EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF A BENNY HINN "MIRACLE" CRUSADE*

February 7, 2007

The following report is by Missionary Ryan Gray of Fiji

The world famous television evangelist Benny Hinn came to the Fiji
Islands to hold a "miracle crusade" January 20-22, 2006. The crusade was
held in the national stadium in the capital city of Suva, just a few
miles from Victory Baptist Church where I am the missionary pastor. In
the middle of 2005 we first learned of the upcoming crusade, and I began
preaching and warning our people about this dangerous and deceptive
false prophet who would undoubtedly capture the attention of much of the
Fiji Islands, many of whom already watched Benny Hinn's "This Is Your
Day" program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and highly esteemed him
as a "man of God". It is so sad to see multitudes of people carried away
by such false prophets because they are ignorant of the way of salvation
and completely lacking any Biblical understanding.

 From the very onset, people were encouraged to attend the crusade
because of what they would 'experience'. I have a poster handed out as
an invitation to the crusade stating, "Come, Hear & Experience an
Anointed Gospel Message That Will Change Your Life." An advertisement
placed in the Fiji Times newspaper said, "Experience the Excitement." I
believe that these words were carefully chosen because the atmosphere
crusade focused on exactly thatŠmanipulating the crowd so that they
would experience a feeling that God was present, and that great miracles
of physical healing were taking place.

I attended the first night of the crusade, and arrived at the stadium at
11:00am, even though the gates would not open until 2:00pm, and the
service would not begin until 6:00pm. I wanted to be sure to get a good
seat as close as possible to the platform so that I could closely watch
all that happened, take plenty of pictures, and write notes about the
service. I had seen Benny Hinn's program on television, but this was my
first time to attend a large scale miracle crusade of this nature. I
began to wonder if Benny Hinn would be able heal the blistered sunburn I
was getting while waiting in the hot Fiji sun!

While waiting for the gates to open I took several pictures of people
who were gathering for the evening service. I took several pictures of
an Indian man who walked with crutches because I saw that, although he
had the crutches, as he walked it was obvious that his own legs were
supporting his full body weight. I even saw him put the crutches down
and then sit down on a bench, bending both legs at the knees to be
seated. Only until later that night would I realize just how valuable
those pictures would be!

Upon entering the stadium, we were greeting by the pulsating beat of
contemporary praise music, sounding identical to secular rock and roll.
This music was played through the massive sound system until the service
began. I took a seat directly behind the platform on the bleachers right
next to the huge choir. I noticed that large screens were put up on both
sides of the platform so that everyone could see what was happening on
stage.

A couple of Benny Hinn's assistants spoke from the platform for a few
minutes challenging the people to "expect great things tonight". Benny
Hinn's band then took the stage, warming up for the evening service with
keyboards, guitars, loud drums, a thumping bass guitar, and jazzy
saxophone. People were cheering as the band played, even when they
played a secular rock and roll song that I remembered listening to
before I was saved! The air was already electric with the great
anticipation of what would happen during the service.

I watched sadly as parents brought their mentally handicapped children
into the stadium and ambulances unloaded person after person on
stretchers. Many sick people were brought directly from the hospital to
attend the crusade in hope of being healed. I found it interesting that
the seating areas on both sides of the platform, and directly in front
were roped off, keeping those who were genuinely sick away from the
platform, and instead, they were seated in their reserved areas towards
the back of the crowd. I wondered, "If this is truly a miracle healing
crusade, why not get those who most need healing as close to the front
as possible?"

As the service began at 6:00pm, an American lady traveling with Hinn's
team sang a solo with the help of the band. She was dressed like a
nightclub singer in a short skirt, high heels, and skimpy top while she
sang, danced, and waved her arms to the contemporary 'Christian' rock
music that was identical to that used by any worldly entertainer.

Physical healing was the main message of the crusade from the very
opening moments. When Benny Hinn came on the platform, some of his first
words were, "Expect something tonightŠthis will be the greatest miracle
crusade in this part of the world!" The crowd erupted with cheers and
shouting, especially when Benny Hinn told them three times to repeat
aloud with him, "All will be healed." He then said, "If Jesus healed
them all 2000 years ago, He will heal them all today. You are going to
leave healed and free. The power of God is going to invade this place."
He then told everyone to turn to the person next to them and say, "The
Lord is going to heal me, and the Lord is going to heal you." He
affirmed these claims by saying, "This is the Word of God. This is His
promise. Lift your hands and thank Him." Once again, the crowd burst
into deafening cheers and shouting.

