Is Todd Bentley a False Prophet?

November 28, 2008 UPDATE

Taken from Fresh Fire Ministries website:

"Here are the facts:

"1. Todd has yet to enter into a clear system of accountability with the leaders he identified that would be involved in such a process. Todd has visited Rick Joyner in Fort Mills, South Carolina, and indicated early on in September that he would be moving there soon to become a part of the community there and to receive counseling from Rick Joyner, Jack Deere, Bill Johnson and others that Rick might feel to bring alongside. Todd is in regular contact with Rick Joyner and has agreed together with Rick that he will move to Fort Mills during the first few months of 2009.

"2. Having spoken with Todd in recent days, he is resolute in his intentions to divorce Shonnah, and in his mind, the restoration he is seeking is one which would not include reconciliation with his wife. Todd admits to being 100% responsible for the divorce.

"3. It also needs to be clarified that Shonnah has in no way initiated this divorce and has no present intention to do so at any time in the future. She is understandably hurt by Todd’s infidelity, but is not asking or pressing for a divorce. The legal separation from Shonnah was initiated completely by Todd and he has not seen her or the children since the last week in July. To our knowledge, Todd’s relationship with the female staff-member, who was a former intern and also, at his initiative, a live-in nanny in his house for over a year, is still ongoing. We believe that there are currently no biblical grounds for Todd to leave his wife and children. While it has been maintained that no physical contact happened between Todd and the former female intern until after he filed for legal separation from Shonnah, in the Boards’ eyes, the nature of the present relationship between Todd and his former staff member is that of adultery."

October 19, 2008 UPDATE

Good old spell check proves useful in more ways than one Western Standard- Shotgun Blog, Canada - 12 hours ago
One of the main supports of BC evangelist Todd Bentley’s “Lakeland revival this summer was the live coverage provided by God TV, a London-based charismatic ...

Mr. Bentley's credulity is exposed Western Standard- Shotgun Blog, Canada - 13 hours ago
During Canadian faith healer Todd Bentley’s revival campaign this summer, 31 alleged resurrections from the dead were reportedly connected to the revival in ...

The faith healer, his disabled wife, and a possible divorce Western Standard- Shotgun Blog, Canada - 13 hours ago
It’s very unusual that someone that I wrote about in my Report magazine days (not once, not twice, but three times) would have since become an international ...


October 14, 2008 UPDATE
'Outpouring' Revival Finished
The Ledger Published: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 11:49 p.m.
source

After six months, the local religious revival that drew thousands of people to Lakeland from all over the world has officially ended.

The final meeting of the Lakeland Outpouring, formerly led by Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley, was at Ignited Church on Sunday.

After months of ministering to thousands of followers daily, Bentley stepped down from public ministry in August, announced his separation from his wife and admitted to having had an inappropriate relationship with a female staff member.

The meetings continued after Bentley's departure, moving from a 10,000-seat air dome at Lakeland's Sun n' Fun Fly-in to Ignited Church in Lakeland, where the revival began.

GOD TV, the worldwide television network that broadcast Bentley's revival, plans to broadcast other offshoots in the United States and United Kingdom, including meetings in Dudley, England.

The organization Bentley founded, Fresh Fire Ministries, is still in operation.


October 1, 2008 UPDATE
Does it ever end?? Todd Bentley is "deeply sorry for the problems that his problems have caused others" - so says Rick Joyner.

Oh brother. Read more here.

September 26, 2008 UPDATE:

Message from god-tv

Received the above in an email today. Oh brother. Too bad Rory and Wendy are deceived and deceiving others on purpose, in my opinion.

The only good thing about the Lakeland/Todd Bentley 'circus' being broadcast is it has brought into greater focus the lies/deception of the charismatic/pentacostal movements.

"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Matthew 24:4,5

In the meantime, may we continue to pray that the Truth be revealed, the lies be exposed, the deceived wakeup, the sinner repent, the lost get saved and the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified. Watching by the grace of God,
Cathy

"Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Mark 13:35-37

EMAIL reply from Berlin, Germany

September 1, 2008 UPDATE:
We have had enough of false prophets!
"This article is not about false prophet Todd Bentley; it's about the esteemed leaders and role models who helped create the Lakeland disaster."

August 28, 2008 UPDATE:
Whatsup with Joel's Army?
Tattooed across Todd Bentley's "sternum are military dog tags that read "Joel's Army." They're evidence of Bentley's generalship in a rapidly growing apocalyptic movement that's gone largely unnoticed by watchdogs of the theocratic right."

ugust 22, 2008 UPDATE:
Can we trust Dutch Sheets?
Yesterday, Dutch Sheets wrote a lengthly 'Statement and Appeal Regarding Lakeland' with the purpose being to ' identificationally repent on behalf of the leadership of the charismatic body of Christ' with reference to Nehemiah 1:4-7 & Daniel 9:1-19. However, is Dutch Sheets one to be trusted?

And the prophets prophesied falsely and the people loved it so
"Bentley had more supernatural experiences than all the apostles put together. Like immature children being tucked into bed modern day charismatics accepted his supernatural tales. These were tales from a master of story telling- but it was not Rod Serling of the Twilight Zone, or Alfred Hitchcock-- but Todd Bentley of the supernatural zone. The more they heard the more they became accustom to his storytelling and forsook the word of God. And the church leaders stood by said nothing-- they endorsed him."

Did I Sit On The Sidelines While The Playing Field Burned?
"... The question that I now have to ask myself…the question that will haunt me for quite a while is…did I sit on the sidelines while the playing field burned? Should have I blogged about it…spoken out about it publicly…done more to get the word out to the rest of the world that this whole thing was about Todd and not God? I took care of my own house…but should I have done more to take care of the entire neighborhood?"

August 19. 2008 UPDATE:
Bentley bends
B. C. healer, televangelist withdraws for his own healing

Brian Hutchinson, National Post
Published: Tuesday, August 19, 2008
source

VANCOUVER -It wasn't his outrageous claims of raising the dead that finally landed Todd Bentley in trouble. Not the contradictory sermons, or even his criminal past. Not the face piercings, the neck-to-knee tattoos, the biker-dude lifestyle. His followers could live with all that; it was part of the act.

