By Rick Hiebert. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
An e-mail from Tood Bentley’s ministry on Friday, as he continues to tour the USA, predicts “revivals” in 12 American cities.
Would that it were so, but I hear the Church Lady character from Saturday Night Live saying “How conveeeenient.”
I’ll reproduce the full e-mail as the first comment, as I see that FreshFireUSA scrubs and deletes regularly. It is here.
Here are some things that stand out to me.
Bentley writes:
“In April of 2008, within the first few weeks of Lakeland Bob Jones and myself were having a conversation by phone where we were both shown 12 cities where the Outpouring would begin breaking out igniting the fires of Revival. We understand and celebrate the many places that Revival is breaking out across America and throughout the world, but this is just our part of what we were shown.
The first city was Charlotte, NC. On April 23rd, a “Breakout” began at Rick Joyner’s MorningStar Fellowship Church, which lasted 7 months. During these 7 months, they hosted meetings 6 nights a week with many notable and remarkable miracles each night. The second city I was shown was Kansas City, MO. Many of you are familiar with the “Student Awakening” at IHOP and what has happened there.”
Hmm. Bentley is depending on people having a short memory. Given that he had hours to fill every night–he even shared his “leg drop the pastor” stories and such, I wonder why he didn’t share these prophecies of the first two places where revival would be? Isn’t a biblical test for a prophet the ability to correctly say what will happen before it does? He had lots of time to do so. So did Bon Jones, for that matter.
And remember the many “restoration videos” webinars and such. Wouldn’t “I have to come back to ministry or these 12 cities won’t see revival” have been a central element of what he said? (Retroactively, it would also make Todd leaving ministry for lower profile work impossible. Wouldn’t that impel comments like “I can’t leave ministry, even though I have remarried, because God says…”
Why leave all this unmentioned. It also relates to something Bentley says later.
Todd is not even bothering addressing his critics. This is for followers.
Bentley quotes Bob Jones as follows:
I did write down for documentation a few things about that prophecy. And one thing that Bob said was, “The third wave has begun.” This wave will promote, prepare, purify, pierce, and inspire. We can expect to be changed. The voice of healing move of the Spirit years ago is now here for a second time and will not be stopped. It is a major healing move.
The Third Wave borrows from a concept of Peter Wagner’s. You remember how he and his group were basically asked not to participate in Bentley’s restoation process which explains why after decrying some of Bentley’s mistakes Wagner has been pretty silent on this since then. Anyways, it is a concept that troubles some with an eye to apologetics.
And take note for future reference that Bob Jones says that this healing movement will not be stopped.
Bentley adds:
“In Lakeland, I was given a promise of how the ark of God and Revival would be carried from city to city. This fire would be transferrable. It would be a tangible fire….”
Since the Lakeland Outpouring has been over for two years now, can we say this may be accurate?
He continues:
….the Lord began to have me revisit the original prophetic promise of the 12 cities that I was given with Bob in April of 2008. He said, “Do you remember that word?” I said, “Yes Lord.” He said, “That word is now. This 12-city promise is for now. You need to fire it up again, and you need to focus specifically on praying for people from Ohio and keep prophesying Ohio. Watch Ohio. Because as it breaks there, it is going to begin to break in many other cities.”
Here are the 12 cities that I was given in April 2008:
Lakeland/Orlando, Florida (Lakeland Outpouring)
Charlotte, NC (“Breakout” happened at MorningStar)
Kansas City, MO (Student Awakening)
Ohio
Atlanta, GA
Des Moines, Iowa
Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Denver, CO
Nashville, TN
Portland/Albany, OR
Seattle, WA “
“Keep prophesying Ohio”. All right then, what if revival does not take place in Ohio? Would that invalidate the rest of the word?
And guess where Bentley is ministering next week. In Milford Ohio, a suburb of Cincinatti.
