Todd Bentley on Facebook too

Two days ago I reported the news that Todd Bentley apparently has a new Myspace page together with a blog. Now Agathos aka Scott has discovered that Todd also has a new, as of 16th December 2008, Facebook page, The Official Todd Bentley Facebook Fan Page. (I’m not sure if you need to be a Facebook member to view this.) Again there is no proof or confirmation that this is genuinely from Todd.

Todd has already acquired 361 fans (none as far as I can see called Jessa). On the site there are five “notes” apparently by Todd, all dated 16th December, including the announcement of a new book Kingdom Rising, which is being sold, and promoted on their home page, by Todd’s company Sound of Fire. Two of the other “notes” are explicitly older writings by Todd. They are not the same material as on the Myspace blog.

Todd has also contributed to this discussion linked to the fan page. Again I can’t be sure that this is the real Todd, but he does have 4735 friends (again no Jessa). He writes

Hi friends tell me your testimonies from Lakeland outpouring love and blessings

and

wow i love reading your testimonies please keep them coming.

But the longest post in Todd’s name in this discussion is in fact not by him but the story of “One of The Fan Page Admins”. The latest message from Todd is dated 21st December:

Merry Christmas friends

Todd Bentley the blogger?

I haven’t been following blogs about Todd Bentley recently, largely because they are so often full of speculative nastiness. But my eye was caught by a post at Onward, Forward, Toward… because it linked to one of my posts. And there I found some interesting information which seems to be more than speculation. It is certainly true that someone has set up a Myspace page in Todd’s name. This appears to be new, with a signup date of 16th December 2008.

I cannot confirm what is stated in the post, that the Myspace page has been set up by Todd himself, or at least by someone acting on his behalf. There is surely the possibility that this is an unofficial page set up by someone wanting to blacken Todd’s name even further – or my a misguided supporter. But it does look quite genuine.

What I discovered is that linked to this Myspace page there is a blog. Now the Myspace blogging software is so poor that the link to View Todd’s Blog leads to an almost unreadable page. But there are three posts there, all dated 16th December 2008, which can be read if accessed individually. And they do appear to be genuine writings by Todd, although not necessarily new ones.

PJ Miller, who has also posted about Todd’s new Myspace page, claims that

You won’t find anything on his page concerning his recent troubles–including his separation, impending divorce [he lists himself as ‘single’] or the fact he is continuing to live in adultery.

The fact here is not the presumption that Todd is continuing to live in adultery (for which the only evidence offered is that one of his Myspace friends is allegedly the woman with whom he has admitted an inappropriate relationship). The fact is that there is in the Myspace blog material relevant to Todd’s personal situation, although not explicitly about it. For two of Todd’s three posts are about Restoration. Here is an extract from this post, based on Isaiah 61:2-4:

Actually, did you know that it’s one thing to loose and undo the work of the devil—it’s one thing to be set free—but it’s another thing to have God restore back in your life all the damage that was done because of the oppression of the enemy?! In other words, just think for a moment about the alcoholic that gets set free, and we thank God for that. But what about all the aftermath—the damage that the alcoholism did to the children and others—or the drug addict that’s now free, but the family is still broke?

The fact is, there are testimonies of people that have come into notable freedom, yet there still remain lingering negative consequences. But biblical restoration cuts off those negative consequences! That’s because, when God restores, one: He brings an increase; two: He multiplies beyond where you were; and three: He adds the extra, making it better than it was before. Look at Job. When God restored Job, He gave him double (Job 42:10). In fact, you cannot be touched by the anointing of restoration and, for example, just get your money back at the same measure. It’s not just recovery of a former condition. No! You’re not going back to a former state. You’re going back to better! I mean, when God restores, say double, it’s everything double—life, joy, and revelation, and much more!

Is this the kind of restoration Todd is looking for? Indeed God can restore him from his current brokenness and give him an anointing that is double even that which was poured out at Lakeland. But one prerequisite for that is repentance. There is no mention of that in this article, although it is a start for Todd to recognise “the oppression of the enemy” in what has happened to him. What we do read is that when Todd was praying for his father to be saved God

revealed to me that my dad had made certain choices and he wanted the darkness. That being the case God was prevented from breaking in to help him.

Todd has also reportedly made certain choices, to live in a sinful way, which prevent God from restoring him. If he seeks restoration, first he needs to make different choices. The details of what he needs to do are known only to his close advisers. But it must include turning away from any inappropriate relationship with his former nanny and seeking reconciliation with his wife and children.