According to Todd Bentley, God is releasing a Sundar Singh type anointing of revelation to the church.  However, is this something we should desire? Lets examine this in light of God’s Word which is the standard by which we are to judge.

Todd Bentley claims that “during this time of prayer that God took me in a vision to what I believed to be the Himalayan Mountains. I saw an Indian man with a turban on his head and heard the whisper of the Spirit say, “This is Sundar Singh. I am releasing anointing of revelation like this.” I had no communication with this old saint, nor did he say anything to me. The experience lasted only a moment….”

So who was Sundar Singh (1889-1929) and why was his anointing of revelation so special and important?  According to Wikipedia, Sundar Singh was a Christian Universalist; he believed that all people would, eventually, attain salvation. Writing in 1925, he argued: “If the Divine spark in the soul cannot be destroyed, then we need despair of no sinner... Since God created men to have fellowship with Himself, they cannot for ever be separated from Him... After long wandering, and by devious paths, sinful man will at last return to Him in whose Image he was created; for this is his final destiny.”

In 1929, before his final mission, he was asked about the doctrine of eternal punishment by some theology students in Calcutta. He said that "There was punishment, but it was not eternal," and that "Everyone after this life would be given a fair chance of making good, and attaining to the measure of fullness the soul was capable of. This might sometimes take ages."

This is in direct contradiction of what the Bible teaches.  According to Sundar Singh everyone will be saved regardless of whether they accept Jesus or not. It is a bloodless salvation according to Singh.  If we live an unholy life, no worries, we will have a chance to make it all right and attain the “fullness of the soul” that we seek in the hereafter. This could explain why he believed he could evangelize the dead. 

Singh believed that “Hinduism has been digging channels,” and that “Christ is the water to flow through these channels…there are many beautiful things in Hinduism; but the fullest light is from Jesus Christ…”

Sundar Singh was a great admirer Emanuel Swedenborg and regarded him as a visionary.  He claimed to have conversed with him in the third heaven even though Swedenborg had been dead for 117 years at the time of Sundar Singh’s birth. Emanuel Swedenborg was a Christian mystic and claimed he was appointed by the Lord to write a heavenly doctrine to reform Christianity. According to Wikipedia, He claimed that the Lord had opened his eyes, so that from then on he could freely visit heaven and hell, and talk with angels, demons, and other spirits. For the remaining 28 years of his life, he wrote and published 18 theological works, of which the best known was Heaven and Hell (1758)

This is what Sundar Singh had to say about Swedenborg’s book “I want to say that after my book on the “Visions of the Spiritual World” was published, some friend sent me a copy of “Heaven and Hell,” and I was glad to see that this wonderful man of God [Swedenborg] also had similar experiences. I should very much like to read about this seer and saint.”Sundar also clearly stated “Yes, I have talked with the venerable Swedenborg [even though he’s dead] and some other saints and angels about the hells, although I am unable to explain adequately all that they told me.”

So let’s sum up some of his aberrant beliefs.

·         He conversed with dead people (both believer and non believer)

·         He believed in evangelizing the dead

·         He believed that men became angels upon death or that Christians who had died became angels and would help those on earth

·         He believed that there are non-Christians in heaven but that they feel out of place there.  “Nobody will be allowed to enter into Heaven who has not a face like Jesus Christ. That is the only ticket; otherwise we shall find ourselves out of place there. Only those who follow Him will feel at home there.”

·         He believed that all roads lead to heaven

·         He believed that you did not have to confess Jesus to be saved but that we all had the divine spark in us and would all eventually end up in heaven.

·         He made trips to the third heaven where he conversed Jesus on a regular basis

·         He had strange angelic encounters and visitations.

·         He believed Hinduism was but a channel for Christ to flow through

^·          He did not believe in eternal punishment.

Now let’s  take another look at the Vision that Todd Bentley claims God gave him.  "...in a vision, the Glory Cloud of Revelation descending upon the church. It was also during this time of prayer that God took me in a vision to what I believed to be the Himalayan Mountains. I saw an Indian man with a turban on his head and heard the whisper of the Spirit say, "This is Sundar Singh. I am releasing anointing of revelation like this." I had no communication with this old saint, nor did he say anything to me. The experience lasted only a moment...." The Glory Cloud of Revelation & Prophetic Mantles- Todd Bentley

On the website for Stand Firm World Ministries they have placed a conference report for the Secret Place Conference II (Fresh Fire Ministries second annual conference) [L ink to report: http://www.sfwm.org/newhome/showminrpt.cfm?id=36]

Wednesday night: Todd Bentley taught on contemplative prayer and learning to silence your thoughts. He outlined the four prayer steps practiced by Sundar Singh, an Indian prophet who had a visitation from Jesus. The steps include: 1. Read a whole chapter, 2. Meditate on the passage that most spoke to you, 3. Recollect with an open mind and heart as the Holy Spirit reveals the scripture to you, then 4. Rest and restoration in His presence while the Spirit imparts revelation or takes you into the heavens. As we make ourselves available to the Lord, said Todd, it is amazing where we will go with Him. As scripture tells us: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength" (Isaiah 30:15) and "Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles" (Isaiah 40:31).

On the Elijah List http://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word/1400 Bentley states that “God is also wanting the church to remember the life and anointing of this great man before the church forgets completely. Sundar Singh was a true example of a seer prophet, powerful evangelist, life in the spirit and holy devotion to Christ his master. We need this anointing for effective Evangelization today.”

So this is the anointing that Todd Bentley believes needs to be poured out on the church.  We NEED it for effective evangelism he states.  I would tend to agree that when you believe all roads lead to heaven it is very easy to evangelize.  Have another drink……