme Prophetic- Patricia King; Fresh Fire Ministries- Todd Bentley.
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When the Angel came The Branham connection There is a difference of saying someone is fired up or on fire and having an experience with fire, Angels of fire, pillars of fire or the fire falling. These are two very different concepts. After Bob Jones convinced Bentley that he could visit heaven at any time, (he claims to go there daily), Bentley had escalating encounters with angels and visits to heaven. No apostle ever taught how to go into a trance and be transported away to heaven- this is the new age movements supernatural power in the church among those who cannot discern the true gifts of the Spirit and a counterfeit. Either he is inventing stories not caring about the truth, or he is being visited by counterfeit spirits as angels of light which becomes dangerous to him and others he is teaching. Bentley believes the pillar of fire he has experienced is the same angel that was with Branham. If this is true than everyone should be running in the opposite direction to avoid any contact with it. What Branham taught and did was real, but was certainly not from a biblical source of power. What is operating is strange spirits and strange FIRE.151 Bentley says: “Then on December 5, 2000 an angel appeared to me and said he was the angel that appeared to me in April 1998 (before the Lord Jesus Christ came to me in the kitchen). He said that the day he came to me in 1998 was the day he was assigned to me. This time (on December 5th) the angel said, “I am the angel that has been assigned to your life. I am a healing angel . . . You are going to take miracles, signs and wonders around the world.” “I was with William Branham” (the Voice of Healing movement), the angel said. He told me about William Branham’s angelic encounter in 1946. Two years later the Voice of Healing was born there was a revival.” "The angel appeared to me again, February, 2001 in Albany, Oregon. He said, “I am the angel that was a part of the Healing Rooms . . . John G. Lake.” Next, my spirit was quickened when I read about the angel in the Bible–John Chapter 5. The word says there was a pool called Bethesda (v. 2) and multitudes of lame, blind, sick would come there and at a certain time, an angel of the Lord would come down and stir the waters. Whoever could get into the pool first would be healed. I started to understand the angel described in John Chapter 5 was one of many thousands of angels that are in heaven that are called to bring healing, not just through ministries, but in cities and in nations. This revelation resonated within me and in January, 1999 I was taken into the heavens and saw over 100 healing pools. I thought of several famous healing evangelists and also the Toronto Blessing and the revival in Pensacola. So I said, “Lord what are you saying?” He said, “I am going to release angels.” At that point I was taken into heaven and I was taken into a football stadium setting where I saw tens of thousands of angels in the stands. I was on the field and I had the ball. The time clock was running out of time. It was like the last play of the game and my first thought was, Why do I have the ball? I hate sports! (I was the last guy you’d want on your team. I just wasn’t athletic.) Here I am thinking: I got the ball! It was the end-time game, there was just seconds left! The angels were in the stands yelling, “Go church go! Go church go! Go church go!” I realized they were healing angels in the stands. I thought, Lord, they are angels, just like the one I saw. “That is right!” He said. “Just like the one that was with Branham, just like the one that was with John Lake, just like the angel that was in Spokane . . .” You know in the Book of Revelation, the seven churches, each one of the churches had one angel assigned. There was an angel for the church of Philadelphia, and so on. The Lord said, “It is not a strange thing. I assign angels to churches. I assign angels to ministries. Look at John Chapter 5. An angel came down and stirred up the water.” I said, “God!” Then, He said, “And there is a healing angel; I have assigned it to your life; and this angel will be at your meetings around the world.” (DISCERNING THE CALL OF GOD by Revivalist Todd Bentley - [as edited by Kathy Thorne] Part 2 of 2) What makes this interesting is that Branham taught the angels for each church were men in different periods of history, and that he was the last for the church of Laodicea. What was coming next was judgment. If we are to accept that this is Branham’s angel, it proves that Branham was wrong, which proves Bentley is also wrong because he has the same angel operating in his ministry telling something different (Which Bob Jones has identified as woman, just like a woman to change her mind). What a web of darkness being weaved. The angel saying to Bentley “I am a healing angel . . . You are going to take miracles, signs and wonders around the world.” Sounds uncannily like what Branham was offered by “the Angel” ‒ Who said “I am sent from the presence of Almighty God” that if he would remain faithful, this great spiritual move would shake the world. "That you’re to go to all the world and pray for the sick people." And said, "And regardless of what they have ... if you get the people to believe you, and be sincere when you pray, nothing shall stand before your prayers, not even cancer" (William Branham, How the Angel Came to Me, and His Commission (Edmonton: End Time Message Tabernacle), pp. 18-22; “A Man Sent By God” by William Branham.) Because of this mandate from the “healing angel” and a multitude of other angelic experiences, Bentley will pray “Holy Spirit, come. Father let there be a release of angelic activity. I ask for the angels-the angels of intercession and healing, the different angels we see in your word Father. I ask for angels to be released to every one reading this.” Bentley’s concentration on angels bringing power, naming them for their qualities and giving Bentley (and others) experiences reminds me of some books I read when I was into new age ideas i.e. Edmond Szekely and his Essene Gospel of Peace series. The Essene's according to Edmond Szekely’s writings had communions with God through the angelic world,–“Communions are a bridge Between man and the angels” they invoked angels. There was the Angel of Sun, (give us the Fire of Life), Angel of Water, Angel of Air, Angel of Power, Angel of Wisdom, Angel of healing etc. They had angels for nearly everything. Angel worship was couched in Bible type verses and terms by the Essenes who were Gnostic in their practice (if in fact it was them) “We worship the Angels Who first listened unto the thought and teaching Of the Heavenly Father.”” The Angel of Light, Who is truth-speaking,” “Angel of Wisdom, Who guides us by means of thy Heavenly Order,” “Blissful wisdom of the Holy Angels of Eternity. “We do invoke the most glorious Law. We invoke the Kingdom of Heaven, The boundless time, and the Angels.” “Through thy mystic insight Thou hast caused a spring of knowledge To well up within me, A fountain of power, pouring forth living waters, A flood of love and of all-embracing wisdom Like the splendor of Eternal Light.” Bentley speaks of angels in a similar manner. He says “Recently, I had an angel come to me in Kansas City. He said, "Todd, my name is Promise, and I've come to bring the fulfillment of God's promises…. Emma was the angel that helped birth and start the whole prophetic movement in Kansas City in the 1980s.” “two financial angels walk into the service and pour oil out on the pastor”” I first saw the angel called Healing Revival on December 5 of 2000 in Grant's Pass.” Considering the names of the angels and the invoking of them to do ministry as Bentley and others do, the similarities to the Gnostic counterfeit cannot be ignored. Like the the Kabbala (a Jewish book of mysticism) that contains a chart with 72 names of angels. Bentleys angels are named Angel of promise, Angel of revelation, Angel of finance, an Angel called winds of Change, Angel of wisdom and healing. They are putting angels in the place of God. The worship of angels can occur when they are given more attention than God, when they are concentrated on as a source of revelation and power, which is exactly what is being done in his ministry. “The Lord took me into a prophetic experience which lasted until 11:30 at night. I wasn't even able to preach. During the middle of that service, I felt the Holy Spirit say, "Thank God for the Cherubim. Thank God for the Seraphim" Acknowledge their presence in your midst. And as soon as I began thanking the Lord for these angels, I began to have the prophetic experience.’ “Supernatural experiences have become part of daily Christianity for me.” “The Holy Spirit confirms the word with signs following. When you honor and talk about the supernatural or you honor and talk about angels, guess what starts showing up? Angels.” (Fresh Fire Ministries - Evangelist Todd Bentley - Teachings http://bigchurch.com) Bentley orders the angelic hosts around “Let angels come right now to win souls in the North, East, South, and West of my city. Father I release the angels." It is important that we release the angels if we don't, angels can be bound out of the battle. The Devil can be prevailing in his darkness in a region until we begin to release, bind and loose in heaven, and begin to pray to the Father to release the angelic hosts that we need as reinforcements.” (Fresh Fire Ministries - Todd Bentley - Teachings http://bigchurch.com) It is demons that are summoned and sent by man-not angels. Bentleys focus on angels and encouraging others by his teaching of his own experiences to contact angels to release them to do your will or give them orders. He is trying to make these experiences of his the norm. This not a biblical teaching and is actually putting oneself in the position that is reserved for God. It is by His authority the heavenly spirits obey (godly angels), those that are not God’s angels but are fallen, are willing to obey man to deceive him. Todd Bentley is quite extravagant in his descriptions of his experiences. “Don't just get a bunch of information and say, “Wow, this is a great message on angels.” Be praying, “Holy Spirit, open the eyes of my heart and let the angels come right now. Let me feel the presence of angels, let me see the angels and let angelic activity be released here now.” You know why it is important to talk about heavenly things? Because we actually call forth those things that are not as though they were. As I speak out the truths of the heavenly realm, I'm actually prophesying angelic visitation. I wouldn't be surprised if you have a visitation of an angel today or if you have a prophetic dream. Angels can come in the natural and they can quite often come in your dreams” (Angelic Hosts Todd Bentley) These are dangerous spiritual statements that cannot be upheld in the Bible. To be involved in this type of angelic activity is right out of New Age seminars. It is the 3rd wave adherents (another name for Latter Rain) are involved in Gnosticism, and have been saying the same unbiblical statements and prophecies. These are just a few examples. Rick Joyner “Angelic appearances will be common to the saints and a visible glory of the Lord will appear upon some for extended periods of time as power flows through them.” (Rick Joyner, The Harvest, p.128-129). In his revelation “the Final Quest” he meets an angel called WISDOM, who teaches him to rise to the third heaven, we later find this angel is Jesus. Benny Hinn “The angels of heaven are about to appear in visible form…the angels of the Lord are about to invade planet earth and come to your house.” (Benny Hinn Honolulu Blaisdell, Jan.21 1999). It is the Gnostics that had the worship and revelation of angels (Col. 2:1 , they took delight in things they had not seen through vain imaginations. Paul emphasized a wisdom and knowledge that comes from God and not from idle speculations, angelic visitations, or fables. Col. 2:3 says of Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Christ, not heaven, not angels is whom we are to seek. Bentley is preaching experiences via angels. The Holy Spirit is sent to be our Guide, not angels who are constantly visiting with new revelatory stories. Jn.14:20 the Holy Spirit will us direct us to the words of Jesus. He does not need angels to do this. We can know everything we need by what God has revealed through His Word. We do not need to discover anything by pursuing experiences in the spirit realm, a place that we are not told to seek.
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The fire- Fresh Fire What Bentley is teaching is not new ‒ much of it can be found in the Latter Rain teachings that went through the late 40’s, 50-60’s. O .L. Jaggers was one of the Latter Ran promoters of this time period. He taught that God is “constantly revealing His Word and giving us new truths.” This is why the Latter Rain is also called a restoration movement. Because God is still speaking they believe he is still delivering new doctrines, these are confirmed by experience. Bentley’s ministry- Fresh fires statement of faith says.#12. “…God is continually restoring truth and light to His Church. Therefore, we place no limit on further revelation; however, each must be substantiated according to the Scriptures”. O.L. Jaggers “And if you remember, John wrote the revelation. " 'In the new age each man will habitually use the power of God.' "The habitual use, the habitual use of this power will enable each individual of the church to accomplish his own purposes. Man will regain his power and his dominion over the elements. It is accomplished, he says, by understanding how to use our inherited authority over this power of God or God power.” This has always been about dominionism, taking dominion of the spiritual realm, angels and powers. What Satan tempted Jesus with he is using to tempt the church. You want power, I’ll give you power over more than you ever thought I'll give you the supernatural.. Jaggers claimed: “A mighty revival time is moving around the world tonight…. Ministers are becoming flames of fire under a new anointing” (O.L. Jaggers the Kingdom of God tape transcript). The same is promised today by the Latter Rain adherents. John Arnott writes to Todd Bentley: Todd, you need to keep going in these meetings as long as the Lord is moving. I feel that this is a prophetic sign that another wave of revival is coming to North America. If you remember, the laughing revival was released in Lakeland via Rodney Howard Browne. Randy Clark went to one of Rodney's meetings in November 2003 in Tulsa, and came to Toronto in January of 2004, and it all broke out here. So, the meetings starting again in Lakeland could mean that revival gets another fresh start all over the world! John Arnott, Founding Pastor Toronto Airport Christian ) The same program continuing in different clothes. What's that saying about birds of the same feather flock together, not only is there gold- there's feathers manifesting too. Todd Bentley and Bob Jones: “The Third Wave is Here!' 12 Places for Healing and Revival to Start are Mentioned--but THIS TIME IT'S GLOBAL” “The Lord spoke to me while in Lakeland Florida and said, "'This is My Holy Spirit 'Bird Flu.'" A divine virus that is now aire borne and highly contagious and highly infectious. He said, This one is incurable! This one will spread throughout the whole world!" (Posted on ad for MOANALUA GARDENS MISSIONARY CHURCH on the web.) Patricia King of Extreme Prophetic” tells us what’s to come “Appearances of Christ like the disciples experienced following His resurrection and like Paul experienced on the road to Damascus. He will appear to believers and non-believers. Angelic visitations, appearances, and encounters like those found in the scriptures. Third Heaven Visitations and Encounters like Moses and the 70 elders of Israel , Isaiah, Ezekiel, Paul, and John. Ascending and descending (earth to heaven and heaven to earth) like Jesus described and like the angels as seen in Jacob's dream. Appearances of the Great Cloud of Witnesses like Jesus, Peter, James, and John experienced Walking on Water like Jesus and Peter. Transport in the Spirit through both visionary encounters and physical to physical like Ezekiel, Elijah, John, and Phillip. Walking into rooms where the doors are locked (possibly walking through walls) like Jesus. Raising the dead like Jesus did at funerals, at sickbeds, and even in graveyards. I have seen a vision of a revival of the raising of the dead. There will be an acceleration of resurrections. Witnessing numerous heavenly signs and wonders such as: manifestations of gold, silver, diamond glitter, gem stones, oil, feathers, lights, lightning's, thundering, manna, fire” (“Patricia King's Positional Statement on “The Spiritual Revolution” off her website) Nearly every miracle in the Bible is listed; this is the typical view of third wave kindomizers. While God can do miracles and even have one walk on water, this is a perfect example to show how outstretched these people that are into the signs and wonders movement are. The miracle of Peter never happened again, it was not repeated by any apostle or Christian. And it was done when Jesus was physically there. It had a purpose in training the twelve who would become apostles. But there are those who think everything they have done, from Moses to Paul, we can do, and more- Because the church is being empowered to do more than any apostle or prophet ever did. Welcome the Latter Rain which is not authentic but is driven by excitement and advertising. As many prophets of the Latter Rain persuasion are all prophesying about this we are faced with -“This Revival will NOT be stopped.” The Baptism of Fire A good portion of what is taking place with Bentley sounds like Rodney Howard Browne’s encounter with the fire. Bentleys own words of in experiencing the Pillar of Fire -- screaming, shaking and vibrating- The fire, the fire! Burn up my flesh! I want to feel the fire!" I was screaming” “The fire, the fire, I’m burning up! The fire is similar to what Rodney Browne said of his experience that was like the Kundalini power found in the serpent fire of Hinduism enlightenment. Rodney Howard Browne “I cried out to God in sheer desperation. I wanted Him to manifest Himself to me and in me. I was hungry." "As I prayed that day, I told the Lord, 'Either you come down here and touch me, or I am going to come up there and touch you.' I was desperate. I must have called out to God for about twenty minutes that day.” Then one day "Suddenly the fire of God fell on me. It started on my head and went right down to my feet. His power burned in my body and stayed like that for three whole days.” The similarities to Rodney Browne are certainly there. “I was plugged into heaven's electric light supply...my desire has been to go and plug other people in. My whole body was on fire. (Rodney Howard Browne. “The Touch of God” pp. 73-74.) In Bentleys experience at the hotel with his friends being caught up in visions they are being being tormented, no prophet was tortured like this from their vision or experiences. "every single person in the room starts screaming, shaking and vibrating. …I had a vision of a fire and I started yelling out "My God is a consuming fire! My God is a consuming fire!" ...As I see the fire come down I scream, "The fire, the fire! Burn up my flesh! I want to feel the fire!" The concept of electricity and fire as the Holy Spirit seems to be a common denominator in these experiences which prove they are not a biblical power but an occult one. The Bible says nothing of a fire experience like these. These are commonly found and used in other religions and the occult. “Purification: Let the fires of divinity burn out all dross. Let the pure gold emerge. Give me the gold of living love to shower upon the sons of men." [From Alice Bailey's "Discipleship in the New Age; Vol. I - Instructions to Disciples"] All this is not an original heresy, Bentley has