Cal Conjures Up John G. Lake’s Angel?

CAL PIERCE And the Rookery Building

In our previous investigation of John G. 

Lake, I referred to the story of Mr. Cal 

Pierce. Cal left Redding, California, and went to Spokane, Washington, to reopen the “healing rooms” of John G. Lake. His website is Healing Rooms Ministries.

This is the same Cal Pierce who, in Chapter 9 of our study of the book The Physics of Heaven, told of an angelic encounter in which he claims to have received plans for a “water car.” The book was published in 2012, but no such water car has ever been produced, nor does one appear to be on the horizon. Once again, we are left to confront the issue: is this Cal Pierce’s overactive imagination, or was Satan posing as an angel of light?

It is worth noting that Pierce was part of Bethel. And, just as I said about Lake, the same applies here: with God, all things are possible, but with Bethel, nothing is credible.

In addition to his interview with Sid Roth, Pierce’s story can also be found in the aforementioned book The Physics of Heaven, Chapter 14: “Whole Lotta Shaking Going On.”

Of course, during the interview Mr. Roth mentions the obligatory 100,000 “healings” attributed to John G. Lake in Spokane, as well as the claim that hospitals were shut down during Lake’s ministry there. Please see our video on John G. Lake, where we demonstrate that these claims (and many others) are 100% false. We will address the 100,000 healings further in this investigation.

Cal says they read Kenneth Copeland’s book about Lake. Something I may have forgotten to mention in our other video is that Copeland’s book was ghostwritten by Roberts Liardon. I also saw Cal in another video saying he had read about Lake in Liardon’s book God’s Generals.

Notice too that in Sid Roth’s interview they reference the false prophet, James Goll. All the claims they make about Lake we prove false in our video on John G. Lake.

After searching out the area, Mr. Pierce says he found the old Rookery Building, where there were very few tenants on the third floor. He also states that he had gathered a group of intercessory prayer partners. Then, one day, as Pierce was looking things over, there was one room where everyone stood outside, but inside, he claims, the power of God was so strong that nobody could stand. They called it the “Silver Room” because the carpet was silver.

Later he said he asked the Holy Spirit why there was such a strong anointing in that room. According to Pierce, the Holy Spirit told him that He had deposited an angel there—one that had been waiting 80 years for the rooms to reopen, so that He could pour out anointing to bring healing once again to the city of Spokane. Pierce claimed this was the same angel who had been there for John G. Lake.

Of course, there is a scriptural problem here: healing coming from an angel, or due to the presence of an angel, rather than from God Himself. Chapter and verse, please! Look at what happened at the pool of Bethesda: it was Jesus who healed, not the angel. Healing comes from God, not from angels. And, if we accept this story, nobody could receive healing from God in Spokane until this one room was reopened.

It sounds like a compelling story about an angel waiting there. But that’s the problem, it is just a story. When the historical facts are brought to light, the story falls apart at the seams.

A Short History of the Rookery Building to Dispel the Myths

This is a conglomeration of facts from several articles I found in the Spokane Review.

The original building—or at least part of the original two-story wood-frame structure—was completed in 1888, but it was destroyed in the devastating fire of 1889, which wiped out much of downtown Spokane. According to the Spokane Review of April 21, 1929, construction on a new Rookery began almost immediately and was completed in 1890.

The result was this version of the Rookery Building:

It was a six-story structure that consisted of four interconnected buildings wrapped around the southeast corner of Howard Street and Riverside Avenue. Collectively, they were called the “Rookery,” a word for a colony of birds’ nests. The apartments and offices inside were very small.

The complex housed banks, lawyers, dry-goods stores, and many other businesses. The different sections were called the Rookery, the Mohawk, the Harrington, and the Merton, but together they were known as the Rookery Building.

Building historian Robert Hyslop recalled that the structure had a system of light wells and adjoining corridors that created odd, irregular rooms—making the name “Rookery” an appropriate moniker.

There were several fires: one in 1893 in the Mohawk section and another in 1914, also in the

Mohawk. Both predate Lake’s stay in Spokane.

What Happened After Lake’s Tenure?

John G. Lake’s ministry in Spokane ended in 1920. Cal Pierce has claimed (and many

others have repeated online) that the building burned down in 1933. That is false.

Here’s the actual history:

• The ownership of the building changed in 1929.

• After a legal battle over back rent with the United Cigar Stores, the original six-story

• Rookery was demolished in 1933—not burned down.

• Real estate investor Charles Sweeny bought the complex and tore it down.

• Architect Gustav Pehrson then designed a new three-story art deco building, faced in white terra-cotta tile:

• This “new” Rookery housed Equitable Savings and Loan and various retail stores until 2006, when it too was torn down and replaced by a parking lot:'

So, to be clear: the building that Lake used was torn down in 1933—just 13 years after he

left Spokane. The new three-story structure was not a replica.

An interesting sidenote: when the original building was demolished in 1933, workers found a brick inscribed with the name of John Larvis Cook, the original contractor in 1889. It was presented to his son, Sam H. Cook.

The Angel Problem

Pierce has claimed that the Holy Spirit told him an angel had been waiting in a room of the Rookery since 1920. But how could that be true when the very building Lake used was demolished in 1933? How can an angel “wait in a room” for 80 years when the room itself ceased to exist?

