"Why does God do these things, you ask? I really don't know. I have often been among different groups of leaders who speculate about the purpose of these signs. I have heard many ideas that sound good and make me feel better about the things I have experienced. But the truth is, I really don't know why these things happen. Therefore, I do think feathers and gold dust qualify as "wonders." -- Kris Vallotton
It is at this point that I really begin to feel bad for Kris Vallotton. I feel badly whenever I see someone who has been taught so poorly. I know where he gets this flawed belief system from. Bill Johnson often refers to these events as "signs that make you wonder." It is a nice catchy phrase but it butchers the Bible in the process. Wonders are not called that because we cannot explain them. That is ridiculous. Wonders testify to the awesomeness of God. They elicit a wonder from us. An awe. A reverence. But God is not the author of confusion. He did not send the cloud and pillar of fire and make the Israelites guess it was Him. The reality is that if you are left wondering what or why something is going on, that is not God.
What about our little test? Does the random appearance of gold dust, which by the way has never been claimed to actually be gold, bring any glory to Jesus? Absolutely not. It cannot possibly advance the cause of the Gospel. Unbelievers would correctly dismiss you as a crackpot. Does the Bible offer any examples of gold dust manifesting as a sign or wonder? Absolutely not. The actual term gold dust appears only one time in the entire canon of Scripture and it has nothing to do with this. Do the disciples talk about seeing gold dust? The Apostle Paul? Jesus Himself? The answer is always no because this manifestation is not biblical and therefore cannot be of God. No matter how many hundreds of times Kris Vallotton has claimed to have seen it. It sounds more and more like Vallotton has no ability to discern the demonic from the things of God. How could he when he refuses to use the Bible as his plumb line?
Raising the Dead
Vallotton is all over the map in this section. Let us lay a little ground work beloved. Can God still raise people from the dead? Absolutely. Why? Because He is God. If that is your only defense however then you have no defense. Just because God can do something does not mean He will or He has. Let us apply our test and see what happens. First of all, does this bring glory to God? Absolutely not. The people in Charismania who claim to have raised people from the dead all claim it for self-promotion. People like Reinhard Bonnke and Heidi Baker are charlatans of the highest order who claim these types of miracles but offer not one shred of actual proof. Does this cause the world to see the power of God or the deception of man? Think about how powerful such a case of real resurrection could be if medically substantiated! Instead it is used as a parlor trick or for advertising purposes.
Secondly, what does the Bible say about it? Well there is no question that raising someone from the dead is biblical. Including Jesus Himself, there are nine instances recorded in the Bible. While no one is arguing that it has occurred biblically, unlike the gold dust and angel feathers nonsense. Kris Vallotton however, approaches it like the Seven Sons of Sceva in the Book of Acts. When you spend your life playing church and thinking it is all one big theatrical experience then is it any wonder that you would approach something as holy and reverent as resurrection with such flippancy?
"I need to be honest; I have personally never raised anyone from the dead although I have tried twice." -- Kris Vallotton
"Some of the students from the Supernatural School of Ministry read this verse and decided to go down to the morgue and "practice" raising the dead! Crazy? Maybe, but I admire their faith and their guts"So far they haven't raised anyone at the mortuary from the dead, but it hasn't deterred them a bit. I have heard some students from another school that started a DRT team. You guessed it, the letters stand for Dead Raising Team! -- Kris Vallotton
"I do know several Christians who have raised the dead. Radical? Yeah! -- Kris Vallotton
You "tried" twice? Students from a heretical school "practice" raising the dead? Crazy? Yes Kris, this is crazy. It is also wildly unbiblical and irreverent. The resurrection is not something we dabble in. It is not something we practice; like a skill that needs development. This isn't juggling. The dead raising team? Seriously? What is this a game to these people? Kris Vallotton knows several Christians who have raised the dead? Really? The DRT, which has its own website, claims 12 resurrections to its credit. Think about this logically and spiritually beloved. The entire canon of Scripture spans 66 books and thousands upon thousands of years yet there are a total of nine documented resurrections. This heretical DRT claims 12 and Kris Vallotton knows several people who have successfully raised people from the dead. This is what happens when you do not take the Bible seriously and rely solely upon your experience. The Bible assures us then that these claims are as false as the people making them.
Thirdly, does it make any real sense? Why would God do this? Why would He allow only nine resurrections throughout 6000 years and then suddenly allow anyone with a website and wild dreams see them all the time? The answer is He wouldn't. Do not tell me that this is being done to show people the power of God so that they may believe either. There are three reasons why that is a false argument. First, the more frequent you make something the less miraculous it actually is. Secondly, God would not orchestrate all of these resurrections without any proof. He is not the author of confusion and if it was glory He was looking for, He would certainly leave it to people who are so abusive to His Word to begin with! Lastly, Jesus tells us directly that even the miraculous will not persuade those who have no intention of being persuaded:
He said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead." -- Luke 16: 31 (ESV)
Only an adulterous generation seeks a sign beloved. But an even more apostate generation corrupts them and distorts what is holy. Could God manifest Himself in gold dust and angel feathers? Sure but why would He? When we apply our simple tests to these phenomena we are left to conclude that either these are well designed lies or a clear example of trafficking in the demonic. As for being raised from the dead, the Bible does support this awesome display of the power of God. Nine times in recorded history. Nowhere in Scripture does anyone practice it or try it out. Kris Vallotton is the Senior Associate Leader at Bethel Church, which is one of the most dangerous sources of witchcraft and false teaching known to man. So what are we to make of our key verse today, which both Kris Vallotton and the DRT claim as their biblical mandate for raising the dead? Let us begin by remembering that we do not make doctrine out of one verse snippet. The Word interprets the Word. If one of our imperatives as believers was to raise the dead then it would be crystal clear. There are however other problems to explore regarding the key verse.
1) The portion of this verse that reads "raise the dead" is not actually found in every manuscript. While it is generally included today, it very well may not have been part of the intended gospel account. Similarly, the section of Mark's gospel that deals with handling snakes is also not found in the original manuscripts. When this is the case we ought to be even more diligent in seeking other biblical corroboration before shaping doctrine around it.
2) The term raise the dead could also be a spiritual reference to one's soul and not meant to be taken literally as to physical death. This appears to be the stance Matthew Henry has taken on the matter. The physical raising of one's life pales in miraculous comparison to the spiritual resurrection from sin. As is often the case, we value the wrong life.
3) Related to number two, there is not one single case of resurrection following this charge until Christ Himself is raised. This was an initial charge to His disciples; not a blanket instruction for the body of Christ. In fact, Jesus replaced this commission with the Great Commission after His own resurrection and that makes no mention of raising the dead. So if He really meant for His disciples to raise the dead, why is there not one documented case of such between the time this instruction was given and the Great Commission?
