In a post-Christian culture where even a minute illusion of professing Christianity still exists, sensationalism often supersedes substance and the allure of prophetic visions and mystical experiences continues to bewitch believers. A case in point is the recent claim of Kris Vallotton, a prominent figure in the Bethel Church, who alleges that God provided him with a vision: a rallying call for an array of professionals to abandon their jobs and align themselves with Bethel’s mission.

There is a real danger when the Church drifts into the murky waters of mysticism, blurring the line between actual divine revelation and human imagination. The foundation of our faith is not subjective experiences but the infallible Word of God—the Bible. It is the final authority on all matters of faith and doctrine.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 14:33), reassures us that our God is not a God of confusion. He further instructs the church in Thessalonica to “test everything; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Does the vision that Vallotton professes withstand the litmus test of Biblical soundness?

The notion of high-ranking professionals leaving their professions to invest in a particular false church’s proclaimed mission is a precarious one. Are we called to abandon our God-given talents, vocations, and positions of influence to follow false prophets and apostles, especially when it serves the agenda of a single church? Such a proposition distorts the Biblical understanding of the Kingdom of God and our role in it.

In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), Jesus emphasizes the importance of using our talents—be they in business, law, medicine, education, or technology—for the glory of God and the benefit of our neighbors. Our vocations are the fields where we sow and reap for the Kingdom, not mere stepping stones to some higher “spiritual” calling.

The alarming anecdotes from Bethel Church are as numerous as they are troubling. The account of one of Bethel’s worship pastors claiming Jesus asked him for forgiveness, while another woman, a Bethel “pastor,” alleged Jesus entered her room, climbed in the bed with her, and played with her hair. Another student from Bethel’s School of Supernatural Ministry professed to have received a marriage proposal from Jesus Himself. These stories are not only far removed from any biblical precedent but are also a gross distortion of the person of Jesus Christ as depicted in scripture.

These extravagant claims propagate a distorted image of Christ, one that aligns more with fanciful tales than the humble yet sovereign, self-sacrificing Savior and King. They mirror the Old Testament’s false prophets, whose visions and dreams did not come from God but from their imaginations. Such self-serving revelations stoke the fires of egotism, not the adoration of God.

Kris Vallotton, a senior leader at Bethel, is a prime example. His tale of a divine bathtub encounter, in which Jesus purportedly affirmed his greatness and prophetic calling, flirts with vanity, not the humility of a servant called by God. Even his outrageous assertion that Adam and Eve were “pro-creating” with God while naming animals and his contorted interpretation of Adam’s creation reek of heretical misinterpretations of the scriptures.

This incursion into the bizarre does not end there. Bethel Church has been reported to host bizarre events, mimicking drunkenness, puppets nibbling and sucking each other’s faces and necks during a supposed spiritual awakening—completely inappropriate physical contact all under the guise of being “moved by the Holy Spirit.” These behaviors bear little resemblance to the fruit of the Spirit detailed in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The Apostle Peter warns us in 2 Peter 2:1-3, “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.”

The discerning believer should be alarmed by such theatrics masquerading as genuine spiritual experiences. To hold these stories up against the mirror of scripture is to expose their stark incongruity with the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3). The Christian faith is not a circus of the absurd but a call to humble, obedient, and faithful discipleship under the lordship of Christ.

The trumpet Vallotton claims to blow beckons us not towards authentic biblical faith but towards a dangerous precipice. As believers anchored in the Word, we are not called to dirty our hands with the hearts of men but to cleanse our hearts with the purity of God’s Word.

The body of Christ is diverse, multifaceted, with each member contributing unique gifts and talents to fulfill God’s mission on earth (1 Cor. 12:12-27). No single church or movement holds a monopoly on the work of the Kingdom. The true Kingdom extends beyond the borders of any one organization, and in this case, excludes the false church known as Bethel. Rather, it encompasses the global body of believers faithfully serving where God has placed them—and Kris Vallotton is not one of them. To quote the Apostle John, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).