Did Peter “Kill Ananias and Sapphira?”

Making the rounds online today: This is a section from a book titled “How To Raise The Dead” sold by Bethel “Church” in their bookstore.

This is not what Acts 5 says at all. Peter did not kill this couple; God did.

In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira died because they lied to the Holy Spirit about the proceeds of their land sale, attempting to appear more generous than they were. They claimed to give the full amount to the church, but secretly kept some for themselves. This deception, directed not just at the apostles but at God, was seen as a serious offense, leading to their immediate death. I encourage you to read this account the way God wrote it here.

Here is an excerpt from God Questions: “Why Did God Kill Ananias and Sapphira for Lying?”

“The case of Ananias and Sapphira illustrates the fact that even believers can be led into bold, flagrant sin. It was Satan that had filled their hearts to lie in this way (Acts 5:3) and “to test the Spirit of the Lord” (verse 9). Covetousness, hypocrisy, and a desire for the praise of men all played a part in their demise.

The sudden, dramatic deaths of Ananias and Sapphira served to purify and warn the church. “Great fear seized the whole church” (Acts 5:11). Right away, in the church’s infancy, God made it plain that hypocrisy and dissimulation were not going to be tolerated, and His judgment of Ananias and Sapphira helped guard the church against future pretense. God laid the bodies of Ananias and Sapphira in the path of every hypocrite who would seek to enter the church.”

Bethel Church in Redding, California, perpetuates the most dangerous false religion of our age, as we have reported over the years.

Says Justin Peters Ministries: “What rubbish!! Bethel is not a church. Bethel is a goat farm led by hirelings. Is this not unbelievable? Any real sheep there will leave because that is what the Holy Spirit does – He leads people out of error into the truth.”

He is not wrong.

Have nothing to do with evil.