And what a performance it was: For the past few months, Mr. Bentley, a 32-year-old former drug addict from Canada's west coast, was the hottest thing going on the global televangelist circuit. A hog-riding faith healer with a devil-may-care attitude.

Then he failed his flock, the old fashioned way: By consorting with another woman.

Mr. Bentley is now taking a long time out from his ministry, for some healing and reflection. The news was delivered on the weekend. "We have discovered new information revealing that Todd Bentley has entered into an unhealthy relationship on an emotional level with a female member of his staff," reads an Aug. 15 letter from his church, Fresh Fire Ministries, based in Abbotsford, B. C., an evangelical hotbed.

The letter, posted on the Fresh Fire Web site, followed another online note three days earlier acknowledging that Mr. Bentley's marriage had unravelled. "Todd and Shonnah Bentley are presently experiencing significant friction in their relationship and are currently separated. We want to affirm that there has been no sexual immorality on the part of either Todd or Shonnah, nor has there ever been," it reads.

The news comes just as Mr. Bentley's ministry -- which began a decade ago on the streets of Vancouver's miserable Downtown Eastside -- had found a worldwide audience. In April this year, the stocky preacher received an invitation to travel from Abbotsford to Lakeland, in southern Florida, to take part in a series of Christian revival meetings.

Audiences there were dazzled. Mr. Bentley was asked to stay. So began what became known as the Lakeland Outpouring, an unfettered expression of charismatic fervour that quickly became a full-fledged phenomenon, with 8,000

people daily packing into a baseball stadium, then inside a church building. Twice a day, seven days a week, through the spring and summer, with Mr. Bentley taking centre stage, yelling and exhorting, and sometimes smacking around the ill and infirm.

GodTV, a specialty on-line service dedicated to Christian worship, quickly made room for the Lakeland Outpouring in its broadcast schedule. Millions of potential worshippers were exposed to Mr. Bentley. Among others, people with health problems travelled alone or with church groups to Florida for his sermons, loud and aggressive multi-media performances punctuated with faith-healing demonstrations and requests for financial contributions.

Mr. Bentley claims that God uses him as an instrument to heal the sick. He demonstrated this capacity at one Outpouring meeting by taking a run at a professed cancer patient and planting a knee hard into the man's gut. The man fell to the floor, grimacing.

At another meeting, Mr. Bentley laughed about kicking a woman in the face in order to help deliver God's healing touch. He spoke of his encounters with angels and prophets. He waved letters in front of his audiences, claiming they were written by relatives of people declared dead. Their dead kin had risen, he explained, after being exposed to his sermons, via GodTV broadcasts.

"I have in my hands the 13th testimony as a result of this Outpouring, of somebody raised from the dead," he said a few weeks ago. "I'm saying to the media, the dead are being raised…Are you ready to hear the 13th story? Now, many of them,

we've been following up. We still haven't had a chance to verify this. I can read it to you as I received it."

At last count, Mr. Bentley had been used by God to resurrect 20 people -- verifications still to come.

His claims have attracted plenty of skeptics, some of whom have carefully parsed his sermons, looking for what might be considered heresy, or simply false statements. Internet bloggers certainly found inconsistencies in his stories; for example, Mr. Bentley seems to confuse dates and events when describing his various visits with angels and his discussions with God.

His skeptics learned of a terrible incident. In 1991, Mr. Bentley, then 15, was convicted of sexual assaulting a seven-year-old B. C. boy. The case was outlined in The Report newsmagazine 10 years later; confronted with the facts, Mr. Bentley consented to a discussion of his conviction. "I was involved in a sexual assault ring," he told The Report, now defunct. "I turned around and did what had happened to me. I was assaulted too."

He said he considered the matter closed. "It's something that's dead and buried for me."

In June, FOX TV snoop Geraldo Rivera interviewed Mr. Bentley. The matter of his conviction did not come up; rather, Mr. Rivera asked for verification that he had helped heal the sick.

Again, Mr. Bentley waved a fistful of papers in the air but offered no names, no proof. ABC's Nightline examined Mr. Bentley's claims in July and was met with similar obfuscation.

But others have bought in. Several of Mr. Bentley's colleagues in the televangelism trade--including fellow Canadian Patricia King -- vouched for him, even after the unflattering FOX and ABC exposure.

"The healing of the sick, the casting out of devils, the raising of the dead, the cleansing of lepers, this was all taking place" at the Lakeland Outpouring, Ms. King insisted last weekend, during a sermon broadcast on her Extreme Prophetic Television program.

Ms. King, who is also based in the Abbotsford area, went on to describe in the barest of detail Mr. Bentley's latest transgression and fall from grace, and said that any form of sin is intolerable.

No one from Fresh Fire Ministries or its affiliate church organizations in Abbotsford responded to interview requests yesterday. Mr. Bentley is reportedly in California, staying with friends.

He will not offer any public ministry for at least a year, according to the latest Fresh Fire letter. He will not return to Florida for the rest of the Outpouring; it winds up on Saturday, after a 143-day run. A stadium tour across the United States has been cancelled. Gatherings in the U. K. have been "postponed."

There is no talk of resurrection, or revival. Just the hope of forgiveness.

bhutchinson@nationalpost.com


August 17, 2008 UPDATE:
Satan's Plan to Destroy Christianity

August 16, 2008 UPDATE:
Todd Bentley: 'Unhealthy Relationship' with Female Staffmember

From Freshfire:
"We wish to acknowledge, however, that since our last statement from the Fresh Fire Board of Directors, we have discovered new information revealing that Todd Bentley has entered into an unhealthy relationship on an emotional level with a female member of his staff. In light of this new information and in consultation with his leaders and advisors, Todd Bentley has agreed to step down from his position on the Board of Directors and to refrain from all public ministry for a season to receive counsel in his personal life."

August 15, 2008 UPDATE:
Today received from Bud Press at Christian Research Service:

August 15, 2008

Now Online at Christian Research Service...

