Todd Bentley and the Hotel Fire in Seattle
Judgment from the 'Lord' or 'Accidental'?
by Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
www.christianresearchservice.com
ChristianResearchService.blogspot.com
August 15, 2008
Todd Bentley is a talented storyteller. In the following excerpts from his May 23, 2003 article, "LIVING IN THE SUPERNATURAL," Bentley shares a story of a "recent prophetic encounter" while in Seattle, Washington. The story, which Bentley describes in detail, includes an angelic visitation, as well as a hotel fire which, according to Bentley, was the result of judgment from God:
Now I'm going to share a recent prophetic encounter with you to further illustrate what God wants to do today. I was recently in Seattle, Washington participating in a 'Healing Explosion' conference. During that conference, I had a profound visitation. It was about ten o'clock at night and Bill Johnson, one of the speakers, was speaking. During his message, an angel dropped down in front of me. Nobody else could see the angel, but I could. The angel's feet were like pillars of fire. As this portal opened up in the spirit realm, my spirit eyes opened and I could see an opening about four foot by four foot which the angel had opened. This rip, like a black hole, opened up in the sky.
...As I come out of this experience and get up off of the carpet, the Lord says, "Get back to your hotel room. I'm going to visit you in power for one hour". So I grab some guys, one of Randy Clark's interns and a couple of my team and we rush back to the hotel room...We run into the hotel room at one minute to eleven. Everybody lays on the carpet at eleven o'clock on the nose. The power of God falls and every single person in the room starts screaming, shaking and vibrating. Everyone goes into visions simultaneously at eleven o'clock-five guys experiencing a simultaneous vision, seeing the same things at the same time. I had a vision of a fire and I started yelling out "My God is a consuming fire! My God is a consuming fire!" As I see the fire come down I scream, "The fire, the fire! Burn up my flesh! I want to feel the fire!"
...At eleven o'clock the next day, the very two hotel rooms above me where the angel stepped down, burned to the ground. And it burned till twelve o'clock exactly. We get back to the hotel and the whole hotel is now filled with the smell of smoke.
To validate my vision, the Lord brought a judgement on a principality and literally burned up the two hotel rooms right above the room where the visitation took place in the spiritual realm. All the hotel staff start gathering around and they want to hear about the visitation and what took place. They are amazed at the story of what took place. And get this - when the fire started coming down at about 11:20 at night, the lady in the hotel room above us, called the front desk and said, "I hear crackling in the walls. I think there's a fire. I hear it burning." So they checked it out - it was nothing. All the power in that area of the hotel went out except for our room. The very next day, the room is burned down.[ http://www.freshfire.ca/index.php?Act=read&status=prophetic&Id=7 ]
Note the names Bill Johnson and Randy Clark, as well as Randy Clark's intern. Also note that at 7:55 into the YouTube video, "Todd Bentley and the pillar of fire," Bentley said that Charlie (Robinson) and his son, two of Randy Clark's interns, Todd Bentley's father (Dave Bentley), and one other person witnessed the hotel fire
( http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/3399535/ ).
Lines of communication
During the preparation of this article, Christian Research Service (CRS)consulted with major fire department and law enforcement officials, sources within the news media, hotel staff, and library personnel. Their names will be kept strictly confidential.
For the record, CRS made numerous attempts to contact Todd Bentley by phone, e-mail, and FAX, as demonstrated by the following letter:
May 23, 2008
Todd Bentley
Fresh Fire Ministries
PO Box 2525
Abbotsford BC V2T 6R3
P: (604) 853-9041
F: (604) 853-5077
Dear Todd:
This is a follow-up to my attempts to contact you by phone. I have spoken to a Fresh Fire Ministries representative and sent two e-mails, but both have bounced back undelivered.
The ministry representative said my inquiry would be forwarded to you. Here are some details to the information I am seeking.
In your May 23, 2003 article, "LIVING IN THE SUPERNATURAL," you wrote that during a conference in Seattle, Washington, "two hotel rooms" where you were staying "burned to the ground," and that "All the power in that area of the hotel went out except for our room." The article is on your website at http://www.freshfire.ca/index.php?Act=read&status=prophetic&Id=7 .
I am interested in the name of the hotel and the date the
fire occurred.
Thank you, Todd. I look forward to your written reply in a timely manner.
Sincerely in Christ,
Bud Press, Director
Christian Research Service
www.christianresearchservice.com
Jude 3
Bud Press is a Christian Investigative Researcher and the Director of Christian Research Service. CRS is a discernment ministry that provides information, documentation, and referral on a wide variety of issues to the body of Christ and the Christian news media worldwide. All correspondence is subject to public scrutiny.
