Todd Bentley and the '13th Resurrection'

What was the name of that funeral home?

 by Bud Press, Director

Christian Research Service

www.christianresearchservice.com

ChristianResearchService.blogspot.com

July 22, 2008

In this 5:28 YouTube video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLv6C7b6m88 ), Todd Bentley reads an unverified e-mail and excitedly proclaims the "thirteenth resurrection from the dead" which, according to Bentley, took place at a funeral home.

While reading the e-mail, Bentley says a family requested that the God TV/Florida revival be aired during an "all-night wake" for a dead man resting in a casket. Amidst the cheers and applause from his revival audience, Bentley states:

At the funeral they played the revival, and we declared that our brother would not be embalmed. At 2:19 AM, my brother began to stir in his coffin! In his coffin!

And Bentley's followers went wild with cheers and shouts.

Bentley continues reading the unverified e-mail, stating that,

My brother sat up in the coffin praising God and the Reverend Todd Bentley! Now listen to this! My dear brother, all day, since he's been raised from the dead, has been telling us about his journey to heaven and how he thought he would never come back.

 

He died and went to heaven! Listen to this! He thought he would never come back to the earth to be with us, but then he heard our beloved Reverend Todd and his voice pulling his spirit out of heaven. All of us at the funeral home began screaming and shouting for more fire. Thank God for the revival and God TV!

 

NUMBER 13 FROM THE DEAD! We're gonna confirm it. We gotta confirm it. We're gonna do a follow up. But I thought I'd read it as I received the testimony.

I became curious after watching the video and called numerous funeral homes in and around Lakeland, Florida. I spoke to officials and asked questions pertaining to a dead-man being raised to life from his coffin. A few asked, "Are you serious?" while others laughed.

But without exception, they all said it had not happened. Also, a few of the officials said that if a dead man had actually been raised to life from a coffin, they would have known about it--nationwide.

Indeed, the dead being raised from their coffins in funeral homes, as well as the aftermath, would make local, state, national, and worldwide headlines, such as:

The 'Dead' Rising To Life from Caskets

Funeral Homes Closing Doors

No doubt funeral home directors and employees would be seeking a different line of work, or unemployment benefits.

Anyway, one funeral home representative said that a family--via the Lakeland revival--had come to the funeral home and prayed for one that had died, but the burial took place as scheduled.

So, just to make sure, I called the Board of Funerals, Cemetery, and Consumer Services in Florida and asked the same questions. Again, the answer was, "No." Had a dead-man sat up in his coffin--as described in the e-mail read by Todd Bentley--they would have heard about it.

While I believe wholeheartedly that God has and can raise the dead to life--embalmed or not--perhaps Todd Bentley will graciously provide the name of the funeral home in question, along with documented proof of all of the alleged "resurrections" from the dead.

It never hurts to ask, due to the fact that documented proof will stand up to intense scrutiny--provided the story is true, that is. 

But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).