Hi everyone,

Today I received a comment and question from a minister named Andrew Strom, who many of you probably know of. His comment was posted on my article about Todd Bentley and Guided Visualization:

Brother - it is Andrew Strom here. I certainly appreciate your warnings on the Guided Visualization of Todd Bentley.

However, I am concerned that you seem to support a kind of "self-guided" visualization to enter heaven. This seems utterly unscriptural to me. Can you please tell me the difference from Astral Travel or other New Age techniques?

God bless you,
Andrew Strom.

I thought it would be good to move this into the main blog because I feel it is a very important issue for us to dig into. Here's my reply:

Hi Andrew,

I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to explain my position on heavenly encounters. I really aim for nothing more than what is clearly revealed in the Bible, and I welcome scrutiny because it helps keep me in check.

First of all, I'd like to point out something I said in the article in question: "Guided visualization is when a human being or an evil spirit tries to induce an experience that God is not authorizing." This includes trying to induce the experience yourself (as I mentioned in the last paragraph).

I DEFINITELY do not condone self-guided visualization, so I'm glad you pointed out that I was coming across that way. It wasn't my intention.

But I should also say this: just because guided visualization and self-guided visualization are wrong does not discredit the reality of Godly visions, dreams, and other such experiences. (I know you're more than aware of this--I only say it for the sake of others reading this reply.) In a truly pure encounter of this nature, it is initiated by God alone. We can make ourselves available to God by spending time in His presence; but we should not try to conjure up an experience or try to help it along with our imagination.

Quick teaching here for those who may not realize this: Your visual imagination does have a spiritual purpose. This is the part of you that God designed to operate in pictures. And He has the capacity to speak to us with pictures in this part of our mind. So if you're praying for someone, sometimes a picture will pop into your mind--it might be from God, so ask Him if He's communicating with you and what you should do with the picture going through your mind. These mental pictures are what many people call "visions."

For some reason, the Lord has been gracious enough to let me have visions of heaven (always with a clear purpose). In most cases, it has been simply a vision of the mind during a time of prayer--seeing a mental picture of something in heaven while here on earth (like I just described). No "astral-projection" there or anything like that...and I wasn't seeking an experience; I was simply seeking God.

But there were also two occasions where I felt like what was described by the apostle Paul:

2 Corinthians 12:2-4--I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows--was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. (NIV)

The two encounters I had were much like this--more real than dreams, and full of many things that I'm not permitted to tell. It was as though I was actually there even though there were other people in the room who saw me still laying on the floor as it was happening.

To be honest, I really don't care whether I was "in the body or out of the body" (to use Paul's words). Most importantly to me was that these two encounters resulted in enhanced ministry regarding the salvation of souls. In one case, twenty people came to Christ within the week (not because I told them about the vision, but because I acted on what the Lord revealed and preached a clear message of repentance). In the other case, I had two divine appointments in a Denny's restaurant within two hours of the experience, and later was used by God to raise two cats from the dead (directly related to what happened in the heavenly encounter). That's how I know they were real, genuine, God-ordained experiences--there was genuine spiritual fruit by which God confirmed His hand in what I saw.

I should also point out that I've only ever been allowed by the Lord to share parts of one of these experiences and also two of the visions I've had--the rest have been holy experiences that I feel to share would be to cheapen them and be a poor steward of intimacy with my Father.

I try to avoid boasting in visions because I believe they do not define me, and I don't want to gather a following of people based on something like that.

Unlike Todd Bentley, I do not say that "everyone has a right to these things and you're missing out if you're not seeing heaven." Rather, I feel the Lord gives me visions like these because He knows my faith is often limited by what I can see. Maybe this is a misapplication of Scripture, but I'm reminded of Jesus' words to Thomas: "Blessed are those who have NOT seen, and yet they believe." I counsel people that they do not have to see visions in order to be a strong Christian. On the contrary, a lack of such visual experiences may just be an indication that God sees you have a faith that doesn't need such things! I could be wrong on that stance, but I hold onto it becuase it sincerely keeps me humble among my brothers and sisters.

Moving right along, I'm not a student of the New Age, but I have read in the past about astral travel and things like that. With astral travel, a person is trying to separate spirit from body, which I've seen to be a form of "sinning against yourself." It leaves a person spiritually vulnerable and open to intense deception. It also is typically done for the sake of personal gain or access to restricted information. This is wrong and demonstrates an intense spiritual pride.