similarities to many others, Hall, Browne, Branham, Hinn and others. From the time of Asuza street Parham promoted the 'baptism of fire' which came from Benjamin Irwin, founder of the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church. Teaching the 'baptism of fire' was a separate experience, a "third blessing" (the blessing of sinless perfection). During the time of the Latter Rain inception to its growth in popularity and practice there were certain individuals that influenced others by their teaching and preaching. One of them was Franklin Hall, who established a major fasting and prayer revival center. Hall claimed that God gave him the new revelation to impart Holy Ghost fire. Hall promoted the impartation of fire baptism through the laying on of hands. For instance: When intensified, the operation of the Gifts of Healing by deliverance preachers makes a person become very warm or hot, wherever the healing power operates. The sick area has a hot feeling right on and over the disease. Sometimes the healing fire ignites, so to speak, the very area of deadness or illness, consuming it away.” (Franklin Hall, 'Atomic Power With God Through Fasting and Prayer'). “I have said that impartation prayer is not really prayer, but a commanding of fire upon the person being touched by the "anointed" man of God. This, too, reflects Hall's teaching on the ability to command fire upon those touched, describing how a skeptic was converted after having allowed Hall to lay hands on him, Hall states: As Dr. Jumper stood before me, I commanded the Holy Ghost fire to descend and come all over him. The cloven tongues wrap around clothing did come upon nearly every part of Brother Jumper's body. He testified to it being hot upon his physical flesh.” Hall taught many things that were a mixture of new age and Christian ideas. There was the Holy Spirit full baptism which would give us the restoration of the lost Garments of Adam and Eve. Bob Jones also states that his alleged healing power came upon him when he was struck by lightning and saw “a ball of fire danced all over that basement, and didn't hurt me. But from that time forth my hands worked funny…. Anytime God is going to start a fire, he starts it with lightning. And you can take a little of that fire and impart it wherever it is needed. And it will start a God's fire” (Bob Jones, Visions and Revelations, 1988.) There are a number of other things that seemed to work funny as well, as Bible Doctrine got burnt up right on the spot. Toronto was all about catching the fire…Choo Thomas attended Toronto and later said in “1994 He anointed me my entire body with Holy Fire, then a month later, He showed me with His visual presence at the church during worship service”. Benny Hinn’s ministry is empowered by consistent visitations and visions. Here he relates one of his heavenly visitations to Paul Crouch on TBN “One afternoon," Hinn states, "I saw a man in my bedroom… he was wrapped in fire… He was standing about this high off the floor [motions about one foot up with hand]. His feet never touch the floor, he was wrapped in fire."… Hinn continued to explain in graphic detail how the man on fire tried to beat the flames away. Hinn says the Church is deficient because of the absence of a “fire" anointing. He explains #x201C; the reason the Church has had partial liberty, is because we have not known the fullness of fire. The anointing as fire is coming to your life." Hinn tells us that this new “fire" anointing will burn away bondage and sin.Is the blood of Jesus Christ not sufficient to cleanse from all? (1 jn.1:9) Now we need a fire baptism to burn away sin? (1 Peter 1:18-19). Just like it was taught from the Latter Rain. Benny Hinn often promises to give fire on people “Many of you feel a tremendous anointing on you, like fire, he repeats “fire” about a dozen times. They all go down when he says “fire on you.” “Many of you feel the power like that of fire. Others feel like electricity just rushing through your body.” “You begin to feel a mighty fire when we’re holding the service. Some began to feel fire and warmth come on you only in the service. (Benny Hinn Honolulu Blaisdell Jan.21 1999) Choo Thomas says of her experience “I received the fire of the Holy Spirit while I was praying at home in January 1994. About a month later, I saw the Lord’s presence while I was worshiping at the Neighborhood Assembly of God in Tacoma.” In the Occult and Gnosticism there are teaching that angels that bring fire with them. Could this be what is taking place in these meetings that are out of order. The ascended masters: “Beings called Yan yin, Mary Diana angels of sacred fire, the legions of the angelic hosts all are called upon for service and power to release and distribute the flame.” “The more you understand the reality and the presence, the more you can accept the presence of these healing violet flame angels, the closer, they will come and the greater their strength and power of that sacred fire wrapped around you” (I Am healing decrees Saint Germaine press 1976 p.6) Fire what does this mean? It is not a Bible concept for the believer these occult energies are like fire. Being formerly involved in the new age movement I experienced the energy released in spiritual experiences and they are just like what I see taking place in these revivals. There is no biblical precedent for this and the energy does not set one free but brings them into bondage. What we are seeing today is what Bickle and the Kansas city prophets spoke of in 1989 “what's going to be coming down in the next twenty years you and I have no frame of reference for understanding. It is going to be so unusual you are not going to be able to look at the word for every manifestation and find one there because the Spirit of the Lord has so many manifestations that you and I know nothing about" (Divine Appointment [Introduction], Mike Bickle, 3/29/89, cassette tape) At the National School of the Prophets conference of Peter Wagner's New Apostolic movement Mike Bickle gives us his misinterpretation of the fire in Scripture and he and Cindy Jacobs are teaching the very same concepts as Bentley : Cindy Jacobs “I was sharing this about the fire issuing forth with Mike Bickel. …, share this about the fire issuing forth, about revelation.’ (Mike Bickel speaking) In Daniel 7:10, the fiery stream, or the river of fire that breaks fourth out of the throne of God, I believe is the person of the Holy Spirit. And when the fire comes fourth, the fire is not just judgment. The fire is the revelation of the burning desire of God's heart for people. Now, with that burning desire, when rebellion rises up against it, the fire removes that which hinders love, and we call it judgment. But the fire breaks forth. His name is the Holy Spirit, and when this fire comes through history, Malachi 3 says, "The forerunners at the end of the age are going to loose the burning fire." ‘The river of fire broke in upon them in Acts 2. Tongues of fire baptizing them afresh. It's the anointing of the forerunner's spirit, and the thing ends in Revelation chapter 15. On the sea of glass, worshiping God, mingled in flaming fire with the harps of God in our hands. The church, the bride of Christ, that got a down payment in Acts 2, a room of a hundred and twenty with fire, is going to end up with these thousands and thousands and thousands, Revelation 15, verse 2 and 3, mingled with the same fire of Acts 2, the river of God, the Holy Spirit, clothing us with fire “ (Cindy Jacobs speaking) Hallelujah! The Holy Spirit is fire and where does He abide? In here. That we begin to decree and declare what's going to happen. There's gonna be a fiery issue out of our mouths. The fire of God. The glory of fire, the Holy Fire, whatever you what to tell it. The fire of the living God that came in us at Pentecost, you see, we just didn't receive tongues, we received fire at Pentecost. And the fire of the Holy Spirit is coming” “, we declare right now that the power that is released angelicly, the fiery servants of God are being released right now upon the state of New Jersey. We say they are being released now. Lord, we declare the fire that is released, the fire, the Michael force of angels is going in, come down, we cry out. Come down.” “We say, "Angelic forces, assign yourself to the sons and daughters of New Jersey." “There is something the Holy Spirit is gonna lay on you. Hallelujah. Come on, some of you speakers. Dutch. Come on, Bishop. Come on, let's lay hands on them. Father, in Jesus' name we decree and declare that you're going to carry this back, for the, for the anointing of revival. We speak of fire, God, right now. Right now, right now, fire of God. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. Yeah, yeah, the fire of God. The fire of God. We release it and we declare it.” “Come on, speak the fire of God right now. Right now. Right now. Just receive it.” if you got fire, you can stir up fire too. Stir it up. Kindle it. … Baptize us with fire” Do you have a fire song? Do you have a fire song? Okay. We're going to do a fire song. I can't preach yet because God is going to do something.” “We're gonna sing a fire song. Whoa, are you ready? Come on the, stir it up. The gift, you stirring it up. Stir it up. (Man singing) Burn in me, burn in me. Let the fire of the Holy Ghost burn in me. Burn in me. Burn in me.” Jacobs continue to do this as mantra about a dozen more times, completely and then gives us the clincher– “The fresh fire from Heaven burning inside, I'm releasing inside, so, receive a new anointing, my prayers for you.. "Fresh fire," says the Lord, "coming down. I'm exploding it now." Receive the fire of the Lord. It's coming now, it's coming down. Fresh fire, fresh fire is raining down. Lift up your hands. "Receive the fresh fire for the nations," says the Lord. Fresh fire. Just coming, fresh fire. A new fire for the nations. "I'm sending you fire," says the Lord. "A fresh new fire is coming down. I'm giving you my heart for the nations, the fresh fire for the nations.” “"Oh, receive it right now," says the Lord. A fresh fire, a brand new fire. Holy Ghost fire is yours right now. Let loose your fire, God. Let loose the fire of the Holy Spirit right now. Right now, Lord. Send them home with fire. Fire. Fire, fire. Burn, Lord, burn, Lord, burn, Lord. Let the fire burn, yeah, Pentecost fire. And from his mouth comes, oh, the sword of the spirit, with burning fire, and his eyes are flames of fire. Oh. Hallelujah. Cindy Jacobs speaking at the National School of the Prophets. subtitled "Mobilizing the Prophetic Office."- recorded at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, May 11th, 2000) This was only a small sample of the wonderful antics of the prophets under Peter Wagner. If you think this does not sound like someone that is right you should see the video or hear the audio to hear her screaming this. The transcript just does not communicate the activity of the meeting. Jesus said you know not what spirit you are you are by wanting to call down fire from heaven. James and John wanted to do this for a judgment (Luke 9:55-56). We can't even do it for a blessing, it can't be done. Experiencing fire, having it imparted is not a Bible concept for the believer. -A light that is really darkness The Fire as an ANOINTING-
