Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone, Causing the omens of boasters to fail, Making fools out of diviners, Causing wise men to draw back And turning their knowledge into foolishness” (Isaiah 44:24-25); NASV).

It's a known fact that Benny Hinn considers the late Kathryn Kuhlman as his mentor, and has gone so far as to claim visitations from her and receive an “anointing” from her grave. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Kuhlman would have turned cartwheels had she witnessed Hinn's antics during his 2004 Toronto, Canada crusade.

“God’s presence fell mightily as the thousands gathered at the Air Canada Centre began to worship together,” reads the This Is Your Day “Weekly Review” of Monday, 8/30/04. “The presence of God was so strong that even Pastor Benny said he could hardly stand under this great anointing and entire sections began to fall in the presence of God.

During the telecast, Hinn screamed at the top of his voice, hissed like a snake and literally pushed some of his loyal followers into the waiting arms of “catchers,” as if God is incapable of preventing injury to those being “slain” under the power.

Nevertheless, there was a strong “presence” and “great anointing” during the crusade. The question is, was it of God?

Excerpts from the 2004 Toronto, Canada Crusade

“FIRE ON YA! FIRE!,” Hinn screams, deep and gutteral, after instructing a bevy of pastors to quickly hold hands and prepare for the anointing. Then, with a mighty wave of his right hand, the pastors fell back into the waiting seats of their chairs.

“LIFT YOUR HANDS--RECEIVE IT! LIFT YOUR HANDS-- RECEIVE IT!” Hinn commands. “People ask for anything! ASK FOR ANYTHING YOU WANT!”

“Bring these men from India over here!” Hinn orders. ”C'mon, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick! Ohh, bring that other young man here quickly! Yeah, yeah, yeah! You're just freezing under the anointing, mighty brother!”

“Freezing under the anointing”? “Freezing”? Is there a Biblical precedence? The Bible mentions the word “frozen” in Job 38:30, but it has nothing to do with an anointing.

“THAT'S THE HOLY GHOST!” Hinn shouts, as men fall under the strange power permeating the stage. “THAT'S THE HOLY GHOST ALL OVER YA!”

Very simply, how does Hinn know the men were covered with the Holy Ghost? The Holy Ghost is Spirit, and therefore has not been seen.

“You that are being healed get up here quick!” Hinn demands. In case his faithful followers were overwhelmed by his showmanship and not paying attention, Hinn repeats the demand: “C'mon, you that are being healed get up here quick!”

While awaiting the usual carbon-copied miraculous healings which, by the way, remain unverifiable, Hinn informs his choir that “THERE'S ALREADY AN ANOINTING HERE!”

Upon instruction to join hands, Hinn turns, points to his choir and screams in a deep, gutteral voice: “My God, there's fire here! 'There's fire,' I said! 'There's fire,' I said! FIRE ON YA CHOIR! FIRE ON YA!”

Numerous choir members fall backwards.

There is NO Biblical precedence for pronouncing “FIRE” on Christians. Neither Jesus nor His Apostles did it and neither should we. This is just another example of Hinn's treading on extremely dangerous ground.

But Hinn's “mighty” fire-anointing isn't reserved for just a select few on his stage or in his choir. Now it's time to heat-up his followers.

Hinn points to a section of the audience to his left: “JOIN HANDS QUICKLY OVER THERE! JOIN HANDS QUICKLY!” he roars. “THE MIGHTY, MIGHTY ANOINTING OF THE HOLY GHOST HERE! Receive the fire of the Holy Ghost!”

Hinn stretches-forth his arm towards the audience, closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and screams, “POWER ON YA IN JESUS' MIGHTY NAME!”

Evidently, Hinn's anointing has lost power or, maybe Hinn's god was tired of hearing him scream and shout. Less than one hundred of his followers fell back, while thousands remained standing.

While the above is, in itself, frightening to watch and listen to, what followed next is spine-chilling.

Hinn faces the camera and screams, “YOU IN YOUR HOMESSSSSSS!” (hissing sound) “You in your homes, you've watched the miracles. It's the presence of God we hunger for” (deep, gutteral). It's the presence of God we're starving for. It's the presence of God every cell in our body is STARVING FOR! I release the anointing of the Holy Ghost...I release this anointing, and I speak forth the word of deliverance, and I cast every demon out! You devil of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and AIDS--COME OUT! Come out in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Frightening, chilling, and downright evil.

