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Our take-no-prisoners "pastor" expends 2449 of his own words (not including his quotes of Vallotton or any Bible verses) blasting Vallotton.
As is typical for the author, he will never quote the Bible. He will never document any of his claims. He simply spews verbiage.
Regarding his primary claim, found in the title of his screed, it is false. Vallotton says, and the author quotes him, "Sometimes, it may even seem as if God is taking a Scripture verse out of context."
Regarding his primary claim, found in the title of his screed, it is false. Vallotton says, and the author quotes him, "Sometimes, it may even seem as if God is taking a Scripture verse out of context."
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But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." -- Exodus 33:20 (ESV)
"God is always speaking! Did you know that Jesus died on the Cross not just to forgive your sins, but ultimately to bring you into a relationship with Himself? Communication is probably the single greatest vehicle of any relationship. Although some people have a problem believing that God wants to talk to everybody, most believers understand that true prayer is not just petitioning Heaven with a list of requests, but it is communicating with our Father in Heaven as a true friend. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice"" (John 10:27). Prophecy, in its simplest form, is merely hearing from the Holy Spirit and repeating what He said. Paul put it this way, "For you can all prophesy one by one"" (1 Corinthians 14:31). "-- Kris Vallotton
"For ye may all prophesy one by one,.... Not every member of the church, but everyone that had the gift of prophecy" -- Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Astonishingly, the author appeals to a commentary, not bothering with the actual verse. Is there anywhere in the NT where it says that only those who have the gift of prophecy may hear from God?)
"7. Circumstances - God can speak to us and direct us through the circumstances of our lives. This dynamic occurs as God opens and closes the doors of opportunity. It is easy to misunderstand this principle and think that any time we come up against an obstacle in our lives that we are out of the will of God. However, keep in mind that oftentimes when we are doing something for God, the enemy will oppose us! Even in times of intense opposition, we must remember that Revelation 3:8 says, "I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name."' -- Kris Vallotton
This is what Kris Vallotton and most false teachers do to scripture. They do not merely take things out of context. They violate the scripture. In Revelation Jesus is asking John to write down seven separate messages for seven different churches that were in operation that day. Now it is true that we can find comparisons to the church today but we do not pretend that John was writing these verses about us! These verses were written to the Church at Philadelphia, not Kris Vallotton. He has not kept His word and has denied His name.
"8. Spiritual Happenings - -These are supernatural incidents that correlate with natural events. Notice that in the Book of Numbers, Aaron's rod came alive after being dead, and bore blossoms and ripe almonds as a sign from God that he was anointed to be a leader of Israel (Numbers 17:2-8). Some time ago, every time I entered a worship service, I noticed that my watch gained an hour. After purchasing three different watches, all of which gained an hour during worship, I finally asked the Lord what this could mean. He said, "It's later than you think." Today I want to encourage you to think back on your life and take stock of times when God has spoken to you in these ways. Often times, we miss the profound power of His voice because we're unconsciously ignorant of the manner in which He speaks. So how do you hear God's voice? In what ways would you like to grow in learning to hear from the Lord? I'd love to hear from you in the comments! If you're hungry to grow in hearing God's voice for your life, I want to invite you to join me at the Bethel Prophetic Conference this February 19-21 in Redding, California! The conference is almost sold out, but we still have availability in our overflow room"" -- Kris Vallotton
Kris makes it sound so commonplace and that is the true evil of his evil genius. He makes it sound like speaking to God is like speaking to your next-door neighbor. So I asked God what He thought about the Mets this year and He said, no bullpen. Seriously, this banter Kris offers up is just as banal and unlikely to have ever occurred. You watch gains an hour so you casually ask God what it means and He verbally tells you? As with Kim Walker-Smith, Vallotton is either purposefully lying or he is routinely conversing with demons unaware. For Vallotton I believe it just may be both. The only ignorance on display is his ignorance of scripture. Ever the huckster, he reveals this entire thing has been one long advertisement for his false prophecy conference. Transparently evil. Beloved, God does speak to us but if your list of ways does not start and end with the bible then it may not be God you are actively listening to. ("Start and end with the Bible?" Then why did the author write this article? It's extra-biblical. The author appealed to a commentary, also extra-biblical. The author no doubt preaches sermons in his church. Does he only quote Scripture? Everything else he would say is extra-biblical.
