Bill Johnson is the leader of Bethel church in Redding, CA. He is a false teacher of the Charismatic persuasion whose bizarre teachings will be explained in the very short second video below.
The first video is from What Shall I Cry Ministries and contrasts Bill Johnson against 7 others regarding their understanding of the gospel message. In this 9 minute video, Johnson’s false teaching is made apparent.
I could only identify 3 of the 7 other preachers / teachers: the second, Dr. John MacArthur; the third, Dr. Mark Dever; and the fifth, Dr. John Piper. The 6th speaker, gave the most complete definition; but it was clear that the 7 knew the biblical gospel message whereas, Bill Johnson, got his gospel elsewhere.
The following video is 4 minutes in length and gives a good thumbnail sketch of Bill Johnson and Bethel church.
Study Recommendations:
The book, Strange Fire by Dr. John MacArthur.
The first half of Strange Fire is a bit dry as he uses many historical sources to show that the Pentecostal revivals of 1900 and 1906 were based on lies. I listened through this book 4 times; afterwards, it occurred to me that the Pentecostal movement parallels the divided kingdom of Israel in that the 10 tribes and the Pentecostal movement are both founded on lies, error, and idolatry. The ten tribes of Israel set up two golden calves, one in Bethel and one in Dan.
I emboldened and underlined the apostle Paul’s description of idols below for your consideration, regarding my conclusions above:
1Co 8:6 But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for Him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.
1Co 8:7 However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated.
1Co 10:19 What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods?
1Co 10:20 No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons.
1Co 10:21 You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too.
Consider the following from 1 Kings about Jeroboam and the idols he set up:
1Ki 12:28 So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!”
1Ki 12:29 He placed these calf idols in Bethel and in Dan—at either end of his kingdom.
1Ki 12:30 But this became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there.
1Ki 12:31 Jeroboam also erected buildings at the pagan shrines and ordained priests from the common people—those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi.
If you read through the books of Kings, you will see the following statement many times:
1Ki 15:26 But he did what was evil in the LORD’s sight and followed the example of his father, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit.
So, Jeroboam’s instituting the worship of idols was a great sin. That sin made all of the worship of the 10 tribes to be worthless. They were worshipping idols, not the living God. Therefore, the living God could not accept that as worship of Him.
Furthermore, the foundation of lies that the Pentecostal movement rests upon is false, just like the idols of Israel. Is it possible that the living God could accept any of that as worship of Him, I don’t think so.
The following words of Jesus indicate the same:
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.