Until this night I never realized the importance of music in a crusade
such as this. Without hesitation I can say that Benny Hinn's most
important worker is his choir director. Through the whole service he
stood about 15 feet behind Benny, keeping one eye one him, and one eye
on the choir. He had to be ready at all times because Benny Hinn would
talk then spontaneously break into singing a chorus and be joined by the
band and choir. The powerful music was used to hold the emotions of the
people high throughout the service. The only time that the band was
silent was the fifteen minutes that Benny Hinn preached. The music of
the crusade was the key to the 'experience' of the people. I remember
reading of Benny Hinn's admission that he needs the "atmosphere of
faith" in order to heal the sick. The music is what creates the
atmosphere of the crusade, and manipulates the audience into feeling
whatever the organizers want them to feel. Make no mistake about it,
music is powerful! Interestingly enough, Christ and the apostles did not
need a rock band and super-charged emotional atmosphere in order to
perform miracles!

Then came the time that Benny Hinn would preach the message from the
Bible. He read from Matthew 12:15, "But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew
himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed
them all." He turned to several other similar verses and emphasized the
statement that Jesus healed everyone. He said, "I have come to Fiji to
tell you that this same Jesus is still healing the sick and giving sight
to the blind." He quoted from Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, and today, and for ever" and said, "Jesus is still the same,
so HE WILL STILL HEAL ALL. NOT ONE OR TWO, OR ONE HUNDRED, BUT ALL. This
same Jesus is going to heal you tonight, so get ready! TODAY ON FRIDAY
THE 20TH OF JANUARY, 2006, JESUS WILL HEAL YOU ALL!"

It was sad and even frightening to see the crowd enraptured into
hysteria by these words. What power this man held over them! They had
completely given themselves over to believe whatever Benny Hinn said,
and they truly believed that every sick person would be healed that
night. This was a sobering reminder to me as I sat in the midst of such
powerful deception that we must examine every message, every sermon in
the light of God's Word.

Also in his message, Benny Hinn criticized those who would test his
teachings and practices by the Bible. He said, "While Jesus was healing,
the theologians wanted to argue theology. You need to quit arguing over
theology and heal one another! Those who want to argue about healing,
want to argue about the Bible and what the Bible saysŠwe need to quit
arguing about this and that. Those who want to argue doctrine want to
divide us."

The only time that Benny Hinn mentioned the gospel, was in the context
of physical healing. He said, "Jesus died on a cross, shed His blood for
you and loves you. He wants to heal you." He preached for almost 15
minutes turning to several Scriptures about physical healing, but he
never opened the Bible to any verse explaining the way of salvation, and
only made one vague passing reference to the saving work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Sin was only mentioned one time, hell was never spoken of,
neither was repentance or faith. Checking my watch, I noticed that Benny
Hinn only vaguely spoke about salvation for three minutes! Later on as
the service ended, people were encouraged to come forward and "give
their lives to Christ". Hundreds came to the front of the platform, and
they were led in mass to pray a generic sinner's prayer. What shame and
deception!

After the preaching concluded, the healing time was to begin. In a
breathy, quiet voice Benny Hinn told the crowd, "I feel the presence of
the Holy Ghost", as the band began to play the popular chorus, "He
touched me." Hinn made mention of the crippled man who was healed in
Acts 3, emphasizing to the crowd that this was the moment they had been
anticipating, this was the very time that supernatural miracles would
take place before their very eyes. "Receive your miracle tonight!" he
shouted to the people.

He then coached the people on how to receive a miracle. "Some may feel
electricity in their body, or a tingling sensation, or warmth, or heat.
That is God's power healing you. Lift your hands and call His name.
Place your hand on your body where the sickness is and I will pray for
it to go." Benny Hinn announced that cancer, crippled legs, a brain
tumor, throat cancer, arthritis in the back, deaf ears, a right leg, and
a neck growth were being healed at that very moment.

The choir continued singing "He Touched Me" over and over again, and the
band played louder each time, while the pianist played with increasingly
bigger and louder crescendos. The sound of the singing and music was
deafening.

Those in the audience who were healed were instructed to speak to a
member of the 'healing team' that was spread out across the stadium, and
they would be brought to the platform to proclaim their healing. The
first person to come to the platform was the Indian man with crutches
whom I took pictures of before the service! He said he had been crippled
for fifteen years but that God had healed him that night and he felt no
pain in his legs. The crowd cheered and roared as the man said, "I want
to be a Christian because Jesus healed me." Benny Hinn threw the
crutches off the platform, and knelt with the man, instructing him to
repeat a prayer and become a Christian. Benny Hinn then said, "I believe
that God is going to make you a preacher to take the gospel back to your
own people in India!" Once again, the crowd exploded with thunderous
applause and cheers.