Todd Bentley and the Hotel Fire in Seattle
Judgment from the 'Lord' or 'Accidental'?
by Bud Press


http://www.christianresearchservice.com/ToddBentley7.htm

Excerpt:
"Common sense dictates that when a person makes a claim, but refuses to provide PROOF, it calls into question ALL the claims he or she has made, both past and present."



Discernment the Size of A Flea
An Open Letter to Charisma Magazine
by Bud Press
http://www.christianresearchservice.com/CharismaOpenLetter1.htm

Excerpt:
"For years, many Christians have been conditioned to accept anything that comes down the pike--no matter how far-out or ridiculous. Part of that conditioning process is to lift-up, admire and adore false prophets, downplay their false prophecies with a grin and shrug, brush the false prophecies off as simple mistakes, then concentrate on "all of the good things" the false prophet does."



Letter to Stephen Strang
Are You A Christian?
By Bud Press
http://www.christianresearchservice.com/SStrang1.htm

Excerpt:

"The time has come for you to stop promoting false prophets and false teachers in Charisma magazine and other publications."


Updated! Todd Bentley Articles Page
http://www.christianresearchservice.com/ToddBentleyResearchPage.htm

Updated! Todd Bentley Videos Page
http://www.christianresearchservice.com/ToddBentleyVideoResearchPage.htm

God bless,
Bud

August 14, 2008 UPDATE:

Article: Faith healer abandons pulpit

Video: Todd Bentley and the Fallen angels - testimony posted last month of visitor to Lakeland meeting.

August 13, 2008 UPDATE:
Received an email today which tells what Charisma Magazine editor, Lee Grady, thinks about the latest Bentley news (read it here).

But Grady still doesn't get it. He says he can't understand why the leaders didn't warn the people. The leaders who supported Bentley didn't warn the people because they are deceiving wolves themselves. Why should they or would they warn their victims? In my opinion, they knew EXACTLY who they were promoting when they came to Lakeland.

There were A LOT of warnings from this blog and elsewhere. However, deceived people don't always wake up easily. But hopefully these latest events will shake more folks out of their charismatic/pentecostal stupor.

Grady is still looking for an end time healing revival but the scriptures never say that. Rather they say there will be a great falling away/apostasy which I believe is currently in the works. He said a prominent Pentecostal evangelist told him he's now convinced that a large segment of the charismatic church will follow the anti-Christ when he shows up because they have no discernment. With this, I totally agree.

And the good that has come out of all this? I learned a lot and realize now more than ever the importance of testing EVERYTHING by the Word of God. In fact, folks need to stop chasing after another 'God-goosebump-experience', forget Elijah list's prophetic nonsense, get back in the Bible and repent to the Lord Jesus Christ of their sin/their un-scriptural activities.

August 12, 2008 UPDATE:
ARTICLE: Evangelist Bentley, Wife File for Separation

Special prayer request from Fresh Fire website:

"...The Lord’s blessings and abundance have been so evident on the ministry during this season of intense activity and we rejoice in seeing and being able to participate in what we believe is only the beginning of a worldwide awakening. It is with considerable sadness then, that we must temper the jubilation we know you all feel with the sobering news that Todd and Shonnah Bentley are presently experiencing significant friction in their relationship and are currently separated. We want to affirm that there has been no sexual immorality on the part of either Todd or Shonnah, nor has there ever been. Undoubtedly the pressures and the burden of the Outpouring, which approaches 144 days on August 23rd, have helped to create an atmosphere of fatigue and stress that has exacerbated existing issues in their relationship. We wish to stress however, that the Outpouring is not “to blame” for the current chain of events and that in effect we have no interest in blaming anyone, but rather we deeply covet your prayers for Todd and Shonnah and for Fresh Fire Ministries during this time..."

August 11, 2008 UPDATE:
Separation May End Bentley's Lakeland Appearances

Todd Bentley, the evangelist who has led the Florida Outpouring revival here in Lakeland since April 2, has filed for separation from his wife and might not return to the revival, according to his former local spokesperson, Lynne Breidenbach.

Bentley Family

She said Bentley made the announcement to his staff this afternoon. Bentley and his wife, Shonnah, have two daughters and a son and are Canadian citizens. Under Canadian law, separation is a first step in divorce proceedings and takes nine months. Bentley and his wife have been in marriage counseling for several months, Breidenbach said. She called the situation "very sad" but insisted it "doesn't invalidate what Todd did" at the revival.

Breidenbach, who said her contract with Bentley's Fresh Fire ended today, said it is not clear whether Bentley will make further appearances at the revival. About two weeks ago, Bentley announced he would leave the revival on Aug. 23 in order to resume his traveling evangelistic work.

The Fresh Fire Ministries Web site indicates that a September appearance by Bentley in England has been postponed. Stay tuned for further information.

source

August 4, 2008 UPDATE:
Todd Bentley Leaving Lakeland August 23

August 3, 2008 UPDATE:
Video clips and article on spiritual drunkenness and false revival

August 1, 2008 UPDATE:
This following article was written back in June but has some very important information regarding the Sanskrit words that Todd Bentley uses: Todd Bentley Raging Revival/A VERY SERIOUS WARNING!!!!!!

July 31, 2008 UPDATE:
Received the following comments by Andrew Strom in an email today. I don't agree with everything Strom says/believes but the following is interesting. Thanks Steve!

Are WAGNER's APOSTLES LEAVING??
- Andrew Strom.

Last week we published a number of strong statements against
Lakeland by one of Peter Wagner's 'apostles' named Robert
Ricciardelli. For those who are not aware, Peter Wagner heads
up an organization devoted to setting in place "apostles" over the
church. This is known as the 'New Apostolic Reformation' (NAR),
and it has been very controversial. I myself have never seen it as
any kind of true "Reformation" - because all it seems to do is
set up another level of hierarchy over the existing ones. I also
question whether many of the "apostles" are true apostles - but
that is another story. Suffice it to say, that Wagner runs one of
the most powerful and far-reaching global networks in the
Charismatic world.

I don't know if Peter Wagner fully realized what he was doing
when he went down to Lakeland and publicly endorsed Todd
Bentley and the 'revival' there. But clearly he started a rift in his
own movement that may very well almost tear it apart.

