Introduction

If it were only because of the fact that Bentley has a spirit guide, that alone would be enough for me to recognize that he’s in gross error. But there’s so much more...

Who Is Todd Bentley?

He is an ex-Satanist, a pierced and tattooed “signs-and-wonders” guy, and a man who gets messages from angels, particularly one named Emma.

He does not open the Bible and preach.

When he is "under the anointing" he can cause tumors to "explode," he says. The Holy Spirit told him to kick a lady in the face with his biker boot so he did so. (WHO told him that???)

If he tries to deal with someone he thinks might be demonized, he gets nothing short of violent, virtually choking a man he is trying to exorcise. He also gets violent when he uses the word "bam."

What started in April 2008, at Ignited Church in Lakeland, Florida, is now spreading everywhere. And sadly, hungry people are falling for it.

Angels

Bentley alleges that his angelic sources give him advice about all sorts of things, from finances to healing.

An angel named "Healing Revival" worked with Bentley in many past healings. "When He comes," said Bentley, "I get ...the ability to diagnose people's sicknesses with my left hand. I get very accurate details from God. ...And whenever this angel shows up the miracles go off the charts."

Bentley claims that six angels operated on him during one of his heavenly visions. He saw "a Pillar of fire" rise up through the roof of a church. When "God" told him to "get into the Pillar," he complied -- and landed on an operating table in heaven. Six angels tied him down and began surgery. "They pick this thing up ...and they stuck it in me right here on my neck and it didn’t hurt ...they went right down to my lowards and all of a sudden ...everything inside of me popped out onto the table, my heart, my liver, like everything. ...The angels start taking these white boxes …and they start stuffing these things inside of me."

The only thing more pathetic than Bentley is the people who believe this foolishness. And it IS pathetic.

More quotes from Todd Bentley:

"In the middle of the service ...in walks Emma. ...She floated a couple of inches off the floor ...emitting brilliant light and colors. Emma carried these bags and began pulling gold out of them. Then, as she walked up and down the aisles of the church, she began putting gold dust on people. 'God, what is happening?' I asked. The Lord answered: 'She is releasing the gold, which is both the revelation and the financial breakthrough that I am bringing into this church.'"

"So when I need a financial breakthrough, I don't just pray and ask God for my financial breakthrough, I go into intercession and become a partner with the angels by petitioning the Father for the angels that are assigned to getting me money. 'Father, give me the angels in heaven right now that are assigned to get me money and wealth. And let those angels be released on my behalf. Let them go into the four corners of the earth and gather me money.'"

"I went into a trance-like state and I saw ...the angel of finance ...In that trance I experienced one of heaven’s realities and then that experience became a reality here on earth ...I found myself in a treasure room in heaven. The only item in this room was gold coins, and I began stuffing those coins into my pockets until they were falling out."

Can you imagine the apostle Paul saying things like this? If you can, you don’t know the Word of God.

"DO NOT lay up for yourselves treasures on earth...”
Matthew 6:19

Spectacular But Unverified Claims

Bentley tells stories of remarkable healings. In fact, he claims that in his ministry 30 people have now been raised from the dead. Are these stories credible? Bentley claims that one man had been dead for 48 hours and was in a coffin. When the family gathered around at a funeral home, the man knocked from inside the coffin to be let out.

Well where are these resurrected people? Thirty resurrections, and the media haven't heard about this? If you died and were brought back to life, wouldn’t people be flocking around you to hear all about it? Is that something that would, or should, be kept secret? Who are these people? Where are the death certificates? And why not parade them at Bentley's meetings? If I am ever raised from the dead through anyone's ministry, you can be sure I'll put in a guest appearance.

Why hasn't Oprah invited on her show one of these 30-plus people Bentley claims have been brought back from the dead due to his "God-given" healing powers? Her audience would eat it up!

No. If any of this were true, every media outlet in the country would be reporting it. Things like this are big news! And the lack of any testimonials tells me all I want to know about Todd Bentley.