However, the Bible is full of God-induced experiences, like when John said, "On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet..." What followed was a rather intense vision in which Jesus spoke clear messages, and then a door was opened in the heavens and a voice said, "Come up here!"

Was John physically in heaven as he saw the things going on there? Was he experiencing some sort of God-ordained "astral travel" (for lack of a better term)? Was he just seeing things in visions of the mind? Frankly, I don't worry about it--all I know is that he saw the throneroom of God just like Isaiah and many other prophets (even ones who didn't write books of the Bible, like Micaiah in 1 Kings 22). And I know this is a clear indication that such a thing has Biblical precedence.

I don't believe John was sitting on the Isle of Patmos thinking, "Hmm...my time is short--maybe I should work myself into a trance and pursue a vision about the end of time." The very fact that John heard the trumpet-like voice behind him implies to me that he wasn't pointing himself in some spiritual direction or trying to "astral travel" towards heaven. Rather, God saw a dearly-loved child of His upon whom He saw fit to bestow these revelations. It was a God-induced encounter, and such things are clearly supported by Scripture.

I've probably raised more questions than answers with my readers by posting this reply, but I believe it does us good to discuss the things of God and separate the true from the false with clarity. I welcome those questions and will be posting this correspondence in my main blog so the conversation can be kept more on-task.

Thanks, brother Andrew, for your comments and questions that granted me the opportunity to clarify my stance. If you or anyone else can show me where I've not been faithful to God's Word in this reply, please do so because I'll gladly repent. Otherwise, I hope this answers your question.

God bless!
--Art--

On May 24, I talked about a few forms of "false gospels" and said that I would soon write about "some specific presentations of the Gospel that market themselves as complete, but are sadly lacking in the most important areas." Well, today's the day to get this train moving!

Todd Bentley recently sent out two lengthy e-mail teachings about repentance--possibly because he has been getting so much flak about not really preaching repentance in Lakeland at the healing meetings. (I should note that I'm not going back on my promise to minimize picking apart Lakeland--that's not my intent here. Rather, I'm using a clear example of someone with whom we're already familiar.)

In his second e-mail, titled Repentance, Mercy and Healing - Part 2 of 2, Todd wrote a portion that seems to sum up everything he wrote throughout all of both teachings:

By backing away from God even just a little, it means we’ve still fallen away from where we once were. And God is calling us back—"Come, and let us return to the LORD . . .". God is saying (paraphrase): "I want you to return, I want you to repent because I want to bring blessing; I want to leave a blessing behind, My manifold goodness and kindness. I want you to return to Me so that I can bind you up and heal you. If you will return then I can begin to come with the rain of My Presence again. As I begin to turn your captivity around, I want to bring you blessing and fruitfulness. I want you to repent because if you repent, I can give you mercy. And when I can give you mercy, I can give you healing. That is My heart." Hallelujah!

Now I want you to really think about this: is there anything Todd wrote there that was a lie? Was any part of that paragraph untrue?

Does repentance bring us into line with God's blessing? Of course it does. Does God want us to repent? Yup. Does He want to bless us? You bet! So what's the big deal?

Even wth all these truths, I would argue that such a presentation is a form of "false gospel." In my previous article, I talked about a "gospel" that markets itself as complete but is sadly lacking some of the most crucial components. Such a "gospel"--although 100% true--is only 50% of the Truth.

If someone crafts their words in order to withhold the truth from you, you would say that they lied to you even if everything they said was technically true. Even though they technically told the truth, you would call it deceitful. In the same way, a "false gospel" doesn't have to be an outright lie--it just has to fall short of being the true Gospel.

How many times have you ever purchased something at a garage sale or flea market only to discover that it's not at all what you were expecting? Or how about buying a used car and then discovering that you would have to do all sorts of work on it? Or what about buying something new at the store and later finding out that all the most crucial components are sold separately? Do these things bother you? Do you feel scammed? They were presented as though they were complete, and you thought you had paid all you would need to pay--but now reality has set in, and you realize that you were taken for a ride.

This happens so much with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A completely true yet partial "gospel" is presented that only reveals half of the equation. All the most important elements are left out. It's more appealing to present this partial gospel than to tell people about the other side of the coin.

Okay, it's time to get specific and stop making you guess what I'm talking about.

