IS TODD BENTLEY LIVING IN DIVINE HEALTH?

By on Sep 7, 2012 in Current Issues, Features, Word Faith

By Bud Press of Christian Research Service

“God has released an increase of the healing
anointing into Todd’s life–the blind see, the
deaf hear and growths dissolve as Jesus
heals every sickness and disease.”
(http://www.freshfireusa.com/meet-todd)

Not only does Todd Bentley claim to have the gift of healing, in an undated article titled, “Why Miracles Happen–The Fingerprints of God’s Love,” Bentley wants his followers to believe they can walk in divine health, and that they are called by God to tell others they can do the same:

God wants to boost our faith in the power of the Atonement. It is God’s desire for all of His people to walk in divine health and to minister complete healing to others. The commission of Mark 16:17, 18, should not merely be words on a page, but a daily reality.

“And these signs will follow those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

If you’re a believer, then you are a candidate for this commission!

Source: http://www.freshfireusa.com/email-template/email-banner/8-11-2012-email-blast.html

One of the problems with Bentley’s teaching is that he is instilling false hope into the minds of his followers. Hyper-Charismatics get sick, require medical treatment, hospitalization, and prescription drugs–regardless of their claims to walk or live in divine health. That’s reality!

Todd Bentley’s claims are untrue.

When leaders get sick

There are more faith healers on the planet than ever before, almost tripping over each other to get their piece of the financial pie. At the same time, there is not one faith healer on the planet who can heal the sick and raise the dead. Not one! To tell someone they can walk in divine health–when they are sick or dying–is both stupid and dangerous!

The sick and dying who have been led to believe they are walking in divine health are more likely to cancel their doctors’ appointments and stop taking prescribed medication. It’s a dangerous mindset to be caught up in, because people die in the process.

Hyper-Charismatics who suffer from illnesses, but claim to walk in divine health, are living in denial and outside of reality. Further, hyper-Charismatic leaders provide schools and teachings on healing and walking in divine health. But what happens when they get sick? They don’t call the superstar “faith healers” to their bedsides, because faith healing is a joke and a money-making scam. Instead, they call their doctors for medical treatment–just like everyone else.

Injuries, surgeries, hospitalizations, physical therapies, prescription drugs and antibiotics are all too common within the hyper-Charismatic movement. They should change “walking in divine health” to “struggling through life as a human being.”

If walking in divine health was part of Jesus’ atonement, as hyper-Charismatics maintain from a faulty rendering of Isaiah 53, they would never get sick or require medical treatment; nor would they have to wear prescription glasses to correct imperfect eyesight (refer to the “Prophetic Glasses” pictorial at http://www.christianresearchservice.com/prophetic/the-prophetic-glasses-movement).

Therefore, when Isaiah chapter 53 is studied in context, we learn that Jesus died on the cross for our sins (“transgressions” and “iniquities”), not our aches and pains.

Common sense, please

Faith healers are forever bragging and jibber-jabbering about the numbers of people being healed during their meetings and crusades, then get bent out of shape when asked for proof. Nonetheless, common sense dictates that if faith healers truly had the Biblical gift of healing, the numbers of people being healed would eventually increase into the tens of thousands–even multiplied millions–worldwide. If that were happening, the entire medical industry would be thrown into a hopeless tailspin, and millions of doctors and medical personnel would be collecting unemployment checks.

In the aftermath, hospital buildings worldwide could be demolished or turned into condominiums, rental apartments, or swanky hotels. Since the Biblical gift of healing included raising the dead, funeral homes could be sold or renovated into convenience stores. Then, there are the cemeteries–worldwide–where nothing would be left but empty graves and headstones.

The world would be thrown into catastrophic chaos, all because thousands of faith healers (or just one true faith healer) exercised their gift of healing. But it hasn’t happened, isn’t happening, and won’t happen until Jesus Christ returns (1 Corinthians 15:50-58).

So, in the meantime, common sense needs to be exercised, please, because the utopian picture that faith healers paint dissolves in Jesus Christ’s words in Matthew chapter 24.

How ‘divine’ is Todd’s health?

Finally, if Todd Bentley really believes he is living in divine health, what’s up with all the health supplements? (http://tinyurl.com/96v3vnz) After all, people who live in divine health shouldn’t need health supplements to boost their energy and health. Right?

Indeed, Todd Bentley’s health isn’t divine after all. It’s supplemented with powdered mixes, and a fantasy he learned not from God, but from false healers who came before him.

Does Todd Bentley really have the Biblical gift of healing? Watch this video titled, Florida Outpouring – A new eye and leg stumps growing, and use common sense:

For further information on Todd Bentley and the New Apostolic Reformation, visit http://www.christianresearchservice.com/category/todd-bentley-punching-preacher/

The original appears here.

Further reading