I just finished watching a video of this Choo Thomas talking about "Heaven is so Real". I am a pentecostal and believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and have witnessed many powerful manifestations of God, but in my view, these revelations are not of God.
Its not that I believe that its impossible for a believer to visit heaven or hell in this life. I believe its happened in some cases and I've even helped publicise such accounts.
Choo Thomas of course includes Scripture and gospel truth in her account, and this no doubt will give the message some credibility. But warnings to repent and threats of hell are common to many religious writings. Even the Qu'ran threatens sinners with eternal fire.
Of course it sounds good to tell people to draw near to Jesus and live a pure life - the Bible tells us to do this - but this does not make HER book true. I can create a fiction about spiritual visions with exhortations to repent, and I think I can make it match better to the Word of God than she does, but I fear God too much to do this. Even if you sell a million copies or a zillion copies, even if it becomes a big hit on the charismatic book stands and people get stirred up - if it sows falsehood it doesn't please God.
The Bible says to "test all things". Its the teachers and prophets who tell you NOT to test what they are offering who are in contradiction to the Word of God.
I haven't read the book but the video itself contradicted itself on various points. At one point she is saying that all God's people will be raptured and at another point that Christians would be left behind and should not take the mark. This is self contradictory. It is also is a false interpretation of the bible - see my article at http://www.christian-faith.com/bible-studies/secret-rapture.html"
to which no one so far has offered what I consider to be a convincing rebuttal.
However, many teach the pre-tribulational rapture theory including many pentecostals and for this reason some will rush to say that these Choo Thomas revelations are of God. She is just saying what some believers want to hear.
I personally believe this doctrine is dangerous because in fact it is likely to be one of the REASONS for the great falling away. When in the final days faithful Christians realize that the antichrist has come, they must suffer and they have not been raptured (as the Bible teaches will happen), they will cast aside their confidence in the Word of God along with the pre trib theory - not realizing that this pre-trib doctrine is an invention of men.
I took at look at her website - choothomas . com. I quote:
"Heaven is so Real is our Lord Jesus’ end time book. He only used my body to write this book. He wants all believers and unbelievers to read it and prepare for His coming. He said, He is giving people a chance to know what it takes to enter His Kingdom through this book. Remember, none of our salvations are secure until the end. We must do our best while we have a chance."
She makes out that this book is more relevant than the Book of Revelation. If Jesus is 100% responsible for this book, then it must be as good as Scripture. True prophets of the Lord nowadays don't say this kind of thing. Sadhu Sundar Singh gave revelations but he acknowledged that they may contain imperfections.
I don't believe that Jesus wants all people to read her book. I'd say the real Jesus is more interested in everyone getting hold of the Four Gospels and the New Testament for starters. I don't normally take time to find fault with what others write but since this has become a charismatic bestseller it seems, I believe I should stand up and be counted. Just as the early church, baptized in the Spirit as they were, were vulnerable to deception and quickly lost the true fire of God, so today's spirit-baptized believers are vulnerable to deception and need to learn to discern truth from error.
And this idea of us all "doing our best while we have the chance" does not sound like Christianity to me - it sounds like self-effort and striving. It is Christ in me who will live and do works pleasing to God - "my best" won't do it, and no one ever truly and consistently gives their best anyway.
If its true what I have read elsewhere on the net, that David Yonggi Cho has told us not to look at the book theologically but as a valuable experience I say this: Jesus does not reveal false theology. The truth of this revelation stands or falls on the integrity of theology it contains. I say this as a pentecostal believer in the integrity of the Bible.
Dr Yonggi Cho may have a huge church and has been greatly used by God but it doesn't mean he is infallible at all. A case in point would be his endorsement of Robert Schuller, whose religious humanism parading as a new reformation of the gospel should be clear enough to any biblically literate person. I was in Korea and saw his posters endorsing Schuller. This was in 1992.
I don't feel the need to buy the book
Get your free registration and log in to view entire article
this message will be preach to all
I was disturb when Choo said that her mother went to hell because no one preach to her. Jesus said that this message will be preach to everyone and then it will be the end. I was also surprise that the Lord will lead her hell to see her mother and many other friends. I did not finish reading the book because I was disturbed by her mother story. God is not a lier and neither contradicts himself. My God is good very good and a merciful God. We need to be alert because the devil is trying to deceive us. We need to do what the Lord said, go a preach the good news of salvation to all of those in need. But today the messages are all about prosperity be careful!!! May the Lord Bless you let's fast, pray and vigil to be prepare for what the Lord wants to show us.
