Wednesday 12 June 2013

Are The Miracle Claims Of Reinhard Bonnke Really True?

 
REINHARD BONNKE
Reinhard Bonnke makes many incredible miracle claims but is his claims really true? So called miracle claims are two a penny today, and in fact many of the various cults, witch doctors, psychic surgeons, and New Age healers also make the same kind of miracle claims as Reinhard Bonnke, even an advert in a newspaper promoting a “miracle pen” had with it a number of 'documented' healings.
Anyhow back to Bonnke as he is different, he claims Biblical style miracles at his crusades, saying: "When I step on a platform, often without any touch of mine the blind begin to see, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak and the cripples to walk…" and "Miracles happened as if copied from the gospels and the book of Acts". The crusade chairman in Onitsha, Nigeria boosts "We know that when Reinhard Bonnke comes to preach, we will see the....healing power of God in action". At Bonnke's crusades he reports "Each [person at the crusade] was expecting the miracle that would transform their lives; they looked desperate enough to pursue it - to grab it by force if necessary....the healing power of God flowed each day as countless numbers reported evidence of the miraculous". However when pressed for proof of this 'healing power of God' and the 'biblical style miracles', there is DEAD SILENCE and no help from his ministry, in fact they refuse to listen to those who question these claims. Do Bonnke’s miracles line up with the biblical record? do they match up with the gospels and the book of Acts? NO NOT ONE BIT! And the claim that people can take miracles by force? Unheard of in Scripture!
Jesus Christ never ever went around making the incredible miracle claims that Bonnke makes. Jesus Christ shunned acclaim and let his miracles speak for themselves; proving that He was who he said he was the Messiah, the Almighty God, the Saviour of the World and that His message was from God. When Jesus Christ healed it had a purpose, healing was instant and the healings were abundant and some did not even require the physical presence of Jesus. Jesus Christ was able to heal at anyplace, anytime, anywhere, whether their was faith or not, and his healings were undeniable even to his critics and never was there any appeal for money. Jesus Christ could heal all manner of sickness and diseases using different methods with the results irreversible, never turning anyone away at his unarranged meetings. To sum up Jesus Christ healings, Richard Mayhue in his book ‘The Healing Promise” writes that the miracles of Jesus Christ were “undeniable, successful, spectacular, without any recovery period. permanent, overwhelming, abundant, awesome, instant, [and] authoritative, without limitations, total, and convincing all without any major medical attention that could possibly have taken credit for healing in any way. “
Bonnke is the opposite of Jesus Christ a showman often boasting of HIS power, promoting himself and marketing his ‘miracles’ to collect money. Bonnke mesmerises and charms people with his healings only take place at certain times under certain conditions at prearranged meetings using the same techniques with the healings coming for no real apparent reason or purpose. The healings he claims are spurious, and deniable, and his critics have proven without a doubt that he is a fraud, a trickster even claiming healings that are not healings at all. To sum up Bonnke’s miracles we would say they are “spurious, bogus, deniable, unspectacular, sparse, unconvincing, limited, pathetic and laughable”. In fact many of the practices that Bonnke uses in his crusades are not found taught in the Bible or practiced by Jesus Christ or his disciples. These practices can be found in the occult and New Age Movement.and are forbidden by Scripture.
Bonnke boasts that "Locals brought sacks full of witchcraft items to the crusade grounds for burning each night" and John Darku commented "This is the greatest number of witchcraft items we have ever seen. People surrendered their idols by the sack full....we started burning the witchcraft items from the second night of the conference, when Reinhard preached on the Blood of Jesus and took authority over the powers of the enemy. The strongholds in the city were demolished and the people released".
Sadly many of these people are freed from one bondage and caught into another when it was also reported; "Looking at the crowds, it was if fire from heaven had fallen on top of each head and burning hot coals had suddenly been rolled onto the tip of each tongue. The fire seemed intense - almost execruciating - judging by the painful expressions on many faces. The fire caused many people to shake their heads uncontrollably, while speaking non-stop in other tongues". These kind of manfestions are never once found in the minstry of Jesus Christ or the Apostles and are unbiblical in their nature and more at home in the world of the occult.
Why then do so many people follow after the likes of Bonnke? Why such crowds? CFAN say "Miracles? Well, signs and wonders "Anthony Thomas, who wrote and directed the recent TV documentary `Miracles`, believes Bonnke is popular in Africa because he taps into the continents old religious and superstitions. "Bonnke is the `voodoo priest`, casting spells on his enemies and summoning up good and evil spirits as he dances to the beat of the drum," said Thomas'. However again another instance in which Bonnke is out of tune with the Bible as Jesus Christ commanded his servants not to curse their enemies but to "love their enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you".
Jesus Christ warned his believers to TAKE HEED and BEWARE because in the latter times many false prophets, WOLFS IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING doing 'signs and wonders' in His name, claiming to be 'anointed' would arise and deceive MANY. Paul wrote in his epistles "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no futher for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was."Who were Jannes and Jambres? Two atheists? No magicians in Pharaohs court who could up to a point duplicate the miracles of God with their tricks. The clear answer is that what we see with Bonnke is the same thing only he does it in the name of Jesus.
Bonnke claims to preach the "full gospel", however there is no "full gospel" or "half gospel" only the true gospel which Paul preached..."I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you....wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved....how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" [1 Cor 15:1-4]. The 'full gospel' that Bonnke preaches is a gospel full of errors, devoid of any real preaching on "sin, righteousness and judgement to come", but filled with fables that are hard to believe and which he most surely has made up? Even what little truth he may present is lost in a sea of error. "Raise your hands and wave to me if you want to receive Jesus Christ," proclaims Bonnke at his crusades. One wonders what Jesus, as those at the crusades hang on Bonnke's every word mesmerised and charmed by the figure on the platform? The truth is this, Bonnke has "another gospel" which is not another and he comes under the curse of Paul in Gal 1:6-10. What do we make then of Bonnke? A false Christ? Yes the edivence proves his healings are false and so is his mesage, a false Christ who is to be rejected and denounced.
The sad truth is that the church has long wearied of sound biblical teaching as the Apostle Paul foretold, turning their ears away from the truth and heaping to themselves teachers like Bonnke who will tell what they want to hear rather that what they need to hear. The only solution is for the church to reject and root out these false teachers like Bonnke whose folly has been manifested, and return the flock back to the truth of God’s word and the true gospel of Christ and Him crucified.
May God Help us!
Jesus Christ warned "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign" [Matthew 12:38]
 by David McAllister

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