"The glory of God is intense. Miracles continue - tumors disappearing nightly, cancers and deaf ears being healed. It has been reported that more than 55 people in wheelchairs are receiving their healing."
-Todd Bentley

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

And timely, considering the days we’re living in!

”The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
2nd Thessalonians 2:9-10

Whipping Up A Frenzy

During the first couple of hours at a Todd Bentley service, there's a very real procedure that takes place which whips people up into a frenzy and gets them into what could be described as an altered state of consciousness. Bentley's tools are effective. Like tribal shamans, he uses loud rhythmic sounds, then adds repetitious words and hypnotic music, again and again and again. This continues for long periods until the atmosphere has been created in which the people will accept anything Bentley says or does.

Pastor Gary Osborne described it in his article, "Revival" in Lakeland, Florida:

"The phrase 'stir yourselves up' was used repeatedly ...A woman led in prayer for the service and ...told the people to 'roar like a lion!' ...People everywhere shouted at the top of their lungs ...This same lady was jerking and twitching ...There was also much talk of 'birthing' and 'signs and wonders.' ...People were swaying and dancing ...There was a very sensual spirit...

People seemed to be in a trance all around me. If the worship leader said, 'raise your hands' everyone did so immediately. If he said, 'drop to your knees' they did. ...He tells the people to say to God, 'Intoxicate me, Lord.’ Now the people are getting truly wild and the leader says, 'Scream!!!'...Finally the worship leader falls to the floor himself."

Power, Signs, And Lying Wonders

"Miraculous or supernatural manifestations are never the test of a true revival; fidelity to God's Word is the test."
-Assemblies of God Superintendent George O. Wood

Jesus Himself said there would be many who would do miracles in His name and even cast out demons, but that he does not know them.
Matthew 7:23

Many of the "miracles" in the days of the apostles, were not from God, but from a very cunning source, the Prince of Darkness, who appears as an "angel of light."
2nd Corinthians 11:14

"... false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand."
Mark 13:22-23

"The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own power; and My people love to have it so."
Jeremiah 5:30-31

"Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many."
Matthew 24:11

"They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying,`Thus says the Lord!' But the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say,`The Lord says,' but I have not spoken.' Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,' says the Lord God.'"
Ezekiel 13:6-8

The Great I

"I want to be fruitful; I want to be far above. I want to be a conqueror; I want to be a mountain of strength; I want to be greatness. You know, we like that word greatness. Well, he who dwells in the secret place of the Most High automatically comes into everything that the Almighty is."
-Todd Bentley

Sounds like:

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: `I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’”
Isaiah 14:12-14

No, Satan is NOT like the most high. Satan was cast out. He lost it all.

Manic Delusion -Abject Lunacy

Quotes -Todd Bentley

"The woman was standing in the back of the room when the faith of God hit the meeting, and her tumor exploded out of her right leg, slid down her leg onto the floor!"

"God said, '...I want you to grab that lady's crippled legs and bang them up-and-down on the platform like a baseball bat.' (loud laughter) ...I grabbed her legs, and I started going, BAM! BAM! ...banging them.... She got healed!"

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

"During a visitation, the pastor's wife got totally whacked by the Holy Ghost. She began running around barking like a dog or squawking like a chicken as a powerful prophetic spirit came on her."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Can you imagine any of the apostles, or Jesus himself, running around barking like a dog? This lunacy is nigh unto blasphemy, supposing that God himself orchestrated a circus performance like this.

Eye-Witness Accounts

"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 back in the back of their heads. There are reports of women gyrating and pulsating like they've been ravaged from behind by some unseen force. To those who are knowledgeable of the previous 'revivals' and the power of the occult, the jury is in. The source is not the God of the Bible.”
-Mike Oppenheimer

"The crowds following Bentley are seen being overcome by ugly spirits of drunkenness and stupor. It reflects the faulty theology of those in 'The River' movement popularized by the so-called 'Toronto Blessing.' Song lyrics reflect Kingdom-Now visions of the church taking over all the elements of society and setting up a kingdom on earth before the Lord returns – which the Bible contradicts.”
-Jacob Prasch

The Third Wave

This is just a re-run of many of the horrible ongoings at the time of the so-called ‘Toronto Blessing’ and then its successor, the so-called ‘Pensacola Revival.’

