Is Patricia King Qualified to Teach the "Glory School?"

Recently I saw this announcement for a local showing of Patricia King's "Glory School."

"There is a wave of God coming that will change the spiritual and cultural landscape and fill our valley with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord. Glory School is about us posturing ourselves to not only be a part of this move, but to be part of the company of 'Glory Carriers' that BRINGS IT."

Wanting to know more about this (who wouldn't want to be a "glory carrier"?), I consulted King's website and found this:

"Did you know that you can freely access the throne of grace, acquaint yourself with the glorious supernatural phenomenon in the Kingdom, encounter the Lord and His angelic majesties, and much more? The Glory School is a power-packed, informative school that offers you in-depth Bible teaching and training and introduces you into Holy Spirit led Kingdom encounters. Come and soar with us into realms of heavenly glory."

That's a pretty tall order, so I thought today I would consider why Patricia King is qualified to teach the "Glory School."


She Has Experienced Angel Orbs

Now, I must admit that I have never heard of such a thing. Most of my reading is confined to the Bible and I am not too familiar with angel orbs, which seem to be more prevalent in the new-age movement. However, according to King, they do exist. Quoting King:

“Two members of our team and I had just finished a prayer session to prepare for our evening meeting at Tim and Cindy McGill’s Four Square Church. As we were praising the Father for the downloads we had received, we heard that there was still more for us. That’s when we noticed the presence of angelic orbs over our heads. How glorious! God is so good!”

“We began to praise and worship Him for this Heavenly Presence. All of a sudden, one of our team (Shirley Ross), heard from the Lord that we were to clap our hands together over our heads where the orbs were. When we did, it was as if the orbs burst open and showered us in Heavenly Glory! Different colored orbs appeared and filled the room over our heads. We clapped and clapped and clapped. Some of the orbs rained down a thick, sweet oil. Others left us feeling tingly and effervescent. The Joy of the Lord was everywhere as we were refreshed, renewed and empowered. These “exploding” orbs covered us in an anointing of His Presence and also helped to deeply seat the inspiration and revelation we had received from Him throughout that day. Thank you Father! ”

She Has Encountered "the Blue Flame"

I'll let King tell us all about this, as again, I am not too familiar with this outside of its new-age connections:

"The blue flame is the hottest and most intense part of a fire, and the color blue is often a prophetic symbol of divine revelation, God’s love, and an open Heaven." "Recently while teaching at Glory School in Dudley, England, with Trevor and Sharon Baker, I had a spiritual encounter regarding the Blue Flame of the Lord. In this encounter, I could feel myself soaring like an eagle, looking upward into the sun while in flight. My eyes were fixed on the sun. Eagles (often a Biblical symbol of the prophetic) in thenatural have an extra membrane over their eyes that other birds do not have. This allows them to look directly into the sun without damage to their vision. As I gazed into the sun, I could feel myself being drawn towards its center, and that is when I saw it–the Blue Flame. It was so beautiful. I could feel its strength that is to be feared and respected, and also I felt its passion."

I've noted that the "Blue Flame" is a symbol incorporated into her ministry's logo.

She Can Roar Like a Lion

Roaring is somewhat passé these days, but it was big in the nineties. I'll let King tell you about it:

"I remember the first time I roared in 1995. I had heard about the roarings and I was troubled by it. Charlie Robinson was over at our place as he had just returned with our team from a cross Canada tour. He shared that he had “roared” when he was in Toronto. I was concerned but decided to hear him share. He showed me scriptures and shared testimony. Suddenly, I received an urge to get down on all fours…..it was not a sovereign power that came on me just a stirring in my spirit. I resisted it at first and then I felt I should obey the “nudge”…as soon as I got down on all fours the power of the Spirit came on me and oh my goodness…things really moved then with full roarings and everything. I had to step into it first by faith though…following through on the simple, quiet, nudging of the Holy Spirit. Since that time, I have been in prayer meetings and the Holy Spirit has led me to move into groanings and roarings. I did not feel naturally inclined but moved into it by
obedience….after the choice to obey then we experienced great anointing."

Here King illustrates one of the key principals of her Glory School- to have the type of experiences she talks about you do not wait for a sovereign move (e.g. Paul on the Damascus Road) but rather "step into it first by faith."

She Has met the Angel named "Purity"

Like Todd Bentley, King has experienced angelic visitations from "named" angels. This, of course, would be requisite if you were going to teach a course such as the "Glory School." Weakening her case, it turns out the angel is really a bird. here's King:

"In December 2005, our producer Shirley Ross was visited by an angel called “Purity”. Purity is a white eagle with piercing fiery eyes and yet soft, gentle, and dove-like in nature. Shirley also saw a golden ring that Purity carried. It was a ring of power and protection and it was placed around individuals and groups who chose the virtue of purity. I was present during the visitation and also felt the presence of Purity at that time although I did not see it…The angel Purity returned the next day and the day after. I saw the vision of this being during the two days and also felt the softness of its breast feathers on one occasion."

