Bethel’s ‘Physics of Heaven’: A new way to interact with God?
Bethel Church, in Redding, California, is one of the most popular and influential churches in the world. Millions of Christians have heard their music and know their pastor, Bill Johnson.
But many of them may not be aware of a book that was written by members of Bethel and which bears Johnson’s name, titled The Physics of Heaven.
The claims of this book are so shocking and dangerous that Living and Powerful is doing something we’ve never done before — examine a single work in-depth. This is the first of a series of five posts that scrutinize that book.
Here are the other installments in the series:
Part 2: Pointing Christians to New Age
Part 3: Chasing sensual mysticism
Part 4: Twisting and perverting Scripture
Part 5: A weak, helpless, puny god
The premise of The Physics of Heaven is that God is revealing new ways of encountering him and operating in mystical power. Throughout the book are claims of divine origin. There are several verbatim “prophecies” and fantastical stories of supernatural encounters (“One night, a pulsating blue color came into my room and seemed to be talking to me, trying to communicate a message from God …”).
While there are scattered Bible verses — remember, even the devil proof-texts verses as well — the book claims that God is moving the church into an entirely new way of interacting with him.
In the foreword, Kris Vallotton — Bethel’s lead “prophet” — writes that the book contains “new perspectives never before pondered.” One of the endorsements says the authors are “prophetic adventurers on the edges of kingdom understanding, ahead of their time, exploring realms untouched by many Christians.”
So, they say, these “perspectives” are only being revealed now, 2,000 years after the church was born and the New Testament written. For some reason, God has allowed dozens of generations of Christians to go without these transformative revelations.
That stubborn Bible
Of course, they have to say this is new revelation, because the Bible teaches nothing about wavelengths, frequencies, vibrations or quantum mysticism. The book’s claims that these ideas are “hidden” from today’s church are tacit admissions that they’re unbiblical.
Even though it cites Scripture — Part 4 will exegete the quoted verses and show how they’re being blatantly twisted — this book from Bethel exudes a contempt for the genuine word of God.
The introduction states, “Bill Johnson writes that we can’t just camp around old truth, but should seek newly revealed truths for our generation.” In chapter 10, by Larry Randolph: “No longer should we limit the way we ‘receive,’ nor should we cling to the ways we’ve previously ‘heard’ His voice. It’s as if we have a ‘God radio’ that we stubbornly keep tuned to our favorite channel.”
What do they mean by “old truth,” and previous ways we’ve “heard” His voice (notice they put “heard” in quotes), and the “favorite channel” that we “stubbornly” tune in to?
The Bible.
We “stubbornly” cling to the Bible.
Scripture is what God revealed thousands of years ago. But now, they say, God is revealing something new, and we need to move on from what He’s done and revealed in the past. Ellyn Davis uses the following analogy in chapter 2:
“Hockey great Wayne Gretzky once shared the secret to his success. He said, ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.’ As Christians, we tend to keep ‘skating where the puck has been’ instead of where it’s going to be. In other words, we get comfortable with what God has done and we tend to camp there, even when He’s moved on or is giving us new revelation. Why? Because almost every time God ‘moves on’ He takes us into unfamiliar territory that seems dangerous and sometimes seems to contradict what He’s done in the past.”
The Bible is “where the puck has been,” and this book laments that Christians “camp” there. Instead, we’re urged to “move on” into “unfamiliar territory,” even if it “seems to contradict” the Bible (which it most certainly does).
Davis also uses a more shockingly blasphemous metaphor: “When the Holy Spirit moves on, all that’s left is dove dung.” She says none of the “Christian leaders who contributed to this book … want to be caught in the ‘dove dung’ left behind when the Spirit moves on.”
Dove dung.
Bethel’s book calls the word of God dove dung.
A new Pentecost
And not only is the book’s “revelation” new, it’s superior. It supersedes Scripture.
Chapter 3 invokes Pentecost — the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the church — and says what God is doing now dwarfs that.