And Lakeland is at the top of the list. Some people were no doubt blessed, but the ABC Nightline crew found that people were going unhealed, and that people in the community were telling the reporters that the Outpouring wasn’t having the effect on the wider community that a revival should. Not to mention the World magazine story that found that over 30 people that Bentley’s ministry had declared healed had since died.
Some were blessed at Lakeland, but a lot more were hurt, either through being disappointed in God, or taught unsound theology. If Lakeland had indifferent results, do the other cities want a similar revival?
Is there only one “revival” per city. If Lakeland hasn’t resulted in lasting good fruit, does this mean that God is saying “Sorry, Lakeland you had your chance with Todd…”
After the list, Bentley quotes Bob Jones to the effect that Jones’ wife had a dream about revival in Ohio. With such evidence, does this mean that if Ohio fails in the prophecy, so goes the nation?
And we sadly have to guess that there will be intense pressure to make a revival happen in Ohio.
Enter the barnstorming evangelist.
Which brings to mind the proposed reality show on Discovery TV. Now I have realized what may be key to Todd Bentley and his brains trust about the show.
Remember GOD TV? We had two-three hours of Bentley et al. per night. Great publicity for Lakeland, but it proved double edged as people were able to pull things from the broadcasts to see that Todd Bentley and his revival were unsound.
Critics of Bentley found the footage useful, but what happens if Discovery is in GOD TV’s place. Discovery will go for the glitz, what is “good for television”. Critical thinking and followups that find that the lady is still wheelchair bound 90 per cent of the time, say, will be discouraged.
For Todd Bentley to succeed in what he wants to do now, he needs to be “edited for television”.
Thus this tour, which makes for good TV, as he preaches in a casino here, or at a church that meets in a Wal-Mart after hours there. And Todd’s audience, now that sceptics won’t give him the time of day, will be aching for revival in a noble way. The audience will also be wanting to prove that Joyner and Jones and Bentley were right in what they say in the e-mail.
And notice that the “revivals” are nicely spread around the country, which also makes for good TV.
What if God were to ask Todd to start another Welsh Revival? Discovery TV might say, “We can’t have you preaching in the same country for three years! How many shots of rugby teams, coal miners and male choirs can we show?!?!?” And since, with crowds and donations likely being lower this time around, Bentley’s Discovery income, or lack thereof might become very crucial to his future.
Back to Milford Ohio. Guess that as the “revival” is so needed, Bentley will be wanting everyone to come.
As long as they have $20 to register and get a wristband that allows them access.
The morning service is devoted to teaching anout healing, with the evening service devoted to ministry prayer. Those with the $20 wristbandss will have first dibs on entry into the nighttime services, driving out those without $20.
If the Milford site seats 1,000 that would mean $20K a day. Not counting offerings, which I predict will be taken.
“Silver and gold have you none, and such as I have, I won’t give?”
Bentley concludes:
“If you would like more information about becoming a host city of The Healing & the Kingdom Tour along with Regional Revival and Breakthrough Services, please send us an email at info@freshfireusa.com. We pray over every ministry request that comes in and are looking for those to partner with in seeing the Lord’s Kingdom come and the fires of Revival ignite the heart of this great nation once again!”
Well, I hope that Bentley doesn’t discover more cities and regions, after the fact, that he saw in his vision but was told not to say anything about until he was about to appear there the following week.
That would really be “too much”.
Go back to your social club ear tickling words
“Why do you call me Lord and not do what I say?”
- Jesus Christ, Luke 6:46
So before Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they did not know what disobedience was. They didn’t know it was bad, a sin, to disobey. How could they? Like babies, they did not have the knowledge or experience to draw on. Do you think it is fair to be expected to know something without being given the tools to learn it? They did not have the knowledge to conscientiously make a choice about whether to listen to god or listen to the snake. But what they did have in them obviously was a brain and an innate curiosity about the world. Adam and Eve must have had the intellectual level of two-year-olds. Are they really the ones to blame for this travesty? What do you think would happen if a parent went away, leaving his two toddlers alone in a room with a loaded hand gun with hair trigger action and simply told them not to play with it? Even worse, what if their evil older brother comes along and tells them it’s okay to play with the gun, it will be lots of fun. What do you think would happen? Who bears the responsibility for what ensues? The parent, right?
