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Glory Clouds at Bethel Redding?

How should Christians respond to the report of Glory Clouds at Bethel Redding?

Pirate Christian Radio has documented fifty-two stories of people who have left the New Apostolic Reformation over charismania and deception.1 Meanie writes, “There was so much supernatural stuff happening, people claiming to be healed, gemstones appearing on the floor, feathers floating from the ceiling, pink clouds, mist and smells such as lemon floating through the air. I wasn’t sure what was making this all happen, but it was mesmerizing.”2 There is much talk in Southern California (where I live) of gold dust falling from the ceiling (called “glory clouds”) at Bethel Church in Redding. This is supposed to be evidence of God’s supernatural activity.

Glory Clouds Tested

There is good evidence that these so-called manifestations are simply fake. A veteran professional jeweler and gemologist of forty-four years was given three samples of gold dust from three different “glory cloud” events. When examined under his jeweler’s double microscope, two samples were found to be mylar (synthetic man-made plastic) and one was mica (fool’s gold). In short, “none has been gold.” He was also able to obtain samples of “gemstones” from “angels” appearing in services and concluded they were “synthetic man-made stones.”3 On another occasion a geochemist from the University of Toronto did an investigation of “gold dust” and found “the specks did not contain any gold or platinum but were some type of plastic film.”4 And yet a third study by the U.S. Geological Survey found it was “plastic film with no traces of gold, platinum or silver.”5

Planting Gemstones

But it gets worse. In 2008, Glenn Smith admitted to planting gemstones to “seed” people’s faith in the supernatural work.6 Shortly after, J. Lee Grady, the former editor of Charisma magazine (a wide supporter of NAR teaching) admonished his followers with the following reality-check:

I know of a case where a man was caught planting fake jewels on the floor of a church. He told his friends he was ‘seeding the room’ to lift the people’s faith. I know of others who have been caught putting gold glitter on themselves in a restroom and then running back in a church service, only to claim that God was blessing them with this special favor. Where is the fear of God when Christians would actually fabricate a miracle?7

A few years later, NAR advocate Julia Loren wrote,

…my brothers and sisters are muddying the waters of worship by falsifying signs and wonders… I had one pastor tell me that a young man, who showed great promise and moved in great power, was recently discovered to have fabricated many of the signs and wonders, including gemstones and gold dust appearing.8

Spiritual Trickery

This spiritual trickery should have disqualified the man from pastoral work (1 Tim. 3; Titus 2). Yet, remarkably, the senior pastor said he “wasn’t sure what to do with him.” It is not a matter of whether these tricksters love Jesus. Before one man was caught “kicking gemstones out of his shoes and tossing them into dark corners of the room” Loren was “quite taken by his sincerity and the love he had for Jesus.”9 It would be very easy to fake the so called “glory clouds” as well. The clouds appear to be like those generated from fog machines in online videos.10 If pastors have been caught “seeding” peoples’ faith planting fake gemstones it is not unreasonable to think they are doing it with fog machines. Why then do sincere pastors commit and condone spiritual fraud? Loren thinks the reason is because “most are ambitious to build a great ministry reputation and expand their opportunities for itinerant ministry as well.”11

Of course, a few forgeries do not prove every manifestation is false. However, considering the history of fraud and the weight of evidence in this paper, it is appropriate to cry, “Foul!”

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  1. “Leaving the Nar Church (Search Results),” Pirate Christian Media, accessed July 8, 2018, http://www.piratechristian.com/berean-examiner/?tag=Leaving+the+NAR+Church.
  2. “Leaving the Nar Church: Melanie’s Story,” Pirate Christian Media, May 30, 2017, http://piratechristian.squarespace.com/berean-examiner/2017/5/-leaving-the-nar-church-melanies-story.
  3. See comment 35 by Lillian Ching posted July 26, 2008 on “Gemstones Fraud – Glenn Smith Caught Redhanded!,” End Times Prophetic, Prophecy, Visions, Dreams, Revelation, Christian Blog, accessed Oct 15, 2011, https://web.archive.org/web/20111015064411/http:/endtimespropheticwords.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/gemstones-fraud-glenn-smith-caught-redhanded/.
  4. Andy Butcher, “Gold Dust Phenomenon Stirs up Questions Among Charismatics,” Charisma News Service, April 10, 2001, https://web.archive.org/web/20010410101417/http:/www.charismanews.com/news.cgi?a=145&t=news.html.
  5. Ibid.
  6. Dennis Box, “Maple Valley Deputy Mayor Glenn Smith Admits to Planting Gemstones at Phoenix Religious Meeting,” Maple Valley Reporter, August 3, 2009, https://www.maplevalleyreporter.com/news/maple-valley-deputy-mayor-glenn-smith-admits-to-planting-gemstones-at-phoenix-religious-meeting/.
  7. J. Lee Grady, “Strange Fire in the House of the Lord,” Charisma Magazine, February 11, 2009, https://www.charismamag.com/~charisma/component/cm_videos/article/18-blogs/fire-in-my-bones/2942-strange-fire-in-the-house-of-the-lord?Itemid=171.
  8. Julia C. Loren, Supernatural Anointing: A Manual for Increasing Your Anointing, Shifting Shadows Series (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 2012), 140, 141.
  9. Ibid., 141.
  10. Joshua Mills, “Here’s a much better video of the Glory Cloud that came upon the church last night in Pensacola, Florida,” Facebook, November 6, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/joshuamillsglory/videos/1733116320034201/.
  11. Loren, Supernatural Anointing, 141.

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