Angels are real, but so are demons. And of greatest concern to me is that "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Todd Bentley has been raising a lot of eyebrows over the years with his talk of angels and spiritual encounters--especially surrounding the meetings going on right now in Lakeland.

I must admit, I'm personally getting a little weary with writing about Todd Bentley, but this is clearly an important topic at the present time. Just as Bentley has said that he'll stay in Florida for "as long as the revival lasts," I have a feeling I'll be writing heart-felt warnings for equally as long.

I recently received an e-mail from a concerned reader asking my thoughts about Bentley's fascination with angels. In particular, there is a spirit that Todd says is named "Emma," which Todd wrote about. This reader asked,

I read some of your blog about Todd Bentley and I wanted to ask you a few questions. What do you think about Todd's angel 'Emma'? This seems strange to me as I have never heard of female angels in the Bible, yet Todd says she's like the Proverbs 31 woman. How could she be? Does she have a family she takes care of like the Proverbs 31 woman? Angels don't procreate, so how can she be like this woman? Angels neither marry or are given in marriage....My other concern is, have you heard that Emma-o is a major Satanic entity worshipped in Japan as the King of Hell. Just google it. This wouldn't concern me normally except that Todd has a lot of Japanese writing tatooed on his body! Thanks for your time and God bless you.

This person also shared this excerpt from an article by Todd Bentley (feel free to skip it if you just want to read my reply to this reader's e-mail):

“Now let me talk about an angelic experience with Emma. Twice Bob Jones asked me about this angel that was in Kansas City in 1980: “Todd, have you ever seen the angel by the name of Emma?” He asked me as if he expected that this angel was appearing to me. Surprised, I said, “Bob, who is Emma?” He told me that Emma was the angel that helped birth and start the whole prophetic movement in Kansas City in the 1980s. She was a mothering-type angel that helped nurture the prophetic as it broke out. Within a few weeks of Bob asking me about Emma, I was in a service in Beulah, North Dakota. In the middle of the service I was in conversation with Ivan and another person when in walks Emma. As I stared at the angel with open eyes, the Lord said, “Here’s Emma.” I’m not kidding. She floated a couple of inches off the floor. It was almost like Kathryn Khulman in those old videos when she wore a white dress and looked like she was gliding across the platform. Emma appeared beautiful and young-about 22 years old-but she was old at the same time. She seemed to carry the wisdom, virtue and grace of Proverbs 31 on her life.

She glided into the room, 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. I want you to prophecy that Emma showed up in this service-the same angel that appeared in Kansas city-as a sign that I am endorsing and releasing a prophetic spirit in the church.” See, when angels come, they always come for a reason; we need to actually ask God what the purpose is. Within three weeks of that visitation, the church had given me the biggest offering I had ever received to that point in my ministry. Thousands of dollars! Thousands! Even though the entire community consisted of only three thousand people, weeks after I left the church the pastor testified that the church offerings had either doubled or tripled.

During this visitation the pastor’s wife (it was an AOG church) 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. Also, as this prophetic anointing came on her, she started getting phone numbers of complete strangers and calling them up on the telephone and prophesying over them. She would tell them that God gave her their telephone number and then would give them words of knowledge. Complete strangers. Then angels started showing up in the church.

I believe Emma released a financial and prophetic anointing in that place. That was the first angel that I have ever seen in the form of a woman. Some angels I’ve seen seemed like they were neither male nor female. However, Emma appeared as a woman who was like a Deborah, like a mother in Zion. When she came, she began to mentor, nurture and opened up a prophetic well. The people in the church began having trances and visions and the pastor began getting words of knowledge and moving in healing. That congregation also saw more financial breakthrough than they had ever seen before.

I was at another meeting in Atlanta when my wife, Shonnah, saw two financial angels walk into the service and pour oil out on the pastor. Shonnah then knew there was financial breakthrough coming. That night two people wrote the pastor cheques for $16,000 and $17,000 and others also wrote cheques to Fresh Fire for thousands of dollars, which we used for missions to the nations. In addition, many people experienced great financial blessing as well. The day after this angelic visitation one guy had millions of dollars released to him-he had been waiting for about 10 years for this breakthrough. All this financial release came because my wife saw two financial angels walk up and stand on the platform. Can you imagine? We need to pray for the Father to give us financial angels for our lives, our church and region. With this angelic assistance, we will prevail and overcome the warfare trying to hold back our financial breakthrough. Some of you don’t know how to use the angels in intercession like this. You don’t even know whether it’s OK or not….”