Does this mean that Hinn's faithful and true followers worldwide, who suffer from those deadly diseases, experienced a miraculous healing? If so, where are the newspaper headlines? For example:

Doctors Worried, Hospitals Closing Doors

If millions, thousands or just hundreds were miraculously healed, it would be very difficult to keep it from the Christian and secular news media.

Keep in mind that Hinn released his anointing, his word of deliverance and exorcism of demons to people in their “homes,” not the hospitals and clinics.

The question still lingers: If Benny Hinn really has the gift of healing, and people are really being healed during Hinn's healing crusades, why doesn't he take the time to visit the hospital Intensive Care Units, emergency rooms, clinics and childrens' burn centers in each city where his crusades are held?

Since Hinn's ability to release his anointing isn't restricted to personal visits, and since he has demonstrated his ability to release his anointing into homes, via television, time-and-time again, it isn't mandatory for him to pay a personal visit to the sick and dying (which could cause a media frenzy). All he has to do is show up unannounced outside a medical facility, and release his mighty anointing while standing in the parking lot or on the sidewalk.

Is that asking too much from a man who claims the ability to cast demons of deadly diseases from the bodies of his followers? Is that asking too much from a man who claims regular visitations from none ther than Jesus Christ?

Think about it.

“Talk to me, Harry!” Hinn shouts.

“These are the ones you called-out with AIDS, pastor!” Harry exclaims.

“MY GOD!” Hinn blasphemes.

“H-I-V!” Harry yells.

“YOU DEVIL OF AIDS, COME OUT OF THEM IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD!” Hinn shouts and demands. “YOU COME OUT OF THEM! 'YOU COME OUT OF THEM,' I said. COME OUT! 'COME OUT,' I said.”

Immediately, Hinn pushes a man and two women backwards into the arms of his catchers. For reasons unknown, one woman's face was blurred during this telecast.

“What is HIV?

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS. This virus may be passed from one person to another when infected blood, semen, or vaginal secretions come in contact with an uninfected person’s broken skin or mucous membranes...People with HIV have what is called HIV infection. Some of these people will develop AIDS as a result of their HIV infection.”

Knee-Braces and Cervic Cancer

Steve Brock ushers a woman onstage. “Five years wearing the brace because of knee replacement; lot of pain in her body!”

“Pick up your legs!” Hinn instructs over and over. Hinn pushes the woman and her companion backwards, then picks up the woman's black knee-braces and slings them off-stage (keep this in mind).

“Total Knee Replacement

“CERVIC CANCER!” announces Sam Hinn, Benny's brother. “THE PAIN IS GONE!”

“My God!” Hinn says.

“TONIGHT, ALL THE PAIN IS GONE!” Sam Hinn explains.

“THAT CANCER GOES IN JESUS' NAME!” Hinn shouts, as he pushes the woman and her male companion. “Cancer, my brother! Or arthritis, whatever it is, it's so minute in comparison to the presence of God here! Lady, you'll never have cancer. I said, 'You'll never;' THE DEVIL OF CANCER HAS BEEN BEATEN IN YOUR BODY! I'M TELLING YA THE DEVIL OF CANCER IS DEAD!”

Strange that Benny Hinn would pronounce the “DEVIL OF CANCER” as “DEAD” in the woman's body and not say the same about the “DEVIL OF AIDS” (above).

Hip Replacement and Eye-Glasses: skipping over the small, important details...again

Steve Brock ushers a limping, elderly lady on-stage: “Hip replacement on the right-side; was planning on one on the left-side; doesn't need it! The Lord has done it! Doctor Jesus operated!”

“What Is a Hip Replacement?

“During hip replacement, the surgeon removes the diseased bone tissue and cartilage from the hip joint. The healthy parts of the hip are left intact. Then the surgeon replaces the head of the femur (the ball) and the acetabulum (the socket) with new, artificial parts. The new hip is made of materials that allow a natural, gliding motion of the joint. Hip replacement surgery usually lasts 2 to 3 hours” (ibid.).

As the elderly lady approaches Hinn, Hinn lifts his legs up-and-down, up-and-down. The lady mimics Hinn by lifting her legs up-and-down. Hinn pushes the lady into the arms of a catcher, then quickly runs backwards, as if the anointing boomeranged from the lady and back to him.