The writer, Bob Jones, thinks “the power of the world to come” in Hebrews 6:5 is not the new heavens and new earth, but something God will do in our world, in our age, and that “The power of the world to come will be 10 times that of Pentecost … We haven’t received Pentecost yet. We received a token 110 years ago. But we didn’t get the main. We’re being prepared for the main Pentecost and millennial power, our priesthood power.”
What we read in the Bible? That’s just “a token.” As if the power of the Holy Spirit poured out on Pentecost is an old battery, sputtering out.
Remember what Peter said on that glorious day — that it fulfilled the prophecy of Joel 2, which takes us to “the great and awesome day of the LORD.” The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is for the entire church age, right to the end. There is no second Pentecost; we don’t need a second Pentecost. The true church has had the Holy Spirit all along.
Another way the book sneers at the Bible is in chapter 4 — Bill Johnson’s chapter.
The reason why the church isn’t walking in these “anointings, mantles, revelations and mysteries,” Johnson writes, is “because the generation that walked in them never passed them on.”
The “the generation that walked in them” is the first-century church, right? The generation that gave us the New Testament. But Bethel’s lead pastor is complaining that the writers of Scripture “never passed on” these things!
What they did pass on in the word of God? Old truth. Dove dung. The channel we stubbornly cling to.
Why didn’t Peter, Paul and John teach us quantum mysticism??
“When truth came to the early Church, it was to increase and be passed to the next generation. It was only meant to go in forward motion, yet that didn’t happen,” Johnson says.
The passing on of truth “didn’t happen.” Scripture doesn’t even count to these people.
The Bible is all you need
Perhaps one reason they resent Scripture so much is that Scripture teaches that Scripture is sufficient.
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Scripture thoroughly equips us. Thoroughly. Completely. We don’t need any more revelation. There is nothing God wants us to know that is “hidden.”
God’s “divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). Has given; past tense. God has already given us everything we need.
Speaking of Peter, he had the greatest encounter with the Lord anyone has ever had, seeing Jesus in all His brilliant glory on the mount of transfiguration. But Peter wrote in that same chapter that “we have the prophetic word made more sure” (verse 19), referring to Scripture (verse 20). The Scriptures are more sure than anything we see or hear, even if it is from God.
The truth of the Bible never grows “old.” His word stands forever (Isaiah 40:8) and is forever settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89).
Therefore, as Charles Spurgeon said, “Be assured, there is nothing new in theology except that which is false.”
The writers of Scripture teach us that they did, in fact, pass on all the truth God wants us to know. A recurring theme in the New Testament epistles, especially in Paul’s letters to Timothy and the Thessalonians, is that the church stick to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles.
One of the first things Paul wrote to Timothy was that Christian leaders “teach no other doctrine” (1 Tim. 1:3).
Just before the above passage in 2 Timothy 3, Paul wrote, “you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them” (verse 14). He also wrote to Timothy, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them” (1 Tim. 4:16).
‘Avoid them’
Paul wrote to the Corinthians to “learn in us not to think beyond what is written” (1 Cor. 4:6). The Physics of Heaven goes WAY beyond what is written.
Many in this movement like to quote Hebrews 13:8 — “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” The next verse tells us that’s about His doctrine: “Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines.” The teachings of Christ in the Bible are the same today as they have always been and will be forever; we’re not to be carried about with anything different.
Jude wrote to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Delivered once, for all of us.
John wrote, “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds” (2 John 9-11). The Physics of Heaven does not bring the doctrine, the teaching, of Christ.
In Romans 16:17, Paul warned, “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.” The Physics of Heaven is extremely contrary to the doctrine we have learned; it even admits and emphasizes that. By publishing that book (and in many other ways), Bethel is causing divisions and offenses, and God tells us in His word to avoid them.
Bethel is pointing the church away from the word of God, like the serpent in Eden. In the next post, we’ll look at what they are pointing us to: New Age.
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To make sure everything I’ve said about The Physics of Heaven was understood in context, you can read the book here, for free.