And here is the reply I sent in response to this woman's questions:

I should start by saying that I have some reservations in my spirit about Todd’s “Emma” angel that really concern me—I believe this and many of the other angels Todd talks about are actually demons. But I believe I should offer a little more of an answer because we all need to learn to enhance our discernment in Christ.

My concerns regarding this spirit are not based on the fact that it appears female. I’ve personally never encountered a female-looking angel. Typically, they don’t look either male or female, but because of their stature and intensity, they are often thought to be males by many people. Look through Scripture, and you’ll find that many times angels were referred to as “men” by those telling the account; but as you pointed out, they don’t marry. We also see in Hebrews that by showing hospitality to strangers, some have entertained angels without knowing it. To assume that an angel would never appear in a female form would imply that only male strangers could be angels. Maybe that’s true; maybe not--I really don’t know. What I do know, however, is that angels can take any form they like. If a true angel appears as a woman, it may very well have some sort of prophetic meaning (nurturing? birthing? Just thoughts). If a demon can appear like a female, then so can an angel. Whether or not that would happen, I don’t know, but I am certain that it’s possible. Again, I’ve never run across this, I just don’t see enough biblical grounds to write it off as impossible.

In regard to the Proverbs 31 woman reference, Todd didn’t say that she was that woman, he only said that she seemed to carry the wisdom, virtue, and grace of that woman. I’m not saying that makes it true--I just don’t want to waste time disproving something he didn’t actually say.

I wasn’t aware of the Japanese spirit bearing the similar name. It’s possible that there’s a connection here, but I don’t have a feeling one way or another. I try to be careful not to pass judgments based on speculation when I don’t have a clear word from the Lord. Thanks for bringing it up though--it’s worth being aware of.

Also, I have previously read the article you shared. One of the things that concerned me was the pastor’s wife who "began running around barking like a dog [and] squawking like a chicken"--this was said to be from a "powerful prophetic spirit." I sharply disagree with this being a "prophetic" spirit. Paul was clear in 1 Corinthians 14 that what makes prophecy unique is that it’s intelligible (in contrast with tongues, unless someone interprets). I am particularly thinking of verses 23 through 25: "So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, 'God is really among you!'" In the case of barking like a dog or squawking like a chicken, an unbeliever’s response would be more like verse 23: "They’re out of their mind!" This is not by any means prophetic. The only time I see someone behaving like an animal in Scripture is when King Nebuchadnezzar was judged by God and wandered the wilderness like a wild beast for a few years. That’s not a prophetic spirit. Furthermore, manifestations like this have been documented over and over again in the foreign mission field, and the missionaries write about casting demons out of such people (Derek Prince wrote about this extensively).

Based on the article alone, I would say that if "Emma" made the pastor’s wife bark like a dog and squawk like a chicken, then either it was the judgment of God or a demonic manifestation. I would argue the latter. It grieves me that such things are attributed to the Holy Spirit!

The main reason I don’t feel right about "Emma," though, is that this spirit is constantly stealing glory from Jesus Christ. A true angel would do no such thing. I’ve watched Todd Bentley at these meetings get so distracted talking about the healing angel (named "winds of change") that Jesus doesn’t even get mentioned for nearly an hour. Read through that article about Emma again and you’ll find that Jesus is never mentioned even once--but money is brought up quite a bit. The impression one might get from the article is "seek Emma and get rich." It does not point people to Christ in the least way. As Jesus said, "You cannot serve both God and money."

Thanks for asking the great questions! Let me know if you have other thoughts or if there’s more that concerns you.

God bless!
--Art--

Friends, we need to be very cautious with Todd Bentley. I've written a lot already about this and my convictions have only been solidified over the past couple weeks. As a matter of fact, I've noticed that the more time that passes, the more grieved I sense the Holy Spirit is with the Lakeland meetings. There is a flurry of spiritual activity happening in Lakeland, Florida, right now. Yes, some people are truly being healed, but they are becomming harder and harder to find. I see more and more demons gaining influence in these meetings, and the manifestations are following.