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The Fire as an ANOINTING God has appeared a number of times in His glory by fire in the Old Testament but it was a rare thing. There are teachers today that want to make it common. If one does a topical Bible study they will find a fire baptism or fire falling is not a good thing in Scripture. Rodney Browne describes, "I was so intoxicated on the wine of the Holy Ghost that I was literally beside myself. The fire of God was coursing through my whole being and it didn't quit ... He did finally lift that intense anointing off me, but it stayed lightly on me, that I was aware of, for two weeks. Because of that encounter with the Lord, my life was radically changed from that day on.” Latter Rain promoter Bill Hamon has been teaching along these lines for some time. In his book “The Eternal Church” He writes: “Each restorational advancement of the Army of the Lord has established denominational forts that are given responsibility to maintain the purity and power of that truth… New recruits are now being drafted and trained and older soldiers and generals are being put through intensified training for the next advancement of the Church Army. They are being purified by the Baptism of Fire… Are you ready? (p. 374 Christian International Publishers, 1981) Some are even saying this baptism of fire will separate the wheat from the tares. But it is the tares that are associated with the fire. Matthew 3:10-11: “Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire .” Fire is God’s judgment V.12 He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." John who is preparing the people to receive the Messiah is juxtaposing believers with unbelievers. John says that Jesus will baptise you with the Holy Spirit (believers) and fire (non- believers). It is NOT the Holy Spirit AND fire or the Holy Spirit that IS the fire. John continues by saying that Jesus will gather His wheat into the barn BUT burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire, (which Jesus later describes as a fire that is never quenched Mk.9:43-). The Bible says, “There is ...one baptism” (Eph. 4:4-5). The explanation is that it occurs only once, never needed to be repeated. This can only mean Spirit baptism that puts a believer in the body of Christ and the Spirit in the believer (1Cor.12:13), there is NO baptism of fire for any believer. Some may point to Acts 2:3 as justification for the baptism of the Spirit (called as tongues of fire) but this event was unique happened, it occurred only once, it did not take place in either the apostle ministry or to the church ever again. It was never repeated in the New Testament nor taught as a practice for the baptism of the Spirit in the church by the apostles. Bentley and others justifies all this with the few scriptures of a rushing wind and tongues of fire over their heads on Pentecost. And of the angels, Bentley says, "Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire" Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1 , 14)Angels of Light “According to this passage, angels manifest as flames of fire and are ministering spirits sent to serve us. The minute you inherit salvation, angels are released into your life and ministry. In Hebrew the word minister means service, aid or relief” (Angelic host - Evangelist Todd Bentley http://bigchurch.com) Is the Holy Spirit, who is already with us not enough? Why do we need more, something that is not spoken of in the Bible? Is it because we are not content, or desire a miracle, or supernatural experience as Jesus said a wicked people desire. Maybe it is because so many are not stable in his word and do not understand how the Lord works from within our lives outward to others. Lets look at Hebrews 1 : “And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels winds, And his ministers a flame a fire: is a quote of Ps.104:4. Who maketh his angels spirits ho (NT:3543) poioon (NT:4109) tous (NT:3543) autou (NT:839) pneumata (NT:4100). "spirits" can be rendered "winds." (In Hebrew, "spirit and wind" are often synonymous).This can be better translated as angels that are swift as wind, rapidly doing his will, ministering judgment for God. In this passage angels are the spirit creatures God sends according to the needs of their service, in this case, being a “flame of fire” is about judgment. These men are calling on these as angels of fire and they are calling down judgment on the church. This can be supported by how fire is used. Fire is often associated with judgment. When he comes it will be as “In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:8-10). Jesus said in Luke 12:49 "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! In other words, he longs to have the judgment so that a new earth can be produced where righteousness dwells. There is no fire anointing, or fire baptism for the believer from God. John 15:6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” Jesus is speaking about branches not connected with him that did not produce fruit. For we are appointed to produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. But this can only take place if one has understanding of the word, which would be different than learning by supernatural experiences. The fact is, no Christian should be passing on fire to another believer or receiving it, it is exclusive for unbelievers. Fire is a tool of God for judgment: The Old Testament makes this clear Ps. 21:8-9: “Your hand will find all Your enemies; your right hand will find those who hate You. You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger; the LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath, and the FIRE shall devour them.” Isa. 66:15: “For behold, the LORD will come with FIRE and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.” In the tribulation period those who take the mark “shall be tormented with fire” (Revelation 14:10) Numerous judgments in the Tribulation are sent by God through his angels Revelation 8:5-7 “Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.” This corresponds to Acts 2:19 ‒ Joel 2-3 which takes place before the great and terrible day of the Lord. However, Bentley says: Now look at verse Acts 2:19 - "I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapour of smoke." I believe that God is releasing a signs and wonders dimension in the church today to validate the visions and dreams of the prophets.” (http://bigchurch.com LIVING IN THE SUPERNATURAL By Todd Bentley) Is God contradicting his word and now has a different timing and meaning? The two prophets in Israel use fire against their enemies Revelation 11:5 fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies.” Even for believers our judgment in heaven goes through the purifying fire of God to see what it was done by. 1 Corinthians 3:13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire” Even a statement is from Jesus himself- “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Luke 10:18 a flash of lightning out of heaven, (from Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament). A vividly a dazzling brilliance (Vincent's Word Studies of the New Testament). Does the church not understand that light and fire can be manipulated by these creatures of darkness to disguise themselves and what they do as Paul describes in 1 Cor.11:14. The Bible describes to us the power that the counterfeits have. Revelation 13:13-14 describes the second beast–“He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs…” The Pillar of Fire Exodus 13:21-22: “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.” Notice that he is seen and is with the people every day to lead them. In Nehemiah 9:12 (19) it clarifies: “Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, And by night with a pillar of fire, To give them light on the road Which they should travel.” The Bible gives us the purpose of the pillar of fire that appeared only to Israel and it is clear that this pillar of Fire is the Lord (Ex.33:9). Bentley says in his video “This might not even be an angel, it might actually be Jesus, The Angel of the Lord. So maybe it wasn’t an angel that came to me maybe it was actually Jesus. But let me tell you the experience.” http://bigchurch.com His experience overrides any doctrine that he had almost understood. Because if he know this was Jesus he certainly would not call him “the angel of the Lord” but bow his knee to him as THE LORD. When we have teachers who do not know the Bible reduce this to an experience for today and include false teaching of it we can should discern what is taking place. Bentley relates this to the angel that appears in the middle of the Tribulation (not before) Whose “feet like pillars of fire Revelation 10:1. His story of going to heaven via a pillar of fire and having the pillar of fire