Healing angels are in popular demand these days

I watched healing evangelist Richard Roberts (son of Oral Roberts) ’perform’ the other night – for the first time in what must be almost twenty years. I wrote something of my experiences on the pentecostal/charismatic healing circuit in this article here: http://endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/my-experience-on-the-pentecostalcharismatic-healing-circuit/    Richard Roberts was not only the minister conducting the first ‘healing revivals’ I ever attended, but was my first ever introduction with pentecostalism/charismaticalism. Even though I was then young and naive, and spiritually illiterate, I realised enough to know after a few attendances at his rallies that there were no real miracles taking place through his ministry – apart from possibly the odd conversion or two.

I would love to say that Richard Roberts has changed. He has, but not in a good way – he has gotten even more outlandish. And I am not talking about the recent ORU financial scandals involving him and his wife, I am talking about his pretence at ministry. As I watched Richard Roberts perform, I was shocked how transparently fake he was - Richard Roberts has got worse, not better, and now claims two divine angelic assistants accompany him.

Admitedly, it’s a long time ago now, but I do not recall Richard Roberts ever giving out (or pretending to give out) such specific   prophetic words of knowledge twenty years ago, as he pretended to do the other night – though he did used to give out vague generic ones like ’someone with cancer will be healed’ and ‘at least 16 people with asthma’ (someone else noticed it was almost always ‘16′ people quoted for whatever commen ailment too). Then there was the pretending to be speaking to God bit as is he were suddently interrupted with sudden divine revelation – Yes God, I’ll do that  – which was so fake and insincere and obviously sham acting- the Lord rebuke him! I felt that he had adapted his ministry style – his sales pitch – to work in the way the public demanded and wanted to see now – which was more specific prophecy. It was literally attempting to keep up with the ministry Jones’s – the same reason for claiming the healing angels – but it was all pretence and charlatanism.  The charade was stage managed from start to finish and was done not to draw people to Jesus but rather to get people to draw out their checkbooks. But then it was 20 years ago too. 

Roberts knelt on the floor kneeling over a person he was praying for, and not only was there a lot of nonsense as he pretended to ’pull’ out the problem by miming pulling it out while talking to the camera, but he said he would give the problem to the TWO healing angels that he says were behind him and accompany his ministry. They are right behind me, he said. Now putting aside any theological quibbles about this statement, this was an obvious lie. Richard Roberts though slick in many senses, is an obvious huckster and not a good liar. He looked straight at the camera and I knew he was making it up as surely he pretended to prophesy that night. It was not that he was decieved into really sincerely thinking there were angels – he made it up, just like many of ministers on the Christian circuit make things up about angels and the third heaven too.

Healing angels have gotten far more popular in these days. There has been a revival of interest thanks to the new prophets and apostles – notably Todd Bentley – all imitating false prophet and healing revivialist William Branham. It is an easy thing to impress gullible people with, and is popular with new agers too, and Richard Roberts has now thrown this claim into the equation to become more popular, seem more spiritual and contemporary, and to get more bucks rolling in. He obviously wants to go one better than everyone else and claim TWO angels. (I wonder if their names are Emma and Brent?)

Regardless, Richard Roberts is a liar and charlatan. Just like many others who claim angel encounters, that when listened to just don’t stack up. Many of Todd Bentley’s stories involving angels are so tall, they defy belief that people actually listen to him, let alone believe him. They are not just unscriptural and defy logic and reason, they are also ludicrous. Heard the one of him beamed up in a pillar of fire to heaven and his parts being boxed up like a scene from alien abduction for instance? I stress here, I believe  in angels, and I believe some people today do have genuine experiences with angels. BUT and here is the BUT, for every person that has had a genuine experience, there is a thousand  or more who are lying or are mistaken….or worse have met demons masquarding as angels of light.