We MUST have discernment in these matters. As much as I hate to say it, most of what we are discerning now in Lakeland is between evil spirits and flesh--there's not nearly as much of God's genuine activity going on. I've tried to remain positive about the Lakeland meetings for as long as possible, but I'm afraid that they've been overrun with evil spirits, and the leaders are none the wiser. We DEFINITELY need to be in prayer crying out for God's mercy. Continue to be discerning and don't write the entire thing off because there are still some things being done by the Lord (scarce as they may be)--but I admonish you to be even more cautious than ever with Todd Bentley and the "Lakeland Healing Outpouring."

Keep the eyes of your heart fixed on Jesus Christ!

--Art--

I've had some recent e-mails and comments sent my way about the lack of documentation for the "healings" taking place in Lakeland, and I want to address them. Again, this is not a cut-and-dry issue that can be taken "all or nothing." Rather, spiritual discernment needs to be applied, and critical thinking should be engaged to realize that the presence of the false does not necessarily indicate the absence of the true.

One person recently commented:

Hi, I agree with a lot of what you post. You seem to have a commitment to Word and Spirit, praise God for this.

I wonder about one thing though, you believe that Bentley's healing gift is from the Holy Spirit. As far as I can see through what I have researched, there have been no documented healings as of yet except the xray thing which you have noted doesn't show anything clearly.

I have some freinds over in Lakeland just now, one has tongue cancer and has been prayed for on the stage. Todd declared it a demon. I am hoping my freind comes back healed and delivered.

This is not the first person to bring this to my attention. In some recent e-mails, one of my readers shared this:

...I read a letter from a Lakeland resident who said all of the other Charismatic churches in the area are keeping out of this saying it isn't revival. Normally, I'd question whether or not that was jealousy, but as I watch this on TV, I can't help but feel creepy the entire time. After watching a few dozen testimonies to healing last night, it was remarkable how all of them were "no more pain", a side effect of endorphins and self-hypnosis, but none were able to say they were healed and most still seemed to have their problem. One letter I read was from a woman who was convinced she was healed because the pain went away, but 24 hours later, it was back and she felt spiritually violated and had to seek God to get rid of the oppression she was under. That's what I'm suspecting is much of what we are seeing. They were standing there claiming someone was raised from the dead after being clinically dead for 15 minutes . . . no mention of the fact that they were in the hospital and the doctors continued to work on them giving oxygen and shocking and all that, just that one of the relatives was watching God TV and prayed for the "dead" person and then they woke up as if that's what healed them. Is it possible? Sure, but it's more or just as likely it was the efforts of the doctors rather than Todd's anointing...

I asked this person for links to these letters, and he replied graciously; but after much prayer on the matter, I feel that I should not publicize these sites because they could cause people to stumble in their faith. I can, however, vouch for this writer and say that the letters they came across were credible.

So what are we supposed to do with this? Is anybody actually getting healed as a result of the Lakeland meetings?

Here is how I responded to that first writer:

In answer to your question, I persnally know a small handful of people who have been healed by God through Todd Bentley in the past and are still fully healed.

Also, regarding this current movement in Florida, a pastor I know was watching one of the early meetings online with a friend when Todd Bentley had a "Word of Knowledge" about "right shoulder rotator cuff surgery." Instantly the guy's shoulder popped into place and he could move it properly without pain. He had the surgery several years prior. It's still healed.

I know a lot of the so-called healings coming out of Lakeland are the temporary results of adrenaline and emotion, and I also know that most of what Todd is doing is not healing but rather praying for the sick.

In short, I know God has healded people through him due to personal experience, but I too have found the documentation sadly lacking.

As I said in the beginning of this post, the presence of the false does not necessarily indicate the absense of the true. Just because there are many false reports and temporary healings rising out of these meetings does not mean that they are completely devoid of the true healing power of God.

It doesn't surprise me, though, with all the false teaching and pride littering these meetings, that the Hand of God is not moving in as much power as one would expect from something getting such national coverage. I certainly believe in the healing power of God (as you could see from my last blog post), but I am also aware of counterfeits. I believe our response to these people "caught up in the moment" should be to follow the advice of Scripture and "rejoice with those who rejoice." If they feel that they are healed, then praise God with them. To rob them of their reason for praising God is to rob God of praise from one of His children.