visit his hotel room later does seem incredulous. Bentley’s supernatural experience is similar to several sources which certainly bring us to question his story even more. The pillar of fire is not just found in the pages of the Bible, in fact many people claim to have experienced a pillar of flames or fire. In Mormonism “The Angel Moroni, descended in a brilliant pillar of light and repeatedly instructed Joseph in the next steps of the restoration of the true gospel Smith, claimed to have been led by angel lto the spot where the golden plates on which the Book of Mormon had been written were buried. Some of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon, who handled the plates gave testimony they conversed with the angels of God” (Journal of Discourses:164 1859). This shows one can be deceived even if something spiritual takes place. Joseph Smith described his encounter in a similar way "A pillar of fire appeared above my head; which presently rested down upon me… A personage appeared in the midst of this pillar of flame, which was spread all around and yet nothing consumed." Another personage soon appeared like the first: he said unto me thy sins are forgiven thee. He testified also unto me that Jesus Christ is the son of God. "I saw many angels in this vision” (The Papers of Joseph Smith: Autobiographical and Historical Writings, Vol. 1, pp. 125-127). Sound similar? Yet we know Smiths account is not Biblical, why should we think Bentley’s is? During the year of 1832, Joseph Smith kept a diary. In it, Smith gives a somewhat different account of the First Vision where it was not so pleasant. He writes, "... the Lord heard my cry in the wilderness.... and while in the attitude of calling upon the Lord in the 16th year of my life a pillar of light above the brightness of the sun at noon day come down from above and rested upon me and I was filled with the spirit of God and the Lord opened the heavens upon me and I saw the Lord...“When Immediately I was seized by upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had some astonishing influence over me so as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. ”he then had great alarm, a pillar of light appears like the brightness of the sun and falls upon him, he is delivered from what held him bound. When the light rested two personages ..stood above me… "I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other one - This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith 2:17-19) In another story "He accordingly went out into the woods and falling upon his knees called for a long time upon the Lord for wisdom and knowledge. While engaged in prayer a light appeared in the heavens, and descended until it rested upon the trees where he was. It appeared like fire. But to his great astonishment, did not burn the trees. An angel then appeared to him and conversed with him upon many things." Is this William Branham? No, its William Smith describing Joseph Smith’s experience in the woods (William Smith On Mormonism, By William Smith, Joseph Smith's brother. p. 5 (1883). Others have had experiences with a light that they thought was God or his angel. John Avanzini telling his story in Abba Nigeria of how he was given a revelation of his Biblical economics (1997 on TBN) “Well as the night became very dark I continued to pray and all of a sudden I looked out the window and there was light there was slight out there and it was big it was immediately, it caught my attention, because it was so dark there was no light anywhere. And then all of a sudden I saw that the light was moving towards me very rapidly, I though oh my, and it just hit me, this is a mortar there’s some kind of a uprising in the government or something or some kind of coup and someone shot a mortar at the hotel. But the spirit of God just touched me and said just be at peace and a peacefulness came over me .as the light came towards the room it just came out and stopped right outside the window. And then it just came into the room and stood just about as high as man would stand, and I just, and it was on the right side of the window as I was looking at it I was just caught by it I could not take my eyes off it. … but that light when you looked away you were drawn back to it again it was different type of light then I ever seen. And it as brilliant and as I looked at it all of a sudden, you know, I thought maybe this just a sign from God. Maybe this will be alight and all of a sudden the voice spoke, it come right out of that light. And he said John I have called you to take biblical economics to my church all over the world. John if you will do what I tell you I will give you revelation and you will have a message and a power in your message that will last the rest of your life and then he said John if you'll do what I tell you the church will speak different than they speak today. When your life is done the church as a whole will be speaking different then what they speak today in what I'll put into your spirit. And as I sat there all of the sudden the spirit of god started teaching me speaking to me church this bible that I have in front of me people look at it and they think seems like you can get another bible this thing the leaves , honestly the acid of my fingers eating the leaves up but the truth of the matter is this is the book I had laying in front of me that day as I was there on my knees Abba Nigeria and the spirit of god began to speak to me showing me biblical economics. He showed me church that was so startling… a word to get money from gods people I have the message of abundance in my word to get money to my people. and it musn't just be used to raise money it must used to teach my people how they can have the money they need to do the things I want them to do (sounds so official and right) and I tell you as I stayed in that thing and he continued to talk to me and he brought revelation upon revelation into my spirit. Church I can take you through here and show you just explosive whole new things were spoken into the body of Christ about finances as god revealed them to me. but then as the night carried on through as I realized we were coming to a close in our conversation he asked me for something John, you asked me for an anointing you asked me for a breakthrough. .He said John from this day on when I tell you to do it when I tell you to do it. When you lay hands on a offering and speak the hundredfold over it I will quickly multiply that offering back to the believer.” Stories like these are numerous but not humorous, as they bring false teaching into the body of Christ. Branham’s Pillar of fire- Bentley’s Pillar of fire Bentley believes the pillar of fire that appeared to him is the same angel that was with Branham (others also believe this). He is the only person I can recall that has applied this since Branham’s ministry end by his death in an unfortunate car crash. It was told at a baptism of Branham: “There were about 4,000 people watching the baptism, and when Brother Branham was baptising the 17th person, according to the Word of God (Acts 2:3 , a blazing whirling star suddenly appeared out of Heaven, with the sound of a rushing wind audible to all and hovered over the head of Brother Branham. Many ran in fear and others knelt in prayer, and a voice spoke out of the Pillar of Fire, to the prophet and saidAs John the Baptist was to forerun the first coming of Christ so your message will forerun the Second Coming of Christ. Brother Branham alone heard the words, which was God's commission to him, others heard the sound but not the words, but they saw the Pillar of Fire.” This Pillar of Fire had been with Branham since the time of his birth. During his ministry it was claimed to be photographed several times. When praying for the sick he would watch the Pillar of fire move around the building from one person to another, revealing the "thoughts and intents" of the heart, the past, the present and the future. Branham describes one of his experiences with a light: “then along in the night, at about the eleventh hours, I had quit praying and was sitting up when I noticed a light flickering in the room. Thinking someone was coming with a flashlight, I looked out of the window, but there was no one, and when I looked back, the light was spreading out on the floor, becoming wider. Now I know this seems very strange to you, as it did to me also. As the light was spreading. . I became excited and started from the chair, but as I looked up, there hung that great star. However, it did not have five points like a star, but looked more like a ball of fire or light shining down upon the floor. Just then I heard someone walking across the floor, which startled me again, as I knew of no one who would be coming there besides myself. Now, coming through the light, I saw the feet of a man coming toward me, as naturally as you would walk to me. He appeared to be a man who, in human weight, would weigh about two hundred pounds, clothed in a white robe. He had a smooth face, no beard, dark hair down to his shoulders, rather dark-complexioned, with a very pleasant countenance, and coming closer, his eyes caught with mine. Seeing how fearful I was, he began to speak, ‘Fear not, I am sent from the presence of Almighty God to tell you that your peculiar life and your misunderstood ways have been to indicate that God has sent you to take a gift of divine healing to the peoples of the world. IF YOU WILL BE SINCERE, AND CAN GET THE PEOPLE TO BELIEVE YOU. NOTHING SHALL STAND BEFORE YOUR PRAYER, NOT EVEN CANCER. He told me many things which I do not have space to record here, He told me how I would be able to detect diseases by vibrations on my hand. He went away, but I have seen him several times since then, …. A few times he has appeared visibly in the presence of others. I do not know who he is. I only know that he is the messenger of God to me. (From "A Man Sent By God" by William Branham). He was convinced by His experience not testing it in a correct manner to the word of God. “And-and right in here there was a-a Light