“FIRE ON YA, LADY!” Hinn shouts. “See, when they come up, they forget about their sickness. All they want is that fresh, blessed water from the well! LIFT YOUR HANDS AND ASK FOR THE SAME THING! ...You see how unimportant the sickness has become in the river of the living God?”

Yes, Benny, for a brief period of time they do forget. But when the excitement of the moment dies down and reality sets in, they leave the crusade the same way they entered: sick and in pain.

The elderly lady is raised from the stage-floor by two catchers. Hinn waves his left hand up-and-down, up-and-down only inches from the lady's face. She seems totally mesmerized. The lady falls back into the arms of two catchers.

“The most common problem that may happen soon after hip replacement surgery is hip dislocation. Because the artificial ball and socket are smaller than the normal ones, the ball can become dislodged from the socket if the hip is placed in certain positions. The most dangerous position usually is pulling the knees up to the chest” (ibid., bold emp. mine).

It is interesting to note that along with the hip replacement on her right-side, the elderly lady wore eye-glasses. Did Hinn's god forget to heal her eyes? Why weren't the lady's eyes healed and her eye-glasses tossed off-stage along with the above cited knee-braces? Did the elderly lady walk normally or limp off-stage?

Furthermore, artificial hips are usually made from metal or plastic parts. Did Hinn's god heal the lady's right-side by removing the artificial parts and recreating a brand new hip?

Untold numbers of people claim to be healed during Hinn's crusades. Many of them wear eye-glasses, as verified when the camera pans the stage and audience. Since Hinn's god is credited with curing anything from AIDS to raising the dead, why didn't he restore their impaired vision to 20/20?

Sound silly? Maybe so, but it's the small but important details that are oftentimes overlooked by Hinn, his followers and his god.

The Burning Fires of Deception

Since the early 1990's, Benny Hinn's ministry has been under constant criticism--specifically from cult evangelists, apologists, theologians, pastors and former members of his churches--for much of what he has done, said and taught during his telecasts and crusades.

Why? Benny Hinn is the most prolific heretic and false prophet of our day. Books, videos, DVDs, articles, news releases, media documentaries and websites have been provided to expose his deception.

For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (Jude 1:4; NASV).

Notice the words, ...those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation...

Friends, let's face the facts. Heretics and false prophets were present during Biblical times. They are alive and thriving right now, moreso than any time in history. Again, Jude warned of the ungodly persons who were long beforehand marked out for the condemnation. Because of the deception promoted by ungodly heretics, Jude placed a tremendous emphasis on defending the faith:

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints (Jude 3; NASV).

But in spite of the solid documentation and, most importantly, what the Bible teaches, day-by-day--through years of repetition--those within the Word-Faith movement have been trained and conditioned to:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2 Timothy 4:3-4; KJV).

Wake up, people! That time is here!

There is nothing original about Benny Hinn's teachings and his so-called dreams, visions and revelations. Others within the Word-Faith camp laid the groundwork and set the standard before he came along. Therefore, don't confuse Hinn's abilities and knowledge with their true origin, which is nothing more than a standing-on-the-shoulder imitation of heretical giants such as E.W. Kenyon, Kenneth Hagin, Oral Roberts, Kathryn Kuhlman, Aimee Semple McPherson, Finis Jennings Dake (Dake's Bible), Kenneth Copeland, and lying, demonic spirits' impersonating Jesus Christ, dead heretics, angels and numerous unknown individuals.

I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; (Jeremiah 23:25-26; KJV).

Thus, if Benny Hinn is actually experiencing visions, then it isn't Kathryn Kuhlman, angels or Jesus Christ he is seeing and talking to but familiar spirits:

When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee (Deuteronomy 18:9-12; KJV).

Through his false teachings, false prophecies and three-ring circus healing crusades, Benny Hinn is deceiving others and causing others to deceive. His faithful followers, which number in the ten-of-thousands worldwide, are being led down the path to destruction--with Bibles' in their hands. They have finally reached the point of believing anything that proceeds from Hinn's mouth.

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12; KJV).

Is Benny Hinn a Christian? If so, let him repent, step down from his self-made throne and be accountable to the body of Christ. Until that happens, don't be surprised at what you see and hear.

In the meantime,

Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and willing hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagogue
And dam his treacherous flatteries without winking;
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking.
“Wanted”

Josiah Gilbert Holland

Researched & Compiled by:

Bud Press, Director

Christian Research Service