However, before we discuss this further, it is also important to
note that even some "pro-Lakeland" churches are beginning to
have second thoughts about supporting that movement - as more
factual information begins to emerge about what is really going on.

The following was written by the leader of a "pro-Lakeland" church -
and forwarded to me this week. (I have removed the identity of
both the leader and the church). This really is an amazing
admission for such a "pro-Lakeland" leader to make:

"Hi staff,
We need to talk, probably as a staff, and go through what I've
found out. I had a long talk with Robert Ricciardelli. He's no revival
critic... He loves revival, believes in healing, prophecy and all the
rest and is delighted to hear about the healings we've had here.
He's a close friend of Stephen Strader... He's in an accountability
relationship with Lee Grady (editor of Charisma Magazine) and is
a writer for Charisma on occasion. He's part of C. Peter Wagner's
apostolic network, recognized by Peter as an apostle. I've seen
the man's website and he's legit, not a heresy hunter.

"The reports he has given me are firsthand, not hearsay. I am
deeply troubled, grieved and tormented at what I'm hearing. He
attributes most of the anointing at Lakeland to Roy Fields (worship
leader). I agree. Roy is nothing but clean and God shows up hugely
when he leads worship. I can go into detail later about what is
surfacing, but there are huge lapses of integrity going on... Much
embellishment. Many claims have been made that simply are not
true. The Charisma crew has researched it. I want to weep. My
heart is breaking. For now, to be safe and for the sake of integrity,
we need to stop speaking about the claimed resurrections. Three
of them have been checked out with the doctors and EMTs
involved and found never to have happened at all. Todd has been
confronted with this and has not adjusted the numbers in his
claims. Not a single one of the other claimed resurrections can
be substantiated despite diligent effort to do so. Even after
Stephen Strader brought it down to 13 (and even those couldn't
be substantiated) Todd ran it back up to 27 and more.
Misrepresentation and embellishment!

"On the financial front, Todd recently told the crowd that God had
told him that there were 1,000 people who would give $1,000 and
that they would be blessed 1,000-fold. Robert called Stephen
Strader to confront the unbiblical nature of that appeal. It came
out that Todd admitted he hadn't heard that from God, that it was
just an idea he had so that they could raise money to build a big
stadium. Robert challenged them to issue an apology the following
night based on that false claim of being told by God and they
refused to do it on the excuse that it's a different crowd every night.

"That's the flavor of what I'm finding. There's a lot more. I'm so
grieved I can hardly think. I'm not saying the Lakeland Outpouring
is not of God (God is bigger than the men involved), although good
men whom I have respected all my life are saying just that (that it's
not of God), based on what they know and have seen...

"What I am saying is that we need to back up and not identify
ourselves closely with Lakeland and that we need to stop repeating
claims being made on the air lest we end up getting splattered
with the collateral damage when certain issues of false claims,
embellishments and lapses of integrity begin to come out more
publicly. By the way, no one is saying that some healings have not
happened - only that many false, embellished or unsubstantiated
claims have been made. A number of really good men, champions
of revival through the years, are actually saying that the whole
thing is of the devil and that even the healings are demonically
inspired. I want to be clear that I'm not going there..." [-end quote].

So here we have a 'pro-Lakeland' church checking out these facts
for the first time and now deciding that they "need to back up and
not identify ourselves closely with Lakeland." Pretty amazing!

Meanwhile - back to the topic of "apostles" and what is now
happening in Peter Wagner's main 'ICA' organization:

One of Wagner's apostles, Robert Ricciardelli, put out an email
this week saying that he has received a great deal of support for
his stand against Lakeland - the majority of it from pastors. And
he also made the following very significant statement:

"As a member of ICA, Peter Wagner actually caused many
questions to come my way because of my membership there.
I will no longer be involved with that organization and actually
have not tracked well with them and some of their agendas since
I have been involved with them. However, I have enjoyed the many
relationships I have developed from going to the annual meetings.
Most all of those relationships are also disengaging from their
affiliation with ICA, because of many issues beyond Lakeland."

So clearly Robert is now leaving the ICA - as are other 'apostles'
that he knows of also. I asked him to clarify this last point.

Robert wrote to me:
"The ICA leadership continues to adopt belief systems without
seeking the advice and counsel of members. Many of the members
do not, and will not support these beliefs, including the support of
anti-biblical behavior and doctrine currently being expressed through
Todd Bentley and Freshfire Ministries. In fact as ICA embraces
this, they now have taken a stance that will indirectly have to
embrace many of the same ministries, including "New Mystic"
John Crowder and others. This escalating focus on angels,
experiences, trances, etc is far from the focus of Jesus, His
Kingdom, and His righteousness... Many of us who really enjoyed
the ICA annual conferences are now forced to make a decision
as to whether to continue our involvement with them."

Robert has also stated that he personally was never into
"Dominionist" beliefs or the "hierarchical NAR agenda." His last
statement to me was: "I think that there is a chance that many
may disassociate with the ICA depending on Todd continuing to
reveal his deceptive doctrine and Peter continuing to support such doctrine."

I wonder if Peter Wagner ever imagined that by endorsing Todd
Bentley he may be sowing huge seeds of destruction in his own
movement? -Perhaps only time will tell.

July 23, 2008 UPDATE (Pls note, several of the following videos are no longer available - 5/15/09):

Hypnosis and Christians

source

Youth pastor dies after coming to false revival

source

Lakeland Pastor jokes about lying for Bentley

source

"When God does not show up and when God is not moving, I thank God I have a gift, and I thank God I move by faith, and I thank God when God's not moving I move God." - Todd Bentley

source

July 22, 1980 UPDATE:
Video clip of Todd Bentley & Chris Harvey in Lakeland; Chris Harvey at "Christian" School with kids; and the "angel." Read more here.

Todd Bentley, Rick Joyner, Bobby Conner - the Knights of Malta Connection

More on Joyner from this blog.

July 21, 1988 UPDATE:
Video: Che Ahn says to Todd Bentley, "I must decrease, you must increase".