on the floor, and I thought, "Well, where's that? Well, that couldn't be coming..." I looked around. And here It was above me, this very same Light, right there above me, hanging right like that. Circling around like a fire, kind of an emerald color, going, "Whoossh, whoossh, whoossh!" like that, Just above It, like that. And I looked at That, and I thought, "What is That?" Now, It scared me. (William Branham, How the Angel Came to Me, and His Commission (voice of God recordings) Jan.17,1955 , pp. 73-75) Branham would even cast out Satan by the pillar of fires presence, in the Lords name “I adjure thee by the living God Whose Presence is here now in the form of a Pillar of Fire, leave these people! And come out of them, in the Name of Jesus Christ! (HOW THE ANGEL CAME TO ME, AND HIS COMMISSION). Branham in his Tabernacle church hung a picture of himself with the pillar of fire behind him on the pulpit. In 1950 Branham had a photo taken that many point to that the "pillar of light" was real. While this and other photos may prove it was real it does not prove it was true for it certainly was not Biblical what was taking place. When Branham was asked about the light that accompanied him in ministry responded "I believe that It is the same Pillar of Fire that led the children of Israel from Egypt to Palestine. I believe It's the same Angel of Light that come in the-in the jail and come in to Saint Peter and touched him, and went forward and opened the door and put him out into the light” (William Branham, How the Angel Came to Me, and His Commission, p. 88 (voice of God recordings) Jan.17, 1955). This is what Bentley said as well “A pillar of fire “just like God brought Israel out with a pillar” Bentley also gave some similar descriptions “it was swirling like a whirlwind. And it was very electric, Seeing that pillar, and it went up like a tornado into heaven.” And why not, after all its supposed to be the same angel. Bentley’s experiences with angels and pillars of light are numerous and frequent. “Well, I've had angels come as shimmering pillars of light with such brightness about their person that I couldn't make out the details” (ANGELIC HOSTS by Revivalist Todd Bentley) “I remember one of the first time's I saw in the spirit an open heaven. I was ministering in a Vineyard church in Albany Oregon. We were experiencing a tremendous outpouring open heaven of healings and miracles for several weeks already. …. In one service I saw heaven open, it was like a hole tore open in the air and I saw a glory light like a pillar come out of this portal. Then I saw a 14-20 foot angel in the pulpit by the name of healing revival. At that time God spoke to me that this Angel was like the Angel (John 5: 1-4) that came down at a certain season to stir the waters of the pool of Bethesda.” (Todd Bentley Ministering Under An Open Heaven Sep 23, 2002 http://bigchurch.com In an ad posted from April 28, 2004: “This April 28th Fresh Fire Ministries will launch it's first Canada Ablaze Signs and Wonders Crusade! We have chosen Toronto to host the first of four Crusades for 2004. Paul Cain prophesied that there was a second wave coming to Toronto and to the entire world! The river of God is going to get deeper! The river in Ezekiel 47 is a river of life. The waters of this river bring life to everything that it touches! That refreshing and renewal continue today. God is reviving his people, and as the river of God flows deeper it becomes a river of healing and harvest.” We Are Looking For An Army We are asking and calling for anyone who has ever been touched in anyway at the Toronto Blessing, or who wants to be touched by the Toronto Blessing and you missed the last Toronto outpouring, to join this mobilization!” (posted on http://bigchurch.com=1908 This is the river that came from Rodney Browne came to Toronto. To Brownsville and now Bentley. Bentley again misapplies Ezek.47 which is about the millennium period, not now. God may use imperfect men - but these men preach another gospel, prophesy falsely and present to the people another Jesus, how can GOD be using them to further his kingdom! After reading the various differences in his doctrine we should not ignore how serious this all is. I would hope Bentley would take heed of this fire which we all must be aware of and avoid. James 3:5-7: “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” Boasting by his visions and experiences of the supernatural is his forte and his doctrine is bringing damage not health. It is our faith that is tested by fire. 1 Peter 1 : “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire.”Maybe your faith, your whole belief system is being challenged by the experiences and stories of Bentley” God is able to give us a spiritual experience but he is not sending “fire” as a supernatural experience as many claim. I find it both droll and dangerous that people like Bentley promote a special spiritual relationship with the Lord are never told by Him what is true and accurate to the word. They continue to experience and teach what is false. And they will have an audience willing to listen of those who ears itch for more because of their restless spirit and being untrained in the word and discernment. Angels we have heard and seen- Are we to be visited by angels to have heavenly experiences?
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Angels We have Heard and Seen A number of religions were started by angels, Mormonism, Islam and it certainly looked like the genuine thing to the recipients. Without honestly testing the appearances of apparitions one is left to believe whatever they experience as being from God. In this current so called Revival that is expanding in Lakeland, we have testimony by participants of encountering angels. Not since the book “Angels on Assignment” by the Hunters has the church had such interest and pursued contact with angels. It is as if Bentley is starting a new religion with scraps of Christianity in it. Bentley’s ministry is concentrated on angelic visitations, encouraging others to do the same by teaching his own experiences of contact with the angels- called an open heaven. This is a dangerous precedent, offering his (counterfeit) experiences to others. The reason one can say they are counterfeit is because Biblically they are foreign to how Scripture describes interaction with these beings. Because his is not a biblical teaching, it actually puts people in the unfortunate position of being visited by angels of light. Fallen angels who come to deliver new revelation and deceive by experience. Revelation from an audible voice, supernatural dreams or visions, communication of angels all have to be tested by the Scripture as if your life depends on it, because it does. Bentley claims to be visited in Dec. 2000 by an angel who said “I am a healing angel . . . You are going to take miracles, signs and wonders around the world.” “I was with William Branham.” The prophetic movement is said to be started by a woman angel named “Emma,” which the Bible certainly has nothing to say about. This same fallen angel is said to be working with Bentley. Todd Bentley states: “Angelic Visitations: We know in scripture that angels are referred to as ministering spirits and messengers. Through out the bible we see numerous directions given, messages and intervention by angels. Why not today? Visitations Of the Lord: This is simply when Jesus visits his servants as when Moses and Elijah visited Jesus on the mountain. I know that the Lord comes to his people today. Yes if he came to the disciples for 4o days and 40 nights after his death and resurrection. He can make selected visits now and has. Translations and transportations: I want to make a difference here between translations and transportations. Translations are when the spirit is when one goes in spirit but transportations are when the body, soul and spirit go. Acts 8:39 39) And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. We also have Elijah the prophet in 2 Kings 2 and an example of Enoch be transported right into heaven. For Enoch walked with God and he was not. “We can also only assume that is there is a third heaven, and then there must be a first and second heaven. In Gen 1:1 the bible declares: In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth. Heavens is plural, more than one heaven. The bible also says Jesus ascended to the highest heights of heaven. I would describe the first heaven as the natural realm. The second heaven is the realm where angelic and demonic activity takes place and is recorded in Eph 6. The third heaven is the realm where God dwells, the immediate presence of God or paradise. The third heaven is one of if not the highest level of revelation and prophetic experience. When we are taken into this place it is more than a vision where I know I was still in my home or church while I had it. When taken into the spirit or caught up, you know you are in another place and it is so real that when you are aware of your natural surroundings again. You find yourself like Paul "Whether or not I was in my Body or not I do not know". He said that twice in a few verses. You will ask yourself did I really go? Or was it in the mind and its impact will never fade. I was taken into the spirit several times and quite I will feel my body be sucked up like a vacuum. I will immediately shake and feel myself hurled through space and time. I have even seen and felt myself leave the earth, travel through the stars and flash of bright light and I am somewhere. Did my physical body go? Never that I know but when I find myself aware of where I was before I went I know I was in another place. All my emotions are heighten and involved in a caught up experience and most times I feel my self go.” ( http://bigchurch.com An Open Heaven Todd Bentley Ministering Under An Open Heaven Sep 23, 2002 ) What’s the problem with what Bentley is saying? First of all he is taking a few rare instances in the Scripture and making it normative. Thus, his teaching of an open heaven, a bridge from earth to heaven and