Again, let us strive for unity and purity in the church without divisiveness, quarrels, and fruitless disputes. It's one thing to point out false teaching and warn our brothers and sisters to "beware of wolves in sheep's clothing" and to avoid false prophets; but it is another thing to slander fellow Christians and view with contempt those who are passionate about Jesus Christ. We need to pray for the Church in this hour that we will not all fall victim to deception and ruin. And we especially need to pray that God will purify this activity in Lakeland and shatter the operation of the enemy.

God bless!
--Art--

Why do we call shaking, rocking, jumping, laughing, and shouting "revival"? For that matter, why do we automatically suppose that the evidence of spiritual activity is somehow synonymous with "revival"? I'll admit, many of these things may indeed happen in the midst of a true revival, but they are not necessarily evidence that God is moving. As a matter of fact, they can just as easily be evidence of demons (there are plenty of cases of this in the Bible).

The things we're seeing in Lakeland, although exciting and emotionally gripping, are not true revival. Real revival takes place when the Spirit of God grips the hearts and souls of both the churched and the unchurched with repentance. It starts in the house of God (meaning "Christians") and spreads to the lost. Real revival takes a fiery boldness on the part of its leaders to preach the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ--exposing sin for what it is and bringing people to realize their desperation for our Father in heaven.

If that makes you shake, cry, laugh, or shout, then I'm all for it. And if healing, miracles, "words of knowledge," prophecy, and the like are happening in the midst of such a movement, then clearly they are from God.

But what we see happening in Lakeland are all the signs, wonders, and manifestations without much of the repentance. Yes, people are responding to "salvation calls," but the prayers they're led in have a sad lack of a "repentance" theme. So let me ask you: is this "revival?"

Now I have to be careful here, though, because I don't want to fall into the trap that I've seen on so many sites recently. It's very easy to speak out against the meetings and spout opinions of what I think about them, but Proverbs says that "a fool delights in airing his own opinions." The Internet is littered with opinions, and I want to make sure that I'm remaining in the realm of discernment. The popular opinions right now seem to be polarized--either people are head-over-heels for what's happening in Lakeland, or they have condemned the whole thing; but I feel from the Lord that it's more complex than that.

As I shared yesterday, I sense that Todd Bentley's healing gift is from God, but he has unfortunately stepped outside his gifting and been led astray in regards to his ministry methods, teachings, and many of his "revelations." We need to pray for our brother and believe God to bring transformation into his life. Please keep in mind that it would be wrong for us to slander our brother in Christ--these blog posts are meant to bring clarity, maturity, and true revival to the Church--not more divisions.

I honestly believe that out of this movement in Lakeland, Florida, God can raise up a TRUE revival of repentance in America and ultimately the World! But it will require a few things. First, something will need to happen that ensures Jesus Christ gets the glory and not Todd Bentley--either Todd will repent, or his sin will be exposed. Second, we need to make sure the Church is not shooting flaming arrows at each other--I hope everyone can see that my intent in these last three articles has been to promote the truth and encourage prayer for our brother Todd--not to slander him or his ministry. Thirdly, we the church need to start repenting for our own sins and cry out to God in desperation. We need to "hunger and thirst for righteousness." And we need to get out in our own spheres of influence and share the True Gospel with anyone we can.

I say, let Lakeland be what it is; but let the Church be what it is! If the events in Lakeland stir people up and cause the world to hunger for spiritual things, then I praise God for it! But if people get stirred up for spiritual things and the Church is not ready to meet that need with the Truth, then we will be just as guilty for missing the opportunity God has opened up. We must be a people actively pursuing true revival!

So here is my challenge to you: Pray for Todd, pray for America, pray for the whole world, and look actively for the slightest spark of spiritual hunger in every person you meet--then point them to Christ. I've been saying for years that the next "great revival" will be a grassroots movement that can't be pinned on any one person or ministry. Now is the time for the Church to rise up and bring true revival to the world!

A notable event has stirred up in the little town of Lakeland, Florida. On April 2, Todd Bentley began a series of meetings that have now lasted nearly a month due to the intense spiritual activity taking place. I usually prefer not to write lengthy blog posts, but I believe this is a topic that warrants it.

