by Mike Oppenheimer
Let Us Reason Ministries

The Branham connection

There is a difference of saying someone is fired up or on fire and having an experience with fire, Angels of fire, pillars of fire or the fire falling,. These are two very different concepts. After Bob Jones convinced Bentley that he could visit heaven at any time, (he claims to go there daily), Bentley had escalating encounters with angels and visits to heaven. ‚   No apostle ever taught how to go into a trance and be transported away to heaven- this is the new age movements supernatural power in the church among those who cannot discern the true gifts of the Spirit and a counterfeit. Either he is inventing stories not caring about the truth, or he is being visited by counterfeit spirits as angels of light which becomes dangerous to him and others he is teaching.

Bentley believes the pillar of fire he has experienced is the same angel that was with Branham. If this is true than everyone should be running in the opposite direction to avoid any contact with it. What Branham taught and did was real, but was certainly not from a biblical source of power. What is operating is strange spirits and strange FIRE.151

Bentley says: "Then on December 5, 2000 an angel appeared to me and said he was the angel that appeared to me in April 1998 (before the Lord Jesus Christ came to me in the kitchen). He said that the day he came to me in 1998 was the day he was assigned to me. This time (on December 5th) the angel said, "I am the angel that has been assigned to your life. I am a healing angel . . . You are going to take miracles, signs and wonders around the world." 

"I was with William Branham"  (the Voice of Healing movement), the angel said. He told me about William Branham’s angelic encounter in 1946. Two years later the Voice of Healing was born there was a revival." 

" The angel appeared to me again, February, 2001 in Albany, Oregon. He said, "I am the angel that was a part of the Healing Rooms . . . John G. Lake."  Next, my spirit was quickened when I read about the angel in the Bible" ”John Chapter 5. The word says there was a pool called Bethesda (v. 2) and multitudes of lame, blind, sick would come there and at a certain time, an angel of the Lord would come down and stir the waters. Whoever could get into the pool first would be healed.

I started to understand the angel described in John Chapter 5 was one of many thousands of angels that are in heaven that are called to bring healing, not just through ministries, but in cities and in nations. This revelation resonated within me and in January, 1999 I was taken into the heavens and saw over 100 healing pools. I thought of several famous healing evangelists and also the Toronto Blessing and the revival in Pensacola.

So I said, "Lord what are you saying?"  He said, "I am going to release angels."  At that point I was taken into heaven and I was taken into a football stadium setting where I saw tens of thousands of angels in the stands. I was on the field and I had the ball. The time clock was running out of time. It was like the last play of the game and my first thought was, Why do I have the ball? I hate sports! (I was the last guy you’d want on your team. I just wasn’t athletic.) Here I am thinking: I got the ball!

It was the end-time game, there was just seconds left! The angels were in the stands yelling, "Go church go! Go church go! Go church go!"  I realized they were healing angels in the stands. I thought, Lord, they are angels, just like the one I saw. "That is right!"  He said. "Just like the one that was with Branham, just like the one that was with John Lake, just like the angel that was in Spokane . . ." 

You know in the Book of Revelation, the seven churches, each one of the churches had one angel assigned. There was an angel for the church of Philadelphia, and so on. The Lord said, "It is not a strange thing. I assign angels to churches. I assign angels to ministries. Look at John Chapter 5. An angel came down and stirred up the water."  I said, "God!"  Then, He said, "And there is a healing angel; I have assigned it to your life; and this angel will be at your meetings around the world."  (DISCERNING THE CALL OF GOD by Revivalist Todd Bentley - [as edited by Kathy Thorne] Part 2 of 2)

What makes this interesting is that Branham taught the angels for each church were men in different periods of history, and that he was the last for the church of Laodicea. What was coming next was judgment. If we are to accept that this is Branham’s angel, it proves that Branham was wrong, which proves Bentley is wrong because he has the same angel operating in his ministry telling something different (Which Bob Jones has identified as woman, just like a woman to change her mind).

The angel saying to Bentley "I am a healing angel . . . You are going to take miracles, signs and wonders around the world."  Sounds uncannily like what Branhamwas offered by "the Angel"  " “ Who said "I am sent from the presence of Almighty God"  that if he would remain faithful, this great spiritual move would shake the world. "That you’re to go to all the world and pray for the sick people." And said, "And regardless of what they have ... if you get the people to believe you, and be sincere when you pray, nothing shall stand before your prayers, not even cancer" (William Branham, How the Angel Came to Me, and His Commission (Edmonton: End Time Message Tabernacle), pp. 18-22; "A Man Sent By God"  by William Branham.)

Because of this mandate from the "healing angel"  and a multitude of other angelic experiences, Bentley will pray "Holy Spirit, come. Father let there be a release of angelic activity. I ask for the angels-the angels of intercession and healing, the different angels we see in your word Father. I ask for angels to be released to every one reading this." 

Bentley’s concentration on angels bringing power, naming them for their qualities and giving Bentley (and others) experiences reminds me of some books I read when I was into new age ideas i.e. Edmond Szekely and his Essene Gospel of Peace series. The Essene's according to Edmond Szekely’s writings had communions with God through the angelic world," ”"Communions are a bridge Between man and the angels"  they invoked angels.

There was the Angel of Sun, (give us the Fire of Life), Angel of Water, Angel of Air, Angel of Power, Angel of Wisdom, Angel of healing etc. They had angels for nearly everything.