heaven to earth is open. Let’s look at each of his fallacious arguments separately. Bentley- Moses and Elijah visited Jesus on the mountain. Yes, they were summoned by God. These two prophets are representative of all the prophets in the Old Testament and discussed the very purpose Jesus came to earth, all that prophets prophesied of- his death and resurrection. The Father and His glory were also there, and the Son showed His glory to his three closest disciples. There was a specific purpose for this to take place. This revelation is not repeated ever again to anyone. So why should we expect it to take place today again? Bentley- “I know that the Lord comes to his people today. Yes if he came to the disciples for 4o days and 40 nights after his death and resurrection. He can make selected visits now and has” Jesus before he ascended to heaven stayed 40 days to further train his apostles after his resurrection, teaching them the foundation that they would lay for the church. He did not come from heaven but was still on earth, so this is a non sequitur argument. After His ascension the Lord appeared one more time in glory to appoint the last apostle. Paul saw a light, he heard him speak from heaven but he did not see a human form. Paul says in 1 Cor.15:8 he is the last of all people to see the Lord. Jesus is at the right hand of the Father just as Steven saw him in a vision, until he returns for all the church at the same time. He is not making special trips to earth, especially to those who teach falsely about him. This false idea of Jesus visiting people includes a parade of people from the word faith teachings. It seems that Jesus always picks to visit those who have false, wacky doctrines. Kenneth Hagin, Jesse Duplantis, Roberts Lairdon, Benny Hinn, and Sung Myung Moon, etc.. “We also have Elijah the prophet in 2 Kings 2 and an example of Enoch be transported right into heaven.” These two rare events are separated by thousands of years, and both happened to a prophets, one whom God used to write the Scripture. They never came back and wrote a book or toured telling their story. Bentley misapplies these events to be something that should be found in everyday Christianity. Some cite that there were chariots of fire were seen all around Elisha (2 Kings 6:15-17) so we can see the angels. This true, but it was a one time event that never repeated itself again in Elisha'sj life nor any other prophet throughout the Old Testament. "And Elijah prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he might see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. (II Kings 6:17). So did Elisha pray every time to see angels? No. He never prayed this again. He is the only one who participated in this one of a kind revelation. Our conclusion is that this is an unusual one time answer to Elijah’s prayer that the Bible records to give us all insight (by faith) that there is a real spiritual war going on around us. He did not have an experience with the angels but was allowed to see that they were more than the enemy, it gave him faith in God. What about entertaining angels? Hebrews 13:1-2: “Let brotherly love continue Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” This passage does not necessarily mean angels are constantly among us, for it can also be translated messengers, as in those who bring the gospel (the context is about caring for brethren). But if it does include angelic beings, it can in no way be used the way Bentley explains his supernatural adventures, for it implies that they do not make themselves known. Bentley says “I’m releasing it back to where it all started in 1948 I’m releasing it back.” Y’know I told the lord why can’t I just move in healing and forget talking about all that other stuff, he said because Todd, you got to get the people to believe in the angel. I said, God why do I want the people to believe In the angel instead about getting the people to believe in Jesus, he said the people already believe in Jesus but the church doesn’t believe in the supernatural. The church has no problem believing in Jesus what we don’t believe in is the supernatural we don’t believe in angels, we don’t believe in the prophetic.” (source: http://bigchurch.com He calls himself an evangelist- to preach angels? And this is said to him by God! What apostle was ever taught this? Can you find this taught to the church? Why is this strangely missing? The comment of 1948 is about the Latter Rain- this is our answer- new revelation. Maybe if the church was taught the Bible we would believe these things in their correct manner, which is not what Bentley is leading people into at all. Jesus spoke a lot about angels at the end of the age Matthew 13:41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend (Mt.13:49; 16:27; 24:31, 25:31). The Bible also tells us in the end of the age it will be just as in the days of Noah. One of the more significant events taking place beside the increase of sinfulness which resulted in violence is an increase in angelic visitations (Gen.6). For believers God does assign angels to guard us, protect us from harm, they stay invisible to us. There are only a few accounts in the New Testament of angels interacting with man. Contrary to the promoters of angelic appearances these creatures mostly work behind the scene fulfilling God’s divine will, not revealing themselves to us. In the Old Testament “The Angel of the Lord” gave revelation and visions or dreams to the prophets and Israel i.e Ezekiel. There are a few occurrences with Daniel that Gabriel the angel appeared and explained to him the details of the vision he had from the Lord (Dan.8:19; 10:6). Bentley’s experiences are neither biblical nor believable. There is no comparison. In fact Bentley refers to Rick Joyner's book, The Final Quest where a story of angels has similarities but does not agree with the Bible at all. So he he has a variety of influences to form his ideas. Branham believed the angel that came to him was THE Angel of the Lord from the Old Testament (whose name is Emma according to Bob Jones). “The Angel of The Lord stood right here before several hundred people. And now He's doing something real supernatural now, too. So we're just expecting great things” (The Revelation of the Seven Seals p.180). In Hebrew “The Angel of the Lord,” is called Malach Yahweh (The messenger of Yahweh). These appearances in the Old Testament are called theophanies (God appearances). The term "the angel of the Lord" is an Old Testament reference to the pre-incarnate Christ, (the Son of God). This Angel is an ambassador who has God’s name attached to his title, as He is called the Lord himself. For example in Gen.22:1-16: “Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD” It is in Ex.3:2 this angels identity is clear when Moses encounters the Lord at the burning bush. “And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and V.4: “And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And He said, Here am I. In v. 6 This angel identifies himself “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” God said, “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. “ Exodus 23:20 He is called the angel of God Exodus 14:19 the angel of his presence Isa. 63:6. Much of the angelic appearances found in the Old Testament were to protect and fight for Israel, the Angel of the Lord camped around Israel (Psalms 34 ). If you hear people say they are visited today by “The Angel of the Lord,” they are not. He was the pre-incarnate Jesus who came as a messenger from heaven (like an angel) in Old Testament times. In the New Testament he took up a body and this is why we do not see or hear of The Angel of the Lord in the New Testament any longer. The Angel of the Lord is not longer appearing; he hasn’t for nearly 2,000 years since Jesus took a human body. It seems that the angel Emma being referred to as "the Angel of the Lord" is a lying spirit. In the Latter Rain movement Branham said He was visited by the Angel of the Lord. Paul Cain said “the Angel of the Lord” visited him for the first time when he was 8. There is a difference of an angel of the Lord and the Angel of the Lord. Cindy Jacob’s spoke of her experience with The Angel of the Lord at the end of Dutch Sheets message, at the National School of the Prophetic, Colorado Springs, CO., on 1/29/99. "…The Angel of the Lord has come into our midst and he showed me a vision… (the same angel that came to me in 1984 and I saw the finger of God outline South America in fire)… and the Lord spoke to me. The same angel that appeared to a young prophet in Argentina in a 30 foot pillar of flame,” … I was in Columbia with Bill and Evelyn Hamon. Before I went to the platform, The Angel of the Lord came. I didn’t see him, but I heard him. He said, "I am here" …. I said, "Lord how will I know it is really The Angel of the Lord?" (We were in a stadium of about 14,000.) "To show you I am here, when you stand in front and raise your right hand every one will fall under the power." I didn’t tell anyone and when I raised my right hand everyone fell under the power and then he stood in front of me and spoke to me of the revival in Columbia.” This is her testing and proof- a demonstration of sheer power, neglecting that the angel of the Lord is no longer valid according to teaching from the Bible. No apostle, no one in the New Testament saw The Angel of the Lord. The mention of Angels is found over 200 times in the scripture. They are mentioned in almost every book of the Bible, 34 out of the 66 books and letters. 