I have scoured the Internet for credible information on these events, and I find that people seem to be either gung-ho for it or dead-set against it. As you are all aware, I believe very much in the supernatural, but I am also a strong proponent of what is actually true rather than what is counterfeit. Therefore, I want to present both sides of the coin, and then offer what I believe the Word of God has to say about such debatable matters.

So far, the most objective information I've found (although largely supportive of the event) came from Charisma Magazine, which presented this report:

Thousands of people longing for a physical or spiritual touch from God are flocking to central Florida for ongoing revival meetings that some have dubbed the "Lakeland Healing Outpouring."

The services, which are being broadcast live daily on GOD TV to millions of potential viewers, reveal the excitement radiating from this area of the Sunshine State, prompting some people to jump on planes and fly in from across the country and even from abroad.

Todd Bentley, the 32-year-old Canadian healing evangelist with a boyish grin responsible for the meetings, reported on Friday that people’s faith alone has healed them even while they were booking their flights online or boarding planes bound for Lakeland, a city of about 90,000 between Orlando and Tampa along Interstate 4.

The 700-seat sanctuary of host pastor Stephen Strader’s Ignited Church can no longer contain the crowds. More than 1,000 worshipers stood inches apart at Friday night’s service, jamming every aisle and altar area. Their bodies rocked back and forth, and their faces wore peace-filled, lovesick and euphoric expressions.

The cars parked outside were also inches apart, with every grassy parcel of land on bordering properties used for overflow. During worship, song lyrics on PowerPoint were replaced with a warning to drivers parked at a nearby store that their cars would be "towed immediately."

"We are all shocked that each night a minimum of 60 percent [are] first time [visitors]," Strader said yesterday.

Fire marshals locked the church doors at last night’s meeting, forcing 400 people to remain in front of the church. The crowd watched the service on a large TV, and more than 200 waited until midnight for Bentley to come out and pray for them, Strader said....

At Friday night’s meeting, the mother of a 6-year-old girl said her daughter broke her elbow about two weeks ago and was healed after a word of knowledge from Bentley. The little girl told the crowd: “Jesus came out of heaven and touched my elbow.” The girl’s before-and-after X-rays are posted on YouTube [Art: I should interject here that I've seen this video, and there is nothing visible to the poor quality camera--all you can see is a lot of excitement among the people viewing the X-rays. That doesn't mean they're not real; it just means it's not worth looking up].

Amber, a thin 15-year-old girl born with scoliosis, said she was healed and could now carry her schoolbooks as well as bend over and touch the floor, which she did publicly during the meeting. One man said he was healed of Hepatitis C. An elderly woman said she went to the doctor for confirmation first before telling the crowd she was healed of glaucoma.

Others on Friday night said they were healed of rheumatoid arthritis, panic attacks, ruptured discs, deafness, post traumatic stress disorder, cancer, leukemia and emphysema.

After a half hour of testimonials Bentley asked the crowd “to give the Lord the glory.” For at least 40 minutes people continually cried the words “holy” and “glory” in a chorus.

Some worshipers fell to the floor weeping. From behind his keyboard, a blonde-locked worship leader named Roy Fields led the procession, his face beaming heavenward.

“What is happening is so much bigger than anyone in this building,” Bentley said from the stage where he was kneeling. “I hear the angels joining in. … The Holy Spirit is taking over.”....

The meetings have been extended due to swelling crowds. Bentley announced Friday the revival would continue daily through at least May 4. He also said he believes the same revival will hit Kansas City, Mo., next.

—Paul Steven Ghiringhelli in Lakeland, Fla.

Charisma Magazine's perspective on the revival appears to be rather positive. It even had quotes from John Arnott and John Kilpatrick from Toronto, Canada, and Pensecola, Florida respectively. These men were instrumental in big "outpouring" events of their own--and they too were highly criticized and scrutinized for their meetings and the strange things taking place.

As it turns out, there was a well-documented prophecy given to Todd Bentley before the Lakeland events at a meeting in Australia. A pastor from New Zealand, Rob DeLuca, foretold the "healing revival" that would break out in Florida and spread around the globe (the picture to the right was taken while this prophecy was being given). Whether or not this prophecy was actually from God has yet to be seen; but as you'll see in a moment, there is a healthy way we should respond until it is either fulfilled or proven false.