If only these people had seen this man as I did before the service. He
was not a cripple! No miracle had taken place! What greater shame that
Benny Hinn had pronounced this man a Christian. A person does not become
a Christian because they get healed physically, but because they know
that they are a hell bound sinner, unable to save themselves, and they
trust the Lord Jesus Christ to save them based upon His work on
Calvary's cross! This Hindu man was not told to repent of his idols, or
to acknowledge his sin, nor was he told about hell, or the gospel of
salvation! Yet he became the 'star of the show' this night, was
proclaimed a Christian and a preacher of the gospel which he knew
nothing about.

The next person who came on the platform was an elderly man who had
traveled all the way from New Zealand to attend the crusade. He said he
was healed of diabetes. Obviously he was not familiar with the protocol
of a Benny Hinn crusade, because when Benny tried to "slay him in the
spirit", the man refused to fall down backwards! The crowd had a good
laugh over this, but I thought, "Why didn't he fall if this was truly a
work of the Spirit?" This was proof to me that the 'spirit slaying' is
nothing more than learned behavior. People do it because they expect it
to happen.

Next a girl who claimed to be deaf from birth was healed, yet I wonder
if her deaf condition was as genuine as the first man's crippled
condition! Next, a lady said her right side was healed from the effects
of a stroke, and then another woman proclaimed that her heart condition
was healed. Another woman said her right leg was healed of arthritis,
and she also did not fall when Benny Hinn tried to "slay her in the
spirit". A lady said she was healed of an itchy virus because she felt
electricity in her body, another lady said she was healed of back pain,
and next was a lady who said that deafness was healed in her right ear.
Last of all a man came and said he was healed of back pain.

Most of the claims of healing were made because people felt better,
their pain was gone, or they had experienced an unusual sensation in
their body. In this supercharged atmosphere of expectation, combined
with powerful, repetitive music, everyone felt something in their body!
Even I felt the pulsating beat of the music, and the energy of the
people around me, but this was not a divine miracle! It is quite
possible that during the crusade many people experienced relief of the
symptoms of their illness, but when the emotions of the crusade wear
off, the symptoms return!

None of the mentally handicapped were healed, nor were any of the blind
or those brought in ambulances from the hospital. None with deformed
limbs were healed, nor were any of those brought in wheelchairs. As I
walked out of the stadium that night looking at all the crippled and
sick people making their way home and parents carrying their crippled
children, I remembered Benny Hinn's words, "TODAY ON FRIDAY THE 20TH OF
JANUARY, 2006, JESUS WILL HEAL YOU ALL!". I wondered what these people
must have been thinking. Why they didn't get healed? Were they not good
enough? Did they not have enough faith? Did they not give enough money?
Did God not care about them? My heart was grieved that this wolf in
sheep's clothing was making merchandise of these ignorant people, and
allowing them to take the blame for not being healed!

Benny Hinn claimed that the same kinds of healing found in the New
Testament would be seen on this night, but the Lord Jesus Christ and His
apostles did not merely heal back pain and arthritis! They healed
withered limbs, opened blinded eyes, gave strength to the crippled, and
even raised the dead, and they did not need the electric, rock music
supercharged atmosphere of a healing crusade to do it! While we still
believe that God can and does heal today according to His will, we do
not believe that anyone today has the gift of healing as seen in the
lives of Christ and the apostles.

Benny Hinn deceived the people by implying that it is God's will for
every Christian to be healed physically right now, while the Bible
promises no such thing. Romans 8:23 says that we are still waiting for
"the redemption of our body." Sickness and pain is part of the curse of
sin, and we will have to endure these trials until we get a glorified
body at the resurrection.

The greatest tragedy of all is that multitudes of people who attended
this crusade sincerely believe that the are born again and going to
heaven because they experienced a feeling in their body, and repeated a
sinner's prayer after Benny Hinn without any Biblical knowledge of why
they need to be saved, and how they can be saved. I have already met
people while out soul winning and listened as they told me that they
were going to heaven because of what they experienced at the crusade.

The Word of God has forewarned us that, in the latter days, there would
be an abundance of doctrinal delusion. First Timothy 4:1 says, "Now the
Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils." Our Lord Himself warned us of false prophets such as Benny Hinn
in Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

Christians today need to follow the example of the Bereans in Acts
17:11, who "searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were
so." As we carefully examine every doctrine and practice in the light of
God's Word we will be protected from the deception of false doctrine and
false prophets like Benny Hinn.