Bethel Church in Redding, CA is pastored by Bill Johnson who claims to be an Apostle — that is, he claims Apostolic authority just like the twelve men during Christ’s time on Earth. Bethel Redding, like all cults, is filled with aberrant, unbiblical teachings and doctrines of demons, including false manifestations of the Holy Spirit, grave sucking, and the Prosperity Gospel.

The Prosperity Gospel is a perversion of the gospel of Jesus Christ that teaches that Jesus’ primary purpose for his life, death, burial, and resurrection wasn’t to atone for sins, but to make people who have enough “faith” healthy and wealthy. This false gospel carries with it several other false teachings such as positive confession, that is the ability to speak things into existence the way God does.

Bethel Redding is a hotbed of false apparitions, regularly blaspheming the Holy Spirit by attributing the works of men and demons to Him. One such notable occurrence which happens regularly is Bethel’s “glory clouds.” Glory clouds, they claim, are a manifestation of God during their worship, when, in fact, not only is it unbiblical, it has been thoroughly debunked.

Bethel also practices necromancy through a practice called “grave sucking.” “Grave sucking,” or “soaking,” according to Charisma Magazine, is “the process by which someone lays on the grave of a deceased Christian in order to absorb their mantle or anointing.”

In the picture below, you can see Bill Johnson’s wife, Beni, lying on the grave of the famous author, C.S. Lewis.

Indeed, this is what they do. In another video, you can see members of Bethel Church in England talking about sucking up the anointing of dead men.

Bethel continues to teach that the manifestation of signs and wonders continue today. Not only do they teach this heresy, but they also practice such things as speaking in tongues, faith healings, and prophecy — none of which has ever been evidenced as legitimate. They teach these things in opposition to Hebrews 1:1-3 that explicitly states that God has spoken to us finally through His son Jesus and that Scripture is sufficient to make the made of God complete (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

But while these teachings are demonic — far from anything you would ever see taught by the true Apostles in Scripture, what makes all of this the most cult-like is the fact that these practices and teachings cannot be questioned. Recently, Bethel expelled one of their students for raising questions about their demonic practices. (You can read about that here.)

Bethel is a cult that manifests false signs and wonders, teaches a false gospel, and blasphemes the Holy Spirit. Do not be deceived.

For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Matthew 24:24