I've also found people, like Andrew Strom, who are sharply against what is happening--although this does not surprise me because Andrew Strom has been pointing out fallacies and heresies in the prophetic movement for some time (many of them valid, admittedly, but some of them overblown). Strom asked in a recent e-mail regarding this movement in Florida, "Have we completely forgotten the warnings of 'Lying signs and wonders' in the Last Days?" I believe this is a fair warning, and we would be wise to stay on our guard about such matters, but we have yet to see if this is actually the case in Lakeland.

Strom has a lot of criticisms about Todd Bentley's ministry, but I do not believe this necesarily means God has not been using Todd to perform genuine miracles (see my article titled Spiritual Power and the Nature of Christ). As much as Andrew Strom is doing well to keep our eyes focused on Christ and free from false teachings, he also has issues in his life that could be criticized (though I do not believe it is my place to share these things in a public forum like this without addressing him personally first). The point I'm making is that no one is perfect, and we need to be discerning of what God may or may not be doing rather than judgmental of the individual(s) He might be using to carry out the work.

Finally, as promised, I want to present how I believe we should resond to this activity in Florida.

In Jeremiah 28, we learn about a false prophet named Hananiah who proclaimed, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the LORD's house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,' declares the LORD, 'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'" (Jer. 28:2-4).

So the false prophet Hananiah prophesied peace in a time when the true prophet Jeremiah knew better. But what was Jeremiah's response? Did he condemn Hananiah? Did he rebuke the false prophet's words? Nope.

Jeremiah 28:5-17--Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD. He said, "Amen! May the LORD do so! May the LORD fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the LORD's house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true."

Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, and he said before all the people, "This is what the LORD says: 'In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.'" At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

Shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "Go and tell Hananiah, 'This is what the LORD says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.' "

Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, "Listen, Hananiah! The LORD has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore, this is what the LORD says: 'I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.' "

In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died. (NIV)

Three things stand out to me in this passage. First, Jeremiah shouted, "Amen!" to the prophecy of peace and affirmed that he too wanted the word to come to pass. Second of all, Jeremiah makes the point that if a person prophesies war and disaster, that's nothing special; but if they prophesy peace, then they are only recognized as true if their prediction comes to pass. And thirdly, God brought judgment on the false prophet as foretold through the true prophet.

Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 13:6,7 tells us, "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (NIV). If we are truly a people of love, then we should rejoice with the truth...but we should also always trust and hope. In love, I believe we should trust Todd Bentley and hope that this truly is a move of God.

If this current movement is truly from God, then no one will be able to stop it. And if Todd Bentley is a false prophet, then I can guarantee that God will expose him for what he is. But unless this happens, I have to say, "Amen! So be it! May this be the beginning of the revival we've been crying out for! May the healing power of God be poured forth from heaven on a global scale!" If God reveals differently to me, then I will certainly speak out against these meetings, but I will not do so apart from genuine revelation. For now, let's pray that God would reveal the truth of Jesus Christ and save thousands of souls in the midst of what is happening with Todd Bentley in Lakeland.

Balance and Extremes

What is "balanced" Christianity? So many times we see people fly off to extremes. They find a doctrine they like and they run with it. One person says God is just, and that's all they preach about. Another person says God does miracles, and that becomes their entire life. Then we find someone who only teaches that God is love; and someone else who pushes teachings on hell and judgment.

So what is balance? Is it to compromise our teachings? Is it to bring everything more toward the "center" so that less people are offended? Is it to avoid extremes?

Well, I say we should get our example from Christ Himself. Jesus was extreme. He was extreme about God's justice, righteousness, power, love, and judgment. He was extreme in worship, fellowship, discipleship, and evangelism. He was extreme in service, humility, and kindness. He was extreme in bluntness, prophetic clarity, and harsh truth. Jesus was extreme in every way! Jesus was not balanced in the sense that He watered down His life; He was balanced by being extreme in every area!

If we wish to be truly "Christ-like," we need to be unafraid to be extreme in every way! Look for the one aspect of God's nature that you like to convey most, and then look for some ways you often avoid. My encouragement to you is not that you would cut back on the aspect you currently favor, but rather that you would become more extreme in the areas where you currently lack fervor. It's time to be extreme in all ways as we reveal Christ in this world!

Revelation 3:16 says that Christ will spew the lukewarm Christians out of His mouth. It's time to get red hot in every way!

2 Peter 1:5-11--For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (NIV).