Even in our own moral imperfection, we know that it was negligence at best on the part of the parent. Well that parent in A&E’s case is their creator, god. He set them up to fail. Didn’t he know that they were eventually going to disobey his commands somewhere down the road? If he is Omnipotent, then he must have known. And if he knew, then he was the one who caused the human race to be eternally damned and in need of a saviour. How then am I to blame for what god planned all along from the beginning?
When examining the credibility of the three monotheistic religions, all one has to do is start at the beginning and pick that story apart. Anyone with any sense can see that it is a man-made tale about a god playing silly games with his puppet creation.
Adam and Eve got banished from the garden and their progeny up to this day suffers for their disobedience based on ignorance. The irony of it all is that Christians today have the power of the risen Christ who has overcome sin and death on the cross at their disposal. They have knowledge of what is good and what is evil. AND THEY CAN’T EVEN STOP SINNING!! How did god expect A&E to not slip up?
Like I said, if Christianity were real and Jesus’ kingdom reigned within the hearts of his children, the church would resemble the Jesus and the disciples in the book. The lack of demonstration of the true nature of Christ in the earth, proves that the claims of Christianity are false. Sin and the love of money and the love of life is running rampant in the church. The difference between Christianity and all the other religions is that Jesus was supposed to impart his spirit in the life of a follower, and walking in his spirit would overcome the lust of the flesh – sin. The disciples could do it. why can’t contemporary Christians? Where is the power of god to strike down the liars, like Ananias and Sapphira? There isn’t even the power any more to stand up and publicly rebuke the man behind the pulpit who is preaching doctrines of demons!
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
2 Peter 1:3-4
Sorry to dump, Rob. I just wish people would wake up and think.
@Marina
Its ok you aren’t dumping, I really do understand where you are coming from.
I look at it this way. God did not set Adam and Eve up for failure. He gave them a choice. There can never be true obedience without the opportunity to disobey. He placed two trees in the garden… well He probably put thousands of trees in the garden, but there was only one they could not eat from. God wanted Adam and Eve to chose Him. If they didn’t have a choice they would have been robots. True love and true obedience is never true if it is forced and there is no choice in the matter.
As Christians, we belong to a Kingdom of rewards. He cannot reward us for a choice we did not make. You have to have an option to believe this or to believe that. Your reward is based on your choice to believe the Word of God.
Adam and Eve were far from being two-year olds. They were created in the image and likeness of God and walked daily in the awesome presence of the mighty God. Everything they had and needed was found in Him. They were not dumb by any means. What two year old would have the capacity to name every creature on the earth?
Yes, God is omnipotent. He knew what would happen before it did. He knew the outcome, but it was still part of His perfect plan. He knew Adam and Eve would make the wrong choice, but He loved us so much that He was willing to send His son to die and redeem mankind. “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). He gave up His son before the world was even created!
You are so very right about the lack of the demonstration of the Kingdom of God. For the most part, Christians are a far cry from who we are called to be and how we are to live. Much of this is due to doubt and unbelief. We do not understand or believe to the full extent the power of the resurrection and the fact that Christ now lives in us. We settle for religion. We have the mindset of the Pharisees. The problem isn’t God and the validity of Christianity, the problem is Christians. God is all powerful and can do anything, yet he chose mankind to display His power on the earth. Its not that He can’t do anything, He won’t. He is waiting on us. Jesus said, “It is finished.” He did His part and now He is waiting on us to do ours. We have the authority of Christ in us, we just have to walk it out.
“For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” (1 Cor 4:20)
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, HAVING THE APPEARANCE OF GODLINESS, BUT DENYING IT’S POWER.” 2 Timothy 3
“Do not wear clothing woven of two different materials.” check your tags…100% cotton only, no polyester blends allowed!
“‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.”