The true Gospel includes everything Todd Bentley wrote about in the quote above. In fact, the two e-mails he sent out about repentance were true. But here's the problem: it's a completely man-centric presentation. Everything is about what man gets out of the bargain of salvation and how it puts you in line with God's mercy, kindness, and goodness. It completely neglects the other side of the equation, which I will present now:

1. We need to repent simply because God is God, and what He says goes (leave hell and heaven out of this one--it's all about God and what He deserves purely by virtue of the fact that HE IS GOD).
2. Repentance involves putting our old way of life to death and embracing a life of utter dedication to our Lord--not because of anything we get out of it, but rather because He IS Lord of all! This may include persecutions, hardships, and more; but we should remain faithful because JESUS IS OUR LORD!
3. Even in the midst of God's love and grace, we must work out the process of salvation with a genuine fear of God--to such an extent that it sometimes even causes us to tremble at the thought of His awesomeness, righteousness, and power.
4. Jesus Christ spent Himself on our behalf, taking the full brunt of God's punishment on Himself. In the oft-quoted words of the two young Moravian missionaries who sold themselves into slavery in order to spread the gospel to an unreached island of slaves, "Does not that Lamb who was slain deserve the reward of His suffering?"
5. We deserve absolutely nothing, and God deserves absolutely everything. We should serve Him whether we go to hell at the end of our lives or not simply because HE IS WORTHY!

The true Gospel is balanced. On one side is God spending Himself for the sake of man simply because He wants to. On the other side is man spending himself for God simply because he wants to. On one hand is Jesus Christ being murdered for our sake. On the other side is the reality that we WILL be persecuted for His sake if we truly follow after Him. It's not first of all about what either party gets out of it; but as a result, both parties get to partake in the many blessings that a relationship of love like this entails!

If you have been presented a partial gospel that only focuses on what God has to offer you, then you have been scammed. You've purchased a used car that looks new but only has half the parts. All the parts on that car belong to that car. All the parts of that presentation of the gospel are true...but without the rest, it's a sham.

It's completely okay to study and preach the benefits of Christ's sacrifice and the joys of relationship with God. It's fine to have a ministry of miracles, prophecies, healings, and the like, giving the credit to Jesus Christ. These things are good and true! But if they are packaged and presented as though they are the entire deal, then people will be sadly disappointed when they jump on the bandwagon and then discover the cost of being a disciple and following after Christ.

Such people will run and hide at the first hint of persecution. They'll give up when the storms of life start blowing and it seems like God isn't being faithful to His end of the deal. These "false converts" will rarely be effective in the Church or in the world when it comes to making disciples. But let me show you a more excellent way. Please indulge me, if you will, as I boast in the Lord:

When I share the Gospel, I rarely ask people to make a decision right then and there (except if the Holy Spirit is specifically leading this way). Typically, I describe both sides of the coin. I talk about the cost of being a disciple--what it means to "take up your cross daily and follow after Christ." I talk about repenting from sin and living a radically different life. I talk about the glory of God--His holiness, purity, justice, and awesomeness. I talk about needing to conform more and more to the nature of Christ. And I also explain the blessings of God, the joys of salvation, and the endless depths of a loving relationship with Him. I also tell the truth about persecution, ridicule, slander, and shunning. I talk about the possibility of losing some friends, but I also talk about gaining true friends in the Body of Christ. I put all the cards on the table. Then I tell the person to go home, think about everything that was presented, and decide whether or not it's worth the price.

I can list a good number of people who never contacted me again--some of whom are still actively and consciously avoiding me because they feel convicted for rejecting such obvious truth for the sake of living their own way.

But I can also list MANY strong Christians in my church and beyond who weighed the cost and considered God worthy of their lives. These men and women have matured rapidly in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thesy love the Lord and are constantly going deeper with Him. Their lives are constantly being transformed into a clearer and clearer representation of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is clearly at work in and through them!

A partial presentation of the Gospel is certainly more effective at accumulating numbers of "commitment cards" and raised hands. It makes for great reports and publications. A partial gospel generates fast results that look good on paper. But it is very ineffective at keeping people in the Kingdom! And it does a less than acceptible job at making disciples like Jesus commanded us to do! Even though all of it is true, it is a false Gospel, pure and simple. We need to know the Word so we can present the FULL Gospel of Jesus Christ! We need to commit ourselves to full disclosure when sharing the Truth with the lost. And we need to rely on the Holy Spirit in prayer to do the work of convicting hearts and drawing people to the Father. We MUST be ambassadors of the complete Truth!