Nightmares and the Lakeland Revival

Todd Bentley Caught Infecting People with Spiritual Diseases!

Kundalini Yoga in the churches

source

And at Brownsville Assembly of God, Pensacola, Florida, where I went to school:

source

Similar to Bentley's Lakeland meetings, Brownsville had lots problems. For example:

1. And when I complained to my Fire/Brownsville leaders about 'christian' leaders (i.e. knight of malta Rick Joyner, 33 degree freemason Billy Graham, etc) who praised the roman catholic pope after he died saying he was now in heaven, they said it was not big deal.

2. We were taught their false prophetic teachings of manifest sons of god, joel's army, third wave, latter rain, kingdom now etc etc.

3. They promoted false teachers/prophets like Bennie Hinn, Paul Yonggi Cho, Mike Bickle, Tommy Tenney etc etc.

4. We were encouraged to use the babbling speaking in tongues not the Biblical speaking in tongues of an unknown language.

5. Etc etc etc.

July 16, 2008 UPDATE:
Prepared For The Slaughter: The Disarming Of The Church
"Those who would obey scripture and 'test all things' are mocked and ridiculed and labeled ‘Pharisees.’ It seems that the Church has fallen prey to the pluralistic, non-judgmental mindset of our present age. The one unpardonable sin is to question someone’s belief, or dare to say that it might be wrong. These new leaders demand you climb on the bandwagon, and if you cannot agree, then you must remain silent at all costs. They call for us to experience now, and evaluate later."

July 15, 2008 UPDATE:
Healer or Heretic?
“We increase our scrutiny of people like Hugh Hefner, and we decrease our evaluation of people like Todd Bentley just because he comes in the name of Jesus. Hugh Hefner is not nearly as dangerous to the Church as someone like this.”

July 13, 2008 UPDATE:
Todd Bentley, Fresh Fire Ministries and Lakeland Revival
"The beginnings of the prophetic movement goes back many decades. In the 40's there was a flurry of activity. Between 1947 and 1957, the so-called "Healing Revival" led by Oral Roberts, T.L. Osborn, A.A. Allen, Jack Coe, and Orval Jaggers enveloped America often with large tent campaigns. William Branham was the central figure in this era. But he also became a catalyst for the contemporary Pentecostal Movement we call the Latter-Rain. It appeared in Canada and was given the blessing of Branham who actually laid hands on the Canadian leaders of the Latter-Rain. The Latter-Rain had developed an entirely new end-time teaching of "salvation history." The Latter Rain is where the so-called 'Toronto Blessing' began."


The Dark Agenda Behind the Florida Outpouring
"The purpose of the revival is to prepare those who will accept it to go on to their final stage of development which will be the merging of God and man. Its purpose is to openly introduce Christians to esoteric teachings and draw them away from the true Christ. According to the New Agers, 'Charismatic congregations in main-line churches are entry points into the Aquarian frontier.' The Unfinished Animal: The Aquarian Frontier and the Evolution of Consciousness. Alice Bailey, mother of the modern New Age Movement, claimed that agents would infiltrate the Christian Church to modify its message, while adapting it as a vehicle for the Universal Religion of the 21st Century."

Convulsions of God?


Todd and his tattoos

July 12, 2008 UPDATE:
Bentley's 'prophetic eagles' or Osprey (imitation eagles)?

"I can't laugh when they make the Holy Ghost look like a fool." David Wilkerson


Todd Bentley's 'Special Commissioning Service'
"While Peter Wagner, Bill Johnson, John Arnott, and Che Ahn are free to commission Todd Bentley anything they desire, it doesn't change the fact that Bentley is a false teacher and false healer; nor does it change the fact that the Florida revival is overshadowed by demonic activity and is extremely dangerous to the physical and spiritual welfare of the believer, as well as those searching for the real Jesus Christ."

Kundalini Yoga and The Lakeland Florida Revival - Identical Manifestations and Identical Source?

Where Will Todd Go Next?

July 11, 2008 UPDATE:
ABC Nightline Busts Bentley Who Now is on Break

Todd Bentley and Marjoe Gortner



Todd Bentley - Possesed by a demon?

Neither faith nor healing

Todd Bentley on Nightline

An Ex-Faith Healer Explains The Tricks Used(WOTM Radio)


July 10, 2008 UPDATE:
Nightline tries but can't verify Bentley's healing claims

Todd Bentley Kicks Cancer Patient


July 9, 2008 UPDATE:
Mass Hypnosis Disguised at 'Christian Worship'

July 8, 2008 UPDATE:
The False Revival (comparison)
This video compares the spiritual manifestations of other religions and the false revivals that are occurring in the church.

July 7, 2008 UPDATE:
Is god-tv from the real God?

The New Breed/Manifest Sons of God/Latter Rain/Third Wave/Kingdom Now/New Apostolic Reformation/Joel's Army False Teaching

July 6, 2008 UPDATE:
Prophet or Wolf?

July 5, 2008 UPDATE:
Living Sacrifice Lakeland Style

Todd Bentley and Florida Revival Exposed

Comments by David and Nicole regarding Todd Bentley

July 4, 2008 UPDATE:
Email from James Sundquist, author of Who's Driving the Purpose Driven Church?

Todd Bentley, Fires of Kundalini and the Demon Samael
"I just finished reading Todd Bentleys, three part series Angelic Hosts. It is seriously one of the most disturbing and dangerous things I have ever read. It seems that the more I prayerfully look into Todd Bentley the deeper I am led into his dark world of Gnosticism, mysticism, and the occult. My prayer for you is that you will honestly examine the things he teaches and the manifestations present in his ministry in the light of scripture..."

"Carl Teichrib , a researcher on world religions sums it up beautifully, 'The bottom line is this: the quest for the mystical Tree of Life is simply the desire to take the Garden of Eden by force, tear down whatever barriers stand in the way of its fruit, and by man's own hand taste immortality. The result will be catastrophic for the individual who, through the occult and the works of magic, attempts to gain "everlasting life" outside of God’s prescribed way - "the way and the truth and the life" - Jesus Christ.'"

