Benny Hinn: A Catholic Mystic (Blasphemy Series)

(Written by Joseph Chambers)
The world of Benny Hinn is a strange and mystical world. He fits perfectly into the category of a Charismatic Catholic priest, dispensing theological bondage and unbiblical superstition. A noted ministry described a past Benny Hinn three (3) hour video which presented him “as a ‘twentieth century’ ‘Holy of Holies’, a ‘point of contact’ for the power and anointing of God, much as Roman Catholic priests were presented during medieval times.” (The Confusing World of Benny Hinn, p. 79.) They also suggested that he is becoming a kind of “Charismatic Pope.”

There are a host of problems in the Benny Hinn world, but nothing is more dangerous than his Catholic style and theology. Kathryn Kuhlman was clearly the first public Charismatic to merge Catholic ideas and support with her Charismatic operation. Benny Hinn considers himself a benefactor and model of the Kuhlman mystic. Oral Roberts said on the three hour Hinn video, “I saw Kathryn Kuhlman as unparalleled”, implying that Hinn is greater than Kuhlman. Roberts then spoke of himself as having God’s power … in his right hand, but said of Hinn, his anointing “fills the building … a greater level has come.”

Benny Hinn And Catholic Confusion: There is not an organization on the face of this earth that is more thoroughly demonic than Catholicism. It is riddled with heathen teachings and doctrines of devils. Yet, Hinn proudly stated, “My upbringing, of course, was Catholic in that I attended the Catholic school in Jaffa, Israel. And so my mentality basically is a Catholic mentality. When I was born again, I was Catholic in my ways. I was very Catholic in my ideas, in my behavior.” (Christianity Today, Sept. 3, 1991.) Indeed, the mysticism that accompanies Hinn’s ministry, and according to his own words, has done so since the first time he spoke publicly is in the very style of a medieval mystic.

Benny Hinn personally told two reporters from the Toronto Globe And Mail about his first speaking engagement. This supposedly occurred on December 7, 1974, at the Trinity Pentecostal Church in Oshawa. His words were, “I held up my hands to pray and the 100 people present fell on the floor. That’s when I became aware of my tremendous power.” These kinds of phenomenon happen frequently in mystical religions, occultic ceremonies and with religious gurus, but are absolutely absent in Holy Scripture. The only time in the Bible that a person fell on the floor was when God Himself was manifested or an angel appeared to that individual.

Paul, Timothy, And The End Times

(Written by Jack Kelley)
Paul's letters to Timothy are the instructions from a mentor to a young pastor, one of the first ever, and contain advice on what to do and how to do it, as well as what not to do. It's the kind of thing you'd expect given the relationship.

But for no apparent reason Paul tucked several warnings about the end times into various places in his instructions. These are things Paul knew Timothy wouldn't have to deal with because he clearly described them as characteristics of the Latter Days. We'll take them each in turn.

1 Timothy 4:1-2
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

When I read this one I always think of certain televangelists who espouse a perversion of the prosperity gospel. They know what they're teaching is a compilation of half truths and outright lies, so in effect they're twisting God's word to steal from their followers. And without the least bit of shame they enjoy the lifestyles of the rich and famous at the expense of their contributors who, according to some reports, come primarily from the bottom 25% of the economic scale.

Taking advantage of their followers' lack of Bible knowledge and their misguided desire for a more abundant life , these predators foist one get rich quick scheme after another on their desperate flocks, bilking them out of the few discretionary dollars they have and leaving them worse off in the bargain. And they do it in the name of God. It makes you wonder what He'll say to them come judgment time.

But the prosperity teachers aren't the only ones in this category. There are others who teach things they know are contrary to what the Bible says. Some of these things come under the heading of conditional salvation, grace plus works, partial rapture, and other false teaching that can steal the joy of your salvation and rob you of your certainty. Their objective is to imprison you within boundaries of rules they themselves can't follow. Read Colossians 2:8-23 for Paul's opinion on these modern day legalists.

Then there are those who either treat the prophecies of our time as if they were all accomplished in history, or as if they're never going to be accomplished because they're all allegorical. These teachers also know what they're saying can't be reconciled with Scripture, but they ask you to believe it anyway, trusting in their superior intellect or advanced education instead of your own common sense. They take passages that can be clearly understood just as they're written by anyone with an average intellect and make them hopelessly confusing by violating the rules of context, re-defining terms, and making that which is real into something symbolic.