This is now the so-called "Third Wave." Toronto, the "first wave," fizzled out. Pensacola, the "second wave," came to the same fate. Now Bentley supposes he’s brought in the "Third Wave," and folks are coming from around the world for the "anointing."

Why Do People Flock?

Why do people flock to Lakeland, Toronto, Pensacola, and other places where these things occur?

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth..."
2nd Timothy 4:3-4

Many seek healing, financial success, spiritual experiences and sensual thrills. After all, Bentley puts on quite a show! Known for his heavenly visions, angelic "partners," mystical tattoos, and irreverent "teaching," he makes them laugh.

Yes, he makes them laugh. He makes a mockery of the Lord, suggesting that God is behind this three-ring circus. Actually, this longing for the signs and wonders of one man is paving the way for the "man of sin," the "lawless one," the Antichrist, who will deceive the masses because he is endued with power to do signs and wonders.

His Mentors

Bentley and his close friend, the exposed false prophet Paul Cain, look to disgraced "prophet" William Branham. Branham believed the zodiac was as valid as the Bible. And he also believed he was the angel of the Church of Laodicea. When he died in a head-on auto crash in 1965, his followers were so obsessed with his 'works of power,' they delayed burying him for several months, hoping that he would be resurrected the following Easter!
-Pastor Bill Randles

We're Not To Judge?

Supporters argue that those who haven’t attended the Lakeland “revival” should not to judge because they haven’t experienced it.

That's like saying that those who haven't been to Afghanistan or Iraq shouldn't express their opinion on the war. That's ridiculous!

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.
1 John 4:1

"...the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?' And Jesus answered and said to them: 'Take heed that no one deceives you. ...Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.'"
Matthew 24:3, 4, 11

Johanna Michaelsen -Formerly Deceived

For many years she was caught up in the occult, yet she believed that the “angels” who reached out to her were servants of God, not Satan. One of those “angels” sounds strangely similar to Bentley’s “floating” angel, Emma:

“She was beautiful with flowing hair and robes of shimmering dark blue spangled with tiny stars ...She took me by the shoulders and gently kissed me on the forehead. ...‘Welcome, my child,’ she said. Then she turned and floated back through the wall as she had come. I had never experienced such joy, such light and peace, such unspeakable ecstasy. I was on the right path at last.”

No, she was tricked! Masquerading as an “angel of light,” Satan used her feel-good experiences to deepen the deception.

Through those painful years, Johanna’s “fellowship” with demons brought her indescribable depression and despair. The enchanting moments of light were fleeting, while fear and confusion darkened her days. And she would continue to suffer under that cruel master until, in His perfect time, God set her free.

-Excerpted from her book, “The Beautiful Side of Evil”

Get it here

Do I Believe In Miracles?

Do I believe in miracles and other supernatural happenings? You bet I do! I have been the beneficiary of some of them myself, and have witnessed these things on several occasions.

So. How can one tell the difference? For one thing, when a healing or other manifestation of God’s power occurs, the focus is ALWAYS on Jesus. Sometimes he uses his servants to impart the blessing, but those servants never take the credit. And you can bet they won’t be covered in tattoos and body piercings, yelling and screaming, whipping people into a frenzy, and focusing on the power they have.

The times I have experienced the supernatural power of God, it was always unexpected. I never had to conjure up faith, or profess that I had the thing that I wanted. There were no frenzies, no formulas, I did NOTHING to get God to act. The Lord sovereignly and unexpectedly blessed me, and then left. And each experience has stood the test of time. Over the past thirty years since being "born again," I have never again been bothered by anything that the Lord has healed in me, or set me free of.