Todd Bentley Lying Again About His Tattoos

Todd Bentley’s angel electricutes him, makes him scream, and renders him dumb

Todd Bentley claims to be 100% pure in heart - more arrogance

Canadian evangelist's ministry draws kudos and criticism

July 2, 2008 UPDATE:
Article: Todd Bentley's revival in Lakeland draws 400,000 and counting

See ALL videos by localpastor

Impartation of Grace?


Lakeland 'Revival' at Denny's

Lakeland Glory

July 1, 2008 UPDATE:
Todd Bentley Praises Kenneth Hagin

June 30, 2008 UPDATE:
Todd Bentley: This man has to be stopped

source

Florida Outpouring Revival Concerns Pentecostal Leaders

June 27, 2008 UPDATE:
The Lakeland/Lucifer Connection

Bentley the Healer?


source

June 25, 2008 UPDATE:
Can We Give and Receive God's Glory?

False Prophets Commission False Prophet

Todd Bentley Raging Revival Part 2

June 24, 2008 UPDATE:
Wendy Alec: Prophet of God?

June 23, 2008 UPDATE:
Live at Lakeland!!!!! Bentley Tent Revival

June 22, 2008 UPDATE:
A Church on Fire

June 21, 2008 UPDATE:
Todd Bentley "Bobbing" for the "anointing"

Todd Bentley Revival Tips

Todd Bentley's screeners keep the 'Revival Fires Pure'



Now Appearing in Person!

Todd Bentley Speaks Out!!!!

GOD WILL SEND A STRONG DELUSION
It shouldn't surprise any of us that a counterfeit gospel will look and feel like the real thing... how easily fooled we can be.....CLICK HERE to see a video response to Todd Bentley: Messenger of God? part 1

Exposing Benny Hinn (and other false healers) PART 1

Exposing Todd Bentley: Part 2

For Who's Glory?

And here are links to a couple of articles from when Bentley was recently in Concord, NC. Check out the comments too:

June 18, 2008 Q&A with preacher Todd Bentley

June 19, 2008 Tattooed preacher says God heals through him

Comments

June 17, 2008 Commentary: "BAM! BAM! BAM!" said the false prophet

June 19, 2008 Editorial: Don't drink the Kool Aid

World Magazine: Same old scam?

And for what it's worth, here is a comment from another website which I found interesting:

Louis
May 24, 2008 at

It’s a known fact that Todd B is an MK Ultra plant being handled by Bob Jones. Thus the blatant crowd mind manipulation and hypnotism.
It’s a known fact that since 1984 Bob and crew have been working towards open physical warfare on those who oppose them (blues vs greys).
It’s a known fact that Branham was asked if the healings were from the Holy Spirit and he answered, no, they are from his angel. That is blasphemy and occult power.
It’s a known fact that the leaders of the New Age, the Illuminati, have planned all along to hijack Christianity by putting their leaders in place, and now you see it with their plant TB. Their plan is also along the lines of Bob and crew, that 25% of the population must be purged because they are opposers.

source

June 18, 2008 UPDATE:

Todd Friel & Justin Peters Speak on Healing and Todd Bentley

Prophets of Baal

Todd Bentley: Messenger of God? part 7 (Looking at Kundalini) See all parts of series

June 17, 2008 UPDATE: Commentary on Bentley by Way of the Master Radio

June 15, 2008 UPDATE: Child tells Bentley. "I don't want you to touch me!"

Bentley Interviewed by Geraldo

Bentley wants us to "Call down the angels!"

June 14, 2008 UPDATE: To Judge or Not to Judge?

June 11, 2008 UPDATE: The Lies of Bentley

June 9, 2008 UPDATE: Christian Research Service

June 8, 2008 UPDATE: Raised from the Dead Story from Unverified Email and Being Slain in the spirit in the Occult is Serpent Power

June 7, 2008 UPDATE: $elling Je$u$ by Todd Bentley

June 5, 2008 UPDATE: False Revival

June 4, 2008 UPDATE: Todd Bentley Deception

June 1, 2008 UPDATE: Be Not Deceived

May 28, 2008 UPDATE: Coming Out of Deception

May 27, 2008 UPDATE: The Third Wave & Angel of Finance? and A Word To False Prophets

May 25, 2008 UPDATE: Todd Bentley: Messenger of God?

May 24, 2008 UPDATE: Did Todd Bentley See the Jesus of the Bible?

May 22, 2008 UPDATE: The Tattoos of Todd

May 18, 2008 UPDATE: Is Lakeland Calling You? DON'T GO!

May 15, 2008 UPDATE: False Healing Revival in Lakeland, Florida

May 13, 2008 UPDATE: More on Todd Bentley from Apostasy Alert

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:12

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:11

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Matthew 24:24

EVANGELIST TODD BENTLEY, below, lays hands on a parishioner's ears and prays that God will restore her hearing during a "healing meeting" at Ignited Church in Lakeland on Tuesday. Bentley's ministry has become a sensation, drawing growing crowds of people seeking miraculous healing of serious medical conditions. Not everyone is healed instantly, Bentley says. "We don't make any claims," he says. "We just pray."

Evangelist's Popular Ministry Claims Miraculous Healing

By Cary McMullen
Ledger Religion Editor
(863) 802-7509
cary.mcmullen@theledger.com

Published: Saturday, April 19, 2008

source

What began as a five-day revival at Ignited Church in Lakeland has become something of a sensation locally and, thanks to the Internet, in Pentecostal circles worldwide.

Bentley's ministry has become a sensation, drawing growing crowds of people seeking miraculous healing of serious medical conditions. Not everyone is healed instantly, Bentley says. "We don't make any claims," he says. "We just pray."

Canadian evangelist Todd Bentley has been leading "healing meetings" at Ignited since April 2, attended by as many as 20,000 people so far, and the meetings will continue twice daily through April 27, church leaders say. The meetings have drawn attention for what Bentley and Ignited Pastor Stephen Strader say are miraculous instances of people healed of serious medical conditions.

The evening services usually fill Ignited's 700-seat sanctuary, and people have been waiting for hours for the doors to open, Strader said. The crowds have included people from outside Lakeland, outside Polk County and even other states. Ignited's media coordinator, Lynne Breidenbach, said a doctor from England had flown over to attend services after seeing reports on the Internet.

