Top of the Week: Maranatha Megachurch Pastor Ray Bentley Dies of COVID-19 Complications

Following are snippets of the top stories featured this week on cn.mycharisma.com. We invite you to visit the links to read the stories in full.

Maranatha Megachurch Pastor Ray Bentley Dies of COVID-19 Complications

Pastor Ray Bentley, founding and senior pastor of Maranatha Chapel in San Diego, California passed away on January 4. The church released this statement:

Dear Church Family,

“With grieving hearts, we need to let you know that our dear Pastor Ray went home to be with the Lord this afternoon due to complications of COVID. We are all in shock and heartbroken. We find comfort in knowing that he is rejoicing in heaven with his beloved Jesus. Certainly, he was welcomed with those beautiful words, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ Please pray for Vicki and their family and for our church. More information will follow, but for now we needed to let you know and ask for prayer.

Mario Murillo Issues New Prophetic Warnings About 2022

2022 is going to fool a lot of people. The same way that 2020 and 2021 fooled them.

Do not let yourself be one of those who is fooled again. 2022 will be a year of extremes. It will either be your greatest year of opportunity or a massive missed opportunity.

Here are the big questions that confront us in the New Year:

VOE Board Clarifies Newspaper Reports on Perry Stone

The Voice of Evangelism board has issued a statement to Charisma Media to lay to rest allegations from critics of Perry Stone, pointing out that a Dec. 25 newspaper article was much ado about nothing.

“There is nothing new to report,” the statement reads. “The story reported by the Chattanooga Times Free Press is lacking in true journalistic substance, and most of all the sources were offered and granted anonymity, allowing the story to be sensationalized. The VOE board stands firm in its decisions and will continue to operate in true biblical godly integrity.”

Charisma News reported earlier this week on the accusations that resurfaced against Stone through the Times Free Press, which included a report that the FBI is investigating his ministry, and shared a statement from VOE that said the newspaper story “bears no new information or allegations.” Charisma News also posted a recent video teaching from Stone that addressed integrity in the media; however, this video was prerecorded and not intended as a response to the recent allegations, per VOE.

What Most People Get Wrong About Prophecy and the Biblical End Times

Amir Tsarfati is an author, Israeli military veteran and the former deputy governor of Jericho, who is on a captivating mission to “explain Israel and its role in God’s plan.”

Tsarfati, whose new novel is titled “Operation Joktan,” runs an organization called Behold Israel that provides news and information about Israel and its role in biblical history and prophecy.

What People Get Wrong About Prophecy

In a recent interview with Faithwire, Tsarfati explained what people tend to get most wrong about prophecy. He noted that inconsistencies and the wrong focus can often compel people to entirely steer clear of prophetic issues.

Kenneth Copeland Prophesies God’s Mercy Will ‘Show Up in Unexpected Places’ in 2022

Evangelist Kenneth Copeland says that, just as in 2020 and 2021, many will continue to live in fear of COVID-19 and other cultural issues in 2022. But Copeland recently prophesied the Lord says that for those who continue to live in faith, it will be a “very, very good year.”

“The grace of God and His goodness and His kindness and his mercy will be shown in places in 2022 that you never thought it would show up,” Copeland says in the video of his prophecy. “The Lord says, ‘My mercy shows up in places where people don’t even think it’s there in the first place.’ I am a merciful God.

“There are those that became so stressed in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and so pressured by this biological weapon that was created in the earth,” he continues. “This synthetic virus that was created to do what it has done, to upset the world. There were those who were under such pressure and they just said, ‘I can’t go any further,’ so they stepped out of their bodies and they are in My presence, sayeth the Lord. There are those that will continue in 2022, but in 2022, there will be large swings from one way to the other … there will be disasters for some, and great grace for others, and it will be like the swinging of a pendulum.” {eoa}

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