118 times in 18 books of the Old Testament 115 times in 15 books of the New Testament. So in answer to Bentleys question “why not today?” God’s Holy Angels do not commonly show themselves and it is quite unusual even in the New Testament times. God used an angel to reveal to Zacharias, his child would be the forerunner to declare the Messiah is coming and reveal him to Israel. Mary and Joseph were given the news of the coming birth of Christ. But nowhere are we told to anticipate angels or pursue having an encounter with them. We are NOT told to look for angelic appearances or pray for them. Bentley’s teachings prove he has nearly no grasp on the meaning of Scripture and what it means in context. Those who experience messages contrary to the Bible by being visited by an Angel, we can safely consider are not angels from heaven, but angels of light which Paul warned are transformed fallen angels (demons) 2 Cor.11:14. God’s angels are not sent as teachers but messengers or ministers. They do not come to stay and teach but come and go quickly. In Lk.1:11 the New Testament introduces us to an angelic visitation to Zechariah, he is told his wife would give birth to the forerunner of the Messiah, John. The reason we have angels appearing, it is with those directly associated to the Messiah or His ministry. These encounters are not always seen, and the experience is nothing like what Bentley describes. In Luke (1:26-3 Gabriel appears to Mary with the news that she would conceive and give birth to a son and they have a conversation" and you are to give him the name Jesus." Mary's reaction was "How can this be? I am still a virgin"; the angel's reply was "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason the holy child to be born will be called the Son of God."Notice he did not make her conceive, and the content of his message surrounded the Messiah. It is for this reason he appeared to her. Angels are seen by shepherds in the field announcing the birth of the Messiah Lk.2:9. Mt.1:20 Joseph is warned in a dream to flee. Mt.2:19 Joseph again in a dream is told to have them come back from Egypt to Israel because its safe. After Jesus was tempted by the Devil three times Matthew 4:11 #x201C;Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”Bentley mentions the Jn.5 incident of a healing waters and angel many, many times. So it would be important to look at what he says and what the Bible teaches on this matter. “Everywhere I have seen this angel the miracles continue after I leave and a healing well is established in that church and in that city. When that angel visits, we have another John 5 Pool of Bethesda experience as God releases His approval. That is why God repeatedly visits Jesus throughout His life to place His stamp of approval on every stage. After we start to examine this topic, it's easy to see how important angels were throughout Scripture” (ANGELIC HOSTS by Revivalist Todd Bentley). “First, I'm going to describe different angels and some experiences I have had with these beings. At times I've had visitations from a healing angel like the one which stirred the waters at the pool of Bethesda” (ibid.) “Next, my spirit was quickened when I read about the angel in the Bible–John Chapter 5. The word says there was a pool called Bethesda (v. 2) and multitudes of lame, blind, sick would come there and at a certain time, an angel of the Lord would come down and stir the waters. Whoever could get into the pool first would be healed. I started to understand the angel described in John Chapter 5 was one of many thousands of angels that are in heaven that are called to bring healing, not just through ministries, but in cities and in nations. This revelation resonated within me and in January, 1999 I was taken into the heavens and saw over 100 healing pools. I thought of several famous healing evangelists and also the Toronto Blessing and the revival in Pensacola. So I said, “Lord what are you saying?” He said, “I am going to release angels” (DISCERNING THE CALL OF GOD by Revivalist Todd Bentley - [as edited by Kathy Thorne] Part 2 of 2). “In one service I saw heaven open, it was like a hole tore open in the air and I saw a glory light like a pillar come out of this portal. Then I saw a 14-20 foot angel in the pulpit by the name of healing revival. At that time God spoke to me that this Angel was like the Angel (John 5: 1-4) that came down at a certain season to stir the waters of the pool of Bethesda.” (Todd Bentley Ministering Under An Open Heaven, Sep. 23, 2002 "http://bigchurch.com). In John 5:4-9: “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.” V.6-9: “When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk." And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.” This does not have any human interaction, the angel came and stirred the water and left, he did not speak to anyone. Jesus’ healing has absolutely nothing to do with the pool or the angel. He does not help the man into the pool but offers him healing directly. He sees he is desperate and has lost hope. He appeals to his apathetic will offering him the solution. We should take notice, not everyone was healed, this one man is the only one healed. We can see Bentley has completed missed the meaning of the passage and put the emphasis on angels that heal instead of Jesus that heals. For Jesus did not endorse the pool healings but instead offered to heal the man himself. Contrary to what Bentley claims, it is not the Lord that is saying this is the same angel at Bethseda, that He is going to release angels to heal or send angels of healing revival. Bentley’s point is clear as he has connected this with Toronto and Pensacola and the Healing Rooms. There were very few appearances of angels in Jesus’ life. After he was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:11). Lk.22:43 an angel was sent by God (not man) to strengthen Jesus in Gethsemane at his suffering. Angels appear at the tomb to roll the stone away from the tomb Mt.28:2, 5. Mary saw two angels at the tomb Jn.20:12. Only a few of the apostles had encountered angels and they were sent for specific reasons. In the ministry of the apostles we have in Acts 5:19; 6:15;12 “an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, three times. Acts 12:5-11 Peter was in prison, the church was praying for him V. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, "Arise quickly!" And his chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and tie on your sandals"; and so he did. And he said to him, "Put on your garment and follow me." So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.” Paul recounts “For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.' Acts 27:23-25 The angels give instruction, there are no long conversations Acts 8:2 “Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” The angels are sent to comfort and minister, to protect the saints (Hebrews 2:16), especially the apostles who were the leaders to the church in its infancy. Acts 10:3-7: “an angel of God In a vision came to "Cornelius!" And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, "What is it, lord?" So he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do." And when the angel who spoke to him had departed.” As believers in Jesus we have the pattern in the New Testament and what Bentley teaches is far removed from this. Revelations by an angel were rarely given and it was to an apostle for specific reasons. In this case, it was to officially bring the gentiles into the Body of Christ. Acts 10:9-17 Peter goes the housetop to pray, V.10 He became hungry “he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And a voice came to him, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." But Peter said, "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean." And a voice spoke to him again the second time, "What God has cleansed you must not call common." This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again. Now while Peter wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house” They show up at the house where Peter is "Cornelius the centurion (Acts 10:22) as divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you." Peter had no contact with the angel, but Cornelius did. The Lord was speaking to Peter while the angel was arranging the meeting with Cornelius. An angel judged Herod, because the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God” (Acts 12:22-23.) He was unseen. In the book of Revelation the majority of angels are sent to do God’s judgments and are mostly behind the scene and are not visible nor do they visit men. John who is the last living apostle is given this vision and is able to see heaven as an angel is sent to him. Revelation 1:1-2 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.” For the most part the angels are so astounding in appearance that those who see them tremble; they often begin their message with the words “Fear not” (Matt. 28:2-5).There are some angels you never want to meet, as the angelic war consummates at the end of the age “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12 -9) there is a time coming when the devil and ALL his angels will be stuck on earth1 Pt.3:22: “is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having made subject to Him.” Angels are not subject to us but to Jesus who is OUR LORD. And we are subject to HIM. Bentley says instead, “I'll go and preach and have an incredible revival because I say, “God, let the harvest angels come with me. There are people who are going to inherit salvation. I don't want the Devil and darkness to prevail over the crusade, so I release the angels right now. I loose them in heaven now in Jesus name.”(ANGELIC HOSTS by Revivalist Todd Bentley). He is using what he thinks is his authority of binding and loosing which has absolutely nothing to do with this. As we look over nearly all the incidents in the New Testament we find what Bentley describes as missing. There are just a few contacts with angelic beings and they have specific purposes at a specific time because Jesus was among the people. To come in contact with angelic creatures has to be discerned for if they are not sent by God to have as mission as angels do, then they are fallen angels with the purpose to deceive. An Open Heaven- Bentley's Highway to Heaven- A closer look at his many visitations and trips to heaven, how they are NOT biblical.
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No its about repeating.... people were fooled at Azuza, Toronto, Brownsville and Lakeland
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