8 Errors of Todd Bentley - Part 2

My apologies for the delay in this second part coming. In the end it has become more of an introduction to the issues and not as in-depth as I would have hoped. Anyway, I hope this material combined with the links at the end will give you a spring board to begin your own studies. The key thing is to compare everything with Scripture. If it does not meet Scriptural principles and requirements, then it is not of God.

The more I find out about this man and his mentors the more disturbing this whole thing seems. Further details on problems with Todd Bentley can be found here, Moriel Ministries. If you visit that site you will realise that the critics there do not believe that sign gifts ceased after the apostolic era. However, even they can see problems with the Lakeland meetings.

01 Deafening Worship, Dancing, Jumping and the Smell of Smoke

This objection really focuses on the aspect of worship. The New Testament instruction for worship includes several instructions in various places. Two of the most important are that true worship is carried out in spirit and in truth and also that things must be done decently and in order. (John 4:23 and I Corinthians 14:40)

Other Scriptural principles that teach the primacy of the Word, not of the music, need to be considered. The apostle Paul spoke of the preaching of the Word having the power, not a music performance. (I Corinthians 1:18 & 21) Balance must always be sought in the combination of music and preaching and teaching in church meetings.

Reports of people dancing, jumping and collapsing are not found in Scripture and are an extra-Biblical addition. Reports of some of the dancing in at least one meeting are not safe for a family-friendly blog. But some truly disturbing accounts are out there.

Lastly, the smell of smoke? A BBQ smell that made them hungry for God? The lack of Scriptural precedent for such a thing makes me uncomfortable. What is it's purpose? Little can be said about this but it is just one of many aspects of these meetings that seem very unusual.

In every church we must make sure that people are not driven to an emotional and pseudo-spiritual peak by the power of the music instead of a genuine move by the Spirit of God.

02 Todd Bentley Bringing the Kingdom of God?

I do not know of any definition of the Kingdom of God and its inauguration that would allow this comment to align with the Word of God. Speaking from a purely dispensational-premillennial viewpoint the errors here are too numerous to detail. Daniel states that Jesus Christ will found the Kingdom of God on earth, He will be the focal point. (Daniel 2:34)

Revelation 19 indicates a pre-millennial return following the seven years of tribulation. If the Kingdom has now come why do we not see the Lamb lying down with the lion, or why do we not see Christ ruling with a rod of iron? Plainly, the Kingdom is not yet here.

03 Visiting Heaven and Receiving a Crown?

Crowns are the rewards of Christians that will be awarded after death and will be placed at the feet of Jesus. When you get your crown you do not get to come back to earth and talk about it. (James 1:12, II Timothy 4:8, I Corinthians 9:25 & Revelation 4:10)

04 Touch the Screen Now For Healing?

I touched my screen and just got a static shock. But seriously, while it may have happened on occasion that objects the apostles had touched had healing qualities and sometimes just their presence brought about healing those were rare. They were spontaneous, not organised and built up.

Finally, I believe I Corinthians 13, other passages and historical records show the cessation of apostolic miracles.

05 Chanting

It has been well documented that chanting builds up a kind of altered mental state. Any service that relies upon using techniques such as this to control crowds, and that is exactly what happens, is clearly not Biblical. We worship with our whole being and these semi-hypnotic states clearly by-pass that principle.

God desires us, our mind, body and spirit. Chanting by-passes the mind and minimises the spirit. We could perhaps compare this with the vain repitition Jesus spoke of in Matthew 6.

06 The Lord Himself Appeared to Todd?

Working from the Biblical principles and patterns we have no reason to believe in visible manifestations of the Lord. Apart from Paul the apostle this is an entirely unknown occurrence. Even in the book of Acts when people sincerely sought the Lord, Jesus Himself did not appear. Instead apostles were sent to them or they were sent to the apostles.

07 Todd Bentley on Angel Ministries

Here we see more practices that are more familiar in occultism than Christianity. Out of body experiences do not measure up with Paul's words that to be out of the body is to be present with the Lord. The interaction of angels with these individuals is something again which is completely alien to Biblical examples.

08 Preach Angels, Not Jesus

Paul determined to know nothing among the people to whom he ministered save Jesus Christ. In all things Jesus should have the pre-eminence. (I Corinthians 2:2) The general answer they give to the above examples is that just because something is not in the Bible does not make it wrong. To such an argument there is little that can be said. It seems the first issue to deal with is the authority of Scripture. Once that has happened only then can we progress to deal with other matters in detail.

This may seem too superficial to some but I hope it will help you in your discernment regarding this movement in Florida.

Here are some links which I am sure will also be of interest:

New Movement of the Spirit, so What?

Moriel Ministries

End Times... (I Do not agree with everything on this site but they have good information about Todd Bentley and his crowd)

End Times Deception