Nuggets from Occult Invasion—Evaluating Angelic Appearances

Two things stand out from the Bible record: Angelic appearances are rare and are only for a special purpose. Thus those who claim multiple and purposeless appearances of angels are under occult delusion. Popular televangelist Benny Hinn alleges that angels have appeared to him repeatedly (and without purpose) from childhood. On TBN Hinn testified:

“I’ll never forget 1974. … I’m telling you the truth, I’m not lying—every night for a whole year angels appeared in my room.”

Hinn’s claim is at best ludicrous. God’s powerful messengers dropped in for 365

consecutive nightly visits? Hinn even enthusiastically predicts such angelic visitations for others: “It’s going to happen … get ready to know the activity of angels. … Each of you can have 6000 angels at your disposal. …” On another occasion he prophesied “many visitations of angels that will come as young men knocking at your door.”

Even Touched by an Angel (one of the most-watched shows in America) at least has

angels (actresses Roma Downey and Della Reese) showing up on some definite mission, which Hinn’s daily appearances lack. Executive producer Martha Williamson “hopes her one-hour homilies are ecumenical: ‘I’ve never believed that God was a specific denomination.’ ” Says Williamson:

“One of the reasons I believe angels are so popular today is because angels are

nonthreatening. So you get angel cookbooks … it becomes an angel religion. …”

That program offers a generic god who forgives apart from Christ, no matter what one may have done. In a TV Guide interview, “angel” Della Reese explains, “We deal in spirituality [that anyone can accept]. That’s a God [as you conceive him to be] thing.” Catholicism’s major newspaper, Our Sunday Visitor, praises this program, while secular Time pointed out:

These mighty [angelic] messengers and fearless soldiers have been reduced to bite-size beings, easily digested. The terrifying cherubim have become Kewpie-doll cherubs. For those who choke too easily on God and His rules … angels are the handy compromise, all fluff and meringue, kind, nonjudgmental … available to everyone like aspirin. …”

In contrast to Time’s discerning criticism, TBN’s Paul Crouch gushes, “Reports are

coming in from around the world through prophetic words of knowledge, dreams, visions, appearances of angels and apparitions of Jesus and other heavenly visitors. …” Other heavenly visitors? Who or what could they be? Crouch claims that a beautiful woman (an angel or Mary) appeared to him and Jan several times to encourage them. Says Crouch:

“She handed Jan a perfect pink rose. … Jan thanked her. … We had turned our head for only a moment or two, but when we turned back, our lady was gone! She could not possibly have made it back across the large empty plaza, the size of a football field, without our seeing her leave … five credible witnesses will testify that this had to be a heavenly visitor! Jan saw this remarkable lady two other times … ! Naturally, our Catholic brothers and sisters believe this person to be Mary. … I do not know. … In the 1980’s, David Duplessis, father of modern Pentecostalism, visited

Medjugorje … and concluded what he experienced was … a revival, the likes of which he had given up seeing in his lifetime, and he spotted no “bad fruit.” The heavenly apparitions, concluded the great Charismatic leader, were “of God ” … (emphasis in original).”

As we have documented elsewhere, this “father of modern Pentecostalism” was

deceived by the Roman Catholic Church in its bid to draw Protestants back under the Pope. That David Duplessis, like the Crouches and millions of others, was badly deceived by Marian apparitions, will become clear as we proceed.