But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." -- Exodus 33:20 (ESV)
(...) Deleted long, irrelevant rant.
"God is always speaking! Did you know that Jesus died on the Cross not just to forgive your sins, but ultimately to bring you into a relationship with Himself? Communication is probably the single greatest vehicle of any relationship. Although some people have a problem believing that God wants to talk to everybody, most believers understand that true prayer is not just petitioning Heaven with a list of requests, but it is communicating with our Father in Heaven as a true friend. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice"" (John 10:27). Prophecy, in its simplest form, is merely hearing from the Holy Spirit and repeating what He said. Paul put it this way, "For you can all prophesy one by one"" (1 Corinthians 14:31). "-- Kris Vallotton
Vallotton starts with the traditional sloppy agape teaching of relationship over religion. The truth is that nowhere does the bible state that Jesus died so we can be in relationship with Him. (Well, how about
Ro. 5:10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
"Reconciled" is καταλλαγῆναι τῷ Θεῷ, to be restored to the favor of God, to recover God's favor, Romans 5:10
Ro. 8:15-17 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
How can we be sons without relationship? How can we call Him "father" without relationship?
Ac. 17:27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
1Pe. 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God."Bring" is προσάγω, to lead towards, i.e. (transitively) to conduct near (summon, present), or (intransitively) to approach -- bring, draw near.
Jn 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
Rev 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
As we have repeatedly observed, the author never backs up his assertions. All too frequently, he is wrong.)
Unless you count the Lord-servant relationship but of course that is not what Vallotton believes. He views Jesus as his wingman. The John verse is when Jesus answers the Pharisees about whether He is the Christ. It was a mockery of sorts, to say that His sheep know His voice because they clearly did not believe Jesus. They wanted to kill Him and in fact tried to stone Him for this comment! It has nothing to do with this relationship theology Kris propagates. When believers read the word they recognize the voice of their Savior, whereas unbelievers view it as foolishness. (Notice the bait-and-switch. The author, without any basis or reason, transforms this verse into a statement about the Bible. Of course, the NT did not then exist.)
The more disturbing usage is his reference to 1Corinthians 14, which is dealing with orderly worship in church, not this wildly false theology that everyone can prophesy. Vallotton gets this false teaching directly from Bill Johnson and Bethel because it is one of their core beliefs. Remember we talked about emptying ones mind and assigning whatever pops into our heads as having been sent there from God? This is that teaching. Yet if Kris had bothered to simply look at some commentaries on this verse he would learn his entire premise is wrong as usual:
"For ye may all prophesy one by one,.... Not every member of the church, but everyone that had the gift of prophecy" -- Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
(Astonishingly, the author appeals to a commentary, not bothering with the actual verse. Is there anywhere in the NT where it says that only those who have the gift of prophecy may hear from God?)
Prophecy is most assuredly NOT simply repeating whatever popped into our wickedly deceitful hearts and claiming it is from the Holy Spirit. (If we have wickedly deceitful heats, we are not saved. We have new hearts...
Ez. 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
...because we are new creations:
2Co. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Prophecy is hearing from God directly and in the New Covenant, that is generally (Weasel word.)
only accomplished through His word, which is the final revealed will of God. (The author, true to form, does not document this claim. The reader may read our commentary on this false idea.)
The Lord did not assure all of the books in the canon of scripture only to forget something that He now wants to inform His church through the likes of Kris Vallotton. He now goes to great lengths to twist himself into a pretzel so his foundation of seeking to hear from God in at least eight different ways has been established. He builds it of course on poor scripture understanding and cobbling together unrelated verse fragments. At the end he concludes that if we have not heard from the Lord in the past 24 hours then we probably missed His voice. That of course is a silly conclusion reached by a silly man. Let us dive directly into his eight alleged ways to hear from God.