In some upcoming posts, I'll share more about the false gospels that are so prevalent in our churches today and what we can do differently.

God bless!
--Art--

Guided Visualization

Several years ago, before many people knew who Todd Bentley was, I ordered his teaching set "Open Heavens" (this was so long ago, it was a set of cassette tapes!). I listened to these teachings intently. I actually remember having an awkward feeling in my gut as I began to listen, but I ignored it because I was so hungry for what Todd had to say. To be honest, much of what he said was perfectly accurate to the Word of God. And I will also say that the possibility of entering into Heaven is certainly real, biblically supported, and able to happen today. In fact, it was because of the truth in these teachings that I was able to understand the visions the Lord was giving me and why He was giving them.

Then some music started on the tape. I began to feel as though the Lord was raising me up, and in my spirit I could see all sorts of brilliant, bright light. But suddenly, Todd Bentley chimed in and tried to verbally guide the experience. I felt like I had dropped out of bed and landed harshly on the floor. Nevertheless, in trust I kept listening, believing that Todd was a man of God and wouldn't lead me astray. I began to feel a darkness coming over me, and I knew this was an evil spirit, but I wrote it off as if it was the devil trying to distract me from what God was doing. Little did I know at the time that God was not in it at all!

The year that followed was one of the darkest times for me emotionally. I constantly felt distant from the Lord. I suffered from depression. I would weep at the slightest onset of emotional discomfort. I had no self-control. This condition didn't go away until finally my girlfriend, Robin (young though she was), discerned that I had an evil spirit and cast it out of me in the name of Jesus. I've actually come across several testimonies online of people who had encounters almost identical to mine, and they also suffered from spiritual defilement after engaging in Todd's guided visualization.

Guided visualization is when a human being or an evil spirit tries to induce an experience that God is not authorizing. Satan tried things like this with Jesus. As our Lord fasted and prayed in the wilderness for 40 days, the devil approached Him three times. Each time, the devil used scripture to entice Jesus into performing a miracle, gaining authority, or having a spiritual experience with angels that Father God had not authorized. Jesus didn't resist the devil in those matters because the Scriptures being quoted weren't true--He resisted the devil because He only wanted to do what He saw His Father in Heaven doing; and He only wanted to do it according to His Father's plan.

By practicing guided visualization in his conferences, seminars, teachings, and ministry, Todd Bentley has been usurping God's sovereignty. Many of the people involved are actually having encounters in heaven, but many others are being deceived by lying spirits!

A few months ago, I was invited out to a prayer meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by a man who knows Todd Bentley. This man taught for an hour on Heavenly encounters, and I really didn't have much of a check in my spirit as he did so. Then he said, "Who wants to go?" He invited me up to play piano while he went to each of the seventy people in the room and "guided them" into a vision. He would take them by the hand and start sharing things that he was seeing, and then they would take over.

At the end, he asked, "How many of you saw something?" Most of the room raised their hands. "Okay," he continued, "that's a little hard to count. How many of you would be willing to say that all you saw was the back of your eyelids?" About five of the seventy people raised their hands. Then he began to ask people what they saw. Many of them shared visions of things that resonated with me in my spirit--in fact, some of them had visions of places in heaven that I had personally encountered in previous years. Like I said, this sort of thing is real! But there were also those who were making things up, and there were also those who were being outright deceived by demons.

In my heart, though, I struggled to rejoice about even the true experiences people had as I drove 3 hours back to my house. Actually, I felt a little grieved. It took me a while to figure out why, but it finally occured to me that these were not all authorized experiences. God did not initiate them. He allowed them, yes; but He did not approve. Rather than God getting all the glory for the encounter, people raved about how this man had led them into it. This is one of the pitfalls of guided visualization.

Feel free to seek the Lord and allow Him to carry you into visions, dreams, and trances. Allow Him to give you genuine encounters in the spiritual realm! But don't try to induce it yourself, and don't rely on someone else to guide you there. Let's be like Christ and ONLY do what our Father is doing. If He initiates the encounter, you can be certain that you are in the right place at the right time! If not, you are opening yourself up to demons and spiritual defilement.

Be discerning, friends!
--Art--