[###]
But as of this writing, Todd Bentley has not communicated with CRS.
CRS did, however, communicate1 with three of Todd Bentley's Fresh Fire Ministries staff: Trudy Brennan (Executive Assistant and conference/schedule coordinator); Lynn Breidenbach (Florida Outpouring Media Director); and Kathy Thorne (Staff Writer).
By phone, Trudy Brennan said she recalled the hotel fire incident in Seattle, and said CRS's information for Todd Bentley would be forwarded to him in Lakeland, Florida.
By e-mail, Lynn Breidenbach said she had no knowledge of of the hotel fire incident, but would research the information and contact CRS "as soon as possible."
By e-mail, Kathy Thorne said she had forwarded CRS's request for information to Todd Bentley's personal assistant (Trudy Brennan) and his assistant in Lakeland, Florida for further research.
While there have been no further replies from Lynn Breidenbach and Kathy Thorne, on June 18, 2008, Trudy Brennan wrote CRS and apologized for not having an answer from Todd Bentley on the hotel fire incident, and that she would contact another source who may have knowledge of the incident. Brennan also said she hoped to have an answer on the same day.
But as of this writing, there has been no further reply from Trudy Brennan.
Going to the sources
As a reminder, Todd Bentley's article, "LIVING IN THE SUPERNATURAL" mentioned the names Bill Johnson and Randy Clark, as well as one of Clark's interns.
Bill Johnson is the Senior Leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and co-founder of Bill Johnson Ministries. A close friend of Todd Bentley, Johnson's ties extend deep into the New Apostolic and Word-Faith movements, with strong connections to Bob Jones, Benny Hinn, Rodney Howard-Browne, Che Ahn, Patricia King, John Arnott, and more ( http://www.ibethel.org/links/ ).
Randy Clark is the Apostolic Leader of the Global Awakening Apostolic Center in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Like Bill Johnson, Clark is a close friend of Todd Bentley, a staunch supporter of the Florida revival and Todd Bentley's now infamous "Apostolic Commissioning" (where Bentley giggled and wiggled on the floor like a baby in a crib, while his "Apostolic" grandparents tickled his ears with their gitchy-gitchy prophetics).
Now, since Bentley's article placed Bill Johnson and Randy Clark in Seattle, Washington around the time of the hotel fire incident, CRS attempted to contact Johnson by phone and Clark by FAX. While there has been no reply from Johnson, Clark replied in two specific e-mails on June 6, 2008, saying in part that he:
does not remember the name of the hotel, nor the exact date the hotel fire occurred.
remembers the hotel fire, but doesn't recall the extent of the fire.
clearly remembers that one of his interns and others were invited by Todd Bentley to return to Bentley's hotel room for prayers and waiting for "God."
remembers the hotel fire incident took place in a suburb of Seattle in the city's north side.
On June 14, 2008, CRS wrote Randy Clark and requested the name of the intern who was present with Todd Bentley during the hotel fire incident. Clark kindly replied on June 15 and said the intern's name was Will Hart.
Will Hart is the founder of Hart Ministries in Gloucester, Massachusetts. According to his website, Hart accepted an invitation from Randy Clark to join Clark's Global Awakening internship program.
Hart states that, "He [God] put me here to sit and learn under Randy and Global Awakening...Randy has become a true mentor and father in the faith. The connection that I have with Randy Clark and Global Awakening is going to stay with me for the rest of my life" ( http://www.hartministries.org/about.html ).
On June 16, 2008, CRS wrote Will Hart, provided some of the details in Todd Bentley's above-cited article, and requested the name of the hotel and the date the fire occurred, as well as any additional details he cared to share. When there was no reply, CRS contacted Hart by phone three days later.
During the conversation, Hart maintained his staunch support of Todd Bentley and the Florida revival. Also, Hart said he remembered the hotel fire incident but, like Trudy Brennan and Randy Clark, he could not remember the name of the hotel or the date the fire occurred.
Charlie Robinson is the co-founder of Revival Canada Christian Ministries. According to his website,
In the 90's Charlie continued to minister from time to time with Patricia
King and along with Kevin Paterson, they began to minister in various
places across Canada. In the 90's, Charlie met a young sawmill worker by the name of Todd Bentley. Not long after, at a prayer meeting in Patricia King`s basement, Todd was struck with the lightning of God and not long after started Fresh Fire Ministries, which touches many parts of the world today.[ http://www.revivalcanadaministries.com/aboutus ]
Charlie ministers regularly with Todd Bentley at conferences, healing schools and crusades and is an itinerate minister with Fresh Fire Ministries. As well, Charlie ministers in prophetic worship at conferences and healing schools in the U.S. and Canada. He also ministers with Patricia King on her Extreme Prophetic Television programs. [Fresh Fire Ministries, http://www.freshfire.ca/cms_admin/event_speaker.php?Id=2 ]
Dave Bentley is Todd Bentley's father and the director of Freedom Fires Ministries in Ladysmith BC Canada
( http://www.freedomfires.com/ ). According to the homepage of his website,
For the past five years, David Bentley has traveled and ministered alongside of his son, Todd, to bring the healing, delivering, transformational power of God to the nations.