"1. Visions - Visions of the Mind occur when the Lord "projects" images and pictures onto the "screen" of our imagination. Most often, this is how the Holy Spirit speaks to us. Visions often appear like hieroglyphics--pictures that require interpretation. So as the Holy Spirit speaks to us through these pictures and images of the mind, we must turn around and ask Him what the pictures mean. (Acts 2:17-18)" -- Kris Vallotton
If this sounds absurd to you, then you have probably been taught correctly. This is the base argument for experiential Christianity. This notion of the Lord projecting something onto the screen of our imagination resides nowhere in scripture. (Ac. 2:17 In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
"1. Visions - Visions of the Mind occur when the Lord "projects" images and pictures onto the "screen" of our imagination. Most often, this is how the Holy Spirit speaks to us. Visions often appear like hieroglyphics--pictures that require interpretation. So as the Holy Spirit speaks to us through these pictures and images of the mind, we must turn around and ask Him what the pictures mean. (Acts 2:17-18)" -- Kris Vallotton
If this sounds absurd to you, then you have probably been taught correctly. This is the base argument for experiential Christianity. This notion of the Lord projecting something onto the screen of our imagination resides nowhere in scripture. (Ac. 2:17 In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Ge. 40:8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no-one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”)
We have the verity of scripture to rely upon! Why would the Lord resort to relying upon our imagination! (False choice.)
The bible tells us in Genesis that the imagination of a man's heart is evil from his youth! Notice how this entire premise is subjective? All random thoughts now are assigned to the Holy Spirit? ("All" random thoughts? Vallotton did not claim this.)
What Vallotton does here is to bring his wicked thoughts onto the same plane of truth as the holy word of God! After all if it is assigned to the Holy Spirit then God Himself said it! To further this insanity, Vallotton claims that those thoughts that cannot be understood are somehow hieroglyphic in nature and must be interpreted. Not by someone else, as Paul established with the gift of tongues, but rather by ourselves; I mean through the Holy Spirit; wink wink. So according to Kris Vallotton, God loves to randomly project images onto your brain but makes them unintelligible until you have a secondary conversation with the Holy Spirit. That is ridiculous. (Peter had a vision and wondered what it meant:
Ac. 10:11-17 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” 14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” 15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. 17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision...
He then figured it out himself:
Ac. 10:34-35 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.Mary wondered what at the angel's words:
Lk. 1:29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.Then received secondary revelation:
Lk. 1:30-31 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.)
(...)
"5. Scriptures - The Lord can speak to us in our daily reading of the Bible by highlighting a verse or story that speaks to us about our present circumstances. Have you ever had a single word or specific verse jump off of the page at you or beckon for it to be read over and over again? The words come to life as you reflect, and suddenly, you have clarity, revelation or comfort for your life. Sometimes, it may even seem as if God is taking a Scripture verse out of context. It is vital for us to have a basic knowledge of the context of the Scriptures so we understand the full counsel of God. God will never violate His Word, but He will often violate our understanding of His Word. The Holy Spirit may grant us fresh insight or application as we are reading through the Bible. If God gives us fresh insight or a new understanding of a verse or portion of Scripture, it is important that it fits within the rest of the context of the Scriptures. It also cannot be in disagreement with the foundation of God's revealed nature and character (2 Timothy 3:16-17)." -- Kris Vallotton
Number five? Seriously? This is all you need to know about Kris Vallotton and Bethel. They have no respect for or use for the bible. (If the author wants to contradict Vollotton's direct statement, he can do so, but he must document his claim. He does not.)
"5. Scriptures - The Lord can speak to us in our daily reading of the Bible by highlighting a verse or story that speaks to us about our present circumstances. Have you ever had a single word or specific verse jump off of the page at you or beckon for it to be read over and over again? The words come to life as you reflect, and suddenly, you have clarity, revelation or comfort for your life. Sometimes, it may even seem as if God is taking a Scripture verse out of context. It is vital for us to have a basic knowledge of the context of the Scriptures so we understand the full counsel of God. God will never violate His Word, but He will often violate our understanding of His Word. The Holy Spirit may grant us fresh insight or application as we are reading through the Bible. If God gives us fresh insight or a new understanding of a verse or portion of Scripture, it is important that it fits within the rest of the context of the Scriptures. It also cannot be in disagreement with the foundation of God's revealed nature and character (2 Timothy 3:16-17)." -- Kris Vallotton
Number five? Seriously? This is all you need to know about Kris Vallotton and Bethel. They have no respect for or use for the bible. (If the author wants to contradict Vollotton's direct statement, he can do so, but he must document his claim. He does not.)