Heaven Is so Real, By Choo Thomas
I have read Choo's book. I was reading it a second time when I came across this blog. You have all Made great points.I thought it was Kewl that someone could tell us about Heaven and hell. I too at times had questions or felt like this is too good to be true.I also thought well Gods spirit came into Ezekiel and lifted him up off the ground.God can do anything he wants to do. I do see there has been contradictions in her story.One is left feeling like they cannot measure up. Because she put the world aside for him! I don't know how someone just completely does that. We all have to go to the store, hospitals etc...I did have a problem that she could visit with him anytime she wanted. I don't know of anyone that has "God on Demand"! I have video on Demand. I do not want to judge her heart . She could very well believe this has happen and be sincere. Butt I would be careful in my claims about my book.We are the body and we need all of us to make it ALL work. No one is better than the other...
Thanks, Jane
Doubting Thomas
I enjoyed your comments regarding Choo's book. I had a little trouble when she started talking about the "powder room" in heaven where she changed clothes and I thought going to the bathroom would not be something we'd have to bother with in heaven. I did like the part about Jesus serving grilled fish, though! I think that her point throughout the book is to be awake and aware because we really don't know when His return will be and we should bring the Gospel to others as we can. Seeing as how we can't save ourselves and that it is God's initiative to draw us toward Him, reading Choo's book will not magically save us. Unless it really is a manifestation of His grace and a last ditch effort to save the lost. But does he need a book to do that?? I don't want to be a "doubting Thomas", but I wish there was more testimony from others that they actually saw and heard her go through some of the physical gyrations she talked about. Seems like no one was in the house most of the time....comments?
I bought two of Choo's books
I bought two of Choo's books with the intention of giving away, but ended up in the shredding bin. That was after watching her video, it gave me a eerie feeling.
Watching Benny Hinn show make me very uncomfortable.
Josel Osteen articles which was regularly freely email to me by someone I did not know. They inspired me a lot until one day I came across his interview on Larry King's show.
Rick Warren author of "Purpose Life Driven" is another one of them and now Oprah Winfry.... and many more to come as the bible has warmed us. They are all just putting on christian mask in actual fact a real antichrist behind misleading people and leading people away from true God.
Anything that contradict the bible and deny Jesus Christ is our Lord, Saviour, the son of God, the only way
to God is false teaching.
Absolutely Right
I agree with you Sir, anything that contradict the bible and deny Jesus Christ is Lord, is false teaching, we are definately living in the last days, the bible says that there will be a great falling away in the last days, I used to think falling away meant not coming to church any more, but I am beginning to think it means all the false teaching people are going after these days.
use bible as standard
the only thing i have to highlight on is that these prophetic books and revelations should not be the basis of your salvation.Satan is very cunning and makes lies appear so true that you may end up believing him.In so much that has been said you are to have a personal relationship with GOD.God can speak to you directly;seek him and you shall find him.The bible told as that in the end times God shall pour out his spirit and old men shall dream dreams and young men shall see visions.These i believe are already happening but in the same way satan has sown tares amongst the wheat and in trying toremove the tares............. SO therefore concluding on this sensitive subject 'BY THEIR FRUITS WE SHALL KNOW THEM'
boss i read ur stuff. i
boss i read ur stuff. i first came across this choo business when i was @ the bank and saw a copy printed from the internet on a tellers desk. i googled the name thomas choo n os i was in a hurry printed ur rebutal.
i strongly agree with what u say and indeed salvation is not earned but comes by Gods grace. God knows we are imperfect and will never be whih is why we need Christ in our lives. yes we must do our best in working on our relationship with God, but see we can only come so far. i wish to remind mmadam choo that we are all equal in the eyes of God. salvation is for those who believe and accept Christ as their PERSONAL SAVIOR.
Plus i strongly dislike that u r implying God made a mistake in writing the bible and was orrecting it. i understand from ur video u say the book tells of thing we need to know that were not written in the bible. ur self exholtation and making Jehovah an imperfect being is absolute blasphemy.
ITS NOT TOO LATE TO ADMIT THE WRITINGS IN YOUR BOOK ARE NOT OF GOD...
Excellent rebuttal Michael...
I've just finished reading the book, "Heaven is so Real", after several people recommended it to me and am glad to see that I'm not the only one who's spirit does not agree with the writings. I feel the book depicts Jesus in a carnal manner, dancing, giggling and holding hands with the ever-so-good daughter, Choo. Actually as I'm writing this, I realise it smacks of blasphemy. Does she think she's God's "Daughter" as Jesus is his Son!?
Her dances are no more than rituals (touching her eyes 7 times and moving her hands in a specific manner!)Her displays of being under the power of the Holy Spirit reminds me of people in the throes of being delivered! She contradicts herself on every second page almost, first saying that Jesus says this is his last visit and then the next week he's there again, thus making Him a liar.
She exalts the book to a level where she essentially claims it to be an add-on to the bible. Has she forgotten what the last passage of Revelation warns us against? What about the mansions in heaven? Massive beachfront houses with your name on a plaque!? The bible says we will have His name on our foreheads! And if it is such a divinely inspired text, I would expect God to open their eyes to the various spelling mistakes.
Then there's the renewed body. Why would we need food? If we did, why would we eat meat (cattle and fish etc.) That means there will be animals that will have to die, but death would have been defeated. Are we just going to take little bites out of the animals and let the flesh grow back?