The services have been streamed live via the Web site www.ustream.tv, and as of Wednesday morning, the services had received more than 100,000 views.

Bentley was invited by Strader to return to Ignited after a brief visit last year. In an interview Tuesday, Bentley said it is unusual for him to cancel other scheduled appearances in order to continue leading a series of services.

"There was something different about this meeting. It was evident by the third day, I really felt something unique was happening," he said. "We decided to stay another week. The crowds grew, the miracles grew."

Bentley, 32, runs Fresh Fire Ministries, based in Abbotsford, British Columbia. He said he dropped out of school in the eighth grade and overdosed on drugs three times before he became a Christian in 1994. According to a 2003 article in Charisma, a magazine devoted to Pentecostal news, before his conversion at age 18, Bentley spent several stints in jail, including one for a sexual assault committed as a juvenile.

Bentley's arms and neck are covered with tattoos with religious symbolism, and he wears jeweled studs in his chin and ear. He said what has been different about these meetings is an "electric atmosphere" that he attributed to "the manifest, lingering presence of God. ... I've never seen something spread so fast."

The evening services usually last for several hours, beginning with an hour or more of near-deafening music that has the wildly eclectic crowds leaping and spinning. At Tuesday evening's service, a black teenage boy was greeted by a middle-aged white man, and an elderly woman in pink with a fake-fur hat linked arms with a young woman in her 20s, while bikers with Christian insignia on their leather vests stood by the stage with arms upraised.

Shortly after Bentley took the stage, wearing a black T-shirt and baggy black jeans, he began calling out diseases and medical conditions carried by unidentified persons in the room - a practice Pentecostals call "word of knowledge" - which Bentley said were being spontaneously healed.

"Tumors are going to be pulled right out of people's bodies tonight. ... Someone has a growth on their face, on their neck, a woman in this room right now. Put your hand on your face. It's being burned off by the fire of God. ... Somebody else uses an oxygen mask, and the Lord's touching you tonight. God wants to open your lungs," he said, while pacing the stage.

A line of people formed at the foot of the stage. Bentley's assistants talked with them before bringing them up to Bentley, who asked a rapid-fire series of questions of those who approached him - "What are you feeling? What's happening? Can you move your arm?" He labored over several people who said they had hearing problems, shouting at one, "I command this deafness - go! - in Jesus' name" and asking, "Can you hear me now?" Responses varied from uncertain to yes.

"Not everyone is instantly healed. We don't make any claims. We just pray," Bentley said.

People with problems in their knees or feet were asked to jump or run across the stage after Bentley prayed. Praying over one young woman who said she had metal rods in her spine, Bentley said, "I ask you, Holy Ghost, to remove the metal rods from her back. Loose!"

Even within Pentecostal circles, Bentley is controversial for his claims of visitations by angels. He said Tuesday that before coming to Lakeland he had been visited by "the angel of the winds of change" who told him he would "bring change to Lakeland."

Bentley defended these claims of "supernatural encounters" as identical to biblical accounts.

"I believe that's available to everybody. In today's world, people are hungry for that, they're fascinated by that," he said.

Harried and hoarse, Strader said Tuesday evening the "outpouring," as he and Bentley are calling it, is spontaneous.

"It's nothing you can plan for. You hope for it, you pray for it, but it's totally a God thing," he said.

Strader is the son of the Rev. Karl Strader, former pastor of Carpenter's Home Church. who also was known for leading splashy services and revivals. After the 1995 conviction of Karl Strader's son, Dan, on charges of investment fraud, Carpenter's Home Church dwindled, and the church eventually sold its massive North Lakeland sanctuary to Without Walls Central Church.

The cash proceeds of the sale, $3.5 million, were used to purchase and renovate the former Scotty's Hardware Store that now houses Ignited Church. Ignited began holding services at the site in 2006.

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Yes, I believe that Todd Bentley is ONE OF MANY false prophets making appearances in various churches today. And like Brownsville AOG church in Pensacola, FL, in the late 1990's, this Ignited church in Lakeland, FL, today is completely misleading folks.

Bentley is part of a movement that teaches people can visit heaven anytime they want to along with the new age lie that man is equal to God. A wolf in sheep's clothing, he deceives many with his hocus pocus that satiates folks emotional needs. These "revivals"are all about emotional needs and feeling good instead of actually reading the Bible for yourself and knowing God's word.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

READ MORE HERE:
False Healing Revival

4/26/08 UPDATE
Below are email exchanges with Shawna from today:

Cathy,
I just read your front page.
I hope and trust you are a sister in the Lord.
However...Cathy.....can you honestly say that the Jesus that you speak about does not have what it takes to TRULY set the captives free???
In love, I ask you.......... What is it that Jesus Christ came to do????
Is one sin bigger or harder for the Lord to deliver from than another??
Do you REALLY believe?????
Why would you spend your time bashing someone who is ministering in His name...who has been set free.......???
Can you honestly say you are free???
What about when you lay your head down at night and no one is around??
Are you truly at peace???
Do you REALLY believe in the savior that you speak of??? And.....is His arm too short to deliver one like Todd Bentley?? AND....if He HAS delivered him, would you expect any less than what you are seeing before your eyes at the revival???
What is the scriptural definition of a false prophet???
Todd doesn't fit the description.
What has he said that isn't true?? What has he taught??
Are you going to use his past to condemn him???
Where are you getting your motivation???
Please take this as a literal challenge.
If YOU are the one who is wrong, you would then be guilty of what the Word of God calls....'touching God's anointed.' Can you handle that???
I wouldn't even be challenging you like this if you weren't so forthright yourself.
Please respond.
Sincerely,
Shawna

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Hi Shawna,
As one who was deeply involved in Brownsville AOG in Pensacola, I speak from a painful past of being deceived and misled from which the Lord Jesus Christ delivered me - hallelujah!

Are Todd Bentley's actions scriptural? Are they in the Bible? If not, he is playing with fire and so are those who support and endorse him.