The bible is actually the enemy of experiential Christianity. Sure, Johnson and Vallotton pay lip service to the word but ultimately they only abuse it to fit their own wicked narratives. The reality is that scripture is the PRIMARY way God communicates with us. (Undocumented claim.)
The bible says that the Holy Spirit with lead us into all truth and that is referring to the scriptures; (Undocumented claim.)
not some projection TV screen in our head.
Then note the shade Kris throws at the bible. If it seems that God is taking a verse out of context you can be assured that is not God doing it. Kris however takes verses and violently tears them out of context, which is why he is trying to pretend he is merely imitating god. a fresh insight or application does not change to one correct interpretation or the surrounding context. What Kris is advocating for is what he did earlier with the notions of angels. He sees biblical stories about angelic encounters and wants them for himself. So he thinks he is merely applying them to his life but the reality is that he is ignoring the individual context that the angelic scriptures might occur in. We see his established criteria for ripping a verse out of context contains three qualifications. First of all your new usage must align with the generality of the entire canon of scripture. Secondly it cannot be in disagreement with God's revealed nature and thirdly -- His character. That sounds so piously right but remember it starts with mangling the verse out of the original context God placed it in! (If this seems to you like a random series of half-formed thoughts, we agree.)
"6. Impressions - Many prophetic people experience discernment through impressions without even realizing it. Oftentimes, we can sense an evil spirit on someone just by sitting down next to a troubled person. The evil spirit that is harassing them will begin to trouble us in the same manner. For instance, if a spirit of fear troubles a person in a close geographic area, we can begin to feel fearful as well. If we do not realize our prophetic ability and discernment in this area, it's easy to feel very confused or think we are crazy (1 Corinthians 12:10). It's imperative to treat these impressions as information that the Lord is sharing with us instead of a burden we have to constantly live under the weight of. It's entirely possible, and I'd propose, healthy, to say in your spirit, "Message received" and then move on unless the Lord gives you further instruction on how to pray or act." -- Kris Vallotton
This is just nonsense. Discernment is being able to tell what is from God and what is from Satan. (Undocumented claim. "Discernment" is διάκρισις, a distinguishing, discerning, judging: πνευμάτων, properly, a thorough judgment, i.e. a discernment (conclusion) which distinguishes "look-alikes," i.e. things that appear to be the same. (Note the intensifying force of the prefix, dia.) See also 1252 (diakrínō).)
"6. Impressions - Many prophetic people experience discernment through impressions without even realizing it. Oftentimes, we can sense an evil spirit on someone just by sitting down next to a troubled person. The evil spirit that is harassing them will begin to trouble us in the same manner. For instance, if a spirit of fear troubles a person in a close geographic area, we can begin to feel fearful as well. If we do not realize our prophetic ability and discernment in this area, it's easy to feel very confused or think we are crazy (1 Corinthians 12:10). It's imperative to treat these impressions as information that the Lord is sharing with us instead of a burden we have to constantly live under the weight of. It's entirely possible, and I'd propose, healthy, to say in your spirit, "Message received" and then move on unless the Lord gives you further instruction on how to pray or act." -- Kris Vallotton
This is just nonsense. Discernment is being able to tell what is from God and what is from Satan. (Undocumented claim. "Discernment" is διάκρισις, a distinguishing, discerning, judging: πνευμάτων, properly, a thorough judgment, i.e. a discernment (conclusion) which distinguishes "look-alikes," i.e. things that appear to be the same. (Note the intensifying force of the prefix, dia.) See also 1252 (diakrínō).)
For example, when I hear someone teach that the primary way to hear from God is through visions while the word of God comes in fifth? (Would it help if Vollotton had said, "This is not an exhaustive list, but simply a jumping-off point." Oh, wait. He did.