Dave and Todd are walking testimonies of how two generations can advance together, interacting with each other, converging with like hearts to see the Lord's purpose accomplished.
Along with Todd Bentley's Fresh Fire Ministries, Freedom Fires Ministries "Friends-Links" includes Jill Austin, Charlie Robinson, John Maxwell, Patricia King, Jim Goll, Reinhard Bonnke, John Crowder, and Bill Johnson
( http://www.freedomfires.com/friends.php ).
Judgment or accidental?
Again, concerning the hotel fire incident, Todd Bentley claims:
But according to official reports2 obtained by Christian Research Service:...At eleven o'clock the next day, the very two hotel rooms above me where the angel stepped down, burned to the ground. And it burned till twelve o'clock exactly. We get back to the hotel and the whole hotel is now filled with the smell of smoke.
To validate my vision, the Lord brought a judgement on a principality and literally burned up the two hotel rooms right above the room where the visitation took place in the spiritual realm. The very next day, the room is burned down. ["LIVING IN THE SUPERNATURAL, May 23, 2003, http://www.freshfire.ca/index.php?Act=read&status=prophetic&Id=7 ]
Only one hotel fire occurred in Seattle during the months of January to May 2003.
The hotel fire occurred on April 2, 2003.
The hotel was a four story/20 unit structure.
The fire was "confined" to only one unit (one room) in the hotel.
The hotel room was reportedly occupied by two adults--one male and one female.
The hotel fire was classed as "ACCIDENTAL" and was the result of a "bed fire" that was "ignited" in one room "when the occupant of that room fell asleep while smoking" (emp. added).
Closing comments...
Todd Bentley's "LIVING IN THE SUPERNATURAL" article provides the reader with details surrounding his "recent prophetic encounter" in Seattle, Washington, but at the same time it raises numerous questions--too numerous to address at this time.
While it is true that not everyone can recall every detail of their past, one would think that the details surrounding Bentley's encounter--of the magnitude he described--would have at least included the name of the hotel. For when a claim is made, names and dates are indeed helpful, especially when someone is inclined to check-out the validity of the claim.
Furthermore, one would think that Todd Bentley would jump at the opportunity to validate his claims and provide the name of the hotel and the date the fire occurred. Yet, instead of taking a few minutes to fulfill a simple request, Bentley took plenty of time to write his lengthy June 8, 2008 "Lifting Jesus High!" article ( http://www.freshfire.ca/?Id=1059&pid=993 ), appear on the June 14, 2008 GERALDO AT LARGE program, and update his Fresh Fire followers on the homepage of his website ( http://www.freshfire.ca ).
Todd Bentley, Trudy Brennan, Randy Clark, and Will Hart claim to recall the hotel fire incident in Seattle, Washington. Todd Bentley claims that Charlie Robinson and Dave Bentley witnessed the fire incident. Yet, Brennan, Clark, and Hart cannot recall the name of the hotel or the date the fire occurred(?).
Also, prior to the publication of this article, CRS attempted to contact Charlie Robinson and Dave Bentley with a request for information on the hotel fire incident in Seattle. The letters requested the names of the hotel, the date the fire occurred, and any additional details they cared to share.
But as of this writing, the only e-mail received was an automatic "Thank you" from Charlie Robinson's Revival Canada ministries.
Common sense dictates that when a person makes a claim, but refuses to provide PROOF, it calls into question ALL the claims he or she has made, both past and present.
CRS gave Todd Bentley the benefit of the doubt and allowed him plenty of time to reply. Unless he can produce additional information to validate his claims, the reader is left to decide whether the hotel fire in Seattle was judgment from the "Lord" or "Accidental."
Additional reading and viewing:
A Story of Heaven and Earth by Mike Oppenheimer (this article addresses the contradictions in Todd Bentley's hotel fire in Seattle story)
Charismatic Cultism by Kevin Reeves
Randy Clark Resigns From Vineyard by M. Kurt Goedelman
Footnotes:
1 Communication on file with Christian Research Service
2 Documentation on file with Christian Research Service
--Special thank you to Mike Oppenheimer of Let Us Reason Ministries and Steve Muse of Eastern Regional Watch Ministries for their valuable assistance in the preparation of this article.
© Christian Research Service 2008