The whole charismatic movement is full of deceit and demons. MANY are being misled and may loose their salvation if they don't repent. This is my concern and why I posted the article.

Did you read the comments on the post? Click here and scroll down.

Sharing the painful truth in love, may the truth be revealed, may the lies be exposed, may the deceived wakeup, may the sinner repent, may the lost be saved and may the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified I pray.

Cathy

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What is he doing that is not scriptural?
Cathy, it is usually NEVER the minister or the movement.....it is people here or there who give the 'movements' a bad name.
If you are a product of painful deception, maybe you are still in need of healing and revelation of truth.
It is one thing to point out specifics, it is another to 'throw out the baby with the bath water,' which is what people who have been hurt always have a tendency to do.
If you read the Bible from Genesis to Revelations, you will not come away with an intellectual stimulation. You will read things that go AGAINST the natural mind. You will see a story and picture and inspiration of a SUPERnatural God, who does ALL kinds of things that don't 'make sense.' He is a God of decency and order, but, he does NOT fit in to our natural little boxes.
Again, what is happening in his meetings that is unscriptural???

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Shawna,
For one thing, being slain in the spirit in not scriptural. We NEVER read about the early church doing this.

And secondly, gold dust/gold fillings appearing on/in people is not scriptural but rather comes from the occult. In the occult world, anybody showered with liquid or powdered gold dust would see it as confirmation of their spiritual transformation; in the world of magic it is called "pixie-dust" and occultists sprinkle it along with their 'blessings' and invocations as a very real experience of enchantment.

From Spirit of Error website:
Not all supernatural experiences are from God and Bentley claims to have supernatural encounters all the time. He says: “Never more than a few days go by that I don’t encounter third heaven and some kind of prophetic experience — at times it happens daily for months. Supernatural experiences have become part of daily Christianity for me.” But one of the angels that Bentley claims visits him is an angel that was associated with William Branham’s healing ministry, according to Bentley (read more here). And this should concern Christians because Branham — a “prophet” in the Latter Rain movement — taught many false and heretical doctrines include:
• Claiming that he was the angel in Rev 3:14 & 10:7
• Claiming he was Elijah, who would precede Christ’s return
• Denying the Trinity and calling it a satanic doctrine
• Teaching that Eve had sexual intercourse with the serpent, producing human beings who are destined for hell, which is only a temporal place. But those who receive God’s seed (Branham’s teaching) are the “Bride of Christ”
• Saying that anyone who was a member of any denomination had taken the “mark of the beast”
• Giving a number of false prophecies about the end of the world
• Teaching that the Word of God had been given in two other forms besides the Bible: the zodiac and the Egyptian pyramids
• Some of his followers thought he was God or had been virgin born and, when he died in 1965, they believed he would be resurrected.
• Many of Branham’s critics believe he genuinely had a supernatural gift of healing, but that it wasn’t from God since he promoted heretical teachings (read more here).

Bentley claims that, whenever Branham’s angel shows up at one of Bentley’s meetings, he gets a supernatural ability in his left hand to diagnose people’s sicknesses, and he also gets correct words of knowledge about details from their lives — just as Branham claimed.

Shawna, you can read more about him here if the previous comments don't give you a red flag.

You are very defensive about this man. Are you absolutely sure he is right on?

Jesus and most of the New Testament gives us many warnings about false teachers and the like. In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul writes, "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."

Dear heavenly Father, please show both Shawna and myself the truth regarding Todd Bentley. Did you send him or not? Please guide us both to the truth we ask in the name of Your wonderful Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You, heavenly Father. Amen!

If we are teachable and in His Word (kjv), He will show us.

Cathy

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Cathy,
The term 'slain in the spirit' is a 'Christian-eeze' phrase. But, being overwhelmed by the power of God is scriptural. For example, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, they 'fell to the ground' when the Lord did nothing more than say, "I am He."
Secondly, it is completely consistent with the Word of God that the devil will 'counterfeit' everything that God will do.......or, at least, try to.

The occult also uses the rainbow as one of their symbols, and yet, the rainbow is the very thing that God used as a sign of promise.

People in the occult speak in tongues, have out of body experiences, and have supernatural manifestations........ALL of which are identified in the Word of God as gifts and.....'normal' activities of the Living God Almighty.

The Supernatural IS normal for the Christian person, truly walking with Jesus Christ. Of course, the biggest stumbling block is that people will often try to 'create' the manifestations for themselves....thereby getting in to error.

There is a fine line balance between 'desiring' the way the Bible tells us to, and working up things ourselves. We DO have to participate and cooperate with God. But, again, there will always be fakes.

The challenge, once again, being to not become an all knowing 'judge' over the things that are happening in the lives of other people.

There are also 'special anointings' that we see throughout scripture.........tons of people from Elijah to Paul. CRAZY supernatural things happened all the time to certain people in the Bible. It REALLY was normal and 'every day' to them.
Think about the things that happened to these people and what they were literally known for, and written about..............

Ax heads floating on the water, people being healed by Paul's shadow, etc...........
I'm SURE that the skeptics back then were no different than people today. And, I'm SURE that there were people who made God look bad, in the midst of something real.
Regarding William Branham.............
I don't know about him to counter your statements, so, I will look in to that.

Cathy, I'm not 'defensive' regarding Todd Bentley. I had never heard of him until this revival began. I am not the kind of person who runs after every ministry that comes to town. In fact, I usually go out of my way NOT to do so.
However, I have been in enough meetings since I've been saved, to know the anointings and power of the Holy Spirit.

MANY ministers of the true God are quirky and annoying and...........I put most of what I hear on a shelf, truthfully. But, we Do, as believers, need to experience the power of God that may make us very uncomfortable. And, when we Don't experience something......which I have a feeling may have been your case........we, again, should watch about throwing it all the window because of our bad personal experiences. Just because we experience something negative doesn't define truth for us.

I'm going to go to bed now....so I can get up for church tomorrow! :-)
But, I will read the excerpts you've highlighted on this last message.
And, I'll respond back to you when I can......
I appreciate the conversation.
Amen to the prayer!!!!
Talk to you soon.
Shawna

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