The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. - John 10:10 (ESV)
I have to admit that I get a kick out of Kris Vallotton, false prophet/teacher at Bethel Church under the guidance of the master grifter, Bill Johnson. The amount of hubris Kris traffics in is just mind-blowing. It is bad enough the silly stories he tells about Jesus walking into his bathroom while he is taking a bath and how God audibly told him that he was a pauper who is now a king, the grift behind it all is breathtaking in its audacity. He fleeces the flock without care or concern how idiotic his new grift is. I guess you can afford this level of gall when your followers have already fallen for glory clouds, gold dust, gemstones and angel feathers. Below I will go through a recent solicitation, I mean email, I received from him. Besides the email we will visit the above link that has the grift so we can see this all-in context and action. Let us reason once more together!
"Imagine with me for a moment a soldier heading to the battlefield with no armor or weapon, dressed in street clothes, and no prior training for how to fight in battle. Don't you think we'd deem them unfit for the job and question their ability to protect our country and attain victory?
Sadly, I'd propose this is a similar scenario that we face in the Western Church today. We set out for battle unaware of the reality of the invisible war waging around us. We treat fictional characters like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny as if they are more real than Satan, demons, and principalities." - Kris Vallotton
Imagine with me for a moment a man trying to steal your money. A man with no shame in doing so. A man named Kris Vallotton. Kris does not understand the bible he pretends to read. If he did he would know that Jesus already secured the victory over death and the enemy. He would know that our training comes from reading the bible and that our weapons and gear are not of this world. He would know that we are called to resist the devil so he will flee, not turn him into a caricature.
"This thinking only sets us up for defeat before the battle has even begun. Now let me be clear, my goal here is not to ignite fear, but rather speak to the truth that through the redemptive power of the cross we are victorious. However, this truth doesn't remove the reality of the spiritual realm that impacts us on a daily basis. As weird as it may sound, these entities are vying for attention and affecting our daily lives, our relationships, our health, and our prosperity. Yet, unlike a physical battle, our unawareness lures us right into a strategic battle designed to steal from, kill, and destroy us. Our ignorance allows the demonic realm to be hidden within plain sight." - Kris Vallotton
So, to Vallotton, the cross has no temporal power in our lives. Stunning in its stupidity. God however is an ironic God and He enjoys when someone so opposed to Him makes a fool of themselves. The verse Kris references here is the key verse for today above. My question for us today is who is the thief referred to by Jesus? If you said the enemy, you too have been taught poorly. Read the entire chapter so you can see the context. Jesus is not talking about the devil. He is talking about Kris Vallotton. He is talking about the false teacher/prophet. The huckster who comes into the sheep pen by hopping the fence. While we are here, we need to address the charismaniacal belief that there is a demon behind every bush. There isn't. The boring truth is we are just not that interesting or important that the devil is actively plotting every second of the day how to thwart us. He doesn't need to because we refuse to read God's word, which would allow us to better see the schemes of the enemy and not fall for the seduction of sin. Kris however has set the stage by creating this fantasy world with invisible demons to battle against every day if only we were armed better!