Really, the author thinks that the order of appearance in itself dishonors the Scriptures!)
Yeah I know that is from Satan. I discern that. Discernment is not prophetic. (Undocumented assertion.)
Developing proper discernment comes through spiritual disciplines. The more we read His word, the more likely we are to develop good discernment. (What about the gift of discernment?)
So if we know the person sitting next to us on the train is demonic that is not a prophetic word from God but rather gleaned because we are so aligned with His written will. (Whaaaat? This information from the Lord about a demon is because we studied the Bible?)
"7. Circumstances - God can speak to us and direct us through the circumstances of our lives. This dynamic occurs as God opens and closes the doors of opportunity. It is easy to misunderstand this principle and think that any time we come up against an obstacle in our lives that we are out of the will of God. However, keep in mind that oftentimes when we are doing something for God, the enemy will oppose us! Even in times of intense opposition, we must remember that Revelation 3:8 says, "I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name."' -- Kris Vallotton
This is what Kris Vallotton and most false teachers do to scripture. They do not merely take things out of context. They violate the scripture. In Revelation Jesus is asking John to write down seven separate messages for seven different churches that were in operation that day. Now it is true that we can find comparisons to the church today but we do not pretend that John was writing these verses about us! These verses were written to the Church at Philadelphia, not Kris Vallotton. He has not kept His word and has denied His name.
(Having denied Vallotton's assertion, the author now grants that it is true...) Now, God can speak to us through our circumstances. I knew someone once who was having an affair on his wife and eventually lost his job and had his utilities shut off. I told him I was not saying God did these things but perhaps He was trying to get his attention through them. Just be careful in over spiritualizing what should be common knowledge. The bible says thou shall not commit adultery so if you are and find your life falling apart in other areas that is merely God's word being true, not a direct download, per se.
"8. Spiritual Happenings - -These are supernatural incidents that correlate with natural events. Notice that in the Book of Numbers, Aaron's rod came alive after being dead, and bore blossoms and ripe almonds as a sign from God that he was anointed to be a leader of Israel (Numbers 17:2-8). Some time ago, every time I entered a worship service, I noticed that my watch gained an hour. After purchasing three different watches, all of which gained an hour during worship, I finally asked the Lord what this could mean. He said, "It's later than you think." Today I want to encourage you to think back on your life and take stock of times when God has spoken to you in these ways. Often times, we miss the profound power of His voice because we're unconsciously ignorant of the manner in which He speaks. So how do you hear God's voice? In what ways would you like to grow in learning to hear from the Lord? I'd love to hear from you in the comments! If you're hungry to grow in hearing God's voice for your life, I want to invite you to join me at the Bethel Prophetic Conference this February 19-21 in Redding, California! The conference is almost sold out, but we still have availability in our overflow room"" -- Kris Vallotton
Kris makes it sound so commonplace and that is the true evil of his evil genius. He makes it sound like speaking to God is like speaking to your next-door neighbor. So I asked God what He thought about the Mets this year and He said, no bullpen. Seriously, this banter Kris offers up is just as banal and unlikely to have ever occurred. You watch gains an hour so you casually ask God what it means and He verbally tells you? As with Kim Walker-Smith, Vallotton is either purposefully lying or he is routinely conversing with demons unaware. For Vallotton I believe it just may be both. The only ignorance on display is his ignorance of scripture. Ever the huckster, he reveals this entire thing has been one long advertisement for his false prophecy conference. Transparently evil. Beloved, God does speak to us but if your list of ways does not start and end with the bible then it may not be God you are actively listening to. ("Start and end with the Bible?" Then why did the author write this article? It's extra-biblical. The author appealed to a commentary, also extra-biblical. The author no doubt preaches sermons in his church. Does he only quote Scripture? Everything else he would say is extra-biblical.
The author does not "start and end with the Bible." No one does when it comes to matters of faith. We rely on many extra-biblical sources, like commentaries, the counsel of the brethren, pastor's sermons, and yes, the way the Holy Spirit leads us.)
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