Also, there is only a heaven and a hell. You either bask in the glory of God's grace in heaven or suffer eternally in hell. Not so in Choo's encounters. She speaks of people living outside the gates of heaven. There's no fire, just desert and sad people who can't get into heaven. That's unbiblical. She actually tells us that Hades exists. The place between heaven and hell where, if you weren't good enough, you won't get into heaven, but at least you won't burn in hell. Crap! There's heaven and then there's hell. End of story.
I'm actually spitting mad. She makes a fool of God and exalts herself to be the example to follow. Jesus said, "Follow ME". Not follow Choo Thomas to dance all day every day and pray ritually 4 times before lunch etc. Her defence is if whoever reads the book does not believe her accounts, then they are condemned.
Well, I reject the book completely. I judge it to be false encounters with Satan. The only thing I don't get is what her motivation is. One would suspect money as she talks about God blessing her to be rich, but I think it's more to do with the self. I pray that other people will see through her falsehoods and continue to search until they find Jesus Christ in truth.
Regards
Samuel
Choo
Thanks for your opinion on this Michael; it is sensible and backs up my feelings on the subject. I like you, was not 100% certain that it was wrong but it bothered me and you have strengthened that with some good points. I don't like to go against anyone who appears to glorify the Lord Jesus; however if she is deceived then we must discern it. Deception wouldn't be deception if it was easy to spot.
Who would you consider to be true prophets?
You mentioned in the post above about some people you beleive to be true prophets.
I beleive in the importance of prophecy and I love reading about peoples experiences of heaven. But I am very discouraged at the moment because I think that the Choo Thomas book is dodgy and so now I dont know who to beleive. Some advice from you would be most welcome.
True prophets
No ministry is perfect, and while some ministries are definitely prophetic, they may not qualify for the title "prophet" because I would attach a pretty high standard to that.
Let me say one thing: I am not ready to base my life on anyone's prophecy now. Get it from God yourself, prophets may confirm it later. If God quickens a Scripture to you, that would normally be a solid base from which to work. God rewards those who diligently seek Him, not those who diligently seek prophets.
Most of the people who I consider to be true prophets are not household names.
Dr Bernard Blessing from Ghana I would say is a true prophet.
Faylene Sparkes in Australia I believe is a prophetess.
Shyju Mathew from Kerala definitely has the makings of a being a prophet.
I have met other Indians who have outstanding prophetic ministries. Some of these guys are nameless to me, yet they have wandered into my life at key moments and given detailed prophetic words that have come to pass.
I have met little women in Romania whose prophetic ministry was pretty uncanny.
John Bevere I would call a prophetic teacher. He brings a very important message to the Body of Christ. He has become very well known. The same was true of Derek Prince, who has now gone on to his eternal reward.
Some ministers have an amazing giftedness such that they can even get names by word of knowledge of people totally unknown to them, but THAT does not mean that the person stays upright all the time in all they do. VERY FEW right now live TOTALLY above reproach. Certainly I am not perfect myself. (By the way, I am certainly NOT a prophet. My wife has that calling though. Last night she had a vision of a meeting in another part of the world that we are connected to and the details were later confirmed).
Dear Mr Michael, Praise the
Dear Mr Michael,
Praise the Lord. My name is aloysius and i am from india. I want to just link you to the site www.jesuscalls.org a ministry started by Dr DGS Dhinakaran who went to be with the LORD on 20 FEb 2008. His son Brother Paul Dhinakaran is now carrying with his work whom the LORD has revealed about his second coming. "The lord told him that we have reached the end of time". Please do read it and let me know how you feel it. Please mail me at the e mail address aloysiusbinu@yahoo.com
Jesus Calls
I know of the ministry of these men of God. I have heard them preach and minister. I know they have walked closely with the Lord and achieved great things for the Lord.
Obviously we have not yet reached the end of time. Just how close the Second Coming is, we don't actually know. I GUESS it will be in about 20 years from now, but I don't know.
We Christians love to talk about the Second Coming, but there are hundreds of millions of people in your country alone who have NEVER HEARD OF THE FIRST COMING.
I'm trying to do something about that through television, but until now so few Indian Christians are even awake to the opportunities. So many are thinking instead of how to send their sons for MBAs in the United States.
How do you evaluate this sort of thing?
HI,
I used to beleive everything I read but now I seem to see so many of these experiences around on the net and each one seems slightly different. I do beleive that God still speaks though prophets but I am having a hard time deciding which ones are true and which ones arent. On the surface, they all seem biblical.
People all seem to be given details about the rapture and the beast and how many people will be raptured etc. I dont want to be put off prophecy altogether but I am really struggling with it at the moment.
Right now I am thinking that the only thing I can really beleive in is the bible itself.
You mentioned that other people had seen aborted babies differently in heaven-do you have any links to these accounts?
Post new comment