Once again, we see a “miracle story” built on a false premise. A simple fact-check exposes it as fabrication.

Let me put it plainly: either the Holy Spirit was wrong, or Mr. Pierce was not hearing from the Holy Spirit. I know which side of that debate I stand on—because I am confident the Holy Spirit knows full well the Rookery was torn down in 1933.

For context, Lake himself moved back to Spokane from 1931 to 1935. If that angel had been there all along, it certainly didn’t help him in his final years. Nor did it help Gordon Lindsay, whom Lake tried (unsuccessfully) to help start a healing ministry during that time.

Torturing the Numbers

Let’s revisit the famous claim of 100,000 “documented healings” in Spokane from 1915– 1920. That works out to:

• 20,000 healings per year

• 385 healings per week—every week, for 5 years straight

And remember, these were supposed to be new people each time.

Lake’s ads in the newspaper show that he held Sunday services at the Masonic Temple,

with healings also taking place in small offices on the third floor of the Rookery.

The Masonic Temple

• Built in 1903, expanded in 1925

• During Lake’s tenure (1915–1920), the largest meeting room could seat 550 people

• After 1925, expansion increased that to 2,000—but that was long after Lake left

Even if every Sunday meeting filled the 550-seat room, Lake’s numbers don’t add up. For 385 people to be healed weekly, that would mean a 70% healing rate of all attendees— every week, for five years straight. And with documentation!

The Rookery Offices

The third-floor offices were small, and the building also contained businesses and apartments. Even if Lake had used several offices, the building was not designed for large crowds. If hundreds of people had been coming weekly for years, other tenants and the local press would certainly have noticed—and likely complained. Yet there are no contemporary reports of such activity.

The 100,000 Claim

Bottom line: neither venue could have supported anywhere close to 100,000 healings in

five years. The logistics simply don’t work.

And one more point: why exactly 100,000? Not 97,585, not 101,799—just a nice, round, suspiciously perfect number.

What Does It All Mean?

The historical record proves the Rookery story is false, the numbers don’t add up, and the “angel waiting in a room” story collapses under basic scrutiny. These are myths built on exaggeration and fabrication, not facts.

Conclusions

I believe that through these two investigations of John G. Lake and Cal Pierce, we have demonstrated beyond any doubt that the claim of 100,000 healings is pure fiction and could not possibly have happened. Time and again, my research has shown that John G. Lake was a fraud and a liar.

Throughout this short work, I have shown that the claims surrounding Lake simply do not hold up to scrutiny. My concern also lies with those who have written, promoted, and continue to promote such outlandish lies as truth. There are, of course, many more scandals and questionable doctrines that I have not covered here, whole volumes could be written about them, and others have already done so or will in the future.

We are bound by Scripture to test and prove every spirit:

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

—  1 John 4:1 (ESV)

And should we not also test the facts to see if stories and claims are true? Acts 17:11 tells us:

“Now these Jews (Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

—  Acts 17:11 (ESV)

Notice that the Bereans listened to Paul and Silas—but they still tested what they heard against Scripture. Paul did not take offense. In fact, he called them noble because they did not thoughtlessly accept everything he said with an uncritical eye. They needed to prove it for themselves.

With so much deception at play by religious tricksters and hucksters, we should do no less. Over and over, I see ruses presented as “miracles.” In our modern age of CGI and clever gimmicks, we must be more discerning than ever. My research has consistently shown that many pioneers of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement were frauds, and that much of what is believed to be historical “fact” is nothing more than fiction.

Yes, there are many fantastic stories about miracles and faith—but the crucial question is:

are they based on verifiable evidence?

We must learn to value rigorous skepticism as essential to the search for truth. A true skeptic does not undermine truth for hidden motives; rather, a true skeptic searches relentlessly for honest evidence on which to ground his beliefs. The cynic has devious motives and a prejudiced viewpoint; the skeptic seeks truth.

We should never accept claims at face value without asking questions. Sadly, there are too many gullible Christians today and far too few Bereans.

One final thought comes from Pentecostal historian Ruthie Edgerly Oberg. In her 1-star Amazon review of True Stories of the Miracles of Azusa Street and Beyond by Tommy Welchel, she exposed the historical errors presented as fact in that book. What she wrote deeply struck me, and I believe it serves as a fitting conclusion here:

“As a movement, Pentecostalism and Charismatic Christianity must collectively agree that exaggerations and false claims are unacceptable, even when they align with our cherished beliefs. If we fail to hold our leaders accountable to truthfulness and integrity—while rejecting false testimonies and revisionist histories—we risk undermining the credibility of all truth claims central to the historic Christian faith. A reputation for poor discernment and blind endorsement weakens our witness to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Faith rooted in truth will always endure, while faith built on falsehoods will ultimately crumble.”

Amen. Faith rooted in truth will always endure. Falsehood, no matter how inspiring, will always collapse under the weight of history and fact.

—Steve Johnson

Videos Mentioned:

Angel Waits 80 Years to Finish His Assignment! | Cal Pierce 

John G. Lake a Bodyguard of Lies