Hmmmm… I guess I am in sin when I shave
ooops sry that was meant for another post! ; )
Marina is going to the hell she is “sure” does not exist.
Ha ha.
God hates you! He also hated Esau before Esau was born.
Why?
Bc GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING BEFOREHAND.
He hated Esau bc Esau was a profane fornicator [with tattoos and cuttings methinks].
God knows His Elect. And they can’t mock Him. And they do not “fall away”.
The called do though. Ge who taught that? Uh, Apollo, Paul and, oh yeah, some Guy named Jesus. (Though He is, was and always will be: GOD)
So it’s easy to see who is on their way to hell.
He hates (the old) me too! That is WHY we need REGENERATION. That is why the former me must be nailed thru the heart and put in a coffin DAILY.
We are rotten to the core. Jeremiah 7:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.”
But that’s “God’s” point of view.
“Narrow is the way, FEW are on it. Broad is the Highway to Hell. 99.999% are on it.”
Try Matthew 7. still (faint) hope but me not holding my breath that reprobates and God-haters will get saved!
But perchance a few might.
@Laws
Instead of taking one scripture and using it to try and ‘prove’ something why not read the entire passage in context. In order to understand the verse “Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated” you have to read all of Romans 9 and on into 10 and 11 to get the entire ‘picture’ of what Paul was saying. The Chapter breaks in the Bible were not originally there and many thoughts of the writer continue on into the next chapter or in the previous chapter. “The sum of thy Word is truth.” Taking bits and pieces is like building your house on the sand, rather then the rock.
Laws
You bring up some excellent points. Accepting Christ (ie. getting saved) goes beyond saying the sinners prayer. That’s just the beginning of our Christian walk but nowhere near the end as some on that wide path of destruction might mistakenly think.
Nor is saying the sinners prayer a license to continue sinning thinking because we got ”saved” we can now have our cake and eat it too (whether smoking, drinking, swearing, lying, gossping, hating, gluttony, anger, etc—just fill in the blank—and every Christian struggles with SOMETHING. If you deny that, your are lying !) or else commit the sin and then repent afterwards.
The Bible says that ”God is not a fool and will not be mocked.” so He knows who is trying to hoodwink him and who is truly sincere in their repentence. If you ”repent” but have every intention of doing the sin again, then you are not truly repenting and God knows this.
Sometimes giving up certain sins from our unregenerated past is a process and doesn’t necessarily happen on the day of salvation for some people but I have found that the more you practice NOT doing something, the better at it you become, until eventually, you won’t be doing it at all (swearing, gossiping, little white lies, etc).
One thing is certain. Salvation is CONDITIONAL and DAILY. In other words, it can be lost at any time IF one willingly chooses to disobey Scripture (much less make a daily practice of it).
Some might argue that God must be up there writing in and taking out names from the Book Of Life each time we mess up but He also knows the beginning from the end, so He already knows who will make it to Heaven and who won’t.
The best way to ensure one’s salvation is to ”examine our hearts daily’ as the apostle Paul said and live as devoutly as possible, which involves separating from most carnal things lest we learn their ways and do the same or worse (this also includes forsaking most worldly tv, radio and music).
My pet peeve is seeing so many so called born again Christians (especially among celebrities–you see a lot of these types on TBN) being just as worldly as their unsaved counterparts. They’ve never truly separated from the world, yet are claiming salvation.
To quote Jeff Godwin ”If you can’t tell the difference between someone who is saved and lost, then there is no difference.”
If someone is claiming to be saved, it should show in everything they say and do and by the way they live their lives on a day to day basis (not just on Sundays). If you can’t see a difference between them and your unsaved neighbours, then something is wrong because they SHOULD be different.
Getting truly saved comes with a price. You will be hated, mocked, scorned, called a bigot and many other names by most of society, for chosing to walk that straight and narrow road in obedience to Scripture. However the end result is eternal life with Christ so worth every bit of sacrifice and also pales in comparison to anything Jesus suffered for us on the Cross.