Angel worship was couched in Bible type verses and terms by the Essenes who were Gnostic in their practice (if in fact it was them) "We worship the Angels Who first listened unto the thought and teaching Of the Heavenly Father." "  The Angel of Light, Who is truth-speaking,"  "Angel of Wisdom, Who guides us by means of thy Heavenly Order,"  "Blissful wisdom of the Holy Angels of Eternity.

"We do invoke the most glorious Law. We invoke the Kingdom of Heaven, The boundless time, and the Angels."  "Through thy mystic insight Thou hast caused a spring of knowledge To well up within me, A fountain of power, pouring forth living waters, A flood of love and of all-embracing wisdom Like the splendor of Eternal Light." 

Bentley speaks of angels in a similar manner. He says "Recently, I had an angel come to me in Kansas City. He said, "Todd, my name is Promise, and I've come to bring the fulfillment of God's promises" ¦. Emma was the angel that helped birth and start the whole prophetic movement in Kansas City in the 1980s."  "two financial angels walk into the service and pour oil out on the pastor" "  I first saw the angel called Healing Revival on December 5 of 2000 in Grant's Pass." 

Considering the names of the angels and the invoking of them to do ministry as Bentley and others do, the similarities to the Gnostic counterfeit cannot be ignored. Like the the Kabbala (a Jewish book of mysticism) that contains a chart with 72 names of angels. Bentleys angels are named Angel of promise, Angel of revelation, Angel called winds of Change, Angel of wisdom and healing. ‚   They are putting angels in the place of God. The worship of angels can occur when they are given more attention than God, when they are concentrated on as a source of revelation and power, which is exactly what is being done in his ministry.

"the Lord took me into a prophetic experience which lasted until 11:30 at night. I wasn't even able to preach. During the middle of that service, I felt the Holy Spirit say, "Thank God for the Cherubim. Thank God for the Seraphim" Acknowledge their presence in your midst. And as soon as I began thanking the Lord for these angels, I began to have the prophetic experience.’ "Supernatural experiences have become part of daily Christianity for me." 

"The Holy Spirit confirms the word with signs following. When you honor and talk about the supernatural or you honor and talk about angels, guess what starts showing up? Angels."  (Fresh Fire Ministries - Evangelist Todd Bentley - Teachings http://www.freshfire.ca/teaching.asp)

Bentley orders the angelic hosts around "Let angels come right now to win souls in the North, East, South, and West of my city. Father I release the angels." It is important that we release the angels if we don't, angels can be bound out of the battle. The Devil can be prevailing in his darkness in a region until we begin to release, bind and loose in heaven, and begin to pray to the Father to release the angelic hosts that we need as reinforcements."  (Fresh Fire Ministries - Todd Bentley - Teachings http://www.freshfire.ca/teaching.asp)

It is demons that are summoned and sent by man-not angels. Bentleys focus on angels and encouraging others by his teaching of his own experiences to contact angels to release them to do your will or give them orders. He is trying to make these experiences of his the norm. This not a biblical teaching and is actually putting oneself in the position that is reserved for God. It is by His authority the heavenly spirits obey (godly angels), those that are not God’s angels but are fallen, are willing to obey man to deceive him.

Todd Bentley is quite extravagant in his descriptions of his experiences. "Don't just get a bunch of information and say, "Wow, this is a great message on angels."  Be praying, "Holy Spirit, open the eyes of my heart and let the angels come right now. Let me feel the presence of angels, let me see the angels and let angelic activity be released here now."  You know why it is important to talk about heavenly things? Because we actually call forth those things that are not as though they were. As I speak out the truths of the heavenly realm, I'm actually prophesying angelic visitation. I wouldn't be surprised if you have a visitation of an angel today or if you have a prophetic dream. Angels can come in the natural and they can quite often come in your dreams.

"Because we actually call forth those things that are not as though they were. As I speak out the truths of the heavenly realm, I'm actually prophesying angelic visitation. I wouldn't be surprised if you have a visitation of an angel today or if you have a prophetic dream. Angels can come in the natural and they can quite often come in your dreams"  (Angelic Hosts Todd Bentley)

These are dangerous spiritual statements that cannot be upheld in the Bible. To be involved in this type of angelic activity is right out of New Age seminars.

It is the 3rd wave adherents (another name for Latter Rain) are involved in Gnosticism, and have been saying the same unbiblical statements and prophecies. These are just a few examples. Rick Joyner "Angelic appearances will be common to the saints and a visible glory of the Lord will appear upon some for extended periods of time as power flows through them."  (Rick Joyner, The Harvest, p.128-129). In his revelation "the Final Quest"  he meets an angel called WISDOM, who teaches him to rise to the third heaven, we later find this angel is Jesus.

Benny Hinn "The angels of heaven are about to appear in visible form" ¦the angels of the Lord are about to invade planet earth and come to your house."  (Benny Hinn Honolulu Blaisdell, Jan.21 1999).

It is the Gnostics that had the worship and revelation of angels (Col. 2:18), they took delight in things they had not seen through vain imaginations. Paul emphasized a wisdom and knowledge that comes from God and not from idle speculations, angelic visitations, or fables. Col. 2:3 says of Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."  Christ, not heaven, not angels is whom we are to seek. Bentley is preaching experiences via angels. The Holy Spirit is sent to be our Guide, not angels who are constantly visiting with new revelatory stories. We can know everything we need by what God has revealed through His Word. We do not need to discover anything by pursuing experiences in the spirit realm, a place that we are not told to seek.