She Goes Into Trances

The "Glory Carriers" not only can prophesy at will, they can experience any of the sundry levels of "higher revelation" at will. Key to this is entering into a trance. Quoting King:

"I was in what is called a trance vision. In this type of vision, you are in a dream-like state yet remain awake and are oftentimes aware of your natural surroundings. In other words, you are 'inside' the vision."

King goes on to say how she experienced a form of spirit travel while in this particular trance. She visited a friend in a distant Hospital.

"In my body I was on the main street in Mesa, Arizona; however, in my spirit, I sensed that I was inside the tangible, eternal dimension of the rich realities that Paul was writing about in Ephesians."

"I found myself within the vision, hovering over Donna in a hospital bed."

Her Associate Jason Westerfield is an Expert on "Transporting in the Spirit."

Here is Patricia King and Jason Westerfield explaining what this is all about. I need to find the original source video as this one has a running commentary in it. Enjoy!



Another King video features two "Glory School" students talking about driving down the interstate after a class, and being transported to another highway where they were cut off by a "Covenant Transport" truck. Aside from a little excitement, the transport seemed to have no vaild kingdom purpose.


She Trains Her Students in Raising the Dead

Her students "take the risk, and they do so with sensitivity." What better way to learn how to raise the dead than to practice at a funeral home?





She sees Third-Heaven Experiences as an Ordinary Occurrence

When asked if she taught that all believers can go to the third heaven, king's response was "Yes. The Bible says so. It is our position in Christ. He desires us to have this heavenly perspective."

Here Patricia introduces her friends "Seer-Prophet" Bob Jones and (her words) "another favorite of mine" Todd Bentley. Watch Patty, Bobby and Todd as they talk about their experiences visiting heaven. A significant amount of time is spent in the "Glory School" lessons teaching you how you can experience this is your life - at will.


Note that Bob Jones visits the "third-heaven" several times a week.


She Promotes Levitation as a Sign and Wonder.

John Crowder is not the only one promoting levitation as a legitimate spiritual experince that we should seek after. Here's King:

"I saw visions of the church moving in true supernatural acts. One specific and very vivid open trance vision in February 1995 revealed a corporate group of Christians rising up off the ground during a worship encounter. In the same vision, I also saw Christians being transported in the spirit from one geographical location to another. I saw them soaring in the spirit over cities and nations making decrees of the Word of God in full authority. The voice of the Lord spoke clearly during this encounter saying, “Many of My own people will say these experiences are empowered by occult power but what you see is not fueled by a false source. It is My power being displayed. Many signs and wonders will occur.”

She Has Seen The "Great Outpouring of Gold."

Patricia King tells us that "God likes gold." And so King is well versed in the experiences of Gold Dust, Gemstones, feathers and oil. Quoting King:

"In the mid 1990s we had a great outpouring of the gold in our meetings when Todd Bentley was ministering with us. We felt God was saying that He was opening the heavens and the church would begin to see manifestations of heaven in the earth to confirm the answer to our prayer that we have been praying for 2,000 years: "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” To others, it was a sign of the transference of wealth in their lives. And to others the Lord spoke to them out of the latter glory of the house being greater than the former (Haggai 1,2)."

"With the manifestation of the gold dust or diamond glitter or feathers or oil, you too will receive the communication of the Lord when you draw close. There are many things that the Lord might want to speak to you in regards to these manifestations. God will unfold His heart as you seek Him. We know that He likes gold."




Qualified or Not?

According to one Glory School participant that I know personally:

"The big picture of the Glory School is a teaching that visual/sensory perceptions of heaven are available on demand. The overwhelming majority of participants seem to have accepted the teaching and seem to have had self-initiated visions of what they suppose to be heaven." Moreover, "Her students consistently report that her training works: they're able to enjoy their own visions of heaven before the conclusion of the school."

Perhaps King should pull in John Crowder as an adjunct professor, but I would say if the purpose of the school is to teach 21st century mysticism and what we used to call "charismatic excess," she is more than qualified to teach it alone.

This, of course, begs the question: "Should Christians participate in such activities which are theologically suspect?" Not to worry. In 2003, Patricia King was questioned/challenged by a few leaders in the Body regarding her Glory School teaching and in particular the aspects of Third Heaven, terminology, and experience. King submitted her Glory School teachings (which she claims were dictated to her) to an "intensive theological audit" by Dr. Alistair Petrie (a proponent of “spiritual mapping”). And according to King, the school passed theological muster.

Will all due respect to Dr. Petrie, the panel of one seemed to be loaded. Petrie, associated with Fuller Seminary and C. Peter Wagner, fails to address the claim of divine inspiration, which strikes at the heart of the authority of the scriptures.

And that is just one theological objection of dozens.


For further consideration- David Wilkerson speaks out (circa 2000).