Uses health scare to make appeal for financial donations
Fresh Fire USA leader Todd Bentley claims he experienced a “miracle” after he recently recovered from what he described as a 10-hour coma that he said doctors told him was triggered by a spike in his blood pressure they suspect is “linked to uncontrollable stress.”
Bentley, who a team of leaders declared in 2020 was “not qualified” for leadership due to “credible” allegations of “ungodly and immoral behavior,” including predatory sexual activity, said in a health update shared on Facebook Live last Wednesday that he has been “resting” since suffering “seizure-like” symptoms which rendered him unconscious for 10 hours on Nov. 23.
“As you can see, I’m recovering, and I’ve got my strength, but I’m still resting. That’s kinda what the doctor prescribed: take a little extra time with your family. It’s Thanksgiving week. I’ve been resting for the past several days since Saturday when I had a medical emergency,” Bentley said in the Nov. 27 Facebook post.
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“I do know I had a miracle […] because when I woke up at 3:33 in the morning [on Sunday], I woke up in shock, absolute panic, because I had a tube, intubated in my throat, and all these other wires that I didn’t know,” the 48-year-old said.
Bentley said the last thing he remembers before the medical emergency was getting ready to watch wrestling on pay-per-view.
“The last thing I remember is opening a Coke at 5:30 in my man cave Saturday night and watched the pay-per-view. And I take a sip of my Coke, and I guess I fell into unconsciousness, and they really don’t know how much breathing I had,” Bentley recalled.
He said his wife, Jessa Bentley, noticed that he was unconscious, “almost like I was having a seizure. That’s how my wife described how she found me in the chair.”
In a personal note published Nov. 25 on Jessa Bentley’s Facebook page, Todd Bentley said he was enjoying a movie with his family when he “collapsed.”
“Just three days ago, while enjoying a movie with my family, I suddenly collapsed and became unresponsive. Initially, the medical team suspected a seizure or stroke, but after a series of tests, including a CT scan and X-rays, they ruled those out. I was admitted to the ICU for critical care due to my unresponsiveness,” Bentley wrote.
“At 3 AM, I experienced a miraculous awakening, and while I was traumatized and confused by the sudden shift from family time to being intubated in a hospital bed, I know that your prayers played a significant role in my recovery,” he continued in the update to his followers.
“The doctors conducted further tests and found that my overall health is good, but they have been focused on managing my dangerously high blood pressure, which they believe is linked to uncontrollable stress,” Bentley added before making an appeal for donations.
In 2020, Stephen Powell, an estranged protégé of Bentley, first highlighted sexual misconduct allegations against the Fresh Fire USA leader who claims to be a “faith healer.”
The Lion of Light Ministries leader said Bentley has a “perverse sexual addiction” that drove him to prey on interns in 2013 and beyond. He alleged that Bentley “has an appetite for a variety of sexual sins, including both homosexual and heterosexual activity” and accused him of indulging in an open marriage with his wife, Jessa Bentley.
Despite his earthly disqualification from ministry in 2020, Bentley said a year later that God had given him a fresh 25-year mandate “focused on the harvest and the nations.”
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